I was just reading about the new ESV Study Bible and am quite impressed. I really like the ESV translation and this study bible makes it a great one-volume bible study tool. It has more than 25,000 notes to help understand the text and answer frequently raised issues; 50 articles on subjects such as biblical authority, text reliability, a interpretation; biblical archeology, theology, worship, prayer, and personal application; 200 full-color maps (including satellite imagery); 200+ charts located throughout the bible; 80,000 cross-references of important words, passages, and biblical themes; and 40 full-color illustrations, including historically accurate reconstructions of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon’s temple, Herod’s temple, Jerusalem. Yes, a major study bible.

I would love to get my hands on one of these but will have to wait till October when it is published. As a matter of fact I have placed an advance order for a couple to give away as presents since they are giving a 35% discount on all pre-orders made before May 15th!

Contents and Features

The website shows sample pages from the Gospel of John, sample illustrations like that of Solomon’s Temple, as well as giving details about the full-color illustrations and maps that are included.

What is really great is that the study bible is being published simultaneously online — and all who purchase a copy of the print edition will have access to the online edition. The online edition will allow you do do easy searching, follow interactive links between maps, articles, timelines, cross-references, etc. Other features include:

• Section summaries are highlighted for easy location throughout the notes. Summaries provide an overview of each main section and correspond to the outline shown in the introduction for each book.
• Over 200 full-color maps printed throughout make events and places in the Bible come to life.
• Over 25,000 notes focus especially on understanding the Bible text and providing answers to frequently raised issues. Words from the Bible text are printed in bold for easy reference.
• Over 80,000 cross-references provide easy access to key words, passages, and themes throughout the Bible.
• Numerous diagrams bring fresh understanding to key places and events in the Bible, based on the best, most recent historical and archaeological research.
• Over 200 charts provide concise, “at a glance” summaries of important themes and teaching.

Binding Formats

There are eight different binding formats that are currently planned, from a regular, plain-ole hardcover edition to a pricey (for me) Premium Calfskin. In between those two, they offer imitation leather, bonded leather, and genuine leather covers, each coming in 2 different colors. With a whopping 2,752 pages, this thing looks thick. Here are the specs:

• Trim Size—6 ½ × 9 ¼ inches.
• Paper—Printed on high-opacity, high-quality French Bible paper from Papeteries Du Luman (PDL); this is widely considered the finest paper in the world and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), having been made from forests that are managed to preserve and sustain forestlands.
• Typesetting—Set in highly readable, 9-point, single-column type for the Bible text, and 7.25-point, double-column type for the notes.
• Printing—Full-color throughout, printed on high-speed web presses created especially for the high-quality demands of Bible printing.
• Binding—All editions are Smyth sewn, which is considered the finest Bible binding method and is designed to last a lifetime.

Contributors and Endorsements

The list of contributors is a who’s-who of the evangelical Bible scholars and teachers, spanning 9 countries and 20 denominations. The articles that are included look to make interesting reading on their own, giving a good introduction to the bible; which is, of course, what a study bible should do.

The ESV Bible Blog has collected over 100 comments about the new study bible from all over the web.

The number of ‘big name’ endorsements is impressive, I will just include a few:

“The ESV is a dream come true for me. The rightful heir to a great line of historic translations, it provides the continuity and modern accuracy I longed for. Now the scope and theological faithfulness of the ESV Study Bible study notes is breathtaking. Oh how precious is the written Word of God.”
    John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church

“The ESV Study Bible is the most important resource that has been given to the emerging generation of Bible students and teachers. The ESV Study Bible is the best. Period.”
    Mark Driscoll, Preaching Pastor, Mars Hill Church; President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network

“Like the ESV itself, this Study Bible sets a new standard in excellence. The craftsmanship invested in every page—from the insightful articles and informative notes to the crisp design and gorgeous illustrations—makes it an invaluable tool for students of God’s Word. As a pastor it’s my goal to get one into the hands of every member of my church.”
    Joshua Harris, Senior Pastor, Covenant Life Church

“I can’t imagine a greater gift to the body of Christ than the ESV Study Bible. It is a potent combination indeed: the reliability and readability of the ESV translation, supplemented by the best of modern and faithful scholarship, packaged in an accessible and attractive format. A Christian could make no wiser investment for himself, a pastor could recommend no better resource for his congregation.”
    C. J. Mahaney, President, Sovereign Grace Ministries

“I was privileged to act as General Editor of the English Standard Version, and now that I look back on what we did in producing that version, I find myself suspecting very strongly that this was the most important thing that I have ever done for the Kingdom, and that the product of our labors is perhaps the biggest milestone in Bible translation in certainly the last half century at least, and perhaps more. And now, as Theological Editor of the ESV Study Bible, I believe that the work we have done together on this project has set an altogether new standard in study Bibles.”
    J. I. Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College (Vancouver, Canada)

Conclusion

I mentioned at the beginning of this that I was impressed. I shouldn’t be. This is the way Crossway has done all the things for the ESV version. They offer more ‘free’ tools than anyone else — just check out the Scripture Zealots rundown of ESV offerings on the web. Check it out for yourself, and see if you can tempt yourself to pre-order before May 15th and get 35% off these great bibles.

Earlier this week I listened to an NPR Interview about The Manga Bible: From Genesis to Revelation. The book blurb by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, says, “It will convey the shock and freshness of the Bible in a unique way.” The author and illustrator, Ajinbayo “Siku” Akinsuku, a trained Anglican theologian, says his interpretation is, “a way of making a relevant message contemporary … It was time for us to update the biblical message.”

The New York Times article does make a good point that when Europe was largely illiterate, stained glass windows were used to relate Bible stories. The western world may not be illiterate, but our society is definitely biblically illiterate.

Comics Worth Reading has a very thorough review of the comic. They are not too impressed, either with its graphics or its message.

The artwork doesn’t look very mangaesque. In fact, it is more reminiscent of English independent comics. This makes sense since the artist, Siku, got his start working for 2000 AD. I found the art dissatisfying. It reminds me of the sketches artists do when they are roughing figures into a panel to determine what pose to use and how everything will fit together. There are lots of stray lines that appear to have no purpose and only the foreground figures are drawn in detail. Often midground and far away figures are just outlines. The book needs a good art editor to clean up and smooth out the linework.

and regarding the text

The narrative reads like the scriptwriter is strip-mining scripture. He bulldozes over details and nuances in the Biblical text to move the plot along.

Using the story of Joseph as an example he concludes:

By reducing this part of Joseph’s life (his childhood) to just four panels, the Manga Bible plows under all the subplots and subtly of the original Biblical story. I understand the Manga Bible is meant to be a quick survey of the entire Bible. However, even a summary of the text should include the important details, such as Joseph’s dreams. If you can’t tell the story well, then maybe you shouldn’t tell it at all and simply direct the reader to the source material.

All Things Considered the other day had a story about the biblical allusions that Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee sprinkles in his speeches. NPR played excerpts containing the biblical references to folks who were raised in Christian households and had attended Sunday school. Most of those interviewed had no clue to Huckabee’s meaning. How about you?

In November, as Huckabee surged in the polls, a student at Liberty University asked him what was driving his startling success. Huckabee responded, “It’s the same power that helped a little boy with two fish and five loaves feed a crowd of 5,000 people.”

Wrong: “That’s when Moses … had to feed all the people, the multitude of people that left Egypt,”

For the next quiz question, we played a clip from Huckabee’s Super Tuesday victory speech: “Sometimes, one small smooth stone is even more effective than a whole lot of armor.”

Wrong: “Maybe something to do with the war.”

The next clip also came from Tuesday night’s speech: “We’ve also seen that the widow’s mite has more effectiveness than all the gold in the world.”

Wrong: “I have no clue, I thought a mite was a bug. Is it a spider?”

Professor Stephen Prothero of Boston University said:

“Half of Americans can’t name any of the four Gospels, and that includes the Christians, and half don’t know that Genesis is the first book of the Bible.”

“You could imagine that … this is his secret code way that he could speak to evangelicals without alienating more secular people, but the faulty part of that strategy is the evangelicals don’t even necessarily know these stories.”

It is truly sad to realize that Jay Leno’s ‘Jay Walking’ is not a put-on. Our culture has become so illiterate that unless it is a quote from “Lost”, or “Friends”, people have no clue what you are talking about.

I found this 20 question quiz online that you can use to test your knowledge. I got 19 out of 20.

An audio Bible is, of course, not a substitute for a printed Bible. It does, however allow one to “redeem the time” by listening to God’s Word at times where it would be impossible to be reading. But what I like the most is that there are no verse numbers while listening! You get more of the flow of the book when you are not constantly distracted by the alien verse numbers printed on each page.

The Bible was also designed to be listened to. Before the printing press people had to gather to hear the Bible read. Even the recipients of Paul’s letters heard them read to the congregation. They did not make zerox copies and pass them out with the Sunday morning church bulletin.

Even though it does remove the artificial verse numbers from the passages, daily readings do still divide the text — even if it is into 365 daily segments.
Artificial? Yes. But it does get us immersed into the Word each day.

This very benefit though can also be a detriment.
The primary problem though with a daily Bible reading or listening is that it might allow one to feel they have met any legalistic obligation or feel it gives them braging rights, “I read through the entire Bible last year!” We need to read/listen to the bible not to check of an item on our to-do list but to transform our lives. Are you getting to know God better or just becoming more familiar with the narrative?

Let us get to know God better! Here are a few of the podcasts I have qued up daily:

• ESV: Through the Bible in a Year - Readings from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and from a Psalm each day using the English Standard Version. Each year the Old Testament is read through once and the New Testament and Psalms are both read twice. The ESV is my preferred translation, so I enjoy listening to this each day. (Shortly after publishing this, the ESV feed has failed. I have sent an e-mail to see if it can be fixed)
• PodBible - Bible in a Year - 20 minutes a day / 7 days a week - The entire Contemporary English Version of the Bible is read straight through from Genesis to Revelation in 365 segments. The reading was was done by a couple hundred volunteers at a church in New Zeland. The Contemporary English Version simplifies “Bible” terms into more understandable words and phrases.
• Listener’s Audio Bible - Proverbs - 3 minutes a day / 7 days a week - Proverbs is divided into 31 chapters so each day the corresponding chapter is read. Max McLean brings a professional dramatic expression to his presentation.
• The Daily Audio Bible - 20 minutes a day / 7 days a week - The podcast author has a very distinctive (my kids call it scary) voice and style. Each week he reads from a different translation.
  The reading includes background sounds that are designed to allow the listener to “disconnect from the ‘matrix’” that can become everyday life and sit by the sea, meander along a mountain stream or wander through a forest as the rain gently falls and begin to feel the deeper work of God in your life.” The readings appear to follow the same plan as The One Year Bible and the schedule can be downloaded as part of the journal available for download on their resources page.

No excuses! Whether you read or listen, you have no excuse.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).