It feels kind of strange to be writing a “review” for a Bible, especially as someone who affirms Scripture as authoritative, God-breathed, inerrant, etc. The word “review” gives off a connotation of standing over God’s Word with a critical eye or something, like “hmmm . . . The ‘Bible’, eh? Never heard of it. How’re the sales at Amazon and B&N?” Rest assured, though . . . this is a review of features, not content.

So, Crossway recently released their English Standard Version Bible in a new format, the “Personal Size Reference” (PSR) Bible. After seeing that it had some features I like and some favorable reviews here and there, I went ahead and ordered one from the Westminster Bookstore. It arrived today.

This review will be scored, per feature, on a WIN/FAIL basis. (A few of you might get that. )

Contents:
1) Layout/Text
2) Size
3) Binding
4) Translation
5) Conclusion

1) Layout/Text – Score: EPIC WIN

News flash: The Bible is a book. As such, it is meant to be read.

That being the case, I’m thankful that Crossway decided to go with a single-column, paragraphed layout for the PSR, rather than the traditional two-column (or even worse, a single-column, but one-verse-per-line) layout — two formats that are good for finding a particular verse or passage, but are terrible for just plain reading. Now, don’t get me wrong — God’s Spirit can work through his Word, regardless of the typesetting it’s presented in . . . but why give those He wants to reach even more barriers? (Their hard hearts are quite enough!) The single-column, paragraph layout is a pleasure to read, and the cross-references on the inner edge of the pages aren’t at all intrusive.

A shot from the book of Jonah, showing both prose and poetry (and an example of the brief introductions that precede each book):

I’ve read complaints in other reviews about the text being a little too small and/or not dark enough, but I personally have no problem seeing it clearly. It’s possible that that’s because I’ve gotten used to the teensy type in the Journaling Bible, but regardless, the readability is top-notch.

2) Size – Score: EPIC WIN

Size-wise, the PSR is (in a word) perfect. Absolutely perfect. Its 5″ x 7.25″ dimensions are nearly identical to the best Bible (physically) I’ve ever owned, the NIV Compact Student Bible I had in high school.  That one met an untimely demise one evening after youth group when it met the pavement at 40 mph after being left on top of my car (I still weep for it). Since then, finding a Bible that was an equally formidable combination of size, content, and features proved pretty difficult (and since I was about to enter college at that point, I’d have felt silly if I were to replace it with the same “youth” edition). Since then, I’ve owned full-size study/reference Bibles, thinlines, and pocket-sized Bibles, and none have measured up (literally) to that Student Bible I had back in 1995.

Enter the PSR.  It’s small enough to fit very nicely in hand without being so small that they had to use miniscule text (see above). It’s only slightly thicker than your average thinline, and that’s made up for in reduced length and width. It’s just a very nice size for any number of applications: carrying to church, tossing into the man-bag along with other books and a laptop, etc etc. See below, as compared to my wife’s ESV Classic Thinline and in hand . . .

Honestly, the PSR’s size was its number one selling point for me. A++

3) Binding – Score: FAIL (with potential for eventual WIN)

I opted for the “genuine leather” binding, even though I’ve been rather partial to the newer imitation leather bindings (they carry names like “NuTone”, “TruTone”, “DuoTone”, etc) lately. I’ll explain why — and why I decided not to go with that option — later.

Immediately upon opening the box, I was greeted with the unmistakable smell of leather. Reminded me a bit of times I’ve walked past Wilson’s in the mall and have been nearly overwhelmed by the aroma (not that that’s a bad thing). This binding is pretty typical of genuine leather bindings — cowhide, not very flexible, and that being the case, has a bit of a “memory” when flexed in a particular direction. See below . . .

See how the cover’s curled up there? That’s after having opened the Bible (once) to the cover/copyright page for a few seconds. I personally prefer a very flexible — almost limp — binding. The “TruTone”-bound editions are closer to the flexibility I like, but the pages are glued to the spine rather than sewn into it. Why does this matter? Well, if one wants to get a Bible re-bound at some point, sewn is the way to go. The genuine leather edition’s pages are indeed sewn, so that’s why I decided to go with it, despite its initial stiffness. I expect that the leather will soften and loosen up a bit with continued use, but since I want it to last for a good long while, I also plan on getting it rebound in flexible goatskin by Mechling Bookbindery some time in the next couple of years.

The genuine leather binding is passable for now, but its days on this Bible are already numbered.

4) Translation – Score: WIN

I’ve been using the English Standard Version of the Bible since 2003, after having used the NIV for years and the KJV/NKJV during most of my childhood. Over the past five years, I’ve become more and more convinced that the ESV is the best overall English translation of Scripture currently available. There are certainly translations that might work better for certain applications and situations, and there are certain quibbles I have with some interpretive decisions, but overall, the ESV is the best balance of fidelity to the original text and readability for 21st-century readers you can get.

If you’re interested in learning more about the history, theory, and methods behind the translation of Scripture into English, check out The Word of God in English: Criteria for Excellence in Bible Translation by Dr. Leland Ryken (disclaimer: Ryken was the literary stylist for the ESV).

By the way, the ESV text was ever-so-slightly updated in 2007 from its original publication in 2001. For a complete listing of changes made for the 2007 revision, see Bible-Researcher.com.  The copyright page of any updated edition will read “ESV Text Edition: 2007″.

See?

5) Conclusion – Overall score: WIN

With its combination of a great translation and a fantastic size and layout, I have a feeling that the PSR will be my primary Bible for reading, studying, teaching, and preaching for many years to come (despite the . . . passable binding).  I wholeheartedly commend this edition to anyone looking for a new Bible, and recommend one of the TruTone editions if you have no plans to re-bind.

The PSR is available at the Westminster Bookstore for 45% off of the retail price (as are all of their ESV Bibles).

Unless, of course, you like your kids learning their Bible stories as simplistic, poorly-illustrated morality plays with absolutely no connection to the person and work of Jesus, that is.  Then, by all means, keep the one you have.

Zoë’s loving hers, and so are Mommy and Daddy.

(* Feeding to the dog or shredding for use as rodent bedding are acceptable substitutes for burning.)

The book doesn’t release until February, but the folks who pre-ordered got their link to the PDF today.  Look for a review some time in the next week.

(HT: Travis)

(Post #2 in the baptism series is coming soon. Seriously. It’s mostly done, actually. Been a busy couple of weeks.)

For myself . . .
Beyond The Bounds
Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood
Building Strong Families
Contending for our All (biography of Athanasius, Owen, and Machen)
Counted Righteous in Christ
A Godward Life
The Justification of God
The Hidden Smile of God (biography of Bunyan, Cowper, and Brainerd)
The Legacy of Sovereign Joy (biography of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin)
Preaching the Cross (with chapters by Piper, Dever, Mohler, Duncan, Mahaney, and Sproul)
The Roots of Endurance (biography of Newton, Simeon, and Wilberforce)
Sex and the Supremacy of Christ
Suffering and the Sovereignty of God
Taste and See (aka: A Godward Life, Vol II, expanded edition)

For Amy . . .
Devotions for Ministry Wives (’cause church leaders’ wives face some pretty unique challenges at times)

For a co-worker . . .
Desiring God

There’ll be a whole lot of reading going on.

I got 16 books.
Sixteen.
For $88 after shipping.
Retail value easily at least $250-300.

I don’t know whether to be proud of my frugality or ashamed of my booklust.

(Sale’s still going on through tonight, by the way.  Get in while the gettin’s good.)

It’s pretty easy to balk at the title and some of the premises. Our natural reaction as parents (and hopefully, as humans in general) is to protect our children from danger. We buy fences, gates, doorknob protectors, closet locks — all good things — to keep our kids out of harm’s way.

Still, something about this book is exciting. Beyond just teaching our boys about tying knots, skinning rodents, and great historical battles and wars, it helps to train them to be unafraid of risk. As much as we sometimes don’t want them to grow up, our boys will someday — and soon — be the men of the world, and over the past couple of decades, too many have been and are being coddled in home and school environments where competition is seen as intrinsically evil, where they are insulated against any sort of unpleasantness. The result has been an entire breed of “soft men” — men who take no risks in life, who take no responsibility for their own actions, who run from marriage and fatherhood, and who spend time defending nothing but their own foolish self-interests.

Don’t get me wrong. Not every man should get married. Not every man will be a father. Not every man will or should find things like guns, trucks, and Ultimate Fighting very appealing. That’s not my point. My point is that we are to be workers and we are to be defenders. Just as Nehemiah told his Jerusalem reconstruction crew to wield a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other, so all men are to labor and to protect what they’ve been given. I’m not the father of a boy yet, but if I’m so blessed in the future, I want him to love working with his hands. I want him to feel a duty to protect his mother and his big sister. I want him to “slay the dragons” and vanquish the bad guys when he plays.  Then (if God allows) he won’t be a lazy man. He’ll be bold enough to ask the girl out. He’ll know how to protect his wife and his children. He won’t be afraid to take risks in business or in ministry. This is the kind of man I want my daughter(s) to marry and the kind I want to raise if given the opportunity.

Don’t stifle your boy’s innate sense of adventure, parents. Let him play with toy swords to slay the bad guys. Encourage him to come to the aid of the fair maiden. If he wants to take a flying leap from the couch, don’t stop him (not every time, anyway). You may be helping to stem the growing tide of soft men.

I’m buying this book.

(No, I have not been reading John Eldredge. Hell no, in fact.)