Book of the Year: ESV Study Bible

Congratulations to the folks at Crossway. The ESV Study Bible has been announced as the winners of the Book of the Year (2009) by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

You should also check out the winners in the other categories.

While there are a number of attractive editions of the ESV Study Bible available, it is a rather bulky book and therefore not suitable to carry around. If you're looking for a handy edition to take with you everywhere you go, the best edition is the ESV Study Bible offered by Olive Tree Software on iTunes for the reasonable price of $29.99. It's the only version I own, and the great thing about it is that it fits in my pocket.

A Portable ESV Study Bible

The ESV Study Bible has been out for awhile now and the reviews are generally favorable, at least from its target market -- Evangelicals. Here's a useful roundup of reviews. Sales have been healthy, and the ESV Study Bible is already headed for its third printing.

Be that as it may, the one complaint that most have at least mentioned in passing is that it's simply too heavy to lug around, although the child to the left apparently doesn't seem to think so.

Thankfully, the folks at Crossway have announced plans to release it in electronic form across as many platforms as possible, including Mac, PC, and the various handheld devices available nowadays.

Predictably, Olive Tree software is already working on a beta. I got my hands on one a few days ago and it's already quite functional and promises to be infinitely more handy than the actual book version, at least as far as carrying it around goes.

I'm very glad to have it, and I doubt that I'll actually ever purchase the book version.

The Best iPod Touch Bible App

Sorry about the lack of posts. I have a project coming near completion and have been busy the last several weeks. I can now see light at the end of the tunnel, however, so in the near future I'll be back blogging on what I consider a regular basis (i.e., one or two posts a week).

Anyways, I promised a review of Olive Tree Software's Bible Reader, so here it is.

Before I get to Bible Reader though, I must say that if I didn't know how to read the biblical languages (and if Olive Tree hadn't offered me this free beta!), I would definitely go with BibleXpress since it easily offers the best value for the money.

So far BibleXpress has five English translations: ESV, NASB, NRSV with Apocrypha, KJV, and ASV. Ben Spratling (the developer) is also attempting to get the NIV, the Message, the NLT, and a Greek NT and LXX, which would be added as a free update. All of this for the very reasonable price of $30. Go ahead and compare this value with any other bible program that offers a comparable set of core modern translations and texts that isn't tethered to the Internet in some way.

The same five translations already offered by BibleXpress (i.e., ESV, NASB, NRSV, KJV, and ASV) would cost $62.75 on Bible Reader when purchased individually, and this is without factoring in the additional translations that Ben Spratling will be adding for free at some point. In light of this, I think that those Christians who had the gall to complain about BibleXpress's initial purchase price are simply empty-headed.



Having said all that, since I can read the biblical languages, however, I will be adopting Bible Reader as my main bible app for the iPod Touch. While BibleXpress will eventually offer a Greek NT and LXX, it is highly unlikely that Ben Spratling will be able to offer the morphological data to go with these texts, and besides which, the Hebrew Bible isn't in the plans to this point and of all the potential texts available, that's the most important to me.

It appears that Olive Tree Software has a solution to the problem of combining all the various translations and texts into one program. On my beta version of Bible Reader, there is a way to access the store and my Olive Tree account to download translations and texts. On my beta version of Bible Reader, I have the following translations:

• Bible in Basic English*
  
• English Standard Version
  
• Green's Literal Translation*
• Holman Christian Standard
• JPS Tanakh
• King James Version
• New American Bible
• New American Standard Bible.
• New English Translation (with limited notes)*
  
• New International Version
• New King James Version
• New Living Translation (2nd ed.)
• New Revised Standard Version
• Revised Standard Version
• The Message
• Today's New International Version
• Young's Literal Translation

In order to purchase all these translations individually it would cost you just under $225 (* indicates a free translation). If you omit the KJV and Young's Literal translation which are very cheap ($5 and $2, respectively), the average price for the individual translations runs to about $18 each. The good news is that Olive Tree Software will offer many of these translations in combination in a variety of packages, bringing down the cost considerably (indeed they have already begun to do so).

Overall, this beta version (4.02.024) is remarkably bug free (it's the fourth one I've received). There are still a lot of formatting issues for many of the translations, but they are aware of them and are in the process of smoothing those out.



When I got my first bible app, I didn't really expect to use it much. Initially, I refused to bring it to church, since I thought it would be a distraction to those around me, but I noticed that there were quite a few others around me who actually use some sort of portable electronic device for not only referring to the bible, but also to take notes (there's a high yuppie quotient at my church).

So I started bringing it along with me on Sundays. The great thing is that I now have a lot of different translations at my fingertips. This comes in handy because at my church there is no standard translation used by everyone, though a couple of pastors appear to be partial to the ESV.

This can be rather problematic since it's quite rare for the same pastor/person to preach two Sundays in a row (and forget about three Sundays in a row, which almost never happens). For one thing, we have four pastors at our church. In addition, several members of the congregation have attended seminary (I can think of 6 off the top of my head, and I know there are others I can't think of at the moment) and are often called on to speak (I fall in this category). We also regularly have outside speakers as well. In fact, this past September we had four different outside speakers giving the sermon on four successive Sundays.

This generally means a different translation is used each Sunday, even if it happens to be the same pastor, since I've noticed that some of the pastors like to use different translations on different occasions.

In the past I simply had to follow along in my ESV regardless of the translation used by the pastor. So, for instance, when Eugene Peterson's The Message was used, as is sometimes the case (a couple of the pastors were students of his), trying to follow along in my ESV was next to useless. This is no longer a problem, thanks to Bible Reader.



Anyways, since it is a beta, rather than lauding the numerous things that the Bible Reader does right, I figure it would be far more useful to offer constructive criticism. Here are a list of some modest improvements in the interface that I would like to see:

1. Adjustable margins. I put my iPod Touch in a leather flip case that protects it. However, one drawback is that the protective leather tends to crowd the edge of the screen. This means that the biblical text runs right up against the leather edges, becoming a distraction.
2. Optional red letter text. It's nice that the font color can be changed. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the red letter text. It stays red no matter what color you change the surrounding text to. Of course, you can change the font to Dark Red, and Jesus' words will be indistinguishable from the rest of the text. However, looking at all that red text is simply annoying.
3. I'm not sure the verse chooser (which I like a lot) needs to go down to the verse level. I'd like to see this as an option you could toggle on and off.
   
4. There has to be a better way to switch chapters rather than scrolling downwards through the text to the next chapter. Perhaps a sideways swipe to change chapters could be implemented. Ben Spratling's BibleXpress already has such a feature.
5. There should be an easier way to change font sizes, rather than going to the setup menu. Perhaps a pinching motion on the screen could be implemented. Ben Spratling's BibleXpress already has such a feature.
   

Don't Just Tell Me, Show Me

Sometimes it take a non-scholar to show scholars how to effectively put together a translation of a book written thousands of years ago so that it will have maximum impact on a modern audience.

This is what Robert Strassler has accomplished. He doesn't have any scholarly credentials to really speak of. He doesn't have tenure at a university and doesn't even read Greek or Latin. Yet he has produced the English editions to own of first Thucydides (The Landmark Thucydides, 1996) and now Herodotus (The Landmark Herodotus, 2007). Additional volumes on Arrian (2010), Polybius (2009), and Xenophon (2012) are forthcoming in the next few years.

What makes these editions special is the extra helps for the reader that he included. To draw a comparison with another series that aims to aid the reader, the Arden Shakespeare provides an extensive introduction and copious notes to the text of each play. However, while a few photos are included, they are typically photos of the various famous actors who have played the parts in question. In other words, true visual aids are few and far between, and most of what is included doesn't really help you understand what's happening in the play.

Well, what the Arden Shakespeare series is to serious Shakespeare readers, the Landmark series is to readers of Greek historiography (which I hope he expands to include Latin historiographers), only more so. This is not only because the Arden series has its competitors in the Oxford and Cambridge editions when it comes to Shakespeare, while the Landmark series stands alone with respect to Greek historiography, but also because the Landmark series contains wonderful, highly-detailed maps along with other visual aids (charts, timelines, useful illustrations and photos) to help the reader. In addition, he has organized a highly detailed system that enables a reader to quickly ascertain where and when any part of the narrative takes place, as well as very useful paragraph summaries in the margin, along with many other useful features (like incredibly detailed useful indexes, numerous appendixes on background, a glossary, and numerous detailed notes).

The Landmark Thucydides contains over 100 maps (most are a full page) embedded directly into the text (approximately one map every 5.5 pages). You literally almost never have to flip more than 3 or 4 pages either way to get to a map that details exactly what you need to know to make sense of the narrative. For the Landmark Herodotus, Strassler upped it to 127 maps embedded in the text (approximately one map every 5.7 pages). These maps and other visual aids make reading these books much more fruitful, since the myriad of names, dates, and places can be quite confusing. If you are at all interested in these Greek historians, you need to get your hands on these editions.


Which brings me to the real subject of this post. Too often in the past, the producers of study bibles have taken the Arden Shakespeare approach: that is, aids that are dominated by text (i.e., detailed introductions plus copious notes). It looks like things are beginning to change. The people behind the ESV Study Bible (coming in October) have apparently gone to the trouble of embedding over 200 full color maps within the biblical text, along with numerous diagrams, illustrations, and over 200 charts. I'd say it's about time. Study bibles dominated by text are simply boring. A study bible chock full of visual helps is the next logical step. The potential in such a study bible is enormous if done correctly.

If you'd like to see a sneak preview of the ESV Study Bible, Mark Bertrand has photos of a mock-up made by the ESV people who displayed it at a recent conference. It's only the gospel of John bound over and over again to approximate the size of the actual study bible, but it gives you the basic idea. Most of the specs on the binding and format line up with what I like in a bible (i.e., single column, paragraph format, black letter, sewn binding, a wide variety of covers to choose from, etc.).

There's only a couple of things I worry about, based on the photos of the mock-up: (1) the text appears to sink into the gutter far too much (I suspect this is just a problem with the mock-up -- I wonder if the mock-up has a glued binding; but it would be a deal-breaker for me if the mock-up is a true indication of what the inner margins will look like); (2) there appears to be more bleed through than I would have hoped for.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on this study bible, because, despite the fact that I'll almost certainly not like a lot of what's in the footnotes (it appears to be heavily slanted in the Reformed/Baptist vein to tell from the buzz in the blogosphere), this appears to represent a quantum leap in the evolution of study bibles, which should be encouraged and supported.

I only hope that the HarperCollins people take note of what the ESV Study Bible has (likely) accomplished and incorporate some of the same insights the next time they publish a revision of their Study Bible.

One final note: I echo Mark Bertrand's enthusiasm and appreciation for the work that went into the website displaying the ESV Study Bible and the openness with which they've shared the details of the binding and format of the editions being released. I wish more bible publishers would be as diligent in putting out information about their bibles.

(Addendum: I should have known that Iyov would beat me to the punch on the Landmark series; see his post here).

The Perfect Bible

The ESV Bible Blog recently issued an invitation to bloggers to outline the features they'd like in their idea of a "perfect" bible. They say they read every blog post they can find on the ESV, so this is a good way to give them feedback on the format that customers like to see in their bibles.

Since the English Standard Version is my translation of choice at the moment, and since, like Mark Bertrand, I am on my own quixotic quest to find the perfect bible (though unlike him, I'm unwilling to sink any serious money in anything less than perfection), I figured it's worth my while to put something together on this topic.

What I have in mind is a go-to bible that can serve as my main bible for studying, teaching, and preaching. Here is a list of features I'd like to see in my perfect bible:

1. A nice flexible cover that allows the bible to lay completely flat, even at Genesis 1 or Revelation 22. A premium cover would be nice, but a really soft, flexible manmade material would also be acceptable, provided it allows the bible to lay limp and completely flat (and I do mean completely flat).
   
2. A smyth sewn binding.
   
3. A single column format that averages out to approximately 12 words per line.
4. Paragraph format.
5. Black letter.
6. A 10 pt font minimum that is clear, crisp, and dark. I'd like to be able to clearly and easily see the text when I'm teaching or during those rare occasions when I preach from the pulpit and the text is at least a full arms length away.
7. Some space between the lines of text so that they don't feel so cramped and it's easier to follow the text all the way across the page without skipping down a line or otherwise losing track of it.
   
8. At least two thick, high quality ribbons.
   
9. Really wide margins, at least 1.5 inches on all sides (preferably 2 inches), even in the gutter if possible. At any rate, nothing should slip into the gutter at all, even cross references (as happens in the Personal Size Reference).
   
10. Cross references, if included (I'm ambivalent about them since they typically clutter up the text itself though they are nice to have to refer to), should be in the gutter, not the outer margin where they would form a barrier between my notes and the biblical text. This also prevents the biblical text from slipping into the gutter. The cross references in the text should be as unobtrusive as possible.
    
11. No book intros at all please. Especially shaded with a different background color.
12. No lines around the text. They're unnecessary and get in the way of notes. Plus they're distracting to look at.
    
13. No concordance in the back. It's an absolute waste of space. I don't think I've ever used a concordance that came in the back of a bible. For that matter, aside from a few color maps, a table of weights and measures, and perhaps a detailed historical timeline covering both testaments, extra material in the back should be kept to an absolute minimum. Use the saved thickness for thicker paper. Speaking of which...
14. Nice thick paper with no bleed-through at all. If the price is a thicker bible, so be it. My notes should also not bleed-through the paper.
15. Finally, everything about the construction of the bible should enable it to last 20 years. This is absolutely crucial for a bible that I would devote hours to writing notes in.
    

The above features were designed with a large wide margin bible in mind. But I'd also like to see a bible with similar features in a compact edition: essentially a Personal Size Reference edition with a few improvements (i.e., columns that average fewer words per line, elimination of the gutter problem, a sewn binding with a premium cover, thicker paper, a slightly larger, darker font, no concordance, and a few maps).