This Bible truly is the Champ when it comes to Study Bibles! I bought the Genuine Leather Bible because it best suited my budget. It is printed and made in the USA! Good quality leather, 2 ribbon markers, sewn binding. Then you have the good stuff, solid translation, super in depth chapter introductions and notes and a really great section in the back which provides help in sharing the Good News, counseling guides to help encourage when someone is facing the storms of life and more. This Bible has truly been a game changer in my study life back when it originally made it's debut and this Custom Edition is truly awesome.

To date, my favorite Study Bible has been the NIV Study Bible, by Zondervan (NOT to be confused with the Zondervan Study Bible). Over the past month, I have purchased several Study Bibles, in several translations, this being the most recent acquisition, and being the most feared to purchase, due to the complaints this product has received, and due to one Study Bible having notes that were useless and self explanatory. This, despite the "highly qualified" people working on it. To further complicate matters, I had to wonder what is the difference between the ESV Study Bible and the CBD Exclusive version. To the best description I can come up with is, pricing and packaging. Apparently CBD was able to pick up a deal with an exclusive deal that included an exclusive price-tag, far below the MSRP of $180.00 which is where the review picks up.

Leather/Binding: My guess is, I have no idea what "Cowhide leather" is. I was expecting something different, I suppose. Not to say this is a bad thing. Just different. In all honesty, I don't care. And here is why it does not matter: Forget all the marketing stuff, and let's deal with the reality; this Bible will be placed in a Bible cover, so, in reality, we will rarely, if ever feel whether the leather is soft or hard, or whatever (ie, that is where you want the . feel and texture to be, really), however, since it is part of the product:

It is a coarse leather, and will stand up for a long time; especially when housed in a Bible cover. It is glued, with no stitching. Complaints, even within the positive reviews is what worried me, that it is a thin leather. I do not find this to be the case, with the Cowhide Leather version.

Pages. Another complaint is the pages are too thin. Nicer Bibles do tend to use a nicer paper, which usually means super thin pages. This is normal. In reality, they feel thin, but in my experience, are not torn as easily as the thicker hardcover and cheaper Bible pages are. They can be accidentally folded more easily, however. This format, the Bible has the gold trim.

Font/print: I am surprised, but the small print was easy for my 20/400 and 20/60 eyes to read, without glasses.

Over the decades, it does seem the Bible companies have reduced the font size. One nice thing Crossway and the publishers did do, is to help in a subtle way, remind us what the important part is, by keeping the Bible text a larger print, than the less important notes (their words).

As others have pointed out, the words of Jesus are not in red. An oddity all around. The complaint is odd, since no other book has spoken words by any one in a different color. And, odd since people are used to having Bibles where Jesus' words are in red, that they would decide to try to cut costs in this area. Really, to me an odd complaint, an odd thing to do, but, does deserve mentioning. Is this a deal breaker for you? It isn't for me, because as I stated, no other book I am aware of changes font color-- and, while nice, does it change what the words are?

Notes: Marketing aside. I'm not swayed much by marketing. However, since they boast a "20 volume book" I have to say, "Huh?" Maybe they mean, the number of people who contributed is the equivalent to that of a 20 volume commentary set? Certainly not the notes of a 20 volume set, Unless it's a very thin set.

There is a lot of degrees behind the Study Bible, however. Everyone I saw listed has a PhD. But, more importantly, as opposed to another Study Bible that boasted a bunch of names (people I respect) this Bible has notes that are actually meaningful, clear, and can help teach us of the then culture, thought patterns, and application for today. The latter, not as detailed as the Life Application Study Bible, but, to their credit, they wanted to ensure there was a purpose behind all the intellect.

Translation: The ESV is becoming a highly recommended version by scholars, pastors, and lay-people, and at a rapid pace. They boast a more literal word for word translation, which is good, and appreciated by many. The major issue with this method is, it's an impossible feat. They realize this, recognize this, and let us know it is not possible to do. But, where possible, they do. Where impossible, they let us know they came as close to what they believe the original (human) author intended. As did the NIV translators, the ESV translators used a large committee of translators from a wide variety of denominations who hold to a mainstream Bible belief system, so as to hold to as unbiased as possible translation, resulting in an excellent translation, both academically as well as day to day reading and studying.

Value: This was a confusing issue for me. While waiting for a rep to call me back with some concerns from other reviewers, the price had unexpectedly increased by $20. I waited another day, to decide if I really wanted to buy yet one more Study Bible, and for some reason, I went back to the page, and the price had dropped once again. So, I placed it in my cart, and there were two in my cart. The higher priced and the lower priced one. Naturally, I removed the higher priced one. I say all this, because I am unsure what the regular or normal price will be. However, now I have it in hand, I will say that at $180.00, it is not a great value. However, if you find it at a sub $100.00 price it is a good value; and of course, the lower the price, the better.

I highly recommend this format, and this Study Bible

I feel compelled to share my thoughts regarding The ESV Study Bible (ISBN 9781433548116). I ordered this Bible for my 15 year old daughter who is going to a Lutheran High School. Part of the curriculum includes classes on Biblical Overview. She is required to use an ESV Bible. I wanted to present the Bible to her on Easter as she is growing in her knowledge of the Bible and I wanted to give her a resource to help deepen her understanding of what she reads. As the ESB Study Bible had been on back order for so long, I went ahead and cancelled it and I purchased from Concordia Publishing House the Lutheran Study Bible which was also Genuine Leather and thumb indexed (ISBN 978-0-7586-1765-1).

Out of the blue, the (cancelled) back ordered ESV Study Bible arrived! I contacted Customer Service and they promptly responded that they apologized for the mix-up and would gladly accept the return (postage paid) should I not want it when it arrived. That says something about a company. I reviewed both Bibles side by side. I must admit, they are both excellent Bibles so I was totally unsure of which one would be best for her. So, out of necessity, I had to spoil the surprise gift. I let her review both Bibles to determine which one she would prefer as she has to be comfortable with it and want to enjoy reading it. The below features of the ESV Study Bible shone as superior in her eyes over the alternate Lutheran Study Bible:

1. Presentation Page, Documentation Pages for Marriage, Births/Adoptions and Deaths. She felt the inclusion of these pages made the Bible feel like it would be the one for her for life. The Lutheran Study Bible only had a presentation page.

2. Information at the beginning of each Bible Chapter. She particularly felt the ESV Study Bible was more informative, easier to understand, clear timelines and comprehensive outlines.

3. Study Notes. We read several passages and compared the notes in each Bible. The ESV Study Bible was much clearer and more in-depth (but no over her head).

4. On-Line Study Bible Access.

5. Color Maps (The Lutheran Study Bible had black and white maps/diagrams)

6. Ribbon Marker (No ribbon marker in The Lutheran Study Bible)

The only negative with the ESV Study Bible is it is not a red letter edition for Jesus' text.

Perhaps it was divine intervention that caused the cancelled back ordered ESV Study Bible to ship to us; as she absolutely feels it is the Bible for her. Now, she wants me to purchase a Bible carrying case to keep it protected! In a few years my 10 year old son will be ready for a more mature study Bible and this one will be my choice for him also. I will also be purchasing this as an 8th grade graduation gift for my niece.

And what of the alternate Lutheran Study Bible? I will keep it for myself. As I said at the beginning of the review, both are excellent; however, I think for young adults after comparing the two, the ESV Study Bible is the best choice,

God's Blessings to you and your company!

I am pleased so far as to the construction. The leather appears to be of a good quality and the pages are of a decent quality. As with all books I would prefer 11-12 point type size as I get older. This book gives us 9 on the bible verses and 7 on the notes. I would have preferred 9 on the notes as well. However how big of a book would it end up being? We will not know the durability of the book for some time. It 's a good study bible once you understand how it is set up. I thought that the notes would include alot more archealogical information. That was my own misconception. I go to the KJV and NKJV and see what is written compared to the ESV. I do miss the red letter text for the words of Jesus and I do miss the thumb index especially with such a big book. All and all I think it's a good deal since I saved 100.01 dollars. The sale price I think is closer to the fair price in the first place. Thank goodness I had a question and called a CBD rep. She let me have a code number for free shipping as well. The true test will be of time. I will keep my cowhide cover oiled by reading as often as possible. This was how my mother told me to care for a leather covered bible.

I feel very fortunate to have been able to purchase my favorite Study Bible at such a discount when it normally sells for well over $100! I have owned many study Bibles in the past, but the ESV Study Bible is the most complete in that its notes and articles cover every area of biblical science from archaeology to theology. What I especially like about the theological articles is that they first present all views of a certain doctrine before presenting the conservative Reformed view.