ESV Single Column Heritage Bible

Great translation, presented in heritage single column format. Great value for money. Weirdly 2 different grades of paper used.

Bible looks and feels great. Delivered the same day I ordered. I got a damaged Bible but a replacement is already on the way. Here the real reason I’m posting this, what in the world is on my Bible? Is it hyssop? Is it anointing oil? Did I just return an anointing back to the sender?

I know this is described as a heritage Bible, but that part of it really isn't important to me though I will talk about it here. In the front you have a place for “presented to” and “presented by” and on what date or occasion. On the next page a place for five marriages. On the next page you have a place for seven births. Then on the next page you have a place for seven deaths. That's all there is to the heritage part of this. I actually wanted this Bible because it's single column and it has very little distractions in it. For me personally this is something I really really like and I always look for Bibles with this format. Having one column of text makes it easier to read as a narrative rather than study and having some of the distractions removed is extremely helpful. There are references and translation notes on the pages, but they're minimized within the text with superscript numbers for reference, and the actual information is on the bottom of the page so it's not intruding into your peripheral vision while you're reading. Psalms and Proverbs are set up nicely with verse numbers on the edge of the margin. They are a little bit distracting but not much. Quotations of other scripture and poetry is formatted as such with an indentation in the text. The only thing this one doesn't have and I wish it did is red letter for the words of Christ. It's really not necessary, but we're all so used to it that now it's really nice to have. There's nothing else in the back of this except for some blank pages and color maps. The maps are nice and they're on thick paper so the colors don't bleed through. You can actually see what's on each page. This Bible is thicker than most and maybe that's playing into the heritage idea like you'd set it on your table or have it as the family Bible. My copy came with the gilt edges all stuck together. So as you go to new passages pages they gently peel apart right on the edge. But it's not a problem. It's just an observation. It doesn't lay flat until you get toward the end of Genesis. Before that point it will close. Maybe over time it will loosen up and lay flat there too. Overall, it's a really nice Bible.

The Crossway Heritage Bible (Trutone) is a solid Bible. The single column text block is one of the best out there. It truly makes the reading experience a joy. The pages filled with crisp font and generous margins. The construction of this Bible is okay. There is definitely room for improvement even for a budget-adjacent Bible. I must say I am not a fan of this paper. I feel like the paper on other Crossway Bibles feels way better. Something about this paper that I don’t really gravitate to. It’s a bit odd too that there are these natural breaks in between sections of the Bible. Almost like someone took three separately printed sections and pieced it all together at the end. The Trutone imitation leather is par for the course. Nothing out of the ordinary. It would be great to have more than one ribbon marker. To me, not the best constructed Crossway Bible. This all being said, it could be particular to the copy I received. Please also note that this book is fairly heavy and bulky. I certainly would not consider this a carry Bible. I carried this in a backpack and the weight was rather noticeable. The price cannot be beat for this text block. I think the reading experience alone is worth the price. Despite the subpar book construction, I would still highly recommend this Heritage Bible.

I pretty much like everything about this Bible. My favorite part is that it is printed as one column on the page. When it is a story, it is printed verse by verse, paragraph by paragraph. When it is a quotation, it is placed in a more poetic form and centered on the page. In both scenarios, I do not need to squish down the center of the Bible in order to read the words. That issue is done away with based on the way this Bible has been printed. I do miss the words of Christ appearing in red, but that's just a preference. I have other Bibles that are red-letter editions that I can choose to read as I wish. This Bible has so many other great features that I am truly enjoying reading it.

This ESV Single Column Heritage Bible is a rather plain, yet attractive Bible. I'm loving the single column, as it makes it much easier for my aging eyes to read. Not only is the print larger, not excessively so, but it is much easier to follow along, as it reads more like a book. Unlike other reviewers, I don't find the pages to be extremely thin. I have more expensive Bibles with much thinner pages. It seems to be well made, comes nicely packaged, and would make a great gift. Highly recommend it!