Esv Bible Pdf

First published December 8, 2018
Last updated January, 2021

ABOUT THE BOOK ESV Study Bible PDF free download. The ESV Study Bible was created to help people understand the Bible in a deeper way. Combining the best and most recent evangelical Christian scholarship with the highly regarded ESV text, it is the most comprehensive study Bible ever published. The ESV Study Bible features more than 2,750 pages. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Three-year bible study Plan 2200 A harmony of the Gospels 2203 indexes to charts, Maps, and illustrations historical charts (alphabetical) 2209 (bible book order) 2212 Maps (alphabetical) 2210 (bible book order) 2213 illustrations (alphabetical) 2211 (bible book order) 2214 color Maps (alphabetical) 2211 (bible book order) 2214. ESV Thinline Bible Flap with Strap. Download or Read online ESV Thinline Bible Flap with Strap full in PDF, ePub and kindle. This book written by Anonim and published by Unknown which was released on 31 October 2016 with total pages 1120.

After several years of waiting and speculation, and just when it appeared that everybody had given up on the prospects of this becoming a reality, the English Standard Version Catholic Edition (ESV-CE) of the Bible was finally published at the beginning of 2018 in India, but is still not available to buyers in America apparently for marketing reasons. However, I live in Japan, so I could order a copy.

Since there was so little information about the ESV-CE on the web at the time, I took a few photos and provided this review.

(Note: About a year after I wrote this article, an edition of the ESV-CE was published in America by the Augustine Institute as The Augustine Bible. Later it was made available in digital form on Verbum.)

The ESV-CE arrived from ATC Books in India. It took about two weeks to get from India to Japan after I placed the order. I'm happy with this Bible, and was glad to finally have it in my hands after ten months of trying to figure out how to order it and pay for it. Credit cards were not acceptable for payment, only bank transfers or Western Union remittances which didn't work for me in Japan, and the Paypal feature on their web site didn't work properly. The break came when I got a quote from them by e-mail and was instructed to Paypal them directly rather than use the Paypal option on their web site.

This is the black bonded leather edition, and was the best edition available at the time.

This edition is slightly smaller than the RSV-2CE, and is easier to handle and carry around. That little bit of size difference means a lot when carrying this in a bag on a crowded subway.

This Bible is printed with black ink only, including the maps which were apparently intended to be printed in full color. Although I prefer color maps, I was just happy to see that there are maps in this Bible because I always refer to them; they make reading the Bible much more interesting and understandable. My compact RSV-CE had no maps, which forced me to use a Bible atlas.

Later I discovered one advantage to black and white maps. Since they are printed on the same paper and with the same ink as the text of the Bible, I am able to underline and write on the maps with the same tools I use in the rest of the Bible.

In my case that would be a Uni Style Fit pen with 0.28mm Blue Black Refill for writing notes, and a Pentel Multi 8 Colored Pencil for underlining. I've experimented with many tools and decided these were the best for my Bible study.

I've written a separate article on the multi-colored pencil here.

Now I can customize the maps and add data that was not originally in these maps but appear in my Bible altlases. Consequently I refer to these maps all the time.

Speaking of customizing your Bible, I have created ESV-CE Bible PDF charts for reading the Bible in a year which you can download, print, and glue to the blank pages in the back of your Bible (with restickable glue). You can find these and many more free resources on my Resources page.

This Bible is sewn bound, so it lays open flat, and there is absolutely no danger of having pages fall out. This is so much better than glue bound Bibles which have become so common these days.

The font is very readable, and the paper is white. In the photo below, the RSV-2CE is on the left, and the ESV-CE is on the right.

The ESV is More Accurate than the RSV

As for the contents, my study of the ESV-CE even in such a short time has shown me how superior the ESV-CE is over the RSV-CE / RSV-2CE. Disturbing parts such as Noah being the first tiller of the soil in Genesis 9:20 are changed to reflect the actual Hebrew text in the Old Testament. In this case the ESV-CE says that Noah began to till the soil (the first tiller of the soil was apparently Cain).

Noah was the first tiller of the soil. He planted a vineyard; (RSV-2CE)
Noah began to till the soil, and he planted a vineyard. (ESV-CE)

And I was happy to discover other more literal renderings in this Bible. For example, the Greek word sarx in the New Testament is properly translated in the ESV-CE as flesh and not interpreted as worldly as it is in the RSV-2CE.

RSV-2CE 2 Corinthians 10:2-4	ESV-CE 2 Corinthians 10:2-4
I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of acting in worldly fashion. For though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war, for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds.	I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

Flesh does not equal world, and such a translation approach could cause more problems than it solves.

However, the ESV-CE is not totally free of meddling. In some cases it follows the RSV-2CE in making phrases more palatable and easier to grasp.

RSV-2CE 1 Corinthians 6:9-10	ESV-CE 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.	Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

The phrase in bold text is actually two distinct terms which both the RSV-2CE and the ESV-CE combined into one concept. To their credit both translations have a footnote alerting the reader to this (although the footnote in the RSV-2CE seems to cause even more problems with its odd commentary). In the more literal Douay-Rheims Bible, both terms are included: effeminate and liers with mankind. Even the NRSV which is plagued with other types of politically correct meddling translates these terms as male prostitutes and sodomites. I guess the RSV-2CE and ESV-CE translators wanted to shield the reader from graphic imagery.

Smoothing over the original language because it is so graphic might spare us some unpleasant images but it can also deprive us of an occasional chuckle. Compare the English for males in any modern English translation of 1 Samuel 25:22, 34 with the Douay-Rheims (where it is 1 Kings rather than 1 Samuel). The Douay-Rheims (as well as the Protestant King James Version of 1611) translates the Hebrew text with the more accurate any that pisseth against the wall.

I believe that God gave us the words and concepts of the Bible in the context of certain languages and cultures and I would rather have a more accurate translation and deal with potentially off-color phrases.

Speaking of culture, the RSV-2CE modifies descriptions to fit modern western culture while the ESV-CE translates them as they are, reflecting the culture at the time the text was written. This may be a 'speed bump' for new readers, but in the long run it is the best option as one becomes more familiar with the culture of the Bible.

RSV-2CE	ESV-CE
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office Matthew 9:9 And as he sat at table in the house... Matthew 9:10	As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth Matthew 9:9 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house... Matthew 9:10

Oddly enough, although the RSV-2CE modernizes cultural references, it still retains a lot of older English words which are no longer used the same way, while the ESV-CE updates these words to reflect current English.

RSV-2CE

ESV-CE

Only Noah was left,
and those that were with him in the ark.
Genesis 7:23
May he be enthroned for ever before God;
bid steadfast love and faithfulness
watch over him!
Psalm 61:7
I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings
Psalm 66:15
When the sun rises, they get them away
and lie down in their dens.
Psalm 104:22
...and a song of praise is seemly.
Psalm 147:1
For I will not venture to speak of anything
except what Christ has wrought through me
to win obedience from the Gentiles,
by word and deed
Romans 15:18

Only Noah was left,
and those who were with him in the ark.
Genesis 7:23
May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness
to watch over him!
Psalm 61:7
I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals
Psalm 66:15
When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their dens.
Psalm 104:22
...and a song of praise is fitting.
Psalm 147:1
For I will not venture to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me
to bring the Gentiles to obedience--
by word and deed
Romans 15:18

But the ESV-CE didn't get them all; Psalm 26:10 in the ESV-CE still says ...in whose hands are evil devices, which might conjure up images of phones going off during the Mass.

The Catholic Hot Spots

There are a few places where the RSV-2CE still outshines the ESV-CE; those few hot spots that Catholics like to check. For example, in Luke 1:28 the ESV-CE has Greetings, O highly favored one instead of Hail, full of grace. This will be a 'deal breaker' for some folks.

But as as far as I'm concerned, these were simply honest and objective translation choices consistent with the ESV translation approach rather than some Protestant conspiracy. I can always pencil in those few spots that don't set well with me if I like the rest of the Bible.

But for those who are curious about other Catholic hot spot passages, I have found them to be identical to the Protestant ESV. For example, all references to the 'brothers' of Jesus are still 'brothers' and not 'brethren' as they appear in the RSV-CE and RSV-2CE. Here are some passages of interest from the ESV-CE:

Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said,
'I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but he shall rule over you.'

John 3:7
Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

Romans 14:11-12
for it is written,
'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.'
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

1 Timothy 3:1
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task

1 Timothy 3:15
if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

1 John 5:16-17
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life--to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

Another point in favor of the RSV-2CE is the inclusion of cross references in the footnotes. The ESV-CE has very few cross references.

As you would expect, the ESV-CE has all the books of the Catholic Biblical canon, and has placed First and Second Maccabees after Esther in the historical books, rather than after Malachi in the prophetic books.

The introduction states that the ESV-CE is in accord with Liturgiam Authenticam and will 'form the basis of the liturgical text in the Catholic Lectionary.' I have read that the bishops in England and Wales are planning on using it in their liturgy as well (maybe they will correct the hot spots in their edition).

The ESV-CE is for the most part a very accurate translation of the Bible, but it neglects Catholic Tradition in certain hot spots. Also, there is no audio Bible.

If you are looking for a Catholic Bible that is completely faithful to Tradition and is available in audio form, there is always the Douay-Rheims Bible. I have written a separate article about the advantages of this Bible.