Cambridge ESV Apocrypha
A closer look as this new hardcover edition of the Apocrypha from Cambridge in the ESV translation.
I did not grow up in a church tradition where the Apocrypha was used with any regularity, but over the years I have heard readings from it while visiting churches in other traditions, and during seminary I referred to it here and there for historical purposes. When I saw that Cambridge Bibles was releasing a new hardcover edition of the Apocrypha in the massively popular ESV translation, I knew this was a great opportunity for me to become more familiar with these texts.
Thankfully, this is a lovely little edition, and I’m happy to report that it has served me well as I read some of these texts for the first time.
Check out the video below to see my full review of the ESV Apocrypha, and keep scrolling for a written overview and more photos.
Cambridge ESV Apocrypha Text Edition – Overview
The books of the Apocrypha have long been associated with the Christian church. Most traditions regard these books as “deuterocanonical,” which places them at a level of importance below the canonized Old and New Testaments, but readings from the Apocrypha appear in several major liturgies and the books have a level of historical significance, primarily for the time between the testaments. In their marketing materials for this editions Cambridge notes that Martin Luther called the Apocrypha “useful and good to read.”
First translated in the English Standard Version (an “essentially literal” word-for-word translation) by Oxford University Press in 2008, this new edition of the ESV Apocrypha from Cambridge features a 2017 text from Crossway. The volume includes the same books that were in the RSV Apocrypha: Tobit, 1-4 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Judith, Baruch, Psalm 151. It also includes the additions to Esther and Daniel.
It’s a hardcover edition with a 6.25” x 9.25” trim size. It has a comfortable-to-read 9.5pt type size that is line matched on thick paper.
FEATURES
• 9.5pt font
• 6.25” x 9.25” trim size
• Just over 0.5” thick
• Hardcover
• Printed and bound by L.E.G.O. in Italy
• 2017 ESV Apocrypha text (Crossway)
• Line matched text
• Two-column format with textual footnotes
• Maps
Bottom Line
Overall, this is a simple and clean edition that is easy to manage and exactly what you’d want to reach for when referencing the Apocrypha. I’m not sure if Cambridge has plans to release the ESV Apocrypha in any other bindings (a leather one would be nice), but this format works well and I imagine that the popularity of the ESV translation will make it an edition that many people will be interested in.
BUYING THIS BIBLE*
• The ESV Apocrypha is also available directly from Cambridge for £15.99.
*Pricing and Availability subject to change.
