ESV Panorama New Testament

Mar 1

A closer look at this interesting take on the New Testament from Crossway.

I’m convinced that one of the main reasons the ESV translation is so popular is because Crossway has done such an excellent job of offering a wide variety of Bibles, including editions that are very unique and show an ability to think “outside the box.” Examples of this are the ESV Reader’s Bible and the ESV Scripture Journals (both of which caused other publishers to follow suit with similar editions), as well as their collaborations with artists like Makoto Fujimura on the Four Holy Gospels project and Dana Tanamachi on the ESV Illuminated Bible.

Crossway’s new ESV Panorama New Testament feels likes a project that fits into their history of developing interesting new ideas for Bible publishing. It is a simple and clean design with a very specific task, offering Bible readers an opportunity to read the New Testament from a new vantage point.

Check out the video below to see the ESV Panorama New Testament in action, or keep scrolling to read my written review and see photos.

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ESV Panorama New Testament – Overview

Here’s the way Crossway describes this the scope of the ESV Panorama New Testament:

The ESV Panorama New Testament is designed for readers to engage with large sections of Scripture. By significantly expanding the size of each page while maintaining a more typical type size, this edition provides an optimal reading experience for those interested in viewing many of the New Testament books in their entirety on a panoramic, two-page spread. The unique layout features generous spacing between each line, which assists readers as they identify and mark repeated words or themes. This large-format New Testament is ideal for personal use, inductive Bible study, sermon preparation, and college and seminary classes.

From the outside, the ESV Panorama New Testament looks like many other coffee table books. It’s 10” wide and 12.5” tall, and is bound in a deep gray cloth-over-board. Inside, the text of the New Testament is not supersized to match the overall size of the book, but instead you’ll find about an 8pt font in a two-column, paragraph format. As mentioned above, this creates an effect where you get to see much more scripture on each two-page spread than you do in traditional Bibles. In fact, many of the shorter New Testament books can be seen in their entirety without having to turn a page.

All of this appears on an extremely thick, cream-colored paper that, if I’m not mistaken, is even thicker and more opaque than the incredible paper found in the six-volume set of the ESV Reader’s Bible I mentioned above. You’ll have no trouble taking notes on this paper, and there are generous margins for you to do so. I also count six of these pages at the back of the ESV Panorama New Testament that are completely blank and just begging to be used for notes.

FEATURES
• 8.2pt Lexicon type
•10” x 12.5” trim size
• Less than 1” thick
• 100 GSM, cream-colored book paper
• Double-column, paragraph format
• Smyth-sewn binding
• Gray cloth-over board

The Big Picture

I’ll be honest with you: my expectations were fairly low for the ESV Panorama New Testament, and the main reason for that was because it was so inexpensive. The retail price is just $29.99, and you can get it for even less than that (links below). I figured a Bible at this price point was going to be decent, but nothing special.

Y’all… I was wrong.
I love this Bible. It’s simple, yes, but it’s also really lovely. And the format is cool.

Particularly when it comes to the smaller books of the Bible, I absolutely love that you can see the entire thing spread out before you. I’m a big proponent of the idea that Scripture is not meant to be read in little bits, and I think a format like this helps us see the bigger picture. There are so many great little in moments in Paul’s letters, but seeing them spread out in their entirety is a reminder of their larger scope.

*I love that shorter books like Philippians can be seen in their entirety across a two-page spread in the ESV Panorama New Testament.*

Bottom Line

The ESV Panorama New Testament is yet another unique edition of the Bible from Crossway. Yes, it will look great on your coffee table, but it will also give you an opportunity to engage with the text of Scripture in a new and meaningful way. And for less than $30, I think this is something that would make a great addition to your Bible library.

Keep scrolling for links to where you can purchase the ESV Panorama New Testament.