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Archive for July, 2007

Verses and Canon

The Logos Bible Software Blog surveys some of the various book-chapter-verse schemes for the Bible that have cropped up throughout history.

(You’ll occasionally see a note in the ESV—in Exodus 22:1 for example—that indicates a different chapter/verse numbering system.)

Of course, they bring up it to announce that they’ve solved the problem: they’ve created a complete mapping between all the various verse systems, resulting in nearly 57 megabytes of XML data. They plan to use the data in the next version of their software to allow for a “higher degree of precision when it comes to Bible navigation, comparing Bible versions and viewing them in parallel, and Bible reference tagging.” The amount of effort put into this project boggles the mind.

If this kind of textual history interests you, check out Ben C. Smith’s Canonical Lists, which describe in detail the attempts of the early church (and early church heretics) to assemble the New Testament canon. He just made it to Athanasius of Alexandria, who assembled all 27 books in the New Testament as we know it today, though not in the same order.

July 30, 2007 | Posted in: ESV,General | Author: Crossway Staff @ 8:00 am | (2) Comments »

Posted in ESV, General | 2 Comments »

Reasons to Add the ESV Daily Verse to Your Blog

Paul at paulklenk.us writes about including the ESV daily verse on his site:

I’m so happy I placed a daily RSS feed of the ESV Bible on my personal website. It sets the tone for all my other content. It’s sort of hard to be tempted to publish unbecoming material when God’s word is prominent just below my logo!…

I think there is a place for God’s word on just about any website. I would love to share and compare with other bloggers to find unique and truly useful ways to use The Holy Bible, English Standard Version to set our sites apart with the best content on the Internet: God’s eternal, life-giving truth.

July 27, 2007 | Posted in: ESV,General | Author: Crossway Staff @ 8:29 am | (2) Comments »

Posted in ESV, General | 2 Comments »

Four Journaling Bible Reviews

Several independent discussions of the ESV Journaling Bible have appeared online over the past few days. We’re not sure about why there’s a sudden confluence. Here are excerpts:

Matthew at PastorBookshelf.com:

The space provided for personal notes is wonderful. The outer third of each page is narrowly lined for the reader’s exegetical insights and devotional reflections. Consequently, it is much roomier than either the Deluxe Reference Bible (1″ margins) or the Single Column Reference Bible (1 1/8″ margins).

My overall impression is quite positive. Notwithstanding a few suggestions for future editions (e.g., single columns in paragraph form), I look forward to using this edition for some time to come.

Dan at Snorting Horses:

So this morning, I went to the ESV web site and checked it out. You can take it for a test drive and read it online. I liked what I read and so I browsed a bit and when I saw the Journaling Bible (sample page is pictured above) at a reasonable price, I was sold. It gives me an opportunity to make notes and do my own cross-referencing and so forth. It’s something I’ve been looking for for quite a while.

Greg at Greg’s Musings:

I haven’t used the English Standard Version (ESV) until now. After doing some research it appears to be one of the most readable and accurate translations using the oldest manuscripts. Details here.

Overall, I am very pleased with it so far. It is very well constructed and useful. I think it will encourage me in my study and taking notes, which is a good thing.

Here’s an older review (March 2007) from Chris at the preface:

As for what has changed my mindset towards the Journaling Bible, I was talking to a pastor who was going to use this Bible to read through in the next year and give to his daughter on her 16th birthday. As a soon-to-be father, I loved this idea. We are expecting in July & I look forward to not only reading through the Scriptures, but also offering thoughts of God’s faithfulness & prayers for my child as I hear from Jesus. I found this to be a great idea & am in no way ashamed to have stolen it!

July 25, 2007 | Posted in: ESV,Editions | Author: Crossway Staff @ 9:22 am | 1 Comment »

Posted in ESV, Editions | 1 Comment »

ESV Mobile Site: Now iPhone-Friendly

Using an iPhone? Visit www.esv.org/mobile for an iPhone-friendly interface. All the devotions on the ESV site are also available.

The ESV Mobile site now works better for iPhones.

(For you techies, all we had to do was add a <meta name="viewport" content="width=320" /> tag to our existing mobile site.)

July 23, 2007 | Posted in: Digital,ESV | Author: Crossway Staff @ 9:09 am | Comments Off »

Posted in Digital, ESV | Comments Off

Creating a Blank Psalter

Barrett at The Reformed One created a blank ESV Book of Psalms for his mom. As you can see, he likes white space:

A spiral-bound book is lying flat on a table. On the left page is a thin column of text, while the right page is completely blank.

Consider it a follow-up of sorts to Tony Reinke’s Do-it-yourself Blank Bible.

As a reminder, if you’re going to produce something like this, it needs to be for your personal use only, not for sale. We also ask that you request permission from us (permissions@crossway.org).

July 20, 2007 | Posted in: ESV,General | Author: Crossway Staff @ 7:46 am | Comments Off »

Posted in ESV, General | Comments Off