ESV Chronological Bible (Hardcover): Holy Bible, English Standard Version

by Anonymous, Andrew E. Steinmann (Contributor)

Read through Scripture in Historical Order with the  ESV Chronological Bible From Genesis to Revelation, the  ESV Chronological Bible  guides readers through the 8 eras of the Bible in the order the events This easy-to-read format combines various prophetic books, Psalms, and letters alongside Scripture’s historical accounts. Each era begins with an introduction, serving to reorient the reader and connect the section to God’s redemptive narrative as a whole. What’s more, this freshly designed layout divides the entire Bible into 365 daily readings―each beginning with a summary and timeline―making it easy to study Scripture over the course of a year. 

Genres: Theology, Devotional, Christian, Christianity

1808 pages, Hardcover

Published October 5, 2023

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Jack Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Scripture hardly needs a review…

Both a thrilling and eye opening way to read through the Bible. The daily readings are well divided, and there’s enough room in the margins for notes and scribblings.

My only complaint with this edition is that there’s no commentary or rationale given for why they placed certain books/passages when they did, or any explanation for the ESV’s dating of particular books. This would’ve been good especially as the dating of so many books is much debated—it’s a shame no explanation is given for the editor’s choices.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The English Standard Version is my preferred Bible translation for its faithfulness to the original Greek and Hebrew text, as well as its readability (no ye olde English here). In addition, my absolute favorite way to readthrough the Bible in its entirety is to read chronologically; the full narrative really comes alive and I always pick up on new connections or events I'veoverlooked in the past. That being said, I knew I was going to love this Bible. I loved it even more than anticipated!

The text is broken into 365 daily readings (which I ignored and read the complete edition in 82 days). Each section of history is prefaced with an introductory page(s) with a broad timeline. The individual days begin with a summary of the text, with more detailed information about when the events in the passages occurred. There's also a timeline at the end that folds out, as well as several full color maps. While I did notice a few typos in the daily summary portions, the actual text of the Scripture is the ESV. I did also like seeing how the organizers placed the events in history, as some of the timeline is different in other chronological Bibles I've read in other translations.

If you're looking for a new Bible, or one that's chronological, I highly recommend this edition!

Format: Book, owned physical
Rating: 5 stars
Book 81 of 2024
Second complete readthrough of the Bible this year!

[j.j. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked going through the Bible in a Year using this resource. It was well laid out and had good pacing.

[Meredith Hooten · Rating 5 out of 5]

One year through the Bible!! This was my first time doing this, and I am thrilled. I'm so glad I went with the chronological because it gave me so much more understanding about the when and where but also made it more story-like. I also appreciated the ending of both testaments a lot more than I had before. I also really love the ESV apparently! It's an amazing mix of NIV & KJV... understandable language but still true to the original text (at least from what I understand not speaking Greek or Hebrew). Overall I liked the layout and the pacing of this version itself.

[Erika Gottberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

took all year but i did it!!

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read through the Bible many times, but never chronologically. Doing so this year, I made some connections between books that I might not have ordinarily seen. This Bible will be a helpful resource for future studies.

[Emma Bradle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the format of this 1 year bible. Already broken down into 365 days. I did go thru and date each numbered day to stay on track but no guessing or flipping to read the gospel story in chronological order!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the second chronological Bible I've read through, and it was superior to the HCSB: Reading God's Story that I read in 2014. I enjoyed how little commentary there was, just a lot of Bible (ESV)!

The Old Testament was divided into six sections, and each section had just enough introductory context to orient the reader.

The Intertestamental Period was just one paragraph, and I suppose you could ask for more, but General Editor Andrew E. Steinmann really did stay out of the way of the text.

The New Testament was divided into just two sections. Every day's reading had a few sentences that were more or less helpful, depending on if any harmonization needed to be done.

The Scripture Index and timeline in the back of the Bible were simple and helpful.

If you've never read through the Bible chronologically it is well worth doing, and the ESV Chronological Bible is a helpful place to start.

[Daniel Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ESV Chronological Bible presents the Scriptures in the order in which events occurred. Entire books can be preserved or broken up based on their nature. That means (for example) that some Psalms will be interwoven with the historical accounts, some of Paul's letters will be interwoven with events in Acts, the Gospel accounts of the same event are presented sequentially, and so on.

In addition to the chronology, the book is broken down into 365 readings for those who wish to go through it in one year. Each day's reading has a short introduction (including estimated year of writing), and each historical era has its own section introduction. The eras:
- Primeval History
- Patriarchal History
- From Deliverance to Inheritance
- The Last Judge and the United Monarchy
- The Divided Monarchy
- Exile and Restoration
- The Kingdom Comes
- The Early Church
----------
As I hold the Bible to be the inspired and inerrant word of God, this is an obvious A+. But I want to focus on the presentation/approach here. I have never before read the Bible chronologically like this. Some observations:
- It was helpful to have the approximate year for each reading, though there are a lot of unknowns
- It was insightful to group things like the Old Testament prophets chronologically and presenting them during the events in the historical books.
- I loved having the Psalms inserted immediately after events that inspired David (or others) to write them
- Arranging the material this way helped me make some connections I never did before, including (for example) Esther and her reign during the Exile
- Having the parallel Gospel accounts presented together was a good way to study them
- Being familiar with the Bible is helpful; I think a person new to the faith might get confused with some parts, especially where books are broken up

Overall, I'm glad I read this arrangement and will use it again (perhaps every five years). I will stick with the 'traditional' treatment most of the time, but this approach is a useful learning aid.

[Lauren DuPrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ESV Chronological Bible is one of the newest Bibles from Crossway. This is a Bible I’ve been wanting for years and I’m so excited that it finally exists! The ESV Chronological Bible not only contains the sacred text in chronological order, but it also includes 365 readings allowing you to read the Bible in a year if you’d like. While there is a version of the ESV Bible that helps you read it in one year, there wasn’t one that read chronologically. For years, I printed out a chronological Bible reading plan and would use that for accountability. It’s a great tool but I’m thankful I no longer need it.

One of the benefits that I’ve experienced from reading chronologically is gaining a better understanding of the story of Scripture. This Bible in particular is divided into eight time periods. A unique aspect of it that I enjoy is seeing parallel texts together. The Bible contains fifteen full color maps that show what certain regions consisted of during various periods. There is a timeline at the back that is color coordinated to match the colors of the time periods as seen on the Bible’s cover. It expands out of the Bible and can fold back in and is helpful for gaining a broad view of what events occurred during each period.

One small but important feature is the ribbon bookmark! My children often pull bookmarks out of my books so having one included makes that impossible for them which I’m so thankful for! The ESV Chronological Bible is a really helpful tool and it’s such a fun way to consume God’s word. If you’re hoping to read through the Bible in a year or need a Christmas gift for a fellow theologian, I highly recommend the ESV Chronological Bible!

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished my second chronological read-through of the Bible. Didn’t actually read this book, but a plan from the Bible app. First time I did a straight chronological. This time I did chronological by genre. First one took a year. Second one was supposed to be 4 months. I think it took 5-6 months or so. Really liked this new way to read it.

If you haven’t ever read the story in order, it will really really shift your perspective in a great way!

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uh... It's the Bible, so of course it gets 5 stars! I really liked the chronological arrangement. Having stuff in context with each other made it a ton easier to see how it all fits together.

The only minor complaint is that there is some variation in the length of passages from day to day, but it's more even than other reading plans I've tried.

I'll read it again.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m giving this 3 stars only for the chronological reading style. The Bible is the best book you could ever read.

I thought it would be interesting to try the chronological plan but it was very tedious especially in the OT. Some days you’re reading the same account over and over. Just didn’t enjoy this reading style but glad I tried it.

[Gabrielle Houweling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading the Bible chronologically. It pulled a lot of things together for me- especially with the Psalms, minor prophets and New Testament.
I'm glad I read the Bible through in a year, however I don't think I'll do it again for awhile. I prefer to read it slower and not on a timeline.

[Petura Peterkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the Bible in 69 days. It was easier because this Bible has the chronological order just laid out I don’t have to search through the Bible. It was an interesting experience reading it in less than a year, some stories connect because I did not take a year for them to connect. I would recommend anyone who has not read the Bible to try this one.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

“by anonymous” 😂 oh come on, we all know it’s God!!! 2 Tim 3:16

I really enjoyed and highly recommend this chronological Bible! The explanation as to how they divided it up at the beginning was valuable and interesting

[Ky Dierks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great format to read the Bible in a year. I really enjoyed learning about the Bible as one cohesive story. It really created a lens for me to understand it all as one big picture and dive into the context of the day each book was written.

Spoiler: Jesus saves the world from our own sin.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time reading through a chronological Bible. I loved it! It's a great way to read the Word of God in a year.

I thought Job was oddly placed in the timeline, but the format was terrific.