CSB Verse-by-Verse Reference Bible, Holman Handcrafted Collection, Black Premium Goatskin, Black Letter, Presentation Page, Cross-References, Full-Color Maps, Easy-to-Read Bible Serif Type

First, I want to say I have fallen in love with the CSB translation. I first bought one because of a ridiculously low sale price on one at a bookstore. At the time I knew very little about the CSB translation, but like many translations so decided to pick it up given its really low price.What I love about this translation vice say the NIV, is they left a good bit of the literal in place, but translated where things don't make much sense in English (like idioms that make no sense when translated to English). Because I have usually been a more "literal" translation person, the CSB, still feels very familiar to me but smoother and makes certain things more clear.If you haven't checked out the CSB translation, and are in the market for a new Bible, I highly recommend this translation. About as perfect of a balance I have seen between literal and dynamic translations. The translation team deserves a lot of kudos, IMO. (I am just some guy, and am in no way affiliated with Holman. Just really love this translation)Now for this Bible. It is hands down the most beautiful Bible I own....my Spurgeon leather bound CSB Bible coming in a close second.I did get the odd smell other reviewers noted. Mine wasn't so bad though that it stunk up my house or anything. Where my Spurgeon CSB study Bible smells like a leather shop, this one smells more like it came from a chemical factory. Nothing putrid IMO and not over powering. I have to put my nose in it and really take a whiff to get any of the smell, but it definitely doesn't smell as nice as my Spurgeon leather study Bible.The smell is about the only negative I have though. The goatskin cover is soft, beautiful and feels great in my hands. The font, for me is perfect sized. I am 43 and do have perfect vision, but my eyes can starting feeling tired if reading small text for too long, and not having any loss of eyesight, I find font much over 10 -11 being distracting and almost as difficult to read for extended periods of time as smaller font.The paper is great. I have purchased several Bible over the past year or so, and this is the first one I did not have to go through and separate all the pages...I have read through this yet as is it still new, but so far, no pages have been stuck together for me to need to separate. Also, of all the Bibles I own, the pages in this one definitely seem to have the least amount of bleed through. The pages aren't overly thick making the Bible weight 10 lbs or anything, but a bit thinker than any of my other Bibles.I love the verse by verse structure. It makes it so easy to find a verse by glancing vice having to skim through a section to find a verse. And while the words of Jesus are not in red, the verse numbers numbers are, making it even easier to find a particular verse at a glance.A word on the quotes of Jesus not being in red. I thought this would bother me, but after reading through my first Bible that did not have them in red, it actually doesn't bother me at all. Having Jesus's words in red does nothing really to add clarity to anything written in the scriptures for me, and when Jesus's quotes are in black vice red, I have never once been confused when Jesus himself was speaking/saying something. I feel I still prefer them in red, but that I think is just because that is the "normal" I am used to and not because it adds value to the texts themselves.There is a decent enough margin around the pages for some notes, though I do not think I will write in this Bible. I can get a notebook for that. It has a decent enough concordance. In my "testing" of it, I was able to find every scripture I wanted using keywords in the scriptures.Three different colored ribbons are attached for book markers. Nice for those who read/study in multiple places at one time.This is fairly expensive Bible, but I intend it lasting me a lifetime, but I wouldn't have spent this money if I didn't love the CSB.My other favorite translations are the NASB and NLT. I do not feel I would have spent this level of money on either of those as there are reasons I didn't want either of those to be my main everyday Bible. I consult/read every translation I can get my hands on, but for sure the CSB has quickly become my everyday use Bible.Nice Bible, but I definitely would only spend this kind of money for something that I want to use daily, and this Bible, in this translation, is perfect for me with that.

Beautiful prime Bible. Very nice golden and salmon art guilding, soft, floppy goatskin leather cover with some yap, with three nice, long and easy to differentiate ribbon markers. It lays conveniently flat at Genesis and Revelation. Edge lined cover, very soft paper and easy to read type with a comfortable page layout. Nice margins (although this is not a Wide Margin Bible) with some space for notes. The text is line matched (with very little ghosting) and it does not run into the gutter, which makes underlining easier. The cross references and footnotes are conveniently located at the right hand and to the bottom of the pages, in a way very similar to the ESV reference bibles made by Crossway. None of the pages were stuck to each other along the edges due to art guilding. Some people has complained about the leather's chemical odor but in my case it's barely noticeable (you actually have to stick your nose to the cover in order to smell it) and I'm quite sure it'll go away in little time. The product arrived 6 days in advance (quite a nice surprise) and the package was not damaged in any way. I'm very satisfied and happy with my purchase. This one is definitely a high quality Bible at a very convenient price.

Holman in my opinion has hit a home run with this CSB entry in to the Premium Bible market. The black goatskin is thick and beautiful with amazing grain. (smells good too) The bible is edge lined, perimeter stitched and smyth sewn, all of which translate into a quality binding that should last a lifetime under normal usage. The pages are thick enough to be easy to turn and the opacity just right; this paired with the line matching eliminates bleed through of the text and is easy on the eyes. The wide margins leave plenty of room for notes. I love the verse by verse layout by 2K Denmark with verse and chapter numbers in a muted red which makes them stand out. Three nice ribbons, beautiful maps and a concordance give you just what you need for this to be your daily bible. Now for the price- WOW, I don't believe it can be beat for the quality of this bible! All from the oldest Bible publisher is the US. Just buy it, you will not be sorry. My new daily reader. Thanks Holman.

Great Bible. I have several different highline Bibles in a variety of translations. And the CSB has become the English translation I use the most. As far as this product is concerned..outstanding!!There are 4 things I really love about this Bible.1. The font is very readable2. It's well balanced and fits well in my hands3. It's well designed and the verse by verse layout is great.4. The goatskin leather is thick and yet very subtle.Some have complained about the smell. My Bible had a strong chemical smell when I first opened the box but when away after I took it out of the box and left it out for about 30 minutes. It now has the smell of rich leather.....wonderful.I highly recommend this product.

When I opened the package, the Bible smelled like the inside of a truck where people had the windows up and smoked cigarettes and stogies for years. But upon researching the phenomenon I learned that chrome tanned leather smells badly at first. After some time the smell goes away and the leather begins to smell like, well, leather. I am happy to report that the smell, now three days later, has nearly vanished. That being said, it is a fantastic bible. The chapter numbers and verse numbers are a dark red, beautiful. Plenty of space in both the interior and exterior margins. Concordance. So soft. It’s a little big, but not too big to carry around. It could be a great “take everywhere” bible and “take notes” bible. I highly recommend this bible.