The ESV Illuminated Bible, Art Journaling Edition is one of the most beautiful and thoughtfully designed Bibles I have owned. It succeeds not simply as an attractive edition of Scripture, but as a Bible that encourages the reader to slow down, linger over the text, and engage with it in a more contemplative way.
The layout is excellent. The ESV text is presented in a clean single-column format with generous margins, making the pages unusually comfortable to read and leaving ample room for notes, prayers, observations, or personal artwork. The cream-colored paper and restrained use of gold give the entire Bible a warm, almost timeless quality rather than the feel of a typical modern study Bible. Crossway also used a Smyth-sewn binding, which is especially welcome in a Bible intended to be used, written in, and returned to over many years.
What truly distinguishes this edition, however, is the artwork of Dana Tanamachi, a gifted lettering artist and designer. More than 500 hand-lettered elements and illustrations appear throughout the Bible, including full-page book openings, illustrated verses, decorative marginal pieces, and other designs. They are printed primarily in gold and have an elegance that complements rather than competes with the biblical text.
Tanamachi’s work is not merely decorative. She and a research team studied the biblical books for recurring themes, imagery, symbols, plants, historical details, and theological motifs that could be incorporated into the illustrations. That care shows. The artwork frequently feels like a visual meditation on the passage rather than ornament placed on the page simply to make it attractive.
I especially appreciate that the design intentionally recalls the long Christian tradition of illuminated manuscripts. Christians have been beautifying handwritten copies of Scripture with lettering, symbolism, decoration, and imagery for many centuries. There is something deeply satisfying about opening this Bible and being reminded that Christians before us also expressed their love for Scripture not only by reading and studying it, but by carefully and beautifully presenting the written Word.
Another great strength is that the Bible does not feel “finished” in the sense that there is nothing left for the owner to contribute. The wide margins and open areas invite participation. Someone who enjoys journaling or drawing can add personal notes, prayers, symbols, lettering, or illustrations of their own.
But you certainly do not need to consider yourself an artist to enjoy this Bible creatively. One of the things I have enjoyed doing is simply using colored pencils to add color to some of the open areas and illustrations while meditating on the passage beside them. I found that this became much more than coloring a page. The deliberate act of working slowly while thinking about the Scripture created a special and surprisingly deeper connection with the biblical text, with Tanamachi’s artwork, and even with that centuries-long Christian tradition of illuminated manuscripts. For a moment, you feel as though you are participating in something believers have been doing for generations: lingering over God’s Word and allowing beauty and Scripture to meet on the same page.
That, to me, is the real achievement of the ESV Illuminated Bible. It is beautiful enough to treasure, practical enough to use regularly, and spacious enough to gradually become something personal.
For anyone who loves Scripture, historic Christian art, journaling, calligraphy, drawing, or simply a quieter and more contemplative approach to Bible reading, I highly recommend it. This is not merely a Bible that looks beautiful on a shelf. It is a Bible designed to be opened, read, prayed over, written in, colored, and lived with.
(I received a copy of this Bible from Crossway in exchange for an honest review)
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