ESV Global Study Bible :: Foreword

Foreword

Global Purpose

The ESV Global Study Bible was created to help people know and understand the Bible—that is, to help people everywhere around the globe encounter the timeless truth of the Bible and experience its life-changing meaning.

Global Audience

The Global Study Bible was created for every English-speaking person in the world who wants to know more about the Bible. It seeks to serve the following two primary groups of English-speaking Christians.

First, "Global Christians" throughout North America and the Western world—people who have a passion to live out the teaching of the Bible and the gospel in their own communities and around the globe. Second, "Global Christians" in every corner of the world where English is read or spoken, either as a first or a second language—especially in places where few Bible study resources are available.

Global Content and Features

The ESV Global Study Bible uses the highly regarded English Standard Version Bible as its starting point. Building on the 768,000 words of the ESV Bible text, the Global Study Bible provides notes, articles, and other study material comprising an additional 759,000 words of explanation and teaching. The result is a comprehensive resource equivalent in scope to a 12-volume Bible study library, all in one volume.

The Global Study Bible features include 12,000 study notes, 900 highlighted Bible facts, 80,000 cross-references, 120 Bible character profiles, 120 duotone maps, charts, and illustrations, an extensive concordance, and a glossary of key terms. In addition to this, each book of the Bible includes a "Global Message" introduction, indicating the global significance of each book for the story line of the Bible and the message of the gospel, culminating in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

The result is an exceptional resource, with more than 1950 pages of highly accessible Bible text and study resources—to enable people everywhere to encounter the Bible and discover for themselves its relevance for time and eternity.

Global Team of Contributors

To accomplish this purpose, the ESV Global Study Bible was seven years in the making. The editorial team included more than 120 outstanding Bible scholars, teachers, and pastors. The team of contributors came from more than a dozen countries, more than 20 denominations, and more than 50 colleges, universities, and seminaries around the globe.

Given the international vision of this Study Bible, supplemental articles by key Christian scholars and leaders from around the world have been included, with Dr. Ajith Fernando of Sri Lanka serving as the Global Editor. See Contributors: Articles for the Global Church.

Free Online Access

The Global Study Bible is available online for free anywhere there is an Internet connection—on your computer, on tablets, and on all mobile devices. Crossway's ESV Bible mobile app and the esv.org platform provides free access to the full ESV Bible text, along with the ability to manage personal notes, highlight and share text, and access additional Bible resource content. To learn more about free online access to the ESV and the Global Study Bible, please visit esv.org.

Global Vision

The goal of the ESV Global Study Bible is, above all, to honor the Lord—in terms of its excellence, beauty, and value; in terms of helping people everywhere to understand and know the Bible, the gospel, and Jesus Christ; and in terms of addressing the life-and-death issues facing churches and people everywhere. Our urgent prayer, as the publisher of the Global Study Bible, is that many millions would come to know and love the gracious, merciful God of the Bible, through Jesus Christ his only Son, the Creator of all things and the Savior of the world.

To God alone be the glory,

Lane T. Dennis, Ph.D.
Crossway President