Book Review and Giveaway: CSB He Reads Truth Bible

June 17, 2019 by Kofi Adu-Boahen

The CSB has fast become one of my favourite translations of the Scriptures. Combining accuracy to the original languages of the Scriptures with clear readability, it’s become my go-to for reading, study and public ministry of the Word.

The CSB He Reads Truth Bible, the latest offering from Holman Publishers, is designed with one goal in mind: to encourage “Men in the Word of God every day”. As a Bible teacher myself with a special desire to see men embrace the Word in all of life, I was especially excited to take a look at this Bible and see if it delivered what it promised.

I am happy to report it does.

What The CSB He Reads Truth Bible Does Well

The CSB He Reads Truth Bible does a number of things remarkably well.

Book Introductions

Each book of the Bible in this edition opens up with a fantastic introduction designed to expound key themes and prepare the heart for the study of each book. A welcome feature of these intros is the “Read and Understand” plans included. These reading plans provide a map to the book as well as providing passages in other portions of the Bible that expand on the themes in the reading plan. In writing this review, I focused my review on the letter to the Hebrews and the introduction was arguably one of the most succinct I’ve come across in many study Bibles.

Letter Art/Key Verses

Each book has a key verse assigned and with it a hand-drawn artist’s rendering. One might quibble with the choice of key verses but on the whole, the choice of verses maps well with the content.

In-Text Content

Throughout the Bible, there are a number of helpful charts, maps and insert that highlight key content throughout the book. I found the inserts in the letter to the Hebrews incredibly helpful and the kind of resource I would want to put into the hands of a brother I knew was new to studying Scripture.

Designed for Interaction

The page design in this Bible is made for hands-on interaction. Though a little unwieldy at times, the wide margin and clear font size make this the kind of Bibles you would want to make notes in. I personally take a lot of notes directly in my Bibles and so this layout is about as perfect as a Bible could get for me without breaking the bank (if my American friends use that expression…)

These benefits make this Bible one worth owning but that is not to say there are no shortcomings.

What Could Be Improved in the CSB He Reads Truth Bible

Paper Quality

As much as the design and layout scream for hands-on interaction, the paper quality is unfortunately too thin and bleeds through the other side. I imagine one using a pencil would have better results than I did using an average ball-point but the problem of the paper is one worth noting

Girth

This is not a small Bible. Personally, I like larger Bibles but I also appreciate this is not most people’s preference. (footnote: I preach out of a full size CSB Study Bible and the Bible I preached out of prior to that was an ESV Reformation Study Bible – both not small Bibles!) That may lead to this being a “desk Bible” for some.

Overall Impressions

Those issues aside, Holman has done a masterful job of taking the vision of He Reads Truth and marrying with great Bible text to produce an edition of God’s Word that has potential to be a great tool for Bible study. I would heartily recommend this for men who want to jumpstart their Bible study habits and spend time in God’s Word.

Win a Copy of the CSB He Reads Truth Bible!

If this review has piqued your interest, we’ll be giving away a copy of the CSB He Reads Truth Bible, courtesy of the friends at Holman Bible Publishers. To be in with a chance to own a green hardcover edition, all you have to do is share this tweet and we will pick a winner on the 21st of June!

I entered to win a free CSB He Reads Truth Bible and you can too. #HeReadsTruthL3 #ThingsAboveUs Click To Tweet

Kofi Adu-Boahen

Kofi was a writer for Things Above Us from 2018-2020.

George Alvarado

George Alvarado is an almost retired member of our Armed Forces (yes, he's older than he looks). He has a beautiful wife, a very tall son, and currently teaches at Pilgrim Bible Church in Washington. He is also an author, blogger, apologist, evangelist, and podcaster. He loves spending time with his family and friends, traveling, photography, and continuing his studies in linguistics and theology.

Michael Coughlin

Michael Coughlin lives near Columbus, OH, and leads local outreaches to glorify our Lord and reach the lost with the gospel. Michael’s joys are spending time with his dear wife and children, programming computers, and studying and discussing God’s Word. He is a member of Covenant Bible Church.

Chuck Ivey

By God’s grace, Chuck Ivey grew up in a Christian home and came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at a young age. He has been married to his wife Ashley for 20 years. They have seven high energy children by adoption (yes seven), also by God’s grace. Chuck works full time in local law enforcement as an investigator and chaplain. He serves as a deacon and teacher at Beech Haven Baptist Church in Athens, GA. Chuck is a graduate of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he earned a Masters of Theological Studies. Coffee and books are involved. You can follow hi...

Garrett O’Hara

Garrett appears to have originated the term, but not the theology, "dispybapticalvinistic-expialidocious." He is a husband, a father of four children, a U.S. Navy veteran, and a semi-truck driver. He also holds a Th.M. in New Testament paid for mostly by the Post-9/11 GI Bill (don't tell Mikey Weinstein).

Book Review — Cracking the Foundation of the New Perspective on Paul

The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls takes its title from the Reformation era conviction that justification by faith is the dividing line between the biblical gospel and man-centered efforts to earn favor with God. Matthew Barrett serves as editor and co-author with several significant theologians. In the forward, D.A. Carson writes that nothing is more important than the subject of this massive volume (15). The book is organized into four parts, grouping the chapters by looking at justification according to what the Bible itself teaches, theological perspectives on the doctrine, church history, and pastoral practice.

Be Killing Sin – Part 2

Last time, we looked at God’s rebuke of Cain and the exposure of his sin (Genesis 4:6-7). In this post, we want to dive a bit deeper into a better understanding of sin. In this gracious rebuke from the Lord, we also learn some important truth about sin and a warning about sin. Sin is […]

Conference on Suffering: An Interview with Andrew Rappaport

When I saw that Striving for Eternity was going to hold a conference in March, I was immediately intrigued. I “worked” for Striving for Eternity (paid in sushi and pizza) for a few years with the role or organizing and emceeing the “Fire” conferences on evangelism. I know the heart of Striving for Eternity and fully […]

Book Review — Bavinck – A Critical Biography

In Kingdom Through Covenant – 2nd Edition, Gentry and Wellum have given us a much needed updated to their seminal work on the biblical covenants. Whether one finds their arguments convincing or not, theologians who argue for or against covenant theology or dispensationalism will eventually have to consider the claims made by the authors.

Ep. 015 | Jason Interview — TAU Roundtable

Our next team member interview is with Jason Marianna, a man who is waaaay more interesting than you’d think… See all posts in this series

You Ask Me How I Know He Lives?

A Presbyterian minister named Alfred H. Ackley wrote hundreds of hymns. One of the most well-known of these is “He Lives.” I found this article that gives some history and even an explanation of the song if you are interested. But my goal in this post is simply to offer a defense for the last […]