The Best Bible Layout for Serious Study & Note-Taking

In this video, Pastor Jason Mayfield breaks down what he considers to be the best Bible layout on the market today—the Crossway ESV Wide Margin Bible. If you’re serious about Bible study, note-taking, and actually tearing up your Bible, this layout might just be the perfect fit for you.

Why This Bible?

Pastor Mayfield has spent years testing different Bibles, and while he admits to occasionally changing preferences, the Crossway ESV Wide Margin Bible consistently comes out on top. It features:
✅ 9-point font that’s clear and readable
✅ Double-column format that helps maintain focus while reading
✅ 1-inch margins that provide plenty of space for notes
✅ Red-letter text for those who like the words of Christ in red
✅ Well-placed cross-references (even though, let’s be honest, Google is the best concordance you’ll ever have!)

One of the biggest advantages? The inner margin design. Unlike many other wide-margin Bibles (looking at you, Cambridge and Nelson), Crossway got it right by making the inner margins usable. If you’ve ever struggled to write notes near the binding of a Bible, you know how frustrating this can be.

How to Get the Best Experience

Pastor Mayfield shows off his personal Bible, a Scriptura-rebound edition, originally a hardcover that he had custom-bound in premium leather. The more he uses it, the softer and more flexible it becomes—making it a joy to handle. For those wanting to dive in, he suggests:

1️⃣ Start with the TrueTone edition – It’s affordable and great right out of the box.
2️⃣ Upgrade later with a custom rebind – If you fall in love with it, you can send it off for a premium leather upgrade.
3️⃣ Skip the factory top-grain leather version – It’s stiff, the raised hubs get in the way, and overall, it’s just not it.

A Tragic Loss: The Discontinued Editions

Pastor Mayfield also takes a moment to mourn the ESV Heirloom Wide Margin Bible, which was printed in the Netherlands by Royal Jongbloed. This edition featured:
🔥 Thinner, premium paper (not the Chinese-made pages in the current edition)
🔥 A bolder font that made reading easier—especially in the pulpit
🔥 Superior red-under-gold gilding that looked absolutely stunning

Unfortunately, Crossway discontinued it, but if enough people email them (hint, hint), there’s always a chance they could bring it back.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, the Crossway ESV Wide Margin Bible is the best layout for anyone who wants to read, study, and tear up their Bible with notes, insights, and personal reflections. But no matter what Bible you use, Pastor Mayfield makes it clear—it doesn’t matter if you’re not tearing it up!

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