New Revised Standard Version, 2009, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in The United States of America.

I find no fault with the review by gmw3550 | Feb 5, 2009, except to state that my copy does have exact page numbers for all "Life Application Topics" and for all "Wesleyan Core Terms" and also notes one additional source, "Sermons: The Works of John Wesley: The Bicentennial Edition, 1984."

In addition to the "Live Application Topics" and "Wesleyan Core Terms" there are extensive notes at the bottom of each page by a number of "biblical scholars, all members of the wider Wesleyan-Methodist family." These notes are intended to "assist the reader in following the flow of the text and highlight issues that are important to our Wesleyan heritage." ( )

Overall, I am very pleased with this version of the Bible and have no doubt it will be my new Bible for primary use. The Wesley Study Bible uses the NRSV and is published by Abingdon Press. If you are a member of any Methodist/Wesleyan heritage church or have an interest in Wesleyan thought, this is a great resource.

As others have pointed out, the look and feel of this Bible are solid. The pages are thicker than some Bibles, and the text is very readable. It uses the NRSV translation for the primary text.

Of course the notes are the important consideration for any study Bible, and this Bible sets itself apart in that regard, including significant details in the life and theology of John Wesley and other early Methodists. The sources for the notes are John Wesley's Notes on the Bible and the Bicentennial edition of The Works of John Wesley.

An example: on page 1199, with the story of the sheep and the goats, we have an inset on Wesley's friend William Morgan and his invitation to visit prisoners. Visiting Prisoners is one of the "Wesleyan Core Terms" which also include Physician of Souls, Lay Leadership, Tradition, Liberty, Mind of Christ, and I'd guess about 100 other topics. Thankfully, all these terms, as well as the "Life Application Topics" and the maps are indexed, but as one of the facebook users (Ron N.) points out, the index might be more helpful with page numbers. Instead, if you're looking up a life application topic or Wesley Core Term, the index only provides you with the book that it can be found in. Granted, they also list it by the order that it appears, which helps, but it's a fairly significant inconvenience, particularly for a group study setting. You can take a look at this indexing system yourself by downloading the free sample from wesleystudybible.cokesbury.com.

I am also surprised that there is no concordance, something I think is an important part of any Bible calling itself a study Bible. This is, however, a Bible specifically designed as a resource for better understanding of the Wesleyan perspective on Scripture, and it fulfills that task. I'm looking forward to using it, as well as giving it to some of my Wesleyan brothers and sisters. ( )