ESV Aquila aka Cambridge ESV Wide Margin in Goatskin Leather

The ESV Aquila from Cambridge is a TRUE wide margin. The outer margin is the widest at 1.5 inches, but the other margins are about an inch as well. The layout is beautiful. It is an enlarged Pitt Minion, or you could say a slightly smaller Diadem (see pictures toward the end for comparison to the Diadem). The paper is excellent at 38gsm and coated, so it is sure to handle writing. I do recommend you use a good micron style pen, but in my experience, ball points work as well and are actually my preference.

It has a 7.9 font with an 8.2 leading space, and it is double column. The references are in the center column, however when there are too many to fit they spill over into the corner. The notes are also in the corner but have a clear separation from the spill over references so there’s no confusion. It is a red letter text, but Cambridge has the darkest red letters in the industry so you can trust they will not be inconsistent or hard to see.

In addition to the margins, it has 32 lined note pages in the back, and a blank alphabetized index so you can actually index your own note system. This was probably the most surprising feature for me. It would take some organization and effort, but you can do your own indexing system. Whoa…

It has a nice goatskin cover, really nice ribbons, lovely gilding and art gilding. If I could express one minor disappointment it is the polymer liner. I’d much prefer animal skin, but at the end of the day, I’ve seen many reviews of heavy use for years, and the polymer does hold up.

Anyhow with all that said, this is a BIG BIBLE. 9.75 x 7.75 x 1.5 to be exact. But, everything comes at a cost. What you get is a phenomenal bible with ample margins, a robust note and referencing system, a full concordance, extra note paper, maps, and more. What it costs is size. I will say this though, it’s not overwhelmingly large. It’s thin enough to handle and it’s not ridiculously heavy (about 2lbs 7oz).

The best price I’ve found is on Amazon (affiliate link below), but I will also put the direct link to Cambridge so you can look over the specs if you like. Meanwhile, be looking for your Nickels Worth soon!

ESV Aquila Goatskin:
https://amzn.to/3S7icr6

Split Calf:
https://amzn.to/3I9mvhd

Evangelical Bible:
https://evangelicalbible.com/product/...

Direct Cambridge Link:
https://www.cambridge.org/us/bibles/a...