One of the best FREE features with the purchase of the ESV Study Bible is the online version.  When you purchase it, it comes with a code.  Once you register, you get a username and password and total access to the same materials in your physical study Bible, but now online.  I have to say… It is one of the best that I have come across.  

One of my favorites is that everything in the physical study Bible (Scripture, study notes, charts, tables, maps, illustrations, etc.) is available in the online version to download or use with teaching & preaching!

Check out this detailed blog post for a full walk-through of the ESV Online Study Bible:

We are pleased to announce that the ESV Online Study Bible is now available. This site is open to everyone, and has special features that can be unlocked with a code included in every print ESV Study Bible. We’ve also made these special features available for free in the book of Matthew, so you can try the site while you wait for your print ESV Study Bible to arrive.

The ESV Online Study Bible

This online version contains everything from the print version, along with features we could only provide in electronic format. Here’s a rundown of some of these features.

Text Highlighting

Whenever you select a portion of Scripture with your mouse, a box appears that allows you to highlight that portion in one of five colors.

Scripture Highlighting

These highlights will be visible every time you log into your account, so you can highlight a portion of text while reading on one computer and still see the highlights anywhere you go.

Personal Notes

The ESV Online Study Bible is a wide-margin edition, so you can add your own notes and comments.

The “Add Note” Button

Now you can add any note that will help focus and direct your study.

Note in Sidebar

You can edit your notes by double-clicking on them.

Editing a Note

Just as with highlighting, your notes are stored with your account, so they are accessible from any computer.

Footnotes and Cross-References

Clicking the blue numbers in the text will take you to the footnotes, and clicking the blue letters will follow cross-references to other verses. Clicking orange verse references in the study notes will take you to the listed verses.

If you just want to quickly view the footnote or reference, hovering your mouse pointer over any link will reveal that footnote, reference, or verse right on the page.

Inline Footnotes

Inline Text

Adjustable Notes Sidebar

The ESV Study Bible is packed with detailed notes to help you better understand the content and context of Scripture. To keep these notes manageable, they can be collapsed…

Study Note, Collapsed

…or expanded…

Study Note, Expanded

…one-by-one, or all at once.

Study Note Buttons

Related Media

At the bottom of each page is a list of all the relevant charts, diagrams, maps, and illustrations from the ESV Study Bible.

Related Media

Clicking on any of the icons will open the full-sized resource.

Related Media, Expanded

Audio Recording

At the top of each page is a “Listen” link. Clicking this link will play back an audio recording of the displayed passage.

Playing an Audio Recording

Articles

All the articles in the ESV Study Bible are available online.

Article: The Canon of Scripture

Search

You can search the ESV Online Study Bible by keyword or Scripture reference.

Search Results

Coming Soon: Search Notes, New Audio

We are working on making the Study Notes searchable. We’ll also be replacing our current audio recording with a brand-new one.

Our plan is to continually improve the ESV Online Study Bible with new features and refinements to existing features. Any feedback is welcome: just leave a comment on this post.

If You Don’t Have a Registration Code

Even if you don’t have a registration code, the ESV Online Study Bible offers you several features:

• Create a personal account
• Search the ESV text
• Write personal notes
• Highlight Scripture

Basically, without a registration code you can do everything except access the ESV Study Bible notes and resources. If you buy a print ESV Study Bible later, you can unlock these notes and resources. One of our goals is to make the ESV Online Study Bible useful to you, even if you don’t yet own a print ESV Study Bible.