FIrst, I want to start off by saying I have a passion for quality Bibles. I was looking for a new quality study Bible to replace my antiquated KJV study Bible I bought in the 90's. I have broken my review down in chunks to make it a bit easier to read:Cover: I opted to go with the Premium Calfskin Leather for the binding over the bonded leather or hardback cover. Having owned Bibles in the premium calfskin I know the qualty, and I must say, the cover on this Bible is phenominal. The leather is so buttery smooth it almost feels "fuzzy". The cover peels back so gently and teh flow in the leather is wonderful. The entire BIble bends and moves in your hand as you are handling it. The inner lining is still leather, but it appears to be the much inferior genuine leather (which is typically pig leather). The grain on the calfskin is very pleasing to look at and the Bible smells of rich, high quality leather. As far as premium leathers go, I would rate this somewhere below the premium highland goatskin that R.L. Allan uses for its Bibles, but well above any bonded or genuine leather used in most mid-line Bibles.I also really like the look of the Bible. The black is so elegant and simple. I also particularly like the leather on the binding and the way it is stamped with the gold text. The four raised ridges give it a unique look and it also helps grip the Bible when holding it open and reading standing up. My favorite physical attribute of this Bible is by far the cover. The only thing that could have made it better was if Crossway included a gilt line on the inside cover to accent the cover when the Bible is open. All in all that is a minor luxury and does not detract from the look of the Bible much.Binding: All quality Bibles have what is called "Smyth sewn binding" which is a technique where multipe pages in a book are first sewn to each other in small pamphlet sizes, then the pamphlets are sewn together. This not only greatly increases longevity and durability but also greatly increases the Bible's value compared to glued bindings. This Bible has the Smyth sewn binding and it shows. When you open this Bibile it lays flat right away. There is very limited resistance from the binding. The good news is the more you use it, the more the binding breaks in and the flatter the Bible lays.The only disappointing thing about the binding is that the Bible does crinkle a bit when opening it. I have read on Crossway's blog that this will disapate over time the more you use the Bible. The crinkling is in no way as bad as on a glued binding Bible, but it is there if you listen for it. We will have to wait and see it it gets any better over time.The ribbons were a bit of a disappointment in my opinion. It is nice that Crossway gave us 2 ribbons, however 3 ribbons would have made this Bible look/feel a bit more "regal". I was also disappointed in the fact that the ribbons used were not premium, thick cut ribbons. They are not poor ribbons by any stretch of the imagination, but Crossway went so far with the beautiful calfskin leather of the exterior I felt they could have really upped the overall quality of this Bible by spending a bit more for premium ribbons.Paper Quality: I could not find anywhere online that specified exactly how thick the paper is on the ESV MacArthur Study Bible. So I reached out to Crossway and asked them myself. According to Crossway, they use 19.5 lb India Paper. While the quality is nothing superb, it is not bad paper. You do get the expected "ghosting" (when you can slightly see through to the page behind the one you are reading due to the thinness of the paper) but it is not to the point where it is overly distracting. If you are hyper sensitive to "ghosting" then you may want to pass on this Bible and look into a Cambridge or Schyler study bible as they use much thicker paper (at much a much higher cost). Overall I am satisfied with the quality of the paper and the minimal ghosting in this Bible.Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this Bible is the gilting. "Gilting" is the decorative sheen on the side of the Bible paper that make the Bible paper look "gold" when the Bible is closed. There are 2 types of gilting. Regular Bible gilt, and Art Gilting. The former is found on the ESV MacArthur and it is where the a thin layer of colored aluminum is melted onto the side of the Bible paper before the Bible is bound. Art Gilting is typically found on premium Bibles and it is where the sides of the pages are dipped in colored dye first followed by the melted alumium gilt foil. While the gold gilting used on this Bible is very asthetically pleasing, it is of fairly poor quality. Upon receiving my first MacArthur Study Bible, I noticed that a gilt chunk the size of the end of a straw was missing from the side of the Bible, and a large thumbprint was embedded into the gilt on the top of the Bible. This appears to have happened during the manufacturing process, but it was still an inconvenience as you would not expet this to be a problem on a high quality $150 Bible. Thankfully Amazon customer service was fantastic as always and quickly sent me a replacement. I also very lightly ran my fingernail along the gilt line and you can see that the gold gilting scratches very easily. I would recommend keeping this Bible in a case to protect the giliting when not using the Bible, but the cover is so beautiful it would be a shame to cover it up. My best advise is to keep the Bible in the original box it came in when not using it to protect the giliting that way you get the best of both worlds.Text: The Bible text in this Bible is outstanding. I find it clear and easy to read. The scripture portion uses a 8.5 font text, with a 7.5 size for the study notes at the bottom. By far the best feature of this Bible is MacArthur's study notes. After spending over 30 years studying the Word of God, it is evident in the study notes in this Bible why MacArthur is an undeniable authority in teaching scripture. His notes are clear, detailed, and easy to understand. There are considerably more notes in the New Testament than in the Old Testament (but knowing John MacArthur, he specializes in New Testament doctrine so I am not surprised). There are over 25,000 study notes to read as you progress through the books of the Bible so you will have plenty to read during your daily study time.I really enjoy the way the text is laid out on the page. At the begnining of a new book, the name of the book is in big bold text at the top of the page, and centered in a pleasant blue box. This adds a splash of color to the page, but keeps the dignified, professional look of the Bible. Also, each new chapter is introduced by a large font blue number which makes finding new chapters on the page easy and effortless. There are 140 2 color maps throughout the Bible, not to mention the multi-color large maps at the end. The 80,000 + cross references are conveniently placed in the middle of the double column format and very easy to use.Overall Quality: I gave this Bible 4 stars which I felt was a fair assessment. Having some high quality premium Bibles such as R.L. Allans and Oxford Bibles I know what to look for in a quality Bible and this ESV version from Crossway is definately a quality Bible. While this is not the upper crust of quality Bibles, you are not spending $250 or more on this Bible.Pros: Premium Calfskin is top notch and worth every penny, the MacArthur notes are the highlight of this Bible and should be part of every Bible student's quiver, the text is easy to read and the page layout is wonderful, the Smyth sewn binding is worth the extra cash and I'm really glad Crossway used this binding.Cons: The 19.5 lb paper does allow for a certain level of ghosting. This can be expected in almost any Bible unless you are shelling out the big bucks for a premium Bible with 45 lb (or opaque) Bible Paper. The ribbons were a bit disappointing in their thin diameter and in the fact that there are only 2 (and not 3 or 4 as is common in more expensive Bibles). The gilting is sub-par and damages easily.All in all I would definately recommend this Bible. I know i probably went in waaay more depth than the average person wants to know about but I have an affinity for high quality Bibles. Remember, the most important thing about a Bible is not what it is made out of, but the true Living words that are found inside. Take this review as a review of the quality of the Bible construct and not as a critique of the Holy Word of God.----**UPDATE**As mentioned above, I was sent a Bible with damage to the gilting. Amazon worked quickly and shipped me a replacement Bible that surprisingly arrived in 1 day. I shipped the first Bible back and thought my troubles were over. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The second Bible also came with ugly marks on the gilting, but this one was also horribly bound. The Bible crinkled very loudly when opened to any page, even after substantial use for days on end.I could have perhaps gotten over those two issues and just dealt with it, but there was one final deal breaker that caused me to send this second Bible back. MacArthur.While his New Testament notes are substantial, his Old Testament notes were severely lacking. I know he worked hard on these notes (2 grueling years), but there are certain portions of his study notes where you can see he was on a deadline. Many of his Old Testament notes aren't really notes, but rather a second set of references. Also, the pros that the notes are all belong to one pastor are also the cons. Many of the notes lean heavily to MacArthur's personal belief's or interpretations.I would still recommend this Bible, particularly to someone who is new to the Scriptures and would like to learn from a very intelligent teacher. But be aware, the notes are biased, and the Old Testament notes make you hungry for more.I have since purchased the ESV Study Bible bound by RL Allan. The ESV Study Bible is composed by over 90 respected pastors and theologians and is, in my opinion, much more theologically sound.