ESV Expository Commentary is Crossway’s attempt to put a complete, church facing commentary set into the hands of ordinary preachers and serious Bible readers. It is built for the study desk rather than the seminar room, and it keeps the biblical text in view throughout, often printing the ESV passage alongside the exposition so the reader is never far from Scripture itself.
The series is shaped by its team of general editors, Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, and that leadership shows. There is a consistent desire to read each book in its own context, to keep the argument moving, and to make the connection between exegesis and proclamation without turning the commentary into a sermon manuscript.
The theological posture is broadly evangelical with a noticeable Reformed warmth in places, especially in its instincts about biblical theology, covenant continuity, and Christ centred reading. You will not find the tone combative. It tends to be confident about the Bible’s authority, cautious about novelty, and eager to serve the church.
As a set, it is most useful when a pastor wants a clear, faithful companion that keeps him moving through the text with steady understanding. It is not usually the last word on difficult technical questions, but it is often a wise first word that gets you oriented, helps you see structure, and gives you a sound platform for preaching.
A clear, text close series that serves weekly preaching well, especially when paired with one deeper technical resource. It is not the final court of appeal, but it is a wise and reliable companion.
Level: Mid-levelPerspective: Broadly EvangelicalBest for:
Busy pastors, Pastors-in-training, General readers Priority: Top choiceOverall score:
8.7
Strengths
The chief strength is clarity. Most volumes keep the flow of the passage visible, explain what is there without fuss, and make interpretive choices without drowning the reader in endless options. For sermon preparation, that is a mercy.
There is a consistent instinct for biblical theology. The writers often help you see how a passage fits into the book’s purpose and into the broader storyline of redemption, without forcing artificial connections. That is especially helpful in narrative, prophecy, and the letters, where preachers can otherwise lose the main line.
The series also tends to be pastorally alert. Application is not tacked on as moral advice. It usually arises from the text’s own burden, which helps preachers aim for conviction, comfort, and obedience rather than mere information.
Limitations & Cautions
Because it is a multi author series, the texture is not identical from volume to volume. Some contributors are brisk and direct, others are more expansive, and a few sections can feel more like annotated notes than a shaped exposition. The overall direction is steady, but the experience is not uniform.
Its level is deliberately accessible, which means it will not satisfy when you need sustained engagement with scholarly debate, detailed grammatical discussion, or heavier interaction with commentaries at the technical end. When you are preaching a contested passage, you will sometimes want a second commentary open beside it.
The series also prints a great deal of Bible text, which is useful, but it means the physical volumes are large and the proportion of pure commentary per page can feel lighter than a comparable set without the printed text.
How to Use This Series
Use this series early in your preparation, once you have done your own passage work. It is especially good for confirming the flow of thought, checking that you have not missed an obvious structural marker, and seeing how a skilled reader moves from meaning to message.
When you are preaching consecutively through a book, it works well as a steady companion across weeks. It helps you keep continuity, trace repeated themes, and maintain proportion, so that minor details do not eclipse the author’s main point.
Supplement it when you hit a disputed text, a dense theological argument, or a passage where original language detail will materially affect your preaching. Pair it with one more technical commentary if you have time, and with one more sermon shaped volume if you want a stronger homiletical push.
Standout Volumes
The set is often at its best where the writers can combine clear structure with biblical theological traction. The Pentateuch volume, Genesis to Deuteronomy, is a strong example of the series at its intended pitch, accessible but serious, and consistently concerned to read Torah within the covenant storyline.
The New Testament epistles section is also a highlight for many preachers, especially Romans to Galatians, where doctrinal clarity and pastoral application tend to come through well. These volumes often help a busy pastor keep the argument straight and the gospel central.
Weaker or Less Helpful Volumes
The series is broadly consistent, but the Wisdom and Psalms material can feel less direct for sermon building in some hands, largely because the genres demand a different kind of interpretive patience. That is not a failure, but some readers will want additional help for preaching form, tone, and application in those books.
If you are looking for especially tight treatment of complex prophetic imagery across the longer prophets, you may sometimes wish for more depth and more sustained argument than the series is trying to provide.
Series in Context
Compared with The Bible Speaks Today, this series is generally fuller and more detailed in exposition, and it keeps closer contact with the text across smaller units. It is less homiletically driven than some pastor preacher series, but often more substantial in explanation.
Compared with NICOT and NICNT, it is less technical and less engaged with academic debate, but usually more immediately usable for sermon preparation in a normal week. If you have time and training to work with NICOT and NICNT, those will often take you further, but ESV Expository can get you moving with confidence and clarity.
Compared with the Word Biblical Commentary, it is not playing the same game. WBC is built for advanced technical work. ESV Expository is built for pastors who need faithful exposition that serves proclamation.
In 1 Corinthians, ESV Expository Commentary, Andrew David Naselli helps us read a complicated letter with clarity, keeping the church’s holiness and unity in view. Volume 10.
We are guided through the pastoral challenges of Corinth in a way that supports preaching that is firm, gracious, and shaped by the gospel.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we need help preaching 1 Corinthians without becoming distracted by its controversies. It supports us in following Paul’s purposes through each issue.
It also offers practical usefulness for the local church. We are helped to apply the text to real congregational problems while keeping the cross central.
For those training to teach, it models careful handling of difficult passages with a steady tone that serves edification.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend 1 Corinthians, ESV Expository Commentary for Busy Pastors and Pastors-in-training who want a mid level guide for preaching and teaching in 1 Corinthians.
In Romans, ESV Expository Commentary, Robert W. Yarbrough gives us a clear companion for preaching Paul’s gospel with precision, warmth, and steady confidence. Volume 10.
We are helped to follow the letter’s argument, keep doctrinal sections connected to pastoral aims, and handle key passages without losing the thread.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we need help preaching Romans in a way that is both doctrinal and doxological. It supports careful reading, then presses us toward clear proclamation.
It is also valuable for ministry because it helps us keep application anchored to Paul’s purpose, so that reassurance and rebuke land where the text places them.
For those training to preach, it models a disciplined approach to argument, structure, and summary, which is essential in a long and rich letter.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend Romans, ESV Expository Commentary for Busy Pastors and Pastors-in-training who want a mid level resource that strengthens gospel preaching in Romans.
In Acts, ESV Expository Commentary, Brian Vickers helps us see the Lord advancing the gospel through ordinary people, sustained by the Spirit and shaped by the Word. Volume 9.
We are aided in tracing Luke’s purpose and the book’s major movements, which is especially useful for preaching series work.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we need a clear guide to keep us close to Acts while preaching its mission shaped narrative. It encourages us to hold together doctrine, story, and application.
It also supports pastoral ministry by helping us handle disputed passages with calm clarity, and by pressing toward congregational encouragement rather than mere information.
For those training to teach, it models a steady pattern of reading the text in context and speaking its message in the life of the church.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend Acts, ESV Expository Commentary for Busy Pastors and Pastors-in-training who want a dependable mid level companion for preaching Acts.
In John, ESV Expository Commentary, James M. Hamilton gives us a steady guide for preaching the glory of Christ and the call to believe. Volume 9.
We are helped to follow the argument, keep the signs and discourses in view, and handle familiar passages with fresh attentiveness to the text.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we want a reliable aid for reading John closely and preaching it plainly. It supports us in tracing themes without drifting into vague generalities.
It also helps us keep application honest. We are encouraged to let John’s own aims shape our preaching, so that comfort, warning, and invitation come from the passage itself.
For those training to teach, it models careful observation and clear explanation, then presses toward worship and faith.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend John, ESV Expository Commentary for Busy Pastors and Pastors-in-training who want a mid level resource that strengthens proclamation in John.
In Luke, ESV Expository Commentary, Thomas R. Schreiner helps us read Luke with care for narrative purpose, theological emphasis, and the steady hope of the kingdom. Volume 8.
We are guided through the text in a way that supports clear teaching, especially when Luke’s long sections can feel hard to shape for preaching.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we need help handling Luke’s breadth without losing the thread. It encourages us to keep asking what each scene is doing in the story.
It is also valuable for ministry because it aims to serve the church’s understanding, not merely academic discussion. We are given prompts that help application arise naturally from the passage.
For those learning to preach, it offers a reliable pattern of reading, explaining, then pressing toward proclamation.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend Luke, ESV Expository Commentary for Busy Pastors and Pastors-in-training who want a clear mid level companion for preaching and teaching in Luke.
In Mark, ESV Expository Commentary, Hans F. Bayer gives us a clear, church facing guide for preaching the urgency and compassion of the Servant King. Volume 8.
We are helped to track Mark’s movement, notice repeated themes, and keep the gospel’s main point in view as we prepare to teach.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we want steady help moving from careful reading to faithful proclamation. It supports sermon preparation by keeping us close to the passage and its place in the whole book.
We also benefit from its balanced tone. It aims to serve the church, not to showcase cleverness, and it keeps application tethered to what the text is actually saying.
For those training to preach, it models patient attention to context, structure, and the pastoral weight of the gospel call.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend Mark, ESV Expository Commentary for Busy Pastors and Pastors-in-training who want a mid level companion that strengthens weekly preaching and Bible teaching.
In Zechariah, ESV Expository Commentary, Anthony R. Petterson helps us preach a book full of visions and promises without losing the plot. He keeps the message anchored in God’s covenant faithfulness and the hope of restoration. Volume 7.
We are guided through the main sections with clear headings and helpful explanations, so that the imagery serves the sermon rather than confusing it.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we need help handling symbolic material. It encourages careful observation, and it offers sensible guidance on how images function in the book.
For pastors, it is a useful tool for series planning. We are helped with structure, repeated themes, and the pastoral burden of each unit.
It also helps us preach hope to weary congregations, because it keeps reminding us that the Lord’s promises are not empty, and that his purposes will stand.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend Zechariah, ESV Expository Commentary for pastors and teachers who want a mid level companion that clarifies a demanding book and supports clear proclamation. It is best used after we have wrestled with the text ourselves, then let the commentary sharpen our understanding and shape our preaching.
In Matthew, ESV Expository Commentary, Daniel Doriani helps us preach the Gospel with a clear sense of structure and purpose. He keeps the spotlight on Jesus Christ, and he aims to serve proclamation that is text driven, Christ exalting, and pastorally wise. Volume 8.
We are helped to follow Matthew’s flow, to handle major discourses well, and to keep application tied to what the evangelist is doing.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we want a mid level preaching companion that is readable and substantial. It offers clear explanation, steady guidance on emphasis, and help with the shape of units.
The commentary supports sermon series planning. We are given a sense of the book’s movement, repeated themes, and how Matthew presents the kingdom of heaven.
It is also useful in training settings, because it models how to read narrative and discourse carefully, then move toward faithful proclamation.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend Matthew, ESV Expository Commentary for pastors and teachers who want a clear, church facing guide that supports steady exposition. It is best used with the text open, so we can let Matthew set the agenda, then use the commentary to sharpen clarity and strengthen application.
In Malachi, ESV Expository Commentary, Eric Ortlund helps us preach the Lord’s searching questions to a weary and cynical people. He shows how Malachi exposes cold worship and careless faithfulness, while holding out the hope of the Lord’s coming. Volume 7.
We are helped to follow the disputation structure, so each section lands with its intended force and clarity.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we want help preaching repentance without harshness. The exposition keeps us in the text, and it helps us address half hearted religion with both seriousness and patience.
The commentary is also useful for linking themes across Scripture. We are helped to see how priesthood, covenant faithfulness, and the promised messenger function within the book’s argument.
For pastoral ministry, it gives us language for calling the church to integrity, especially in worship and everyday obedience.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend Malachi, ESV Expository Commentary for pastors and teachers who want a mid level companion that supports clear, corrective preaching with real hope. It will serve us well when we want to press Malachi’s call home, and to lift our eyes to the Lord who comes to purify and to save.
In Haggai, ESV Expository Commentary, Michael Stead helps us preach a brief book that speaks sharply to spiritual drift. He keeps the focus on the Lord’s priorities, the rebuilding call, and the encouragement that God is with his people. Volume 7.
We are helped to see how each oracle addresses a specific spiritual problem, and how the responses expose the heart.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we want help applying a short prophetic book without flattening it into a stewardship talk. The commentary keeps us close to the text’s covenant logic and to the Lord’s presence as the great comfort.
It is practical for preaching. We are given clear explanation, helpful transitions between units, and prompts for pressing the message home to the church.
It also helps us show the difference between outward activity and genuine repentance, which is always relevant in local ministry.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend Haggai, ESV Expository Commentary for pastors and teachers who want a mid level companion that speaks clearly to congregational life. It will serve us well when we want to call God’s people back to first things, with real encouragement in the Lord’s nearness.
