They are similar but not the same.
In the description you can see that Essence Bond, gives you 1 energy every time the character takes damage, this means this skill has no attribute requirement, and can be used by and sub-class monk with the same benefit.
In the other hand Balthazar's Spirit, gives you adrenaline and energy according to your smitting prayers level.
For a primary smitting monk this skills are the same, and only are good to mantain them at the same time for more energy.
But if you are a secondary monk, and dont want to use any points on the monk attributes this skill will work better.
Bond gives you 1 energy everytime the enchanted target takes damage.
Spirit gives u X energy and X adrenaline after every time the enchanted target takes damage. Where X changes according to your smitting prayers level.
So yes, they seem similar but they are different.
