J. Mark Bertrand, of the fantastic Bible Design Blog, recently penned an article for the online edition of First Things entitled "Christmas Guide to Buying a Bible". While the majority of the article concerns Protestant translations, there is a recommendation for Catholics as well:
Despite a rich history of liturgical publishing, like mainline Protestants, my
Roman Catholic readers often complain of having a dearth of choices in
comparison to the editions available for Evangelicals. An exception to the trend
is the Knox Bible from Baronius Press, a new printing of the twentieth-century
translation by Msgr. Ronald Knox. I haven’t had the pleasure of examining one of
these in person, but from what I have gathered from those who have, it would
make an excellent gift for Catholics in search of a readable, thoughtfully
produced edition.
The Knox Bible’s single column text setting is a plus
for readers, and so is the fact that verse numbers are moved to the margin where
they don’t distract from the flow of the text (a helpful practice seen in the
classic mid–twentieth-century New English Bible, as well as the more recent
Message Remix).
If you’re giving the Knox Bible as a gift to a
literary-minded friend, it might be worth finding a copy of his biography,
The Life of Right Reverend Ronald Knox, by one of my favorite
novelists, Evelyn Waugh, a lifelong friend of Msgr. Knox.
Its a fun article, so be sure to read all of it, as well as the always interesting comments from readers.
I follow Mr. Bertrand's site, too, and based off his July review of the Allan NRSV, I have been oogling that book for months and months. It was his mention of it again in the First Things article that convinced me to stop torturing myself and - price be damned! - buy one finally. It is beautiful, no doubt about it.
ReplyDeleteSadly, RL Allan appears to only bind Protestant translations. That said, if you a NABRE (or whatever you prefer) that has the -perfect- bookblock for you but a crappy cover, send it off to one of the many quality bookbinders out there and have the crappy cover replaced with something of quality.
I honestly don't care about the quality of the binding and all that kind of stuff because any book I own is going to get the crap beat out of it anyway....
ReplyDeleteJ Mark Bertrand agrees with me on the best Bible currently being published! That makes me squee just a bit less than when I saw the forthcoming "[Eastern] Orthodox Readings of Aquinas" available for pre-order on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteOh, RL Allan is in Glasgow, Scotland: not a stronghold of the Catholic faith by any means...
ReplyDeleteThey do sell versions with the "apocrypha", though (which makes it a Catholic Bible) in the KJV and maybe one or two other translations.