My Favorite Bible 3.0

Over the years, in 2009 and 2012 to be precise, I have posted an article which discusses my favorite edition of the Bible.  When I speak (or write) of my favorite "edition" of the Bible, I am speaking primarily of its physical make-up, not so much the translation.  More often as I evaluate many of the Bibles on the market that a Catholic could utilize, I focus on its binding, cover material, page-layout, size, as well as the extras that come along with the translation itself.  Over the years, there has been no doubt in my mind that the best Bible to fit this criteria is the Cambridge NRSV Reference Bible with Apocrypha.  This edition comes in a French Morocco leather cover, with sewn binding, center-column cross-references, a helpful glossary of terms, and one of my favorite sets of Bible maps.  While not a Catholic edition, it has all the books of the Catholic Old Testament and the translation itself was done with Catholic participation.  In addition, it is also the Bible translation used in the Canadian lectionary.

So, since it has been a couple years since my last "Favorite Bible" post, has there been anything published that could compete?  The answer, which many of my loyal readers know, is yes and the edition I am referring to is the Baronius Press Knox Bible. This leather hardcover edition is a real beauty.  As I mentioned in my review from 2012:

What immediately stands out is the craftsmanship involved in producing this volume.  (I have experienced this type of quality production before with their Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Maryvolume.) The quality of the binding, the paper, ribbon markers, and endpapers make this Bible standout from all of the other ones I own.  This Bible is sturdy, yet very comfortable to read both by placing it flat on a table or by holding it in your hand or lap.  This is the case no matter where in the text you are reading, from Genesis to Revelation (the Apocalypse).  While this is not a portable, compact Bible, it can easily be brought to study and prayer groups, even Holy Mass.  It is simply a standard sized Bible.  I wonder if Baronius Press will eventually make different editions of the Knox Bible, like in a compact form or flexible leather, similar to what they have done with their Douay-Rheims editions.

For me, the highlight of this Bible is its single-column page layout.  It is very easy on the eyes, and the quality cream colored Bible paper minimizes any issues with ghosted print image from the reverse of the page.  That being said, I am not sure if I will ever write in this Bible.  It is just too pretty!  While having the verse numbers on the side can be a bit tricky at first, it becomes quite easy to use after only a few minutes.  The many notes, both textual and commentary, from Msgr. Knox are clearly visible at the bottom of each page.  I should mention that while there are not a ton of cross-references in this Bible, the notes in the New Testament do indicate where there are direct quotes from the Old Testament, as well as referencing similar passages found in the among the four Gospels.  In addition, there are cross-references in the notes in the Old Testament as well, but not as many as are found in the New Testament.  

I was so impressed with this Bible that I even gave it a bit of an upgrade by sending it off to Leonard's Book Restoration to be rebound in goatskin.  It was a tough decision, since I really liked the leather hardcover.  I prefer, however, to have a premium leather cover on my Bibles, so it ended up being the right decision. While it truly is a great Bible edition, with or without the upgrade, the question is whether or not it surpass the two-time champ in my opinion?

The answer is no.  There are two main reasons for this which, in the end, tip the scales for the NRSV from Cambridge.  First, I simply use the NRSV in more situations.  While I really like the Knox translation, and use it often for personal reading, I just can't use it when teaching, either to high school students or adults.  The translations are just too different.  The NRSV is a modern translation which is close enough to the RSV and not too distant in style to the NABRE.  Any issues relating to inclusive language or alternate translations are easily figured out in the NRSV's textual notes, which are an integral part of the translation itself.  Secondly, the Cambridge NRSV comes with some truly helpful extras.  Those extras, which I love to have in a reading (or study) Bible, are found in this edition.  I complain a lot on this blog about the lack of cross-references with the NRSV Bibles, well this is one of the few editions that have it.  I also really like the center-column positioning of the cross-references, which I know is not everyone's cup of tea.

This leads me, again, to remark that as Catholics it would be great to have some better options, no matter the translation.  This reminds me of one of my earliest posts (rants) entitled: Catholic Bibles Stink.  While some things have changed since then, there is still a great need to have some premium Catholic Bibles available.  Maybe the problem is that, as Catholics, we are
more willing to buy a leather Missal for Mass, but but happy to settle on a paperback Bible.  I am not sure.

I have read many-an-article or forum post which decries the various translations for Catholics, often arguing that Protestants don't take Catholics seriously in issues related to the Bible because of it.  Well, I wonder if this supposed problem is due to the overall quality of most of our Bibles.  I think we have a number of fine translations to choose from, including the NABRE, RSV, NRSV, and Knox translations.  I hope we will see a time when these translations get the treatment from publishers that they deserve.    

If you are of the same mind, I recommend you contact some of the better Bible publishers out there.  Many of them have Facebook sites, as well as email contacts.  Let them know that Catholics would like some premium Bible options.