For National Bible Week, I will be proposing a question each day for you to consider. Let's take this week to consider the great gift that is the Holy Scriptures.
Today's Question:
What is your favorite edition of the Bible edition? Why?
I'd have to give that honor to the New Jerusalem Bible standard edition (the blue hardcover with complete introductions and notes). The commentary is exceptional. I find it an excellent resource for integrating historical-critical scholarship with the traditions of the Church. The introduction to the Pauline epistles, for example, gives a very nice overview of debates about authorship and goes into some length explaining how historical and literary criticism could be reconciled with traditional views about authorship (for example, for 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus).
I also love the single-column format, and the extensive use of poetic verse for poetic passages that are normally left in paragraph form in other bibles. For example, the NJB formats the entire first letter of John in verse, rather than paragraphs.
My only disappointment is the glued binding. The glue has already cracked near the end of the New Testament on my copy, so the last few epistles and Revelation are separating from the rest of the text block. The British publisher of the NJB (Darton, Longman, and Todd) produces a leather hardcover edition, and they tell me it has a sewn binding. I may eventually upgrade to that edition, but it is rather pricey.
For ease of use and of reading the compact edition of the NASB published by World Publishing.Not my very favourite translation but in the top 5 (for me ) this very handy volume has a font of about 8 and is a real treasure to carry about.No notes ,no in chapter headings but great for a good long read of the scriptures. E.C.
My favorite ( at this moment) is the Didache Bible RSV-2CE that I had recovered. I love the theological/liturgical based notes. The print is very readable and bold with bleed through controlled well, clean page layout with lots of maps, all this in a Bible that is not too big (for a study Bible).
This one is easy for me: the NOAB RSV. I love everything about this edition.
I like the notes - helpful, just the facts, and not too many notes. The NOAB 4th edition has too many notes for me - it takes up too much room on the page, not all of it is useful, and it's distracting for my purposes. I want a reading bible, with just enough notes to clarify things that are murky to me. The NOAB RSV notes are perfect balance.
I love the size of this bible. It's not too big. It's perfect for holding in my hands in bed. The leather edition is decent quality for the price, and nice and floppy for bedtime reading.
But it's not too small either. The font size is just right for me: I can read it just fine. I love the typography, the bleed thru is controlled, and the notes are formatted in a way that makes them easy to find and relate to the verse in question.
I also have the 1991 edition of the NOAB with the NRSV translation. It's about the same, except that the margins are wider, leaving more room for notes. In theory I should like this edition better, since I like putting notes in the margins and I do run out of room with the NOAB RSV. But the extra width of the '91 edition makes it just a little to bulky for me to comfortably read in bed or on the couch.
My favorite would be the Catholic Youth Bible published by St. Mary's Press. It has beautiful reflections in it that helps me to use my bible as a spiritual book. The prayers and reflections are a nice breather from analyzing the bible a work of literature during my biblical studies. Also, the intros to every book is not the same as the ones found in other editions of the NABRE, this means that the intros are not too immersed in the historical-critical approach; they give me the main themes of the books straight away and plainly. Another reason why I like this edition is because of the study tools it offers: the NAB notes, timelines, and charts of Old Testament monarchy, etc. It has almost all the study tools I want. Almost. The only two drawbacks I have with it is that the text is a dark gray and not black, so reading it is slightly uncomfortable at times, and the index of themes and terms is not as extensive as a doctrinal bible index or an ordinary concordance.
Cambridge reference NRSV with Apocrypha, specifically the NRA27 from the late 90s for it's better paper, art-gilt page edges, and calfskin cover. The replacement edition, the NR563:XA (this is the one Timothy frequently raves about, as I recall) in french morocco from 2006 or 2008, was essentially identical in layout, the paper was ok yet with a thinner text block, but the cover material was a real failure. However, Cambridge re-released the NR563:XA within the last month using better materials all around and a few other minor design tweaks that I personally appreciate (trying to justify buying a copy when it is essentially the same as the NRA27 and I already have a few of those).
I'd have to give that honor to the New Jerusalem Bible standard edition (the blue hardcover with complete introductions and notes). The commentary is exceptional. I find it an excellent resource for integrating historical-critical scholarship with the traditions of the Church. The introduction to the Pauline epistles, for example, gives a very nice overview of debates about authorship and goes into some length explaining how historical and literary criticism could be reconciled with traditional views about authorship (for example, for 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus).
ReplyDeleteI also love the single-column format, and the extensive use of poetic verse for poetic passages that are normally left in paragraph form in other bibles. For example, the NJB formats the entire first letter of John in verse, rather than paragraphs.
My only disappointment is the glued binding. The glue has already cracked near the end of the New Testament on my copy, so the last few epistles and Revelation are separating from the rest of the text block. The British publisher of the NJB (Darton, Longman, and Todd) produces a leather hardcover edition, and they tell me it has a sewn binding. I may eventually upgrade to that edition, but it is rather pricey.
For ease of use and of reading the compact edition of the NASB published by World Publishing.Not my very favourite translation but in the top 5 (for me )
ReplyDeletethis very handy volume has a font of about 8 and is a real treasure to carry about.No notes ,no in chapter headings but great for a good long read of the scriptures.
E.C.
My favorite ( at this moment) is the Didache Bible RSV-2CE that I had recovered. I love the theological/liturgical based notes. The print is very readable and bold with bleed through controlled well, clean page layout with lots of maps, all this in a Bible that is not too big (for a study Bible).
ReplyDeleteThis one is easy for me: the NOAB RSV. I love everything about this edition.
ReplyDeleteI like the notes - helpful, just the facts, and not too many notes. The NOAB 4th edition has too many notes for me - it takes up too much room on the page, not all of it is useful, and it's distracting for my purposes. I want a reading bible, with just enough notes to clarify things that are murky to me. The NOAB RSV notes are perfect balance.
I love the size of this bible. It's not too big. It's perfect for holding in my hands in bed. The leather edition is decent quality for the price, and nice and floppy for bedtime reading.
But it's not too small either. The font size is just right for me: I can read it just fine. I love the typography, the bleed thru is controlled, and the notes are formatted in a way that makes them easy to find and relate to the verse in question.
I also have the 1991 edition of the NOAB with the NRSV translation. It's about the same, except that the margins are wider, leaving more room for notes. In theory I should like this edition better, since I like putting notes in the margins and I do run out of room with the NOAB RSV. But the extra width of the '91 edition makes it just a little to bulky for me to comfortably read in bed or on the couch.
My favorite would be the Catholic Youth Bible published by St. Mary's Press. It has beautiful reflections in it that helps me to use my bible as a spiritual book. The prayers and reflections are a nice breather from analyzing the bible a work of literature during my biblical studies. Also, the intros to every book is not the same as the ones found in other editions of the NABRE, this means that the intros are not too immersed in the historical-critical approach; they give me the main themes of the books straight away and plainly. Another reason why I like this edition is because of the study tools it offers: the NAB notes, timelines, and charts of Old Testament monarchy, etc. It has almost all the study tools I want. Almost. The only two drawbacks I have with it is that the text is a dark gray and not black, so reading it is slightly uncomfortable at times, and the index of themes and terms is not as extensive as a doctrinal bible index or an ordinary concordance.
ReplyDelete--Emilia V.
Cambridge reference NRSV with Apocrypha, specifically the NRA27 from the late 90s for it's better paper, art-gilt page edges, and calfskin cover. The replacement edition, the NR563:XA (this is the one Timothy frequently raves about, as I recall) in french morocco from 2006 or 2008, was essentially identical in layout, the paper was ok yet with a thinner text block, but the cover material was a real failure. However, Cambridge re-released the NR563:XA within the last month using better materials all around and a few other minor design tweaks that I personally appreciate (trying to justify buying a copy when it is essentially the same as the NRA27 and I already have a few of those).
ReplyDelete