I was really excited to receive from
Tyndale a review copy of their brand new
Catholic Holy Bible Reader's Edition NLT-CE for two main reasons. First, I know there are a number of you who have desired an approved edition of the NLT. You now have an edition available for purchase here in the United States. (For more about the editions that came out last year in India, go
here.) Secondly, it is great to see a Protestant publisher try their hand, once again, at a Catholic edition. I hope this continues, since it might mean that nicer, more well-made bible editions could be in our future. So, I encourage all of you to consider getting this edition, so that Tyndale can see that there is an audience for further Catholic editions. (Plus, it is a really nice edition too!)
The NLT text used is the 2015 revision. The text for the Deuterocanonical books appear to be the same ones that were originally done for the ill-fated and unapproved
NLT Catholic Reference Edition. I will have to do some more reading to see, but I haven't notced too many differences. The page that lists the translation teams states that Philip Comfort, J. Julius Scott, David Barrett, and James Swanson translated the Deuterocanonicals, which, if I am not mistaken, are the same folks who did the earlier version. My understanding, and I could be wrong, is that the biblical scholars who approved the India edition that was first released last year simply reviewed the text with suggesting a few minor changes. I will be happy to be corrected if I am wrong about this. Here is a photo of the copyright page:
For a fairly straight-forward readers Bible it is fantastic. This edition has a very clear double-column page-layout. (It reminds me a bit of HarperOne's NRSVs to be honest.) Since this is meant to be primarily a readers bible, I believe most of you will find that it succeeds in accomplishing that goal. Bolded paragraph headings and line-matching makes it a easy to read from in most any setting and light. The paper is a bright white, not cream colored. The NLT-CE is sewn and includes a ribbon marker. The hardcover is sturdy, and combined with the sewn binding, should last a long time. It might also make a good candidate for a rebinding project. Overall, a very nice product that is simply, yet beautifully made.
At the bottom of each page you will find textual notes, most often indicating a more literal rendering of the Hebrew or Greek. In addition, you will find in the New Testament direct cross-references when the Old Testament is cited. There are a few references found in the Old Testament as well. All notes are indicated in the text by an asterisk.
Each book comes with an introduction, outline, and a short blurb about themes, purpose, authorship, and date of composition. These are short, but helpful. This is not intended to be a study bible, yet the introductions are very good and informative for the relative small size of them.
Finally, and to my surprise, there is found at the back of the Bible a generous set of maps. And yes, there is a map of the Greek Empire included. In total, there are 9 maps which cover the entire biblical period. These are newly produced maps, with a copyright of 2016.
So, once again, I encourage you to got pick this edition up. My edition is nicely made and a joy to read from.
*
Thank you to Tyndale for providing this review copy for an honest review by this reviewer*
