Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament

Comments on the physical aspect of the book: I have the paperback version of this bible and it's true what other reviewers said about the quality of the binding: top-notch! I expect that the color maps at the end portion will not tear off easily since they are also sewn. Even the glue applied to the spine is neatly applied. The font of the main text can be referred to as "large-print" and thus highly readable. The commentaries are smaller but I can still read them without using my reading glasses. High quality, thicker than the usual bible paper and shows no bleed-through. Beautiful external design and excellent supplementary materials within. Insightful commentaries and commentaries as it relates to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. as an example of the first, consider this excerpt of the commentary on John 4:18 (Samaritan Woman at the well) ...4:18 five husbands: The woman has endured multiple marital struggles. The woman's personal life parallels historical experience of the Samaritan people. According to 2 Kings 17:24-31, the five foreign tribes who intermarried with the northern Israelites (Samaritans) introduced five male deities into the region. These idols where individually addressed as Baal, a Hebrew word meaning "lord" or "husband."... So far none of my other study bibles (ESV Study Bible and NLT Study Bible) mentioned this bit of information in relation to the five deceased husbands of the Samaritan woman. From here you can then relate the present state of the woman's affair with a man who is not her husband to the words that Jesus spoke, "...you worship what you do not know." The parallelism is striking: 5 dead husbands = 5 former pagan deities and her living at present with a man who's not her husband = her worshiping at present a god who she do not know. And for the second, here is something unique to this study bible alone: a moral application as espoused by the Living Tradition of the Church. For example, in John 7:45-11, in the story of the woman who was caught in adultery, the Bible mentions that Jesus bent down twice to write something in the sand, saying in between these actions, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." Part of the commentary on that passage reads: Morally (St. Bede, Hom. in Evan.): Christ, who twice bends down to write on the ground, teaches us to bend low in humility to examine ourselves both before and after addressing the faults of our neighbor. If his example becomes our practice, we will avoid as he did the extremes of being unjust and unmerciful toward others. God willing, the publishers will be able to release the Old Testament version before too long. 5 stars for workmanship, quality of materials and excellence of study tools. additional note as of December 6, 2010: I also bought the hardbound version in late November. The book is so good I had to give one to my mother! Update as of September 20, 2011: I am now on my second round of reading the bible. Slowly this time. I discovered that having a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Vatican II) adds a lot to the usability of this bible! I have also ordered my third copy: the leatherbound one which I can take with me in my car wherever I go.

Protestant and Catholic alike will find the explanatory footnotes of this study bible of great value, as they are far more comprehensive and informative than those in the five other study bibles I personally have and have used. There is now more, however, that makes this New Testament well worth acquiring (and using). The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, RSV 2nd Catholic Edition New Testament previously came out as handy individual books covering one or a few of the New Testament books/letters. One of the wonderful features of the individual books besides portability is that there are STUDY QUESTIONS for EVERY CHAPTER of EACH BOOK of the New Testament. These questions usually follow the format of four under the heading of "For Understanding" and four under "For Application." Specific verses are cited for each Understanding question set, so one can easily find the right page the question refers to. Taken together and addressing each question, you will find yourself truly studying and reflecting far more than you might otherwise. So helpful were they that I purchased and used each the individual books as they came to press. These questions are ideal for self study and for groups. The latter will probably choose to select from those questions given, because of time limitations involving group study and discussion, and some application questions may be too personal. Only four questions in each category you ask? Not really, because each question actually contains a series of questions related to the biblical text and/or the commentary at the bottom of referenced page of text. Thus, if you choose a conscientious/educational/learning approach, you can spend quite a bit of time on each chapter, but you'll be richer for it. The original descriptions (Amazon and the publisher's site) for the new all-in-one edition, Catholic Study Bible did not have any reference to study questions, because, SADLY, IGNATIUS CHOSE TO OMIT THE STUDY QUESTIONS from the final New Testament product. HOWEVER, AS OF JULY 27, 2010, I learned that Ignatius Press has put them on its website. THEY ARE AVAILABLE, FREE FOR DOWNLOAD in either zip or pdf format. Thanks go to Ignatius for making them available as a collection, though it would have been better if the questions were also included in the assembled final text. Be sure to scroll down on the description page of the Ignatius Press site to find the link for downloading the study questions. The web address for that page includes the word "promotions." This means, to me, (1) nothing, or (2) the availability is intended to be temporary. Perhaps in the future Ignatius will assemble/modify them in some way, possibly adding to them to create a complete bible study program to print and sell individually. That may be in the distant future or much sooner, especially if it is decided to produce and print a New Testament bible study program. The moral? Download the questions now, while the getting is good, and free! One more item: the individual study book for Genesis will be coming out in October. Other books will become available as they are finished.

This will be a very quick review as I've only had a couple of hours to go over this new study Bible. I have been a Protestant of the Southern Baptist persuasion my entire life, but I am open to a possible change to Catholicism. I got the paperback version and I am very happy with the quality. It is a substantial book that almost has a textbook like feel to it. They use the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV-SCE) for the text. Interestingly, it reads very much like the Protestant English Standard Version (ESV). Both are updates of the Revised Standard Version (RSV). Both removed archaic pronoun references to God, e.g. thee, thy, thou, etc. Both have "corrected" several verses where the original RSV was perceived to have favored a more liberal translation philosophy. The RSV-SCE text is definitely better than the New American Bible so it was a good choice for this study Bible. I was pleasantly surprised by the volume, range, and thoroughness of the notes and articles. There is a substantial amount of information here. I am most interested in the Index of Doctrines in the appendix. For any given doctrine, they provide Biblical references and commentary regarding that doctrine. That alone should make this a must read for Protestants. They generally don't know what they are "protesting" so here's a good way to find out. But, I warn them that they could discover they don't have anything to protest. The text size is another bonus for this Bible. Most Bibles say they are printing readable text at 7 and 8 points--I don't think so. I am young, and I have good eyesight. Seven point text is small no matter your age. This Bible uses at least 10pt text, but it's probably more like 12pt. The text has the same appearance you would expect in any other book rather than the micro-type in most Bibles. While not quite as extensive as the ESV Study Bible, it is very thorough. And for those interested in Catholic doctrine, it is a must-read. Like I said, this is a quick review. So I'll just end by saying that I highly recommend the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament.

This Bible is so informative and very easy to read. It even explains the explanations it’s by far the best study Bible I’ve used.

Beautiful. I expected nothing less from Ignatius Press. Wonderful insights into the text of the New Testament. Very helpful for studying The Word. The font is a size or two bigger than that in the Ignatius Bible. Which is welcomed due to the larger size of the book. There is a wonderful "key" system that utilizes different keys / icons to denote which type of insight is contained in the notes. The paper is very nice. Significantly thicker than other Bibles that I have. Really adding a quality feel. There is no edge gilding which I am okay with since it is a study Bible and I wouldn't want to be worried about it while traveling or general use. Highly recommend the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament. Hopefully I can get a copy of the complete study Bible when it restocks on the Ignatius website.

What joy! My Ignatius Catholic Study Bible arrived in the post today! The other reviewers have already said so much so I will be brief. In short, this study bible is excellent and retailing at a very reasonable price. This is such a wonderful resource, making it a joy to learn and treasure God's Word! I will just make a few comments on the Leather edition of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible since the other reviews so far are for the hardback and paperback editions. To my knowledge, the content is the same for all editions. Features: Version: Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV-SCE) revised according to Liturgiam Authenticam (2001) with Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur. Leather Binding: Black with gold iconography. The leather quality is the same as the Ignatius New Testament and Psalms. Binding is sturdy but supple. Pages: Thick good quality pages, which can be written on without tearing the page i.e., not phone book paper! Pages have gold gilded edges with rounded corners unlike Hardback version. The pages are not glossy like the Ignatius New Testament and Psalms. I actually prefer this since sometimes glossy paper can be difficult to read. Ribbons: The leather edition has two gold coloured ribbons. It seems that neither the hardback nor softback versions have ribbons. Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.4 x 1.7 inches as stated. Although it does feel relatively lightweight, this study bible is not readily portable - that's what the Ignatius New Testament and Psalms are for! Text size: Very readable with good spacing between the text. The text size for the notes is about two-thirds the size of the Scripture text. Margins: 5/8th Inch thick at the sides and ½ Inch thick top and bottom. There is not much note taking space, unless you have very small handwriting! Introductions: Introduction to the 1966 Catholic RSV edition, Introduction to using the Ignatius Study Bible and a thoughtful introductory essay to the Gospels by Curtis Mitch. Each book of the New Testament has its own introduction along with an outline of the chapters within that book. Study Notes: The study notes contain an icon system for catholic scriptural interpretation, numerous word studies, small maps, cross-references to the Catechism, mini-essays and tables of Jesus' parables and much more! Back Matter: contains the following - 173 page Scriptural concordance - Indices of the Jesus' parables and miracles, - 15 page doctrinal index linked to Scripture - Indices of each chart, map, word study and essay occurring in the study notes - List of abbreviations for each book of the Bible including Old Testament. - 7 Colour maps (with scale) showing (i) Palestine in the Greco-Roman period (ii) Palestine in the time of Jesus (iii) The Holy Land in Modern Times (iv) The Roman Empire in New Testament times (v) Jerusalem from David to Christ (vi) Paul's Journeys (vii) The Churches of the New Testament In conclusion, this is a wonderful study bible, well worth waiting for all these years. What an excellent gift to give to fellow Catholics and perhaps even other Bible following Christians! Well done and a big thank you to Mark Brumley, Scott Hahn, Curtis Mitch and everyone involved at Ignatius Press. May our Lord's hand guide over you as you continue to spread his Good News!

My objective was to find a bible that helped me clearly understand the scriptures, and this book does that. I needed a Catholic Study Bible, and it doesn't get much better than Scott Hahn. I was surprised that the New Testament was larger than an entire text book on the scriptures... which I also bought to help me better understand how the Old Testament points to the New Testament, and is reflected back to the Old Testament as well. Each chapter and verse is clearly footnoted with helpful items that help you cross reference back to the Old Testament, and it is by far the best study Bible that I have ever owned. I have seen some complaints online over the quality of the pages, but I am perfectly happy with the quality. The entire bible is under $25 USD, and is meant to be used... not archived. If your looking for an heirloom bible to sit on a table when Grandma comes over, then this might not be the one you want. This is a study bible... it is meant to used, underlined, studied, used for bible study, and provide learning opportunities. The quality of the book is very good. I enjoy the hard cover, RSV translation (2nd Catholic Edition), and cover decoration. No one I've met can believe the content of this Bible for this price when you consider the footnotes, info sections, concordance, index, and maps. The special information sections explain things like "The Order of Melchizedek", or "Who are the Pharisees" for those of us who do not have a Masters or Doctorate in Theology. We tend to know something about them from the scriptures, but this goes much further in depth to help one really understand these things from a deeper level. The internet is fine... but you need to make sure your information is reliable, and this certainly helps. It has a Concise Concordance (not generally found without a separate book) which is excellent, and index is organized by every single passage where something is referenced. The maps are full color and come complete with index's as well. You can really see how the maps were organized in the time of Christ, as well as compare to modern day. Highly Recommend this one!

Nice translation, easy to read, and pages are pretty thick. My only complaint is the binding, had to fix it within a couple months. I'd probably buy it again though. Great Catholic study Bible.