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.

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!

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.

Next to the Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition, the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament (2010) is the most comprehensive and orthodox Catholic commentaries in print today. For the Bible text, it uses the Revised Standard Version 2nd Catholic Edition (RSV-2CE), essentially the RSV with the archaic terms modernized (thou to you, etc.). It provides the usual historical-critical exigesis, but more of the historical rather than the critical, so the reader could have better grasp of the meaning of the passages rather than of the origins or sources of and the issues against the text. In addition, it has notations on how the text noted relates to other passages in the Bible (book icon), the Church's living tradition and doctrinal teachings (dove icon), and the Magisterium as found in Vatican documents (keys icon). The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible also provides a few maps and boxed essays that facilitate the understanding of the passages. You may need to have on hand the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). The Bible provides many cross-references to the CCC but does not anymore quote heavily from it. Understandably, this helped keep the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible more compact than the Navarre Bible. Another very helpful feature of this Bible is the Concise Concordance--a summary of keywords and where they can be found in the Ignatius (RSV) Bible and the phrase where the word is used. Although it covers only the New Testament, the Concise Concordance is very thorough, far more comprehensive than found in other Bibles. Curiously, the separate publication of the more complete Concordant (with the Old Testament and additional New Testament notes) is more expensive than the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible! You can just imagine the amount of saving you enjoy by the inclusion of this section in this Bible (the hardcover edition). The Concordance is particularly helpful when one forgets a word he has highlighted somewhere and when doing some apologetics work. Compared with the Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition, the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is not as thorough. For one thing, it doesn't quote much from anywhere else other than the Catechism. IT does provide some short summaries from the writing of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church when necessary. However, the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is less than half the price and about two-thirds the length of the Navarre Bible. It is not necessarily less bulky; it is a huge and hefty volume. One thing for sure, reading the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible would leave the Catholic reader enlightened in his faith as the Navarre Bible also would. In any case, if you could afford both books, get them. While they may have many overlaps, each one would fill out what may be missing in the other.

Like many of you, I had purchased all of the`single' (Matthew through Revelation) New Testament books of the RSVCE Ignatius Catholic Study Bible Books that Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch had done for Ignatius. I needed them as I was a convert and, although I had every Bible known to man as a Protestant, I needed some footnotes that were Catholic! As a new Catholic I knew the footnotes in all of my Protestant Bibles, no matter how beautiful the Bibles were, were often very misleading. I used these individual Ignatius Study Bible books in Bible studies and, because of the accurate footnotes, I always told others in the classes to buy them when studying any of the books of the NT! With no exception, they were loved by everyone. No exception! We all knew it would happen, and waited with baited breath, for Ignatius to publish these books of the Bible all in one book. We discovered we would have to wait for the Old Testament - and we NEED it - because to study the Bible you really need the full story. BUT . . . many of us are most happy to see this New Testament all in one volume. It is heavy! Yes, very heavy! Heavy because it is filled with footnotes with valuable truths for the person who wants to "study to show himself approved" (2 Timothy 2:15) and know the Word of God. The concordance is over 150 pages but great to have! I can't imagine how thick - and heavy - the Old and New Testament will be, however, be sure I will have it when it comes out even if I have to pull it in a wagon I have gifted this new Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament to a few friends, even to Protestants. I have it on my iPad and have 3 copies in our home. It is a great study Bible - just great. Just bought the leather one; it was late coming out. I am going to leave the leather copy out so people can see it, hold it, read it and want one. The price is amazingly low - buy a paperback first - mark it up (always feel free to mark up a study Bible!) - love it - I am sure you will want a leather one - and the leather one is not costly either! Don't forget to put it on your iPad - it is wonderful and much lighter to carry. If you do NOT have a Kindle - you still can order (free!) for iPad without buying Kindle - you only have to sign on and tell Amazon and then you buy the book for the Kindle price. When you open your iPad, there it is! So simple. Even better - without buying it again? If you have an iPhone? You may have it for your iPhone if you purchase it for your iPad. NO Extra Charge. Enjoy! I am nudging Ignatius to get the show on the road for the complete Bible. Nudge with me, okay?

You won’t find a better study bible than this. The footnotes and topical essays have greatly enriched my understanding of the Catholic faith as well as scripture. Every day, I learn something new. I wish that Ignatius Press would publish the Old Testament as a separate book, so people who purchased the New Testament would not have to buy the combined bible.

As a former Evangelical Christian I've owned several Study Bibles. Yet the two I used most extensively were the NIV study Bible and the NAS Hebrew/Greek key study Bible by Zodhiates. I've been using the individual copies of the Ignatius Study Bible for about seven years now. I believe it has set a new standard. First, the translation. The RSV is accurate and still contains beauty. Having its roots in the Authorized Version it is not dumbed down, basic english. A joy to read. The NIV as some folks know is a 'dynamic equivalent'. Not precise and not beautiful. Ordinary. The NAS is accurate but not nearly as beautiful as the RSV. Second, the features. Fantastic. Features I have not seen in other study Bibles. The introduction to the Bible itself reminds you what the Bible is, "You are approaching the 'word of God'. ...The word of God is Scripture. The Word of God is Jesus. ...'All Sacred Scripture is but one book, and this one book is Christ, because all divine Scripture speaks of Christ, and all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ. ... When we approach the Bible, then, we approach Jesus, the Word of God." It then goes on to explains Inspiration, Inerrancy, Biblical authority, the Senses of Scripture and even gives the criteria for proper Biblical interpretation. Not all Study Bibles do this. The other great and unique features are marked by icons. One informs you of the 'content and unity of Scripture.' It shows how particular passages of the OT illuminates the mystery of the NT. Another examines particular passages in light of the Church's 'living tradition' - creeds, councils, Church Fathers, Doctors and saints. One more deals with the 'analogy of faith.' It spells out how the mysteries of our faith unlock and explain one another. The last feature I'll mention that is unique to this study Bible and a real treasure is the Index of Doctrines. For example, Our Lord: the Index lists all the verses that touch on the various teachings about Jesus Christ. It does the same with all kinds of doctrines. This study Bible has the typical maps, lists of parables, miracles, charts and word studies too. The only negative things to say are: like all study Bibles its big; and I can't wait for them to finish the whole Bible (you can buy the individuals as they are completed. Genesis is done.) Buy it, try it, you'll love it! PS, Don't study the Scriptures to death. The Bible is not a text book. Pray the words of God more than you analyze them. Buy 'Praying the Bible: An Introduction to Lectio Divina' by Mariano Magrassi. Follow Him!

Until one has extensively used a complex study book such as this it is difficult to give more than an early impression. Not least difficult if you are used to using such references as The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Raymond E Brown's three volumes on John, and so on. The first "difficulty" with the RSV is that one finds that any commentary, such as this, is approved by the National Council of Churches of Christ which is a sort of oxymoron for a Catholic commentary; one wonders what if...they had disapproved? Be that as it may. This translation Is the RSV and not the NRSV, an impression confirmed by a quick comparison, e.g., Luke 2: 39 where a difference can be seen. This is a pity as the NRSV is the standard study text in academic institutions such as universities. For the ordinary reader not a great problem probably. The other point is to remember that the (N)RSV for Catholics is not approved for use in the Lectionary: that is still the Jerusalem Bible translation; in other words it cannot be used in the Catholic Liturgy - but that is a technical issue only. I would suggest that the reader would find the second introduction: Introduction to the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible of more use than the Introduction to the 1966 Edition. From there the lay out is standard with each Book introduced including a reasonably extensive analysis of that Book. The explanatory notes, as footnotes to the text, seem quite extensive, and there are "inserts" that give extensive boxed explanations of special issues, e.g., The End of the World, The Census of Quirinius; and on the majority of pages are small boxed Word Studies. The Concise Concordance was good and a lot easier to use than my two electronic Concordances. The Indexes too, are useful; and the volume concludes with a reasonable - and usual - number of coloured historical maps. Altogether at the price (even allowing the considerable percentage of that in frieght overseas) a useful book for those interested in studying the New Testament - or just reading it intelligently. The concept of Dei Verbum is a vital way for any serious Catholic - or any Christian - and (quoted in the Introduction, I note) as St. Jerome said: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ." Equally, constructive and insightful reading of the Bible also requires an informed reader and interpreter of the Word; there are techicalities of language and culture to be understood if the text is to be understood. The Word is immutable, but insights are the friut of prayerful informed reading. This book is neither too simple nor too complex.

This Bible is not as visually appealing as The Word on Fire Bible or the Great Adventure Bible (two other Bibles I HIGHLY recommend), but it is incredibly informative and an absolute standout in that way. I would absolutely recommend this for anyone looking into purchasing a study Bible.

This Bible is so good!! The footnotes are super detailed and really help you to fully understand what you’re reading, I would definitely recommend it. So happy with my purchase

I havent come close to anything as good as this Holy Bible/NT. the pages, the quality, the font, the wight, the detail, the information. Its mind boggling how good this is done. My only wish is that it should have included the Old Testament and put it togheter. What a treasure this is. Wonderful! Can’t recommend it enough

Neues Testament auf Englisch mit sehr interessanten Kommentaren, die gutes Hintergrundwissen bieten und zum Nachdenken anregen

I just received my copy of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible recently. I loved the copious cross references and the references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This Study Bible is fantastic. I look forward to the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible OLD TESTAMENT,