Looking for a good study bible

[Marysann]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Navarre Bible. It is not a bible study, but a muti-volume study bible. The English edition uses the Revised Standard Catholic Edition translation. (This is the translation used by the Vatican for English translations of their documents. PeaceinChrist, you must remember that the USCCB has a financial interest in the NAB and NABRE translations.) The Navarre notes make heavy use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the writings of the Church Fathers, the saints, and the popes. It’s main disadvantage is that it is not cheap! It is doable if you buy one volume at a time. I have found it very useful from both an intellectual and spiritual point of view. I highly recommend the Pentateuch volume which made those difficult books to the Old Testament fascinating to me. I just love it! Good luck in your search.

 

[COPLAND_3]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Navarre Bible. It is not a bible study, but a muti-volume study bible. The English edition uses the Revised Standard Catholic Edition translation. (This is the translation used by the Vatican for English translations of their documents. PeaceinChrist, you must remember that the USCCB has a financial interest in the NAB and NABRE translations.) The Navarre notes make heavy use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the writings of the Church Fathers, the saints, and the popes. It’s main disadvantage is that it is not cheap! It is doable if you buy one volume at a time. I have found it very useful from both an intellectual and spiritual point of view. I highly recommend the Pentateuch volume which made those difficult books to the Old Testament fascinating to me. I just love it! Good luck in your search.

The Navarre Bible is awesome to say the least, but there is no reason it should be so expensive. I would recommend looking for used volumes, which one could probably find them less expensive that way. But I cannot imagine many people would actually want to get rid of them because they are truly as good as it gets!

 

[Cyklist]

Here’s a thread which discusses commentaries: Practical Commentary on Scripture! I have written the most in that thread. New posts there are welcome!:

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Navarre Bible. It is not a bible study, but a muti-volume study bible.

 

[october_baby]

It’s this one: www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0232481865/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used
… there’s two for sale right now, one from booknow582 costs $58.20 in original box, the other from AbeBooks Marketplace 2 costs $58.25.
I would also recommend this Bible.

When You buy from Amazon, enter through the link at the right on csntm.org and then the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts will be given a portion of Your purchase at no cost for You!:

Thank you for the link, very helpful.

 

[october_baby]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Navarre Bible. It is not a bible study, but a muti-volume study bible. The English edition uses the Revised Standard Catholic Edition translation. (This is the translation used by the Vatican for English translations of their documents. PeaceinChrist, you must remember that the USCCB has a financial interest in the NAB and NABRE translations.) The Navarre notes make heavy use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the writings of the Church Fathers, the saints, and the popes. It’s main disadvantage is that it is not cheap! It is doable if you buy one volume at a time. I have found it very useful from both an intellectual and spiritual point of view. I highly recommend the Pentateuch volume which made those difficult books to the Old Testament fascinating to me. I just love it! Good luck in your search.

I’m interested in the Navarre study bible, but the cost could be a problem, my job is temporary, so I think I’ll wait until I find a stable job .

 

[ajcstr]

HELP!!! I’ve started my new job (praise the Lord!) and have money to buy a new bible.
I have the Ignatius Press RSV New Testament I love it, but need something with both testaments. It should have footnotes,book introductions, and doctrinal notes. I want to be very Orthodox, so the NAB,NABRE, AND JERUSALEM bibles are out. I’m in a bind because
I’ve been searching through the internet and the only translations I can find are either NAB
or NABRE. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Not sure why you are ruling out the New Jerusalem Bible. I have heard good and bad about the translation itself, but the footnotes and narratives are very good. But you have to get the edition with the full set of footnotes:

amazon.com/New-Jerusalem-Bible-Henry-Wansbrough/dp/0385142641/ref=ed_oe_h

You can read the reviews for yourself.

 

[mccorm45]

I am with you here, 100%. The Ignatius RSV is great, but having a NABRE that is the same size and print, and 100% conformed to the Liturgy, would be awesome. The Red NABRE’s have small font and tons of notes. The Ignatius Bible is the perfect size and type, but a different translation than used in the Liturgy! Hopefully they’ll get it right, soon.

Your wish may happen in the next ten years:
catholicbiblesblog.com/2012/09/usccb-and-nab-report.html?m=1

 

[october_baby]

Not sure why you are ruling out the New Jerusalem Bible. I have heard good and bad about the translation itself, but the footnotes and narratives are very good. But you have to get the edition with the full set of footnotes:

amazon.com/New-Jerusalem-Bible-Henry-Wansbrough/dp/0385142641/ref=ed_oe_h

You can read the reviews for yourself.

One of the reviews said that this was"not a catholic bible" when protestants and non christians say something like that, it bothers me.

 

[ajcstr]

One of the reviews said that this was"not a catholic bible" when protestants and non christians say something like that, it bothers me.

Definitely a Catholic bible, see review below but I think that the reviewers lean to the liberal side rather than the conservative. I like the bible a lot for the notes and the cross references and the single colum layout, the translation itself renders some verses a little differently (more on the dynamic side) but it is a very good bible for reading.

scriptureschool.org/studybibles.aspx

 

[honkytonk]

There are a lot of excellent study Bibles out there, bearing in mind that some Bibles these days are joint Protestant-Catholic projects. The best Catholic study Bible available is The Catholic Study Bible NAB Second Edition, which contains marginal cross-references, footnotes and annotations, articles on various aspects of biblical study and - thank God! - a concordance. My next choice would be an Eastern Orthodox Bible called The Orthodox Study Bible with excellent footnotes and annotations referencing the Saints, the Fathers of the Church, the Liturgy, the Church Year and other aspects of the Faith of our Sister Churches of the East - and it also includes lots of articles - but, unfortunately, no concordance, which you can purchase separately (the OSB New Testament has a wonderful concordance).

You can also purchase a single-volume dedicated Bible concordance separately if necessary.

I don’t know why none of the responses so far have not mentioned some excellent Protestant study Bibles. High on my list are, first of all, the Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha [deuterocanonical books] New Revised Standard Version Augmented Third Edition. This contains all of the study aids for the Bibles mentioned above as well as a concordance and lots of articles on subjects of biblical study. The only other Protestant Bibles I would mention in this connection are the English Standard Version Study Bible, the NIV Study Bible.and the New King James Version Study Bible, all three of which have all the features mentioned above. The only thing one has to watch when using these Protestant study Bibles is that you will be well advised to read their commentary and footnotes through the lens of the Catholic magisterium - and, when in doubt, keep a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church handy.

With the Protestant Bibles you will need a single-volume copy of the Apocrypha - the deuterocanonical books of the full Catholic biblical canon.

As far as biblical commentaries are concerned, I would recommend The Jerome Biblical Commentary or the Collegeville Biblical Commentary, both of which are Catholic, or the Protestant/Anglican/Catholic/Orthodox volume entitled The Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary on the Bible, which also contains commentary on the deuterocanonical books.

Athanasios Scott Tonk

 

[Davidd126]

May I recommend the original 1966 Jerusalem bible? It’s the official bible used by in the mass readingsin the UK and Ireland. The language is not gender neutral and is a fairly good translation (not perfect), the notes are orthodox compared to the NAB. Let the notes speak for themselves, here is commentary for St John 6: 55-57

Jesus is the true bread because he is God’s word, and also because he is a victim whose body and blood are offered in sacrifice for the life of the world, the word flesh suggests a connection between Eucharist and incarnation: the word made flesh is the food of man.the life that the Father communicates to the Son passes to the faithful through the Eucharist.

I looked for a good catholic bible for years (my wife can attest to that) and finally did in 2007 with the full edition 1966 Jerusalem bible. I am a revert to the faith with a background in Presbyterian/Evangelical/fundamentalist Protestantism. As a protestant I had a wide selection in bibles that had very orthodox note, I tried to find something similar in catholic bibles but only found it in the Jerusalem Bible. I recommend you go on eBay and find the one with the faux leather cover, it’s flexible and has gilded pages w large type. If u want more note samples let me know and I’ll post them. Mother Angelica used this version during her live show.

 

[october_baby]

There are a lot of excellent study Bibles out there, bearing in mind that some Bibles these days are joint Protestant-Catholic projects. The best Catholic study Bible available is The Catholic Study Bible NAB Second Edition, which contains marginal cross-references, footnotes and annotations, articles on various aspects of biblical study and - thank God! - a concordance. My next choice would be an Eastern Orthodox Bible called The Orthodox Study Bible with excellent footnotes and annotations referencing the Saints, the Fathers of the Church, the Liturgy, the Church Year and other aspects of the Faith of our Sister Churches of the East - and it also includes lots of articles - but, unfortunately, no concordance, which you can purchase separately (the OSB New Testament has a wonderful concordance).

You can also purchase a single-volume dedicated Bible concordance separately if necessary.

I don’t know why none of the responses so far have not mentioned some excellent Protestant study Bibles. High on my list are, first of all, the Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha [deuterocanonical books] New Revised Standard Version Augmented Third Edition. This contains all of the study aids for the Bibles mentioned above as well as a concordance and lots of articles on subjects of biblical study. The only other Protestant Bibles I would mention in this connection are the English Standard Version Study Bible, the NIV Study Bible.and the New King James Version Study Bible, all three of which have all the features mentioned above. The only thing one has to watch when using these Protestant study Bibles is that you will be well advised to read their commentary and footnotes through the lens of the Catholic magisterium - and, when in doubt, keep a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church handy.

With the Protestant Bibles you will need a single-volume copy of the Apocrypha - the deuterocanonical books of the full Catholic biblical canon.

As far as biblical commentaries are concerned, I would recommend The Jerome Biblical Commentary or the Collegeville Biblical Commentary, both of which are Catholic, or the Protestant/Anglican/Catholic/Orthodox volume entitled The Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary on the Bible, which also contains commentary on the deuterocanonical books.

Athanasios Scott Tonk

I am a former protestant, I don’t need a protestant bible, I need a catholic bible to learn more about the theology of the catholic church. But I appreciate your imput about
bibles. Thank you and God bless you!

 

[srveit]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Navarre Bible. It is not a bible study, but a muti-volume study bible. The English edition uses the Revised Standard Catholic Edition translation. (This is the translation used by the Vatican for English translations of their documents. PeaceinChrist, you must remember that the USCCB has a financial interest in the NAB and NABRE translations.) The Navarre notes make heavy use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the writings of the Church Fathers, the saints, and the popes. It’s main disadvantage is that it is not cheap! It is doable if you buy one volume at a time. I have found it very useful from both an intellectual and spiritual point of view. I highly recommend the Pentateuch volume which made those difficult books to the Old Testament fascinating to me. I just love it! Good luck in your search.

I use this for my daily Bible study. It is awesome! I have read the Pentatuch, the Gospels and Acts, and am now reading the Letters of St. Paul. God bless.

 

[MarianaCruz]

This might be a good complement for your study. I believe it is good to know every versions and, more than that, to search why they are different, who made the changes and when. biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/
May God bless your bible study!

 

[4theSIT]

Look on-line or stop by a catholic bookstore and review the Navarre Bible. An abundance of commentary.

 

[Jerry-Jet]

It really irks new Catholic converts that many Catholics use Protestant bibles with Protestant bias because the Catholic choices are just plain bad.

Can you imagine what would happen if you had an English translation of the Nova Vulgata done by conservative non modernist non inclusive language scholars?

I think there would be so much truth in it that a lot of people couldn’t take it!

 

[JCLaws]

You may want to buy a new American standard version bible or douay rheims version, but also buy a study guide for he bible. Extra biblical literature with historical notes and commentary is the best way to go.

 

[october_baby]

You may want to buy a new American standard version bible or douay rheims version, but also buy a study guide for he bible. Extra biblical literature with historical notes and commentary is the best way to go.

Do you have any suggestions for study guides?

 

[ericboutin]

I may have missed it and if I did I apologize but does anyone know definitely when Ignatius will have the Old Testament done and released. I have the New Testament and absolutely love it. It will be so nice to have both!

 

[october_baby]

I may have missed it and if I did I apologize but does anyone know definitely when Ignatius will have the Old Testament done and released. I have the New Testament and absolutely love it. It will be so nice to have both!

I heard a rumor, sometime in 2014.