R
Russ_of_Tokyo
Guest
I have been searching for a pocket size New Testament and Psalms in the Revised Standard Version and finally have found one. My copy of the New Testament & Psalms Orthodox Youth Edition (ISBN 9781937628215) arrived today. It was published just this year and I could find no information on it except the sparse advertising blurbs. So in order to fill a gap, or maybe just satisfy your curiosity here is a description. BTW the same review plus photos can be found at my web site:
stutler.cc/russ/nt_psalms_oye.html
This was published by the American Bible Society and is sold (as of this writing) by them and also the Orthodox Marketplace
They call it a Youth Edition, but other than the low price (around six bucks) there is nothing particularly youthful about it that would prevent an old guy like me from proudly carrying it around and using it in public, no cartoons or flip animations or anything like that. It’s very classy.
This book is 3 1/8 inches (7.8 cm) wide, 5 inches (12.6 cm) tall, and 11/16 of an inch (1.8 cm) thick. So it really is pocket size and will fit in the back pocket of your jeans. The pages are glued in and not sewn, which means they will not lie flat (which is why there are clips in the photos) but a book this small will probably be held in the hand while walking or commuting more often than lying open on a desk, at least in my case.
It has eight beautiful color icons inside and a set of black and white maps in the back. There is also over a hundred pages of extra material in the back (there are a total of 776 pages in the book). These extra pages include prayers for morning, midday and evening, and how to read the Bible.
These extra pages also included a section about the history of the Orthodox Church including the split with the Catholic Church which was of course written from the Orthodox viewpoint. I carefully cut those pages out of my copy with a sharp knife since they some parts are a little bit offensive and I think the Catholic view of history makes more sense (and is generally less polemic).
This contains the 1971 edition of the RSV. Ideally, I would love to have the RSV-CE (Catholic Edition) this small, but such an animal does not exist. Yeah, I know there is a so-called pocket edition of the RSV-2CE New Testament and Psalms, and I have it. That one is a giant 4 3/16 by 7 inches, and there is no back pocket that big – at least not on my jeans!
I plan on converting this Orthodox Youth Edition to the RSV-CE by simply penciling in the few modifications which can be found in the back of many RSV-CE editions and also on the internet somewhere. It’s mainly just a matter of pointing to the marginal notes.
One very nice feature is the layout of all the text in easy to read single column format! I was hoping the Psalms would be laid out that way, and was pleasantly surprised to find the New Testament also laid out the same way.
This little book was the last remaining puzzle piece for me. Now I am once again a man of one Bible with the RSV-CE in my bag, and this RSV in my pocket. All my Psalm singing, Bible reading and study will be in the same version.
This is just a heads-up for fellow Catholics who have been on a similar quest to find that ideal pocket New Testament and Psalms. It’s not perfect, but close enough. I’m not selling these or making a penny for writing this. As a matter of fact, I’m not happy with either of the vendors who sell it because they wouldn’t take orders from overseas! I had to use a friend’s address in America and have him send it on to me.
stutler.cc/russ/nt_psalms_oye.html
This was published by the American Bible Society and is sold (as of this writing) by them and also the Orthodox Marketplace
They call it a Youth Edition, but other than the low price (around six bucks) there is nothing particularly youthful about it that would prevent an old guy like me from proudly carrying it around and using it in public, no cartoons or flip animations or anything like that. It’s very classy.
This book is 3 1/8 inches (7.8 cm) wide, 5 inches (12.6 cm) tall, and 11/16 of an inch (1.8 cm) thick. So it really is pocket size and will fit in the back pocket of your jeans. The pages are glued in and not sewn, which means they will not lie flat (which is why there are clips in the photos) but a book this small will probably be held in the hand while walking or commuting more often than lying open on a desk, at least in my case.
It has eight beautiful color icons inside and a set of black and white maps in the back. There is also over a hundred pages of extra material in the back (there are a total of 776 pages in the book). These extra pages include prayers for morning, midday and evening, and how to read the Bible.
These extra pages also included a section about the history of the Orthodox Church including the split with the Catholic Church which was of course written from the Orthodox viewpoint. I carefully cut those pages out of my copy with a sharp knife since they some parts are a little bit offensive and I think the Catholic view of history makes more sense (and is generally less polemic).
This contains the 1971 edition of the RSV. Ideally, I would love to have the RSV-CE (Catholic Edition) this small, but such an animal does not exist. Yeah, I know there is a so-called pocket edition of the RSV-2CE New Testament and Psalms, and I have it. That one is a giant 4 3/16 by 7 inches, and there is no back pocket that big – at least not on my jeans!
I plan on converting this Orthodox Youth Edition to the RSV-CE by simply penciling in the few modifications which can be found in the back of many RSV-CE editions and also on the internet somewhere. It’s mainly just a matter of pointing to the marginal notes.
One very nice feature is the layout of all the text in easy to read single column format! I was hoping the Psalms would be laid out that way, and was pleasantly surprised to find the New Testament also laid out the same way.
This little book was the last remaining puzzle piece for me. Now I am once again a man of one Bible with the RSV-CE in my bag, and this RSV in my pocket. All my Psalm singing, Bible reading and study will be in the same version.
This is just a heads-up for fellow Catholics who have been on a similar quest to find that ideal pocket New Testament and Psalms. It’s not perfect, but close enough. I’m not selling these or making a penny for writing this. As a matter of fact, I’m not happy with either of the vendors who sell it because they wouldn’t take orders from overseas! I had to use a friend’s address in America and have him send it on to me.