Who all has read the entire Bible?

[Ignatius]

And how many times? And what do you get out of it?

I don’t even know how many times. I’ve read through different versions. Right now I’m reading the one that I recently became aware of that I had not yet read, the Orthodox Study Bible. It’s beautifully illustrated and the commentary is excellent. I generally start over at Genesis whenever I finish Revelation. Of course I also do devotional reading of sections wherever the spirit leads me.

Yes, it definitely brings me closer to God.

 

[Lindalearning]

So do I. I have at least 8 different translations. I also have a parallel bible that shows 4 different translations in columns, side by side, so we can compare the different translations to get a fuller meaning. I do find it very helpful.

I also have at least 6 different commentaries, including one protestant commentary by Barclay. He is really good, except where he disputes Catholic teaching and interpretation. He is not even in the ball park on these and its most obvious where he is giving the protestant point of view. That helps when trying to answer some of their objections. You know where they will be coming from before hand.
Deacon Ed B.

Could you recommend a good commentary in Barclay’s style (historical and cultural context) but that is Catholic for Genesis and Matthew? I’m reading Barclay’s commentary on Matthew to summarize for a church bible study group (supplementing the Great Adventures series done without the video) and love it, except for missing the Catholic approach on some (important!) issues. In a different group (moms with preschoolers in tow) we’re doing the “6 Weeks with the Bible” on Genesis and while it’s enlightening beyond what I know, after reading Barclay, I think we must be missing so much more meaning. Thank you!

Lindalearning

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

Let me simply list the commentaries that I use. Perhaps this would help. Barclays I would only recommend for a Catholic well grounded in the knowledge and study of the Catholic Faith, because he can be either grossly obvious or subtle in error. I definitely would not recommend use of this commentary for one starting off.
The ones I use are.

1. St Jerome’s Commentary
2. Harpers Commentary
3. Collegeville Series
4. Navarre Bible commentary
5. Herder’s Commentary on the Psalms
6. Barclay’ Commentary
   For ones as you are requesting, I would use either Collegeville, or Navarre series. i hope this helps.
   Prayers & Blessings
   Deacon Ed B

 

[Gamera]

Could you recommend a good commentary in Barclay’s style (historical and cultural context) but that is Catholic for Genesis and Matthew? …

The Navarre Study Bible. On the plus side, it’s 100% fully Catholic and the commentary includes quotations from papal encyclicals, quotes from saints, etc. On the minus side, expect to shell out $400 - $500 if you want the whole thing (twelve hardcover volumes or about 30 softcover ones). Luckily, you can buy individual volumes online (try eBay, or Adoremus Books) for about $15-20, depending on the volume you want. Matthew is easy to find; for Genesis, you might have to get the hardcover Penteteuch volume.

 

[KathleenElsie]

Any Catholic that reads all the daily readings for three years has read the whole bible. That being said I have read it through many times.
A better question is who has studied the whole Bible from cover to cover?

 

[Antegin]

I have read 3 different translations in two different languages from cover to cover. You would be surprised y the different nuances that can be picked up by reading in a different language.

 

[NotWorthy]

Any Catholic that reads all the daily readings for three years has read the whole bible. That being said I have read it through many times.
A better question is who has studied the whole Bible from cover to cover?

C’mon, you know that’s not true. It gives you a majority of the Old Testament, but you’re not going to find the census of Numbers in there, as well as a lot of Leviticus :coffeeread:. Also, you lose the context when you do 8-10 verses a day.