Looking for a Bible?

Well, half of a Bible, anyway?

A few days ago I picked up a copy of the recently released The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (hardcover; it also comes in a leather cover and paperback) from Ignatius Press. Incidentally, all three are currently on sale on the web site. The edition uses the Second Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version, which happens to be my favorite translation.

I am delighted to recommend it to you.

The commentary comprising the study aspect of the Bible is taken from the small and excellent Ignatius commentary series on the individual books of the New Testament, but now they are thankfully all combined in one edition of the New Testament (which saves the reader quite a bit of money). The commentary is some of the best I've seen and ranges from historical explanations to spiritual interpretations, all in keeping with the teachings of the Church.

With the hardcover edition, at least, the pages are wider than a typical book and so lay open very nicely without your assistance, even at the beginning or end of the book; when using the book for reference work, this is very important and useful.

At the end of the book, the editors have included a concise concordance, making it easy to find certain words throughout the text. The indeces, too, are very nice and will easily help with your apologetic work.

Even if you are not currently looking for a new Bible you really should consider purchasing a copy of this; it will undoubtedly help increase your understanding of the Bible. (No, I am not a paid endorser.)

In my judgment, the only way this edition could be better is if it included also the Old Testament with equally good commentary.