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.

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.

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,