Amazing Bible Binding Video

This is an excellent Bible binding video put together by one of the nicest Bible producers out there.  They are King James only, and so while I am certainly not endorsing that, it is really something to see this happen and learn to appreciate the care put into each Bible.

So who among us Catholics binds Bibles, breviaries, or other books like this?  Pretty much nobody.  Notice the quality gilt edging.  Most companies spray their edges on.  This is a small non-profit company that does this as a ministry, which accounts for the care put in.  It is said that you can put these Bibles up against anything from Cambridge or R.L. Allen.

Its really a shame that to my knowledge, we have nothing like this in the Church.

Baronius to Release Knox Bible

Baronius Press is about to release its new edition of the Knox Bible.  This is a very exciting release and I encourage everyone to check out the site they have put up about it.  The Knox translation will be appreciated by those who want a solid version but is more readable than the Challoner-Rheims version.  It can be a little "free" at times, and I often think of it as a traditionalist's NLT.  It is a well respected edition and a lot of folks out there have been waiting for this.

I hope to show it to you on these pages when I can get a copy.

Best Pocket Bible Ever: Confraternity NT

The Confraternity Bible is my favorite translation and has been for some time. It is traditional, accessible, and comes with limited faithful commentary. The pocket New Testament and I spend a lot of time together and this is my second copy. The first lasted several tough years of abuse and would still be used today if the washing machine didn't win out in the end.

The pocket New Testament is published by Scepter Publishers, the publishing arm of Opus Dei. It measures roughly 3x5" and fits perfectly in your back pocket. The cover is blue vinyl and has one black ribbon. This thing is tough as nails, will stand nearly any abuse you give it, and only costs around $10.

The page layout is single column with bold print. The font is small but because it has a heavy weight it reads well. It contains a daily reading plan that will take you through the New Testament twice in a year. This is a long way from being chained to the Bishop's desk and should satisfy those who wish we had more weekday readings for Mass in the traditional rite. (Yes I am kidding!) Additionally it comes with all of the standard Confraternity book introductions, excerpts from Divinu Affantu Spiritu by Pope Pius XII, and a preface. It even has a map of Palestine in the time of Christ.

The binding is sewn which adds to the durability. One of the best things about this is that even after continually sitting on it, the book never seems to lose its shape. Its still not bent. My first copy lost its shape after being dunked a sink full of water. But it was still usable and recovered nicely.

Purchase it here from Scepter Publishers for $9.95

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Review: Bad Bibles Edition

I have been meaning to do this for some time, but am just getting around to it now that the school year is over and I have a nifty new keyboard for my iPad. I can type anywhere and it makes things very easy.

I need to show you the rot so you can avoid the stench. Here are two really bad Bibles that you need to avoid. Gladly, they aren't all the easiest to come by.

Bad Bible #1: The Rainbow Catholic Study Bible
If it were just the Good News Translation I probably wouldn't mention it. The GNT is one that I used as a Presbyterian growing up in Sunday School and Youth Group but even then we all knew it was sort of lame. But this one is really lame. Every verse in it is color coded, by topic, except for the "Catholic" books. They left those alone. The color coding makes this Bible completely unusable. One gentleman in my Bible study uses this and sits next to me in class. I don't know how he does it. It is the stupidest gimmick out there.

It also comes with a CD (Windows 3.1 Compatible!) with a whole bunch of heresy on it.

Bad Bible #2: Catholic Community Bible
This is the most insidious and evil edition I have ever come across in my life. I bought it off Amazon a few months ago because I was intrigued with what I saw from its website. I read some of the PDFs available for download and the notes looked a whole lot more faithful than our NAB. The translation itself didn't see half bad at all either.

Boy was I wrong. If you think the NAB notes are bad, you haven't seen these. On nearly every page appears some sort of anti-Catholic screed. There are some really really good notes too but that doesn't help the cause of this Bible.

Here is an example from the Letter of James.

James 5:13 - 16
Are any among you sick? They should pray. Are any of you happy? They should sing songs to God. If anyone is sick, let him call on the elders of the Church, They shall pray for him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. They prayer said in faith will save the sick person; the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

Not horrible. Here is the note on this passage.

We know, through James' words, that the Church continued - and must continue today - Christ's ministry to the sick. Salvation includes both physical and spiritual health. [? I wonder if this was written by a liberation theologian.] The Gospel shows us that the latter is the most important and God always grants it. [He does?], although he does not always restore physical health.

In the Gospel, Jesus lays his hands on the sick and when he sends his missionaries, he asks them to lay their hands on the sick or to anoint them with oil (Mk 6:13 and 16:18). The laying on of hands is like communicating to another person the power which will heal him, in the name of Christ and with his authority. As to oil, it was used in those days as a remedy. The two signs - anointing and laying of hands - accompany prayer.

The elders are those in charge of Christian communities. They were lay people [FAIL] but had been charged with the direction of the community, the celebration of baptism, presiding at the eucharist. [this is downright evil. it goes on...]

When the Church speaks of the sacrament of the sick, it refers only to the anointing with oil done by someone who has officially received the power for this sacrament (up to now, only priests can administer this sacrament) [?!?] This in no way excludes leaders of Christian communities from praying, from anointing, and laying hands on the sick...[etc...you get the point]

The CCB is the main English Bible translation for Phillipines. Avoid this piece of garbage.

iTunes + Truth and Life Audio Bible = BAD

So I went ahead and bought the Truth and Life Audio Bible. Perhaps sometime I'll do a full review. Its really not bad at all and I plan on using it in the car and to read along with for personal meditation.

But when I first went to buy it I figured I would use iTunes because that is where I buy all my audio. So I wanted to give you a word of caution. Under no circumstance should anyone buy this audio Bible on iTunes. Buy the CDs. Why?

22 Hours + 3 Audio Tracks = Unusable.

Thats right, the iTunes download of the full audio Bible is 3 tracks of run-together books and chapters. It is a $31 nightmare of unusable audio.

I complained to Apple and they returned the $31 to my account which was in the form of a gift card. I'm happy with that.

Since then I purchased Truth and Life from Amazon and it came on 18 CDs. This is much better. I'll take the pain of importing each one over the agony of trying to navigate 7 hour single tracks with my thumb and forefinger on my iPhone any day.

TAN Reprints the Textual Concordance of Holy Scripture

I see that TAN has reprinted, in a hardbound edition, the fantastic Textual Concordance of Holy Scripture. It uses the Douay-Rheims Bible but in all honesty you can use it along with any version you are used to.

It isn't a regular concordance, its actually a topical index. If you are a student of scripture, a priest, a youth leader, teacher, or parent this book is worth the $45.

New RSV-CE Reference Bible Coming Soon!

I heard some news today. A new RSV-CE reference Bible will be coming this fall. It will have commentary, maps, pictures, a topical index, is associated with Catholic Scripture Study International and will be published by St. Benedict Press.

This is the whole Bible, not just the New Testament. Its not quite a study Bible but much more than a text edition. I understand this is meant to be used in the context of Bible studies or just for regular home use. It will, unlike the ICSB, have ribbons.

The motto of CSSI is "Tradition - Scripture - Magisterium" so that should make for a welcome new edition.

Hopefully more information will be coming soon.

Review: Ignatius Catholic Study Bible NT - Hardcover

God Bless you Ignatius Press, the authors, and editors who put this together.

Well its here. I present to you the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (ICSB) New Testament in its hardcover form. It is a beauty. There are a few flaws which we'll discuss but all in all this is a major publication for the conservative Catholic world. Even though it is still missing the Old Testament...we finally have our study Bible.

This is the Catholic answer to all those protestant study Bibles you see when you go to Borders and think "I wish we had one of those" as you look longingly at the Oxford Catholic Study Bible and wish it were actually decent.

Ironically, some of the points below that make this a good study Bible also contribute to its flaws.

Good things:

• The text is large and easy to read.
• Thick paper. Good for writing on. The original RSV-2CE suffered from glossy paper that made it hard to read in many lighting situations. Not this one.
  
• Sturdy construction. Really sturdy, as far as I can tell.
  
• Sewn and glued binding.
• Copious notes.
• Cross references.
• Concise, but thorough, concordance.
• Color maps.
• Wider, but not wide, margins.
• I really like the cloth-like end papers. Its a very nice touch. The cross-hatch texture will keep papers from falling out of it.
• Its actually Catholic.

Could have been better:

• No ribbons. What the heck?
• Its a little too large.
• The maps are a little underwhelming. Very basic.
• Maps dispersed throughout the text should be in color when the full version comes out.
• Margins could be wider.

I'm really glad I bought the hardcover edition, btw. Without further ado I give you want you really came here for: pictures.

Below: glue protruding from the binding. Small irritant with the quality control. The binding however it sturdy.

Below: cross-hatch end papers. I like this feature a lot.

Below: Common page layout with a map in it. Notice the wider, but not wide, margins. We still have no true Catholic Bible with truly wide margins. I guess we'll have to continue waiting for that one.

Below: Maps at the end.

Below: I took this picture to show you where the extras begin. As you can see there is a lot of material in the back of the book. It adds a great deal of value. You get a lot of book for the price. Note the thickness of the pages in this photo.

Below: Wavy pages. Yuck. I don't know why this happens on some books. Perhaps its the paper choice. We'll live with it.

Below: A close up of the fantastic stamping on the front cover. In all, the cover is a bit busy for me. But its not ugly. In the future I'd like to see a simple or even plain cover for the ICSB. Just put the text on the spine and that'll do.

Below: I like sephia tone, so there. This shows a size comparison with some other well known books. The Leather RSV-2CE and Volume III LOTH.

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Do you like these book reviews? If so, please consider donating to the "book fund" so I can bring you the latest reviews of the best new Catholic titles! Right now we're trying to get enough dough for the upcoming Latin-English Breviary. Thanks and God Bless!

Scripture in the Church

I remember growing up in the Presbyterian Church we had two or three moderate length readings from the Bible at each service. We had hymns, the doxology, and we said the Apostles Creed. The pastor would preach from anywhere between 25 - 60 minutes. We also had Bible studies, Sunday School, and for a time I was in the Youth Group (until everything pretty much fell apart).

The amount of Scripture we read in one week in the Presbyterian Church (as a congregation, so to speak) equals the amount of Scripture that Catholics will read in a single day. The difference is how we view Scripture and how it is used.

I generally don't like getting into how much Scripture is read at Mass or in the Office because that just descends into an argument between the Novus Ordo and TLM lectionaries. Here I am trying to put another nail in the coffin of an age old argument: Catholics don't read the Bible. Practicing Catholics do. Barely practicing Catholics don't. Which is why they are such an easy pick-off for different sect groups.

If you are a serious practicing Catholic and pray the Office (we'll say the new one for now) and attend daily Mass, you will read the following parts of the Bible just today.

Psalm 95

Psalm 89:2-38

Exodus 33:7-11, 18-23 and 34:5-9, 29-35

2 Corinthians 3:13, 18, 15 (Responsory)

2 Corinthians 6:2, 4, 5, 7 (Responsory)

Psalm 86

Isaiah 33:13-16

Psalm 98

Deuteronomy 7:6, 8-9

Luke 1:68-79

Psalm 119:105-112

Psalm 70

Psalm 75

Ezekiel 18:30b-32 or Zechariah 1:3b-4b or Daniel 4:24b

Psalm 126

Psalm 127

Colossians 1:12-20

Philippians 2:12b-15a

Luke 1:46-55

Psalm 31:1-6

Psalm 130

Ephesians 4:26-27

Luke 2:29-32

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9

Psalm 147: 12-13, 15-16, 19-20 (Responsory)

Matthew 5:17-19

That's just the prescribed readings in the liturgy today - without anything extra. I didn't count the incidental verses contained before each Psalm in the Divine Office, nor did I scour the liturgy for direct or indirect quotes from the Bible.

We can argue whether or not it all sinks in. Sometimes less is more and sometimes if you throw enough out there something is bound to stick. I like to think of the Church's use of Scripture as an immersion into the Word of God rather than stand alone readings.

Catholic Bible Dictionary

I just received my order from Amazon of Scott Hahn's Catholic Bible Dictionary. So far I'm very impressed.

Mini Review

The Catholic Bible Dictionary seems very complete, theologically sound, and well laid out. I am really glad I purchased this book. I read several of the articles already even though it is the middle of the work day. The article on the inerrancy of Scripture was relatively impressive. He managed to defend Dei Verbum against the liberal-modernist interpretation which believes the document promulgated a limited understanding that the Bible is only inerrant when it talks about things having to do with salvation but not history. His article also shuts down the "fundamentalist" argument that Dei Verbum is a modernist document. There isn't anything especially new in what he says, but the Dictionary provides the content in an easy to use format.

The entry on English versions of the Bible doesn't give much credence to the Challoner version's current popularity however, and only says it was "known by Catholics well into the twentieth century."

... and into the 21st ...

The Challoner version of course is still available everywhere and read and enjoyed by many Catholics today. Taken in one sense, Scott Hahn is correct, the Challoner version lost favor in the mid twentieth century but has since regained steam. As to the future...time will tell. For it to survive I am convinced we need it in an updated text layout.

1. The reason is that,

2. while at one time popular, and many times useful

3. especially for scripture proof-texting and playing scripture hockey with Protestants or Jehovah's Witnesses

4. who knock at your door,

5. verse-by-verse formatting is not a great way to read Sacred Scripture.

6. But that is another post entirely.

Nevertheless, one tail end of a sentence doesn't ruin the whole thing. I can't wait to really spend more time with it.

St. John's Bible Video

Take a look at this. I had heard about it some time ago, but now Fox News did a segment on it. It would be awesome to have an illuminated Bible replica someday.

News on the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible

This comes from the Catholic Bibles Blog: [My comments]

Some additional information about the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament from Mark Brumley of Ignatius Press, in response to some specific questions:

Wide margins, indeed. [WOOOHOO!!]

Mostly the same commentary and notes as the individual NT volumes, but some changes,

revisions, etc. Plus, some new essays. [Sounds like they are really making a go at this one.]

Doctrinal index, [Excellent] concise concordance, [OK, but my iPhone searches for words quicker than I can flip pages] other study helps, including new full-color maps.

OT books slated to begin pub in Fall 2010. We'll see how much faster the OT books will come out--certainly faster than NT. [They can't come quick enough]

Can't wait. This is exciting news.

Douay-Rheims Audio Bible

I was alerted in the comments section about the Douay-Rheims audio Bible project. This will be available for purchase after it is completed. We need a complete Douay audio Bible, so hopefully this will be affordable.

http://dr.lifespringmedia.com/

The reader has done other audio Bibles and his voice sounds familiar. He mentions he is unconcerned with doctrinal issues as long as we all agree who Jesus of Nazareth is. So I am not sure what his other sites may contain. Nevertheless the project is commendable and his voice will lend itself well to my car speakers once it is complete. Deo Gratias!

Fr.Z Reviews BP Cantena Aurea

Fr. Z has put up a small review of the Cantena Aurea from Baronius Press. It looks very nice. The Golden Chain is a tremendous resource for the scripture student. Although I do not have a hardcopy of this yet, it is also available around the internet.

Take a look at his review with pictures here.

Unless the Lord Builds the House...

This post from Breviarium Romanum blog made me chuckle. Go and take a look!

Gingerbread Houses: Nisi Dóminus ædificáverit domum

http://breviarium-romanum.blogspot.com/2009/12/gingerbread-houses-nisi-dominus.html

p.s. I realize we are not suppose to use scripture in jest. This however appears very mild. Use it as a subtle reminder for what the Psalm means: We can do nothing without God's help.

Review: St. Benedict Press RSV-CE

At long last, I am finally ready to show you St. Benedict Press' new release of the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition. Above you can see both the Ultrasoft and Genuine Leather versions. I have a favorite of the two which won't come as a surprise. However I'll just say from the start that when put toe to toe (ribbons to ribbons?)they compare very favorably to each other.

Do you read your Bible mostly in your home and occasionally take it to the Adoration Chapel, Church, or Bible study? Does the way a Bible feels in your hands matter to you? Do you want a soft leather bible that flops around but can't afford to rebind your old one in calfskin or goatskin? Then let me show you the Ultrasoft RSV.



The Ultrasoft version, like its Large Print Douay cousin feels great in your hands. It opens flat after an initial out-of-box workout. You will have to gently flip all of the pages and bend it around a few times. Do not mind the creaking noises. But don't be hasty or rough with it. After all, you've just dropped $40 on a new Bible.


It does Bible yoga moderately well. The flexibility is tempered only by the size of the book and its glued binding. Tall form factor Bibles do the yoga much better because of their shape. This however is a good showing for a hand sized bible.



It lays flat and stays open...most times. But when you are in the beginning of the Old Testament or the end of the New it will not. This is an issue with the glued binding. The day it lays flat when opened to Revelation chapter 21 is the day you need to purchase a new one because the binding has probably split. Just sayin'.

[Lauren at St. Benedict Press wrote this in an email to me:

"I’d also like to mention that the glue we use in our bindings will not crack as many older glues have in the past. Our binderies use a glue that will stand the test of time and will not crack or allow pages to fall out. (I am told the only way pages from a book bound in this way could come out is if you physically ripped them out yourself.) "

Good to know. This makes me feel even better about these editions.]

I really like the feeling of this Bible and can say that it is worth the $40 you will pay for it. It is probably the nicest of the RSV-CEs on the market.

On the other hand...

Do you take your Bible everywhere you go? Do you make a daily holy hour or read your Bible on breaks at work? Maybe you are a traveler or a truck driver. Things fall on your Bible or you have a messy house. You are prone to spills or knocking things over?



Let me introduce you to the Genuine Leather version. Originally I believed this was bonded leather, but it is fact NOT bonded leather. Lauren wrote this in the same email from above:

"These are Genuine Leather – not Bonded Leather. They are purchased from Cromwell Leather Group and are complete, whole hides – not manufactured. We pride ourselves on selecting true leathers for our bibles."

So yes this is a tougher feeling leather but it is REAL. So feel good about paying more for a Bible with a real leather cover on it. I also assume this could soften with time, given the oils from your hands will have an effect on the cover of any book.

It is also less flexible. The GL would have stood upright on its spine with no problem until I gently flattened it out with my hands for about a minute or so. Do that slowly. A little creaking noise is ok. It will lay flat once you have finished.



The results are a pretty nice Bible for someone who tends to be a little rough on their things. It also looks good too. The cover makes the book feel less expensive than its lower priced Ultrasoft counterpart but its strength is that you really can't nick this one or dent it.



Yikes! Bible yoga fail! The more durable cover has its natural consequences.

On all editions from St. Benedict/TAN Books the gilt edges are nice and shiny. I hope they hold up this way because it really makes for a great looking book.



The leather edition has nicer end papers, btw. They are some sort of leather or leather-like material.




The insides.

Of course the covers and physical aspects of the Bible are not the most important but the since Bibles are a dime a dozen these days they certainly factor in our purchasing decisions. Nevertheless the text is penultimate.

St. Benedict Press has done a nice job here. This is a straightforward text edition with notes in the back. The print is readable and relatively easy on the eyes. The poetry sections are set apart. (not paragraphed)





You will notice a moderate amount of ghosting. Just a quick note here; Ghosting is not "bleed through." Bleed through is what your highlighter does, when the ink actually comes through the page. Ghosting is when text on another page appears due to thin paper. Ghosting is a problem for Bible publishers because while we all want thin Bibles we also want readable text. Most Bibles these days have moderate ghosting. Sometimes it can get really bad with the ultra-thin editions.

As a Bible reader, it is nice to have the notes in the back. As a Bible student it is not. Personally I would have like the notes to be with the text. I also would have liked the notes to be in a larger font. This is the only potential draw back of this edition. ... besides the missing cross references.

The plot thickens.

I loved this email from the publicist. My comments and emphasis.

Our translation is the original version kept by the National Council of Churches. I have followed your and other’s blogging about the confusion over the different RSV-CEs available. It has been quite confusing to us as well. The version we have is the only version licensed by the National Council of Churches, [NOT the RSV-2CE apparently...] through HarperOne (a division of HarperCollins).
...

The history of the RSV is very convoluted. The cross-references, for example, are not part of the original RSV licensed by the NCC. I do know that already some customers have been disappointed to find them missing in our version, but we have been unable to determine where they originated. We are continuing to investigate this matter and hope to find the source. If we do, we will consider purchasing the rights to those cross-references for use in future printings.

Wow. Pretty interesting eh? They didn't put cross references in because nobody knows who owns them.

A new feature in this edition is the Calendar of Readings for the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. This is nice to have if this is your normally attended liturgy, especially if you can't make it to daily Mass. Many protestant Bibles these days come with a yearly reading plan. This is the Catholic answer, and its a good one.

Is that your final answer?

If you purchase this edition I hope you really enjoy it. St. Benedict Press has put together a nice Bible for every day use. In fact I haven't seen one I didn't like yet. If you put the Genuine Leather side by side with the Ultrasoft...I would go with the Ultrasoft. I showed it to some people after Mass on Sunday and they universally thought it was high quality leather until I told them it was a chemical concoction. But again, you might be rougher on your Bible than I.

Here's the link. Have at it!

All my reviews of the St. Benedict/TAN Bibles:

Paperback Douay Rheims

Large Print Burgundy Ultrasoft Douay Rheims

RSV Genuine Leather and Ultrasoft Editions

RSV-CE- St. Benedict - Review Coming Soon

I received my RSV Ultrasoft from TAN today. Expect a review very soon of both the Genuine Leather and the Ultrasoft. I decided to hold off (sorry) until I had received both because it makes sense to show them at the same time.

Its a tough call between the two...this won't be like my other reviews.

Small preview:

Isaiah the Post-Tribber

I have sent my velveteen Breviary away for rebind. I never snapped pictures of it because it was that bad but now I kind of wish I had. Regardless, while it is away the Liturgy of the Hours is taking its place. I had forgotten how difficult the Anglican Breviary was...

This morning during the Office of Readings I was struck by something during the scripture reading. Let's take a look:

Isaiah 26:15-21

15 You have been favourable to the nation, O Lord, you have been favourable to the nation: are you glorified? You have removed all the ends of the earth far off. 16 Lord, they have sought after you in distress, in the tribulation of murmuring your instruction was with them. 17 As a woman with child, when she draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and cries out in her pangs: so are we become in your presence, O Lord. 18 We have conceived, and been as it were in labour, and have brought forth wind: we have not wrought salvation on the earth, therefore the inhabitants of the earth have not fallen. 19 Your dead men shall live, my slain shall rise again: awake, and give praise, you that dwell in the dust: for your dew is the dew of the light: and the land of the giants you shall pull down into ruin. 20 Go, my people, enter into your chambers, shut your doors upon you, hide yourself a little for a moment, until the indignation pass away. 21 For behold the Lord will come out of his place, to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth against him: and the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall cover her slain no more.

In this season of Advent we consider the first coming of Christ alongside his second and clearly here in Isaiah we have the Catholic view of the end times.

Look at verse 17 above. Compare it to this: (highlighting from Drbo.org, its a pain to remove it)

1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: 2 And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered.

After this, the dragon appears to try and hurt the woman's son. Isaiah tells his readers to go inside their houses and hide during a tribulation. In the NRSV "indignation" is instead rendered "wrath".

Then the Lord returns. After everything else. At the end. This is the Catholic view of the endtimes. Jesus will return once, not two or three or five times. Once. This is also the order (without mention of tribulation) from the verse which is the basis of the relatively new rapture theory.

1 Thess 4:12f

12 And we will not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that you be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope. 13 For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again; even so them who have slept through Jesus, will God bring with him. 14 For this we say unto you in the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them who have slept. 15 For the Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead who are in Christ, shall rise first.

16 Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air, and so shall we be always with the Lord. 17 Wherefore, comfort ye one another with these words.

The dead rise first. Just like in Isaiah. So, Paul knew what he was talking about. Of course, I don't mean to go into the end times here at length. This was just something that caught me attention.

NewAdvent's New thing for Advent

NewAdvent.org has unveiled a tool that must have been a tremendous amount of work. They have put online a side by side Greek - English - Latin comparative Bible. What a great work!

By the way, I checked the Jeremiah 33:14-16 and it isn't in that Greek version either. Now...I wish I could read Greek.

www.newadvent.org

Beautiful: Large Print Douay-Rheims Ultrasoft from TAN

Yesterday the UPS man arrived with a package for me from TAN/St. Benedict Press. I was puzzled because my order had just been processed that morning for a new RSV Burgundy Ultrasoft. When I opened it I was pleasantly surprised to find a Large Print Burgundy Ultrasoft Douay-Rheims and the normal hand sized RSV Black Genuine Leather Bible.

I opened the Large Print Burgundy Ultrasoft Douay-Rheims first. It was love at first sight. In fact there is only one thing I would change about this edition which I will get to in a minute. But everything else about this particular Bible is perfect. If I would have seen this in a store it would have been immediately picked it up and taken it to the counter for purchase. It is that nice.



Regarding the old maxim of never judging a book by its cover...throw that one out. The cover on this is gorgeous. It is soft and supple, flexible and comfortable as any genuine calfskin you'll encounter. Granted, this is not calfskin and yes you can tell the difference. But for most consumers this Ultrasoft imitation leather is the next best thing.

When I first saw the advertisements for the large print edition I remember thinking "I'd never have any use for that." My general thoughts were that large print editions are usually not stellar and the print looks like a children's book. But that is not the case with this bible. The traditional Douay format really shines with the larger print and does indeed make the -eths, thees, thous, and thines easier to read. It is also good for low light, which my house is plagued with. In fact the large print is so well transferred in this edition that I am tempted to encourage you to skip the hand sized edition and opt for this one.

Lays flat easily after a few opens.

As for the size of the book, it is just a little taller than the Ignatius RSV-2CE Leather. But tall and thin Bibles are all the rage these days and this one is right up there with the rest of them. The print is larger but not giant. Its just right.

The bible opens flat pretty much right out of the box. I had to open and close it a few times to get it where I wanted it. But here we get to the one feature I would like changed: the binding is glued. Now, I have been assured by the publisher that it is durable, made of PVC glue, and doesn't "require the use of sewing". Well...OK. But sewn binding is typically a hallmark of quality. Nevertheless most readers are not binding snobs like me so we can look past this one.

I keep thinking this bible would be great for street preaching...if we did that sort of thing. It easily flops in your hand while reading. You can fold it back around itself for one-handed holding. The gilt edging is nice and shiny. It comes with a ribbon for place-marking.

Bible Yoga Success.

The results.

The embossing on the cover is magnificently done. I like it better than the gold stamping on the more expensive versions which doesn't quite work as well with the type font.

Cover embossing

Spine embossing: perfect.

If you have the money to spend and you really want a nice Catholic Bible, splurge for the Large Print Ultrasoft Douay-Rheims from Tan/St. Benedict. You will not be sorry.

Again, I do these reviews to help others make purchases. TAN/St. Benedict sent me this complimentary copy for review purposes. This is a service I do for my fellow Catholics. If you buy this and hate it, well, you can always return it. I suspect you won't want to do that in this case.

You can see my review of the paperback edition here.


UPDATE 12/9/09: Added Photos for more detail.

A stack: standard Liturgy of the Hours on top, hand sized RSV Black Genuine Leather in the middle, and the Large Print Douay on the bottom.

By request, a penny next to the text to show the size and type font.

All my reviews of the St. Benedict/TAN Bibles:

Paperback Douay Rheims

Large Print Burgundy Ultrasoft Douay Rheims

RSV Genuine Leather and Ultrasoft Editions