Ignatius Bible: Revised Standard Version - Second Catholic Edition

They say the best bible is the one you find yourself reading the most. This compact bible has been great for carrying around and traveling. Below I added a few pros and cons of this bible. Pros: - The Bible is definitely compact, making it great for packing into a bag in comparison to a standard sized bible. - The print size is pretty standard without any difficulty reading. I have had previous compact bibles with significantly small print, too small for my liking. This one is nice and easily readable. - The RSV CE is a great translation for the Bible. Much like translations like the ESV, the RSV takes a literal translation approach, rather than a dynamic translation used in NABRE used in the liturgical mass. While I enjoy the NABRE, the RSV makes for a great study bible to reference. I personally use the Bible while listening to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year podcast. While the podcast from Ascension uses their Great Adventure Bible RSV 2nd Catholic Edition, this one follows with minor differences. The 2nd edition uses some more modern language in books like the Psalms, such as “you,” whereas this version uses some old English language such as “thy.” - This is a beautiful bible that would make for a nice gift or a personal bible. While I’m not a big fan of imitation leather, the cover is a beautiful color, and the zipper is a nice addition. The zipper makes this bible a bit more durable when packing into a bag, and the zipper pull has a nice miraculous medal. The edges of the paper are golden lined which always adds a nice touch. - The price is great for what you get. When looking around for a good personal bible, I considered the Great Adventure bible from Ascension Press. While that one is a great choice, the Bible is $60, while this one is nearly a third of the price. Cons: - The one thing I don’t enjoy about this bible is the lack of section headings over the passages of scripture. This is one of the ways Ignatius uses to keep a compact size for the Bible. Rather than section headings, the Bible contains break lines between sections of scripture to identify different passages. A minor complaint, but something to consider when looking at this bible. - There aren’t many appendix notes, which is expectable for a compact bible. If you are looking for a bible with a lot of references for studying like the Great Adventure bible, this one doesn’t really have much. There are some notes in the end appendix, as well as some dogmatic notes and popular prayers which is a nice addition. Since it is advertised as a compact bible rather than a study bible, I would not really consider this a negative, but again something to consider when looking at this bible. Overall I think this is bible is great and a great choice that I would recommend buying.

I will admit I have more bibles than I need and in different translations. As a practicing Catholic. I have come to love the RSV 2CE for its formal translation and it’s beautiful almost poetic writing at times. I enjoy this translation over the NAB. I also find it is an easier translation to spend hours reading. This Bible is extremely beautiful. The gold lettering and artwork on the cover and the gold foil page edges contrast the blue leather so nicely. This is a large Bible and is heavy so not ideal for reading in bed but great for in a chair. The pages have a yellow cream coloration that I absolutely love. It takes away the glare and as mentioned I can spend hours reading without eye strain. The type is bold and large. Very large and it did take getting used to but now I love it. Margins are perfect and double column. Only critique is that I wish the Bible had intro pages to each book and more foot notes. However, given the size and weight I can understand. I cannot say enough good about this Bible in terms of reliability, beauty, craftsmanship and just wonderful translation.

I have to give this edition of the Bible 5 stars. I bought this so I would have a small Bible to take with me to work, and I'm impressed. Translation: This Bible uses the RSV-CE (Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition). In short, the RSV is a new translation first published in 1952 with the aim of creating a more readable translation of the Bible from the King James Version (KJV) while preserving some of the literary greatest of the KJV. What resulted was a very readable, yet still poetic version of the Bible. In 1966 a Catholic version was added, including the deuterocanonical book (known by most protestants as the apocrypha, of doubtful origin, texts present in the historic Christian Septuagint Greek version of the Old Testament but not in the current canon of Jewish Scripture) and a more traditional translation of Isiah 7.14 (changing "young woman" back to "virgin"). Unlike the New American Bible (NAB), Maccabees is placed at the end of the Old Testament as in the Vulgate and the Douay–Rheims, presumably because it was written after the other books. The NAB places Maccabees after Ester, closer to the other historical books. This translation is both easy to read and faithful to the literary tradition of English Bibles, keeping the translation choices used by most Christians for hundreds of years. It is superior in it's readability to the Challoner revision of the Douay–Rheims Bible from 1752 and is less "sterilized" than the New American Bible (NAB). Be advised this is not the version used at Mass or the Liturgy of the Hours, ICEL (International Commision on English in the Liturgy). The Mass in the USA uses a highly edited version of the NAB and the LOTH uses the Grail psalter. That being said this translation is still an excellent one for study. It has comparably fewer notes than the NAB, which is both a pro and a con. A con as more notes would help to contextualize the content, a pro as some of the NAB notes are from rather dated revisionist scholarship from the 70s, Extra-scriptural content: As this is a compact version, it does not have much by the way of "extras". There are no maps, few essays, only an introduction and Dei Verbum (Vatican II document on Sacred Scripture). If you are looking for a Bible with maps of Israel/Palestine or the route of Exodus, you should consider the normal edition of this Bible, the compact edition, being compact, contains little more than the text. It does have a family register in the front, which I found superfluous for what I consider a more utility Bible, this is not the kind of Bible you want as a family heirloom. It has no pictures or illustrations. It does contain a weights and measures conversion chart in the front. Unlike the normal version of this Bible, there is no picture on the front. Binding: This is where this particular edition shines. It's a little bigger than a paperback novel, and a lot thinner. Think Moleskin journal, it fits in my back pocket. The cover is leather and surrounds the pages on the sides and has a zipper that you can use to zip up the cover. It has gold gilt pages worth of the Word of God. It does not contain a ribbon page marker. I can't make up my mind if the Miraculous Medal zipper pull is gold colored plastic or gold painted base medal. It's print is very small, so be warned. Pros: Size: I see many people complaining about the size of the Bible and the size of the print. This is because it's a compact edition. Amazon needs to fix it's title, it's a Compact Edition. "Burgundy, Zipper Duradera" refers to the binding, the picture clearly shows it's a compact edition and Amazon should say this on it's title or description. Do not buy this if you have trouble reading small print, it's a waste of your money. If you have good eyes and need a portable Bible (say if you're a priest who is on the go, or a business man who wants something to fit in his laptop bag, or a soldier needing something to take with him) it's perfect. If you are a 65 year old who needs a magnifying glass to read the paper, don't bother, buy a large print version instead. zipper: The zipper is great, it help you keep your book marks in place when on the go. This is a Bible I can drop in my backpack and go. Cons: zipper pull: It looks cheap. Time will tell, but I'm worried it's going to fall off, it doesn't feel very sturdy. This isn't entierly fair, it hasn't fallen off yet, but I'm a little worried, but time will tell. Presentation section: It wastes about 6 leafs of space on a glossy presentation/family history section. I can understand a single page presentation section, this could be a gift. The family register makes no sense for a Bible this size. No one is going to use this as their family Bible, it's a utility Bible for reading on the go. This space would be better used on maps. Maps: or lack there of. Again, they should have ditched the family register for some maps. No ribbon marker: The description says there is a ribbon marker, there is not. It could really use a ribbon marker to keep your place, right now I'm using a Holy Card. My concern is the card likes to fall out and as it's such a small version, the spine doesn't separate from the cover to allow me to put in a ribbon marker. Use a non-glossy bookmark/holy card. This isn't a con, but it's advertised as having a beautiful box. It's box is functional, but it's not something you would keep. Not that it matters as this is a travel-sized bible! who keeps it in a box!

Great little Holy Bible. It quickly became my go to for reading. I take it almost everywhere with me. I really enjoy that it is just the scripture without the section headings so it reads more as a complete text instead of being broken into sections. Giving a more complete and comprehensive reading experience. It's a beautiful red leather with Gold Words on the spine and it has a Miraculous Medal for a zipper, a great touch. It also has a section of prayers in the back which has been wonderful. This is a compact Holy Bible therefore the text is quite small but still very readable. Just be aware of that.

私はカトリックに改宗するまではプロテスタントで英語の聖書はNew International Versionを持っていました。しかし改宗後カトリックのインターネットの放送局であるEWTNにたまたま機会があって電話したんです。そうしたらよい聖書があるよって進められたのがこのThe Ignatius Bible:Revised Standard Version-Second Catholic Edition なんです。少しお値段が張りますがアポクリファも付いていてとっても読みやすく気に入っています。特にカトリックの方にお勧めいたします。絶対気に入っていただけると思います。

Bellissimo

Excelente presentación

The Douay-Rheims Bible might be the most accurate translation. But I have a hard time comprehending it because of its archaic English usage. I don't get the nuances of old English. Therefore, even if DR is super-accurate, I'm unable to benefit from that accuracy. In fact, I find myself focusing more on the literary nuances in my attempt to grasp the meaning. Therefore, I decided to use a translation that uses standard English. However, I believe that many recent translations are trying to make the Bible "cool" and "acceptable". Finally, I decided to go with the RSV-2CE and bought this beautiful Bible! (Pics attached) The Didache Bible, the Great Adventure Catholic Bible (by Ascension Press), and the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible also use RSV-2CE. The RSV-2CE is known for its formal equivalence. It is a word-for-word translation that safeguards literal fidelity. In some translations, Mother Mary is referred as "virgin" in Isaiah 7:14. In others, as "young woman". In Luke 1:28, some translations say "full of grace" while others say "favored one". Actually, none of these are technically incorrect. (To know why, check online resources like Catholic Answers.) It's pretty hard to translate unique, uncommon word usage. Hope this helped someone who was as confused as me. :)

Gorgeous! Huge! Large print! And the entire Bible!! I got the hardcover so it'll last longer. Best Bible I've ever owned. Not really for traveling, that's for sure, but I'm taking more time for home devotionals... without my glasses.