Common English Bible for common use in churches everywhere

Whether representing the Catholic Church or Episcopal, United Methodist or Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ or Presbyterian Church U.S.A., over 100 Bible scholars considered the diverse cultures of Christians from many, many countries, who want to read and study a contemporary English version of the Bible.

In addition to helping Christians of mainline church denominations to stay “on the same page,” the Common English Bible (CEB) also helps children to understand Holy Scriptures better and participate more fully in church worship services. Adults who are learning English as a second language will be enabled to follow the communal Bible readings too, but even people who are used to reading thick textbooks with complex syntax will enjoy curling up in an easy chair to readily read the CEB cover-to-cover as they would a poetry anthology, historical novel, or gripping adventure tale.

The CEB has all of that and more – with each of the prophetic books found in any translation of Hebrew Scriptures as well as deuterocanonical books from the Septuagint or Greek versions of the Bible. Although the paperback shown below does not include those apocryphal books, the e-book edition does with more print editions and cover choices to follow as communally-minded Christians from communities all over the world welcome this common English translation of God’s word.







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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler. Thank you for telling your church and Christian friends where you found this Bible review. If you’re one of the many church publishers who plan to publish study editions and various cover choices of the CEB, be sure to send me a review copy. May God bless you and all peoples of God who come together in Jesus’ Name to worship, work, and lovingly represent the church Body of Christ in the world.

The Catholic Study Bible

You don’t have to be Roman Catholic to appreciate The Catholic Study Bible published by Oxford University Press, but if you are, you’ll be happy to know the Church has given an official stamp of approval as shown in the front matter by “Nihil Obstat” and “Imprimatur.” Therefore, if you want to know more about Catholicism or hope to write for Catholic readers or need to study the Bible thoroughly from an ecumenical and/ or Catholic Christian perspective, this is The Book to have.

NABRE: The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE) debuted in March 2011 as a “formal equivalent” translation into English, making the NABRE as close to the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic texts as 100 Bible scholars, editors, theologians, and Bishops can make it.

Size and Binding: The hardcover edition by Oxford (shown below) has 2560 pages 9.2 x 6.5 x 2 inches in size and weighs about 3 pounds. Since I’m not a fan of bonded leather, my next choice might be a paperback edition, except that a Bible of this heft and immensity usually needs a sturdy cover, especially since it will probably be used often.

Footnotes: Key information provided in footnotes and sidebars guide readers into understanding verses within the intended context and gaining insight into cultural traditions practiced in biblical times. Word plays and poetic forms are also duly noted, which is a big deal for those of us who love, love, love to write Bible-based devotionals and poetry.

Additional study helps: Besides the authoritative study notes, book outlines, and biblical references throughout this edition, you’ll find Sunday readings and a Weekday Lectionary to keep up with the liturgical reading cycle that covers the Bible in three years. In addition, in-depth articles and essays, easy-to-use maps, and a Glossary help readers to see the bigger picture of a truly “Catholic” – meaning “universal” – view.




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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler. Thank you for telling your church, Bible study, or other group where you found this Bible Review. Also, I’m glad for publishers to send me review copies of new English translations, study editions, and Bibles with new footnotes, articles, and even unusual formats or covers to review.


For more articles on a variety of Bible topics, see Blogs by Mary.

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Four Bibles in one: The Complete Parallel Bible

If you like to compare translations as you study the Bible but don’t like to juggle several books at once, The Complete Parallel Bible by Oxford provides an ideal solution for Catholic, Episcopal, and other Christian readers or poetry lovers who also want the deuterocanonical books often referred to as the Apocrypha.

This 1993 edition may not be super easy to find in the bonded leather cover mine has, but I suggest a stout hardback cover for this thick book anyway. Otherwise, the wobbly spine on the cumbersome cover will eventually morph into a “V.” (The fat Bible on the far right of the photo should show you what I mean.)

The Amazon ad posted below for your convenience and my teeny “commission” will lead you to options for a less expensive used copy in good condition. (Yeah, I know some people do not like books other people have sneezed on while reading but just put a little vinegar on a paper towel and wipe those worries away.)

If you get this particular edition, you’ll find a small font in four side-by-side columns with footnotes only as essential for clarification. Bleary-eyed readers might need a magnifying glass, but it’s worth it. Why?

This edition gives you two of the most reliable English translations closest to word-for-word (New American Bible and New Revised Standard Version) in addition to two rather lively and very readable versions (New English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible.) If a verse doesn’t grab you in one translation, another of these choices surely will. By comparing all four versions of a verse along with the surrounding context, you’ll get a broader picture and deeper insight into biblical truths.

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© 2012, Mary Sayler. Thanks for letting your church, Bible study, or other group know where you found this information.

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ESV Study Bible gives you a one-volume library!

Bible teachers, Bible students, and Evangelical Christians will especially welcome this edition of the English Standard Version (ESV) published by Crossway. Most Bible lovers will love it too!

In one thick volume, Crossway has packed scholarly but reader-friendly articles and extensive footnotes not usually found in a single study edition. For example, resources include:

Biblical Doctrine: An Overview
Biblical Ethics: An Overview
Interpreting the Bible
Reading the Bible
The Canon Scripture
The Reliability of Bible Manuscripts
Archeology of the Bible
The Original Languages of the Bible
The Septuagint
The Bible in Christianity
The Bible and World Religions
The Bible and Religious Cults
History of Salvation in the Old Testament
Concordance
Daily Bible Reading Plan
Weights and Measures
Map Supplement

And those are just the main headings.

Under each primary topic, you might find two well-researched articles – or a dozen! For instance, the section on “Reading the Bible” includes five articles on five perspectives: reading theologically, reading as literature, reading in prayer, reading for personal application, and reading for preaching and worship.

ESV: The editors deem the ESV “an essentially literal translation,” and I agree, considering it to akin to the New American Standard Bible but more contemporary and updated, which makes sense since it’s a few decades younger.

Binding: The ad shows a hardback cover that works well for any study edition as thick as this. However, the leather cover will last longer, which is important as this edition is one you'll want to carry to Bible study and read a lot.

Size: We’re talking big! So you might want to get two to equalize your balance and get a beneficial workout as you carry a hefty copy in each hand. To be more precise, Amazon stats weigh in the 2752 info-packed pages at 4.3 pounds compressed into 9.6 x 6.8 x 2.2 inches.

Font: The readable text comes in a serif font with the smaller but still readable footnotes in san serif.

More Notes on Notes: The amazingly thorough footnotes occasionally include maps, charts, or whatever is needed to illustrate the text on that particular page. Also, I find that the extensive information in this single volume might take 3 or 4 other study Bibles to find – if then! In addition, this ESV edition should include a code you can use to access the study materials online.


© 2012, ©2015 Mary Harwell Sayler


ESV Study Bible, hardcover



ESV Study Bible, genuine leather, indexed


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Good News Bible: good to read

Many contemporary English translations, paraphrases, and Bible story books have been published since the Good News Bible came out years ago, but this remains a favorite. Also known as the Today’s English Version (TEV), the translation (not a paraphrase) is crisp, lively, and direct, avoiding the big problem that paraphrased Bibles have in adding too many words when one good word would do!

As soon as you open a TEV, you get the picture. Yes, this is the translation with those amazingly brief yet potent line drawings by Annie Vallotton that look like a quick sketch but totally capture a mood or scene. Those illustrations also illustrate the brevity and clarity of the word choices in the entire translation.

“Entire” describes the TEV, too, because you can get either a version that excludes the “apocryphal” or deuterocanonical books or an edition that includes them. I want it all! So I prefer the latter but have the former since I bought my leather-bound copy, published by Thomas Nelson, in 1976. That edition is no longer available, and maybe it’s just as well since the quality of glue produced a few decades ago does not hold as long as the adhesive used now, so I’ve had to reattach some pages. But then, I’ve read my copy over and over and over, giving hard wear to the easy-to-read pages because this is THE Bible that first let me know what the King James Version actually says!

Hmmm. I just noticed that my brown leather-bound TEV in the photo on the upper right was sitting between the KJV with Apocrypha that I reviewed last time and the Oxford Study Bible, Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha discussed the time before. That wasn't planned, but I like it.

I'd also like it if I could find a duplicate of my beloved brown leather copy of the Good News, but I haven't been able to, so I looked through newer copies on the Internet and found one I’d probably pick today for Today’s English Version. And, in case you haven't guessed, I still highly recommend this translation, produced by the American Bible Association and United Bible Societies, especially for its readability and artwork, both of which are worth serious study by Christian artists, poets, curriculum writers, children, Bible teachers, Bible students, and anyone who likes a "good read" from cover to cover of any kind.


Good News Bible, large print, hardback



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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler

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King James Version with Apocrypha

In 1604 King James I of England authorized a translation of the Bible into English, and 47 scholars from the Church of England set to work with the Bishop’s Bible as their guide. The translators also referred to the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic texts as needed, approving one another’s work as they aimed for accuracy in a translation that would promote church unity and meet church approval. Indeed, James instructed the team to use the word “church” instead of “congregation.”

To abide by other instructions provided by the king, the translators included no marginal notes unless a word or phrase in the original language needed further explanation. In addition, the translation included all of the books canonized by Jewish scholars as well as the deuterocanonical books written in Greek between the testament eras. Eventually referred to as the “Apocrypha,” which means “hidden,” those books remain clearly in sight in Catholic, Orthodox, and other Bibles but, a couple of centuries or so ago, were removed from most editions of the King James Version (KJV) published for Protestant readers.

With or without the deuterocanonical books aka apocryphal books aka Apocrypha, the poetic KJV has been a best-seller for four centuries, greatly influencing art, literature, and poetry in England, America, and other cultures too. A variety of editions (with or without the study articles and footnotes added in the last century or two) can be found in most bookstores, but I wanted a copy of the entire KJV as first published, so I purchased the one shown in the ad below.

Binding: This thick, slick-surfaced paperback has nice quality pages tightly affixed with glue. Since I use my copy for a desktop reference rather than straight reading, the pages have not separated, but then, they don’t get very rugged treatment.

Size: At 5” wide by 7.5” long, the book stand over 2” thick! And, it really does stand up on its own! The plump size, however, will not open flat or stay opened but works just fine when hand-held.

Font: Somewhat on the small side, the font provides clear black ink on stark white paper for easy reading.

Notes: In addition to upfront introductory information about the history of KJV and other English translations, this edition groups explanatory notes to each book of the Bible at the back of the book.

KJV: Most Christians of all church backgrounds know the KJV very well as a beautifully poetic translation with gorgeously quotable verses! Most also think of the KJV as being highly accurate since, unlike many new translations, scholars aimed for a word-for-word rendering into the contemporary language of the time. But times change, and so do the meanings of words.

To many readers the use of “thee” and “thou” for “you” is quaint and readable, but the unfamiliar verb forms with their “ith” endings can slow comprehension the way well-written poetry often does. Nevertheless, the KJV remains beloved to anyone who loves literature or grew up with this familiar version.

This particular edition, which includes all of the books of The Book, also provides Christians with a less familiar look at deuterocanonical books, such as one by Baruch – the scribe who assisted the prophet Jeremiah. Since Baruch wrote during the Babylonian captivity, he often addressed reasons for the exile, lamenting the misery of their predicament, but calling the people of God to repentance, praise, and prayer.

For example, Baruch 3 begins: “O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, the soul in anguish, the troubled spirit, crieth unto thee.”

After asking God to hear his prayer and the cries of his people, Baruch 3:4 continues with an unusual prayer I triple-checked to be sure I’d correctly quoted words and spelling: “O LORD Almighty, thou God of Israel, hear now the prayers of the dead Israelites, and of their children, which have sinned before thee, and not hearkened unto the voice of thee their God: for the which cause these plagues cleave unto us.”

Other books in this edition of the full KJV include wisdom sayings, inspiring stories, and additions to such books as Esther. You’ll also find the KJV translations of I and II Maccabees as well as other historical writings that fill the gap between testaments and provide an interesting “read.”

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. If you share the article with your church, Bible study, or other group, please tell everyone where you found it. Thanks. For more Bible topics, see Blogs by Mary.

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A study Bible with an ecumenical view

The Oxford Study Bible contains the full Revised English Bible with Apocrypha (aka deuterocanonical books) and “A Complete Guide To The World of The Bible” in such articles as “Historical Contexts of the Biblical Communities,” “The Contribution of Archaeology,” and “The Social World” in both Testaments.

As a Christian writer and poet, I especially appreciate the articles on “Early Christian Literature,” “Literature of the Ancient Near East,” and the “Literary Forms of the Bible.” The latter, for example, talks about the biblical forms used for Bible poetry in the Psalms, of course, but in wisdom books and books of prophecy too. The article also discusses genres such as narratives, parables, and proverbs as well as the literary form prophetic books often took, and the general format found in epistles or letters.

Binding: Thick, glossy paper is my preference for the Oxford REB edition, and the cover has held up well. In other translations such as the Revised Standard Version (RSV) or New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), my Oxford study Bibles have top quality leather, but on each, the spine bowed or pulled away slightly. Since the pages were sewn together, none fell out, but pages on this paperback edition (as shown in the ad below) seem to be strongly glued to the cover.

Font: The highly readable font in the text decreases slightly in size for the footnotes, but they’re still easier to read than most.

Format: In addition to the study articles already mentioned, each section of the Bible has an Introduction as does each of the individual books.

Footnotes: Whether in the RSV, NRSV, or REB, the footnotes avoid denominational differences and aim for a wider, ecumenical view. This is not to say the information straddles fences, but the emphasis is on providing readers information about wordplays, historical settings, and cultural backgrounds, rather than rhetoric aimed to sway readers toward one stance or another.

REB: The Revised English Bible translates thought-for-thought rather than word-for-word, providing a highly readable text that flows well in public or private reading. Some spellings and word choices reflect a British accent, rather than American English, but then the same can be said for the King James Version, which British scholars produced (word-for-word, deuterocanonical books included) over 400 years ago.

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler


Oxford Study Bible, REB, paperback



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