New Bible

I picked up a new bible the other day from the Church shop. From CTS, it is based on the Jerusalem Bible, which is the translation we have in Mass.

The CTS Bible is well laid out, I find the text easy to read, although it is slightly small. The headings are useful, and there are some introductions to the books which is very useful. I've always wanted a good Bible with decent notes and the CTS Bible is better than my RSV Bible in this regard. At the back of the Bible there is a list indicating which readings are taken on which day through the three year cycle, again a nice touch and very useful.

I'm not a Bible scholar, so I can't really comment too much on the translation quality of the text; for me the fact that it is the same as that used in the Mass is a plus. In Luke 1:28 the verse reads "Rejoice, O highly favoured" When I prefer "Hail, full of Grace." which is how my RSV translates the verse. But then, for example, I personally prefer the way the CTS presents the verses from the second letter to Timothy, 4:2-4 than the way it is translated in the RSV.

I've learnt that there is no such thing as the perfect Bible. There is just one issue I cannot accept and that is the use of inclusive language. Thankfully, the new CTS Bible doesn't seem to use it. Overall it's a nice Bible, well put together, sturdy and stout. It has that feel of a good book when you hold it in your hand. I got this for just £10, which is a very good price.

You can get more information on the CTS Bible from here, where you can also download pages extracted from the book in .pdf format.