The Holy Bible RSV Catholic Edition - Burgundy Imitation Leather – January 1, 2009

I couldn’t be happier with this gorgeous RSV-CE Bible! It’s perfect! I have been collecting Bibles for over 30 years, and this one is the 43rd addition to my collection. It is now one of my very favorites!!1) The cover is quite elegant with the title HOLY BIBLE and the image of the St. Benedict medal impressed into the soft cover. The spine is also quite finely detailed. The cover is a high quality faux leather which is extremely soft and matte. It feels wonderful in the hand and isn't sticky or shiny in the least. The color is an elegant, dark, muted burgundy.2) The binding is high quality sewn signatures. It opens easily with no stiffness and lies open flat on a table, which makes reading easy and hands-free. It has a gilded edge and a ribbon bookmark.3) The paper is an ivory shade which is easy on the eyes, and it is not too thin. The print size is great and perfect for those of us who don’t like the minuscule print in most Bibles. The print is dark and easy to read. I love that the words of Jesus are printed in red, so no underlining is needed there.4) Of course, it’s also considered to be one of the finest and most reliable translations available, and includes the deuterocanonical books.Now, if you are looking for the best LEATHER bound RSV-CE, checkout the Ignatius Press edition RSV-CE. It has all of the superior qualities of this Bible, but with a genuine leather cover if you prefer (different colors available) which has gold embossed icon images of Jesus and the Four Evangelists on it which make it the most beautiful leather RSV-CE on the market, in my opinion.However, if you are looking for an all-in-one hefty study Bible with a massive amount of background material to aid in your in-depth study of the scriptures, I would recommend the Oxford University Press edition of the New American Bible (NAB) revised edition. The official title of this Bible is, “The Catholic Bible Personal Study Edition”. It is available in paperback and hardcover.Back to the review of this St. Benedict Press Bible…I’m so grateful to St. Benedict Press for publishing this all around superb Bible. They took great care in its design and quality. The low price is extraordinary for the quality, and I highly recommend this wonderful Bible without any reservation. I hope this review has been helpful.

St. Benedict Press has really done a great job with their medium-sized Catholic Bible offerings. I recently purchased their Douay-Rheims version (my favored translation), and was so impressed with it that I picked up their RSV-CE translation. I wasn't disappointed with this one either.It's basically identical as far as the design: beautiful gilded edges, several full-page color images, family, birth, and death registers, red-letter words of Christ, and a helpful ribbon marker. The pages are thin Bible-paper for less bulk - something I thought was initially a draw-back on the Douay version - but I've found that it doesn't affect readability at all (the type from the reverse page does darken the page you're reading a bit, but it has proven to be a non-issue.) In fact, keeping this Bible light-weight makes for easier handling and transport so you can keep it with you in the car, at Mass, or at work. For the current price of $26.37, this Bible is a fantastic bargain.The one design difference between this RSV-CE edition and the Douay-Rheims I bought earlier is that this one has a very soft, pliable, yet strong leather cover, while the Douay offering has a less soft 'tougher' feeling leather cover. I think they will both last a long time; the softer leather on the RSV-CE is a bit more aesthetically pleasing, while the one on the Douay has the feel of something more substantial.There are many reasons why I prefer the Douay-Rheims and this RSV-CE translation over the Jerusalem and NAB versions, but I think it is best exemplified in Luke 1:28, the Annunciation. The RSV-CE uses the traditional "Hail full of grace, the Lord is with you", and has two notes (c and d.) Note c explains the alternate "o favored one" for "full of grace", and d explains that other ancient authorities include "Blessed are thou among women." The Jerusalem completely butchers this very important part of our faith, using "Rejoice O highly favored" and omitting "Blessed are thou..." - which might be ok, except that they don't even put a footnote explaining the alternate translations!This may sound nit-picky, and maybe it is. But I do think words matter, and that concepts matter: as a Catholic, I think it important to read a Bible that confirms that the "Hail Mary" prayer is indeed scriptural; I think changing the language to "fit the times" can go too far and obfuscate Catholic teaching. The Douay-Rheims and the RSV-CE I think do the best jobs in keeping a balance in meaning and readability.