The Jerusalem Bible: Reader's Edition

As one who greatly dislikes the inclusive language of The New Jerusalem Bible, I have been searching for a "Like New" used copy of The Jerusalem Bible (©1966) for quite some time.I recently found a copy here on Amazon that met my criteria.In my excitement at the time I placed my order, I clearly hadn't read the description thoroughly, and was under the erroneous impression that I had ordered a standard hardcover/cloth edition.Upon receiving my package I was utterly delighted to find a beautiful near-perfect, black, flexible leather-bound, Jerusalem Bible with completely clean copy (no notation marks, no highlights, etc.) ...and for just $19.96!!! What a treasure! What a blessing!The leather binding was a bit dull and slightly dehydrated upon receipt (it IS fifty years old, after all!).A few applications of a leather conditioning creme was all it took to restore suppleness and a lovely sheen (please see my photo).The 1966 Standard edition Jerusalem Bible translation is my absolute favorite for its clarity, faithfulness to original sources, use of traditional language, and it's excellent footnotes (see photo), and study resources.In particular, I very much like the individual book introductions.The translation itself, for those unfamiliar with The Jerusalem Bible, reads similarly to the Revised Standard Version (RSV-2CE).It is so much more scholarly in flavor than the "simplistic" New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE).So while I own other newer beautiful leather-bound Bibles, this "used", half-century old treasure is now my "go-to" Bible.I use it for my daily Lectio Divina. It's the one I carry to and from church. And it's the Bible that I use to teach from in my Adult Religiious Education classes and Bible Study groups.I'm so thankful for this timeless treasure --quietly sitting on a shelf somewhere-- just awaiting my order.Truly a blessing and one of my most-prized possessions.Thank you for reading,-CC, Amazon Prime Member-Reviewer. +JMJ+

Best bible attainable in modern day English in the 21st century translated from Hebrew and Greek from the French version! Includes Apocrypha

Nice bible

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I adore buying used references like this. The "footprints" of who came before are written in the pages. If I could rate higher I absolutely would. Biblical studies is not just an interest; it's an obsession.Book came before expected. In the shape I'd hoped for and better! Thank you for being a quality seller! Glad I chose your product.

Easy read

The Jerusalem Bible - derives its name and its character from an earlier French version, called La Bible de Jerusalem. The French version (published in 1956, and revised 1961) was prepared by the Dominican Biblical School in Jerusalem, on the basis of the Hebrew and Greek.The idea of the English Jerusalem Bible was to turn the French version, together with all of its annotations, into English, with constant reference to the Hebrew and Greek. And so the translation is based upon the Hebrew and Greek as interpreted by the French version. Although it was prepared by Roman Catholics, the version does not serve to promote traditional Roman Catholic doctrine. It is notable as being the first English version to be done by Roman Catholics on the basis of Greek and Hebrew texts rather than upon the Latin Vulgate. In 1943 Pope Pious XII issued an encyclical letter on Biblical studies called Divino Afflante Spiritu in which he gave permission for this departure from the Roman Catholic tradition.This version printed in 1966 was prepared by Roman Catholic scholars in Great Britain, under the general editorship of Alexander Jones of Christ’s College, Liverpool, assisted by twenty-seven colleagues. Among the English stylists who worked with the translators was J. R. R. Tolkien, the famous English novelist and literary critic.Since this version is out of print, it is hard to obtain. The pages are soft, thin, and have gilt sides, which adds to its beauty. It does not have the poetic stance of the King James Bible, but it has a cadence of its own that makes it inviting to read. It is not like the revised versions today of the bible, which sounds like you are reading a plain book. The divine name "Lord" is represented in the text as Yahweh, but it still mentions God throughout the book, so I don't feel that it takes any harmony away from it.An Index of Biblical Themes has been published in this edition. It is not a luxury or an afterthought; it is a key to a treasure, for the use of the serious reader or preachers. It is for those who are not studying one single book or passage but wish to find out what the Bible as a whole has to say on a particular theological idea.The format of this edition has been chosen to make intelligent reading easier, and the single column arrangement has for this reason been adopted. The division of the text by bold-type section headings should enable the reader to see at a glance what is the subject-matter of the pages before him/her. The poetic passages are printed as verse and the lines with fewer stresses in the Hebrew are indented. Very occasionally there is a word-distribution that does not correspond to the lines in the Hebrew: this has been done deliberately, though reluctantly, for the sake of clearer English.As for the work of the publishers, it is here for all to see, and the writer of the Foreword fully shows appreciation for their devotion to it.Even if you do not have much experience in reading the King James Bible, please do not be afraid to buy and read this version. I just love this Bible and it is so beautiful in numerous ways. I especially enjoy the ability to have the many annotations at my disposal, as it has assisted me in understanding the scriptures and history even further.

This Bible is wonderful. I am Protestant but I truly appreciate the Jerusalem Bible and how it was translated. Highly recommended.

This is an easy to read and understand Bible version that is used by other Christian churches. Only problem is the small print.E' una versione della bibbia facile da leggere e capire, usata nelle altre chiese, non solo quella cattolica. L'unico problema e' lo stampo piccolo.

L'article de remplacement est à nouveau défectueux !!

I like the single column format and the English translation of this bible. The print is not large, but I can read it well enough with my glasses, and will probably use reader's glasses that magnify to make it even easier on my eyes. The print is darker on some pages than on others, but there are so many pages it would probably be hard to keep them all the same shade during printing depending on the press that was used. I saw that one person's review said that Chapter 7 of Isaiah was missing, so I checked and the one I just received has that chapter included so if it was a previous mistake it has been corrected. I'm looking forward to reading it, just received my copy today.

Saw this listed in a list of 'must reads' for conservatives and thought, how could a translation of the good book be on this list? I was curious.Of the translations I've seen and read to date, I would recommend this translation above all others. There's something in this translation that brings the full story of the bible to vivid life for me. I didn't think another read through of the bible would do that.A quality production overall but, on very rare occasion, have found some of the print characters to be inconsistent or unclear. I haven't reduced the stars as this hasn't prevented me from understanding or inferring the text.This particular product also looks the part and arrived in good time and in good order.

This claims to be the Reader's Edition (which should contain colour and black and white maps, a Chronological Table, Tables of Measures and Money) but it is actually just the Popular Edition (without the aforementioned extras).{The Bible text itself is, I have sound reasons to believe, the most faithful and worthy [modern] English translation}