The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha

This study Bible offers preface chapters on the Church and the Bible, chapter summaries, each Bible verse is annotated with scholarly reviews for study assistance to the reader, a select index of topics, and 14 Bible era maps. The language is easy to understand for the reader - the Revised English Version (1989). The book condition was in "very good condition". I recommend this bookseller.

There is no such thing as a perfect bible translation or version. Having said that, I love this Bible. The language is explosive and really grabs your attention. Let me allow it to speak for itself. 1 Peter 5:6-8 Humble yourselves , then, under God's mighty hand, and in due time he will lift you up. He care for you, so cast all your anxiety on him. Be on the alert! Wake Up! Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, prowls around looking for someone to devour. (Revised English Bible) No, I'm not trying to make any biblical points through the verse above. I just wanted to show you how I feel this bible uses it's choice of the English language to really grab your attention. I will still use Bullinger's Companion Bible of the KJV as my main bible. However, in my humble opinion this is a solid Bible to reference in personal study. I know I will.

Great study Bible! Includes interesting and useful notes that are "academic" without casting dispersions on the divinity of scripture. The paper is super thin, so use your gentle fingers. Highlighting and underlining are not recommended - they go right through the paper. This is my second purchase of this Bible. The first one fell apart after a year of nearly daily casual study use- the binding seems to struggle to hold on to the delicate pages.

Strongly recommended for people interested in the poetry, historical context, and message of the Bible who don't want to go blue in the face trying to understand wordier translations. This bible makes things clear and accessible on first reading without making the text boring or monotonous. It maintains its poetry, but is no more poetic (and maybe at times it is less) than the NRSV. Unlike the NRSV this bible expresses the thoughts of the orignal authors even if word-for-word translation comes at a bit of an expense -- this is a huge plus for young people, lay people, people (re)discovering the bible, or people skeptical of many aspects of Christianity. This bible gives you beautiful words minus the confusion that often accompany more literal translations. As a plus it gives you historical and linguistic context galore to enhance your understanding. If you're not in the mood to read footnotes you don't have to -- this Bible is quite readable on its own and the footnotes are there to further the depth of your undersanding of the history, lingquistics, and meaning of what you're reading. The REB contains nearly 100 pages of articles on early Christianity and theological development that are a must for anyone desiring an honest understanding of Christianity. Honest and thorough, yet concise. Awesome feature. Amazon's service was good. No complaints. The book is indeed a paperback and is large. This is not the type of Bible you throw in a backpack when on the go or lend out freely. The NRSV is an ecumenical and theologically honest Bible that is available in hardcover study Bible editions at the same price as this flimsy one. The NRSV is a bit harder to read, but if you plan on studying the text and linguistics of the Bible rather than simply the message go with the NRSV. The great thing about the REB is how easy it is to move through it and understand it without sacrificing aesthetics. Its sound and accurate. The REB is not nearly as gender inclusive as the NRSV, strange that it would uphold a useless conservative tradition when it often takes liberties that no other literary or scholarly Bible would take. Understandable. Literary. Historical.

This is my fifth or sixth copy of this translation. As a translation, I recommend it highly. The editorial and study notes are about 50/50. Some are completely off base (in my opinion)... for example when refering to the construction of the tent of meeting (tabernacle) and the elements for it, the editor called the giving of gold as a tremendous hardship on Israel. Now, this is the same Israel that "plundered Egypt" when they left and had been wandering in the dessert. Seems like a disconnect to me on the editor's part. Other notes are very helpful (the positioning and commentary on the "Woman caught in Adultery" from the Gospel of John). I trust the translation and question the editorials and notes.

The wealth of information contained within makes this an excellent study Bible. However it is very hard to use away from a table or desk. When I tried to read from it in front of a group, I discovered that it was very heavy. I could not hold it flat. It sagged in the middle and I had to keep shifting it to read the middle of the page. Things got worse when I needed to turn the page. While I balanced the dead-weight book on one hand I tried to grasp one extremely thin page from the the part dangling down out of sight. I felt like I was in an on-line cat video. As a result the Oxford Study Bible is grounded. I will be reading from a different Bible in public.

Take out the study portions of 'The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha' and you get a suitable bible to study with, read with, become religiously interested with, or to simply enjoy. The annotations, the notes, the details, the descriptions that this bible provides can take this version of 'The Bible' from just another Bible to one of the greatest tools in understanding, coming to terms with, and delving deeper into the world of The Bible with. The addition of Apocrypha will enable those whose Bibles don't normally include Apocrypha get a taste of some of the later works added and practiced by some denominations. Grab this Bible, whether looking for a good read or looking to learn more. 5 Detailed Stars out of 5!

Very nice. Easy to use

I like this Bible. It is filled with useful commentary and information about the Bible. It is not too expensive. I can recommend it!

Extraordinary care has been taken in the translation, notes and commentary to communicate clearly and helpfullyl to serious but non-professional readers. I also like the inclusiveness of the the group responsible for creating this study Bible. I find the readability of the Biblical text superior to its sibling, the New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha. The notes are less technical, but often more helpful.

I was quite surprised about the pages and binding of this extremely good Study Bible. The Translation is very good and easy to understand, I did not see it to be written in a Liberal mannor . After comparing the text with other Bibles from my Collection I concluded that it was of the same spiritual quality. Unfortunately the the Cover and pages were not so good, they are extremely thin. You can compare the thickness of the Bible cover to the strength of a Cornflakes cereal box and the pages are as thin as Cigarette paper, I felt uncomfortable about turning the pages because I was afraid that they could easyly be torn. Although I bought this Bible Brand New some of the pages were already creased, which did not surprise me because they are realy extremely thin. I supose that I will have to reinforce the cover to prevent the whole Bible from getting damaged under normal reading conditions. I think that the quality of this good Bible translation has suffered greatly because of it's wobbly Flimsy Construction.

When the New English Bible first came out 42 years ago, the translation was hailed for its literary quality and criticized for its apparent liberties. As time and a minor revision have passed by, this text of the Bible just keeps on proving its qualities. Translation is always a work of imagination, and the Revised English Bible endures in its ability to put you in the text. For instance, in John's Gospel, chapter 6, after Jesus explains that eating his flesh and drinking his blood will lead to eternal life, verse 60 says literally "... this is a hard saying, who can listen to it?" The REB has "Who can stomach such talk?" The underlying meaning is much clearer. I give the Oxford Edition of the Revised English Bible to everyone I ordain deacon or priest. Anyone who wants to get close to the Bible in English — believer and unbeliever — needs to have and use this version. I recommend having the New Revised Standard Version or the New International Version for comparison. As it contains the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonical Books), it is suitable for Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox readers, as well as Anglicans.