Customer Reviews

The New Revised Standard Version Bible with Apocrypha: Pocket Edition

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent edition of the NRSV Bible. I have the New Oxford Annotated Augmented Third Edition with Apocrypha at home, but since I am a college student I just did not have the space for the massive tome and so had to leave it behind. This was the perfect solution. It is extremely compact, and a perfect size for just reading rather than in-depth study. And this should be noted: if you want a Bible with notes and commentary, this is not the one. It would be impossible to put this information into a pocket edition, and it includes only the actual text. As it is, this is an ideal reading Bible.

As for the appearance: the leather is nice (although mine came in solid black unlike the picture). the page edges are gilded, the spine is stamped with simple gold lettering, and a gold bookmark is included. Overall this gives the contemporary translation an elegant, classic look. Inside the text is small-it is a pocket edition-but readably printed on quality paper.

And the best part? It includes the Apocrypha. It is rather difficult to find a small, non-study edition of the Bible that has one, and this was one of my main reasons for selecting it. The NRSV is generally recognized as having excellent scholarship with a commitment to a ecumenical, literal translation. It also extremely readable. I am very pleased with my purchase.

I had been looking for a small leather-bound bible to replace a New English version that went missing. This one is perfect. An academically trustworthy translation in a very portable size, readable typeface, durable binding that will stand up to professional use. It is now the current favorite in my bible library. God bless America.

I'm one of those people who shuffles between multiple Bible translations, always looking for different renditions of challenging Scriptural passages. I have two NRSV Study Bibles (The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed and NRSV Harper Study Bible), but I find myself reading this little pocket edition on a daily basis. When a questionable passage pops up, I grab an ESV Classic Reference Bible, Hardcover, Red Letter Text, NASB Compact Reference Bible, The Catholic Study Bible Second Edition, The New Jerusalem Bible, Study Edition (my second favorite), The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha, The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, Nelson Reference Bible - Kjv or NKJV UltraSlim Center-Column Reference Bible (sometimes all of them, what the heck?), and I follow their references here and there, allowing the Scriptures to speak to me in ways that one translation could never do.

The literary style of the NRSV is fluid and evocative, while the translation itself is backed by world class scholarship. One feature that I especially like is that, unlike many other pocket editions, this Bible opens flat like a full-sized model. The leather cover smells and feels wonderful, the binding is second-to-none, and the tiny font is to be expected of a compact edition; at 45 my eyes are able to read it without problem.

Okay, so I just got this Bible in the mail and I have one complaint. The "Item Picture" on Amazon.com's product page does not give you a clear visual of what you are going to be getting in the mail. Instead of a classic style Bible, it has a zipper closure. It also does not include a ribbon marker as indicated on the box itself. Aside from those two things, the zipper is awesome and I actually like it! It still has the classic leather bound appearance (though it does not indicate leather bound anywhere on the Bible or on the packaging), and it has golden gilded pages. The zipper closure just adds to the portability of this cute little Bible. I don't feel like it makes it any harder to open and read at all, it pretty much still opens flat. I was in desperate need of a new Bible that was of my own choosing (after reading up on the accuracy on all versions of the Bible). All I had was a Childrens Bible NIV of the New Testament, and an Extreme Teen Bible NKJ which I have long outgrown at 24 years old. I really wanted something that would last me many years and lead me out of my youth. Something without all of the unnecessary and unwanted commentary inside, as I do not want other people telling me how I should interpret something while I'm trying to read it, after all, it's about our own personal relationship with Jesus, not someone elses. Which is also why I would encourage each person to look into a Bible that is suitable to their own reading level, I mean c'mon, this is the most important book you could purchase, you want to at least be able to read it on your own and have it speak to you on a personal level. This is really great overall and if not for the fact that I didn't know exactly what this Bible would look like, I would have given it 5 stars!

This is an NRSV bible of decent quality, as far as it goes for the price. However, it was advertised as "leather bound" when in fact it is bound in a leather-like synthetic. Rather disappointing.

Forty years ago, it was not common knowledge among Protestants that both the Geneva Bible of 1560 and the KJV of 1611 contained books often designated Apocrypha, as did the original Douai-Reims Catholic OT of 1609, although RCs usually referred to these books "hidden" in the Septuagint as deutero-canonical. In fact, it was self-evident that Protestants, over the course of centuries, had lost something of their biblical heritage without really knowing why the Bible Societies had surprisingly decided to print their editions of the KJV without these interesting witnesses to inter-testament history. [My prefatory comments are not to imply that any deutero-canon takes pride of place over the OT proto-canon, which, alongside the revered NT canon, an overwhelming majority of Christians does acknowledge as being rather supreme.]

Four decades hence, Protestants have witnessed a renaissance of interest in these old books, which predate the New Testament volumes anywhere from several hundred to but a dozen years before the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oxford University Press has tended to lead us along a controversial but nonetheless rewarding path to a renewed interest in books of the Apocrypha, publishing its Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha (RSV); New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha (RSV-expanded edition, as well as second, third, and fourth editions based on the NRSV); and, lately, an English-Standard-Version Bible with Apocrypha for those Christians of an Evangelical persuasion. These fine works have their peculiar merits, but they all presume a reader who can perhaps kick off heavy shoes in the comfort of home, while immersing himself, prayerfully, in the Word of God. Yet what about the traveler or the camper who must keep his or her shoes on, far more often than no---what allowance is offered to such a Christian individual on the go, one who, in spite of exigencies of the moment, wants a Bible upon the nightstand "containing all the books"?

Two publishers, O.U.P. and Harper-Collins, are now attempting to meet this need with a variety of offerings that fit neatly into attaches, purses, backpacks, etc. This review will focus, out of mere necessity, on Oxford's NRSV with Apocrypha: Pocket Edition in genuine leather. At the outset, we will observe that the variations of this fine work, as far as its bindings are concerned, are all actually Compact Editions, for the simple reason that a true Pocket Bible cannot readily embrace OT, complete Apocrypha, and NT in 6-7 point type. It is likely that this unfortunate misnomer, then, is due to a flight of fancy by someone in Oxford's marketing section, someone who had little more than the foggiest notion of what a Pocket Bible entails. Or perhaps the Brits were thinking of "London Fog" pockets? However that may be, like Harper-Collins' Compact Editions, most of Oxford's array are in bonded leather, which is quite satisfactory. Even so, the latter publisher does sell its compact-edition NRSV in genuine leather, and it is this "Pocket Bible" which presently concerns us.

No doubt you would guess their leather edition is quite handsome, though it is distinctly not a French Morocco, which would cost a pretty pound and is better left at home. To satisfy businessman and camper alike, the suggested retail-price hovers around $45 U.S., but from one dealer you can have it shipped to you for all of $32 plus S-&-H. It is a handy volume, roughly 6-1/2 x 4-3/4 x 1-1/4 inches, with 1600-odd pages between the covers, and it tips the scale at one pound. The gilding, as you might expect from any Oxbridge Bible, is professionally executed and very bright. Rather advantageous, I think, it features Smythe-sewed pages, so your investment will not fall apart in your hands from normal wear. Thank God that the Bible's paper is not only thin but sufficiently opaque. One should not expect 6-7 point type to rival 8-9 in crispness, but it is, for my eyes anyway, far from impossible to read---granted your eyesight is either keen or properly corrected. My only complaint on this score: its type could and should be slightly bolder. The fact that Oxford employs an excellent font in a super layout does offset this deficiency, to some extent. A very nice touch is the golden ribbon-marker, which is also generous in its dimensions.

All in all, you could hardly ask for a better companion on a journey, whether stateside or abroad. Just recall that this edition of the NRSV is not meant for serious study, as there is no room here for cross-references, concordance, and wordy annotations. Color maps, however, would have been a nice addition! If you are a student, per se, look to the larger, Oxbridge volumes for these added benefits.

The product is no where near small enough to actually fit into your pocket, though it is called the Pocket Edition. I have no complaints beyond this, but as I purchased this to be a Bible that I keep in my pocket, this one complaint is sufficient to make this entire purchase a complete waste of my money. If the purpose of this Bible is to be eminently portable in a bag or purse, then they should call it the travel edition, and not advertise it as a pocket edition at all. Their "Go-Anywhere" Bibles are far smaller, and can actually fit into your pocket with a bit of effort, while this one is completely unworkable.

I tried to purchase the leather bound version but was shipped the plastic covered model with a zipper. Spoke with Amazon and we agreed that the wrong thing had been shipped. Returned item with no problem, however, they proceeded to ship the same wrong item a second time. This time I returned for a refund. This is really a review of Amazon, not the specific product since I never actually received the correct product. Out of fairness, I would say that this is the one bad experience I have had with Amazon. However, it is also the first time I have needed to deal with something other than the electronic interface and it is my own opinion that this is indicative of how service can actually suffer when you need to deal directly with a human; quite the opposite of what seems intuitive. Just a reality of the times that companies cannot afford the quality people that could be utilized.

I received a quality product in great condition in a timely fashion.

Baby boomers who are experiencing "aging eyeballs" and who want a personal pocket edition of NRSV with Apochrphya should also invest in a magnifying glass if they buy and intend to keep this Oxford University Press edition. I am torn myself with keeping it or giving it away to a much younger person! (My low rating has nothing to do with the actual NRSV translation which is my personal preference.)