The Navarre Bible in the Revised Standard Version with a Commentary

My seminarian and monk friends have been raving about the Navarre Bibles and this is the first one I've gotten. I've only read the Gospel of John so far but I've thoroughly enjoyed it. Don't expect great insights in each commentary. Some definitely do, but for the most part, they provoke me to meditate and reflect on my own life.

I have been using the Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts for a bible study at church. I have found the commentary to be one of the best that I have read. It delivers extensive historical background as well as being equally strong in spiritual growth and development. This bible came highly reccommended to us by our associate pastor who has served for several years as a seminary instructor.

The advantage of this compilation of the Navarre Bible's separate Gospel narratives and Acts is that it preserves the extended commentary of the individual volumes. Although the similar Navarre New Testament Compact Edition is excellent, its commentary is abbreviated. All the books in the Navarre series are characterized by fidelity to the Magisterium, an assumed and defended historicity, reflections by Church Fathers and Saints, and contextual explanations. There's simply no better Bible commentary available and it makes for wonderful personal devotional reading or a text for group study. Expensive, but worth every penny.

The Navarre Bible: Gospels and Acts is a truly wonderful piece of work. Much of the Navarre project was inspired by St. Jose Escriva. Consequently, the reader can expect that much of the commentary is laden with this saint's thoughts on Holy Scripture.The text of the translation is the Revised Standard Edition. It is quite readable and, from what I can discern, a faithful rendering of Holy Writ.The true value in this compendium is that its reflections on scripture are more of a more spiritual nature than one might expect from a Bible commentary. The commentary draws you in to the love of God. It is far from academic, although it has great value for this purpose as well. The saints are quoted quite liberally as well as the documents of Vatican II and papal encyclicals. To that end, the Navarre commentary is a great spring-board for further research and reflection.Accompanying the text (to the left) are cross-references that will be helpful particularly in the study of the synoptic Gospels. I read this volume through one chapter at a time as a meditation for each day. As noted above, the commentary lends itself to this method of reading.In all, the Navarre Bible: Gospels and Acts is outstanding. I recommend it for all readers.

Scepter has done a great service by binding the 4 Gospels and the book of Acts into one very nicely laid out, quality, hardcover volume. The only thing missing from this, as opposed to the individual paperback editions, is the text of the Latin Vulgate. Most people (like myself) won't find that to be a problem, and what's left is the text of the RSV Catholic Edition (not to be confused with the inclusive language NRSV) and the full commentary from the paperback editions.This is the first Bible commentary that I have been absolutely unable to put down. For starters, this commentary, as far as I can tell, is absolutely faithful to the Magisterium, and the explations truly reflect the interpretation of Scripture in light of 2,000 years of Biblical scholarship. Within the commentary, one often finds quotes from Saints, Fathers, and Church documents which address the passage, something that I find indispensible and immeasureably interesting.The work is also extremely well cross-referenced, and provides an excellent opportunity for in-depth study. This is a work intended for those truly interested in deepening their understanding of Scripture in light of the Orthodox Catholic teaching. All in all, this is the best commentary on the Gospels and Acts that I've seen. I only wish that Scepter would release the rest of the NT in hardcover format...