The Revised New Jerusalem Bible: Study Edition

by Henry Wansbrough (translator)

A beautiful, fully updated edition of the popular and beloved New Jerusalem Bible, which has sold over half a million copies. The Revised New Jerusalem Bible presents anew the scholarship, character, and clarity of the 1966 Jerusalem Bible (the first modern English version) and the 1985 New Jerusalem Bible. It is a Bible that  • a bold, rich language as suitable for reading out loud as for studying in silence, so that “the message might be fully proclaimed” (2 Timothy 4:17)• accurate translation of the original scriptures rather than the “dynamic equivalence” of some other modern versions• assurance that the message of the Bible is directed to men and women equally, despite the inbuilt bias of the English language This comprehensive Study Edition is the world’s first presentation of the full Revised New Jerusalem Bible, complete with study notes, cross-references, and book introductions. It has been prepared and edited for a modern readership by Dom Henry Wansbrough, OSB, who was general editor of the New Jerusalem Bible. Other features  • The book of Psalms is based on the text of the 2010 translation of The Revised Grail Psalms.• Ancient systems of measure and time have been replaced by modern, metric equivalents.• A table of the notes provides explanations of the key words, themes, and ideas in the Bible’s major footnotes.• A chronological table, an index of persons, and eight pages of full-color maps provide historical context. For all who are discovering the mysteries contained in Scripture for the first time and for those coming to this holy book for regular inspiration, only a clear, understandable Bible translation will do. The Revised New Jerusalem Bible is the one Christians the world over can trust.

2416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 3, 2019

About the author

Born Joseph Henry Wansbrough, the Very Reverend Dom Henry Wansbrough, OSB, MA (Oxon), STL (Fribourg), LSS (Rome), is an English biblical scholar and a monk of Ampleforth Abbey, England.

He was General Editor of the New Jerusalem Bible. He has written twenty books, more than sixty articles, around ninety book reviews, an edition of the Synoptic Gospels, with an accompanying textbook, for 'A'-Level students, and more than fifty electronic booklets, essays, and lectures, as well as editing, co-editing, and translating other volumes. Today he resides at Ampleforth.

Reviews

[Máté Skublics]

Never been a fan of the translation of the NJB. I own and use it for the cross references and footnotes. While in this Revised version the Book of Psalms shows significant improvement, the introductions, footnotes, and cross references are reduced to a minimum (“rationalised” according to the editor in the foreword). This change renders the book completely useless to me, a waste of the high price it is sold at. I am willing to pass it on to anyone who wants it. I don’t recommend buying this book to anyone who would want it for the excellent study tool the NJB was because of its introductions, cross references, and footnotes.

[Steven R. McEvoy]

I was not really in the market for a new bible. I have a couple of favourite physical bibles, and many eBook editions. But I picked this up for a few reasons. First I had read several of the Gospels in the Catholic Truth Society Scripture Series that have an introduction and commentary from Dom Henry. I enjoyed his commentary so much I picked up several other volumes he penned for the CTS, and this bible. My all-time favourite bible for sitting and just reading is The Jerusalem Bible. I received one in grade 7 or 8 for my confirmation from the school board and diocese. And I read it over the next few years. Many years later when I returned to the faith it became my standard for just reading. And even though I have read dozens of translations and likely more specialized bibles (Men’s, Students, Study, Spiritual Warfare, Great Adventure, …) The Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem are my favourites for reading. And with the section and book introductions by Dom Henry this one is at the top of my list.

I started keeping track of books I read in October of 1995, since then I have read a complete bible over 30 times and New Testaments another half dozen. Not counting multiple rereads of specific books of the bible for person study, in bible studies or leading bible studies. These days I only have 2 physical bibles, one in my den and one in my bed side table, but I have over 30 eBook editions and versions. And I am so thankful that this bible is available digitally. I have a dual form of dyslexia and really prefer reading eBooks. And this one is perfectly formatted. A lot of thought, time and effort went into making the digital edition just a well-designed and laid out at the physical edition.

The description of this edition is:

“The Revised New Jerusalem Bible: Study Edition has been crafted to be a unique and comprehensive study Bible experience among the many other options available today. Special consideration has been given to combine the scholarship of the 1966 Jerusalem Bible(the first modern English version) and the 1985 New Jerusalem Bible; presenting you with a Bible that is more of a word-for-word translation from the original Hebrew and Greek languages. Other special translation considerations have been given to the equal treatment of men and women in the text, as well as updating the ancient systems of measurement to the modern metric system.”

And some of the features are:

• Study notes, cross-references, and book introductions edited by Dom Henry Wansbrough, OSB, who was general editor of the New Jerusalem Bible.
• The book of Psalms is based on the text of the 2010 translation of The Revised Grail Psalms.
• A table of the notes provides explanations of the key words, themes, and ideas in the Bible's major footnotes.
• A chronological table, an index of persons, and eight pages of full-color maps provide historical context.
• A bold, rich language as suitable for reading out loud as for studying in silence so that “The message might be fully proclaimed” (2 Timothy 4:17).
• Accurate translation of the original scriptures, rather than the “dynamic equivalence” of some other versions.

And from an eBook perspective I am very thankful they use endnotes at the end of each Book of the bible rather than footnotes at the end of each page, or even each chapter. It makes using it for just reading much easier. And the eBook is very reasonably priced. Dom Henry states in the preface:

“Two decades later a request from the African biblical apostolate for a cheaper edition of The Jerusalem Bible led to a complete revision of the supporting material, independent of the Jerusalem school, though for financial reasons the biblical text of 1966 was retained. This was published by the Catholic Truth Society of London as The CTS New Catholic Bible in 2008. The supporting material produced for that edition has formed the basis of the present edition. The biblical text here presented is, however, a wholesale revision of the Jerusalem Bible text, chiefly under three guiding principles. The Bible was written to be proclaimed aloud rather than studied in silence; it is important, therefore, that the message of the Bible should be read out and heard intelligibly as well as understood in reflective meditation. Attention has also been given to rendering the language and imagery of the original languages accurately rather than by dynamic equivalence. Further, every attempt has also been made to show that the message of the Bible is directed to women and men equally, despite the inbuilt bias of the English language.”

This is an excellent bible for personal use. Group Study. Or Serious scholarship. I can easily recommend it. Even is just for Dom Henry’s introduction to each section and each book. It is a great resource for your faith journey. Mike Aquilina stated:

“Now we can travel with more books stored in our telephones than the ancient Egyptians kept in their vast library at Alexandria.”

We can travel with several bibles, commentaries and supporting books and barely touch the space available on our mobiles. You owe it to yourself to give this bible a try. I am certain it will be worth it.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2022 Catholic Reading Plan!

[John Engelman]

The New Jerusalem Bible uses Yahweh for the name of God. Ancient Hebrew has no vowels. The consonants for Yahweh are similar to the consonants in our alphabet of YHWH. Jehovah is a mis translation, because Hebrew has no J sound.

Yahweh seems flat and bland to me. I think the original Hebrew name for God may have been pronounced “Yehowah” That sounds more awe inspiring.

In The Revised New Jerusalem Bible: Study Edition, Old Testament, which I am reviewing here, the use of Yahweh has reverted to “The Lord.” I have read The New Jerusalem Bible, which has a copyright of 1985. The Revised New Jerusalem Bible: Study Edition has a copyright of 2019. It is considered to be the most accurate translation of the Bible, using study notes that include the most recent findings in Biblical archaeology and linguistics.

King David conquered an empire that included Syria and three nations in what is now Jordan. These were from north to south Ammon, Moab, and Edom. The Philistines were not conquered, but they were defeated and never again threatened Israel.

David’s son Solomon built the Temple of Jerusalem. He may have commissioned the beginning of the Bible because the two oldest parts appear to have been written during his reign. Nevertheless, Syria became independent during Solomon’s reign.

After Solomon’s death David’s kingdom divided into the Northen Kingdom, henceforth named “Israel” and the Southern Kingdom, henceforth named “Judah.”

Ammon, Moab, and Edom soon became independent. While this was happening, the Israelites were threatened first by the Assyrian Empire, and then the Babylonian Empire.

The Old Testament prophets blamed the decline and fall of David’s Empire on three factors that caused Yahweh to stop protecting the Israelites. These were sexual immorality, the fact that Israel’s rich were oppressing Israel’s poor, and the fact that many Israelites worshiped other deities in addition to Yahweh.

This is an argument that can be tuned against those who are Israelite monotheists.

In the 44th chapter of Jeremiah, Jeremiah condemns Israelite women who worship the Queen of Heaven. Her name may also have been Asherah. She may have been regarded as Yahweh’s consort. Those women respond by saying:

Jeremiah 44:16 – 19 “We have no intention of listening to the word you have just spoken to us in the Lord’s name but intend to go on doing all we have vowed to do: and we and our ancestors, our kings and our chief men, in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem: we had food in plenty then, we suffered no disasters. But since we gave up offering incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring libations in her honor, we have been destitute and have perished either by the sword or by famine.”

This resembles the way Democrats and Republicans evaluate President Franklin Roosevelt: Democrats say Roosevelt ended the Great Depression; Republicans say Roosevelt artificially prolonged the Great Depression.

The Hebrew Bible and the Protestant Old Testament say nothing of the fate of the Arc of the Covenant. The Second Chapter of 2 Maccabees states that Jeremiah hid the Arc of the Covenant in a cave in Mt. Sinai and sealed the entrance.

In 2 Maccabees Chapter 2: 7 Jeremiah says, “The place is to remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows them his mercy.”

Now that the Jews are back in Israel it is time for them to search Mt. Sinai, find the Arc of the Covenant, and bring it back to Israel where it belongs.

[Benjamin]

A mediocre translation. The original Jerusalem Bible had a certain whimsical quality to it that was attractive. Among other things, it was the first English translation to use "Yahweh" instead of "LORD" for the divine name. The updates, however, have not fared well. For one thing, they abandoned the use of "Yahweh." The "gender-inclusive" language is awkward and distracting. There are some weird editorial decisions as well. The speeches of Jesus in John are all set out in poetic lines, as is the entire First Epistle of John. They don't do this with the speeches of Jesus in the other gospels. The notes consistently represent historical-critical skepticism. Many seem to have been chosen specifically to undercut confidence in the Bible. There are also a handful of typos that will probably be fixed in later printings. For example, in Nahum 1:5, the first line says, "He The mountains tremble before him." The "He" should be in italics in the margin, as it represents a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The same with the word "Yod" in the third line of Nahum 1:7. The weirdest thing is that Leviticus 2:1 reads, "the offering consists of wheaten flour on which wine must be poured and incense put." The question is, where did "wine" come from? The Hebrew text says "oil," as does the Greek text and the Latin Vulgate. Someone was nodding at this point. All in all not a translation I recommend.

[Mike Beranek]

By my measure one of the best Bible translations you'll ever find. It has everything, the lyricism and distinctiveness of the original Jerusalem Bible, in fields still very contemporary and plus and most importantly Henry Wansboroughs superlative commentary in the extensive footnotes.

[Kevin]

This is an excellent translation, and I very much enjoy reading the backstories of each book and section, which are quite informative. While I still prefer an interlinear version overall, this is probably the best translation I have found for easy reading.

[Kelly]

My favorite translations for reading

[James Russo]

For years this has been my favorite translation of The Bible.

[David Keith]

Too many mistakes, I thought I could trust this Bible, Alas is me. I have to be weary when reading. May be other errors. I have found three errors thus far.

I don't know who to contact to let them know, as which they probably already do?

Disappointed; I wanted this to be my main Bible, I am crushed to find the mistakes inside.

D.
Esq.