The Personal Study Edition was designed for beginning students of the Scriptures (such as R.C.I.A. participants) by today's top Catholic scholars. A nearly 500-page Reading Guide is linked to the biblical text by means of marginal references to specific pages in the Guide. Other features include: discussion questions, background essays on aspects of Bible study, a glossary of specialized terms, the complete Sunday and weekday lectionaries, full color New Oxford Bible Maps, and a select, 70-page NAB Concordance.
This is the version of the Bible that I use for my personal reading, and for my study. It has loads of useful reference material, including essays and maps and the like. Very handy, I highly recommend it for anyone who is keen to go deeper into Scripture without having to be an academic.
Finished a one year commitment to finally read the entire Bible. Glad I did it, but not sure I would recommend doing it the way I did. I think reading it with guidance in a thematic way would make more sense.