The Orthodox Study Bible, Hardcover: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World

For purposes of full disclosure allow me to say, first of all, that I'm a practicing Catholic Christian of the Latin Rite who hopes to grant a unique perspective regarding the offerings of this particular Bible. I've been in possession of the leather-bound edition since I received it two months after my original pre-order. It's taken me a couple years, but I've really come to love it. As I mentioned in the title of this review, the Orthodox Study Bible has recently dethroned my trusty, old-RSV, New Oxford Annotated Bible as my study Bible of choice. I had little notion this would happen. I do have an extensive collection of Bibles in various translations that I use for comparative study; but probably like yourself, I also have a preferred Bible to go to by default for prayerful reading. Over the last two years, I just found myself picking up the OSB more and more and the NOAB less and less. Allow me to articulate exactly why: The case for the Septuagint Old Testament: The unique and most compelling reason to acquire the OSB: it is the only complete Bible in English to be published with the Greek OT right next to the NT. If you have one of those reference Bibles, I'm sure you've noticed that many of the OT quotes used in the NT mismatch when you actually look them up, sometimes to a great degree--this is because Jesus and the disciples apparently quoted from the Septuagint Greek, as opposed to other Hebrew sources, a vast majority of the time. This is so, because Greek was the common language of antiquity in the region and the Septuagint translation (which includes the apocryphal/deuterocanonical "hidden books" of the "second canon") was completed more than a century before Christ's birth. By the time of Jesus' ministry, it was in widespread use by Jews throughout the Diaspora, particularly outside of Palestine and, especially, Jerusalem by those who couldn't speak or read Hebrew. Bear in mind: the Hebrew OT, from which 99% of modern English Bibles are translated, relies on Masoretic Hebrew (Hebrew with fixed vowels) whose manuscripts didn't exist until the high middle ages, approximately the 9th century AD--almost a thousand years after Christ! By then, the methodology behind Jewish biblical scholarship had evolved immensely and the original meaning of certain passages were irrevocably changed. Isaiah 7:14 is the classic casualty of this: Masoretic Hebrew renders "young woman" while Septuagint Greek renders "virgin"--a pretty significant paradigm shift. Ever wonder why the OT books of the Christian Bible are in their current order as opposed to the way the Hebrew Bible orders them? That's right, the Septuagint lists them in order of Law, Histories, Writings, and Prophecy; the NT books are similarly ordered by Gospel, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation. In the end, the Masoretic/Septuagint wars will rage on; but the latter is still the most ancient and reliable source of the OT, it's quoted extensively by the ancient Church Fathers, and it was the de facto source of scripture for Jesus and His Disciples. If you don't already have a Septuagint, it's well worth picking one up, and the OSB version is preferable to the aging Brenton translation and even to the flawed-NRSV-based NETS (if you're a conservative practitioner of your faith, it's really hard to take the NRSV seriously with its literal-but-intentionally-unorthodox renderings of scripture as well as its politically-motivated gender-sterilized language). The case for the NKJV New Testament: Other reviewers have mentioned a distaste for the New King James Version and, as someone who also affirms most of the critical methods of modern NT scholarship, I can certainly empathize. Though the NKJV relies on the Textus Receptus (a Reformation Era-variant of Byzantine text-type manuscripts, compiled by Erasmus) and maintains such renderings in the body of scripture, its footnotes are the most comprehensive of any translation. In fact, all variations from the Majority Text as well as the Nestle-Aland/UBS editions (the "Critical Text" based on Alexandrian text-type manuscripts) are comprehensively documented. The overriding benefit to the selection of the TR is that the NKJV retains the same eloquent, familiar phraseology and literary grace that caused its predecessor to leave such an indelible mark on English language and literature ever after. And because it adheres to the principle of formal equivalence in translation, the NKJV maintains a vocabulary and style in accordance with high English--this is not a "dumbed-down" translation like many other popular ones out there. The result is that the Bible reads less like a contemporary novel or a daily newspaper, and more like dignified prose--which is befitting of sacred scripture. The case for the commentary: If you're strictly an academic, you may find this to have a limited appeal; but if you consider yourself a member of the faithful laity, you'll get quite a lot out of this. Even if you're a Christian of Reformation descent, you'll appreciate the uniqueness in character of the OSB notes because it's the only modern commentary available that doesn't depend on the historical-critical method to elaborate on passages. Instead, it's comprehensively Christological, even in the OT where it succeeds in pointing out both significant and obscure messianic prophecies. The result is an OT commentary that approaches scripture holistically, with the same Christ-centered worldview that is readily present in the NT. If you're an Orthodox Christian, you'll love it more than not, even though the brevity characteristic of its notes contrasts with the immense depth and breadth typical of Church Fathers. In my humble opinion, the commentary's simplicity is its strength for ordinary study or prayerful reading. As someone who occasionally refers to the Haydock edition of the Douay-Rheims Bible to shed light on certain difficult scripture passages, I find the OSB's concise, pointed commentary to be a refreshing change, in contrast to Haydock's excessive wordiness for normal use. Sure, for more in-depth study you'll want a deeper commentary, but the vast majority of the time, and for the vast majority of people, the OSB's solidly patristic explanations are a sight for sore eyes. If you're an Eastern Catholic, this will fit you like a glove since all scripture references cited during Byzantine Divine Liturgy are clearly referenced and the appendix even includes a lectionary for the entire liturgical year. If you're a Roman Rite Catholic, like me, trust me: there's no better modern, complete Bible out there that's made to bolster your faith like this one. To wit: the single-volume Navarre Bible is hopefully in the works and, as of this writing, the NT of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is available for pre-order with the OT probably years away. The potential benefits to such future volumes would be references to papal encyclicals, pertinent teachings from the Catechism, and explanations by intellectual giants like Dr. Scott Hahn, Curtis Mitch, or other faithful scripture scholars. The OSB commentary, along with the introductions to each book, purposely limits its scope to the wisdom of the Holy Fathers and the Ecumenical Councils of the first millennium. While this may sound like a detractor at first, it has one substantial benefit: these are the teachings that predate any Reformation, or subsequently needed Counter-Reformation, as well as the Great East-West Schism. Essentially, these are the teachings of Christ's Church when that Church was One: singular and united. Formatting notes: The full biblical text is set in a two-column format and is graced with section headers within the chapters themselves for easier searching. The font is a nicely-readable 11-point for the text and about 8-point for the footnotes and commentary. Overall, the page layout is among the most practical and beautiful I've seen in any Bible. One major upshot to the OSB is the page thinness. In order to pack the wealth of information contained in this veritable library into a single volume, the pages evidently had to become nearly tissue-paper thin. Despite this, text ghosting from the other side is surprisingly minimal--I just worry about dropping this one day and forever creasing a couple hundred pages for its potential lack of resilience. Also, the tome measures about 7x10x2, so it's a bit larger than your average personal Bible. The bonded leather is elegant and sturdy but suffers some minor-but-still-irritating curl after use. The pages are gold-edged and the Bible has that humble and reverent look and feel that they surely ought to have for the sacred scripture they contain. Finally, the full-color, high quality, icons interspersed throughout are a blessing and further aid the sense of actually being "in church" as you read. Other observations of note: The OSB does suffer one logistical drawback shared, for example, by the Douay-Rheims (the traditional Catholic Bible translated from the Clementine Vulgate): the verse numberings occasionally deviate from the standard (which has been set by an OT in Hebrew and a NT in Greek). In the case of the Douay, this is a result of translating from the Latin text. With regard to the OSB, similar verse discrepancies occur only in the Greek-based OT. Outside the Septuagint Psalter, I've found such a phenomenon to be a rare occurrence, at least. The stock NKJV NT obviously follows standard versification. As someone who, admittedly, is accustomed to Masoretic Hebrew renderings in the OT from my NOAB, adjusting to Septuagint ones is an occasionally surprising endeavor, but always a fruitful one. Since the NKJV OT was the base translation for this particular version of the Septuagint, many beloved passages you're used to are nearly identical; Psalm 23 is a good example that remains virtually unchanged. Others, like Proverbs 3:5 are completely different; showing, instead, a much closer relationship to the deuterocanonical book of Wisdom, chapter 8. Such "Easter eggs" are prevalent throughout the text and make having the Septuagint well worth it, even just for comparative study. For all that you're getting, the OSB's price point is just right for both bonded leather and hard-bound. Also, the publisher has more or less recently come out with a red, genuine leather edition that is significantly pricier, but which sports a beautiful and ornate gold cover design. In the end, the Orthodox Study Bible is a God-send (quite literally in many senses). If you're less interested in getting to know the "historical Jesus" as portrayed by scholars in most study Bibles, and more interested in meeting with Our Lord and Savior as understood by saints, "Highly recommended" would be an understatement. Ad majorem Dei gloriam!

I actually am not Orthodox. I'm Protestant. However, I believe that the Septuagint contains the most authentic record of the Old Testament books of the Bible as is evidenced upon comparison to New Testament quotations and the Dead Sea Scrolls. I believe that absolutely every English-speaking Christian should own a copy of this particular Bible. * There are many Messianic subtleties in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament that point to Jesus but are lost in the Masoretic versions. You'll especially see this in Isaiah and the Psalms but I've picked up several in Genesis and other books as well. * I have bought copies of this particular edition for all of my family members. They thoroughly enjoy it and have been surprised at the improved alignment with the Gospel with the Septuagint-based Orthodox Study Bible versus those that rely on the Masoretic texts. * I have also read the Brenton translation of the Septuagint (public domain now) and I find this translation to be much better and closer to our modern English wording. However, if you prefer the KJV linguistic style, you may want to look for a Brenton translation instead. * The New Testament in this Orthodox Bible is the NKJV, which is fine with me as I like the translation. All in all, I wish the translation of the Old Testament flowed a bit more smoothly but it's certainly the best Septuagint translation I've found out there. * It's a bit hard to get used to the difference in the order of the books of the Bible (Old Testament) as compared to a standard Protestant bible. I suggest getting tabs for the Books of the Bible to help out. I purchased the Catholic tabs which mostly align. Frankly, I wish they had kept with the Catholic or Protestant order. Same goes for the naming of the books. Keeping the more conventional naming would be helpful (e.g. 3rd and 4th Kingdoms). * If you are particularly annoyed by having the Deuterocanonical (Apocrypha) mixed in with your Bible, this Bible may simply irritate you too much. However, before you dismiss it, keep in mind that there are prophecies of Jesus in some of those books as well. Whether you believe those books are canon or not, you might want to take a look at them again with fresh eyes. * A few of the Orthodox study notes are helpful but frankly most are not. It's not that they are necessarily theologically different; they are simply not meaty. * The Bible reading plan in the back is helpful. * To supplement this, I would also encourage you to check out the Apostolic Bible Polyglot version of the Septuagint and New Testament by Charles VanderPool and the accompanying books. Very helpful if you want to see the Greek similarities between the Old Testament and New Testament. I think he mostly based his work on the Complutense Septuagint (IYKYK). * Personally, I would like to see another wide-margin edition with less/no Bible study notes. That would be terrific. And, a woman's large print edition with illustrations that you can color with colored pencils would be terrific.

I love this Bible. It was a hardcover, Orthodox Bible is the most accurate version of the Bible in my opinion. I love all of the notes on each of the verses. I love all of the notes before each book of the Bible. It's very very thorough in explaining everything

If you want only one Study Bible to aid and inform your reading of the Bible, or want to have a real alternate to your currently favorite Study Bible, "The Orthodox Study Bible" is the one you need to buy -- not "want", you "need" it. Period. In my thirty years of preaching and teaching the Christian Bible, this is without condition the best, most useful and enlightening Study Bible I have ever used. I say this with such enthusiasm even though I am a life-long Lutheran, and at the same time because I am a committed Confessional, orthodox Lutheran. "The Orthodox Study Bible," though aimed at a target audience in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the most thoroughly ecumenical Study Bible I know of. The reason for that is in the very nature of Eastern Orthodox theology and biblical interpretation. The Orthodox -- unlike Western Protestantism -- have not jettisoned from theology the wisdom and authority of the Fathers of the ancient church and the liturgical tradition of early Christianity, but rather turn to and look to them as the foundation of all Christian dogma and doctrine, and thus the foundation of the one source of dogma and doctrine, the Bible. In many ways the Orthodox Church is more biblical in its teaching and life than any Western Protestants, and a large part of the reason for this is that the Orthodox Church has an unbroken tradition of reading the Bible together with, in living dialogue with, those closest to its origins: the ancient Fathers of the Church and the ancient worship of the Church. THAT IS WHAT FORMS THE FOUNDATION AND METHOD OF "THE ORTHODOX STUDY BIBLE," and thus makes it THE MOST "BIBLICAL" Study Bible in terms of its notes, commentaries, and invaluable longer articles on points of doctrine. What you will NOT encounter is the prejudice of "modern" Western "historical-critical method" exegesis, with its rules of implicit skepticism and methodological doubt regarding the text of the Bible, which in two centuries have reduced Western biblical exegesis to a tangle of subjective and politically-correct "readings" of the Bible with no unity to them and no authority to support them except the opinion of the individual authors and their pet agendas. "THE ORTHODOX STUDY BIBLE" OFFERS FREEDOM FROM THE DEAD-END OF HISTORICAL-CRITICAL EXEGESIS, and restores how the Church in its first millennium unanimously interpreted and applied the Bible. The "OSB" is not a flat or rote reitteration of the Church Fathers, however. It is how Orthodox exegetes and theologians read the Bible in dialogue with the Fathers as the living voice of the Church throughout the ages, in conversation with the living voice of Scripture. The result cuts right to what the Bible means, how the Bible interprets itself as divine revelation, and the unity of Old Testament and New Testament as the one revelation of salvation in Jesus Christ. This brings with it striking parallels, allusions, typology and allegory -- the meat of Patristic exegesis -- that is far more fruitful for preaching and teaching the Bible than the obsession with socio-historical theories and minutiae that fill most Protestant Study Bibles. The proof is in the using of the OSB with an open mind to a whole new way of reading the Bible than Western Protestants have been trained (brainwashed?) to practice. If you have a long-time favorite Study Bible like the NIV Study Bible, the New Oxford Annotated Study Bible, or any of the many others on the market, certainly keep it and use it if it aids and helps you. But do not use it alone anymore; get The Orthodox Study Bible to compare with your favorite, and so expand deeper and further your reading and meditating on the Bible. The OSB is a "must have" not only for Eastern Orthodox Christians, but for all Christians. One oddity for Western readers that may require some adjustment is the text of the Old Testament used. The Eastern Orthodox Church has always used that version of the Old Testament called the "Septuagint" (abbreviated by the Roman numeral LXX). This is the ancient, pre-Christian (ca 200 BC) translation of the Jewish Scriptures from Hebrew into Greek, during the process of which a number of books written originally in Greek were judged to be inspired Scripture in unity with the witness of the Hewbrew/Israelite books. This is the version of the OT used in the OSB, as it is the official text of the OT in the Orthodox Church. Thus, it is translated from the Greek text of the LXX, not directly from the Hebrew texts, and contains sevral writings not found in Protestant versions of the OT. LXX names and order are retained in the canon as well. So there are the 4 Books of Kingdoms (= 1 & 2 Samuel/1 & 2 Kings); a book of 2nd Ezra (or Esdras); the books of Tobit, Judith, 1st, 2nd & 3rd Maccabees, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Sirach, the book of Baruch, and the Epistle of Jeremiah. There are 151 Psalms; and the books of Esther and Daniel are considerably longer than in modern Protestant Bibles. These are books of the OT and integrated into the canon of the OT. For a Protestant, that takes some getting used to. ON THE PLUS SIDE: all the writers of the NT read, used and quoted from the Septuagint (LXX), the OT version in the OSB, so it in fact provides an English translation of the "Scriptures" presupposed throughout the NT. "The Orthodox Study Bible" is written for interested laity, not specialized clergy; it is clear, easily understood, and full of helps. A final commendation: LUTHERANS IN PARTICULAR should get and used this as their main Study Bible -- laity and clergy alike. Classical Lutheran theology -- from Luther and Melanchthon to Chmenitz and Gerhard -- is founded on "Scripture Alone," but Scripture in living dialogue with the Fathers of the Church (whom the Lutheran writers often quote at great length to prove the point of their biblical exegesis). "The Orthodox Study Bible" -- as the so-called "Finnish School" of Luther research is increasingly demonstrating -- is equally as much the best "Lutheran Study Bible."

I want to say, this is a beautiful & excellent Bible.. I LOVE the Word of God.. And to have access to other Scripture Books is wonderful. I have had it for a little over a month. And have been reading it consistently along side my Complete Jewish Bible-(A Messianic Jewish Bible- which I absolutely Love also) In the Orthodox I have read 3 books that I had never read or studied before.. Tobit, Judith, and the Wisdom of Solomon”. So many lessons & so beautiful. Opening up more understanding & Love for the Word of God. The Wisdom of Solomon is absolutely beautiful. The organizational layout of this Bible is great. It's not like the Protestant Bible.. It lays out the Torah, then the -i would call them the songs, poems, words of wisdom books. Then it lays out the books of minor & major prophets. The CJB basically does the same. The text is the perfect size, not to big or small, easy & comfortable to read. My only con would be the notes are pretty sparse. But that of I have other Bibles with great notes.. The Dake, the KjV study, the CJB, and other resources. The illustrations are gorgeous. It reminds me of my grandmothers huge white family Bible that just sat on the table in the living room, but no one touched it. I never knew why, I just had a feeling it was something very special. So as you can see I LOVE this Bible and I am very pleased with this purchase. For anyone who only has studied the Protestant Bible and would be interested in books that they took out this is a great option. I would not call these books apocrypha personally because the Orthodox never took them out of their Bible.

Absolutely gorgeous Bible, would make a wonderful gift for baptism. Full of explanations, with a few full-color glossy images and maps throughout. I love mine and would gift it to anyone who is embracing Orthodoxy.

Best orthodox bible my every day go to even the translations after reading just perfect

Not being Orthodox myself (although maybe orthodox), I became interested in this translation for two reasons: * It was a `new' translation of the Septuagint, which I have become a student of. * It was the first viable English bible to include both the Septuagint and the New Testament - both Greek Testaments into English in one bible Late last year, I received the New English Translation the Septuagint, but alas, it was difficult to carry two bibles to Church, so when I heard of this one coming out, I was excited, and I have not been disappointed. Not only did it have the distinction of having both (Greek) testaments in one bible, but it included the Deuterocanon along with notes that introduce people to various `Church Fathers' up to the Great Schism. Plus, unlike the NETS, the Orthodox Study Bible (published by Thomas Nelson) is publicly readable, with less stilted language. For the Septuagint, the Committee used Rahlf's critical edition of the Greek text, which is what the NETS used, however, they further used Brenton's 1851 translation and the New King James Translation as a backdrop. They readily used the NKJV in places where the Hebrew and the Greek matched. They did, however, use the canonical order of the Old Testament According to the Seventy, first published in 1928. Of course, using the Septuagint creates problems for those who have constantly read the English translation of the Hebrew, especially in the Psalms and Jeremiah. Few Christians outside of the Orthodox tradition, or scholarly field, know that at times there is, at times, a great difference between the text of the Septuagint (LXX) and the Hebrew (MT). The OSB helps by providing a chart of the differences in chapters and verses. It uses NKJV renderings where the Masoretic text of the Hebrew is the same as the LXX text, much like the NETS uses the NRSV for an air of familiarity. (It should be remembered the NKJV has faced criticism for the stilted language.) The introduction states that "[t]he Old Testament text presented in this volume does not claim to be a new or superior translation. The goal was to produce a text to meet the Bible-reading needs of English-speaking Orthodox Christians." The New Testament is taken from the New King James Version (NKJV), and like other NKJV's, the variant readings are listing in the footnotes. They have succeeded on this and in providing the LXX to English speaking Christians familiar with the language of the KJV, NKJV, and the RSV; however, the Orthodox may not be so forgiving. The use of the TR Greek is defended on the grounds that the underlying Greek text of the New Testament in the King James Version is closer to the traditional Byzantine text than that of modern critical editions. This is, for the most part, true. The editors attempt to use scientific methods in determining this, while ignoring that for the Orthodox, Scriptures come from the Church, so no explanation is needed. The section of the opening chapter, pages x and xi, which discusses the choice of text, is in fact nothing more than a slightly revised version of the preface to the Revised Authorized Version, pages vi and vii. This undercuts the Orthodox's position of the Church as the stay of the Scriptures. The inclusion of the Deuterocanon does not include, as the NETS does, the Psalms of Salomon which is actually referenced/contained in the Codex Alexandrinus. While I am not here to debate the canonicity of certain books, it would have been nice to have that book included in this Translation, as the representation of this book in the ancient Codex proves that someone once continued it at least near canonical, or readable. The Deuterocanon, unlike other bible versions, are printed in the canonical order of the East. Whereas the King James Version (KJV), and subsequent (Protestant) Bible versions places them in a separate section between the two Testaments. One of the issues that I have with the Greek used in the OSB is that it does not provide for the chance to compare the recensions. It appears that the Revised Standard Version was the boilerplate for the Deuterocanon; the RSV used the shorter text. The NETS - again, meant to be the scholarly translation of the LXX - actually provides translations of both texts in parallel, as it does for the case of all such divergent texts in the Septuagint tradition: in Iesous (Joshua), Judges, Esther (giving the Old Greek and the Alpha text,) Tobit (the GII and GI texts), Sousanna, Daniel, Bel and the Dragon (all three have both Old Greek and Theodotion). The Committee also offers a general overview of the books as well as an introduction to the Orthodox Church. I am not going to provide an answer to their assumption of continuation from the Apostles and Acts, but it is nice to have within this bible brief doctrines and explanations of the Orthodox Church. In their Introduction, the speak about Doctrine, Worship, Government, the disagreements between the West and the East, the Great Schism, Further Divisions and the modern Orthodox Church. This is not a slight against the Committee, but the history provided in these sections is often shallow and muddy; however, it is not the Committee's mission to provide Doctoral Thesis of Orthodox History, merely to peak the interest of the reader. And in this mission, this Bible serves well. The book overviews and is easy enough to follow, again, not giving deep insight, but pointing to the Traditions positions on the book. As with any Study Bible, the OSB have footnotes throughout, but more often than not, it refers to an ancient writer, such as John Chrysostom or Vincent of Lerins, and many others. This serves the purpose well of pointing to a long history of the Orthodox, filled with commentators on every subject and every book. Of course, like all other denominationally based Study Bibles, the doctrines of the Orthodox Church are held up throughout. From the very beginning, the Trinity is pointed out, which is their primary goal as listed on the cover flap. Interspersed throughout the translation are introduction to specific doctrines as held by the Orthodox Church. Of those doctrines that Protestants have a difficult time understanding, myself included, is Deification. According to many fundamentalist apologist, Orthodox Deification is the process of becoming a god. Instead, the OSB says that it the process of Christians becoming more like God, or as Peter says in 1.3, partaking in the divine nature. Although I am not in complete agreement with the terminology, I can understand the idea of a progression of the Christian to become more holy. This is just one example of the many areas in which the Study Bible serves to create a communication bridge with the Orthodox Church. The quality of the bible is fair, but may present a problem in the future. I am pretty rough with mine, because it gets a lot of use. I am almost afraid to touch the pages as they are extremely thin. Another thing is the lack of cross references. I don't really use them, but I do know of more than a few that do. This bible does not have any, which may be a turn off. Another issue with the Bible is the commentary - it provides a great deal, but equally lacks a great deal. John Chrysostom, who could bridge the East-West divide is sorely underused as is Augustine, who could provide a bridge to the Reformed protestants. Now, it is understandable that Patristic commentary on, several of the books may be scarce (Esther, Nehemiah, etc...) , but the lack of commentary on the theological passages (such as Baptism, Godhead, Mary, Church, Pre-destination) is nearly unforgivable. Let me note, however, that having a study Bible which is unapologetically Christological in the interpretation of the Old Testament makes for a nice change and suits me fine. Of the issues that an Orthodox might find with this bible is that although the Editors promise to use the voices of first Millenium, there are some notable excepts. We find Gregory Palamas (1296 - 1359) and Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833) mentioned as voices, although Seraphim is not used in the notes. Further, we have to note the use of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Theordoret who were condemned as Nestorians at the Fifth Ecumenical Council. One of the goals of this bible is to introduce the Orthodox Church to Protestants, and it does that. If you take it in that light, then the OSB accomplished more than it set out to do; however, I can hardly imagine an Orthodox being soundly happy with this bible. Overall, the Orthodox Study Bible is a good choice; I can see it replacing several of my favorites as my bible of choice. It provides for a complete Greek to English translation of the Bible (even if flawed at places) as well as commentary from voices millennia in the past. For me, that is essential when it comes to reading the early Christian writers - Ignatius, Polycarp, Clement of Rome - who had nothing for the Old Greek. I hope that this is not the last edition of this bible that we see, with a hope that the editors and publishers work together to fix some of the flaws.

I love this bible. It’s a complete version of Old Testament and New Testament. Easy to read and has explanations of verses so it could be understood. Highly recommend!

Essential

I am so happy with my purchase this bible has everything you need in it like icons maps etc 90000% reccomend if you are orthodox

I am not Orthodox, but I like collecting Bibles to be able to compare differences. This is already a favorite, even though I just received it. I cannot speak about the dust jacket because I bought a previously owned version with the dust jacket missing. I am very slightly disappointed about not having such a beautiful dust jacket, but that in no way detracts from the Bible itself. The words are printed in a very readable larger font. New Testament is NKJV, Old Testament is St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint (SAAS). Fascinating. The whole physical book easily lies flat when opened, which is a huge plus. Each biblical book includes an introduction that gives background information about who wrote it, when, why, and the theme of the book. Most pages include (sometimes lengthy) commentary that helps clarify/explain difficult passages. "Hidden" in the book are several beautiful illustrations. Also, different study articles that help to explain/clarify things from an orthodox point of view. For instance, The Holy Trinity, The Eucharist, John the Baptist, Apocalyptic Literature, and more. If you don't find them while reading or want to read them later, all articles are listed in an index at the back, just before the maps. The maps are color. A bit simplified and not as "pretty" as some biblical maps, but the information is quite presentable and easy to understand. The morning and evening prayers are quite a bit more simple than I expected. I don't know if this represents authentic Orthodox practice or if this is just in case the reader has misplaced their separate prayer book (or doesn't have one). There are NO RIBBON BOOKMARKS. This is extremely inconvenient for a study Bible. Of course, I can use my own paper bookmarks, but I'm used to a study Bible having at least one ribbon, if not two or three. Not a big enough issue for me to deduct a star, but I am still disappointed. Overall, I am quite pleased with this purchase. I would absolutely buy it again, if the need ever arose.

As a Roman Catholic this is a lovely Bible. So firstly I have to say there is an obvious bias towards Catholicism in the Introduction. But the general information on the early Church, Introduction to the books of the Bible and Additional notes is really good. Seeing that we were one Church pre-schism, I can honestly say that this Bible benefits any Christian.