St. Joseph New Catholic Version New Testament: Pocket Edition [Imitation Leather] Catholic Book Publishing Corp

I have been an advocate of this translation since I discovered it back around 1990 under the title, “Christian Community Bible,” With Imprimatur by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.I fell in love with it due to the fact that it was a modern, though not overly inclusive translation with copious foot notes/commentary alongside, and below the biblical text. These notes tell about the meanings of the original words in the original language, along with traditions effecting the peoples of the time.. Now the current version of this Bible, under the title “New Catholic Bible,” may have changes since the © is 2015, vs. 1988 and probably has been filtered by the USCCB. I personally prefer it to the NAB/NABRE, that seem to be dumbed down to about a Jr. Hi. Reading level. Now this edition of the Bible is not approved for use in the Liturgy or Public worship but is an awesome Bible for personal non liturgical use.Now to the book itself, It is the approximate size of a “St. Joseph’s Sunday Missal and Hymnal” that is also published by Catholic Book Publishing Corporation at 4.25” X 6.5” x .875” a nice pocket/purse size. Now if you are an old-school book sniffer, it smells awesome, and will make your study smell like the textbook room on the 1st day of school.The font is a nice size, and the notes are also printed in a nice size, unlike many Bibles/New Testaments. See photo(s) with ruler. The paper that the pages are printed on is thin, but opaque, and thus not so translucent that the type from the opposite side shows through. Resulting in very little ‘bleed through.’ Now as to highlighting, I don’t normally highlight in my bibles due to the thin paper, but I do write notes in margins and underline with a soft lead, (HB) pencil. Just for critiquing, I highlighted a line in back on an ad with a yellow BIC highlighter, and it didn’t wick through. But like I said, I would not recommend highlighting… There is one high quality gold colored ribbon page marker. This is not a “Red Letter” edition, the words of Christ are not in red type. I wish they were.It has a sewn binding, and it will lay reasonably flat when open, so if on a table, it will stay open with out having to be held open. The cover is a good quality pleather, synthetic leather, that is comfortable to hold. This cover is has actual sewn topstitching around the edges, along with appears to be guilt title and image on the cover. These are embossed into the cove. The pages are guilt edged. The binding and covers are what you’d expect in a much more expensive volume.Oh, and you can’t beat the price, I’d expect a cheap paperback for the price, but you are getting a quality volume for the price. This volume is printed and bound in Korea, and as I have found with Korean books is well made, and looks like it will last for a many years of use and stuffing in a backpack, purse or pocket.The only improvement I could see would be including the books of Proverbs and Psalms in this volume, otherwise it is perfect.

This is a beautifully designed Bible. This is only the NEW TESTAMENT. The pages are very readable… it reminds me of the St Joseph Missal my wife bought me for mass. The size of the Bible is small and lends itself to comfortable travel. The cover stock is nice and the edges of the paper are nicely colored when the book is closed. I wish they had a similar version for the OLD TESTAMENT… I would definitely buy it. Highly recommended.

I like the St. Joseph edition, with headings and subheadings, extensive footnotes, and so on. This isn't truly a "pocket bible," though. While it might fit into one's back pocket, it won't fit into a shirt pocket. It's a little too big for that. It has a nice leather cover, and the print is not too small. Yes, the gilt-edged pages are thin, but to me that actually adds to the overall charm of this bible. It suits my purposes just fine.Update November 2019: I read this bible cover to cover from Lent until November. It was a pleasure to read, it held up well, no torn pages, etc. It was much easier to read comfortably compared to my much larger St. Joseph bible (with both the Old and New Testaments). While I love that bible, it is loaded with dozens of Mass cards, making it somewhat clumsy to read. This pocket New Testament edition is a great alternative.

If you want, just the New Testament and not a great big book, this is perfect. It’s a very nice size for someone who has bad arthritis in her fingers and hands. So it’s hard to hold big heavy books. This is just a really nice size and I’m really enjoying it.

I absolutely love this Bible and the way it’s constructed.I’m disappointed in the “ads” it has at the back of it. Like, it’s a Bible not a catalog. So that was a little weird.I love this translation though. The NCB is really for people that want to connect with God and don’t want to struggle to find meanings. Romans 3 is a good example of this. RSV Catholic Edition, NRSV Catholic Edition are two examples and fairly complicated. NABRE is sorta middle of the road. But the NCB gives you the verses in a way that explains the meanings. I wouldn’t consider myself a very smart person so I needed a translation like this.I’m not sure if this happened and I’m not sure if they would ever admit it but to me this Bible reads like a simpler version of the NABRE. NABRE was formulated primarily for young adults/confirmation to help read the Bible in a Catholic regard. This Bible probably shouldn’t be a confirmation Bible, but it’s good for people who maybe already read the RSV,NRSV, or DR versions of the Bible and just want something similar and simpler. After all, these are just English translations. It’s not as though you’re reading the original Hebrew and Greek anyway.Pros - Very easy to read, good notes, good for people who want to focus on the NT and carry a bible with them.Cons - Need more blank pages. Ads in the back. I would say this is purse size, but not pocket size.

I’ve never read a “catholic version” before, but I am really enjoying the ease of read. Great size to carry around and great font for enjoyable reading.

This is a very handsome copy of the New Testament. I like the extras it includes and the great notes it provides on certain passages that may be confusing. It also includes a preface before each book to put in perspective the times during history and the context it was written and it clears up any confusion that one might have. I think it’s the perfect size and it feels good in your hands. The only things that could make it better imo is if it including the Psalms and Jesus’s words in red. Then again I knew this before purchasing it but some might not. Other than that I’m very happy with this and enjoy reading it daily.