ICSB – Personal Size: A Reflection

It was way back on June 1, 2010 that I did my review of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament back on my old blog, the Catholic Bibles Blog. It was a glowing, though rather short, review of the new edition. Not only did this new study bible check a lot of the boxes, but it also began the anticipation for the completed ICSB. Many years passed since that day, with the occasional update or speculation being “reported” on various blogs and pages about when the complete edition was to be published. Ignatius Press was largely tight-lipped about what was going on and when the full edition would be realized. As with most major publications like this, there were delays. Yes, there were the regular single OT ICSB volumes, like the excellent one on the Psalms, that were released each year to keep you invested, but most of us were eagerly awaiting the final product. When would it be released? What would it look like? How big would it be? Should it be one or two volumes? Would it come out before the completed NABRE (now the CAB) was published? (I actually proposed that question on my blog, which by the way is pretty crazy since we are now under a year until the CAB is released.) 

Then news broke in mid-2024 that the completed ICSB would be released later that Fall. It was to be a one-volume edition and available in hardback and bonded leather. I, like most others, pre-ordered my copy (bonded leather) and eagerly awaited receiving it in the Fall. When it arrived, I was relieved to see that the quality that was exhibited in the New Testament edition was also found in the full version. It really did have everything I would have ever wanted in a Catholic study bible. The introductions were helpful, the word studies and essays were rigorous, definitive, and plentiful, and the copious notes covered the three areas of Catholic biblical interpretation: the “content and unity of the faith”, the “living tradition”, and the “analogy of the faith”. The weekday and Sunday Mass readings were included, along with a doctrinal index, additional charts, and some adequate maps. As a daily bible reader, high school theology teacher, and parish bible instructor, this bible had everything I could ever want. But there was a problem…a big problem…

You see, I have desired from the earliest days of my blog to have a study bible that was both comprehensive yet portable. (Feel free to search the various blog posts on the old blog which expressed my feelings on this.) I confess to being rather envious of the options that both the publishers of the NIV and ESV Study Bibles provided their readers. Each of these study bibles were seemingly available in a half a dozen sizes and countless cover options. Those editions, at least for me, were the standard. And here was the ICSB finally being published after a 25 year wait and it was massive…too massive for my liking. And if I am going to be totally honest, the size of this standard edition actually deterred me from using hardly at all after publication. I had no desire for a desk study bible. I was rather annoyed that it was the only option. Now, I know that there are many people who were perfectly content with this “magisterial edition”, as it has now been referred to as, but for me I was hugely disappointed. And that disappointment led me to largely ignore it and only occasionally refer to it. For all intents and purposes, it was a reference book that could be appealed to only when necessary, and then stored back on the shelf with my Bible dictionaries, commentaries, and other biblical resources. It was never going to be a daily reader. As I have mentioned in various posts and comments here on this blog, for much of the previous two plus years I had largely been reading my Augustine edition of the ESV-CE and enjoying it quite a bit. So the days leading up until Lent 2026, I had no intention of changing my daily bible nor was it something that was even on the radar. I was pretty set. 

So, it came as a surprise earlier this year that on Ash Wednesday Ignatius Press announced not only that they were publishing a personal size edition of the ICSB, but that it was already in-stock. I immediately ordered a copy in bonded leather and received it only two days later. You can see some of my initial pictures and thoughts here. When it arrived, the deep disappointment I had felt with the standard edition quickly faded away as I was able to actually hold this bible in one hand with ease! Flipping through the personal edition, It instantly reminded me of those old Jerusalem Bibles from the ‘60’s, which were quite popular and widely read, studied, and prayed with during the years following the Second Vatican Council and beyond. I remarked in my book about the impression made on me by a woman at a prayer meeting who had a beautifully used Jerusalem Bible. That Bible, which was being held together by thick rubber bands, had clearly been read, prayed, studied, and journeyed with for well over thirty years. It was truly a privilege to see and be allowed to flip through it. As I was holding and reading from that newly acquired personal size ICSB that Friday after Ash Wednesday, I felt a similar connection to it and the possibilities that it now afforded going forward excited me. 

I decided to spend the rest of Lent reading and praying the daily Mass readings with the ICSB. It was a great experience. While it was helpful to have all the notes, Mass readings, and extras all within one volume each morning during my prayer time, the best part of the experience was the form factor in the personal size edition. Simply put, it just fits. I love reading it and bringing it with me to the school where I teach or to my parish. It truly works in every situation. I think most of us who have been purchasing bibles over the years have been waiting for “the one”. You can humorously look back at various posts and reviews I have done during the past twenty years to see the ups and downs in my search for a #1 Bible. And there have been some editions that have come so very close. In many ways, I have been grateful for the journey. It has allowed me to read and become far more familiar with a host of translations and editions that I would not have normally spent any time with, most especially translations like the ESVCE and the MSGCE. It has helped me to refine what I actually like and want in a particular bible edition, as well as how I plan to interact, read, and personalize my daily reading bible. 

Below are some recent photos of my ICSB Personal Edition. The bible cover is from Oremoose. I have purchased other covers from them in the past and have never been disappointed. The Kodiak cover I purchased is available for both the standard and personal size. The one thing missing from both editions of the ICSB is, of course, bible ribbons. So, I found a seller, off Etsy, from England who created a four ribbon insert for my Bible. I also purchased some stickers from Baritus, which I have placed in the empty spaces on the end pages. I have continued to read the daily Mass readings each morning during this Easter season.  And yes, I have been writing in my bible as well. I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I wasn’t! 🙂 As always, I am happy to answer any questions if you have them.