Thanks to James for pointing out in the comments that pre-orders for the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (ICSB) are now publicly available on the Ignatius Press website. The hardcover edition is listed for $64.95, and the leather edition is listed for $79.95. The release date is expected to be November 15th.
It appears that anyone who signed up for email updates on the promotional website for the ICSB received a 15% discount for pre-orders. If you signed up for updates already, be sure to check your email before processing a pre-order to take advantage of the discount.
The pre-order page on the Ignatius Press website lists a very different thickness for the Bible than is listed on the St. Paul Center website. Here are a few details:
*St. Paul Center
9-point type size
7” x 2 ⅜” x 10” trim size
2,320 pages printed on standard Bible stock
*Ignatius Press
Format: Hardback
Length: 3.5 (in)
Size (HxW): 10 x 7 (in)
Pages: 2320
Weight: 95 oz
Format: Leather
Length: 4 (in)
Size (HxW): 10 x 7 (in)
Pages: 2320
Weight: 97 oz
3.5 / 4.0 inches appears inaccurate. A weight of 6 pounds also seems inaccurate.
I’m now thinking that the Ignatius Bible (RSV2CE) Large Print might be a good comparison. The height and width dimensions are similar to those listed for the Ignatius Study Bible, and the number of pages is very close. It reinforces my thought that the St. Paul Center length (thickness) of 2 3/8 inches is the more accurate one. However, considering how heavy the Ignatius Bible Large Print is, it leads me to believe that the weight listed for the Study Bible is accurate after all, which means this will be a pretty heavy Bible.
Ignatius Bible (RSV2CE) Large Print – Hardback
Length: 2.5 (in)
Size (HxW): 10.25 x 7.13 (in)
Pages: 2158
Weight: 90.4 oz
Ignatius Bible (RSV2CE) Large Print – Leather
Length: 2.5 (in)
Size (HxW): 10.25 x 7.38 (in)
Pages: 2158
Weight: 85.6 oz
The Ignatius Press Pre-Order pages have been updated. They now show the Study Bible lengths as 2.8 inches for the leather and 2.9 inches for the hardback.
I wonder if the leather binding will be as poor as that used for the NT. I don’t just mean the quality of the leather but the tight binding means it won’t lie flat. Too much “spring back”. Perhaps the hardcover will be the best option. Incidentally, I think the hardcover is the best option for the Word on Fire Bible. There’s no reinforcement on the leather bound volumes. One of mine is already showing signs that it will not last the course.
There’s something to be said anyway for a good hardback. You can easily find a hardback Confraternity / Douay Bible from the early-mid 19th century on eBay in excellent binding condition!
I preordered the hardback.
Sorry, I obviously meant **20th** century
I was going to say that I hope you weren’t scammed for those 19th century Confraternity New Testaments given they weren’t published until 1941!
FrJT,
I agree 100%. If I can’t get it in premium leather (or at least genuine), I go for the hardback. They’re built to last. I have hardback theology books from the early 20th century (some nearly 100 years old!) in fantastic condition!
I’m too deep in on leather WOF Bibles to switch to the hardcovers now, though I agree in retrospect I might’ve gone the hardcover route, but I also like them in their own right. My WOF Bibles do lay flat, so I guess I just worked them right. WOF’s gilding is probably the best I’ve ever seen. If my WOF Bibles’ bindings start coming apart, good ol’ bookbinder’s tape will probably be my solution. Or maybe I’ll one day learn rebinding myself and convert all (eventual) 7 volumes at great expense.
As for this, I always knew I would go hardcover because Ignatius’s bonded stuff has always been pretty iffy, though they have solid textblocks. And I’ve always thought study Bibles, as a rule, make more sense with bindings suitable for textbooks rather than high-end leather. A rebound leather RSV-2CE regular Bible and a hardcover ICSB makes sense, at least for me.
I only just barely got volume 1 of word on fire and y’all saying it’s not going to last?
Anyone know if the corresponding Ignatius Study Bible app from Ignatius Press Augustine Institute will be updated to include the remaining Old Testament commentaries so it can also have the complete set? The app is works really well, with links to specific commentary, by verse. How awesome it would be to have the complete Bible study in app form!
I’d like to see the paper series completed too. They’re very handy to carry around and travel with if you are just studying one book of the Bible.
[Sigh]
Fine.
I went ahead and ordered my copy after all.
Hardcover, though. Not leather.
Oddly, it wasn’t just the study Bible elements that swayed me.
Since I’ve been doing morning prayer from the RSV, I’ve been paying closer attention to the different renderings in the -2CE over the original RSV and -CE.
The changes strike me now as far more artful than merely “eliminating archaic verbs and pronouns.”
Some recent examples that come to mind:
-2Co 5:14 – For the love of Christ urges us on (CE: “controls us”), because we are convinced that one has died for all…
-Eph 6:14 – Stand therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist (CE: “having girded your loins with truth”)…
-2Sam 24:17 – Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking down (CE: “smiting”) the people, and said, “Behold (CE: ‘Lo’), I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let your (CE: ‘thy’) hand, I pray you (CE: ‘thee’), be against me and against my father’s house.”
Rather than just an in-house “search and replace” effort, the -2CE now impresses me as a valuable “final evolution” of the 1952 – 1966 – 1971 editorial lineage before switching tracks into the NRSV lane.
Yeah, I spent about a year with the RSV(1971), and I loved the vast majority of it. But, there were certain renderings that I didn’t particularly care for (beyond Isaiah 7:14), I wanted to see certain verses brought out of the footnotes back into the main text, and the archaisms started to really get old (pun somewhat intended). And I realized: almost everything I wanted changed about the 1971 RSV were changed in the 2CE. While I wish it benefited more from the OT scholarship behind the NRSV and NABRE, I’ve done to a newfound appreciation of the 2CE, and I agree with your characterization of it as sort of the “final iteration” of the RSV.
All that said, in the end I canceled my order.
I just don’t need multiple Bibles.
I own more than 200 Bibles, and I’m always on the lookout for a new one.
After looking forward to this release for several years now, I’ve now found myself hesitant to preorder. I’m currently journeying through the new testament using the Ignatius Study Bible NT as my starting point for each chapter. The 10.5 point font is just right. Ideally, an Old Testament only edition would be my preference. This newest release is both big and heavy and 9 point font. If I preorder, I would still be using the NT only edition for the next year.
The hardback option only saves $15 less than the ‘leather’ version. My instincts tell me to wait and see.
Very cool. But I don’t have the money for either.
But, I felt like now would be the time to compliment you. Thank you for letting us know.
Preordered this morning. Went against the grain (ba dum tss) with leather
Me too. I guess after carping for years to finish it, I would be a hypocrite not to support its release.
The writing was finished years ago, the hold-up was the editing, all it took was for Ignatius to finally prioritize the release by assigning an editor.
Any rumors of a stand alone OT?
Alas, no, the folks at Ignatius have said that this will definitely not be happening. They contend that the costs of producing a standalone OT volume would equal the cost of producing the entire Bible.
I can see that. Old Testament is like 85% of the Bible (or something like that). For example: NT is two volumes of word on fire and the OT is going to be 5.
Is there anywhere that they have released sample pages yet? I am anxious to see this 9 pt font in action, actual size.
Is there a discount code I can use? I’ve been following this for ages and thought I had signed up for updates, but I never received an email and tried signing up again and still haven’t gotten an email.
KOLBE10
I just happened across this video on YouTube, a Douglas Beaumont has received an advance electronic copy of the Complete Ignatius Study Bible to review.
https://youtu.be/LUhYUymdJMk?si=VJAT-rhtKO4Df9zi
65 bucks for a hardcover? MY economy can’t afford this. I’ll pass.
Scott Foresman I agree.
Owning multiple Bibles (in excess) could actually be a form of “spiritual gluttony” in my biased absurd opinion. I found greater meaning and fulfillment in donating all of the Bibles that I ended up not avidly using or not favoriting. How could you avidly use more than a one or two anyway? (Yes this doesn’t apply to everyone but…) I would argue it is best to find a primary and perhaps a secondary resource for Bible reading, anything else should go to your Newman Center library or to some greater cause for the common good of Catholics who benefit from the free resource, a wise choice in my opinion and you’ll save money too. If you already bought many volumes of the Ignatius Bible series, forget about spending $65!!!
I only have a few Bibles I avidly use, but I also collect a lot of old, forgotten translations too, ones nobody remembers or uses anymore, simply because they can still contain nuggets of wisdom that time has obscured, and because otherwise they could fade entirely into oblivion. I do agree, though, whenever I see someone on YouTube with 20 ESVs or whatever.