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Barb Szyszkiewicz shares a peek into the second volume of The Word on Fire Bible: Acts, Letters, and Revelation.

Word on Fire Ministries has completed the New Testament of The Word on Fire Bible with the publication of Acts, Letters, and RevelationLike the first volume, The Word on Fire Bible: The Gospels, this is a richly detailed Bible that contains much more than the portion of the Bible its title indicates. How much more? The book, at 841 pages, is measurably thicker than the first volume, with twice as much commentary to accompany the Scripture it includes.

 

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You can use The Word on Fire Bible for reading, study, and prayer. It's packed with commentary by saints and scholars; for example, 1 Corinthians features commentary from St. John Henry Newman, St. John Chrysostom, René Girard, Origen, Thomas Merton, G.K. Chesterton, St. Maximus the Confessor, Tertullian, St. Augustine, St. Irenaeus, St. Ambrose, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Flannery O'Connor, Wilfred Rowland Childe, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Fulton Sheen, Dante, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Hans Urs von Balthasar. Plus, essays by Bishop Robert Barron appear throughout that epistle. All of that, in addition to the sacred art and lettered embellishments that appear throughout, contribute to the book's large size but make it an extremely useful edition of these New Testament books.

In an introductory essay, Bishop Robert Barron notes:

The Church has realized from the beginning that we need assistance if we are to read the Scriptures with profit. We require precisely the interpretive lens provided by the great scholars, saints, mystics, popes, and prophets who have gone before us—those who have, in the course of time, been recognized as masters of the sacred writings. (17)

 

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At the beginning of this volume, icons depicting each of the books included are introduced. These icons relate to the content of the books, and are another example of the attention to every single detail in the publication of this Bible: details that make this a Bible that will appeal to readers who are new to the faith, questioning the faith, or longtime faithful.

Unlike many other Bibles available today, the Word of God is presented in single-column format. The font is large and easy to read. A different font is used for the commentaries and essays, which are also presented on light-colored backgrounds to set them apart from Scripture. Essays and commentaries take the place of the footnotes you often find in other Bibles. The Word on Fire Bible uses the New Revised Standard Version–Catholic Edition (NRSV-CE).

 

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This Bible is available in three formats: leatherbound, hardcover, and paperback. The leatherbound version which I received feels sturdy but not stiff, immediately comfortable in my hands. It's heavy, but I expect that from a Bible anyway, and has a very inviting feel—I just wanted to keep on reading it. That's probably the best endorsement an edition of the Bible can get. For anyone interested in exploring the Bible, this is a beautiful, gift-quality edition.

The Word on Fire Bible: Acts, Letters, and Revelation is available beginning January 17, 2022. Visit WordOnFire.org/Bible2 and sign up to be notified when ordering opens.

Take a tour of this new Bible:

 

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Copyright 2022 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Images copyright 2022 Barb Szyszkiewicz, all rights reserved.