Book lovers such as me relish the prospect of spending hours
in musty used-book stores and browsing online. I've done quite a bit of both
over the years. But there’s always been one volume which I've dreaded searching
for and that’s been Msgr. Knox’s Bible. I've dreaded it because, until now, my
only options were to find an extremely rare soft-leather covered edition and
pay hundreds of dollars for it, or settle for the [always dirty] cloth-bound 3
volume set, or parts thereof. So I was delighted to receive my copy of this new
edition of such an important book. Others will tell you about the virtues of
the text and its translator; I’ll just say that this edition is physically
beautiful. The cover, the pages, the type … all make for an impressive whole.
It will undoubtedly become many people’s “go to” gift book. First Communions,
Confirmations, Marriages, Ordinations, Christmas, Easter … as Catholics we have so many wonderful occasions
for giving beautiful things to those we love! And it’s my fervent wish that
every priest should have one, especially in this Year of Faith.
I’m also delighted to see that Baronius Press is including a
very nice paperback copy of “On Englishing the Bible” with every order. It
contains several essays by Msgr. Knox in which he explains all the trials and
tribulations of undertaking such a mammoth work. It includes: 1. Thoughts on Bible Translation 2. Some New Testament Problems 3. Justice and Scandal in the Gospels 4.Challoner and the Douay Version 5. Some Reasons Why 6. Nine Years' Hard 7. Morsu Amarissimo 8. Farewell to Machabees and a Preface by Knox written in 1949. This volume is very dear to me
personally because it was in reading an excerpt from one of these essays that I
first discovered Msgr. Knox over 25 years ago. I was so impressed with his
intelligence, his knowledge, his insight and, of course, his wit. It was love
at first read!
So, go to the Baronius Press website where they have all kinds of great information on this new edition and Msgr. Knox, and then spread the word!
Vicki McCaffrey
President, The Ronald Knox Society of North America
