Catholic NABRE Bibles: Which One?

American Catholics would do well to possess a copy of the American Church’s quasi-official version of the Bible, the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE). However, there are many different editions available, and some of the more popular ones are not necessarily the best option for everybody. It can be challenging to find the right one to buy.

The basic content (Biblical texts, footnotes, and cross-references) should be identical in every edition of the NABRE. The differences between editions will be found in the quality and type of materials, the page layout and typeface, and in the optional inclusion of additional study helps. Choosing an edition thus becomes a process of aligning features with the reader’s particular needs and price constraints.

Your mileage may vary, but my own preferences for the three principal usage scenarios I envision are:

• Study edition: The NABRE Didache Bible from Midwest Theological Forum
• Quality reader’s edition: The large print leathersoft edition from Catholic Bible Press
• Inexpensive reference copy: The basic paperback from Our Sunday Visitor

Below is an alphabetical listing of the active NABRE publishers, with brief summaries of their offerings. Last updated: March 28th, 2024.

American Bible Society:

The ABS publishes an inexpensive edition of the NABRE in both hardcover and paperback. It has been upgraded in recent years to a 9-pt typeface on less compact pages than earlier editions, but will still look like an inexpensive Bible. This edition contains the canonically required NABRE annotations, making it something of an anomaly among ABS published Bibles, but it is otherwise almost bare-bones, incorporating only lectionary schedules for helps. The ABS also publishes a military edition, free to military families, containing a Sunday Readings schedule, a number of prayers, and other devotional helps. ABS Bibles are generally not high-quality editions, historically being intended more for gift distribution to the unchurched than for individual purchase as personal Bibles.

Catholic Bible Press:

For several years, I have gladly recommended a Catholic Bible Press hardcover edition originally published in 2012 as a solid reader’s edition option, but the publisher has shifted and somewhat upscaled the focus of their NABRE offerings. They are now selling slightly oversized large print (11-pt font) and wide-format extra-large print (12-pt font) soft faux-leather editions, and no longer market the hardcover. The current editions tout a “Comfort Print” typeface designed by typographers 2K/Denmark. Significantly, these editions relocate the NABRE’s voluminous footnotes and cross references to the ends of each book, further enhancing the readability of the Biblical text, which continues to be laid out in two-column format, with somewhat narrow margins. Bare-bones except for a set of Zondervan color maps, these are well made, handsome, very readable editions that should last for many years.

Catholic Book Publishing:

Catholic Book Publishing (CBP) is a long-standing, very popular publisher of Catholic Bibles, most of which have carried the moniker “St. Joseph Edition”. For the past five decades, those offerings have been dominated by the various versions of the New American Bible, although there have also been “St. Joseph” editions of other translations. Over the past few years, CBP has begun emphasizing their very own new translation, The New Catholic Bible, all editions of which appear to be published as “St. Joseph” editions. When looking for a NABRE, it is important not to mistake a “St. Joseph New Catholic Bible” for a “St. Joseph NABRE Edition”

If you pursue a NABRE from CBP, they are available in “St. Joseph NABRE” editions as well as in “NABRE” editions. The “Saint Joseph” editions tend to include more helps, such as articles, Church documents, lectionary cycle reading schedules, photos, maps, dictionaries, etc. But they also tend to have cramped page layouts, especially in their presentation of cross-references, which are typically mashed together end-to-end, paragraph style, in small print, rendering them all but unusable to tired eyes. The typeface for Biblical text is 7-pt for “Personal Size”, 9-pt for “Medium Size”, and 11-pt for “Full Size” editions. The plain “NABRE” editions, which are published under the imprint “World Catholic Press”, have a cleaner page layout, but less features.

Fireside Catholic Publishing:

Fireside sells NABRE editions in an array of sizes, bindings, and formats, with an emphasis on special occasion and gift Bibles. They also sell “youth” and other devotional/pastoral editions, including a unique amalgamation called Librosario, which has a single-decade rosary embossed on the back cover. They are also a publisher of the New Catholic Answer Bible, a vehicle for apologetic material.

For those interested in Bible study, Fireside offers a Personal Study Edition in paperback, and a practical looking School & Church edition in both medium and large print hardcover. These editions are affordable, and contain a concise Bible dictionary, Sunday Readings schedule, and other helps. Fireside “large print” editions typically use 12-pt typeface.

Liturgical Press:

Liturgical Press uses the NABRE as the base text of its Little Rock Study Bible, which incorporates both prefatory essays and extensive additional in-text annotations: often practical in nature, and presented in heavily colored callouts. The pages are busy, but the single-column Biblical text is well-defined visually due to the shading of non-Biblical matter, and is well segregated from the two-column footnotes. Cross references occupy the outer margins and are easy to read, but lack indicators for the referent passage. The hardcover list price is $70. The paperback lists for $50, although I don’t know how long a 2,700-page paperback would last. Some readers may be put off by the magazine-like presentation and/or the devotional elements, but many others would find this an ideal tool to assist in learning the Scriptures.

Liturgical Press has also recently (2023) released another study Bible, called the Liturgy and Life Study Bible. Also based upon the NABRE, it incorporates a running index of references to every occasion a given Biblical passage is utilized in any of the Church’s various liturgies. It is an expensive volume, but will serve as a very useful reference work for those who study Scripture in light of its use in the prayer and worship life of the Church.

Both Liturgical Press study editions are further assessed here.

Midwestern Theological Forum:

MTF publishes a NABRE edition of its Didache Bible, which incorporates a full set of annotations based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, augmenting the standard NABRE annotations. The typeface is somewhat generous at 9.5 point, and the overall presentation is clean. Hefty at 2,500 pages, this is the most complete study edition of the NABRE available today. More information can be found here. $45 hardcover.

Our Sunday Visitor:

OSV sells easy-to-read, reasonably inexpensive (~$17) paperbacks of the basic NABRE text, which use thicker paper than many similar economy editions, sporting a clean page layout with two-column footnotes clearly set off from the two-column text with a page-wide horizontal bar. It provides well-formatted cross-references set in a lightly shaded box. Recommended.

At a higher but still reasonable price, they also offer a good quality faux-leather NABRE Gift Bible. Another worthwhile NABRE offering from OSV is their Catholic Notetaking Bible, which sports very wide outside margins for taking notes. The Biblical text is presented in a single column, which works well on the narrowed page, although the inside margins are a bit tight. The footnotes are in two columns, as are the well-set-off and legible cross-references. OSV also sells other editions that use the NABRE as a vehicle for promulgating pastoral wisdom and advice, such as “Men’s”, “Women’s”, and “Teen” Bibles, as well as an edition of the New Catholic Answer Bible, and a couple devotional editions featuring writings from the saints and Church Fathers.

Oxford University Press:

OUP publishes a standard reader’s edition NABRE in both compact (paperback, faux-leather) and large print (paperback, faux-leather: 12-pt typeface) formats. These standard editions, sporting convenient ribbon markers, are inexpensive, serviceable volumes, although the compact editions may prove to be a challenge for those with weak or old eyes. Like some other current reader’s editions, they relocate the traditional footnote material to a section of endnotes at the end of each book.

OUP also publishes two similar but distinct study editions of the NABRE, each including its own lengthy “Reader’s Guide” prefixed to the Biblical text. Each study Bible edition is available in several bindings, and the hardcover editions of each can be found for about $40, though you’ll pay more buying direct from OUP. Some details for comparison of the two study Bibles can be found here.

These various OUP editions are the most likely editions of the NABRE to be encountered in secular bookstores, and are perfectly useful editions at fair pricing.

Saint Benedict Press:

SBP/TAN offers a compact NABRE edition in several bindings, which are attractive, but somewhat less economical than competing editions, and unfortunately not all that easy to read. Their compact size is achieved at the price of both smallish text size (8.5 pt. text, 6.5 pt. notes), and of paper thin enough to permit noticeable bleeding of the text on opposing pages. If your eyes are young enough to handle the font, this edition has a clean, pleasant layout, although the cross-references presentation is inadequate. Includes the 3-year Sunday Readings schedule, and a collection of Catholic prayers. You can find better editions.

Saint Jerome’s Press:

Along with several “Teen” Bibles, Saint Jerome’s offers a very economical, medium-size paperback edition of the NABRE they call a Catholic Readers Edition, which also includes the text of Dei Verbum. This edition would be suitable for supplying parish inventories, or for individuals looking for a very basic copy of the NABRE translation. A Catholic Student Edition, in a slightly larger hardback format, adds a Bible Dictionary, Sunday Lectionary schedule, and several other helps, while remaining economical.

St Mary’s Press:

Primarily a provider of Religious Education materials, St. Mary’s sells the NABRE in the Catholic Youth Bible and other teen-oriented devotional/pastoral editions, which for some reason offer explanatory notes skeptical of traditional interpretations. They also sell the elegantly styled Anselm Academic Study Bible (paperback or ebook only), which augments the NABRE annotations with about 100 pages of additional study content, packaged in a very attractive layout, albeit using typeface on the smallish side. The Anselm study edition seems a bit overpriced given the limited editorial additions, but is one of the more nicely formatted editions available. Be careful what you order on this site, as they sell very similar-looking products in various translations (NABRE, NRSV, GNT/TEV), not to mention their trafficking in dubiously appropriate editorial commentary.