Reddit mentions of The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha

I dislike the ESV Study Bible - it obscures or dismisses the scholarly consensus on many books, which is academically dishonest.

I highly recommend the Access Bible. Its notes represent mainstream biblical scholarship. It uses the NRSV, which is a cousin of the ESV and is actually easier to read in my opinion (you can compare them on BibleGateway.com - the NRSV and the ESV are both revisions of the RSV.)

I would also recommend the New Oxford Annotated Bible.. It's a little more technical and meaty than the Access Bible. It also uses the NRSV. More importantly, its notes are excellent and represent mainstream biblical scholarship. It comes in an older edition (with shorter, more conservative notes) using the RSV (which is the basis for the ESV and very similar to it.)

Another study Bible I like is the Oxford Study Bible. This uses the REB (Revised English Bible) - this is a British translation that is not related to the RSV/NRSV/ESV family. It's a fresh, creative and easy to read translation that nicely complements the formal translations.

Finally, there is the Norton Critical Edition of the English Bible, KJV. It's very unique for a study Bible, because it focuses on how the KJV influenced English literature. Although the KJV is hard to read, the notes clarify some of the obscure English language.

So... I guess the lesson is that there are a lot of choices out there. But since you're a beginner, I'd highly recommend the Access Bible before you explore the other stuff.

When I needed a Bible for one of my classes, we were assigned The Oxford Study Bible. It is pretty extensively annotated and provides a lot of background info.

Or the Oxford Study Bible if you want a print version.

I actually have two other study bibles: the Harper-Collins Study NRSV Bible and Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha -- think those would be okay?

I'm not sure if I need anything more than that, but I wanted to make sure I was getting everything I needed to get out of reading it. I'm kind of afraid of trying to interpret everything myself without expert advice backing me up.

I don't know about a list, but there are resources. Cuck mentioned study bibles, and those are great. When I started taking religious studies classes in college, I got the Oxford Study Bible, and the essays in that were quite helpful.

If you don't want to put out that kind of money, though, use an online Bible and Wikipedia. If you start with Genesis, read this first. If you flip to Chronicles, try this. Not sure what constitues a gospel? Who was Paul writing to in Galatia?

Some would disagree, but I think just picking up a Bible and starting to read it all by itself is rather useless. You need context. That means putting in a lot of work.

If your son is academically up to it the Revised English Oxford Study Bible(blue cover) is an amazing resource with very detailed footnotes written by historians and theologians, introductions to the context/history/genre/etc of each text, and a long section of academic articles on different topics.

While some things might be a bit beyond his years the translation is excellent and understandable, and the wealth of knowledge in it will be relevant as he continues to learn and deepen his own understanding.

EDIT: amazon link - http://www.amazon.com/The-Oxford-Study-Bible-Apocrypha/dp/0195290003

I recommend the Oxford Study Bible as a study bible. I use the The HarperCollins Study Bible but after using the OSB at the library I much prefer the former. The bid difference may be that HarperCollins uses the NRSV (Oxford uses the REB)--if I recall correctly the NRSV is the preferred translation for theologians.