St. John's Bible (Illustrated) Psalms Illustrated Scripture

Psalms, as does the first volume of this series, brings Scripture alive-engaging us fully in heart and mind. It would make a thoughtful, lasting gift as well, at Easter or any time.

One of the extraordinary undertakings of our time.

Imaginatively engaging multicolored panels set the tone for this magnificent biblical book on the Psalms. The calligraphy of each line, each verse, each stanza is flawless and represents artistic talent at its best. Each book of the Psalms is introduced by a multicolored scroll panel that recalls the opening page of the text, thereby giving the work artistic creativity. . . . This volume is truly a gift to our culture and our world, renewing not only the Benedictine spirit and charism but also the spirit of all who sit with this text in wonder and in prayer.

This text is meant not only to be beautiful, like a museum object, but to inspire a renewed love of scripture. It is meant to be read at home and used in liturgy.

Psalms exemplifies both the creative spirit of The Saint John's Bible and the project's ecumenical underpinnings. . . . Through the use of colors, stripes, and shapes, this volume weaves the Psalms into a tapestry representing the threads of Jewish and Christian history, leading the reader and viewer to appreciate the complexity and grandeur of God.

Psalms and Prophets are both commended for your coffee table or library.

The St. John's Bible is unquestionably art. And in the practice of Jackson and his team members, so is calligraphy.

The favorite choice of most readers of the Bible has now appeared in a strikingly beautiful handwritten illuminated text that will encourage those who pray the psalms to ponder then contemplatively, leading them into the presence of the God of the First Covenant on Mount Sinai.

In the days before printed books, people must have thought and felt differently about words on the page: words were written with discipline, slowly and thoughtfully. It was a kind of outward expression of that ruminating over the words of the Bible which shaped the inner world of reflective believers, especially monks. This project not only revives the ancient tradition of the church sponsoring creative arts: it also offers an insight into that lost skill of patient and prayerful reading. We tend to read greedily and hastily, as we do so many other things: this beautiful text shows us a better way.

Psalms brings Scripture alive-engaging us fully in heart and mind. It would make a thoughtful, lasting gift as well, at Easter or any time.

. . . it is a definite tour de force of art. It is innovative in its conception and striking in its artistic expression.

America's Book of Kells.

In the St. John's Bible one sees a Protestant care for words and a Catholic care for ecclesial art sewn back together. This surprising, almost miraculous reunification may spark a renewed attention to art and to ways of living shaped by these words. Such attention would indeed be a fitting way to mark the birth of the Image of God.

An impressive achievement.

There is something very reassuring about the fact that a religious community, with all the resources of technology at its disposal for studying medieval books, resolved to commission a most modern Bible in the ancient form of a manuscript.