The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, edited by Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy (Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1990).

This commentary provides English-only Bible students with the most detailed representation of the wide spectrum of scholarly conclusions on any particular verse or topic that can be found in any other one-volume commentary. Though all of the contributing scholars whose articles and exegeses comprise this commentary are Roman Catholic, those same scholars give equal weight to and fair, respectful representation of the views of all scholars, including Protestant and Jewish scholars. There is no noticeable denominational or theological bias in this excellent work.

It is my honest conclusion that this is unquestionably one of the two best one-volume Bible commentaries in the English language, the other being the Oxford Bible Commentary. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary's (NJBC) considerable detail, its comprehensiveness, and the arrangement of the books of the Bible (generally by the estimated date of the composition of each book) make it not quite as easy to use as the Oxford Bible Commentary or the HarperCollins Bible Commentary, but the conclusions reached in each book's thorough introductions and detailed exegesis very consistently represent the best current scholarship on each issue. This is an exceptionally valuable commentary.

The contents and order of this commentary include:

• Part One: The Old Testament
• Introduction to the Pentateuch
• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers Deuteronomy
• Joshua
• Judges
• 1-2 Samuel
• 1-2 Kings
• Introduction to Prophetic Literature
• Hebrew Poetry
• Amos
• Hosea
• Isaiah 1-39
• Micah
• Zephania, Nahum,Habakkuk
• Jeremiah
• Old Testament Apocalypticism and Eschatology
• Ezekiel
• Deutero-Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah [Isa 40-66]
• Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
• The Chronicler: 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah
• Joel, Obadiah
• Daniel
• 1-2 Maccabees
• Intructino to Wisdom Literature
• Proverbs
• Canticle of Canticles [Song of Songs]
• Job
• Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth)
• Sirach
• Wisdom
• Psalms
• Ruth
• Lamentations
• Baruch
• Tobit, Judith, Esther
• Jonah
• Part Two: The New Testament and Topical Articles
• Synoptic Problem
• The Gospel According to Mark
• The Gospel According to Matthew
• The Gospel Acording to Luke
• Acts of the the Apostles
• Introduction to the New Testament Epistles
• The First Letter to the Thessalonians
• The Letter to the Galatians
• The Letter to the Philippians
• The First Letter to the Corinthians
• The Second Letter to the Corinthians
• The Letter to the Romans
• The Letter to Philemon
• The Second Letter to the Thessalonians
• The Letter to the Colossians
• The Letter to the Ephesians
• The Pastoral Letters [1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus]
• The First Epistle of Peter
• The Epistle of James
• The Epistle of Jude
• The Epistle to the Hebrews
• The Gospel According to John
• The Johannine Epistles [1 John, 2 John, and 3 John]
• The Apocalypse (Revelation)
• The Second Epistle of Peter
• Topical Articles
• Inspiration
• Canonicity
• Aprocrypha; Dead Sea Scrolls; Other Jewish Literature
• Test and Versions
• Modern Old Testament Criticism
• Modern New Testament Criticism
• Hermeneutics
• Church Pronouncements
• Biblical Geography
• Biblical Archelology
• A History of Israel
• Religious Institutions of Israel
• Aspects of Old Testament Thought
• Jesus
• Paul
• Early Church
• Aspects of New Testament Thought
• Pauline Theology
• Johannine Theology
• Suggested Basic Bibliography [all of these are good choices]
• Index