1. Literary Features
A brief but accurate and authoritative Introduction opens each of the major divisions of both the Old and the New Testaments – the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, the Wisdom Books, the Prophetic Books in the Old Testament, and the Gospels, and the Letters of Paul, in the New Testament. In addition, each Book of the Bible has a brief Introduction concluding with the structure of the Book itself.
A typical page of the NCB has three items, viz., the text, the commentary, and a box placed between the text and the commentary containing helpful cross references. Sub-titles are provided throughout the text. As far as possible the same sub-titles are maintained in the Commentary so that one can easily identify the section of the text that is commented upon. Explicit quotations from the Old Testament are printed in italics.
The NCB follows the same order of the presentation of the various Books as in other Catholic Bibles.

2. Artistic Features
The NCB has turned out to be a literary work with rare artistic merits, thanks to the creativity and skill of the renowned Christian artist and calligrapher, the late Christopher Coelho OFM. He has expressed his devotion to the Word of God through his art in the cover, the illustrations, the fly-leaves, the title pages, and the overall layout.
a) The Cover
The cover of the Bible, like most of the art-work inside, is primarily to facilitate prayerful reflection. A careful observation will reveal that in it a prominent place has been given to the Holy Trinity. Following Christian tradition, the Father is symbolized here by the large OPEN EYE, the Son by the CROSS and the Holy Spirit by the DOVE.
In the ever-revolving circle and communion of love that is the Trinity, a special place is occupied by God’s people, THE NEW COMMUNITY, which our cover shows as the ‘apple of God’s eye’. The heart and hub of this community, giving it life, unity and cohesion, is the FLAME of God’s Word – the Bible.
b) Illustrations
Twenty-four delicate yet powerful line-drawings embellish this Bible. These illustrations succeed in blending the Biblical realities with our present day living.
c) Titles and Calligraphy
Before the invention of printing, all Bibles were copied by hand. This copying was more than a professional act of skill and craftsmanship. The scribes, who were monks, took time, meditated and prayed as they wrote and filled the blanks with illuminations. As a result, their manuscripts and illuminations, even today, are not merely a feast to the eyes but also inspire us to slow down our reading of God’s Word to a devotional and contemplative pace. To remind us of this pace just a touch of that pre-Gutenberg style and spirituality has been brought back on the cover, the fly-leaves, the 73 title-pages and in some other parts of the Holy Book. The first few words of all the Books are printed in special characters to let the calligraphy merge with the text.

3. Reference To The Scriptures Of Other Faiths
References made to the Indian Scriptures in the Commentary could perhaps make some Christians uncomfortable. The question may be raised why as to Indian Scriptures are referred to in a Biblical Commentary. Such references serve only to get a more inter-cultural and contextualized understanding of certain Biblical terms and concepts. Highlighting some meeting points would also serve as an invitation for people of other faiths to approach and draw from the treasures of the Bible. For example, speaking about light and darkness in Gen 1:14, the Commentary says that ‘Light is considered good and desirable also in the Vedas.’ The expression Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya is a well known expression from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. This, however, does not imply in any way that Indian Scriptural terms are parallel to Biblical terms or that the parallel references are saying the same thing as the Biblical text.
Let us examine a couple of examples of references to the Indian Scriptures in the Commentary. Commenting on the creation account in Gen 1:1–2:4a the commentator says that even in the Upanishads some creation accounts open with the word agre, i.e., at the beginning. But it is then clarified: ‘In the Bible creation is never understood as an emanation from the Divine Reality as in the Indian Scriptures.’ Again, on man and woman being created in God’s image (pratirupa), the commentary says that these two words taken together – image and likeness – depict the exalted and the divine-like nature of human beings. Once again this statement is followed by the explanation that ‘the Bible does not hold with the Hindu thinking that the creature is identical with or an emanation from the creator (bimbapratibimba) or that Atman is Brahman.’
The Vatican II Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra aetate) says ‘The Catholic Church rejects nothing of true and holy in these religions... yet she proclaims and is duty bound to proclaim without fail, Christ who is the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14:6). Besides, the declaration ‘Dominus jesus’ adds, “the various religious traditions contain and offer religious element which come from God, and which are part of what ‘the Spirit brings about in human hearts and in the history of peoples, in cultures, and religions’ ” (Art No. 21).

4. Our Collaborators
A project of this magnitude can be realized only with the help of numerous committed collaborators. A list of the scholars who worked at the revision of the text and the commentary at the initial stages of the NCB is given below. St PaulS is greatly indebted to them for their generous contribution. We are delighted and grateful that the very best talents in our country in terms of Biblical expertise have joined hands with us for the cause of the Word of God. To mention all who have in some way or other collaborated in this project would make too long a list. However, a few people deserve special mention for their commitment and dedication to the project: Paul Kalluveetil, CMI for putting in two years of hardwork at the initial stages of the project; Fidelis D’Lima, OFM for patiently revising, polishing and adding to the Commentary; Harold Vaz for scrutinizing the whole Bible from a theological and Scriptural viewpoint; Bishop Thomas Dabre for examining the references to Non-Christian Scriptures; Christopher Coelho, OFM for making the NCB a work of art pleasing to the eyes and soothing to the soul.
The General Government of the Society of St Paul has been very supportive throughout. SOBICAIN (International Catholic Bible Society) an undertaking by St Pauls with Headquarters in Madrid, deserves special thanks for their encouragement and support.