Best Literal Catholic Translation of the Bible

[Matt_Guitar_Man]

Hi everyone,
Could I please have some (name removed by moderator)ut and thoughts on what is considered the best and most accurate Catholic, LITERAL, English translation of the Bible.

 

[RPRPsych]

That would be either the original Douai-Rheims (1582) or the Douay-Rheims-Challoner. I personally prefer the latter, since it’s easier to find and reads much like the KJV.

If you want more modern English and a literal translation, then try the Confraternity Bible.

 

[tvknight415]

If you want or are comfortable with Shakespearean English, the Douay-Rheims is your pick. If you want modern English, the Revised Standard Version-Second Catholic Edition is the one you want.

 

[Neofight]

Just keep in mind that the Church teaches that we are not to take scripture only in a literal sense.

 

[Matt_Guitar_Man]

Just keep in mind that the Church teaches that we are not to take scripture only in a literal sense.

Good point Neofight. My quest is the best word for word literal translation from the original languages out there that the Church approves.

 

[tawny]

That would be either the original Douai-Rheims (1582) or the Douay-Rheims-Challoner. I personally prefer the latter, since it’s easier to find and reads much like the KJV.

If you want more modern English and a literal translation, then try the Confraternity Bible.

Most definitely the Douay- Rheims.

 

[Jerry-Jet]

The RSV-CE and RSV2CE are “Catholic polished” Protestant translations.

The best Literal English translation Catholic bible I have ever found is from 1954 “The Light of the World Edition” Catholic bible with a Douay Rheims Challoner Old Testament–Confraternity Version New Testament–and an English translation of the New Latin Psalms authorized by Pope Pius XII.

 

[RPRPsych]

The RSV-CE and RSV2CE are “Catholic polished” Protestant translations.

The best Literal English translation Catholic bible I have ever found is from 1954 “The Light of the World Edition” Catholic bible with a Douay Rheims Challoner Old Testament–Confraternity Version New Testament–and an English translation of the New Latin Psalms authorized by Pope Pius XII.

This is a good recommendation. The Confraternity New Testament reads very well indeed.

 

[TimothyH]

There is no literal word-for-word translation. It is nearly impossible to read.

I am the bread the living the out of-the heaven down-stepping if-ever any may-be-eating out of-this the bread he shall-be-living into the eon and the bread yet which I shall-be-giving the flesh of-me is which I shall-be-giving over the of-the system (or world) life. (John 6:51)

This is a literal word-for-word translation of part of the Bread of Life discourse (John 6) produced from one of the manuscripts upon which the KJV Bible was based. Reference scripture4all.org. A literal word-for-word translation of any other manuscript upon which any other Bible is based reads just as poorly.

People want a word-for-word translation and think that the Douay-Rhiems or the King James Bible or this or that Bible is it, but they are not. Every translation is a product of its time and place and required some interpretation of the Hebrew and Greek words to produce. The manuscripts were translated into the language of the day using expressions and phrases common at the time. Every Bible therefor has issues. No translation is perfect and a literal word-for-word translation would be nearly useless for daily use.

The important thing is to get a reasonable translation which can be lived with and then make scripture a part of our daily lives. The truth is that anyone who is serious about scripture and can afford it will have multiple versions. The RSV-CE is solid and reliable, reads well and is approved by the Church. I think the Psalms read a little better in some parts of the NAB but that’s my personal opinion. I just bought a Douay-Rheims-Challoner for a different perspective and have not regretted it so far.

I have read the Bible cover-to-cover thee and a half times and it is one of the greatest joys of my life. If we look for a perfect translation we are going to be disappointed and frustrated. If we look for a reasonable translation we can live with and make it a part of our daily life then we will have a pleasurable experience. God can teach us through it but only if we approach it with an attitude of quiet humility.

-Tim-

 

[aragonjohn1]

Hi everyone,
Could I please have some (name removed by moderator)ut and thoughts on what is considered the best and most accurate Catholic, LITERAL, English translation of the Bible.

i did not know one of them Bibles did or is exist because there are many words in other languages and tongues including quite obscure and even as of now untranslatable ones that try to be interpreted in a newer cultural habit English. so, the closest literal bible one can think of is one of the scholarly old English bibles?!?!?!?!?


Bible + English

hope this helps You

God bless

 

[po18guy]

Hi everyone,
Could I please have some (name removed by moderator)ut and thoughts on what is considered the best and most accurate Catholic, LITERAL, English translation of the Bible.

If you want a reasonably accurate (and that is all we can hope for) and purely CATHOLIC bible, then you can choose from the Challoner Douay-Rheims, the hybrid Douay/Confraternity bible, or the Knox translation. Each has its proponents and critics. The original 1582-1609 Rheims-Douay is available but is an extremely difficult read.

Many have praised the Navarre and the Jerusalem bibles. I do not have the Navarre, but do have JB and NJB versions. Nice reads, but it is easier to defend Catholic teaching from the KJV.

However, to the best of my knowledge, only the D-R, Confraternity and Knox reveal and support that Mary is “full of grace”, that Mary’s soul “magnifies the Lord” and that Paul forgave sins in the person of Christ. This is fully consistent with Catholic doctrine and Catholic prayers. My personal favorite is the Confraternity, as the NT is simply excellent, with sound, confidence-inspiring notes and book intros.

None of the three (D-R, Confraternity, Knox) contains any of the secular theologian modernist nonsense that has crept into more recent publications. As with all other matters of revealed truth, the scriptures are also under spiritual attack. This is quite evident in comparing current bibles with those of only one or two generations ago.

 

[Tous_Logous]

Hi everyone,
Could I please have some (name removed by moderator)ut and thoughts on what is considered the best and most accurate Catholic, LITERAL, English translation of the Bible.

I don’t know if there is just ONE accurate and literal (be careful with this, because when you translate Greek into “literal” English, you will not get “readable” English) Catholic Bible in English.

One could say that all Catholic Bibles are accurate and literal to some extent. The best Catholic Bible will be the one that you read. In this case, as of now, that is the RSV: 2CE and Catholic Living Bible, and sometimes the 1966 Jerusalem Bible for me.

 

[ProVobis]

I don’t know if there is just ONE accurate and literal (be careful with this, because when you translate Greek into “literal” English, you will not get “readable” English) Catholic Bible in English.

Much of this is due to the fact that unlike English, Greek (and Latin and Church Slavonic, for that matter) are inflective languages. I know that Latin (and probably Greek too) translate better into Polish, but even here Polish is used more commonly used and morphed into more modern meanings all the time. Modern languages are very mutable, much so that even Shakespeare paperbacks have more commentary than actual text.

I too tend to read more scholarly Bible commentary than the attempted translations.

Aragonjohn1, good article.

 

[TimothyH]

Commentaries are not the inspired word of God. Commentaries are very good. A good commentary has tremendous value.

But in the Scriptures, the creator of the universe visits with us, and speaks to his Children as a loving Father. He tells us how much he loves us and helps us to spend eternity with Him. These are not my words but the words of the Church. This is what the great saints have always said - Bernard of Clairvaux, Benedict of Nursia and many others.

One can approach Scripture as if it was a transmission repair manual and look for the most accurate information, or one can approach scripture for what it is - the words of God breathed through men for our salvation.

Commentary is not Scripture. It can never do what Scripture can.

-Tim-

 

[po18guy]

Commentaries are not the inspired word of God. Commentaries are very good. A good commentary has tremendous value.

But in the Scriptures, the creator of the universe visits with us, and speaks to his Children as a loving Father. He tells us how much he loves us and helps us to spend eternity with Him. These are not my words but the words of the Church. This is what the great saints have always said - Bernard of Clairvaux, Benedict of Nursia and many others.

One can approach Scripture as if it was a transmission repair manual and look for the most accurate information, or one can approach scripture for what it is - the words of God breathed through men for our salvation.

Commentary is not Scripture. It can never do what Scripture can.

-Tim-

Well said.

We have the Magisterium of the Church to guide us in the scriptures, but commentaries can be quite another thing. Tradition may guide them, or it may not. If we rely too heavily on commentaries, the potential exists to succumb to the cult of personality. With scripture translations, each version seems to miss the bull’s eye by just a bit. In utilizing various translations, a somewhat more accurate “pin map” may bracket the bull’s eye and bring the scriptures into slightly sharper forus - at least in my case.

 

[TimothyH]

Well said.

We have the Magisterium of the Church to guide us in the scriptures, but commentaries can be quite another thing. Tradition may guide them, or it may not. If we rely too heavily on commentaries, the potential exists to succumb to the cult of personality. With scripture translations, each version seems to miss the bull’s eye by just a bit. In utilizing various translations, a somewhat more accurate “pin map” may bracket the bull’s eye and bring the scriptures into slightly sharper forus - at least in my case.

That is a good way to put it - pin map - like a scatter plot. I sometimes go over the scripture4all.org and look at the Hebrew and Greek from one of the manuscripts too, just to get a feel and add it to the “pin map.”

-Tim-

 

[catholictiger]

That would be either the original Douai-Rheims (1582) or the Douay-Rheims-Challoner. I personally prefer the latter, since it’s easier to find and reads much like the KJV.

If you want more modern English and a literal translation, then try the Confraternity Bible.

the douay-rhemis is from the latin vulgate

the RSV is better because it translates using formal equivalence from the written language.

 

[ProVobis]

Commentaries are not the inspired word of God.

But dime-a-dozen English translations are?

 

[catholictiger]

But dime-a-dozen English translations are?

what do you mean by dime a dozen?

 

[ProVobis]

We have the Magisterium of the Church to guide us in the scriptures

Well, yeh. The Church wrote/assembled it. Plus a lot of Church teachings (like the Trinity and civic morals and such) aren’t even in scripture. I’m afraid we need more than scripture.