Best Version?

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dallasb

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I am looking to purchase a Bible for my own reading. What in your opinion is the best version of the bible for both accuracy and ease of readability?
Also what are your thoughts on the King James Only belief espoused by some protestants? I used to hold this belief before I was convinced of the truth of the Catholic faith.
 
I don’t know if I can chose just one. I prefer to have at least two to compare side by side. If I’m honest I really like the NIV. I know! It’s not a Catholic bible! But if I have to pick one I think the clarity of language the NIV is my preference. Some other versions might be more precise but kind of clunky to read because the translation is so literal.
 
Bruised_Reed said:
I don’t know if I can chose just one. I prefer to have at least two to compare side by side. If I’m honest I really like the NIV. I know! It’s not a Catholic bible! But if I have to pick one I think the clarity of language the NIV is my preference. Some other versions might be more precise but kind of clunky to read because the translation is so literal.
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Nah.

Gk. paradosis, i.e. “that which is handed down”; tradition.

If it refers to something bad, e.g. “traditions of men”, then it renders it “tradition”
If it refers to something good, e.g. “hold fast to the traditions I have handed on to you”, it translates it as “teaching” (the Greek word properly translated as “teaching” is didache).

That’s bad faith translation. I would drop the NIV for that reason alone.
 
I have a few Bibles… my favourite one that I have is The New Jerusalem Bible which has the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur and it is easy to read. I’m not sure it’s strictly a Catholic Bible but the Nihil Obstat means it’s not teaching error.

On a side note: I was in the same position as you, this month actually, as I wanted to buy an easy to read one which was accepted by the Catholic Church and so I purchased one from the Piety Shop at Church, thinking this would be the best place… it’s the NRSV Catholic Edition but when I got it home it didn’t have the Nihil Obstat inside… so I must admit that I was disappointed with my purchase… at least initially. I contacted my Priest and he has assured me that it was recommended by the Archbishop for parents who are preparing for their child’s baptism, so I’m still reading it, and have been assured it is acceptable for personal study purposes. It’s very easy to read too. Probably not much help to you 🙂 My next purchase will almost certainly be the Douay Rheims one though, despite the fact that I doubt it’s an easy to read version.
 
dallasb said:
I don’t believe the NIV version is a good version. I think its too inaccurate. Please see the following link:
christianitybeliefs.org/the-most-accurate-bible-translation-comparison-and-deception/
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porthos11 said:
Nah.

Gk. paradosis, i.e. “that which is handed down”; tradition.

If it refers to something bad, e.g. “traditions of men”, then it renders it “tradition”
If it refers to something good, e.g. “hold fast to the traditions I have handed on to you”, it translates it as “teaching” (the Greek word properly translated as “teaching” is didache).

That’s bad faith translation. I would drop the NIV for that reason alone.
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It’s my preference for reading and quoting but not for study.

How about answering the OP’s question instead of just criticizing my preference. Hm?
 
Bruised_Reed said:
It’s my preference for reading and quoting but not for study.

How about answering the OP’s question instead of just criticizing my preference. Hm?
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You post, you’re fair game, as am I.

And to answer the OP, it’s the same I’ve always said before. RSV-CE, first or second editions.

And the King James Only movement is nuts.
 
I myself am most fond of the the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition.

I think the translation is accurate and the English is proper without being awkward or unintelligible.

I believe the Catechism of the Catholic Church in English has made use of the RSV and the NRSV for their scripture quotations.

Regarding the King James Bible, it’s not so bad. It has a number of issues for Catholics, but a number of Protestants do indeed tend to treat it as the only accurate and inerrant Bible. I find this unfortunate, but people can be hard to persuade otherwise.
 
porthos11 said:
You post, you’re fair game, as am I.

And to answer the OP, it’s the same I’ve always said before. RSV-CE, first or second editions.

And the King James Only movement is nuts.
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👍 Yes I agree, if you like a little of the ‘thees and thous’ when God is being addressed then go with the RSV-CE. If you don’t care for the ‘thees and thous’ then go with the RSV-2CE. The advantage with the Catholic version of the RSV is that you get the extra books that were removed from the Christian Bible. Now if you want the extra books that the Orthodox Christians believe should be in the Bible then you could go with the New Oxford Annotated Bible (RSV) or the Orthodox Study Bible (which uses the NKJV for the NT and their own translation based upon the Septuagint and the NKJV for the OT).
 
I bought a Bible as follows:
It was translated from the original bible texts, to as close as possible to modern english .
So it is reliable.
A school got these in to help the confirmation children. I read bits of it and the book just really stood out to me whenever I read it. So I ordered one for myself.

It’s my favourite bible.

I have to say it’s the easiest most understandable bible I have ever read.
It is so easy to read and understand.

It was translated directly from the original bible scripture languages so it is reliable.

See amazon.com

Holy Bible : Children’s Illustrated Edition (Contemporary English Version)
(Don’t mind that it says children’s illustrated edition, what it means is that this edition has a few pictures, so that it suits being given to a child also. There are only a couple of pictures). That’s why it includes the pictures

Also:
Has anyone downloaded ‘Word of Promise’ bible app, and ‘Truth and Life’ bible app.
People -these are stunning! A guy who visited the Passion of the Christ film set decided he would record an audio bible like a film! It has too actors like Stephen Fry, Sound effects, orchestra score, … And the app lets you read the bible while you listen!
Genesis chapters are stunning! Jim Caraviezel acts as Jesus in the Word of Promise.

Stunning! It’s a bible you can listen to while you read.
‘Truth and life’ app actually has a foreword that Pope Benedict wrote for it!
The truth and life app say they have an imprimateur from a Pope himself.
That initially the Word of God was not recorded but retold orally, and that it brings us back to ‘listening’ to the word of God in the way this app was created.
 
**As a side note: ** I was not aware that the Orthodox were divergent in their view of the Canon of scripture. But I’m not an expert on the Orthodox by any stretch.
 
Has anyone downloaded ‘Word of Promise’ bible app, and ‘Truth and Life’ bible app.
People -these are stunning! A guy who visited the Passion of the Christ film set decided he would record an audio bible like a film! It has too actors like Stephen Fry, Sound effects, orchestra score, … And the app lets you read the bible while you listen!
Genesis chapters are stunning! Jim Caraviezel acts as Jesus in the Word of Promise.
Click to expand...
Stunning! It’s a bible you can listen to while you read
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I have the Truth and Life Audio Bible, but I guess I’m not as impressed by it as you. It’s o.k. but it’s lacking something, it seems to me. Maybe I need to give it another chance.
 
dallasb said:
I don’t believe the NIV version is a good version. I think its too inaccurate. Please see the following link:
christianitybeliefs.org/the-most-accurate-bible-translation-comparison-and-deception/
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But some of the exact same problems this very link puts forth are true of my own RSV-2CE in the few cases I checked comparing my physical copy of RSV-2CE to my NIV. In many of those cases I’d argue it doesn’t materially change the message, or certainly not more than you see in comparing various other versions than just KJ vs NIV.

I’m a fan of the NIV myself, but I converted from a Lutheran background. If I am being honest, I haven’t read it since other than as a reference or comparison check, but it is what I grew up with.

I know some here are not fans, but since the liturgy and the Bible studies at my own parish use the NAB, this is what I use far and away the most.
 
OurLadysServant said:
I bought a Bible as follows:
It was translated from the original bible texts, to as close as possible to modern english .
So it is reliable.
A school got these in to help the confirmation children. I read bits of it and the book just really stood out to me whenever I read it. So I ordered one for myself.

It’s my favourite bible.

I have to say it’s the easiest most understandable bible I have ever read.
It is so easy to read and understand.

It was translated directly from the original bible scripture languages so it is reliable.

See amazon.com

Holy Bible : Children’s Illustrated Edition (Contemporary English Version)
(Don’t mind that it says children’s illustrated edition, what it means is that this edition has a few pictures, so that it suits being given to a child also. There are only a couple of pictures). That’s why it includes the pictures

Also:
Has anyone downloaded ‘Word of Promise’ bible app, and ‘Truth and Life’ bible app.
People -these are stunning! A guy who visited the Passion of the Christ film set decided he would record an audio bible like a film! It has too actors like Stephen Fry, Sound effects, orchestra score, … And the app lets you read the bible while you listen!
Genesis chapters are stunning! Jim Caraviezel acts as Jesus in the Word of Promise.

Stunning! It’s a bible you can listen to while you read.
Click to expand...
I have the ‘Truth and Life’ audio NT and it is very useful! I bought the cd’s when it first came out now I use the app for my IPad! I not only use it for personal reading, but I also use it for RCIA and Bible Study. Last week in RCIA, I played John chapter 6 on ‘Truth and Life’, then followed it with the ‘Catholicism’ DVD on the Mass and Eucharist (in which Fr. Barron commented on John chapter 6). I also use it for the Christmas and Holy Week readings (this is where the dramatized readings have more impact).
 
Bruised_Reed said:
It’s my preference for reading and quoting but not for study.

How about answering the OP’s question instead of just criticizing my preference. Hm?
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I feel your frustration.

This question is covered in several threads, and the outcome is always the same…nobody sticking to the premise of the question, which do you LIKE the best.

The typical CAF member (myself included) is not a bible or linguistic scholar, so any claim made about the accuracy in comparison to original texts is purely based on what they’ve heard from someone else, or seen on the internet (which we all know, MUST be true!).
 
dallasb said:
Thanks for the replies. Is the Douay-Rheims version easy to read?
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I find it pretty flowery.
Honestly, the footnotes n the NAB are awful, but text is the one used at Mass, so I like it for reading. I also use the NSRV-CE.
I have Douay-Rheims and A Jerusalem Bible at home. And a Gaelic Bible, and the Biblia para Jovenes.
Still like the ones in plain English best.
 
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