Bible Preference

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JoshuaNY

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Hey guys,
I have a few old Bibles and I would like to get a new one. I have searched the forums and have seen alot of discussions on this topic. However, I would like to get a Non-Catholic perspective. If you wouldn’t mind could you tell me which English (If I could read Greek and Hebrew I would get one of those 😉 ) Bible Translation you prefer and why?
I would like to stay away from translations like the KJV not for any dislike, I think it is a fine Bible I just have a difficulty reading language like that. I feel like I am trying to understand shakespear and since I am a math/science person it is quite difficult for me. I am looking for something that is readable but also stays true to the original writing. I would be using it for home reading/study only.
Thanks in advance 👍
 
JoshuaNY said:
Hey guys,
I have a few old Bibles and I would like to get a new one. I have searched the forums and have seen alot of discussions on this topic. However, I would like to get a Non-Catholic perspective. If you wouldn’t mind could you tell me which English (If I could read Greek and Hebrew I would get one of those 😉 ) Bible Translation you prefer and why?
I would like to stay away from translations like the KJV not for any dislike, I think it is a fine Bible I just have a difficulty reading language like that. I feel like I am trying to understand shakespear and since I am a math/science person it is quite difficult for me. I am looking for something that is readable but also stays true to the original writing. I would be using it for home reading/study only.
Thanks in advance 👍
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I like the Revised Standard Version and the New RSV. This is the translation that’s used in Mass (I think) and I like it because its simple and beautiful.
 
TheExorcist said:
I like the Revised Standard Version and the New RSV. This is the translation that’s used in Mass (I think) and I like it because its simple and beautiful.
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In the Catholic Mass, we use the New American Bible. But my personal favorite is the New American Standard Bible. Beautiful. Poetic.
P.S. I’m a lector.
 
Joshua - New American Study Bible, Revised. And if you are serious about understanding the Torah - the scriptures Jesus Himself studied, a good modern translation (paired with the Hebrew Masoretic text and LOADS of commentary) is the Etz Hayim - available online or in bookstores specializing in Judaica.
 
svid2 said:
In the Catholic Mass, we use the New American Bible. But my personal favorite is the New American Standard Bible. Beautiful. Poetic.
P.S. I’m a lector.
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Oh that’s RIGHT! It says it right on the USCCB website where they have the daily mass readings listed. What’s the difference between the New American and New American Standard translations?
 
Oxford Study Bible with Apoc/Deut. expanded edition…formerly published in the '70’s as the “Common Bible”…it contains those books used by Catholics but not Orthodox and Protestants…used by Orthodox but not Catholics and Protestants…I find the study notes helpful when just sitting down and reading…for study I usually have a study guide or commentary.
 
TheExorcist said:
Oh that’s RIGHT! It says it right on the USCCB website where they have the daily mass readings listed. What’s the difference between the New American and New American Standard translations?
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As far as I know, they’re very different versions. (It’s not like one is a newer or updated version of the other.) They just have similar names.
 
My first preference is the English Standard Version. It does not contain the inclusive language that distorts the original text. It is quite readable and is a good balance between literal and dynamic equivalence. Since you list yourself as Lutheran, if you are LCMS, then Concordia has put out The Lutheran Study Bible, which is based on the ESV, and has excellent study notes. It runs about $40. An LCMS parish may have some copies for sale. I got mine from Christ the King in Danville, Virginia. Great bunch of folks there.

The Oxford Annotated, which Publisher mentioned is used in a lot of college religion classes. My copy is my younger daughter’s, which she used when she was in school. It has the expanded version of the Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. These are quite a bit filled out from what you will find in the Douay-Rheims versions of the Catholic Bible. They are based on the texts in the texts found in the Vatican library and in the Sinai monastaries.

There are also parallel Bibles. I have one called Today’s Parallel Bible. It contains the NIV, the NASB, the KJV, and the NLT. It is handy for comparing translations and sometimes reading a text in different translations helps get to the gist of the text.
 
Oldtimer_7 said:
My first preference is the English Standard Version. It does not contain the inclusive language that distorts the original text. It is quite readable and is a good balance between literal and dynamic equivalence. Since you list yourself as Lutheran, if you are LCMS, then Concordia has put out The Lutheran Study Bible, which is based on the ESV, and has excellent study notes. It runs about $40. An LCMS parish may have some copies for sale. I got mine from Christ the King in Danville, Virginia. Great bunch of folks there.

There are also parallel Bibles. I have one called Today’s Parallel Bible. It contains the NIV, the NASB, the KJV, and the NLT. It is handy for comparing translations and sometimes reading a text in different translations helps get to the gist of the text.
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Hey thanks alot. I saw the LSB on the Concordia Website, but it is hard to get a feel for it there. I like that it has study noted with a Lutheran point of view. Do you have any experience with the Concordia Self Study Bible?
The parallel Bible sounds pretty kool too.
 
JoshuaNY said:
Hey guys,
I have a few old Bibles and I would like to get a new one. I have searched the forums and have seen alot of discussions on this topic. However, I would like to get a Non-Catholic perspective. If you wouldn’t mind could you tell me which English (If I could read Greek and Hebrew I would get one of those 😉 ) Bible Translation you prefer and why?
I would like to stay away from translations like the KJV not for any dislike, I think it is a fine Bible I just have a difficulty reading language like that. I feel like I am trying to understand shakespear and since I am a math/science person it is quite difficult for me. I am looking for something that is readable but also stays true to the original writing. I would be using it for home reading/study only.
Thanks in advance 👍
Click to expand...
JoshuaNY,
I prefer the NRSV, which is also used in the Catholic Catechism along with the RSV. The NRSV is an excellent translation and is used by both Catholics and Protestants.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition
“Scripture quotations contained herein are adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971, and the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.”

Peace,
Anna
 
TheExorcist said:
I like the Revised Standard Version and the New RSV. This is the translation that’s used in Mass (I think) and I like it because its simple and beautiful.
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New American Bible is used at Mass, except Psalms. RSV is not permitted for liturgical use in the United States.
 
JoshuaNY said:
Hey guys,
I have a few old Bibles and I would like to get a new one. I have searched the forums and have seen alot of discussions on this topic. However, I would like to get a Non-Catholic perspective. If you wouldn’t mind could you tell me which English (If I could read Greek and Hebrew I would get one of those 😉 ) Bible Translation you prefer and why?
I would like to stay away from translations like the KJV not for any dislike, I think it is a fine Bible I just have a difficulty reading language like that. I feel like I am trying to understand shakespear and since I am a math/science person it is quite difficult for me. I am looking for something that is readable but also stays true to the original writing. I would be using it for home reading/study only.
Thanks in advance 👍
Click to expand...
I would go with the ESV. It’s slightly more linguistically accurate than the KJV is, and it’s way more readable as far as modern English goes. I heard somewhere that the LCMS adopted it as their official translation. It does require that you read a few grade levels ahead of what some of the other translations do, but that’s only an issue if you’re in middle school and you can’t read at a high school level yet.

If you do happen to know ancient languages at all, you’ll be happy with how you’re able to trust that what you read in the ESV is (with fewer exceptions than just about any other translation) exactly what you’ll see when you look at it in Hebrew/Greek/Aramaic. If you look into the translation process a little bit, you’ll find that it’s just about the most ecumenical process that you’ll find. Christians from all over Protestantism (and a few from Catholicism…I’m not sure about Orthodoxy) spent time together working on it in order to make sure denominational bias was minimized as much as possible. There has been some criticism as there will be with any major translation, but you’ll also find that the ESV people have answered the major criticisms to the best of their ability.
 
svid2 said:
In the Catholic Mass, we use the New American Bible. But my personal favorite is the New American Standard Bible. Beautiful. Poetic.
P.S. I’m a lector.
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The NASB was translated by an anonymous group at the Lockton Foundation, a Protestant group. It is not a complete Bible, lacking the deuterocanon. I agree with you, I like the translation but it is very close to the RSV-CE.
 
JoshuaNY said:
Hey guys,
I have a few old Bibles and I would like to get a new one. I have searched the forums and have seen alot of discussions on this topic. However, I would like to get a Non-Catholic perspective. If you wouldn’t mind could you tell me which English (If I could read Greek and Hebrew I would get one of those 😉 ) Bible Translation you prefer and why?
I would like to stay away from translations like the KJV not for any dislike, I think it is a fine Bible I just have a difficulty reading language like that. I feel like I am trying to understand shakespear and since I am a math/science person it is quite difficult for me. I am looking for something that is readable but also stays true to the original writing. I would be using it for home reading/study only.
Thanks in advance 👍
Click to expand...
If you want a Protestant version you’d have to go a long way to beat the New International Version Study Bible by Zondervan. I think they publish the same one using the NASB text as well. Scott Hahn gives it high marks (as far as it goes).
 
JRRTFAN said:
New American Bible is used at Mass, except Psalms. RSV is not permitted for liturgical use in the United States.
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JRRTFAN,

I didn’t know the RSV is not permitted for liturgical use the U.S. That seems very strange, since the RSV and NRSV are used in the Catholic Catechism. Would you give some insight into why it is acceptable in the Catechism, but not the Liturgy?

Thanks,
Anna
 
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