Bible Translation Guide

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What Scripture translation do you guys recommend?

It needs to be readable, understandable, but accurate. I love Olde English, so Douay-Rheims is an option. I also love a good balance, and I’ve heard that the Ignatius Bible is a really accurate translation of Scripture. I currently use the NAB for devotionals (I know it has its flaws, I’m not looking for a list 😉 ) and Latin manuscripts and New Jerusalem Bible notes for more in-depth study.

Opinions?

(Oh, I put this under apologetics because Scriptural translations pertain, in one way or another, to accurate theology, but if this needs to be moved, go ahead!)
 
I like all those you mentioned. I own a New Jerusalem bible. Though I think my personal favorite is the Douay-Rheims.

I think its really all about personal preference. I prefer the Old English, but others do not. IMO, as long as its a Bible, its good!
 
First choice,
the Douay-Rheims, but PLEASE do yourself a favor
and get the Douay Rheims with HAYDOCK Bible Commentary.
It is a superb, unbeatable combination.

Second choice,
the Ignatius Bible, Revised Standard Version 2nd Catholic Edition.
or you could buy the Ignatius Bible Commentary series (bible plus commentary) for about $9.95 per book.

Third choice, also excellent,
the Navarre Bible with Commentary.

Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
 
By Ignatius do you mean the Revised Standard Version (Catholic Edition)? If so that is probably the most accurate i a word for word sense. If it’s good enough for B16 who is an amazing Biblical Scholar (even before he was Pope), it’s good enough for me 🙂

Joe
 
Yes, I mean the RSV-CE…

If it’s super-accurate, does it come off as awkward? Or is it eloquent and understandable, as well?

I like the D-R for this reason, but the names of biblical characters (and books… and numbering) throws me.
 
Outside of the DR, I like the New American Standard, though I don’t know if there is a Catholic edition available.
 
If you’re at all interested in attending the traditional latin mass, then a copy of the Douay-Rheims will dovetail nicely with that, since it’s used in the 1962 missal.

Baronius makes the nicest one, and they are now shipping from the US, so you can get it in a few days. I have the “pocket” edition. They must have bigger pockets than I do.

I also have the Ignatius “RSV 2nd Catholic Edition”, in bonded leather. It’s a nice bible too.
 
I just love my New Jerusalem Bible. I find the notes amazingly good. I still like my NRSV a lot but don’t trust the translation quite as much. I’ve never read the Douay-Rheims version. I’m not so much for the arcaic language.
 
Get one that you are attracted to, that you will be able to read.

Anything with an Imprimatur (armchair critics aside) is okay. 👍
 
You should learn Latin and get the Vulgate. It can’t be beat!

Actually, I’m just kidding! I’ve often heard it said that the best Bible translation is the one you’ll read! I prefer the RSV. I find it to be beautiful and readable.

You might also check out Catholic Answers Bible Translations Guide. It gives some useful background info that might help you in making your decision.
 
The problem with the Duay Reihms bible is that it has some glaring errors and some of the diffences in manuscript evidence are translated in favor of later manuscripts. I prefer the RSV-CE hands down. I wish it was the translation used in mass.
 
East_and_West said:
The problem with the Duay Reihms bible is that it has some glaring errors and some of the diffences in manuscript evidence are translated in favor of later manuscripts. I prefer the RSV-CE hands down. I wish it was the translation used in mass.
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This is what I had heard as well…I read that it was similar to the KJV which everyone knows is full of errors in translation. So, hopefully somebody can clear that up!
 
This is what I had heard as well…I read that it was similar to the KJV which everyone knows is full of errors in translation. So, hopefully somebody can clear that up!
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It contains verses that are typically removed, I know that, such as the beautiful “I am the Mother of fair love…” section in Sirach, and the verse in 1 John 5 that supports the Trinity also found in the KJV.

But as for its pros is the strong advocacy of traditional Church understanding on certain passages. For instance, translating agape in the New Testament as “charity,” or self-giving love, as well as “full of grace,” referencing Eden as “Paradise,” etc., which I think are beautiful contributions to the text.

I sometimes feel betrayed by the Ignatius Bible inasmuch as chapters and verses accepted as Scripture by the Church were simply torn out in their Protestant editions, and now are only added to appease Catholic demand…

(On a sidenote, I’ve heard that the Ignatius Bible is littered with typos and other grammatical errors. Nothing big, but I was curious as to whether or not anyone found this to be the case. Oh, and my other question wasn’t answered: Is it readable for a literal translation?)
 
I think that the best bible is Confraternity New Testament–Psalms from Pope Pius’ Psalter that are neither Olinger or Douay and Douay Rheims Haydock Old Testament.
 
I recommend the Douay-Rheims, RSV-CE and NJB. I own many other translations, both Catholic and Protestant, but those three are the ones I use the most.
 
My favorites are the Douay-Rheims, and the Ignatius (RSV-CE)…I need a multiple choice option!!
 
Where’s Manfred? He always likes these threads. 😃
(I respect his opinion as well :cool:)
 
The_Truthinator said:
(On a sidenote, I’ve heard that the Ignatius Bible is littered with typos and other grammatical errors. Nothing big, but I was curious as to whether or not anyone found this to be the case. Oh, and my other question wasn’t answered: Is it readable for a literal translation?)
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I haven’t noticed any typos, but I could have missed them. 🤷 Perhaps many of them have been rectified in subsequent printings.

I find the RSV to be very readable. Even more so than the NAB sometimes! 😉
 
MH84 said:
Where’s Manfred? He always likes these threads. 😃
(I respect his opinion as well :cool:)
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Well, thank you, MH. I just saw this thread for the first time tonight (Wednesday, 12 Dec.), although as I type this, it’s fast approaching midnight in my time zone.

My answer is pretty much the same as Laura’s (lak611); to wit, I own and use the D-R, the Ignatius RSV-CE, and the regular edition of the NJB.

I regard the D-R as the most “formal-equivalent” of the three, the NJB the most “dynamic-equivalent”, and the RSV-CE in the center.

When I rehearse the readings for those Sundays on which I am a lector, I NEVER use the RNAB, even though that’s what I’ll be reading from on the pulpit. No, I get the perspective afforded by the D-R, and then, for a “smoother” read, I’ll then read the RSV-CE.

I purchased the above three bibles in reverse order from which I’ve listed them. Which brings me to the NJB: yes, it’s got some inclusive language, but nowhere near as much or as annoying as that in the RNAB or the NRSV. The NJB is not as “free” or outlandish in its renderings as its predecessor, the 1966 JB. Yet the RNAB and NRSV and JB are used in Lectionaries, and the JB was also used in Fr John Hardon’s “A Catholic Catechism”.

I think the D-R gets closer to the Greek in the NT than almost any other Catholic version; were I a Protestant, I could content myself with the NASB, but not the Non-Inspiring Version, aka the NIV.

The RSV-CE gets high marks for “biblical honesty”; it translates correctly - most of the time - from the original languages, even if the particular rendering chosen is not the closest to a traditional “Catholic” rendering.

I follow a two-year daily bible-reading plan, and have read through all three of these at one time or another. It’s REALLY hard for me to name just one favorite.
 
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