Bible Translations for Someone New to Christianity

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ConfirmedAgnes

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Hi, friends!

This post is a little different from typical Bible Translation discussions. A friend of my mother’s recently revealed to her that she is a former Mormon, and due to the way their church treated her family, she currently doesn’t have any form of religion. She believes that there’s SOMETHING out there, but doesn’t know what, since her particular church taught of a God that wasn’t forgiving of imperfections. She’s been curious to try and investigate branches of Christianity, BUT she isn’t very familiar with the Bible at all, and has the stories from the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, plus some Bible stories all jumbled in her head. So before she really takes a leap to get to know Christians in her area (she lives many hours from where my mom lives), she’d like to become better acquainted with the Bible.

So, my mom would like to get her a Bible. She is NOT sure yet whether or not her friend will be open to a Catholic Bible or not. What she does know is that she needs an easy to read translation. So if you all would be willing to suggest easy to read Catholic AND Protestant Bibles so that my mom can have some suggestions of what to get her friend, I would greatly appreciate that. Also, prayers for this woman would be great too!!

Thank you, and sorry for the long post!
-ConfirmedAgnes
 
For readability, I like the NAB-RE

The new Great Adventure Bible is an excellent choice!!!
 
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Another idea is the Catholic Youth Bible, New American Bible Revised Edition. I’m 63 years old, have been reading so many translations my entire life, and have to say I love the Youth Bible. It has so many “call outs” that explain the importance of sections of scripture, cultural teachings, Catholic interpretation, etc. Sometimes I just start reading the call-outs, which is why it is called a Youth Bible. It also has great footnotes.
 
The NAB is readable, but the footnotes are really bad, in my opinion. I would recommend the RSV- it’s also easy to read but seems more “mature”.
 
Keep them away from the New American Bible if you’d like them to stay Christian. The footnotes are WAY too skeptical and will probably cause a new convert’s faith to be shaken.
 
Good news Bible is cute.
Some simple but great artwork too - line drawings.
 
Depends on her reading level. Someone who’s real literate and reads on a college level, I’d recommend the ESV or the NASB. If she reads at a lower level then the NIV is probably best.
 
The Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSV-CE) maintains a literal translation of the Bible that a newcomer needs. It’s straightforward and eloquent like the Douay-Rheims translation, and easier to follow like the New American Bible.
 
HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible) has the most clear and understandable language I’ve found. It’s easy to read and by all accounts very accurate in its translation. It uses modern language and sentence structure. It doesn’t try to be pretty or flowery, just clear and concise.
 
I may just get this one, especially since it is RSV-2CE and even more so because it it not an NAB with the baggage of its terrible footnotes.

I like having a study bible with maps, illustrations, and orthodox footnotes. I have an Ignatius NT Study Bible and the Didache Study Bible (both RSV-2CE). They both have very good footnotes and good topical essays but not much in the way of maps, illustrations, etc. I have a “student” NAB Study Bible with some good illustrations but unfortunately the footnotes, intros and essays are a bit too liberal and SJW-heavy. I’d be interested in seeing the quality of footnotes of the Great Adventure Bible before purchasing.
 
You might take a Great Adventure Bible Study course because the information is going to be on concert with the footnotes.
 
Do you have a copy of the TGA Bible? What do you think of it so far?

I have the TGA tabs on a Didache bible that I recently got (this summer), and I have the bible timeline to insert in there. I also have a Quick Journey Through the Bible workbook with some similar aids (3 month reading plan for example). I am trying to understand how the new TGA bible offers anything substantially different than what I may already have. It looks beautiful but $60 is steep and about two months too late for my prior purchases.
 
The Bible is difficult to understand. It is boring in many places.

I would recommend The catholic Introduction to the Bible: Old Testament" by Bergsma and Pitre. The chapter for any book of the Old Testament should be read BEFORE trying to read the book itself. This book explains the book BEFORE a person wades too deeply into the scripture and gets a migraine, because it’s so hard to understand. 2nd Chronicles starts out with 9 chapters of genealogy – whew.

The book I recommend is better than I can describe. It is thoroughly Catholic. It describes how the Bible is LITURGICAL – with the insight of this book one is led to the Catholic Church and to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Many answers about Catholic teaching and belief are given here.
 
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My suggestion would be for the ESV. I find that it does a pretty good job of balancing between formal equivalency (word-for-word), while still maintaining the literary nuances that are better preserved in functional equivalency (thought-for-thought). It is fairly readable and very accurate in my experience.
 
bobperk said:
I like having a study bible with maps, illustrations, and orthodox footnotes.
Click to expand...
This is a description of the NABRE. Depending on version, it may not have illustrations or maps, but it is the most orthodox bible available; it was commissioned by the US Catholic bishops, some of whom were involved in the oversight of the work.

Those who consider it unorthodox are themselves unorthodox, so not in a position to judge. They should identify themselves as such when bad mouthing the work of the US bishops. (“The US bishops produced the NABRE, but I wouldn’t use it because I do not like their theology” rather than “the NABRE is not orthodox.”)
 
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