Bibles

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I didn’t really know where to put this but I was looking to buy a bible to look at since our family doesn’t have one. Anything in particular I should look for or avoid?

Maybe I should add that I am not currently part of any religion and know little about the different selections available.
 
As Catholic translations go, I assume you are a beginner. I would recommend buying at NAB Family Bible or a hardbound Jerusalem Bible. If you are advanced, I recommend the Douay-Rheims. As far as personal editions I would consider any of the three I mentioned above. If you are Protestant, I would recommend the King James Version. Again if your new at this and are Protestant then the RSV might suite you. Catholic versions to avoid, in my opinion the RSV-CE and NRSV-CE. Protestant versions I would avoid the NIV, NIrV and TNIV. Also a bit of caution, Bibles such as The Message and the Amplified Bible should be used along with a regular translation. The Message and Amplified are Protestant and more or less paraphrase. I hope that helps
 
You should be aware that there are seven fewer books in the Old Testament in Protestant versions of the Bible. One of the “reforms” that Martin Luther undertook was to reject the inspiration of these books and remove them. Protestants refer to them as the Apocrypha, while Catholics know them as the Deuterocanonicals. You will want to make sure your Bible is specifically a Catholic version. Versions approved for Catholics include:

The Douay-Rheims Version
The Jerusalem Bible
The New Jerusalem Bible
The Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition
The New American Bible
The New Revised Standard Version
Today’s English Version (The Good News Bible)
The Confraternity Version

Out of these, I would recommend the RSV-CE as the best for a beginner. It has the best balance between accuracy to the original translations and dynamics that make the passages slightly more readable.

You may also want to investigate a good study Bible, like the (expensive but good) Navarre series, or the (incomplete, but excellent) Ignatius Study Bible series. They include introductory essays on each book, maps, footnotes that explain passages (from the Catholic perspective), and mini-essays that go more into depth on difficult translations or passages. (I would recommend the Ignatius Study Bible, and work through the New Testament book-by-book to begin with. It uses the RSV-CE translation.)
 
Get the Ignatius Study Bible.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NH3D3THBL.SS500.jpg

It’s based on the RSV-2CE, which is one of the best translations for Catholics (the one quoted in the writings of Pope Benedict XVI in English). It’s leather bound and printed on nice paper and costs $20. Click here for a link to it on Amazon.

If you want to go more in-depth in your Scripture studies, you might want to try some of the free on-line classes from Scott Hahn’s St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. Click here to link to the classes. (Dr. Scott Hahn is a Professor of Theology specializing in Holy Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville - he also recommends the RSV-CE translation used in the Ignatius Bible above.)

May God Bless you in your Bible studies!
 
Mea_Culpa said:
Get the Ignatius Study Bible.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NH3D3THBL.SS500.jpg

It’s based on the RSV-2CE, which is one of the best translations for Catholics (the one quoted in the writings of Pope Benedict XVI in English). It’s leather bound and printed on nice paper and costs $20. Click here for a link to it on Amazon.

If you want to go more in-depth in your Scripture studies, you might want to try some of the free on-line classes from Scott Hahn’s St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. Click here to link to the classes. (Dr. Scott Hahn is a Professor of Theology specializing in Holy Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville - he also recommends the RSV-CE translation used in the Ignatius Bible above.)

May God Bless you in your Bible studies!
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Just a correction… that is the Ignatius Bible, which is a plain RSV-CE. It is not the study edition. It is, however, a very good basic Bible.
 
Thanks guys, I ended up with a RSV-CE bible. A guy actually came up to me and helped me find it. He has a PhD in theology and used to preach, it was really cool to have him help me. I saw one with The Message and NIV together, but I’m a bit confused of why those few books like the Apocrypha are removed by Protestants if they’re part of history.

I saw some study bibles too but were a bit out of my price range. I also saw some teen bibles that seemed pretty easy to understand/relate to but I’ll probably get more out of this in the long run.
 
I think you made a good choice. The RSV (in any version) is about as free from doctrinal bias as you are going to get.

Let me say that as a Protestant, “The Message” is much more of a commentary than a Bible. I think it even goes beyond paraphrase. I would avoid it until you are more familiar with the Scripture.

I mostly use the NIV and NASB, but these translations did not involve Catholic scholars - the RSV did.
 
PastorVW said:
I think you made a good choice. The RSV (in any version) is about as free from doctrinal bias as you are going to get.

Let me say that as a Protestant, “The Message” is much more of a commentary than a Bible. I think it even goes beyond paraphrase. I would avoid it until you are more familiar with the Scripture.

I mostly use the NIV and NASB, but these translations did not involve Catholic scholars - the RSV did.
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That’s good to hear that even the RSV-CE is well respected among protestants as being unbiased as a bible can be. 👍
 
Douay-Rheims. Period. The RSV and all its variants emanate from the King James Version, which is protestant. The Jerusalem Bible is Catholic but HORRIBLE. The NAB was so close to being good, but they blew it by catering to the protestants. I mean, to not say “hail, full of grace” is just inexcusable in a Catholic bible. (it is an inexcusable in any bible, but those “others” are off track anyway)
 
johnbres2
Douay-Rheims. Period. The RSV and all its variants emanate from the King James Version, which is protestant. The Jerusalem Bible is Catholic but HORRIBLE. The NAB was so close to being good, but they blew it by catering to the protestants. I mean, to not say “hail, full of grace” is just inexcusable in a Catholic bible. (it is an inexcusable in any bible, but those “others” are off track anyway)
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I would go as far to say that you can’t go wrong with the DR. But as for variants being as if it was some kind of weakness, I would disagree. I am all for a standardized text, but it is nice having variant readings from the ancient manuscripts and the Church Fathers, especially with some of the great manuscript discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls, and readings from the Greek Septuagint and Aramaic Peshitta. That being said, we are on the same page.👍
 
johnbres2 said:
Douay-Rheims. Period. The RSV and all its variants emanate from the King James Version, which is protestant. The Jerusalem Bible is Catholic but HORRIBLE. The NAB was so close to being good, but they blew it by catering to the protestants. I mean, to not say “hail, full of grace” is just inexcusable in a Catholic bible. (it is an inexcusable in any bible, but those “others” are off track anyway)
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There are very few Bibles released after 1800 that are worth the bother. The RSV-CE especially. The Douay-Rheims by far been the best I have read.
 
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