Buying a Bible

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leamar3

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I went to a Christian bookstore yesterday with hopes of buying a Catholic Bible. However, there were tons and tons of Bibles on the shelf, and through browsing, I didn’t see one that specifically says that it’s a Catholic Bible. I’m wondering, will the Bible actually say Catholic on it? Also, I have a study Bible already, but I was reading somewhere that if the Bible is a Protestant Bible, then the interpretations will be from an evangelical Protestant perspective. Is that true? I am basically just in search of the truth as God intended it to be. Anyone have suggestions?
 
go to a Catholic church,and ask for a bible. they will be happy to give you one :extrahappy::bible1:
 
leamar3 said:
I went to a Christian bookstore yesterday with hopes of buying a Catholic Bible. However, there were tons and tons of Bibles on the shelf, and through browsing, I didn’t see one that specifically says that it’s a Catholic Bible. I’m wondering, will the Bible actually say Catholic on it? Also, I have a study Bible already, but I was reading somewhere that if the Bible is a Protestant Bible, then the interpretations will be from an evangelical Protestant perspective. Is that true? I am basically just in search of the truth as God intended it to be. Anyone have suggestions?
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Most Christian stores will not carry Catholic bibles, books, etc . If there is not a Catholic book store near you then go to Ignatius Press online and you will find a very good one.

This the New Testament Catholic Study Bible

ignatius.com/IProducts/29980/new-testament.aspx

They are doing the Old Testament book by book and I think Genesis and Exodus are available.

Here is a Catholic bible though not a study one…

ignatius.com/Products/IB2-P/ignatius-bible-rsv-2nd-edition.aspx
 
Here is the Catholic Bible that I have:

books.benedictpress.com/index.php/NABRE-New-American-Bible-Revised-Edition-Black-Premium-UltraSoft

It has very extensive notes on the pages and it is the NAB-RE which is a very good Catholic Bible. Coming from my days as a Protestant, this Bible has the most extensive Catholic commentary in it compared to some Protestant giant study Bibles like the ESV Study Bible &c.,

If you do not want to spend this much on a Bible, because Bible’s are very expensive, then you could run by a local bookstore like Barnes & Noble because they have Catholic Bible’s or like a used bookstore. Or, you could just order online.

God bless!
 
leamar3 said:
I went to a Christian bookstore yesterday with hopes of buying a Catholic Bible. However, there were tons and tons of Bibles on the shelf, and through browsing, I didn’t see one that specifically says that it’s a Catholic Bible. I’m wondering, will the Bible actually say Catholic on it? Also, I have a study Bible already, but I was reading somewhere that if the Bible is a Protestant Bible, then the interpretations will be from an evangelical Protestant perspective. Is that true? I am basically just in search of the truth as God intended it to be. Anyone have suggestions?
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Are you looking for a Bible commentary (study Bible) or just a Bible? You’re answers will be quite different depending on what you are looking for.

Peace,
 
Do a search for the leaflet missal catalogue. They have serveral to choose from. I haver the “New Catholic answers” Bible, and also the “Douay-Rheims” Bible. Each has it’s good points as well as bad. The bad part on the Douay-Rheims is that the language is kind of antique, making it hard to read. Kind of reminds me of the older KJ Bible.
 
Hi, believe it or not, Barnes and Noble not only carries Catholic Bibles, but will order any that are in print for you. if you’re trying to find one that actually says Catholic on it, that might be what’s challenging you. The New American Bible (NAB, NAB-RE) is the “official” Catholic Bible translation. However, some of then DO say Catholic on them. St. Joseph’s Press is one, so is St. Ignatius Press. For confirmation, I got my daughters the Rainbow Study Bible, Catholic edition, because all the verses are highlighted in different colors according to what that verse teaches. Its helpful if you’re not especially good at reading page after page of text on white paper, with nothing breaking up the monotony. (one I got at a Catholic bookstore and paid a horrible price-$80; the other I got at Half Price Books for $30!) The Catholic Study Bible is great, and so is The Catholic Youth Study Bible. The most unique Bible I ever saw and would love to buy is The Catholic Answers Bible, which is interspersed frequently with colorful, whole pages relating to Catholic topics, including questions non-Catholics often ask Catholics about practices, beliefs, traditions, sacraments, etc. the only reason I didn’t get that one for my daughters was because it only comes in paperback.
 
Some of them do say “Catholic” on them. The only Catholic versions I’ve purchased is the NAB and NABRE, which as far as I know are essentially the same except for like the Psalms? 🤷
If you don’t know, check on the first few pages for the imprimatur, if it has one it’s Catholic and approved by the Church.
 
A lot depends upon what you are looking for; for example, the New American Bible has “inclusive” language, which I cannot tolerate. Many of the Revised versions can be confusing. My preference is the Douay Rheims. But the old English may be a bit much for you. Lots of people are talking about the Knox Version so you might investigate that.

Lots of luck. 🙂
 
Thank you so much for this information! I’m going to see what I can find now that I’m equipped with this knowledge. 🙂
 
Where possible, shop a Catholic bookseller. The Protestant chain stores won’t carry quite so good a selection of genuinely-Catholic Bible translations.

You’ll want to think about the translation. The New American Bible (not to be confused with the New American Standard Bible), is the ‘official’ translation used in Catholic liturgy. Sadly, it is a very poor translation. The Douay-Rheims is a better translation but uses language very difficult for many modern readers. The Confraternity translation (available only in the New Testament, to my knowledge) is a better modern-English version. The John Knox is probably the best translation available for Catholics.

Baronius Press has re-released the Knox translation. The New American Bible has been released in numerous formats, for apologetics, for teens, etcetera. TAN Books/St. Benedict Press and Leaflet Missal offer the Douay-Rheims. The New Jerusalem Bible is another popular Catholic translation which is touted for it’s readability.

Sometimes you can find a Protestant translation in a “Catholic” edition. The RSV is an example, though I believe there are several others. These are simply Bibles with the “Catholic” books included between the Testaments.

One problem is that both the translation AND any commentary or “helps” which accompany the translation will likely be skewed to a Protestant interpretation. This can be subtle, even unintentional on the part of the translators (who often simply want the best translation possible for their purposes, and who often include one or two Catholic consultants). Ultimately, the Bible is the Bible, but a Catholic is better to choose a Catholic translation, in an edition they will read and enjoy.
 
corsair said:
A lot depends upon what you are looking for; for example, the New American Bible has “inclusive” language, which I cannot tolerate. Many of the Revised versions can be confusing. My preference is the Douay Rheims. But the old English may be a bit much for you. Lots of people are talking about the Knox Version so you might investigate that.

Lots of luck. 🙂
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I bought a Knox Version before Christmas. It is delightful to read but it is not a study Bible by any means. You can buy bibles at pretty good prices on cbd.com

The Catholic Ones are : Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition (first or second)
New American Bible
New American Bible - Revised Edition
Douay Rheims
Knox Version
Jerusalem Bible
New Jerusalem Bible
New Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition

The NAB is the one used for liturgical purposes, the RSV-CE is used for Official Vatican document translations.

You can hear how the Knox sounds, go on YOUTUBE and search for Gospel of Luke Knox Version. A guy has recorded, verbatim, all 4 gospels from the Knox.
 
johnnyc176 said:
Most Christian stores will not carry Catholic bibles, books, etc . If there is not a Catholic book store near you then go to Ignatius Press online and you will find a very good one.

This the New Testament Catholic Study Bible

ignatius.com/IProducts/29980/new-testament.aspx

They are doing the Old Testament book by book and I think Genesis and Exodus are available.

Here is a Catholic bible though not a study one…

ignatius.com/Products/IB2-P/ignatius-bible-rsv-2nd-edition.aspx
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I LOVE this Bible. I will add that the new testament Bible was done by Scott Hahn. The translation and language in the Ignatius Bible is stirring.
 
There are many good Catholic Bibles out there. I received a copy of the Knox Bible, which has been mentioned here, for Christmas. It is a translation done by Msgr. RONALD Knox, a twentieth century English priest, not JOHN Knox, who started the protestant church in Scotland. It is a wonderful translation, but very English. The Confraternity translation is also great. It is the forerunner of the New American Bible, and in my opinion the American bishops should have quit while they were ahead! To me, it has the traditional “sound” of scripture that I like, but not such archaic language as the Douay Rheims. Except for a pocket size edition of the New Testament, I don’t think the Confraternity Bible is in print. I was able to purchase a beautiful edition for $20 on Ebay. I use the Ignatius Study Bible together with the Knox and Confraternity translations. The Ignatius Bible uses the RSV Catholic edition. This is the translation used by the Vatican when they need an English translation of the scriptures. Remember that the New American Bible is required for the liturgy only in the United States. Other English speaking countries don’t use it.

For a real study Bible you can’t beat the Navarre Bible. It uses the RSV-Catholic Edition, and is published in multiple volumes. It relies heavily on the writings of the Fathers of the Church and later saints. You can’t beat that. I recently purchased “The Gospel of Matthew” from the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series. It uses the New American Bible translation, but could also be used with other translations which is what I did. This a very interesting commentary, but I was a little disappointed because I thought that it was going to be more scholarly. If you are not looking for something scholarly, I would highly recommend this, too. The most import thing though is to find a Bible which you will actually read! Good luck on your search.
 
Thank you for all of the wonderful links. Nesrad, if there was a “like” button on your post I would’ve clicked it. I took 2 full years of Spanish in college and still can’t make heads or tails of it. It would take me a century to learn Latin! 😃

I have a new living translation study Bible (Protestant). Are the footnotes about meaning of the text skewed by a Protestant perspective?
 
leamar3 said:
It would take me a century to learn Latin! 😃
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Some people don’t have what it takes and are excused from learning Latin, but many people are totally able to learn liturgical or biblical Latin which is actually far simpler than Classical Latin.
I have a new living translation study Bible (Protestant). Are the footnotes about meaning of the text skewed by a Protestant perspective?
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It is very likely that the notes are biased, and there is an even more important reason for not using a Protestant Bible: It is not an approved version. You cannot gain indulgences linked to reading the Bible, and it might even be considered a sin.
 
leamar3 said:
I have a new living translation study Bible (Protestant). Are the footnotes about meaning of the text skewed by a Protestant perspective?
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I could be wrong, but I think that’s a Jehova’s Witness Bible…I would definitely not use that.
 
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