Different bibles

  • Thread starter Thread starter answers
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

answers

Guest
I just started RCIA and the team ask me if I had a bible I told them yes.Then ask what kind I told them KING JAMES, so one of the ladies said that she would get me a catholic bible,I went to a christian store today and saw many different bibles.So my question is which one is the right bible.

Please help :confused: :confused:
 
There are lots of discussions of this on the Scripture board, but basically your choice is Douay-Rheims, RSV-CE, NAB, or New Jerusalem Bible.
 
Not the NAB, and definitely not the “New” JB - it’s even worse than the old JB. Except for the missing books of the OT, the KJV is actually “more Catholic” than any of those.three.
 
Hi TJ, what is the criteria for more catholic vs less catholic?
 
40.png
answers:
I just started RCIA and the team ask me if I had a bible I told them yes.Then ask what kind I told them KING JAMES, so one of the ladies said that she would get me a catholic bible,I went to a christian store today and saw many different bibles.So my question is which one is the right bible.

Please help :confused: :confused:
Click to expand...
Your best success would be to find a Catholic church that has a Gift shop.

Otherwise Catholic Bibles are a little hard to find, especially in a Protestant dominate area.

Otherwise

NAB = New American Bible - written in new english
RHE = Douray-Rheims Bible - written in old english like the KJV(king james version)

as for the other 2 mentioned, I don’t know anything about them. I am suspicious that they might not be authorized Catholic versions.
 
40.png
buzzcut:
There are lots of discussions of this on the Scripture board, but basically your choice is Douay-Rheims, RSV-CE, NAB, or New Jerusalem Bible.
Click to expand...
The RSV-CE stands for the Revised Standard Version–Catholic Edition. This one is noted for its attempt to convey the original words of the Hebrew and Greek in as true a translation as possible. The end result is a Bible that is closest to the original thought of the authors, but the drawback is sometimes stilted language (biblicak Gk and Hebrew don’t translate very nicely into modern English). The NAB (New American Bible) and the New Jerusalem both are middle-of-the-road interpretations; they attempt to follow the original meaning of the text but render it into a slightly smoother flowing English. At the extreme of translation you have things like the Good News Bible, which give almost idiomatic expressions for the easiest reading but the furthest from the original text. One might call these “slangy” for lack of a better term. The Douay-Rheims is, as has been posted, a translation in highly poetic and formal language, in a similar vein to the KJV; the DR was simply translated by Catholic scholars.

So the punchline is, which is best? The adage applies, “the best Bible translation is the one you’ll read.” But to tell for sure if it’s a Catholic Bible, look for the imprimatur at the beginning; no Protestant Bible will have that.

CathChemNerd

p.s.–I learned a great way to remember the 7 deuterocanonicals from my grad class at Seton Hall. Just remember a fellow named TJ McWEB:
T (Tobit)
J (Judith)
Mc (1 and 2 Maccabees)
W (Wisdom)
E (Ecclesiasticus, also called Sirach)
B (Baruch)
🙂
 
I use a NAB and a New Jerusalem. My NJ has a nihil obstat and imprimatur, as does the NAB. I use my NAB for study, and the NJ mainly for non-studious reading and perhaps lectio divina (I’ve yet to give it a shot). It lacks footnotes and study aids, if I come across something I don’t understand I attempt to understand it with the NAB, or my RCIA class.

I also have a New Living Translation “Catholic Reference Edition”. It lacks the nihil obstat/imprimatur and has translations done by prominent Baptists and the like. I found it in the Catholic Bible section - I got it because I love Bibles, but also had strong suspicions that this would be a Protestant Bible for Catholics. And it is.

If it’s in the Catholic Bible section of Borders/Hastings/Barnes and Noble; it may not always be a Catholic Bible. When in doubt, look for the nihil obstat/imprimatur. Or, just stick with NAB/Douay-Rheims/RSV-CE/NJ. 😃
 
If you are used to the King James, you will probably like the RSV-CE, as it is based on the RSV which is a revision of the KJV.
Or, the Douay, which I personally:love: love, but there will be a need to be aware that the numbering of the Psalms is different, as they are divided up differently. (Douay preceded KJV; it has the same wonderful Shakespearean English).
 
40.png
tjmiller:
definitely not the “New” JB - it’s even worse than the old JB. .
Click to expand...
Scott Hahn has done a lot with the RSV-CE but he also likes the New Jerusalem Bible as well as the Jerusalem Bible (1966).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top