Favourite Bible:

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

anruari

Guest
What’s your favourite Bible for Private Devotion. (Not formal study or group use, but the bible you like best for personal or family reading, Lectio Divina, informal study &c.?

I have listed the Catholic bibles first.
If “Other”, please state which in your comments.
If your profile does not state the Country your from please indicate (particularly if this affects the relationship between your countries lectionary translation and the bible you prefer… e.g. US readers using the Jerusalem Bible or NRSV)
 
Sorry about the short list.
I could only have 10 options, I wanted to include common non catholic translations like:

ESV
ASV
NIV
NKJV
Amplified Bible,
 
Douay-Rheims all the way! The original 1609 version has awesome footnotes!
 
The RSV-2CE is a great edition, i probably read it privately most often. However the translation from the 1950’s by Mgr Knox for quality of prose and faithfulness to the Vulgate is hard to beat.

In addition the translation of a large part of the Jewish Bible by Robert Alter is also great for the Old Testament.
 
I really like the Jerusalem Bible and read it and the Douay Rheims Challoner revision often. Sometimes I’ll check a verse in the RSV-CE on EWTN’s website.
 
While I own a number of translations, I always come back to the Douay Rheims\Challoner. I love the way it reads, the intros to each book, and the very orthodox foot notes. While I spend time with some others, this is my personal favorite for sitting and reading God’s Word on a daily basis!
 
Most often, I use the one I grew up reading which is the New American Standard. The two things I like about it is that it makes an attempt to be a word-for-word literal translation of the Greek manuscripts. Also, I like that it capitalizes the pronoun form when talking about God (e.g. He and not he) which in my opinion gives God reverance and also makes it more readable in certain passages with multiple "he"s.

I was given a NAB during RCIA and compare text with the NASB and they are pretty close translations. The text notes in the NAB are easy to comprehend and explain some difficult passages well, so I’m usually back and forth.
 
It is hard to understand this poll since it contains these overlapping entries:
  • RSV (inc… RSV-CE / RSV-2CE Ignatius Study & Navarre)
  • NRSV - (Including RSV - CE or 2CE)
 
I have a DR, but I really only use it to check formalities and confusing-sounding passages. The one I read most is a NAB. which I love because it’s easier for me to read. My favorite for online sourcing is the NRSV-CE…which is what I voted here.
 
Bible_Reader said:
It is hard to understand this poll since it contains these overlapping entries:
  • RSV (inc… RSV-CE / RSV-2CE Ignatius Study & Navarre)
  • NRSV - (Including RSV - CE or 2CE)
Click to expand...
I’m sorry. that’s a Typo It should have read:
  • NRSV - (Including NRSV - CE or 2CE)
Click to expand...
I hope most people understand that.
 
For private devotion I use a number of different translations.

For my main OT reading, I use the 1966 Jerusalem Bible. For the NT, I was using the Contemporary English Version: Catholic Edition. Now that I’ve actually read through the entire NT for the first time, I’m going to try the English Standard Version and/or the New American Standard Bible for NT reading in my Catholic Bible studies. I know both of those translations are Protestant but I’ve heard they are both fairly “conservative,” even though I’m finding some parts of those translations I don’t agree with. It always helps to explore different English translations, after all. I also use the New Catholic Version of the Psalms for devotional prayers (St. Joseph Edition).

I also use a New Testament written in Koine Greek (published by UBS) for my translation exercises, but not really for private devotion.

I don’t have a single favorite English Bible translation or any real preference, but I try to stick to Catholic-approved Bibles.
 
The Knox Bible, particularly the new edition from Baronius, is an amazingly good reading Bible.
 
While the Catholic Bible I read most is The Jerusalem Bible, I really like the New American Standard Bible for personal use.
 
mccorm45 said:
The Knox Bible, particularly the new edition from Baronius, is an amazingly good reading Bible.
Click to expand...
The Knox has some serious issues though. A case in point would be that both the 72 rabbis of the Septuagint and Jerome’s Vulgate agree that Isaiah 7:14 should read virgin and not maid or young woman. Admittedly, maid is better than young woman, but virgin is the only appropriate translation.

After reading that, I put the Knox version back on the shelf.
 
40.png
irenaeuslyons:
The Knox has some serious issues though. A case in point would be that both the 72 rabbis of the Septuagint and Jerome’s Vulgate agree that Isaiah 7:14 should read virgin and not maid or young woman. Admittedly, maid is better than young woman, but virgin is the only appropriate translation.
Click to expand...
Monsignor Ronald Knox was an Englishman and in my opinion his translation is written in beautiful British English. In British English, the word “maid” can be taken to mean Virgin.

The Knox Version is fantastic for devotional reading. I recommend it to everyone.
 
Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition for basic reading or study. I would really like the New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition if not for the excessive inclusive text. Don’t get me wrong, there are places where I don’t have a problem with such things, but the NSRV takes it way too far. When you get a passage which says “brothers and sisters, if any of you have wives…”, I can’t help but think that perhaps particular phrase should have been left as “brethren”. If they would change that about the NSRV, it would get strong consideration from me.
 
irenaeuslyons said:
A case in point would be that both the 72 rabbis of the Septuagint
Click to expand...
The story about the translation of the Septuagint (in, for example, the Letter of Aristeas) applies to the translation of the Pentateuch, not later books. If you read Greek, you’ll immediately notice the stylistic differences between different Septuagint books; they were clearly translated by different groups.

A quick introduction to the theories about the translators of Septuagint Isaiah can be found in Moises Silva’s introduction to his New English Translation of the Septuagint:

ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/33-esaias-nets.pdf

If you are interested in a more detailed discussion, I can recommend Seeligmann’s book on the subject; you can read some of it on Google Books; and it is now back in print.

If you are interested in learning more about this, I recommend reading Moises Silva’s introduction to his New English Translation
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top