Help! where do I begin?

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kayla

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I’m a cradle catholic, fell away from the chruch and now after 25 years I’m back (praise the Lord) I want to purchase a bible and don’t know where to begin…I would like one that is easy to read, anyone have suggestions? any hints as to what part of the Bible to start with?
 
Kayla, I pondered the same thing. I bought a NIV from a local bookstore. Although that was before I conclusively decided to return to the faith as a Catholic. I think others here can do a better service to you by suggesting a good Catholic Bible. (I’ll be looking back to this thread myself to gather advice).

On the topic of where to begin reading. I’d suggest with a Gospel. Maybe Matthew. Follow that with John. Then I went on to Acts and Romans. This began to give me insight to the Old Testament. In the Old Testament I’d recommend beginning at the beginning, Genesis. From there I went to books that intersted me because of the prophesy the New Testament fullfilled. Books such as Daniel. Job was also of particular interest for me.

My recommendation is to begin with the Gospel of Matthew, then read John 🙂 .
 
Hi and welcome back. Just for reading not study I might suggest the St. Josephs Confraternity edition or the New American published prior to 1992.

Start with the New Testament then the Old Testament.
I would begin with the book of Acts, the Gospel according to Luke, Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, The Gospel according to Matthew, The rest of Paul’s Letters, The Gospel of John, The other NT Letters, The Gospel according to Mark, and then the book of Revelation.

To get used to the Old Testament. Make sure that you look up and read each footnote to the Old Testament found in the New Testament. The Old Testament can be read front to back.

You may want to instead of a Bible obtain a Lectionary or a St. Andrews, that has the daily readings in it as well as the Sunday readings. It ties an Old Testament, a New Testament Letter and a Gospel together for each Sunday and an Old Testament and a Gospel for weekday reflection with a common theme.

You can pre-read the up coming Sunday readings and reflect on them during the week.
 
Hey Kayla,

Welcome back. I have been using my New American Bible, NAB. I have large print because it’s easier to underline, or highlight that way. You might want to try starting off with the gospels. The following is from Steve Ray’s website…
TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE

Picture a sliding scale from left to right. Every translation fits somewhere along that scale. At one end of the scale are dynamictranslations which try to relay the authors’ meaning without being overly literal—telling what the author *means. ***At the other end of the scale are ***literal *translations which try to relay the actual words of the original languages without being overly concerned with ease of reading or conveying the authors’ meaning. The first emphasizes what the author means, the second what the author says. All translations fit somewhere in between.

Revised Standard Version (balance between dynamic and literal; especially recommend the Ignatius Catholic edition; 1-800-651-1531 or visit www.ignatius.com) (New Revised Standard not as good, inclusive language)

New American Standard Bible (pretty accurate, some Protestant bias, missing deutero-canonical books; literal text)

New American Version (dynamic, easy to read text, Fr. Jaki says it’s a very good translation)

King James or Authorized Version is outdated though beautifully written, especially the poetry. New King James Version has recently been published

NIV or New International Version (dynamic, easy-to-read translation but displays some theological Protestant bias (see NIV which gives a few examples)

(con’t)
 
(con’t)

The Jerusalem Bible (not the New Jerusalem Bible) I have been told the NJB has added a lot of inclusive language, etc. though I have not verified this.

The Navarre Bible Old and New Testaments are exceptional. It has multiple volumes with the text in English, Latin, and a good commentary utilizing the Fathers, Church documents, background material, etc. Highly recommended.

The Rheims-Douay Version (traditional Catholic translation) The Confraternity-Douay translation which was used in the United States from the late 1940s until 1970 when it was replaced by the New American Bible. It is similar to the Douay-Rheims Bible and retains some of the traditional language (thee, thou, etc.) but adapted a more modern sentence structure and pace of speech. Although no longer in print, it can be readily found in used book stores.

The Precise Parallel New Testament Six translations in one book! Contains Greek text, King James version, Rheims Bible, Amplified Bible, New International Bible, New Revised Standard version, New American Bible, and New American Standard Bible.

The New Testament translated by Ronald Knox. Published in 1997 by Templegate Publishers. This translation was originally published in 1945 in England, and is based on the Latin Vulgate. Softcover, list price $14.95 ISBN 0-87243-220-7

The Precise Parallel New Testament Six translations in one book! Contains Greek text, King James version, Rheims Bible, Amplified Bible, New International Bible, New Revised Standard version, New American Bible, and New American Standard Bible.

Jewish New Testament (brings out all the distinctly Jewish aspects of the text) translated by David Stern, (Jewish N.T. Publ., PO Box 1313, Clarksville, MD 21029). David Stern has just released his Complete Jewish Bible which attempts to bring to the fore all Jewish aspects of Old and New Testaments. This translation is written for Jewish converts to the Christian faith.

The Holy Scriptures: The Jerusalem Bible (different from the popular English translation above) with Hebrew on one page and English on the opposite page. Translation by Jewish scholars from Hebrew to English, read from right to left in Hebrew style. Published by Koren Publishers, Jerusalem, Israel.
 
HI Kayla, I was also a cradle Catholic gone for over 25 years! And boy did I buy a lot of books, including the New American Bible. I still love this bible and find the notes incredibly helpful.

I’d start with the NT. I had started with Matthew and continued going in order as written. I also would venture into the OT every once in a while when something in the NT notes prompted me to. Sometimes I also just open the bible up randomly and read a chapter of the OT here and there.

As an aside, I love the Gospel according to Luke…for some reason, I am always drawn to Luke and frequently intersperse these readings throughout the week.

Welcome home.

JELane
 
The Ignatius Bible (RSV-CE) is a beautiful translation and it is available from Ignatius Press and Catholic Answers (I think). I like it, however, it doesn’t have anything in the way of notes and the type is pretty small for those of us with old eyes. 🤓

I would suggest getting a good New American Bible (NAB) with notes (The Catholic Study Bible is a good choice) for study. The Lectionary used at Mass is the NAB translation so it will be familiar. You can find them with BIG print if you need it like I do. 😉

I would also recommend getting a copy of the Ignatius Bible (RSV-CE) for those times when you just want to read and reflect without the clutter of notes, commentary, extensive headings, etc.

Blessings.
 
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kayla:
I’m a cradle catholic, fell away from the chruch and now after 25 years I’m back (praise the Lord) I want to purchase a bible and don’t know where to begin…I would like one that is easy to read, anyone have suggestions? any hints as to what part of the Bible to start with?
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You’ve gotten some good recommendations for a translation. Here’s a suggestion for a reading plan.

On the EWTN website, in the audio library, you can find the program “Our Father’s Plan” - listen to that for a start. (about 13 hours of great information.)

The program is based on the “Great Adventure” by Jeff Cavins. It’s an approach to starting to read the Bible by getting the big picture. Over 3 months you read 13 specific books of the Bible to get the historical sweep of the story. It’s an outstanding way to get a grasp of the Bible before you get into details.

I’d also suggest getting the Ignatius Study Bible. It’s being worked on right now, but you can get the Gospels, Acts and Romans as single volumes with study notes.

BTW, you can read a little about the “Great Adventure” at

The Bible Timeline
 
Well, I see that someone has already mentioned it, but I recommend the Ignatius Bible, Revised Standard Version (Catholic Edition).

You might find Jeff Cavins’ book, “My Life On the Rock” interesting. Jeff Cavins left the Catholic Church for many years but finally returned after a great deal of ministry in Protestant denominations.

I would also suggest getting a catalogue from Ignatius Press (www.ignatius.com). They have a fine selection of titles: when my husband asks what I would like for Christmas or my birthday, I can usually hand him an Ignatius Press catalogue with many listings circled. Also, go to catholic.com (Catholic Answers) and look at their catalogue. Both Ignatius and Catholic Answers can be trusted to carry books that are orthodox and helpful.

I would also recommend a neat little publication called “Magnificat”. It has the daily readings, prayers for morning and evening, spiritual reflections, etc, etc. which helps in keeping Scripture in your heart all day long. I love it. Go to: magnificat.net/ Click on the United States icon if you are in the US.
 
My favorite for reading is Douay-Reims and for study I like the RSV(Revised Standard Version) Catholic Edition of course! 🙂
 
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kayla:
I’m a cradle catholic, fell away from the chruch and now after 25 years I’m back (praise the Lord) I want to purchase a bible and don’t know where to begin…I would like one that is easy to read, anyone have suggestions? any hints as to what part of the Bible to start with?
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The best palce would to sign up for RCIA classes. In a sense you are discovering the faith (again).

Welcome Back.
 
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dhgray:
The best palce would to sign up for RCIA classes. In a sense you are discovering the faith (again).

Welcome Back.
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Excellent suggestion. You need to tell them that your are catholic are want to use the RCIA as a refresher. If you are already baptized and confirmed, you will not rebapitized or reconfirmed.
 
Kayla,

There are many good suggestions here, but I will try for one more.

You can view a NAB (New American Bible) Catholic Bible, and get daily Mass readings and other things at the US Catholic Bishops web site usccb.org/

One reason to have at least one “Catholic” Bible is that it has several really great books, such as Wisdom, that other Bibles don’t have.

One website I use to search for passages with certain keywords or to compare several Bible versions is
gospelcom.net/ It doesn’t have the Catholic books, but I like its search better than the one on the US Bishops’ web site – if I want to see the Catholic translation I’ll look it up on gospelcom, then go to the US Bishops’ web site to look it up.

I hope this helps. Welcome back.

Alan
 
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