Is there a Bible out there approved by the Catholic church?

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Ogie_Reeves

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Sorry that I’m posting so much on here. This is a part of my research on the Catholic church and if you guys could include links, I’d appreciate it. I know in my church, we use the King James translation, but what do Catholics use, or does it depend on the person’s preference?
 
What are the differences between each of those translations?
 
why are you researching the Catholic Church. Are you considering converting?
 
Between the NABRE and RSV-2CE? The RSV-2CE is not as dynamic as the NABRE, but it is not so literal that the translation is stuffy, in my opinion.
 
That’s a good question and I’ll gladly answer it. I’m not considering converting since I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I’m fascinated with the Catholic church and have begun a deep respect for your church. I have a Catholic friend and I learned a bit from her, but I want to learn more about it. In the past, I’ve attended mass a few times and it made me even me interested, even though I didn’t understand much of anything.
 
Out of curiosity, could you explain what you meant by how Protestants took out “what they didn’t like” about the Reformation in more detail?
 
No need to be sorry, but just realize that any question you have will probably be “out there” in cyberspace many times over, with far more detailed (and often authoritative) answers than you might get here. This is a forum with a lot of knowlegeable people–but not all. You do have to do some digging for accurate answers at times. EWTN is a good site.
 
Ogie_Reeves said:
Sorry that I’m posting so much on here. This is a part of my research on the Catholic church and if you guys could include links, I’d appreciate it. I know in my church, we use the King James translation, but what do Catholics use, or does it depend on the person’s preference?
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In case you thought the KJV was the first English translation it wasn’t so you might be interested in the Douay-Rheims Bible. The Catholic Church was first to translate the Bible into English.
 
Ogie_Reeves said:
What are the differences between each of those translations?
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The general difference is that there’s a range of dynamic and formal equivalence among these translations. The NABRE would lean more of the dynamic equivalence side since it’s easy for people to read, and the RSVCE, for example, is more of a formal equivalence and tries to be as literal as it can while retaining readability. Here’s an example from both translations.

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. John 6:53-56, NABRE

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. John 6:53-56, RSVCE

In these particular verses, there’s only a subtle difference, but the RSVCE more accurately depicts what was actually said.
 
Even though it came centuries later? And the early Christians didn’t speak like that?
Interesting.
 
This thread is about Catholic bibles, not about what you personally like. Please, stick to the topic.
 
From my experience, the best translation, most true to original text, is the Douay-Rheims Bible.
 
I don’t like how so many of the newer versions translate things in a “modern lingo” kind of way. I like the old style of speaking in the Douay-Rheims Bible. I guess it’s mostly a matter of personal preference.
 
Ogie_Reeves said:
Sorry that I’m posting so much on here. This is a part of my research on the Catholic church and if you guys could include links, I’d appreciate it. I know in my church, we use the King James translation, but what do Catholics use, or does it depend on the person’s preference?
Click to expand...
There are many Bibles approved for Catholic use. Generally speaking, a Catholic Bible will contain 73 books and longer texts for Daniel and Esther. There will also be some kind of approval from a Catholic authority, such as an Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat, or for newer Bibles, approval from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of a country or territory.

The main difference would be in the translations. Some examples in English include the New American Bible, Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition, Revised Standard Version-Second Catholic Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Christian Community Bible, Good News Bible, Douay-Rheims, Knox, among others. All of these can be used for private reading and devotional use.

Liturgical use is another question; not just any Bible can be used at Mass and other liturgical services. Only translations approved by the Bishops and confirmed by Rome can be used for the Mass and other services. Examples include adaptation of the New American Bible for the United States (and others), the New Revised Standard Version for Canada, the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition for some African nations, the Antilles, and the Personal Ordinariates, the Jerusalem Bible for the UK and other nations.
 
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