My first Bible?

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So I’m considering a conversion to Catholicism with the understanding that it can be a very arduous process. Wanting to get into study I started looking at bibles, and more bibles… and even more…

So my question is pretty basic. What would be a good first bible for someone who is looking to convert?

I grew up as a child studying Judaism. So while I’m not completely ignorant to Christianity (grandparents were Southern Baptists) I know very little.
 
Congratulations as you start your journey!

There are several translations available, all with people who love them and some with people who hate them!

The RSV-CE (either 1st or 2nd edition) is probably the overall best of the new translations. It is very readable while still being graceful, poetic language. It is the translation used by the Church in English translations of Vatican documents, which seems like a good endorsement.

The NAB (New American Bible) is the translation used at Mass in the US. Many people dislike it, and it is not in fact a very literary translation. Lots of people hate the footnotes which they think are terribly liberal. But it is the Bible chosen by our Bishops for our churches, so those who condemn it outright are, I think, out of line.

The Jerusalem Bible has a small but passionate following, it the English translation of a French translation and it is rather different in tone, still quite readable.

You should avoid the NIV, which is the most popular translation in America but is rather slanted in a very “American Evangelical” way, and also not available with the full canon because the publishers, being American Evangelicals, don’t believe in the longer canon.

Lots of people here love the Douay-Reims translation which is the old-fashioned English, but unless you are a Shakespeare fan you probably will find its language challenging. And because the numbering in the DR is different from the numbering in the newer translations, it can be really hard to use for studies.

The KJV is the Protestant equivalent of the D-R.

The Good News Bible (Today’s English Version) and the Contemporary English Version are both very easy to read if that is an issue for you, but they lose some subtleties in that simplification.

Check to be sure you are buying a Catholic (full canon) Bible - an easy way is to look in the table of contents for Tobit.
There are a few others but those are the most common.

A Catholic Bible should have a notation somewhere in the front (usually on the back of the title page) that says “nihil obstat / imprimatur” - that means it has been approved by the Church for publication.

Beyond the translation question there are a variety of options - do you want a “study Bible” with lots of footnotes and other side material, or just a reading Bible? Paperback, hardcover or leather or vinyl? Do you want to write in it or not? Check the paper to see if it will hold up to that. Make sure the print is something you’re comfortable with.

And when you do begin, don’t feel like you need to read from the beginning straight through. Remember that the Bible is a collection of books, of all different genres. Poke around a little, dip in and out at different places. The Gospel of Matthew, the first book of the New Testament, is a good place to start and happens to be the gospel we are reading in the Mass this year. Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament or Hebrew Scripture, is probably familiar to you if you were brought up in Judaism. The Psalms, prayers of the Israelites from the time of King David, are beautiful expressions of faith in all kinds of circumstances.
 
  1. Whatever you choose, make sure that it’s a Catholic Bible.
  2. Probably the Ignatius Bible has the best balance of footnotes and readability, contemporary language without changing everything to be genderless, etc. It’s a reasonable price and looks nice.
  3. Whatever you get, get some Catholic Bible now, and read it. You’ll get more out of reading a “not quite perfect” translation now, than out of waiting around a zillion years and not reading the Bible.
  4. There are free Catholic Bible study programs available through the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, and there are many study programs available through good Catholic publishing houses. There are also a good many lecture series out there about various books of the Bible, free and otherwise. These will probably help you.
  5. Scott Hahn’s book Letter and Spirit will probably help you bridge your understanding of the Bible in Judaism to Christianity’s understanding of it. They’re not so terribly far apart as some people think (which makes sense, historically).
Catholic Answers’ Bible translation guide
 
I would recommend a good New American Bible (NAB) or the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition (RSV-CE).

I love my **New Americal Bible Catholic Comapanion Edition **from Fireside Publishing. The NAB is what you will hear in the readings hear at Mass in the USA. It is very durable and has reasonabbly good notes and commentary. This book is one of my best friends 🙂

The Ignatius Study Bible is excellent too and might be a best bet for a new convert due to the quality of the notes. There is a hardcover New Testament only version as well as a softcover New and Old Testament version which is a little harder to find. It uses RSV-Catholic Edition translation. Again, the notes are excellent.

Whatever you choose, tt should have notes and commentary which is compatible with Catholic doctrine and beliefs. Look for the words “NIHL OBSTAT” and “IMPRIMATUR” on the back of the cover page.

Make sure it has the seven “Apocryphal” books… Tobit, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, etc. Protestant Bibles do not contain these books.

-Tim-
 
Are you being given a Bible as you begin RCIA? It is possible that your parish will actually give you (or at least recommend) a Bible along with the United States Catechism of the Catholic Church for adults.

My current parish is recommending the Catholic Answer Bible. The Catholic Answer Bible has a list of commonly asked questions about Catholic teaching plus a page for each question along with Bible references.

You can find the Ignatius Bible on Amazon.
 
Congratulations and prayers for your journey!

If you spend a lot of time online, I’d suggest the NAB website at USCCB:

usccb.org/nab/bible/index.shtml

I like the ready availablity to the cross reference notes. (So easy to click to, back arrow and check into other paragraphs in other Books.)

The seven books in the Old Testament are where the Protestant Bible and the Catholic Bible differ.

Also, for a better understanding the Catholic Church while using the Bible I’d like to suggest viewing the Compendium of the Catholic Church with index guide at:

vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html

The Compendium is the “Cliff Notes” on the Catechism which is available at:

vatican.va/archive/catechism/ccc_toc.htm

I second the poster who recommended Scott Hahn’s books. He and Mike Aquilia are often on EWTN (DISH Channel 261, Direct - Ch. 370, Cable - Ch. 180) discussing his various books.
 
TimothyH said:
I would recommend a good New American Bible (NAB) or the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition (RSV-CE).

I love my **New Americal Bible Catholic Comapanion Edition **from Fireside Publishing. The NAB is what you will hear in the readings hear at Mass in the USA. It is very durable and has reasonabbly good notes and commentary. This book is one of my best friends 🙂

The Ignatius Study Bible is excellent too and might be a best bet for a new convert due to the quality of the notes. There is a hardcover New Testament only version as well as a softcover New and Old Testament version which is a little harder to find. It uses RSV-Catholic Edition translation. Again, the notes are excellent.

Whatever you choose, tt should have notes and commentary which is compatible with Catholic doctrine and beliefs. Look for the words “NIHL OBSTAT” and “IMPRIMATUR” on the back of the cover page.

Make sure it has the seven “Apocryphal” books… Tobit, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, etc. Protestant Bibles do not contain these books.

-Tim-
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Tim, does the NAB Companion Edition have the same notes as the St. Joseph Edition from Catholic Book Publishering? St. Joe’s notes are darn near heritacal in some cases.
 
mdrummer5 said:
So I’m considering a conversion to Catholicism with the understanding that it can be a very arduous process. Wanting to get into study I started looking at bibles, and more bibles… and even more…

So my question is pretty basic. What would be a good first bible for someone who is looking to convert?

I grew up as a child studying Judaism. So while I’m not completely ignorant to Christianity (grandparents were Southern Baptists) I know very little.
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I’ve got just about all the English versions, mdrum. Douay-Challoner (1750+/-), Confraternity (1941) Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition (1966) New American (1970 and Revised 1983+/-) New Revised Standard C.E. (1989) Revised Standard CE 2nd (2004?).

The one read at Mass (except the Psalms) is the New American Bible and if you are thinking of entering RCIA or exploring the Church by starting to attend Mass, etc. I would suggest that version, even though it is not my favorite. You can get it at any book store, make sure it’s THE NEW AMERICAN, not THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD (which is a Protestant version and lacking in the Deuterocanonical books). If you want a serious study Bible I would go with either the RSV-CE or RSV-CE2 both of which are available from www.ignatius.com, RSV-CE is the blue cover, RSV-CE2 is the burgundy cover with the icons of Jesus in the center and the 4 evangelists in each corner.

My personal favorite is the Confraternity Version but it is long out of print and you have to get it on Ebay or in a used book store, but it’s the one I read in high school many moons ago and I have a fondness for it.

Most modern Catholic apologists, Hahn, Frs. Pacwa and Groeschel, Cavins, Madrid, Akin, Staples, Martignoni et al, and there are a bunch more, use the RSV-CE.
 
JRRTFAN said:
My personal favorite is the Confraternity Version but it is long out of print and you have to get it on Ebay or in a used book store, but it’s the one I read in high school many moons ago and I have a fondness for it.
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I have the St joseph Confraternity Version copyright 1963. You can still find inexpensive ones pretty easy…usually used, but very little wear and tear. I do like mine as well and us it often.
amazon.com/Saint-Joseph-Holy-Bible-Confraternity/dp/B000AV47ZS
 
JRRTFAN said:
…
Most modern Catholic apologists, Hahn, Frs. Pacwa and Groeschel, Cavins, Madrid, Akin, Staples, Martignoni et al, and there are a bunch more, use the RSV-CE.
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As already mentioned, the NAB is the translation used for the Mass and other liturgical services in the US. If your parish gives you a Bible, it is probably the version you will receive or that is recommended while in RCIA. It is good to use have the same translation as everybody else is using.
The Good News Bible is the translation many beginners use because it is easy to read. However, it is only a paraphrase and therefore not recommended.
The RSV-CE is the translation used in the UK and Australia. It is also approved for use in a number of other countries including where I currently work in the Persian Gulf. I plan to purchase the compact Ignatius RSV-CE when I return stateside. I often find myself discussing scripture with individuals who are not Catholic and it helps to have the same translation, another advantage of the RSV.
 
It is worth noting, however, that the NAB, Jerusalem, and Douay-Rheims (my personal favorite) are all approved translations for use at Mass.
 
Just wanted to say thanks all… someone had mentioned that I may be given a bible through RCIA and it turns out I will 🙂
 
I would recommend 1) RSV and 2) NAB

I would not recommend NJB … it has failed me too many times.

E.g.

Genesis 6:2
NJB: “the sons of God, looking at the women, saw how beautiful they were”
NAB: “the sons of heaven saw how beautiful the **daughters of man **were”

This may seem like a minor point, but this is important because “sons of heaven” signify the line of Seth and the covenant family while “daughters of man” signify the line of Cain. “Women” conveys none of that information.

Galatians 3:22
NJB: "so the promise can be given **only **by faith in Jesus Christ "
NAB: “that through faith in Jesus Christ the promise”

NJB actually implying salvation by faith alone.
 
I recommend the Douay-Rheims if you are fine reader, if not the RSV-CE. I personally don’t care for any Catholic Bibles outside the Douay-Rheims.
 
I recommend the Douay-Rheims if you are fine reader, if not the RSV-CE. I personally don’t care for any Catholic Bibles outside the Douay-Rheims.
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I actually downloaded this version to my smart phone. Being admittedly ignorant to the bible I find it very difficult to read.
 
mdrummer5 said:
I actually downloaded this version to my smart phone. Being admittedly ignorant to the bible I find it very difficult to read.
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I think for now stick with the version your class has. Perhaps like a lot of us; somewhere down the line you will be attracted to other versions and perhaps ALL of them and then you learn to appreciate the differences and learn to actually love the Douay as many do. God Bless in the New Year and in your journey learning about our Faith.
 
mdrummer5 said:
I actually downloaded this version to my smart phone. Being admittedly ignorant to the bible I find it very difficult to read.
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it can be difficult, but I am used to the language because I have some KJV-onlyist on my dad’s side of the family and for the fact my grandfather on mom’s side was raised strict Catholic The Douay isn’t for everyone. Good luck in choosing the one that best suites your needs.
 
HydraBob said:
I would recommend 1) RSV and 2) NAB

I would not recommend NJB … it has failed me too many times.

E.g.

Genesis 6:2
NJB: “the sons of God, looking at the women, saw how beautiful they were”
NAB: “the sons of heaven saw how beautiful the **daughters of man **were”

This may seem like a minor point, but this is important because “sons of heaven” signify the line of Seth and the covenant family while “daughters of man” signify the line of Cain. “Women” conveys none of that information.
.
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A literal translation from the Latin would read “sons of God” and “daughters of men”. Just thought I’d point that out…
 
mdrummer5 said:
So I’m considering a conversion to Catholicism with the understanding that it can be a very arduous process. Wanting to get into study I started looking at bibles, and more bibles… and even more…

So my question is pretty basic. What would be a good first bible for someone who is looking to convert?

I grew up as a child studying Judaism. So while I’m not completely ignorant to Christianity (grandparents were Southern Baptists) I know very little.
Click to expand...
If I were you, I’d start with a Catholic Study Bible aimed at teenagers - the material is presented in plain language, and you can decide what you want to study, when you want to study it. These come in a variety of good translations. 🙂
 
jmcrae said:
If I were you, I’d start with a Catholic Study Bible aimed at teenagers - the material is presented in plain language, and you can decide what you want to study, when you want to study it. These come in a variety of good translations. 🙂
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Fireside Youth Bible is an excellent example. I think it comes in both NAB and RSV now.
It has sidebars throughout addressing different issues faced by youth and responses to common questions regarding the Catholic Faith.

Duay-Rheims (for Catholics) and King James (for non-Catholics) can both be difficult to read. The language for both is archaic and not what we are currently used to. There was a time when these were the only two translations available. It will also be easier to understand the scriptures if you read a translation that matches what you will be hearing in the liturgy.
 
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