Never knew there was a "New American Catholic" Confraternity version

[johnbres2]

Wow. I thought I had this figured out already–the Confraternity version of the Bible is the OT Douay and NT Confraternity, right? The two editions I have are precisely this, but, wanting another copy, I just bought the popular Benziger Bros. edition (gray cover with red cross and smaller blue cross in each quadrant of red cross) and am stunend to learn that it contains not only the Confraternity NT, but also “the new Confraternity of Christian Doctrine translation for the Books fo Genesis to Ruth, Job to Sirach and the Prophetical Books” and the remaining OT books are the Douay. Unreal–this is a Confraternity version of Psalms, for instance, that I never new existed, with the alternate numbering system denoted, and Psalm 22 (23) actually says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” I am very pleased to have discovered this, as “The Lord ruleth me” is not one of the strong points of the Douay. Am I the last one to know this? I am very excited about this, as this seems like the ultimate Bible translation to me now.

 

[swampboy]

Wow. I thought I had this figured out already–the Confraternity version of the Bible is the OT Douay and NT Confraternity, right? The two editions I have are precisely this, but, wanting another copy, I just bought the popular Benziger Bros. edition (gray cover with red cross and smaller blue cross in each quadrant of red cross) and am stunend to learn that it contains not only the Confraternity NT, but also “the new Confraternity of Christian Doctrine translation for the Books fo Genesis to Ruth, Job to Sirach and the Prophetical Books” and the remaining OT books are the Douay. Unreal–this is a Confraternity version of Psalms, for instance, that I never new existed, with the alternate numbering system denoted, and Psalm 22 (23) actually says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” I am very pleased to have discovered this, as “The Lord ruleth me” is not one of the strong points of the Douay. Am I the last one to know this? I am very excited about this, as this seems like the ultimate Bible translation to me now.

I don’t know…you might just be the last one!!! I also really like the Confraternity Bible. In my long search for just the right translation, this is the one I have finally settled on. It is “Catholic” in every way, very orthodox, has just enough notes in the right places to help with concepts that might be difficult or are important (with notes that support Catholic doctrine, too, by the way), lacks inclusive language, and sounds dignified. I also use the RSV-2CE but it just doesn’t read as good, has no notes, and is still suspect in my opinion, as it came from Protestant stock–and was considered too liberal by many conservative Protestants. I do read it and think that it is the best modern translation that us Catholics have (sadly enough), but the Confraternity Bible is IMO the best. I have two different editions–one from 1948 which has the DR OT and Confraternity NT with a Psalm translation from the Vatican. My other is a 1963 edition which has the Confraternity version of the Psalms and most of the OT. As you get further along more books were translated–I understand that almost the entire OT was done by the late 1960’s, but the whole project was scrapped for the NAB which was first released in 1970. So the Confraternity was replaced by the NAB which is a real shame and a bad decision IMO. Glad you found it—enjoy!!!

 

[vladimir998]

Wow. I thought I had this figured out already–the Confraternity version of the Bible is the OT Douay and NT Confraternity, right? The two editions I have are precisely this, but, wanting another copy, I just bought the popular Benziger Bros. edition (gray cover with red cross and smaller blue cross in each quadrant of red cross) and am stunend to learn that it contains not only the Confraternity NT, but also “the new Confraternity of Christian Doctrine translation for the Books fo Genesis to Ruth, Job to Sirach and the Prophetical Books” and the remaining OT books are the Douay. Unreal–this is a Confraternity version of Psalms, for instance, that I never new existed, with the alternate numbering system denoted, and Psalm 22 (23) actually says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” I am very pleased to have discovered this, as “The Lord ruleth me” is not one of the strong points of the Douay. Am I the last one to know this? I am very excited about this, as this seems like the ultimate Bible translation to me now.

What is the EXACT publishing info inside the Bible? Date? Origins? Any pre-ISBN kind of number in there?

 

[RainingRoses]

What is the EXACT publishing info inside the Bible? Date? Origins? Any pre-ISBN kind of number in there?

The following should cover just about everything you need…

1. If you’re looking for information on the development of Douay / Confraternity hybrids (like the O.P. has), you can hardly do better than to visit this page: bibles.wikidot.com/douay-confraternity

You’ll notice that there’s NO edition that is “100% Confraternity.” As far as anyone knows, a complete volume – with O.T. and N.T. translations – was sadly never released. The most complete we have is what the O.P. has.

1. Now, that volume is pretty easily found on eBay. Search for “confraternity 1963” and check “Include title and description.” I just did that and found at least half a dozen. Look for the very common green 1963 “Saint Joseph Textbook Edition” that says “Translation of the First Eight Books, the Seven Sapiential Books, and the Eighteen Prophetic Books of the Old Testament” in the front.
2. If you’re interested in the history of the Confraternity’s O.T. translations, visit this page (halfway down): bibles.wikidot.com/confraternity

Here you’ll find PROOF (despite rumors to the contrary) that the Confraternity translated the ENTIRE O.T. – which means that we could theoretically have that “100% Confraternity” edition that many people long for. I personally have Volumes 1, 3, and 4 (along with the separate Genesis and Psalms volumes, which are duplicative of later releases); but, Volume 2 (Samuel to Esther and Maccabees) eludes me. It was out for just about exactly one year (1969) and then disappeared in favor of N.A.B. Such a shame. The New York Public Library actually has a copy of this volume, and I’m thinking about having it photocopied. If I do, I’ll scan it to PDF and make it available to all.

Anyway, hope that helps. Bottom line is that the O.P.'s version is not only wonderful – but completely available. Good luck!