Official Catholic Bible?

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Hi everyone. Do Catholics have an official Bible that is preferred or what? I have a NAB Bible from when I was meeting with my local priest to discuss conversion but I don’t have a Douay-Rheims or anything like that. I’m guessing that the Latin Vulgate is the “official” Bible?
 
That tract is good, but I have been unable to find an official Catholic bible from Vatican sources. Here in the US the USCCB has authorised the NAB as the official bible, but I also like some translations that are more literal.
 
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mjdonnelly:
That tract is good, but I have been unable to find an official Catholic bible from Vatican sources. Here in the US the USCCB has authorised the NAB as the official bible, but I also like some translations that are more literal.
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Actually, there is no *official * Bible version for the Catholic Church.

The official translation is the New (not Jerome’s) Latin Vulgate. If you look at any of the Navarre Bible Commentaries, this is the translation you see running along the bottom.

The translation approved for use in Vatican documents translated into English is the RSV-CE.

The NAB has been approved by the US Bishops as the Bible to be used in the Liturgy here, but there are a few other translations that are also approved. Most parish Bible studies will be based on the NAB or the RSV-CE.

No translation is perfect, as the translators often have to make choices based on several possibilities in how to convey the meaning of the original languages. It’s always good to have a few translations on hand to compare and get a feel for all the nuances lost in a single translation.

For more info, see the “Getting Started” article on my website below.
 
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Fidelis:
Actually, there is no *official *Bible version for the Catholic Church.

The official translation is the New (not Jerome’s) Latin Vulgate. If you look at any of the Navarre Bible Commentaries, this is the translation you see running along the bottom.

The translation approved for use in Vatican documents translated into English is the RSV-CE.

The NAB has been approved by the US Bishops as the Bible to be used in the Liturgy here, but there are a few other translations that are also approved. Most parish Bible studies will be based on the NAB or the RSV-CE.

No translation is perfect, as the translators often have to make choices based on several possibilities in how to convey the meaning of the original languages. It’s always good to have a few translations on hand to compare and get a feel for all the nuances lost in a single translation.

For more info, see the “Getting Started” article on my website below.
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Thank you for the information. Which is better? the NAB or the RSV-CE? :confused:
 
The NAB is on the Vatican’s website and is what is used during Mass. I personally don’t like it for it’s treatment of the Hail Mary and the Magnificat. Other than that, it’s very easy to read.
 
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Holly3278:
Thank you for the information. Which is better? the NAB or the RSV-CE? :confused:
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Better of those two? They both have their strong and weak points, but neither one can to be said to be better, except as a matter personal preference. I think the NAB is a little easier to read because it is more like American English. It has a familiar feel because we hear it in Mass every week, and if you are in an RCIA or parish Bible study, most everyone will be using it. That’s mostly what I use it for. As noted above, however, it mangles the tradtional rendering of some Scripture passages that are important to us Catholics so it can cause some misunderstandings. I’m not overly thrilled with the footnotes myself, as they sometimes seem to contradict Church teaching. Overall, however, it is considered a good translation and I wouldn’t discourage someone from using one.

The RSV-CE is a more elegant and inspiring rendering, in my opinion. It was intended as a modernization of the KJV, with which it shares many similarities. I’m no scholar, but I’m told by reliable sources it is a more accurate translation overall than the NAB. The Ignatius and Sceptor editions available now have very few footnotes, but sometimes that’s good if you just want to read with no distractions. Also, the best of today’s Bible teachers like Scott Hahn and Steve Ray use this edition, so if you listen to them it makes it easier to follow along. The two best Catholic Bible commentaries out there (the Navarre and the Ignatius Study Bible) both use this translation.

The type on the RSV-CE is a little hard on the eyes, there isn’t much room in the margins for making notes, and I’ve heard compIaints about the quality of the construction. Still, I think it is a beautiful translation and it is the Bible I personally most use for both study and my private devotions.
 
I usually like to read among different versions. DRV, RSV-CE, and KJV (just for comparison’s sake) for more in depth scripture study for apologetics and catechesis. NAB at liturgy and for personal devotional reading. I even have a Vulgate and a New Jerusalem that came as part of a collection (The Catholic Collection by Accordance Bible Software…I HIGHLY recommended it though I wish it included the original Jerusalem and not the New Jerusalem).

Has anyone picked up the new version of the Catholic Answer Bible published just this past month by Fireside Publishing? Like the original Catholic Answer Bible from 2002, it’s an NAB that has Catholic apologetics articles included but they are now twice in number (80+ vs. 44). Some details can be found here…

socrates58.blogspot.com/2005_04_03_socrates58_archive.html#111275792588509932

Has anyone been able to open one of these up on the shelf and check them out? I was thinking about picking up a copy for my fiancee but all the copies that I’ve seen on the shelf are still sealed in plastic. I was just wondering what people thought about the apologetics inserts. Too long? Too short? Just right?
 
I have been wanting to get a Catholic Answers Bible. Unfortunately, I cannot currently afford it. I am unemployed and so it is hard to buy stuff when one wants to. My Grandparents are currently supporting me and I get $20 a week plus help with groceries. I use the $20 on whatever I want to. It’s kind of like an allowance. Right now, I am either looking for a part time job or waiting for disability because I suffer from both ADHD and Major Depression which makes it very hard for me to hold down a job.
 
Is there a Catholic Bible whose notes and commentary are approved?

I have the NAB and the Jerusalem Bible; both have imprimaturs and nihil obstats but those apply (as far as I can tell) only to the translation, not the other material included.

I just wonder because some others here have had some rough comments about the NAB’s commentaries.

thanx,
Didymus
 
Try the RSV Catholic edition. I have found it to be better than the NAB which I used for quite some time.
 
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didymus:
Is there a Catholic Bible whose notes and commentary are approved?

I have the NAB and the Jerusalem Bible; both have imprimaturs and nihil obstats but those apply (as far as I can tell) only to the translation, not the other material included.

I just wonder because some others here have had some rough comments about the NAB’s commentaries.

thanx,
Didymus
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These versions are definitely approved for Catholics to read, but as I said above, especially in the case of the NAB, which I have more experience with, it mangles the traditional rendering of some Scripture passages that are important to us Catholics so it can cause some misunderstandings. I’m just not overly thrilled with the footnotes, as they sometimes seem to contradict Church teaching. Overall, however, they are both considered good translations and I wouldn’t discourage someone from using either. Just be aware that even though the study aides have an Imprimatur, they are not part of the inspired text, not always official Church teaching and can reflect the biases of the scholars that wrote them.

My personal preference is the *Navarre * commentary series which is almost completed, and the Ignatius Study Bible, which has released, to date: the four Gospels, Acts, Romans, and I/II Corinthians. See my wesite linked below for more info.
 
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Fidelis:
I’m just not overly thrilled with the footnotes, as they sometimes seem to contradict Church teaching. Overall, however, they are both considered good translations and I wouldn’t discourage someone from using either. Just be aware that even though the study aides have an Imprimatur, they are not part of the inspired text, not always official Church teaching and can reflect the biases of the scholars that wrote them.

My personal preference is the *Navarre *commentary series which is almost completed, and the Ignatius Study Bible, which has released, to date: the four Gospels, Acts, Romans, and I/II Corinthians. See my wesite linked below for more info.
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Sorry I wasn’t clear. The imprimatur on the NAB and JB do not apply to the footnotes – I was wondering if any version’s notes & comments DO have an imprimatur or nihil obstat.

I will check out the Navarre.

thanx,
Didymus
 
Our Catholic Bible has been re written. The Douay Rheims or Latin Vulgate, is no longer the prefered bible. Instead new versions have popped up that contain errors like all the Protestant versions. WHY!

Example:
From the Douay,
Genesis 3:15 says “ I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.”

The New American Bible says “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; **He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” **

From this prophecy in the Douay Rheims comes a long standing tradition that the Blessed Virgin Mary will crush the head of the Satan. Not only in this version but also in the Jerusalem Bible and the Catholic Revised Standard Version, they also mis translate this scripture to be someone other than the Blessed Virgin who is to crush the head of Satan.

This ancient tradition which is based on Genesis 3:15 is being erased from our minds and our bibles if we accept these non traditional translations that have surfaced after Vatican II.

Seeing that this one major teaching of the Catholic Church has been so distorted in the new versions should cause all of us to be very skeptical about what else they may have destroyed of our Catholic heritage.

I understand that most Catholics will never read the entire bible, nor do most Catholics have any idea what the Latin Vulgate or Douay version had in them for almost 2000 years, so most will never detect these errors. I think whoever intentionally re wrote these scripturs are counting on this.

I would like to know who is behind all this?
Should we as Catholics who wish to preserve the faith of our fathers stand for such nonsense, and allow them to degrade our faith to the level of protestantism who detest the Blessed Virgin Mary?

This is only one example of many that I could show you. But this one cuts to the heart because it deals with Our Mother in heaven.
I would stick to the Douay Rheims if I were you. It has been used by the church for about 500 years. The new ones are full of errors.
 
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toppro77:
Our Catholic Bible has been re written. The Douay Rheims or Latin Vulgate, is no longer the prefered bible. Instead new versions have popped up that contain errors like all the Protestant versions. WHY!

Example:
From the Douay,
Genesis 3:15 says “ I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.”

The New American Bible says “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; **He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” **

From this prophecy in the Douay Rheims comes a long standing tradition that the Blessed Virgin Mary will crush the head of the Satan. Not only in this version but also in the Jerusalem Bible and the Catholic Revised Standard Version, they also mis translate this scripture to be someone other than the Blessed Virgin who is to crush the head of Satan.

This ancient tradition which is based on Genesis 3:15 is being erased from our minds and our bibles if we accept these non traditional translations that have surfaced after Vatican II.

Seeing that this one major teaching of the Catholic Church has been so distorted in the new versions should cause all of us to be very skeptical about what else they may have destroyed of our Catholic heritage.

I understand that most Catholics will never read the entire bible, nor do most Catholics have any idea what the Latin Vulgate or Douay version had in them for almost 2000 years, so most will never detect these errors. I think whoever intentionally re wrote these scripturs are counting on this.

I would like to know who is behind all this?
Should we as Catholics who wish to preserve the faith of our fathers stand for such nonsense, and allow them to degrade our faith to the level of protestantism who detest the Blessed Virgin Mary?

This is only one example of many that I could show you. But this one cuts to the heart because it deals with Our Mother in heaven.
I would stick to the Douay Rheims if I were you. It has been used by the church for about 500 years. The new ones are full of errors.
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Heh, well that’s interesting. Personally, I’d just compare translations. I’d like to get a Douay-Rheims eventually though.
 
they should just translate it word for word
that way we wouldnt get confused. and we would be sure of getting gods message the way he wanted it to be heard, not the way some human thinks it should be worded
 
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misterX:
they should just translate it word for word
that way we wouldnt get confused. and we would be sure of getting gods message the way he wanted it to be heard, not the way some human thinks it should be worded
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This is exactly what St Jerome did. He translated.

There is a difference between translating and interpreting.The Protestant bibles have been interpreted to their beliefs.

For example: The Jehovah Witness bible does not contain the word “hell” in any passages, because they do not believe in hell.

They also have changed the word “cross” to “torture stake” because they do not want to believe Our Lord died on a cross.

They have also removed passages from their bible’s that relate to the Trinity because they refuse to believe in one God in three Divine Persons.

Many more examples could be given when dealing with this subject but this should give the reader an idea of what we mean.
 
I use the Catholic Teen Bible too. It opens up dialogue easily for teens as well as adults. Try it you might like it!
 
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