Reading the whole entire Catholic bible

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I was baptised Catholic as a baby but I was raised Pentecostal almost all of my childhood until I joined the military as a teenager. I have been studying the different kinds of bibles, Torah, King James, NWT, Quaran, Book of Mormon and I have made the decision to read the whole entire Catholic bible, every single page will be read in the book, I own the New American Bible. I have been out of church for many moons, I rarely even go. Times have been hard and I hope the decision I have made will serve me right.
 
ggarcia19 said:
I was baptised Catholic as a baby but I was raised Pentecostal almost all of my childhood until I joined the military as a teenager. I have been studying the different kinds of bibles, Torah, King James, NWT, Quaran, Book of Mormon and I have made the decision to read the whole entire Catholic bible, every single page will be read in the book, I own the New American Bible. I have been out of church for many moons, I rarely even go. Times have been hard and I hope the decision I have made will serve me right.
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I now have the Lutheran “Apocrypha” with notes, from the LCMS, and am currently reading Judith. Planning to read the entire DC’s, plus other Apocrypha books, which are also in the book.
I’m sure reading scripture will be a blessing for you.

Jon
 
I purchased a Catholic study Bible that has a commentary and other moral lessons. I am finding this to be helpful because it has an order to it to help me learn. I tried to read a Catholic Bible version cover to cover, but I didn’t understand it well. The study version has some illustrations that help me reflect and some maps showing geography and some art too. Have you tried looking at anything in a personal study format or are you enjoying tackling all that scripture on your own?
 
I have “The One Year Bible - Catholic Edition” and it includes the entire New Living Translation with deuterocanonical books arranged in 365 daily readings. To be less technical every day includes a reading from the Old Testament – then possibly something from the Psalms – the Epistles – Acts of the Apostles – Proverbs, etc. I truly enjoy reading it and do the reading for the day before I turn out the light at night. I’ve gone through the Bible once and have now started it for the 2nd year.
 
Hi!
Congratulations on your decision to read the whole Bible! I did want to offer just a couple of suggestions based on your original post. In your post you mentioned reading all different types of bibles.

Please know that the Qur’an and the Book of Mormon are not “Bibles”, they are distinct texts that are considered to be sacred scripture by Islam and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints/related groups respectively- NOT different versions or translations of the Bible as well. The Torah is the Pentateuch or first five books of the Old Testament of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) and while these books comprise the sacred Torah of Judaism, most Jews also embrace a Hebrew Bible that includes all the other books Protestants include in the Old Testament. The KJV and NWT are different versions of the Bible, the former being Protestant and the latter being the official Jehovah’s Witnesses version. My point in saying all this is that if you’re endeavoring to read The Holy Bible of Christianity you need not read the Qur’an and the Book of Mormon, and if you read a Protestant or Catholic Old Testament you’ve read all the Torah and Hebrew Bible already, although if you really want to read it from a Jewish prospective you should look for a version with commentary from a Jewish source…and/or learn to read Hebrew 😉 If your aim is to read the holy books of various different religions (which would describe the Qur’an and BoM), then please know that “bible” is not a generic term for any religious scriptures but refers specifically to specific books in Judaism and Christianity.

The primary difference between the “Catholic Bible” and the “Protestant Bible” is the inclusion or exclusion of seven books of the Old Testament and sections of the books of Daniel and Ester. The Protestant canon excludes Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Sirach, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and Wisdom along with Daniel 13 and 14 and sections of Ester. Mormons (who officially use the KJV) and Jehovah’s Witnesses (who use the NWT as I mentioned before) also follow this same canon as Protestants (albeit Mormons technically do not consider the Song of Songs to be divinely inspired, yet print it along with the rest of the KJV canon anyway, and JWs have removed a few passages of the New Testament in their newest revision of the NWT). Catholics include these seven books and sections and consider them to be divinely inspired just like the other books of Scripture. The Orthodox also include these seven books, and some Orthodox may also include books that other Churches (including the Catholic Church) do not accept. Here’s an interesting chart comparing Bible canons, just understand that not all Orthodox accept the books outside the Catholic canon and even some that do use the texts may not consider them to be part of the Bible in the same sense as the other canonical books.

So when you say you want to read the whole Catholic Bible, know that you’re reading the “same Bible” as the KJV, just with seven extra books (plus sections of two books included in the KJV, but obviously with those sections omitted). The NAB is a fine choice of Catholic Bible, although the Douay-Rheims or the Knox Bible might have a more distinctive “Catholic flair” (cf. Gen 3:15, her vs his vs their heel). Additionally you could save yourself some time by reading the Catholic edition of the RSV or NRSV instead of reading both the KJV and NAB, since the RSV/NRSV translations are used by both Catholics and Protestants, just keep in mind that those seven books I mentioned don’t appear in non-Catholic editions (and the Protestant edition of Daniel and Ester can easily be accessed online).

Happy reading, and may God bless you!
Matt
 
For many translations I use this website:

biblegateway.com

You put in the book, chapter and verses and decide which translation you wish to see and it will give it to you.

You can also just (name removed by moderator)ut the book you’re interested in reading.
 
MattofTexas said:
Hi!
Congratulations on your decision to read the whole Bible! I did want to offer just a couple of suggestions based on your original post. In your post you mentioned reading all different types of bibles.

Please know that the Qur’an and the Book of Mormon are not “Bibles”, they are distinct texts that are considered to be sacred scripture by Islam and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints/related groups respectively- NOT different versions or translations of the Bible as well. The Torah is the Pentateuch or first five books of the Old Testament of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) and while these books comprise the sacred Torah of Judaism, most Jews also embrace a Hebrew Bible that includes all the other books Protestants include in the Old Testament. The KJV and NWT are different versions of the Bible, the former being Protestant and the latter being the official Jehovah’s Witnesses version. My point in saying all this is that if you’re endeavoring to read The Holy Bible of Christianity you need not read the Qur’an and the Book of Mormon, and if you read a Protestant or Catholic Old Testament you’ve read all the Torah and Hebrew Bible already, although if you really want to read it from a Jewish prospective you should look for a version with commentary from a Jewish source…and/or learn to read Hebrew 😉 If your aim is to read the holy books of various different religions (which would describe the Qur’an and BoM), then please know that “bible” is not a generic term for any religious scriptures but refers specifically to specific books in Judaism and Christianity.

The primary difference between the “Catholic Bible” and the “Protestant Bible” is the inclusion or exclusion of seven books of the Old Testament and sections of the books of Daniel and Ester. The Protestant canon excludes Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Sirach, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and Wisdom along with Daniel 13 and 14 and sections of Ester. Mormons (who officially use the KJV) and Jehovah’s Witnesses (who use the NWT as I mentioned before) also follow this same canon as Protestants (albeit Mormons technically do not consider the Song of Songs to be divinely inspired, yet print it along with the rest of the KJV canon anyway, and JWs have removed a few passages of the New Testament in their newest revision of the NWT). Catholics include these seven books and sections and consider them to be divinely inspired just like the other books of Scripture. The Orthodox also include these seven books, and some Orthodox may also include books that other Churches (including the Catholic Church) do not accept. Here’s an interesting chart comparing Bible canons, just understand that not all Orthodox accept the books outside the Catholic canon and even some that do use the texts may not consider them to be part of the Bible in the same sense as the other canonical books.

So when you say you want to read the whole Catholic Bible, know that you’re reading the “same Bible” as the KJV, just with seven extra books (plus sections of two books included in the KJV, but obviously with those sections omitted). The NAB is a fine choice of Catholic Bible, although the Douay-Rheims or the Knox Bible might have a more distinctive “Catholic flair” (cf. Gen 3:15, her vs his vs their heel). Additionally you could save yourself some time by reading the Catholic edition of the RSV or NRSV instead of reading both the KJV and NAB, since the RSV/NRSV translations are used by both Catholics and Protestants, just keep in mind that those seven books I mentioned don’t appear in non-Catholic editions (and the Protestant edition of Daniel and Ester can easily be accessed online).

Happy reading, and may God bless you!
Matt
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Are there major differences between the RSV and the RSV Catholic edition? I own the former.
 
ggarcia19 said:
I was baptised Catholic as a baby but I was raised Pentecostal almost all of my childhood until I joined the military as a teenager. I have been studying the different kinds of bibles, Torah, King James, NWT, Quaran, Book of Mormon and I have made the decision to read the whole entire Catholic bible, every single page will be read in the book, I own the New American Bible. I have been out of church for many moons, I rarely even go. Times have been hard and I hope the decision I have made will serve me right.
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I really suggest starting with the New Testament first, read Luke first it is the easiest gospel for me, and Matthew last. Write in your bible take notes.
I probably read the New Testament 20 times before I read the Old Testament
 
Ontheway said:
Are there major differences between the RSV and the RSV Catholic edition? I own the former.
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Well, the “regular” RSV excludes Judith, Tobit, Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and Daniel 13 and 14 and parts of Ester. As far as I know the text of all the books common to both of the 1st and 2nd Catholic editions and the non-Catholic editions (which is the rest of the canon) should be either exactly the same, or very similar with only minor variations. That’s why I suggested reading that version in lieu of both the KJV and NAB if the goal is to experience both the Catholic and Protestant Bible, since the RSV text is in and of itself essentially both a Catholic and Protestant version (of course if one is aiming to read a bunch of different versions of the Bible then reading all three would be the best bet 🙂 ).

The New Revised Standard Version (Catholic edition or otherwise) will have some more differences from the older RSV, including the use of inclusive language (using gender neutral terms or adding a second term when a gender-specific (read masculine) term is used but the editors feel a non-gender-specific meaning is implied…mankind vs humankind, brothers vs brothers and sisters, sons vs children, etc.) to a greater extent, and some traditional Catholic renderings of the text may have been replaced by newer more ecumenical, or critical translations (“Hail full of grace” in the 2nd Catholic Ed. of the RSV vs “Greetings, favored one!” in the NRSV Catholic Ed.) and this is also true of even the NAB, as well as just having a newer translation of the text.

Hope that helps. I’m not an expert on Bible translations by any means, but as a Protestant on a journey toward Catholicism I’ve come across many different translations and am glad to be able to share.
 
Ontheway said:
Are there major differences between the RSV and the RSV Catholic edition? I own the former.
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The Catholic Bible has 73 books vs. 66 for Protestant version. The translation is pretty much the same otherwise, I believe.
 
A big thank you to everyone for shedding light on this. I raised the question because I could find no differences in the New Testament between the RSV and the RSV-CA.
 
Ontheway said:
A big thank you to everyone for shedding light on this. I raised the question because I could find no differences in the New Testament between the RSV and the RSV-CA.
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Yes, the differences are really not major. Brethren vs brothers seems to be the biggest/most frequent change.
 
I thought it was interesting that the chart that was posted a few posts ago suggested that some of the more controversial (as in is it authentic or not) sections of the NT had been removed in the old RSV but we’re added back in, in a later Catholic edition. I heard the 2013 revision of the NWT actually removed those sections. I just assumed it was because of some translator’s tomfoolery, but evidently there’s real precedent for it.
 
PennyinCanada said:
You might really enjoy this series of Jeff Cavins and Scott Hahn titled Our Father’s Plan. I really enjoyed it. They will guide you along and give excellent commentary…

ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/seriessearchprog.asp?seriesID=-306548622
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👍

Another excellent resource is called “The Great Adventure” by Jeff Cavins and Dr. Tim Grey. After going through this I would not encourage anyone to read the entire Bible without guidance. It is not chronological and the story becomes very difficult to follow otherwise. Cavins and Grey will lead one through the narrative books which tell the story of salvation history. The other books are basically supporting documents to the narrative and can actually get in the way if one is not aware of this.
 
SteveVH said:
👍

Another excellent resource is called “The Great Adventure” by Jeff Cavins and Dr. Tim Grey. After going through this I would not encourage anyone to read the entire Bible without guidance. It is not chronological and the story becomes very difficult to follow otherwise. Cavins and Grey will lead one through the narrative books which tell the story of salvation history. The other books are basically supporting documents to the narrative and can actually get in the way if one is not aware of this.
Click to expand...
I agree. I have been in a Blble class at our local seminary for 7 years, and we are finishing the Bible this year. However, I am going to the 24 week Bible Timeline series, and I have learned a lot from it. It has managed to put things together in a way that my other studies have never done. I hope we will offer Matthew 24 week series next year.
The DVDs are excellent
 
cruiseladytexas said:
I agree. I have been in a Blble class at our local seminary for 7 years, and we are finishing the Bible this year. However, I am going to the 24 week Bible Timeline series, and I have learned a lot from it. It has managed to put things together in a way that my other studies have never done. I hope we will offer Matthew 24 week series next year.
The DVDs are excellent
Click to expand...
The Matthew series is excellent also. So far I have done “the Great Adventure”, Acts, Matthew, and just finishing up Revelation. All are fantastic.

Also, for the OP, here is the reading plan suggested by the Great Adventure that gives you 14 books to read to give a chronological order to your study.

assets.ascensionpress.com/tga/student/90DayReadingPlan.pdf
 
MattofTexas said:
Well, the “regular” RSV excludes Judith, Tobit, Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and Daniel 13 and 14 and parts of Ester. As far as I know the text of all the books common to both of the 1st and 2nd Catholic editions and the non-Catholic editions (which is the rest of the canon) should be either exactly the same, or very similar with only minor variations. That’s why I suggested reading that version in lieu of both the KJV and NAB if the goal is to experience both the Catholic and Protestant Bible, since the RSV text is in and of itself essentially both a Catholic and Protestant version (of course if one is aiming to read a bunch of different versions of the Bible then reading all three would be the best bet 🙂 ).

The New Revised Standard Version (Catholic edition or otherwise) will have some more differences from the older RSV, including the use of inclusive language (using gender neutral terms or adding a second term when a gender-specific (read masculine) term is used but the editors feel a non-gender-specific meaning is implied…mankind vs humankind, brothers vs brothers and sisters, sons vs children, etc.) to a greater extent, and some traditional Catholic renderings of the text may have been replaced by newer more ecumenical, or critical translations (“Hail full of grace” in the 2nd Catholic Ed. of the RSV vs “Greetings, favored one!” in the NRSV Catholic Ed.) and this is also true of even the NAB, as well as just having a newer translation of the text.

Hope that helps. I’m not an expert on Bible translations by any means, but as a Protestant on a journey toward Catholicism I’ve come across many different translations and am glad to be able to share.
Click to expand...
I would suggest the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible by Ignatius Press for reading the New Testament for both the translation and excellent commentary by Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch.
 
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