Suitable Catholic bible recommendations

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They sell the New Living Translation Catholic Readers Edition on Amazon now. It was approved by Indian bishops.
 
The to be released Revised New Jerusalem Bible in December is by the Image publishing The Crown Publishing Group. The one I have is published by DLT (Darton, Longman & Todd).
 
There was/is a second page that continues the list.

My suggestion and my personal opinions: Any of the 1941-1969 Douay-Confraternity Bibles. The New Testament is the finest American-English Translation ever made. The Old Testament begins in 1941 editions with the pure D-R translation. As time passed, newer Confraternity translations were introduced. Very sadly the adoption of the NAB killed it. IMO, the NAB pales in comparison.

These can be had on eBay for $10-$20 in excellent, sometimes new condition. The footnotes and introductions are 100% solid Catholic - none of the (again, IMO) historical-critical nonsense that crept into the NAB.

Here is good 1952 example. Looks unread. A little cover cleaning and you have an excellent bible.

Or, if you love the beauty of artistry in a large format bible, few are nicer than the 1953 Belmont Abbey/Goodwill Publishers bible. This one is apparently new in the box.

I search year by year and some truly excellent examples may be found. If you are old like me, you can even locate a birth year bible.
 
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dbranch said:
They sell the New Living Translation Catholic Readers Edition on Amazon now. It was approved by Indian bishops.
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I recommend this edition as well. I have a very attractive hardcover NLT Catholic Edition with book introductions approved by a bishop in the US and the actual translation approved by the Archbishop of Bombay in India. It tries to be literal but is dynamic is some parts so people can understand it. Out of the six Catholic bibles I use, I has chosen this one as the edition I am using to read all the way through from Gen. to the Apoc.

Also recommend the New Jerusalem Bible which the Catholic Truth Society in England sells under the title New Catholic Bible.

NAB is also fine, and I’d highly recommend the RSV CE if you can handle a harder translation, but it is more literal and the edition that the Vatican usually uses when referencing the scriptures in English.

If you like the poetic KJV style go for the Douay-Rheims.
 
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According to “Liturgiam authenticam”, “the translation of the liturgical texts of the Roman Liturgy is not so much a work of creative innovation as it is of rendering the original texts faithfully and accurately into the vernacular language.”

This implies that acceptable translations should use the latest scholarship in manuscript discoveries, translation, etc., at least for liturgy.

That means for Catholic Bibles for personal study, you can probably choose from even older translations. But if you want them to also match what is accepted for liturgy, then you will have to use particular editions or wait for newer ones.
 
phil19034 said:
It has to do with the way Catholic Bibles are now approved.

Before 1983, they were approved via an Imprimatur from a Bishop. After 1983, they were approved by a national bishops’ conference.

Any Catholic is free to use any Bible that has an Imprimatur or approved by ANY national bishops’ conference.
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This is what I’ve heard as well. The USCCB list isn’t meant to be all-encompassing. The D-R and the Knox Bible are two of my favorites, but they’re not on the list. They do, however, have imprimaturs and nihil obstats from the bishops that approved them. A bishop in India even recently approved a Catholic version of the NLT and I believe an ESV as well.
 
SPONP4US said:
So Basically, can anyone recommend a suitable grown up and Catholic version of the Bible containing all NT and OT books and psalms please?
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It depends on what you’re looking for in a Bible. Assuming you’re from the USA:

If you want a simple, easy-to-read Bible, the New American Bible works just fine. And it is (more or less) what you will hear read at Mass. Some people complain about the footnotes, but if you take them with a grain of salt, it’s not a big deal.

The Revised Standard Version- Catholic Edition is very good too. It is a slightly more literal translation but is still readable. The RSV was originally mainly a Protestant translation, but there’s a version with the rest of the Old Testament deuterocanonical books added. It’s fully approved.

If you are partial to older English and like a King James style Bible, the Douay-Rheims version is the way to go. It’s actually older than the KJV by a few years. It’s a favorite among some more traditionally-minded Catholics.

There’s a number of other versions, such as the NRSV-CE, Confraternity Bible, Knox Bible, Jerusalem Bible, NJB, etc. But the three I mentioned seem to be some of the most popular and easy to find when it comes to Catholic Bibles. The three that I mentioned could be had for roughly $30-$60 new, depending on the version and the publisher you get it from. I have Bibles from Baronius Press and St. Benedict Press in this price range, and they’re well worth the money. If you don’t want to spend that kind of money, peruse your local half-priced books store. You may luck out and find something nice there.
 
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The biggest issue is that the protestant bibles have missing books. Unfortunately both Catholic Bibles and protestant bibles can have errors in translation, especially dynamic translations.

And apps on the phone can have more errors even if they’re Catholic Bibles. Hope this helos.
 
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I don’t see your logic, if Protestants know how to make an accurate Bible, I don’t see an issue.
 
It’s not that it’s not “accurate” but they are coming at it from a different philosophy to Catholics. The one example I can think of, off-hand is Isiah 7:14 where they translate “Alma” as a young woman instead of virgin as it is done in non-kjv/rsv Catholic Bibles. Others that I haven’t a reference for is the whole works and deeds is treated differently. It’s not malicious, it’s non inaccurate per se but it’s not Catholic.
 
I just read in a French Bible app I have, that verse, and it says young girl and it’s a Catholic Bible. The RSVCE says virgin, but gives a footnote that says or young woman. I think it important to remember, that in that day and age, it was kind of expected that they were the same thing.
 
I bought a Douay-Rheims, Saint Benedict Press yesterday to supplement my NABRE and New American Standard. I like the NAB and NAS for the reference notes and the indexed book names so you can easily find the books. I don’t care for the inference or translations in places. These are opinions only. I don’t read or speak Greek or Latin so I have really no idea what the original intents of the writing were and have to leave the decisions to the experts and approval authorities. Over the centuries there is obvious agreement, disagreement and dissent on what is best. It could be new versions are created to appeal to the masses, make corrections, make improvements, or maybe just sell new books.

My two verse examples given are bolded and italicized of why I would prefer D-R over the others. I threw in the New American Standard for a Protestant reference and comparison as I feel it is important to critique and understand from all perspectives.

If I have to pick one it’s the Douay-Rheims as the go-to Catholic bible

Genesis 1:2
Douay- Rheims (Challoner)
And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved over the waters.

New American Bible Revised Edition
and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters

New American Standard
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

Luke 1:28
Douay - Rheims (Challoner)
And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

New American Bible Revised Edition
And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

New American Standard
And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
 
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Purpose, study, devotion? Study, Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. Devotion, Lectio Divina Bible.
 
I would love to see Catholics do what Protestants did with the KJV and bring it into the 21st century, an RSV equivalent of the DR. Updating it the latest scripture, maybe more Septuagint etc.
 
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