The Catholic Bible and Other Sundry

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What’s a good Catholic Bible translation? I’m looking to purchase one.

And, while on the topic, what are the key differences between my King James Version with the Apocrypha and your standard everyday Catholic Bible?

I like my King James - the language is exquisitely beautiful - but I would like to get a solid Catholic Bible for reference.

Thanks for your help.

P.S. What do the Orthodox use?
 
The New Catholic Answer Bible Revised Edition is a good choice. I love the look, feel(black leather), and it also contains catholic traditions,and a 3 year reading program completes it.
 
Conor7 said:
What’s a good Catholic Bible translation? I’m looking to purchase one.

And, while on the topic, what are the key differences between my King James Version with the Apocrypha and your standard everyday Catholic Bible?

I like my King James - the language is exquisitely beautiful - but I would like to get a solid Catholic Bible for reference.

Thanks for your help.

P.S. What do the Orthodox use?
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The KJV exhibits slight differences in translation, biased toward the Protestant viewpoint. But, it is good, especially when completed by the inclusion of the Deuterocanon. “Apocrypha” is a pejorative term used to denigrate what Catholics and Orthodox have always held to be (and used as) sacred scripture.

Since you like the KJV, the Douay-Rheims (published between 1583 and 1609 - slightly earlier than the KJV) will feel natural. It is based on Saint Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, which was the first official Church translation into the vernacular language. A solid contemporary translation is the Revised Standard Version - Second Catholic Edition (RSV-2CE), also known as the Ignatius Bible. I do not have a Navarre Bible, but it is almost universally acclaimed.

By obtaining a Catholic bible, you will see the slight differences in translation. But, a 73 book KJV is not bad at all.
 
The RSV-CE (especially the second edition) might be the most widely respected, and I believe it’s generally the version used for Scripture quotes in translations of Vatican documents. The New American Bible, which just came out in a new edition, is the version produced under the auspices of the US bishops.

Another translation worth mentioning, though I have very little experience with it, is the Jerusalem Bible (as opposed to the New Jerusalem Bible).

On the other hand, if you’re the kind of person that likes the King James then definitely look into the Douay-Rheims, the Catholic equivalent.
 
po18guy:

Excellent help! Thank you. I didn’t know that about the Apocrypha. In fact, that’s what it’s titled in my KJV. Interesting fact, indeed.

Aelred Minor:

Thank you too! You answered a question that I didn’t think to ask. I just want to find the Catholic equivalent to the KJV - that is to say, the translation that carries equal respect.
 
Aelred_Minor said:
The RSV-CE (especially the second edition) might be the most widely respected, and I believe it’s generally the version used for Scripture quotes in translations of Vatican documents. The New American Bible, which just came out in a new edition, is the version produced under the auspices of the US bishops.

Another translation worth mentioning, though I have very little experience with it, is the Jerusalem Bible (as opposed to the New Jerusalem Bible).

On the other hand, if you’re the kind of person that likes the King James then definitely look into the Douay-Rheims, the Catholic equivalent.
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Good points, all. I must seek out a Jerusalem bible, as I have only the inclusive language “New” version. But, there are variations of the Douay-Rheims, as well. The most common probably is the Bishop Challoner revision, which uses more modern language than the original. OP can surf around a bit and probably locate a perfect version. Amazon, in particular, allows you to view a sample page, and a perusal of the verbiage may lead to the most comfortable version for the OP.

As an aside, one lesser known and out of print bible is the Confraternity version. I found a 1953 edition on eBay. Except for the first eight OT books(?), it uses the Douay Old Testament combined with the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine New Testament (and first eight OT books). There is a sense of having one foot here and the other there, but it is still a quite good pre-NAB bible, if you know what I mean. The notes and intros are more definite and orthodox.
 
Conor7 said:
po18guy:

Excellent help! Thank you. I didn’t know that about the Apocrypha. In fact, that’s what it’s titled in my KJV. Interesting fact, indeed.

Aelred Minor:

Thank you too! You answered a question that I didn’t think to ask. I just want to find the Catholic equivalent to the KJV - that is to say, the translation that carries equal respect.
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I just want to make two clarifications.

First, I don’t think the RSV-CE (whatever edition) holds an equivalent place to the KJV. Historically that place would go to the Latin Vulgate on the one hand and the Douay-Rheims on the other, especially the more readable Challoner version. On the other hand in this post-Vatican II era many Catholics will hardly have heard of the Douay-Rheims or at least have no interest in its old-fashioned language, much preferring modern translations. Many of these people, in the United States, might prefer the New American Bible (or even the likes of the NRSV or New Jerusalem Bible, in spite of or even because of their inclusive language problems). On the other hand you’ll find a lot of ire from other Catholics for the NAB and especially for its footnotes and other supplementary material which don’t always strike everyone as reflecting a perspective of faith.

That’s why I said the RSV-CE (now most popular in its second edition) is probably the most widely respected. It’s a modern (20th century) translation that does not generate the kind of controversy so many other modern translations generate, and it seems to be the first choice of the Vatican when translating documents into English. Also I believe it’s used in England and other parts of the English speaking world for their readings in mass, though here in the US my understanding is our lectionary is from a sort of theologically corrected (at Vatican insistence) version of the NAB text which is not available in ordinary Bible form.

The other clarification is that if I’m not mistaken the “Apocrypha” section found in some Protestant Bibles contains not only what we call the Deuterocanonicals (books we believe are equally inspired but whose canonicity remained controversial for longer than for other books of the Bible) but also a few that we too would classify as Apocrypha, that is books whose status as inspired Scripture is either doubtful or rejected, depending on who you ask, and which would not likely appear anywhere in a Catholic volume of the Bible.
 
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