What Bible for What Function?

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I have a list of bibles but I do not know what bible should I use it for. Here is my bibles:

Full Size:
New Jerusalem Bible (Complete, not Reader’s)
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha (Revised Standard Version)
New American Bible (1970)
Orthodox Study Bible
1611 King James Bible with Apocrypha
Christian Community Bible
New English Bible with Apocrypha

Pocket Size and Other:
New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha
New American Bible (with Revised New Testament, no Revised Psalms)
Douay-Rheims Bible
Rheims New Testament with Psalms
Confraternity Bible
Recovery Version (New Testament)
La Biblia Latinoamerica
Biblia de Jerusalen Latinoamericana

The Categories of Function are:
Main Bible
Devotional Bible
Study Bible
Pocket Bible

Please state reason behind your decision. Thank you!!!
 
It’s not clear if you already own these Bibles. If not, since you are a Catholic, you should get a Catholic Bible since non-Catholic Bibles do not have all the Books. An example is Maccabees 1 & 2 is not in Protestant Bibles.

All Catholic Bibles have a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur so that Catholics will know they are free of error.

Next determine if you want Large print for ease of reading.

Some of the Bibles you listed are Protestant Bibles.

I like the RSV- Catholic Edition, large print Bible. It’s my favorite and easy to read.
I also have the New American Bible, large print edition. This is recommended on the USCCB web site.
I have a Catholic Bible on my Kindle, so I don’t own a pocket version. I can control the print size. Full versions of pocket size are usually small print.

If you don’t own a Bible, I recommend the RSV-Catholic Edition. You don’t need to spend a fortune purchasing different Bibles, since you can use the same Bible for all the applications you have described.
Hope this is helpful.
 
All the bibles that I listed I do own already. I, however, cannot choose which bible will I use, for example a study bible when I need to look at the commentary or when I just want a main bible to read around the house.
 
As has often been said, the best Bible for you is the one you will read!

It seems to me that for “study” you would want to have the whole shelf-ful available. I like the New Oxford (which is the old RSV) and would probably start from it and then pull the others for comparison - but that’s just my preference. And I would separate the Catholic and non-Catholic translations, unless you know them well enough to know when you pick one up whether or not it is an approved translation.

For devotional reading, pick one that is comfortable for you to read both in the language and in the physical book - are you more comfortable in English or in Spanish, in the modern translation or the traditional one? Is the print size in the pocket-sized edition readable? If so, the more compact volume means you can carry the book with you and are more likely to read it, that would seem to make your choice. If you can’t easily read the print I’m not sure what function a “pocket Bible” would actually serve. . . .

I am not sure what the difference would be between a “Main Bible” and a “Devotional Bible?”

For myself I tend to have a couple of Bibles that are handy to the places I sit a lot, and then a whole bunch around my desk. Although in truth more and more for “study” functions I use online Bibles, because the search/cross-reference functions are so handy.
 
Rose_Commander said:
I have a list of bibles but I do not know what bible should I use it for. Here is my bibles:

Full Size:
New Jerusalem Bible (Complete, not Reader’s)
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha (Revised Standard Version)
New American Bible (1970)
Orthodox Study Bible
1611 King James Bible with Apocrypha
Christian Community Bible
New English Bible with Apocrypha

Pocket Size and Other:
New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha
New American Bible (with Revised New Testament, no Revised Psalms)
Douay-Rheims Bible
Rheims New Testament with Psalms
Confraternity Bible
Recovery Version (New Testament)
La Biblia Latinoamerica
Biblia de Jerusalen Latinoamericana

The Categories of Function are:
Main Bible
Devotional Bible
Study Bible
Pocket Bible

Please state reason behind your decision. Thank you!!!
Click to expand...
This is what I would choose out of your list:

Study Bible: The NOAB (RSV), I like the RSV translation for study because it is a formal translation that is used by many scholars and is useful when comparing to the original Greek, doing word studies and using commentaries and conversing with Protestants about scripture.

Devotional Bible: I like the Christian Community Bible for this because it is a clear, dynamic (less formal - looser) translation which lack some of the stiffness of the RSV.
The commentary notes in the CCB are Catholic based theological and lack the bareness of historical-critical notes. At times they are very devotional,** especially regarding the Virgin Mary (see the notes for Luke 1:26-56)**.

Compact Bible: I would choose the NAB, only because it could be taken to Bible Study (which in many cases uses the NAB), and other Catholic classes and seminars. I have a semi-comact NAB with a zipper cover that I use for this purpose, which I leave in my car.

Main Bible is a tough one from your list, it would probably be the NOAB (RSV) because I like the RSV translation overall (esp. the RSV-2CE - which is not on your list), and dispite being a study Bible, it is still portable enough to take places (and is very nice in the genuine leather cover).
 
NHInsider said:
As has often been said, the best Bible for you is the one you will read!

It seems to me that for “study” you would want to have the whole shelf-ful available. I like the New Oxford (which is the old RSV) and would probably start from it and then pull the others for comparison - but that’s just my preference. And I would separate the Catholic and non-Catholic translations, unless you know them well enough to know when you pick one up whether or not it is an approved translation.

For devotional reading, pick one that is comfortable for you to read both in the language and in the physical book - are you more comfortable in English or in Spanish, in the modern translation or the traditional one? Is the print size in the pocket-sized edition readable? If so, the more compact volume means you can carry the book with you and are more likely to read it, that would seem to make your choice. If you can’t easily read the print I’m not sure what function a “pocket Bible” would actually serve. . . .

I am not sure what the difference would be between a “Main Bible” and a “Devotional Bible?”

For myself I tend to have a couple of Bibles that are handy to the places I sit a lot, and then a whole bunch around my desk. Although in truth more and more for “study” functions I use online Bibles, because the search/cross-reference functions are so handy.
Click to expand...
Well the difference is that the main bible is the one I will read most of the time. The Devotional bible is the one I take to church, eucharistic adorations, weddings, or just when I am down and need some Word of God in me. Usually the devotional bible has commentary from the Church Fathers or something.
 
Rose Commander,

I have wrestled with this issue over the past few years and to be honest, I think what you should do is settle on one to use for all purposes. At least that is want I have decided to do, which has not only helped me to settle down on one text, but has also helped me to actually read the scriptures more. I think in the past I tended to be so concerned with finding the perfect Bible that it actually distracted me from actually reading it.

So, spend some time in prayer and pick one. I have settled with the NRSV, because I know all it’s good points and bad points. Yet it is flexible enough to be both usable in study, with many scholarly works and study tools keyed to it, and devotional since I find it to have high literary qualities.

But I think you would be best served with any of the RSV editions or the NRSV. I think the NAB has a chance as well, but that depends on what the revised OT and rerevised Psalms look like once published next year.
 
(Warning, Protestant answers :D)

For both a main bible and a study bible, I favor the ESV Study Bible.

For a handy carry bible, I like my Cambridge ESV Pitt Minion.

For devotional purposes, I favor the Phillips NT (rev. ed.), the NEB and sometimes The Message.

Besides those, I own and use many others, including several Catholic bibles.
 
Well, I was thinking that my bibles will be in this order:

Main Bible:
The New Oxford Annotated Bible (Revised Standard Version)

Study Bible:
The New Jerusalem Bible (Complete)

Devotional Bible:
The Orthodox Study Bible
The Christian Community Bible

Pocket Bible:
New Revised Standard Version Bible (The Go-Anywhere Bible)

So what do you think?
 
I also own most if not all the bibles listed in OP, in multiple editions in some cases, plus a couple more (Ronald Knox, 1966 JB, a couple of modern Protestant translations) and I am down-sizing so deciding what to keep.

What I use primarily for CCD and RCIA I will keep in the parish office and leave it here when I retire.

What I keep will be based on how easy it is for me to hold and use. That means type size, quality of paper, weight and general attractiveness. I have a hard time with any book that is cheaply printed and bound, and think the Pope should declare any bible edition not printed on acid-free paper anathema and bring back the inquisition for their publishers.

I like the Jerusalem bible above all others for devotional reading, especiall of the NT, and especially John’s gospel, but the print size is so small and faint. I will probably therefore keep my NJB-NT.
I love the pocket size RSV-CE in the leather zipper case for travel, so I will keep that, and my original Ignatius bible in the blue cover is coming apart from use anyhow. I will probably buy the NT Study Bible now that it is in one volume and that will probably be what I use for lectio divina.
I will still keep an NAB to stay in step with RCIA and liturgical use since I will probably remain active in RCIA, and use the giant type hard-cover, with index tabbies I have added. and the Oxford study edition. one or the other. I very rarely annotate or underline any more, as I find over time those have little meaning for me. My scripture journals are more valuable.

I want to keep the Confraternity, my 6th grade confirmation bible, for nostalgia’s sake, and the Knox was my dad’s but my brother wants both, so he can have them.

I will keep the Latinoamericano la biblia, so I have one reliable Spanish language edition, and the rest will stay in the parish.

the New English bible is I think an elegant translation and I like it but don’t use it much, so that will have to go, along with the misc. paperback bibles I have picked up over the years. they will go in the donations for prison ministry, as will the single-book editions like the Ignatius, and all the NTs. I will keep one tiny confraternity NT and the old pre-WW2 edition of the psalms, since they are verstions I like and the size of a cigarette pack.

I am probably about through with formal academic bible study, so an entire bookshelf of reference materials will come to the parish office (I already have half my collection here).

you know, to just sit and read the bible, I still love the original Jerusalem Bible, bulky as it is, so I think I will keep it and make a cloth jacket for it, as the cover is flaking slightly.
 
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