JMJ + OBT
Although the read isn’t quite as smooth as the NAB, I really like and much prefer to it the
Revised Standard Version, or RSV, translation (not the “new revised” or NRSV).
My “next most favorite” is the
Jerusalem Bible, or JB, translation (not the “new Jerusalem” or NJB).
What’s nice about the RSV is that it has also been used as the “base text” for two great Catholic commentaries on scripture. Both of these commentaries are being published “piece by piece” and so don’t yet cover the entire Bible, but are well worth the extra you’ll pay for them. These would be great “tools” for your personal or group Bible study:
The Navarre Bible
and
The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible
The link above is to the “Gospel of Matthew.” But Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, and 1 & 2 Corinthians are also available in the series – just do a search for “study bible” (without the quotes) in the search bar on
ignatius.com.
The NAB is popular, and in many passages does “read well,” especially in the context of its being read publicly in front of a congregation. But the translation seems also to be lacking in many regards – the translation just doesn’t sound or “feel” beautiful in many places where it seems it should, and does in many other bibles.
Also, the NAB is always published with copious footnotes and introductory materials that are well known to lean “left” to modernist interpretations of Scripture, contrary to traditional Catholic principles, although they avoid being outright heretical.
One edition of the NAB I
do like is the
Catholic Answer Bible, which contains a great number of short “essays” that explain and defend Catholic teaching in a Biblical context, with direct references to chapter-and-verse citations from the Scriptures and to paragraph numbers from the
Catechism of the Catholic Church. I wish this bible was available in an RSV (or JB) version, but it is not presently and I don’t think there are any plans to publish one.
The author who wrote all of the essays in the
Catholic Answer Bible has a
website,
Biblical Evidence for Catholicism.
I hope this helps.
In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
IC XC NIKA
…I’m leaning towards the NAB