What's the best bible

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I’d go for one of the following:

RSV-2CE (Didache)
Knox
Confraternity
Jerusalem
 
Sean said:
What about the NABRE or just the regular New American Bible
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I find the NABRE clumsy to read. Too many “that which” and "those who had"s.
And according to our pastor who is a scripture scholar, the translation is not very good.
I wish I could come up with examples from memory.
 
whichwaytogo47 said:
I prefer a more literal translation than a dynamic translation (aka NIV / NLT in the Protestant faith and NAB / RSV for the Catholic faith). But the most important is the one you’ll read.
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Are you calling the RSV dynamic? Certainly not. It’s very much on the more literal side. Even the NAB is slightly more literal than the NIV. And certainly more literal than the NLT. Also, random side note: did you know that there’s an NLT Catholic Edition that got approved? I don’t know if it’s for sale in the USA yet, though.

One of my personal favorites is the Knox Bible, which is actually a bit more dynamic, but the language is beautiful. I’ll always advocate for it.
 
prayerrider said:
I think the NIV is favored more by evangelical Protestants. It’s not a Catholic Bible.
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The NIV is one of the most popular Bibles among evangelical Protestants who opt not to go for the KJV. The NIV was used by the vast majority of the congregation at the Protestant Church I grew up in. I’m not a huge fan of it, both for translation style, and the fact that it makes me recall my Protestant days.

All that said, the NIV psalms are approved by the USCCB for personal study and devotion. But none of the rest of the NIV is.
 
The NABRE is basically the NAB with a completely revised Old Testament. I find the new version far better (and more literal, for the most part) than the old NAB. The psalms, in particular, I find to be particularly better. The New Testament is essentially the same. However, they are now working on a complete overhaul of the New Testament as well, which is supposed to be completed ~2025. At that point, the revisions of the NAB will be complete. Unless, of course, they decide to start revising the Old Testament again. Then, it’s back to square one!
 
CTBcin said:
Also, random side note: did you know that there’s an NLT Catholic Edition that got approved?
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No because I’ve only glanced through the New Living Translation. Thanks for the update.

Concerned that a dynamic translation would be more at risk of progressive ideas than the original intent.
 
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I really like the Didache Bible as it comes with commentaries from the catechism. I believe the one I have is the Ignatius Bible Esition or something along those lines.
 
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this, but another great traditional Catholic Bible translated from the Vulgate is the Knox Version!

It was translated entirely over a decade by monsignor Ronald Knox, and it offers a very fresh vernacular translation of the Vulgate. It was endorsed by Pope Pius XII, and it was a favorite of archbishop Fulton Sheen, who frequently quoted from the Knox Bible during his show.

Also, the Confraternity New Testament (my favorite translation of the New Testament), is another wonderful read!

If you’re a traditionalist Catholic, stick to Vulgate translations. Either Douay-Rheims, Knox Version, or Confraternity New Testament.
 
Knox is one that is overlooked, and it is one I keep handy!

I also like the Jerusalem Bible, I have an older version and Tolkien’s fingerprints are all over the book of Jonah!
 
whichwaytogo47 said:
No because I’ve only glanced through the New Living Translation. Thanks for the update.

Concerned that a dynamic translation would be more at risk of progressive ideas than the original intent.
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Yeah, I’m by no means a fan of the NLT. But that’s kind of cool to see. It could be nice for Catholics who like a really dynamic easy-to-read translation. If the NAB is at an 8th grade reading level, the NLT is like a 4th grade reading level.

Also, related to this, they’re coming out with an ESV Catholic Edition too, if I’m not mistaken. It’s a pretty decent translation, as far as evangelical bible translations go.
 
Scott84 said:
If you’re a traditionalist Catholic, stick to Vulgate translations. Either Douay-Rheims, Knox Version, or Confraternity New Testament.
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Does the Douray Rehims 1899 count or is that a fake version of the Douray Rheims? There are a lot of apps out there and it can sometimes be hard if they’re quoting the actual text.
 
Yes, it also has Rashi’s commentary. The best New Testament Bible, by default, would be the original Greek, as in the original Hebrew for Torah. Don’t rely much on translations. Learn the language (Hebrew/Greek) to get a more nuanced and explicit reading.
 
ConcernedConvert said:
I really like the Didache Bible as it comes with commentaries from the catechism. I believe the one I have is the Ignatius Bible Esition or something along those lines.
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There are 2 versions of the Didache Bible. The “Ignatius Bible Edition” uses the RSV-2CE translation. It has a green cover. Then there is one with a reddish-brown cover that uses tha NABRE translation. The commentary is identical in both. The NAB one also includes all the footnotes and introductions that are present in all other editions of the NAB(RE).
 
For now, NABRE. But if they can come up with something like RSV, but involving a Catholic rather than an ecumenical group, working on the most recent research concerning the Bible, without using forced gender-neutral language, as well as two sets of notes (one similar to those found in Catholic study bibles and another that looks at the historical and philological background of passages, like those in NABRE), then I’d consider that.
 
In terms of the scripture part of the Didache, it’s not any different from the normal Ignatius Press Bible NRSV-2CE? Is it the Ignatius Bible and more (Comments from Catechism)?
 
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