There’s always a problem with a Bible translation. NAB was popular but then there was a groundswell from the clergy about various translations that they don’t like.
The NAB is a paraphrased translation, not to give it to you dead literally, which might make no sense.
There’s another thread about the New International Version, which has been so popular with protestants for years. it takes the exact same word in Greek, whatever it is, and translates it as “traditions” when that word is used in the negative sense – because protestants hate traditions. Otherwise, when there’s a positive statement using the same Greek word, it’s translated as “teachings.” The bias is obvious and anti-Catholic, to say the least. I say anti-Catholic meaning to be in disagreement with both the Roman Catholic and the schismatic Orthodox Church.
For the umpteenth time, and the second time this week alone, I’ll remind that modern translations are copyrighted. So, the translators of a new translation are like hopping over burning charcoal coals, not to use the same words that are use in another copyrighted text.
There’s a lot of the sin of pride that goes in protecting those versions.
I like to use the Revised Standard Version 2nd Catholic Edition or the NAB Study Bible which are good enough to pass when doing a study. Having a King James Version and a Strong’s concordance around can help you “map” quickly into what the underlying Hebrew or Greek word is, which is useful even for advanced amateur Bible students, like myself.
LIke, a recent post asked for examples of the use of the word “bless” in the Bible. Well, it turns out that the vast majority of these are in the OT (according to Strong’s) and about ten instances in the NT. I didn’t delve into the deeper question about blessing God.
But, there’s practical reasons for many versions. Use an online seller and handle the copies carefully and return the ones you find you don’t like, according to their return policy.
You might want a version that has a lot of footnotes and cross-references, like a study bible. But, even there, there’s a spectrum of quality that you need to wade through.
I’d like a Bible with more pictures in it, quite frankly. Or, better, one that is both in book form and in computer format, so I can search a lot more quickly. Like to have links to the Catechism of the Catholic Church handy and also to the early Church fathers. Haven’t found what I want, yet.
But, then, there’s that expensive Verbum bible study, that I know little about. around $1500, last I checked.
