Which version of the Bible to buy?

[melchesidechpio]

So, I came along the passage in Luke 1:28 in my New American Bible…and I expected to read, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.”

But instead, I read, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Maybe I’m jaded, but to me that sounds incredibly vulgar.

Is there a Bible I can get that contains “full of grace” while still be accessible to read for a Bible-reading noob? Right now I’m looking at the Douay-Rheims, but it looks a little challenging to read.

tyia

I would highly recommed the Douay-Rheims (Baronius Press). extremely accurate only bible i trust more is the Latin\ Vulgate

 

[SonCatcher]

They are actually two different expressions from two different languages: “full of grace” is the rendering of gratia plena, the expression used by the Latin Vulgate in Lk 1:28; “highly favoured” is a rendering of κεχαριτωμενη (more precisely “having been highly favoured”), the expression used by the Greek text in Lk 1:28.

While the Latin version most obviously lends itself to the reading that Mary was shielded from sin, and so this is a major reason why Protestant polemicists do want to get away from it, it is worth noting that the Orthodox, who have never used the Latin version, also believe that Mary did not sin.

The lexical aids in my NIV (I only keep it around for this reason) indicate the root is the verb charitoo (χαριτοω). This particular conjugation is perfect passive participle (the only other instance of this verb is in Eph 1:6, where it is conjugated as aorist active indicative, so the uses are not comparable).

The source word, charis, may be translated “grave, favor, gift”, etc. It probably doesn’t matter what term is used in translation as long as the tense can be preserved.

“Highly favored” seems inadequate as it does not properly capture the scope of the “favor” that Mary enjoys.

Since it is in the perfect tense, the favor or grace Mary enjoys is an accomplished fact.

Since it is in the passive tense, there was no action required in order to put her into this state of favor. The only way that could be is if she had never been out of favor (i.e. sin had never separated her from God).

“Highly favored” seems like something that can be granted or revoked arbitrarily. The perfection of this phrase is dubious and the passivity is entirely lacking.

When one is “full” of something, however, it is an accomplished fact. It is not something that can be arbitrarily denied. It is also sufficiently passive. “Full of” does not mean the same as “filled with”.

 

[roveau]

My favourite translation is the New American Bible, 1971-1972 edition. I love the language, the good punctuation and it is a satisfying and competent translation. This is a large format bible, so it is easy to read.

I have to admit that my ultimate favourite is the King James for reading but not as a study bible.

 

[Cyklist]

I have a large format 2 volume NAB New Testament with colour pictures.

My favourite translation is the New American Bible, 1971-1972 edition. I love the language, the good punctuation and it is a satisfying and competent translation. This is a large format bible, so it is easy to read.

 

[JPlaatje]

It really doesn’t matter which version of the Bible one prefers or which versions contains a particular translation that you want to hear, such as ‘full of grace’. What matters is the translation accuracy. Pope Pius XII ordered a translation be completed, not from the Latin Vulgate, but from the original scripts.
The result is the NAB, which has been approved by the Church and corrects errors of the Vulgate.

 

[jwinch2]

It really doesn’t matter which version of the Bible one prefers or which versions contains a particular translation that you want to hear, such as ‘full of grace’. What matters is the translation accuracy. Pope Pius XII ordered a translation be completed, not from the Latin Vulgate, but from the original scripts.
The result is the NAB, which has been approved by the Church and corrects errors of the Vulgate.

My understanding is that it is the result of the start of that process which began in the confraternity Bible.

 

[JPlaatje]

Note the NAB has been approved and is the standard for use at mass.
What is shocking is that even though the NAB has been established as the standard, the readings at mass are from the Lectionary, which is not always the same wording as the NAB.

This concerns me.

 

[PJM]

=minion;9793305]So, I came along the passage in Luke 1:28 in my New American Bible…and I expected to read, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.”

But instead, I read, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Maybe I’m jaded, but to me that sounds incredibly vulgar.

Is there a Bible I can get that contains “full of grace” while still be accessible to read for a Bible-reading noob? Right now I’m looking at the Douay-Rheims, but it looks a little challenging to read.

tyia

YEP, here it is

http://www.drbo.org/

[28] And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

God Bless,
Pat /PJM

 

[Jerry-Jet]

If the Holy See would not approve the NAB for use at mass–that should tell you all you need to know about whether it should be your main bible translation.

 

[jwinch2]

My understanding is that the Anglican Ordinariates will be using the RSV Second Catholic Edition for their liturgy. In addition, that one gets high marks from many Biblical scholars and it, or the RSV-CE has been chosen for multiple Biblical Commentaries (Ignatius, Navarre, CSSI, etc.).

The link I provided above to the Catholic Answers breakdown of Bible translations discusses this as well.

I don’t even own a NAB, or any other Bible for that matter. I have the RSV-2-CE and am quite please with it.