Which bible translation do you prefer?

by digderidoo 27 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • glenster
    glenster

    I'll have to try the Jerusalem Bible--it gets a very good review at the 1st
    link below. I didn't find it online, but the New Jerusalem Bible is at the 2nd
    link.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Bible
    http://www.catholic.org/bible/

  • StAnn
    StAnn

    We really like the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. We also have the Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha, which is a protestant edition. We have tons of bibles and compare them to each other often and seem to always default to the RSV-Catholic. Many, many people have recommended the Jerusalem Bible to us and it's probably the only one we've not purchased yet. The recommendations from people I trust the most are for the RSV and the Jerusalem Bibles.

    Avoid the NIV and the Living Bible. Both are written with a strongly evangelical slant and have sloppy scholarship.

    We were recently given the Recovery Bible and had to laugh. It's a version written by a group that says the Church went underground at Jesus' death and this newly formed group has just been guided by God's spirit to recover the true translation and true meaning of the scriptures in this new Bible. No other religion until them has been blessed with the understanding given by the Holy spriit. Sounds an awful lot like the thinking behind the NWT to me!

  • LouBelle
    LouBelle

    I like to have a few different translations: I've got the NIV, King James and then have the bible in Hebrew & Greek with direct translations under.

  • Eyes Open
    Eyes Open

    My experience of using different translations is very limited, but I enjoyed using the New English Bible as it is a lot more readable than the NWT.

  • bite me
    bite me

    I like KJV and Nkjv (for easier read) NIV I try to avoid, but I have read it but I feel very uncomfortable reading it for some reason.

  • Meeting Junkie No More
    Meeting Junkie No More

    I really like the New American Bible, which I picked up at a charity shop for a song. Lots of good Bibles to be had at charity shops, flea markets, book sales, etc. It is a Catholic version, but the footnotes incorporate some very good scholarship (imho) and it has been enlightening to say the least. I would highly recommend it. Not sure which year it is that I have, I believe it is 1986, and it was revised again in 1991 but I will check to make sure. There are also a lot of introductory notes that I found quite interesting, and each book of the Bible is given an outline and synopsis before the actual book begins.

    Not sure which version is online, but the footnotes are there also. Anyone else out there have any comments on this particular version? If so, I would be interested to hear your take on it!

  • StAnn
    StAnn

    Meeting Junkie,

    I'm Catholic so I have the New American Bible (Study Bible) because it's the one approved by the Church for use in the liturgy. They approve other bibles for use, like Jerusalem and Douay Rheims, but like to have uniformity in the liturgy. Unfortunately, I still have the NWT in my head, so I'm trying to read the same bible that I hear in Church in hopes it will replace the JW tapes in my head!

    I really enjoy the study guides to the bible and to each book of the bible that is in the NAB. About half of the entire NAB is actually background, footnotes, and study material. I've learned a lot from them and, amazingly, they quote sources so you can do actual research in documents NOT produced by the Catholic Church. Imagine that.

    I've also taken some classes on scripture through University of Dayton and my husband has taken some at Miami University (in Oxford, OH) and didn't find any conflict with the NAB, even though one of the classes my husband took at Miami U. was given by an evangelical scholar who edited several of the OT books of the NIV! (His name is Dr. Edwin Yamauchi.) Another class he took was given by a Jewish woman and it was about the Hebrew Bible. So far, we've not discovered any academic or scholastic problems with the NAB. I'm very antsy about that, given my experience with the NWT.

    I'm jealous you found yours cheaply. My husband paid almost $100 for mine as a Christmas gift back in 2002.

  • Meeting Junkie No More
    Meeting Junkie No More

    St. Ann:

    Just saw your reply today...OHMYGAWD! $100.00? I think I paid $2!!! but my edition is a softcover - (what a steal!) Really, you must check out the charity shops and book sales, flea markets, etc. I have found the most amazing old and even out-of-print books at these places, or church book bazaars, library clear-outs, etc. - even picked up a Swedenborgian book (stuff I never knew existed) for about $3.

    Another absolute MUST READ I forgot to mention is The Woman's Bible - and I see that it is now completely ON-LINE. What an eye-opener that one is - and it's 100 years old! Required Bible reading for men and women alike!

    I really enjoyed your comments!

Share this

Google+
Pinterest
Reddit