\tOne of the questions I\u2019m often asked as a priest is \u201cWhich Bible should I read?\u201d It\u2019s a fair question. If you wander into the Bible aisle of you local bookstore, you\u2019ll find a dizzying array of choices, with different translations, different features, sizes, colors, and bindings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThe most important consideration is the issue of translations. In order to gain the best understanding of the biblical text, you\u2019ll need a good modern translation. The King James Version has the sort of poetic, archaic language that many people associate with the Bible, but in the more than 400 years since it was translated, there have been significant changes in the English language, and even more significant advances in linguistics and biblical archeology. So get a modern translation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tTranslations that I like include the New Jerusalem Bible, and the Revised Standard Version. If you want a translation that matches what you\u2019ll hear read at Catholic Churches on Sunday, look for the New American Bible. For younger readers or people whose first language isn\u2019t English, I\u2019d recommend Today\u2019s English Version. Although it\u2019s not the best choice for serious study of scripture, for first-time readers it\u2019s a good place to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tApart from issues of translation, Catholic Bibles have some differences in content. Approved Catholic versions have some additional books or sections of books, that in Protestant Bibles are referred to as \u201capocryphal\u201d and may be either omitted or relegated to a separate section. If you\u2019re in doubt about whether the Bible you\u2019re looking at is an approved Catholic version, look on the copyright page for an imprimatur<\/em>, the indication that a book has been officially approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tYou can find the complete text of the New American Bible at the Bishops\u2019 Conference web site, at www.usccb.org\/nab<\/a>. Be sure to read the pages detailing fair use of the text and permissions to reprint it. One of the questions I\u2019m often asked as a priest is \u201cWhich Bible should I read?\u201d It\u2019s a fair question. If you wander into the Bible aisle of you local bookstore, you\u2019ll find a dizzying array of choices, with different translations, different features, sizes, colors, and bindings. The most important consideration is the issue of translations. In order to gain the best understanding of the … Continue reading Which Bible?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-facts-of-faith","tag-facts-of-faith"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5FUlW-7H","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/corporalworks.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/corporalworks.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/corporalworks.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/corporalworks.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/corporalworks.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=477"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/corporalworks.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":478,"href":"http:\/\/corporalworks.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477\/revisions\/478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/corporalworks.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/corporalworks.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/corporalworks.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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