I want to purchase a Bible to study. As a Catholic which should I purchase? NKJV, KJV, NIV,...?

Hi and thanks for a great question. I don't know how much you know about the history of the bible, but let me give you a quick review of the Catholic bible. Essentially, the Catholic Bible used for many years was a translation made with the best texts available back in the 1600's.

Since that time, the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls has provided us with many more copies of the original text and therefore many translators have access to the mateiral and are able to produce more "modern" translations (the thees and thous tend to confuse rather than clarify for me). The best thing would be to learn Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek and read the original manuscripts yourself, but short of that, you can read different modern translations to get a better sense of what the original.

For example, compare this same verse in four translations:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2...

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2...

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2...

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2...

Now with that said, I prefer to read some of the more modern translations as I said because it becomes clearer to me when I read it. I have provided some links to Catholic approved translations which I think you might find helpful. However, my suggestion is to pick one up, read your favorite passages (or your least favorite ;-) and see which one you like.

In particular, I found the New Living Translation and the Contemporary English Version to be very helpful especially for reading parts of the old testament taht can be a lttle hard to get through. I am currently reading the NASB, which I also like, and it does include the Apocrophya and is approved by the Catholic Church.

Hope this helps and that you will continue to read your bible and grow in Christ.

I would recommend for Catholics the Jerusalem Bible or the New Jerusalem Bible or the New American Bible which comes as a study bible the Catholic Why Bible or something like that. I bought the last one for a Catholic freind and read all the questions and the Catholic answers which I found enlightening especially when I looked up the passages in thier Bible that were supposed to support what they believe. I told my friend to be sure he read these passages and saw the same thing they teach about them in the verses. I know I found quite a few that I found to be incredible especially thier explaination about images. Of course you know the Roman Catholic Church teaches you to no try to interprete the Bible for yourself but to have the preist explain it to you. It is good reading for penance only. Personally I believe you should take the advise of Paul to Timothy to study to show yourself approved unto Eloah/god. Of course Paul was an Apostle and Timothy a bishop so this could make a difference. Read these 3 Catholic versions online here at these websites:

Old Douay-Reims bible:

http://www.drbo.org/

New Jerusalem Bible online:

http://www.kofc.duq.edu/scripture/index.html

New American Bible:

http://www.catholic.org/phpframedirect/out.php?url...

I am sorry I can't find the Jerusalem Bible online

Personally I use mainly two English translations of the Scriptures I would recommend. 1) The Hebrew Root Version (www.nazarene.net) and the Word of Yahweh (www.assemblyofyahweh.com).

For one thing, don't use the King James version. That's not only a Protestant version, but it's also one used by every anti-Catholic "Bible-only Christian" out there.

Mine is the St. Joseph Edition of the New American Bible. It's authorized by the Church, and it's full of helpful note and footnotes.

It also has a great reader's guide and Appendix, as well as some cool maps that help put the history into a context.

Google your local Catholic diocese, call them, and ask them for info on a Catholic bookstore in your area.

You may also be able to get a copy of this version of the Bible on Amazon.com.

I read a NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) that includes the Apocrypha. I believe that in a large bookstore you would find an ecumenical or Catholic edition that uses this translation. There are other accurate and modern translations, but this is the one I am most familiar with.

btw--the King James Version (KJV) of 1611--sometimes known as the Authorized Version (AV), i.e. authorized by the Church of England--is commonly thought of as a "protestant" Bible. It is often thought of as the most literary or poetic of the translations, as it was translated about the same time that Shakespeare was writing his plays, so the language is similar. This is why there is a NKJV that seeks to maintain as much of the original as possible for a "modern" translation.

Go for the NIV, Good News or some other Bible that goes back and translates from the earliest manuscripts. The King James version or the New King James version has lots of flaws with translation as its a translation of a translation. Also, ensure that the Old Testament contains whats known as the Apocrapha, that is the additional books that are not contained in the what I would term the "Protestant Bible". In one book inparticular II Macabees - we find were people should pray for the dead, and this gave rise to the doctrine of Pergatory.

The bibles approved for Catholics will have the imprintur showing it has been approved, it will be listed as a Catholic bible.

The only difference is that the Catholic bibles don't have the missing books that the protestant bible took out.

The New Jersulan Bible while not approved, and not with all the inclusive books, is a good study bible with some of the best and most upto date translations.

If you hold true to Catholic teachings an doctrine, you should buy a Catholic Bible. If you are a strict Catholic (nihil obstat only) then taht's about it.

If you are interested in the differences among the various versions, I'd add at least the KJV to the list.

I'm not sure those translation are sold in "Catholic form", meaning those translations were initiated by Protestant groups and our (yes, I am a Protestant) Bibles have less books than Catholic Bibles. So, although I disagree with this, in a Catholic sense you wouldn't have a complete Bible unless you get a Catholic version.

I recommend at least two:

NASB and NIV, or NASB and NKJV usually give a decent understanding of some of the more difficult passages.

It's also helpful to pick up a Strong's Concordance. This is a THICK tome that lists the occurences of every word in the original Hebrew and Greek. You'll want your Strong's to match one of the translations of Scripture that you have.

Strong's gets used quite often in our studies.

By the way, if anyone is in St. Louis and wants to study Scripture with us, its Tuesday nights. Contact me via my profile.

In Christ,

Veritatum17

Bible-studying Catholic

The New Jerusalem Bible rocks! You will never find another with such clear and frequent explanations in the footnotes. In the margins it has references to other passages in the Bible like the one you're reading and which it's probably based off of. Whenever there's controversy or uncertainty in translation, it mentions that too and gives the different possibilitites. Undoubtedly the best Bible I've ever used.