WHICH BIBLE? When you go into any religious bookstore today looking to buy a bible, the chances are you will find yourself confronted by an overwhelming number of choices. The purpose of this article is to provide a simple step by step approach to help you understand the different options. STEP ONE The first thing you should consider as a Catholic is whether the bible is Catholic or Protestant. Well what is the difference you may ask? A Catholic Bible has 73 books and a Protestant 66 books due to the fact that Martin Luther (1483-1546) removed 7 books from the bible during the Protestant Reformation. These were the Old Testament books of, Wisdom, Sirach (aka Ecclesiasticus), Tobit, Baruch, Judith, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. He also excluded parts of the books of Daniel and Esther from the Protestant Bible. So, you could check the number of books to determine if the bible is Catholic, but this is not always convenient and accurate. Some bibles have the words ‘Catholic Edition’ in their titles and this is one useful way to check. The most accurate way however, is to look for the word ‘imprimatur’ which normally appears on the first few pages of the book often on the copyright page. An imprimatur (Latin, “Let it be published”) is an authorization given by a member of the Catholic clergy, (typically a bishop) to publish a work.

This is a copy of the Bible with an imprimatur by Cardinal Francis Spellman STEP TWO Having established that the bible is an authorized Catholic edition, you are still, however faced with quite a number of options because of the different English translations. Remember that the Bible was originally written in Ancient Hebrew with a little Aramaic (Old Testament) and Ancient Greek (New Testament). Different English versions of the Bible have slightly different wording, although mostly the same meaning, due to the preference of the translator and the style of translation. Do note that translations that are sense-for-sense translations (dynamic equivalence) tend to provide an interpretation of the biblical text rather than a translation. The text might be smoother or more colloquial or easier to read, but there is a risk of getting only one personal interpretation of the translator.The main English translation editions of the Catholic Bible in use today are;

1. The Jerusalem Bible (JB) . (Used for readings at Mass in Singapore) 2. New Jerusalem Bible (NJB). 3. Revised New Jerusalem Bible (RNJB). 4. New American Bible (NAB). (Used for readings at Mass in the USA) 5. New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE). 6. Christian Community Bible.

There are also a number of English editions of the Catholic bible that have been translated by non-Catholic scholars but which have been approved by the Catholic church. Note that these have both Catholic and Protestant editions and so you need to check which one you are buying;

1. Revised Standard Version (RSV) Catholic Edition (1966). 2. New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Catholic Edition (1991). 3. English Standard Version (ESV) Catholic Edition (2018). 4. The Living Bible, Catholic Edition (1971). 5. Good News Translation (GNT) Catholic Edition (1993).

There are of course quite a number of other English translations of the Catholic bible going right back to the Douay-Rheims Bible of 1582, however the above are the most commonly in use today. Some Bible translation is more accurate on one verse and less accurate on another but there is no single English translation that is more accurate in all verses. If you would like to know about this topic check out an article by Dr. Bill Mounce on the subject; https://www.thenivbible.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/What-I-Have-Learned-Bill-Mounce.pdf STEP 3 We are not finished yet because among the authorised Catholic editions you will find a host of different titles such as The Catholic Study Bible, The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, The Catholic Women’s Devotional Bible, The Catholic Youth Bible, The Didache Study Bible and many, many more. These are not different bibles per se and generally all of these use one of the above main translations , but they include a lot of useful additional items. Many will have explanatory notes or commentaries on the text, some will include historical background and maps of biblical times while others provide examples of how to pray or study the scriptures. Here is an example of a page of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible which uses the Revised Standard Version (RSV) translation and includes commentary, word studies and maps;

Other Catholic Bibles

Chinese-The Studium Biblicum Version (Sīgāo Běn 思高本) is the most widely used by Chinese speaking Catholics and is considered by some as the Catholic Chinese Bible. Tamil- The Tamilnadu Biblical, Catechetical and Liturgical Centre (TNBCLC) publishes a Tamil translation of the Bible. Tagalog – The Magandang Balita Biblia (Good News Bible), Catholic Edition, is very popular among Catholics in the Philippines. Bahasa Indonesia- The Indonesian Bible Catholic Edition is entitled "Alkitab Terjemahan Baru Deuterokanonika". Youth and Children’s Bibles- St Mary’s Press, USA, publishes a number of popular Catholic youth and children’s bibles, here are some examples; CONCLUSION We recommend that you don’t just go out and buy the first nice looking bible you see, do some initial research, either on-line or by asking your Catholic friends or parish priest. Whichever edition you choose do remember that it contains the words of God in the words of men, it is God speaking , so please read it, you will be amazed at what He has to say to you!