Catholic Bibles: A Guide to Current Catholic Translations

Below are brief summaries of the various English translations used in Catholic Bibles today, discussing the basic literary characteristics, intended use, and availability of each translation. Further background information for them can be found in the article Catholic Bibles: A Modest History of the English Versions, which also covers older historical versions of these and other translations.

There are twenty-two currently available Bible translations listed below that at least claim to be Catholic editions, two of which are New Testaments. The versions have been organized into five groups, based on a combination of publication era, degree of Catholic involvement in producing the translation, and status as to whether it has been ecclesially approved for publication as a Catholic Bible. Use the links listed below to jump to a specific version, or just scroll down.

21^st Century Catholic Translations from Greek & Hebrew

• New American Bible Revised Edition
• Revised New Jerusalem Bible
• New Catholic Version/Bible
• New Community Bible

20^th Century Catholic Translations from Greek & Hebrew

• Jerusalem Bible
• New Jerusalem Bible
• Christian Community Bible
• Alba House New Testament/St. Paul Catholic Edition

Approved Catholic/Protestant Collaborations

• Revised Standard Version—Catholic Edition
• Revised Standard Version—Second Catholic Edition
• New Revised Standard Version—Catholic Edition
• English Standard Version—Catholic Edition
• New Living Translation Catholic Edition

Catholic Translations from Latin

• Douay-Rheims-Challoner Version
• Knox Version
• Confraternity New Testament

“Catholic in Name Only” and/or Unapproved Editions

• Good News Translation Catholic Edition
• Contemporary English Version Catholic Edition
• Common English Bible Catholic Edition
• The Message Ecumenical/Catholic Edition
• Nicolas King Bible
• Catholic Public Domain Version

21^st Century Catholic Translations from Greek & Hebrew

New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)

The New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) is the current version of the Bible published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and is the de facto standard Bible translation for the Catholic Church in America. It is the fourth published version of the New American Bible, originally published in 1970, which was incorporated into the new 1970 Lectionary for Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, and other liturgical rites revised under the Vatican II reforms. This translation family is the basis for the only approved liturgical text in the USA and the Philippines today.

This most recent version of the NAB was published in 2011 as the New American Bible Revised Edition (abbreviated NABRE – which is sometimes pronounced like “neighbor”). With the publication of the 2011 version, the text of the NAB has been completely revised since 1970. The current version incorporates a New Testament text originally revised in 1986 with an Old Testament text completed in 2010. Compared to the 1970 work, both sets of revisions have shifted the translation toward more of a formal equivalence approach (i.e. more word-for-word and less thought-for-thought), translated words more consistently, and placed a higher priority on suitability for public proclamation. This shift improved dignity, clarity, and precision, although the editors also adopted some “inclusive language” renderings, which can obscure the meaning. There are some quirks, but it is a respectable translation.

The liturgical books have not entirely kept up with the translation changes, but the current 2011 NABRE version does basically align with the Gospels and other New Testament readings proclaimed at Mass within the United States (or the Philippines). Those readings come from a Lectionary published in 1998 (or in 2001 for Weekdays). Serious Catholics in these two countries would do well to have a copy of the NAB; editions printed between 1987 and 2010 would best reflect the texts of the current Lectionaries.

The NABRE is annotated almost as heavily as a study Bible. Both footnotes and cross references are generous, and book introductions run about a full page. Most of the footnotes are helpfully expository, although the introductions and some notes wade academic theories of source or form criticism, which can seem out of place in a Bible intended for, say, catechumens. The usefulness of the copious cross references is contingent upon page layout, as not all publishers do a good job presenting them to the reader – e.g., cross-references in “St Joseph Edition” Bibles are particularly difficult to decipher.

Print versions of the NABRE are available in various formats and editions from numerous publishers. Free, online editions are available from the USCCB and Vatican websites, and also at biblegateway.com. The NABRE is also available in both desktop and tablet/mobile editions from the better Bible Study software vendors. Logos/Verbum offers an electronic edition of the NABRE with full reverse interlinear tagging, which is easily the best NABRE edition for serious Bible study, and costs less than some basic hardcovers. A small number of Bible apps for mobile also offer the NABRE as a premium option.

Two other Bibles published in America could easily be confused with the New American Bible:

• The New American Standard Bible is a Protestant Bible published by the Lockman Foundation. It is a very literal translation of the 66-book Protestant canon, lacking seven books found in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, and is sometimes published with study notes that are doctrinally anti-Catholic. Helpful hint: If it doesn’t contain a book called “Tobit”, it’s not a Catholic Bible.
• The New Catholic Bible: St Joseph Edition, discussed below, looks very much like the New American Bible: St Joseph Edition, and they can easily be confused. Both are good Catholic Bibles, but they are not the same thing.

The NABRE serves as the base English translation for Baker Academic’s commendable New Testament commentary series: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, as well as for Liturgical Press’ lightweight commentary series: The New Collegeville Commentary.

[Top]

Revised New Jerusalem Bible (RNJB)

One of the more recent Catholic translations is The Revised New Jerusalem Bible (RNJB), published in December 2019 in what is ironically called a “Study Edition”. This release followed publication of the RNJB New Testament and Psalms in 2018. The Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland have each indicated a desire to adopt a revised Lectionary for Mass using the RNJB in the near future. Facilitating that was the RNJB abandoning the practice of its antecedent versions to transliterate the Tetragrammaton as “Yahweh” instead of rendering it with the more traditional “the Lord”, as the RJNB now does

The RNJB is a formal equivalence translation revising a 1985 version called the New Jerusalem Bible, which itself had been a revision of a 1966 Jerusalem Bible. Neither of the earlier two versions in this family had used a formal equivalence translation approach, but had more or less employed functional or dynamic equivalence techniques (i.e. they were more meaning-for-meaning and less word-for-word than the RNJB).

The more rigorous approach taken with the RNJB has resulted in a translation that maintains the charm of the Jerusalem Bible literary tradition while considerably improving accuracy. A chief guiding principle for the revision was to demonstrate that the Biblical message is directed equally at women and men, so gender-neutral modifications presumed necessary to accomplish that will be encountered more so than in many other versions, especially other versions using a formal equivalence translation approach.

Of note is that the traditional psalter for this version has been abandoned, replaced by a lightly modified edition of the Revised Grail Psalter, which is being adopted across the English-speaking Church as the official Psalter for use in the liturgy. The RNJB Psalter does not align precisely with the final “official” version published in 2019 under the new name Abbey Psalms and Canticles, but there will be general agreement.

The “Study Edition” RNJB is published in an easy-to-read single-column format, with verse numbering relegated to the gutter. Footnotes are presented in two columns at the bottom of the page. The annotations for this edition are based on an annotation set created for the 2008 Catholic Truth Society edition of the Jerusalem Bible, and are considerably sparser than one might expect from the flagship edition of a version in this family. Cross references in the “Study Edition” are arrayed in the margins next to their referent, but these also have been reduced in this version to a more focused set.

In 2021, the RNJB was released in a Readers’ Edition which condenses the Study Edition’s 2,400 pages to about 1,500, by presenting the Biblical text in two-column format, and eliminating annotations.

The Revised New Jerusalem Bible is published in print by Darton, Longman & Todd (UK) and by Image (US). The Study Edition is also available electronically in ePub, and for Kindle and Nook. 

[Top]

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

The New Catholic Bible is a new (2019) high-quality, thoroughly annotated, formal equivalence translation from the Catholic Book Publishing Company (CBP), marketed as Saint Joseph Editions. Previously, the New Testament (2015) and Psalms (2002) had been published under the name New Catholic Version. The translation is ecclesially approved for private, non-liturgical use, and received its approbation from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

This is a new, independent translation, not beholden to older traditions, and willing to go against the grain at times, but eschewing the vulgarizing tendencies of many modern translations to flatten the rich vocabulary of Biblical tradition into pedestrian and vague dullness, or to surrender literary precision and clarity to identity politics. Fidelity to the revealed Word was clearly a translational priority. The annotations are refreshingly expository, and the provided cross references are generous in editions that contain them. Page layout is typical for a CBP Saint Joseph Edition Bible (back-referenced annotations at the bottoms of the columns; cross-references squished into a box of character soup), and several nice helps are included, depending on edition, including maps, charts, doctrinal Bible index, etc. This work is very useful as an ancillary version.

CBP has been multiplying available editions and formats since the 2019 release of the complete Bible, and options are available from compact to family size, large or even giant print, etc. Other than a web edition recently published on Biblegateway.com, the NCB is not yet available as an ebook. However, an audio (MP3) edition of the New Testament is available on a USB thumb drive, and an Audible edition of the NT is also available.

The marketing of this translation as the New Catholic Bible (NCB) could lead to some confusion, and purchasers should check twice to be sure the correct version is being ordered. There are several volumes with which this could be easily confused:

• The New Catholic Bible is the same name under which the Catholic Truth Society of Great Britain publishes their edition of the Jerusalem Bible with Grail Psalms, which is the Scripture version currently used in the Lectionaries of England, Wales, Ireland, and elsewhere.
• The Saint Joseph Edition New American Bible, still sold by Catholic Book Publishing, could easily be confused with their Saint Joseph Edition New Catholic Bible.
• The NCB moniker used by Catholic Book Publishing to identify this translation is the same as that used for another Catholic Bible (the New Community Bible) published internationally by the Society of St Paul since 2012.

[Top]

New Community Bible: Catholic Edition (NCB)

The New Community Bible (NCB) is a 2008 translation produced in India by missionaries of the Society of Saint Paul, targeted at a readership who largely speak English as a second language. As such, the language is somewhat simplified, to meet a goal of being clear to all readers, yet without abandoning “biblical” vocabulary, as some other simplified language versions do. It seems reasonably successful in translating the underlying theology of the Bible into accessible language. The work is a revision of the Christian Community Bible, updating the translation itself, and completely replacing the commentary of the CCB.

The commentary running through the footnotes of the NCB is a key element of the work’s purpose of evangelizing and promoting personal spiritual growth. The New Testament, in particular, is heavily annotated. The notes are explanatory, insightful, and practical. The Old Testament is less well annotated, but copious cross references are provided in both testaments. A unique element of the NCB commentary is the use it makes of related ideas found in the writings of religions, such as Hindu, native to the regions for which the work was primarily intended.

Outside of India, the work is available in a 2012 “International Edition” hardcover published by the Society of St Paul in Australia. It is a sturdy volume of 2,300 rather thin pages allowing noticeable bleed-through. The text can also be accessed in a poorly designed web version provided by the publisher. It was approved for non-liturgical use by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. As of September 2023, it is not clear if the work is still being sold in the USA.

[Top]

20^th Century Catholic Translations from Greek & Hebrew

Jerusalem Bible (JB)

Published in 1966, the Jerusalem Bible is a dynamic equivalence translation that closely follows its French predecessor: La Bible de Jerusalem. Its copious, well-regarded notes were translated directly from the French edition. The translation has been highly regarded for the clearness of its English, though it is more interpretive than many other translations, and like all “dynamic” translations, sometimes flattens the text excessively. The JB is notable for the use of “Yahweh” as an attempted transliteration of the Divine Name as recorded in the Hebrew (which is traditionally rendered “the Lord”).

Not widely used in America these days, the JB is still used across the pond. England’s Catholic Truth Society (CTS) publishes a print edition (called the New Catholic Bible) containing the text of the Jerusalem Bible, but with the original (1963) Grail Psalms replacing the JB Psalms. The CTS edition also replaces the word “Yahweh” in the JB text with “the Lord”, in compliance with 21st century liturgical norms. This CTS edition reflects the official liturgical versions currently used in several English-speaking countries, although those are being phased out in preference for Lectionaries based on newer translations, such as the RNJB or the ESV-CE. Unfortunately, the CTS edition also replaces the original JB annotations, which were arguably its outstanding feature, with a significantly reduced set.

Single column “Reader’s Editions” of the JB are still available in print in the US, but these lack most of the footnotes. Unfortunately, the JB does not appear to be available in any electronic editions.

[Top]

New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)

Published in 1985 as a revision of the 1966 Jerusalem Bible, the NJB veered a little bit more toward the “formal” end of the spectrum compared to the original, but remains very much a dynamic equivalence translation, preferring readability over precise representation of the Hebrew/Greek original. It can be useful in study as providing a “different point of view” on passages, as it is quite independent of other English translation traditions.

It retains the use of “Yahweh” for the Divine Name, which can be annoying to some, and which makes it unsuitable for liturgical use. It incorporates gender-neutral techniques somewhat liberally. The Standard Edition’s single-column text, with verse numbering in the gutter and cross-references in the margin, makes for very pleasant reading. The work includes several useful tables and appendices in the rear.

The NJB was published in both a Standard Edition (with extensive annotations, new to this edition) and a Reader’s Edition (with Biblical text in two-column format, and with minimal notes). At least in hardcover, these volumes are sturdy and professional. The NJB is also available as an electronic text on a few of the major Bible Study software platforms, as an online text on www.catholic.org, and for some independent mobile apps. However, most of these electronic editions utilize only the Reader’s Edition content, lacking the more extensive notes. Logos/Verbum, however, has recently published a terrific electronic edition of the “Standard Edition” NJB, with full annotations in a linked but independent library resource. As of September 2023, it appears that the American publisher (Doubleday) has taken the work out of print.  [Top]

Christian Community Bible (CCB)

Initially published in the Philippines by Claretian missionaries in 1988 as an English-language companion to Bernando Hurault’s heavily annotated 1971 Spanish translation, La Biblia Latinoamericana, the CCB is one of a series of simplified translations in various languages “for the layman”, which serve as a vehicle for Hurault’s annotations: primarily a “pastoral” commentary invested in liberation theology. The translation has been updated many times, but an update history is not readily available. 

Despite the simplified vocabulary, and plethora of revisions, it is sometimes difficult to follow what the translator is intending to convey in English. This version hardly seems like it can be depended on to provide either a professional rendering of the Greek/Hebrew, or an aesthetically sound presentation of it in English. Another oddity: the book order used for the Old Testament was for many years a strange pastiche of the orders of the Jewish Bible and the Vulgate, though this odd ordering appears to have been abandoned in the most recent revisions.

Targeted at third-world communities where English is a second language, the CCB can be difficult to find in print in the US, but several editions continue to be published by Claretian Publications. PDFs of all the books are available online from http://ccbpastoralbible.wordpress.com or http://bibleclaret.org/bibles/.

[Top]

St. Paul Catholic Edition New Testament

The St. Paul Catholic Edition New Testament from Pauline Books and Media and Alba House is unique in both its translation and in its presentation. The translation is snappy and conversational without being colloquial. It is more explanatory than the more strictly formal translations, but is more literal than not, and accurate. Annotations are modest but helpful, and focus on the text. The translation was ecclesially approved in the early 1990s, and the full New Testament was published in 2000. It is listed on the USCCB website among “Approved Translations of the Sacred Scriptures for Private Use and Study by Catholics” (attributed to “Alba House:”).

The presentation of this edition is remarkable: single-column text framed on heavy, colorful pastel pages sporting abundant photos and other graphics, having verse numbering relegated to the center gutter, heading text presented in a bold red, and Old Testament quotations highlighted in a heavy black bold. The Biblical text is presented in a very generous 11.5 point font with subtle serifs, making it very easy on the eyes.

A sturdy 656-page softcover is the only printed edition of the full New Testament. A subset consisting of Romans-Hebrews was published in a compact edition in 2008 as Letters of Saint Paul. The Gospels had been published in 1992 as The Alba House Gospels: So You May Believe, but that appears out of print. No electronic editions of this version exist

[Top]

Catholic Translations from Latin

Douay-Rheims-Challoner Version: (DRC)

Usually marketed as the “Douay” or “Douay-Rheims” version, those editions are pretty much invariably an updated reprint of a late 19th century American edition of a mid-18th century revision of the original “Rheims-Douay” Bible. The Rheims-Douay had been a product of the Catholic Reformation, published between 1582 and 1610. The 18th-century revision was undertaken by Bishop Richard Challoner of England around 1750, and was a thorough revision of the original work. Although it was of great value for some 200 years, Challoner’s language is now quite dated, and it is difficult to recommend to the Catholic reader today, except as a secondary or tertiary comparative study text. It would be considered a formal equivalence translation in today’s terminology, but it should be noted that it is an English translation of the Latin Vulgate, not of manuscripts in the original Biblical languages – a distinction that leads a few lingering Tridentine die-hards to prefer it to the newer translations.

Several well-made editions of the DRC are available from print publishers such as TAN/Saint Benedict, Baronius, Loreto, Angelus, and others, including editions suitable for study. Economy editions of this version in print appear to be lacking. However, it is widely available as an electronic text, for both commercial and publicly licensed Bible Study software, as a searchable text on numerous public websites, and for various mobile Bible apps.

[Top]

Knox Version

This is a fresh, fairly dynamic translation of the Vulgate published between 1945-1949 by Monsignor Ronald Knox, an Englishman and Anglican convert to Catholicism. The work was very well-received, and gained considerable exposure in America as the version preferred by Venerable Bishop Fulton Sheen during the time of his television presentation ministry. However, it never really caught on in the States, and was soon eclipsed on both sides of the pond by new translations direct from the original languages. Although a modern translation, it retains some archaic word forms, yet it is perfectly understandable, and makes for a good alternate literary perspective on the Scriptures.

After having been out of print for years, it is available again, in a fine, single-column edition from Baronius, published in 2012. Electronically, it is available as an excellent on-line text from New Advent (a three-column parallel format, comparing it to Latin and Greek versions), but it does not appear to be available in any ebook format.

[Top]

Confraternity New Testament

The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) in America published a New Testament freshly translated from the Latin Vulgate in 1941, and it served the US Church for 30 years before being retired by the new CCD translation from the Greek original in the New American Bible. The translation was fairly accessible, but retained formal rhetorical qualities common in Bibles produced before the second half of the 20^th century. In 2016, Scepter re-published a pocket edition of the Confraternity NT, and in 2020, Sophia Institute Press published The Catholic Reader’s Bible, a two-volume edition of the Confraternity NT published in single-column format. The 2020 editions are published as if they were typical books – i.e., stripped of all annotation, including chapter markings and versification. Those 2020 volumes are also available in ePub format from the publisher.

[Top]

Approved Catholic/Protestant Collaborations

Revised Standard Version—Catholic Edition (RSV-CE)

The RSV-CE is an ecclesially approved 1966 “Catholic Edition” of the highly regarded Protestant RSV translation, originally published by the Catholic Biblical Association of Great Britain. The venerable RSV is an excellent formal equivalence (i.e. more or less literal) translation, which stands within the mainstream English Protestant Biblical tradition, deriving from the King James Version, and the earlier pioneering work of William Tyndale. It was produced in mid-20^th century America by a leading Protestant ecumenical body, The National Council of Churches of Christ. It retains the use of some archaic forms of address toward God (thee, thou…), and otherwise uses vocabulary reflective of the English language prior to the cultural upheaval of the 1960s and 70s.

To create the RSV-CE, the original 1946 RSV New Testament was modified only slightly, most significantly by restoring to the main body numerous verses or passages that the original RSV had relegated to the margin. A small number of renderings were modified to better reflect the Catholic tradition. The 1994 Ignatius Press edition of the RSV-CE has a useful appendix showing the details of all textual changes. The Old Testament was modified simply by incorporating the Deuterocanonical books into their proper  canonical order from the RSV’s “Apocrypha”.

The RSV-CE includes the original RSV textual notes dealing with alternate readings and translation decisions. It also additionally provides a limited number of endnote annotations collected in appendices following the Old and New Testaments. A modest number of cross-references were provided in the 1994
Ignatius edition, which have not been replicated in all newer editions. Overall, the annotations in this version are sparse, especially for a Catholic Bible.

The RSV-CE remains popular among serious Catholic students of the Bible, especially those who prefer traditional diction and dignified literary style over more modern priorities. It is available in fine or common print editions from several publishers. Electronically, it is available on the web at biblegateway.com, as well as in Logos format, where it can be purchased with or without embedded reverse interlinear tagging.

The RSV-CE is used as the base English text of the faithful and practical Navarre Bible Commentary, published by Four Courts Press.

[Top]

Revised Standard Version—Second Catholic Edition (RSV-2CE)

A “Second Catholic Edition” of the RSV was released in 2006 by Ignatius Press. Changes from the RSV-CE translation consisted primarily of updating archaic pronouns (thee, thou, etc.), but it also tweaked the text for potential use in the liturgy, in conformity with Liturgiam Authenticam. An approved RSV-2CE-based Lectionary is currently used in the Antilles. The revision is more natural sounding to the modern ear than the earlier 1966 Catholic Edition, without differing substantially from it.

Also known as the “Ignatius Bible”, it is published in standard print editions by Ignatius Press in limited formats, which tend to be condensed, sturdy, and attractive, utilizing creamy and somewhat glossy paper. It takes over the modest cross-references and endnote annotations introduced in the RSV-CE, and presents them in a more easily readable format, set off in the bottom corners of pages as footnotes. It replaces the RSV-CE appendix of textual modifications with eight pages of color maps. This version is also the base text for Jeff Cavins’ Great Adventure Catholic Bible, published by Ascension Press, which uses a color-coding system to highlight the Biblical timeline, and is used in Fr. Mike Schmitz’ popular Bible in a Year podcasts.

It is also published in Study Bible editions:

The RSV-2CE is the underlying text for the superb Ignatius Catholic Study Bible project, which is the most comprehensive Study Bible available for Catholics. A New Testament volume was completed in 2010. Much of the Old Testament is available in fascicle form, and an edition of the full Bible is currently being prepared by Ignatius for release in the fall of 2024. 

Likewise, Midwest Theological Forum (MTF) uses the RSV-2CE as the underlying Biblical text for the “Ignatius Version” of its Didache Study Bible, a highly recommended edition, especially for converts, catechumens, or others seeking to understand the relationship between Scripture and Catholic doctrine.

Electronically, the RSV-2CE is available in Logos format, where it is available with reverse interlinear tagging. Ignatius also makes it available in a mobile app through Lighthouse Media.

The RSV-2CE is an outstanding choice of a modern translation for study, for reading, or for devotion, but the limitations of available editions remains something of a challenge. A less compact reader’s edition of the RSV-2CE, sporting a more generous page layout, would be a very welcome addition. An oversized giant print (14 pt.) edition is available.

[Top]

New Revised Standard Version–Catholic Edition (NRSV-CE)

The 1989 “New” RSV (NRSV) is a full-blown revision of the RSV undertaken by the original copyright owners, replacing archaic forms of address and obsolete expressions, updating the underlying text with the fruit of half a century of manuscript discoveries, and smoothing out some difficult passages. It is very highly regarded among professionals and scholars for its combination of accuracy and smooth English presentation, marred only by very liberally employed “inclusive language” substitutions and/or obfuscations, extending, for example, even to the dubious practice of representing the masculine singular in the source languages with an English plural (e.g. they). A version of the NRSV significantly modified to rectify theological deficiencies identified by the Vatican is used as the Lectionary text in Canada.

The NRSV received imprimaturs from American and Canadian bishops in 1991, and is approved for personal use and study in the U.S. The 1993 “Catholic Edition” of the NRSV is simply the 1989 NRSV w/ Apocrypha restructured according to the Catholic canon – there are no textual differences. That opens up a considerably broader set of editions to consider for Catholics looking to use this version. Unless provided by the edition publisher, NRSV Bibles tend to have sparse annotations.

Several nice editions of the NRSV-CE are published in print, available in both typical (American) and Anglicized versions. Of particular note among print editions of the NRSV-CE is the new Word on Fire Bible, from the evangelizing ministry of the indomitable Bishop Robert Barron. Being published in multiple volumes (volumes one and two, covering the New Testament, are currently available), these volumes are rich in modern and traditional commentary, artwork, and workmanship.

Logos/Verbum has an electronic edition of the NRSV-CE available in some base packages, which is tagged with a reverse interlinear, making it a very useful study resource. However, all the major software platforms carry the standard NRSV w/ Apocrypha, which, again, contains all the Biblical text of the NRSV-CE in variant book ordering – a distinction largely irrelevant in a software version. Biblegateway.com provides the translation in both its ecumenical and Catholic formats.

[Top]

English Standard Version–Catholic Edition (ESV-CE)

The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) developed a Catholic edition of the English Standard Version (ESV), published in 2018 by the Asian Trading Company as the English Standard Version Catholic Edition. AN ESV-CE-based Lectionary (incorporating the “final version” of the Revised Grail Psalms) was approved by the Vatican and has been in use by the CCBI since Palm Sunday, 2020. The Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales adopted a similar Lectionary planned for implementation in late 2022, and the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland is following suit.

The ESV is an “essentially literal” Evangelical revision of the RSV originally published by Crossway in 2001. Eschewing the various 20th century trends toward rendering Bible translations with an eye toward explanation at the expense of lexical precision, the ESV has been widely praised for both translational faithfulness and literary excellence among those who take Biblical inspiration seriously. The CCBI obtained permission from Crossway to publish an ESV lightly revised for Catholic sensibilities, along with a translation of the Deuterocanon, resulting in this ecclesially approved Catholic edition of the ESV.

The ESV-CE was published in America in late 2019 by the Augustine Institute as The Augustine Bible. This would be considered a readers’ edition, supplying very little by way of cross references or annotations, although it does contain a handful of color maps. UK publisher SPCK released an Anglicized print edition of the ESV-CE in October 2021. The Augustine edition is available in Logos format with an optional reverse interlinear apparatus. The 66-book ESV is widely available electronically, but the Catholic Edition is only available for Logos/Verbum.

[Top]

New Living Translation Catholic Edition (NLT-CE)

Published in America by Tyndale House in 2017, the NLT-CE is a Catholic edition of a popular but very loosely translated version of a Bible first published in 1996. The New Living Translation is a revision of a Bible paraphrase that was popular in the 1970s called The Living Bible. The NLT has been quite popular in Evangelical circles as an easy-to-read version. It is effective at conveying an understanding of the Biblical narrative, but would not be a good choice for studying. One shouldn’t take what it says too literally, given that the translators were not concerned to present the original texts literally. Nonetheless, it can be useful for things like reading to youth.

Available in print from Tyndale in limited editions, the Catholic Edition NLT is available electronically in ePub and Kindle editions. The standard NLT is widely available electronically, and Logos even published an edition incorporating a reverse interlinear, for some reason. The text of the 66-book standard NLT 2015 edition is identical to the corresponding text in the Catholic Edition, so the only differences lie in the inclusion of the Deuterocanon in the Catholic Edition.

[Top]

“Catholic in Name Only” and/or Unapproved Editions

Good News Translation Catholic Edition (GNT-CE)

The Good News Translation is a loosely translated, “simplified language”, multi-named Bible from the American Bible Society (ABS), currently in its second edition, published in 1992. The 1992 revision focused on adopting gender-neutral language. From its inception, the translation had abandoned traditional Biblical vocabulary in favor of what the editors deem “everyday” English: language common to both native speakers and those for whom English is an adopted tongue. Essentially, it is geared toward those with middle school level reading skills and vocabulary. This makes for easy reading, but it tends to flatten Biblical doctrines, and can be quite pedestrian as literature. The second edition has been approved for personal use by the USCCB, but the “Catholic Edition” is merely a re-ordered canon of the same GNT content – a weak, dynamic equivalence translation with sparse annotation.

[Top]

Contemporary English Version Catholic Edition (CEV-CE)

The Contemporary English Version is another loosely translated, limited vocabulary, “common language” translation from the American Bible Society, this one aiming at a third grade reading level. Aside from replacing terms with the by now almost ubiquitous genderless terminology, the translation eliminates words like covenant, salvation, grace, justification, and other fundamental Biblical ideas.

Several CEV editions containing the Apocrypha are available in print, and sometimes bear the label “Catholic”, although the work is not revised by Catholics. Somehow, the CEV New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs have been approved by the US Catholic Bishops for personal use. Often packaged as youth or children’s Bibles, this highly paraphrastic dynamic equivalence translation represents, at best, a stepping stone to the sublime treasure of Biblical language for beginning speakers of English.

[Top]

Common English Bible Catholic Edition (CEB-CE)

The Common English Bible (CEB) was a new translation from Hebrew and Greek published in 2011 by a committee of representatives from numerous mainline Protestant denominations. The translation aims for a 7th-grade reading level in a “common language”, which it often accomplishes by producing vague, mechanical, and imprecise substitutions for characteristically Biblical-sounding terms – terms associate editor Paul Franklyn called “Biblish”.

The result is a banal translation that neither inspires nor illuminates. I opined on it back in 2011: The Common English Bible: Yet another failed attempt at “The Bible for Dummies”. There is nothing “Catholic” about the “Catholic Edition” other than the books of the CEB Apocrypha being placed in the order of the Roman Catholic Deuterocanon, although it does appear to have a few Catholics on the long Contributors list. It has not received episcopal approval for publication or use as a Catholic Bible. It would be best ignored.

[Top]

The Message Ecumenical/Catholic Edition (MSG-CE)

The Message is an unapologetically paraphrastic retelling of the Biblical story written by a single author (Eugene H. Peterson), published between 1993 and 2002. This version makes no real attempt to re-present the sacred words of the Scriptures in English, but merely, as the title of the work itself suggests, to convey the message allegedly being delivered through the instrumentality of the words. Such an approach is highly interpretive at best, and at worst entails presuming to know the mind of God. This should be approached as if it were sermonizing, not translation. Nonetheless, it is a well-intentioned work aimed at making the Bible accessible to those disengaged from it. In 2013, a “Catholic/Ecumenical” edition of The Message was published, incorporating similar paraphrases of the Deuterocanonical books, translated from the 1988 “Neo Vulgate” (Nova Vulgata) by William Griffin. It is not an approved Catholic edition, and should not be mistaken for an actual Bible translation regardless.

[Top]

Nicolas King Bible (2004—2013)

English Jesuit Fr. Nicholas King completed a fresh, annotated translation of essentially the entire Bible from Greek in 2013, using the Septuagint Greek for his Old Testament source text. Reviewers have gauged the translation atypical, quirky, and somewhat uneven. It is published in England by Kevin Mayhew in five volumes, or as a single volume marketed simply as The Bible. As far as I know, Fr. King has not sought episcopal approval for publishing the work as a Catholic Bible, so strictly speaking, it is not a “Catholic Bible”, despite Fr. King’s good standing in the Church. It does not appear to be distributed in the USA.

[Top]

Catholic Public Domain Version (2009)

The Catholic Public Domain Version was translated by a single individual (Ronald L. Conte, Jr.) from the Latin (Clementine) Vulgate, using the Challoner revision of the Douay-Rheims as a literary guide. The translator calls it a “fairly literal” translation of the Vulgate, somewhat less literal than the Challoner revision had been. It was consciously translated in the light of Catholic teaching on revelation. Obfuscations of the “inclusive language” sort were “carefully avoid[ed]” in translating the text. Conte does not appear to have sought ecclesial sanction to publish the work as a Catholic Bible, so he could have picked a better name for this, as the Catholic bishops are the only ones with authority to declare a Bible “Catholic”.

It was published in full, without copyright, in 2009, and is available in Kindle & ePub formats, in paperback, for some freeware Bible Study apps, and online in both English-only and English-Latin formats at Conte’s website: http://www.sacredbible.org/catholic/.

[Top]