Family Bibles

New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms

The New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms (RNAB) has several problems that prevent my recommending it for Bible study or devotional reading. These can be classed into three major groups: (1) failure with regard to dignity, beauty, and doctrinal precision, (2) bowing to the externally-imposed linguistic norm of so-called “inclusive language,” and (3) a skeptical attitude toward the Sacred Scriptures. Not incidentally, the second problem contributes significantly to the first, and shares roots with the third.

My Daily Catholic Bible

Book cover: 'My Daily Catholic Bible: 20-Minute Daily Readings'
Author(s): 
Paul Thigpen

This is an idea whose time has certainly come. Over the past few years a resurgence in Bible reading seems to have swept across the United States. You can hardly walk through a Walmart or an average bookstore without coming across all sorts of Bibles for all sorts of people. One big problem - it's difficult to find these user-friendly Bibles in Catholic editions.

The Holy Bible: Douay Rheims Version

Book cover: 'The Holy Bible: Douay Rheims Version'

The Douay Rheims Bible is supposed to be the most accurate, Catholic, translation of the Bible available in the English language. The Old Testament was translated into English in 1609 and the New Testament in 1582 and revised in its entirety (and "diligently] compared with the Latin Vulgate") by Bishop Richard Challoner from 1749-1752. Although the some of the language would be considered archaic today (lots of "thees" and "thous") but it really is beautiful.

The Ignatius Bible

Book cover: 'The Ignatius Bible: Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition (RSVCE)'

This is the best translation available in "modern" English (without the "thees" and "thous" found in the Douay Rheims translation). For many of us today, this language is more familiar and comfortable and is probably easier for small children to understand. We use both translations in our home and find this one a little better for reading aloud to the family. It does not contain the "feminized language" (a.k.a. "inclusive language") found in most of the modern translations of the Holy Bible.