Catholic Bible Translations

A list of **Catholic Bible Translations** that are in the Catholic Bible Wiki

## Overview

Like other Bibles, the Catholic Bible has a lot of translations and versions based on many languages, and even among those languages, many editions and versions that are different from one another in content. These translations came about because of many reasons, but primarily that of evangelizing to the World, and to communicate it in as many languages and tongues as possible (Including non-verbal languages, like Braille or unicode). In particular, the Catholic Bible translations are those that are derived from the Catholic Church's efforts to make the Bible known and understood by more people.

## History

Throughout the History of the Catholic Church, even before the Council of Rome determined the complete biblical canon, the Bible has been translated in many languages. Initially, translations were made from the original languages into the liturgical languages in use by the Church at that time (Like Latin for the Western Sees, and Greek for the Eastern Sees), while a few other translations were made for scholarly and doctoral comparison (Like Origen's *Hexapla*, which combines together six different translations of the Old Testament for comparative purposes).

Over time, the Bible was eventually translated in many of the common languages spoke at that time. For example, the *Peshitta* was made in the 2nd Century AD, and is considered among the oldest extant bible translations in the world. There is also the *Vetus Latina*, a translation of the Bible in Latin prior to the writing of the *Vulgate* by Saint Jerome around the 5th Century AD, which largely replaced it.

This trend of translating the Bible continued throughout the Middle Ages, as revisions and editions of previous translations are being made, in addition to many local or communal translations emerging due to differences in language, location and others. Perhaps to combat this, some regions have discouraged the translation of the Bible, and instead opt to use any of the Liturgical translations. This also may have contributed to more and more nationalized translations that are beyond the reading capability of the common people, and caused a few people to start making translations that are more readable.

By the time the Reformation came about, and the Protestant Churches started forming, one of the battlefields between the Catholics and the Protestants was on the translation of the Bible. Several of the Reformers such as Martin Luther wishes to have bible translations that can be easily understood by the common people, whereas on the other hand, the Catholics counter that translating the Bible should be done in such a way as to not confuse the message of the original authors, while being easily readable to the people. Thus, the Bible translations of that period are primarily influenced by both goals, with both the Anglican King James Version and the Catholic Douay-Rheims coming on top for each side.

Due to the main Protestant principle of Sola Scriptura, a boom of biblical translations from their end emerged during the period following the Reformation, and as they traveled far and wide to make different translations of the Bible in different languages, the Catholic Church instead focused on making translations that stayed true to the Latin Vulgate, thus most Catholic Bible translations that were made during this time were translations straight from the Vulgate with some manuscripts serving as additional references. The Church at that time even revised the Latin Vulgate into the Clementine version that still sees some use today.

As the 19th Century AD ended, and the early 20th Century emerged, archeology organizations have began to uncover more ancient biblical manuscripts, and as a result, a new age of Bible Translation dawned, wherein the bibles made during this time would have those older manuscripts as their source. But it wasn't until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1949, that this new age had gone into overdrive. With the discovery of the currently most ancient versions of most of the Old Testament (Save for the Book of Esther), the bibles that are translated in this period are more literal, more truthful, and more accurate to the original texts of the ancient manuscripts than they were ever before. And even this age affected the Catholic Church too.

In 1943, Pope Pius XII wrote "*Divino afflante Spiritu*", an encyclical which called for the translation of the Catholic Bible using the older ancient manuscripts that have been discovered since, instead of the Latin Vulgate. As he wrote in his work:

> *"“We ought to explain the original text which was written by the inspired author himself and has more authority and greater weight than any, even the very best, translation whether ancient or modern. This can be done all the more easily and fruitfully if to the knowledge of languages be joined a real skill in literary criticism of the same text.”*
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> ― Pope Pius XII in Divino afflante Spiritu
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Following this, many Catholic organizations focused on translating the Bible, refocused from using the Latin Vulgate, to using the ancient manuscripts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls found a few years later. One such group, the Cofraternity of Christian Doctrine, abandoned their current attempt to make a new English translation from the Latin Vulgate, followed the instructions of Divino afflante Spiritu by using the ancient manuscripts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, and their end result was the New American Bible, in 1970. However, a few other organizations still stuck themselves with translating the Latin Vulgate for new Bible translations, like Monsignor Ronald Knox and his Knox Bible, and the Jerusalem Bible, which was translated from a French translation of the Vulgate. Meanwhile, the Vulgate itself had been revised further into the Nova Vulgata, which was made from several previously-existing Vulgate editions, while including some notes from recently discovered ancient biblical manuscripts.

As the world entered the 21st Century, this age of Bible Translation seems far from over, as both the discovery of more and more ancient manuscripts, the increasing accessibility of scholarly work to more people, and the creation of scholarly and critical editions of the ancient manuscripts meant that more and more organizations now have the capability to make their translations of the Bible, with their own understandings and goals in the mix. For example, towards the end of the 20th Century, the Christian Community Bible was made by the French Priest Bernard Hurault in conjunction with Claretian priest Rev. Alberto Rossa. While the Christian Community Bible translation itself is considered very accurate by their editors, many of the footnotes and reflections usually display some elements of Liberation Theology, which is a movement aimed at uplifting the poor and impoverished peoples as part of one's Faith and Theology.

Meanwhile, both the discovery of much older ancient biblical manuscripts and improved scholarly understanding and work in many circles have led to improved or revised versions of Bible Translations that are already considered very excellent in their own merits. For example, The New American Bible had its New Testament revised in 1986, its Book Of Psalms revised in 1991, and recently, the the Old Testament (Including the 1991 Psalms as they were not accepted) was revised in 2010, leading to the creation of the New American Bible - Revised Edition. Currently, the Cofraternity of Christian Doctrine is hard at work in revising the New Testament so that the New American Bible - Revised Edition can be a fully completed revised version of the original New American Bible.

The Jerusalem Bible also received its share of improvements, with the New Jerusalem Bible coming out in 1985, and then being further revised in 2019 as the Revised New Jerusalem Bible. The Christian Community Bible itself has undergone many editions, and currently, the latest edition is the Catholic Pastoral Edition in 2013. And also in 2019, a wholly new Catholic Bible Translation, simply called the "New Catholic Bible" was released. While I cannot say much for the other languages, I am certain that they also have their share of improvements and revisions that are made to their own Catholic Bible Translations.

Overall, the age of Bible Translation will continue on, as more ancient biblical manuscripts are discovered, more manuscripts are already being scrutinized being scrutinized further by scholars, more critical editions of such works are being made, and as all the languages evolves and changes. For so long as the Bible existed, so did the many attempts to translate it into any language while keeping the original spirit of the Bible intact. And if even a bit of history has shown us, it is that more and more translations will be made in the future, more and more improved revisions and editions of pre-existing translations will be made. And ultimately, the Evangelization and spread of the Mission to make the Bible known in as many languages as possible will continue. What would matter is that no matter the translation or the language, the Word of GOD is conveyed properly and the Gospel is still made clear to those who read.

## List of Translations

Here are the translations in the various languages that have been approved by any Catholic authoritative body and is an authentic Catholic Translation for Catholic use. Each article about the translations will contain all their respective translations of the books of the Catholic Bible.

Some translations have even created whole families consisting of many different editions and revisions of said translation, thus specific Catholic Bible translation families are given their own lists or categories

Examples of Catholic Bible translation families are the New American Bible Family, the Revised Standard Edition Family alongside the New Revised Standard Edition Family, and the Jerusalem Bible Family

## Latin Translations

### Vulgate Family

* Original Vulgate (O-VULGATE)
* Clementine Vulgate (C-VULGATE)
* Stuttgart Vulgate (S-VULGATE)
* Nova Vulgata (N-VULGATE)

## Greek Translations

### Greek LXX OT/Scrivener NT Family

* Greek LXX OT/Scrivener NT - Original (LXX/S-O)
* Greek LXX OT/Scrivener NT - Anglicised (LXX/S-A)

### Nestle–Aland Novum Testamentum Graece

***Note:*** *These translations are not Catholic Translations, however they have served as the source of multiple recent Catholic Bible translations, especially on the New Testament*

* Nestle–Aland Novum Testamentum Graece Twenty-Sixth Edition (NA26)
* Nestle–Aland Novum Testamentum Graece Twenty-Seventh Edition (NA27)
* Nestle–Aland Novum Testamentum Graece Twenty-Eighth Edition (NA28)
* Nestle–Aland Novum Testamentum Graece Twenty-Ninth Edition (NA29)

## Hebrew Translations

### Biblia Hebraica

***Note:*** *These translations are not Catholic Translations, however they have served as the source of multiple recent Catholic Bible translations, especially on the Old Testament and the Deutercanonicals*

* Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS)
* Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ)

## English Translations - Original Catholic Versions

### Christian Community Bible Family

#### Original Versions

* Christian Community Bible (CCB)
* Christian Community Bible (Eighteenth Edition) (CCB-18ED)
* Christian Community Bible (Twenty-Ninth Edition) (CCB-29ED)

#### Catholic Pastoral Editions Versions

* Christian Community Bible - Revised Edition 2013 (CCB-RE 2013)
* Christian Community Bible - Revised Edition 2013 (CCB-RE 2013)
* Christian Community Bible - Revised Edition 2023 (CCB-RE 2023)

### Douay-Rheims Bible Family

* Douay-Rheims Bible - Original (DRB-O)
* Douay–Rheims Bible - Challoner Revision (DRB-CR)
* Douay-Rheims Bible - 1899 American Edition (DRB-AE)

### Jerusalem Bible Family

#### Jerusalem Bible Versions

* Jerusalem Bible (JB)
* New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)
* Revised New Jerusalem Bible (RNJB)

### New American Bible Family

#### New American Bible Versions

* New American Bible (NAB)
* New American Bible (1970 Published Edition) (NAB 1970)
* New American Bible (1986 Revised New Testament Edition) (NAB 1986)
* New American Bible (1991 Revised Psalms Edition) (NAB 1991)

#### New American Bible - Revised Edition Versions

* New American Bible - Revised Edition (NAB-RE)
* New American Bible - Revised Edition (2011 Published Edition) (NAB-RE 2011)
* New American Bible - Revised Edition (202X Revised New Testament Edition) (NAB-RE 202X)

## English Translations - Protestant Catholic/Ecumenical Versions

### English Standard Version Family

* English Standard Version - Catholic Edition (ESV-CE)

### Good News Bible Family

* Good News Bible - Catholic Edition (GNB-CE)

### Living Bible Family

#### New Living Translation Version

* New Living Translation - Catholic Edition (NLT-CE)

### The Message Family

* The Message – Catholic/Ecumenical Edition (TM-C/EE)

### Revised Standard Version Family

#### Revised Standard Version

* Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition (RSV-CE)

#### New Revised Standard Version

* New Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition (NRSV-CE)
* New Revised Standard Version - Anglicised Catholic Edition (NRSV-ACE)

## Other Translations

### Bisaya/Cebuano

* Ang Bag-ong Maayong Balita (ABMB)
* Biblia sa Kristohanong Katilingban (BKK)

### Italian

* Conferenza Episcopale Italiana Prima Edizione (CEI-PE)
* Conferenza Episcopale Italiana Seconda Edizione (CEI-SE)

### Polish

* Biblia Jakuba Wujka (BJW)
* Biblia Tysiąclecia (BT)

### Spanish

* Biblia de Jerusalen (BdJ)
* El Libro Del Pueblo De Dios (ELPDD)
* La Biblia De Nuestro Pueblo (LBNP)