Customer Reviews

New American Bible for Catholics

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of the best modern translations around, translated by outstanding Catholic scholars. I've appreciated this translation for many years even though I'm not Catholic, but Protestant.

The translation finds a good balance between being literal word for word and a thought for thought translation. It is a very lucid translation that is somewhat similar to the New Revised Standard Version in terms of readability, but it is not as gender-inclusive as the NRSV is. I actually like the NAB more than the NRSV. I prefer the NAB to recent paraphrases such as the New Living Translation and the Message.

I really enjoyed the brief introductions for each book along with the helpful study notes at the bottom. The study notes reflect more of a mainstream scholarly position: The Pentateuch is written by the Yahwist, Elohist, Priestly, and Deuteronomic sources (e.g. J,E, D, P). The Book of Isaiah is viewed as written by multiple authors: Isaiah, Deutero-Isaiah, and the disciples of Isaiah.

In Daniel 7, the study notes reflect a later date for the writing of the book of Daniel (e.g. 167 BC) and thus assert the 4 beasts represent the Babylonian kingdom, the Median empire, the Persian empire under Cyrus the Great, and then the Greek empire. For evangelical readers, this mainstream position may seem "liberal" and reflects a position that goes against predictive prophecy.

The interpretation of the Apocalypse reflects a preterist viewpoint: Babylon the Great in Rev. 17 and 18 is Rome, and the 2 witnesses in Rev. 11 is symbolic of the church. Many of the events in the book of Revelation were fulfilled in the first century.

In more conservative evangelical study Bibles (e.g. The NIV Study Bible, the MacArthur Study Bible), the Pentateuch is written by Moses and his disciples (esp. for Deuteronomy), the book of Isaiah is written by the single author (the prophet Isaiah), and the 4 kingdoms in Daniel 7 are interpreted as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, due to the earlier dating of Daniel (e.g. 6th century B.C. In most evangelical study Bibles, the interpretation of apocalyptic literature such as Daniel and Revelation reflect the premillennial dispensationalist viewpoint (everything should be taken very literally and in chronological order: Israel is distinct from the church), the historical premillennial (everything is taken literally but the church is the same as Israel) or the amillennial viewpoint (everything should be taken symbolically rather than literal).

Why all the fuss about dates and authorship? In the case of the book of Daniel, it has to do with one's view of the inspiration of Scripture and whether the prophecies were predicted way in advance or not. Evangelical scholars date Daniel in the 6th century B.C. and hold to the notion of predictive prophecy; hence, the 4 kingdoms are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The mainstream scholarly position tends to date the book of Daniel to the 2nd century B.C. and a case can be made that these scholars don't hold to the notion of prescriptive prophecy. Hence, the 4 kingdoms would be interpreted as Babylon, Median empire, Persian empire, and Greece.

Another point of interest in the NAB is the translation of the Greek term "hilasmon" as "expiation" rather than "propitiation" (NASB, NKJV, ESV) in passages such as Rom. 3:25; 1 John 2:2 and 4:10.

Despite my different position on the authorship of the prophetic books and my view of how to interpret the apocalyptic books, I found this Bible to be very helpful. I really liked the lucid translation, and the notes help me to understand the mainstream scholarly position.

I really like Catholic Bibles such as the NAB because they include the deutero-canonical books which are not included in Protestant versions, such as Judith, Sirach, Tobit, 1 & 2 Maccabees. The book of Daniel in the NAB includes the stories of Bel and the Dragon attached at the end. The book of Esther contains chapter E between chapters 8 and 9. I especially find the books of 1 & 2 Maccabees to be informative and instructive -- giving the reader much insight into the Intertestamental Period.

You can't go wrong with this Bible. This hardcover edition is one of the least expensive editions of the NAB available. It is also available in a beautiful black or burgundy imitation-leather Gift Award edition, along with a bigger St. Joseph large print edition (w/ pictures), and a Catholic Study Edition.

I find this hardcover and Gift & Award edition sufficient for my needs with the fine introductions & study notes already incorporated. I wish they would put in a concordance in the future.

The differences between this hardcover version and the Gift /Award version are the following:

a) This edition, published by American Bible Society, does not have the list of popes, the chronological tables of the Miracles and Parables of Jesus in the front, nor the endorsement of the pope & bishops. The Gift/Award edition has all of these.

b) The hardcover edition includes a 3 year cycle of readings for Sunday mass and a week-day lectionary in the back. The Gift/Award edition does not have these.

c) This edition has a burgundy hardcover which has a big cross in the middle while the Gift/Award edition has a beautiful black or burgundy imitation leather cover with just the words "New American Bible" and no cross.

d) This edition has the words of Christ in black letter while the Gift/Award edition has the words of Christ in red-letter.

e) The hardcover edition does not have maps in the back, but the Gift/Award edition has 2 maps: the 12 tribes of Israel and the Ministry of Jesus.

To tell you the truth, I prefer the Gift/Award version because of the beautiful imitation leather cover, the helpful tables in the front, and Christ's words presented in red-letter. The Gift/Award edition is also more compact than this hardcover edition. Finally, this hardcover edition states "New American Bible for Catholics" in its cover -- well, I prefer the "New American Bible" title by itself because I think that believers in the Protestant and Orthodox denomination can benefit greatly by this version. It is not only for Catholics.

If you're looking for a quality Catholic Bible that is translated by outstanding scholars and is readable, go no further than the NAB. It is an excellent translation that all Christians can benefit from, regardless of their denominational background.

A final note: The New American Bible (NAB) should not be confused with the New American Standard Bible (NASB), which is a conservative Protestant translation of the Bible. In the search list, Amazon puts the NASB alongside the NAB.

I bought 10 of these hardcover bibles to give to other people. I am returning all 10 because of what appears to be a printing defect. In parts of the bible (page 1,050 is a good example in Luke), there isn't enough white space in the middle. The text runs into the fold in the middle of the book and is almost impossible to read. Too bad. I like the vintage of the printing, and I likd the price. I hope to find another alternative instead.

This NAB Bible follows the general format that has not changed since the 1980's (with the exception of the newer Study NAB's), It has extensive notes but not much extra helpful material.

The reason that I gave it only 2 stars is that the text layout on the pages is very poor. On the inner part of the page the text is bearly visable, it nearly disappears for lack of a inner margin.

Otherwise the book is well bound with a nice hard cover.

I reccomend getting the paperback NAB instead:
http://www.amazon.com/American-Bible-Confraternity-Christian-Doctrine/dp/0529064847/ref=pd_cp_b_1

This is a great bible! I would highly recommend it to any Catholic seeking a bible that is in the every day language. I like the hard back because it isn't as easily damaged or worn. The "Three-Year Cycle of Readings For Sunday Mass" is especially helpful to me as I am disabled and unable to attend church. (Someone brings me the Eucharist) There are also suggested readings for weekdays.

The only thing that I find that could be improved is that the print is a little too small for me.

This Catholic bible is beautiful. The only thing I would caution is that the print is a little on the small side, so if you prefer easy reading I would look for large print. It works for me though.

Bought this for my 7 yo daughter for her Religious Education classes. Easy to use and easy to read. Perfect size for taking to Sunday School/CCD classes.

While I'm not a fan of the dust jacket picture (I promptly threw it away), the hardback is an attractive purple shade. This Bible is constructed well, and designed with a pleasing typeface. This is the most legible of any NAB I've seen (and I'm a Bible geek).

I am enjoying this Bible, although I did not realize until the last month or so that there was a difference.