The New American Bible (With the Revised Book of Psalms and the Revised New Testament) (Paperback)

by Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 1394 pages
• Publisher: Catholic World Press/World Bible Publishers (June 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0529064847
• ISBN-13: 978-0529064844
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,977 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #3 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Bibles > Translations > New American
  #5 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Bibles > New Testament

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

135 of 145 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible for the Catholic Church in the USA, March 9, 2001

By	TomJoe "nyj" (South Atlantic Area, USA) - See all my reviews

This it the Bible translation (known as the NAB) that is used in the Liturgy of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church (i.e.: first and second readings, psalms and the Gospel) in the United States of America (Canada uses the New Revised Standard Version - NRSV).

It is a very easy to read translation, and is truly a translation, as the scholars who compiled the New American translation did so from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts. This is unlike other Catholic translations, which have often worked from the Latin text of the Latin Vulgate. In the foreword, it talks about how the oldest and best-known and supportable texts were used in the writing of this translation, making it one of the best historical translations you can find.

Since it is a Catholic Bible, it contains the deuterocanonical books, which non-Catholic's erroneously call the "Apocrypha" (i.e.: I say erroneous because apocrypha means hidden, and these books are far from hidden).

Each book of the Bible contains the history of that book. Such information included is who was responsible for writing the book (when available), the period in which it was written, and the purpose and intent of the book. Along with this foreward, the each book contains extensive footnotes to assist the reader in understanding particular phrases and/or the historical context. It also contains cross-referencing material which will point the reader in the direction of other related scriptural verses.

As a pointer, this translation can also be found online by visiting the National Conference of Catholic Bishops at the United States Catholic Conference website. You will be able to read the text there and decide if this is a translation you would want to purchase. As a Catholic, I would highly recommend it to all other American Catholics.

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Useful Study Bible, April 14, 2004

By	Barry E. DeWalt (Redding, CA USA) - See all my reviews

The NAB translation is the one used for the reading of the Mass. I have purchased the NAB Bible for my class of RCIA students (potential converts to the Catholic faith) for the last three years. Over all, it is easily readable, and I find no major flaws in interpretation with the footnotes. There have been three or four footnotes in the Gospels that raised an eyebrow, but overall I have no complaint with the integrity of this interpretation and biblical exegesis.

That being said, this is not a 5 star because there are better study bibles available; however, not at the same price. The Navarre Bible is probably the best available and the Ignatius Study Bible is excellent as well. Nonetheless, you can't beat the price on this Bible and they serve wonderfully in a class and/or bible study setting. For the price and the quality, I will, without reservation, continue to purchase these.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My favorite small edition..., February 15, 2004

By	B. C. Giles (Gainesville, Fl USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First off, the translation on this bible is, for the most part, solid. That, in itself, isn't really a compelling reason to buy it, there are plenty of other good translations out there, some perhaps even better than this one.

However, this one has hands down better notes than any other cheap paperback bible. Every book of the bible has a brief, very scholarly written introduction, and clarifying footnotes on many pages.

What I really respect is that the introductions and footnotes and really, legitimately, scholarly. The moralizing commentary routinely found in some "study bibles" is here reduced to simple notes of clarification on either odd historical points or lines that are hard to translate.

More than enough to recommend this one, even to non-Catholics. Martin Luther might not have particularly liked the extra books, but he did say people should read them.