Ignatius press has just released The Ignatius Bible: Revised Standard Version: Second Catholic Edition. It is praised as:
A completely new typeset and designed edition of the popular Ignatius Revised Standard Version Bible, with minor revisions to some of the archaic language used in the first edition. This revised version is a contemporary English translation without dumbing-down the text. This second edition of the RSV doesn’t put the biblical text through a filter to make it acceptable to current tastes and prejudices, and it retains the beauty of the RSV language that has made it such a joy to read and reflect on the Word of God. Now the only Catholic Bible in standard English is even more beautiful in word and design!
In other words, this new RSV edition conforms to Catholic standards of translation and scholarship. While the original RSV-CE was great, this edition seems to be even better. No inclusive language, no “you can’t find Christ in the Old Testament” assumptions, no “radical higher critical scholarship outweighs 2000 years of tradition” translation principles, and so forth. I have mine on order from Amazon. Currently the cost of the hardbound is around 18.00 at Amazon, a great discount off the 29.99 retail price.
David Bennett
Jennifer
asimplesinner
Fr. J.
Chad T.
Jorge Flores
Jonathan B
carmelbennett
nicenehobbit
Jason S
jaybird68
papaz
Dave Hartline
faceman
March 10, 2006 at 4:16 pm |
I had to choose between the 1st and 2nd edition the other day. I went ahead and got the compact, leather-zipper-cased 1st edition.
March 10, 2006 at 4:25 pm |
Oh, wow. Eighteen bucks ain’t bad.
Nice cover, too. Our Lord and the four living creatures. Appropriate.
March 10, 2006 at 4:30 pm |
I have the first edition too, and I am sure it has its strengths (like using Thee and Thou, which for prayer is pretty cool). The second actually updates the Old Testament which is nice. Look at Isaiah 7:14 in the RSV-CE and it says “a young woman will be with child” which is accurate, but doesn’t take into account this verse in the light of Christ. The RSV-CE2 renders it “virgin.”
Would you all let me know if you order this? I would be interested to know what you think about it.
March 10, 2006 at 4:40 pm |
This is the one I got.
March 10, 2006 at 4:42 pm |
Well, if it removed Thee’s and Thou’s in pray, I’m glad I got the 1st edition.
March 10, 2006 at 7:34 pm |
I have the compact RSV-CE and I have to admit, artsy that I am, what I really want next is not the RSV2 but http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0814690513/ref=ord_cart_shr/702-7540513-3287263?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB
The St. John’s is in the NRSV, a detraction for me but the art on every page and fully hand done text is astounding. The link is to the Gospels & Acts only. By the time the whole Bible is out you’ll need an entire shelf, rather the opposite of my compact RSV-CS
March 11, 2006 at 12:05 am |
this is exciting! I can’t wait to read get my hands on one myself.
I usually use the RSV-CE, but mine is the compact Oxford University version, with no commentary. I like it that way, because it’s better to have no commentary than some of the wacky commentaties that “scholars” are putting out.
I’ve seen the St. John’s Bible once… it is absolutely gorgeous, although a bit modern. I can still admire the people who produced it, though.
March 11, 2006 at 12:49 am |
Wow, a lot of good bible editions mentioned here. I think the best bibles are the RSV-CEs, the regular RSV, the New Jerusalem Bible, and the Douay-Rheims. I do not care for the New American Bible that much. I have a New Testament before the revision, and let me tell you, the revision is at least an improvement.
Actually the NAB text read during Mass isn’t even available to the public. If you listen at the midnight Christmas mass you will hear Titus 2:13 refer to Jesus as God, which it does NOT do in the paper copies of the NAB. The Vatican told them the version we have isn’t suitable for reading because of the sub-par translation. So they dont read from it, but give it to naive catechumens like Jason ;), lol.
March 11, 2006 at 4:46 am |
The first edition sounds like my pick. The more Thee’s and Thou’s, the better. It may be a month or so, as I binged with my last Amazon purchase :)
March 11, 2006 at 7:45 am |
Actually the NAB text read during Mass isn’t even available to the public…The Vatican told them the version we have isn’t suitable for reading because of the sub-par translation. So they dont read from it, but give it to naive catechumens like Jason
Hey, that’s naive candidate to you, buddy.
March 12, 2006 at 11:50 pm |
Yeah they gave me the NAB during RCIA, but then I heard everyone saying how bad it was and someone on Relevant Radio mentioned that the Ignatius RSV CE was the most accurate translation to the original text, so I immediately went out and bought it. It definitely is much better!
I saw the 2nd edition last week at Borders and have been hinting to my wife ever since that it would make a great Easter present.
March 30, 2006 at 11:04 pm |
Dang…I keep thinking of other stuff to say…bear with me:
So, does anybody know which is the one Rome recommends?
email me, please in case I forget to check back (though I’m bookmarking as we speak):
tom@tomreagan.com
March 31, 2006 at 3:37 am |
Tom,
Welcome to the blog by the way (I have been meaning to say this before now).
Rome has approved the NAB for reading during Mass in the US. It is a slighly different NAB than what we have available in our NAB Bibles. The Vatican approved NAB for reading in Mass is more conservative than what is available in the copies we can get.
It is interesting that when the Vatican approved the English translation of the catechism, they used the RSV-CE and *not* the NAB for catechism scriptural quotes. While I think the NAB is a good Bible, it relies heavily on the assumptions of secular scholars, so the Old Testament is translated in a way so as to generally exclude Jesus being there. The NAB New Testament renders certain verses contrary to a Catholic/historically Christian understanding of them. However, it is still a good Bible in my opinion.
I would have an RSV-CE around. I got the RSV-CE2 and I really enjoy it. I would definitely recommend it.
April 7, 2006 at 6:06 am |
Thanks, David. Very interesting and now bookmarked.
Does anybody know of any other good links on this sort of thing, particularly something that could highlight some of the differences in the translations?
Also, does anybody have any links regarding how certain things really should be translated (such as the Isaiah 7:14 quote)? Not to say I don’t like the “Catholic’ish” translations, because I admit I do…but I would also like to know it’s not going too far. In other words, my Greek and Aramaic leave something to be desired…which is to say they don’t exist.
God bless!
April 20, 2006 at 10:29 pm |
Also, does anybody have any links regarding how certain things really should be translated (such as the Isaiah 7:14 quote)?
In this particular instance, it depends a great deal on whether you are translating from the original Hebrew or from the Greek Septuagint. In the Hebrew version of the Old Testament, young woman is probably a more accurate translation. In the Septuagint, the virgin translation is more accurate. Since Jesus and the early Church used mostly the Greek Septuagint, I generally prefer that to the Hebrew.