About the Bible

What is the Bible?

The Bible is not one book but a collection of books. Those books were written by different people over the course of hundreds of years. They were written both before and after the time of Jesus. In fact there were many other books and letters written that are not in the Bible.

In the year 382, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the Catholic Church determined which books were the inspired word of God and did not contradict his teaching. Books like the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which depicts Jesus as a child using his power to punish and hurt other children, were not included.

The 73 books that were officially recognized in the year 382, are still in the Bible 1,600 years later. Today, however, there are hundreds of English translations of the Bible. How are we to know which one to buy? To answer that question let’s consider two major points: scope and style.

The Number of Books in the Bible (Scope)

While Catholic Bibles have 73 books, Protestant Bibles only have 66 books. Why the difference?

When Martin Luther separated from the Catholic Church in the early 1500s, he translated the Bible into the German language. Seven books of the Old Testament contradicted with his personal belief that we are saved by faith alone, so he moved them into an appendix of the Bible. He also added the word ‘alone’ to Romans 3:28 so it would read ‘man is justified by faith alone.’

Until the 1820s Protestants still had 73 books in the Bible, just with the seven of them in the appendix. About this time publishers began printing Protestant versions of the Bible without the seven books to save money. This is how Protestant Bibles ended up with 66 books for the past 200 years.

Translating the Books of the Bible (Style)

Words are used to communicate meaning, but meaning varies in different places and historical periods. For example, less than 100 years ago, the word ‘gay’ meant happy. Most of the manuscripts of the Bible were written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic more than 2,000 years ago in a land over 6,000 miles from the United States.

Translating those ancient texts into modern languages like English is not an easy task. And translation is nevery truly complete for two reasons. First, over time we learn more about the people who wrote these texts and their culture. Second, modern language is always changing. With that said scholars typically follow one of two approaches when transating the Bible.

Scholars may follow a more formal approach, attempting to provide a literal word-for-word translation. However, a strict formal translation can be difficult to read and understand. Or scholars may choose to follow a more dynamic approach, attempting to preserve the intended meaning of the author with a thought-for-thought translation. These are often easy to read and understand.

With advances in technology, scholars have created hundreds of translations falling anywhere in the range from very formal to very dynamic. But the vast majority of Bibles sold today are based on 20 or so translations. However, each of those translations may have several different editions because they contain different supplemental information. For Example, the Revised Standard Version (RSV) translation of the Bible might have editions labeled ‘Study Bible,’ ‘Women’s Bible,’ and ‘Bible in a Year.’

Which Bible do I buy?

If you want to read the 73 books that were included in all Bibles until the 1820s, look for the Catholic version of a particular translation. The following are three popular choices:

The New Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition (NRSV-CE) is a mostly formal translation. The basic text is rendered literally, but it replaces masculine biased language for gender inclusive language. The reason is the original language often used words like men when referring to all of mankind.

The New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) is a mostly dynamic translation and is the one used at the Catholic Mass.

The Good News Translation – Catholic Edition (GNT-CE) is a very dynamic translation. It is very easy to read, especially for people where English is a second language. It also uses gender inclusive language.

The United State Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) provides a list of Bible translations approved for private prayer and study to ensure theological accuracy and that the translation does not conflict with the teachings of the Church.

Which Bible translation is best? The one you actually read. God will speak to no matter which translation or edition you choose. Consider praying the following or something similar before reading the Bible.

Holy Spirit,
help me understand
how to apply the Word of God
to my life today.
Amen.