CHOOSING THE CORRECT CATHOLIC BIBLE Catholic Principles of Biblical Reading, Study and Interpretation
How Should the Bible be Read? • You are approaching the “Word of God” ▫ The title Christians most commonly give to the Bible ▫ It is also the title given to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, God the Son
• The Word of God is Scripture. The Word of God is Jesus. • Close association between God’s written Word and His eternal Word is intentional.
Resemblance between the Inspired Word and the Written Word • Although Christ is the Word Incarnate, in His humanity He is like unto us in all things except sin. • As a work of man, the Bible is like any other book. But as authored by God, the Bible is without error (inerrancy). • Both Christ and Scripture are given “for the sake of our salvation” (Dei Verbum 11)
Resemblance between the Inspired Word and the Written Word (2) • Both Christ and Scripture give us God’s definitive revelation of Himself. • Cfr. CCC 134: “All Sacred Scripture is but one book, and this one book is Christ, because all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ.” • We cannot conceive of one without the other: the Bible without Jesus, or Jesus without the Bible.
Resemblance between the Inspired Word and the Written Word (3) • Cfr. Jn 5:39-40: “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they who bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” • This does not mean that the Scriptures are divine in the same way that Jesus is divine. They are, rather, divinely inspired. As such, the Bible is unique in world literature, just as the Incarnation of the Eternal Word is unique in human history.
Resemblance between the Inspired Word and the Written Word (4) • Since Christ is the main subject of Scriptures, we cannot conceive of the Bible without Jesus, or of Jesus without the Bible. Each is the interpretative key of the other. • St. Jerome insists, “Ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (Prologue to his Commentary on Isaiah, quoted in CCC 133) • When we approach the Bible, then, we approach Jesus, the Word of God. In order to encounter Jesus, we must approach Him in a prayerful study of the inspired Word of God, the Sacred Scriptures.
What do I profit by Reading the Bible daily?
• What we get out of the Bible will largely depend on how we approach the Bible. • Unless we are living a sustained and disciplined life of prayer, we will never have: ▫ the reverence ▫ the profound humility ▫ the grace of the Holy Spirit (cfr. Dei Verbum n.12: “Holy Scripture must be read and interpreted in the same Spirit in which it was written”)
we need to see the Scriptures for what they really are. • We are approaching the Word of God. But from eternity, the Word of God has been approaching us.
WHO IS THE PROPER INTERPRETER OF THE BIBLE? • 1 Tim 3:15: “If I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.” • St. Paul calls the Church –and not Scriptures– the foundation of truth. • The Church speaks for Christ, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (Jn 14:6).
WHO IS THE PROPER INTERPRETER OF THE BIBLE? (2) • Jn 14:25: “… the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—He will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” • Jn 16:13: “…when He comes, the Spirit of truth, He will guide you to all truth.” Jesus’ Promise to the Apostles is very clear. • Mt 28:18-20: “All power in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of age.”
WHO IS THE PROPER INTERPRETER OF THE BIBLE? (3) • Jesus’ authority is passed on to his Church, and it will never fail. • Lk 10:16: “Whoever listens to you, listens to me. Whoever rejects you, rejects me. And whoever rejects me, rejects the One who sent me.” • Jesus Himself says it clearly and without equivocation: The Church speaks for Christ.
WHO IS THE PROPER INTERPRETER OF THE BIBLE? (4) • “…all of what has been said about the way of interpreting Scripture is subject finally to the judgment of the Church, which carries out the divine commission and ministry of guarding and interpreting the word of God.” (Dei Verbum n.12)
WHY ARE BIBLES DIFFERENT? • We do not have the originals. What we have are translations. • A single written sentence can be translated in so many ways: ▫ If this is the original sentence: “I will wait another day, until I call you.” ▫ The following are the possible translations in Tagalog:
WHY ARE BIBLES DIFFERENT? (2) “Maghihintay pa ako ng isang araw bago kita tawagan.” “Isa pang araw ang aking hihintayin hanggang sa tawagan kita.” “Hintay muna ako ng ibang araw, saka kita tatawagan.” “Pare, saka na, tiis ka muna.”
▫ As we can see, a single sentence can be translated in so many ways. ▫ The last Tagalog sentence stands out because of its informality, because of its “slang” character.
WHY ARE BIBLES DIFFERENT? (3) • Catholic Bibles differ from Protestant Bibles. We Catholics have seven more books in the Old Testament, and we call them the “Deuterocanonical books”. • These seven books are the following: ▫ ▫ ▫ ▫
Tobit Judith First Maccabees Second Maccabees
-- Wisdom of Solomon -- Sirach -- Baruch
WHY ARE BIBLES DIFFERENT? (4) • A common question to us from the Protestants is: “Why did you Catholics add seven books to the Old Testament?” • That question should be turned around, and we should ask Protestants: “Why did you Protestants remove the seven books from the Old Testament?” • The earliest Bibles, during the first 1,500 years of the Church, have the Deuterocanonical books.
WHY ARE BIBLES DIFFERENT? (5) • A Catholic Bible has 46 OT books in it while a typical Protestant Bible has 39 OT books. Both of them have the same number of books in the New Testament, 27 books. • They differ in the Old Testament because the Catholic Bible uses the Greek Septuagint list of authorized books (called canon), while the Protestant Old Testament uses the Palestinian canon, retaining only the books originally written in Hebrew and not in Greek.
WHY ARE BIBLES DIFFERENT? (6) • Catholics since the Council of Trent decided to keep the Septuagint Canon of the OT, namely 46 books, because that was what the Christians knew and used at the time of Christ and the Apostles. • Once more, we recall our previous discussion: the proper interpreter of Scriptures is the Catholic Church, which goes way back to the Apostles’ time. The Church decides which books belong to the whole Bible. Thus, we should accept the Deuterocanonical books as canonical, i.e., as inspired as all the other books of the whole Old and New Testament.
WHY ARE BIBLES DIFFERENT? (7) • The modern versions of the Bible are divided into those translated using the method of “dynamic equivalence”, and those translated using “formal correspondence”. • “Dynamic equivalence” emphasizes what the author meant and intended, and uses contemporary idioms rather than the original, so that the modern reader can understand better.
WHY ARE BIBLES DIFFERENT? (8) • “Formal correspondence” translations do not put the emphasis on using idioms, as they seek to translate word for word from the original languages, rather than thought for thought, as is the case with “dynamic equivalence.” • The following chart illustrates the range of Bible versions using both methods of translation:
DIFFERENT BIBLE TRANSLATIONS
Sample of an Interlinear Version (stricly literal, word-for-word) • “So then, brothers, be-standing-firm, and beholding-on-to the traditions which you-weretaught whether by word [of mouth], or by [a] letter of[from]-us.” (2 Thes 2:15, taken from: “New Testament Transline, A Literal Translation in Outline Format”, by Michael Magill)
Which editions are not safe? Which ones are recommended? • As a general rule, Catholics should use Catholic Bibles, since they contain the Deuterocanonical books, which are equally inspired and are considered as Word of God as all the rest. • To obtain only a Protestant Bible is to deprive oneself of the inspired content of seven OT books.
Which editions are not safe? Which ones are recommended? (2) • There is another reason why Catholics should acquire Catholic Bibles: Bible translations are colored by their respective theologies. Protestant Bibles are translated using Protestant assumptions, and Catholic Bibles are translated using Catholic Tradition. • This is seen in a particular way, as an example, with one particular popular Evangelical translation, i.e., the New International Version.
Which editions are not safe? • Noted Catholic convert, Steve Ray, wrote an article entitled, “Are all Bible translations created equal? The Protestant bias of the NIV: A Study of the word Tradition.” • The NIV replaces the word tradition with the word teaching when tradition is used in a good sense in the New Testament. However, when the word tradition is used unfavorably in the New Testament, the NIV translates it as “tradition”.
Which editions are not safe? (2) • 2 Thes 2:15 “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.” (Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition [RSV-CE]) • This is how the NIV translates this verse: “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”
Which editions are not safe? (3) • 1 Cor 11:2 “I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed them on to you.” (New American Bible NAB) • This is how the NIV translates this verse: “I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.”
Which editions are not safe? (4) • However, when the word “tradition” is cast in an unfavorable light by Our Lord, the English word “tradition” is retained in the NIV: • “Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” (Mt 15:6, NIV version) • And so, one perhaps is unconsciously led to believe that “tradition” is not a favorable word. This is according to Protestant belief that “the Bible alone” (sola Scriptura), should be believed, and not the Catholic Church “traditions”.
Which editions are recommended? • Considerations such as these should convince us, therefore, to obtain Catholic Bibles which are translated using Catholic principles of interpretation. • Which translation method should be chosen, “dynamic equivalence” or “formal correspondence”? • The latter should be chosen, when one really wants to study the Bible, since shades of original meaning get lost when one translates “dynamically”.
Which editions are recommended? (2) • However, when one wants to get acquainted with the main message and sweep of a biblical book, a translation using “dynamic equivalence” will help to get the general idea of the book. • However, one should realize that consultation with a “formal correspondence” translation should be done after reading a “dynamic equivalence” translation, so that the original “shade of meaning” would not be missed.
Which editions are recommended? (3) • My personal favorites among Catholic translations are the following: ▫ ▫ ▫ ▫ ▫
Douay-Rheims Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (RSV-CE) Catholic Confraternity Version (Sinag-tala Publishers) New American Bible Jerusalem Bible
• In general, we should not choose versions which adopt “inclusive language,” since most of the time, they distort the original meaning of the text.
Which editions are recommended? (4) • The first three versions mentioned are “formal correspondence” versions. The last two are “dynamic equivalence” versions. Here’s an example of both types of translations: • “And Mary said to the Angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the Angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee…. Because no word shall be impossible with God.” (Lk 1:34-35.37 DouayRheims)
Which editions are recommended? (5) • “But Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?’ And the angel said to her in reply, ‘The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…. for nothing will be impossible for God.” (New American Bible) • “Mary said to the angel, ‘But how? I’ve never slept with a man.’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you…. Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.” (The Message, by Eugene Peterson)
Which editions are recommended? (6) • “And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this happen, since I am not knowing [a] man?’ And having responded, the angel said [to] her, ‘[The] Holy Spirit will come upon you, and [the] power [of the] Most-High will overshadow you…. because every word from God will not be impossible” (New Testament Transline, A Literal Translation in Outline Format, by Michael Magill, pp. 182-183)
Catholic Bibles with Commentaries and Study Notes • The two best Bible Catholic editions I can recommend: ▫ The Navarre Bible, Standard Edition, Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers (both the Old and New Testaments are already completed and translated into English from the Spanish). With outstanding notes and commentaries based on the Magisterium, the Fathers of the Church, and different Saints, esp. St. Josemaria Escriva, Founder of Opus Dei, initiator of the project. Contains the Latin text of the New Vulgate (1986). A Reader’s Edition is also available for the New Testament. The English text is the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (RSV-CE). Totally faithful to Catholic Biblical principles of interpretation. Highly recommended.
Catholic Bibles with Commentaries and Study Notes (2) â–Ť The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, Ignatius Press. The English text used is the Revised Standard Version, 2nd Catholic Edition. So far, 10 books of the New Testament have been issued, up to the Letter to the Hebrews. Contains abundant notes and exegesis, keyed to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), numerous quotes from Fathers of the Church, the Saints and the Magisterium, also providing rich historical, cultural, geographical, and theological information pertinent to the Biblical book involved. Entirely faithful to Catholic Biblical principles of interpretation.