Catholic Review of: Catholic Comparative New Testament

The Catholic Comparative New Testament  by Oxford University Press is a great resource for any Catholic studying the Bible.  Jeff Cavins and Tim Grey recommend using an RSV or New American Bible for the Great Adventure series, but this Bible will allow you to follow along regardless of which translation is being read in your group.  It contains the Catholic translations that have been approved for use by the USCCB as well as other versions that people might be reading.  The nice thing is that you will be able to see (side-by-side) the differences between these translations.

The eight translations included in this Bible are:

Douay-Rheims: A traditional translation based on the Latin Vulgate.  It was translated by Gregory Martin, St. Edmund Campion and others in the 1580s.  It contains poetic language and the thee's and thou's common to the King James Version.

Revised Standard Version Catholic Bible:  An ecumenical translation designed for clearer reading than the King James Version.  The Catholic books were added by the Catholic Biblical Association in 1965.  It is the recommended study Bible for Catholics.

New American Bible: Translated by the Confraternity of Christian Principle under the guidelines of Vatican II.  This is the translation used at Mass but is considered to be an uncritical edition by scholars.

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Bible: A revision of the Revised Standard Version, this edition uses inclusive language and has not been approved for liturgical use in the United States.

Jerusalem Bible: Translated from the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures rather than from the Vulgate.  Uses a literal approach to translation and can claim J.R.R. Tolkien as one of it's contributors.

Good News Translation Bible: Written for non-native English speakers using the Dynamic equivalence method.  The simple language makes it popular among missionaries.

Christian Community Bible: Translated for Third World countries based on the original Hebrew and Greek texts.  It contains the Catholic books but is not approved by the United States bishops or recommended for study.

This is a nicely bound book with clear type and has the footnotes that go along with each translation.  The size and weight make it a little too heavy for daily reading but I find it to be a valuable tool in my own Scripture reading and have used it many times in a group setting.  If Oxford ever releases an old Testament version I will add it to my collection.