The Catholic Message Board

Cross-posting this from FB
New Bible translation was approved by the USCCB (Just the N. T. has been changed, but the entire Bible will be republished).
This is from a few months ago. I just heard about it.
It will be called the Catholic American Bible and will be available about a year from now.
No timeframe for republishing the Lectionary.
https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/catho ... us-bishops

Nothing can fix the NAB.

Obi-Wan Kenobi wrote: ↑Tue Feb 24, 2026 7:52 pm Nothing can fix the NAB.

I will never understand the blind hatred so many have for it. But the description is wrong; both the Old and New Testaments are revised, and the notes are completely new as well. It really is an entirely new text, which is why it has a different name. And that article is really old, the text has not just been approved by the bishops, it has been approved by the Vatican, as has an all-new lectionary, and a new edition of the Liturgy of the Hours.

When will it be available?

There's nothing at all blind about my hatred for it. Even setting aside the historical/critical footnotes, the translation is pedestrian and often weird for the sake of being weird.

You need look no farther than Genesis 1:2, where we are told that a "mighty wind" was over the waters. "Mighty wind" is translating "ruah elohim", which is "Spirit of God." Every other English translation does it that way. Even elsewhere in the NAB, it's translated that way. In the blessing of the baptismal water at Easter, the prayer talks about the Spirit hovering over the water. There's no rational explanation for this.

Then there's the constant "had relations" instead of "know."

Then there's the desperate attempts to avoid the word "man" and substitute "one".

Then there's this gem from John 1:6: "A man named John was sent from God." The Greek is: Ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος, ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ θεοῦ, ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἰωάννης. Translated closely, it's "There came a man, sent from God, whose name [was] John." The word order in unusual in Greek, and it's meant to highlight that the man was sent by God. The NAB is not wrong, I guess, but it removes the emphasis on "God."

I could go on and on, but I won't. It's just a bad translation. No one uses it who doesn't have to.

Given those substantial objections, which version do you prefer?

Highlander wrote: ↑Tue Feb 24, 2026 10:18 pm When will it be available?

According to the article (which apparently leaves out as much as it includes), Ash Wednesday of 2027. No date for the Lectionary.

I just want to know when an edition with wide margins might be in print. I like to write notes.

Riverboat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 24, 2026 10:49 pm Given those substantial objections, which version do you prefer?

RSV-CE
ESV

https://firstthings.com/a-bumping-boxcar-language/
https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2019/1 ... -nonsense/
https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/what ... ranslation

Esolen is one of the more prominent critics, but I completely agree with him.

Appreciate the discussion. Isn't the NAB the version used in the Mass in the US? And if it is, can one conclude that its weaknesses are evident upon study?

The Lectionary versions are sometimes slightly altered, but essentially, yes, we hear the NAB at Mass.

I'm not sure what your second question is asking.

I want to add that I didn't stumble across Esolen and have a conversion with respect to the NAB. Rather, after the horrible hymnody, the awkward Bible readings were one of the things I found most cringe-inducing when I converted. Esolen just does a good job of articulating the problems.

Obi-Wan Kenobi wrote: ↑Wed Feb 25, 2026 5:30 pm...I'm not sure what your second question is asking.

Well, neither was I.

If one holds the NAB is inferior and/or deficient, would having a broader background in the various English translations be noticeable during the Mass? That is, is the NAB so different in content and tone that it is evident in the Lectionary?

I've noticed that on rare occasions, a word or two of what the Reader or Priest is saying, differs from what is in the Missalette. At first I thought they read it wrong, but then realized that it's probably been altered.

Highlander wrote: ↑Wed Feb 25, 2026 10:16 pm If one holds the NAB is inferior and/or deficient, would having a broader background in the various English translations be noticeable during the Mass? That is, is the NAB so different in content and tone that it is evident in the Lectionary?

I think so. I grew up with the KJV and then the RSV, and I noticed the difference quickly. I think. That was a long time ago!