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So, some versions of the Bible are HARD TO FIND. One I was trying to find, was the Protestant “American Standard Version with Byzantine text”. It's out of copyright, but not easy to find a physical copy. Like, at all. I did find it online, though (American Stand Version Byzantine Text, don't ask why it automatically goes to John 1, and, if you can find a physical copy, tell me on my Locals; Catholicism, News, and whatever)
(If you haven't read it, please see my previous version, here;Baptism on the brain, and check out my latest on Locals, Coffee and Christianity: Episode 68: The unpardonable sin).
So, why is that useful? Well, for one, it has the Deuterocanonical books, as well as ACTUAL Apocrypha (Though, annoyingly, it still has the Deuterocanon in the “Apocrypha” section). For another, it has the ACTUAL Apocrypha. This is something that is not always easy to come by. I have a King James Bible with the Deuterocanonical books (in the right order, as well as three books from the actual Apocrypha, Walsingham Publishing - King James Bible for Catholics), but, I don't come across many Bibles with the Psalms of Solomon, or 4 Maccabees.
I think it is VERY important to read the actual Apocrypha (I still need to work on that, I do have an article about what I have read in the Apocrypha; Reading the actual Apocrypha: The prayer of Manasses (Manasseh), as I think it's important to understand why these books should be considered canonical or not. I personally hold that the issue of the canon is closed, however, some people will dispute that (it should be noted, as it is in my article, that the Church does use the actual Apocrypha in some circumstances).
Anyway, I think I'm getting ahead of myself, you may ask why I use a bunch of different versions of the Bible, the reason is this; because I want you to have an idea of translator bias, how different translations read, and, most importantly, which one you'll like the best.
Now, there are some translations you'll note that I don't use, one is the New American Bible Revised Edition. I do like like the inserts I have in one of the editions I have, but the footnotes are garbage (and quite liberal, and still accepts debunked theories, more about that here, though, I don't think you should throw your Bible in the garbage, and I don't think Dr. Beaumont means that seriously,Get Rid of Your Old Catholic Study Bible! The NEW Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is Here!)
I do have a problem with some Bibles that have the name “Catholic Edition”, and then there are no cross references to the Deuterocanon (which is weird, since, early Protestant Bibles had them;Episode 3: :The "Apocrypha" in Protestant Bibles?),
Anyway, the point I'm getting at is this; don't just rely on one version of the Bible. Don't accept just what the footnotes or the introduction say (even in Catholic Editions of Bibles, I still read non-sense about the “two canon” theory. That's been debunked;A Pre-Christian Canon?).
But, here's the thing; introductory notes and and footnotes, while useful, are not inspired.
The text is.
And, to be honest, the Bible I use for devotional use, might not be the one use for writing. And I'm not against using Protestant based translations (see here; On Protestant influenced Catholic Bibles).
Anyway, since I have been reading Tobit with my nephew (I read the whole thing, here;Book of Tobias (Book of Tobit)-Douay Rheims version),
So, there's the Douay Rheims, and since I read the ESV CE, earlier, here's Tobit 2 (which I read with my nephew); let's do verses 11-14, “At that time my wife Anna earned money at women's work. She used to send the products to their employers and they would pay her wages. On the seventh of Dystros, she cut off a woven piece and sent it to the employers and they paid her for the whole price and gave her a kid from the herd to take him. When she returned to me the kid began to bleat. So I called her and said, “Where did you get this goat? It is not stolen, is it? Return it to its owners, for we do not have the right to eat anything stolen”, and she said to me, “It was given to me as a gift in addition to my wage”. But, I did not believe her, and kept telling her to return it to the owners, and I became flushed over this on her account. Then she replied to me, “And where are your deeds of mercy? Where are your righteous deeds? Behold! These things are known about you”!
11.” And my wife Anna did spin in the women’s chambers, 12 and did send the work back to the owners. And they on their part paid her wages, and gave her also besides a kid. 13 But when it came to my house, it began to cry, and I said unto her, From whence is this kid? is it stolen? render it to the owners; for it is not lawful to eat anything that is stolen. 14 But she said, It hath been given me for a gift more than the wages. And I did not believe her, and I bade her render it to the owners; and I was abashed at her. But she answered and said unto me, Where are thine alms and thy righteous deeds? behold, thou and all thy works are known.” (ARV Byzantine text, no copyright)
“At that time, also, my wife , Anna, earned money at women's work. She used to send what she made to the owners and they would pay wages to her. One day, the seventh of Dys'trus, when she cut off a piece she had woven and sent it to the owners, they paid her full wages and give her a young goat for a meal. When she returned to me, the goat began to bleat. So I called her and said, “Where did you get this goat? It is surely not stolen, is it? Return it to the owner, for we have no right to eat anything stolen”. But I did not believe her, and I told her to return it to the owners. Then she replied to me, “Where are your acts of charity? Where are your righteous deeds? These things are known about you”!
And, to round this out, the NABRE, which I don't have on me (as many people complain about the NRSVCE, I think it's WAY better than the NAB family), and, since I don't want to type (and I read part of the introductory notes, and this is exactly WHY people don't become Catholic), I'll share the link, Tobit.
Anyway, you may have heard that the best Bible is the “one you'll read”. I think that's true, but, be sure to look at things like who is doing the translations. While I don't despise the NRSV as much as some other people, I'm not quite fond of the update. I know the flaws of the original, and I'm okay with that. But, if something doesn't sound right, I can always check out other Bibles to see what's different.
Adam Charles Hovey is the founder of the Catholicism, News, and whatever community on Locals, and the host of the weekly Bible study, Coffee and Christianity
*Copyrighted Bibles used, ESV Catholic Edition with Deuterocanonical Books, Copyright 2017 by Crossway.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, Catholic Edition, copyright 1993, and 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A
Adam Charles Hovey is a Catholic layman from South Carolina. You can follow him on Locals Catholicism News and Whatever, where he has the Catholicism, news, and whatever community. On Rumble, here: https://rumble.com/c/AdamCHovey, where he talks about pretty much whatever he wants, and has the Bible study "Coffee and Christianity". on Mewe, here: https://mewe.com/adamcharleshovey, and gettr: https://gettr.com/user/adamchovey
