Hi Dina,
There is nothing per se wrong with using a Protestant translation. Some
of them are excellent. You just need to be careful and read any study notes
with a critical eye.
I'm glad to see you use a variety of translations. The fact is ancient
Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic (the biblical languages) are far more rich and
nuanced then contemporary English. Hence, a person serious about studying
Scripture should never rely on just one translation, because no one translation
is perfect.
I own at least one copy of each of the translations you mentioned. I also
use the Orthodox Study bible. It uses the New King James for the New Testament
and Psalms. For the Old Testament it has a completely new translation done
by Orthodox scholars, who used the Septuagint (Greek) rather the Masoretic
text (Hebrew and Aramaic). In addition to being an interesting translation,
there are some great Patristic notes.
In addition, I'll sometimes refer to a couple of Jewish sources.
- The Tanakh, [the Old Testament (39 book
canon) translated in to English by the American Jewish Publication
Society], is an interesting translation.
- I also use the Jewish New Testament, translated by a Jewish convert
to Christianity, David Stern.
Of course anytime you use a non-Catholic translation or Bible, you need
to be careful.
Obviously, the Protestant Old Testament is missing
books. On the other
hand, the Orthodox Old Testament has additional books. In some instances,
I've found additional texts and verses in Orthodox Old Testament
in the books we share in common, so as I said, you need to be careful.
I happen to share your favorites. The RSV-CE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition) is by far the best Catholic
translation. On the other hand, I think the New American Bible has all
the poetic majesty of a small soap dish.
I also very much enjoy the rhythm and style of the (NKJV) New King James Version. Both
the NKJV and RSV-CE are excellent translations.
If the NKJV included the entire Catholic Old Testament, I'd have to go
with NKJV.
God Bless,
John D.
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