Dear John:

The Bible version used during the Mass is an edition of the New American Bible. The old standard for Catholics is, of course, the Douay Rheims Bible (translated and published just before the time of the King James Version).

The translation that most Catholic scholars use is the Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition (RSV-CE). Ignatius Press has this available in a 2nd Edition. I highly recommend the 2nd Edition of the RSV-CE.

The Revised Standard Version was actually translated by Protestant in the 1950s. It is a revision of the King James that removes more than 300 errors found in the King James.

The version was so good that, with some minor edits, the Catholic Church adopted it.

In Bible study, however, it is good to look at several versions, since translators will render words slightly differently. I always have on my desk the RSV-CE 2nd edition, the Douay Rheims, and the New American Bible. But, for comparison sake I also take a look at the Modern King James Version (MKJV), the New International Version (NIV), and the Contemporary English Version (CEV).

I also look at the Latin and the Greek, but I am very limited in my ability to do that.

I also use a free bible computer program called eSword. This is a great program into which you can add to it something like 25 different translations. It was developed by a Protestant, but it does have the Douay Rheims. There are a few translations that cost a few dollars because of copyright issues, but most of it is free. It is great to use as a search engine for the bible, and to compare various translations.

But, the bottomline, in terms of buying just one Bible, I recommend the RSV-CE 2nd Edition.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary