New American Bible Revised Edition

The New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) is an English-language, Catholic translation of the Bible, the first major update in 20 years to the New American Bible (NAB), which was translated by members of the Catholic Biblical Association and originally published in 1970.[1] Released on March 9, 2011, the NABRE consists of the 1986 revision of the NAB New Testament with a fully revised Old Testament approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2010.[2]

New American Bible Revised Edition
Full nameNew American Bible Revised Edition
AbbreviationNABRE
Complete Bible
published		March 9, 2011
Derived fromConfraternity Bible, New American Bible
Textual basisOT (2011 revision): Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia with Dead Sea Scrolls and minor Septuagint influence. Deuterocanonicals: Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls, and some Vulgate influence. NT: (1986 revision): "UBS3," the third edition of United Bible Societies' Third Edition Greek New Testament, and consultations of Novum Testamentum Graece 26th edition, i.e., "NA26."
Translation typeFormal equivalence (from the Preface), moderate use of dynamic equivalence.
Reading levelHigh School
CopyrightConfraternity of Christian Doctrine
Websitehttps://catholic.bible/

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth—and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters—

Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light.
Genesis 1:1 in other translations
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
John 3:16 in other translations

Approved for private use and study by Catholics, the NABRE has not received approval for Catholic liturgical use.[3][4] Although the revised Lectionary based on the original New American Bible is still the sole translation approved for use at Mass in the dioceses of the United States, the NABRE New Testament is currently being revised so that American Catholics can read the same Bible translation in personal study and devotion that they hear in Mass.[5]

Scriptural sources

New Testament sources are predominantly "UBS3" and "NA26," as further explained below:

Sourcing: "The Greek text followed in this translation is that of the third edition of The Greek New Testament, edited by Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Carlo Martini, Bruce Metzger, and Allen Wikgren, and published by the United Bible Societies in 1975 (UBS3). The same text, with a different critical apparatus and variations in punctuation and typography, was published as the twenty-sixth edition of the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (NA26) in 1979 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. This edition has also been consulted. When variant readings occur, the translation, with few exceptions, follows the reading that was placed in the text of these Greek editions, though the occurrence of the principal variants is pointed out in the notes."[6]
Old Testament Citations: "...Insofar as possible, the translation of such Old Testament citations agrees with that of The New American Bible Old Testament whenever the underlying Greek agrees with the Hebrew (or, in some cases, the Aramaic or Greek) text from which the Old Testament translation was made. But citations in the New Testament frequently follow the Septuagint or some other version, or were made from memory, hence, in many cases the translation in the New Testament passage will not agree with what appears in the Old Testament. Some of these cases are explained in the notes."[7]

Old Testament major sources come by way of the New American Bible; specifically Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Other source details, such as Codex Sinaiticus, are as described below:

"Where the Old Testament translation supposes the received text—Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek, as the case may be—ordinarily contained in the best-known editions, as the original or the oldest extant form, no additional remarks are necessary. Where the translators have departed from those received texts, e.g., by following the Septuagint rather than the Masoretic text, accepting a reading of what is judged to be a better textual tradition, as from a Qumran manuscript, or by emending a reading apparently corrupted in transmission, such changes are recorded in the revised edition of the Textual Notes on the New American Bible. Additional information on the textual tradition for some books may be found in the introduction to the book in the same Textual Notes.
"In particular, important manuscripts from Cave 4 of Qumran, as well as the most useful recensions of the Septuagint, have been consulted in the preparation of 1 and 2 Samuel. Fragments of the lost Book of Tobit in Aramaic and in Hebrew, recovered from Cave 4 of Qumran, are in substantial agreement with the Sinaiticus Greek recension used for the translation of this book. The lost original Hebrew text of 1 Maccabees is replaced by its oldest extant form in Greek. Judith, 2 Maccabees, and parts of Esther are also translated from the Greek. The translation of The Wisdom of Ben Sira is based on the original Hebrew as far as it is preserved, with corrections from the ancient versions; otherwise, the Greek of the Septuagint is followed. In the Book of Baruch the basic text is the Greek of the Septuagint, with some readings derived from an underlying Hebrew form no longer extant. In the deuterocanonical sections of Daniel (3:24–90; 13:1–14:42), the basic text is the Greek text of so-called Theodotion, occasionally revised according to the Greek text of the Septuagint."[8]

Reasons for revision
NABRE, World Catholic Press (2014)

In a press statement, the USCCB cited three reasons for the necessity of revising the Old Testament.[9] The new translation:

  1. Aims to utilize modern scholastic advances in biblical study and adapt to changes in linguistics in order to render a more accurate translation in contemporary English.
  2. Takes advantage of recently discovered ancient manuscripts like the Dead Sea Scrolls which provide better access to the historical textual tradition.
  3. Uses the best manuscript-translating traditions available in order to translate more literally and accurately than previous translations.

The press statement says that the New American Bible Revised Edition will in many ways be a more literal translation than the original New American Bible. The Psalms, in particular, received special attention to provide a smooth, rhythmic translation which both retains the concrete imagery of the original Hebrew and also provides for easy singing or recitation.

Old Testament

In August 1990, the Catholic Biblical Association passed a resolution urging revision of the Old Testament of the New American Bible.[10] In 1994, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops agreed to pass the resolution and form a steering committee/editorial board to direct the revision. The editorial board for the majority of the Old Testament consisted of 8 editors and 40 translators. In 2002, the Old Testament (excluding the Psalms) was completed and sent to the Subcommittee for the Translation of Scripture Text (previously, the Ad Hoc Committee for the Review of Scripture Translations) to see if it was a suitable Catholic translation. In September 2008, the last book (Jeremiah) of the Old Testament was accepted by the Subcommittee.

In November 2008, the Old Testament (including footnotes and introductions) was approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. However, they would not allow it to be published with the 1991 Psalms. A final revision of the NAB Psalter was undertaken using suggestions vetted by the Subcommittee for the Translation of Scripture Text and stricter conformity to Liturgiam Authenticam.[10]

Psalms

The Psalms have been the most controversial book of the Old Testament during the course of the revisions leading up to the publication of the New American Bible Revised Edition. The controversy is related to the adaptation of the New American Bible text's use in the official liturgy of the Catholic Church in the United States.

The first revision of the Psalms in 1991 was rejected for liturgical use by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments at the Vatican because of the extensive application of gender-neutral language in the text.[11]

Example: “Happy is the man” (Ps. 1:1); a literal translation of the Hebrew Esher-i Eieesh, which was the translation used in the original 1970 NAB and the 1986 RNAB—was replaced by the horizontally gender-neutral “Happy those” in the 1991 revision. The issue is that the change from "man" (an individual person, male or female) to "those" (a group of people) changes the promise given in the verse. The "blessedness/happiness" is no longer promised to the man (individual person, male or female) "who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked" but to a group. The necessity of each man (individual, male or female) to "not walk in the counsel of the wicked" is lost. This particular phrase has been changed in the 2010 Psalter to the traditionally worded, individual-specific "Blessed is the man."

The current liturgical text of the Psalms was modified under the supervision of the a Congregation of the Holy See and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for use in the Roman Catholic liturgy in 2000. The Vatican Congregation accepted some use of gender-neutral language, such as where the speaker is speaking of one of unknown gender (rendering "person" in place of "man"), but rejected any changes relating to God or Christ.

The newly revised Psalms found in the New American Bible Revised Edition follow the guidelines of Liturgiam Authenticam, a document issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.[12] Throughout the new translation of the Psalms, the use of gender-neutral language has been limited and appropriate gender-specific pronouns used in conjunction with the original Hebrew.[13]

The difficulty of translating the book of psalms is a Church dilemma dating back to St. Jerome who translated the Psalms from Greek and Hebrew into Latin (in the Vulgate) and made multiple revisions to them. It continues today in part because the Psalms form the backbone of the prayer life of the Church, so it is important to have a melodic and smooth text while maintaining fidelity to the underlying original language texts.

Changes to vocabulary

One of the more important changes found in the New American Bible Revised Edition is the substitution of various words and phrases for language which carries a modern connotation which is quite different from the original suggested meanings. Examples include changing "cereal" to "grain" and "booty" to "plunder."[13]

Examples
New American BibleNew American Bible Revised Edition
Leviticus 2:1 - "When anyone wishes to bring a cereal offering to the LORD, his offering must consist of fine flour."Leviticus 2:1 - "When anyone brings a grain offering to the LORD, the offering must consist of bran flour."
Isaiah 49:24 - "Thus says the LORD: Can booty be taken from a warrior?"Isaiah 49:24 - "Can plunder be taken from a warrior [?]"

Similarly, "holocaust" has been changed to "burnt offering". The word "holocaust" in modern English has become used almost exclusively to refer to the attempted genocide of the Jewish people during World War II. In order to capture the biblical meaning, the translators chose the phrase "burnt offering" to replace "holocaust" throughout the text in reference to sacrifices made to God.[14]

Sample changes
New American BibleNew American Bible Revised Edition
Joel 3:1-5

Then afterward I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind.
Your sons and daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
your young men shall see visions;
Even upon the servants and the handmaids,
in those days, I will pour out my spirit.
And I will work wonders in the heavens and on the earth,
blood, fire, and columns of smoke;
The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood,
At the coming of the Day of the LORD, the great and terrible day.
Then everyone shall be rescued who calls on the name of the LORD;
For on Mount Zion there shall be a remnant, as the LORD has said,
And in Jerusalem survivors whom the LORD shall call.

 Joel 3:1-5

It shall come to pass
I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even upon your male and female servants,
in those days, I will pour out my spirit.
I will set signs in the heavens and on the earth,
blood, fire, and columns of smoke;
The sun will darken, the moon turn blood-red.
Before the day of the LORD arrives, that great and terrible day.
Then everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD will escape harm.
For on Mount Zion there will be a remnant, as the LORD has said,
And in Jerusalem survivors whom the LORD will summon.

Sirach 51:1-4a

I give you thanks, O God of my father;
I praise you, O God my savior!
I will make known your name, refuge of my life;
you have been my helper against my adversaries.
You have saved me from death, and kept back my body from the pit,
From the clutches of the nether world you have snatched my feet;
you have delivered me, in your great mercy
From the scourge of a slanderous tongue,
and from lips that went over to falsehood;
From the snare of those who watched for my downfall,
and from the power of those who sought my life;
From many a danger you have saved me,
from flames that hemmed me in on every side.

 Sirach 51: 1-4a

I give you thanks, Lord and King,
I praise you, God my savior!
I declare your name, refuge of my life,
because you have ransomed my life from death;
You held back my body from the pit,
and delivered my foot from the power of Sheol.
You have preserved me from the scourge of the slanderous tongue,
and from the lips of those who went over to falsehood.
You were with me against those who rise up against me;
You have rescued me according to your abundant mercy
From the snare of those who look for my downfall,
and from the power of those who seek my life.
From many dangers you have saved me,
from flames that beset me on every side.

At some points the New American Bible Revised Edition differs substantively from other respected translations. For example, in Nehemiah 8:8, NABRE reads: "Ezra read clearly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read." Most translations (e.g. NIV, NRSV) attribute this interpretive work to the Levites, who are named in the previous verse.

Gender-neutral language

In general, gender-neutral language is language that is formulated to specifically include women by avoiding generic masculine forms such as he/him/men/man. The New American Bible Revised Edition has translated all references to human beings using gender-neutral words or phrases because male pronouns are sometimes understood in North American English to be gender-specific. Gender-neutral language is the rule except where the use of gender-neutral language would create awkward phrasing. One of the most common concerns among more conservative Catholics awaiting the release of the New American Bible Revised Edition was whether or not the Bible would be translated with so-called "horizontal" and/or "vertical" non-gendered language. Modern liturgy and Bible scholars make a distinction between "horizontal" non-gendered language—those words and phrases that refer to relationships between human beings—and "vertical" non-gendered language—words and phrases that denote the relationship between human beings and God. Some Protestants and Catholics find neither form of gender-neutral editing acceptable.[15] Vatican norms for translation of the Bible include that, "The translation of scripture should faithfully reflect the Word of God in the original human languages, without 'correction' or 'improvement' in service of modern sensitivities",[16] and do not support adjusting the Bible to be in line with public sentiment.

Horizontal gender-neutral language

As it relates to Bible translations, "horizontal" gender-neutral language translates gender-specific pronouns and words like "man" and "mankind" to gender-neutral pronouns such as the grammatically controversial singular they or "you" for "he." Other examples are "people" for "men" and "brothers & sisters" for "brethren." Thus, a particular passage in scripture might be rendered with gender-neutral language to avoid any sense that the teaching in the passage is for men only, rather than for men and women alike.[17]

According to a press backgrounder released by the USCCB, the New American Bible Revised Edition "reflects the original meaning of the texts. Much of the original material, especially in the narrative books, was gender specific and remains so."[13]

Vertical gender-neutral language

Whereas horizontal non-gendered language is generally viewed as an understandable adaptation in light of modern gender sensitivity, "vertical" neutral language—any pronoun or referent to the Christian God—is considered a break from both tradition and Christian revelation.[18] The Catholic Magisterium has made it clear that any gender-neutral language in reference to any of the three persons of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, or Holy Spirit—is unacceptable. According to the USCCB, "traditional masculine language for God...belongs to the deposit of divine revelation and may not be replaced [with gender-neutral or feminine language]."[19] This is so especially in light of the Church's ancient tradition, and of the teaching regarding Jesus Christ's incarnation as a specifically male person.

The USCCB stated in its press backgrounder that "all references to God retain the traditional use of masculine pronouns" in the New American Bible Revised Edition.

Completion and use

In January 2011, the USCCB announced that the fourth edition of the NAB would be published on March 9 of that year.[20] To be known as the "New American Bible, Revised Edition" or NABRE, the fourth edition of the NAB includes the newly revised Old Testament and re-revised Psalms, and the revised New Testament from the 1986 second edition. While the NABRE represents a revision of the NAB towards conformity towards Liturgiam Authenticam, there have not been any announced plans to use the NABRE for the lectionary in the United States. The USCCB announced the approval is for "private use and study" while Masses will continue to use a lectionary taken from "an earlier, modified version of the NAB translation."[20]

Among press coverage on the release of the New American Bible Revised Edition on March 9, 2011 were interviews on local news channels, national news coverage by NPR[21] and NBC,[22] as well as a variety of articles by online journals and publications.

Future editions

In 2012, the USCCB "announced a plan to revise the New Testament of the New American Bible Revised Edition so a single version can be used for individual prayer, catechesis and liturgy."[23] After they developed a plan and budget for the revision project, work began in 2013 with the creation of an editorial board made up of five people from the Catholic Biblical Association (CBA). The revision is now underway and, after the necessary approvals from the Bishops and the Vatican, is expected to be done around the year 2025.[24]

Licensed publishers of the NABRE
gollark: So if I make my project use 100MB of source code somehow, but it compiles to 10kB of output, that's not bloated?
gollark: Does the source code size not matter for bloat?
gollark: But they make the source bigger.
gollark: Why not? Can you provide a counterexample where adding "bees" reduces bloat?
gollark: Do you agree?

See also

References
  1. Permissions, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
  2. The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
  3. "Approved Translations of the Bible". USCCB. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  4. "Liturgy: Questions about the Scriptures used during Mass". USCCB.
  5. Bauman, Michelle. "New American Bible to be revised into single translation". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  6. "paragraph #20". USCCB. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  7. "paragraph #22". USCCB. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  8. "final two paragraphs thereof". USCCB. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  9. "(Office of Media Relations) Revised Edition of New American Bible Approved for Publication, Will Be Available in Variety of Formats March 9". USCCB. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  10. "Chronology for the New Revision of New American Bible Old Testament". cba.cua.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  11. "Scripture & the New Evangelization". adoremus.org. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  12. "Liturgiam authenticam". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2011-03-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "CNS STORY: Revised Bible provides 'more clarity, more detail' for today's Catholic". Catholicnews.com. Archived from the original on 2011-02-02. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  15. "Inclusive Language Balancing Act Ideology Threatens to Topple True Translation by K.D. Whitehead". Adoremus.org. 1996-05-15. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  16. "Vatican Translation Norms Reject "Inclusive Language"". 1997-07-15.
  17. "Gender-Neutral Bible". The New York Times.
  18. "Bible Versions and Commentaries". EWTN. Archived from the original on 30 January 2019.
  19. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Committee on Doctrine, "Response to Observations by Sr. Elizabeth A. Johnson, C.S.J., Regarding the Committee on Doctrine's Statement about the Book 'Quest for the Living God'" (October 11, 2011), p. 4
  20. USCCB news release: "Revised Edition of New American Bible Approved for Publication, Will Be Available in Variety of Formats March 9", January 6, 2011
  21. Weekend Edition Sunday (2011-03-06). "U.S. Catholic Church Rolls Out New Bible Translation". NPR. Retrieved 2012-08-05.
  22. "Hotmail, Outlook en Skype inloggen - Laatste nieuws - MSN Nederland".
  23. Bauman, MIchelle. "New American Bible to be revised into single translation". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  24. "NAB New Testament Revision Project". Catholic Biblical Association of America. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  • Meet the 'New' New American Bible
  • Q&A About the NABRE
  • U.S. Catholic Church Rolls Out New Bible Translation
  • Why do we need a new translation? The Bible hasn’t changed, has it?
  • NAB New Testament Revision Project [5]


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