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In 1970, the New American Bible (NAB) was first published. It is an English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 Bible translation
Bible translations

Bible has been translation into Bible translations by language from the biblical languages of Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic and Ancient Greek. The very first translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek language was the Septuagint , which later became the accepted text of the Old Testament in the church and the basis of its Biblical canon....
 that was produced by members of the Catholic biblical scholars in cooperation with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the official leadership body of the Roman Catholicism in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the United States....
. The original language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
s were translated
Translation

Translation is the hermeneutics of the Meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an Dynamic and formal equivalence text, likewise called a "translation," that communicates the same message in another language....
 into English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine

The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine was an association established at Rome in 1562 for the purpose of giving religious education. Its modern usage, often abbreviated CCD or C.C.D., is as religious education programs of the Roman Catholic Church, normally designed for children....
 according to the principles of Vatican II for use in the liturgy
Liturgy

A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to their particular traditions. The word may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Mass , or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat and Jewish Jewish services....
.

ontains the following articles and other information:



986 some traditionally familiar phraseology was restored to the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
.






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Encyclopedia


In 1970, the New American Bible (NAB) was first published. It is an English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 Bible translation
Bible translations

Bible has been translation into Bible translations by language from the biblical languages of Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic and Ancient Greek. The very first translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek language was the Septuagint , which later became the accepted text of the Old Testament in the church and the basis of its Biblical canon....
 that was produced by members of the Catholic biblical scholars in cooperation with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the official leadership body of the Roman Catholicism in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the United States....
. The original language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
s were translated
Translation

Translation is the hermeneutics of the Meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an Dynamic and formal equivalence text, likewise called a "translation," that communicates the same message in another language....
 into English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine

The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine was an association established at Rome in 1562 for the purpose of giving religious education. Its modern usage, often abbreviated CCD or C.C.D., is as religious education programs of the Roman Catholic Church, normally designed for children....
 according to the principles of Vatican II for use in the liturgy
Liturgy

A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to their particular traditions. The word may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Mass , or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat and Jewish Jewish services....
.

Content

It contains the following articles and other information:

  • Bible Helps
  • The Purpose of the Bible
  • The Bible and History
  • How the Bible Came About
  • How to Study the Bible
  • List of the Popes
  • The English Versions of the Bible
  • Literary Forms of the Bible
  • Biblical Themes
  • Suggested Readings for the Liturgical Year
  • Sunday Readings of the Holy Scriptures


Second version

In 1986 some traditionally familiar phraseology was restored to the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. This included some inclusive language
Gender-neutral language in English

Gender neutrality in English language is language use that aims at minimizing assumptions regarding the gender, or biological sex, of human referents....
.

Third version

In 1991 it was again amended to create more inclusive language in the Psalms
Psalms

Psalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim....
. Some controversy ensued because of its alleged use of vertical inclusive language (God and Christ) and some uses of horizontal inclusive language (human beings instead of men).

"Fourth version"

There has been no 4th Edition published as a Bible, however, in 2000 the text of the 1991 New American Bible with revised New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
 and Psalms was modified by a committee of the Holy See
Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church....
 and the Bishops for use in the Latin-Rite Catholic liturgy. This is the current text of the Lectionaries of the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
. The Holy See
Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church....
 accepted some use of inclusive language, such as where the speaker intended to address a mixed audience (such as “brothers and sisters”), but rejected any changes relating to God or Christ. This version will soon be found in the new English Lectionary
Lectionary

A Lectionary is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion....
. The revision of the NAB Old Testament, excluding the Psalms which were revised in 1991, is yet to be published.

Criticism


The New American Bible of 1991 has been lauded by many liberal Catholics. However, it has been derided by more tradionalist Catholics for a number of reasons. For one, it uses gender-neutral
Gender-neutral

The adjective gender-neutral may describe:*Gender-neutral job title*Gender-neutral language *Gender-neutral marriage*Gender-neutral pronoun...
 language in many places. Pope John Paul II and other Vatican officials were not happy with the 1991 revision, mainly because of the inclusive language. The revised Psalter of 1991 was rejected for liturgical use by the Holy See in 1994. The revised text (New Testament and Psalms) was specifically disallowed by the provisional norms for translation of biblical texts sent by Vatican officials to American Bishops in June 1997, and also disallowed by the translation guidelines formally promulgated in an Instruction published by the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in March 2001 "Liturgiam authenticam", hence the issuing of an amended text for liturgical use. Nonetheless, the New American Bible is one of the most widely used translations by American Catholics.

The notes especially have been criticized by some Catholics because of their perceived liberal
Liberal Christianity

Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically informed religious movements and ideas within late 18th, 19th and 20th century Christianity....
 and higher critical
Higher criticism

Historical criticism or higher criticism is a branch of literature analysis that investigates the origins of a text: as applied in biblical studies it naturally investigates foremost the books of the Bible....
 interpretation of passages, such as those which are believed to prophesy the coming of Christ. Traditional authorship of many books is also questioned, e.g., the Pentateuch, Book of Daniel
Book of Daniel

The Book of Daniel is a book in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Originally written in Hebrew language and Aramaic language, it is set during the Babylonian Captivity, a period when Jews were deported and exiled to Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC....
, and some of Paul's letters. Some more traditional Catholics therefore reject its use and call on Catholics to use more traditional translations, such as those in the Douai-Rheims Bible and the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible series. It should be noted, however, that many Church authorities find nothing wrong with the scholarly questioning of traditional authorship, especially since in many cases (in the Old Testament and even the Gospels) there is no authorial identification in the text.

External links

  • - online access (USCCB website)
  • - a traditionalist critique of the NAB