New Testament-OE-St. Joseph: New Catholic Version Paperback – January 1, 2015

First, first impressions. The New Catholic Version of the New Testament is a pleasant, easy-to-read but adult-seeming new translation of a familiar and much-translated text. Because of its conservative phrasal choices I wouldn’t characterize the NCV as a ”fresh” translation, but I consider this a merit not a shortcoming of the translation. It does not rely on soon-to-be-replaced slang to liven the text’s impact as do some paraphrases, nor does it puzzle the serious-minded contemporary reader with anachronistic expressions in a seemingly desperate attempt to achieve relevancy (my chief beef with the Evangelically oriented Message Bible translation). I appreciate the “adult” tone of the translation which seems appropriate and consistent with the tone of the documents that comprise the New Testament. The translators do not over-simplify or ”unpack” challenging insider terminology (“justification,” ”grace,” “sanctify,” “consecrate,” etc.) as many “functional equivalence” translations do, but instead use these important theological terms judiciously and deftly and seem to trust that even people new to the Scripture reading will be sufficiently motivated to use a dictionary or consult with a priest or mentor in the faith.Catholic Book Publishing Corp., the copyright holder (and presumably sponsor and steward of the NCV), reveals little about the translation process, principles, or personnel in the Testament’s introduction. This is in striking contrast with most Protestant-sponsored English translations where the sponsoring organizations are anxious to prove to their readership the orthodoxy of their choices. All this may be, in part, attributable to the different ways Catholics and Protestants perceive scriptural authority. But the effect of this relative silence is that readers (Protestants as well as Catholics) will need to suss these things out for themselves. What the introduction does reveal is that the NCV NT was translated by a team of “qualified Scripture scholars under the direction of Rev. Jude Winkler OFM Conv. S.S.L.”; that the translators “were committed to render as perfectly as possible a translation of literal or formal equivalence”; that “numerous translations were consulted and decisions were made by consensus according to accepted principles of textual criticism”; and that “the translators used the best available Greek texts [not identified] to achieve a dignified and accurate version of the sacred text in language that is clear and meaningful to today’s readers.” The “Rescript” on the copyright page, however, identifies an additional important point about the translation—the NCV is “intended for private use and study only and may never be used for liturgical purposes.”It is not clear to me whether the endnotes to each book of the NT are the work of the translators or are part of the “St. Joseph Edition” supplementary materials that have been integrated with the NCV text. In any case, they are generous (about one page of notes for every three pages of Scripture text) and do a good job of explaining ancient customs, providing historical context, and making meaningful connections to Christian rites and practices. Although the notes, like the translation itself, were prepared with Roman Catholic readers in mind, I, as a Lutheran, found nothing in them that should seriously bother Protestant readers (but see the notes for Matthew 12:46, 16:18 and 16:19 and decide for yourself).While the introduction makes it clear that other Bible translations were consulted, the NCV seems to give precedence, as you’d suspect, to the New American Bible, the well-regarded, recently revised, highly literal, sometimes quirky “official” English translation for Roman Catholics. For instance, where the King James Bible has “verily” (and its Protestant descendants, including the NRSV, have “truly”), the NCV has “amen” (see Matthew 5 and 6, and John 5 through 8). In Titus 1, the NCV (like the NAB) speaks of “presbyters” and “bishops” where the NRSV has “elders” and “bishops.” The endnotes on this matter in the NCV seem to be clearer and more illuminating than the comparable notes in the NAB, confirming for this reader that the translators’ and publisher’s intention was to create a text well-suited for private study.Additional comparisons between the NCV and the NAB show that the NAB translators chose as one of their translation principles to follow as closely as possible the sentence structures of the original Greek, while the NCV translators gave themselves greater freedom to express the meaning of the Greek text in natural sounding English. This can be seen clearly in the Canticle of Mary (Magnificat) in Luke 1, where the phrasings of the NCV, in my opinion, are both easier to understand and sound better when read aloud. Where NAB has “For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed” (1:48), the NCV has, “For he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant; henceforth all generations will call me blessed.” And in 1:51 the NAB has “He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart,” which the NCV expresses as “He has shown the strength of his arm, he has routed those who are arrogant in the desires of their hearts.” I don’t see that there has been any significant loss of meaning by moving away from the structure of the original Greek. In fact, the natural and elegant phrasings of the NCV may be just what the faithful need to encourage them undertake (and stick with) their own private study of the Holy Scriptures.The edition I purchased, the pocket-size St. Joseph Edition, includes brief but very astute introductions to each book of the New Testament, section introductions (the Gospels, the Letters of Paul, the Catholic Letters), the words of Jesus in red (I’ve never been a fan of this feature — the benefit of having Jesus’ words highlighted in this manner is undermined by making them harder to read), prayers for each month of the year, prayers for each day of the week, and a list of Popes. This edition included only one map (The Journeys of St. Paul); simple maps of Palestine and Jerusalem would have been nice additions had space allowed. All in all, the NCV is a worthy addition to any Bible reader’s library and will likely be my first choice when looking for a translation that is clear, immediate, and speaks directly to the heart.

I recently acquired a copy of the St. Joseph Edition of the New Catholic Bible (NCB) New Testament (NT). I purchased this volume because I wanted a pocket-sized NT that I can easily carry with me. I was impressed enough with my new full-sized NCB that I decided upon the NCB New Testament. Here are a few of my first impressions of what I consider a remarkably well-made volume:1. THE PHYSICAL VOLUME: The NCB NT is manufactured by Catholic Book Publishing Corporation of New Jersey. (It was printed in Korea.) It’s small and perfectly sized for carrying in a vest pocket or purse. When I received it, I was very pleasantly surprised by its high quality. It is a very nicely constructed volume. It has a dark red "Dura-Lux" cover, a paste-down liner, and a text block that is overstitched in both front and back. The paper is opaque and shows little evidence of ghosting. The typeset small but very readable. The shade of red used for the words of Jesus is also easy to read. The NT has one thin gold-colored ribbon marker and gold page edge gilt.2. THE TRANSLATION: The NCB is an all-new English translation prepared by Rev. Jude Winkler and a committee of translators. It’s officially approved by the Catholic church for private study and devotion. As English translations go, the NCB leans more toward formal equivalence, and appears to me to be accurate. The language is clear, easily understandable, dignified, and reverent. I think it compares well with other formal-equivalence translations.3. THE NOTES: Catholic Bibles usually come with copious explanatory notes and annotations, and the NCB is no exception. The notes found in this little volume are the complete and unabridged NT notes found in the full NCB. They are certainly a vast improvement over any other Catholic Bible I have ever used. They clearly explain the meaning of Bible passages (from a Roman Catholic perspective, of course). The notes for each book are placed at the end of the book they cover, a placement that has both strengths and weaknesses.On balance, I really like the New Catholic Bible NT. I can recommend it without reservation.

I bought this translation after purchasing the book of psalms from same publisher, and loving the New Catholic Version translation. I thought this bible would be the same size, same font size, and same sturdy paper as the Psalms, but it is much smaller print so that I have to use a magnifying glass, and the paper is that thin, almost tissue-like type. The quality of the cover is excellent and the new translation is great (full of grace, not favored). But I was disappointed it didnt match the Psalm book.

I have quite a few different Catholic versions the Rheims New Testament being one of them which is probably the most popular but the New Testament New Catholic Version is much better in my opinion, it has the words of Christ in red and also this new translation is very accurate, easier to read and it comes alive when your reading. Its the best translation i have read so far. Definitely worth buying and it comes in a gift box, imitation leather and the book is made to last for many many years. Excellent buy

I love this pocket-size bible. It's light and easy to understand.

This is very easy and an absolute pleasure to read. The exceptional feature is that Jesus's words are printed in red, contrasting to the other printing which is in black. For me this makes following the Scripture so much easier. The binding is high quality and the size (5.5" x 4" X 1"thick) is small enough to be carried and read whenever time allows. I wish I could find The Old Testament in a similar construction.

The content looks good. I like Jesus' words in red lettering and the font size. But the cover is beat up, scratched, wrinkled & smeared gold leaf. It's as if this volume was a return or a store display copy. Very frustrated in the condition of this Bible. There's no way I could give this as a gift. Will have to return.

Perfect to carry the Word of God in your pocket and go everywhere!

This updated revised edition is called, "The New Catholic Version" ~ I like that!And! This wee volume has Jesus's words in red, that's so rare in Catholic Bibles! :-)))The words for the main parts (not the notes) are cast in a decent sized type and a comfortable font, I was very happy to see that when I first opened to a page. Not too small, which is hard to find in pocket Bibles.I have discovered that I can read certain fonts at smaller sizes... for some reason the layout of the words in this or that font is more comfortable then others. I have persnickety eyes so this is always a problem. But this wee New Testament uses a "comfortable" font that is easy on my very picky eyes so that is a big plus! So if you struggle with similar issues, there is hope!The notes are not at the bottom of the pages but at the end of the books, this gives the main pages a nice clean look, and is a bit less confusing to the eye.I was pleasantly surprised by the good quality, even though the Bible itself is quite light weight. The pages are not terribly thin, I can use a highlighter on one side and get minimal bleed-through on the other, although I must warn you to use the highlighters gently, don't press down hard or leave it in place to soak because then it will go through. But none of my other Bibles are so good with highlighters so I am happy!(I am working through this NT with a great book, "150 Bible Verses Every Catholic Should Know" ~ great stuff!)The cover is gorgeous, smooth fake leather that is a warm Earthy "slate blue", and very well designed with a "tooled leather" look to the edge that is classy without being overwhelming. The tooled embossed image is roses and think leaf branches and other swirly things.Words on the cover, and the little cross on the cover, words on the spine, they are all embossed in shiny gold.The edges are a nice gold gilt, which protects the pages ~ good to see in a rather inexpensive volume!It comes inside of a sturdy little box that I use to carry the Bible in my purse, the box has a slide-over lid so it sits very nice and snug.And although it is light weight, it's a bit on the sturdy side, not overly delicate like some pocket Bibles can be.Overall a great little NT Bible that I would suggest to everyone!

Print is clear, easy to read and paper is durable. Brilliant stuff!

Great product