New Living Translation Bible

[Lil Red]

good or bad?

a parent asked me about this translation. she wants to get it for her daughter.

[FutureSoror]

It's the one they use on my local protestant christian radio station. Well, I guess it's not necessarily a protestant station, because they've been running ads for the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity... but my impression is that it's a protestant translation.

[phatcatholic]

well the problem is that its such an incredibly loose translation of the bible that you lose alot of the nuance and meaning that was meant to be portrayed. it also places people and events in a modern context that they really don't belong in (for example, when it turns "old wineskins" into "old tires."). the context of the author is an important tool to extract the meaning, and alot of that is lost in the NLT.

[DAF]

Why not just stick with time-tested, God-approved Bibles like DRB or RSV(-CE)?

[N/A Gone]

right now I find the NRSV is the best...scary how it matches the greek so smooth

[phatcatholic]

[quote name='Revprodeji' date='Nov 30 2005, 11:56 PM']right now I find the NRSV is the best...scary how it matches the greek so smooth
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well, if u can get past the inclusive language........

[N/A Gone]

its produced by oxford, so the femi-natzi human instead of men stuff can get old. about 10-20yrs ago it was ok, but the now commentary is really liberal. Academic opinions, but basically the stuff we are trained to fight against.

just teach ur kids greek..

but at the same time, it is a smooth translation of the greek. It works great as an overview before working with the greek. Or if you dont know greek switch it off with the Nasb. take all the nouns and verbs from the nasb and combine them with the nrsv for the uber bible

[Nathan]

[quote name='phatcatholic' date='Nov 30 2005, 11:38 PM']it also places people and events in a modern context that they really don't belong in (for example, when it turns "old wineskins" into "old tires.").[right][snapback]806513[/snapback][/right][/quote]

That's horrible! Ugh! I'm going to advise everyone I know to stay far, FAR away from this one.

[Nathan]

About the NRSV, it gets a bad rap, but it really is a clean, smooth, accurate translation. Aside from the inclusive language problem, it is just as literal and accurate as the RSV-CE.

[phatcatholic]

right, but if the RSVCE is just as clean a translation, and without the inclusive language, why even bother w/ the NRSV?

[Nathan]

The NRSV(CE) is a LOT easier to find, for one. You can walk into a chain bookstore and chances are you'll find an edition of it. Can't say the same thing for the RSV-CE. I spent the better part of a year hunting for a copy of the RSV-CE across Toronto -- literally dozens of bookstores, from chains to second-hand -- and I only found my copy when I stumbled across a Pauline Books & Media. I also paid out of my behind for it: close to $40 CDN for the Ignatius Press softcover. (I know, I know, I should have ordered it online, but I love book hunting, and when I finally saw it on the shelf it was like finding the Holy Grail. I had to cough up.)

Also, I'm Canadian. The NRSV-CE is the translation used for the liturgy in Canada. I'm trying to embrace it as best I can. And, you know, things could be worse -- we could be using the NAB.

Edited December 1, 2005 by Nathan

[phatcatholic]

personally, i'd rather have the NAB.......

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='phatcatholic' date='Dec 1 2005, 01:38 AM']well the problem is that its such an incredibly loose translation of the bible that you lose alot of the nuance and meaning that was meant to be portrayed. it also places people and events in a modern context that they really don't belong in (for example, when it turns "old wineskins" into "old tires."). the context of the author is an important tool to extract the meaning, and alot of that is lost in the NLT.
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It isn't the NLT that uses the term "tires" instead of "wineskins." Here it is from [url="http://bible1.crosswalk.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?word=wineskins&section=0&version=nlt&new=1&oq=wineskins"]crosswalk.com[/url]. However, that doesn't surprise me at all that some translation would do that, but I doubt even most Protestants would favor it. (Of course, you can always pull up passages on crosswalk.com or biblegateway.com and compare different translations.)

The NLT has become one of my favorite translations. The only thing that I might desire to be translated differently is "Lord God of Heaven's Armies" that is used countless times in the OT. Some parts of the OT repeat this phrase quite a bit translating it like that makes it choppy to read. Other than that, I do like how most everything else is translated. I'd say that it's similar to the NIV except that it words things differently (but not necessarily better or worse). It is a Protestant translation, when you get down to it, so Gabriel calls Mary "favored woman" rather than "full of grace." Also, my copy doesn't include the deuterocanonical books, so I don't know if you could find an NLT Bible with them included or not.

[phatcatholic]

oh, my apologies!! thank you for the correction.

[franciscanheart]

im getting lost in translation(s)....

[phatcatholic]

yea, so's most of the message, haha

[Ziggamafu]

I can't stand the NAB. Not only can the commentary seem misleading, but the translation reads about as well as a 1003 form. Ugh. I think its version of the Psalms could be tried and convicted for being a crime against humanity. The only NAB I like is "The New Catholic Answer Bible" - actually, I only like the inserts. What an unfortunate choice for the translation.

And don't rip on the NLT. At least they finally came out with a Catholic edition. That's the first thought-for-thought translation of the deuterocanonicals that's come out. Perfect for casual reasing!

So far, my favorite "Catholic" translation is the New Jerusalem Bible. It reads beautifully...

[phatcatholic]

i found the new jerusalem bible online here recently:
[url="http://www.kofc.duq.edu/scripture/"]http://www.kofc.duq.edu/scripture/[/url]

pretty cool