Which Version of the English Bible Should I Pray With?

When meditating on the Word of God, choose a Bible translation that works best for you—but whatever you do, don’t go with a “contemporary English” version

Longtime readers will know that I am an ardent proponent of lectio divina — that is, the traditional method of praying with Sacred Scripture. (See, for example, this article and this one.) Once upon a time, reading the Bible was the privilege of clergy and religious who were educated and had access to libraries of handwritten books. Today, with literacy at an all-time high and printed Bibles abundantly available, we have really no excuse not to be applying our literacy to pondering and praying with the revealed word of God, at least at regular intervals.

Inevitably, the question arises: “What’s your favorite translation/edition of the Bible? Which one should I get?” The market in English is glutted with options. According to one estimate, there are over 450 versions (and counting!).

It is a difficult question to answer for many reasons.

First, while the Church, based on many centuries of constant practice and teaching, established the definitive canon of Scripture at the Council of Trent, she has never “canonized” a particular edition of the original languages (Hebrew and Greek) or a particular translation, saying: “This, and this alone, you shall use.” The Vulgate is the most honorable, influential, and “safe” edition, because Trent confirmed that it is free from error in matters of faith and morals, which cannot be claimed for any other version of the Bible.

However, as with papal infallibility, this is a negative guarantee: the Vulgate is free from doctrinal and moral error. That does not mean that it is a perfect translation, with no grammatical mistakes, or no possibility of improvement. Anyone who knows about the challenges of moving from one language to another knows that there is no such thing as a perfect translation. On the one hand, terms or phrases often have multiple valid translations, each conveying a different nuance; on the other hand, the base text itself can exist in better or worse editions (that’s why we have so-called “critical editions,” which attempt to produce the best-quality base text possible). Indeed, St. Jerome himself made three different Latin versions of the Psalter, and he probably wasn’t satisfied with any of them!