Once More, the Sound of Music

By Richard N. Ostling

The New American Bible of 1970 was the first Roman Catholic translation of the Old and New Testaments produced in the U.S., and was based entirely upon Hebrew and Greek manuscripts rather than the traditional Latin text. Those features were especially important to scholars. Among many ordinary churchgoers, however, the NAB was noteworthy for a less felicitous reason: its relentless lack of style. As a brochure by the New Testament editor, Father Gerard S. Sloyan of Temple University, bluntly explained, "If this translation has a fault it is not that of obscurity, rather of a clarity which says what the text says, neither more nor less -- plain, unvarnished and direct."

Though 15 million copies of the NAB have been distributed, Social Philosopher Michael Novak sums up the view of many Catholics when he observes that the 1970 Bible has "the practicality of a fast-food outlet." But, he adds, "you miss the music." The most withering attack was mounted in a 1977 Commonweal article by John T. Noonan, then a University of California law professor and now a federal judge. He declared that American Catholics are "being impoverished" and demanded that the bishops ban the version and order up another one.

The U.S. bishops gratified that wish this month, unveiling a revised New Testament that seeks to restore the music. The impetus for change came from Catholic biblical scholars who judged the NAB New Testament deficient. The project involved eight years of work by 15 experts, five of them Protestants. The revision is expected to be authorized for readings at Masses by late 1989.

According to Father Stephen J. Hartdegen, coordinator of the 1970 and 1987 translations, the revisers sought to eradicate both mistakes and colloquialisms. A notable NAB error occurred in Luke 1: 17, where antecedents got mixed up and "God himself" went before John the Baptist "in the spirit and power of Elijah," instead of John going before God. That was "practically blasphemous," says Jesuit Father Francis T. Gignac, chairman of the board of editors.

Also eliminated were many of the chatty phrases that gave the NAB its sometimes jarring tone. Among them: "Good-bye and good luck!" (James 2: 16) and "What of it?" (Philippians 1: 18). Replacements: "Go in peace" and "What difference does it make?" The 1970 rendition of Luke's nativity narrative says that "there was no room for them in the place where travelers lodged," which to some sounded like a plug for Travelodge motels. The revision adopts the familiar "There was no room for them in the inn." Instead of the weak and wordy "Reform your lives!" John the Baptist now proclaims a traditional "Repent."

Following a trend in many churches toward inclusive language in Scripture and worship, the new NAB avoids male terms for generalized human references (for example, "one" replacing "man"). The editors decided, however, not to alter male references to God and Jesus and to retain "kingdom of God" because the phrase "reign of God" seems to refer to precipitation when read aloud.

By using more dignified language and following the word order in the Greek manuscripts more closely, the NAB comes out sounding rather close to the Revised Standard Version. Since the RSV is available in an approved Catholic edition, why not, in the spirit of ecumenism, simply adopt that Protestant- produced version? Responds Gignac: "That would be nice, but we think ours is slightly better."