Friday, December 9, 2011

Common English Bible with Apocrypha - Saturday's Advent




Take a fresh look at the Bible while you experience a new translation. The Common English Bible combines a commitment to both accuracy and readability. The result is a new version of the Bible the typical reader or worshipper is able to understand with ease. Written in today's modern English, the Common English Bible was created through the careful work of 120 leading biblical scholars from 24 faith traditions and thorough field tests by 77 reading groups. The CEB Thinline edition is highly portable yet easy to see with generous 9-point type and a convenient trim size that is also thinner than an inch. Available in Softcover, DecoTone simulated leather, and bonded EcoLeather bindings.

Thanks to B&B Media I have the pleasure of reviewing this Bible. In all the years I have read the Bible, and the many different versions I have not read one with the Apocrypha in it. The Apocrypha is from the Greek meaning those hidden away.


The Apocrypha


In some Protestant Bibles, they are placed between the New and Old Testament. In the Roman Catholic Bibles the books are interspersed with the rest of the text. In this case they are also called 'Deuterocanonical', which means 'secondary canon.' The books on this page are all Deuterocanonical.

Jerome rejected the Deuterocanonical books when he was translating the Bible into Latin circa 450 CE, (see the Vulgate). This was because no Hebrew version of these texts could be found, even though they were present in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). However, they eventually were accepted by the Church, and most of them remained part of the Bible. Protestants rejected these books during the Reformation as lacking divine authority. They either excised them completely or placed them in a third section of the Bible. The Roman Catholic Council of Trent, on the other hand, declared in 1546 that the Deuterocanonical books were indeed divine.

Of these books, Tobias, Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, Baruch, and Maccabees, remain in the Catholic Bible. First Esdras, Second Esdras, Epistle of Jeremiah, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, Prayer of Manasseh, Prayer of Azariah, and Laodiceans are not today considered part of the Catholic apocrypha.

With one exception, all of these books are considered 'Old Testament'. The apocryphal New Testament 'Letter of Paul to the Laodiceans', was once incorporated in many versions of the Bible. However Laodiceans is now considered just a pastiche of other Epistles, and is omitted from contemporary Bibles.

There are many other apocryphal books, which do not fall into the 'Deuterocanonical' category, such as the many additional New Testament Gospels, and the apocalyptic book of Enoch.

I find it very interesting that during the Reformation it was decided what was inspired and what wasn't. I am really enjoying being able to read these other books that are not included in a regular Protestant Bible.

Advent Scripture: Matthew 2:3-6 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. They said, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote: You, Bethlehem, land of Judah, by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah, because from you will come one who governs, who will shepherd my people Israel." CEB

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