Translations and Versions
There are 73 books in the Catholic Bible: 46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. The Protestant Bible contains 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Protestant bibles include only those Old Testament books that the Jewish tradition recognized. Catholics and Orthodox Christians recognize seven other books that were in use in the early years of the Church. The versions described here include both Protestant and Catholic versions.
BibleGateway.com is a website designed to allow easy reading, listening, studying, searching, and sharing of the Bible in many different versions and translations (including the NRSV), and other languages. Its mission statement is “To honor Christ by equipping people to read and understand the Bible, wherever they are”. The website is free for anyone to use, but also offers Bible Gateway Plus, a membership program with enhanced services. (Wikipedia)
Crosswalk
In this website there are 18 translations offered including Good News Bible and Douay-Rheims Bible. You can choose which part of the Bible and which book you want to see. You can just enter a scripture into the search field if you want. There are many study tools offered such as parallel Bibles, and commentaries. Students can easily find specific subjects such as poverty; and they can find that scripture quickly. Prayer requests can be sent online. Of particular interest to students are the Christian chat rooms where they can discuss issues with other Christians.—Sue Larcina
New American Bible
This site lists the books of the bible in the New American Bible translation. They are listed in alphabetical order. It is easy to click on the chapter you require. This is very user friendly site. This is a valuable site for comparing a biblical translation or for downloading certain passages in the Bible. Valuable for students and teachers. — Barbara White
This site provides numerous things, specifically daily and Sunday scripture readings. This would be valuable to those teachers who wish to incorporate daily readings into their classroom activities. — Shannon Lougheed
Oremus : New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
This site contains every chapter of both the old and new testaments. Students could use this site to read a particular portion of the bible that may be worded somewhat differently from what they are used to. This may help them to get a better understanding of a particular part. — S.E. The NRSV is the official version used in liturgy in Canada.
Today’s English Version
Also known as the Good News Bible.This is one of several versions found at this site. It is accessed by means of a search engine
Concordances
Four concordances or topical indexes of the Bible. –LM
Concordances to twelve online Bibles. First select the translation in the box at top right and then enter your word. It does not include NRSV or NAB versions of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in North America.
Resources
This site provides a bible plan in order for the entire bible to be read in one year. A calendar is provided, which outlines the specific readings for each day of the week. This site can be used in the classroom, perhaps better suited for the secondary school level, as a bible exercise that can be a responsibility of the students to read each day or for teachers to read to their students on a daily basis as a form of prayer and discussion. –Tina Martelli
This site is a wonderful tool in which to look up biblical passages or words. The internet user types in the passage they need to find. Before hitting the search key, the user has the opportunity to choose which version of the Bible they would like to use. There are 11 different version to choose from including New International as well as the King James Version. The site also includes footnotes and the opportunity to cross reference material. The site information is available in 14 different languages. This site would be a huge benefit for Catholic Educators. The site would be useful academically for research papers and assignments. It could be easily used by students in class or independently. — L. Koenigsberger
As implied by the title, this site contains many Bible resources. This website would be useful for both elementary and highschool students and teachers. This site has a wide variety of resources which include interactive games, maps, and timelines, as well as suggested video and animation clips. It also features a virtual library tour highlighting hundreds of years of translation and printing history. – Matt Smith
Two sites that give Biblical and other Christian Symbols. Christian Symbols and Christian Symbols
This site helps people of all cultural and spiritual backgrounds learn about Jesus. It has teachings and parables of Jesus, key messages with readings from the Bible. It is divided into sub-categories to easily find prayers and readings from the Bible that correspond with each theme. It also has historical teachings under three headings: Timeline before Jesus , during Jesus, after Jesus with maps of the territories during those times. Very educational.– Sandra Corrao
Scripture from Scratch Archives
Excellent articles from American Catholic. These four page articles give insight into particular aspects of the Bible.
Teaching Strategies
Bible Stories – Jesus’ Stories
This site can be useful to a teacher in that it provides mini lessons on various bible stories. It is geared toward younger primary children. The site can be used also by children during computer time because they can read the stories online and then perfom various activities about the stories such as tests, memory games where they have to recall parts of the story. I think this is useful because at this age they are too young to interpret the meaning of these stories but it can help them to become familiar with the bible stories and recall details.
This website, as the title suggests, has hundreds of Bible stories in a simplified language for children of all ages. It is also available in an audio version as students can read and listen along. There are Old and New Testament passages and there are accompanying lessons for each passage, as well. The site is effective, because of the contemporary language used, thus making it easier for teachers and students to understand and enjoy Scripture. This site is intended for primary and junior teachers and students. — David Pimental
St. Charles Borromeo Bible Studies
Our Bible Studies are based on the Liturgical Calendar.
The sources used for our Bible Studies are The Jerome Biblical Commentary, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, and The Navarre Bible. In addition, we used Church History by Laux (TAN Books), Introduction to the Bible by Laux (TAN Books), A Guide to the Bible by Fuentes (Four Courts Press), and Sharing Our Biblical Story by Russell for background information. We also included quotations from The Faith of the Early Fathers (3 volumes) by Jergens and Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (many volumes) edited by Odum.
United States Bishops Study Materials
- A Spiritual Feast for Your Home: How Catholics Can Use the Old Testament in the Family
- Articles
- Bible at Core of Catholic Beliefs
- Changes in Catholic Attitudes Toward Bible Readings
- Do Translations Matter?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Use the Old Testament in Daily Prayer
- Old Testament Speaks to Young People
- Quiz on the New American Bible
- Rationale for Catholics Reading the Old Testament
- Roots of Catholic Social Teaching Found in the Old Testament Prophets
- The Old Testament in the Liturgical Life of the Church
No one plan is best for everyone, but different people might find various methods helpful, especially since each reader may have a vastly different goal (spiritual, academic, social, etc.) in reading the Bible. Thus, some people may choose to read short selections from the scriptures daily or weekly, following the Lectionary or liturgical cycle of their Church. Others might wish to follow a one-year plan (or a multi-year plan) for reading every book of the Old and New Testaments, but not necessarily in biblical order. Still others will want to read one biblical book at a time in depth, either on their own, or with the help of commentaries, or in a Bible Study group, or in an academic course. Dr. Felix Just