I like New Jerusalem Bible’s use of “Yahweh”

In the last few days, I’ve been reading from the New Jerusalem Bible. What strikes me the most about the NJB is its numerous references to “Yahweh” in place of “the Lord.”

“Yahweh drove the sea back with a strong easterly wind all night…” (Ex.14:21)
“Yahweh looked down on the army of the Egyptians…” (Ex. 14:24)
“That day, Yahweh rescued Israel from the clutches of the Egyptians…” (Ex. 14:30)
“I shall sing to Yahweh, for he has covered himself in glory…” (Ex. 15:1)

If you can get use to reading “Yahweh” instead of “the Lord”, you would enjoy this translation. I am coming to enjoy it more and more. It’s an underrated translation and does deserve to be more widely read in North America. Apparently, it is supposed to be the most popular Roman Catholic translation. I would place this in the mediating equivalent category because it is not as formal as the NRSV but more formal than the NLT. It also reads very well.

Here’s a portion from 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

“we hold this treasure in pots of earthenware, so that the immensity of the power is God’s and not our own. We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair;we are pursued but never cut off; knocked down, but still have some life in us; always we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our body. Indeed, while we are still alive, we are continually being handed over to death, for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our mortal flesh. In us, then, death is at work; in you, life. But as we have the same spirit of faith as is described in scripture — I believed and therefore I spoke -we, too, believe and therefore we, too, speak, realising that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up with Jesus in our turn, and bring us to himself — and you as well. You see, everything is for your benefit, so that as grace spreads, so, to the glory of God, thanksgiving may also overflow among more and more people. That is why we do not waver; indeed, though this outer human nature of ours may be falling into decay, at the same time our inner human nature is renewed day by day. The temporary, light burden of our hardships is earning us for ever an utterly incomparable, eternal weight of glory, since what we aim for is not visible but invisible. Visible things are transitory, but invisible things eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-18, NJB)

I was so impressed with the study notes that I purchased my edition of the the NJB hardcover edition, the one with the complete text with introductions and notes, edited by Henry Wansbrough, published in 1985. It is over 2000 pages thick. There’s the standard edition without notes and also the classic edition with notes. The classic edition is actually a study bible and I believe it is one of the most academic study bibles out there. Unfortunately, this is a little known fact. For a translation published in 1985, I consider it top-notch. Its study notes place it in the academic category. I like it more than the HarperCollins Study Bible or the NOAB. Moreover, there are probably more study notes than the HCSB or NOAB. It’s also in a different category than the T/NIV or NLT Study Bibles. In the past, I’ve used the New Jerusalem Bible for research and have found its notes extremely useful. I think it is simply one of the best out there and I’m not even Roman Catholic. From my experience with it so far, I really like it. I will be reading more from the NJB in the future. I would recommend it to anybody because it is truly a high quality study bible.