Wikipedia Draft:New Community Bible

The New Community Bible is a Catholic edition of the English Bible. It is a translation of the Christian Bible from the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts of the Bible in the English language published in India.

The New Community Bible (NCB), first published in 2008, is a Catholic Bible, derived from the Christian Community Bible (or CCB) published by the Saint Paul Society, Mumbai. New Community Bible is new translation of the original languages of The Bible. The Third Edition of the Christian Community Bible has been taken as its base text.

The New Community Bible is based on the Third Revised Edition of the Christian Community Bible, jointly published by the Claretian Publications, 1101 Quezon City, Philippines, Saint Paul Publications, SAV, 1203 Makati Philippines, and Divine Word Publications, sta., Cruz, Manila, Philippines.

Translation Text
New Community Bible has been translated from the original languages,i.e. Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, that the biblical truth of the original text may reach the readers with authenticity and clarity. Christian Community Bible, Third Edition, by Bernardo Hurault, has been taken as the base text for the translation of the New Community Bible. Notably the Tetragrammaton has been replaced with LORD. Traditional words for the Old Testament terms have been used in places. The first edition of the NCB had received numerous accolades but also a couple of brickbats. The text of the bible was lauded as one of the best translations available today, in simple and easily readable language and faithful to the original texts. A small group of ultra-conservatives took objection to the commentary that made references also to the scriptures of other religious traditions. So on advice from the ecclesiastical authorities all scholars who worked on the first edition carefully reviewed the commentary and decided to edit it again, avoiding all objectionable portions.

Translation Purpose
The purpose for this new translation was reaching of biblical truth to the people of all education levels in India. For understanding of the original texts and simplicity the Dynamic equivalence translation method was adopted. In the words of Chairman of Biblical Commission for New Community Bible, Most Rev M. Soosa Pakiam: " The New Community Bible intended for India is an effort towards the realization of the above mentioned mandate (cf Matthew 28:18-20). It is the fruit of an enthusiastic project undertaken by the Society of Saint Paul. They brought together a competent team of Indian Bible scholars who undertook the responsible task of completely rewriting the Introduction and the Commentary of each book of The Bible based on sound exegesis and relevant  pastoral application. In addition, care was taken to include in the Commentary accompanying the text not only notes that explained and applied the text, but also notes that drew upon the rich cultural and religious heritage of our motherland. A unique feature of The New Community Bible for India consists in its many references to the deep spiritual message and biblical values found in the Scriptures of other great Indian religions. And in the words of the General Editor of the New Community Bible, Rev (Dr) Augustine Kanachikuzhy, SSP: "The New Community Bible is a revised edition of the popular Christian Community Bible translated by Late Bernardo Hurault and published jointly by Saint Paul Publications, Divine Word Publications, and Claretian Publications from the Philippines. The need for an Indian edition of the Christian Community Bible suitable to the Indian context was keenly felt way back in the 1980's. Eventually a group of Indian Bible Scholars came together in 1990 under the leadership of Society of Saint Paul (St Pauls) to revise and adapt Christian Community Bible for India.  One of the strong points of Christian Community Bible was the Commentary that ran all along the text of the Bible. The scholars felt that any serious and contextualised Commentary on the Sacred Text,  made specially for India, could not ignore the rich cultural and religious heritage of this land. Reference had to be made, therefore, to the biblical values found also in other religions of India."

Imprimatur
The NCB with the revised commentary now carries the Imprimi Potest and the Imprimatur from 5 bishops representing the three different rites in India.

Publication
The New Community Bible was jointly published by the Saint Paul Publications, Claretian Publications, and  Divine Word Publications, in 2008, in Mumbai, India. The copywrite of the NCB is owned by the Society of Saint Paul, Mumbai. Later in 2011, a revised edition of the New Community Bible was published solely by the St Pauls, India, which is now the standard edition of the Bible.

Controversy
In 2008, when the NCB was first published, its Commentary stirred up some controversies among the Catholic fraternity, and the Bible critics. A small group of ultra-conservatives took objection to the commentary that made references also to the scriptures of other religious traditions. The Commentary on the Ten Commandments, Sermon on the Mount, and some others parts of the Bible drew references to the Scriptures of other religions, Mahatma Gandhi, and Mother Teresa. In 2010, Society of Saint Paul decided to publish a revised edition of The New Community Bible with revised Commentary in 2011. The revised New Community Bible is the standard edition of the Bible.

Order Of The Books
The NCB follows the same order of the presentation of the various Books as in other Catholic Bibles. The books in the NCB are in order as in the New American Bible Revised Edition, Revised New Jerusalem Bible, and New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition.

International Reception
International Editions St Paul Publications, Australia, published an international edition of the NCB which became an instant best-seller. Various other editions in different types of binding followed. Today, it is the fastest selling bible in Australia, Nigeria and other African countries. In Australia the New Community Bible was formally launched by the Archbishop of Brisbane and chairman of the Australian Catholic Bishops Commission on the Liturgy, Mark Coleridge, who said: Now is the time when we have to become a more biblical Church, a people more immersed in the word of God. This is the best way to know Jesus, whose voice we hear and whose face we see on every page of the Bible. That is why The New Community Bible is such a gift. May it find its way into many hands and hearts and homes in this time of grace and faith.