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The Catholic Biblical NAB Lectionary Watch Appraisal of Volume I (Sundays and Solemnities):The NAB lectionary, volume one, approved by the United States bishops and now confirmed by Rome, while disappointing in many respects, is a great improvement over the NAB lectionary currently in use. The biggest plus is the use of the NAB New Testament as revised in 1986; this revision is a huge advance over the original NAB New Testament of 1970, and in some ways returns to traditional diction (for example, "Magi" are back, "Astrologers" are out; "Amen, Amen, I say to you" is back, "I solemnly assure you" is out). One unfortunate change made in the new lectionary from the Revised NAB New Testament is the substitution of "Christ" for "Messiah" in the gospels and in Acts. "Messiah" is the title or designation of the savior expected by devout Jews of the time; in Greek-speaking Christian circles "Christ" (the Greek translation of "Messiah"), often joined to "Jesus" (Christ Jesus), came to function more as a proper name than as a title, and this is the way most Christians understand it now.The biggest disappointment of the new lectionary is the rejection of the revised NAB Psalter of 1991; this revised Psalter, like the revised New Testament, is a vast improvement over its predecessor; the 1991 Psalter is better in terms of accuracy, smoothness of diction, contemporary vocabulary, rhythm for singing and recitation, and inclusive language. Both the unrevised Psalter and the Old Testament readings, as employed in the new lectionary, have been made somewhat more inclusive in their phraseology than in the old lectionary. The readings from revised New Testament, too, have been rendered somewhat more inclusive than they were in the published version of that work. For a more detailed comparison between the old and new lectionaries, and quite a bit of additional information see Lectionaries compared For the steps by which the lectionary texts of Volume 1, sent to Rome by the American Bishops, reached its present form and was confirmed, see Lectionary Watch
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