American Library Association

Sacred Books in English Translation

Author(s): Wayne Bivens-Tatum and Kelly Myer Polacek
Source: Reference & User Services Quarterly , Vol. 52, No. 1 (Fall 2012), pp. 18-25
Published by: American Library Association
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/refuseserq.52.1.18

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The ALERT Collector
Kelly Myer Polacek, Editor

Sacred texts convey the tenets of religious faith and are central

Sacred Books to the world’s believers. These texts were originally written
in a variety of non-English languages, making them inacces-
sible to many readers. Wayne Bivens-Tatum offers a carefully

in English selected collection of English translations of the sacred texts

fundamental to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism,
and Judiasm—together comprising approximately 77 per-

Translation cent of the world’s practicing believers. Bivens-Tatum is the

Philosophy and Religion Librarian at the Princeton University
Library, where he provides general and specialized reference
and instruction, develops and manages the philosophy and
religion collections, and acts as liaison to the departments of
Philosophy and Religion. He has graduate degrees in English
and Library and Information Science from the University
of Illinois. He writes frequently about issues in reference,
instruction, collection development, technology, and higher
education on his blog, AcademicLibrarian.net. His new book
Libraries and the Enlightenment is available from the Library
Juice Press. This is his second contribution to the Alert Col-
lector.—Editor

T
he following survey is intended to provide a brief
guide to building a representative collection of
English translations of books sacred to Hinduism,
Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Con-
Wayne Bivens-Tatum, Guest Columnist sidering the overwhelming number of sacred books of some
religions and the large number of world religions, I have de-
Correspondence concerning this column liberately considered a small number of major world religions
should be addressed to Kelly Myer Polacek; and tried to focus on the most significant books within those.
e-mail: kmpolacek@gmail.com. For some religions, the choices were easy and for others much
more difficult. I have focused on contemporary translations in
In addition to the texts listed in the bibliography, print, preferably in relatively inexpensive editions easily avail-
this article was informed by discussions with and able from Amazon.com or other booksellers. Most of these
contributions by two of the author’s colleagues, books are available in older translations, many of which have
David Hollander and Liladhar Pendse. been digitized and are available for free through the Internet.
However, older translations are often less reliable and less
readable than more current translations, and usually do not
have notes, commentaries, introductions, and other scholarly
additions that are helpful for readers.
I assume readers approaching these texts are studying the
religions casually and as non-practitioners. Serious students
of any of the religions would need to be familiar with the
texts in their original languages. Practitioners might need
such familiarity with the original languages depending on
the religion. Christians rarely have any familiarity with New
Testament Greek, for example, while for Muslims the Arabic
Qur’an is the only authoritative version. In this article, I do
not discuss primary language editions at all. Also, any study

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 Sacred Books in English Translation

of the books in question is best done along with secondary This is a good recent translation, but out of print at the
sources such as encyclopedias, commentaries, and histories— time of writing:
none of which I address. Instead, I have gathered information
about the texts that is now scattered throughout numerous Nooten, Barend A. and Gary B. Holland, eds. Rig Veda: A
sources to provide a short guide for librarians selecting books. Metrically Restored Text with an Introduction and Notes. Harvard
This is an organized bibliography of (mostly) primary sources University Press, 1994 (ISBN: 0-674-76971-6).
in translation for the religions in question with very brief in- An easily available but often criticized contemporary
troductions explaining their significance. translation of a small part of the Rig Veda—the oldest and
Below is a recommended list of books by religion, fol- most important Veda—is:
lowed by a very short list of the most representative titles and
a brief bibliography of works used in compiling this bibliog- Doniger, Wendy, trans. The Rig Veda: an Anthology: One Hun-
raphy and which can also serve as further reading about the dred and Eight Hymns, Selected, Translated and Annotated. New
books listed below. No selection could be perfect, but the York, NY: Penguin Books, 1981 (ISBN: 0-14-044402-5).
collection below should provide a respectable sampling of
the sacred books of the selected religions.
Upanisads
The Upanisads are important philosophical texts. Each vedic
HINDUISM school had its own Upanisads. The “principal” Upanisads are
among the earliest Hindu sources. Here is one current and
Hinduism contains a very large number of sacred books span- respected translation of the principal Upanisads:
ning centuries. For our purposes, I shall focus on the books
most commonly studied in English. The original language of Olivelle, Patrick, trans. Upanisads. Oxford World’s Classics.
early Hindu sacred books is Sanskrit and the way they should New York: Oxford University Press, 1996 (ISBN: 0-19-
be appreciated is through speech rather than the written 282292-6).
word. By talking about English translations of Sanskrit works
best appreciated through oral recitation, we are obviously far
removed from the appreciation of Hinduism from the inside. Mahābhārata
The texts can be divided into two categories, the “heard” or The Mahābhārata is an epic poem about the Kurukshetra War,
“revealed” texts and the “remembered” texts. The revealed texts an ancient war fought in Kuru, an early state in what is now
were supposedly the divine word heard by a primordial sage, India. There is a complete translation, in nine volumes trans-
while the remembered texts were later created by humans. The lated by Manmatha Nath Dutt, but it isn’t readily available
revealed texts constitute the Veda, divided into four sections, in the United States, though a number of American research
the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Atharva libraries have copies. However, there are partial editions that
Veda. The Vedas are hymns that are also accompanied in the are more readily available and would be more suitable for
total Veda by Brahmanas (ritual texts), Aranyakas (“forest” or study. First, there is an ongoing translation of the complete
“wilderness” texts), and Upanishads (philosophical texts). The text with introductions and notes from the University of Chi-
Upanishads are also called the Vedanta and come at the end of cago Press, begun by J. A. B. van Buitenen and continued by
the total Veda. Though less studied than later texts, the Veda his student James L. Fitzgerald after Buitenen’s death:
is the central scripture of Hinduism.
The “remembered” texts consist of the post-Vedic texts. van Buitenen, J. A. B., trans. and ed. The Mahā bhā rata. 3 vols.
Among the most important of these are two epics, the Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973–1978. (ISBN:
Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyana; the Bhagavad Gita, a text in- 0-226-84648-2).
serted into the Mahābhārata that focuses on the god Krishna;
and the Dharmaśāstras: consisting of the manuals concern- Fitzgerald, James L., trans. The Mahā bhā rata, Volume 7. Book
ing dharma (the dharmaśāstras proper) and aphorisms on 11, The Book of the Women, Book 12, The Book of Peace,
dharma (the dharmasūtras). In addition to the translations Part One. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. (ISBN:
mentioned below, there are also translations of numerous vol- 0-226-84648-2).
umes in the Harvard Oriental Series, which would be worth There is also a recent abridged translation that would
investigating for larger libraries. probably be the best for smaller libraries:
Smith, John D., trans. The Mahābhārata: An Abridged Trans-
lation. London: Penguin, 2009. (ISBN: 978-0-14-044681-4).
Veda
There is no complete contemporary English translation of the
Veda. A good one is still the nineteenth-century translation by Bhagavad Gītā
Ralph T. H. Griffith available online here: www.sacred-texts Most readers might prefer to start with this popular subsec-
.com/hin. tion of the Mahābhārata. The Bhagavad Gita is one of the

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The ALERT Collector
better known Hindu texts in the English-speaking world and oral tradition for several hundred years until they were com-
is available in many translations. Two contemporary and eas- piled into collections called suttas (Pali) or sutras (Sanskrit)
ily available translations are: depending on the Buddhist tradition followed. The Sutta
Pitaka (“basket”) constitute one of “three baskets” (Tipi-
Johnson, W. J., trans. The Bhagavad Gita. Oxford: Oxford Uni- taka in Pali, Tripitaka in Sanskrit) of the Buddhist Canon,
versity Press, 2008. (ISBN: 978-0-19-953812-6). alongside Vinaya Pitaka (monastic rules) and Abidhamma/
Aabidharma (philosophical texts or sastras, as we saw with
Patton, Laurie L., trans. The Bhagavad Gita. London: Penguin, Hinduism). Here, I include various collections of impor-
2008. (ISBN: 978-0-14-044790-3). tant suttas—the core of Buddhist teaching (the Dhamma
or Dharma).
Buddhism is divided into two major traditions: Ther-
Rāmāyana aveda (“school of elders”) Buddhism and Mahayana (“greater
The Rāmāyana is an epic poem concerning the Vishnu ava- vehicle”) Buddhism. As with many religions, over time a
tar Rama and his struggle to rescue his wife from the demon distinction developed between a more conservative and
king Ravana. The texts include different recensions, with the traditionalist strain and a more open strain of Buddhism.
most important being the southern recensions, available in a Theraveda Buddhism is the older form of Buddhism prac-
translation from the Gita Press: ticed in India by monks who claimed exclusive understand-
ing of the dhamma. Mahayana Buddhism developed later
Vālmīki. Śrīmad Vā lmī ki-Rā mā yana. 3 vols. Gorakhpur, In- and included lay persons among its ranks. It is called the
dia: Gita Press, 1969. (ISBN: 812930029X). Greater Vehicle because it is the tradition of Buddhism with
the most adherents throughout the world. The Theravada
An abridged translation is: canon (in Pali) is the oldest and most complete version of
the suttas and has been completely translated into English.
Narayan, R. K., trans. The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern It has also been the focus of the most scholarship in the
Prose Version of the Indian Epic. Penguin Classics, 2006. (ISBN: West. However, because of the popularity of Mahayana Bud-
0-14-303967-9). dhism, many people will also be interested in texts outside
the Theraveda canon.

Dharmaśāstras
Very roughly translated, dharma is the overall balance of the General Anthologies
cosmos. There are many dharmaśāstras, with the Laws of These inexpensive anthologies provide a sampling of Bud-
Manu being considered the oldest. Several recent and well dhist texts from various traditions:
received translations of the dharmasūtras and two of the
dharmaśāstras by Patrick Olivelle of the University of Texas Lopez, Donald S., ed. Buddhism in Practice (Abridged Edi-
are available: tion). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007. (ISBN:
0-691-12968-1).
Olivelle, Patrick, trans. The Dharmasutras: The Law Codes of
Ancient India. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. (ISBN: Lopez, Donald S., ed. Buddhist Scriptures. London: Penguin,
0-19-955537-0). 2004. (ISBN: 014044758X).

Olivelle, Patrick, trans. and ed. Manu’s Code of Law: A Critical Strong, John, ed. The Experience of Buddhism: Sources and
Edition and Translation of the Mā nava-Dharmaśā stra. Oxford: Interpretations. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2008.
Oxford University Press, 2005. (ISBN: 0-19-517146-2). (ISBN: 0-495-09486-2).

Olivelle, Patrick, trans. The Law Code of Visnu: A Critical Edi-

tion and Annotated Translation of the Vaisnava-Dharmaśā stra. Theraveda texts
Harvard Oriental Series, 73. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Uni- The easiest way to build a large standard collection of the
versity Press, 2010. (ISBN: 0-674-05139-4). Pali Tipitaka is to purchase the Pāli Canon in English Trans-
lation set published by the Pali Text Society, which has been
publishing English translations of Pali texts since its found-
BUDDHISM ing in 1881 (www.palitext.com/palitext/tipitaka.htm). The
standard set for non-members of the society consists of 43
Buddhism has an even more extensive set of sacred books books covering an extensive range of the canon. It is expen-
than Hinduism, with significant contributions in Pali, San- sive (approximately $1,700 at the moment of writing), but
skrit, Chinese, and Tibetan. After the Buddha’s death (circa if affordable provides a solid foundation to a major Buddhist
483 BCE), memories of his sayings were carried through canon. The list of titles in this set includes:

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 Sacred Books in English Translation

• The Book of Analysis Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikā ya. Translated by
• The Book of Discipline 6 vol. set Bikkhu Ñānamoli. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995.
• The Book of Gradual Sayings 5 vol. set (ISBN: 086171072X).
• The Book of Kindred Sayings 5 vol. set
• Buddhist Psychological Ethics
• Conditional Relations 2 vol. set The Connected Discourses (shorter texts arranged
• Designation of Human Types thematically)
• Discourse on Elements Rhys Davids, Caroline A. F., and Frank L. Woodward, trans.
• Dialogues of the Buddha 3 vol. set The Book of the Kindred Sayings. 5 vols. London: Pali Text So-
• Elder’s Verses 2 vol. set ciety, 1917–1930. (ISBN 0-86013-256-0).
• Group of Discourses, 2nd Edition
• The Itivuttaka Bodhi, Bhikkhu, trans. The Connected Discourses of the Bud-
• Jātaka or Stories of the Buddha’s former Births vol. set dha: A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikā ya. 2 vols. Boston:
• Middle Length Sayings vol. set Wisdom Publications, 2000. (ISBN: 0-86171-331-1).
• Minor Anthologies, Vol. III
• Minor Readings and the Illustrator of the Ultimate Meaning
• The Path of Discrimination Numerical Discourses
• Peta Stories Woodward, F. L., and E. M. Hare, trans. The Book of Gradual
• Points of Controversy Sayings. 5 vols. London: Pali Text Society, 1932–1936. (ISBN
• Udāna 0-86013-255-2).
• Vimāna Stories
• Word of the Doctrine Bodhi, Bhikkhu, and Mahāthera Nyanaponika, trans. Numeri-
cal Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the
These volumes can sometimes be purchased separately, Anguttara Nikā ya. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira, 1999. (ISBN:
and some individual volumes are included in the list below. 0-7425-0405-0).
Another less expensive approach is to select representa-
tive translations from the five main collections (or nikayas)
of the Sutta Pitaka. The divisions include long discourses Miscellaneous Shorter Texts
of the Buddha, mid-length discourses, shorter connected Cowell, Edward Byles, ed. The Jā taka, or Stories of the Buddha’s
discourses linked thematically, shorter texts arranged by the Former Births. 6 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
number of items within them, and miscellaneous texts. Below Press, 1895–1907. (Pali Text Society reprint: ISBN 0-86013-
are suggested translations within each category that are both 260-9).
good translations and readily available, including texts from The 6-volume set is also available through the Internet
outside the Pali Canon set. Archive.

Norman, K. R., trans. The Word of the Doctrine. Oxford: Pali

The Long Discourses Text Society, 1997. (ISBN: 0-86013-335-4).
Rhys Davids, Thomas W., and Caroline A. F. Rhys Davids, This is a translation of the Dhammapada. Very scholarly,
trans. Dialogues of the Buddha. 3 vols. London: Pali Text Soci- but not always easily available. However, there are several
ety, 1899–1921. (ISBN 0-86013-258-7). other contemporary translations of this very popular Bud-
dhist work:
Walshe, Maurice, trans. The Long Discourses of the Buddha.
Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995. (ISBN: 0-86171-103-3) Roebuck, Valerie, trans, ed. The Dhammapada. Revised. New
The Wisdom Publications texts tend to pack more into York: Penguin Classics, 2010. (ISBN: 0-14-044941-8).
one text by eliminating repetitious phrases. Thus, three vol-
umes of the Pali text become one volume in the Wisdom text, Carter, John Ross and Mahinda Palihawadana, trans. The
or five volumes become one or two volumes. Because of this Dhammapada: The Sayings of the Buddha. New York: Oxford
and their generally lower price, they are less expensive to University Press, 2008. (ISBN: 0-19-955513-3).
collect than the Pali Canon editions.

Mahayana texts
The Middle Length Discourses The Mahayana literature is extensive and exists in several dif-
Horner, I. B., trans. The Middle Length Sayings. 3 vols. London: ferent languages. Instead of by nikaya, the selections below
Pali Text Society, 1954–1959. (ISBN 0-86013-262-5). are organized by some common genres and traditions of Ma-
hayana Buddhist literature. Perfection of Wisdom literature
Bodhi, Bhikkhu, ed. The Middle Length Discourses of the is central to Mahayana Buddhism; forest vocation literature

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The ALERT Collector
concerns seclusion in the forest to achieve enlightenment; in Shambhala, 2010. (ISBN: 1-59030-474-8).
Change of Sex sutras, a young woman arguing with a male
bodhisattva changes sex to make her points; Pure Land, Lo- Cook, Francis, trans. The Record of Transmitting the Light: Zen
tus, and Zen are popular Japanese variations of Buddhism. Master Keizan’s Denkō roku. Boston: Wisdom Publications,
Tibetan Buddhism is another important tradition. 2003. (ISBN: 0-86171-330-3).

Cleary, Thomas, ed. The Original Face: An Anthology of Rinzai

Perfection of Wisdom Zen. New York: Grove, 1978. (ISBN: 0-394-17038-5).
Conze, Edward, trans. Perfect Wisdom: The Short Prajñā pā ramitā
Texts. London: Luzac, 1973. (ISBN: 0-946672-28-8). Kokushi , Muso. Dream Conversations on Buddhism and Zen.
Translated by Thomas Cleary. Boston: Shambhala, 1996.
Conze, Edward, trans. The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom with (ISBN: 157062206X).
the Divisions of the Abhisamayā lankā ra. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1975. (ISBN: 0-520-05321-4).
Tibetan Buddhism
Soeng, Mu, trans. The Diamond Sutra: Transforming the Way Buddhism arrived later in Tibet than India or Japan. Tibetan
We Perceive the World. Wisdom Publications, 2000. (ISBN: Buddhism has four major living traditions: the Geluk, Kagyü,
0-86171-160-2). Nyingma, and Sakya traditions. Representative titles include:

Guenther, Herbert V, trans. The Life and Teaching of Nā ropa.

Forest Vocation Boston: Shambhala, 1986. (ISBN: 1-57062-101-2).
Boucher, Daniel, trans. Bodhisattvas of the Forest and the A translation of a hagiography of a great Kagyü master.
Formation of the Mahā yā na: A Study and Translation of the
Rā strapā lapariprcchā -sū tra; Studies in the Buddhist Tradi- Namkhai Norbu, Chögyal, trans. The Supreme Source: The
tions. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2008. (ISBN: Fundamental Tantra of the Dzogchen Semde. Ithaca, NY: Snow
8120834232). Lion, 1999. ISBN: 1-55939-120-0).
A translation of the important Nyingma work. The “All-
Nattier, Jan, trans. A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path ac- creating King.”
cording to the Inquiry of Ugra (Ugrapariprcchā -sū tra). Studies
in the Buddhist Traditions. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Thurman, Robert A. F, trans. The Central Philosophy of Tibet: A
Press, 2003. (ISBN: 0-8248-3003-2). Study and Translation of Tsongkhapa’s Essence of True Eloquence.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991. ISBN: 0-691-
02067-1).
Change of Sex An important philosophical work from the Geluk tradition.
Thurman, Robert A. F, trans. The Holy Teaching of Vimalakī rti:
A Mahā yā na Scripture. University Park: Pennsylvanian State Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen. A Clear Differentiation of the
University Press, 1976. (ISBN: 0-271-00601-3). Three Codes: Essential Distinctions among the Individual Libera-
tion, Great Vehicle, and Tantric Systems. Translated by Jared
Douglas Rhoton. Albany: State University of New York Press,
Pure Land 2002. (ISBN: 0-7914-5285-9).
Gómez, Luis O, trans. The Land of Bliss: The Paradise of the An important text from the Sakya tradition.
Buddha of Measureless Light; Sanskrit and Chinese Versions of the
Sukhā vatī vyū ha Sū tras. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, Dalai Lama. Ethics for the New Millennium. Riverhead Trade,
1996. (ISBN: 812081813X). 2001. (ISBN: 1-57322-883-4).
A philosophical work from the current Dalai Lama.

Lotus Sutra
Kubo, Tsugunari, and Yuyama Akira, trans. The Lotus Sutra. JUDAISM
2d rev. ed. BDK English Tripitaka 13-I. Berkeley, CA: Numata
Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 2007. (ISBN: Tanakh
0-9625618-0-0). Compared to Hinduism and Buddhism, the number of sacred
texts associated with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is small
and could be condensed to one book for each religion, though
Zen Buddhism I discuss more. The canonical Jewish bible is known as the
Tanahashi, Kazuaki, ed. and trans. Treasury of the True Dhar- Tanakh, which corresponds roughly with the Christian Old
ma Eye: Zen Master Dō gen’s Shō bō Genzō . 2 vols. Boston: Testament. It consists of three parts: the Torah (“teaching”)

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 Sacred Books in English Translation

or the Written Law, traditionally handed down from God to CHRISTIANITY

Moses on Mount Sinai; the Nevi’im (“prophets”), consisting
of the writings of prophets inspired by God; and the Ketu- The Bible
vim (“writings”), consisting of several poetical and wisdom The Christian Bible consists of two parts, the Old Testament
books. There are two good recent translations of the Tanakh and the New Testament. Christianity is a development from
into English, both authoritative and relatively inexpensive. within Judaism, and the earliest Christians were Jews who
used the Hebrew scriptures as part of their new religion
The Jewish Study Bible. Jewish Publication Society Tanakh centered around Jesus. The Hebrew scriptures became the
translation. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, Christian Old Testament, considered by Christians to be the
2004. (ISBN: 0-8276-0366-5). old covenant with God. The New Testament is considered to
A standard study Bible with commentary. be a new covenant with God in the form of Jesus Christ, and
is thus of central importance. The New Testament consists
The Koren Tanakh, New Edition of the Koren Jerusalem Bible. of four parts: The Gospels (or “good news”), which relate the
Bilingual. Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2010. (ISBN: 965- life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; the Acts of the Apostles,
301-151-0). which chronicle early Christian history; the Letters or Epis-
A bilingual edition with Hebrew and English on fac- tles, mostly written by the early Christian evangelist St. Paul,
ing pages. some of which are the earliest writings in the New Testament;
and the final book of Revelations.
Different denominations of Christians use different Bibles.
Talmud Roman Catholics and Protestants, for example, consider dif-
The Torah is the Written Law of Judaism, but traditionally ferent books of the Old Testament canonical. Several books of
the written law cannot be fully understood without the ac- the Old Testament were originally written in Greek rather than
companying Oral Law, which was also passed to Moses on Hebrew, and are not considered canonical by either Jews or
Mount Sinai. The most important source for the Oral Law is Protestant Christians. They are considered “apocryphal” books.
the Mishnah, which can also be considered a sacred book. However, Roman Catholics consider them deuterocanonical
The most complete source of the Mishnah is the Babylonian and include them in the Catholic Bible. Thus, it is desirable to
Talmud, a collection including the Mishnah, commentaries have translations acceptable to both Catholics and Protestants.
on the Mishnah called the Gemara, extensive commentary by There have been numerous excellent translations of the
a famous medieval rabbi traditionally known as Rashi, and Bible over the past 400 years. I recommend having three, for
later rabbinical commentary. Those who want to dig deeper different reasons. All are relative inexpensive. They are also
into Judaism will want some familiarity with the Talmud. available in Oxford Biblical Studies Online.
There are two Talmuds, the Jerusalem and the Babylonian.
The Babylonian is the later and more complete Talmud and The Authorized or King James Version (KJV).
the one generally studied. There are two recent English trans- Translated in the 17th century and considered a classic of
lations of the Babylonian Talmud. English prose. A necessary translation because of its influence
on the English language. Widely available from numerous
The Talmud = [Talmud Bavli]: The Steinsaltz Edition. 1st Ameri- publishers and freely available on the Internet.
can ed. New York: Random House, 1989. (first volume ISBN:
0-394-57665-9). Metzger, Bruce and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Oxford
An English-only edition in 21 slender volumes. Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books
3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. (ISBN:
Talmud Bavli = [Talmud Bavli]: The Schottenstein Edition: The 0-19-528881-5).
Gemara: The Classic Vilna Edition, with an Annotated, In- The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation,
terpretive Elucidation, as an Aid to Talmud Study. ArtScroll a contemporary and commonly cited translation. This edi-
Series. Brooklyn, N.Y: Mesorah Publications, 1990. (first tion has excellent notes, and includes the Apocrypha in a
volume ISBN: 0-89906-717-4). separate section.
An Aramaic-Hebrew-English edition in 71 thick folio vol-
umes. Easier to use, but much larger and more expensive than Senior, Donald, ed. The Catholic Study Bible 2nd ed. New York:
the Steinsaltz edition. Also, the commentaries are considered Oxford University Press, 2011. (ISBN: 0-19-529775-X).
more conservative. The New American Bible (NAB), a Catholic translation
There are also available English translations of just the incorporating the Catholic deuterocanonical books within
Mishnah, including this standard translation consisting of the Old Testament. Also has an excellent scholarly apparatus.
one large volume:
Kohlenberger, John R, ed. The Precise Parallel New Testament.
Danby, Herbert, trans. The Mishnah. Oxford: Oxford Univer- New York: Oxford University Press Inc, USA, 1996. (ISBN:
sity Press, 1933. (ISBN: 1-59856-902-3). 0-19-528412-7).

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The ALERT Collector
Includes the original Greek text of the New Testament, Hadith
as well as seven English translations alongside it, including
those mentioned above. Hadith are sayings or acts attributed to the prophet Muham-
mad and are the most important sources for interpreting
Islamic law after the Qur’an. Whereas the Qur’an is the word
Non-Canonical Books of Possible Interest of God revealed to Muhammad, the Hadith are sayings or
Though not sacred books as such, there are collections of actions performed or approved by Muhammad. Below are
primary texts similar to the New Testament writings, but English translations of Hadith of central importance to the
excluded from the canonical New Testament (which in its Sunni and Shi’ite denominations of Islam.
current form wasn’t officially canonical until the forth cen-
tury CE). These collections include various early gospels and
other writings, including the “Gnostic gospels,” that might be Sunni
of interest to those studying early Christianity. The Sahih al-Bukhari is the most authoritative collection of
Hadith for Sunni Muslims. The entire collection is translated
Robinson, James M. and Richard Smith, eds. The Nag Ham- in nine volumes. There is also a one-volume translation of
madi Library in English. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990. the first part of the Sahih. Both are available and reasonably
(ISBN: 0-06-162600-7). priced:

Schneemelcher, Wilhelm, ed. New Testament Apocrypha. Vol. 1, Al-Bukhari, Muhammad b. Ismā‘īl. The Translation of the
Gospels and Related Writings. Louisville, Ky.: J. Clarke & Co.; Meanings of Sahī h Bukhā rī . 9 vols. Translated by Muhammad
Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991. (ISBN: 0-664-22721-X). Muhsin Khan. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 1997.
(ISBN: 9960717313).
Schneemelcher, Wilhelm, ed. New Testament Apocrypha. Vol.
2, Writings Relating to the Apostles, Apocalypses and Related Al-Bukhari, Muhammad b. Ismā‘īl. Sahīh al-Bukhari: The Early
Subjects. Louisville, Ky.: J. Clarke & Co.; Westminster/John Years of Islam. Translated by Muhammad Asad. Kuala Lumpur,
Knox Press, 1992. (ISBN: 0-664-22722-8). Malaysia: A. S. Noordeen, 2003. (ISBN: 1-85024-007-8).

Another possibility:
ISLAM
Al-Nawawi, Muhyi al-Din. An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith: An An-
Qur’an thology of the Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. Translated by
For Muslims, the Qur’an is the word of God revealed to his Ezzeddin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies. Cambridge,
prophet Muhammad over a period of many years. Muham- UK: Islamic Texts Society, 1997. (ISBN: 0-946621-65-9).
mad recited the words, which were written down soon after Another famous collection of Hadith, Arabic with facing
his death. The standard written text was established around English translation.
650 CE and is known as the “Uthmanic text.” Unlike, for ex-
ample, the Christian Bible, there is one version of the Qur’an
accepted as authoritative by all Muslims. It is divided into Shiʿite
114 chapters, called suras, in order of length from longest Al-Kulayni’s Al-Kafi is an important Shi’a collection of Hadith
to shortest. The suras are referred to by name rather than partly available in English translation, though the translations
number. Like many holy books, it is meant to be recited might be difficult to find in print.
orally in its original language. No translation is considered
authoritative by scholars, but the following two translations Al-Kulayni, Muhammad b. Ya‘qub. Al-Kafī . Translated by
are respected and easily available, including in Oxford Islamic Muhammad Hasan al-Rizvani. Karachi, Pakistan: 1995.
Studies Online:
Al-Kulayni, Muhammad b. Ya‘qub. Al-Kafi. 2 vols. New York:
Abdel Haleem, M. A., trans. The Qur’an: A New Translation. Islamic Seminary. No Date.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. (ISBN: 0-19-953595-
7).
THE BRIEFEST OF THE BRIEF
Arberry, Arthur J., trans. The Koran Interpreted. 2 vols. Lon-
don: Allen and Unwin, 1955. (ISBN: 0-684-82507-4—an Collecting all the volumes mentioned here should provide a
available reprint). good starter collection of sacred books. However, for a ready

24 Reference & User Services Quarterly

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 Sacred Books in English Translation

reference collection of the most popular titles or as a list to Bibliography

hand to an interested patron, here is a very brief list of titles
selected from the bibliography above that are representative The following sources were used to develop the title list:
and inexpensive:
Coward, Harold G. Scripture in the World Religions: A Short
• Johnson, W. J., trans. The Bhagavad Gita. Introduction. Oxford: Oneworld, 2000.
• Olivelle, Patrick, trans. Upanisads. Oxford University Press. Buddhism. Oxford Bibliographies On-
• Lopez, Donald S., ed. Buddhist Scriptures. line. Oxford: Oxford University Press, n.d.
• Carter, John Ross and Mahinda Palihawadana , trans. The ———. Hinduism. Oxford Bibliographies Online. Oxford: Ox-
Dhammapada: The Sayings of the Buddha. ford University Press, n.d.
• The Jewish Study Bible: Jewish Publication Society Tanakh ———. Islamic Studies. Oxford Bibliographies Online. Oxford:
translation. Oxford University Press, n.d.
• The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deu- Rosen, Jeremy. Understanding Judaism. Edinburgh: Dunedin
terocanonical books. (NRSV translation) Academic Press, 2003.
• Abdel Haleem, M. A. The Qur’an: A New Translation. Schmidt-Leukel, Perry. Understanding Buddhism. Edinburgh:
Dunedin Academic Press, 2006.
Snodgrass, Mary. Encyclopedia of World Scriptures. Jefferson
NC: McFarland, 2001.
Whaling, Frank. Understanding Hinduism. Edinburgh: Dune-
din Academic, 2010.
Yaran, Cafer S. Understanding Islam. Edinburgh: Dunedin
Academic Press, 2007.

volume 52, issue 1 | Fall 2012 25

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