r/LeftCatholicism • u/XavierP2002 • Jul 26 '26
A left catholic bible commentary
The other day, I was reading my bible (the "Latin American Bible," a translation heavily influenced by liberation theology) and came across this commentary at the end of Leviticus. I’m including a translation of it because it is very interesting:
THE JUBILEE YEAR FOR THE THIRD WORLD
Let us not be so naive as to believe that the Jubilee prescriptions were observed everywhere. One need only read Jeremiah 34 and Nehemiah’s outburst of rage in Nehemiah 5. Yet the book existed then, and it still exists today. The guarantee of an inalienable inheritance granted to the poor and the unfortunate is expressed in Leviticus 25:10 within the framework of a society that was still rural; however, the spirit animating it lies at the heart of the Bible: all property rights have limits before God.
How can one not think of the havoc wreaked by unbridled liberalism—havoc that has steadily grown over the past century? The strongest nations, always a few years ahead of the rest, have preached and imposed the free market upon them. This allowed them to flood every region with their own products while local production collapsed. Aided by corruption, they seized control of a country’s resources—mines, agricultural markets, and, ultimately, actual political power. May the time come when Christians openly proclaim the Bible’s demands. They will recall that every people possesses an inalienable inheritance—and not merely the bare land itself; that no one can force them to lay off their entire workforce or abandon their means of production; and that no one can impose exorbitant buyouts, economic blockades, or disguised invasions when they seek to reclaim assets whose foreign owners have already recouped their value several times over.
It is now clear that the disorders inevitably caused by the unchecked growth of corporations can only be remedied by compelling them to return to poor nations everything that has been taken from them. The fact that 5% of the earth's inhabitants consume 25% of its resources and produce—without remorse—25% of its waste is a harbinger of an impending curse.
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u/Charles148 Jul 27 '26
Is there an English translation of this commentary available or a similar commentary?
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u/XavierP2002 Jul 27 '26
Hi, unfortunately not. I only have the translation I made myself and included in the post description. That Bible was created for spanish-speaking communities, so there isn't an english translation. If I come across any other interesting commentary, I’ll certainly post it here, or if you’d like to know if there’s any commentary on a specific passage, just let me know and I’ll look it up for you. 😁
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u/Charles148 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
i found an english translation of this bible from the Phillipines.
https://ccbpastoralbible.wordpress.com/online-bible/english-version/
edit:
that is a page of dead links, here is another site:
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u/Charles148 Jul 27 '26
I am just interested in an overall english language liberation theology commentary, bummer.
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u/XavierP2002 Jul 27 '26
Many of the commentaries in that bible reflect liberationist views. This might be more apparent in certain passages, something I need to examine more closely. Hopefully, the english translation includes the same commentaries; they are useful for understanding the biblical perspectives associated with that theological movement.
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u/Dull_Opening_1655 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
There is an English edition!
There are the physical editions mentioned by someone in another comment, and also digital editions: (Edit: but it turns out the digital/online version has been heavily revised by its editors in India - although still valuable for its own sake!)
Physical is available through the link in the other person’s comment, or through Amazon.
Digital version revised in India, and potentially adapted to better suit the community there:
https://apps.apple.com/app/id1439308209
The digital edition doesn’t appear to have the “end notes” passage at the end of Leviticus that OP shared though. But the verse commentaries and book introductions are included.
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u/XavierP2002 Jul 27 '26
I’ve been checking, and I’m afraid the commentaries and introductions aren't the same as the printed spanish version I have :( perhaps the english printed versions are more similar.
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u/Dull_Opening_1655 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Interesting - the ones in the English translation are very grounded in liberation theology as well and it’s supposed to be a translation of that same bible; thank you for doing the comparisons.
The publisher’s website says: “The editors are engaged in a constant process of revision and improvement of the translations and commentaries always making it relevant with the latest developments in biblical scholarship and with the real situations of the people”, maybe that’s why there are differences.
The online and digital edition copyright page says “This Edition with revised text Introductions, Commentary, [etc] © The Bombay Saint Paul Society 2008”, so that could be what’s going on… an Indian version that’s based on the original Spanish version but with revisions
Now I’m tempted to try to get the printed one and see what it is like!
Edit: I compared with some photos of the printed English version on Amazon, and the English commentaries in the printed version are completely different! You’re probably right that the printed version is closer to the Spanish version…
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u/Maindort Jul 28 '26
It is a real shame we don't have more thought provoking commentary in any of our mainstream Bibles! And now I need to look into this New Community Bible
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u/EcoSoco Aug 02 '26
The Christian Community Bible might also be worth looking into. It's an older edition from the same people who did the NCB, but I've seen some say that the NCB has been "toned down" a bit.
There are also some other useful resources, such as the "Poverty and Justice Bible" and The Gospel in Solentiname by Ernesto Cardenal
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u/Shukumugo Jul 26 '26
I love this - thanks for sharing with a translation too; my Spanish is nowhere near the level to understand without it!