A Graphic (comic-book) version nest[next]?

Robert Crumb - done that.

Raised in largely Hispanic northern New Mexico, most Catholics did not have Bibles although they had various religious texts. Interpretations were the province of the priests.

Never been to that neck of the woods, but I went to Catholic schools for 11 years, began reading the Bible with great interest as soon as I was old enough to read, and was certainly never dissuaded from doing so. The old canard about Catholics not being allowed to read the Bible is based on the fact that, until recently, Catholics were, if not forbidden, at least strongly discouraged from reading Protestant translations such as the KJV. Today, with interdenominational scholarship the norm, such a warning is no longer deemed necessary.

My two favorite translations are, for serious study, the Anchor Bible, originally published by Doubleday and now owned by Yale University, and for everyday devotional reading, the Good News Bible, subtitled "Today's English Version". Both are the work of first-rate Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish scholars and both are regularly updated.

Editions such as the subject of the thread are normally termed paraphrases rather than translations and some are, I suppose, more abominable than others.

Which reminds me of an old joke - probably too old:

Definition of 'abominable': A messy way to make hamburger.