6.

Modern versions

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

For the Fathers of the Church of the 1st century, the biblical text used was the Greek
Bible, i.e., the version of the LXX plus the NT. Even today this is the Bible of the Greek
Church.

In the Latin-speaking churches, translations were used that were based on the LXX
(Vetus Latina) for the OT and that starting from the 5th century BC they were
gradually replaced by the Vg, as we said.

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

In the medieval West, practically the only Bible read and widely used was the Vg,
although there were paraphrases or small translations to the languages spoken by
the people. It is usually said that the first to translate the Bible into modern
languages were the Protestants. But it is more accurate to say that they were the
first to massively disseminate the Bible in modern languages.

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

In 1560 the Catholic Church has been outlawed in England. The Catholics who
remained in the country felt a particular danger to their faith from the English
versions of the Bible which “altered the true meaning of the Scriptures.” To meet
this “danger” there was an urgent need of a more faithful, a Catholic, version. This
need was met by the “Rheims and Douay Version.”

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

The Douay-Rheims Version, which predates the KJV by a few years (the complete KJV
was published in 1611; the complete Douay-Rheims came in 1609), was the standard
Bible for English-speaking Catholics until the 20th century. It was so called because
the NT was printed at Rheims in 1582, and the OT at Douay in 1609-10. It was the
work of exiled English priests and educators, the chief of whom was Dr. Gregory
Martin.
6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

The Douay-Rheims underwent a revision by Bishop Richard Challoner, Vicar Apostolic

of the London District, who saw the pressing need of an English version of the Bible
in keeping with the time. In spite of his heavy pastoral labors, he produced a new
version of the entire Bible in English in 1750. For 200 years the Challoner Revision
remained in almost universal use among English speaking Catholics.

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

The translation of the Bible into German by Luther (1545) is of enormous importance
also from a cultural and linguistic point of view. In English, the King James Version
(KJV) of 1611 was equally important. Both Luther Bibel and KJV were for centuries
“the” Bible in their respective languages and contributed greatly to the literary
development of German and English.

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

In the Catholic camp, the Council of Trent recommended the Vg as the preferred text
among the different Latin versions that existed at that time (cf. EB 61). Trent did not
forbid making translations from the original texts, but did not also encourage them.
If we study the proceedings of the conciliar discussions, it turns out that this silence
was not accidental. In fact, some Council Fathers wanted all versions to be
forbidden, except the Vulgate. Others thought it more convenient to promote the
dissemination of the Bible among the faithful. In the end, pro bono pacis, the Council
did not say anything about it.

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

At the same time, Trent strongly recommended the Vg as a text that is secure from
the doctrinal point of view. Here is the text, taken from the 2nd decree on the
Scriptures (8 April 1546):

“The same sacred Synod, considering that it will not be of little use for the Church of
God to know clearly among all the editions in circulation which is the authentic
edition of the sacred books, establishes and declares that the ancient edition of the
Vulgate, approved by the same Church from a secular use, it must be considered
authentic in public lessons, in disputations, in preaching and explanation and that no
one, for any reason, can have the audacity of rejecting it.” (EB 61)

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

This recommendation meant that all Catholic translations of the Bible took the Vg as
the basic text and not the texts in the original languages. Surprisingly, this situation,
which perhaps could be justified at the time of Trent for reasons of prudence, has
lasted for 4 centuries!

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

In fact, only with the encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943) that the scope of the
Tridentine decree on Vg has been clarified. Pius XII explains that the authenticity of
the Vg of which Trent spoke was to be understood in a doctrinal sense and not in a
critical sense. Therefore the Vg cannot replace the original texts.

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

Here are his words:

“That if the Council of Trent wanted the Vulgate to be that Latin version, ‘of which all
should be valued as authentic,’ first of all it concerns only, as everyone knows, the
Latin Church and the use in it of Scripture, and after all there is no doubt that the
authority and value of the original texts do not diminish. In fact it was not then a
question of the original texts of the Bible, but of the Latin translations, which at that
time circulated, and among these rightly that the same Council decided to prefer
that which ‘for the daily use of so many centuries in the Church itself had received
approval.’…

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

…This pre-eminent authority, that is to say, the authenticity of the Vulgate, was
decreed by the council not primarily for reasons of [textual] criticism, but rather for
the legitimate use it had in churches over the course of so many centuries, which use
demonstrates that it, in the sense in which it understands it and intends the Church,
is at all immune from error in all that touches faith and morals. From this immunity,
which the Church witnesses and confirms, it comes that in the disputations, lessons
and sermons we can quote the Vulgate in complete safety and without the danger of
making mistakes….

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

…Therefore that authenticity must be called non-critical, in the first place, but rather
juridical. So the authority, which the Vulgate has in matters of doctrine, does not
prevent the point—indeed in our days almost demands—that the same doctrine be
tested and confirmed by means of the original texts, and that the same texts are also
used to better disclose and declare every day the true meaning of the divine
Scriptures.” (EB 549)

After this clarification, all Catholics began to translate directly from the original texts.

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

Dei Verbum also makes this idea its own and encourages the diffusion of translations
based on the original texts, also in collaboration with Christians not in full
communion with the Church:

“Access to Sacred Scripture ought to be widely available to the Christian faithful. For
this reason the Church, from the very beginning, made its own the ancient
translation of the OT called the Septuagint; it honors also the other eastern
translations, and the Latin translations, especially that known as the Vulgate…

6.1 Introduction: the authenticity of the Vulgate

….But since the word of God must be readily available at all times, the Church, with
motherly concern, sees to it that suitable and correct translations are made into
various languages, especially from the original texts of the sacred books. If, when the
opportunity presents itself and the authorities of the Church agree, these
translations are made jointly with churches separated from us, they can then be
used by all Christians.” (DV 22)
6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

By way of a general answer, the most appropriate translation must be judged from
one’s purpose in reading. Is it public worship? Private reading? For the purpose of
careful reading or study, one must recognize that translators face a challenge: either
they render ambiguous texts literally and preserve the ambiguity, or render freely
and resolve the uncertainty. In a “free” translation, translators have already made a
decision as to what they think an obscure passage means—the translation is
interpretation.

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

Accordingly, here are a number of relatively literal translations:

• “The Revised Standard Version [RSV] (1952) is the result of discussions begun in
1928, as a result of which a Standard Bible Committee was appointed by the
International Council on Religious Education. The committee decided to revise the
poorly received American Standard Version within the tradition of the King James
Version. Work began in 1936. The New Testament was published in 1946, and the
complete Bible on September 30, 1952 (the feast of St. Jerome!). That evening, 3,418
Protestant communities held observances to honor the new translation, and more
than half a million people participated.” (J. Lienhard)

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

• New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). Not a totally new translation, the RSV
remained faithful to its antecedent where possible. Despite the occasionally stilted
Bible English (including “thou” and “thee”), “it was in anyway the best Bible for study
purposes” (R. E. Brown). The NRSV, as an ecumenical reworking (1990) that has
replaced it, has less Bible English and manifests a sensitivity for inclusive language;
the price is a certain loss of literalness. A Catholic Edition NRSV (1993) has
Deuterocanonical Books inserted within the OT in the usual Catholic order.

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

• New American Bible (NAB). This is an entirely new, contemporary translation of the
Bible from the original languages done by Roman Catholics (1952-70) with Protestant
cooperation. Overall, its OT was very good. T. Meek of the Chicago Bible project
commented in Catholic Biblical Quarterly 18, 314: “It is much more modern in its
English and much truer to the original than the highly vaunted RSV.” Some of the NT
was carefully done in committee; but the push to have it ready for the English Mass
Lectionary produced uneven editing which often was never shown to scholars who
did the translating. Thus, while readable, the NT had major inconsistencies. A new
translation of the NT (1987: called a revision) is much better and makes the NAB a
serious candidate for study purposes. Its language is mildly inclusive.

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

• New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE). This current version of the NAB was
published in 2011 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). It is
the de facto standard Bible translation for the Catholic Church in America. This 2011
Revised Edition incorporates 2 sets of revisions published over the years: the revised
NT (1987), and revised OT (2010). Compared to the original 1970 NAB, both sets of
revisions have shifted the translation toward more of a formal equivalence
approach. This shift improved clarity and precision, although the editors also
adopted some “inclusive language” renderings.

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

• New Jerusalem Bible (NJB). In 1948-54, with R. de Vaux as general editor, the

French Dominicans of Jerusalem produced La Sainte Bible. The copious introductions

and footnotes made it a landmark of renascent Catholic biblical scholarship after
Divino Afflante Spiritu. The English translation (1966), made a one-volume
abbreviation of the French work, was guided by A. Jones and became a valuable text
for students…

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

…Despite its enormous strengths, it had serious defects: in the NT there were
idiosyncratic readings influenced by Biosmard’s theory of the Short Text and patristic
citations. The scholarship of the NT introductions reflected the still quite
conservative 1950 situation (e.g., if the Pastorals were not by Paul, they would have
to be “forgeries”). The very British style of English was awkward for public reading in
other English-speaking countries. The English was uneven in taking account of the
biblical languages and was less scholarly than the French…

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

…A new French edition appeared in 1973 heavily revised, and it guided a significantly
improved New Jerusalem Bible (1985), done with H. Wansbrough as editor. This
corrected many defects of the 1966 edition. Beyond the US, the NJB is the official
English-language text used in Catholic liturgies throughout the world, as well as for
many of Orthodox and Anglican Churches. According to D. Senior, “The new
translation is stronger than before, closer to Hebrew and Greek.”

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

• New International Version (NIV Updated). This “update” is a revised translation of

the NIV of the 1970s. It anticipates a conservative / evangelical readership. It aims at
being literal, but has been the subject of controversy because of theological and
translation issues. It is not a very literal rendering. There is no edition with
Apocrypha / Deuterocanonical Books so far.

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

• Revised English Bible (REB). The New English Bible (NEB, 1961-70) was produced by
the Protestant churches of the UK in vigorous contemporary British English. The OT
was too free and idiosyncratic, the NT had significant value. The REB (1989), a
thorough reworking of the NEB done in the 1980s, is a more even work.

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

• New American Standard Bible (NASB). The NASB is an American translation (1959-
71/95) in the tradition of the American Standard Version (ASV, 1901) that brings the
ASV-inspired translation into “more current English.” An “Updated” NASB (1995) is
available. The NASB aspires to literalness and generally attains its goal. There is no
edition with Apocrypha / Deuterocanonical Books.

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

The following are some examples of free translation:

• Today’s English Version—The Good News Bible [GNB] (1966-79). It is an attractive

free translation sponsored by the American Bible Society.

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

• The Living Bible (1962-71). It is by the conservative businessman K. A. Taylor,

whose background was in the Inter-Varsity Fellowship. A cautionary word needs to
be said about it. Rather than a translation, it is professedly a paraphrase: “A
restatement of the author’s thought, using different words than he did.” Taylor’s
theological bias, which he characterized as “a rigid evangelical position,” creates
extraordinary Christological readings, e.g., the replacement of “the Word” by
“Christ” in Jn 1,1, and the substitution of “Messiah” for “Son of Man.” J. P. Lewis in
his The English Bible from KJV to NIV (1982), echoing the words of Thomas More,
suggests that the errors of “The Living Bible” are as ubiquitous as “water in the see.”

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

• Christian Community Bible (CCB). Initially published in the Philippines by the

Claretian missionaries led by Fr. Alberto Rossa in 1988 as an English-language
companion to Bernardo Hurault’s heavily-annotated 1971 Spanish translation, La
Biblia Latinoaméricana, the CCB is one of a series of simplified translations in various
languages “for the layman,” which serve as a vehicle for Hurault’s annotations:
primarily a “pastoral” commentary invested in liberation theology. The translation
has been updated many times. In 2015, a 60th edition was available. It is targeted at
third-world communities where English is a second language.

6.2. Which is the best English Bible to be read?

Overall, according to one’s purpose (study, prayer, public reading), one should
choose a translation carefully. No translation is perfect, and readers can learn much
from comparing them.

6.3. The Neovulgata (NVg)

The NVg (Nova Vulgata Editio) is the official text of the Church for the liturgy in the
Latin language. It therefore replaced the Vg in the readings of the Mass and the
Liturgy of the Hours. It was made taking into account the progress of textual
criticism, but also trying to preserve as much as possible the text and style of the
ancient Vg. The preparation of the text began in 1965. John Paul II promulgated it as
an editio typica on 25-IV-1979 with the Apostolic Constitution Scripturarum
Thesaurus (EB 774-775).

In 1986 the editio typica altera appeared: a second edition, with some corrections.