As soon as this was done, he prevailed upon his disciples to take ship and cross to the other side before him, leaving him to send the multitudes home. When he had finished sending them home, he went up by himself on to the hill-side, to pray there; twilight had come, and he remained there alone. Meanwhile the ship was already half-way across the sea, hard put to it by the waves, for the wind was against them. And then, when the night had reached its fourth quarter, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When they saw him walking on the sea, the disciples were terrified; they said, It is an apparition, and cried out for fear. But all at once Jesus spoke to them; Take courage, he said, it is myself; do not be afraid. And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is thyself, bid me come to thee over the water. He said, Come; and Peter let himself down out of the ship and walked over the water to reach Jesus. Then, seeing how strong the wind was, he lost courage and began to sink; whereupon he cried aloud, Lord, save me. And Jesus at once stretched out his hand and caught hold of him, saying to him, Why didst thou hesitate, man of little faith? So they went on board the ship, and thereupon the wind dropped. And the ship’s crew came and said, falling at his feet, Thou art indeed the Son of God.
NAB:
After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
As I read the Knox version of this week's Gospel, it jumped out at me for the first time that Jesus sent the apostles on ahead in the boat whilst He stuck around to send the people home. I double checked my RSV-2CE to see if it was a Vulgate thing, and discovered that it was just another verse in which the Knox rendition was just different enough to shed light on a familiar passage. Can't you just imagine our Lord there talking to the folks and wishing them well as they started their journeys home? Perhaps there were some people who wanted to thank Jesus, or ask him a question, etc., and can't you just see the Good Shepherd patiently and lovingly making time for each one? Being able to flesh out the scene with details such as this seem to make the Bible more solid, or three dimensional, or more human, to me. Ah, the beauty of different Bible translations!
ReplyDelete"As I read the Knox version of this week's Gospel, it jumped out at me for the first time that Jesus sent the apostles on ahead in the boat whilst He stuck around to send the people home."
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what jumped out at me as well!
I was received into the Church about 5 years ago, and I had always used the RSV-CE for private reading. About a year ago, I purchased the Knox bible from Baronius. It took me several months to get used to it, and I kept returning to the RSV because of the familiar wording.
Now, I love reading the Knox! It has become my everyday bible. And the physical book is wonderful, too!