Didache Bible: NABRE Edition

It is happening and will be released later this year.  I was informed about this by a representative from Midwest Theological Forum.  Official announcement will be made in the next month or two.

An Evening with Donald Jackson at Concordia

Bible Review: Baronius Press Standard and Large Douay-Rheims Editions

I know that many of you love the venerable Douay-Rheims Bible.  I have a deep appreciation for it as well, and think, like many Protestants do about the KJV, that every Catholic should own a copy of the Douay-Rheims.  It is an important part of our English-speaking Catholic heritage.  Occasionally, people have emailed me in the past with the question as to where should one go to purchase a Douay-Rheims edition?  That may be the easiest question I regularly receive since starting this blog.  For my money, nothing compares to the work Baronius Press does with their classic Catholic Bibles.  Their bibles, missals, breviaries, and books are the finest in the Catholic publishing world and show a commitment to producing literary treasures that can be read and prayed with for a lifetime.  They are not a large publisher, so there is never a guarantee that their products will be in stock for long, like the traditional breviary or some of their Douay editions.  So, if you want one of these Douay-Rheims Bibles, I wouldn't wait too long to purchase one.  (Don't forget about the Knox Bible either, which is, in my humble opinion, the gem of their entire catalogue.) 

Almost two years ago, I gave a glowing review of their pocket Douay-Rheims.  There is so much packed into that little Bible, yet without any lack of the quality.  Again, this is something I have come to expect from Baronius Press.  Since then I have been eager to examine, and re-examine, some of their other Douay editions.  I know that for some of you a pocket edition may have too small of a print.  Fortunately, I recently received a copy of both their standard and large edition Douay-Rheims Bibles and, once again, I was not disappointed.  Both of them are in black, with the standard being in the leather "flexible" and the large being in the leather hardcover.

Both Bibles contain the exact same features, which are:

*1898 Edition of the Douay-Rheims

*1,512 Pages

*Leather bound cover with stitched edges

*Gold gilt edged pages and 2 ribbons.

*Completely retypeset to reproduce the original 1899 edition.

*Eleven coloured maps digitally redrawn by hand and fully coloured

*32 beautiful engravings that recreate key moments in Biblical History

*Family Register section

*Printed in India

*Three Papal encyclicals regarding the importance of the Holy Bible:

       PROVIDENTISSIMUS DEUS 

       SPIRITUS PARACLITUS

       DIVINO AFFLANTE SPIRITU 

Both editions come in sewn bindings, which, if you really care about using a Bible any longer than a couple years, is a must.  The standard edition is in the flexible leather, which Baronius describes as being "leather, hand covered over flexible boards, which are specially designed to flex many times without breaking. The corners are rounded and the edges are then meticulously stitched to create an elegant and durable appearance."  Yes, it is of high quality, but it is not really flexible.  In comparison to the hardcovers it is, but don't expect anything resembling the supple covers of most leather or even bonded leather covers.  The size of the standard edition is 6" x 8 1/4" which makes it perfect for prayerful reading and for taking to Bible studies.  

The large size edition comes in at 7" x 10", which should be appreciated by those who are in need of a large-print bible.  Or, perhaps, you love the Douay-Rheims and would like a Bible to serve as the Family Bible, this would be a great choice.  The cover is a very elegant black leather hardcover, much like my beloved Knox Bible.  According to Baronius, they "use the same leather covered over 1/8" (1/12" for smaller titles) thick, stiff boards, to create strong and durable books that will last for generations."  This will indeed last for generations.  

Each edition comes with two bible ribbons, red and yellow, and the paper is gold gilded.  This makes the overall look to this Bible simply amazing and classy, fitting the translation contained in it.

When you get to reading this text, you will find it to be very readable.  While the paper is a thin and bright white in tone, I don't thing ghosting is too much of an issue.  Included with the Douay translation are cross-references, occasional notes, and chapter headings that give an overview of the chapter. Like the pocket edition, maps and engravings are included and printed on a very thin glossy paper.  This adds a nice touch, without hindering page turning like in some other Bible editions which use a thicker glossy paper for their inserts.  For those of you who regularly attend the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, you will welcome the inclusion of the Mass readings for Sundays, Holy Days, and Saints Days.  In addition, there is a two-page Table of References which can serve as an aid to doing apologetics or study. 

So, yeah, I think these editions are wonderful in almost every way.  However, my biggest critique about the work Baronius does with their Bibles is that they haven't moved to having their Bibles covered in goatskin, calfskin, or any of the other premium leather possibilities.  I know that there is a great tradition in the Church of having beautifully bound hardcover Bibles and Missals, but it would be amazing to see the standard Douay-Rheims in a soft goatskin.  Even the flexible black leather cover of the standard edition is a bit misleading, since it simply isn't flexible in the way most people, who haven't handled one of these bibles, would expect.  These beautiful editions are begging to be wrapped in some soft premium leather options.  Perhaps, in the future, they should consider working with R. L. Allan's in providing them some of their best editions, including the Knox.  Hey, they are both located in London!

Thank you to the fine folks at Baronius Press for providing these review copies.

Helpful Article on the Revised Grail Psalms

Follow this link, via the blog PrayTell, for an interesting article on the Revised Grail Psalms.  You can read the Revised Grail Psalms here.

Introducing Fr. Nicholas King, SJ and His Bible Translation

 I want to thank reader Russ for purchasing this new Bible translation and reaching out to Fr. Nicholas King.  I hope you enjoy being introduced to this new translation.  You can learn more about Fr. Nicholas King at his website.  More information about his translation can be found at the end of this interview.  

Nicholas King SJ was born in Bath and was educated by the Jesuits at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire. He started learning Latin and French at the age of eight and Greek two years later; he went on to study Classics at St John's College, Oxford. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1970 and was ordained a priest in 1980. He is currently teaching at the Jesuit School of Ministry at Boston College.

In 2001 he began translating Mark and John for a summer school he was teaching, and it eventually led him to translate the entire New Testament, which came out in 2004. He then began work on translating the entire Old Testament from the Greek Septuagint. Fr. King completed his monumental work in 2013.

I recently received this translation and am currently using it for both study and meditation purposes while jotting down thoughts and observations as I happily make my way through it. It is my hope to complete a non-scholarly review of it in the near future.

After spending a couple of days with his translation, I emailed Father King and asked if he would answer a number of questions that popped to mind and he graciously accepted.

Thanks to Tim for making me aware of this translation last New Year’s eve.

1) Unlike the vast majority of bible translations, your OT translation is based on the Greek Septuagint. Why is the Septuagint important?

The reasons I chose the Septuagint as the basis of my translation were fourfold: First, my Greek is stronger that my Hebrew! Second, and more important, the Greek version is what counts as Scripture for all of our NT authors. Thirdly, the mss of the LXX are centuries older than those to which we go for the Masoretic Text; Codex Leningradensis is 11th century and the Aleppo Codex much the same. Fourthly, the LXX gives us evidence, supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran, of how Jews were reading their Scriptures during the time when Christianity was emerging.

2) Are there different versions of the Septuagint, and if so, which one(s) did you base your translation on?

There are indeed different versions of the LXX: I used the Rahlfs edition, mainly because it is the one in my computer programme; but it is entirely respectable!

3) Besides the spelling of the biblical names, in what way does your translation differ from the NETS translation?

The NETS (New English Translation of the Septuagint) had not appeared when I started my work; they have made a great contribution by letting us have an English version. The main difference is that they opted for a very literal version, to give a flavour of the original. I find their suggestions very helpful indeed in places.

4) Which Greek text did you use in translating the NT? Recently I saw an Eastern Orthodox translation of the NT which used the Patriarchal text of 1904 as their base.

Once again, the version in my computer, which is NA 26/USB3, again perfectly respectable. No printed version (and of course no manuscript version) has any guarantee of being what the original author actually wrote.

5) Inclusive language still seems to be a hot topic when it comes to the biblical text. How important (or unimportant) was the use of inclusive language when you went about translating? Did later Church Father interpretation of a particular verse(s) play a part in how you went about using inclusive language? And should it play a role when translating?

That is a tricky question; in a way it was simple for me, since it is my publisher’s policy to use inclusive language. It does not always work, though, if one is to be faithful to the original, so I stuck (for example) to “Son of Man” in the gospels and to “adoption as sons” in Galatians, in order to capture what was going on in the original. But you lose friends whichever option you take.

6) Like most people who read the bible, I have my favorite verses and like to see it translated in certain ways. One of mine is Luke 1:28, the “full of grace” verse where Gabriel addresses the Mother of God. I’ve grown up praying the rosary so I’m wondering why in your translation, and in most others, “full of grace” is not used in Luke when addressing Mary, but Stephen is “full of grace” in the Acts of the Apostles? For someone who doesn’t know the original languages, it would seem that it should be the other way around. Can you explain the Greek text behind these two verses to help us why they are translated the way they are?

The translation of Luke 1:28 as “full of grace” is not quite accurate. The original is chaire kecharitomene, which could be translated as “Cheer up, you lucky thing”, and means “rejoice, woman who has been graced.” Acts 6:8, however, has Stephen as “full of grace”, and there it is correctly translated.

7) Would you describe the decision that went into displaying the footnotes and commentary the way they’re arranged in both the OT and NT?

It was not so much a decision as a drifting into a policy, mainly because I decided that space would not allow for commentary in the OT in the way I had adopted in the NT, so I just gave an introduction to each text in the OT, and mainly stuck with footnotes.

Again, I want to thank Fr. King for taking the time to answering these questions. It was very much appreciated. Tim, I would also like to encourage your readers to visit YouTube, where Father King can be found giving lectures on both the gospel of Mark and John. It’s well worth the time. You can purchase various editions of Fr. Nicholas King's Bible at Kevin Mayhew Publishers.

Dei Verbum at 50 (Paragraph 5)

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, I will be posting twice a month, on Mondays, a paragraph from this important document.  There are a total of 26 paragraphs, so this will take us through to the Fall when we reach the anniversary of its promelgation by Pope Paul VI on November 18, 1965.  I look forward to our discussion.  May I suggest a helpful book by Fr. Ronald D. Witherup called The Word of God at Vatican II: Exploring Dei Verbum published by Liturgical Press.

5. "The obedience of faith" (Rom. 13:26; see 1:5; 2 Cor 10:5-6) "is to be given to God who reveals, an obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals," (4) and freely assenting to the truth revealed by Him. To make this act of faith, the grace of God and the interior help of the Holy Spirit must precede and assist, moving the heart and turning it to God, opening the eyes of the mind and giving "joy and ease to everyone in assenting to the truth and believing it." (5) To bring about an ever deeper understanding of revelation the same Holy Spirit constantly brings faith to completion by His gifts.

Knox vs. The Mesage: 2nd Sunday of Lent (Romans 8:31-34)

I am going to continue this series of comparing one of the Sunday readings from the lectionary, using the Knox Bible and The Message.  While done in different ways, I think both Knox and Peterson desired to make the Bible more accessible to the average reader.  Let's see if they were successful. I hope your Lent has been blessed thus far.

Knox:
Who can be our adversary, if God is on our side? He did not even spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all; and must not that gift be accompanied by the gift of all else?  Who will come forward to accuse God’s elect, when God acquits us? Who will pass sentence against us, when Jesus Christ, who died, nay, has risen again, and sits at the right hand of God, is pleading for us? 


The Message:
With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us.