Bible translations into Latin

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The Bible translations into Latin date back to classical antiquity.

Contents

Latin translations of the Bible were used in the Western part of the former Roman Empire until the Reformation. Those translations are still used along with translations from Latin into the vernacular within the Roman Catholic Church.

Part of a page of a 9th-century Biblia Vulgata, British Library, Add. Ms. 37777 BL Add. Ms. 37777.jpg
Part of a page of a 9th-century Biblia Vulgata , British Library, Add. Ms. 37777

Pre-Christian Latin translations

The large Jewish diaspora in the Second Temple period made use of vernacular translations of the Hebrew Bible, including the Aramaic Targum and Greek Septuagint. Though there is no certain evidence of a pre-Christian Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible, some scholars have suggested that Jewish congregations in Rome and the Western part of the Roman Empire may have used Latin translations of fragments of the Hebrew Bible. [1]

Early Christian and medieval Latin translations

Unlike the Vulgate, the Vetus Latina tradition reflects numerous distinct, similar, and not entirely independent translations of various New Testament texts, extending back to the time of the original Greek autographs. [2]

In 382 CE, Jerome began a revision of the existing Vetus Latina Gospels into contemporary Latin, corrected against manuscripts in the original Greek. [3] Acts, Pauline epistles, Catholic epistles and the Apocalypse are Vetus Latina considered as being made by Pelagian groups or by Rufinus the Syrian. [4] Those texts and others are known as the Vulgate, [5] a compound text that is not entirely Jerome's work. [6]

The Vetus Latina, "Old Latin"

The earliest known translations into Latin consist of a number of piecework translations during the early Church period. Collectively, these versions are known as the Vetus Latina and closely follow the Greek Septuagint. The Septuagint was the usual source for these anonymous translators, and they reproduce its variations from the Hebrew Masoretic Text. They were never rendered independently from the Hebrew or Greek; they vary widely in readability and quality, and contain many solecisms in idiom, some by the translators themselves, others from literally translating Greek language idioms into Latin. [7]

The Biblia Vulgata, "Common Bible"

Earlier translations progressively replaced by Jerome's Vulgate version of the Bible.

Apart from full Old Testaments, there are more versions of the Psalms only, three of them by Jerome, one from the Hexapla, and one from the Hebrew. Other main versions include the Versio ambrosiana ("Ambrosian version") and the Versio Piana ("version of Pius" ). See the main Vulgate article for a comparison of Psalm 94.

Early modern Latin versions

Some printed Latin translations were produced by early 16th-century scholars such as Erasmus, derived from his Greek printed version, the Novum Instrumentum omne, the first published example of the Textus Receptus . The Complutensian Polyglot Bible followed shortly after.

In 1527, Xanthus Pagninus produced his Veteris et Novi Testamenti nova translatio, notable for its literal rendering of the Hebrew. This version was also the first to introduce verse numbers in the New Testament, although the system used here did not become widely adopted; the system used in Robertus Stephanus's Vulgate would later become the standard for dividing the New Testament. [8]

Reformation-era Protestant Latin translations

During the Protestant Reformation, several new Latin translations were produced:

Sixto-Clementine Vulgate

Frontispiece and title of the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate (1592) Frontispiece of the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate (1592).jpg
Frontispiece and title of the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate (1592)

The Sixto-Clementine Vulgate or Clementine Vulgate (Latin: Vulgata Clementina) is the edition promulgated in 1592 by Pope Clement VIII of the Vulgate—a 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible that was written largely by Jerome. It was the second edition of the Vulgate to be authorised by the Catholic Church, the first being the Sixtine Vulgate. The Sixto-Clementine Vulgate was used officially in the Catholic Church until 1979, when the Nova Vulgata was promulgated by Pope John Paul II.

The Sixto-Clementine Vulgate is a revision of the Sixtine Vulgate; the latter had been published two years earlier under Sixtus V. Nine days after the death of Sixtus V, who had issued the Sixtine Vulgate, the College of Cardinals suspended the sale of the Sixtine Vulgate and later ordered the destruction of the copies. Thereafter, two commissions under Gregory XIV were in charge of the revision of the Sixtine Vulgate. In 1592, Clement VIII, arguing printing errors in the Sixtine Vulgate, recalled all copies of the Sixtine Vulgate still in circulation; some suspect his decision was in fact due to the influence of the Jesuits. In the same year, a revised edition of the Sixtine Vulgate was published and promulgated by Clement VIII; this edition is known as the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate, or Clementine Vulgate.

Metrical translations of the Psalms (16th c.)

Metrical Latin Bible translations are primarily Psalm paraphrases, or paraphrases of Song of Songs, Lamentations, [16] in Latin verse which appeared in the 16th century, then abruptly disappeared. [17] [18] [19]

Nova Vulgata

In 1907 Pope Pius X proposed that the Latin text of the Vulgate be recovered using the principles of textual criticism as a basis for a new official translation of the Bible into Latin. [20] This revision ultimately led to the Nova Vulgata issued by Pope John Paul II in 1979. [21]

Notes

  1. This frontispiece is reproduced from the Sixtine Vulgate.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Septuagint</span> Greek translation of Hebrew scriptures

The Septuagint, sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy, and often abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Hebrew. The full Greek title derives from the story recorded in the Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates that "the laws of the Jews" were translated into the Greek language at the request of Ptolemy II Philadelphus by seventy-two Hebrew translators—six from each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vulgate</span> 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible by Jerome

The Vulgate, sometimes referred to as the Latin Vulgate, is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bible translations</span> Translations of the Bible

The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. As of September 2022 all of the Bible has been translated into 724 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,617 languages, and smaller portions of the Bible have been translated into 1,248 other languages according to Wycliffe Global Alliance. Thus, at least some portions of the Bible have been translated into 3,589 languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douay–Rheims Bible</span> First complete English language Catholic Bible

The Douay–Rheims Bible, also known as the Douay–Rheims Version, Rheims–Douai Bible or Douai Bible, and abbreviated as D–R, DRB, and DRV, is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English made by members of the English College, Douai, in the service of the Catholic Church. The New Testament portion was published in Reims, France, in 1582, in one volume with extensive commentary and notes. The Old Testament portion was published in two volumes twenty-seven years later in 1609 and 1610 by the University of Douai. The first volume, covering Genesis to Job, was published in 1609; the second, covering the Book of Psalms to 2 Maccabees plus the three apocryphal books of the Vulgate appendix following the Old Testament, was published in 1610. Marginal notes took up the bulk of the volumes and offered insights on issues of translation, and on the Hebrew and Greek source texts of the Vulgate.

<i>Vetus Latina</i> Bible translations into Latin before Jeromes Vulgate

Vetus Latina, also known as Vetus Itala, Itala ("Italian") and Old Italic, and denoted by the siglum , is the collective name given to the Latin translations of biblical texts that preceded the Vulgate.

The name 'Esdras' is found in the title of four texts attributed to, or associated with, the prophet Ezra. The naming convention of the four books of Esdras differs between church traditions; and has changed over time.

<i>Nova Vulgata</i> Official Classical Latin translation of the original-language texts of the Bible

The Nova Vulgata, also called the Neo-Vulgate, is the official Classical Latin translation of the original-language texts of the Bible published by the Holy See. It was completed in 1979, and was promulgated the same year by John Paul II in Scripturarum thesaurus. A second, revised edition was published in 1986. It is the official Latin text of the Bible of the Catholic Church. The Nova Vulgata is also called the New Latin Vulgate or the New Vulgate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biblical apocrypha</span> Ancient books found in some editions of Bibles

The biblical apocrypha denotes the collection of apocryphal ancient books thought to have been written some time between 200 BC and AD 400. The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches include some or all of the same texts within the body of their version of the Old Testament, with Roman Catholics terming them deuterocanonical books. Traditional 80-book Protestant Bibles include fourteen books in an intertestamental section between the Old Testament and New Testament called the Apocrypha, deeming these useful for instruction, but non-canonical. To this date, the Apocrypha are "included in the lectionaries of Anglican and Lutheran Churches". Anabaptists use the Luther Bible, which contains the Apocrypha as intertestamental books; Amish wedding ceremonies include "the retelling of the marriage of Tobias and Sarah in the Apocrypha". Moreover, the Revised Common Lectionary, in use by most mainline Protestants including Methodists and Moravians, lists readings from the Apocrypha in the liturgical calendar, although alternate Old Testament scripture lessons are provided.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latin Psalters</span> Translations of the Book of Psalms into Latin

There exist a number of translations of the Book of Psalms into the Latin language. They are a resource used in the Liturgy of the Hours and other forms of the canonical hours in the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Bible</span> Catholic Church canon of Bible books

The term Catholic Bible can be understood in two ways. More generally, it can refer to a Christian Bible that includes the whole 73-book canon recognized by the Catholic Church, including some of the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament which are in the Greek Septuagint collection, but which are not present in the Hebrew Masoretic Text collection. More specifically, the term can refer to a version or translation of the Bible which is published with the Catholic Church's approval, in accordance with Catholic canon law.

Immanuel Tremellius was an Italian Jewish convert to Christianity. He was known as a leading Hebraist and Bible translator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bible translations in the Middle Ages</span>

Bible translations in the Middle Ages discussions are rare in contrast to Late Antiquity, when the Bibles available to most Christians were in the local vernacular. In a process seen in many other religions, as languages changed, and in Western Europe languages with no tradition of being written down became dominant, the prevailing vernacular translations remained in place, despite gradually becoming sacred languages, incomprehensible to the majority of the population in many places. In Western Europe, the Latin Vulgate, itself originally a translation into the vernacular, was the standard text of the Bible, and full or partial translations into a vernacular language were uncommon until the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sixtine Vulgate</span> Catholic edition of the Vulgate published in 1590

The Sixtine Vulgate or Sistine Vulgate is the edition of the Vulgate—a 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible that was written largely by Jerome—which was published in 1590, prepared by a commission on the orders of Pope Sixtus V and edited by himself. It was the first edition of the Vulgate authorised by a pope. Its official recognition was short-lived; the edition was replaced in 1592 by the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sixto-Clementine Vulgate</span> Catholic edition of Vulgate published in 1592

The Sixto-Clementine Vulgate or Clementine Vulgate is the edition promulgated in 1592 by Pope Clement VIII of the Vulgate—a 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible that was written largely by Jerome. It was the second edition of the Vulgate to be authorised by the Catholic Church, the first being the Sixtine Vulgate. The Sixto-Clementine Vulgate was used officially in the Catholic Church until 1979, when the Nova Vulgata was promulgated by Pope John Paul II.

The Vulgate is a fourth-century translation of the Gospels and of most of the Old Testament into Latin produced by St. Jerome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leuven Vulgate</span> 1547 edition of the Vulgate made by Hentenius

The Leuven Vulgate or Hentenian Bible is an edition of the Vulgate which was edited by Hentenius (1499–1566) and published in Louvain in 1547. This edition was republished several times, and in 1574 a revised edition was published.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benedictine Vulgate</span> Critical edition of the Vulgate Old Testament with Catholic deuterocanonical books

The Benedictine Vulgate, also called Vatican Vulgate or Roman Vulgate, is a critical edition of the Vulgate version of the Old Testament, Catholic deuterocanonical books included. The edition was supported by and begun at the instigation of the Catholic Church, and was done by the Benedictine monks of the pontifical Abbey of St Jerome-in-the-City. The edition was published progressively from 1926 to 1995, in 18 volumes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vulgate manuscripts</span> Manuscripts of the Vulgate

The Vulgate is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible, largely edited by Jerome, which functioned as the Catholic Church's de facto standard version during the Middle Ages. The original Vulgate produced by Jerome around 382 has been lost, but texts of the Vulgate have been preserved in numerous manuscripts, albeit with many textual variants.

Scripturarum thesaurus, is an apostolic constitution signed by John Paul II on 25 April 1979, the first year of the pontificate of this Pope; the document promulgates the Nova Vulgata as the official Bible of the Catholic Church.

<i>Vetus Latina</i> manuscripts Manuscripts of Vetus Latina versions of the Bible

Vetus Latinamanuscripts are handwritten copies of the earliest Latin translations of the Bible, known as the "Vetus Latina" or "Old Latin". They originated prior to Jerome from multiple translators, and differ from Vulgate manuscripts which follow the late-4th-century Latin translation mainly done by Jerome.

References

  1. Michael E. Stone The Literature of the Jewish People in the Period of the Second Temple and the Talmud: (2006) chapter 9 (“The Latin Translations”) by Benjamin Kedar "Traces of Jewish Traditions - Since all indications point to the fact that the OL is not the product of a single effort, the question arises whether strands of pristine translations, or at least early interpretative traditions can be detected in it. A priori one may feel entitled to presume that Jewish Bible translations into Latin existed in relatively early times. It had been the custom of the Jews before the period under review to translate biblical books into their vernacular; such translations, sometimes made orally but frequently also written down, were needed for public reading in the synagogue and for the instruction of the young. Indeed, a number of scholars are inclined to believe that the OL has at its base pre-Christian translations made from the Hebrew. The proofs they adduce are, however, far from conclusive. Isolated linguistic or exegetic points of contact with Jewish idioms or targumic renderings do not necessarily prove a direct connection between the ol, or its early sections, and Jewish traditions."
  2. "There is no such thing as a uniform version of the New Testament in Latin prior to Jerome's Vulgate". Elliott (1997:202).
  3. Chapman, John (1922). "St Jerome and the Vulgate New Testament (I–II)". The Journal of Theological Studies . o.s. 24 (93): 33–51. doi:10.1093/jts/os-XXIV.93.33. ISSN   0022-5185.Chapman, John (1923). "St Jerome and the Vulgate New Testament (III)". The Journal of Theological Studies. o.s. 24 (95): 282–299. doi:10.1093/jts/os-XXIV.95.282. ISSN   0022-5185.
  4. Canellis, Aline, ed. (2017). Jérôme : Préfaces aux livres de la Bible[Jerome : Preface to the books of the Bible] (in French). Abbeville: Éditions du Cerf. pp. 89–90, 217. ISBN   978-2-204-12618-2.
  5. Canellis, Aline, ed. (2017). "Introduction : Du travail de Jérôme à la Vulgate" [Introduction: From Jerome's work to the Vulgate]. Jérôme : Préfaces aux livres de la Bible[Jerome : Preface to the books of the Bible] (in French). Abbeville: Éditions du Cerf. p. 217. ISBN   978-2-204-12618-2.
  6. Plater, William Edward; Henry Julian White (1926). A grammar of the Vulgate, being an introduction to the study of the latinity of the Vulgate Bible. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  7. Helmut Köster Introduction to the New Testament 2 2000 p34 "An early witness for the African text of the Vetus Latina is Codex Palatinus 1 1 85 (siglum "e") from the 5th century, a gospel codex with readings closely related to the quotations in Cyprian and Augustine."
  8. Miller, Stephen M., Huber, Robert V. (2004). The Bible: A History. Good Books. p.  173. ISBN   1-56148-414-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Ed. S. L. Greenslade The Cambridge History of the Bible, Volume 3: The West from the Reformation to the Present Day 1975 p.70 “The hebraist Sebastian Münster of Basle departed from the extreme literalism of Pagnini in his own Latin version of the Old Testament: he left aside the New Testament. While it 'did not depart by a nail's breadth from the Hebrew verity', this version was written in better Latin: it accompanied the Hebrew text of Münster referred to above. It appeared in 1535 in two folio volumes and was reprinted in quarto size in 1539 accompanied by the Complutensian version of the Apocrypha and by Erasmus's Latin New Testament, and then again in its original form in 1546. This version gave an impetus to Old Testament study similar to that which Erasmus had given to the study of the New Testament…”
  10. Ed. S. L. Greenslade The Cambridge History of the Bible, Volume 3: The West from the Reformation to the Present Day 1975 p.62 “Calvin's successor at Geneva, Théodore de Bèze (Beza), was the editor of the next important edition of the Greek New Testament, which appeared in 1565 (his own Latin version had been printed in 1557) and went through many editions in folio and octavo, accompanied in the larger size by his own Latin version; the Vulgate and full annotations are included.”
  11. Buisson, Ferdinand (1892). "Les deux traductions de la Bible, en latin (1550) en français (1555)". Sébastien Castellion, sa vie et son oeuvre (1515-1563) : étude sur les origines du protestantisme libéral français (in French). Paris: Librairie Hachette. p. 294. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  12. Gueunier, Nicole (2008). "Le Cantique des cantiques dans la Bible Latine de Castellion". In Gomez-Géraud, Marie-Christine (ed.). Biblia (in French). Presses Paris Sorbonne. p. 148. ISBN   9782840505372.
  13. Ed. S. L. Greenslade The Cambridge History of the Bible, Volume 3: The West from the Reformation to the Present Day 1975 p.71-72
  14. Ed. S. L. Greenslade The Cambridge History of the Bible, Volume 3: The West from the Reformation to the Present Day 1975 p.72
  15. Ed. S. L. Greenslade The Cambridge History of the Bible, Volume 3: The West from the Reformation to the Present Day 1975 p.167 “The latter, to which they probably resorted more than to any other single book, contained (in the later editions which they used) Tremellius's Latin version of the Hebrew Old Testament with a commentary, Junius's Latin of the Apocrypha, Tremellius's Latin of the Syriac New Testament and Beza's Latin of the Greek New Testament.”
  16. Gaertner, JA (1956), "Latin verse translations of the psalms 1500–1620", Harvard Theological Review , 49 (4): 271–305, doi:10.1017/S0017816000028303, S2CID   161497305 . Includes list: Latin metrical translations of books of the Bible other than the psalms by author and year of f1rst edition (1494–1621);
  17. Gaertner, J. A Latin verse translations of the psalms 1500-1620. Harvard Theological Review 49 1956. "A good example of such a buried and forgotten literary genre is offered by the multitude of metrical Bible translations into Latin that appeared during the :6th century and after a hundred years ceased to exist as abruptly as it had..."
  18. Grant, WL Neo-Latin verse translations of the Bible. Harvard Theological Review 52 1959
  19. Hugues Vaganay, Les Traductions du psautier en vers latins au XVie siecle, Freiburg, 1898
  20. Vulgate, Revision of, Catholic Encyclopedia article.
  21. Novum Testamentum Latine, 1984, "Praefatio in editionem primam".