''The Holy Bible: A Translation From the Latin Vulgate in the Light of the Hebrew and Greek Originals'' is a
Catholic version of the
Bible in three volumes (later published in one volume editions) translated by Monsignor
Ronald Knox, the English theologian, priest and crime writer. It is more commonly known as the Knox Bible or Knox Version.
Origin and publication
In 1936, Ronald Knox was requested by the
Catholic hierarchies of England and Wales to undertake a new translation of the
Vulgate with use of contemporary language and in light of Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. When the
New Testament was published in 1945, it was not intended to replace the
Rheims version but to be used alongside it, as Bernard Griffin, the
Archbishop of Westminster
The Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...
, noted in the preface.
With the release of Knox's version of the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
in 1950, the popularity of translations based on the Vulgate waned as church authorities promoted the use of Bibles based primarily on Hebrew and Greek texts following the 1943
encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...
''
Divino afflante Spiritu''. The Knox Bible was, however, one of the approved vernacular versions of the Bible used in the
lectionary
A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evang ...
readings for Mass from 1965 to the early 1970s, along with the
Confraternity Bible.
Style
The style of the translation is in idiomatic English and much freer in renderings of passages than the Douay version. With the
Deuterocanonical books, the interpretation of the passages was brought closer to the
Septuagint. When the Latin appeared to be doubtful, the translation of the text was based on other languages, with the Latin translation placed in the footnote.
Later editions
Templegate Publishers produced a facsimile of the New Testament in 1997 ().
Baronius Press secured the rights for the work from the Archdiocese of Westminster in 2009 and their new leather-bound edition of Monsignor Knox's translation was published in October 2012. A hardcover version was also published, but is no longer being made.
The Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury,
Rowan Williams, commented on the new Baronius Press edition that "Ronald Knox's translation of the Bible remains an exceptional achievement both of scholarship and of literary dedication. Again and again it successfully avoids conventional options and gives the scriptural text a fresh flavour, often with a brilliantly idiosyncratic turn of phrase. It most certainly deserves republication, study and use."
See also
*
Catholic Bible
References
External links
Knox Bible fully searchable, including all references and possible to compare with both the Latin Vulgate and Douay Rheims Bibles side by side.
Text at New Adventwith the
Septuagint,
Westcott-Hort and
Vulgate in parallel columns
Title pages to first editions of Knox Translation
{{English Bible translation navbox
1950 books
Bible translations into English
Catholic bibles