The Vulgate

This is the Latin Bible, or ‘Vulgate’. Translated from the Hebrew and Aramaic by Jerome between 382 and 405 CE, this text became knowns as the ‘versio vulgata’, which means ‘common translation’. ‘Vulgate’ should not to be confused with the term ‘vulgar’, which has taken on a divergent meaning in modern English.

The collection and order of the books which make up this version of the Bible differs slightly from the ones in the King James Version, it includes several of the Apocrypha.

The Vulgate was the standard version of the Bible for Roman Catholics for over one and a half millenia. Since Latin was only studied by priests and scholars, the vast majority of people could not read or understand the Vulgate, even though they would hear passages from it every time they went to church.

Until 1450, when Gutenberg printed this text, copies were also very rare and expensive. During the Protestant reformation in the 14th and 15th centuries, the Bible was finally translated into modern languages, against great resistance from the Church. Finally in the mid-20th Century, the Roman Catholic church abandoned the use of Latin for liturgy. However, this remains one of the most historically important Latin texts.

Link

For example, here’s John 3:16

Et de plenitudine ejus
nos omnes accepimus, et gratiam pro gratia

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One Response to The Vulgate

  1. Timothy says:

    Greetings! Saw your post in Google Blogsearch and have some comments…

    >”this version of the Bible differs slightly from the ones in the King James Version, it includes several of the Apocrypha.”

    The wording is confusing and might give the impression that the KJV did not originally include the Apochrypha. The oroginal 1611 KJV included all the same books as the Vulgate. See:

    http://etext.virginia.edu/kjv.browse.html

    The Apochrypha were excluded from the KJV by the American and British Bible Societies, which refused to pay for printing KJV bibles which included the Apochrypha.

    >”the vast majority of people could not read or understand the Vulgate”

    The vast majority of people also could not read English, French, German or Italian either. Most European countires did not teach their national language to the common people until after WWII.

    >”During the Protestant reformation in the 14th and 15th centuries, the Bible was finally translated into modern languages,”

    That’s a popular myth. In actuality the Bible was availble in several authorized versions of German, French and English by the time of the Reformation. The Church was only opposed to unauthorized (erroneous) translations, such as, the Breeches Bible and Murders Bible. Seems everyone was out to make a buck printing and selling Bibles, much like the Golfer’s Bibles found in this age’s bookstores.

    >” the Roman Catholic church abandoned the use of Latin for liturgy”

    False. The Catholic Church never abandoned the use of Latin for Liturgy. The older Tridentine liturgy in Latin is said regularly in most large cities. The newer Novus Ordo liturgy may be said in either English or Latin in American churches. The forthcoming Motu Proprio will expand the use of the Latin liturgy among Catholic churches worldwide. It seems the younger Gen-X and Gen-Y folks want a more formal mass in Latin.

    God bless..

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