Does anyone know anything about this translation of the Bible? I just found it this morning and it seems to have been completed in 2009. If I were to guess, I would guess that this is an effort to give Catholics a dignified translation of Scripture, quite possibly in accordance with Liturgiam Authenticam, which they can use without being assessed copyright or royalty fees.
So far the psalms look very nice and are very much of a “modern sacral” character, similar to the texts I’ve seen of the new Missal translation.
Please share, if you would, any information that you might have about this translation!
It looks excellent, a slightly modernized Douay Rheims. Now linked in sidebar.
Does anyone have a clue as to who this Ronald L. Conte, the translator, is? Translation of such important texts is no simple matter, and these have to be approved as being in accord with Catholic understanding and teaching. The Douay-Confraternity or Knox's translations still fit that criterion; while they are not authorised for use anymore, I believe that at least the former is now in the public domain.
I do not want to make ad hominum arguments, but it is quite a task to check for translation accuracy, and this author is involved with some "unusual" eschatology of Garabandal.
The editor's website does give some of his idiosyncratic views: e.g., he claims that the Vatican will be destroyed in 2013. How interesting!
But more to the point, it shows that there are some limitations to this Scripture project. The editor chose to base the translation on the Vulgate, and not on Greek and Hebrew sources. He only has a B.A., so one can't say that there's a ton of scholarly expertise behind it. He treats it as a plus that this is a one-man project and says that "no one but God" helped him.
Canon law requires that scripture translations have an imprimatur from the Holy See or the Episcopal Conference; interpretive notes must be included. These requirements don't seem to have been followed, so I can't recommend this version to Catholics.
I also don't find it particularly poetic. I just spot checked a few of my "favorites…"
Jn1:1 disrupts the parallel structure by inverting "word" and "God"
Exodus uses "horsemen," as in "chariots and horsemen." This is better than "chariots and chariot drivers," but doesn't hold a candle to the repeated refrain of "chariots and charioteers."
Baruch 4 refers to Wisdom as "It" instead of "She."
Genesis: "The Earth was empty and unoccupied" ugh.
Not to mention the awfulness of the layout and UI.
The world needs what this project was supposed to be. But this isn't it.
I just read the "About" material at http://www.catholicplanet.com/TSM/introduction-CPDV.htm
Idiosyncratic is an understatement. I think this man might be a lunatic.
JT: I (respectfully) suggest you not link to him in your sidebar. You don't even link to my website, for goodness sakes 🙂
Yeah, I just read this also and I think we'll be removing the link. It looked to have promise.
What we are looking for here is a public domain psalter text that can be sung under "alius cantus aptus" (just like the Haugen/Haas/etc. paraphrased psalms) as verses for proper antiphons in Mass without being assessed royalties.
Another option may be to actually modernize some of the archaisms of the Douay Rheims without changing any of the actual substance of the translation. Does anyone know of such a thing that already exists?
Might anyone be interested in assisting in such a project?
This is where the rubber hits the road, I think, regarding intellectual property. Very few people are qualified to do such work, and even fewer qualified people could afford to take on a project like this with no hope of remuneration. My guess is, like many important tasks, it will remain undone. (Though I hope I'm wrong.)
Patronage, not volunteerism, is the viable alternative to ownership, in these large-scale projects.
This may be more of a hindrance than help, but the psalter in the Episcopal Church's 1979 BCP is now in the public domain.
You may also be interested in Marcel Matley's project of rendering into English the psalter of Pius XII but it is not complete (55 psalms only):
http://ia360701.us.archive.org/1/items/EpiphanyGift2010/EpiphanyGift2010.pdf
Adam, what is your site to which we do not link?
http://musicforsunday.com
You've been to it a few times. (You even get a nod in my most recent, but not recent enough, post).
I assumed the lack of link was an editorial decision based on 1. Relative low profile and 2. My (well-known) musical liberalism and heresy.
On the other hand, you all (?) know of my love for Gregorian Chant and the Propers and I try as best as I can to be a link between the Sacred Music people and the Folk Mass people.
I'd love the nod on your sidebar, but I understand Chant Cafe not wanting to endorse my content.
What is the current state of the Psalms in the New Revised Standard Version. I studied with one of the men who made that translation. Admittedly, it has its problems, but it does come out of solid biblical studies.
Adam, here is a Psalter you could use- The Liturgical Psalter (Anglican) 1977, used in a former version of the Australian BCP. The copyright holders have licensed it for use in liturgy without any fees or royalties. For a modern English psalter, it's quite singable in traditional plainsong as well as Anglican chant. Dumped for lack of "inclusive" language I believe. http://bible.oremus.org/lp/
I saved the entire file a few years ago from another site I can't find now. Fr. B