Having a pastorally friendly liturgical translation is one of my favourite hobby horses. I hope American and Canadian readers will forgive me if I make another reference the edition of the Lectionary for Mass that is in use in Ireland, England & Wales, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand. I have already posted on this blog on two occasions on Pray Tell (here and here).
The Revised New Jerusalem Bible will be published on this side of the Atlantic at the end of this month (the US edition is due for publication in February 2020)
This week London’s Tablet has published an article where I argue that the RNJB should be considered for the next edition of the Lectionary in those countries presently using the JB. The new point in my latest contribution is that I argue against the latest movements of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Whales to adopt the Catholic edition of the English Standard Version (ESV) that has been prepared by the Indian bishops.
While I do not consider myself qualified to make a judgment on the fidelity of the ESV’s translation, others have raised some serious concerns about the translation, which some experts have labeled as being not simply Calvinistic in theology but actually Arian. The other issue that needs to be dealt with is that, outside of India, the ESV is simply not available in a Catholic edition. I do hope that it will be published in a widely available Catholic edition, but so far Crossway publishers have not done so (despite publishing a myriad of Protestant editions). Indeed Crossway seems to be somewhat anti-Catholic in its ethos, and still publishes material that calls into question whether Catholics are really Christian. That is not to say that they would not license Catholic publishers outside of India to publish Catholic editions of the ESV, or even less that the ESV is inherently tainted. Oxford has recently published an edition with the Deuterocanonical material in an appendix. I believe that once the translation is widely available for Catholics, then and only then can a proper judgment be made on its suitability for use in the liturgy.
In the meantime, the RNJB is now available and would provide the easiest and what I believe to be the pastorally most acceptable option.
For my article in the Tablet I provided a comparison of next Sunday’s Gospel in the JB/ESV/RNJB translations. Below I include it for all 3 Mass readings so that people can see a small sample of the options available in a real-world example that hasn’t cherry-picked passages to suit a particular argument.
16thSunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
First Reading: Genesis 18: 1-10
| Current Jerusalem Bible Lectionary | English Standard Version Catholic Edition | Revised New Jerusalem Bible |
| The Lord appeared to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre while he was sitting by the entrance of the tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up, and there he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed to the ground. ‘My lord,’ he said ‘I beg you, if I find favour with you kindly do not pass your servant by. A little water shall be brought; you shall wash your feet and lie down under the tree Let me fetch a little bread and you shall refresh yourselves before going further. That is why you have come in your servant’s direction.’ They replied ‘Do as you say.’ Abraham hastened to the tent to find Sarah. ‘Hurry’ he said ‘knead three bushels of flour and make loaves.’ Then running to the cattle Abraham took a fine and tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then taking cream, milk and the calf he had prepared, he laid all before them, and they ate while he remained standing near them under the tree. ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ they asked him. ‘She is in the tent’ he replied. Then his guest said, ‘I shall visit you again next year without fail, and your wife will then have a son.’ | And the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” | The Lord appeared to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre as he was sitting by the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day. •He looked up, and there he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them, and bowed to the ground. •He said, ‘My Lord, if I find favour with you, please do not pass your servant by. •Let me have a little water brought, and you can wash your feet and have a rest under the tree. •Let me fetch a little bread and you can refresh yourselves before going further, now that you have come in your servant’s direction.’ They replied, ‘Do as you say.’ •Abraham hurried to the tent and said to Sarah, ‘Quick, knead three measures of best flour and make loaves.’ Then, running to the herd, Abraham took a fine and tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. •Then taking curds, milk and the calf which he had prepared, he laid it all before them, and remained standing by them under the tree while they ate. They said to him, ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ He replied, ‘Here she is, in the tent.’ •Then his guest said, ‘I will be sure to come back to you next year, and then your wife Sarah will have a son.’ |
Second Reading: Colossians 1: 24-28
| Current Jerusalem Bible Lectionary | English Standard Version Catholic Edition | Revised New Jerusalem Bible |
| It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. I became the servant of the Church when God made me responsible for delivering God’s message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints. It was God’s purpose to reveal it to them and to show all the rich glory of this mystery to pagans. The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the Christ we proclaim, this is the wisdom in which we thoroughly train everyone and instruct everyone, to make them all perfect in Christ. | 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. | I now rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my own body I am completing what is lacking of the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body, the Church, •of which I was made a servant in accordance with God’s commission given to me for you, that of completing God’s message: •the mystery hidden for ages and generations and now revealed to his saints, to whom God wished to make known how rich is the glory of this mystery among the gentiles. It is Christ among you, your hope of glory, •whom we are proclaiming, by admonishing and instructing everyone in all wisdom, to present everyone mature in Christ. |
Gospel: Lk 10:38-42
| Current Jerusalem Bible Lectionary | English Standard Version Catholic Edition | Revised New Jerusalem Bible |
| Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha, who was distracted with all the serving, said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered: ‘Martha, Martha,’ he said, ‘you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.’ | Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’ | Jesus came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha, who was distracted with all the serving, came to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered, ‘Martha, Martha,’ he said, ‘you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, and it is not to be taken from her.’ |
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