The Holy Bible: Translated from the Latin Vulgate and Diligently Compared With the Hebrew, Greek and Other Edtions in Divers Languages (The Old Testament Was First pu

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Summary: If Saint Jerome and King James had a child...
Review: It would be the Douay-Rheims Bible as revised by Bishop Richard Challoner in 1749. Challoner was a former Protestant who had been raised on the King James Version, but had reverted to Catholicism in later life. Finding the original Douay-Rheims Bible much too Latinate (so much so than one could hardly understand it,) he sought about to revise the text into more syntactically and idiomatically correct English. He did not hesistate to borrow from the flowing rhythms and felicitous phrasings of the Protestant KJV, but not so much as to drastically change the staunch Roman leaning and doctrine of the DRB. A good example of his wise borrowing from the KJV is the first verse of Hebrews chapter 1. In the Vulgate it reads: "Multifariam, multisque modis olim Deus loquens patribus in prophetis..." The original DRB-NT closely followed the Latin down to the word order. Challoner, to the probable welfare and future existence of the Douay Bible, shrewdly borrowed from the AV: "God, who, at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all..." Pick up a King James and read the same verse, and you will see the remarkable similarity. Of course, the cross-pollinization (so to speak) occured on both sides as the even great King James Bible translators had as one of the versions they consulted the original Rheims New Testament of 1582. They scrupulously lifted words such as "propitiation" "concupiscence" and "victim" thereby enriching the AV (and the English language)with many sophisticated Latinate words. To sum up, this Bible version is well suited to traditionalist to moderate Roman Catholics. In spirit, phraseology and heredity it is about 70% Vulgate and 30% King James Version. Make no mistake, this version is still a translation of a translation (the Vulgate) and not of the original Hebrew and Greek. If one likes to hear Latin Mass, this Bible would be well used to follow along with the Latin chanting of the Scripture. This version by TAN Publishers is a good edition. A hard cover is always prefered, but the soft-cover is the one that seems to be more commonly produced. If one is interested in another edition of the Douay Bible, the absolute BEST, (that I recommend) is the edition published by Baronius Press. Their edition utilizes a digitally reset, clearer type, has engraved illustrations, colour maps, and is handsomely bound in French Morocco leather. Sadly, it is not available on Amazon.com, but can be ordered either directly from the U.K. or a private vendor on eBay.

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Summary: Best translation, poor edition!!
Review: The Douay-Rheims Bible is the safest, most accurate translation of the bible you can get. That said, this edition is of low quality. The cover is very weak and the pages are cut unevenly. Some pages are stuck together and have to be cut apart. I also own the hardcover edition and it is of excellent quality. Go for the hardcover.

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Summary: The other classic transation
Review: This is the complete Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision, both the Old and New Testament according to the Catholic canon. Until the 1940's this was THE Catholic Bible in English, rivaling the King James Bible in stature, if not influence. It was completed in 1609, and revised in 1750. I own this very edition (ISBN 1-930278-24-1), and it is excellent: hardcover, clearly printed on sturdy paper in an easy to read, if somewhat old-fashioned, font. It is a careful translation of the Clementine Vulgate, and makes a splendid companion to that version for the novice latinist.