Customer Reviews

Biblia Sacra Vulgata (Editio quinta) (Latin Edition)

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I'm a very new student of Latin, and not an expert on the Vulgate, so take my review for what it's worth. As far as I can tell, there are three versions of the Vulgate in print today, and I have copies of all three of them. So I thought that perhaps those who don't want to buy three versions might appreciate a neophyte's impression of their relative strengths and weaknesses. The full names on the title pages are rather long, so I'll just refer to these three versions briefly as the Stuttgart Vulgate (Biblia Sacra iuxta vulgatam versionem), the New Vulgate (Bibliorum Sacrorum nova vulgata editio), and the Madrid Clementina (Biblia Sacra iuxta Vulgatam Clementinam).

The Stuttgart Vulgate is available here on Amazon. It is a critical attempt to restore the Vulgate to its original Latin text. It comes with a complete critical apparatus showing variant readings from the most important Latin manuscripts. This version comes with the prefaces of St. Jerome, the old medieval critical apparatus of the Gospels (canones evangelorum), the apocryphal books of III and IV Ezra, Psalm 151, Prayer of Manasses, and the Epistle to the Laodiceans, as well as the complete Catholic canon. It also contains two complete Psalters, both by St. Jerome: The Psalterium Gallicanum and the Psalterium juxta Hebraicum. The two psalters are laid out side-by-side on facing pages to facilitate comparison. This version attempts to reconstruct the experience of reading a medieval manuscript, so the spelling is medieval, which can be a problem for anyone used to the Clementina, and to anyone looking up words in a dictionary. The text also lacks punctuation: no commas, colons, periods, question marks, or quotation marks; this actually is not a major problem in Latin, which is so rich in conjunctions. However, the lack of question marks sometimes gives me pause, as when Caiaphas says to Jesus "Tu es Christus Filius Benedicti" (Mc 14,61). The text is well cross referenced, and the typeface is modern and easy to read.

The Madrid Clementina does not seem to be currently (May 2002) available at Amazon, but it is available elsewhere on the internet. The Clementina was the official Latin text of the Catholic Church from 1502 to 1979. The Madrid edition includes a great many magisterial documents, and the biblical text is footnoted also with references to magisterial documents, although the prefaces of St. Jerome are missing, and there is no critical apparatus. Color maps are provided, but they are labeled in Spanish, not Latin. The orthography is fully modern, with modern punctuation and typeface. Like the Stuttgart Vulgate, this edition has two psalters (in adjacent columns for easy comparison): The traditional Psalterium Gallicanum, and the new Psalterium Pianum, a modern (1940's) translation of the Hebrew into neo-classical Latin. One of the delights of the Clementina is that it eclectically preserves some of the text from the ancient pre-Vulgate Latin versions, which reflect the early Latin liturgy of the Church.

The New Vulgate has replaced the Clementina as the official Latin text of the Catholic Church. Its New Testament and most of its Old, like the Stuttgart Vulgate, are based on a critical reconstruction of the original Vulgate text. However, in some cases the ancient text was amended to accord with the modern Greek and Hebrew critical editions. The spelling and punctuation are all modern, so in the majority of the verses the New Vulgate text is identical to the Clementina, but in Psalms, Judith, and Tobit, there are significant differences. I know of two editions of the new Vulgate, the one from Libraria Editrix Vaticana, and the Nestle-Aland edition; both editions are available here at Amazon. We can expect to see much more of the New Vulgate now that its use has been endorsed in the recent encyclical Litugiam Authenticam.

The Vatican edition is available used here on Amazon under the title Bibliorum Sacrorum nova vulgata editio. It contains the complete Old and New Testaments, but no prefaces, cross references, nor commentary, and has a minimal critical apparatus. It seems to be designed more for use in the pulpit than the armchair. Physically, it is an excellent tome made from red leather with gold lettering, large typeface in one column with plenty of margin on thick pages. It looks magnificent on my bookshelf.

More likely to be on my bureau is the Nestle-Aland edition of the New Vulgate. It contains only the New Testament, and is sold here under the title "Novum Testamentum Latine". The editors provide you with a thorough critical apparatus comparing the New Vulgate with other printed Latin versions such as the Clementina and Stuttgart, mentioned above, the Sistina, the Gutenberg, and some other editions I'm not very familiar with (the Complutensian, Roberti Stephani, Bartolomaei Gravii, and Christophori Plantini). Like the Madrid Clementina, this edition has color maps, but they are labeled in English, not Latin.

I would first like to state that I am not a scholar; I am reading the Biblia Sacra Vulgata simply because I wanted to, and my commentary is therefore more from an enjoyment perspective than an educated discussion. That being said...

This text is wonderful. I have read the Bible in English, jumping between the King James, American Standard, and the New International Versions. They range from pretty to informative, but none of these translations can possibly compare to the Latin. Latin lacks English's precision, which is a good thing. Hebrew and Greek don't have this inflexibility and I've always felt that an English translation limits the authors' meanings. And although nothing provides the true meaning like the original language, Latin does a lot to alleviate this feeling for me. St. Jerome's translation is beautiful. The text seems to float through the stories with captivating imagery. The diction used adds depth and feeling that only a language like Latin can give.

In my mind there are three good reasons to read the Biblia Sacra. First is that it is a beautiful, captivating read. Second is to further your Latin. The Biblia Sacra is not a difficult read and it doesn't take much study in Latin to be able to get through the texts passably. It's Medieval Latin, so the phraseology is much more like a modern Romance language and easier for us students to catch on to than say, Virgil or Cicero. The final reason is for those who, like me, see the Bible as a holy text, and not just a great historical document (which it is as well). Each translation of the Bible has something that the others don't - some insight that only that language and that translator could provide. I recommend you read the Latin to show yourself these stories in a different light. I guarantee you'll find something new and joyous.

'The Vulgate Bible' is the traditional name given to the Bible translated into 'common' or 'vulgar' Latin -- in the aftermath of the breakup of the Roman Empire in the West, connections were lost with the Greek East, and languages began to differentiate in various ways, with Latin becoming the 'lingua franca' of the time. By the seventh century, a Bible put together with translations from Jerome and others became the common bible for the West. This edition follows that translation (the original biblical texts were in Hebrew and Greek), following the ordering of Clement, pope in 1592 (rather late in the day; prior to this, there were different orderings of the Bible, and there is still variation between denominations as to ordering and which books get included).

This version includes both the Gallican and Hebrew Psalters side by side (on facing pages), as there is sufficient authority to attest to the validity and integrity of each. Jerome's prologues are included here, placed according to the biblical books' arrangement (not as Clement's printing had it); Clement's more modern division is retained for books that for Jerome were joined -- I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, I and II Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah were each single books for Jerome, but modern chapter/verse/book division has them separate, and for ease of modern scholarship, that is retained here.

The text is printed 'per cola et commata', that is, without punctuation and divisions that would not have appeared in the original Hebrew or Greek manuscripts (many people do not realise that the earliest manuscripts lacked punctuation, chapter, verse, and book designations; many even lacked spaces between words, which thankfully has been incorporated here). Capital letters are used for proper names and sacred names/terms.

Variants are included, but this is not an exhaustive manual of variations, so only a few primary authorities for variations are cited in general.

The text of the Bible, from Genesis to the Revelation, with some apocryphal books, prologues, notes, and even the preface, is all in Latin, the Latin of the Vulgate, which places it several centuries later than 'classical' Latin of Cicero and Catullus, but centuries prior to 'church Latin' proper. There are nearly 2000 pages in two volumes, bound with strong binding and a silk page marker for each sewn into the binding.

Meant for scholars, its use is probably not really appropriate for 'church' use -- given its lack of punctuation, it isn't a text from which to read aloud generally. However, it is a very useful text for those who wish to study the development of Bible -- while it is more 'in vogue' to study the earliest, original language editions, it is undoubtedly true that the Bible in Latin has had perhaps the greatest effect on overall Christendom for the longest period of any language for the Bible, probably rivaled only by the current linguistic champion, English.

Confitebor tibi Domine in toto corde meo
narrabo omnia mirabilia tua!

Eusebius Hieronymus, known to history as St. Jerome, lived in the honeymoon period of the late fourth and early fifth centuries AD, when the aging groom known as the Roman Empire was freshly acquainting itself with the virgin bride known as the Church. Being born and raised in Aquileia, Dalmatia-- a region in the extreme northeast of the Italian peninsula, Jerome from the outset was exposed to diversity of language, seeing as how that region was on the borders of the Latin and Greek speaking halves of the fractured Empire. Jerome was among the last, privledged few who would receive a classical Greco-Roman education, being sent to Rome at age 12 to study Grammar under the famed grammarian Donatus. Though Donatus' influence on Jerome's literary style remains unproven, years later it would be Jerome's Vulgate and Donatus' Grammar that would be the two building blocks of mediaeval Latin, and the parental texts to all initiates in the Latin language in the Middle Ages. After mastering Latin, Jerome visited Palestine and the Near East, perfecting his Greek and acquainting himself with Hebrew. Legends of his life at this time abound: a hermit wandering in the wilderness, nursing injured lions. His spirit, mind, and body having been tempered with the harsh living, Jerome settled back in Rome where he became secretary to Pope Damasus. Damasus immediately saw Jerome's talent in linguistics, and commisioned him to revise the clumsy and provincial Old Latin text of the Four Gospels. When it was finished (dedicated to Damasus), Jerome realised he had found his calling in life and was inspired to revise the rest of the Latin Bible. His work, over a period of nearly 40 years till his death in AD 420, was a tireless effort of collecting ancient texts, countless revising, answering critics with his infamous sharp tongue, and weathering the indifferent initial rejection of his work. In the end, it was a monument of Late Classical learning and scholarship. Though it had to at first win over criticism from those who held on to the Old Latin version, the Vulgate of Jerome soon won out by its own merits as the superior version.
This edition offered here is published in Stuttgart, Germany by Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft and distributed in America by the American Bible Society. It is the critical edition edited by Robert Weber et al., (being the 4th edition of 1994). In its goal to present the most ancient and original version of the Vulgate (closest to what is believed Jerome produced), the editors have utilized the Old Testament as revised by Benedictine monks in Rome based on the oldest Vulgate manuscripts, and the New Testament of Wordsworth and White corrected against the best ancient Greek texts. Variants in the text are provided at the bottom of the pages with differing letters symbolizing and denoting the ancient textual witnesses. A chart at the beginning of this Bible provides the key to these letter-symbols. The text itself is sparse and unpunctuated, much like medieval renderings of the Vulgate, but one can pick up the rhythm of the Latin prose and poetry of the Scripture since the lines are arranged to correspond to natural pause and meter in speech. The books too, continue one into the other like the its Middle-Age forbears, with the occasional prefaces to certain books or sections by Jerome himself (thoughfully included) breaking the continuity. Prefaces in Latin, German, French and English at the beginning of the Book state the editors' purpose in this edition of the Vulgate. This edition is suited best to critical study of the Vulgate rather than private devotion, and those used to the traditional, "Clementine" Vulgate may not like its unfamiliar format. However, this is the version of the Vulgate that is the basis of the majority of sites on the Internaet that offer a searchable Vulgate text, and is the one most reccommended by scholars.

I'd like to make a brief correction to the review that states, "The buyer should however beware that this is the neo-vulgate translation, not the vulgate of St. Jerome."

In fact, this is a critical edition of Jerome's Vulgate. I have the book open in front of me, and there is not a single neo-Vulgate reading to be found in these pages, not even in the apparatus. This is a critical edition of an ancient text, not (as the neo-Vulgate) a (pointless and tacky IMHO) modern Latin composition based on critical editions of the Greek and Hebrew scriptures.

One of the readers suggested that this is a translation of the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible. That's not true. With the exception of 1 and 2 Machabees, Judith, portions of Esther and Daniel, Baruch, Wisdom of Solomon, and Ecclesiasticus, this translation is based on the Hebrew text. The translation of Tobit appears to be based on an Aramaic text. (Jerome's translation of Psalms from the Greek Septuagint is also provided.) The above-mentioned books (with the exception of Psalms) are generally translated from the Greek text even by modern scholars because we don't have the original Hebrew/Aramaic text that we believe they were written in.

A major source of disagreement between Jerome and Augustin and other contemporaries was over Jerome's decision to translate the Bible into Latin from Hebrew as opposed to the Greek Septuagint.

This translation follows the Greek Septuagint canon (although Jerome's placement of some of the deutero-canonical passages suggests that he was aware they weren't included in the Hebrew canon established by the rabbis at Jamnia).

Due to the many readings that I do in Latin with quite frequent references to Latin sentences in the Holy Bible, I bought this "Biblia Sacra Vulgata" to assist me whenever occurred a biblical quotation in Latin. I am presently reading the monumental Suma Teologica, by Thomas Aquinas, some 3.000 pages of Middle Ages Latin and fully populated of biblical references. So, a few hours after receiving the package from Amazon, I got down to business: making a parallel reading in the Biblia Vulgata of all the sentences in Latin quoted by Saint Thomas. I was exhilarated by the outcome!!. Ok, this edition is not exactly the one Saint THomas had to peruse and quote, but all in all, the thing is much better than I thought at the first time and it is worth all the money I invested on it. The sheer pleasure of reading a text translated by Saint Jerome, of reading the prefaces in German, French, English and Latin is something difficult to be equaled by any other opus. Besides all that, this richly printed edition is full of adequately placed footnotes by the editor, with many (all?) references to differences between the many different editions of the Bible. To top it all, the Latin Prefaces by Saint Jerome (c.347-420 A.D.) are purveyors of the strong intensity of the Saint religious passion and thoughts, having the value of his many comments on doctrinal points.

The Biblia Vulgata is one of the most important documents of all times, being the all important media that made it possible to Christianity to prevail throughout centuries to come, be it in the form of Roman Catholicism, be it trough the many denominational religions that sprung up as Christian creeds and sects.
Written in Latin, it rivals in importance with the Septuaginta, the Tora and the Arabic Coran, and tells the Creationist view of the formation and development of the world.
It is mostly the output of an indefatigable man, Saint Jerome, who translatated into Latin many Hebrew texts of the Old Testament, a gigantic task in itself, if we consider that its Greek counterpart, the Septuaginta, was the work of 70 wise men, who, divinely inspired according to tradition, translated Hebrew biblical texts into Greek.

If you are deeply interested in the Latin language, and have good dictionaries that followed the evolvement of Latin since its inception, this is one of the (holy) books you must have.
Valete!!

Here is an edition of the Latin Vulgate that has been formed in the light of modern scholarship, while remaining faithful to its antique origins. This great cornerstone of western culture is recommended for devoted students and for serious collectors. Remember, no education or library is complete without the Latin Vulgate.

The previous reviewers have brought out most of the qualities of this wonderful text, and I'd just like to stress again how easy the Latin is to read for a modern person, compared with the Classical authors. It is not Medieval Latin. It is genuine Ancient Latin from the 4th Century, but in a normal everyday style, rather than the literary style, so that it would have the widest readership possible. This is the type of Latin which formed the basis of the modern Romance languages.

This is an excellent scholarly edition, and it's great to have St Jerome's prefaces (which are rather more difficult to understand than the Biblical text!). However someone who just wants a reading edition of the Vulgate might want to use the Clementina, which has punctuation, paragraphing and other modern editorial devices. The edition by the Societa Biblica Cattolica Internazionale (pub. Edizioni San Paolo) has stress accent marks too (as in liturgical texts) which are useful if you want to read aloud (though they are not always 100 per cent accurate).

For those wanting a handy size Latin Bible, this is an excellent choice. Well-made & pleasant to read, although the type is a bit smaller than I would ideally choose, it is a clear typeface which is surprisingly easy to read.
I am especially pleased by the fact that the Psalter includes two parallel Latin versions on facing pages, making for ease in comparing the texts.
Some people may be annoyed at the lack of punctuation, but in this, the publishers are following in the footsteps of St. Jerome, who rightly felt that it is too easy to allow one's preconceptions to influence punctuation of a text which contained none when it came into his hands.

I highly recommend this Bible to all students of Latin, & lovers of Scripture.