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The Latin VulgateFinally completing his work in AD 405, St. Jerome gave the Catholic Church the Latin Vulgate. The Vulgate was solemnly proclaimed the Church's official Bible by the Council of Trent ; which also declared that St. Jerome's Vulgate was the only authentic Latin text of the Scriptures.The word Vulgate itself means the "vulgar" --- that is the common Latin language in usage throughout the lands of the Roman Empire by the common people. The Vulgate was everywhere accepted, even by the Greeks, the majority of whom became the Greek Orthodox. The Greek bishops, because their texts had become so corrupted as to not be reliable, translated the Vulgate back into the "original Greek" for their use.
English Church Scholars under the direction of William (later Cardinal) Allen, in answer to these inaccurate translations of the Bible so as to protect the Faith of the people, undertook to prepare an accurate English version of the Vulgate. And so the English College at Rheims undertook to translate the Vulgate in the common man's English "for the more speedy abolishing of a number of false and impious translations put forth by sundry sectes, and for the better preservation or reclaime of many good soules endangered thereby... no other bookes in the world being so pernicious as heretical translations of the Scriptures, poisoning the people under colour of divine authoritie..." The Rheims New TestamentThe result was the Rheims New Testament (1582) and, after the move to Douai, the Douay Old Testament (1609). This Douay-Rheims Bible became the gold standard --- the authentic translation --- of the Bible for Catholics and all who valued scriptural integrity.
The preface to the entire Douay-Rheims Bible speaks to the same effect: "Now since Luther and his followers have pretended that the Catholic Roman faith and doctrine should be contrary to God's written word, and that the Scriptures were not suffered in vulgar languages, lest the people should see the truth, and withal these new masters corruptly turning the Scriptures into diverse tongues, as might best serve their own opinions, against this false suggestion and practice, Catholic pastors have, for one especial remedy, set forth true and sincere translations in most languages of the Latin Church." Not a Typical Translation or "Version"It must be noted that the Douay-Rheims is NOT a typical translation where the translator rearranges the words and meanings, but a "slavish", i.e., an exact translation without liberties from the Latin into English. The reader thereby has an exact understanding of what the original Latin says, rather than interpretations and interpolations.History of the Douay Rheims BibleThe year 1558 A.D. marked the beginning of increasing hardships and persecution in England for followers of the Vulgate. Some were forced to flee to the European mainland for safety. Some went to Douay, France, where a college had been founded for the training of missionaries to return to England; of which many were martyred. It was there, ten years later, that Gregory Martin began to translate the Latin Vulgate into English.As noted, the Rheims New Testament was published in 1582 A.D. in a single volume. For want of finances, the Old Testament was not published until the first volume appeared in 1609 A. D., and the second volume completing the Old Testament in 1610 A.D. The Douay- Rheims Bible was created for distribution in England. However the stringent Protestant Penal Laws in England forbade the entrance and ownership of this, God's Holy Word, which was considered inimical to the English government and highly treasonable. An interesting contretemps from those who claimed to be setting God's Word free. The King James VersionOne year later, in 1611 A.D., the Protestant King James Version, also known as the Authorized Version, was issued; but the Catholic Douay-Rheims was not allowed legal entry until the 18th century. The King James Version was virtually a translation from Luther's German to English, and NOT "diligently compared with original Hebrew and Greek" as it claimed --- there being no original Hebrew or Greek manuscripts in existence.Since the King James Version of 1611 A.D., it was as though Luther's "Bible" was the Bible of 1,100 years, and not the Latin Vulgate. The King James Version was permitted to stand without the competition and comparison with the Vulgate or the Douay-Rheims translation. Discerning the Word of GodIf one's salvation depends upon the proper acceptance and application of Christ's teachings in one's life; then it is evident that the right understanding of the Word of God must be attained.But what if the Bible were to be cut and pasted, edited, re-interpreted, and otherwise changed --- all the while keeping the same name, but not the same substance. What effect would this have upon a godly man attempting to live a Christ-like life? Today some may try to claim that many Catholic versions of the Bible are needed in order to find the real and true meaning of God's Word. Thus we have The Challoner version, the Confraternity version, the Revised Standard Edition (Catholic), the New American Bible, the Jerusalem Bible, the New Jerusalem Bible, the New Revised Standard (Catholic), Today's English Version (Catholic), the Navarre Bible, etc. Then there are the myriad of Protestant Bible versions. Each of these supposedly Catholic bible versions claims to take the Catholic closer to the true meaning and essence of the Word of God. However, suppose that you have not considered, or have been denied, the best text of Scripture, and even the best helps that you need to understand God's Word arightly. What if the text of Holy Scripture had been changed to purge Jesus from Scripture, not just in the current anti-Christian era, but from the 1500's continuing until today under various forms of "textual criticism", updating, and other terms hiding what has been done? The Challoner "Revision"Similar forces attempting to bowdlerize and to water down Sacred Scripture were also at work within the Catholic Church after the penal laws were lifted in England. The authentic real "Douay-Rheims Bible" was never accepted in England, as all Catholic Bibles had been confiscated and burned.In the 18th century, Bibles appeared in England Bibles - the work of a Bishop Challoner - which were erroneously titled The Douay- Rheims Bible. These counterfeit versions were allowed circulation in England and its colonies. The real Douay- Rheims --- the original and true version --- vanished --- to be found only in museums and literary collections. The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1909 A.D. states: "Although the Bibles in use at the present day by the Catholics of England and Ireland are popularly styled the Douay Version, they are most improperly so called; they are founded, with more or less alteration, on a series of revisions undertaken by Bishop Challoner in 1749-52 . . .This is what is commonly sold as the Douay-Rheims Bible. If one buys a "Douay-Rheims Bible" today it is typically a copy of the 1899 Challoner version, which is but a pale reflection of the REAL Douay-Rheims. The text does not follow the original Douay-Rheims, and it is usually found with hardly any of the voluminous notes and annotations of the original REAL Douay-Rheims. The "Haydock Douay-Rheims Bible"The other supposed "Douay-Rheims" Bible being widely sold today is the Haydock Bible. Unfortunately it is another Challoner variation.The 1909 Catholic Encyclopedia under the subject "Haydock, George Leo" has this to say concerning the "Haydock Bible" now being erroneously sold as the Douay-Rheims: Father Haydock's chief publication was a new edition of the English translation of the Latin Vulgate first published at Reims in 1582, and at Douai in 1609; Bishop Challoner's text of 1750 was the basis of the work, but in the New Testament Dr. Troy's edition of 1794 is largely followed. The notes are partly original, partly selected from other writers, those on the New Testament not having been compiled by Father Haydock. The edition appeared in Manchester, 1812- 14; Dublin, 1812-13; Edinburgh and Dublin, 1845-8; New York, 1852-6.So, to recapitulate, we see that Father Haydock's version "Further, John Henry [later Cardinal] Newman in his July, 1859 "Rambler" article (see below for more) states: "We must not conclude this enumeration of revisions and reprints of the Rheims and Douay, ... which were published ... without direct episcopal sanction... This is Haydock's Bible... --- The "Troy Version" used by Fr. Haydock ---"The question remains now, what is the "Troy version"? Most have not heard of it.John Henry Newman in the July, 1859 "Rambler" published an article entitled "The History of the Text of the Rheims and Douay Version of Holy Scripture" He states: Thus, the Haydock Bible is NOT the Real Douay-Rheims Bible. To finish with the information on the Challoner Version, please recall Cardinal Wiseman's statement: "...In nearly every case Challoner's changes took the form of approximating to the Authorized Version [King James]. . ."What does this mean? Let us see. Get the REAL Douay Rheims Today! Your family will thank you! Order Now! Removing Christ from the BibleFor example, let us consider the determination to dissolve Christ from the Old Testament. This is plain in the King James Version (Authorized Version), where the various names of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, are removed more than 100 times. 21 times the name Christ is deleted, where it appears in the Vulgate and Douay.The names of Jesus removed from Luther's Bible and the King James:
But God says. . .God says: "...neither add anything, nor diminish." De. 12:32. "You shall not add to the word that I speak to you; neither shall you take away from it." De. 4:2. "Add not anything to his words..." Pr. 30:6. "If any man shall add to these things, God shall add upon him the plagues written in this book." Ap. 22:18.If the name of "God my JESUS" were in the Old Testament, would you expect Luther to retain it? If so, you would be disappointed! In Luther's Habakuk, chapter 3, he expunged the name CHRIST and the name JESUS from the same page! JESUS is gone from his Hab. 3:18 which says: "Ego autem in Domino gaudebo. Et exsultabo in Deo Iesu meo."But Luther made it: "Aber ich will mich freuen des Herrn, und froehlich sein in Gott meinem Heil." "In God, my salvation."Furthermore, this was not the only occasion that he did it. The name CHRIST is found 21 times in the Old Testament. Luther rendered it Judaistically "Messiah" once, "Christ" twice, and he rendered it out 18 times. He then blotted out the name CHRIST 24 times in the New Testament. Then, forty- five (45) times, Martin Luther took the name JESUS out of the New Testament! It is extremely important, of course, to comply with the words of Jesus that we change not a single word of His; however, the name JESUS can be much more important in one verse than in another! JESUS is taken out by Luther in his "Bible," in: Mt. 5:1; 8:26; 9:23; 16:15; 17:19; 20:17; 22:20; 26:18; Mk. 9:15; 16:1; 16:19; Lk. 4:38; 6:11; 14:1; 18:31; 20:3; 22:2; 24:36; Jn. 2:8; 4:1; Acts 5:41; 9:17; 9:20; 10:48; 16:7; 18:4; 18:25; 24:24; Rom. 8:34; 15:16; 16:9; I Cor. 4:17; II Cor. 2:14; Eph. 3:6; Phil. 3:9; Col. 1:7; 2:2; 4:12; II Thes. 2:8; Phile. 8; Heb. 4:14- 16; 9:24; Jude 5,24,25; Hab. 3:18. CHRIST is taken out by Luther in his "Bible," in: I K. 2:10; 2:35; 12:3; 12:5; 16:6; II K. 22:51; II Par. 6:42; Ps. 2:2; 17:51; 19:7; 83:10; 88:39; 88:52; 131:10; 131:17; Is. 45:1; Lam. 4:20; Hab. 3:13; Acts 4:33; 10:48; 28:31; Rom. 3:26;4: 24; 8:35; 10:17; I Cor. 2:1; 4:16; 5:5; II Cor. 5:15; 11:4; Gal. 4:31; Eph. 5:21; 5:29; Col. 3:15; 3:17; I Thes. 4:17; Heb. 10:19; 13:20; I Pet. 3:15; Jude 24, 25; Apocalypse 11:15-19. JESUS is added by Luther in his "Bible," in: Mt. 8:5; 13:36; 13:51; 14:14; 14:25; 15:16; 15:30; 16:6; 17:11; 24:2; Mk. 5:19; 7:27; 10:50; 11:14; 11:15; Lk. 7:22; 8:35; 10:21; 10:39; 10:41; 13:2; Jn. 4:46; 13:3; 19:23; 20:21; 21:17; Acts 3:26; 9:28; Eph. 3:9; I Jn. 5:20. CHRIST is added by Luther in his "Bible," in: Mt. 23:8; Mk. 13:6; Lk. 4:41; Jn. 4:42; Acts 16:31; Gal. 3:17; 4:7; Eph. 3:9; Jn. 5:20. But What About the Challoner & Haydock Versions?The answer is not one you will want to hear. Nevertheless here it is:Christ was also systematically removed from these so-called Douay- Rheims Bibles (and the other even worse modern so-called 'Catholic' Bibles). You see, it isn't only the Luther and the King James Bible Versions that have deleted the HOLY NAME OF JESUS and the word CHRIST from Sacred Scripture. What Catholics especially need to know is that their counterfeit 'Douay-Rheims' Bibles (and other even much worse versions) have copied the Luther and King James versions by omitting the word CHRIST many times. But why should that be surprising to Catholics who should understand that these so-called 'Catholic' Bible versions are more similar to the Protestant versions than to the REAL Douay-Rheims Bible -- which is, in fact, a true and exact translation of THE official Catholic old Latin Vulgate of Saint Jerome. The same Latin Vulgate decreed by the Sacred Council of Trent to be THE Official Bible of the Catholic Church? Catholics have been deceived into believing that their English Bibles were based on this REAL Douay-Rheims. Instead, what they really have is the Challoner and Haydock (and others) based on Protestant versions of the Bible inside a cover which falsely says "Douay Rheims".
Here are a few of the many examples that clearly illustrate this fact:
For a comparison of nine different Bible versions click here! For another comparison of how the Word of God has been changed see this study of the "Seed" promised to Abraham click here! The REAL Rheims New TestamentOne may ask why the REAL Douay-Rheims has not been available to the public from the 1600's until the present day. Obviously there are many reasons, such as the Penal Laws, the substitution of the Challoner version which falsely claimed the name "Douay Rheims", etc.
In an effort spanning over eleven years, and as a corporal and spiritual work of mercy, Dr. William von Peters has prepared the Douay Rheims for modern readers. First hand retyping the REAL Rheims New Testament in its entirety, with all the notes and annotations, into modern English text for easy reading. Then continuing on with the REAL Douay Old Testament, also with notes and annotations. It is to be emphasized that nothing in the text has been changed or modified. It has only been transliterated into modern English text, with archaic spellings updated to modern spellings. Where possible the archaic spelling has been left intact to preserve the "flavor" of this historic text. You Need The REAL Douay Rheims BibleThe Rt. Rev. Henry Graham (Where We Got the Bible) states regarding the bringing of the true unadulterated Scripture of the Rheims New Testament from the Apostles to St. Jerome, to you, today:"...At a single leap we thus arrive at that great work, completed by the greatest scholar of his day, who had access to manuscripts and authorities that have now perished , and who, living so near the days of the Apostles, and, as it were, close to the very fountain-head , was able to produce a copy of the inspired writings which, for correctness, can never be equaled." Order Now!The REAL Douay Old Testament
The Douay comes to us from the Septuagint Old Testament which was the official Bible of the Pre-Christian Era Jews, as well as of the New Testament Christians. The Septuagint was early on translated into the Old Latin Version for the Roman World for whom Latin was the official language; as Greek had been prior to the coming of the Roman Empire when the Septuagint had been translated from the original Hebrew (now lost). St. Jerome revised the Old Latin with the use of the most ancient manuscripts available into what became known as the Latin Vulgate. The unique notes and annotations of the Douay tie together the Old and New Testaments so that you can now understand God's wonderful plan of Salvation! Now you can understand how the New Testament Church -- the Catholic Church -- is the culmination and continuation of Old Testament Israel -- and why the Church Fathers stated that the Church is Israel! Now AvailableAll students of the Bible seeking to diligently ascertain the Word of God and its meaning, whether Catholic or Protestant, should have a copy of this monumental work which brings the Bible directly from the time of St. Jerome's Vulgate of A.D. 385 to you today in the 21st Century.
Today, learning and studying the true Word of God - with proper notes for a correct understanding - is even more vital and necessary for each of us who have been for so long a time deprived of God's pure and Holy Word..
As the Testament of the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, the Rheims New Testament belongs in your library. Order Now!
You can order through our secure shopping cart. Order Now! Printed EditionMany of you have asked repeatedly when the original & true Douay Rheims Bible would be available in a printed edition.You see, many people simply do not like to read off of the computer screen. Either the screen bothers their eyes, or they can't read for long periods due to the back lighting; even though the electronic edition allows for convenient search capability and the ability to adjust the font sizes for better viewing. Also, many feel that there is nothing like holding the actual text in one's hands and savoring the printed word; particularly when it is God's Holy Word. The ability to "print on demand" means that the book, in this case The Original & True Rheims New Testament of Anno Domini 1582, or the original & true Douay Old Testament of 1610, can be printed professionally by an actual printer on an 'as ordered' basis so that large quantities don't have to be printed in advance to fill orders.
The Downloads are available immediately after purchase, and the CDs normally ship next day. The Printed Edition normally takes 1-2 weeks to arrive. You may order your softcover printed edition of The Original and True Douay Rheims Bible of Anno Domini 1610 here!
P.S. -- Free Gifts for you with your purchase!With the CDs and Downloads we have some gifts for you.Rheims New TestamentWhen you order The Original and True Rheims New Testament of Anno Domini 1582 as either a CD or Download (or combination) you will also receive, free of charge the Douay Catechism of 1649.This catechism is like none you have ever seen. Most catechisms are for Catholics to learn Catholic doctrine. The Douay Catechism is to explain Catholic doctrine to Protestants! You will learn a lot about your Faith from this wonderful Catechism that you have never heard explained in this way. The Douay Catechism is from the Douay College that gave us the Douay-Rheims Bible. FREE! when you purchase the Rheims New Testament. Order Now! Douay Old TestamentVolume IWhen you order The Original and True Douay Old Testament of Anno Domini 1609 (vol. 1) as either a CD or Download (or combination) you will also receive, free of charge a PDF copy of Where We Got The Bible by Rt. Rev. Henry Graham.This book provides an excellent understanding of the history of the Bible. Have you ever wondered how the Bible was put together? How and why certain books made it into the Bible while others did not? What are the Deutero-Canonical Books? You will find your answers in this book. FREE! when you purchase the Douay Old Testament vol. 1. Order Now! Volume IIWhen you order The Original and True Douay Old Testament of Anno Domini 1610 (vol. 2) as either a CD or Download (or combination) you will also receive, free of charge a PDF copy of Europe and the Faith by Hilaire Belloc.Ever wonder how important the Christian Faith was to the development of Europe, and thereby the European colonies which developed into the United States, Canada, etc.? Belloc shows that without the Faith there is no "Western Culture". The Christian Faith and Western Civilization are of one cloth, inseparable. Now you will know why. FREE! when you purchase the Douay Old Testament vol. 2. Order Now! Get All Three Free GiftsYou can get all three free gifts with the purchase of both the Rheims and the Douay on CD or Download.Purchase them now for your family and loved ones!
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MOREDownload Interview The June 2006 The Four Marks interview of Dr. von Peters can now be viewed or downloaded Download Now To download right-click link then "save target as". Free Brochures Help us spread the good news of the REAL Douay Rheims! Here are two free brochures you can print and hand out. Catholic Brochure Protestant Brochure FREE Download Matt. 24 - for free! Click Here! Download Genesis 1 - for free! Click Here! Order Rheims NT now and receive a copy of the Rheims Catechism, absolutely free! Order Douay OT vol. 1 now and receive a copy of the Where We Got the Bible, absolutely free! Order Here! Order Douay OT vol. 2 now and receive a copy of the Europe and the Faith, absolutely free! Order Here! Help Others to Find the REAL Bible Tell a Friend! Click Here! PROBLEMS? If you experience any problems ordering through PayPal please email us immediately at: |