Baronius Press today launches its new edition of the Knox version of the Bible.
Mgr Ronald Knox translated the Bible according to the classical English pattern (now found more commonly in the United States) rendering the text accurately into good English so that it would sound as if an Englishman had written it.
I have a 1955 edition given to me on the occasion of my Confirmation by my great-aunt, "Auntie Stella" who was "Mother Theresa" in the Daughters of Jesus. I took it with me to Rome as a student. One year (I think as an optional course in second cycle) I went to lectures given by a kindly American priest on the redaction criticism of the gospels. I think that he wanted to check that people were present, so he would look down his list, select a name and ask the person to read the passage under consideration from the bible that he had with him. He would then ask which translation the student had used. In a slightly mischievous frame of mind, once I saw that this was done regularly, and that the normal answer was "the new American Bible, Father" or "The Jerusalem Bible, Father", I made sure to be prepared. It was fun to get the chance to answer in a slightly hammed-up Oxford accent "The Ronald Knox version, Father."
Baronius has the objective of producing fine quality books in durable binding, completely re-typeset (rather than facsimiles). Paradoxically, this is a strategy well-suited to the age of the e-book reader. There is little point nowadays in buying a cheap glued paperback when you can put the text on an e-book reader, but the delight of really well produced books will stay with us, and we need publishers like Baronius to produce fine books. They have also worked with Biblegateway.com to make the text available online, recognising the worth of electronic texts alongside fine editions of those texts.
There is more information at the dedicated Knox Bible site. The Bible is available for £39.95 (UK) $54.95 (USA) from Baronius Press.
9 comments:
Baronius really are a Godsend in terms of producing durable books that are a delight to have as well as to read!
A very good write-up, Fr.
Thank you.
And how apt that today is the Feast Day of St. Teresa of Avila.
Mavis Batey in her biography of Mgr Knox's brother, Dilly, the classicist and codebreaker, has a paragraph which gives a clue about the way in which Mgr Knox's translation came about. (Mavis has gone to stay at Dilly's house just after Mgr Knox has left.)
"Ronnie had not come to see the cherries 'hung with snow' as he could have his fill of them in Housman's own Shropshire, where he was living in a convent engaged in translating the Bible into English for Roman Catholics. It was this on which he had been consulting Dilly, as he had just got to the Epistles and to St Paul's visit to the Corinthians, and he too was battling with Greek papyri. Dilly said he had translated more of it than Ronnie as his brother’s Greek was not up to standard. He felt that Ronnie ought to know more about the Corinthians and their way of life in the same way in which he had sought out the world behind Herodas when editing his mimiambics. He had also tried to steep himself in the German mindset when coming to terms with the Abwehr."
The strength of the Knox translation method, and the immense weakness of the "dynamic equivalence" method used in the Church for two generations, is that the former expects the translator to immerse himself in the way in which the people involved in the original text lived, while the latter expects the original text to conform to the way we live now and would like those involved in the original text to have lived.
This is wonderful news, Father. I have never set eyes on a Knox Bible or had one in my hands but remember reading his translation of the Song of Songs in a book about Bible translations many years ago when I was at school.
Baronius here I come! This is going to be my Christmas treat for myself.
I first heard about the Knox translation from Karl Keating of Catholic Answers who said that Knox' translation was his favourite for private reading.
Is the Knox translation authorised for liturgical use?
My copy arrived today, and it is a very handsome book.
As far as I know, in England, the Jerusalem Bible and RSV are currently authorised for the Novus Ordo.
For the usus antiquior, the Knox version would be authorised for a) reading the epistle and/or gospel in English after they have been said/sung in Latin; b) when the readings are given in the vernacular according to Summorum Pontificum Art 6.
This article refers to versions recognised by the Holy See - I am presuming that the English & Welsh hierarchy's approval of Knox was recognised by the Holy See. (His first publication of the text was the epistles and gospels for Sundays.)
Very disappointed Baronius hasn't made it available in soft genuine leather. Also, they are very plain covers I'd have to get it rebound if they ever release one.
Oh well, looks as if I'll have to stick with the RSV for my ordination. I would quite like to have had the Knox or the Douay-Rheims, but the RSV will do. Anything is preferable to the Jerusalem!
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