Richard Rolle has hit the proverbial nail squarely on the head. That is exactly my experience praying the Divine Office. Thank you for re-opening my eyes to the beauty of the Psalms.
Upon which translation of the psalms available in (modern) English would you recommend meditating? I have the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary published by Angelus and love the translation but have not found the same in the Douay Rheims or my father's Grail or others accessible to me, and was wondering if there was a particular one which is "the best" for the other psalms. I do like the KJV quite a lot and even have the children's recitations of Psalm 22 (23) drawn from their version but feel extremely anti-Catholic when I do...a traitor to all the martyrs of the Faith in "Merrie England."
Thank you for teaching me so much when I'm so very un-learned.
This is, unfortunately, a question with no clear answer. In fact, I was so dissatisfied with every existing translation of the Psalms that I decided to make a new translation that combines traditional English versions with additional insights and richness from the Hebrew text, with the goal of producing a poetic psalter that helps modern English speakers to meditate on the Psalms and recite them in the home with children. I finished that translation about a year ago, but it's still a work in progress—I'm gradually making improvements as I use those Psalms for private and family prayer. When I make that new translation available, you might want to give it a try and see if you like it.
Before I started using the new version, I was praying the Psalms from the Geneva Bible, which predates the KJV by about 50 years and was the Bible read by William Shakespeare. I like the Geneva Bible more than the KJV; however, the archaic spelling can cause difficulties, and the Geneva Bible still has that anti-Catholic feeling (though not as much as the KJV). The style of the Douay-Rheims Psalms does not, in general, appeal to me.
If you prefer the archaic, more poetic style of the early Bibles, the KJV is probably the best option. I don't think Catholics should feel guilty about using the KJV, for various reasons that I could explain, but explaining them fully would take some time. Maybe I should write an article about that.
I am so grateful for your reply, and apologize for my delay in thanking you. I would love to read an article with your thoughts on using a Protestant Bible (perhaps ALL the Bibles I can read are...Protestant? As I cannot (yet) read Latin.) I purchased your book "Sacred Poetry for Family Prayer" and look forward to reading your translations. I admire all the ones I've read in your posts thus far. I would love to read your continued work and will purchase your new one once available. May God bless you and thank you for all the ways you've made me aware of the treasure and beauty of our Faith.
You're very welcome, and thank you for this lovely message. The translations in "Sacred Poetry for Family Prayer" have a specifically medieval character that has its benefits but requires some extra effort in reading. When I publish the revised version, the language will be somewhat more neutral (though still traditional), and I will condense everything so that the book can be less expensive. The goal is to reduce the cost so that a family can more easily buy multiple copies (ideally, one for everyone in the family who can read). That's how we use the book in my house: both parents and all the reading-age children have a copy, so that we can conveniently and fruitfully recite or sing the psalms together, which we do every day. Unfortunately I've not had much success teaching Latin to my children, so having these new English-language psalms—intended specifically for poetic and meditative recitation, and easier to chant—has been a great blessing for us.
A wonderful reminder of the treasures of the psalter. Loved speaking the Middle English out loud, and when I didn't think about what it meant, it made sense.
Yes, Rolle's Middle English is relatively approachable for speakers of modern English, and you're right, Middle English in general has a mysterious way of making its meaning known if you let yourself hear and "feel" the words and phrases without focusing too much on the details.
As far from an expert as I can be in old English, and although I acknowledge the transliteration, I understand this to mean "in praise of Jesus Christ."
Thank you for the comment! I'm glad you mentioned this, because it comes with an interesting philological story. You are correct that "in louynge of ihū crist" can mean "in praise (or praising) of Jesus Christ," but by translating it as "loving" I maintain the close connection between (and overlapping meaning of) these two words in Middle English.
The Old English word "lof" means "praise" or "song of praise" and was spelled lofe, loue, luffe, etc. in Middle English. It probably comes from the same Germanic root as Old English "lufe," which was spelled lofe, loue, lov, luffe, etc. in Middle English and is now "love" in modern English. It appears that in Middle English, the similarity of the words contributed to a stronger semantic association between these two concepts, which are quite closely related (especially when the object of the love/praise is God), but which feel more distinct to us because our primary words for them ("love" vs. "praise") are very different.
Furthermore, the Old English verb "lofian" (to praise) essentially merged in many Middle English texts with the Old English verb "lufian" (to love); it is a known difficulty among scholars that in Middle English religious texts, "love" meaning "to praise" and "love" meaning "to love" cannot always be distinguished (perhaps because the intended meaning was not either but both!).
So again, "praising" would be a perfectly good translation here, but for modern readers it would weaken the sound and meaning associations present in the Middle English version, and it wouldn't flow as nicely into the passionate sentiments expressed in the next sentence: "They ... kindle his will with the fire of love, making him hot and burning within, and fair and lovely in the eyes of Christ."
It has a texture like sculpted sandstone, and stays close to the earth...
Yes! Hebrew is what the earth would sound like if it could speak.
That's how I feel about Hebrew but I've never put it into words quite that way. I'm going to remember that sentence.
Richard Rolle has hit the proverbial nail squarely on the head. That is exactly my experience praying the Divine Office. Thank you for re-opening my eyes to the beauty of the Psalms.
Truly, Father, the Psalms are a singular gift from the good God, and it is our great privilege to be ever re-discovering their wonders.
Dear Mr. Keim,
Upon which translation of the psalms available in (modern) English would you recommend meditating? I have the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary published by Angelus and love the translation but have not found the same in the Douay Rheims or my father's Grail or others accessible to me, and was wondering if there was a particular one which is "the best" for the other psalms. I do like the KJV quite a lot and even have the children's recitations of Psalm 22 (23) drawn from their version but feel extremely anti-Catholic when I do...a traitor to all the martyrs of the Faith in "Merrie England."
Thank you for teaching me so much when I'm so very un-learned.
This is, unfortunately, a question with no clear answer. In fact, I was so dissatisfied with every existing translation of the Psalms that I decided to make a new translation that combines traditional English versions with additional insights and richness from the Hebrew text, with the goal of producing a poetic psalter that helps modern English speakers to meditate on the Psalms and recite them in the home with children. I finished that translation about a year ago, but it's still a work in progress—I'm gradually making improvements as I use those Psalms for private and family prayer. When I make that new translation available, you might want to give it a try and see if you like it.
Before I started using the new version, I was praying the Psalms from the Geneva Bible, which predates the KJV by about 50 years and was the Bible read by William Shakespeare. I like the Geneva Bible more than the KJV; however, the archaic spelling can cause difficulties, and the Geneva Bible still has that anti-Catholic feeling (though not as much as the KJV). The style of the Douay-Rheims Psalms does not, in general, appeal to me.
If you prefer the archaic, more poetic style of the early Bibles, the KJV is probably the best option. I don't think Catholics should feel guilty about using the KJV, for various reasons that I could explain, but explaining them fully would take some time. Maybe I should write an article about that.
I am so grateful for your reply, and apologize for my delay in thanking you. I would love to read an article with your thoughts on using a Protestant Bible (perhaps ALL the Bibles I can read are...Protestant? As I cannot (yet) read Latin.) I purchased your book "Sacred Poetry for Family Prayer" and look forward to reading your translations. I admire all the ones I've read in your posts thus far. I would love to read your continued work and will purchase your new one once available. May God bless you and thank you for all the ways you've made me aware of the treasure and beauty of our Faith.
You're very welcome, and thank you for this lovely message. The translations in "Sacred Poetry for Family Prayer" have a specifically medieval character that has its benefits but requires some extra effort in reading. When I publish the revised version, the language will be somewhat more neutral (though still traditional), and I will condense everything so that the book can be less expensive. The goal is to reduce the cost so that a family can more easily buy multiple copies (ideally, one for everyone in the family who can read). That's how we use the book in my house: both parents and all the reading-age children have a copy, so that we can conveniently and fruitfully recite or sing the psalms together, which we do every day. Unfortunately I've not had much success teaching Latin to my children, so having these new English-language psalms—intended specifically for poetic and meditative recitation, and easier to chant—has been a great blessing for us.
Thank you for making it easier to understand the Psalms!!!
A wonderful reminder of the treasures of the psalter. Loved speaking the Middle English out loud, and when I didn't think about what it meant, it made sense.
Yes, Rolle's Middle English is relatively approachable for speakers of modern English, and you're right, Middle English in general has a mysterious way of making its meaning known if you let yourself hear and "feel" the words and phrases without focusing too much on the details.
"in louynge of ihū crist"
As far from an expert as I can be in old English, and although I acknowledge the transliteration, I understand this to mean "in praise of Jesus Christ."
Thank you for the comment! I'm glad you mentioned this, because it comes with an interesting philological story. You are correct that "in louynge of ihū crist" can mean "in praise (or praising) of Jesus Christ," but by translating it as "loving" I maintain the close connection between (and overlapping meaning of) these two words in Middle English.
The Old English word "lof" means "praise" or "song of praise" and was spelled lofe, loue, luffe, etc. in Middle English. It probably comes from the same Germanic root as Old English "lufe," which was spelled lofe, loue, lov, luffe, etc. in Middle English and is now "love" in modern English. It appears that in Middle English, the similarity of the words contributed to a stronger semantic association between these two concepts, which are quite closely related (especially when the object of the love/praise is God), but which feel more distinct to us because our primary words for them ("love" vs. "praise") are very different.
Furthermore, the Old English verb "lofian" (to praise) essentially merged in many Middle English texts with the Old English verb "lufian" (to love); it is a known difficulty among scholars that in Middle English religious texts, "love" meaning "to praise" and "love" meaning "to love" cannot always be distinguished (perhaps because the intended meaning was not either but both!).
So again, "praising" would be a perfectly good translation here, but for modern readers it would weaken the sound and meaning associations present in the Middle English version, and it wouldn't flow as nicely into the passionate sentiments expressed in the next sentence: "They ... kindle his will with the fire of love, making him hot and burning within, and fair and lovely in the eyes of Christ."