What is the Douay-Rheims Version (DRV)?

Answer

The Douay-Rheims Version, which includes the Apocrypha, is a translation from the Latin Vulgate and was the first Bible translation in English to be officially authorized by the Catholic Church. It was translated by Gregory Martin, an Oxford-trained scholar, working in the circle of English Catholic exiles on the Continent, under the sponsorship of William (later Cardinal) Allen. The New Testament appeared at Rheims in 1582, and the Old Testament at Douay in 1609. The entire Douay-Rheims Bible was revised and meticulously compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner in A.D. 1749–52. The notes included in the text were written by Challoner. The DR Bible was reproduced photographically from the 1899 edition of the John Murphy Company, Baltimore, Maryland, by Tan Books in 1971.

Douay-Rheims Version – Translation Method

The Douay-Rheims Bible is a translation into English of the Latin Vulgate Bible, which St. Jerome (342-420) translated into Latin from the original languages. The Vulgate quickly became the universally used Bible in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. In their preface, the translators of the 1582 DRV New Testament gave 10 reasons for using the Vulgate as their primary text, rather than the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, stating that the Latin Vulgate “is not only better than all other Latin translations, but than the Greek text itself, in those places where they disagree.”

Douay-Rheims Version – Pros and Cons

The Douay-Rheims Version is not a poor translation, but the issue is that it is a translation of the Latin Vulgate, not a translation of the original Hebrew and Greek. Meaning and clarity are always lost in translation from one language to another. The Douay-Rheims takes this a step further, being a translation of a translation. In addition to this drawback, the Douay-Rheims translators, on occasion, allowed their Catholic theology to influence their translation choices.

Verses from the Douay-Rheims Version

John 1:1, 14 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whoever believes in him, may not perish, but may have eternal life.”

John 8:58 – “Jesus said to them: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’”

Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; Not of works, so that no one may boast.”

Titus 2:13 – “Awaiting the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”