Bible translators feel that since the New Testament was written in brisk, koine (common) Greek, contemporary versions should reflect its informal spirit, even if they have to be updated every generation as language changes. For the first time, U.S. Roman Catholics are now finding out what this theory means in practice (Protestants, by comparison, have had the racy J. B. Phillips version since 1958, and the New English Bible since 1961). When they adopted the vernacular Mass last fall, with Epistle and Gospel readings in English instead of Latin, the U.S. hierarchy took their texts from the still unfinished Confraternity...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
