Latin
The Clementine Vulgate
The Clementine Vulgate is the edition of St. Jerome’s Latin Bible issued in 1592 under Pope Clement VIII. It was the Catholic Church’s standard Latin text for nearly four centuries; the CPDV was translated from it, and Bishop Challoner’s Douay-Rheims follows it. Bless: Scroll Catholic Bible carries it beside 99.2% of verses.
Latin and English, side by side
The opening of John’s Gospel in the Clementine Vulgate and the CPDV. Every chapter page on this site carries the same switch: the CPDV, the Latin, or both side by side.
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.
In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum.
2He was with God in the beginning.
Hoc erat in principio apud Deum.
3All things were made through Him, and nothing that was made was made without Him.
Omnia per ipsum facta sunt: et sine ipso factum est nihil, quod factum est.
4Life was in Him, and Life was the light of men.
In ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum:
5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebræ eam non comprehenderunt.
John 1:1–5 · Catholic Public Domain Version · Clementine Vulgate (1592)
At a glance
| Edition | Issued in 1592 under Pope Clement VIII (the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate) |
|---|---|
| Translation | Chiefly St. Jerome’s, made in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, with older Latin versions for some books |
| Standing | The edition issued after the Council of Trent declared the Vulgate authentic (1546); the Church’s standard Latin Bible until the Nova Vulgata (1979) |
| License | Public domain |
| In Bless | 35,516 verses — the Latin beside 99.2% of the Bible’s verses; 15 chapters have none |
| Followed in English by | The Douay-Rheims (1582–1610; Bishop Challoner’s 1749–52 revision, which Bless uses, follows the Clementine) and the CPDV (2009), translated from it |
Latin you already know
Many prayers, hymns and paintings take their names from a line of the Vulgate. Here are some of them, in the Clementine Latin and the CPDV, as Bless has them.
Fiat lux
Dixitque Deus: Fiat lux. Et facta est lux.
And God said, “Let there be light.” And light became.
Genesis 1:3Ave, gratia plena
Et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit: Ave gratia plena: Dominus tecum: benedicta tu in mulieribus.
And upon entering, the Angel said to her: “Hail, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.”
Luke 1:28Ecce ancilla Domini
Dixit autem Maria: Ecce ancilla Domini: fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Et discessit ab illa angelus.
Then Mary said: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.” And the Angel departed from her.
Luke 1:38Magnificat
Et ait Maria: Magnificat anima mea Dominum:
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord.
Luke 1:46Gloria in altissimis Deo
Gloria in altissimis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.”
Luke 2:14Nunc dimittis
Nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace:
“Now you may dismiss your servant in peace, O Lord, according to your word.
Luke 2:29Pater noster
Sic ergo vos orabitis: Pater noster, qui es in cælis, sanctificetur nomen tuum.
Therefore, you shall pray in this way: Our Father, who is in heaven: May your name be kept holy.
Matthew 6:9Verbum caro factum est
Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis: et vidimus gloriam ejus, gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre plenum gratiæ et veritatis.
And the Word became flesh, and he lived among us, and we saw his glory, glory like that of an only-begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14Ecce agnus Dei
Altera die vidit Joannes Jesum venientem ad se, et ait: Ecce agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccatum mundi.
On the next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him, and so he said: “Behold, the Lamb of God. Behold, he who takes away the sin of the world.
John 1:29Quo vadis?
Dicit ei Simon Petrus: Domine, quo vadis? Respondit Jesus: Quo ego vado non potes me modo sequi: sequeris autem postea.
Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus responded: “Where I am going, you are not able to follow me now. But you shall follow afterward.”
John 13:36Ecce homo
(Exivit ergo Jesus portans coronam spineam, et purpureum vestimentum.) Et dicit eis: Ecce homo.
(Then Jesus went out, bearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment.) And he said to them, “Behold the man.”
John 19:5Noli me tangere
Dicit ei Jesus: Noli me tangere, nondum enim ascendi ad Patrem meum: vade autem ad fratres meos, et dic eis: Ascendo ad Patrem meum, et Patrem vestrum, Deum meum, et Deum vestrum.
Jesus said to her: “Do not touch me. For I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brothers and tell them: ‘I am ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God.’”
John 20:17Dominus regit me
Psalmus David. Dominus regit me, et nihil mihi deerit:
A Psalm of David. The Lord directs me, and nothing will be lacking to me.
Psalm 22:1 (23:1)Miserere mei, Deus
Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam; et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam.
Be merciful to me, O God, according to your great mercy. And, according to the plentitude of your compassion, wipe out my iniquity.
Psalm 50:3 (51:3)De profundis
Canticum graduum. De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine;
A Canticle in steps. From the depths, I have cried out to you, O Lord.
Psalm 129:1 (130:1)Lucerna pedibus meis
Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum, et lumen semitis meis.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths.
Psalm 118:105 (119:105)
Why it matters
For more than a thousand years, the Latin Church read the Bible in St. Jerome’s translation. The Clementine edition of 1592 fixed its text after the Council of Trent, and it was the Bible of the Latin liturgy until after the Second Vatican Council.
It also explains the shape of a Catholic Bible in English. The CPDV was translated from it, and Bishop Challoner’s revision of the Douay-Rheims (1749–52) follows its text, so both follow its verse numbers and its numbering of the Psalms — the Greek numbering, one lower than the Hebrew for most psalms (Psalm numbering). That is why Bless can set the Latin beside the English verse by verse.
The Clementine or the Nova Vulgata?
The Nova Vulgata, promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1979, revised the Latin against the Hebrew and Greek, and it is now the Church’s standard Latin edition. Bless carries the Clementine Vulgate because it is the text its two English translations follow, so the Latin and the English line up, and because it is in the public domain.
Where Bless has no Latin
Bless imports a chapter of the Latin only when its verse numbers match the numbering Bless uses exactly. In 15 chapters they don’t, and Bless shows no Latin rather than risk setting a verse beside the wrong one:
In 4 more, a single verse has no Latin: Psalm 15:11, Psalm 125:7, Psalm 135:27, Isaiah 45:26.
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