Translation
The Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)
The Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV) is a modern English translation of the Clementine Vulgate by Ronald L. Conte Jr., completed in 2009 and placed in the public domain; it has no imprimatur. It is the default translation in Bless: Scroll Catholic Bible and the text of every verse on this site.
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebræ eam non comprehenderunt.
At a glance
| Translator | Ronald L. Conte Jr. |
|---|---|
| Completed | 2009 |
| Translated from | The Clementine Vulgate, the Latin Bible of 1592 (about it) |
| License | Public domain |
| Church approval | None — no imprimatur |
| Canon | 73 books: 46 Old Testament, 27 New, deuterocanon included |
| Numbering | The Vulgate’s, with the Psalms in Vulgate (Greek) numbering |
| In Bless | The default translation: 35,617 verses in 1,322 chapters in the app; all 1,334 chapters on this site |
How it reads
The CPDV is plain, modern English that keeps close to the Latin. A few verses you may know:
In the beginning, God created heaven and earth.
A Psalm of David. The Lord directs me, and nothing will be lacking to me.
And upon entering, the Angel said to her: “Hail, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.”
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.
But the souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment of death will touch them.
But for now, these three continue: faith, hope, and charity. And the greatest of these is charity.
No imprimatur
An imprimatur is a bishop’s permission to publish a book on faith or morals, given after it has been reviewed. The CPDV does not have one. It is one lay translator’s work, published on his own, and the Church has not approved it for the liturgy or for study. The translator’s own notes on the version are at sacredbible.org.
This website says so on every page, in its footer. If you need an approved translation — for catechesis, for study, or to follow the readings you hear at Mass — the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) is the translation of the Lectionary in the United States, and the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition (RSV-2CE) is another approved choice.
The other translation in Bless
Why Bless uses it
- It is in the public domain, so it can be given away with every verse free and nothing licensed.
- It was translated from the Clementine Vulgate, the Latin that Bishop Challoner’s Douay-Rheims follows, so the two share their verse and psalm numbers, and each verse keeps one place in Bless — your saved verses, notes and links follow you when you switch.
- It reads as modern English, where the Douay-Rheims keeps the language of the 1700s.
- It keeps all 73 books, the deuterocanon included.
The CPDV is the default in Bless and the only translation printed on this website.
Its own verse numbers in 12 chapters
In 12 chapters the CPDV divides the verses differently from the numbering Bless uses everywhere else. In the app, these chapters are shown in the Douay-Rheims, so that every verse keeps its place; on this website they are printed in the CPDV, with the CPDV’s own verse numbers, and each says so.
| Chapter | Bless numbers it | The CPDV numbers it | The difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judith 4 | 1–16 | 1–17 | The CPDV counts one verse more |
| Psalm 19 (20) | 1–9 | 1–10 | The CPDV counts one verse more |
| Psalm 28 (29) | 1–10 | 1–11 | The CPDV counts one verse more |
| Psalm 42 (43) | 1–6 | 1–5 | The CPDV counts one verse fewer |
| Psalm 115 (116:10–19) | 10–19 | 1–10 | Bless numbers it 10–19, continuing the psalm before; the CPDV starts again at 1 |
| Psalm 147 (147:12–20) | 12–20 | 1–9 | Bless numbers it 12–20, continuing the psalm before; the CPDV starts again at 1 |
| Psalm 150 | 1–5 | 1–6 | The CPDV counts one verse more |
| Isaiah 46 | 1–12 | 1–13 | The CPDV counts one verse more |
| Amos 9 | 1–14 | 1–15 | The CPDV counts one verse more |
| John 11 | 1–56 | 1–57 | The CPDV counts one verse more |
| 2 Corinthians 1 | 1–23 | 1–24 | The CPDV counts one verse more |
| 1 Thessalonians 4 | 1–17 | 1–18 | The CPDV counts one verse more |
Read the CPDV
Every chapter of all 73 books is on this site in the CPDV, with the Latin of the Clementine Vulgate beside it.