Dóminus vobíscum (Latin: "The Lord be with you") is an ancient salutation andblessing traditionally used by the clergy in theMasses of theCatholic Church and otherliturgies, as well as liturgies of otherWestern Christian denominations, such asLutheranism,Anglicanism andMethodism.
The response isEt cum spíritu tuo, meaning "And with your spirit." Some English translations, such asDivine Worship: The Missal and theAnglicanBook of Common Prayer, translate the response in theolder form, "And with thy spirit." Eastern Orthodox churches also follow this usage, although the episcopal and presbyteral blessing are one and the same; in Greek,Εἰρήνη πᾶσι, eirene pasi, "peace to all." In the Roman Rite, this usage is only for the bishop, who saysPax vobís. TheICEL translation presently in use for Roman Catholic Masses in English has "And with your spirit."
Prior toAdvent 2011, the Roman Catholic response in English-speaking countries was "And also with you." In 2001 the Holy See issued the instructionLiturgiam Authenticam concerning the use of vernacular languages in the Mass. The instruction requires that certain phrases, such as the responseEt cum spíritu tuo, which "belong to the heritage of the whole or of a great part of the ancient Church, as well as others that have become part of the general human patrimony, are to be respected by a translation that is as literal as possible".[1] Accordingly, the current translation of the Mass in English uses the response "And with your spirit" to reflect an accurate translation of the Latin.[2]
Dóminus vobíscum is not usually said by anyone who is not at least adeacon.[3] If introducing a prayer, it is otherwise replaced withDomine, exaudi orationem meam, with the responseEt clamor meus ad te veniat (‘O Lord, hear my prayer’, And let my cry come to thee’, the opening verse ofPsalm 102) or, if that invocation is said in any case, it is omitted.[4]
In a Mass celebrated by a bishop or someEastern Catholic,Eastern Orthodox,Oriental Orthodox, or someNestorian Orthodox priests,Dóminus vobíscum is instead replaced with some variation ofPax vobis orPax vobíscum (Peace be with you) which is replied with either theSign of the Cross orEt cum spíritu tuo depending on the Church and whether it is in aMass,Divine Liturgy, orHoly Qurbana.
This exchange is also said in theLutheranDivine Service. TheLutheran Book of Worship, released in 1978, used the phrase "And also with you." TheEvangelical Lutheran Church in America's updated hymnal,Evangelical Lutheran Worship, retains this wording. The response in theLutheran Service Book, used by theLutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and theLutheran Church–Canada (LCC), was changed to "And with your spirit" in 2006, changing from "thy" to "your".[5]
In some Jewish rites, a person called up to the Torah saysAdonai immachem; the sense is identical.[6]
In Arabic,Allah Maak, which means "May Allah be with you", is used as a farewell.[7]
The salutation is taken from the versesRuth 2:4 and2 Chronicles 15:2 in theVulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible. InRuth, the phrase appears in the sentence,"Et ecce ipse veniebat de Bethlehem dixitque messoribus: 'Dominus vobiscum'. Qui responderunt ei: 'Benedicat tibi Dominus'." ("Boaz himself came from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, 'The Lord be with you!' and they replied, 'The Lord bless you!'").[8]
II Chronicles recounts thatAzariah, filled with thespirit of God, said, "Audite me, Asa et omnis Iuda et Beniamin! Dominus vobiscum, quia fuistis cum eo. Si quaesieritis eum, invenietur a vobis; si autem dereliqueritis eum, derelinquet vos." ("Hear me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The LORD is with you when you are with him, and if you seek him he will be present to you; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.")[9]
The phrase additionally appears inNumbers 14:42:"Nolite ascendere: non enim est Dominus vobiscum: ne corruatis coram inimicis vestris."[10] (HebrewAyn adonai b'qirb'chem) The expression in Hebrew means to be successful.[citation needed] It also occurs in1 Samuel 17:37 where Saul tells David "Go and may the Lord be with you" (Lech va'adonai y'hiyeh im'cha).