"Vale of tears" (Latin:vallis lacrimarum) is aChristian phrase referring to the tribulations oflife that Christian doctrine says are left behind only when one leaves the world and entersHeaven. The phrase appears in some translations of Psalm 84:6, which describes those strengthened by God'sblessing: "As they pass through the valley of tears (Hebrew:עֵמֶק הַבָּכָא), they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools" (NIV with "Valley of Baca" replaced).
TheSixto-Clementine version of the LatinVulgate uses the phrase "valle lacrimarum" in Psalm 83:7 (the equivalent of Psalm 84:6 in English translations).[1]Wycliffe's Bible (1395) translates the phrase as "valei of teeris", and theBishop's Bible (1568) reads "vale of teares". TheKing James Version (1611), however, reads "valley ofBaca", and thePsalter in theBook of Common Prayer (1662) follows theCoverdale Bible (1535) and reads "vale of misery".
Modern translations also vary, with theRevised Standard Version andNew Revised Standard Version continuing the "Valley of Baca" translation, theRevised English Bible rendering it "the waterless valley", and the term "Valley of Weeping" featuring in both theNew Living Translation and theAmerican Standard Version.
The phrase also occurs in the writings ofJerome (c. 347–420)[2] andBoniface (c. 675–754),[3] but was perhaps popularized by thehymn "Salve Regina", which at the end of the first stanza mentions "gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle", or "mourning and weeping in this valley of tears".
The phrase also appears in"Be Still, My Soul" (1855), the English translation of the GermanLutheran hymn.[4]
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