In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God's spirit hovered over the water. God said, 'Let there be light', and there was light.
This French translation served as the impetus for an English translation in 1966, the Jerusalem Bible. For the majority of the books, the English translation was a translation of the Hebrew and Greek texts; in passages with more than one interpretation, the interpretation chosen by the French translators is generally followed. For a small number of Old Testament books, the first draft of the English translation was made directly from the French, and then the general editor (Fr Alexander Jones) produced a revised draft by comparing this word-for-word with the Hebrew or Aramaic texts.[a]
The editor of theNew Jerusalem Bible,Henry Wansbrough, claims the Jerusalem Bible "was basically a translation from the FrenchBible de Jérusalem, conceived primarily to convey to the English-speaking world the biblical scholarship of this French Bible. The translation of the text was originally no more than a vehicle for the notes". He also writes: "Despite claims to the contrary, it is clear that the Jerusalem Bible was translated from the French, possibly with occasional glances at the Hebrew or Greek, rather than vice versa."[3]
The Jerusalem Bible was the first widely accepted Catholic English translation of the Bible since theDouay–Rheims Version of the 17th century. It has also been widely praised for an overall very high level of scholarship, and is widely admired and sometimes used by liberal and moderate Protestants. The Jerusalem Bible is one of the versions authorized to be used in services of theEpiscopal Church.[4]
J. R. R. Tolkien translated theBook of Jonah for the Jerusalem Bible, although its final version was heavily edited, and he is listed among its "principal collaborators".[b][6]
The English Jerusalem Bible returned to the practice of rendering thetetragrammaton asYahweh for the name of God in the Old Testament, rendered as such in 6,823 places within this translation. If the FrenchLa Bible de Jerusalem of 1956 had been followed literally, this name would have been translated as "the Eternal".[7] The move was welcomed by some.[8]
In 1973, the French translation received an update. A third French edition was produced in 1998.
In 1985, the English translation was completely updated. This new translation – known as theNew Jerusalem Bible – was freshly translated from the original languages and not tied to any French translation (except indirectly, because it maintained many of the stylistic and interpretive choices of the French Jerusalem Bible).
Last updated in 1998, the FrenchLa Bible de Jérusalem is currently the subject of a revision project operating under the titleThe Bible in its Traditions.[15] According to the notes, more weight will be given to theSeptuagint in the translation of theHebrew Bible scriptures, though theMasoretic Text will remain the primary source. The French portion of theDemonstration Volume is available online, together with a single sample of the English translation.[16]
Publisher Darton, Longman and Todd published theRevised New Jerusalem Bible in 2019. Substantially revising the JB and NJB texts, the new translation "appliesformal equivalence translation for a more accurate rendering of the original scriptures, sensitivity to readable speech patterns and more inclusive language". It contains new study notes and book introductions written byHenry Wansbrough.[17] This version replaced the Divine Name with "the LORD."
^This is explained in the Editor's Foreword to the Jerusalem Bible.
^On his contribution to the Jerusalem Bible, Tolkien wrote, "Naming me among the 'principal collaborators' was an undeserved courtesy on the part of the editor of the Jerusalem Bible. I was consulted on one or two points of style, and criticized some contributions of others. I was originally assigned a large amount of text to translate, but after doing some necessary preliminary work I was obliged to resign owing to pressure of other work, and only completed 'Jonah', one of the shortest books."[5]
Venard, Olivier-Thomas (2006). "The Cultural Background and Challenges ofLa Bible de Jérusalem". In McCosker, Philip (ed.).What Is It that the Scripture Says?: Essays in Biblical Interpretation, Translation, and Reception in Honour of Henry Wansbrough OSB. London: T&T Clark. pp. 111–134.ISBN978-0-567-04353-5.
