THE present edition of the Douay version of the Old and New Testament, published by Ed Dunigan, New York, having been revised by our direction, we have great pleasure in recommen ing it togaithfoto berg with that reverence and respect which are due to the Word of God, and with that humility of heart and docility which the Church enjoins upon all who would read the Holy Scriptures with advantage to their souls. Given at the Episcopal residence, this 27th of January, 1844. THE NAMES AND ORDER OF ALL THE BOOKS OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, WITH THE NUMBER OF THEIR CHAPTERS. JOHN HUGHES, Bishop of New York Chapters. 28 Ephesians. 16 Philippians 24 Colossians 21 I. Thessalonians BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. Chapters 28 II. Thessalonians 16 I. Timothy 16 II. Timothy 13 Titus 6 Philemon 14 Daniel 19 Habacuc 52 Zacharias 5 Malachias 6 I. Machabees. 48 II. Machabees . 6 Hebrews 4 St. James 4 I. Peter. 5 II. Peter 3 I. John 6 II. John. 4 III. John 3 St. Jude 1 The Apocalypse. YEARS OF THE WORLD FROM THE CREATION. Chapters. 14 14 A Short Sketch of the principal Epochs, which have a Relation to Scriptural History, as they are set down by the best Chronologers. • The variation of sentiments will show, that we cannot decide with absolute certainty on any points of Chronology, before the Christian Æra. 16 15 Chapters. 13 5 3675 3724 4560 5641 3975 4023 4860 4887 YEARS I. AGE. lasts till the Deluge 2399 Tour. II. AGE.-887 Years to Exodus, or the delivery of the Hebrews. 2543 2600 III. AGE.-480 Years till the Temple of Solomon 3023 3023 3876 4915 2993 Israel revolts from Roboam 1011 IV. AGE.-452 Years till the Temple is destroyed V. AGE.-525 Years till Cyrus and the Jew's Liberty Roman Empire, from the Battle of Actium CHRIST is crucified 331 31 0 36 St. John dies, and the Scripture History ends 4099 100 Tirin places the birth of Christ in the 36th year of Herod, the 40th of Augustus, the 28th from the Battle of Actium, the 749th of Rome, and the 4th of the 193rd Olympiad. 5941 NOTE, that A. M. signifies Anno Mundi, that is, in the Year of the World.-A. C. Ante Christum, Year before Christ.-A. D. Anno Domini, in the Year of our Lord-Supra, i. e. above, denotes, that the Chapter and Verse before which it is prefixed, are to be found in the same Book, but foregoing.—And Infra, i. e. below, denotes the Chapter and Verse to be found in the same Book, but following. The other Contractions and Marks are sufficiently obvious. The Year of Our Lord always commences on the first of January, the day on which Christ was circumcised, being eight days old. From the Creation until the Birth of Christ, was 4004 years. THE Scriptures, in which are contained the revealed mysteries of divine truth, are undoubtedly the most excellent of all writings: they were written by men divinely inspired, and are not the word of men, but the word of God, which can save our souls, 1 Thess. i. 13, and James i. 21; but then they ought to be read, even by the learned, with the spirit of humility, and with a fear of mistaking the true sense, as many have done. This we learn from the Scripture itself; where St. Peter says, that in the epistles of St. Paul, there are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own perdition. 2 Peter iii. 17. To prevent and remedy this abuse, and to guard against error, it was judged necessary to forbid the reading of the Scriptures in the vulgar languages, without the advice and permission of the pastors and spiritual guides whom God has appointed to govern his church, Acts xx. 28. Christ himself declared, "he that will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican." Matt. xviii. 17. Nor is this due submission to the Catholic Church, (the pillar and ground of truth, 1 Tim. iii. 15.) to be understood of the ignorant and unlearned only, but also of men accomplished in all kind of learning. The ignorant fall into errors for want of knowledge, and the learned through pride and self-sufficiency. Therefore let every reader of the sacred writings, who pretends to be a competent judge of the sense, and of the truths revealed in them, reflect on the words which he finds in Isaias, chap. lv. 8, 9. My thoughts are not as your thoughts, neither are your ways as my ways, saith the Lord; for as the heavens are exalted above the earth, even so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts. How then shall any one by his private reason, pretend to judge, to know, to demonstrate, the incomprehensible and unsearchable ways of God 1 The following Letter of his Holiness Pius the Sixth, to the most Rev. Anthony Martini, now Archbishop of Florence, on his translation of the Holy Bible into Italian, shews the benefit which the faithful may reap from their having the Holy Scriptures in the vulgar tongue. POPE PIUS THE SIXTH, BELOVED SON: Health and apostolical benediction. At a time that a vast number of bad books, which most grossly attack the Catholic religion, are circulated even among the unlearned, to the great destruction of souls, you judge exceedingly well, that the faithful should be excited to the reading of the Holy Scriptures: for these are the most abundant sources which ought to be left open to every one, to draw from them purity of morals and of doctrine, to eradicate the errors which are widely disseminated in these corrupt times: This you have seasonably effected, as you declare, by publishing the sacred writings in the language of your country, suitable to every one's capacity; especially when you shew and set forth, that you have added explanatory notes, which, being extracted from the holy fathers, preclude every possible danger of abuse: Thus you have not swerved either from the laws of the Congregation of the Index, or from the constitution published on this subject by Benedict XIV. that immortal Pope, our predecessor in the pontificate, and formerly, when we held a place near his person, our excellent master in ecclesiastical learning, circumstances which we mention as honourable to us. We therefore applaud your eminent learning, joined with your extraordinary piety, and we return you our due acknowledgments for the books which you have transmitted to us, and which, when convenient, we will read over. In the mean time, as a token of our pontifical henevolence, receive our apostolical benediction, which to you, beloved son, we very affectionately impart. Given at Rome, on the calends of April, 1778, the fourth year of our pontificate. PHILIP BUONAMICI, LATIN SECRETARY. To our beloved Son, Anthony Martini, at Turin. (A translation from the Latin original.) A PRAYER BEFORE THE READING OF ANY PART OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURE. COME, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts and minds of thy faithful servants, and inflame them with the fire of thy divine love. LET US PRAY: O Gon, who by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, didst instruct the hearts of thy faithful servants; grant us, in the same Spirit, to discern what is right, and enjoy his comfort for ever: Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth one God, with thee and the same Spirit, world without end. Amen. A TRANSLATION OF THE DECREE OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT, CONCERNING THE CANONICAL SCRIPTURES. Sess. IV. April 8, 1546-Signed by 255 Prelates, Dec. 4, 1563; and confirmed by Pius IV. Jan. 26, 1564. THE holy Oecumenic and general Council of Trent in the Holy Ghost lawfully assembled, the three aforesaid Legates of the Apostolic See presiding therein, having always this in view, that all errors being taken away, the purity of the Gospel should be preserved in the Church; that Gospel before promised by the Prophets in the Holy Scriptures, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, first promulgated with his own mouth; and afterwards commanded his Apostles to preach the same to all nations as the source of every saving Truth, and moral discipline: and the Synod clearly seeing that this Truth and discipline is contained in the Written Word, and in the unwritten Traditions, which the Apostles received from the mouth of Christ himself, or from the Apostles themselves, being the dictate of the Holy Ghost to them, and delivered as it were from hand to hand, came down to us: following the examples of the Orthodox Fathers, with due veneration and piety receiving all the books as well of the Old as of the New Testament, seeing that God is the immediate author of both, and also receiving these Traditions, appertaining to Faith and Morals, as coming from the mouth of Christ, or dictated by the Holy Ghost, and held in the Catholic Church by a continued succession. The Synod therefore thought proper to annex to this decree a catalogue of the Sacred Books, lest any doubt might arise concerning those that were approved of. They are the following: (Here occur the names of the books of the Old and New Testament as mentioned below.) Now, if any one, reading over these books in all their parts, as they are usually read in the Catholic Church, and being in the Latin Vulgate edition, does not hold them for Sacred and Canonical, and knowing the aforesaid traditions, does industriously contemn them, let him be Anathema. The 72 books of the Holy Bible, written by divine inspiration, by the authors whose names they bear, or by others of unquestionable authority, were composed, according to Calmet, &c. about the following years, before or after Jesus Christ, whose nativity is generally fixed about the year 4000. Absolute certainty in these matters cannot be obtained, as able chronologists vary concerning this most important epoch 3244 years. R. Nahasson advances it to 3740. K. Alphonsus, on the other hand, postpones it to the year of the world 6984. Pezron places the death of Christ A. M. 6000. ⚫ Jeremias, chap. xxxi. ver. 33. + Mark, chap. xvi. ver. 15. 1 2 Thessalonians, chap. ii. ver. 14. 1. Genesis as a Preface, by Moses 2. Exodus, about 3. Leviticus, perhaps 4. Numbers, perhaps 5. Deuteronomy, Moses died 6. Josue, by that general, who died 7. Judges, probably by Samuel 8. Ruth, by Samuel, who died 2. C. 1488 37. Micheas, 50 years till > 1430 42. Zacharias • 9. L. Kings or Samuel, by do. and others till 10. II. Kings or Samuel, by Nathan, &c. till 12. IV. Kings or II. by Jehu, Esdras, &c. to 34. Amos 35. Abdias, Jerusalem destroyed 36. Jonas, between 821 and 25. Wisdom, by Philo, perhaps one of the 70 under the name of Solomon 1056 43. Malachy, perhaps Esdras 1053 44. L Macabees, J. Hyrcan. 1051 45. II. Macabees, in Greek, by Jason 1016 889 46. S. Matthew, in Hebrew, &c. 562 47. S. Mark, in Greek or Latin 1011 48. S. Luke, perhaps 49. S. John, about 450 50. Acts by S. Luke 614 53. II. Corinthians - 971 58. I. Thessalonians 284 582 64. Hebrews. 580 65. S. James the Less 570 66. I. Peter, 789 70. III. John 584 71. S. Jude, perhaps 780 72. Apocalypse or Revelations of S. John From the above Decree it follows that all these books are of divine and infallible authorit concerning which some doubts were formerly entertained, such as Judith, the Epistle of Jude, &c. a those which have always been venerated by Catholics. Let all therefore who turn the Apocrypha to attend, and dread this curse! "Moreover, the same sacred Synod, considering that no small benefit might accrue to the Church o it were stated clearly which among all the Latin editions of the sacred books now in circulation deemed authentic, she makes the following decree and declaration, that this same old and Vulgate editio has been approved by being used in the same church for so many ages, should be accounted authentic lectures, disputations, sermons and expositions, and that no one should dare or presume to reject it u pretext whatsoever. In order likewise to restrain petulant geniuses, she enjoins that no one depending on prudence in matters of faith and morals, pertaining to the edification of Christian doctrine, twisting th Scripture to their own senses, in opposition to that sense which the holy mother the Church has e and still holds, to whom it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, against the unanimous consent of the Fathers, should dare to interpret the same sacred Scripture, altho interpretations were never to be published. Let those who act contrary to this decree be denounced Bishops, and suffer the legal punishment. Wishing also to set just bounds in this point to printers, w without any reserve as if they supposed that they could do lawfully whatever they pleased, print leave of the Ecclesiastical superiors the sacred books of Scripture and annotations upon them, and expos any one without discrimination, often concealing and frequently feigning the place where they keep their office; and what is worse, not specifying the name of the author; and sell such books printed elsewhere person who may ask for them, she enacts the following decree, that henceforth the sacred Scriptu particularly this same old and Vulgate edition, shall be printed with the utmost exactitude; and that no print, or cause to be printed, any books on sacred topics, without the name of the author; nor sell them in nor keep them, unless they have been first examined and approved by the Bishops.-Let the approbation authentically at the head of the book, and be given gratis, that the things which deserve approbation approved, and the reverse condemned. Lastly, being desirous to repress that temerity by which the wo sentences of sacred Scripture are turned and twisted to profane purposes, to scurrilous, fabulous and vain to flattery, detractions, impious superstitions and diabolical incantations, divinations, lots, even libe commands and orders to take away such irreverence and contempt, that no one, in future, shall dare, manner, to use the words of the sacred Scripture for these or similar purposes, that all such profane viola the word of God shall be repressed by such punishments as the law has specified, or the Bishops shall dey How full of wisdom are these ordinances! how solicitous is the Church that we should have the pure v God; not only the letter but also the spirit and sense, and that we should make use of it for the edification souls! Our dissenting brethren of the church of England have followed the example of the Council of T many particulars, though they unhappily refuse to be guided by her authority, and prefer choosing for them being thus condemned by their own judgment. They blame the Council for declaring the Vulgate aut and not to be rejected, though the originals and all other versions, except the Latin ones then in use, be the least depreciated by this declaration; and at the same time, they sanction various contradictory vers their own, and require the assent and consent of their people to them, as the Calvinists of France de though they acknowledge that more accurate versions might be given. Bingham, ii. 754, says, "we thereby declare it to be the best translation, or absolutely without faults, but only such a one as we can p use and read publicly in the church." What more does the Council of Trent assert, when she declai Vulgate to be authentic? Let misrepresentation cease and union be restored. Let us hear, understand, and the decisions of the Church. |
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