The Latin:
Beáti páuperes spíritu : quóniam ipsórum est regnum cælórum.
Beáti mites : quóniam ipsi possidébunt terram.
Beáti qui lugent : quóniam ipsi consolabúntur.
Beáti qui esúriunt et sítiunt justítiam: quóniam ipsi saturabúntur.
Beáti misericórdes : quóniam ipsi misericórdiam consequéntur.
Beáti mundo corde : quóniam ipsi Deum vidébunt.
Beáti pacífici : quóniam fílii Dei vocabúntur.
Beáti qui persecutiónem patiúntur propter justítiam : quóniam ipsórum est regnum cælórum.
Beáti estis cum maledíxerint vobis, et persecúti vos fúerint, et díxerint omne malum advérsum vos mentiéntes, propter me: gaudéte, et exsultáte, quóniam merces vestra copiósa est in cælis. |
The English:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. |
The Greek:
μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται.
μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσι τὴν γῆν.
μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται.
μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται.
μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὄψονται.
μακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ Θεοῦ κληθήσονται.
μακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
μακάριοί ἐστε ὅταν ὀνειδίσωσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ διώξωσι καὶ εἴπωσι πᾶν πονηρὸν ῥῆμα καθ᾿ ὑμῶν ψευδόμενοι ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ.
χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὅτι ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· |
The standard for Christian living.
i) Ipsorum is literally ‘of them’; no apostrophes in Latin and Greek for possession.
ii) Consolabuntur and vocabuntur are third person, plural verbs in the passive voice.
iii) Misericordiam consequentur is part of a passive sentence where the D-R English version places an active sentence.
New Advent has the commentary on the Sermon on the Mount by St. Augustine here.
Martyrs and saints dot org has a homily by St. John Chrysostom on the Sermon here. iv v |
The Latin:
Audite, populi omnes,
et attendat terra, et plenitudo ejus:
et sit Dominus Deus vobis in testem,
Dominus de templo sancto suo.
Quia ecce Dominus egredietur de loco suo,
et descendet, et calcabit super excelsa terræ.
Et consumentur montes subtus eum,
et valles scindentur sicut cera a facie ignis,
et sicut aquæ quæ decurrunt in præceps. |
The English (D-R):
Hear, all ye people:
and let the earth give ear, and all that is therein:
and let the Lord God be a witness to you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
For behold the Lord will come forth out of his place:
and he will come down, and will tread upon the high places of the earth.
And the mountains shall be melted under him:
and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire,
and as waters that run down a steep place. |
Commentary to come. The Douay is not a word-for-word translation of the Vulgate, of course. Line 2 compares et plenitudo eius with all that is therein. Sometime soon, I’ll adapt another English version, the one that is in the Missals, I think. Sit Dominus vobis is literally may the Lord be to you. Here’s a bit of vocabulary: cera is wax.
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The Latin:
Illis autem abeuntibus, coepit Iesus dicere ad turbas de Iohanne: Quid existis in desertum videre? Harundinem vento agitatam? Sed quid existis videre? Hominem mollibus vestitum? Ecce qui mollibus vestiuntur in domibus regum sunt. Sed quid existis videre? Prophetam? Etiam dico vobis et plus quam prophetam. Hic enim est de quo scriptum est: Ecce ego mitto angelum meum ante faciem tuam, qui praeparabit viam tuam ante te. |
The English:
And when they went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: What went you out into the desert to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? Behold they that are clothed in soft garments, are in the houses of kings. But what went you out to see? A prophet? Yea I tell you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written: Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. |
The Greek:
τουτων δε πορευομενων, ηρξατο ο ιησους λεγειν τοις οχλοις περι ιωαννου: τι εξηλθετε εις την ερημον θεασασθαι; καλαμον υπο ανεμου σαλευομενον; αλλα τι εξηλθετε ιδειν; ανθρωπον εν μαλακοις ιματιοις ημφιεσμενον; ιδου οι τα μαλακα φορουντες εν τοις οικοις των βασιλειων εισιν. αλλα τι εξηλθετε ιδειν; προφητην; ναι λεγω υμιν και περισσοτερον προφητου. ουτος γαρ εστιν περι ου γεγραπται: ιδου εγω αποστελλω τον αγγελον μου προ προσωπου σου, ος κατασκευασει την οδον σου εμπροσθεν σου. |
Here, Jesus contrasts the new manifestation of Elias against the comforts of the rich and affirms the mission of John the Baptist. ‘They’ refers to the disciples of John who had arrived to confirm that Jesus was the Christ. John could not believe what the Christ really was. Abeuntibus is Latin’s way of replacing the secondary clause in the D-R translation, it means ‘they going’. Greek uses a similar construction. The Latin and English is from DRBO dot org and the greek is from the Unbound Bible. |
The Latin:
Sed tunc quidem ignorantes Deum, iis, qui natura non sunt dii, serviebatis. Nunc autem cum cognoveritis Deum, immo cogniti sitis a Deo: quomodo convertimini iterum ad infirma et egena elementa, quibus denuo servire vultis? Dies observatis, et menses, et tempora, et annos. |
The English:
But then indeed, not knowing God, you served them, who, by nature, are not gods. But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known by God: how turn you again to the weak and needy elements, which you desire to serve again? You observe days, and months, and times, and years. |
The Greek:
αλλα τοτε μεν ουκ ειδοτες θεον εδουλευσατε τοις μη φυσει ουσιν θεοις. νυν δε γνοντες θεον μαλλον δε γνωσθεντες υπο θεου πως επιστρεφετε παλιν επι τα ασθενη και πτωχα στοιχεια οις παλιν ανωθεν δουλευειν θελετε; ημερας παρατηρεισθε και μηνας και καιρους και ενιαυτους. |
NJBC 47:26 (1968): The pagans were enslaved to idols, as the Jews were to the Law. Being ‘known by God’ is the complement of the Corinthians knowledge of God, an OT idea (Jer 1:5, Ps 139). The days, months and years would be material practices Paul doesn’t think need be observed by a Christian. End NJBC. This does not refer to sin; we’ll get back there shortly. |
The Latin:
Hoc enim dico, paenitentiam, quae per Dei gratiam ostensa et indicta nobis in gratiam nos domino revocat, semel cognitam atque susceptam numquam posthac iteratione delicti resignari oportere. Iam quidem nullum ignorantiae praetextum patrocinatur tibi, quod domino adgnito praeceptisque eius admissis, denique paenitentia delictorum functus, rursus te in delicta restituis. |
The English:
For what I say is this, that the repentance which, being shown us and commanded us through God’s grace, recalls us to grace with the Lord, when once learned and undertaken by us ought never afterward to be cancelled by repetition of sin. No pretext of ignorance now remains to plead on your behalf; in that, after acknowledging the Lord, and accepting His precepts–in short, after engaging in repentance of (past) sins–you again betake you self to sins. |
| A little ambitious for me. This is an extract from Tertullian’s de Paenitentia. This seems to follow the sentiment St. Paul on repentance and doesn’t condemn post-baptismal sin. The next post brings St. Paul’s thought in. The sources are Tertullian dot org for the Latin and Early Christian Writings dot com for the English. |
The Latin:
In die illa,
erit germen Domini in magnificentia et gloria,
et fructus terræ sublimis,
et exsultatio his qui salvati fuerint de Israël.
Et erit : omnis qui relictus fuerit in Sion,
et residuus in Jerusalem,
Sanctus vocabitur,
omnis qui scriptus est in vita in Jerusalem. |
The English:
In that day,
the bud of the Lord shall be in magnificence and glory,
and the fruit of the earth shall be high,
and a great joy to them that shall have escaped of Israel.
And it shall come to pass, that every one that shall be left in Sion,
and that shall remain in Jerusalem,
shall be called holy,
every one that is written in life in Jerusalem. |
| This is very eschatological. NJBC 15:13 (1968): “Those who remain are not simply survivors but have been designated holy, as is the Lord himself. The very trials Jerusalem has undergone effect God’s purifying action.” More comments to come. In the meantime, we can discover the Isaias article of the Catholic Encyclopaedia. |
