January 21, 2011

Language shifts

For something as set in its ways as the Catholic Church, the Mass I went to today was different in language from the ones I used to go to every Sunday until I was about 18.

I grant you that when I first learned the Mass as an altar boy it was in Latin, and the shift to English was still down the road a piece. But when it did go to English my memory is it pretty much stuck to the King James version of the Bible when readings were needed. Today we heard the 23rd Psalm. As written in the KJV it reads as follows:

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

Now, whether you're a believer or not, the language has a beauty to the ear, doesn't it?

Here's the New International version I heard today:

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

I don't know how that reads to you, but it seems almost conversational to me. It jarred.

Posted by Linkmeister at January 21, 2011 02:46 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I prefer the KJV....it's more poetic and it flows better.

Posted by: Karan at January 21, 2011 05:36 PM

Ummmm, the KJV is the bible of the hellbound apostate schismatics, also known as the Protestants. I've only been cognizant of the language being used in Catholic masses since 1972 or so, but I know it's been different from the stuff in the KJV - and has changed several times since then.

The version I remember from serving hundreds of morning masses from 1973 - 1980, where the priest did the same readings every mass, apparently came from the New American Bible, based on a few seconds of Internet research:


The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.

Posted by: Harold at January 21, 2011 06:44 PM

It's entirely possible it was from the New American. It was just off.

Posted by: Linkmeister at January 21, 2011 07:52 PM

Give me the KJV any day.

Posted by: You Don't Say at January 22, 2011 06:53 AM

Clarification: Like Linky, I came from Roman Catholic traditions too but I always preferred the KJV of Psalms 23...once I was sure I wasn't going to go to hell for using a Prod version, I used it regularly. Just to balance things out, I prefer the RC version of the Lord's Prayer. Not that any of this is going to save me from damnation.

Posted by: Karan at January 22, 2011 07:59 AM

OH, fun fact: in the movie X-Men 2, the mutant Nightcrawler quotes from the KJV, even though he is one of only three comic book characters that I know to be written specifically as being Catholic. (The others, oddly enough, are Marvel's Daredevil and DC's Blue Devil. And Nightcrawler looks like a devil, too, and is actually established in one timeline to be fated to become a devil. Hmmm...)

Posted by: Harold at January 24, 2011 03:46 PM