Full text of the CDW "Yahweh" directive ("Letter to the Bishops' Conferences on "The Name of God")
Of course, the story has been all over the blogosphere for some time now (most citing this CNS news story that has interesting statements from the big publishers OCP and GIA), but you may be interested to read the source document in this regard (when dealing with the Vatican, always, ALWAYS find the actual document in question rather than rely on news reports).
As far as I can tell, this document is not on the Vatican website for you to "cut and paste", so, in the service of the cause, I have transcribed the entire document on my liturgical music blog, "Sing Lustily". See here.
posted by Schütz @ 9:55 am
4 Comments
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4 Comments:
How embarrassing for the Vatican - this Instruction directly contradicts what is found in the modern Divine Office, in its Latin editio typica altera, in the Canticle from Exodus 15, used at Lauds (Morning Prayer) on Saturday in the 1st week of the Psalter:
... (v.3) Dominus quasi vir pugnator; *
Iahveh nomen eius! ...
Exclamation mark indeed!
Really?! I find this hard to credit. I will check it out (my copy of the Latin office is in my office at work - I will have to wait for Monday)!
David, I am shocked, shocked, to find that you leave your Office book at work - does it say itself? Perhaps you could get your interfaith friends to wire it up to an electric Tibetan prayer wheel... ;-)
Now, as to doubting my word!!!
I have checked all my copies of the modern Latin Office (4 volumes, one published in 1986, two in 1987, and one in 2000 - all being of the current editio typica altera), and they all say "Iahveh" in Ex 15:3b; and here the mystery deepens, because these volumes are supposed to all follow the Nova Vulgata, but, having gone to the Vatican website, I find:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/bible/nova_vulgata/documents/nova-vulgata_vt_exodus_lt.html#15
... (v.3) Dominus quasi vir pugnator; *
Dominus nomen eius! ...
- so I am mystified as to why the Office diverges from the Neo-Vulgate here.
The same use of the unspeakable Tetragrammaton occurs, in the modern Latin original of the Office, on Monday in the second week of Lent, in the first responsory at Office of Readings, quoting Ex 15:3 exactly, but again with "Iahveh".
Skulduggery in the Vatican? A conspiracy between the Ecole Biblique, Cardinal Martini and the Vatican Polyglot Press? Move over, Dan Brown!
Oh, and for the record, the Vulgate said:
"Dominus quasi vir pugnator,
Omnipotens nomen ejus."
Finally, it appears I have a solution for this conundrum: the Neo-Vulgate was first published in 1979, but a new edition was promulgated in 1986.
Now, the modern Liturgia Horarum (Divine Office) was issued in 1971, and a new edition, utilizing the *first edition* of the Nova Vulgata, was issued in 1985, just before the N.V. was itself slightly revised... and it turns out that the offending "Iahveh" in Ex 15:3 was changed to "Dominus" in the 1986 N.V., just too late for it to slip into the L.H., which now presents some embarrassment.
Well, there you go. Thanks for all that. Seems that the Holy See has actually been chasing its own tail in this business!
And by the way, I have numerous office books -- even in the glove box of my car -- so that I am able to say the office wherever I find myself. But my only latin edition is in my office at work.
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