Psalm 23 (D-R) Poem by Justin Reamer

This psalm comes from the Douay-Rheims Version, the oldest Catholic Bible that was published in English. It was published in 1582. The Great Bible and the Geneva Bible were published before this as a part of the Reformation in which Protestantism was growing. The Douay-Rheims Version (abbreviated D-R or DV) was published by the English College at Douai in France. It was significant to the Catholic 'Counter-Reformation' which allowed Roman Catholics to read the Bible in their own language. Unlike the King James Version and the Geneva Bible, the Douay-Rheims Version was translated from the Latin Vulgate, the manuscript of the Scriptures that had been used for centuries ever since St. Jerome consolidated it. The Douay-Rheims uses many Latin names for the characters in the Bible. Jesus still keeps His name, but Isaiah, for example, is called 'Isaias, ' Jeremiah 'Jeremias, ' and Hosea 'Osee.' It also calls the Books of Chronicles 'Parapilomenon, ' and consolidates the Books of Ezra into '1 Esdras' and '2 Esdras' along with the books of Samuel and Kings as '1-4 Kings.' It is very interesting, but it did make a dramatic change in how the Catholic Church did things. For one, Catholics were reading the Bible in their own language, so they became more literate in Scriptures. This was one part of the Counter-Reformation and the First Vatican Council. The Douay-Rheims Version is excellent, and I hope you enjoyed this Psalm.