A new edition of the Knox Bible — A fitting celebration of the 125th Birthday of Ronald Knox
London, UK, February 08, 2013
In celebration of the 125th anniversary of the birthday of Ronald Knox on the 17th February 2013, Baronius Press announced today that the text of the Knox Bible translation will be published on Newadvent.org— one of the largest Catholic websites in the English speaking world.
Baronius Press’ editor in chief Dr. John Newton said: “Since this edition came back into print — after an absence from our shelves of many decades — it has again been lauded as one of the finest 20th century Bible translation by Cardinals, Bishops and biblical experts alike. The clarity and beauty of this translation will help Catholics to deepen their faith and knowledge of scripture, especially during this year of Faith.”
Kevin Knight of New Advent said he was delighted to be able to offer the Knox Bible to his readers. He commented: “We are happy to be able to offer the Knox Bible translation freely to our readers. This is one of the most elegant and readable translations that I have come across and we will be promoting it widely on our website”.
The Knox Bible translation was described as “a masterful translation of the Bible” by Time Magazine and was the first vernacular version to be approved for liturgical use in the 20th century. It has featured on EWTN, received praise from Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Dr. Rowan Williams and Dr. Scott Hahn among others. It has also received many positive reviews from Catholic Biblical scholars and writers.
ABOUT THE KNOX BIBLE
Monsignor Ronald Knox was commissioned in 1939 by the Bishops of England and Wales to produce a fresh translation of the Holy Scripture and, for the next nine years, he worked alone to achieve this task. He used Pope Clement VIII’s edition of the Latin Vulgate as a base for his translation, diligently comparing it to Greek, Hebrew, Syriac and Chaldean manuscripts to determine the meaning of ambiguous passages.
He aimed at a Bible that was understandable to modern audiences and yet rooted in Catholic tradition and “written in timeless English”. He wanted a Bible that did not merely translate the original but made it read as if an Englishman had written it.
Knox’s Bible received great acclaim when it was first published. Even the Archbishop of Canterbury of the time recommended it, and it became the preferred translation of Fulton Sheen. The Bishops were so pleased with the completed version that it was authorized for liturgical use, and the Knox translation of the Bible was used as the official version in the churches of Great Britain, Ireland and Australia for the decade leading up to Vatican II – and the first version sanctioned for liturgical use in England and Wales.
Available from Baronius Press (www.baroniuspress.com) in a hardback leather edition with gold gilded edges, two ribbons and a complimentary copy of “On Englishing the Bible” in which Msgr. Knox describes himself how he tackled this mammoth project.
ABOUT BARONIUS PRESS
Baronius Press is a Catholic book publisher based in London, England. It was originally founded in 2002 and takes its name from the Venerable Cardinal Caesar Baronius, a Neapolitan ecclesiastical historian from the late 1500's. Its logo is a biretta, which together with a cassock forms the traditional image of a Catholic priest.
Baronius Press as a Roman Catholic company, is completely loyal to the Pope and Magisterium, and is committed to producing good solid Catholic books and resources that reaffirm the faith and the tradition of the Church. Whilst the main office is based in London, thanks to electronic communications, Baronius Press works with individuals and organisations in America, Australia and Europe to produce their titles.
The main objective of Baronius Press is to raise the quality of traditional Catholic books in order to make them more appealing to a wider audience. In an age of mass production and cost cutting overriding aesthetic beauty, Baronius Press is re-typesetting (rather than producing facsimiles) classic Catholic books, to obtain clear text which is easy to read. These are then published in high quality bindings that are beautiful and durable. The time and effort that is invested into each title is enormous, but this is a small gesture of love for the treasures of the Holy Mother Church whose literary treasures Baronius is publishing.
The first title Baronius Press published was the Douay-Rheims Bible – the first re-typeset edition for several decades. Since then, this title is available in three different sizes and three colours and also as a pocket size Psalms & New Testament only.
The company has made history by updating and republishing a number of titles that previously were out of print for many decades. In 2004 the company was the first to publish the 1962 Daily Missal with an Imprimatur since the mid 1960s and in subsequent years continued to expand the range with a series of Christian Classics in both paperback and leather bound editions. These included the only edition of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin to include the Gregorian Chant and the republication of the Carmelite classic Divine Intimacy. In 2012 after five years of preparation, Baronius Press released the first 1963 Roman Breviary in nearly fifty years. Currently, the company has over 50 titles in print.
