The Sixto-Clementine Vulgate, prepared by Pope Clement VIII, was first published in 1592. This edition of the Bible was the official Latin Bible of the Roman Catholic Church until it was replaced by the Nova Vulgata in 1979. Critics of the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate castigated the text for its departure from the original Greek and Hebrew. The Nova Vulgata, they claimed, remedied these failures. In many ways the critics were right. God, however, still made use of “bad” translations.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of two trees: a good tree and a bad tree. The good tree bears good fruit; the bad tree bears bad fruit. Simple. Simple, that is, until you compare the two versions of the Vulgate. In the Nova Vulgata, the text reads:
Non est enim arbor bona faciens fructum malum, neque iterum arbor mala faciens fructum bonum.
A literal translation reads: for a good tree is not making bad fruit, nor again a bad tree making good fruit. The Sixto-Clementine Vulgate, however, varies the text slightly:
Non est enim arbor bona quae facit fructus malos neque arbor mala faciens fructum bonum.
Again, a literal translation reads: for it is not a good tree that makes bad fruits, nor a bad tree making good fruit. The difference between the two texts lies in their treatment of the bad fruit(s). The Nova Vulgata only has bad fruit; the the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate has bad fruits. A minor difference – but not a trivial difference. What do I mean?
While the Nova Vulgata more closely aligns to the original Greek, both texts offer spiritual insight. On the one hand, following the Nova Vulgata, there are only two types of fruit that you can bear in your soul – a good fruit, leading to heaven, and a bad fruit, leading to hell. On the other hand, following the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate, evil comes in many forms and from many sources. Indeed, Jesus himself says “the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction” (Matthew 7:13). Only one, however, is good. Jesus – very God of very God – is the One good fruit. He is the fruit that we must bear in our souls. He is the fruit that nourishes us on our way. And He is the harvest that will bring us true joy.
But the contrast between the multiplicity of evil and the unity of good runs deeper still. The multiplicity of evil is a fact of life. We are surrounded by evil trees bearing evil fruits, reaching out to us with evil branches. Amidst these trees there stands a dead tree – a cross. Upon that cross, there is a single fruit, whose sweetness at times seems bitter. This is the single good fruit. This is our One Lord. Thus, we see God’s providence working – even in the midst of “bad” translations.
Ian Mahood – St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta
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