The Book of
Psalms
Translated out of the Latin Vulgate
at the English College of Douay, 1609
revised by Bishop Richard Challoner, 1749–1752
What this is
A hundred and fifty songs, prayers and laments gathered over several centuries and sung in the Temple, and the prayer book of the Church ever since: the Rule of St Benedict has its monks recite all of them every week. Tradition gives most to David; their own headings also name Asaph, the sons of Core, Moses and Solomon.
Challoner’s preface
The psalms are called by the Hebrews TEHILLIM, that is, Hymns of Praise. The author, of a great part of them at least, was king David: but many are of opinion that some of them were made by Asaph, and others whose names are prefixed in the titles.
Two ways of numbering
This edition counts the psalms as the Latin Vulgate does, following the Greek Septuagint. Most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. The two agree on Psalms 1–8 and 148–150; for most of the rest the Hebrew number is one higher, so the psalm most readers know as the 23rd, “The Lord ruleth me”, is the 22nd here. Every psalm that differs says so at its head.
The translation
The Douay-Rheims: the Catholic English Bible, translated out of the Latin Vulgate — the New Testament at Rheims in 1582, the Old at Douay in 1609–10 — and revised by Bishop Richard Challoner between 1749 and 1752. The fuller history is on the title page of St Luke.