NAB Psalm 21 only has 14 verses

[ADouglass]

I just found out that the Douay-Rehims bible contains more text in Psalm 21 than the New American Bible. The NAB only has 14 verses, while the DRB has 32. But what I’m interested in is the fact that the NAB leaves out the part where in the DRB it says “they have dug my hands and feet.” Verse 17 which has the bit about the hands and feet is used as evidence that the King will be crucified, namely Jesus. I’m not sure Psalm 21 pertains to Jesus. I know that the DRB was a translation of the Latin Vulgate whereas the NAB only uses the oldest possible sources, namely the Greek Old Testament and the Hebrew. I can’t read greek or hebrew, which is why I started this thread.

 

[RebeccaJ]

It is Psalm 22 in the NAB:

17 Many dogs surround me; a pack of evildoers closes in on me. So wasted are my hands and feet

FYI, from the intro to Psalms in the NAB:

“The Hebrew Psalter numbers 150 songs. The corresponding number in the LXX differs because of a different division of certain psalms. Hence the numbering in the Greek Psalter (which was followed by the Latin Vulgate) is usually one digit behind the Hebrew. In the New American Bible the numbering of the verses follows the Hebrew numbering; many of the traditional English translations are often a verse number behind the Hebrew because they do not count the superscriptions as a verse.”

 

[MarkThompson]

In the NAB, it is numbered as Psalm 22. You’ll find that it contains all the same verses as Psalm 21 in the Douay-Rheims. For an explanation of why the difference in numbering exists, see here. In short, the Douay-Rheims’ numbering, which does indeed come to it from the Vulgate, derives from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), while the NAB and, I think, the majority of other modern Bibles follow the Hebrew Masoretic numbering.

 

[ADouglass]

Wow, all I had to do was read Psalm 22. This is funny. And thanks for the help!

 

[MarkThompson]

Wow, all I had to do was read Psalm 22. This is funny. And thanks for the help!

No problem. The numbering issue screws people up all the time. I always forget whether I have to add 1, subtract 1, which ones are the same in both, etc.

 

[puzzleannie]

on this topic, specifically related to translations of the psalms but also relevant elsewhere, do any of you experts know of a treatise or comparison of words tranlated in the DR (or KJV or other earlier English translations) that differ from modern translations solely on the basis of the changed meaning of the English word from 16th-18th c English to Today’s English? this of course was one arguement for producing the TEV or GNT type translations but what about more literal renderings under modern auspices like the RSV, NAB? I am interested as much from the POV of development of the English language as from arguments about modes of translation.