Penance or repentance?

[Sword_Brethren]

My brother and sister Catholics, why does the Church translate penance instead of repentance in these verses? The King James Bibles has the translation as repent or repentance.

Matthew 3
2 And saying: Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 3
8 Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance.
Mattthew 3
11 I indeed baptize you in the water unto penance, but he that shall come after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire.
Matthew 4
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say: Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 11
20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein were done the most of his miracles, for that they had not done penance.
Matthew 11
21 Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee, Bethsaida: for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes.
Mark 6
12 And going forth they preached that men should do penance:
Luke 3
8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance; and do not begin to say, We have Abraham for our father. For I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
Luke 5
32 I came not to call the just, but sinners to penance.
Luke 10
13 Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee, Bethsaida. For if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the mighty works that have been wrought in you, they would have done penance long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
Luke 13
3 No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish.
Luke 13
5 No, I say to you; but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish.
Luke 15
7 I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance.
Luke 15
10 So I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance.
Luke 16
30 But he said: No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will do penance.
Luke 17
3 Take heed to yourselves. If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him.
Acts Of Apostles 2 :38 But Peter said to them: Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts Of Apostles 8 :22 Do penance therefore for this thy wickedness; and pray to God, that perhaps this thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee.
Acts Of Apostles 17 :30 And God indeed having winked at the times of this ignorance, now declareth unto men, that all should everywhere do penance.
Acts Of Apostles 20:21 Testifying both to Jews and Gentiles penance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts Of Apostles 26:20 But to them first that are at Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and unto all the country of Judea, and to the Gentiles did I preach, that they should do penance, and turn to God, doing works worthy of penance

 

[Sword_Brethren]

Matthew 3
2 And saying: Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The notes in my Bible say that “Paenitentiam agite. Which words according to the use of the scriptures and the holy fathers, does not only signify repentance and amendment of life, but also punishing past sins by fasting and such like penitental exercise.” Is this meaning go for all the other times penance in mentioned in the Bible?

 

[Nita]

If you google “Greek word for penance”, you’ll get some informative sites.
It appears both repentance and penance derive from the same root. The articles go into why Protestantism turned away from use of the term “penance” in favor of just “repentance”. Basically, in their thinking, it would constitute a form of “works” – which they rejected.

 

[Todd_Easton]

This is discussed some in Haydock’s commentary on Matthew 3:2:
Do penance.… We retain the ancient expression, consecrated in a manner by the use of the Church; especially since a true conversion comprehends not only a change of mind, and a new life, but also a sorrow for past offences, accompanied with self-denials, and some severities of a penitential life. — … In this and other places of holy writ, instead of “do penance,” Protestants give “repent ye;” but general use has rendered metanoia, by pœnitentia, or penance; and in this text, not any kind of penance, or grief for sins committed, but that which is joined with a desire of appeasing Him who has been offended by sin; and this also by some external signs and works. For as many as heard this metanoeite, obeyed the voice, received from him the baptism of penance, confessed their sins, and it was said to them: Bring forth fruit worthy of repentance, ver. 8. Therefore, all this was contained in the penance preached by John the baptist. And here we must not omit, that while sectarists preach faith alone, both John the baptist and Jesus Christ begin their ministry with practising and preaching penance. (Tirinus) — Pœnitentiam agite, metanoeite. Which word, according to the use of the Scriptures and the holy fathers, does not only signify repentance and amendment of life, but also punishing past sins by fasting, and such like penitential exercises. (Challoner)
I would offer that the Catholic understanding of penance includes repentance and that Catholics consider Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) as a model of true metanoia, in that his repentance was accompanied by acts of penance, namely, giving half of his goods to the poor and repaying those whom he had defrauded fourfold.

 

[Todd_Easton]

Is this meaning go for all the other times penance in mentioned in the Bible?

Yes, at least in the New Testament. In the New Testament, the same two Greek words, *metanoia *and metanoeo, are consistently translated in the Douay-Rheims as penance and *do penance, *where the King James has repentance and repent.