This question was taken from a thread in the non-Catholic forum.
I think it would be easier to address this question, ja4, if you could share your understanding of what is meant by “penance”.
Two parts two Penance from a Catholic perspective::
PENANCE Definition Father Hardens Catholic Dictionary
1.The virtue or disposition of heart by which one repents of one’s own sins and is converted to God. Also the punishment by which one atones for sins committed, either by oneself or by others. /// 2. And finally the sacrament of penance, where confessed sins committed after baptism are absolved by a priest in the name of God. (Etym. Latin paenitentia, repentance, contrition.)
There were several instances in the 16th Century where the traditional Latin vocabulary used by St. Jerome in the Vulgate was challenged based on the grammar and vocabulary in the Greek New Testament. Most of this were minor quibbles of no great import, but some were used by prots to question Catholic teaching and practice.
One of the important challenges were the following:
- The translation of “metanoeo” as "paenitentiam agite"
The Greek verb “
metanoeo" comes from two other Greek words: meta (change) & noos (mind). The most accurate rendering into English of the meaning of this word would be “to repent.” The implication was that at some point in **time someone **would change their mind about a past action and regret having done it. There was no simple Latin equivalent of this Greek term and so the Vulgate used the
phrase "paenitentiam agite"which in Latin means "do penance.” The idea of “penance” in Latin carried the connotation of regret and sorrow for past actions but went further in that it also implied the performing of acts of reparation and mortification. By having Jesus say that his followers had to “do penance and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15) it **implied that they needed to perform acts of mortification (fasting, self-denial, wearing a hair shirt, self flagellation) or reparation (restoring loss goods, compensating victims) , as conditions for the forgiveness of sins. **
The
prots in the 16th Century claimed that the word metanoeo carried no such implication and that all that was needed was a genuine sense of sorrow for sin. Certain radicals – typified today by some Dispensationalists – even stated that sorrow for sin was not needed. They claimed that repentance merely meant that you intellectually changed the way you thought from that moment forwards without any reference to past actions. Those were “covered over” by Christ and hence forgotten by God.
Technically, the prots were right. The words “metaneo” and "paenitentiam agite"are not exact equivalents. But they forgot that the NT uses Greek words in a distinctly Hebraic way and that they must be understood in the context of a Hebrew idiom. The word for
“repent” in OT Hebrew was "nacham" which has the following connotations according to Strong’s Concordance:
Nacham - to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, be comforted
a) (Niphal)
- to be sorry, be moved to pity, have compassion
- to be sorry, rue, suffer grief, repent
- to comfort oneself, be comforted
- to comfort oneself, ease oneself
b) (Piel) to comfort, console
c) (Pual) to be comforted, be consoled
d) (Hithpael)
- to be sorry, have compassion
- to rue, repent of
- to comfort oneself, be comforted
- to ease oneself
As you can see, **the OT concept included sorrow, grief , compassion, and acts to comfort others and be comforted oneself. Repentance was not merely a passive act of regret nor merely a change of mind. As such, St. Jerome’s choice of "do penance"had the wider context of the OT meaning in mind and we need to appreciate that.
**
In later rabbinical theology, the term “teshuvah” (turning) would be used for repentance. It would be defined by the Talmud as a turning towards God and a turning away from one’s sins. It also meant a turning towards one’s sins as something to contemplate and regret: the opposite of moral denial. St. Thomas Aquinas was aware of this rabbinical teaching and in his Summa Theologiae he has the turnings towards God and towards/away from sin as two of the four results of the grace of justification. (The other two were the forgiveness of sin and the infusion of the new life of grace.)
The Rabbis were not heavily into acts of mortification. many of these practices were unique to Christians who wished to imitate their Lord in his suffering for mankind on the cross.
Nevertheless, repentance in “sack cloth and ashes” was a Jewish practice advocated in both Testaments(e.g., Daniel 9:3, Matthew 11:21Matt 11:21 they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. , Luke 10:13).
If one steals from someone, or damages another’s property willfully or neglectfully, is it enough to have true sorrow and resolve not to do it again? Or is something more required such as restitution!
In summary, the issue here was whether Greek grammar or the Biblical idiom should guide the translation. The prots opted for the former while St. Jerome and the Catholic Tradition opted for the latter.
Some Verses in the Douay Rheims not translated in other sources this way.
But unless you shall
do penance, you shall all likewise perish. Luke 13:3
And God indeed having winked at times of this ignorance, now delcareth unto men, that all should everywhere do
penance. Because he hath appointed a day, wherein he will judge the world in equity, by by man whom he hath appointed; giving faith to all, by raising him up from the dead Acts 17:30-31
Therefore will I judge everyman according to his ways, O house of Israel, saith the Lord God. Be converted, and do penance for all your enequities: and iniquity shall not be your ruin, Ezechial 18:30
And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the desert of judea. And saying:
Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Mat 3:12
But I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity. Be mindufl, therefore, from whence thou art fallen: and
do penance and do the first works. Or else I come to thee, and will move thy candelstick out of its place, except thou
do penance Rev 2:4-5
But I have against thee a few things: because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat, and to commit fornication: So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaites. In like manner**, do penance**: if not, I come to thee quickl, and will fight against them with the sword of mouth. Rev 2:14-16
Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain, which are ready to die. For I find not thy works full before my God. Have in mind therefore in what manner thou has received and heard: and observe, and
do penance. Rev 3:2-3
