![]() ![]() If we don’t know what the Scripture means, this affords us an opportunity for reflection and real education. When we can worship in the words of Scripture the congruence of our faith with God’s plan of salvation in history is better expressed. If for no other reason than that, the new translation should be welcomed. The title is used literally hundreds of times in the Bible, mostly in the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. The consensus seems to be that it refers to the heavenly hosts of angels. There is much discussion about the meaning of the phrase and it is noteworthy that this title of God is not used in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. The word “Sabaoth” is the plural form of the word for army. First, the translation points us back to the biblical source of the words of our prayer. I think that “Lord God of hosts” is an improvement for three reasons. ![]() It is interesting to note that in the original and official Latin the phrase “of hosts” was transliterated from the Hebrew and not translated, and so is rendered “Dominus Deus Sabaoth.” Specifically, one of the chief prophetic titles of God in the Old Testament, “Lord God Sabaoth” was translated as “Lord God of power and might.” Now the English translation of the liturgy will say, “Lord God of hosts,” which is a literal translation of the Hebrew. The rendering of the Sanctus that will change had an interpretive translation of the Hebrew that Isaiah heard chanted in his epiphany in the Temple of Jerusalem. We have already seen this in the new translation of the words of consecration. This means in the great majority of cases a more literal congruence to the words in Sacred Scripture. The aim of the new translation has been to render the original Latin more literally. ![]() It is to be hoped, however, that the new translation of the Mass in English will help believers to learn more about the Bible and to ponder its words and its mysteries. This is something about which many Catholics are not so sensitive, unfortunately, and this can only be blamed on ignorance of the Scriptures. As someone with prejudices against the Catholic faith, visiting our churches for Mass almost in a clandestine manner, he became enamored of our liturgy because he appreciated its deeply biblical resonance. Hahn, an ex-Presbyterian minister has attributed his conversion to his discovery of the biblical nature of our liturgy. The Mass is an intensely biblical prayer, as Scott Hahn has taught us by example and writings. This latter contains a citation of Psalm 118:25-26: “Hosanna … Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” 6:3) and the second contains the greeting of the crowds when Jesus entered Jerusalem before his passion (Matt. One of the oldest prayers of the Mass is the “Sanctus,” or, as most American Catholics say, the “Holy Holy Holy.” It is composed of two parts, the first of which is based on the hymn Isaiah heard the angels singing when he had a vision God in the Temple (Isa. ![]()
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