Them's fightin' words at Christmas.... Douay vs KJV

Fully realizing that I am throwing the proverbial stone in the hornet's nest (which does have an element of fun to it), I offer this different understanding of Christmas based on 4 verses the Kings James Version (KJV) gets wrong and the Douay Rheims Bible (DRB) gets right.

These differing translations fundamentally change our perception of Grace, Intercession and other doctrines related to Christmas- including Mary's role.

Responses are welcome to j.benko@the4persons.com

Genesis 3:15

The first overtly Messianic prophecy in Scripture. This fact is generally accepted by almost all christian denominations. The three prophetic figures (seen later in Revelation Chapter 12) are:

The Devil
The Woman
The Offspring (of the Woman and the Devil)

Let's compare the two renderings and see why King James got it wrong.

KJV

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

DRB

15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

This is the classic conflict between dynamic translation and literal translation. It is very ironic because the KJV purports itself to be a literal translation but clearly imposes it's previously defined belief on the text. In effect, the authors of the KJV change the Word of God to fit their agenda and there is really no escaping it.

Let me explain.

The King James Version is not an original translation. In fact, the wording is very much the same as the earlier DRB. Each draw- at least partially- from the Latin Vulgate. In fact, the first KJV kept all the Deuterocanonical books protestants mistakenly refer to as "Apocrypha".

The word in the Latin Vulgate is Ipsa which is She. Since we are only about 350 years from the ascension of Christ and Jerome was an expert in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, the chance that he mistranslated the best manuscripts (which we obviously don't now have) is next to zero.

Let's look at it another way.

Sentence structure matters and the assignment of a pronoun in a sentence is pretty clear.

Susan is going to the party, Bob cannot make it. _____ will arrive about 5.

The Uber driver is named Joe, _____ will pick up Susan at ______ apartment and bring _____ to the party before picking up _____ next customer.

Any person with an elementary school education can figure out which pronouns should be assigned here.

Susan is going to the party, Bob cannot make it. She will arrive about 5.

The Uber driver is named Joe, he will pick up Susan at her apartment and bring her to the party before picking up his next customer.

Now. Here is the facts. The first English Bible, the DRB translates it as She and Her. The KJV changed it to Him and His.

A simple look at that passage shows that this does violence to the English language.

Let's start with what we all agree with.

It's a Messianic prophecy. It's called the Protoevangelium.
God is addressing the serpent/devil as you
God is referring to Mary as 'The Woman'
God is referring to Jesus (though we would not agree only Jesus) as 'The Offspring or Seed' of the Woman.

In looking at the sentence, it is as plain as day. God declares TWO enmities.

between THE WOMAN and THE SERPENT (YOU)
between THE OFFSPRING OF THE WOMAN and THE OFFSPRING OF THE SERPENT (Jesus vs Antichrist)

Read for yourself.

15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: _____ shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for _____ heel.

If you filled in the blanks with anything other than SHE and HER, you did not deconstruct the sentence correctly.

There simply isn't a case for translating this passage as HE and HIS unless you simply don't want to believe...can't believe...that it is Mary that is being identified as the Satan enemy and head crusher. This is eisegesis, not exegesis. You are imposing your ideology on the passage.

In case you needed proof, fast forward all the way to Revelation Chapter 12 where we see all three persons again. The Devil, the Son of God and His Mom. Now take a look at verse 17.

1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: 2 And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. 3 And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his head seven diadems: 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son.

5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, that there they should feed her a thousand two hundred sixty days.

7 And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels: 8 And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of the testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death.

12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you that dwell therein. Woe to the earth, and to the sea, because the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time. 13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman, who brought forth the man child: 14 And there were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the desert unto her place, where she is nourished for a time and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman, water as it were a river; that he might cause her to be carried away by the river. 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the river, which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

17 And the dragon was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

So damning are these verses to the heresy of people like this anti-catholic author that they refuse to even engage the passage.

She attempted to opt out with the lame excuse that some people think the woman is Israel. You just read the passage, obviously you know better. In her overtly heretical and poorly-written book: 'The Real Mary' [sic], she attacks the idea of Marian apparitions, at least in part, because certain Marian Icons such as the Miraculous Medal depict Mary, not Jesus, crushing the Serpent's head.

Though making a case that the Mother of God (Rev. 12 clearly shows Her as such) actually appeared to Catherine Laboure in 1830, and instructed her to have this medal cast, is not one I'll make here and now, the Biblical truth the image projects is pretty much irrefutable.

I can hear the howls now!

Well let me give you two more facts to consider.

The first consideration is what occurs immediately after the miraculous sign of the Mother of God in heaven.

You get this? Immediately after heaven saw the sign of the Woman and Her child, war broke out!

This is not a coincidence. You are being shown something here. The vision of the Woman Clothed with the Sun doesn't just precede the rebellion of Satan, It is the cause of it! It is the very idea of the most glorious angel subject to a mortal that caused Lucifer to cry out in rage 'Non Servium!'

Yet, that is exactly what the Bible says!

1 Corinthians

Chapter 6 1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to be judged before the unjust, and not before the saints ? 2 Know you not that the saints shall judge this world ? And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters ? 3 Know you not that we shall judge angels ? how much more things of this world ?

The second consideration just expounds on the first. For if it is an outrage to you that Mary- the highest of all Saints- will crush the head of the serpent, what do you have to say about the fact that this is true in a broader sense, of ALL of the Saints?

Romans 16: 20 And the God of peace crush Satan under your feet speedily. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

The King James Bible plainly errors in it's mistranslation of Genesis 3:15 to disastrous effect.

However, that's not the only place it misses.

Take a look at Psalm 131:8 (132:8 in the KJV)

KJV

8 Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.

DRB

Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified.

Wait? What? What Ark does Jesus sanctify and take into heaven?

We go again to the Book of Revelation. This time to end of Chapter 11.

19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Wow! So Jesus took the Ark of the Covenant into heaven? No wonder Indiana Jones couldn't find it!

No. Not that Ark. That Ark was a symbol. That Ark was a foreshadowing. What is the very next verse?

That's right.... Revelation 12:1.

Jesus took This Ark into heaven.

So, why is all this so important. Psalm 131 is foreshadowing the Assumption of Mary into heaven and Revelation 11 and 12 are showing it fulfilled! Genesis 3 is showing Mary as the one who is the perpetual enemy with the devil and Revelation shows it fulfilled.

What does this have to do with Christmas?

Much.

Let's look at something with respect to the Old Ark.

1 Chronicles 13: 9 And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled.10 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God.11 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza[c] to this day.12 And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?”13 So David did not take the ark home into the city of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.14 And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

Uzzah (which literally means HER strength) was struck dead for merely touching the Ark that held those things that symbolized Jesus- The staff, the Manna, the tablets of the law (Word of God).

Mary carried the actual Jesus so it was unthinkable that she would be touched by a man and even less possible that Satan could touch her.

Let's prove again how faulty Bible versions give faulty theology.

KJV

Luke 1: 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

Two things were certain. Mary knew what favor was and Mary knew how babies were made. So, how in the world would Mary be deeply troubled by the first statement and open question the second unless Jolly Old King James (who was widely known to be somewhat less than masculine) had approved the improper renderings of these verses?

Let's take a look.

DRB

28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. 31 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. 33 And of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?

Let's tackle the first part. The Angel is not merely saying "Hey, Mary... How are you doing?"

No.

The Greek words are Chaire, Kecharitomene

and it's profound.

Chaire means Hail! Not as in a Hail storm or Hailing a cab. No. It is a salutation of royalty. The only other person addressed by the word Chaire, in all the New testament is Jesus. "Hail, Rabbi" and "Hail, King of the Jews" Gabriel- the Angel of God- is addressing Mary, in so many words, as Your Majesty! He is recognizing Her as the Queen Mother (1 Kings 2) and Queen of Heaven (Revelation 12). It is as inescapable as it is undeniable. The Mother of the King is the Queen Mother. That is how it worked in the Davidic Kingdom. Gabriel is clear (v32) that Jesus is the Davidic King.

The translation of Kecharitomene as favor is just laughable. Though many versions follow this (even sadly, some "catholic" versions), the KJV was the first and that dog just don't hunt. Kecharitomene is yet another word that also is only used elsewhere to refer to Jesus. In John 1:14, Jesus is called "Full of Grace and truth"

Wait? are you saying that the KJV translates Kecharitomene as "full of Grace" in one instance and "highly favored" in another? Yep. Another example of anti-catholic hackery being deliberately imposed on the text.

Literally, changing the Word of God not to put too fine a point on it.

Kecharitomene literally means "endured from the start with perfected grace". This verse proves the Immaculate Conception of Mary. What's more? It proves that Grace is substantive, sanctifying and synergystic. These verses, like Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 12:17 show that Sanctifying Grace preserved Mary from even touching her with sin. How could it be otherwise? God chose His own Mother. God chose the person who would bring Him to us Incarnate. You think- for one second- Jesus would let Satan get his filthy mits on her? You need to check that mush at the door.

Now look at the end of the passage. The KJV says "How can this be since I know not a man?" Singular. The DRB says "How can this be since I know not man?" Collective. This very important distinction is clear. It wasn't simply that Mary hadn't had relations with Joseph (yet), it was that She had no relationship with men at all! She was a dedicated temple virgin. She was NEVER going to have sex with any man. How else could she ask "How could this be?". As I said before, Mary knew how babies were made.

For those who say this makes Mary a bad wife and don't accept the idea of a consecrated virgin, consider that Paul and Jesus were both consecrated. So, having sex is certainly not the requirement protestants assert. Virginity or Celibacy is yet another sacrifice by which we can choose to be closer to God.

Protestants want to...well....protest these truths to perpetuate a lie. That lie is that Salvation is simply "the finished work of Jesus" that is painted on us like so much primer. Catholics know better. It is our will to cooperate with God's Calvary-earned Grace that saves us.

Nowhere is that more clear than in the Christmas story and the KJV muffs it bad.

KJV

Luke 2: 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

DRB

11 For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. [R][+]12 And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. [R][+]13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: [R][+]14 Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.

The KJV makes it sound like God showers peace and good will indiscriminately on the people of earth.

Not so! If the Bible (and so many spiritual books I have read) are clear about anything, they are clear about this.

The soul of bad will, the soul that cannot/will not abandon it's sin and vice and seek after God can never find peace. That peace can not be gained by human effort and it is not given without condition.

In fact, the Peace of God can seem downright absurd at times because a man of God can be at utter peace even as his life is in chaos.

Philippians Chapter 4 1 Therefore, my dearly beloved brethren, and most desired, my joy and my crown; so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. 2 I beg of Evodia, and I beseech Syntyche, to be of one mind in the Lord. 3 And I entreat thee also, my sincere companion, help those women who have laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement and the rest of my fellow labourers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice. 5 Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh. 6 Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Nowhere does God promise to eliminate the darkness. He doesn't bring peace by the absence of chaos and darkness. That's not His remedy. If peace were on the absence of conflict, anyone could find it. However, many never will. The message of Christmas- properly translated- isn't of eliminated darkness. The darkness remains.

The light overpowers it. Isaiah foretold it. 800 years before it happened.

Isaiah 9 2 The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and hast not increased the joy. They shall rejoice before thee, as they that rejoice in the harvest, as conquerors rejoice after taking a prey, when they divide the spoils. 4 For the yoke of their burden, and the rod of their shoulder, and the sceptre of their oppressor thou best overcome, as in the day of Median. 5 For every violent taking of spoils, with tumult, and garment mingled with blood, shall be burnt, and be fuel for the fire. 6 For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. 7 His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.