Knott Missal and Coverdale Psalter - The York Forum


I know there are odd places in the English (Knott) Missal where the translation of the psalter is different to that of the 1662 BCP. I usually fall over the alterations quite spectacularly having read the Coverdale/1662 version pretty much everyday for twenty years.

The 1928 PECUSA BCP Psalter - what I usually call the "1928 Psalter" has mucked around with the Coverdale's translation quite a bit. An extreme example is Ps 68 v.11:

1928: "The Lord gave the word: and great was the company of women who bare the tidings."

Coverdale: "The Lord gave the word: and great was the company of the preachers."

More typical is Ps 150 v. 1
1928: "O praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power."

Coverdale: "O praise God in his Holiness: praise him in the firmament of his power."

On the whole Coverdale is closest to the Vulgate Psalter, but is somewhat dependent on Luther's translation of the Hebrew Bible into German. I think the 1928 Psalter makes adjustments in favour of the Masoretic text, and the English Missal towards the Old Roman Psalter.

Fr. Peter