Liturgy Nerd Request: Does anyone have access to a copy of the Vetus Latina? And if so, could you send me a quick copy of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 36:18, which is the Introit for Dominica XXIV Per Annum/XVIII post Pentecosten, or at least tell me how/if it differs from the text in the Graduale Romanum? (Working on a bulletin article on the Propers for 24 OT.) Thanks.
Is this perhaps a case where the current GR retains the Vetus Latina text? The Vulgate is distinctly different. See the Graduale Synopticum entry here. Or perhaps there never was such a direct quotation from the bible, one might guess that the text is a precis of the passage. My missal says Cf. Sir 36:18, showing that is not a direct quotation.
RSV Sirach 36:17 Hearken, O Lord, to the prayer of thy servants, according to the blessing of Aaron for thy people, and all who are on the earth will know that thou art the Lord, the God of the ages.
NOV Sirach 36:18 Da mercedem sustinentibus te, ut prophetae tui fideles inveniantur. Et exaudi orationes servorum tuorum, 19 secundum beneplacitum super populo tuo, et dirige nos in viam iustitiae, et sciant omnes, qui habitant terram, quia tu es Deus saeculorum.
VUC Sirach 36:18 Da mercedem sustinentibus te, ut prophetae tui fideles inveniantur: et exaudi orationes servorum tuorum, 19 secundum benedictionem Aaron de populo tuo: et dirige nos in viam justitiae, et sciant omnes qui habitant terram quia tu es Deus conspector saeculorum. (Sir. 36:18 VUClementina)
That's what I'm thinking. (GR = VL) Unfortunately the Missal isn't anything to go by per biblical quotations. Many chants are listed as, say, "Cf. Psalm 103" in the Missal (Novus Ordo), but the Graduale Romanum/Triplex just says "Psalm 103", as is the case with this Introit: GR just says "Sir. 36:18". So I think that this is another case of the Vetus Latina being retained, but I'd like confirmation for my suspicions.
According to Johner, the chants of this Sunday were taken from an ancient formula for a dedication of a church, the Sunday often falling near to the Dedication of the Church of St. Michael (AD 490). The Sunday did not originally have a proper Mass as the Mass of Ember Saturday often went on into the night.
Tietze claims that this isn't from the Vetus Latina, but apparently there is no Vetus Latina text corresponding to this part of Sirach, although according to Tietze, this part of Sirach in the Vulgate is actually Old Latin.
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