Newfound Book of Psalms Doesn't Predict Doom, Experts Say

[Dover]

Newfound Book of Psalms Doesn't Predict Doom, Experts Say
Blake de Pastino
National Geographic News

July 27, 2006
It's not the end of the world, experts announced today. The opening passage of a thousand-year-old Christian prayer book discovered in Ireland does not say that doomsday is near.

When the medieval text—a Book of Psalms dated to about A.D.1000—was unearthed by a construction worker in a bog last week, archaeologists described the find as a miracle. But the discovery has since met with some nervous speculation about its possible religious significance.

Doomsayers have focused on the passage that the 20-page text, written in Latin, was opened to when it was first uncovered: Psalm 83.

In the King James Bible, the psalm is a lament to God describing the attempts of nations to wipe out the name of Israel.

"Thine enemies … have said, Come, and let us cut off from being a nation," the psalm reads, "that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.'"

Given the current conflict in Lebanon between Israeli troops and Islamic Hezbollah guerrillas, this detail struck some observers as particularly ominous...cont'd

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060727-book-psalms.html

[MADem]

1. The true meaning of ...the text...has been LOST IN TRANSLATION!

Awwwwwww, sheeeeeeeeeyat, RUINED the fundie's fun~~~~~~!!!!!!

" would like to highlight that the text visible on the manuscript does NOT refer to wiping out Israel but to the 'vale of tears,'" the officials said. The newfound prayer book, they explain, is an ancient Latin translation from the Greek known as the Vulgate. But the King James Bible, which was translated from Hebrew to English more than a thousand years later, assigns different numbers to the psalms.

So the Psalm 83 found in the Irish book, they say, appears in King James as Psalm 84, which is a song of praise and longing for godliness.


Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee," the passage reads, "… who passing through the valley of Baca (the vale of tears) make(s) it a well." ..."It is hoped that this clarification will serve comfort to anyone worried by earlier reports of the content of the text," they said.

Edited to change brackets to parentheses, because the formatting doesn't like brackets in text~!

[CanuckAmok]

2. I have the complete translated text right here:

"Let it be known that Chris Penn, Michael Penn, Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn are all related, and that Aimee Mann is a sister-in-law of the Penn family.

Whoever art watching the 10th anniversary edition DVD of Resrrvoir Dogs must watch it once with and once without the director commentary.

It is written that the British may one day enjoy deep-fried Mars Bars, but they shall pay for that indulgence by eating the rest of the British diet.

Go forth, ye who advocate the use of electronic calculators in the classroom, and multipy.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

3. Wait! We found a new book!

just kind of strikes me as funny...