Regarding Don Skimland's letter on Oct. 26, "Invoking the Commandments," it would appear to me that the Jewish, Catholic and Protestant versions of the Ten Commandments are essentially the same.
As I understand it, Hebrew texts were used to arrive at the Greek Septuagint before Christ. In the late 4th century A.D., the Christian Jerome translated the Old Testament (including the Ten Commandments) to Vulgate Latin, rejecting a few points in the Septuagint in favor of nuances suggested by the original Hebrew.
When the Protestant English versions were prepared in the mid-16th and early 17th centuries, essentially the same process occurred. A few details of the Vulgate Latin version were changed in favor of Hebrew texts, but the essential meaning and order of the Ten Commandments remained the same.
When I say "a few details" I mean just that.
In comparing the Douay-Challoner and King James versions (or Geneva version if you wish) of the Ten Commandments, there aren't more than a dozen or so words that differ, hardly enough to say that there is or was a Protestant version and Catholic version. The versions are essentially the same. This follows for the post-Vatican II versions as well. All of these versions stem from the original Hebrew. Hope this will be helpful.
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Byron Perrine
Olivia
