In the 300s, the Bible in Latin was scattered. Different translations floated around, sometimes contradicting each other. That’s when Pope Damasus asked Father Jerome to fix it.
He didn’t just tidy things up—he went deep. First, he checked the New Testament against the original Greek. Then he took on the Old Testament by studying Hebrew directly from Jewish rabbis in Bethlehem. It wasn’t common for Christians to do that. For him, accuracy mattered more than tradition.
He worked for decades in Bethlehem, near the grotto of Christ’s birth. By lamplight, surrounded by scrolls, he wrestled with words, deciding which Latin phrase could carry the full weight of the original. Sometimes he was criticized for going “too far back” to the Hebrew, but his goal was clear: stay faithful to the source.
The result was the Vulgate (Latin for “common version”)—a Bible that became the standard for over a thousand years. Even when councils debated Scripture centuries later, Jerome’s version stood strong. The Council of Trent (1545–1563), a major gathering that defined Catholic teaching and reforms, confirmed the Vulgate as the official Bible. His line still echoes today: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”
Because of his work, the Word of God reached hearts with clarity. That priest in Bethlehem is now honored as Saint Jerome, Doctor of the Church, whose life reminds us that truth is best served when it is faithfully passed on.
ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ
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