Douay-Rheims Bible

The Douay-Rheims Bible was the first complete English Catholic Bible and served as the principal Catholic counterpart to the Protestant English versions circulating in the same period. Produced by English Catholic exiles on the Continent, it was prepared as a fresh translation from Latin within the Vulgate tradition, taking the Vulgate as its predecessor and base translation: it was rendered primarily from the Latin Vulgate, with consultation of Greek and Hebrew. Its approach to rendering is very literal and Latinate, following the Latin closely in vocabulary and word order and retaining ecclesiastical terminology, a manner that has shaped its reputation among readers of English scripture. In scope it is a complete Catholic Bible, containing the books received in that tradition. For centuries it remained the standard English text for Catholic readers, and its phrasing left traces in later English translations and in devotional usage.