Another page of the Benedicite drawn and inked-in yesterday afternoon.
As you might imagine, scripture translations vary quite considerably. In the case of the verse of the Benedicite illustrated above, there are any number of English translations to choose from.
For example:
Bless the Lord, you whales and all that swim in the waters
(Daniel 3:79 The New English Bible)
In the current English translation of the Divine Office (aka Liturgy of the Hours) the whales are demoted to the diminutive but highly intelligent and playful dolphin.
You dolphins and all water creatures bless the Lord.
The new translation of the psalms and canticles for revised Liturgy of the Hours in English, ( just approved last fall by the US Catholic bishops and due to be available sometime in 2024/2025 ) renders this verse as:
All sea beasts and all that move in the water, bless the Lord.
Anticipating the publication of the new English translation approved for the United States and hoping to actually use this illuminated text to pray the Benedicite as part of Morning Prayer, I reluctantly went with sea beasts, despite my preference for the translation in the New American Bible Revised Edition of this verse:
You sea monsters and all water creatures,
bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
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