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How is the Vulgate rendering of Romans 5:12 explained (Roman Catholic perspective)?

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The Greek text (Textus Receptus) of Romans 5:12 reads: > δια τουτο ωσπερ δι ενος ανθρωπου η αμαρτια εις τον κοσμον εισηλθεν και > δια της αμαρτιας ο θανατος και ουτως εις παντας ανθρωπους ο θανατος > διηλθεν εφ ω παντες ημαρτον Which one fairly literal translation (*The Orthodox New Testament Praxapostolos* ) renders: > *Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and thus death passed to all men, on account of > which all have sinned* But the Vulgate translates the final phrase ("on account of which all have sinned" - εφ ω παντες ημαρτον) as *in quo omnes peccaverunt*. The Douay-Rheims translation of the Vulgate reads therefore: > *Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world and by sin death: and so death passed upon all men, **in whom all have sinned**.* The implication is that somehow all have sinned in Adam - i.e. they inherit the guilt of Adam's sin. Unless I am misunderstanding the apparatus, there is no variant in the Greek text that supports this wording. John Chrysostom - a 4th century Greek Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church - does not seem to interpret the verse this way in his homily on the passage . My understanding is that the verse appeared this way in Latin in Augustine's *De Peccato Originale*, which also introduced the term "original sin" in the west, though perhaps that was not the first occurrence. It seems that the Augustinian-Vulgate understanding of this verse has seeped into other English translations to various degrees. While the King James is close to the literal translation above (*And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned*), other translations follow more closely the Latin meaning. The ESV and RSV state, for example, *... and so death spread to all men because all sinned* (i.e. cause and effect are transposed). Is there some reasoned explanation for the apparent departure of the Vulgate from the Greek text of Romans 5:12? (Perhaps this should be posted in BH instead, but since the passage of interest touches on theological differences between Christians I thought to post it here.)
Asked by guest37 (5766 rep)
Mar 3, 2017, 04:33 PM
Last activity: Oct 30, 2020, 09:30 PM