ICEL Psalms.

One of the things that has kept me a little busy while I've been away from the blog is my new attempt to incorporate daily reading of the Psalms into my life. It's an interest that has been sparked both by Kevin's love for the Psalms as well as several reflections since last spring about their centrality in Christian and Jewish traditions - theological no less than liturgical. I've been aided in this new endeavor in spiritual life by an amazing rendition of the Psalms done by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL). The available edition of the ICEL's Liturgical Psalter is The Psalter: A Faithful and Inclusive Rendering from the Hebrew into Contemporary English Poetry. The ICEL Psalter is quite a controversial work, having received and then lost the imprimatur at the behest of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship. The Psalter is thus not authorized for use in Mass, but it remains in my opinion one of the best versions available for communal use. It's a departure for me, Fundamentals student that I am, but I'm endorsing a dynamic-equivalence translation. This one is different from most others in that its dynamic-equivalence comes more from a desire for Psalms that work as English poetry and for music in English. And, despite the reservations of many scholars (and the Pope), I join the chorus of many more scholars and regular old people of faith to enthusiastically embrace this translation - I strongly commend it to any who need to access the Psalms devotionally or liturgically.
(More to come on my Psalms project in general. It's good to be back.)