On Criticising The Knox Bible

Abstract Ronald Knox’s 1955 translation of the Latin Vulgate met with an overall lackluster reception. Yet critics were never able to agree on what was wrong, or even what the translation was like. Some found Knox modern, others old-fashioned. Some criticised him for departing from the Challoner Douay-Rheims, others for not translating the Hebrew and Greek. Through collation and close reading of reviews, this article traces the clash of expectations that led to the spotty reception of the Knox Bible. Though some took a conservative line, others an aggiornamento line, Knox’s audience largely lacked a way to categorise his readable, rhetorical, designedly atemporal, and unashamedly individualist translation.