Meditations on the Psalms

A translator has two options, according to Monsignor Ronald Knox in his book On Englishing the Bible: literal and literary. When it comes to translating Holy Scripture "for the advantage of a person who desires to be able to read the word of God for ten minutes on end without putting it away in utter weariness or perplexity," only a literary translation will suffice. And so it is with the "Knox Bible," the result of nine years of solo work to develop a fresh translation of the holy writings. The endeavour was founded on an ongoing passion for and acquaintance with Scripture, as shown by Meditations on the Psalms. Knox takes his readers "from the less to the more 'interior' levels of the spiritual life" in these fifty-two meditations, focusing on selected Psalms from the Douay-Rheims Bible as they pertain to the Christian life in general and the interior life in particular; Church observances; and "Songs of Ascents" towards ultimate unity with God.

The Psalms have been regarded as a "school of prayer" by Pope Benedict XVI. Through Meditations on the Psalms, Ronald Knox serves as an excellent teacher in that school, cultivating the ability to talk to God in the language that God himself has provided with solid confidence and profound conviction.