From Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle, in his scholarly work, "Sermo; Reopening the
Conversation on Translating Jn. 1:1," published in 1977 by North-Holland
Publishing, we read the following dogmatic statement about the word "Verbum"
from which modern Bibles get the Spanish word "Verbo." Be it know that the
words in BOLD and all caps were typed that way for emphasis:
"Tertullian [160-225 A.D.] and Cyprian [who died in 258 A.D.] quote Sermo
in EVERY CITATION of the opening of the Johannine prologue.
In addition to eight quotations, there is Tertulian's valuable, impartial
testimony Adversus Praxean that THE CUSTOM OF LATIN
CHRISTIANS WAS TO READ, 'In principio era SERMO,' although he
preferred ratio to Sermo. Cyprian twice quotes Jn 1:1 in
Adversus Iudaeos ad quirinum as 'in principio fuit SERMO, et
SERMO erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Sermo.' He also interprets Sermo as
Christ in three three Psalm verses and a passage from the Book of Revelation.
CYPRIANO IS ACKNOWLEDGED A SUPERIOR SOURCE OF THE OLD LATIN BIBLE
BECAUSE OF HIS ANTIQUITY, and because he repeats almost one-ninth of
the New Testament. But if the modern theory of dual North African and
European sources for the Old Latin Bible is correct, then Sermo in Tertulian
and Cyprian may only demonstrate the former tradition. No European patristic
writings in Latin contemporaneous with Tertullian survive for comparison.
SERMO REMAINS THEN THE EARLIEST EXTANT LATIN TRANSLATION OF logos IN
JOHN 1:1 and on Tertullian's word the reading commonly circulated.
Verbum FIRST OCCURS as a translation for logos
in John 1:1 in Novatian's tract on the Trinity, but he reports Sermo
also. After Novatian this ambivalence about Sermo and Verbum
disappears until Augustine REVIVES IT. Hilary nine
times cites the opening verses of the Johannine prologue an IN EVERY
INSTANCE, logos is translated as Verbum.
By the fourth century Verbum is UNIVERSALLY PREFERRED IN THE
WEST."
Is this not absolute proof that the Spanish word "Verbum" is a "Catholic
word?" And knowing that in 1793 a catholic named Scio translated
directly from the Roman Catholic Vulgate into Spanish. He was the first
to use the word "Verbo." Before that, all Spanish Bibles read, "Palabra"
in John 1:1 in speaking of Jesus. So which do you want: A Catholic word,
or a Protestant word?"
The Catholics have changed the early church word "Sermo" in Latin to
their word "Verbo." And in Spanish, they've done the same,
changing the early word, which is also the Protestant word: "Palabra"
to "Verbo."
How could any true Bible Believer knowing this want a Spanish Bible version
that uses "Verbo?"
The only Spanish Bible available today that does NOT use Verbo, rather
following the older texts in using Palabra is the VALERA 1602 PURIFIED
SPANISH BIBLE.
The following Spanish Bibles still retain the CATHOLIC word "Verbo."
1865
1909
1960
RVG 2004 and 2010
RV 1995
and all others after the date of 1793.