CIPRIANO DE VALERA'S CONFESSION AND DESIRE TO SEE HIS WORK REVISED

     "...It remains now to tell why we have been moved to make this second edition.  Cassiodoro de Reina, moved by a pious jealousy to forward the glory of God, and to do a signaled service to his nation, in seeing faith in the land of liberty to speak and handle the things of God, started giving himself to the translation of the Bible, which he translated, and thus in the year of 1569, printed two thousand six hundred copies: which have by God's grace been distributed to many regions.  So much so that today there is hardly found any specimen, if any one wants to buy one.  So that our nation of Spain does not lack such a great treasure as the Bible in its own language, we have taken pains to read and reread it once and again, and have made it more profitable with new notes, and have sometimes even altered the text.  Which we did with the most prudent counsel and deliberation: and not trusting in ourselves (because our conscience testifies to how small are our means) we have conferred with pious and wise men, and with diverse translations, that for the grace of God there are diverse translations today.  About the rest, this version according to my judgment to all those that understand, is excellent... Also we have taken out all that was added by the 70 interpreters [the LXX], or of the Vulgate, that is not found in the Hebrew text...I say this, so that if someone confers with this version called the Vulgate, and does not find in this [version] everything that is in that one, no marvel.  Because our intent was not to translated what man have added to the word of God, only what God has revealed in his Holy Scriptures...For it is not good to confirm the certain with the uncertain, the word of God with the word of men."

     "Would to God that by his infinite mercy [he would] inspire the heart of the King to command pious men throughout his coasts, learned in Hebrew and Greek to look into and revise this translation of the Bible, who excitedly with a pious and sincere desire to serve God and do well to their nation, would compare it and confront the Hebrew text, that God dictated to his holy Prophets before the coming of Christ, and with the Greek Text, that the same dictated to his holy Apostles and Evangelists after the coming of Christ in the flesh."