James Aloysius Kleist, S.J. (

Zabrze Zabrze (; German: 1915–1945: ''Hindenburg O.S.'', full form: ''Hindenburg in Oberschlesien'', Silesian: ''Zŏbrze'', yi, זאַבזשע, Zabzhe) is an industrial city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The west district of the Sil ...

, 1873 - St. Louis, 1949) was a German-born American

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

scholar of

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

and

patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

literature. Kleist attended school in

Gleiwitz Gliwice (; german: Gleiwitz) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the re ...

, then

Beuthen Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', german: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capita ...

, and in 1892 entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Bleijenbeek castle Bleijenbeek Castle ( nl, Kasteel Bleijenbeek) is situated in the small hamlet of Bleijenbeek in the Dutch province of Limburg.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. According to the 19th-century historian A.J ...

in Afferden, the Netherlands, after which he was sent to the United States. For a year he taught at St. Ignatius High School in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Then, for four years, he lectured to the young Jesuits of the Buffalo Mission of the German

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

, Missouri. In 1902, Kleist came to Saint Louis, where he worked on revising Kaegi's 1884 Greek primer. Kleist joined with Joseph Lilly, C.M., to produce a more modern English translation of the Bible than the Douai Bible then in common usage among Catholics. Under their editorship, the work was laid to produce to the ''Kleist-Lilly'' translation, published posthumously in 1954, although work was completed by Christmas 1948. It never gained widespread acceptance, though, and was later totally supplanted by the translations produced by the

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) is a catechesis program of the Catholic Church, normally for children. It is also the name of an association that traditionally organises Catholic catechesis, which was established in Rome in 1562. Rel ...

, which culminated in the publication of the

New American Bible The New American Bible (NAB) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1970. The 1986 Revised NAB is the basis of the revised Lectionary, and it is the only translation approved for use at Mass in the Latin-rite Catholic dioces ...

in 1970. "Another version, by James Kleist, S.J., and Joseph Lilly, C.M., was admired by some experts. But the general agreement was that these did not eliminate the need for a more representatively American version."

Works

* ''A short grammar of classical Greek'' (1902). Author:

Adolf Kaegi Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...

1884, revised James Aloysius Kleist St. Louis, Mo., B. Herder 1902 * ''The epistles of St.

Clement of Rome Pope Clement I ( la, Clemens Romanus; Greek: grc, Κλήμης Ῥώμης, Klēmēs Rōmēs) ( – 99 AD) was bishop of Rome in the late first century AD. He is listed by Irenaeus and Tertullian as the bishop of Rome, holding office from 88 AD t ...

and St.

Ignatius of Antioch Ignatius of Antioch (; Greek: Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, ''Ignátios Antiokheías''; died c. 108/140 AD), also known as Ignatius Theophorus (, ''Ignátios ho Theophóros'', lit. "the God-bearing"), was an early Christian writer ...

'' 1946 * ''Classical essays presented to James A. Kleist, S.J.'', published by ''The Classical Bulletin'' (Saint Louis University) 1946. * ''Teaching of the Twelve Apostles'' Posthumous * with T. J. Lyman. ''The Psalms in Rhythmic Prose.'' 1954. * J. A. Kleist and J. L. Lilly, ''The New Testament'' (Milwaukee, 1954) * Kleist, JA ''Psychiatry and Catholicism''. VanderVeldt,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleist, James 1873 births 1949 deaths People from Zabrze 20th-century German Jesuits German emigrants to the United States 19th-century American Jesuits Translators of the Bible into English Roman Catholic biblical scholars Patristic scholars People from the Province of Silesia 20th-century translators 20th-century American Jesuits