ABSTRACT
The Latin Bible appeared in 1551 and was subsequently reprinted through to the eighteenth century. Sebastian Castellio's biblical translations are primarily of interest to us as biographical documents; their philological meaning, as well as their place in Reformation hermeneutics can only be briefly touched upon. For Castellio, Scripture reveals itself to the faithful, filled with the Holy Spirit, regardless of whether they were learned or not, rich or poor, men or women. Castellio was always at pains to emphasize the relative value of every translation of the Bible with its innumerable difficulties with both individual words as well as with disjointed passages. The objective of rendering biblical texts comprehensible, clear and simple similarly distinguished Castellio's French translations. The importance of vernacular Bibles in the propagation of the Reformed faith was impressed upon Castellio during his Basle years by the success of the Luther Bible.
