Arkansas true Democrat., 1857-12-29
rbe English Bible-The New Trans

Kama is now unknown. Archbishop Usher
 .,loces it in the year l29o. Three manuscript: Eff it are preserved in the English libraries.
 The next was that of the celebrated Johr
 Wickliffe, about the year l390 As this wa'
 before the art of printing was invented, tn,
 price of one of Wickliffe's testaments, according
 to the registry of the bishop of Norwich, il
 1429 was equivalent to $40 or near $20O oi
 bur money.
 # The first printed translation of the English
 scriptures, was that of Wm Tyndal. His assistants
 jn translating were Wm. Rove and John Frye. he former suffered death as heretic, in Por-
 tugal, and the latter was burned to death on
 the same charge, in Smithfed, 1852. # Tvndal, not daring to publish his translation
 in England, had it printed in Holland, whence snanv copies were sent to England. The read Aing of these was forbidden by public authority, and all the copies that oJuld be found were bought up and publicly burnt. by order of the bishop of London at St. Paul's Cross. This only increased the demand from Holiand.- HOn one oCcdsloii, OH V lnaS MOfe, then Chancellor, and bigotted Catholic, concurring With the bishop in the execution of this mea- sure, inquired of person accused of heresy, and to whom he had promised indemnity, on Consideration of an explicit answer, how Tyn- Bal Subsisted abroad and who were the persons in London that abetted and supported hm?- Io this inquiry the hertical convert replied: " It is the bishop of London who maintains him by buying up the impressions of his testa ment.' The chancellor smiled and admitted the truth of the declaration and suffered the accused person to escape. Those who were Suspected of importing and concealing these books were adjudged by Sir Thomas More tO ride with their faces to the tails of their horses, with papers on their heads, and the New Testaments, which they had dispersed, hung around them and, at the standard at Cheapside, to throw them into fire prepared for that purpose, and to be fined at the Kings pleasure. Tyndal himself was finally seized in Germany, in consequence of spies sent from England by order of Henry the VIII and his council, and after long imprisonment was con- demned to death by decree of the Emperor. He was strangled in 1536 near Brussels, after which his body was burnt to ashes. The peo- ple formed very unfavorabe opinion of those who burned the word of God, and concluded that there must be an obvious repusnance be- tween it and those who treated it with such in- dignity. S Various other translatons were afterw ards made, the principal of which went by the name of Coverdale's, the Geneva Bible. and the Bishops Bible. Exceptions were taken to all these, and it was generally admitted that more accurate one was needed Accordingly, at the conference held at Hampton Court in great faults existed in the translations authori- zed to be read,' King James list, who, when the proposal was made by Dr. Reynolds ob- jected, at length yielded to the request, and ap- pointed 54 very learned men, mostly from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, ncu- ding the professors of Hebrew and Greek in Those Universities. Before it was commenced, seven of these men either died or declined the task, as but AZ were actually engaged in it. <" These," says the learned Horne, "were pre- eminently distinguished for their piety, and their profund learning in the original languages lof the scriptures They were divided into 'six classes and met at Westminster, Oxford and Cambridge To them the King gave list of Instructions, of which the following are the principal:
 "The ordinary Bible read in the church, |commoniy called the Bishops Bible, to be fol- Bowed and as little altered as the original will permit.
 "The old ecclesiastical words to be kept as the word church not to be translated congrega- Ition.
 Every particular man of each company to take the same chapter or chapters; and having Translated or amended them severally by him. self where he thinks good all to come toge- .ther to confer what they had done, and agree for their part what shall stand
 " As any one company hath dispatched any lone book in this manner they shall send it to the rest to be considered of seriously and judi .cousiy: for his Majesty is very careful on this point.
 If any company upon the review of the book so sent shall doubt or differ upon any places, to send them word thereof to note the places and they withal to send their reasons, to oh ifI'a 1 compounded at the general meeting, which is to be of the chef persons of each company at the end of the work.
 "When any place ofspecial obscurity is doubt ed of, letters to be directed by authority to send to any learned man in the land for his iudg- ment in such place.
 Letters to be sent from every Bishop to the rest of his clergy, admonishing them of this translation in hand, and to move and charge as many as being skillful in the tongues have ta- ken pains in that kind to send their particular observations to the company, either at West minister, Cambridge, or Oxford, according as it was directed before in the Kings letter to the Archbishop"
 Accordingly, each book passed the scrutiny of all the translators successively. In the first place, each individual translated every book which was alotted to his division. Secondly, the readings to be adopted were agreed upon by the whole of that company, assembled to- gether, at which meeting each translator must have been solely occupied by his own version The book thus finished was sent to each of the other companies, to be again examined Fur ther, the translstors were empowered to call to their assistance any learned men whose studies enabled them to be serviceable, when an urgent occasion of difficulty presented itself. The work was begun in 1607 anl the first
 edition published in 16lI.
 The only exceptions known to have been
 taken to the instructions given to the transla-
 tors, is that in which they are requested to
 keep the old ecclesiastical words, as the word
 church, not to be translated congregation n-