The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-04-02
Gbs &tbith.

BOOK OF JOB. A translation from the original lie
brew, the basis of the common and earlier English
versions with Introduction and Explanatory Notes
for the English reader For the American Bible Union
BY Thomas J. Conant D. D.. Professor of Sacred Lite
nature in Rochester Theological Seminary. New
York: American Bible Union 1856
THE BrsLE UNION REPORTER, Monthly, containing the
English Scriptures revised, and important intelligence
relating the progress Of pure of the Word Of
God New York: American Bible Union. 1856
No. -l0-Job.
The question of new translation of the
Bible is one which has for some time been more
or less sgitated in the religious world. That
there are defects in the language in the COM
mon version, hardlyany one competent to judge,
will deny. Language changes, and when q
century or two has passed, it will always be
found there are many words that become obso-
lete or 80 change their meaning as not to ex-
press the ideas they once conveyed; or they
may drop into the class of words scarcely
ever used in approved writing, and SO become
offensive as vulgar, and detractipg from the
serious statements of professedly religious
work. The readers of the usual version of the
Bible have felt these difficulties, and, conscious
of various objections, individuals have sought
to remedy them by versions of their own pub
LEGATION. Numerous too, have been the trans
lations published of the different books of the
sacred Scriptures, in connection with common
taries, or as separate works. Many of them
in the English language have great merit, and
better convey the sense of the original than
the common version. The matter has been
the theme of discussion, the defects have been
acknowledged, remedies proposed and attempt
ed in part or whole-and yet, after all, the
Bible, King James's version, as it is termed,
has maintained its hold on the popular mind.
1t is felt that there are no slight difficulties in
the way of revision. There is no suthorita-
tive head, as in England, to carry it forward
and introduce it. This is, to US republicans,
no cause of regret But there are now 80
many sects and denominations watching each
other with keen, eagle eyes, more or less, too,
influenced by prejudice, that the difficulty seems
almost impossible to be removed. Even for
the distribution of the Bible, in common, as it
is at present, FIVE or more of the great church
organizations in our country cannot combine
and harmonic their efforts, without removing
from their copies the slightest running titles
which may be regarded as explanatory, lest a
bias be impaired in favor of some doctrinal view
of one or another of them. The Baptist church
among US have entered upon the first serious
and prolonged effort to give a new version tc
the people of the whole Bible, from the orig
nal tongues. But the origin of the movement
stamps it at once as a sectarian or rather de-
nominational one. 1t arose mainly from the
refusal to adopt the translation, as understood
by them, (of the correctness of which opinion
we do not speak, of the words in the common
zana;aa--hAstixA.-&ss TN snYs feeYfnt
has also been incorporated wish to give
version that should remove objections in Ian
guage more or less felt by all denominations
The movement thus commenced, however, ha.
not found favor even with all the members oil
the denomination where it has been going on
The Baptists themselves have been divided al
to its expediency, and for time the conflict
of opinion was sharp. Eminent men among
them have been ranged on both sides; and up tc
the present day no little heart-burnings have
been felt on the internal manag cement of the ma
chinery of the enterprise, even among those
actually engaged in the labor. Still it has
gone forward, and is in prosecution. Ripe
scholars are occupied in the preliminary part
of the work. Specimens of their learned eff:
forts are from time to time published, to ascer.
tain the views of the learned in various parts
of the world. From what we have seen, we
should judge the trauslations of unequal merit,
and indeed some of the extracts of certain Dor.
tions of the New Testament are more crude
and less entitled to reception than we could
have supposed would be the case. In the vol
ume and numbers of the Bible Union Reporter
before US, however, we find it otherwise. Pro.
lessor Conant is a scholar, well accredited as
a competent one for translation from the He.
brew of the Old Testament. The book of
Job, also, is one of that class which affords ex-
ercise for the use of the varied stores of learn.
ing with respect to Oriental life that have been
accommodating year after year since the appear
ance Of the common version. Of these aids
and resources he, Professor Conant, has availed
himself while no peculiar shades of doctrinal
views or UNCONVENTIONAL prejudices or prepos-
sessions initiate against perfectly fair rem
dering of the original. His translation is, we
think, good one, and in many important re-
spects an improvement on the one in common
use, and by the arrangement of parallelism
representing more clearly the characteristic of
Hebrew poetry. We could have wished that
in some cases he had left the old Saxon words
stand, though perhaps not quite so exact, since
by their connection they could not be misun-
derstood and in other instances, we think, he
has rather injured than benefited the sense,
certainly the beauty and grandeur of the poet
ry, bythe change. The volume is printed
beautifully, and contains the new version and
marginal readings, in parallel columns, while
the notes are placed below. In the Bible
Union Reporter we are presented with King
James's version, the revised version, and the
Hebrew, which occupies the central pace, in
parallel columns, with the notes, of more learn
ed and critical cast, below. This veryion of
Job will, no doubt be carefully examined and
criticized, BY the best scholarship in ou coun.
try aud abroad.
The DESERT OF SINAI Notes of Spring Journey frora
Cairo to Barsheba. BY Horatius Bonar, D. d. Kelso.
New York: Robert Carter Brothers. 1857 Tor sale
hy Gray Ballantyne, Washington, D. C.
Books on Egypt, Sinai, and Palestine, have
been frequent within the last few years and
though the route is nearly uniform, they are
still multiplying, through the increased number
of travellers, and yet every ene possesses gome
distinctive interest. The variety of views thai
influence the investigation, the character q The
writer, of course, lend different aspeetto