The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-09-25
OUR RNLIGroUs oo1UnrM.

one uOes not know that the Greek from which
INC translation was made is a very imperfect in
accurate, redundant representation of the ORR
Slnal Gospels, Acts, Epistles, aud Revelation, as
they left the hands of their authors The print
eis and scholars who, about the year 1850. at the
nstigation of Erasmus, first put the Greek
Testament into type, did the best they could
with the materials at their disposal They
collected and compared all the manuscripts
within reach, and they formed an edition Ca
text, as the technical word is) which did them
credit, and the translations of which have fur
mshed comfort and hope to millions of men and
women since their day But time went on and
fresh manuscripts were discovered older and
more carefullywritten than those which Erasmus
and Stephens had employed and a number of
passages appeared in which their edition was
contradicted by more trustworthy readings
Still the original edition coatinued to be printed
and used as a standard and acquired the name
of the Received Text" and all the corrections,
as they were discovered day by day. were not
employed to alter this text, but were added
to 1t as notes, by which, at some future time,
when all the ancient manuscripts had been
found, and all the quotations of the Testament
in the early Fathers of the Church had been ex-
amined, and every conceivable source explored,
and men knew everything that could be known
on the subject, more correct edition might be
made, which should then supersede the old
Received Text"
In process of time as libraries were explored
and Oriental monasteries rided three manu-
scripts came to be discovered of earlier date and
more exact execution than any others. The first
of these, known as the Vatican Ms, is in the
Vatican at Rome the second, the "Alexandrine
Ms" in the British Museum; and the third the
discovery of our own generation the 'Sinaitc
MS" is at St. Petersburg. The date at which
the first and third were written is somewhere
between the year of our Lord $50 and $780, the
second is century or SO later, say 450. These
three manuscripts now admitted, by those
best qualified to speak on the subject, to contain
the nearest approach which we yet possess or
are likely to possess, to the original writings of
the Testament. No doubt there is great differ
ence between even these early copies and the
books as they left the hands of their authors. If
we could compare the original of a Gospel or
Epistle with what it had become after only 250
years of copying and recopying, we should find
an immense difference. 1t is inevitable. Even
in printing, even in our day, when verbal accu-
racy has become almost religion, mistakes
occur in reprints; some sentences are added,
others omitted, others distorted. But where
books were reproduced by handwriting, and
where minute accuracy was not understood or
valued, and where copyists were either over
jealous or very ignorant, the chances must have
been immense, overwhelming, against any copy
being exactly like that which it was copied from.
Now Baron Tauchnitz has done-with the help
of Professor Tischendorf, the most eminent
scholar of our day in this line-this He has
reprinted the New Testament exactly as it
stands in the English Bible, and he has put at
the bottem of the page all the variations between
it and the three great manuscripts spoken of,
and this forms the commemorative thousandth
volume of the Tauchnitz series of English works.
The redundancies are of two kinds:-
1. Words added to a sentence to complete and
strengthen the sense or make it more Ineligible;
as, for example,
Matt xiii, 81, "Jesus saith unto them, Have ye
understood all these things"
Mark xiii, s. "And he stretched it out, and his
hand was restored 1Ullole as the Otber." V. 40,
"He taketh the father and mother . and en-
tereth in where the damsel was lying."
Luke vii, TO- ''And they that were sent, return
ing to the house, found the servant whole that
had been sick"
John xi, Al, ''Then they took away the stone
from the place ectere the dead ooas laid" xii. l,
''Then Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus
was aoklich had been dead.
Acts xiv, Is, THAT there shall be a resurrec-
tion of the dead, both of the just and unjust
&C. "He hoped also that money should have been
given him of Paul, that he might loose HIM"
motive, as in Luke iv, Al, where "Christ" has
been inserted-'Thou art Christ the Son of
God;" or John tx, 30, where 'Son OF God has
been substituted for "Son of Man"
But by far the largest number of additions
under this head consist of single words put in
to remedy halting sentences or obscure co1struc-
ton: Saving" "certain." 'yet," ''also," ''unto
Them" 'unto him, and the like. In the ninth
chapter of Matthew, for instance, there are ten
such Insertions
2 and 5, ''Thy sins be forgiven A,ee." 9, GAS
Jesus passed forth from thence" 10, MANY
publicans and sinners came and sat down." 12,
s'When Jesus heard that, he said unto them.
H. ''Why do we and the Pharisees fast ofD'
"a, "He said unto them, Give place." 81 "Twc
blind men followed him, crying" 81, Spread
abroad his fame in all that country" 81
brought to him dumb man. 30, Teaching
in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel
g. We now come to words added to complete
a quotation or bring statement into harmony
with parallel passage. Instances OF these are
the quotation from Isaiah in Matthew XIV,
sgThis people drdlUeh nigh unto me 9oath uesi
qno,lfh! and honoreth me with their lips anC
The statement in Mark V, z, "Cried with lou'
voice and said, What hare to do aolm nee
Jesus thou Son of the most high God 2 which |
possibly completed from the parallel passages II
Luke and Matthew.
3. Pronouns displaced for the proper name 0
the person referred to, are incessant as Matt. Ky
20. HCast them down at Jesus his feet" Mar
l. Al, Sand Jesus he |, moved with compassion
Luke X, 21. SIN that hour Jesus hel rejolced
John iii q ''The same came to Jesus him o.
night; Acts XII 25, ''Then departed BdfnGoo
(he to Tarsus"; Luke xii, 62, "And Pster ne
went out"
4. Additions to explain name OF place or pei
son are also occasionally found: as John TX,
$50 to the pool of Sloan and wash; XII,
"Judas Iscariot, SinlOn's son, which should %