, 1870-05-29
SHALL WE HAVE A MORE READ
ABLE B1BIE7


FTpH fts51dhA Hd9d1u1e J9 vufa
We do not ask this question hzsyerenslyy, but
go frequently printed - the Bible, none that
is 30 universally read, none that is 80 highly
priced, and none that IL so badly printed II
we vere zsked TO select form for book 70
limit ita influence and reAdAblenesa, We ehould
select the form ia which our English Bible H.
What other book is put before tho 1e.der in
euch guSes Here We haTe poetry printed -
prose, and prose printed A poetry; long. in
volved, and compacted logical sentences cut
up into epigrammhtc fosms; and simple,
c6iid-1ite nt1rative, which, in the original,
damned, rendered tu7hid and Intermittent BY
innumerahle distractions Of Earpes- In all
other books the paragraph ends with the
sense; in the Scriptures, whatever The sense
may be. every hnn or two brings tho reader
to : halt, The. sign Of the paragraph il
teal purpose, and is positive ble1nish.
Should We dare to treat .ny. other book
80 il7 Don Qui1ote OF Robinson Cru
SOC would never have oa1lived such
= hewing to pisees before tho Lord"
Isaiah! Diassct IS Samson Agonntcs" as Job
is dissected! How long would they survive
auch munlAtiona7 7 0ne half OF oa1 Scrip
tures il poetJ-2 poetry which brings its
structure with ia structure 80 strong and
cAAactellsuc tn1t II ives even IN tne pfosAc
moulds into which it hAa been run IN our
Bible. II read apprec;Atingly. ths ear may
catch the tones Of the Hebrew Muse hpt
when the eye turns to SEQ her fAir form, { IL
mAHed beyond recognition. Before the hsp-
hazArd horseback veTsitlcation Of Stephens
narrative, The ON Of fancy, the c}1ain ok rsA-
sonin8, and even the mechanism OF grammar
And then, IS it to agEr1EAts the evils OF these
numerous and inept ditisions, ever since tho
Geney2u TRANSLATION Of 557, cach veIse is set
by itsen-a jet Of inspiration iaolated like IN
Apotbegm.
Then, again, it is printed in nar1uw columns,
"a II it were cheap novel or I newspaper !;
| Aud these columns ire "notched and scored
to tally With the Concordance" or to suit tho
! taste and conr renience Of commentators and
| controEeteia1ists. A writer in the Eiualaa.5h
Kfrie.r Af3irnaa that vexy intelligent friend OF
lis declared that 'he never could comprehend
the drift OF the Epistet the Romans, till be read
it without the interruptions OF chapter and
verse in 6huttlaWotth's t17nslation- This
man would he found to e1preas tbs fee,ings Of
thousands, il they could onoe have his e1pezi-
ence in reading Paul's great letter ~ Tcttiua
wEute it, instead Of residing it As printers. for
| the last three hundred years, have printed it.
| When Jnmea Murdoch published his translA-
ton Of the Peshtigo, An intelligent lsyman,
who bad known tho Scriptures from child
d.gee.a nse,nor'u, "a they lay scattered up
and down the columns Of our Hb1e, On read.
ing that version in the paragraph
form, said to US: - The Mh1a seemed like 4
new book to mo; couldn't ges done reading
until that day "5emained the veil untakeu
away" in tho reading OF tha New Testament
We are sure, il Dickens or Th1ckez1y should
be "got out" In our Mhle-style, the people
would very soon give up reading them, and nc
house in Boston or New York could command
| f&s1 y, .tr11 ,n4>
cess, whatever they might lavish On II
ton. They would fall stI.born from Ii.
press, As they.would deserve, and only biblo-
mauiaca would want copies as "cusioslties O.
Gtetsture. and as waymarks along the roat
the Baptist Union, and the bEitiah and For
cgn Bible, Society,", and the American
1olumcs, aud diistrihuts aud sell them d D.
you ask why the people buy them, and eve,
read them Because they know Of no bette
their reach in tho market because it il useiu
as family register, and because il is Ii
Holy Bible. Indispensable to every wsll-1sg
ulAtcd household
Any one who has been \ menber Of = fam
ily, OF = visitor in family where the Scrip
lures are read verse-About, cannot help know
ing what limping, haltiug process it is-ho1
the senso il ol@cured, sand Ill spltituAit
dieeipated, by the verse mntilations. The chill
| invariably reAds according to these d
visions. dropping its voice, and, with it, tn
scnse at tho end Of each verse; Then, th
next reader begins, not with the tone and in
Election of continuity, but ~ II 4 new ide
were introduced: and 30 on to the end Of th
chapter. It is hardly necessary to Say that, il
thie Kind OF residing, 'the Word Of the Lord
has not the "f1ee course for which we at
taught to pray: nor can't "be glori6ed" i
such treatment. Or, Il one his no sue
domestic experience As this, let him go t
our schools. In which the Dible is te1,
book, and mark how it Is read, and it vi
be impossible To resist the conviction thu
the arbitrary division into chapters and verse
Ii very serious mistake. The persons VIII
moat need to be assisted in the reading Of Ii
Word, and to whom it ehould be made aswee
er than honey or the honeycomb," the youn
and the unltttered asa they whose books Al
thus married and manned; whilo. Il
the Greek echolar, We print our Test
melts - We print other books-d
yiding them BY The sense aud sccord1
70 the sense, and, in the printing, impart
them tho appearance OF other books.
But q few examples OF these varse-aivisiol
according to-Hhat shall We say Z not the sens
but, pcrhaps, the joltings Of Robert Stephen
horse on the road from Lyons to Paris vi
show how arbitrary and Obstructive they A.
Take passage from Paul's t1rst letter to tt
| l..
4. thank my God always on your behal
for the grace Of God which is given you
Jesus Christ;
s. That in eveE.hing -, - =! Ass .,s enriched !
timed IN you;
7. So that ye come behind in no gift; wal
ing for the coming Of our Lord Jesns Chris
8. Who shall slao confirm you unto the e1
[that ye may De- blamelcss in the day Of 0,
! E5rd Jesus Christ.
Now, imagine this sentence, fcryid
feeling, impetuous in movement, AZ
: logical IN structure. ,,pazceiled out amor
: five readers in the family or the school, II
Whist must become Of it7 Or, sui
pose yonr reader is one and the sauae perso1
hut unskilled, il it likely that he will get Il
same senee out Of those FIVE aphorisms that
would get il they were printed in the folio,
ing familiar form ?
u thank my God always on your behalf, Il
the grace Of God which IS given yon by Jesr
Christ !; that in everything 81 are enriched I
Him. in Ill utterance, aud in Ill knowledge
even as the testimony Of Christ Was con6r1ne
in you so thAt 20 come behind in no gift
Waiting for the coming Of our Lord Jes1
Christ who shall also confirm you unto II
end, that 70 usy bo blameIesa IN Tho day {
our Lord Jesus Christ"
Take another illustration it shall be nA
radEe instead OF logical. Let il be from Il
viyacious Marx, and see how dull and prosa
these division marks make him to Eimple foil
We select th4t animated parenthesis OF Il
woman who had I" an issue Of blood" III
dramatic description is set before the reader
the following I've acts:
Mark Y. Is. And a certain woman which hA
an issue OF blood twelve years.
&c. And had suffered many things OF man
physicians, and had spent Ill that she hs.
aud vas nothing better, but rather grew wors,
q. When she had heard OF Jesus, came i
the press behind, and touched his garment.
2s. For she said, II I may but touch b
clothes, shall be whole.
20. And straiRhtway the fountain OF ht
blood was dTiei mp: ind she felt in {her) bod
4 But perhaps no parts of the bible will serv
to eet the infelicity OF our verse division
more clearly before us than the parallels c
our Lord. Each parable is complete in itself
N organic whole. 1t is picture in miniaturt
Who Would ever, from their internal structure
any more than one would think Of ehzedding
lily to got It it's fragrance, O. dividing int
squares \ Huggles gem to see its beau
ties? let these '.Apples Of gold in picture
Of silver have suffered, and are da1y suffer
ing st the hands Of our Bible publishers, out
Esop or kI1mmAcher.
In the divisions into chapters, the saue II
tAlity to the sense often prevails. Sometime
these are 80 n,dl-apropos that nothing but th
reverence Of the intelligent reade1 sAves then
from tidiculo but what tends to excite th
1idicule or contempt Of the learned, may be
blind to uislead, OF barrier to stop the IN
learned. In illustration Of our r.
marks, take the story Of the vision O
the angel, As told IN Joshua, chapters '. an
n How does cur Bible give it J They cut i
in two One part is left IN chapter y, ind th
other part is found in chapter vi, the fft
chxpter ending with the edifying word.
"JoshuA did 10 :" that is, took on his shoe
OF the ful import OF the naz1aive. the reade
Of The fifth chapter win know nothing
and the same is true OF the reader Of th
sixth chapter. Unless Rad in connection
they cannot be understood. In Isaiah tho drea