New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-12-28
a number Of bishops Of the

as its indicates OF number Of bishops Of the
Church of England. in the reign of Elizabeth.
| All these TRANSACTIONS and revIsOus were onl Y
finally discarded, among PrOtestants at least, IN
favor of what has since been known :" The Au-
thonzed Version" though. strange to say. notwitll-
standing its frequent announcement as such nj.
particular translation authorized"
| by KING. council or parliament; nor Is IL known
whether the words Appointed to be read in
| OF either the printer or bookseller n n mere trade
device. This version the result Of the ab0rs of
tftyfour learned men, the names OF forty-seyen Of
! whom only are now known, and was not. strictly
speaking. translation" but rather q collation. II
all that had gone before. These were appointed
| in 1904, by King James l.. but for cause un-
years after that and In the interval some changes
In their number were rendered necessary by death
and other causes. The translatOrs divided into
SIX companies, and the work pOriJOned among them
and the separate portions afterward submitted
To the entire body for approval. set OF fifteen
rules was drawn up for their guidance by the Kings
command. and the expense borne, not by tha
King, but by contributions from the Bishops and
Others interested the work. The style of the ver-
sion ~ peculiar and Ii has been asserted that tho
revisers did not the actual current book Ian
enage nor the colloqual speech Of tie English pep
pie" BE that II may, the fact romans that it
was the first really authentic and trustworthy trans
latiOn INTO the English vernacnlar and one that
, IRON h inc favor WIN which u was fseeiyed was IN
peared IN 1911. in single folio volume printed IA
black letter. and with the'folowng title:
THE HOLY BIBLE ! Conteynng The Old Tesla.
original tongues; with the former transIat0nsiiI-
hgenty compared aud revised by his Mtiest'ers spec
iall Commandment Appointed 20 bee read iD Churches
Imprinted at London by Robert Barker Printer to the
Kings most excellent Majestic Ammo DOn 1911.
The first manuscript New Testament in English
was that OF Wycliiie. 1880. which was followed two
years after bv the first Ms. Old Testament. The
first printed New Testament was Iyndale's. Cologne
and Worms, l32J-20. The first printed Bible was
that Of COyerdale. Antwerp 1873. The Seven PEN
iteniial Psalms the first portion Of Scripture
printed IN England, 1908. and the first Bble printed
rf( tx dali Asafffft
The first book Of any kind printed In America was
the Bay Psalm Book" Cambridge, Mass. 1910.
and the first Bible printed IN America and having
an American imprint was an edition OF the Author
lied Version, bearing date Philadelphia, 1892.
On account of the queer rendering. or rather mis-
rendering of some particular word or phrase, many
BIB les have come 10 be known and designated bv
these pecuharites. For instance. We have tho
"BTeeches Bible" the Rosln Bible" and the Bug
Bible" The foundation for the last-uamed lies IA
the fact that i'm the passage, Thou shalt not DO
AFRAID for the terror by night" Psalm xci. 3 the
word terror is rendered IN a certain edition,
"bugges.' In the first of the above three Instances,
Adam and Eve are said To have made for themselves
breeohes of hg- leaves and IN the other instance,
wAich was "a Douay Bible, by the way, the word
rendered ''TOslD."
An entire article might he given 10 an account of
the typographical errors alone that have from time
to time dishguTed the sacred text. Printers and
prOOtreadcTs only poor nortals liable 70 err.
many author knows to his sJgrOw but II Is never
theess difficult 20 understand how such mistake
could arse gave 90 a Cambridge edition published
80 lately as sos the title of the TO remain BbcW
/ he editor wrote the margin of the proof the
words to remain with reference 10 a comma
which the printer Thought should be raken ont. Tho
latter however settled any doubts he may have had
on the subject by inserting the two w0rs. 50 that
the entire passage was made to read: Prosecuted
him that born after the spirit, 10 remain even so
it IS now" scarcely less ridiculous blunder buG
IA far more serious one occurred in what was IN con-
sequence of II called the " Wicked Bible" published
IT. London IN 1851 In this case the word not was
left out of the seventh commandment This awful
error was pointed ont to Charles L., who lined tbs
printer e3O0-a small fortune IN those days-and
caused the entire edition 10 be destroyed. la another
London edition of the Authorized Version, 1913
/ Cor. vi, 3, reads: Know ye not that
the un-rghteous shall inherit the kingdom
of HsavenT Other mistakes have been peTUe-
tratcd of a character somewhat more ludlcrOus than
unpious. Thus. Cotton Mather mentions a Bible
ia which David Psalms, xix, 1Ol makes the start
ling assertion that " Printers have prosecuted ma
Of errors we have Blessed are the plGcc-makers,'
instead of peace-makers, beatltude that might
easily the creed of large class IN this land
of ours.
But the day when such a duplication Of errors
was possible is now, happily long passed, and tho
Holy Scriptures probably among the best ex-
amples of the printers accuracy. And although
the best biblic'sts both in England and America
are now engaged the revision of the sacred text,
IL simply because it believed, and justly tha5
many passages may, in the additional hight which
modern research has thrown upon sacred subjects,
be given better rendering than 1t was possible
they could receive nj the hands of men who, al
though the ripest scholars of their day. yet labOred
and wrote IN the comparative darkness OF from
200 to 400 years ago. HENRY L. REoDALL.
Ner York. Dec. 20, 1879.