The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1880-03-19
CORRECTING THE BIBLE.
The Details of that Important Work In
terestinely Described.
York Times


oaul's Methodist Episcopal church on
he subject of bible Revision" DIR.
schaff took for his text the last verse of
he second epistle of St. Peter, and said
hat this was one of the proof texts for
he doctrine of the inspiration of the
Holy Scriptures, and applied TO the old
Testament, but with still greater force to
he new Testament The bible, whether
considered in literary, historical, theo-
ogical or inSpirational view was the
greatest book in the world, and was of
universal and perennial interest. The
book of God, the church of God, and
lac day of God were the three pillars of
he structure of society, and it was i'm
portant therefore, that We should have
that book in its purity brought home TO
US in our own vernacular tongue. AL
though given originally to the
Jews it was intended and de-
signed for all mankind, and
now nearly 300 languages, by their trans
lations, speak these oracleS of God.
They have been translated more widely
than any book the world ever saw. 1t
was originly written in the Hebrew, next
in the Greek, about two centuries before
Christ, and next in the Latin tongue.
The first translation of it made in Great
Britain was about the seventh century,
and later it was rendered by the venera-
BILE Bede into the Anglo-SaxOn tongue.
In 1880, just 500 years ago, John Wye
liffe's translation into the English Ian
guace was issued but that was made |
from Latin vulgate and embraced only |
the Old Testament. In the sixteenth |
century, the era of the reformation, the |
crowning event of that great movement |
was the translation of the gospel by |
Tyndal, upon which was based the re- |
vfson of it now IN ordinary use known as
the King james or authorized" version,
which revision was begun in 1903 and
ended in 1911 1t is the product of the
church of England, and has been
carried out OF that body by all
the dissenting bodies which have
sprang from it, and all alike carried with
them whatever errors existed in it. For
years these errors and discrepancies and
mistranslations have been the subject of
discussion and controversy, and finally,
about twelve years ago, number of peO-
pie began TO agitate the subject of re-
vision. 1t was great task, and was
confronted with many obstacles. 1t
could not well be carried out as de-
nominalional or sectarian scheme, for
the revised version would have to be
such a one as Methodists, Episcopalians,
Presbytcrians, Baptists, all the sects or
churches, in fact, could and would &C
cept. In 1870 the congregation of Canter-
bury, England, undertook, under Gods
spirit and influence, to secure revision,
and appointed board OF scholars to
take the work in hand. Among the rules
laid down by the congregation was the
Injunction that the idiOm and vocabulary
of the present version should be retained,
so that it should not be a new transla-
ton or version, but simply revision
of Volume and all Snrl
changes were to be made as were calcu-
lated to bring out more literally and
clearly the spirit of God, rs revealed in
his book That English committee on
revision was composed of professors Of
Greek and Hebrew, theologians, minis
tiers. students of Biblical history and
scholars Of the highest grade, embracing
all the Protestant creedS among their
numbers. The commission meets month
" at the Jerusalem chamber at Westmin-
ster. But after they began their work it
occurred to them that they hard no right
to ignore America, and they requested
the Christian churches of the United
States to organize a similar commission
here to cooperate with the English body,
believing that il would tend to insure
greater accuracy and nearer approach
to perfection. The American commits
sion was organized in 1871, and meets
every month in the Bible house in this
CITY 1t consists of well-known Biblical
scholars, representing all the leading
American religious denominations, and
all the principal American literary insti-
| tutions, universities, colleges and semina-
| RES, nearly all of them being professors
of Hebrew and Greek, or of Biblical liter
| allure. The English commission is div
| ided into the Old Testament company
and the New Testament company. At
| their monthly meetings they submit
| their translations and renderings of the
| books made from their own examinations
| of all the TRANSACTIONS and versions, and
| from the original manuscripts. Each
book and chapter is taken up successive
| ly and discussed, aud no change from
the existing version can be agreed on by
less than n majority vote. They then
| consider such changes a second and a
third time, and the change is only final
| ly authorized if it secures twOthirds
vote in its favor They then send con
| fidential transcript Of their recommend
| ed version to the American commission
and it is similarly acted upon here and
as fully considered, and the American
commission may confirm, modify, or re.
lect, ormake new suggestions In the work,
sending its transcript in similar conf
Dental way to the English commission
for their approval, modification or rejec-
ton. The British and foreign and the
| American Bible societies have nothing
to do with the work. though they take
great.intercst in it, because by their con.
stitution they are limited to the produc'
ton and dissemination of the King
James or authorized version, but is prob
able that efforts will be made to change
the constitution SD as to enable them tC
publish and distribute the new version
if not alone, at least with present yer
sion. All the proposed changes which
cannot be agreed on will be printed in
an appendix, but the list of these chang
es will be small and will touch mainly
on minor points of language and spell
ing, and matters of national taste rather
than affecting the merit of the work
Some of these points relate TO rendering
into equivalent English or American
terms the coins and weights and meas
ures now expressed in the Greek anC
Latin terms, or whether the modern
equivalents or the ancients ones shall b.
given in the marginal notes. When fin
ished, the version is to be printed anG
published by the University press of Ok
ford and Cambridge, so that no part o
the pecunIary burden is borne by Amer
lea, and in consideration of that the Eng
fish commission will claim the exclusiv,
| copyright. Inc NEW 1cSltlhSnl Will ~
copyrighted Ply the coming fall, so tina
it may be issued in the fifth century al
ter Wyclifie's first English edition wa
given to the world. The Old Testamen
will not be completed for two or tire
, years to come, and the Apocrpha will b
DELAYED two or three years still later
When the edition is completed, the com
/ mission will retire from control, and
will soon be question for every Chris
tian family to decide whether they vii
| adopt the new Bible or not
/ DR.. Schaff, in conclusion, said that h
, had no doubt the new copy would 500
take the place of the authorized" veI
sion, although some were already nue.
troubled about it, and thought it would
, unsettle peoples minds somewhat
1 But to that he replied tina
: minds were already unsettled COZ
} corning the accuracy of the bible whe
} the work was begun, and they must b
3 settled again. The existing version o.
/ ten required explanation and cOrrectIo
! from The pulpit, and to his judgment
seemed that the pulpit was not the plac
: for it, and he believed the best way wa
to avoid such necessity by obtainin
: the best rendering of Gods book tina
5 our learning, scholarship, and intelleS
t tual advancement could procure, an
| that ultimately il would tend to tn
. greater glory of God, the spread of hi
5 power, and the influence of His Hol
, Spirit