, 1880-12-26
TIE BIHIE SOCIETY AND THE NEW
VERET0N

TIE BIHIE SOCIETY AND THE NEW
VERSION.
Two questions are raised by the announce
| ment that the revised verhon Of the New
| Testament is nearly completed and ready fol
distribution. The first is, Will the transla
| ton be accurate. elegant, and pure? The
second is, WIN It be sustained and circulated
by the orthodox societies? The testimony
on the first point Is quite reassuring. We
are told that great pains have been taken tt
remove the thousands of errors and blenllshes
OF the old version, while retaining It's spirit
and the sound old Saxon In which it has been
imbedded. Anxiety on this account may,
therefore, be dismissed. But in proportion
as the dread Of unseemly innovation OF slay-
ish respect for venerable error vanishes, the
other question increases III Importance.
The American Bible Society virtually con.
trolls the distribution Of the Holy Scriptures
among the orthodox denominations In this
country. It has agents everywhere. It gives
away millions OF copies Of the Old and New
Testaments annually. Bibles bearing its
imprimatur are at q premium in the book
stores. It is at once the source and the
authority for most of the Bibles used By the
Protestants Of the United States, even those
which are nominally published by private
establishments. The power Of the Bible
Society Is at once the cause and the effect Of
q very conservative policy in its manage
ment. It has authority because it is sup
posed to be the jealous guardian Of the
original text. And the fact that very great
ro4,Hd 5e Il II, of- x.F
lest that trust might be abused.
The Bible Society will not come to the de-
cislon Of the question involved by the pub
fication OF the new version without expert
ence. As has been well pointed out 1t had q
momentous case OF the same kind on Its
hands twenty-four years ago. Its Committee
on Versions then undertook to correct some
OF the more obvious typographical b1unders
In the old version, not presuming even to
touch the countless archaisms, inelegancies,
and mfstranslatfons III which it abounds.
They changed "sodering" so as to read
soldering" and "rereward' so as to read
"rearward." They added one h to Juda, and
another to Sarn, and cast third out Of
Chanaan; puta final on "Sina, " and spelled
Sion with q. "Asswage" was converted
into "assuaEe.' They added sl1 to astonied.
put an o in "throughly'' corrected the gen
ders which were manifestly wrong {repre-
senting Ruth and Solomon's bride as
Is he's''), and made other such changes.
Their work was at first approved by every
body. Beautiful new copies OF the Bible
were struck OH and sent to learned societies
and to distinguished Doctors OF Divinity.
One was dispatched by special messenger
to Queen Victoria. Everybody applauded,
aud 1t was said for time that the American
Bible Society had done noble work. But
suddenly there came change. The Rev. A.
c. Coke OF Baltimore,-the very Bishop Coke
who is now making such an ado about the
new revision,-publis1led pamphlet In JAN
uary, 1857, in which he violently arraigned
the Bible Society for "seeking to supersede
the tine-honored version in Its integrity"
He charged the Society with the deadly sin
of correcting all the errors which it had dis
covered, whereas it had expressly stated its
intention to remove only obvious typograph-
lcal blunders. Other learned divines Joined
in the hre and cry. Dr.. Hodge, OF Prince
ton, could hardly say hard things enough of
the revision. It was "New7School" device;
and. as II that were not enough to
down it in the opinion of the Old
School, it was "the greatest public wrong
which had been committed by any of the
societies." The New York Obsc7-uer soon
teened with communications reiteratine the
most absurd accusations against the meu1-
bers Of the Committee on Revision. They
were elegantly called counterteiters ~ and
forgers," and their work WAS described as
base coin feIonIously put in circulation.
What wonder Is IT that they llQuaied under
the storm which their well-meant but un-
orthodox veracity had provoked They de-
Tended their work vigorously Mt first, then
more feebly, and finally not at all. All but
one Of them resigned, ant that one recanted.
The Bible Society, hguratively speaking, ar
rayed ITSELF in sackcloth and cast ashes on its
head. The beautiful new Bibles were called
In. The plates were melted down. And the
work OF repentance was clinched by con-
stirUtlonal amendment and a new charter
prohibiting the Society from circulating in
the future any but the King James version Of I
the Bible.
A. writer, reviewing this shameful retro !
grade movement, says: |
The Bible Society made quite needless sur |
render: They returned from - John the Baptist" !
% "Jonn Baptist, and restored all the errors to
their old places, just they are, publishing the
same IN this year Ut our Lord 1851. As to the |
headings OF the chapters, for no man inss ts |
That they are part Of that inspired Book which t
tAe Society Is limited to print. even Dr. Hodge !
admitted taar the Society was at perfect liberty |
70 leave them out. aud he said this. too, after |
9av1n1 declared that this was " by fur the worst |
feature OF the cnse.'-that ts the Committee
bad made series OF alterations in these which
gave nlm more concern and more onense than !
anythiuR else. The Society, however, after
onR debate in the Board of Directors. decided
10 retain them in their old form. They actually
gent back to repeating in Genesis, XIII. Isaac
. exchanged with 4 RAM" as they do now; in
5enesis, l.. they kept this: "Ho deth. and Ia
'hestod," instead OF embdn1ed. and this in Nun,
kts.: "Moses pegsuaderh God and obtained |
pardon; and this in Eether, ": He buildeth |
or him pair Of gallows y: and this Ia Matt,
k1n.: " And poseth the Pharisees about the
hesslas" d s - and most astonishing 70 thtnk, this
o sam. xvi: Samuel, sent by God. under !
9retenso OF sacrifice, cometh to Bethlehem"
lnese may now be discovered in the Bibles !
xhich the children have in our mission schools. |
" e can only bow Our heads and wonder. So at |
ast there was peace, and this Woful story went |
IN Its way into history.
Now comes that constitutional amend !
nent against revision that was fastened on
he American Bible Society. AS writer 'e-
marks, ut is likely that, in 1857, the Bible
society tied with its fingers what tsreafter,