The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1880-12-09
"THE MUTILATED BIBLE

! We print below an article describing some of
the changes in the King James translation of the
Bible made by the American and English the
ologians who have been engaged for the past
decade in its revision:
The most striking elusion occurs in the Gospel
according to St. John. The ffty-thrd verse of the
seventh chapter and the first eleven of the
eighth chapter, which tell the story of the woman
taken in adultery all stricken out. The
twelfth verse is retained and added to the fifty
second of the previous chapter The fourth verse
of the fifth chapter, descriptive of the angels
troubling the waters of the pool Of Bethesda, and
the passage, ''Waiting for the moving of the
water" in the third verse, have all disappeared.
In the first episte general of John, parts of the
seventh and eighth verses of the fifth chapter,
alluding to the three heavenly witnesses, are ex-
plunged. And in Acts X. the following portions
of the description Of the conversion of Paul are
thrown out:
IS It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks
wilt thou have the Lord Sujd unto him."
There are many familiar passages that have dis
appeared: "Many be called but few chOsen,n from
Matthew xii, If; "If any man has ears to hear
let him hear" from Mark VIII l6 Some of the
happest changes of a single word, as ''alive'
for 'quick" ''They had swallowed us up alive"
has a very different sense from swallowed Us up
quick" Again, ''He that is washed needeth not
save to wash his feet becomes much more simple
when rendered. "He that has taken a bath need
eth not save to wash his feet" Darkness over
all the EARTH" and OveT all the land" (Palestne)
are very different things. In every change the
| revisers lessen the strain upon faith. There are
many minor changes. Here are few: "As we
have forgiven" instead of forgive debtors"
''The pinnacle of the temple instead of "a pin
nacen there was but One). ''The fruits of them
that are sleeping" instead of 'slept" "If one
died for ALL then We're all dead" instead of "then
did all die" Paul did not pray the Lord to
avenge him on Alexander. He said, '1he Lord
will reward him according to his works, f" not 1.-The
Lord reward him. 'SuppOsing that gOdliness
were gain" instead of 'gain is gOdliness." "The
world became (nstead of made) flesh"
! 'Born of woman instead of ''made of woman"
"FOr we saw his STAR not ''have seen" it. Such
and il will not require very careful reading of
either of the gospels to how many changes that
have been made that do not change the spirit, vet
add to its clearness and force well as accuracy.
Some of the emendatiOns which have been made
/ in the Bible text by the English and American
| translatOrs are quite noteworthy. For example,
/ "Beap' supposed by the earliest translatOrs
/ to be "A proper name. 1t is found to mean simply
unworthy, and the phrase, "sOns of Beialn is
/ properly rendered unworthy men," 'Jasher'i is
not proper name, but an adjective, meaning up
right and the "BOOk of Jasher'' is the Book of
/ the Upright" The "Gammadnsu Eek xvii,
/ III are warriors; 'Pannag' " IL means candy;
/ ''Shethn means a tumult; "Bajithn an idol tenn
pie. The wild 'guesses' of the early translators
| often show absurd blunders. The ''mules' men,
/ toned in Genesis as having been found were
warm springs; pledges they turned into thick
| clay, fleet" into both piercing and crooked,
''curls into galleries, leaders into avenging,
" ostrichesh into owls, goats into satyrs,
''droves' into linen yarn, set up" they render as
east down, and JOseph's "tunic with long sleeves
/ Instances might be multiplied until patience was
exhausted of their inaccuracy. In the New
Testament they were better qualified for the work,
and their errors were not so gross.