The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1880-09-17
THE REVISED BIBLE.
Some of the Changes Made I'm the New
Testament.

Testament.
A London letter says: The new re-
vision of the New Testament issued from
the University press will at first shock
the Protestant world. 1t is not recog-
nizable as q Bible. The chapters and
verses are gone the running headlines
are gone verses are missing, changed,
pared; familiar texts that have become
craven on the minds of church people
for generations have disappeared, and in
their place are words foreign to the eye
and strange to the ear. Verbal and
grammatical changes may be counted
by the tens of thousands. The first
general idea that will strike the scholar,
however, is the faithfulness with which
the Greek text has been reproduced for
the English reader. The narrative is
unbroken by Disagreement of chapter
and verse, but the capitals, punctuation
and paragraphs, lacking in the original,
are, OF course, supplied, and, for con-
venience of reference to the present YER
sion, the present divisions are marked
parenthetically. The misleading head
lines disappear finally, without sign to
denote their improper intrusion. The
effect is striking, and a marked improve
ment. The sequence of the gospel mar
ratives, the logic of st. Paul, take on a
new appearance and force that is not all
owing to the improvement in grammati-
cal construction of the text, although in
first reading it is difficult to distin-
guish how much is owing to the one and
how much to the other.
Take this illustration Heb. iv. Gu,
which is fair example of this point.
OLD STYLE. NEW STYLE.
o. Seeing therefore III Since, therefore, IL
remaineth that some one maineth that some enter
must enter therein, ana therein, and they who
they 10 whom II was hrst formerly received the
preached entered not IN glad promise entered not
because OF unbeief. In because of disobedi-
T. Again, he hmteth aence, He again fixeth a
certain day. saying to Da- certain day, to-day, say
wa, To-day, after so longin so long time after
a time; as it Is said To- ward IN David (as hath
day, If you will hear His been said before) To-
voice, harden not your day, If we shall hear His
hearts voice, harden not your
hearts.
OMISSIONS FROM THE TEXT.
The fourth gospel suffers most at the
hands of the revisers, the synoptics even
less than the Revelation, and the Catho-
lie epistles least of all. The longest ex-
cision is from the fifty third verse of the
seventeenth chapter to the eleventh
verse of the next inclusive. The follow
ing verse az, in which Jesus declares
Himself the light of the world, is joined
upon, and is reply to, the scott of the
Pharisees in the preceding chapter, that
out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. The
next deletion of Importance is the an
gelic coloring of the description of the
pool of Bethesda, in the fifth chapter.
The following passage is omitted by the
reviewers
8. Waiting for the moving of the
water.
4. For the angel went down at a certain sea-
son into the pool and troubled the waters /; who
soever first after the troubling of the water
stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever dis
ease he had.
The famous text of the three heavenly
witnesses q. John V. 7-8) is, of course,
thrown out, the following words being
expunged:
7. In heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost these three are one.
8. And there are three that bear witness in
Another notable omission of the re-
visers is TO be found in the conversion of
Paul as recorded in Acts tx. So. The
words expunged are
8. 1t is hard for thee to kick
against the prcks.
6. And he trembling and astonished, said,
Lord what wilt Thou have me to do? And the
Lord said unto him.
There are many other familiar pas
sages that have disappeared MANY
be called but few chosen" from Mat
thew xxi. Ia; eff any man has ears
to hear, let him hear" from Mark vii.
Is.
Some of the happiest changes are of
single word, as "alive" for "quick."
"They had swallowed us up alive" has
very different sense than "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
needeth not to save to wash his feet"
Darkness over all the EARTH" and
"over all the land" (Palestine) are very
different things. In every change the
revisers lessen the strain upon faith.
Minor changes have been limited at.
1t would take too long to sort out, ar
range and classify them. Here are a
few that come hap-hazard Gas we
have forgiven" instead of forgive"
"our debtors" "The pinnacle of the
temple" instead of ga pinnacle" (there
was but one). "The first fruits of them
that are sleeping" instead of "slept."
"If one died for all, then were all dead"
instead of "then did all die" Paul did
not pray the Lord to avenge him on
Alexander he said : "The Lord will
reward him according to his work." not
"the Lord rewarded him." "Suppos-
ing that goodness were gain, instead of
gain is godliness. "The word be-
came Gnstead of was made) flesh"
" Born of woman, instead of "made of
a woman" I" For we saw his STAR" not
"have seen" it. Such changes as these
are to be found in every verse.