The daily gazette., 1880-08-31
From the Pl. adelphla Times.
The Bibte.

remarkable event in the Christian
world, not only TO religious people who
make a regular practice of reading their
Bibles, but to everybody who knows
| how ia read, wherever the English
language is spoAen. The Old Testament
will not be ready for some time to come,
but there is no reason why the enterprise
of American publishers should noL Hood
/ the land with a. cheap edition OF the
Revised New Testiment within very
few days after the first British copy
reaches our shores. There will be
widespread curiosity TO see what the
reyisers have done with the Book which
has so long bpen regarded as the most
standard work of ENGLISH literature. For
it is not only as book OF oo, "a and
of religious faith that the Bible hnds its
way everywhere and is better fn1"n
than any other book, even if not more
closely studied than some. 1t is i'll
every printing office as surely as the
dictionary. 1t is on the parlor table Of
every family and on the desk OF every
man of letters, whatever be his faith. 1t
is in every court of justice, whether great
or small. Its expressions enter into the
literature OF our language more than
those of any other ever printed. The
revision Of such book and the issue OF
a new edition of it therefore concern
everyone who reads or speaks.
AT the outset it is well TO dispel The
fears of those who have nervously drea-
ded change In the Book which from
their youth they have loved and almost
worshiped. Some of lhese have been
afraid that a new translation might axe
out some passages which were very dear
to them, or that it might i,Lioduce
something calculated t. unseltle their
faith, or TO put wea .is into the hands
of the enemies # religion. There is no
danger Of a4S thing of this kind. The
work las not been done at hap-haZard,
or by men who have had doctrinal hob
bies to ride or particular theories to al
vance. The gentlemen who have spent
their time and labor on it are among the
first scholars in the world and no change
has been made except by a two-thirds
vot. fthe whole company. The alter
ato.s =, principally verbal ONES and
generally sal,'i'lte words which are
now in Ordinary ,5' for those which
were in use in 1911, when the version
we have been using was issued. In many
instances obvious errors OF translation
in the old are corrected in the new. 1t
has never been claimed that the men
men who made the King James version
were so learned or so holy that they
could not make a mistake. For their
day they we're eminent in scholarship.
In concientiousness and piety they were
the peers of any scholars of the present
time. But the scholars of to-day have
ncomparably better facilities for finding
the tue meaning of Hebrew and Greek
words than could be gained in those
days. The wonder is that, with scholar
ship in the state it was at that time, the
"King James Versiol" was made so
nearly perfect that it has served until
now. AT various times there have been
movements in favor of new version;
but a general outcry was raised against
all such movements until now.
1t is just five hundred ears since John
Wickiifle issued the first complete version
of the Scr ptures in the English langusg
1t was made from the Vulgate or com
monty received Latin version. About this
time paper madeo { rags began to take the
place OF parchment. But Nicklifle's Bibl
was printed from blocks laboiiousl" rt'
by hand. William Tyndale's Translation
was finished in 1884. To him the English
Bible owes more than to almost any
other laborer. Tyndale's Bible had its
imperfections, and the next attempt at a
completely new version was made few
wears later by Coverdale, who had been
associated with Tyndalo. IL was 10 great
impro, ement ON Tyndale's but on being
submitted by King Henry the Eighth "
the Bishops, was approved and ordered
to be placed IN the churches. Archbishop
Cranmer made movement for revi,ion,
and in 1877 appeared "Ma;thew's Bible,"
| for VIII! ch John Rogers, a friend d CO.
laborer ofTyndale, was largely respon-
sible. The "tireat Bible" appeared in
1888, and was the the next year followed
by th3 Cranme. Bbl', Win was a
revision of it. The ''ientt n. a
| comp eted in 1860. 1t was tine wolk :,
retugets on the Continent, prominent
among whom was Coverdale, who was
by this time very old man and who had
| all his life beeen interested in making
| the best translf ton of the Bible that
| could be made The Geneva Bible was
the first that was translated from the
| Hebrew of the Old Testament and the
| Greek of the New The "Bishops' Bible"
was an improvement on that of CIanmer.
| The Archbishop Of Canterbury set a
number of learned men at work on il,
their revision to be subject to his decision.
| Their work occupied four years, and the
| Bishops Bible was issued in 1872. The
Rheims New Testament was translated
by Roman Catholic refugee s, and publish
| ed in 1882.
| When King James the Sixth Of Scot
land and First of England began to reign
! j .16)3, he found gr' at demand among
| his subjects for bet er revision of the
Bible than was in existence. He appoint
| ed ffty-two learned men to make new
transla, ion, adhering as closely to that
of the Bishops Bible as was practicable.
| The translators were divided into six
companies, two of which met in Oxford,
t yo in Cambridge and two in Wesmin-
ster. Their work was begun in 1904 and
| finished iu 1911. The merits OF the ver-
sion they made are now universally
! acknowledged. But this was not so a.
/ first. It.encountered great prejud ces. Its
Introduction was bitterly opposed. 1t
was not generally introduced for half a
century. No royal edict compelled its
use, but by its own merit it surmounted
the obstacles in its way. AS that version
was revision of rev slons, so is the new
one which will so soon be put into the
hands of the people of America. 1t must
be remembered that the learned men
who have labored on this are rot