The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1880-10-30
THE NEW BIBLE.
CHANGES, OMISSIONS AND ALTERATIONS IN
THE SCRIPTURES.

A correspondent Of the Chicago Times,
from London, under date of July 81, says:
The Queens printer, who alone by an
clent statute law Is permitted to publish
Bibles within the realm, has put his sigma
fnre upon the last proof sheet of the new
revision Of the New Testament, and within
q week the first shipment Of the bound
volumes will be made to wherever the
English tongue IS spoken by Protestants
For many reasons the new revision is an
epoch in Protestantism and a red letter day in
all Christian churches the world over Its
advent, looked forward to for over a decade,
and the hope Of thousands Of Christian
minds, will be subject of absorbing interest
The revision is catholic in its nature /;
cathedral in its form. Ii is the Joint work
Of the new and old worlds Of all branches
Of the Protestant Church Of learning and
piety joined hand IN hand priest and lay
men, prelate and scholar, working together.
|H The necessity for a revision of the present
w text has become imperative-and for many
years previously there had been careful in
and discussion, in regard to the best
by which 1t ought to be brought
. The plan that has been slowly ma
under the advice of the most eminent
in this country and America was
lted to the Convocation May 6. 1870
Ian met with prompt approval, and the
now completing was begun without
The scheme could never have had
ope of success had it been confined to
Established Church, and it therefore
nplated union of learning and special
for the labor that would embrace the
whole world; that would unite all English
ng races and all denominations that
el4i produce text to be accepted In all
s1. and among all people as an author
..e- rersion" " aDd a correct rendering of
one iginal text so far as the original text
-1I- be agreed upon by scholars.
The English Committee appointed by the
--1y1 alton comprised the venerable Arch.
lst. French, of Dublin; the Bishops of
3 Lincoln, Winchester, st. Davids, Durham
sails. ury, Bath and Wells, Llandaff, Glou-
ssstsr and Bristol, and St. Andrews the
0eo of Westminster, Ely, Lichfeld,
ROo ster, Lincoln, CanteTbury and Peter
.or. h the Archdeacons of Dublin, Can
4 Ger ~, Bedford and Maidstone the Pro-
fessors of Hebrew Greek, Arabic and special
theological branches in the universities of
Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, London,
9 Glasgow, and of the Wesleyan College at
Didshury: the Baptist Colleges at London
and Bristol. the Congregational Colleges at
Glasgow, and the Free Kirk (Presbyterian)
College at Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edin-
DQIgn- o LncSc WGIc dQQeQ eminent Lay
men adapted to the work.
The American Committee was organized
in 1871, chiefly from professors in the lead
ing theological seminaries of the different
denoaiinations the divinity schools of Har-
ward, Yale, Princeton, New Brunswick,
4 AndoVer, Rochester, New York, Philadel-
= phia, Trenton, Hartford, Alexandria and
other cities furnishing their ablest scholars.
Bishop Lee was the only Transatlantic
Episcopalian-
In addition to these committees, Tschen-
\ dorf, Kennen, Ewald and nearly hundred
other eminent Bible scholars Of the Conti-
uent Including several Catholic prelates)
placed their special knowledge, their time
and their manuscript treasures at the dis
posal of the committee, and, as correspond
ing members, have rendered assistance of
the very highest value.
The principles of the revision were
markedly conservative. Z" As few altera-
tions in the present TEXT as taithfulness to
the original would permit was the first
and great commandment; but 1t was under
stood that IS faithfulness to the original re-
quired a great many changes. No change
was retained without a two-thirds vote IN
each committee. The original text " was
selected In the same manner from the oldest
and best uncial manuscripts.
In America ana mere, IOuOWLlAB Al poib
the plan of the King James translators, the
committee divided, the Hebraists taking the
Old Testament, the Hellenists the New
Testament. These did not sub-diYide the
word, however, and each member. OF the
New Testament Committee became respon-
sible for the correctness Of the entire work.
Great as has been the bulk of information
disseminated concerning the Scriptures,
some facts of the first importance are little
known. One of them is that there never
has been a standard text. The edition s
printed by the Queens printer for the Bible
Society have widely varied, and since King
James's day there have been many unau-
thorized and no authorized version strictly
so-calIed. The American Bible Society is
even in worse plight, and has of late years
been adhering to a text of its own, while the
other societies do not even adhere to one
text.
The present text of the English version is
over three centuries old. and during that
time the language has not alone taken on
many new words, but il has also dropped
many then in use, and found new meanings
for old words which have lost their original
significance Let me instance few obso-
lete words: doves tabering on their
breasts" instead of drumming. "The lion
filed his den with ravin," instead of plum
der '' Neither is there any daysman, In-
stead of umpire Ouches," for sockets !;
elouts," for patches " caring" for plough
ing; /" bruit" for report; :" boUied," for
swallow, are other examples. The changes
IN slgnihcation, however, are much more
important, and lead to error, contradiction,
dispute. When we read that the daughter
Of Herodias said, Give me, by and by, in
chArg er, the head Of John the Baptist, /" it is
natural to think that she was in no great
hurry. But three hundred years ago +" by
and by" meant instantly, Immediately,
forthwith, and q charger was not war
horse" but what our housewives call dish
and yours q platter. "GiVe me instantly in
dish the head of John Baptist" is quite
different from the old form. The "artillery -
.l.-- e = IL rn.LI