New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-06-06
THE NEW VERSION.
1ropna or uApW APPROVAL.


m. Rsr Robert oO,,ysr al ns CAueA Of ne xsssaA (unfr
The Rev. Robert Collyer preached Yesterday
morning at the Church Of the Messiah upon the revision
OF the New Testament. His text was Proverbs A@A'
Every word of God Is pure
suppose there was time SAID tne speaker
since the New Testament was gathered into one DOCK
when 80 many men ana women might be iouno reaulng
In the English tongue In this year OF our Lord ana
that nowhere on the earth coud one fnd 90 many oenu
ing over the sacred pages In these States And while
this NAV be aserbed in fair to the fact
that no book printed since types invented has ever
been so urgently forced the public attention rs TINS
new edition of the dear old volume We
must eth allow that those VINO may
not have felt that bring home aresh to the heart Oh
man was their strongest motive knew very wen Wha'
they were doing and have printed these vast and var
GUS editions because they felt there would DC s"t
and vast demand for them through which they would
find their own advantage. shall we wonder OF TINS
when we think for O moment of the wonderful hoio inc
New Testament has the common heart ana mlno'
when all Is said that can De saiu apOu'
the drift of this heart and mind away from
the old sacred yerites on which the soul must rest
There is no book printed which we must confess so
close knship this The New Testament mas peeh W
the most of us what no other book be- from the day
we were born until this morning.
stin, 1t Is an open secret that Tor many !eor9
there has been q feeling among those who can
COMPARE the English tongue with the originals
that the old translation we have useo ior
27O years is not always true. Then manu-
script copies have been found Of much Garner
date than any known to the scholars Oh tna'
day. and these contain new readngs-new because tney
are od which point to the suspicion that the later
anuseripts have been altered So 1t natural that
there should be growing desire for new trnnsa-
ton but for edition, that would look to all this'
and make the precious volume true at once
to the ancient tongues and to the earliest ana
clearest manuscripts, and to the bnghSh
tongue Of our day preparing such an edition these
points had to be guarded 1t could not be done by any
sect because must look at Gods truth through
ta own spectacles; and should have al the old
trouble again about bap or Immersion, repentance
presbyter bishop; and tao vereiOn, When u was
made, would be O mere curiosity. 30 that those VINO
took the work hand be OF sect or of none
as IL might happen. But they must be the
choicest English scholars to be found anywhere
and not bound up within their ISM even within the
island where the movement was started Inc nru Ilt
was that they must not I've too greedy Tor change out
must remember deeply the common heart If eel on
the stands and the simple and strong VernAeu
The frst point was wen guarded against In the selec
ton of men only with reference TO their ability and the
England but in America, in China, in Africa, anu
wherever else they might be found think speaK ,aS
that we are all glad to find that so little harm has been
done 70 our deep love Tor the Moro S wf bes 20 @
kept troth fairly with the simple ana uneatneu
or lar am old enough now to dskc great and sudden
change IN anything OF the deepest moment hnt am
the book we love best. II might have been worse 1t
could hardly been better so far IA the mere form
OF words goes, IL 10 have new version. All
the good chapters the Old and New Testamcuts have
lyrical element in them They are musical and we
sing them lind to my delight that can still sing those
chapters, apS bo 'ns sweet ef' old charm; while
e am glad even to lose some touch of it for
the sake Of the cleaner truth which has come 10 u.s. be-
yond doubt, through the work which has been done.
1uf lar eanaciallv glad again, Oil must ne VINO
have had to fight for sweeter and more reasonable IN,
soIie things in IT, Il do believe this though ten
thousand Bibles should affirm 1t to be true | am glad
old and lie TO the heart OF those who think
as do 1t Is told of sister OF late Archbishop OF
terbury that when TO the horror Of the Prmae s
became Unitarian he told her that II she would read
the New Testament in the Greek she would una there No.
Knew no Greek. But she learned the language csPe-
Unitarian all her life she found nothing there she
said, except Untaranism
Trinity and certainly Was R0ten true Sas se
and the Holy Ghost and these three are one" have
heard notable preached nP%o that text n sup
who made the new version have left this
S Seef that John never wrote a truth good scholars Of
the reer Sort everywhere have for years been insisting
upon. So find no new shade of meaning brought IN
anywhere 10 maintain Trinity IL IA still the old frank
word, The Lord our God" 1.-The Lord Is one and mas
notice also new shades OF emphasis and OF meaning
we may be glad for, In the translation touching the
read: There Is one God and one mediator
between God and man, the man Jesus Christ :; In the
new 1t is, " There Is one mediator between God and
man. himself man, Christ Jesus In the SAM epstle
the old reading "God manifest In the flesh" Is
changed TO lie who aniest in the hesh,' taking
great completely out OF the controversy as We
have claimed that 1t should be. In another epstle,
Paul speaking Jesus made TO say In the old version
"Who being in the form God, Thought IL not rob
berry to equal with Cod; but in the the passage
reads VINO being form of God. thought 1t not
thing TO he grasped TO be equality with God "A
reading which alters the whole meaning. In another
where the old version reads, or whom concerning
the flesh Christ cae, who is all God blessed for
ever" the reading we have insisted on Is given In
the margin, lie, who is God over all, be
blessed for ever" which changes the doctrine into
aseriptiOn. In the epistc OF John the name OF Cod
which been claimed refers to Christ is taken out
There is only one place in the old version Of the New
Testament in which the word stonement Is used IN the
new version this instance is left out and the word
reconciliation is inserted Predesunation Is soft
notice another word which has been changed
and touched with this sweet reasonabeness,
.daulnation" lie left out OF the new version en-
tirey, and gives place TO condemnation There
is clear gain also in the version touching the last
fastness and disnay, he'll and It's everlasting
torments. 1t has seemed clea TO me that where any
be made TO prove eternal doom and eternal
fire. that sentence should certainly not be taken as
word of God 1 think that our new uansators have
dealt with these paseages too timdly. stu they make
the margin often read " for ages OF ages where the
text reads forever and ever aud that is In harmony
with the best scholarship which insists that age and age
enduring should always be used Instead OF everlasting
and forever. They have not shown quite THIS spirit
however ia dealing with the word he'll which has gath
cred In the course OF time such fearful meaning.
think they should simply have left II out In the twenty
IN every instance Hades," Gohenna" Iartarus"
and left mako cut the meaning each man for him
but do not take kindly to finding fault where there
much to praise: We can only hope that II may In
deed win way IT into general acceptance The
saddest thing that happen to make this new YER
sion . bone OF contention