The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-04-14
The Revision Of the New Testament.

From an article by DR.. Joseph Angus,
in the January Sunday Magazine, we
CLEAN the following particulars about the
Revision of the New Testament, which
is now finished, and the results of which
are being issued from the press.
The movement for Bible Revision be-
gan at the Convocation of Canterbury,
May 5th, 1870. A Committee was ap-
pointed, and, at its first meeting, twenty
one scholars were selected, as members of
the New Testament Company. To these
were afterE ,rds added fifteen eminent
American scholars. The English Com
pany first revised the Greek text and tho
translation. They confined themselves
to forty verses day, and ittook them six
years to complete this part Of their work.
As each portion was completed, copies
were sent to the American Company,
who sent back their criticisms. Then
there was second revision by the En-
glish Company, which took two years
and half. The various portions of this
second revision were also sent to Ameri-
ca and the American scholars returned
these, with any further criticisms and
suggestions. At last, the Revised Yer
sion was sent to America in its final form,
and the American Company asked to
express its judgment upon this.
A very great deal of care and labor has
thus been bestowed, to give the English
speaking world as perfect translation Of
the Word of God rs can be made by
men, The two Companies are composed
of scholars of all denominations In the
second and final revision, it was required
that all changes should be affirmed by q
two-thirds vote. The meetings of the
English Company have been held in the
Jerusalem Chamber of Westminster
Abbey. The Company has been con-
vened ten times year, for the last ten
years, for four days at time; and
generally, for seven hours each day.
Thus four hundred working.days have
been given to this work, by twenty one
men. The fifteen American scholars
have expended scarcely less time and
toll. The expenses are borne by the
Clarendon Press, Oxford, and the Uni
versity Press, Cambridge, who publish
the book.
There is some diversity of opinion as
to the wisdom of undertaking this Re-
vision; but, we think, there can be no
doubt that the work has been we'll done.
Our present translation, the King James
Version, as it is called, was made with
much less pains This. was done by two
Companies of eight and seven scholars,
who sat at Oxford and Westminster, and
seldom, if ever, compared notes. The
time occupied was about two years and
three quarters the final revision, by
portions of the two Companies, occupy.
ing nine months more. In the matter Of
care and time, therefore, the New Yer
sion has greatly the advantage. 1t is
fair to presume, too, that the scholarship
devoted to the work is greater now than
it was then.
The new Testament will som be scat
tered abroad, and people can then judge
for themselves. 1t will, probably, be
found not to differ much in style and
language from the Revision we now have,
but to free this from obsolete words and
obscure forms of expression. No one
need be afraid of these changes. 1t will
still be the same old Bible, whatever the
differences in modes of statement. Let
us be thankful that wo have this new
help in the study of the blessed Word Of
God.