The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-02-16
From the New York Evangelist
The Revised New Testament.


The Revised New Testament.
The Revision of the New Testament,
which has been in progress for. years, is
now complete. 1t has been printed at
the University presses in En- gland, and
copies are expected shortly in America
This is one of the greatest achievements
Of the scholarship Of the present century.
1t has occupied large number of the
best scholars in England and America
for ten years. In their studies every
verse and line has been gone over again
and again, so as to get the exact sense of
every word, of every Greek particle, of
every infection, which might give a pas
sage peculiar shade of meaning, and so
to bring out in the clearest manner the
full, rich, Divine import of the holy text.
In this way we have the New Testament,
as it was in the original Greek, rendered
into our modern English-we will not
say as perfectly as it is possible for the
learning of man to accomplish the sacred
task, but certainly as perfectly as we are
likely to have it in our generation.
The history of this movement for the
revision of our common version of the
Scriptures is familiar to our readers, but
it may be well to refresh their minds on
few points, now that the result of this
long labor is about to appear. 1t has
been stated very carefully from the first
that there was not to be new "transla-
ton of the Bible, nor new version, -
but only revision of King Jamess YER
sion. That version, which is the one
familiar to us and to the whole English
speaking world, is of priceless value. 1t
was not indeed the first English version,
nor the second, nor the third. Wye
liffe's and Tyndall's, and some half a
dozen others, had preceded it. But it
was vast improvement upon them all
1t was prepared by corps of the most
eminent scholars of the time, who spent
seven years upon this religious labor.
The work is monument of their wisdom
and judgment, as we'll as learning. Even
considered merely in its literary aspect,
1t ranks far beyond the best old English
authors in showing the wondrous fexi-
bllity and power Of the old Saxon
tongue. Multiplied by the art of print
ing by tens of thousands, and in these
latter days by millions, it has contributed
to fix the use of the English language,
as well as to carry the blessed truth of
the gospel to the English-speaking ma
tons in all quarters of the globe.
But time, which changes all things,
has impaired-very slightly, perhaps, but
really-the perfectness of our English
Bible; not that the Word of God itself is
or can be impaired, for that remains as
lmmutable as its Author, but our knowl-
edge Of it may be dimmed, so that we do
not take in full the light which it gives.
In the lapse of centuries the English Ian
guage itself has changed, SO that words
have lost their ancient meaning. and
been changed into another, and some
times into one exactly the opposite Of the
former In other cases land these are
much more numerous), while the sense
OF the original is not given enormously
1T is given imperfectly, by the dim and
vague apprehension Of the force of words
Which have some peculiar associations
that give them a special and very i'm
portant meaning.
Not only do the seimperfections in our
common version suggest the possibility
OF Improvement, but concurrent with
these perceived blemishes, there has come
IN these last times better knowledge
OF the original Greek, SO that scholars
nave far richer materials for making a
perfect English Bible. Within the last
ithlrty years the original text itself
mas been ascertained with degree OF
thoTroughness which was quite unknown
70 the translaters Of King James's time.
Old manuscripts have been brought to
light. Perhaps the most remarkable dis
covery Of all was in convent on Mount
Sinai. They have been collated with
the utmost care; so that as the result
the original Greek text has been ascer,
tanned with degree Of accuracy that is