The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-06-22
HE'LL Or DEVIL.
The Way the Revised Bible Deals
W 18th Them.
A writer in the New York Times

A writer in the New York Times
evidently theological scholar
reviewing the changes made by the
translators of the new version of the
New Testament, says: There is one
word which is not to be found any
where in the old version, which has
been transferred bodily from the
Greek to the revised edition. This
is the word "Hades," which was
used in Greek mythology to denote
the world of departed spirits.
This word in the authorized
version was translated "hell,"
and the fact the scholars
having this revision in charge have
refused to sanction this translation
has given rise to the report
that the "hell" of the Bible
was to be abolished. The report
has no foundation in fact.
Wherever the word "Gehenna" APP
pears in the original it has been
properly translated "hell." The
'Hades" of the original has a quite
different Specification, and by trans
lating it hell" the proper meaning
OF the word was ObScured. An in
stance of the use of "EIades" in the
new version is to be found in Acts
IL, q, where these words are
quoted from Psalms xvi. in refer
ence to Christ: "Thou wiltnot leave
my soul in Hades, neither wilt thou
give thy holy one to see corrup-
ton" The common rendering
"hell" is evidently here wholly UNI
suitable. The text simply predicts
the resurrection of Jesus after his
death, affirming that he will not be
allowed to remain in Hades, the re-
giOn of departed spirits. In the
31st verse Of the same chap
ter of Acts, His soul was not
left in hell" is changed to His
soul was not left in Hades," and
wherever the word "HadeS" occurs
in the original it is retained in the
version. The hell of the gospel,
the place of eternal punishment, is
retained, but the word used to de-
scribe it in the Greek is "Gehenna,"
and not "Hades."
The word "devil," which appears
in the authorized version very fire.
quently is eliminated in the revised
in many places. Two very different
Greek words were each translated
devil" by the men who made the
King James version. One of these
clearly meant the prince of darkness.
This was the word used in Matthews
w., 1:"Then was Jesus led up of the
spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil" Then there
is the other word, the liberal trans
lation of which is demon" which
is so often used in connection with
those miserable persons who are
described literally as ''demOnized,"
or, in the free translation of
the authorized version, as possessed
of the devils" The rendering Of
the two distinct words by the same
term Obliterates to the English
reader a very clear distinction which
is made in the original The men
possessed of devils. or demoniZed,'
were not regarded, even by the
Jews Of the days of Jesus, as influ-
enced by the Prince Of Darkness.
They were the victims of disease,
some Of them being epileptic, others
insane, and others still deaf and
dumb. The reViSerS have not
deemed it advisable to substitute
the word demon" for devil when
the latter occurs in this connection;
but, while retaining the old tranSla-
ton, they have indicated on the
every instance in which the
word for demon" has been trans
lated devil" The devil, therefore,
has not been abolished in the revi-
sion of the New Testament. He Oc-
cupies a position with the hell of the
old version. He has simply been
confined to his proper sphere.