The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-05-28
THE REVISED NEW TESTAMENT.

more COMES Of the revised New Testament
which were printed at Oxford was allowed to
see daylight until the whole edition could be
put on sale simultaneously in London and
New York on Friday morning of last week.
The unbound printed sheets meantime had
been received but the day beforcl In New York,
so that less than 81 hours were given for bind.
ing and getting them ready for market The
result on Friday Of course was tremendous
rush for copies, the New York sale of the first
two days amounting to over 100000 copies.
As no copy could reach the west until Sun.
day or Monday It's arrival was partlyantlcl pated
by telegraph, and full copies of the New Tesla
ment were thus printed in the Chicago Times
and Tribu0e on Sunday; so that by the time
the booksellers get their supply the demand
for copies In the northwest will have been
largely anticipated by the newspapers in
question.
AS to the merits of the revision, upon which
the best learning of all the orthodox protestant
denominations Of England and America has
been engaged for the last fifteen years, of
course opinions will differ; but whatever the
merits of the work that the book will super.
scdc the 81. James version, which for two hun.
dred years has been In common use by
all English speaking people, we have no idea
The pure English and peculiar Idiom of that
version have become so much an essential part
Of the sacred writings, that no attempt to mod
'Ini I,n In "a Ill a.. tnlarntnI Ilf
course, however, the meaning Of words is
cvanescCnt and ever changing and IDEAS rep
resented by many words IN the time of King
James are very different from those represented
by the same words today. Then no doubt
many different and better manuscripts Of the
sacred writings in the original tongues have
come to light since the days of King James
than were accessible to the translatorS of his
time and great advances in biblical know.
ledge otherwise have been made, so that the
version, as then given, is found tecmlng with
errors, most Of them merely verbal, II IS true
but others trcnching on grave matters of doc.
trine. To the learned, or those who were in
position to read the scriptures with the aid and
in the light OF commentaries, these errors were
Of little consequence, for they have long ago
been discovered and carefully pointed out, and
thus placed beyond the power of doing serious
harm.
There is II vast public however, to whom
the labors Of learned commentator are not
available and who are obliged to read he
scriptures as printed without note or comment
by the various bible societies and accept such
meanings rs the simple text conveys to them
In many cases no doubt such readers either get
wrong meanings or none at all and TO such
tho revision now presented cannot fail to be u
great boon.
The rcviscrs necessarily put great restraints
upon themselves and took no liberties with
the present English text but were clearly war
rantcd. The principal changes they have ven.
tarcd upon are, |, to omit the division into
the sense, but have distributed the matter into
divisions and paragraphs, -prcscrvng, how.
ever, In the margin the notation of the old
chapters and verses, 80 that the use of con.
cordance is still rs practicable as ever. Second
ly, they have reformed the use of words IN ital.
les, which in the Old version was extended to
ill supplied words though necessarily implied
In the original, while now such words are only
as are actually ADDED to complete
the sense and where, IN some cases it is even
lebatable whether other words would not have
been more appropriate. Thirdly, headings of
chapters have been omitted, which often
amount to a commentary on the text. ith, the
prefix saint" Is omitted except to the names
Of the four evangelists. The doxology to the
Lords prayer is omitted as not included in
The best manuscripts. And the verbal con.
,truction of numerous passages Is amended,
such az, Matt xix. II, why calest thou me
good" which is changed to "Why askest thou
me concerning what is good" ship Is
changed into "boat," bottles" to "winc
skins, ""minstrels" into flute players" "hell"
into "hades," &c, &c. To the learned, of
course, rs already remarked, these are not
changes or Innovations, for they have long
been agreed upon as essential 10 correct IN.
though no doubt to many pious
readers and devotees of the pure text the effect
of some of these cancellations will be unpless.
ant and jarring. But they should be accepted
without hesitation, for there is noquestion but
every change has been fully warranted, and
that the revsers have not only done their work
conscientiously, but, within the limits they had
set for themselves, well.
-
DEATH OF Col. THOMAS A. SCorr.-Col.
Thos A. Scott, late President Of the Pennsyl.
vania Genital Railroad Company, and widely
known as one of the great railroad kings" of
the country, died at his home at Clifton, Pa,
a. .,..aa.. Ia. Sn.,,.ia., nuan,nn Hia hcath