New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-05-20
r TI7E NEW TESTAMENT.


- ,,x ,STyRgsr OF ANY PARTICULAR SECT
- wopK oy THE AMERICAN MEMBERS OF THE
COMMITTEE OF REVISION
=, oavonce of the issue of the Revised New lesta-
,.srt which is before the public simultaheousiy
- the appearance Of this article, we nave INC
,,C,,onaniou 10 the Revised Version OF the Nc"
rss,ament. explaining the reasons for the ohanso'
-, ,be authorized version, by Alex. Roberts,
- ~ Professor of Humanity, st. Andrews anu
- ~ the English Ncw-Testalnent company
,ritb snpplement by member OF inc Aine I,,
Co,n,o,ttee Of Revision" ; published by l. N unA
& Co. New-York and bearing tne inuoi0
.,ent Of the Rev. T w. Chambers, D. d. aSo H'e,I
- ~ the American Committee. Frold TINS 'ho
statements of the following article are ora"N ~
snectipc the changes made by the reVlSers'
Since some uncertainty and misunnerst''noi'ep 'O
xoil respectne the aim and scope OF tins gr'a' un'
1900 n sbouh lie said by way Of preliminary
tha, the present work. is not new transla'ioh, pu'
= rev;s,on Of the received version. The committee
~ n,oc.sd,d upou tho full recognition OF the
ocrod associations connected with the Ehgilsh
phil, IN its present form; of the extent 70 which its
nhraseolopy has become wrought into the common
sroecL ard literature Of English speaking hatl'lS'
and of its many and great exceliences "mch iia'0
stood the test Of the advancing scoGrsmp OF oNei
two centuries. One Of the primary oI9ee'S' |n''o-
fore has been to preserve intact the DID, l"cS ''
of the King James version.
The revisiou is moreover not made In the interest
nf any religious sect, of any class ot tbeog'Hi VI
ooIes;astical opnons or of any refornatory hobDy'
It's neither an imInersioIist Bible nor ti'peI
nnce Bible hut the Bible as it Is rendered mo tne
Enrlish tongue as accurately as can lie done WIN '
aid of the accumulated learning oil all LIZ V'h
,rr,os and NJ tie results of that learning as rHl'
al E,,,liSb tran SlatlDnS
since WvcliTcs. in the fourteenth century. We can
not do better than repeat the statement Oh III,
SchaT the chairman Of the American CoIn'Iltteo al
Revision. The object is " to adapt .-"g James,
version. 10 tte present state Of the English language
without changing the idiOm and Vocabulary ana 10
Che present standard CT Biblical scholarship which
has made very great advances si-ce loll eSr"c'aA
dnrnc the last thirty years. in teXtuai cl'ilsln'
Greek aud Hebrew p.ology, Biblical geography
and archaeology. good version is 10 De i'Hu' "e'
ter a clear and accurate version clearer ahd more
accurate the Oldest purest text is to bt followed
errors obscurties and Inconsistencies are 10 be re-
moved uniformity in rendering Greek and Hebrew
words and proper names TO be sought In one word
The revision Is to give in idioTatic English the
nearest possible equivalent for tie original Word Of
God as it came from the inspired organs OF Tie HOY
Shirt II aims to be the best version possible In the
the best that could be.made IL The seventeenth
TTE NEED OP REVISION
Changes in the received version. excellent as II ia,
are necessitated by variety If causes Inc INST ii
these lies In tho condition Of tho original text
More copies Of the sacred volume than Oh any
other ancient writing have cor1e to MS In manu-
script No fewer than 1.7So manuscripts OF the
New Testament are known TO scholars OF our day
These manuscripts are divided into two classes, ac-
riding as they are written in capitals ut in small
letters; the former being known as uncias the lat
ter as cursives The line between the two modes OF
writing runs somewhere about tho tenth century.
Beyond that date there are Int five copies OF the
New Testament at all complete which can be re-
ferrcd 10 a higher antiquity. These range from the
fourth to the sixth century. They are the Alex
andrisn MS, known to scholars as A. now III the
British Museum ard assigned tn the fifth century;
the Vatican MS. in the Vatican Library, known rs
b. and dated In the fourth century; the Ephraem
MS. C.. in tho National Library of Paris. = palimp
sest regarded Of date early as that of A the
E+za Ms. D. presented by Beza TO the University of
Cambridge and generally referred to the sixth
century , and the Sinatic Ms, or Aleph. ac1idcn-
tally discovered In a waste basket by PT"ieSST
Tischendorf In the Convent of St Catherine Oh Mt
Sinai. This Is assigned ~ tlo fourth contury,
little later than b. The Ourselves ara far uore
numerous, anu some OF lilciil SACteulhBl9 Ndi~iO
though as % whole, less Important than the uhcias.
Besides these, are the ancient versions q the New
Testament sucn us the Syrac, the old Latin, which
Is the basis Of the vulgate of the Roman Church
the Coptic AID TIE Armchair scme of which were
made at an earlier date than be claimed for any
known manuscript.
Where the &c Of tho Sacred Text was, for
o. many centuries, dependent upon manual trans
criytio innumerable must necessarily have
crept in. Tue most hidebOund theory Of inspiration
does aot claim that tho Bible dIyiHely guarded
against these. Hence find in tho various uaI.u-
scripts ard versions varieties Of reading amounting
to 10000, fact which seems at first sight fatal
tc all certainty Of the text hut which really couts
for much less than il appears For tn aIeat ma
Sority Of these Of no practical uportance
mutitudes Of them are phica hlundnrs,
while others consist merely in the substitution CT
one synonyme for another. or in change of order
without appreclable distinction of sense. These diff
ferences are such as would Do represented IL Eng
lish by the difference between he went firth ana
che went out' - the enemy escaped" aid the
enemy made their escape" d" Paul the Apostle" and
" the Apostle Paul" The 10000 thus reduce them
selves 10 perhaps 400. which" to quote the words
of Professor Abbot, Involve a difference If mean
ing often very slight, the omission or addition of
few words, sufficient to render then objects OF
some curiosity and interest while few exceptional
cases among them may relatively be called i'm
portant. But our critical helps are ~ abundant
that in very large majority Of these important
questions Of reading We are able TO determine the
true text with good degree of confidence. What
remains doubtful can afford t. leave doubtful"
ORIGIN OF DIFFERENCES IN THE READINGS.
This great variety Of readings, which is, uld-
mately in the interest Of pure and settled text.
arises from several causes:
First from the mistakes Of copyists; such mis-
takes as occur even In the printing of modern books.
For example, OF L Timothy, H. 4. the authorized var
Non reada: Cody edifrinn .rhinh 10 In fnith