The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1881-06-01
The New Revised Testament.

The New REVISED Testament.
The publication Of the new version
of the Testament has been one of
the notable events of the Nineteenth
Century an event that touches the
hearts and minds of Christian peo-
pie all over the world. This event
is looked upon with mingled feel
ings 1t is yet too new to Judge
what effect it will have on the popu-
lar mind. Even distinguished theo-
logians and religious leaders are IN
doubt whether to rejoice or to re-
eret. While they are fully satisfied
that the revised version gives a
more nearly correct translation OF
the original than was found in the
former edition, they yet fear the
effect on the public mind. The
Bible has been looked upon by the
multitude as sacred in every respect,
and this unsparing criticism, this
changing and mutilating of many
of the sweetest and most comfort
ing passages in the Book, seems to
the averaging mind to be degrading
the Bible to the level of other
books, and many tend to shake that
unquestioning faith with which
Christian people have heretofore
regarded it. The Bible of their
fathers and mothers, the Bible that
they themselves have read and
whose very language they have
treasured in their minds, the Bible
of all Christian peoples for hundreds
of years-this Bible is incorrect;
it is not the true Bible, and we
must give it up for new one. This
is the feeling of the average mind.
Those who are scholars, who un-
derstand philology, trans'ations,
and all that sort of thing, can pro-
perly appreciate the new and re-
vised version, and will adopt it
readily; but the masses will, for a
long time to come, prefer the old,
to which they have been accustom.
ed, and will have to be educated
gradually up to proper apprecia-
ton of the new. They are both
merely translations from the Ian
guage in which they were originally
written into English. It is reason
able to suppose that the later trans
lation is more nearly correct; for
the revisers had not only all the
facilities enjoyed by the earlier, or
King James edition, but they had
great many more.
The plan of revising the Bible
was inaugurated in England in
1870. The best scholars Of England
and of America were assigned to
this work. The plan was not to
retranslate the Bible, but to reuise
it, and to correct auy errors Of
translation that existed in the King
James edition of 1911. Where the
sense and meaning of the original
were clearly expressed in the for
mer edition no change was to be
made for the sake of better Ian,
guage. The design was mott to criti-
cize and improve the English Of the
former edition; but only to correct
the translation whenever incorrect. |
It is said, however, that the revi
sers have overstepped their boun-
daries and have made changes of
language in many instances with |
no other object than to express the
same ideas in what they considered |
more elegant English. After ali the
changes, the Bible remains, in all
essential particulars, the same, and
the ordinary reader might read
many chapters, or even books, with
out knowing whether he is reading
the old or the new version.
One striking change in the new
version is in the arrangement of
paragraphs. The division in the
former edition into chapters and
verses, as they were commonly
called, was merly fictitious, and in
tended simply for convenience of
reference. The new version is pre-
ferable in this respect, for the fre-
quent and sudden breaks in the
former edition by this fictitious ar
rangement of verses tended to con
fuse the mind of the reader.
The responsibility, if we can be
allowed to speak of it in that way,
of introducing the new version
among the masses will fall princi.
pally upon the clergy. It will de.
volve upon them to explain to their
people just what the new version"
is. Whenever they adopt it in the