The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1881-06-08

I THE Revised NEW TEsTANENT.-Ihc mos
important work of our generation, beyor,
all question, is the revision Of the Englisl
Bible, the New Testament ofwhieh has jus
been published. Undertaken ten years ag,
by Z company ofthemost learned scholars o
Great Britain and The United States, lis com
pletion has been waited for with great de
sire by all English speaking christians
Feeling that the objections it has met or,
neither new nor worthy to determine its ro
lection, wish to sci forth two reasons why
the Revision should be choerfully wclcom
Cd and carefully examinodby all christians
1st The advancement Of biblical
learning demands 4 revision of car version
People forget, probably some do not know,
that the Bible we cali king Jancs's Yer
sion" was largely revision OF what va.
called the bishops Bible, and most cspe
cially of the Geneva Bible in some plac.
es borrowing as much IS seycn-eights from
the latter source. These in their turn were
based on translati0as before them, reaching
back to Tyndale's, which Is the fountain
head of English TRANSACTIONS from the Greek
Now. il is pretty generally known TO schol-
ars that the Greek4ext from which these
translations were made, was neither pure
ner ancient Their manuscripts reached
back not farther than aboutthe twelfth cen
tury That the most ancient manuscripts
which alone are Of very great authority
were then unknown to our translatos Is ov-
ident from the following facts about them
/. The Alexandrian manuscript once be
long to the Grecl; patriarch Of Alexandria
who presented it to Charles I, of England, IL
162s. II years after our translation was fin
ished. Il IS now in the British Musctlm
II dates back to about A. D. 425.
.. The Vatican manuscript in the Nati
can Library at Rome. Il reaches back 70
about the year 4. D. $40. As valuable as /
is il has been accessible 10 scholars only Z
sh ort time.
3. The Ephraem manuscript isin the I'M
perial Library a. Paris. It's date is A. y.
$50. It contains the New Testament sgppos-
cd to be erased TO make way for Greek
work OF Ephraem, the Syrian.
4. The manuscript presented to the Uni
yersity OF Cambridge, by Theodore Beza, in
1881. contains the Gospels and Acts with :
Latin translation. Its date is supposed to
be about the close Of the fifth century.
5. The manuscript found on Vt. Sinai, in
1889, by Or. Tischendorf This is in somC
respects the most important manuscripts ol
the New Testament in the world. It dates
hack 10 about A. ID. 325.
Now our translators did not have any OF
these. The immense numbers Of ancicnt
comics of the New Testament that have been
brought TO light since their translation in
1Gli: their careful comparison b. such men
as MIL. Griesbach, Lachman, Tischendorf
scriyener and Tregelles and the conse-
oucnt wonderful Development of biblical
criticism during the last two hundred year
imperativcly demanded this revision.
ID. This revision was necessary becaust
ALI Bible critics OF any note agree thai there
are many errors in King James's Version. !
Scarcely a year had passed away before bib
lical learning assailed that work, and ha'
kept it up down TO the present date.
trust it may not make this letter 100
long to make several quotations.
i. The learned Selden says There =
no book so translated as tho Bible for ths
purpose. The Bible S rather trans
lated into English words tiian into English
phrase. The Hebraisn s.rc kept and th'
phrase Of that language is kept which. i
! well enough so long as scholars have 70 Dc