Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1883-08-02
The New Revision of the Ola Testament,

The revision Of the Old Testament is
now completed, and its publication will
follow at an early day, not later than
spring at the farthcst. The revision
of the Old and New Testaments was
begun at the saEe tims, but for various
reasons, the principal one of which was
its smaller size, the latter was com
pleted FIRST.
Frequent efforts have been made
during the past century to secure n
new revision Of the Bible, the discov-
cries Of older manuscripts and archH-
illogical remains having shown il to
contain numerous errors that should be
corrected. The steps which have re-
suited in the new revision were taken
by the convocation Of Canterbury in
1870, and the cOmmittc selected for the
difficult and important work included
fifty Of the most eminent Biblical
scholars of the day. Nearly all the
evangelical denominations were repre-
scntcd.
In 1872 committees of American
evangelical Biblical scholars were APP
pointed, under the general direction of
Philip SchaA, d. d., to cooperate with
the English committees; and it is COM
plimcntary to American scholarship
that the suggestions of the American
committee on the New Testament re-
vision which were rejected by the En-
glish committee, were received w,th
greater favor by scholars and the pub
lie generally than were the rcnderingS
of the English committee, which were
embodied in the published text. Tho
Old Testament revision will doubtless
contain similar list of unaccepted
suggestions, but it is not probable that
the number will be relatively so large.
The public interest in the new re-
vision OF the Old Testament will prob
ably not be so intense rs in that of the
New Testament two years ago. Nor
is it likely that any of the American
newspapers will display their enter
prise by publishing it entire, for it is
more than twice as large as the New
Testament, and woald fill about fifty
pages of the Timcs-Star in small type.
There is great variety of opinion rs
to whether this new revision will come
into general use or not. The rules
under which the work was conducted
required that the present or authorized
version, as it is called, should be rs
closely adhered TO as possible, and so
nearly has this been done that many
OF the most important alterations would
scarcely be perceived by the ordinary
reader. 1t would therefore appear
needless to substitute it for the present
revision.
Despite the opposition it encoun-
tered upon its first publication in 1881
the new revision OF the New Testament
is gaining in favor. The Baptists, with
one exception the largest Protestant
denomination in the United States, at
their recent Bible convention at Sara.
tOga, formally sanctioned this revision,
and resolved to circulate it through the
Board OF Publication and Missionary
society, with the amendments of Amcri-
can committee Incorporated into the
text Philip Schan, who is perhaps
better prepared TO Judge of the prob.
able fate of the revision than any one.
expresses the opinion that the King
James version (thc one now in general
usc) is doomed TO fearful death and
honorable burial, like its predecessors,
being superseded by the one lust COM
pIcled. He declares that every scholar
admits that the new revision is the bet.
ter though the st. James revision is
good and that the common sense of the /
Christian people will ultimately prefer
the better to the good. DR.. Schair says |
that its rejection by the convocation of
seems almost impossible in .
view of the fact that many of the Brit
sh revIsers are leading members of the
Two houses of conyocation, and they
and their friends will not allow that
and conservative body to dis
)wn its own child. The action of the
,onvocalion of Cantel bury will have
yrcat influence on parliament, which is
he final authority. If this new revision
5 rejected it is not probable that an
'ther will w undertaken for n quarter
If n century. The action of the EStab-
ished Church will not, however, exert
more than moral influence upon the
dissenting churches of England or the
rec churches of America, which might
Idopt the new revision for the very
easons that would lead the Established
}hurch to reject it.