The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-05-29
THE SCRIPTURES.
The New Revision Of the Old Testament
Finally Given, to the Waiting Public
In London.

Of Changes Made In the Old Familiar
Text, and q Sketch Of the Work Of
Revision
The New Old Testament.
LONDON, May 15.-Copies of the revised
of the Old Testament were given to
the newspaper at midnight last night All
the papers this morning contained extracts
from the work. The Times y
Finally an international work of fourteen
years has come to a close. The revised version
Of the New Testament was issued in May, 1881,
and now the revised Old Testament will soon
Ing world. This revision is the most Important
avent in the history OF the English Bible since
the publication OF the King James translation in
not he as great as that Of the New, OF which
more than a million copies were sold on the day
Of publication, and more than three million
Of copies before the close OF the year; but 1t will
probably be more favorably resolved and less
severely criticised, for it involves no changes OF
the Hebrew text, no older manuscripts than the
Hasoretic having been discovered, and the idiom
Of the authorized version Is most carefully pre-
served out OF regard for the conservative
feeling of the church In its attnchment for the
language OF the old version. All errors OF trans
lation, however, have been removed, and the
revision will be pronounced by every competent
Bible reader to be : very great Improvement: 1t
large number OF the best Hebraists and biblical
scholars Of England and the United States, most
Of them professors of Hebrew in universities
and semiuaries- 1t has, moreover, the advant-
lge of the vast advances OF the last fifty years in
Oriental philology, biblical geography. history
s iact,v an nndelslacd ~ ~ q H. w faIsR- were 9 9qar impper-
Of King James. The new version is not a good
version in the place of a bad one, but a great
Improvement of a good version. The movement
fnT The nTfHpnt verllnn WQa fnanDnrufe H hy tho
convocation OF Canterbury, the mother church
Of Angio-saxon Christendom, May 81, 1870. by
the adoption Of the following resolutions:
H FIRST STEPS.
That It Is desirable that a revision OF the
authorized version Of the Holy Scripture
Quoted as to comprise both marginal render
lngs and such cancellations as it may be found
necessary to insert in the text of the authorized
version; that we do not contemplate any new
Translation of the Bible, or any alteration OF
language, except where, in the jud gment of the
most competent scholars, such change is neces-
sary; that in such necessary changes the style of
language employed in the existing version be
closely followed; that 1t is desirable that the
convocatton should nominate a body of its own
members to undertake the work OF revision WHO
shall be at liberty to invite the cooperation of
any eminent for scholarship, to whatever nation
Or religious body they may belong Steps
toward the formation of an American committee
Of revision were taken almost Immediately ATTN
the organization OF the English committees. The
first meeting of the New Testament committee
III IJiielu Lo WdS lttlil u ullc 49, ! . ~. Vii luC suI
Of July following the two houses of con-
vocation voted to invite cooperation of
some American diyines, and to. Bishop WILDER
force and Dean Stanley was assigned this task.
The result was the selection of certain gentle
men who were fitted for the work, and were
likely to be regarded as authorities in biblical
mission of their names to Bishop Ellicott and
Dean Stanley as representing the English body.
a few months later, on Jan. IL, 1871, Dean
Stanley wrote to DR.. Schaf, who was in the
United States, Offering suggestions in the way
facilitating communication between the English
and American divines and requesting him To
present the matter to Bishop Potter of New
York. representing the Protestant Episcopal
church and arrange amode OF cooperation. On
the same subject Bishop Wilbertorce addressed
two letters to Bishop Potter. which We're sub
mitted TO the house of bishops in New York.
That body decided to take no official part in the
work. but left individual members free to act as
they might. Final arrangements for the American
commission were not made until the summer OF
1SI2. In the autumn the commission began its
work: Though nearly two years later than the
English companies in beginning the work. they
passed forward with suchl activity that they
were enabled to complete IL temporaneously
W 18th their English brethern.
H BOOK ITSELF. +
The Bible appears bound with the New Testa-
ment. The preface opens with q statement OF
been conducted, The revisers have borne in
mind their duty not to make n new translation
but to reyise that already existing. and have de-
parted from it only when it disagreed with the
translators of 1911 upon the meaning of q wore
or sentence. The terms OF natural histt ry are
only changed when it is certain that the author
or there is an alternative, the rendering Is
given on the margin. In some words OF
frequent occurrence the authorized version
being either Inadequate or Inconsistent, changes
have been introduced with as much uniformit,
as practicable. For instances: Tabernacle OF
the congregation" has been everywhere changed
to tent of meeting In regard to the wore
Jehovah" the usage Of the authorized version
ts followed, the revise-s not thinking it advis.
able to insert it uniformly in place of lord" o
God, which, when printed in small capitals
represent the words substituted by Jewish Gus,
tom for thd infalable name Of technical term.
from the Hebrew. or, in three seem to have
JUDGES xxvln) has been replaced by "Asheri.
with its plurals "Ashcrini and Ashcroft.
In the peetical books "shool" replaces hell
which has been changed in prose passages te
the grove" and the pit" with "sheol" in tbs
margin. OF these renderings, hell" says tho
preface, If it conld be taken in its original senst
equivalent for the Hebrew word. but it Is sc
commonly understood as the place of torment
That to employ it frequently would lead to inev
hell is used in more of it's original sense. til,
%revisers, have left hell in The text, putin.
,sheol' in the margin. ::Abaddon,' which has
Bible only from the New Testament tRey. tx %
las been introduced in three pa~ssages-once in
lob and twice in Proverbs. tn term
MEAT OFFERING i.
has been changed into meal Offering, the former
Term having ceased to be the general name fol
Ill food. A new plural-peoples-has been in
Gentiles when the contrast to the chosen PEG.
pie is marked. All headings Of chapters have
been dropped. as in the revised New Testament,
and the text has been divided into paragraphs
but the old chapter and verse divisions have
been retained Oh the margin for convenience OF
reference. By this means the ~revisers have beer
enabled to rejoin psalm K. to psalm tx. and
psalm Kill. to psalm xiii, and to begin
lsaih ILL. at chapter liit.. verse Is. The several
lays Of the creation are made more prominent by
pcdient has enabled the %revisers to make use Of
The dialogue form, and to show tho dramatic
character Of the song Of songs, the first chapter
Ipeeches. The Psalms are definitely divided into
i've books. The last four beginning respectively
It xiti !, XII, xc. and CYL. a striking improve.
poetical form. This has been done in the Psalms
Proverbs, Job and the canticles, but the Prophets
have been left in prose, however passionate theil
Noses, Deborah and Hannah: the psalm of JONAH
md Habakkuk. and David's lament ir
:sso orir sa% q go:sh nnRe miracle n y ssnn, Stand Sa .bon
It'll upon Gideon" is indicated by its verst
character: 30 also is the triumphant cry Of
more ,sJ ram siiuf' passages ss.i so and phrases disc CT sec
the fact that care was taken in preserving intact
household words. The old literary form hat
been held sacred, and the revisers cannot bt
charged with any pedantic straining after the
original text. But not all the familiar features
IT the scripture have escaped untouched. The
aigh priest no longer casts lots for the scaps-
goat; he does so for Azazel. The summary of
EACH DAYS work AT THE CREATION
now runs according to the ormula: And there
was evening and there was marning one day.
there was evening and there was morning b
second day,"a third day, and SO on, giving
suggestion OF successive stages, with long inter
vals. The Apples of Gold" of Prov
cribs XIV. II, are now encased in Zig
are work" OF silver, instead of pictures.
Vanity and vexation of spirit lIccs, ii, 10, hai
Happy is the man that hath his culver full o.
Them Psalms. cxxvii., 81, has been changed
into Happy Is the man that hath filed his quiv
er with them" Reuben's curse Genesis, xix.
verse AZ, Unstable as water thou shalt not ex