The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1885-04-09

from having been first publ she'd at
Geneva. 1t was published in 1899 and
is nearly three hundred years old. The
earliest English Bible was the Coverdale,
translated from the ''Douch and Lat;n'
and published on the continent in 1885.
This book is but fifty four years its
junior and five years older than the
Bishop Bible, SO called, with which it
has sometimes been cunfounded. 1t is
printed in heavy old English type, and
is what is called "black letter" Bible.
Some of the vagarcs of translation are
shown by this comparison Of a few
verses from Ecclesiastcs, chapter ILL.,, as
published in the Genevan and the ordi
nary King James version:
GENEyAN. KING JAMES.
IS. | confidered in Is. L said IN mine
mine heart the ftate of heart concerning the
the children Of men, estate of the sons Of
that God had purged man, that Col might
them. manifest them, ana
that they might see
that they themselves
are beasts
49, As the one dyeth 10. For that which
fo dieth ,e other: for befalleth the sons of
they have all one men befalleth beasts
breath. and there is no even one thing befall
excallencis of man eth them as the one
abovi the beaft, for dieth 50 dleth the other;
all is vanity. yea, they have all one
breath SO that a man
hath no pre-eminence
above a beast for all
is vanity.
90. Ali go to one 20 All go unto one
place, and was of the place all are of the
duff and all fhall re- dust and all turn to
turn to the duff. dust again.
21 Who knoweth 81. Who knoweth
whether the fpirite of the spirit OF man that
man afcende upward goeth upward and the
and the fpirite of the spirit of the beast that
beaft defcende down lgoeth downward to
ward to the earth the earth Wherefore
e. Therefore | fee perceive that there
that there is nothing is nothing better than
better than that a man that q man should re-
fhoull rejoyice in his joice in his own works;
affairs, because that for that is his portion;
is his portion For for who shall bring
who fhall fee what he him to see what shall
fhall be after him. be after him
These celebrated verses from that mag
nifcent poem OF the twilight of history,
the book of Job, will hardly be recoe-
nized by those who are familiar with the
King James version:
CAN'T thou binde the unicorne with hif
hande to 1abour in the furrowf; or will be
plow the valleys after thee,
CAN'T thou drawe out Luuthian with an
hook, and with a line which thou fhalt caft
down unto his tongue. CAN'T thou caft an
hooae into his nofe; CAN'T thou pierce his
jawes with an angles
And these from chapter xxxviii. are
scarcely less altered:
%. Who is the father of the raine or who
hath begotten the droppes of the dewe.
30 The waters are hidden as with ftone
and the face of the depth is FROZEN.
81 CAN'T thou refrain the fweet influences
of the Pleiades: Or loofe the bands of Orion.
When the Bible was rebound early in
the seventeenth century there was bound
with it one of the earliest editions of
metrical Psalms. This portion of the
volume is very quaint, and although it is
considerably younger than the remainder
of the book it looks just about as az
tiquated and musty. 1t was printed in
1912 at London The title page runs as
follows, although the appearance of the
page cannot be expressed in nineteenth
century type:
THE WHOLE BOOKE OF PSALMS,
collected into English meeter
By THOMAS STERNEHoLD. 1ohn hopkins,
and others, conferred with the Hebrew,
with apt notes to fling them wthall.
So forth and allowed to be sung IN all
churches of all the people together, before
and after morning and evening pray
er, alto before AMI after Ser
mons, and moreover in private
Houfes, for their Cody folace
and comfort, laying apart
all vngodly Songs and
Ballads, which thend
oneiy to the nourifh-
Inent of vice and
corrupting of
youth.
COLOsSIANS. III.-Let the word OF God
d III p!enteousny in all wifedome, teaching
q III eXhorting one another in Pfalmes
II mnes and fpiritual fongs and fling unto
t /. Lord in your hearts.
JAMES V.-If any be afflicted. let him Pray,
il any be merry, let him fling Pfalmes
The first Psalm, as it appeared in this
curly church rhythm, opened as fol-
loWS:-
Ye man is bleft that hath not
bent to wicked rede hiseare;
Nor led his life as finners doe,
nor fate in fcofferS chayre.
But in the law of God the Lord
doth fet his whole delight:
And in that law doth ex .rcife himself
both day and night.
Tt takes some effort to recognize in the
following the beautiful twenty second
Pain, ''The Lord is my Shepherd, l
shall not WANT
The Lord is onely my fupport,
aud he that doth me fee1e:
How can then lacke anything
whereof ftand in need
He doth HE fold in coasts mott fate,
the tender grasse faft by:
AMI after driues me to the ftreames,
which runne mott p!eafantly.
A Id when feele my fell neare loft,
then doth re me home take:
C )nducting me in the right pathes,
even for his owne names sake.
And though l were even at deaths doore,
vet will 1 feare none i'll,
FJr with thy rod and fhepherd crook
am comforted fill,
Thou haft my table richly docket
In defpght of my foe:
Thou hasft my head with baime refrefht,
my cap doth overflow:
An finally while breath doth laft
une grace fhall ME defend: