Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-05-22
EMENDING THE SCRIPTURES.
The New Revision Of the Old Testament
Finally Given to the Waiting Public
ssa In London.

synopsis Of Changes Made IN the Old Familiar
Is# ssb Text, and Sketch OF the Work Of
IS. Revision.
The New Old Testament.
LONDON, May Is. Copies Of the revised
version Of the Old Testament were given to
the newspapers at midnight last night All
the papers this morning contained extracts
from the work The Times says:
Y Finally an international work of fourteen
years has come toa close. The revised version
md now the revised Old Testament win soon
he Il - lsys as q ns nos5
svent in the history OF the English Bible since
The publication Of the King James translation in
61l The success q the oi ID as m may
more than million copies were sold on the day
Df publication, and more than three million
Of copies before the close ct the year; but it VIII
probably be more favorably received and less
severely criticised, for 1t involves no changes OF
the Hebrew text, no older manuscripts than the
Masoretic 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 attachment for the
LANGUAGE Of the old version. All errors OF trans
revision will be pronounced by every competent
Bible reader to be very great Improvement 1t
presents the results Of the combined labor Of .
scholars OF England and the United States, most
Of them professors OF Hebrew in universities
And seminaries 1t has. moreover, the advant-
Oriental philology,. biblical geography, history
and antiquities, all Of which were but imper-
fectly understood by the forty seven translators
Of King James. The new version is not a good
version in tho place Of . bad one, but a great
Improvement OF good version. Tho movement
for the present version was tnaugurated BY the
Of Anglo-Saxon Christendom, May "a, 1870 by
che adoption Of the following resolutions:
THE FIRST STEPS
THAT it is desirable that revision Of the
BIO undertaken: that the revision be con-
Quoted as TO comprise both marginal render
lngs and such lamentations as 1t may be found
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 it is desirable that the
convocation should nominate a body Of it's own
members to undertake the work Of revision who
shall ba 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 after
The ORGANIZATION Of the English committees. The
first meeting of the New Testament committee
In England was held June %, 1870. On the 9TH
of July following the two houses Of con:
vocation voted to INVITE e1opera5Gn OF
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
learning by the American public. and the sub
mission Of their names to Bishop Ellicott and
Dean Stanley as representing the English body
Stanley wrote to DR.. Schatf who was in the
United States, Offering suggestions in the way
facilitating communication between the English
and American diyines and requesting him to
present the matter to Bishop Potter Of New
York, representing the Protestant Episcopal
church and arrange amode OF cooperation. On
two letters to Bishop Potter. which were SUBJ
mitted to the house of bishops in New York.
That body decided to take 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
1872. In the autumn the commission began it's
work. Though nearly two years later than the
English companies IN begining the work, they
passed forward with such1 activity that they
were enabled to complete 1t temporaueonsly
W it'll their English brethren
THE BOOK ITSELF.
The Bible appears bound with the New Tcsta-
ment. The preface opens with statement Of
the general principles Oh which the revision has
been conducted, The revisers have borne in
mind their duty not to make &. new translation,
but to revise that already existing, and have de-
parted from it only when it disagreed with the
translators OF 1911 upon the meaning OF a word
or sentence. The terms of natural history are
only changed when it is certain that the author
lied version is incorrect. Where it is doubtful,
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 uniformity
as practicable. For instance: Tabernacle OF
the congregation has been everywhere changed
to tent OF meeting" In regard to the word
.Jehovan, the usage OF the authorized version
able to insert it uniformity in place Of "lord"
God" which, when printed in small capitals,
represent the words substituted by Jewish GUS
tom tom for thd lnfalable name Of technical terms
been generally. introduced. The word Grove.
Judges xviii has been replaced by "Ashera.""
In the peetical books "shool" replaces ahell,"
which has been changed In prose passages to
the grove. and the pit" with "sheul" in the
margin ct these renderines, hell" says the
preface If it could be taken in it's original sense
as used in the creed, would be a fairly adequate
equivalent for the Hebrew word but it is so
commonly understood as the place OF torment
that to employ it frequently would lead to inev-
table misunderstanding" I'm Isaiah xiv, where
hell is used in more OF It's original sense. the
revisers have left hell in tho text, putting
hitherto been known to English readers Of the
Bible only from the New Testament (Rev. TX ~.
aas been introduced in three passages-once In
JOband twice in Proverbs The term
$f& Ia 4 MEAT OFFERING"
has been changed into meal Offering, the former
Ierm having ceased to be the general name for
III food, new plural-peoples-ha been in
PRODUCED, although sometimes this becomes
Gentiles when the contrast to the chosen peo-
pie is marked. All headings Of chapters have
been dropped. as in the revised New Testament,
md the text has been divided into paragraphs,
but the old chapter and verse divisions have
been retained on the margin for convenience of
reference. By this means the revisers have been
psalm xiii. TO psalm XIII, and to begin
tsaih liii at chapter liii, verse 13. The several
days OF the creation are made more prominent by
pcdient has enabled the revisers to make use Of
The dialogue form. and to show the dramatic
character Of the song of songs, the first chapter
,peeohes The Psalms are detinitey divided INTO
I've books, the last four beginning respectively
It xiii, lxiii &c. and cvii A striking improve
alent is the printing OF all poetical passages in
poetical form. This has been done In the Psalms
Proverbs, job and the canticles, but the Prophets
hxve been left in prose. however passionate their
sutcry; the songs of Lamech, Jacob. Miriam,
and Habakkuk, and Davids lament in
second Samuel, appear In versi1ed ballad.
Of TiraGs stand thou
character. So also is the triumphant cry OF
samson Judges xv., 16.) Examination Of the
more familiar passages and phrases disclosed
The fact that care was taken in preserving intact
household words The old literary form has
seen held sacred, and the revisers cannot be
charged with any pedantic strainfng after the
original text. But not all the familiar features
# the scripture have escaped untouched. The
aigs priest no longer casts lots for the scape-9
goat; he does SO for Azazel. The summaryoI &
5E EACH DAYS WORK AT THE CREATION & "a
aow runs according to the formula: And there
Has evening and there was marning one day."
there was evening and there was morning a
second day. third day, and 30 ON, giving 3
10Yy int
rails. The .Apples Of Gold" Of Y Prov
srhs XIV. q. are now encased in fig
are work OF silver, instead Of pictures"
Vanity and rexation Of spirit Eccs., il, III, has
become .Vanifx and n -sfrivinu fEar5 rzir1d