The Dillon tribune., 1885-05-23
A GREAT WORK FINISHED,
The Revision of the Scriptures Completed
After Fourteen Years Of Labor.

Aus AsSN oA Suc NOhbpACtCui
After Fourteen Years of Labor.
In the following paragraphs is presented
the substance OF a scmi.official article pre-.
pared for the London Times, in which some
account OF the work Of revision Of the Old
Testament, with particular reference to the
American part Of it. is given: "Finally,
an international work Of fourteen years has
come to close. The revised version Of
the New Testament was issued in May,
1851, and now the Old Testament will soon
be published in all parts Of the English
speaking world. This revision is the most
important event in the history Of the En-
glish bible since the publication of the King
James translation in 1911. The success Of
the Old Testament may not be as great as
the New, of which more than a million
copies were sold on the day Of Publication,
and more than three million before the
close Of the year, but it probably will be
more favorably received and less criticised,
for it involves no changes Of the Hebrew
text, and the idiom of the authorized ver-
sion is most carefully preserved out Of re-
gard for the conservative feeling of the
church in its attachment for the language
Of the old version. All errors of transla-
ton, however, have been removed, and the
revision will be pronounced by every COM
petent bible reader to be great improve.
. ,nent. ltpresents the results Of the COM
bined labor Of large number Of the best
! Hebrewists and biblical scholars of Eng land
: and the United States, most Of them pro.
: tessors OF Hebrew in universities and SEM
! inaries. 1t has, moreover, the advantage
e Of the vast advance Of the last fifty years
!. in Oriental philology, biblical geography
d history and antiquity, all Of which were
:. but imperfectly understood by the forty
y seven translators Of King James, although
1t is freely admitted they did the very bes
l. in their day.
I. The new version is not good versio,
n in place of a bad one, but a great improve
s ment Of good version. The movemen
=. for the present version was inaugurated a
E. the conservation of Canterbury, the mothe
Z. church Of Anglo.Saxon Christendon
;" May "a, 1870.
70 Following are some Of the changes: l
,e the margin "abandon," which has hithert
ct been known to English readers Of the bib
e. only from the New Testament, Rcvelatio
D. ix, NJ, has been introduced in three pa
~ sages, once in Job, and twice in Proverb
I'd The term "meat offering" was change
IN into "peal Offering" the former term ha
20. ing ceased to be the genuine name for a
ed food. A new plural "peoples" has been il
e. troduced, although sometimes this become
,st Gentiles when the contrast of the chose
&c. people is marked. All the headings Of Il
fe, chapters have been dropped, as in the r
as vised New Testament, and the text h
Sc, been divided into paragraphs, but the cha
ms ter and verse divisions have been retain'
,as in the margin for convenience of referene
IS. BY this means the revisers have been c
lid abled to rejoin Psalm to Psalm ix, a,
nd Psalm xiii to Psalm xii, and to begin lsai;
ed, lii at chapter lii, verse Is. The sever
,ss days of the Creation are made more prot
nd inent by breaks of line between the verse
NJ. This expedient has enabled the rev'sers
". make use Of the dialogue form, and sho
~. the dramatic character of the song of sons
ed the first chapter Of which, for example,
-, divided into seven speeches. The PsalI
ne are definitely divided into five books, Il
,s. the last four beginning respectively
~. Psalms xiii, lxiii, NC and evil. y striki'
~. Improvement is the printing of iii poetic
,,d passages in poetical form. This has be-
, done in the Psalms, Proverbs, Job al
h,. Canticles. But the Prophets have be-
~, left in prose, however passionate the
,st oratory. The songs of La,nech, Jaco
-. Miriam, Moses and Deborah and Hanna
~, the Psalms OF Jonah and Habakkuk al
49,, David's Lament lin Second SamueD a
,v pear in versified ballad.
~ The work Of the New Testament co,
,a mittee continued till the autumn Of ISS
81, that of the Old Testament committee Il
er til the close Of 1884. This revision is nc
h., a fact of history. Those who have labor
,s. in the preparation Of it have carefully al
nt conscientiously re.examined every ver'
,,r sentence and word, and now commend
cir to the English.speaking world.
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Probable Collapse Of Negotiations.