The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-06-05

LONDON, May 16.-Copies of the revised
version of the Old Testament were given TO
the newspapers at midnight last night. All
the papers this morning contain copious sI-
tracts from the work. In the following par
agraphs is presented the substance Of
sEMI-oFFIcIAL ARTICLE
prepared for the London Times, in which
some account of the work Of revision, with
particular reference to the American part Of
1t, is given: "Finally, an international work
Of fourteen years has come to close. The
revised version of the New Testament was
issued in May, 1881, and now the Old Testa-
ment will soon be published In all pats OF
the English-speaking world. This revision
Is the most important event in the history OF
the English bible since the publication Of
the King James translation In 1911. The
success of the Old Testament may net be as
great as that ofthe New, Of which more than
. million copies were sold on the day OF
publication, and more than three million
copies before the close Of the year, but II
probably will be more favorably received and
less severely criticised, for it involves no
changes of the Hebrew text, and the idom
Of the authorized version is most carefully
preserved out of regard for the conservative
feeling Of the church in Its attachment for
the language of the old version. All errors
of translation, however, have been removed,
and the revision will be pronounced by
every competent Bible reader to be
A GREAT IMPROVEMENT.
1t presents the results Of the combined labor
Of . large number Of the best Hebrewists
and Biblical scholars of England aud the
United States, most Of them professors Of
Hebrew In universities and seminariss. 1t
has moreover the advantage Of the vast ad-
vance Of the last fifty years In oriental phil.
ology, biblical geography, history and an
tiquity, all of which were but imperfectly
understood by the forty seven translators Of
King James, although it is freely admitted
that they did the very best in their day. The
new version is not good version In the
place Of q bad one, but great improvement
Of good version. The move for the present
version was insugurated at the consecration
of Canterbury, the mother church Of Anglo
Saxon Christendom, May "a, 1870"
SOME OF THE CHANCES.
Iu the margin "abandon," which has hith-
erto been known TO English readers Of the
Bible only from the New Testament, Reve-
| iation ix, lit, has been introduced in three
passages, once In Job, and twice in Prov
erbs. The term "meat offering" was changed
into "meal Offering" the former term having
ceased to be the genuine name for all food.
A new plural people has been introduced,
although sometimes this becomes Gentiles
when the contrast Of the chosen people 10
marked. All the headings Of the chapters
have been dropped, As in the Revised New
Test ament, and the text has been divided
into paragraphs, bat the chapter and verse
divisions have been retained In the margin
for convenience ofreference. BY this means
the revisers have been ensbed to rejsin
Psalm 10 Psalm TX, and Psalm Kill To
Psalm xii, and to begin Isaiah I'LL at chapter
III, verse kill. The several days OF the
Creation nre made more prominent by
breaks of a line between ths verses. This
expedient has enabled the revisers to make
use OF the dialogue form, and show the dram
attic character of the Song of Songs, the first
chapter of which, for example, is divided
into seven speeches. The Psalms are deh-
nitely divided into five books, the last foul
beginning respectively at Psalms XIII, kill
&c and evil. A striking improvement is thu
printing Of all poetical passages In poetica
form. This has been dsDe In the Psalms,
Proverbs, Jsb and Canticles. Bat tb'
Prophets have been left In prose, however
passionate their oratory. The songs o
Lamech, Jacob, Miriam, Moses, and Desora'
and Hannah, the Psalms Of Jonah ant
Habakkuk and David's Lament Gin Secon'
SamueD appear In versified ballad.