The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1885-05-16
THE OLD TESTAMENT.
Copies of the Revised Work Given
to the Newspapers.
Completion Of Most Important Work.

LONDON, May 15.-Copies OF the revised YER
sion OF the Old Testament were given to ths
official article, prepared Tor the London Times
reads substantially as follows:
FINALLY, the international work of IA years
has come 10 close. The revised version of
the New Testament was issued in May, 1881,
and now the revision of the Old Testament
will soon be published in all parts of the En-
glish 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 so great as that of
the New, of which more than million copies
were sold on the day of it's publication, and
more than three millions of copies before the
close Of the year, but it will probably be more
favorably received and less severely criticised
for it involves no change of the Hebrew text,
all errors of translation have been removed,
and the revision win be pronounced by every
competent Bible reader to be very great i'm
provement. 1t presents the results of the COM
bined labor OF large number of the best He
braists and biblical scholars of England and
the United States, and the new version is not
good version in place of bad one, but great
| improvement OF a good version.
The movement for the present revision was
inaugurated by q convocation of the Canter-
bury mother church of Anglo-Ssxon Christen-
| dom, May a, 1870 and steps towards the con-
summation of complete revision were almost
| Immediately taken. 1t was voted to invite the
| cooperation of some American divines, and
| the result was the selection OF certain gentle
| man who were fitted for the work and were
| likely to be regarded as authorities in Biblical
| learning by the American public, and the SUBJ
| mission Of their names to Bishop Elliott and
| Dean Stanley as representing the English
body, and in the Autumn of 1882 the Ameri-
| can committee began its work-two years.
| later than the English committee.
| Although the American committee were two
/ years behind in their work, they pressed for
| ward with such alacrity that they finished
their labors with their English brethren.
| The list of the American committee as final
| ly constituted is as follows, including both
those who participated in the organization Of
| the body and others who were added to its
| membership by election at some of the earliest
meetings: Philip Schoff. d. D., LID, presi-
dent; Geo. e. Day, d. D., secretary; Prof.
| VIM. Henry Green D. D., LID, Theological
Seminary, Princeton, N. j.; Prof Charles A.
Akin, D. D., of the Theological Seminary,
Princeton, n. j.; Rev. T.W. Chambers, ID,
of the Collegiate Reformed Dutch church,
New York; Prof Thomas j. CoDant, d. D.,
Brooklyn. N. Y; Prof. John Dewitt, d. D.,
Theological Seminary, New Brunswick, N. j
Prof. Geo. Emden Hare, d. D., LID, Divn-
ity School, Philadelphia; Prof. Chas. P.
Krouth, d. D., LID, vicepresident Of the
Prof. Taylor Lewis, LID, Union School,
Schenectady, N. Y; Prof. Chas M. Need,
d. D., Theological Seminary, Audover, Mass.
Prof. Howard Osgood, D. D., LID, Theologi-
| cal seminary, hocneSt6r, N. L.; Fr0T. Joseph
Packard, D. D.. Theological Seminary, Alex.
andria, Va; Prof. Calvin Ellis Stone, d. D..
Hartford, Conn.,; Prof. James Strong, S. J. D.,
Theological Seminary, Madison. N. Y; Prof
Rev. O. V. A. Vandyck, D. D., NJ. D., Theo-
logical Seminary, Beyrout, Syria, (advisory
member on questions of Arabic)
Meetings of the American committee were
held every month from September to May, in
elusive, in each year, at rooms in the Bible
House, New York. Summer meetings wert
held in the month of July, usually at New
Haven, Andover, or Princeton. The Old Tes
| lament was minutely considered and discussed
and their work was reviewed in vsry careful
manner twice, from beginning to end.
An arrangement was made between Englisf
companies and officers connected with the
University Press of Oxford and Cambridge, b!
which the revised version in Great Britain be
came the property of these institutions. Oh
condition that the large expenses incidental t
the preparation of the work in that countr.
J should be paid by them. The copyright il
! Great Britain accordingly passed into thei
} control The American committee refused t
sell the copyright. The attitude OF the En-
! glish committee toward the suggestions of tn
, American revisers was always that of READINGS
} to give them the most respectful consideration
: and large proportion of the suggestions c
} the American committee were adopted an
embodied in the revised version.