The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-14
THE REVISED OLD TESTAMENT.
Copies of the Work Expected Early in May
Some of the Changes Noted.
New York Special,


New York Special.
NO" said DIR. Schaff. ''the revised Old Tesla
ment is not here yet. It will come, as the other
did, in the shape of the University edition
Cambridge, England), and will be due about
May TO- All the work of revision has been con-
Guided, and it is now in press"
To inquiries as to how it would differ in APP
pearance from the present version, he said
THE most of it will be arranged, not in verses,
like our Bible but in longer paragraphs, like any
other prose. The poetry of the Bible-that is,
| the songs of Solomon, the Psalms, the Proverbs,
the book of Esther etc.-wll be arranged in
enthusiastically lines, like other poetry"
Concerning the substance of changes, DR..
Schaff answered; Il am bound to secrecy as to
changes actually made. But. of course, there
are no books omitted and chapters. The
canon has not been altered or even considered,
as there are no older Hebrew manuscripts in ex-
istence than those to which the forty seven had
access who made the present version for King
James. Our work has been merely question of
translation. We have based our version as
they did theirs, on the Masorethie text which
rests on Hebrew manuscripts OF the eighth or
ninth century.
''The New Testament revision" Dr. Schaff
continued, was, you know, conducted with the
aid of several very old Greek manuscripts of the
third and fourth centuries, much older than any
to which the forty seven had access iii making
the King James version in ShakspeareS time, in
l607-10. So not only the translation but the
canon was involved in that version-not only the
words that should be used, but the chapters and
even the books that should be included. No
such issues were raised in the revision of the
Old Testament, so the work was greatly simpli
fed"
From DIR. Schaff IS the reporter called on DIR.
Chambers, the eminent Hebrew scholar. the
only New York member of the Old Testament
Revision committee.
He was not permitted to particularize as to
changes made. he remarked, ''but can say this
that the method of the committee has been
more conservative than that adopted in the New
Testament revision"
you have made fewer radical changes?" was
suggested
Perhaps but that scarcely expresses the diff
ference. There the whole thing was at stake on
account of the discovery of manuscripts far older
and far different from those on which King James
forty-se relied. They strove to make the new
revision conform with those older manuscripts,
as it was deemed best We had no such radical
possibilities. When we discovered a/wrong
meaning conveyed in the present version, the
first question was, is it worth while to
rect itP That is, would the advantage of
having the passage correct more than off
set the disadvantage or shocking the lovers
of the Bible who had got accustomed to the old
reading. If yes, we corrected III If no. we let it
stand We let a good many bad renderings re-
main which we should have corrected if we had
been making the book ourselves. But forms of
speech, and even errors, become sacred in relig
ious books in course of centuries, and to alter
especially to the Ignorant, many of whom think
that the prophets, and apostles, and disciples
wrote the books of the Bible in English. just as
we have it now When the New Testament re-
vision came out an old deacon, up in Connect
cut, who was little mixed on the Jameses, said,
sarcastically: IF Che st. James version was
good enough for st. Paul, guess its good enough
for 1nep The New Testament reVisors ran
against this snag with their book"
1.-THE revised New Testament didn't seem to
he relished. y was remarked.
at is the deadest hood 10 the market to-day"
said Dr. Chambers. For the first few weeks
there was excitement over it, and a million or
two copies were sold-perhaps more and then it
fell fiat. Thirty editions of it were printed in
| this country-enough to swamp any book"
| Except Dickens the reporter suggested;
| ''twice as many editions of Dickens have been
printed and sold; but several editions of the re-
| vsed New Testament have been sold in cart
| loads to paper-makers and the So university
| edition of Cambridge is.offered on the Nassau
| street book-stalls for 10 cents"
>"Yes, think likely" he said. mo denomna
| ton has formally adopted it. and it cannot be
called popular with any but the Baptists. But
| it may go yet. The KiRg James version
pudated for fifty years-till after the execution
| of Charles-when prejudice died out and it was
| gradually accepted. Almost all reforms move
| slowly j may add that the American commit
| tee and the English did not always agree and
| that the corrections which the former wanted to
| make, but failed to have approved, are con-
| tanned in an appendix at the end"
----o>--
Grant and His Cigar.