The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1901-09-06
REVISED RIRLE-AMERIcAN YER
SION

SION.
The revised edition of the Bible pre-
pared by committee of American and
English scholars, and published in 1885,
was not the result of perfect accord be-
tween the members of the committee.
british members insisted upon retain
ing some of the obsolete forms of ex-
preston employed in the King James
version OF 1911, while the Americans
wished to make the translation into
modern English complete. The diff
ference was not settled but was pro-
longed by compromise.
The English committee was permit
ted to issue its version, with many an
cient forms and awkward transpositions,
in 1885, with an appendix indicating
that the American committee did not
fully assent. 1t was also agreed by the
American committee to withhold Its
version from publication for fourteen
years. That time has fully expired and
the American version has just been
published in Chicago by Thomas Nell
son & Sons. So far as can be judged
by the few passages that have been COM
pared by the publishers and critics, the
American version is far more polished
and accurate than the version of 1885.
The latter version halted between the
noble form of the King James transla-
ton and smoothly flowing modern
speech. In many cases great harshness
and awk wardness of expression result
ed. This harshness and awkwardness
have kept the version of 1885 from the
tables of many Bible readers. A few
passages from the English and Ameri-
can versions will show the difference:
AMERICAN. ENGLISH.
Jehovah, the God of The Lord, the God
your fathers. make of fathers, make you
you a thousand times thousand times so
as many as ye are,- many more as We are.
Deut. L: IL. -Deut. l: IL.
A great altar to look great altar to see
upon.-Josh 22 10. to,-Josh. ,22: TO-
From heaven fought They fought from
the stars heaven,
From their courses The stars in their
they u b courses fought
against Sisera.- against Sisera.
Judges g. 20. Judges 5; 90.
The general judgment will be that the
harsh and awkward English version did
not deserve an advantage of fourteen
years of circulation. DIR. Howard Os-
good, of the American revision COM
mittee, says in the Sunday School Times:
The revision under King James, 1911,
followed hundred years of repeated
revisions. That revision was an adj
mirable work of high scholarship in He
brew, Greek and English. But so great
has been the change in the meaning
and usage of words that some transla-
tons, accurate in their day, now mis-
represent the Hebrew and Creek, as
well as the English, of 300 years ago.
Prevent" then meant to go before,
meet; now it means to hinder. "Let"
then slgnifed to hinder; now it means
to permit. HLust" then, as in German
now, meant pure pleasure, desire, joy;
now it breathes vile passion. And so
through long list of words.
Could those good scholars rise up and
see how time has wrenched and chang
ed their words, they, with the same
common sense shown in their previous
work, would be the first to advocate
making the translation plain in the
words of today. They believed, as we
do, that the Bible was given to be made
clear, and not to be wrapped up in dead
misleading terms.
The American revisers have omitted
many references that were not borne
out by the matter referred to. Obsolete
words have been translated into intel
ligible English. Professor Arthur Phelps
of Yale, says; 1--WE shall see the most
sacred name on the page of Scripture.
Influenced by Jewish fear, born of the
misinterpretation of an Old Testament
verse, English versions have generally
avoided the name of jehovah"
The American revisers have done
scholarly work without fear, preserving
the spirit while rendering the letter with
grammatical accuracy and literary ele-
gance.