Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-22
THE BIBLE IN GAELIC.
About to Be Issued for Benefit of High
landers.
From the Scotsman.

From the Scotsman
Gaelic-speaking Highlanders take very
considerable interest in the efforts made by
the general assembly of the Established
Church to supply them with a new Gaelic
hymnary, but they are much more inter
ested in the revised edition of the Gaelic
Bible, just about to be issued, and which
is the work of commission appointed 10y
the erstwhile Society for Propa eating Chris
tan knowledge. now known as the Trust
>for Educa ton in the Highlands and
Islands," so long ago as 1881. A complete
Bible in idi0matic Scottish Gaelic is really
comparatively modern thing. Even after
the authorized version was issued in 1911
no one seems to have set about getting il
translated into Gaelic-a language then
much more widely spoken than at present.
though there was at that date une-and
only one-Gaelic book printed. This was
Bishop Carsewells Prayer Book. Finally,
by Instruments, complete Gaelic versions
OF the Old and New TeStamentS We're ready
in 1901, and after careful revision were
published in quarto form in 1926. That edi-
ton has been the recognized standard Gaze
lie classic from that day to this and has
always been acknowledged TO adhere more
closely to the original than the authorized
version.
The 1896 edition went out of print in 1850,
and in 1881 the Society for Propagating
Christian knowledge appointed commits
sion to prepare a revised and corrected
transla ton. When in 1852 the revision CT
the New Testament was all but COM
pleted, the work was Interrupted by the
education endowment (Scotland) act. re
stricting the operations of the society and
setting up in it's place The Trust for Edu-
cation" The trust was, however, en-
powered to bear one-half the cost of COM
pleting the revision. The commission re-
sumed its labors in 1896, and, as has been
said. the result will be in the hands of the
public in a few days. Some of the changes
made on the old version will sound strange
to Bible-reading Highlanders; for example
Jehovah is now uniformly inserted in place
OF God or Lord. and the Hebrew ''Sheo"
which signifies the body of departed spirits,
Is retained in the text. In the poetical
parts the arrangement in lines has been
followed SO as to accept the parallelisn
characteristic of Hebrew poetry. The di-
vision of the text into paragraphs has also
been adopted, as in the English revised YER
sion. There can be no doubt that the whole
has been a work of immense labor for the re-
ViSerS, notably the la te Drs. Maclaughian
Edinburgh and Clark O<imallie), who a
first acted as joint editors. In the Old Tes-
lament revision DR.. Maclean Of Glasgow
and DR.. Norman Macleod did much val
liable work, in connection with Prof. Mac
kinnon who acted as secretary. If this edi-
ton serves for seventy-siX years, the last
has done, and Gaelic speaking continues to
decline, it is likely that DR.. Macleod's
prophecy that another revision will never
be wanted will in all likelihood come true
The great pity is that no arrangements
have been made to issue the-Work except
as a large quarto volume at a price-one
guinea-which viii place it outside the
reach of all but the very rich Gaelic-speak-
ing Highlanders.