Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1911-04-28
Iiow The klns lemss, version was .lsds

throne Ia 1000 as James l OF England
TIere were violent divisions In the
Church nj The time which threatened
to rend the nation. Puritanism WAS
making rapid progress and eccIesiasti-
Cal affairs called for serious attention.
Accordingly the king called the Hamp-
toi Court Conference to consider the
whole ecclesiasticsl situation This
| Conference was beId 1904. During the
pr gress Of the Conference DR.. John
Reynolds, President of Corpus Christi
| College, Oxford, rather Unexpectedly
IN ade the suggestion that the time had
come for new Translation of the
scriptures There was st ong cpposi
ton on Inc part OF The clericals, but
Or. Reynolds suggestion caught the
kings fapcy for he welcomed the OPP
poriupity for ventiiatiug his views and
ex rcisiEg his authority.
the Pufltans, who adhered to the
Genevan Version, rather than the
| Biz hops Bible, aud who were leaders
| ia the movement for 4 new translation
expected much rom the new Scottish
sovereign, but their hopes were doomed
to some degree to disappointment. In
an account Of the proceedings publish
ell III "rhe Times we read:
English Puritsns had hailed the sc.
cesson OF James VI. of Scotland on
e ground that, through his adherence
t. Presbyierisnism, he was bound TO
be in sympathy with their position.
Bat King James had no notion Of be-
ing led into paths which might he
prejudicial to his sovereign claims. He
made speech at the Hampton Court
Conference, in which ne agreed with
DR. Rey nolds in considering all exist
| iEg TRANSACTIONS as unsatisfactory.
"But he chose out for particular re-
probation the Geneva Bible, mainly
because of it's marginal notes, which
indeed form the chief characteristic of
this version, couched, as they were, IN
an ardently polemicsl spirit, and
written expressly against the preten-
sions Of the English Church.
| Very partial, untru, seditious, SAVIOR
ing too much of dangerous and traitor
Gus conceite, such are the terms which
his Majesty applied to the Geneva
| Bible and its notes.
The scope and thoroughness of the
| work were admirably planned and in
tue man were faithfully carried through
as here Indicated:
"Nery extensive arrangements were
made for the translation and produce
ton Of the new version; bat it does
not seem that they were carried out in
their entirety Of the tifty-four trans
la.ors who were nominated IN 1904,
only forty-seven at most are known as
having taken part In the work
Death was Immediately busy with
some OF the scholars.
"Six companies were formed, two st
each of the three. ceniers, Westminster,
Oxford, and Cambridge. The first
company, belonging to Westminster,
undertook the revision from Gen sssis
to the end Of Second Kings. They
were followed by Cam bridge CON-
pany, responsible for the version from
First Chronicles to the end of Eccle-
STA les.
"lhen came the first ford COM
pany, who undertook Isaiah to Malachi
succeeded by the second Cambridge
body, who superintended the traus-
lation OF the Apocrypha. OF the re-
naming two com panies, the Oxford
set revised the four Gospels, the Acts
of the Apostles, and the Apocaly pse,
while the second Westnin iter com.
pany took in hand the BOOKS of the
New Testament from the Epistle to
the Romans TO Jude"
y carefully prepared set of rules were
adopted, but were not scrupulously ad-
hered 10 in all particulars. The Erst
rule was that "Ihe Bishops Bible was
10 be followed with as little alteration
al the truth OF The orr glnal would per-
NIT. This version was officially re-
ccgnizeu by the dominant party and
was identified with the Established
Church, but in fact the Geuevan Yer.
sion was more closely studied and fol-
lowed
Another rule was that the existing
ecclesiastical words were to be used
which rule was observed without
friction.
A third rule imposed was that where
several dlfferept words might equally
serve as a Translation, the words used
by the ancient Fathers should have the
preference.
The translstors were also enieined
against atfixing any marginal notes
except such ss were required to ex plain
a particular word in the original Ian