The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-09-03
LATEST REVISION OF
THE NEW
The ReViSers of the New Testament
See Enormous Difficulties Ahead
Of Them.
OF Them.
(NeW York Evening Sum-

fNeW 1Ork Evening SUM-
Though the secretary Of the Amer
lean Bible Society is apparently IN
clined to commend some or the
changes in the recent experimental
version Of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
vet he seems to be very
abou the expediency OF unuerLaklnS
at this time Il general revision OF the
English New Testament. The Arch
bishop Of Canterbury was no less
doubtful when some months since a
memorial was laid before him pray
ing for the appointment OF a commit
tee to correct the work Of the reVlserS
of 1881. The plea of the memorlai
lists was that those who were lntrusted
with the revision Of the New Tesla
ment had gone about their task In a
spirit notably different from that
adopted by the revisers Of the Old.
Needless departures had been MADE
from the Authorized Version, and Ger
tain pedantic rules eStabllsned "lln
regard to the rendering Of words ana
phrases had reduced the text in some
places, as the Dean Of Norwich put
it, ITO tIp level Of an inse eranxn
to recons lder the merits Of the sew
eral versions, to reject what was IN
necessary and ugly in the Victorian
revision and Ito alter the Authorized
Version of the New Testament IN
those places, and in those places only,
wher it is n or
or obscure"
The Primate's nswer to this petit
ton was extremely cautious. tie
pointed out that not a few of the OBJ
iections against the version Of 1881
might have been made and in fact
actually were made against n
changes in the King James version;
that in the matter of Interpretation
there were still some ubtf points
which had not as yet been cleared
up; that he could not possibly agree
with the petitioners in the belief that
"A wrong Interpretation was preferable
to an obscure one, but that for the
rest he would be willing to consider
their plea if they undertook to pro-
vide him with an example of their
enterprise. He named the difficult
I-pistle to the Hebrews as an apprO-
pirate subject for the experiment, and
they accepted his suggestion very
readily. In less than five months the
revision was ready, and we are now
able to judge in some measure OF the
result by some passages lately QuOteO
in a despatch to The Sun.
1t is clear, preSuming the more Sa-
lient passages to have been selected
as illustrations, that the revisers were
not OVERLOAD. The changes are for
the most part slight, consistent largely
in the substitution Of more or less cur
rent terms for terms that are obsolete
today or subject to misrepresentation.
What strikes rs as particularly re-
markable in the new version is not
any novelty Of phraseology, but the
frequent readoption Of old interpreted
lions that were set aside and sup
planted by others in the version OF
1911. Thus the first passage quoted
is an amendment Of the opening verse
Of the second chapter. which is as
follows in the A.. ": Therefore we
ought to give the more earnest heed
to the things which we have heard,
lest at any time we should let them
Slip" The reviserS are apparently sat
isfied that this conveys a wrong no.
ton and make it :1est at any time
we fall away" This brings US back
to Wycliffe and Purvey: 'Therefor
NOR plenteousli It behOueth Vs to
kepe tho thingis, lest perauenture we
fleten Csc. flow) awei." Again in the
same chapter, for verify he took not
on him the nature Of angels, but he
took on him the seed Of Abraham
is made to read For verify he taketh
not angels for his, out he taketh the
seed of Abraham" This brings us
nearer to the drift Of the fourteenth
century NtISlOA. <AlU ~ kOOh ACuCAc
aungeliS but he took the seed Of Abra-
ham,"
In some passages the A. v. IS sc
obscure hat some sort OF change
seems imperative. Here is a striking
example,: For we which have be.
lieved do enter into rest, as he said
As / have sworn in my wrath, if they
shall enter into my rest: although
their works were finished from the
foundation Of the world" The revis
ion has it.: "As I have sworn in m!
wrath. they shall not enter into m!
rest" restoring the important mot
OF the earlier TRANSACTIONS: 1.-The
schulen not ENTIRE" &c. "Compassiol
on the ignorant, and on them tina
are out Of the way" becomes "the ig
norant and erring," once more ap
proximating to the discarded "vnkun
nynge and erren." Here is anothe
minor obscurity that has been cleare'
up: But now hath he obtained
more excellent ministry, by how muc1
also he Is the mediator" &C. TIL