The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1936-11-05
The MARYLAND BIBLE
SOCIETY'S CORNER
''The Word OF Our God Shall
Stand Forever"

independent 1rauSldLIOnS SInCe 1O4l
Since 1911 many individuals have
made revisions, or translations of the
Bible based on their own researches or
standards. But when we reflect that
the English revision of 1881-1S85 was
made by sixty-four of the outstanding
scholars of Great Britain, in collabora-
ton with thirty-three Of the ripest
scholars of America, it seems per-
fectly evident that the combined eff
forts of these ninety-eight consecrat-
ed men should have produced a more
trustworthy piece of work than
could be accomplished by one scholar
working alone.
Too often, it has been found, these
independent translations have given US
paraphrases rather than translations,
or in other instances these editions re-
fleet too strongly UNCONVENTIONAL ten
dencies-as in the cases of Purvis'
Quaker Bible, Wakeield's Unitarian
and Scharlett's Universalist Tesla
mCnts. Other editions were published
with very few word changes, but many
notes. More recently there have been
editions of abridged texts, such as the
"Litertry Mans Bible" the Runners
Bible" and rearranged texts, such as
Professor Moulton's Modern Readers
Bible.
AS an example of paraphrasing, DR..
E. HARDWOOD published in English a
New Testament, the style of which
appears from the opening sentence of
the story of the Prodigal Son. "a gen.
tleman of splendid family and opulent
fortune had two sons"
The first English translation by an
American was by Charles Thomson,
of Philadelphia, Secretary of the Con-
tinental Congress from ITS to 1888.
After coming across an edition of the
Greek Septuagint, a Greek translation
of the Old Testament made in the Sec
ond or third century BIC, he made a
translation of the whole Bible from
the Greek, which was published in
1903. The first English translation of
the Old Testament direct from the
Septuagint.
Many translations, both in Amer
lea and England, have covered sin
gle Gospel or group of Epistles,
others have been Incorporated in COM
mentaries, and still others have con-
tanned so little revision or new trans
lation that it is difficult to classify
them properly.
To make complete list of these
translations would require more space
than this brief sketch can command.
However, the following are some of
the better known editions: The Four
Gospels, translated from the Vulgate,
by the Right Rev. Francis Patrick
Kennick, Bishop of Philadelphia, about
1850. A Literal Translation of While
New Testament from the Ancient Syr-
lac, by James Murdoch, New York,
1851. r. F. Weymouth, Modern Speech
New Testament-an idiomatic transla-
ton into everyday English from the
text of the Resultant Greek Tesla
ment, Ney York, 1902. Helen Mont
gomery's The Century Translation of
the New Testament, 1924. James Moi
fatt, the Holy Bible, 1901-1913-1924.
We are too close in time to these
translations to rightly value them.
Language is living thing; the mean
ings of words shift gradually; to new
generations the vocabulary of the
past loses some of it's force. Yet the
very forms of words in which truth is
enshrined becomes not only precious
to individuals and groups, but an es-
sential part of the heritage of the
race. The marvellous power of the
Book itself is assurance that if need
be, in generations to come it will find
new expression in translations of ac-
curacy and power. AS William Tyn-
dale exfpressed it in the preface to the
first printed English New Testament:
"We have not received the gifts of God
for ourselves only, or to hide them, but
to bestow them unto the harmony of
God and Christ, and edifying of the
congregations, which is the body of
Christ"