T

XVIII.

THE NEED OF FURTHER REVISION.

HE need of further revision became apparent through the defects of the Authorized Version, through the

great advance in scholarship, and by reason of the discovery of more ancient and authentic manuscripts than were available for reference in 1611.

The materials available in 1611 were scanty; the most ancient of the manuscripts we now have had not then been discovered, or were not then available. No critical edition of ancient versions then existed, nor had there been any critical examination of the works of the Fathers for textual purposes.

Dr. Schaff (No. 98, page 25) tells us that the received text was hastily derived in the infant period of the printed Bible from a few and faulty cursive MSS., when the best uncial MSS. and the oldest versions (except a corrupt text of the Vulgate) were not yet known; before the patristic quotations were examined; and before even the first principles of textual criticism were understood.

Cursive MSS. are small running hand MSS. of later date. Uncial MSS. are written in capital letters and are older and of much greater authority than the cursives.

Then the scholarship of the translators was not advanced enough to make them familiar with the more delicate turns of the Hebrew and Greek languages. The Grammars, Dictionaries, and Concordances were very imperfect. We find great want of accuracy in their use of articles, tenses of verbs, prepositions, etc., etc.

The point as to the use of articles might be illustrated at great length by reference to many passages.

Three passages are now reproduced as showing in the first

two, the omission of the definite article in error, and in the third the use of the definite article when the indefinite article is the one used in the Greek. The three passages are shown in the Authorized Version, and in the Revised Version. As to the first passage it may be explained that the expression "The Christ" is an official title of our Lord meaning the Messiah, or the Anointed; when the article is used in the Greek "Christ" is not a personal proper name.

As will be seen on comparison of the passages referred to in the Authorized Version and in the Revised Version.

As to the tenses of verbs, etc., the Greek language has more voices, more moods and more tenses than the English, and the distinct clear meaning of the Greek phrase is often lost or even misinterpreted in the Authorized Version. One of the most frequent errors is where the Greek speaks of a continuing action and the Authorized Version speaks of a past and ended action. No English version can ever accurately give the various delicate shades of meaning throughout, though in many cases a clear idea can be given. This, and some other points are shortly illustrated.

In the Authorized Version the Greek tenses are misconceived, misinterpreted, and confused in an unsympathetic and

variable way. I give a few examples of the erroneous ended action instead of the continuing action, as the easiest form of error to understand at sight.

Misuse of prepositions, etc.

Prepositions are often confounded or mistranslated.

Two

Greek prepositions for "in" have their distinct meaning-the one expressing rest in, the other motion into; but they are confounded and misapplied.

Galatians iv. 13

Through

because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached, &c.

In various passages in St. John's Gospel, one single Greek word for "then," referring to sequence of events, is rendered in no less than eleven different ways; and so we might go on. So important does Bishop Westcott deem this part of our subject that he says (No. 113, pages 62, 63):

"Two alterations of this class, each of a single syllable, are sufficient to illuminate our whole conception of the Christian faith. How few readers of the Authorized Version could enter into the meaning of the baptismal formula, the charter of our life; but now when we reflect on the words 'make disciples of all the nations, Baptizing them into (not, in) the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost' (Matt. xxviii. 19), we come to know what is the mystery of our incorporation into the body of Christ. And as we learn this, we enter into St. Paul's words: 'The free gift of God is eternal life in (not through) Christ Jesus our Lord' (Rom. vi. 23). It is indeed most true that the Son of God won life for us, but it is not anything apart from Himself. We live as He has made it possible for us to realize life only in Him. (Compare John xx. 31; 1 Cor. i. 4; Eph. iv. 32; Phil. iv. 10.) Am I then wrong in saying that he who has mastered the meaning of these two prepositions now truly rendered 'into the Name'-'in Christ'-has found the central truth of Christianity. Certainly I would gladly have given the ten years of my life spent on the Revision to bring only these two phrases of the New Testament to the heart of Englishmen."

Again the Bishop says, page 170:

"When for example we read in Romans vi. 23, 'the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,' we recognize a general description of the work of Christ, of what He has wrought for us, standing apart from us. But all is filled

with a new meaning when the original is closely rendered, 'the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.' Life is not an endowment apart from Christ. It is Himself and enjoyed in Him. 'I am,' He Himself said, 'the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.' 'We are alive unto God,' not only 'through Jesus Christ.' (Rom. vi. II, contrast John xv. 5 'apart from me.') We seek therefore 'to be justified' not only 'by Christ' but 'in Christ' (Gal. ii. 17); the blessing of Abraham came upon the Gentiles, not simply by the agency of Christ, 'through Christ Jesus,' but 'in Christ Jesus' (Gal. iii. 14) . . the truth distinctly expressed becomes a spring of peace and power and mature growth."

This brings us to one of the defects of the Authorized Version which is more serious. Needless and misleading variations of translation are used where the same Greek word is employed. In many cases we have two or more meanings for the same Greek word. Of eleven Greek words we have respectively, 23, 17, 16, 16, 10, 9, 8, 6, 5, 4, and 3, different translations. Similar variances may be noticed even in the translation of proper names of persons, countries and places.

Then, on the other hand, the Authorized Version often uses an English word in different passages when the Greek uses a distinct special and different word in each place.

Without going into detail, I may say that ten common English words have respectively, 32, 20, 14, 7, 6, 6, 6, 5, 4, and 3, different Greek words behind them.

Here the various special different words might have been clearly rendered by corresponding special words in English, but, through the unfortunate method of the revisers, the special meanings of many of the words used by our Lord and the sacred writers are lost-and the personal or individual style of the particular writer is materially altered.

All this is a serious loss when we come to explain and apply Scripture.