^^^V OF PRi/VC^ [A OLD BIBLES. " The hole byble was long before Wycliffe*s days by vertuous and well learned men, translated into the English tong; and by good and godly people with devotion, and soberness, wel and reverendlyred." Sir Thomas Morels Dialogues iij. 14. " It is not much more than a hundred years ago since Scripture hath not been accustomed to be read in the vulgar tongue within this realm, and many hundred years before that it was translated and read in the Saxon's tongue. And when this language waned old, and out of common usage, because folk should not lack the fruit of reading it, it was trans- lated again into the newer language, whereof yet also many copies be found." Strype^s Cranmer App. 242. Old Bibles AN ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS VERSIONS OF THE ENGLISH BIBLE J r''dore LONDON BASIL M PICKERING 196 PICCADILLY 1876 DEDICATED (by permission) TO THE HON. CHARLES LINDLEY WOOD. X THH0L0GIG5. Vll. Preface. HA T pearl of great price, our present translation of the Holy Bible having remained so long without revisio7t, or alteration, we are apt to forget tJiat it is only one of a series of English versions, that have followed each other. The frequent notices published in the news- papers during the last few years, of the progress being made by the two compajiies appointed by Convocation to revise the trans- lation of the Old and New Testament, have called attention to the fact that before long, the Bible to which English-speaking people have been accustomed for the last 26^ years, will cease to be the Authorised version, and a new one will take its place. The advent of a new version of the Scrip- tures has awakened a general interest in the translations that have preceded our prescjzt one, but information on the subject has beeft Vlll. Preface. difficult to procure^ as but few books have been published on the subject, a7id these very expen- sive ones ; some of them written for linguists, and not adapted for popular use. Copies of disused versions, are ht the posses- sion of very many families ; having been handed down as heir-looms for generations ; but their present owners, for want of the means of ideiitifying their copies, frequently place an exaggerated value on comparatively worthless books, while rare ones are insuf- ficiently estimated. It has been suggested an i7texpensive book, treating the subject of ''old Bibles'' in a popular manner, would be useful at the present time. In many works, may be found casual allusions to early printed versions of the English Bible, on which little reliance can be placed, owing to statements being copied fro7n previous writers, without the original books having been examined: some of the mistakes made by celebrated and standard authors, are so grotesque as to be amusi^tg, were they not so venerable. Every version referred to, I have careftdly examined ; many of them being in my own Preface. IX. collection; for the opportimity of investi- gating those I have not the good fortune to possess, I am indebted to the kindness of friends, or to public libraries. It would occupy too much space, were I to give all the reasons on which the opinions stated in the following pages are based, or to present the views of those who have arrived at different cojtclusions to myself Perhaps this little book may be the means of inducing some, who have not hitherto turned their attejttion to this most interesting sicbject, to investigate it for themselves, and form, their own opinion on questions still ope7t to discussion, to assist them in their researches, they can have 7to guide equal to Mr. Francis Fry, whose work on the Great Bible leaves 7tothing to be desired, his ex- amination of the first folios of the authorised version is equally exhaitstive, and his remarks on " the Bible by Coverdale, i^j^ " are most valuable. As the first New Testa7nent printed in the English language is beyond the reach of collectors, Mr. Fry's reproduction in facsimile supplies its place ; the introduction is worth the price of the entire work. X. Preface. / cannot conclude this preface without trying to express the gratitude due to Mr Fry, for the labour he has expended on old Bibles. I have followed him, and the books themselves, as far as possible, and on points where abso- lute certainty is impossible, I have spared no pains to offer the most likely solution. The original spelling has been preserved in all quotations, from the texts and notes of early versions, for to modernise the orthog- raphy, is to destroy one. of the charms of these old Bibles, and seems to me to be in as bad taste as attempting to improve their quaint diction. J. R. D. Huddersfield, February, iSjd. " Blessed Lord, who hast caused all Holy Scrip- tures to be written for our learning; grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of Thy Holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which Thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ." Amen. "^ 'H' Vrf) "^^ f!- 1 f^ f-- xiii. '>^'<^^^^^^^^^ ' ^ '.-^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^3 ^4^^^^^^^^^-. ^ i^^^^^^^^" Contents. PAGE Introduction. Early translation of portions of the Scrip- tures, for use in the Liturgy . I Scriptures intended to be read in a lan- guage understood by the people 2 Offices of the Church, not committed to writing, during the time of persecution . 2 Traditional evidence of early translation 3 Testimony of Gildas, a.d. 546 . 3 The version used in the time of Gildas not extant 3 Quotations from Gildas .... 4 Translation by Bede. King Alfred the Great 4 Lindisfarene MSS 5 Bible translated into Latin, the ordinary language of all educated people in the 2nd Century 6 The Psalms highly esteemed by Englishmen . 6 Early versions of the Psalter. Rolles ver- sion and gloss 6 Wycliffe and Purvey's translations 7 The religion of the Lollards 8 The introduction of Printing. Block books 8 Movable type invented in the 15th Century 9 Printers at first imitated manuscript as closely as possible 9 XIV. Contents. PAGE Guttenberg, Fust, and Schoffer ... 9 The first Bible printed. The Metz Bible . 10 Printing in England, spread of the art. . 10 Tyndale's New Testament, 1526. First Testament printed in the English lan- guage. Foxe's unreliable . . .12 Tyndale's birth and education, an excellent translator 13 Bishop Tunstall unable to provide for Tyn- dale, he leaves England, prints his first edition at Worms. Strong Lutheran bias. 14 Testaments burnt. Sir Thomas More anxious for an authorised version . . 15 "Douche" editions. Joyes editions. Testa- ment of 1534, and 1535 • • • -16 Specimen of singular orthography in 1536 edition. Thomas Poyntz . . . .18 Tyndale's imprisonment. Copy of the only letter existing in his handwriting . . 20 Cranmer's indifference to Tyndale's fate, his Martyrdom . • ... 21 Editions of 1536, 1548, and 1552. Speci- men of the first Testament Coverdale's Bible, 1535. First English Bible, printed 1535. Cover- dale employed by Cromwell to translate it. Dedicated to Henry VIII . Printed by Christian Egenolph, of Frankfort Or by J. Nycholson, of Southwark Convocation dissatisfied with the translation and urgent for a better one . Second edition bears Nycholson's name . Specimen of the translation Matthew's Bible, 1537. John Rogers the real name of the Editor. 22 25 26 27 28 29 31 31 Contents. XV. PAGE Collation 33 Where printed unknown. Second edition 1540 . . 34 Mostly Tyndale's work. Peculiar rendering. 35 The Ballet of Ballets .... 36 Hyram Abiff the widow's son. Different readings . . . . . . '37 Objectionable note. Specimen of transla- tion 38 The Great Bible, 1539. Erroneously attributed to Archbishop Cran- mer 41 Earl of Essex's history and fate. Bible begun by Regnault 42 Bishop Bonner ambassador at Paris. . . 43 License withdrawn by the influence of the Inquisition 43 Sheets, presses, and type conveyed to Eng- land. Bible published in England with- out notes . . . . . . .44 The King's proclamation in 1539 . . 45 Copies made up from various editions. Mr. Fry's Great Bible 46 Cranmer's Bible, 1540. Cranmer's prologue. The title-page. Six editions 48 Revised by Tunstall and Heath. Cromwell's arms erased 49 Anthony Marler. Price fixed by Proclama- tion. The King's injunctions . . '50 Bishop Bonner sets up six copies in S. Paul's. Disturbances caused . . . . -51 Bonner's declaration. Old custom resumed of reading in English . . . .51 Printers' errors in edition of 156 1 . -53 xvi. Contents. PAGE Epistles and Gospels previous to 1661 taken from the Great Bible . . . -53 Source of Prayer Book version of the Psalms 54 Curious readings 55 Printers' blunders 55 Rejected renderings. Job xix . . -56 Attempt to banish the word " Church " from the Bible. Doubtful texts . .57 Specimen of translation from Cranmer's version 58 Taverner's Bible, 1539. Taverner's History 61 Foxe and Taverner burning Testaments at Oxford 61 His Bible adapted from Matthew's. Never popular 61 Various editions. Licensed as a lay-preacher 62 Not in orders. Idiomatic rendering . . 62 Taverner's account of his work . . .63 Genevan Bible, 1560. Genevan Testament issued 1557. First di- vided into verses . . . . . 64 Why called " Breeches " Bibles ... 65 Translated by Nonconformists . . .65 John Bodley. Whittingham. Bible in quarto size 65 Specimens of the Genevan notes . . 66 New Testament of 1557 never reprinted . 67 Tomson's version. His opinion of his anno- tations 67 Latimer's opinion of the revilers of the Bles- sed Virgin 68 Genevan Bible not sanctioned by the Church 69 King James L's opinion of it . . .70 No old Bible so common . . . .70 Contents. xvii. Barker's patent. Description of the title page and preliminary matter . Specimen of translation The Bishops' Bible, 1568. Bible reading restricted by Parliament, pro hibition repealed .... Evil results of the Genevan notes The translators of the Bishops' Bible . Bishops chosen from the ripest scholars of the day Archbishop Parker's share in this Bible, improved notes Elizabeth's sanction obtained Bishops' Bible issued 1568 . The preface Canons of 157 1 ..... Some Churches without Bibles . Description of second edition of this version Apology for new version of the Psalms Frequent revisions .... Edition of 1578, peculiar readings and notes Specimen of translation ... The Doway Bible, 1609-10. The New Testament issued in copies seized by Government Dr. Fulke's book . Doway Bible published 1609-10 Translated from the Vulgate Source of the authorised version Codex Sinaiticus . S. Jerome revises the Psalter Examples of variations in different editions The Authorised Version, 161 i. Hampton Court Conference Two issues of ist edition . . . 584, many 74 75 75 76 77 77 78 78 79 79 80 82 82 83 85 87 87 88 88 88 89 90 92 94 94 XVIU. Contents. The text of this version . . . . Character of the translation Various readings 1st 4to. edition Conclusion. Our present Bible soon to be superseded by a new version ...... Attachment to present version to be re- spected . . . ... Loss sustained by refusal of some of the se- lected translators to assist in the revision. Alterations in new version not likely to be very great General concord in all versions » PAGE 95 96 96 96 lOI 102 OLD BIBLES, By J. R. Dore. • Introdtc5lio7i, '"pHE date Holy Scripture, or portions of it, was first translated into the English lan- guage, cannot be accurately fixed. As the Epistles were directed to be read, not only to the Church to which they were first addressed, but also to other Churches, there is no doubt but that when the Christian religion was planted in " the isles of the sea," one of the first under- takings of the early missionaries would be, as soon as it could safely be done, to translate into the vernacular tongue of the people the liturgy used by the Apostles of our Blessed Lord, and the Epistles, and Gospels, which had been by divine direction engrafted into that liturgy. — The rubric prefixed to one of the Anglo-Saxon manuscript translations of the Testament is at S. Matthew i. chap., and i8th verse, "This Gospel is to be read on mid-winter's mass even." This is sufficient to establish the fact of its being Coloss. V. 1 6 Early trans- lation of por- tions of the Scriptures for use in the Liturgy. Old Bibles. Scriptures intended to be read in the vulgar tongue. Offices of the Church not written dur- ing the time of persecu- tion. the use of the early church, to read the Scrip- ture to the people in their own tongue. We have positive proof of this being the course fol- lowed in other nations, as well as in our own land. No doubt, in the monasteries established in the early days of the Church here, many of the religious were employed in the translation and transcription of the acts and teachings of Apos- tolic times ; the Church ever having been not only the witness, but the keeper of Holy Writ. The ancient British church was subjected to fierce persecution long prior to the time of S. Alban, not only from the Roman invaders, but also from the heathen population of the land, and while this persecution was at its worst. Christians, anxious to preserve their mysteries from profanation, preferred to trust to the oral transmission of the most sacred offices of the Church, rather than risk a profane use being made of them. The New Testament being, for the most part, a history of the Church, the Church must have existed before its history could be written, and for its continuous existence a liturgy was neces- sary, and to this liturgy we find many references in the New Testament, plain enough to the initiated, still sufficiently guarded to be safe from profanation. Immediately the first wave of persecution in Britain had subsided, the Bishops were anxious to place the Scriptures in the hands of the Introdu6lion. native clergy, that they might be read, and ex- pounded to the people, who were unable to read for themselves. That no copy is now extant of the Bible translated into the vernacular tongue of that period, does not prove no such transla- tion ever existed. All the evidence we have testifies that constant use was made of the Scriptures by the British Church. Tradition handed down by the earliest ecclesiastical his- torians records the fact, that the whole Psalter, and other portions of Holy Writ, were often committed to memory by the faithful, even by those who had no other means of ob- taining a knowledge of them but by listening to their daily recital in Church. Gildas, surnamed Sapiens, who wrote an epistle containing a history of Britain about the year 546, makes lengthy quotations both from the Old and New Testament, as was the custom of all the earUest Christian authors. Gildas quotes from no other book but the Bible, but as it is plain he does not quote from the Vulgate, some other translation must have been in use by the Church of this land, in his day ; a translation, of which not a single copy has survived. In 154 lines of the work of Gil- das, there are 100 lines taken entirely, or nearly so, from the Scriptures. These are not excep- tional pages, for nearly half his writings consist of passages strung together from the Old and New Testament. Some have tried to make out that the differ- Traditional evidence of early trans- lation. Testimony of Gildas. 6th century. Version used by Gildas lost. Old Bibles. Quotation from Gildas. 6th century. The Vener- able Bede's translation. 7th century. ence between the words quoted by Gildas, and S. Jerome's version, may be accounted for by supposing Gildas quoted from memory, and therefore inaccurately. This theory might ex- plain slight variations, but it is not sufficient to explain the difference in the words of five pas- sages out of every seven, and the frequent transposition of parts of a sentence. Gildas complains of the decay of religion in his day, and holds up the example of the earliest British church, for the imitation of the bishops and clergy then living, and near the conclusion says, " We have now therefore at length thought it necessary to have recourse to these lessons gathered out of Holy Scripture, to the end that they should not only be rehearsed, but also be assenting and assisting unto the benediction wherewith the hands of priests, and others of inferior sacred orders are first consecrated, and that they may be continually warned never, by degenerating from their priestly dignity, to di- gress from the commandments that are faithfully contained in the same." We are told that the Venerable Bede quoted much from sacred writ, and what he did in the seventh century he had been taught by those who preceded him. The fact that he trans- lated the Bible into the vulgar tongue of his day may perhaps be brought forward to prove no translation existed before his time, but if the great changes be considered, that took place in the language of this country, owing to the settle- Introdu6lion. ment in it of various foreign races, no one will wonder that a Bible translated for the use of the early British Church should not be *'under- standed by the people " of Bede's time, Saxon translations being now far more difficult to read than Latin ones are, because of the change that has taken place in the English language since that time. Nennius the disciple of S. Albotus in the eighth century, displays in his History of the Britons a considerable acquaintance with the Bible, but his quotations are not long enough to enable a positive opinion to be formed as to the translation he used. King Alfred, in the ninth century, had his memory stored, not only with the New Testa- ment and Psalms, but the Old Testament also, and he had learned that the laws of God are the best basis and models for human legislation. He is said to have been engaged at the time of his death on a revision of the Psalter. We have preserved to us positive proof that translations of the Scripture in the vulgar tongue existed in the tenth century : the Lindisfarne MSS., in the British Museum, cannot be gain- said. The Bible is, on good authority, believed to have been translated into Norman-French in 1260, indicating a desire for Bible reading ex- isting amongst the upper classes of that day. Of course there was not the same necessity for the Church service and the Bible being Changes in the English language. Nennius. 8th century. Alfred the Great. 9th century. Lindisfarne MSS. loth century. [3th century. Old Bibles. Bible trans- lated into a language un- derstood by the people in the 2nd cen- tury. The Psalter highly valued by Englishmen. Early re- vision of the Psalms. Quotation from Rich- ard Rolle. 14th century. translated into Anglo-Saxon, or Norman-French, in those days, as there was for its being trans- lated into English at a later period, for in the second century the Liturgy of the Church, and the various books which form the New Testa- ment, were translated from the Greek, in which they were first written, into the Latin tongue, and as that language was commonly known, and formed the ordinarj^ medium of communication in the greater part of the Christian Church, the offices, and the Bible were, to all who could read, just as useful in their Latin form as they would have been in their mother tongue, still, the love of God's word, and the desire to disseminate it amongst all classes, which has ever characterized the Church of England, urged on the work of translation. The Psalter has always been an especial favourite with EngHsh people, its melodies have ever vibrated in their hearts, both into prose and verse has it often been translated. 'J'hree versions dating from soon after 1300 still exist, and bear witness to this fact ; one of these was by the Yorkshire hermit, Richard Rolle, of Hampole, a learned man who lived at a hermitage near Doncaster. He thus spoke of his own transla- tion : " In this werke I seke no straunge Ynglys, bot lightest and communest, and swilk that is most like unto the Latyne, so y* thai that knawes noght y^ Latyne be the Ynglys may com to many latyne wordis. In y^ Translacione I felogh the letter als-mekille as I may, and thor Introdu6lion. I fyne no proper Ynglys, I felogh ye wit of the wordis, so that thai that shall rede it them thar not drede errynge ; In the expownyng I felough holi Doctors ; for it may comen into sum envious manes honde that knowys not what he suld says at wille saye that I wist what I sayd, and so do harme tille hym and tyll other." The above is very much like Yorkshire dialect of the present day, and is a remarkable example of idioms remaining in certain localities un- changed for hundreds of years. At the end of this ancient Yorkshire transla- tion and gloss of the Psalms were several can- ticles or hymns to be sung in English during Divine service. His translation of the New Testament included the Epistle to the Laodi- ceans, mentioned in Colossians iv. i6. John Wycliffe's translation appeared in the fourteenth century, and was revised by John Purvey, about the year 1388. Wycliffe, in the preface to his version, states his purpose to be " Y^ pore Cristen men may some dele know the text of y^ Gospells with the comyn sentence of olde holie doctores." The number of copies made of this translation must have been very great, for not only are copies in all first-rate libraries, but they are in the possession of private collectors in all parts of England. Many of them are beautifully written, with regularity and finish equal to copper-plate, and many are illus- trated in the most exquisite manner ; even the initial letters evidencing the highest artistic RolJe'sglc Wycliffe and Purvey's translation. 14th century. Old Bibles. Lollards' views op- posed to Christiaaity. The Printing Press neces- sary for the general dis- tribution of the Bible. Block Books precursor of printing. 14th century. taste and the most loving care, but, strange to say, the most beautiful illuminations are not in the most perfectly written copies ; it appears as if just in proportion as the illuminations im- proved the writing deteriorated. It is much to be regretted that the followers of Wycliffe adopted opinions and practices totally subversive of morality and good order, and thereby, like the Anabaptists of a later date, enlisted against themselves all religious and conservative men, and brought disgrace even on that modicum of truth they held combined with their gross errors. The Lollards at last pro- ceeded to such extremes, that in the interest of society generally, it became necessary to check them, or universal confusion would have ensued, lawless force overcome the principles of equity, and social intercourse could have no longer existed. It is plain that something more than a written translation of the Bible was necessary, in order to multiply copies with sufficient rapidity, and so to reduce their price, as to bring them into common use. The time alone taken to trans- cribe a manuscript so lengthy as the Bible, made it costly. The clerk or scribe was so frequently in holy orders, that when a man was described as a clerk, it was taken for granted that he was an ecclesiastic, but not all the clergy were able to write, and very few indeed of the laity. Block books were the glimmering light in the East that gave promise of day-break. About the Introdu6lion. end of the fourteenth century we first hear of their being used for pictures of the saints, accompanied by a few Hnes of letters cut in the block ; gradually entire pages were impressed in this manner, and thus began what are called block books, printed in fixed characters, but never exceeding a very few leaves. The great improvement from blocks to moveable type was made by Gutenberg, a native of Metz, but settled in Strasburg. After experimenting many years he first produced prints from moveable wooden type about the year 1450, and no doubt the first intention was to sell works so produced for manuscripts, and the imitation of handwriting was so good that even now, with our present knowledge, it takes an expert to determine at the first glance if a book of that period is manuscript or print ; the difficulty is rendered greater from the initial letters and other portions of early printed books having always been put in by hand. It is no wonder that before the process of printing had been made public the deception could be easily practised. Gutenberg entered into partnership with Fust or Faust, a rich merchant, who found the neces- sary capital to carry on operations. In 1452, Peter Schoffer invented punches of engraved steel, by which the moulds are struck, and thereby uniformity in the shape of each letter is obtained, this was not possible as long as each letter had to be cut by hand. As was most fitting, the first book printed Moveable type in- vented. 15th century. Early print- ing closely resembles M.S. Gutenberg and Fust. Schoffer. lO Old Bibles. First Bible printed. The Metz Bible. Caxton. Spread of Printing. was the Bible; the daring of the inventors of printing in at once undertaking so gigantic a task, has been the wonder and admiration of each succeeding age. This first printed Bible was in Latin, and is commonly called the Maza- rin Bible, from a copy found in the library of Cardinal Mazarin, at Paris, first having called attention to the book. A Psalter was printed by Fust and Schoffer in 1457, and another in 1459. The next Bible was printed either by Pfister at Bamberg, or by Gutenberg himself, who had dissolved partner- ship with Fust in 1455. Fust published a Bible in 1462, usually called the Metz Bible ; it was supposed to be the first ever printed, until the Mazarin Bible came to light. We now come to the history of English printed Bibles, and Caxton's name must not be passed over, although no Bible was ever printed by him. Caxton first commenced business at Cologne. A work \vritten by Raoul le Fevre was printed by him in 147 1, by order of Mar- garet, Duchess of Burgundy, a copy of it was recently sold for ;£^ 1,060. Caxton came to England in 1473, he soon began work, and issued his celebrated book on Chess the follow- ing year. The art of printing soon took root in English soil, and grew rapidly. During the reign of Edward IV. there were only three or four printers, in Henry VII. 's there were five, in Henry VIII.'s reign there were forty-five, in Edward VI. 's fifty-seven. Introdu6lion. 1 1 The printing of the Bible being a monopoly in England, no large proportion of printers have been engaged in the work, and when we remem- ber the importance of correctness in printing this Book, the necessity of strict supervision is evident. Even with all the care that has been taken, hardly a copy of the Scriptures exists free from errors. We now proceed to describe the various versions of the English Bible in chronological order. 12 Old Bibles. First portion of the Bible printed in 1525. Foxe unre- liable. Tyndale born 1484. Educated at Oxford and Cambridge. Tyndale s New Testament, '"pYND ALE'S New Testament was the first portion of the Scriptures ever printed in the English language. Of Tyndale himself not much is certainly known, the greater part of the accounts given of him in various works, are taken from the state- ments of a celebrated writer of fiction (Foxe) on whose veracity no reliance whatever can be placed. Many efforts have been made to ascer- tain his parentage, and the date of his birth, but without positive result. There is little doubt of his having been born within the hundred of Berkeley, in Gloucestershire, about the year 1484. From some unknown cause his immediate ancestors passed under the alias of Hutchins or Hitchins. Tyndale in his first publication designated himself " William Tyndale, other- wise called Hitchins," but subsequently he dropped the alias, and signed himself Wm. Tyndale. In early life Tyndale was sent to Oxford and received his education at S. Mary Magdalen's Hall. He afterwards left Oxford for Cambridge, but whether his removal from Oxford was volun- tary or not, has not been satisfactorily proved, but there can be no question of his having fully availed himself of University advantages, the Tyndale's N. Testament. 13 work he has left behind him testifies of his scholarship. Unfortunately, from his association with Lu- therans, at home and abroad, he became estranged from the Church of England, still he was an admirable translator, and our present New Testament and portions of the Old are mainly as Tyndale left them. Take for example the first chapter of the Holy Gospel of S. Matthew ; only thirteen changes have been made from Tyndale's version, and these verbal ones, as " who " for " which," " espoused " for " betrothed," " just " for " perfect," " virgin " for " maid," and so on. After leaving Cambridge, Tyndale resided for some time as a tutor at Sir Jno. Walsh's, Kt., Little Sodbury Manor House. He must then have been in holy orders, as we hear of his preaching at Bristol. We also hear of his being addressed as Master Tyndale, the term at that time used in place of Reverend. Tyndale's opinions having got him into trouble in Gloucestershire, he removed to London, and applied for support to the Bishop of London, Cuthbert Tunstall, one of the greatest scholars of the day, who was aftenvards selected by Henry VIH. on account of his well-known eminent attainments as a linguist, to revise two of the editions of the Great Bible. The bishop having already more dependants than he could well provide for, was unable to take Tyndale into his family, but he soon obtained the post A good trans- lator. Tutor at Sir J. Walsh's. Tyndale in holy orders. Tunstall un- able to take Tyndale into his family. H Old Bibles. Tyndale leaves Eng- land. Prints an 8vo testament at Worms. of Chaplain to Humphrey Munmouth, a rich Alderman of London, who had been much pleased with some sermons he heard Tyndale preach at S. Dunstan's-in-the-West. Tyndale lived in Munmouth's house almost a year, " con- ducting himself like a good priest," as Mun- mouth afterwards declared. To pursue the work of translation with less interruption, Tyndale retired to the Continent, his patron, Munmouth, who proved his true friend to the last, guaranteeing him the sum of ;^io per annum to pray for the souls of his father and mother, and all Christian souls, and this condition was doubtless honourably fulfilled. After residing some time in Hamburg, and completing his translation of the New Testament from the Greek, Tyndale went to Cologne, intending there to print it, but being disturbed before the work was completed, he and his amanuensis Joye took the sheets that had passed through the press to Worms. Here Peter Scohffer undertook to print a small octavo edition, without prologues and glosses, which was finished in 1525 ; before the quarto edition begun at Cologne was completed. When, or where, the quarto edition, which had proceeded as far as the middle of S. Luke's Gospel, in Quentel's press, at Cologne, was ultimately com- pleted, there is no direct evidence ; we know a large and a small edition appeared in Eng- land almost simultaneously ; one without notes, and the other with prologue and glosses, and it Tyndale's N. Testament. 15 has been estimated that about 6,000 copies alto- gether were disposed of. The translation was a better one from a literary point of view, and a more faithful one than could have been expected, taking all the circumstances of the case into consideration. Undoubtedly a strong Lutheran bias pervades it. For instance, the word "elder" is substituted for " priest," " congregation " for " church," and so on. Strange to say, this last error was continued in all the editions of the Great Bible, and is to be found in every prayer book down to the last revision. The bishops of the English church gave this translation of the New Testament a most careful examination, and finding many errors in it, tried their best to suppress it. Tunstall, of whose accurate scholarship there never was a doubt, preached a sermon at S. Paul's Cross against the translation, in which he said he had found over two thousand errors. Tyndale himself spoke of this first attempt as being very imperfect," even as a thing begun rather than finished." Instead of setting to work, as they should have done, and afterwards did, to correct the faults and imperfections in the translation, and bring it out under the sanction of the Church, the bishops decided to bum all the copies they could by any means lay their hands on, at any cost or sacrifice to themselves. This most unwise and injudicious proceeding enabled the Six thousand copies dis- posed of. Strong Lu- theran bias. Tunstall finds many errors and preaches against this translation. Testaments burnt. i6 Old Bibles. More wishes for an autho- rised version. "Douche " editions. enemies of the faith to persuade a large number of people that the Church and the New Testa- ment were antagonistic to each other, and instead of ruining Tyndale, the purchase and destruction of his early editions furnished him with the means to produce other and larger editions. Sir Thomas More was one of the most ener- getic and powerful opponents of Tyndale's version and its accompanying notes ; still he was most anxious, as many of the bishops also were, that there should be a correctly translated and properly authorised vernacular Bible for the use of the people of England, but from various causes, the issue of such a Bible was postponed, and bitter indeed have been the fruits of this neglect of duty by those in authority at that time. The great demand for copies of the New Testament, caused, in a great measure, by the opposition raised to its circulation, and the strin- gent measures taken to suppress it, produced a supply of books which were even more faulty than Tyndale's. Several editions were printed at Antwerp by persons who had very little (if any) acquaintance with the English language, consequently, many gross printers' errors crept in; indeed, to this cause some have assigned the remarkable variations in the orthography of celttain editions which have long puzzled stu- dents of this subject. George Joye, who was at one time closely Tyn dale's N. Testament. 17 associated with Tyndale, and afterwards separ- ated from him, revised a fourth edition for the " Wydowe of Christoffel of Endone." In it he made many changes for the worse, which caused Tyndale considerable annoyance, and he wrote very bitterly about it. Tyndale published, in 1534, a revised Testa- ment with marginal notes, and long prologues. In it the beginning and ending of the lessons were marked. A copy of this edition was presented by Tyndale to the wife of Henry VIII., who at one time exercised such a wonderful influence over Henry's conduct. This Testament was printed on vellum and beautifully illuminated, with Anne Boleyn's name distributed over the edges; "Anne" in red letters on the top, " Regina " on the front, and " Anglicae " on the under part. The shield on the title page had the arms of France and England. This book was be- queathed to the British Museum in 1799, by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. It is generally believed that the last New Testament corrected by Tyndale was the one "fynesshed in the yere 1535," during his incar- ceration within the castle of Vilvorde. The place where this was printed is unknown, nor has the printer's name been discovered. It is remarkable for the peculiar mode of spelling adopted, which appears systematically to have receded from Tyndale's previous standard. Several theories have been formed to account Joye's tions. Tyndale's testament of i 1534- Tyndale's last testa- ment. i8 Old Bibles. Singular or- thography in 1535- Examples of spelling in the 1534 and 1535 edi- tions. for the singular orthography. One is that the person who corrected the press was a foreigner, who evolved the spelling from his inner con- sciousness; another is that Tyndale furnished the printer with a list of words intended to represent phonetically the pronunciation of the Gloucestershire peasantry. The variation from the spelling of the previous year's edition mainly consists in the introduction of an ad- ditional vowel, generally an " a " or " e," the substitution of " e " for " y," and the change of the sequence of vowels. This Testament has two titles. After the first title and preface, tables for the Evangelists and the Acts, and the books contained in the New Testament, there is a second title, " The newe testament dylgdently corected and compared with the Greke by Willyam Tyndale. Fynesshed in the yere of our Lorde God 1535." The following list furnishes examples of the difference between the spelling in the 1535 edition, and that of the previous year : — 1535- 1534. abstaeyne abstayne abyede abyde boedy body boeke boke boeldely boldely clocke cloke cloethe clothe coelde colde coele cole Tyndales N. Testament. 19 coete cote daey day faele faule faeont faynt gaeye gaye haest hast haet hate haeven haven maed mad naeked naked obtaeyned obtayned oelde olde paeyne payne raege rage raeigne raygne raeted rated sae say saeke sake saeme same taecklynge tacklynge taelked talked taeste taste waele wayle waelke walke waere ware waere where The above spelling is not uniformly adopted, sometimes even in one sentence the same word is spelt in diiferent ways. For example " saint " is spelt "sayent" and "saeynct," and in one case, where, by a printer's error, a word has been duplicated, the spelling is not alike. 20 Old Bibles. Thomas Poyntz. Tyndale im- prisoned. Tyndale's letter to the Governor of the prison. Tyndale had resided at the house of Thomas Poyntz, an Englishman living at Antwerp, when he was hunted out, and, by authority received from the Court at Brussels, put in prison. He was soon afterwards removed to the castle of Vilvorde, 24 miles from Antwerp. Only one document is known to exist in Tyndale's handwriting, and this was found in the archives of the Council of Brabant. This touching letter was written, as its contents will show, during his imprisonment at Vilvorde, and was addressed to the Marquis of Bergen-op- Zoom, the governor of the castle. The letter was written in Latin, contracted as usual at that period. The handwriting is thoroughly charac- teristic of the man. The following is a literal translation : — " I believe, right worshipful, that you are not ignorant of what has been determined concern- ing me (by the Council of Brabant) therefore I entreat your Lordship and that by the Lord Jesus, that if I am to remain here (in Vilvorde) during the winter, you will request the Procureur to be kind enough to send me from my goods which he has in his possession, a waraier cap, for I suffer extremely from cold in the head, being afflicted with a perpetual catarrh, which is considerably increased in the cell, a warmer coat also, for that which I have is very thin, also a piece of cloth to patch my leggings ; my over- coat has been worn out, my shirts are also worn out. He has a woollen shirt of mine, if he will Tyndales N. Testament. 21 be kind enough to send it. I have also with him leggings of thicker cloth for putting on above, he also has warmer caps for wearing at night. " I also wish his permission to have a candle in the evening, for it is wearisome to sit alone in the dark. But above all I entreat and beseech your clemency to be urgent with the Procureur, that he may kindly permit me to have my Hebrew Bible, Hebrew Grammar, and Hebrew Diction- ary, that I may spend my time with that study. And in return, may you obtain your dearest wish, provided always it be consistent with the salvation of your soul. But if any other resolu- tion has been come to concerning me, before the conclusion of the winter, I shall be patient, abiding the will of God to the glory of the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ, Whose spirit, I pray, may ever direct your heart. Amen. W. TYNDALE." The imprisonment of Tyndale and his probable fate, was brought under the notice of Cromwell and Cranmer, but they made little effort to save him, although there was plenty of time to accom- plish his release, and as an Englishman he had a positive right to the protection of his country. No doubt he would have been rescued, had he been less an object of suspicion and hatred to the dominant powers at home, and although Cranmer was not as directly answerable for the murder of Tyndale as he was of many others, yet as he did not bring his influence to bear on King Henry in Tyndale's behalf, Cranmer may Cranmer's indifference to Tyndale's fate. 22 Old Bibles. Tyndale martyred 1536. First testa- ment of Tyn- dales printed in England. Edition of 1548. justly be considered an accessory to his death. On Friday, October 6th, 1536, Tyndale was led to the place of execution, fastened to the stake, strangled, and his body burnt to ashes. His last words are reported to have been " Lord ope the eyes of the King of England." Singularly enough, the very year of his death, Thomas Bertelet, the King's printer, issued the first New Testament that was printed in England with Tyndale's name attached to it. It was in folio size, and followed the text of the edition of 1534, it contains 'his prologue to the Epistle to the Romans, to which such objections had been raised, both by the king and convocation ; for it was to the annotations much more than to the translation that exceptions were taken. In 1548 was published an octavo edition of Tyndale's New Testament, with this title : "The Newe testament of our Saviour Christ newly set forth after the best copie of William Tyndale's translation, whereunto are added the notes of Thomas Matthewe wyth other healpynge verie much to the understanding of the text. Im- printed at London, by John Daye and William Seres, dwelling in Sepulchres parish, at the sign of the Resurection a little above Holboum Conduit. Anno MDXLVIII. the xxvii. of October. Cum gratia et priviligio ad impri- mendum solum." On the next page is a short preface from the printer to the reader, then an almanack for twenty-nine years, a table to find Easter, then the kalendar, next Tyndale's pre- Tyndale's N. Testament. face to the New Testament, and his prologue to S, Matthew's Gospel, etc. At the end of the book are the portions ap- pointed for the Epistles, " taken out of the Old testament, which are read in the Church after the use of Salisbury upon certeyne dayes of the yere." After this twenty-eight editions of Tyndale's New testament are known to have been pub- lished, all of which are distinguished by some peculiarity. For instance, that printed in 1552 has a title as follows : "The Newe Testa- ment of our Saviour Jesus Christe, faythfuUy translated out of the Greke, wyth the notes and expositions of the darke places therein." Then follows a picture of King Edward within an oval, on the right is " Rex," and on the left, " Vivat," round the border of the oval is, " Edwardvs sextvs Dei gratia Anglise Francie et Hibernie Rex etc. setatis svae xv." Underneath is The pearle which Christ commanded to be bought Is here to be founde, not elles to be sought. Before each of the four Gospels is placed a life of the Evangelist. There are many wood- cuts in it, one of which represents the Devil with a wooden leg, sowing tares. The following is a copy of the beginning of " The Epistle off the Apostle Paul to the Ro- maynes," from the first Testament printed in the English language. The octavo printed at Worms in 1525. In the left hand corner is a 23 Tyndale edi- tion of 1552. Curious woodcut. 24 Old Bibles. Example of Tyndale's translation. woodcut i^ X ^ of an inch in size, representing S. Paul with a nimbus around his head, and vested in a cope, and a pastoral staff in his hands. " Paul the servaunte of Jesus Christ, called unto the office off an apostle, putt a parte to preache the gospell of God which he promysed afore by his prophet i the holy scriptures that make mesion of his sone, the which was be- gotten of the seede of David, as pertaynynge to the fiesshe : and declared to be the sonne of God with power of the holy goost, that sanctifieth sence the tyme that Jesus Christ cure lorde rose agayne from deeth, by whom we have receaved grace and apostle shippe, thatt all gentiles shulde obeye to the fayth which is in his name, of which noumbre are ye also, which are Jesus Christes by vocation. To all you of Rome beloved of God ad sanctes by callynge. Grace be with you and peace from God oure father, and from the lorde Jesus Christ" Coverdale s Bible. 25 Coverdale s Bible, npHE first complete Bible printed in the ^ English language, was issued October 4th 1535- It professes to be translated out of the " Douche " (i.e., German) and " Latyn " into English by "youre grace's humble subjecte, and daylye oratour Myles Coverdale." Coverdale was born in the North Riding of Yorkshire, but as in the case of Tyndale, very much obscurity rests on his parentage and early history. In their future career the difference between the two appears to have been that Coverdale was employed on the work of translation by others, while Tyndale acted independently, being urged onwards by his own enthusiasm. Tyndale's indomitable energy, no discourage- ment nor persecution could daunt. Coverdale under the wings of powerful protectors, passed prosperously through the major part of his life, at one time being intruded into the see of Exeter, during the episcopate of Bishop Vesey. Coverdale was unwillingly induced to under- take the translation of the Bible by Cromwell and probably Sir Thomas More, by whom all his expenses in connection with it were defrayed. It is not certain when, or where, this transla- tion was commenced, we know from the imprint that it was finished October, 1535. First com- plete English Bible printed 1535. Expenses of translation paid by Cromwell. 26 Old Bibles. Dedicated to Henry VIII. Castle Ashby copy. Two title pages were printed, one with the same type as the Bible, the other in English black letter, but which was first issued has not been decided. The Bible was dedicated to King Henry VIII. of pious memory, even more servilely than our present version is "to the high and mighty Prince James " — and this is saying a good deal. The dedication commences " Unto the most victorious Prynce, and oure most gracyous souverigne Lorde, Kynge Henry the eyght, Kinge of Englonde and of Fraunce, lorde of Irlonde &c., Defendour of the Fayth and under God, the chefe and suppreme heade of the church of Englonde." In it Henry is compared to Moses, David, Solomon and Jehosophat, and perhaps there were events in the life of each, which might have found their parallel in the king's history. Coverdale, whether flattering, or condemning, always laid on his colours with a large brush ; in his " Christian exhortation to customable swearers " the language used is so gross and indecent, that had Lord Campbell's act then been in existence, Coverdale would have been liable to its penalties. The Castle Ashby library has a copy of this Bible perfect with the exception of the map, it is supposed to be the only copy so nearly com- plete in existence, and in exactly the state in which it was first issued. The centre of the wood block title reads thus : Coverdale's Bible. 27 " Biblia, that is the holy Scripture of the Olde and New Testament, faythfully translated in to Englyshe MDXXXV. S, Paul II. Tessal III. Praye for us, that the worde of God maye have fre passage and be glorified. S. Paul CoUoss. III. Let the worde of Christe dwell in you, plen- teously in all wysdome, &c. Josue I. Let not the Boke of this lawe departe out of thy mouth, but exercyse thy selfe therein daye and nyghte, y"^ thou mayest kepe and do every thynge ac- cordynge to it that is wrytten therin." From this the words " translated out of Douche and Latyn in to Englishe " which appears in the title printed with the same type as the Bible, are omitted. It has long been a vexed question as to where, and by whom this Bible was printed. Lewis, in his "History of the several translations of the Holy Bible " assigns the printing to Zurich, and names Christopher Froschover, as the probable printer. Others with equal confidence have pro- nounced Paris to be the place from which it was issued. The honour has also been claimed for Cologne. Very likely the office that gave birth to the first English Bible will never be identified with absolute certainty, still but little doubt can exist that if this Bible was printed anywhere abroad, Frankfort was the place, and Christian Egenolph the printer. The evidence in favour of this view is that a A.D. 1535. Title-page. 28 Old Bibles, book 5}4 by 4 inches in size, containing forty leaves, entitled " Biblicae historiae artificios- issime depictae," "Francoforti Christianus Ege- nolphus excudebat " was published in 1536, and again in 1537, and 1539. It consists of the woodcuts used in printing Coverdale's Bible in 1535, printed by themselves as a volume of Bible-cuts. It appears reasonable that if Christian Ege- nolph possessed these cuts in 1536, he must have been the printer of the Bible, for there would hardly have been time in those slow days, for their being procured from Nycholson of South warke, to whom some attribute the printing of the first edition of this Bible, as well as the second, to which his name is attached, with the date 1537. Those who are anxious, for the credit of old England, to believe that we are not indebted to foreign printers for our first English Bible, endeavour to substantiate their case by stating that in Nycholson's edition of 1537, may be found the same woodcuts, and side ornaments of the titles ; and some of the wood-cuts in the text, as in the Bible of 1535, including those of the " six days' worke " on the first page of Genesis, a representation hardly to be looked at without a shudder, but one often to be found in early printed copies of the Vulgate. The word " Lorde " in Roman letters is from the same type in both Bibles. There is only one wood-cut in the folio Bible Coverdale's Bible. 29 of 1537, that of Jonah, which is not in that of 1535. Other books printed by Nycholson, are undoubtedly from the same type and wood-cuts as were used to produce Coverdale's first Bible. For further corroboration of the opinion that this Bible was not produced abroad, it may be stated that the edition of Matthews' Bible, printed in 1540 by Petyt, and Redman, for Thomas Berthelet, has the first and New Testa- ment titles printed from the blocks used for Coverdale's Bible of 1535. Had these blocks belonged to Frankfort, Zurich, or Cologne printers in 1535, it is not likely an EngHsh printer would have been using them in 1540. Another edition of Matthews' Bible was pub- lished by Daye and Seres in 1549, in which in the titles, and the text, are forty-nine impressions from the identical woodcuts used in the Bible of 1535- Richard Jugge used the same woodcuts of the four Evangelists in the New Testaments of 1552, and 1553, and the large map in the Bishops' Version of 1574 is the same as was used in Coverdale's Bible of 1535. Convocation was not satisfied with this work and petitioned " that the King would cause the Bible to be by learned men faithfully and purely translated into the English tongue." The object of the Church was not to prevent the scriptures from being translated, as it has been continuously, and falsely represented, but to obtain an accurate version of the original Other edi- tions printed with the type and wood- cuts used in 1535. Convocation not satisfied with this translation. 30 Old Bibles. More' advo- cated trans- lation into English. Resolution of Convoca- tion. Second edi- tion'dedica- ted to Queen Jane. writings, for the use of the English nation. Before this time, on March 17th, 1533, the Convocation of the province of Canterbury, had decreed " That the Holy Scripture should be translated into the vulgar tongue." This was also advocated by Sir Thomas More, who succeeded Wolsey as Lord Chancellor, and yet Sir Thomas More has been charged with using all his intellectual and political powers to keep the Bible out of the hands of the people of this land. On December 19th, 1534, Convocation, as the legal representatives of the church of Eng- land, formally resolved " that Cranmer should make instance in their name, that his Majesty would vouchsafe to decree that the scriptures should be translated into the vulgar tongue by some honest and learned men to be nominated by the King." The second Bible printed in England was dedicated, as the first, to King Henry, but instead of his " dearest just wyfe and most vertuous Pryncesse, Quene Anne," it begins as follows, " ^ The right and just administracyon of the lawes that God gave unto Moses, and unto Josua : the testimonye of faythfulnes that God gave of David : the plenteous abundaunce of wysedome that God gave unto Salomon : the lucky and prosperous age with the multipli- cacyon of sede, which God gave unto Abraham and Sara his wyfe, be geven unto you moost Coverdale's Bible. 31 gracyous Prynce, with your dearest just wyfe, and moost vertuous Pryncesse, Quene Jane, Amen." This Bible is said in the title page to be " newly oversene and corrected," and to have been " Imprynted in Sowthwarke for James Nycolson." The following is a copy of part of the first chapter of "The gospell of S. Marke." It is headed by a woodcut of S. Mark with a nimbus around his head, writing at a desk, with a winged lion before him. The size of the woodcut is 2^ X 2 inches. " This is the begynnynge of the gospell of Jesus Christ the son of God, as it is wrytte in the prophetes, Beholde, I sende my messanger before thy face, whiche shal prepare thy waye before the. The voyce of a cryer is in the wil- demes : Prepare the waye of the Lorde, make his pathes straight. " Ihon was in the wyldemes, and baptysed, and preached the baptyme of amendment, for the remysion of synnes. And there wente out to him the whole londe of Jewry, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptysed of him in Jordan and knowleged their synnes. " Ihon was clothed with camels heer, and with a lethron gerdell aboute his loynes, and ate locustes and wylde hony, and preached, and sayde : There commeth, one after me, which is stronger then I : before whom I am not worthy to stoupe downe, and to lowse up ye Portion of first chapter of S. Mark. 32 Old Bibles. lachet of his shue. I baptyse you with water, but he shal baptyse you with the holy goost. "And it happened at the same tyme, that Jesus came out of Galile from Nazareth, and was baptysed of Ihon in Jordan. And as soone as he was come out of the water, he sawe that the heavens opened, and the goost as a doue comynge downe up on him. And there came a voyce from heave : Thou art my deare sonne, in whom I delyte. " And immediatly the speret drove him in to the wyldemes : and he was in the wyldemes fourtye dayes, and was tempted of Sathan, and was with wylde beestes. And the angles myn- istred unto him. " But after that Ihon was taken Jesus came in to GaUle, and preached the gospell of the kyng- dome of God, and sayde : the tyme is fulfylled, and the kyngdome of God is at hande : amende youre selves and beleve the gospell." Matthew's Bible. 33 Matthew s Bible, '~p HE next version of the Bible was superin- tended by John Rogers, a friend of Tyndale's. It is made up of Tyndale's transla- tion from Genesis to Chronicles, the book of Jonah and the New Testament of 1535, and the rest Coverdale's, corrected and revised by Rogers. Rogers adopted the fictitious name of Thos. Matthew to conceal the authorship of the translation, as Tyndale's work had been con- demned by authority. The following is the title and collation.— " The Byble, which is all the Holy Scripture, in which are contayned the Olde and Newe Testa- ment, truely and purely translated into Englysh by Thomas Matthew. MDXXXVII." This title is in red and black letters, within a wood engraving and at the bottom in large letters, " Set forth with the Kynges most gracyous licence." A Kalandar and Almanac for 18 years beginning 1538 — four pages. — An exhor- tation to the study of the Hgly Scriptures, one page, with John Rogers' initials at the bottom. The summe and contents of all the Holy Scrip- ture, two pages. Dedication to Henry VHL, three pages. To the Chrysten Readers, and a table of the principal matters in the Bible — twenty-six pages. Rogers the editor of Maithevv's Bible. Collation of Matthew's Bible. 34 Old Bibles. The place of its issue un- known. " The names of all the bokes of the Byble, and a brief rehersal of the years passed since the begynnynge of the worlde unto this yeare of our Lord MDXXXVIL, one page. Genesis to Salomon's Ballet fol. i., ccxlvii. The Prophetes in English. On the reverse of this title is a large wood-cut between R(ichard) G(rafton) and E(dward) W(itchurch) in capi- tals. Esay to Malachi, fol. i., xciiii., and at the end of Malachi, W(illiam) T(yndale in large capi- tal letters. The Apocripha. The Newe Testa- ment &c. printed in the yeare of our Lorde God MDXXXVIL in red and black. Matthew to Revelation, fol. 4, cix. Tables &c., fol. cx.,cxi. On the last leaf is " The ende of the Newe Testament, & of the whole Byble."—" To the honoure and prayse of God was this Byble printed and fynessed in the yeare of our Lorde God MDXXXVIL" A full page contains sixty lines. Besides notes at the end of each chapter, in many instances as long as the text itself, all Tyndale's part of this book is loaded with long prologues. The one before Exodus consists of six columns. Leviticus has a still longer preface. Numbers rather less. Deuteronomy three columns. Jonah eight and a half. S. Matthew five and a half. The Episde to the Romans ten columns and so on. It is not certain where this Bib^e was printed, most probably in the Duchy of Wittenberg, it is in black letter, with marginal aimotations, the Matthew's Bible, canticles are printed in red and black, the running titles, signatures, marginal notes, &c., are all in the Gothic letter. Grafton brought a copy of this Bible into England in the early part of the year 1537, and showed it to Arch- bishop Cranmer, and begged him to obtain permission for its distribution, and the King allowed it " to be sold and read of every person without danger of any Act, Proclamation, or Ordinance heretofore granted to the contrary." Grafton presented Cromwell with six copies, and petitioned for a license under the Privy Seal, to prevent German printers from competing with, and underselling him, as he had 1,500 copies to dispose of, which represented con- siderable capital ; but whether he obtained protection or not is not very clear. The second edition of Matthew's Bible was printed by Grafton and Whitchurch. In 1540 Thomas Petyt and Robert Redman for Thomas Berth- elet, printed an edition in folio, and Redman one in i6mo the same year. The name of Ihon Daye first appears as a printer of Bibles on a reprint of this version in 1549, and in October of this year William Hyll and Thomas Reynaldes issued an edition said to be revised and corrected, and in which the notes were considerably altered. In 1551 Hyll printed a foHo edition for eight "honest menne." The letters W. T. at the end of the first edition of this Bible have given rise to the erroneous idea that Tyndale was the sole trans- 35 2nd edition of Matthew's Bible, 1540. Tyndale the principal translator. 36 Old Bibles. Peculiar rendering. Not peculiar to this Bible. The Ballet of Ballets. lator of it, and it is commonly known as Tyndale's Bible, and supposed to be the first English Bible. Matthew's Bible has been taken as the basis for subsequent revisions, and much of it remains in our present Bible unaltered. Some of the renderings now seem quaint, for example, in the fifth verse of the ninety-first Psalm, we have in the authorised version, " Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day," but in Matthew's Bible we read " So that thou shalt not nede to be afrayd for any Bugges by night," &c. Probably the word means bogies or boggarts, and not the objectionable little insect which is a terror to most people. Some demur at this explanation, and say the word Bug is derived from a Russian word for an evil spirit. It is only fair to state that this rendering is not peculiar to Matthew's Bible, as it occurs in all versions that preceded the Great Bible. Matthew's Bible, in common with Cranmer's and the Bishop's, calls Solomon's Song "The Ballet of Ballets of Salomon," but Matthew's Bible is distinguished by having this book cast in a dramatic form. It begins " The voyce of the Churche." " The spousesse to hyr companyons." " The voyce of the churche in persecution." " The voyce of the synagogue." " The voyce of the Churche to Christ." " Christ to the Churche." Matthew's Bible. il " Christ to the Apostles." " The voyce of the synagogue speaking to the Churche." The title of the book is explained in a mar- ginal note to mean, " That is the cheaf and moost excellent Balet, as y^ saincte of sainctes, y^ Kyng of Kynges, as y^ cheaf saincte and cheaf Kynge. Wherefore it is to be supposed y^ among the other songes this hath bene estemed and judged the chefe and principall." Some of the renderings of this Bible are peculiar to it, and serve to distinguish it from all other versions ; for example, II Chronicles, chapter ii. The architect Hyram 'King of Tyre sent to King Solomon, is called " Hyram Abi or Abif." He is described as being the son of a widow — "a wise man, a man of under- standyng, and he can skylle to work in gould, sylver, brasse, yron, stone, tymbre, scarlet lacincte bysse, and cremsyn ; and grave all manner of grauynges and to finde out all maner of sotle worck that shal be set before hym, with thy coning men." Abi or Abif is a title of honour equivalent to Father, and is applied to Hiram in this version alone. All other trans- lations give his first name only, so the title word Abi or Abif has been omitted for 327 years, but it has not been forgotten. In the first chapter of Job, Job is said to have been " an innocent and vertuous man." Matthew's Bible, Cranmer's and the Bishop's say " a perfect and just man," the Genevan Hyram Abiff. Various ren- dering. 3^ Old Bibles. Disagree- ment at the end of the marriage service. Objection- able note. rendering is "an upright and just man," and the AV "a perfect and upright man." The passage that concludes the marriage service differs in almost every version of the Bible and Prayer Book. King Edward's second book reads, " As Sara obeyed Abraham callyng hym Lorde, whose daughters ye are made, doying well and beyng not desmaide with any feare." Matthew's Bible has " Sara obeyed Abraham and called hym Lorde, whose daugh- ters ye are as longe as ye doe well and be not afraide of every shadowe." Coverdale and the Bishop's give ''and are not afraide for any terrour." The German is " Sara obeyed Abra- ham and called him Sir" — a higher title than Lord. The Doway version reads " As Sara obeyed Abraham calling him Lord, whose daughters you are, doing well and not fearing any disturbance. The authorized version con- cludes, "are not afraid with any amazement." The note in Matthew's Bible to this passage is, " He dwelleth wyth his wyfe according to knowledge, that taketh her as a necessarye healper and not as a bonde slave. And yf she be not obedient, and healpfull unto him en- devoureth to beate the feare of God into her heade, that thereby she maye be compelled to learne her dutie, and to do it." Is it any wonder the Bishops and Convoca- tion resisted the circulation of a Bible with such notes as this ? Very little peace would they have had at Matthew's Bible. 39 home, had they encouraged the incorporation of such precepts into the Bible. The process that would beat into a woman's heart the love of God, would beat out of it the love of man. The following Psalm is appended to enable the reader to judge of the character of this translation. Psalm xxiv. ytye H When the Lord had shewed unto David thresshing flour of Oran y« Jebusite, which was in the hyll Moria, was the place where he wolde have a teple buylded for him, David monyshed with the singular goodnes of God towards the Israelites amogest whom he had chosen him a dwylling place, describeth to who the place of God doth verely belong and which is the very nacion of God and amogst who he vouchsafeth to dwel. The he exhorteth them to the buylding of the temple. A Psalme of David. The earth is the Lordes, and all y* therein is, the compase of the world and al that dwel therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and buylded it upon the floudes. Who shal go up into the hyll of the Lorde, or who shal remayne in his holy place. Even he that hath innocent handes, and a Psalm xxiv. 40 Old Bibles. cleane hert which^ lifteth not up his minde unto vainte, and sweareth not to disceave. He shal receave the blessing fro the Lord and mercy fro God his saviour. This is the generation of them that seke hym of them that seke thy^ face O Jacob. Selah. Open your gates (O ye princes) lette the Everlastynge dores be opened, the the Kynge of Glory may come in. Who is this Kynge of Glory, it is ye Lord strong and myghtie, even the Lord myghtye in batell. Open your gates (O ye princes) let the ever- lastynge dores be opened, y the King of glory may come in. Who is this Kynge of glory, it is the Lord of Hoostes, he is the Kynge of Glory. ^ — Selah. ^ The Notes. ^ He lifteth not up his myud to vanitie that glorifieth not him self nor estemith or setteth by hym selfe as thoughe he were somwhat, but taketh himself for nothing. Galath. ^ That is the favour of thy God. ' Loke in the iii. Psalm, a. The Great Bible. 41 The Great Bible, QQ npHE Byble in Englyshe, truly translated after the veryte of the Hebrue and Greke textes, by y^ dylygent studye of dyuerse excellent learned men, experte in the forsayde tonges. Prynted by Richard Grafton and Edward Whitchurch, Apryll 1539." The above is a copy of the title-page of the Bible commonly, but erroneously, known as " Cranmer's Bible." It has been proved most conclusively that Archbishop Cranmer had no share in it whatever, directly or indirectly. It was the enterprise of Cromwell, encouraged and supported by Sir Thomas More, one of Henry VIII.'s Lord Chancellors. Thomas Cromwell, whose evil deeds in break- ing down with axes and hammers the carved work, and glorious sculpture, of many of our churches and cathedrals ; have often been laid on the shoulders of his notorious namesake ; had raised himself by cunning and servility, from a fuller's shop, to the title of Earl of Essex, and the office of Vicar-General to the King. Under the impression that his purposes would be served by the translation and circulation of the Scriptures, he exerted all his personal in- fluence with Henry, to accomplish this end, and to his efforts may be attributed the license granted to the printers, and the royal injunctions Erroneously attributed to Cranmer. Oliver Crom- well often blamed for Thos. Crom- well's work. 42 Old Bibles. Cromwell beheaded. Printing commenced at Paris, by licence of Francis I. and proclamations, issued at various times, ^y Henry VIII. The deception practiced on the King by Cromwell, respecting the beauty of Anne of Cleves, was never forgiven, and in July, 1540, the disgraced favourite ended his days on the scaffold. Coverdale, with several assistants (probably some of the bishops) were for some years privately engaged on the translation of this Bible. Early in 1538 it was completed and ready for the press, but the art of printing not being as far advanced in England as in France, and Cromwell being determined that this book should be a typographical wonder, as indeed it proved to be, he sent Grafton and Coverdale to Paris, to place the work in the hands of the celebrated French printer, Regnault, having first induced Henry VIH. to enter into direct communication with Francis I., and obtain from him a special license for Richard Grafton and Edward Whitchurch to have the Scriptures printed in his dominions. The much reviled Bonner, then Bishop elect of Hereford, and afterwards Bishop of London, who with Stephen Gardener, Bishop of Win- chester, and Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of Durham, are supposed to have been the "diverse excellent learned men experte in the forsayde tonges" by whom Coverdale was assis- ted, or perhaps it would be more correct to say, over whom he presided as editor ; rendered most The Great Bible. 43 essential service in the issue of this version. Bonner was at that time ambassador from the Court of England, and by his official position, as well as from the high estimation in which he was personally held, was able to afford protec- tion to Coverdale and Grafton, and he did so to the utmost of his power. Knowing the great efforts that were being made to induce Francis to withdraw the licence he had granted the printers, and that thus the undertaking was liable to immediate interruption, Bonner conveyed portions of the impression as they issued from the press, to London, an am- bassador having the right to travel without his luggage being examined. On the 13th of December Coverdale writes to Cromwell " that Bishop Bonner was so good as to convey this much of the Bible to your good Lordship, to the intent that if these men proceed in their cruelness against us, and confiscate the rest, yet this at least of your work of the Bible may be safe." These gloomy anticipations were fully realised, for four days after the date of this letter, the work was stopped, and by the per- mission of Francis, an order was issued, dated December 13th, 1538, signed Le Tellier, citing Regnault, and all others it might concern, to answer for what they had already done, and inhibiting the further printing of the Bible, and ordering the sheets already printed to be delivered up. All the authorities could lay their hands on were ordered to be destroyed. Instead of Bonner am- bassador at Paris. License withdrawn. 44 Old Bibles. Sheets brought to England. Presses, type, Sec, brought to England. Without annotations. Strictly obeying orders, the Lieutenant sold four great dry vats full to a haberdasher, from whom they were rescued, and conveyed to England. John Hirst, Esq., J. P., of Dobcross, Saddle- worth, recently found several of these very sheets, which had been used as guard sheets in binding an old surgical work ; there can be no mistake about it, as by comparing them with other books printed about the same time by Regnault, the type is seen to be identical. Cromwell was determined not to be beaten, he therefore sent to Paris, and purchased presses and type, and had them removed to London, and induced workmen to accompany them, by whom the Bible was soon completed. The title-page is an elaborate engraving by Hans Holbein. On the top is a representation of the Almighty in the clouds, with his hands stretched out, underneath is the King sitting on his throne, with a bishop bareheaded on each side, with their mitres on the ground, a very fitting emblem of King Henry VIIL's supremacy over the Church. The King presents a closed book with the words Verbum Dei on the cover. There are a number of people represented with labels coming from their mouths with the words Vivat Rex on them, and also a prison with prisoners looking out of the windows or grates. This Bible was without annotations, the editor says in the prologue, " We have added many hands in margent of this Byble upon which we purposed certen godly annotacyons. The Great Bible. 45 but for so moch as yet there hath not bene suffycient tyme mynystored to the Kinges moost honourable councell for the oversyght and correccyon of the sayde annotacyons, we wyll therefore omyt them tyl their more con- venient leysour." This " leysour " never came, for a hint was conveyed to Coverdale from the King that the Bible had better be left without note or com- ment. On the last leaf is printed " The ende of the Newe Testament, and of the whole Byble, fynished in Apryll, Anno 1539. "A dno factu istud." It is without dedication, perhaps the repre- sentation on the title-page of the Almighty, saying of King Henry VIIL, ''I have found a man after my own heart, which shall fulfil all my will," was considered flattery gross enough to gain the favour of the King without making other untruthful statements. Influenced by his Vicegerent, Henry, on the 14th of November, 1539, issued a proclamation of which the following is the substance, "Being desirous to have our people attaining the know- ledge of God's word, whereby they will the better honour Him, and keep His command- ments, and do their duty better to us, being their Prince, and Sovereign Lord, and consider- ing that this our zeal and desire, cannot by any means, take so good effect, as by the granting to them the free and liberal use of the Bible, in our Henry VIII. proclamation 46 Old Bibles. Bibles made up from dif- ferent edi- doas. own maternal English tongue. So lest the diversity of translations bring forth manifold in- conveniences, we have appointed our well beloved councellor the Lord Cromwell, Keeper of our Privy Seal, take special care that no manner of person within this our realm, attempt to print any Bible in the English tongue for five years next ensuing, but such as be deputed, assigned, and admitted, by the said Lord Crom- well." Per ipsum Regem. Two magnificent copies of this Bible were printed by R. Grafton, on vellum, one for the King and the other for his Vicar-General, they were embellished and illuminated, and the covers richly embossed in brass. The copy that belonged to Cromwell is said to be in the library of S. John's College, Cam- bridge, the frontispiece has Cromwell's coat of arms in colours. Owing to the practice commenced within a few years of the issue of the books, and con- tinued to the present time, of completing Bibles which from accident, or constant use, have become imperfect, from other copies, without paying the slightest regard to the edition to which such copies belong, it is not an uncom- mon circumstance to find portions of the text and preliminary matter of several editions bound in one volume, thus owing to Cranmer's prologue having occasionally been found in the Great Bible of 1539, its publication, and by some even its translation has been ascribed to him, when The Great Bible, 47 in fact he was not even aware the work was in progress, for had he been, some allusion to it would have been sure to appear in his corres- pondence with Cromwell in 1538. Mr. Francis Fry, of Gotham, Bristol, was the first to draw attention to this fact in his magnifi- cent work on the Great Bible, and the six editions of Cranmer's Bible of 1540 and 1541, illustrated with titles, and with passages from each edition, copied in facsimile. Mr. Fry's work serves not only as a biblio- graphical description of these folios, but also as a key whereby to identify the editions. To him all English-speaking people have reason to be deeply grateful for the unwearying labour and accurate scholarship, that characterize this and all his writing on early versions of the Bible. Mr. F. Fry's Great Bible. 48 Old Bibles. Cranmer's Prologue. A.D. 1540. The Great Bible, or, Cranmers Version. A REVISED edition of the Great Bible of 1539 '^^ was published April 1540 in folio size, black letter. Archbishop Cranmer, who was only consistent in never allowing any scruples of conscience to stand in the way of his self- interest or aggrandisement, finding King Henry favourably disposed to this edition, wrote a long prologue to it, which he concludes with a quota- tion from the 50th Psalm, characteristically adopting a different rendering from the book he is recommending. This prologue being pub- lished with this and subsequent editions of the Bible, obtained for Cranmer the credit of being its translator, and these editions became popu- larly known as Cranmer's Bibles. The title page reads, "The Byble in Englyshe that is to say the contet of al the Holy Scripture both of the olde and Newe testamet, with a prologe thereinto made by the reverende father in God, Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury. U This is the Byble apoynted for the use of the Churches. H Printed by Edwarde Whytchurche. Cum privlegio ad imprimendum solum MDXL." Six editions of this Bible rapidly followed each other. The first edition was issued in April, the second in July, the third in Novem- Cranmer's Version. 49 ber, 1840, the fourth in May, the fifth in November, and the sixth December, 1841. — The total number of copies issued amounted to 21,000. — Each of these editions was to some extent revised, as no two agree exactly with each other. They were all printed by Grafton, or Whitchurch. In the first only of the series, with that utter disregard of uniformity of spel- ling, even of surnames, which prevailed at that time, the printer spells his name Whytchurche, as he does in the edition of 1553. The third and fifth editions were revised 'by two bishops, Tunstal and Heath, the former of whom has been branded with the accusation of having been one of the greatest opponents of the trans- lation of the Bible, because he tried to prevent the circulation of copies not faithfully repre- senting the original Scriptures, and loaded with notes and annotations, calculated to bring the church of England and her ministers into con- tempt ; written by men whose avowed object it was to destroy Episcopacy, and establish the new German religion in its place, an object they were very near accomplishing a few years after- wards, but were providentially overruled, and the church of England preserved. The title of the edition issued November 1540 is "The Byble in Englishe of the largest and greatest volume, auctoryed and apoynted by the commandmente of our moost redoubted Prynce and soueraygne Lorde Kinge Henry the eighth, supreme heade of this his churche.and 21,000 copies issued. Revised by Bps. Tunstal and Heath. Title of A. D. November 1540 edition. so Old Bibles. Cromwell's arms erased. Anthony Marler. I^ice los. unbound, I2S. bound. The King's injunction. realme of Englande, to be frequented, and used in every Churche in this his sayd realme, accord- ynge to the tenour of his former Injunctions given in that behalfe. H Oversene and perused at the commandmet of the Kynges Hyghnes by the ryghte reverende fathers in God Cuthbert Bysshop of Duresme, and Nicolas, Bisshop of Rochester." Cromwell having in July 1540 undergone the usual fate of Henry VIIL's favourites, his arms were erased from the shield at the feet of his figure on the frontispiece to the Bible. Although Cranmer's name has been so inti- mately associated with these editions of the Bible, it does not appear that he contributed anything, directly or indirectly, towards the expenses, or shared in the pecuniary risk ; the printers Grafton and Whitchurch were backed up by Anthony Marler, who is sometimes des- cribed as a merchant, and at other times as a haberdasher, of London. The price of this Bible was fixed by Royal proclamation at ten shillings unbound, and not to exceed twelve shillings, well bound and clasped; and curates and parishioners of every parish were enjoined under a penalty of forty shillings a month to purchase a copy for the common use of the people. This copy was usually attached by means of a chain, to one of the pillars of the church, to which also was fastened the King's injunction, that the book should be read with " Discretion, Honest intent. Cranmer's Version. 51 Charity, Reverence, and Quiet behavour." By this means any parishioner who could not afford the ten shiUings, which represented a much larger sum than the same amount does at present, could at all times obtain access to the Bible, and study it for himself; the plan of keeping the church locked all the year round except during the hours of Divine service, not having at that time been invented. Bonner, Bishop of Hereford, who when filling the post of Ambassador at Paris, rendered such important service to Coverdale in conveying portions of the 1539 Bible from France to Eng- land, and afterAvards assisted in importing from Paris, the presses, type, and workmen, by which the Great Bible was so beautifully executed, had been translated to the see of London, he there, in the most practical and unmistakable manner, proved his anxiety that the people should read the Scriptures for themselves, by setting up at his own expense, six of these stately folios, in certain convenient places in S. Paul's Church, London, for the good of the public. Unfor- tunately, owing to disregard of the Royal injunction that the Bible should be read with charity, so much contention, ill-feeling, dis- turbance, and irreverence, was the result of the Bishop's encouragement of biblical research, that he was obliged to threaten the removal of the books, " which," said he, " I should be right loth to do, considering I have been always, and still am, right glad that the Scripture, the Word Bishop Bon- ner transla- ted to Lon- don. Bonner sets up six Bibles in S. Pauls. Bonner's declaration. 52 Old Bibles. The Epistle and Gospel ordered to be read in Eng- lish accord- ing to ancient custom. of God, should be well known, and also set forth accordingly." No doubt one reason why Bishop Bonner was so ready to afford facilities to all who were desirous of reading the Bible in their native tongue, was that it was not read in English in Divine Service during the life of King Henry VIII. It was not until the year 1547 the re-in- troduction of old British custom of reading the Scripture in a language " understanded of the people " took place. Edward VI. in that year directed " that at the celebration of High Mass, the Epistle and Gospel appointed by the Church, should be read in English, and that on every Sunday or Holy-day, one chapter should be read from the New Testament at Matins, and one chapter from the Old Testament at Even- song, in English," and as a great many, if not the majority, of the laity strongly disapproved of the translation of the Bible, and looked upon the change that was then being made as an un- warrantable innovation on the custom of more than three hundred years, it was ordered and enjoined, under pains and penalties, that no one should leave the Church during the reading. After December, 1541, there appears to have been no fresh issue of the Great Bible until 1549, when editions were published by Whit- church, Cawood, and Grafton. The reign of Queen Mary intervened between these and the next edition, which was printed in 156 1 by "Ihon Cawoode in Powles Churche Yarde." It was Cranmer's Version. 53 small quarto in Gothic type, and had some singular printers' errors; the numbering or signa- ture is regular and continuous to cciiii., then comes the second title, " The thirde parte of the Byble contaynynge these bokes (from the Psalter to Malachy)," the leaves follow in regular numerical order to 197, then comes fol. 200, 199, 202, 204, 203, 202, 207, 201, 201, 203, 211, 223. The text is correct, excepting the heading of the 25th, 26th and 27th chapters of Job is " the boke of Hester." At the Psalter the signature and paging begin afresh, and con- tinue through the books called Hagiographa, which has a separate title and address to the reader. At the end of the second book of Machabees is a woodcut of the baptism in Jordan, and another of the Good Samaritan. The title page to the New Testament is without the printer's monogram, but it appears on the rest of the titles. The last two leaves of this Bible are not numbered, they contain " A table to fynde the Epystles and Ghospelles usuallye reade in the Churche." Until the year 161 1 when our present version came out, the epistles and gospels were taken mainly from Cranmer's Bible, but they do not follow with exactness any particular edition of it, like the sentences from Scripture interwoven into various parts of the Church service, they are to some extent independent translations. Very many instances might be given of verbal differences between the Great Bible and the Printers' errors in edition of 1561. Epistles and Gospels in Prayer Book taken from Cranmer's Bible. 54 Old Bibles. Verbal dif- ferences be- tween Great Bible and Prayer Book. The Psalter. Source of Prayer Book version of the Psalms. Prayer Book, but one will suffice; inS. Matthew, chapter xxvii., Pilate said, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person ye shall see," according to Cranmer ; but all the old Prayer Books have " See ye." In the late Dr. Hook's Church Dictionary, and in many other works, the Epistles, Gospels, &c., in King James' Prayer Book of 1604, are said to be taken from the Bishop's Bible ; but the slightest comparison of the two will show conclusively that such is not the case. The Great Bible contains that glorious version of the Psalms which is the proud heritage of the English Church, and which is endeared to the hearts of the people of England, not only from old association, but from its intrinsic sweetness and beauty. It is earnestly to be hoped that no attempt will be made to displace it in the offices of the Church by the translation now in process of being made by the Revision Committee, but that the example set at the last Prayer Book revision may be followed, so that " the Psalter or Songs of David, after the translation of the Great Bible, pointed as it shall be sung or said in Churches," may be handed down as a sacred and precious heirloom to posterity. It would be interesting to know to which edition of Cranmer's Bible we are endebted for the Prayer Book Psalms. They are usually ascribed to the first edition, but they could not have been taken from the first, second or third Cranmer's Version. 55 edition, for it was not until the issue of Novem- ber, 1 541, that in the Ixviiith Psalm, 4th verse, " Praise Him in His Name, Ja, and rejoice before Him " was changed to " Praise Him in His Name, yea, and rejoice before Him," and as this latter rendering is adopted in all Prayer books from the time of Edward the VI. to about George I., the Psalter could not have been taken from an earlier edition than November, 1541. This is not the only instance of difference between the April, 1540, Cranmer, and all the old Prayer books, by a great many ; two or three will be enough to establish the position. In Psalm cxxxviii., 6th verse, all Prayer books have "He beholdest them afar off," but the first Cranmer's has " He beholdest him afar off." Again, in Psalm cxxxix. and 13th verse, all Prayer books read " Wonderfully made," but the first Cranmer has " Wonderously made." In another Psalm there are ten variations from Cranmer's first edition in the Prayer book. Very likely printers' blunders have been a fruitful source of discrepancies, but there are too many, and of too much importance to be attri- buted to this cause alone. It cannot be denied that a complete list of the liberties taken by printers, not with the punctua- tion and spelling only, but with the text itself, would be a long one, leaving unintentional errors out of the question. In contrasting different versions of the English Curious reading. Printers* errors nu- merous. 56 Old Bibles. Force in re- jected read- ings. Various renderings Bible no one can fail to be struck with the fact of there being a great deal of force and meaning in some of the old renderings that have been discarded. For instance, in the account of the finding in the temple, given by S. Luke, the Great Bible reads " And it fortuned that after thre daies they founde hym in the tempell site- inge in the myddes of y^ doctoures hearinge them and posynge them." This gives an idea not conveyed by " asking them questions," the rendering in our present Bible ; Matthew's Bible adds to the above "And all that hearde hym mervaylled at his wit and aunswers." In S. Luke, iv. chapter, and 5th verse, the authorized version has " And the Devil taking Him up into an high mountain shewed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time." The Great Bible says " in the twynklelynge of an eye," thereby intensifying the thought of the rapidity with which the panorama passed before the eyes of our blessed Lord. In I. S. Timothy, iv. chapter, and 14th verse, we now have " Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery." Matthew's Bible has " with the laying on of the hands of an Elder." Cranmer's version reads "With the layinge on of handes by the autoritie of priesthode." In the Cranmer of 1553 and of 1569 the passage in the xix. chapter of Job, so often quoted in support of one of the articles of the Cranmer's Version. 57 Apostles Creed, viz., the resurrection of the body, is thus rendered, " For I am sure that my redemer liveth, and y' I shal ryse oute of the earth in the latter day, that I shal be clothed again with this skynne and se God in my flesh, yea, I my selfe shal beholde hym, not with other, but wyth these same eyes." The Prayer book of 1552, the second of Edward VI, gives it, " I know that my redemer liveth, and y"^ I shal rise out of the earth, in the laste daye, and shal be covered agayne with my skynne, and shal se God in my fleshe, yea, I myselfe shal behold hym not with other, but with these same eyes." The Bishops' Bible reads " For I am sure that my redeemer liveth, and he shal rayse up at y® latter day, them that lye in the dust, and though after my skin (wormes) destroy this body, yet shal I se God in my fleshe, whom I mee selfe shal se, and mine eyes shal behold and none other for me." In his translation of the New Testament Coverdale suffered himself to be occasionally misled by Tyndale. The twelfth chapter of the Acts (the Epistle for S. Peter's day) is thus ren- dered, "At the same time Herode the Kynge stretched forthe his hades to vexe certein of the cogregacio. And he killed James the brother of Ihon with the swerd, and because he saw that it pleased the Jues, he proceded further, and toke Peter, also. The were the dales of swete bread, and whe he had caught him, he put him in prison also, and delivered him to four quaterions Job, chap, xix. The attempt to banish the word church from the Bible. 58 Old Bibles. Supposed doubtful texts indica- ted by smal- ler type. Omnia opera of souldiers to be kept, enteding after Easter to brynge hym forthe to the people, and Peter was kept in priso, but prayer was made w)^houte ceassing of the cogregacio unto God for hym." Here, as well as in S. Matthew, chapter xvi., and other places, the word " congregation " is substituted for " church " as a sop to the German party, given at the expense of loyalty to the church of England. The plan was adopted in Cranmer's Bible, of indicating texts supposed to be doubtful, by the use of smaller type, it is used for the 5th, 6th, and 7th verses of the xiv. Psalm, which are in the Genevan version altogether omitted, and also for the " Three heavenly witnesses," S. John V. 7 th verse. In II. S. Timothy, iii. chapter, and i6th verse, the important word *' is " was omitted, making the passage read ; " All scripture geven by in- spiration of God is profytable to teache, to improve, to amende and to instructe in right- eousnes that y« ma of God maye be perfecte, and prepared unto al good worckes." As a specimen of the translation of the Great Bible we append a few of the first and last verses of the Benedicite omnia opera from the Hagiographa, said or sung in churches during Lent and other seasons when the Te Deum is not used. It is called in the Great Bible " The Songe of the thre Chyldren whiche were put into the hote burnynge ouen. The common translation read- Cranmer s Version. eth thys songe in the iiij. chapter of Daniell." No doubt by " the common translation " the Vulgate is referred to, as in it the " Benedicite " forms part of the 4th chapter of Daniel. " O all ye woorkes of the Lorde | speake good of the Lorde : prayse Hym | and set Hym upe for ever. " O ye aungeles of the Lorde | speake good of the Lorde : prayse Hym | and set Hym upe for ever. " O ye heavens | speake good of the Lorde : prayse Hym and set Hym up for ever. " O all ye waters y'^ be above the firmament | speake good of the Lorde : prayse Hym, and set Him up for ever. " O ye Preystes of ye Lorde | speake good of the Lorde : prayse Hym, and sete Hym up for ever. " O ye servauntes of the Lorde | speake good of the Lord : prayse Hym, and set Hym uppe for ever. " O ye spirites and soules of the righteous, speake good of the Lorde, prayse Hym, and set Hym up for ever. " O ye holi and humble men of hert, speake ye good of the Lorde : prayse Hym, and set Hym uppe for ever. " O Ananias, Asarias | and Miseal, prayse ye the Lorde : prayse ye Hym, and set Hym upe for ever. " Whiche hath delyured us from the hell, kept 59 Cranmer's version of the Omnia opera. 6o Old Bibles. US from the hands of deathe, rid us from the myddes of the burynge flame, and saved us even in the myddes of the fyre. " O give thanks therefore unto the Lorde : for He is kynde harted, and his mercy endureth for ever. " O al devoute men, speake ye good of the Lorde : even the. God of al goddes. O prayse Hym and give Hym thankes for His mercy en- dureth worlde wythouteende. " The ende of the songe of the thre chyldren." The Doway Bible of 1610 renders the chorus thus "Al workes of our Lorde, blesse ye our Lord, prayse and superexalt him for ever. " All religious blesse ye our Lord the God of goddes, prayse and confesse ye to him, because his mercie is vnto al worldes." Taverner s Bible. 6i Taverner s Bible, np HE title page is as follows, " The most sacred Bible, translated into Englyshe, and newly recognised with great diligence after most faythful exemplars by Rd. Taverner, London, by John Byddell, for Thomas Berthlet 1539." It was published in folio and in quarto. The first edition has no woodcuts, the notes, references, and running titles of the chapters are in Roman letters : the text is in black letter. A full page contains 68 lines. Richard Taverner was born at North Elm- ham in the parish of Brinsley, Norfolk, in 1505, and took his B.A. at Christ's, Oxford, in 1529. He afterwards became a hanger-on of Crom- well's, who obtained for him, in 1537, the post of one of the Signets in Ordinary. Taverner's name first came before the public in connection with the disturbances at Oxford, caused by the distribution of Tyndale's New Testament. In company with Foxe and others he performed a public act of penance, a part of which was to throw a copy of Tyndale's book into the fire at Carfax. His New Testament was published by itself late in the year 1539, said to be "after the Greeke exemplar translated into Englyshe. His Bible was partly adapted from Matthew's version, and partly translated by himself A.D. 1539. Taverner born at North Elm- ham, Nor- folk. 62 Old Bibles. Never in high repute. Dedication. Not in Holy Orders. Various readings. It was never in very high repute, and was soon superseded by the Great Bible. It passed through several editions. One was printed in 1 549 by Jhon Daye and Wm. Seres. The title reads, " The Bible, i.e all the holy Scriptures in which are contayned the Olde and New testament truly and purely trans- lated into English, and nowe lately with greate industry and diligence recognised." Amongst the preliminary matter it has a dedication to King Henry, signed by Edmunde Becke. To the New Testament is attached " The newe testament of our Savyoure lesu Christe newly and dilygently translated into Englyshe wyth annotations in the margent to helpe the reader to the understanding of the text." At the end is printed " To the honoure and prayse of God was this Byble printed and fynished in the yeare of oure Lode God MDXLIX. Another edition was pubHshed in 1551 by Ihon Wyghte. Taverner was considered to be an excel- lent Grecian. Although not in Orders, he was licensed as a Preacher, preaching not being a priestly function. Nearly all the changes Tav- erner made in his version, appear to be in order to give more vigorous and idiomatic renderings. For instance, in I. S. John, second chapter and first verse, most versions give " We have an advocate with the Father," but Taverner renders it "We have a spokesman with the Father," again, in the next verse, Tyndales New Testa- Taverner s Bible. 63 ment, and Cranmer's Bible read, "For he it is that obteyneth grace for our sins," the Bishop's Bible has " For he is the atonement for our sins," the Genevan Bible " For he is the recon- ciliation for our sins," the Authorized Version " For he is the propitiation for our sins," Taver- ner's translation is " For he is the mercy-stock for our sins." Taverner says in his dedication to the King " This one thyng I dare ful wel affirm, y^ amongst al your Majesties deservings, your highnesse never did any thinge more acceptable to God, more profitable to the advancement of true Christianity, more unpleasant to the enemies of the same and also to your graces enemies, than when your majestie lycenced and wyled, the moost sacred Bible, contaynge the unspotted and lively word of God, to be in the Englyshe tonge set forthe to your highnesse subjects. " Wherefore the premises well consydered, for as much as the prynters hereof were very dysourous to have this moost sacred volume of the Bible come forthe as faultless and emend- ably as the shortness of the tyme for the recog- nising of the same would require, they desired me your moost humble servant, for default of a better learned, dygilently to oversee and peruse the whole copy." Taverner employed by the printers. 64 New Testa- ment first divided into verses A.D. IS57- The word " breeches " occurs in all editions. Old Bibles. The Ge7ieva Version, or, '' Breeehes " Bible, TN June, 1557, Conrad Badius printed at Geneva a fresh version of the New Testa- ment, with an Epistle by John Calvin. This Testament is remarkable for being the first divided into verses. About a. d. 1248 Cardinal Hugo de Santa Caro, while preparing a concor- dance, or index of declinable words for the whole Bible, divided it into its present chapters, subdividing them in turn into several parts by- placing the letters A, B, C, D, &c., in the mar- gin at equal distances from each other. Robert Stephens, on a journey from Paris to Lyons in 1551, divided the chapters into verses, and this plan of subdivision was adopted by the translators of the Genevan Testament of 1557 and the Bible of 1560, and has been continued ever since. The supposition that the peculiarity from which this Bible derives its name occurs in only one edition is a popular error, an error into which many otherwise well-informed persons have fallen, just as at one time the fallacy was generally believed that only three Queen Anne's farthings were in existence, each of which was worth a fabulous amount. The first edition of the Genevan or Breeches Bible was published by Rowland Hill at Geneva in 1560, and from ''Breeches" Bible. 65 that date until 16 12 no year passed without one, two, or more editions, being issued from the press. In every copy of each edition the word in Genesis iii. chapter, and 7 th verse, which in previous versions had been translated " aprons," was rendered " breeches," and in S. Luke, ii. chapter, and i6th verse, the word " cratch " was substituted for " manger." This word " cratch " is found in a MS. gloss on the Gospels, written about the time of the Norman Conquest (in the MS. Library of Bennet College, Cambridge) is in common use at the present day, amongst the dyers, in Yorkshire, for a large basket. Should the title-page of an old Bible or Tes- tament be lost, these words serve as a rough and ready means of deciding whether it is a copy of the Genevan version or not. The translation of this Bible was the work of Nonconformists who retired to the Continent after the death of Edward VI. Calvin's brother- in-law, Whittingham, afterwards Dean of Dur- ham, was the chief agent, and he was assisted by Gilby, Sampson and others. A considerable portion of the expense was contributed by John Bodley, the father of the founder of the Bodleian Library at Oxford, to whom Queen Elizabeth granted a patent for the exclusive right of printing the Bible for seven years. The Bible was printed in quarto, and the con- venient size and the division into verses was doubtless the cause of its popularity. Breeches.' Cratch." Translated by Noncon- formists. John Bodley Conven ent size. 66 Old Bibles. Specimens of the German notes. Note to II Chronicles XV. chap, and 1 6th verse. Almost every chapter has voluminous notes full of Calvinistic heresy. The note to S. Mat- thew ii. and 12 verse is " Promise ought not to kept when God's honour and the preaching of his truth is hindered, or else it ought not be broken." This specimen of German ethics was omitted from the 1599 and 1600 editions. The note to Rev. ix. and 3rd verse is " Locusts are false teachers, heretics, and wordly subtil pre- lates, with Monks, Friars, Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Doctors, Bachelers, and Masters which forsake Christ to maintaine false doctrine." The note to Romans ix. and 15th verse is, " As the only wil and purpose of God is the chiefe cause of election, and reprobation : so his free mercy in Christ is an inferiour cause of salvation, and the hardening of the heart an inferiour cause of damnation." The note to II. Chronicles, xv. chapter, and i6th verse is, " Herein he shewed that he lacked zeal, for she ought to have died," or, in other words, the mother of King Asa ought to have been mur- dered. Characteristically enough, the Puritans made allegiance to the monarch, depend on the soundness of his or her faith (they being the judges.) This feeling culminated in the Puritan persecution of King Charles I. on account of his religion ; and his ultimate martyrdom. Geneva was so permeated with Calvin's in- fluence it was almost impossible for the transla- tors of this version to have resided there, without being drawn away from the doctrine and prac- Breeches" Bible. 67 tice of the Church of England, and we find on their return home the efforts they made to assimilate the church of this country to the new German religion, caused strife and mischief for many years, but is now happily dying out. Whittingham and his colleagues must have felt that their New Testament of 1557 was not satisfactory, for they never reprinted it, and the translation issued in 1560 was a new one. Another translation of the New Testament was made by one of the party, Lawrence Tom- son, in 1576, from Beza's Greek, and this ulti- mately superseded both the version of 1557, and that of 1560. In most Breeches Bibles printed near the close of the i6th century the New Tes- tament is said to be "Englyshed by L. Tomson," who modestly says of his marginal readings ; " 1 dare avouch it, and whoso readeth shall so find it, that there is not one hard sentence, nor dark speech, nor doubtful word, but is so opened, and hath such light given it, that children may go through with it, and the simplest that are may walk without any guide, without wandering, or going astray " ! It is to teaching like that of the Genevan Bible, that no guide is necessary in spiritual matters, that we are indebted for the many dif- ferent sects that divide the people of England, and embitter our social and political life. A New Testament of 1560 may be distin- guished from the one " Englyshed by Tomson " by referring to I. Corinthians xvi.,and 22nd verse, New Testa- ment of 1557 never reprin- ted. Tomson's version. Tomson's opinion of his marginal readings. Means of distingnish- ing different editions. 68 Old Bibles. Dame. Latimer's sermon on the]jerpetual virginity of our Lady. which in the former reads, " If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be had in execra- tion, yea excommunicate to death," but in the latter, " let him be had in execration, maran- atha." It is a rather singular circumstance that in the Genevan version the prayer of Manasseh is placed between II. Chronicles, and Ezra, and not in that part of the Bible improperly called the Apocrypha. Another peculiarity in this version is the em- ployment of the old title "dame" for "mistress." In Genesis xvi. and 8th verse Hagar said, " I flee from my dame Sarai." This word still lingers in m.any districts, and it is not uncom- mon to hear a farmer's wife spoken of as " the dame "or " my dame." Puerile and vicious as some of the Genevan notes are, it is but fair to say that on one point they had not fallen away from " the faith once delivered to the saints." The note to S. Mat- thew i. and 25th verse is, " Christ is here called the first borne, because shee had never any before, and not in respect of any she had after. Neither yet doth this word (till) import alwaies a time following wherein the contrary may be affirmed : as our Saviour saying that he will be present with his disciples till the ende of the world, meaneth not, that after this world he will not be wth them." Hugh Latimer preach- ing on this subject on S. Stephen's day, 1552, at Grimsthorpe, says, " The mind of the Evan- geHst when he declared Christ to be the first "Breeches" Bible. 69 Sonne of Mary, was to prove that he was the sonne of a virgine, according to the prophesy that was of him, and not to declare that Mary had more children after him, as some doe phantasy. For we in our English toung have such a manner of speaking, when we say, ' I will never forgive him so long as I live,' or when we bee ill in- treated in a city, we say ' I will come no more thither so long as I live.' By which manner of speaking wee doe not signify that wee will come thither after our death, or forgive after our death. No : so lykewise it is here when he sayth ' Hee knew her not till she had brought forth her first begotton sonne,' it followeth not. Ergo, hee knew her after. " Lyke as it followeth not when I say, I will doe this thing noe more so long as I live ; Ergo, I will doe it after I am deade. And here you may perceive how foolishlye and fondly these heretickes have handled the Scripture." "Mary was a cleane virgine before she broght forth, and after she brought forth hym she remained a virgine, and therefore these heretickes doe wrongfully violate, tosse and turmoyle the Scrip- tures of God, according to their own phantasys and foolish mindes." The Genevan Bible of 1600 has the book of Revelations in duplicate, first with the ordinary notes, and next with " a brief and learned Com- mentary by Francis Junius." The Breeches Bible was never sanctioned by the Church, still we have abundance of evidence that it was Not sanc- tioned by the Church but commonly used. 70 Old Bibles. James I.'s opinion of it. No old Bible so common. Barker's patent. frequently used, without authority, both to read the lessons, and to preach from, but it was pre- eminent as a household Bible, and continued so, in spite of all its faults, for 60 years. King James I., who was no mean authority as a scholar, pronounced this book to be " the worst translated of all English Bibles, and its notes partial, untrue, seditious, and savouring of dan- gerous and traitorous conceits." An immense number of copies must have been printed, for there are now in existence 18 or 20 folio, 16 octavo, and upwards of 70 quarto editions. No old Bible is so common, there are few towns of any considerable size in Eng- land that do not contain a score or two copies. Clean and perfect copies are more rare, as the Breeches Bible was generally made the family register of Births, Marriages and Deaths. Christopher Barker purchased a patent from Queen Elizabeth for the exclusive printing of Bibles, and we find from the year 1576 to 1587 only about 6 editions have any other printer's name ; from 1587 to 1599 "Deputies of Chris- topher Barker" appear, and from 1599 to 16 18 seldom is any other name seen but Robert Barker. The Geneva Bible was generally printed on poor paper, and with bad type, so that a Bible printed in Henry VIII. 's time is now easier to read than one printed during the latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. During the long series of years the Genevan Breeches" Bible. 71 Bible continued to be printed, very few changes were made in its title-pages. Nearly always on the left side may be seen the standards of the twelve tribes of Israel, and on the right the twelve apostles — over the letter-press is a dove, and at the foot the Agnus Dei — representations of the four Evangelists are at the corners of the letter-press, and in the centre of the bottom of the page are the initials of the reigning monarch. The same title-page, with different letter-press, was used for the early quarto editions of the authorized version. Next to the title-page of most Breeches Bibles will be found the following doggerel lines : ** Here is the spring where waters flowe, to quench our heate of sinne ; Here is the tree where trueth doth grow, to leade our lives therein : Here is the judge that stints the strife, when men's devises faile : Here is the bread that feeds the life, that death cannot assaile. The tidings of salvation deare, comes to our eares from hence : The fortresse of our faith is here, and shielde of our defence. " Then be not like the hogge that hath a pearle at his desire. And takes more pleasure in the trough and wallowing in the mire. Reade not this booke in any case, but with a single eye : Description of title-page. Preliminary matter in this version. 72 Specimen of the transla- tion. Old Bibles. Reade not but first desire God's grace, to understand thereby. Pray still in faith with this respect, to fructifie therein. That knowledge may bring this effect, to mortifie thy sinne. Then happie thou in all thy life, what so to thee befalles. Yea, double happie shalt thou be, when God by death thee calles." Following these lines is a table of *' Howe to take profite in reading of the holy Scriptures, by T. Grashop." In the Old Testament are maps of the " sitivation of the Garden of Eden," and woodcuts of Solomon's Temple, &c., and between the Old and New Testament are, " Certaine questions and answeres touching the doctrine of Predestination, the vse of God's word and Sa- craments." For the sake of comparison with other trans- lations we append the 137th Psalm. " I. By the riuers of Babel we sate, and there wee wept when we remembred Zion. " 2. We hanged our harpes vpon the willowes in the mids thereof " 3. Then they that led vs captiues required of vs songs and mirth, when we had hanged vp our harpes, saying, sing vs one of the songs of Zion. " 4. How shall wee sing, saide we, a song of the Lord in a strange land. "Breeches" Bible. 73 " 5. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget to play. " 6. If I doe not remember thee let my tongue cleaue to the roofe of my mouth : yea if I preferre not Jerusalem to my chiefe joy. "7. Remember the children of Edom, O Lord, in the day of Jerusalem, which said. Rase it, rase it to the foundation thereof " 8. O daughter of Babel, worthie to bee de- stroyed, blessed shall he be that rewardeth thee, as thou has serued us. " 9. Blessed shall hee be that taketh and dasheth thy children against the stones." 74 Old Bibles. Reading of the Bible confined to certain classes. Repeal of this prohibi- tion. The Bishops Bible, npHERE was no prohibition of the circulation or reading of the Bible during the reigns of Edward VI. or of Mary, but no new version was made. In 1543 Parliament restricted the use of the Bible to certain grades of society, forbid- ding the lower classes to read it to themselves, or to others, under pain of imprisonment for one month. T)nidale's New Testament was specially condemned, as " crafty, false, and untrue," and ordered to be destroyed, and for- bidden to be kept or used in any of the King's dominions. This Act was introduced and passed by the influence of Cranmer, who, not satisfied with having been a party to the death of Tyndale, vented his spite against the trans- lation of Tyndale, even after the translator's body had been burnt. Soon after Edward's accession to the throne these acts were repealed, and during the next six-and-a-half years, although no new translation was issued, yet many editions of previous versions found ready sale. There are still existing in public libraries or private hands, copies of 22 editions of Tyndale's New Testa- ment, 6 of Cranmer's, 4 of Matthew's, and 2 of Coverdale's. Also 8 or 10 of Matthew's Bible, 6 of Cranmer's, 2 of Coverdale's, and i of Tavemer's; issued during the reign of Edward VI. Bishops' Bible. 75 Soon after Elizabeth ascended the throne it was felt to be necessary that another translation of the Bible should be undertaken. The Ger- man Bible had rapidly circulated in England, and its mischievous notes were undermining the Church of England, and spreading the German religion in the hearts and homes of Englishmen. Archbishop Parker, who was tainted to some extent with Puritanism, at first favoured the introduction of this version, but becoming aware of its animus, at once decided to further an authorized translation, which should be free from the party spirit animating the translation of the Breeches Bible, and fairly represent the Biblical knowledge of the day. He therefore divided the Bible into parts, and entrusted one portion to each of the most eminent scholars in the kingdom. He had no wish to confine the work to Bishops, but all his efforts to obtain much assistance from laymen failed. He there- fore entrusted the portions to the following clergy, whose initials may be still seen at the end of their several contributions. Pentateuch : W. E., W. Extoniensis, (Alley, Bp. of Exeter.) II. Samuel : R. M., R. Mene- vensis, (Rd. Davis, Bp. of St. David's.) II. Chronicles : E. W., E. Wigomensis, (Edwyn Sands, Bishop of Worcester.) Job : A. P. C, (Andrew Pearson, Canon of Canterbury.) Songs of Solomon : A. P., (Andrew Perne, Canon of Ely.) Lamentations : R. W., Rd. Wintoninsis, (Robt. Home, Bishop of Winchester.) Daniel : Evil results of the Gene- van version and its notes. Names of the translators of the Bishop's version. 76 Old Bibles. The Bishops the best scholars of their day. Parker's share in the translation. T. C. L., T. Covent et Lichf., (T. Bentham, Bp. of Coventry and Lichfield.) Malachi : E. L., E. London, (Edward Grindal, Bishop of Lon- don.) 11. Maccabees : I. N., I. Norricensis, (Ino. Parkhurst, Bishop of Norwich.) The Acts : R. K, R. Ehensis, (Richard Cox, Bishop of Ely.) I. Corinthians : G. G., (Gabriel Good- man, Dean of Westminster.) This was the second attempt made by the heads of the English Church to translate the Bible, for the^use of all English-speaking people, the first in Henry VIIL's time failed, from their being unable to decide how many Latin words should be retained. But that the Bishops at both periods should be equal to such a task, one requiring biblical research, and accurate critical scholarship, is a proof that in those days the sees were filled by the Bishop of Rome, and afterwards by the Crown, not from favouritism, and political motives only, as has often been represented, but by men of the highest attain- ments. Although initials were affixed by most of the translators to their work, it was the desire of Parker that the translation should be regarded as the work of the Church, and not of private men. As each translator finished the parcel (as it was called) assigned to him, he returned it to the Primate, who supervised it. In addition he translated Genesis and Exodus, the Gospels of SS. Matthew and Mark, and most of the Epistles of S. Paul, and also wrote the prefaces. When complete it was properly and formally Bishops' Bible, n sanctioned by the Synod, and may be justly deemed the Church of England version of the Bible, though very probably others besides ecclesiastics assisted in the work to some small extent. The notes appended to the Bishops' Bible are useful, simple, and free from sectarian bias, which is no doubt due to the instructions each translator received from Parker, not to make un- necessary alterations in the text of the Great Bible to which the people had become accus- tomed, and " to make use of no bitter notes on any text." This proved that the animosity against the faith of Christ's Church, character- istic of the notes, and even some of the render- ings, of the Calvinistic Bible, had no more escaped the notice of the Primate, than it had of Queen Elizabeth. The classification of Books is peculiar to this Bible, they are arranged as Legal, Historical, Sapiential, and Prophetic. The combination produced by this classification in the New Testa- ment is as follows — The Gospels, the general Epistles, and those to the Hebrews, SS. Titus and Philemon, are called Legal, the rest of the Epistles of S. Paul, Sapiential, the Acts of the Holy Apostles, Historical, and the Revelations, Prophetical. When the book was ready for publication the Archbishop wrote to Cecil "that your honour would obtain of the Queen's highness that this version might be licensed, and only commended Marginal readings the better than any preced- ing them. The Queen's sanction obtained. 78 Old Bibles. Bishop's Bible issued in 1568. Archbishop Parker's preface. in public reading in Churches to draw to one uniformity." But the Queen's recognition was delayed by the influence of the patron of the German " new religion " the profligate Leicester. The only disfigurement to this magnificent volume is that in the title to the second part of the Bible should be the portrait of Lord Leices- ter, in armour, within an oval, which, no doubt, was inserted to gain favour with Queen Elizabeth. With this exception no words of flattery such as disgrace other versions are to be found. It has no dedication, but a portrait of Queen Elizabeth occupies the centre of the engraved copper-plate title page. It was printed by R. Jugge, " cum priveligio regia majestates " in black letter, folio size, the proofs being corrected by the Arch- bishop, and issued to the public in 1568. A full page of the text has 57 lines, and the whole number of the engravings, including the title, portraits and maps, is 143. Parker's pre- face begins with a sort of sermon on the text, " Search yee the scriptures, for in them yee think to have eternal life, and those they bee which beare witnesse of me," — interspersed with quota- tions from the Vulgate, as was usual at that period. He then refers to the various translations of Scripture which had followed one another in such rapid succession, and asks the reader " not to be offended with the diversitie of Translators nor with the ambiguity of Translations ; since of congruence, no oifence can justly bee taken for Bishops' Bible. 79 this newe labour, nothyng prejudicing any other man's judgment by this doyng, nor yet hereby professing this to be so absolute a translation as that hereafter myghtfollowe none other that myght see that whiche as yet was not understanded/' — and so on for nearly seven folio pages. Cran- mer's prologue to the Great Bible was also retained in this one. Convocation ordered in the Constitutions and Canons ecclesiastical of 1571, that every Arch- bishop and Bishop should have at his house, a copy of the Holy Bible of the largest volume, as lately printed at London, and that it should be placed in the hall, or large dining room, that it might be useful to their servants, or to strangers. It was also enjoined that each cathedral should have a copy, and the same provision was ex- tended, as far as it could conveniently be done to all Churches, for it appears from the Primate's letter to Lord Burleigh, that, " many Churches are without books, and have for long time looked for this, and in certain places be publicly used some translations which have not been laboured in this realm, having interspersed divers prejudi- cial notes which might have also been well spared." The second edition of the Bishops' Bible was published the following year (1569), in quarto, by the Queen's printer, as before. It is very interesting from showing the transition from the old to the new mode of division ; for it com- bines the two. The letters of the alphabet are Canon 1571- Some churches without Bibles. 8o Description ? of the second edition of the Bishop's ver- sion. Parker's Arms. Old Bibles. placed down the sides of the chapters, which are not separated into verses, but the numbers are intermixed with the text. In the Psalter, however, the verses are separated, for conveni- ence of antiphonal use. On the upper part of the title-page is engraved a picture of Queen Elizabeth, sitting on a throne, with the emblems of Justice on one side, and Mercy on the other, and a crown on her head. A little lower down are the emblems of Fortitude and Prudence, reaching out their hands to uphold her throne. Between two of the cardinal virtues is printed, "The Holy Bible." At the bottom is repre- sented a preacher habited in a chimere, amidst a small audience, and underneath, the words " God save the Queen ;" then follows some pre- liminary matter, containing an Almanac, Morn- ing and Evening Prayers, and an analysis of the Bible. A representation of the Creation is over the first chapter of Genesis. The initial letter of this chapter is set within Archbishop Parker's Arms, impaled with those of the see of Canter- bury. With the next chapter is a map of the Garden of Eden, giving the exact position of the four rivers. Between the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth chapters of Exodus is a plan of the encamp- ment of the Children of Israel in the Wilder- ness, with the Tabernacle in the centre (situated due East and West), and the tents of the twelve tribes in their respective situations, and the priests within the court performing their various Bishops' Bible. 8i functions. To the twenty-seventh chapter of Leviticus is appended tables showing " the de- grees of kinred and of affinitie or aliaunce which let matrimonie," proving that the Church of England was not afraid to uphold God's law on this subject. At the end of Numbers, chap, xxxiij , is a chart "shewing the way that the people of Israel passed the space of fortie yeres, from Egypt tyll they entered into the lande of Cha- naan, it contayneth also the fourtie and two journeyes or stations, with the observations of the degrees, as wel of the londitude as of the latitude of the places of the saide journeyes." At " the ende of the fifth booke of Moyses, called in Hebrue Ellehaddebarim," is an oval picture of a pelican feeding her young ones with her blood, supported on each side by figures of Prudence and Justice. The inside of the oval has the motto in large letters, " Pro lege rege et grege," and outside " Love kepyth the lawe, obeyeth the Kynge, and is good to the commen welthe." Under this is a monogram, and at the bottom the following lines : " Matris ut hsec proprio stirps est saciata cruore : Pascis item proprio Christe cruore tuos." In the initial letter at the beginning of the book of Joshua are the arms of the Earl of Leicester, and his motto " Droit et Loyal." At the head of the sixteenth chapter of Joshua is a map of " the diuision of the lande to the Chyldren of Israel that is to wit by Maps. Arms of the Earl of Leicester. 82 Old Bibles. Printer's error. Apology for a new version of the Psalter Frequent re- visions of the Bishop's version. Moyses," with two extraordinary dolphins on the surface of the adjacent sea, each larger than the land of Moab. On fol. 235 a printer's error occurs. Instead " of Esdras," "the booke " is repeated. At the end of Chronicles is " a very profitable declaration," occupying six columns. There is no second title-page to this edition, but before the Psalter is, " The Thirde part of the Bible," &c. Then follows a prologue of S. Basil the Great upon the Psalms, and a sentence or two from " S. Austen," then an appeal " to the consideration of the gentle reader not to be to much offended if the words do not sound so agreably to his ears as he is accustomed with." In the initial B to the first Psalm are the arms of Cecil, with his motto " Cor unam Via una." The paging recommences with the Psalms, and on fol. 63 is another printer's blunder. Before the book of Machabees is, " A necessarie table for the knowledge of the state of Juda," and next, " a table to make playne the difficul- tie that is found in S. Matthewe and S. Luke, &c." In the twenty-sixth of S. Matthew is another table, followed at the end of Acts by a " Cart Cosmographie of the peregrination of S. Paul with the distance of the myles." At the end of the New Testament are six columns of tables " to f)mde the Epistles and Gospels," &c., and then the metrical Psalms, " with apt notes to sing them withall." Considerable alterations were made in the edition of 1572, especially in the New Testa- Bishops Bible. 83 ment, and again in 1578, and still more consid- erable ones in 1602. These gradual changes paved the way for the introduction of the authorised version in 161 1. The collation of the 1578 edition is as fol- lows : Copper-plate title, " The Holy Bible, con- teynyng the Olde Testament and ye Newe, set foorth by aucthoritie." i blank page ; the Summe of the whole Scripture, 4 pages ; a Preface, 7 pages ; a Prologue, by T. Cranmer, late Archbyshop of Canterburie, 4 pages ; a Description of the Yeeres from the Creation, i page ; the Order of the Bookes, i page ; i blank page; Proper Lessons, 2 pages; Psalmes on Certayne Dayes, i page ; an Almanacke to find Easter, i page; a Table for the Order of the Psalmes, i page ; a Kalender, 1 2 pages ; a blank leaf; Mattins and Evensong, 5 pages; Letanie, 3 pages ; Collects, 5 pages ; then the Bible interspersed with a number of tables, maps, woodcuts, &c. ; and at the end a table to find the Epistles and Gospels, 3 pages. Some of the renderings in this Bible are pecu- liar. In Ecclesiastes, ninth chapter, first verse, our present Bible has, " Cast thy bread upon the waters, and it shall be found after many days. Matthew's version is, " Sende thy vytt- uayls over the waters, so shalt thou finde them after manye yeares;" but the Bishops' version following Cranmer's has " Laye thy bread upon wet faces," and the marginal note is " Be liberal to the poore." Edition of 1578. Peculiar renderings. 84 Old Bibles. Trj'acle Bibles. In Jeremiah, chapter viii, and last verse, we have in the A.V, " Is there no balm in Gilead," but the Bishop's Bible and most of the early English versions have "Is there no tryacle in Gilead, is there no phisition there." The Doway has " Is there noe rosin in Galaad." The word translated, tryacle, triacle, or balme, or rosin, fre- quently occurs in the Bible. Although the A.V. has adopted "balm" in the text, it gives "rosin" in the margin, as the alternative reading ; King James' translators being doubtful which word more exactly represented the original. In their preface to the readers, they say " There be many words in the Scripture which be never found there but once (having neither brother nor neighbour as the Hebrews speak) so that we cannot be holpen by conference of places. Again, there be many rare names of certain birds, beasts, and precious stones, &c., concerning which the Hebrews themselves are so divided among themselves for judgement, as Saint Hierome saith." In the Bishops' Bible, Psalm xlv., and ninth verse, reads " Kinges daughters are among thy honourable women, upon thy ryght hande stan- deth the queene on a vesture of golde of ophir." The note is, "Ophir is thought to be the Llande in the West coaste of late found by Christopher Columbo, from whence at this day is brought most fine golde." The note to the word "Leviathan" in the 104th Psalm, is "A whale or a ballan, a beast Bishops' Bible. 85 that is King of the sea, for his greatnes and strength, he appeareth aboue the tope of the sea as bigge as a Ilande, or a greate huge moun- tayne." To enable a judgment to be formed of the comparative merits of the Bishops' translation when contrasted with other versions, we append the 95th Psalm. " Moneth the xix day. " The argument of the cv. Psalme. " The prophete stirreth up mens hertes both to prayse God, for that he is the mightiest King, maker of this worlde, and also to worship God with al humblenesse, for that He is our sheep- hearde and we be his sheepe. He also aduertiseth al men to geue care to Gods voyce, and with- out delay to be obedyent, vnto his wyll, lest after the example of their disobedient fathers, they beyng destitute of Gods favour, neuer come to etemall joye and rest,t— " Venite exultemus Domino. " I. Come let us syng vnto God, let vs make an hartie rejoysyng with a loude voyce vnto the rocke of our saluation. " 2. Let vs make speede to come before his face with a confession : let us expresse vnto him outwardly a hartie gladnesse with syngyng of psalmes. *' 3. For God is a great Lorde: and great Kinge aboue al gods. " 4. In his hande are al the deepe comers of Mornyng Prayer. Psalm xcv. 86 Old Bibles. Beyng led and gouern- ed by his hande. "Meribh" &"Massah. "If they shal enter." the earth : and the hyghe tops of hylles be his also. 5. The se is his and he made it, and his handes fashoned the dry lande. 6. Come let vs worshipe and fall downe, let vs kneele before the face of God our maker. 7. For he is our Lorde, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheepe of his hande. 8. To day yf ye wyll heare his voyce harden not your hartes, as in the tyme of contention, as in day of temptation in the wyldernesse. 9. When your fathers tempted me, proued me, (yea after) they had seen my worke. 10. Fourtie yeares long was I greened with that generation, and I sayed, this people erreth in heart, and they haue not knowen my wayes. 11. Unto whom I sware in my wrath, that they shoulde not enter at al into my rest." The Rheims Version. 87 The Rheims and Doway Version. npHE New Testament was translated at the *• English Roman Catholic College at Rheims, in 15 84, by Gregory Martin, a Fellow of S. John's College, Oxford, a great Hebrew and Greek scholar, assisted by other men of eminent learn- ing. This translation, and the annotations attached, excited great opposition ; many copies were seized by Queen Elizabeth's searchers, and confiscated. Thomas Cartwright was solicited by Secretary Walsingham to refute it, but after some progress had been made, Archbishop Whitgift prohibited his proceeding further, judg- ing it improper that the doctrine of the Church of England should be committed to the defence of a Puritan. The Archbishop appointed Dr. Fulke in Cartwright's place, and, if abuse can be considered argument, Fulke succeeded most admirably. Cartwright's refutation was also published in 16 18, fifteen years after his death. For " lack of good means " in their banishment, The Old Testament, which had been long trans- lated, was not published until twenty-five years after the New. It is in two tomes, and its title- page reads thus, " The Holie Bible, faithfvlly translated into English ovt of the avthentical Latin, diligently conferred with the Hebrew, New Testa- ment, 1584. Copies seized by Queen Eliza- beth's searchers. Dr. Fulke's refutation. Title-page. 88 Old Bibles. Translated from the Vulgate. Source of Authorised Version. Greeke, and other editions in divers languages, with arguments of the bookes and chapters ; annotations, tables, and other helpes for the better vnderstanding of the text, for discouerie of corrvptions in some late translations, and for clearing controversies in religion. By the Eng- lish College of Do way ; printed at Doway by Lavrence Kellam, at the signe of the holie lambe, mdcx." The date of the "Approbation " on the second page is November 8th, 1609, and the same date is found at the end of the volume. This version is, as it professes to be, translated from the Vulgate, and in some parts more exactly repre- sents the very words of the inspired writers, as they were originally written than the A. V., or any other translation. This is owing to S. Jerome having translated the text into Latin from prim- itive manuscripts which were not accessible to later translators, who therefore had to rely on copies made in many instances by heretics, con- taining interpolations, and omissions as well as intentional alterations, which, by the mere pro- cess of constant copying and recopying, varied in hundreds of places from the original documents. The text used by the revisers of our present version of the New Testament was Beza's fourth edition of the Greek Text, pubHshed in 1589, and the fourth edition of Stephens', published in 1557, or, as these editions were little more than reprints of preceding editions, they may be The Rheims Version. said to have used the third edition of Beza's Greek Testament of 1582, and Stephens' of 1550, and as these followed the very imperfect and defective fourth edition of the Greek Testament of Erasmus, prepared by him in 15 16, based on late and untrustworthy manuscripts, without regard to more ancient and accurate authorities that were even then within his reach. The text of Erasmus has been proved not accurately to represent the apostolic originals. Since the sixteenth century Greek MSS. have been dis- covered of far greater antiquity than those of Erasmus and Stephens, as well as others in Latin, Syriac, and Coptic, into which languages the Scriptures were translated before the fourth century : and long quotations occur in the works of the early fathers, from the original sacred text, which serve as a test of genuineness. The most ancient MS. was discovered by the late Professor Tischendorf in 1844, in the Monastery of St. Catherine, on Mount Sinai, and presented at his instance, in 1859, to the Emperor of Russia, Alexander II., by the monks of St. Catherine. It is known as the Codex Sinaiticus, and is in all probability one of the fifty copies of the Bible made in the year 331, under the care of Eusebius, by order of the Emperor Constan- tine. The readings in this MS., when tested by the quotations from the sacred writings in the works of SS. Ignatius, Irenaeus, and Clement, agree in every particular. This MS. contains the Old Testament in the Septuagint version, 89 Discovery of Codex Sinai- Agreement with quota- tions in wri- tings of SS. Ignatius, Irenseus and Clement. 90 Old Bibles. Translators' preface. S. Jerome. and the whole of the New Testament : also the Epistle of Barnabas. It consists of 345 leaves, each page having four parallel columns. The Epistles of S. Paul are placed immediately after the Gospels, and before the Acts of the Apostles. As an example of the fidelity of the Rheims version, and its agreement with the ancient MSS., the following may be cited. In St Luke ii. 14, in the A. V., " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." S. Jerome gives it, " and on earth peace among men of good pleasure (or will)." The Alexandrian, the Vati- can, and the Sinaitic Codex, all agree with the Latin, which has handed down to us what is now generally acknowledged to be the true rendering of the very words of the song of the angels. In the preface to the Rheimish Testament, the translators say, " Moreover we presume not to mollify the speeches or phrases, but religiously keep them word for word, and point for point, for the fear of missing or restraining the sense of the Holy Ghost to our fancy." St. Jerome, by his great knowledge of lan- guages, and his wonderful industry, did more than any other man that ever lived towards the interpretation of Holy Scripture. He was bom in Stridon, in Dalmatia, about the year 346. In the deserts of Syria he perfected himself in the Hebrew language so as to be able to translate the Old Testament into Latin. He studied at The Rheims Version. 91 Constantinople, under the great orator and theologian S. Gregory, of Nazianzum, and learn- ed from his eloquent Hps the great treasure to be found in the Scriptures. Afterwards, at Rome, he revised the Latin translations of the New Testament and the Psalter, which even at that early date, varied considerably from the original text. Considering it necessary for the preservation of religion that the ascetic and cloistral life should be encouraged, he retired to a hermitage at Bethlehem, where he watched over the sacred deposit of the Scriptures, and devoted himself to its study and explanation, until, at length, worn out by ceaseless toil, and great age, he died in the year 420. The Rheimish Testament and Doway Bible added very much to our vocabulary ; for the translators boldly transplanted many words for which they could find no adequate translation from the Latin into English, and thereby enriched our language, and delighted the heart of Dr. John- son. More than fifty of these words have now become thoroughly engrafted into our mother tongue, and very few suspect the source to which they are indebted for them. The annotations on the Psalms, taken mainly from S. Basil, are extremely interesting and in- structive, but the rendering is not nearly as mu- sical as our Prayer-book version. As a speci- men of the Doway rendering the 22nd Psalm (the 23rd in our version) is appended. A. D. 420. Doway Psalter. 92 Old Bibles. Psalm xxii. Other translations. " Our Lord ruleth me and nothing shal be wanting to me, in place of pasture there he hath placed me. " Vpon the water of reflection, he hath brought me vp, he hath conuerted my soule. " He hath conducted me vpon the pathes of justice for his name. For although I shal walke in the middes of the shaddow of death, I will not feare euils because thou art with me. " Thy rod and thy stafife, they haue comforted me. Thou hast prepared in my sight a table against them that truble me. " Thou hast fatted my head with oyle, and my chalace inebriating how goodlie is it ! And thy merce shal folow me al the dayes of my life. " And that I may dwel in the house of our Lord in longitude of dayes." Two other Roman Catholic translations of the New Testament from the Vulgate, have been made, one by Dr. Nary in 1718, the other by Dr. Witham, in 1730. Greater changes have been made in the va- rious editions of the Doway Bible than in any other English version. This will be at once seen by comparing any of the chapters. We append two in parallel columns as an example. The version of 1610. The Threnes that is to say The lamentations of Jeremie the Prophet. I How doth the citie ful of people, sitte soli- The edition of 18^ 2>' The lamentations of Jeremias. I. How doth the city sit solitary, that was full The Doway Version 93 tarie, how is the Ladie of the Gentiles become as a Widow, the prin- cesse of prouinces is' made tributarie ? 2 Weeping she hath wept in the night, and her teares are on her cheekes : there is none to comfort her of al her deare ones : al her freindes haue dispised her, and are become her enemies. 3 Judas is gone into transmigration because of affliction, and the multitude of bondage, she hath dwelt among the Gentiles, neither hath she found rest, al her persecutors have ap- prehended her within the straites. 4 The waies of Zion mourne, because there are none that come to the solemnitie, al her gates are destroyed : her priestes sighing, her vir- gins lothsome, and her- self is oppresed with bit- ternes. 5. Her aduersaries are made in the head, her enemies are enrich- ed, because our Lord hath spoken vpon her for the multitude of her ini- quites : her little ones are led into captiuitie before the face of the afflicter. of people ! how is the mistress of the Gentiles become as a Widow, th e princes of the provinces made tributary ! 2. Weeping she hath wept in the night and her tears are on her cheeks, there is none to comfort her, all her friends have despised her, and are become her enemies. 3. Juda hath removed her dwelling place be- cause of her affliction, and the greatness of her bondage, she hath dwelt among the nations, and she hath found no rest, all her persecutors have taken her in the midst of straits. 4. The ways of Zion mourn, because there are none that come to the solemn feast, all her gates are broken down, her priests sigh, her vir- gins are in affliction, and she is oppressed with bit- terness. 5. Her adversaries are become her lords her enemies are enriched, because the Lord hath spoken against her for the multitude of her in- iquities, her children are led into captivity before the face of the oppressor. 94 Old Bibles. Translation commenced inA.D. 1607 DiflFerences between the two issues. The Authorised Version, A T the Hampton Court Conference between the Low Church faction and the Church party, to conciliate the former it was agreed that a new translation of the Bible should be under- taken; accordingly forty-seven eminent scholars were selected for the work, and commenced their labour in 1607. They were divided into six companies under the direction of Bancroft, they completed their work in 16 10, and it was issued from the press of R. Barker in 161 1, with a fulsome dedication to King James I., and a long preface from the translators to the reader. The dedication is still continued, probably as an example of what ought to be avoided, but the translators' address was after a time omitted and not much was lost by the omission. There were two issues of the first edition ; the first is readily to be distinguished by its having " Appointed to be read in Churches " left out from the New Testament title. In Genesis i. 16, it has " Emorite " for " Amorite." In Exodus xiv. 10, there is a repi- tition, and in the head-line of II. Chronicles 29 is 39. The second issue of this year has these errors corrected, but it has some of its own, one is in S. Matthew xxvi. 36, where " Judas " is substituted for " Jesus." The Authorised Version, 95 It would be interesting to know which of the eight foHo editions of the Bishops' Bible was taken by the translators of our present Bible as their basis. The instruction they received was " To follow the ordinary Bible read in Churches commonly called the Bishops' Bible," without any particular edition of it being specified. Most authorities say the 1568 edition was used, but probably this being the year the first issue took place, the Bishops' Bible has been associated so intimately with 1568 that no other date suggested itself. As in all other early versions, differences appear in every edition of the Bishops' Bible (exepting the 1574 and the 1578, which are said to be printed page for page). Between the editions of 1568, 1572, and 1602, the variations are very great. Take II. Kings vii. for example. The 1602 differs in twenty places from the first edition. The authorised version follows the 1 602 in ten of these variations, it follows neither in nine of them, and adopts one only of those of the 1568 Bible. The edition of 1572 reads with the 1578 in all these places, but varies much in other parts. In the first of S. John, in thirty places the 1572, and 1602, differ from the first edition. Most of these variations were adopted by King James' translators; thus the authorised version does not differ more from the Bishops' Bible of 1602, than that did from the original edition of 1658. The Bible taken as the text for A. v. 96 Character of the transla- tion. Varied readings. First quarto edition. Old Bibles. On the whole our present Bible is a great im- provement on every version that preceded it. Still in isolated cases, alterations made from previous versions were not improvements, for instance, Acts xxi. 15, now reads, "And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem." Matthew's version "we made ourselves ready." Cranmer's and the Bishops' Bible " we took up our burdens." The Genevan is still more quaint, it has " After those days we trussed up our fardels and went up to Jerusalem." The Doway rendering is "being prepared." Any of these translations are less Hkely to be misunderstood than our present one, as certainly the first Bishops did not travel in carriages. The Rheimish version of the New Testament exercised a very beneficial influence on the translation of the Authorised version. I could give many examples, but one shall suffice. In II. Thess. ii. 15, we now have, " Hold the traditions ye have been taught," but all the early Bibles have the word " ordinances " in place of " traditions." Tyndale's rendering, in his edition of 1534, is " Therefore, brethren stonde fast and kepe the ordinannces which ye have learned : whether it were by oure preachynge, or by pistle." The first quarto edition of King James' Bible was published by R. Barker in 161 2. It appears to be got up in imitation of the Breeches Bible The Authorised Version. 97 as it has the same title-pages, excepting the letterpress in the centre. "The Genealogies recorded in the sacred Scriptures according to every family and tribe, with the line of our Saviour Jesus Christ ob- served from Adam to the Blessed Virgin Mary " by J(ohn) S(peed) is bound up with this edition. This and a concordance " allowed by his majestie's special priviledge to be printed and bound with Bibles in all volumes" by Mr. John Downame, B.D., is attached to most copies about this date, and the wretched Geneva notes were sometimes tacked on. Copies of several editions of this Bible are sought for by collec- tors, on account of some pecuharity or typo- graphical error. One printed in the reign of Charles, had in the second verse of the four- teenth psalm, " The fool hath said in his heart, there is a God." Another, in 1631, altered the Decalogue con- siderably, by omitting the word " not" from the seventh commandment. This is called the "wicked Bible." The "Vinegar Bible" is so named from an error in the running title of S. Luke, twentieth chapter, where it reads, "The parable of the vinegar," instead of the vineyard. It was printed at Oxford by J. Baskett, in 17 16. " The Royal version" printed by T. and J. Buck, Cambridge, in 1629, is interleaved. A Black letter edition, printed by Robert Barker, and the assignees of John Bill, in 1640, The "wicked Bible." Curious errors. 98 Old Bibles. is full of the most disgraceful blunders. One Bible is remarkable for naming S. Philip instead of S. Peter, as the disciple who denied our Lord. Careful comparison of the Bibles published recently with the first and other early versions will show great differences, but by whose au- thority these changes have been made, no one seems to know. It is difficult to find a chapter in which they read together. Not only do these variations exist, in the spelling, and punctuation, but in the summaries and text itself Hundreds of examples could be given, if desirable, but two we will cite : — The contents of Psalm cxlix. should read — I. " The Prophet exliorteth to praise God, for his love to the Church." 5. "And for that power, which he hath given to the Church to rule the consciences of men." The Bible Society Bibles omit the last six words : — In I. Corinthians, chapter xiii, verse 2nd, the early editions of the A. V. read " Though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have no charity, I am nothing." But most recently printed Bibles have "And have not charity." In one instance the translators of this version have caught the true meaning which escaped all early translators. The passages occur in I. Kings, chap. xx. — The Authorised Version. 99 "And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber." "And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings : let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel : perad- venture he will save thy life." " So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said. Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said. Is he yet alive? he is my brother." " Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said. Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-ha- dad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot." The earliest printed "Douche" Bibles give the meaning still more plainly — but our early translators like all commentators, not having seen the light in the East, were unable to ren- der the passage properly — their phrase, "Took it for good luck," is far wide of the mark. Marginal reading, "Around our necks." lOO Old Bibles. Our present version soon to be super- seded. Conclusion, IT is hard to realize the fact that the days of our present version of the Bible are num- bered, and in a few years at the most, it will be superseded by a new translation, and be valu- able to collectors only, as a copy of one of the disused English versions. As it has been the case with every previous revision, no doubt the old translation, as it will then be called, will maintain its place in many hearts and homes, for a long period. The "dear old EngHsh Bible," thousands of pious souls believe to contain the very words spoken, or written, by our blessed Lord and His apos- tles ; to alter one word of which, would incur the penalty threatened in the last verse but two of the Revelations, — " If any man shall take away from the words of the book of this pro- phecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the Holy City, and from the things that are written in this book." A translation so embedded in the deepest spiritual life, around which the very heart-strings of so many of our Lord's children are entwined, over which so many tears have been shed, and from which such unspeakable comfort in life, and in the hour of death, has been drawn — truly de- serves to be treated with the most tender love and veneration. Conclusion. lOI It was a great grief and serious loss to Eng- lish churchmen, when Dr. Pusey, and Dr. J. H. Newman declined to be on the committee ap- pointed by Convocation to revise the authorized version of the Bible. Both as theologians and scholars, they are pre-eminently fitted for such an undertaking; and their names would have been a tower of strength to the revision committee, and given confidence to tens of thousands in the accuracy of the work; that no other two names in the world could inspire, but above all, their loving hearts would have sacrificed many an original idiomatic nicety, or rhythmic cadence, rather than unnecessarily wound the child-like faith of the little ones of Christ's flock. If what has taken place in the past, affords any criterion to judge of the future, we may confidently hope that it will be the object of the Old and New Testament company not to make as many, but as few alterations, as are consistent with faithfulness to the trust reposed in them. The changes made in the versions we have had under review, have been gradual and slight. One edition after another has been " oversene and corrected " until between the last edition of an old version, and the first edition of its suc- cessor scarcely any difference is perceptible without close investigation, certainly no dif- ferences that need overthrow the faith of any. The verdict passed, after careful comparison of the text of all the versions, not excepting the Loss sus- tained by refusal of Drs. Pusey and Newman to accept in- vitation to assist in the forthcoming Alteration in new version will not be violent. I02 Old Bibles. General concord of all versions. Doway, and the Genevan, is " verbal differences, substantial agreement," and doubtless we shall have preserved in our new authorized version, the mingled tenderness and majesty, the charm- ing Saxon simplicity, the exquisite grace, the noble tone, rhythm, and diction, for which our present Bible is unapproached in the world of literature. 103 ^4*^*5^4*^4^44**2^ •• 4* :4*44*4*4*4*4*4* Appendix. The following is an early English version of the Epistle to the Laodiceans, which was ordered by S. Paul to be also read to the church at Colosse. It is now considered Apocryphal. ^aul apoftil not of mm, ne hi man, but hi 31t0u Cnft, to t!)e Bntljmn t^at hin at ILaoDice ; grace to j!)Ou, anti pee0 of (Boti t|)e ifatiir, and tJeHorti 31t0u CriCt. 3 tio t^anfepngfe to m^ (Eoti, bi al m^n orifoun t^at pe hin titoell^np anti laCtpnge m !)pm, abiDinge tje fafteefte intlje tiai of doom, ifor neit^ir tje tiein ^ptfejnge of 0omme untoife men, Jat!) lettjeti ^Ijou tje tD!)ic!)e tjoltien turne pljou fro t|)e treutje of tje (E'bofpel t^at i0 precfjeti of me, ann noto hin of me to t!)e profig^t of tlje trut!)e of t!)e (BijofpeU Cod 0cljal make deferopnge and do^nge ben^gn^te of tDorfei^ of teeltlje of etierlaft^nffe l^f. ^nd noto mi boondi0 bin open tujicl) 31 0uffre in Crift 3iZ^u: in to^ic!)e 3 fflade and jope, and tl)at i0 to me eberlaftjnp !)eeltl)e, tjat t^i^ ^ame twinge bin doon I04 Old Bibles. bp pljDure preterm anti m^npftringe of tlie ^olp (0DO0t ntljir bi l^f, tit\\iv hi Dmt). jForCotlie to me 10 l^f to Iptie m Cnft, and to die jope toittouteit ende. ^nti 510 merci 0ct)al no m ^Ijou tjat 0ame t^iiig:, tijat pe mun Jatie t^e 0ame loti^itp, and tiiat ^Ije be of toilL ^Ijerfore plje toeel belotjeti britliereit, !)olti ^^e, anti Do ^^z in t!)e tiretie of (Boti, a0 ^Se !)an !)ertie m t!)e prefence of me, anti Ijf 0c5al bin to jjou Voit^outen entie. »)Ot!)eli It 10 (Boti t^at toorcfeetj in ^!)0U. ^nD m^ toeel belotieti brit!)eren tio pl)e tDit^outen on^ toitprato^nge tj^t etjere twinge 10 tljat plje Doom 3|o^e ^!je in Crid and efcjetoe plje mantiefouleti \j^it^ lucre, eitjir foul topnnpnge. :2Be alle pi) our aring:i0 open anenti0 (Boti: anti be plje ftidefaft in tbe toitt of Crift, anti Do pie t5o0 tl)ing:i0 t^at bin l)00l, anD tretoe, anD jult, and lotiable. ^nd feepe ^^t in Ijerte t5o0 tl)ingi0 pl)e liabe Ijerd, and pee0 0c5al be to pljou* ^11 Soli mm greeten pl)ou* ^t)e grace of our ?Lord 3|efu Crift be toitl) p^oure 0pirit. 2Do p5e t:&at piftil of colofena0 bin red to pliou* ^mem Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries 1 1012 01192 6070