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THE BIBLES OF ENGLAND.
THE
38741
BIBLES OF ENGLAND: :
A PLAIN ACCOUNT FOR PLAIN PEOPLE
OF
THE PRINCIPAL VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE
IN ENGLISH.
BY
ANDREW EDGAR, D.D.,
Author of " Old Church Life in Scotland."
ALEXANDER GARDNER,
Publisher to Her Majesty the Queen,
PAISLEY; AND PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
MDCCCLXXXIX.
PREFACE.
THIS work is not a scholastic work, nor is it intended for
scholastic readers. It is meant for plain people who have no
knowledge of either Hebrew or Greek. Many questions,
therefore, are ignored, which scholastic persons may think
should, in a review of English versions of the Bible, be
brought to the front; and some trivialities are introduced
which scholastic persons may think should have been ex-
cluded.
The special subject to which most space in this volume is
devoted, is that to which in many published works on English
versions of the Bible least space is given; namely, the differen-
tiations of successive versions, and the literary peculiarities
that in each translation may be supposed most readily to
attract the notice of common English readers. It is attempted
in this way to shew how dissatisfaction with one version led to
the publication of another; and there is set forth as much of
the history of each version as will indicate the persistent
labour that for five hundred years has been spent on the per-
fection of the English Bible.
One thing that calls for explanation, if not apology, is that
while the book is professedly non-scholastic it contains a con-
siderable number of Latin words and even Latin sentences.
It will be found, however, that in many cases the Latin words
are self-explanatory, and serve to shew the source from which
particular expressions in the several English versions were
derived. In all cases, too, the Latin quotations are of simple
construction, and will be understood and appreciated by many
readers who do not reckon themselves classical scholars. And
if in any instance the Latin interpolation should prove a
stumbling-block, it may be passed over without causing a
breach in the continuity of the narrative.
It will be observed that at the head of each chapter there is
a note of the special editions from which examples of the
vi.
Preface.
translation under discussion have been obtained. Such a note
was necessary. Through misprints and corrections, there are
scarcely two editions of any one English version of the Bible,
except modern issues of the authorised and revised, that are
absolutely identical. If the editions, therefore, from which
quotations are taken had not been specified, some of these
quotations might, on reference to a different edition, have
been pronounced inaccurate. It is not to be supposed, how-
ever, that the editions specified at the heads of chapters in this
volume are those that are most highly prized by book-hunters.
They are simply those that I either happen to possess, or to
which I have had most convenient access. But they are all
sufficiently authentic for indicating the salient features of each
version.
It can scarcely be expected that in a work like this, which
abounds in details, there will not be some slips and oversights,
misjudgments and mistakes. One mistake that may be
thought inexcusable will be found on pages 215-216, in a note
on a Hebrew word which an old Catholic controversialist
alleges to be the original of the Church term Mass. That
note was inserted without much consideration as the proofs
were passing through the press. To undo the evil of mis-
statement in that note, a correction, to which the reader's
attention is requested, is made in the Appendix, under letter
D. Another passage that from awkwardness of expression is
open to misconstruction, will be found on page 187. To pre-
vent misapprehension on the subject to which that passage
refers—the Theocracy established at Geneva in the days of
Calvin-a brief account of Christian theories of Theocracy
held by the Reformers is given under letter C in the
Appendix.
Both for advice on special points of dubiety, and for access
to valuable copies of old versions of the Bible, in Latin as well
as in English, I have gratefully to acknowledge my obligations
to the courtesy and kindness of friends and others that, al-
though personally unknown to me, I take the liberty of count-
ing friends.
Α. Ε.
THE MANSE, MAUCHLINE,
13th MAY, 1889.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE LOLLARDS BIBLE (Commonly called Wyclif's BIBLE).
First version by John Wyclif and Nicholas de Hereford, about
1380. Revised version by John Purvey, about 1388.
Popular interest in the Bible, 1-No Bible in English long after Christianity estab
lished in England, 2-Early English versions of parts of Bible, 2—- Publication
before invention of printing, 4-Wycliffs reasons for translating the Bible, 4
Wyclif's first version, 5--Wyclif's career and end, 7–Wyclif's Bible con-
demned, 8-Earliest printed copies of Wyclif's Bible, 9–First and revised ver-
sions of Wyclif's Bible compared, 9-Wyclif's and Purvey's English, 12--
Peculiar words in Wyclif's Bible, 14-Obsolete words in Purvey's revised ver-
sion, 14-In earlier version, 18–Words used in a sense that is now obsolete,
in Purvey's version, 20—In earlier version, 23-Saxon compounds, 25—Trans-
lation of proper nouns, 26—Ecclesiastical terms, 27--Phrases in Wyclif's
Bible, quaint and apt, 31--Crude and inapt, 33—Peculiar readings and ren-
derings in Wyclif's Bible, 36-Use of articles by Wyclif, 39—Readings and
renderings of Wyclif revived in revised version, 41–Homeliness of Wyclif's
diction, 42—Anachronisms in Wyclif's Bible, 45—Merits of Wyclif's Bible, 47
-Wyclif's order of readers and preachers, 47.
CHAPTER II.
THE REFORMERS' BIBLES.
TYNDALE'S TESTAMENT, 1526; Revised, 1534.
The fundamental doctrine of Protestantism, 49–New translation of the Bible
needed at the Reformation, 50—William Tyndale, 51–Resolves to translate
the Bible, 53—Goes to London, 54— Meets with Humphrey Monmouth,
55—Goes abroad, 56—Proceeds with translation of the New Testament, 56
-Prints his translation, 57--Publishes his translation, 57–His translation
denounced, 58–His translation confuted by Sir Thomas More, 62—His
other publications, 63—Encouraged to return to England, 65–His apprehen-
sion resolved on, 66-Seized and charged with venting heresies, 68-His
martyrdom, 69—The advantages he had over Wyclif in translating the Tes-
tament, 69-His qualifications for translating the Testament, 71-Editions of
Tyndale's Testament, 72—Tyndale's English, 74–Obsolete words in Tyn-
dale's Testament, 75-Common words used in an archaic sense, 76—Ecclesi-
astical terms used or misused, 79—Proper names translated and untranslated, 83
-Expressions and phrases of Tyndale's still surviving in the authorised ver-
sion of the Testament, 83—Some of Tyndale's phrases that are not retained in
viii.
Contents.
authorised version good and forcible, 85—Paraphrastic renderings, 87–Tyn-
dale's Germanisms, 88_Infelicitous renderings, 88-Homely phrases, 89—
Use and misuse of articles, 91-Renderings of Tyndale's restored in revised
version (1881), 92—Points of discordance between Tyndale's and the author-
ised version, 93—Causes of these discordances, 96-Other translations of
Scripture by Tyndale, 98.
CHAPTER III.
THE REFORMERS BIBLES (Continued).
COVERDALE's BIBLE, 1535.
MATTHEW's BIBLE, 1537.
TAVERNER'S BIBLE, 1539.
THE GREAT BIBLE or CROMWELL'S BIBLE, 1539; Revised edition, with
prologue by Cranmer, and therefore called Cranmer's Bible, 1540.
Miles Coverdale, 100—Publishes a translation of the whole Bible, 101–. The text
from which he translated, 101--His translation partly original and partly
based on Tyndale's, 101--Account of the part that was original, 101–Account
of the part based on Tyndale's translation, 106—The Latin and Dutch inspira-
tions in Coverdale's Bible, 110-Dedication of Coverdale's Bible, 114.
Matthew's Bible, 114-Specimens of its annotations, 115.
Taverner's Bible, 117.
The Great Bible, 119—Its printing and publication, 120—Its different designations,
120—Steps taken to promote its circulation, 121-A plethora of Bibles, 122-
The three constituent parts of the Great Bible, 123—New Testament in Great
Bible follows Tyndale's more than Coverdale's translation, 125–Follows
Coverdale's version in some passages, 125–Old Testament, from Genesis to
Chronicles, follows Tyndale's more than Coverdale's translation, 127–An-
tique renderings in Reformers' versions of the Old Testament from Genesis
to Chronicles, 128-Old Testament, from Ezra to Malachi, not much changed
from Coverdale's, 131-Points of difference between Great Bible and Cover-
dale's Bible in second part of Old Testament, 134-Great Bible compared
with the authorised, 136—Bracketed readings, 138-End of Coverdale, 139.
CHAPTER IV.
THE PURITANS AND PEOPLE'S BIBLE (Otherwise termed
the GENEVA or BREECHES BIBLE).
First Geneva translation of New Testament, 1557.
Second Geneva translation of New Testament, with translation of 'Old
Testament, 1560.
Third, or Tomson's revised translation of New Testament, 1576.
From 1540 to 1557, 140—Sir John Cheke's translation, 140—Its Saxon words, 141
-Its Archaisms, 141—Its marginal notes, 142–Reign of Mary in England,
142—Persecution of Reformers, 143--Flight of Reformers to Geneva, 143
First Geneva version of the New Testament, 144-Its peculiarities, 144-Its
Contents.
ix.
relation to previous versions, 145—The Geneva Bible in whole, 148–Authors
of that translation, 149—Characteristics of that translation, 150—Its popu-
larity, 150—Its interest to Scotsmen, 151—The first Bible in English printed
in Scotland, 151-Hart's edition of Geneva Bible, 154-Popular designation
of Geneva Bible, 154—Three Geneva versions of New Testament, 155—
Only one Geneva version of Old Testament, 156-Second Geneva version of
the New Testament compared with the first, 156—Inspired by Beza's Latin
translation, 156—Its variations of two kinds, 157—The larger changes, 157–
The lesser changes, 159--All the changes not improvements, 161-Majority
improvements, 162—Third Geneva version of Testament, by Laurence Tom-
son, 162–Compared with the second version, 162–Accentuation of Articles,
163--Other amendments, 164-Geneva version of the Old Testament, 1654
How framed, 165-Its sources of inspiration, 166—Compared with Great Bible,
166-Correction of renderings in Great Bible, 167–Refinement of renderings
in Great Bible, 170—Changes that were not improvements, 173-The lan-
guage of Geneva Bible, 176—Antiquated forms of words, 177–Obsolete
words, 177-Current words in obsolete sense, 178—Ecclesiastical terms, 180-
Phrases well chosen, 181--Renderings that are not good, 182-Marginal notes,
184-Anti-papal, 184-Calvinistic, 185—Puritanical, 186—Political, 187–
Quaint and curious, 188—Good specimens of sound exposition, 189.
CHAPTER V.
THE BIBLES OF THE CHURCHES. No. I. BIBLE OF THE
CHURCH OF ENGLAND (Commonly called the BISHOPS' BIBLE).
First translation, 1568. Revised translation, 1572.
Need for a new version for public use in Church of England, 191-Resolution to
revise the Great Bible, 193—Work of revision and its distribution, 195—Issue
of the Bishops' Bible, 195—Bishops' Bible not licensed by Queen for use in
Churches, 196–Successive editions, 196—Bishops' Bible a failure, 197–
Crotchets of some of the Episcopal translators, 198—Limited and temporary
circulation of Bishops' Bible, 199—Close correspondence between Bishops'
Bible and Great Bible, 199—In Old Testament the text in some books in
Bishops' Bible little, and in others much changed from the text in Great Bible.
200— Points of correspondence between the two texts in Old Testament more
striking than points of difference, 205-Incorrect readings in Great Bible re-
tained in Old Testament, 205-Imperfect renderings in Great Bible retained by
Bishops, 207–Unapproved readings and imperfect renderings taken by
Bishops from Geneva version, 208-Original renderings in Old Testament by
Bishops, 210—Adoption in authorised version, 210—Not adopted, 211–
Bishops' version of New Testament, 212-Incorrect readings and renderings
in Great Bible retained, 213—Infelicitous renderings in Great Bible retained,
214-Infelicitous amendments in Geneva Bible rejected by Bishops, 217–
Geneva amendments adopted by Bishops, 218–Wisely, 219–Unwisely, 219–
Original renderings by Bishops, 220—Good, 221—Not good, 222--Received
into authorised version, 223—Diction of Bishops' Bible, 224–Archaisms in
Bishops' Bible, 227-Marginal notes in Bishops' Bible, 228-Interpolations,
231.
X.
Contents.
CHAPTER VI.
THE BIBLES OF THE CHURCHES. No. 2. BIBLE OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH (Commonly called the Douay BIBLE.)
NEW TESTAMENT, printed at Rhemes, 1582.
OLD TESTAMENT, printed at Douay, 1609-1610.
Modern revisions, by Challoner and others.
Necessity for a Catholic version of the Scriptures in English, 234-Issue of a
Catholic version of the Bible in English, 237– The translators, 237-Source
from which the Catholic version drawn, 237–Principles according to which
the translation was made, 241–Character of the Catholic translation, 242
-Latin words too frequently translated by their English derivatives, 243—
Excessive literalness in translation, 246—Renderings that bear on contro-
verted points, 248—Three alleged specially sacred terms, 252—The Douay
Bible from a literary point of view, 254–Words used, 255--Phrases, 255
-Catholic readings and Catholic renderings, 257--Rhemes readings and ren-
derings in revised Testament (1881), 259—Annotations in Rhemes Testament,
260.
Douay version of the Old Testament, 261—Ecclesiastical terms in Douay Bible,
262-Latin words and Latin-English words, 262—Archaisms and colloquial-
isms, 2654-Odd and queer readings, 269–Proper names translated as common
nouns, 270---Readings different in meaning from the authorised, 271--The
notes in the Douay Bible, 275--Merits of the Rhemes-Douay version, 276–
Imperfections, 277.
Revisions of Douay Bible, 278—Catholic opinions on these revisions, 279--
No authentic Catholic text of Scriptures in English, 279-Challoner's versions,
280—Inkhorn terms, 280—Inapt terms, 281-Challoner's conformity with dic-
tion of the authorised version, 281–Douay phrases retained by Challoner, 282
---Challoner's freedom with Catholic terms, 283-Annotations in modern edi.
tions of Catholic versions of the Bible, 283.
CHAPTER VII.
THE NATIONAL BIBLE (Sometimes called the King's TRANS-
LATION, more frequently termed the AUTHORISED VERSION,
1611).
Bibles in England in 1600, 286—Still another translation wanted, 286—The King
takes the matter in hand, 287--Some churchmen not in favour of the project,
289—The work planned and commenced, 289—The new version published
and dedicated to the King, 290–-The preface to the new version, 291 – The
declared aim of the new version, 291-The qualifications of the translators,
292—Helps used in the translation, 293—Principles on which the translation
was made, 293—The new version not adopted everywhere at once, 295–
Strange misprints in different editions, 296—Deviations from the text of the first
edition, 299–Relation of the new version to former versions, 300—Inaccura-
cies in Bishops' Bible corrected, 305—Diction in Bishops' Bible improved,
Contents.
xi.
305—Renderings appropriated from Geneva version, 306–Renderings appro-
priated from the Rhemes Testament, 308—Each English version an improve-
ment on previous versions, 309— The true meaning of passages brought out
better, 309–Happier words chosen and smoother phrases, 312-Importance of
these improvements, 316–Archaic words and expressions that still remain in
the authorised version, 317–Headings of chapters, 321-Marginal references
and notes, 323.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE INTER-NATIONAL BIBLE (Commonly called the RE-
VISED VERSION)
NEW TESTAMENT, 1881. OLD TESTAMENT, 1885.
The King's translation not adopted at once, nor expected by the translators to be,
326—Rise and progress of dissatisfaction with the authorised version, 327–A
revision proposed, 328–Project abandoned, 329—Demand for revision heard
again, 330-Attempts in revision, 331—Doddridge's Expositor, 332-Mac-
knight's translation of Epistles, 334—Thomson's translation of New Testament,
335–An international revision of the English Bible proposed, 337-Work of
revision undertaken, 338—Time spent in revision, 339—Issue of new version
and demand for copies, 339—Character of revised version, 340—New readings in
Greek Testament adopted, 341-Amount of change on English text from adop.
tion of these readings, 342—Ground on which these readings were adopted,
344-Amount of correspondence between new Greek text of Testament and
lhe Vulgate, 344—Amended renderings in the English New Testament, 348—
Stricter rendering of the Greek article, 352-Stricter rendering of Greek pre-
positions, 355-Stricter rendering of the different parts of the Greek verb, 357
- Uniformity of rendering, 359—Diction of Revised New Testament, 363—
New readings in Hebrew text of Old Testament adopted, 368—Diction of re-
vised version of Old Testament, 370—Dissimilar English readings in authorised
and revised versions of Old Testament, 373-Archaisms in authorised version
removed or retained in revised, 380—Benefits derived from revision of English
Bible, 382.
APPENDIX.
385
391
A. Early Scottish Renderings of Scripture,
B. Modern Scottish Versions of Scripture,
C. Theocracy in Geneva and Scotland, in explanation of a statement
open to misconstruction on page 187,
D. The word Mass-correction of note on page 215-216,
393
399
ERRATUM—Pages 144, 347- For “Stephen," read "Stephens."
BIBLES OF ENGLAND.
The Lollards' Bible, commonly called Wyclif's Bible.
Editions consulted and quoted from :
First version, by John Wyclif and Nicholas de Hereford, 1380.–Forshall and
Madden's edition.
Song of Solomon, in Adam Clarke's “Commentary.”
Second version, revised by John Purvey, 1388.–Forshall and Madden's
edition.
New Testament in Bagster's “Hexapla."
THERE is no book that, in respect of either its practical value
or its historical interest, can, in the estimation of Christians, be
put in comparison with the Bible. The Bible is regarded by
Christians as the Word of God, in which may be found all the
spiritual truth, indiscoverable by reason, that God has been
pleased to reveal to men for their guidance and comfort. The
knowledge communicated in the Bible has the special distinc-
tion of making men wise unto salvation. The English Bible,
moreover, is one of the most notable books of literature, which
every student of English literature requires to read and study;
and a comparison of ancient and modern versions of the Bible
in English gives the careful reader considerable insight into
the structure and history of the English language itself. All
information, therefore, on the history of the Bible, and especially
on its presentation to the people of England and Scotland
in their native tongue, should be both interesting and useful to
English-speaking people, and particularly to English-speaking
Christians.
On every occasion of public worship in Protestant Churches
at the present day the Bible is produced, and a part of it is
2
Bibles of England.
audibly read by the officiating minister, or his assistant, for the
edification of the worshippers. It is on some verse or passage
of the Bible, too, that, Sabbath after Sabbath, every Christian
preacher, in our Protestant Churches, builds his discourses. In
view of these facts, it cannot but seem strange that the
Christian religion was established in this country several
hundred years before there was a Bible either read to, or
written for, the people in a language they could understand.
Yet such is the case. Christianity was introduced into England
more than 1200 years ago (some historians say about 1800
years ago), and long before the year 1000 A.D., the land was
overspread with Christian Churches, and a Christian ministry
was maintained by the tithes of the land's produce. But in
those early times there was no version of the Bible, or at least
of the whole Bible, in English. Knowledge of the Bible was
then, by those that could read Latin, usually sought in the
Latin translation known as the Vulgate; and to those that
could not read Latin, it was sparingly conveyed by the lips of
the priest, in homilies and paraphrases, which were not
remarkable for accurate representation of Scripture truth.
To John Wyclif belongs the honour of having given to his
countrymen the first complete version of the Bible in English.
This was in, or about, the year 1380. Long prior to that date,
however, portions of the Bible had been transcribed both in
English and in Anglo-Saxon. About the end of the seventh,
or beginning of the eighth century, the Psalter was rendered
into Anglo-Saxon by Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne. In 735, the
venerable Bede bequeathed, " for the advantage of the Church,"
an Anglo-Saxon translation of the gospel by St. John.
Among other portions of Scripture translated into Anglo-
Saxon may be mentioned four chapters in Exodus (xx-xxiii),
x by King Alfred (about 890); the four gospels, by Aldred, a
priest of Holy Isle (about 950); and the books of Moses,
Joshua, and Judges, by Aelfric, Abbot of Peterborough, and
I
" The work of Aelfric is by no means a complete version of the above-
mentioned books. His object was to furnish his countrymen with a translation of
those parts of the Scripture only, which he conceived to be most important for then
to know ; and, in the execution of his purpose
he has, for the most part,
The Lollards' Bible.
3
!
afterwards Archbishop of York (about 1000). Of the Old-
English versions of portions of Scripture, previous to 1380, it
will suffice to mention a metrical paraphrase of the Gospels
and Acts, by Orm or Ormin, a monk, who is supposed to have
lived in the latter half of the twelfth century; a prose version
of the Psalms, by Richard Rolle of Hampole (about 1349);
and a gloss of a considerable part of the New Testament (the
gospels by St. Mark and St. Luke, and the Epistles of St. Paul),
supposed to have been written about the same time as Rolle's
Psalter. These excerpts, as they might be aptly enough
termed, were not widely circulated ; and, although they
furnished devotional reading for people of rank and education,
they did little to enlighten the community in the knowledge of
Scripture. Some of them have to this day been preserved ;
and not only may old manuscript copies of them be seen in
college and other libraries, but printed copies of them (or of
parts of them), may be found in books that are quite accessible
to the public. In such a popular work, for instance, as Clarke's
Commentary on the Bible, many curious and interesting extracts
are given from an old English annotated manuscript psalter,
which, from its archaic phraseology, is evidently of an earlier
date than Wyclif's translation.
stated in his own words only the substance of the precepts inculcated, and the
history recorded by the sacred penmen.”---Baber.
1 The following are curious samples of old translation :—Gen. ii., v. 23, “ Tha
cwaedh Adam, Heo is ban of minuni banum, and flaesc of minum flaesce : beo hire
name Uirago, thaet is faemne.” Aelfric : Mark i. v. 6, “And Jhone was kladde
wir heris of cameyls, and a gerdel of askyne aboute his lendis, and he ete
honysokyls and honye of ye wood ; and he prechyde seyande, a stallworthier yane
I shal come aftr me, of whom I am not worthe downfallande or knelande to louse
ye thonges of his chawcers.”—Gloss on St. Mark about 1350.
2 A comparison of the 23rd Psalm in this old Psalter, and in Rolle's Psalter,
indicates that Dr. Clarke's manuscript is either a copy of Rolle's translation or a
very slight amendment of it. The second clause of Ps. ciii. v. 5, is in Dr.
Clarke's manuscript rendered
" Newed sal be als of aeren thi youthed,”
and appended to this translation is a curious note explanatory of the way in which
science accounted for the eagle's rejuvenescence. “ The arne (eagle), when he is
greved with grete elde, his neb waxis so gretely, that he may nogt open his mouth
and take mete : bot then he smytes his neb to the stane, and has away the slogh,
and than he gaes til mete, and he commes yong agayne.”
4
Bibles of England.
In saying that an English translation of the Bible was in, or
about, 1380 published by Wyclif, a word of explanation must
be added. At the present day the publication of a book
means the printing and issuing for public sale of a large
number of copies. In the days of Wyclif there was no
printing Books were all hand-written, and copies of books
were transcribed, singly and separately, as occasion required.
But although it was with so much labour that copies of Wyclif's
Bible were produced, it is certain that soon after its publication,
a goodly number of copies was issued and disposed of. It is
commonly alleged that 170 copies, written previous to 1430,
are still in existence. It is not unlikely, too, that transcripts
of parts, as well as of the whole, of the Bible were made and
sold. In Dr. Clarke's Commentary there is inserted, as a great
curiosity, a translation of the Book of Canticles, or Song of
Solomon, from a manuscript of the 14th century; and this
fragment has now been identified as part of the first edition of
Wyclif's Bible.
For more reasons than one, it may be said that, in Wyclif's
day, the time had come for the English people to have a Bible
in their own language. The people of other countries had that
privilege. In a speech attributed to
“Old John of Gaunt, time honoured Lancaster,"
there was a demand expressed, therefore, that in a matter of
such high concern, England should be abreast of her neigh-
bours. “We will not be the dregs of all,” shouted the speaker,
"seeing other nations have the law of God, which is the law of
our faith, written in their tongue." To the same effect, John
Purvey wrote in his prologue to the revised edition of Wyclif's
Bible, 1388:"Freenshe men, Beemers and Britons (i.e., Belgians
and Normans) han the Bible
translatid in here modir
language: whi shulden not English men have the same in here
modir language, I can not wite.” It was the controversies,
however, which Wyclif had with the Romish Church, that were
the immediate occasion of his publishing the Bible in English.
In those days, corruption had reached its climax in the Church
of Rome. The cup of scandal and iniquity was full. There
The Lollards Bible.
5
was corruption in doctrine, corruption in ritual, corruption in
discipline, and enormous corruption in the patronage of Church
livings. At many of the things he saw and heard in the
Church, Wyclif was scandalised and shocked. For thirty years
he was a trenchant and vehement assailant of ecclesiastical
abuses. With voice and pen, he laboured incessantly to effect
a Reform in the Church. He derided the doctrine of transub-
stantiation, ridiculed the worship of images, denounced the sale
of indulgences, scoffed at pilgrimages, and had the hardihood
not only to call the Pope Anti-Christ, but to accuse his holiness
of being “the most cursed of clippers and purse-kervers.” And
maintaining, as he did, that the doctrines and practices he
assailed had no warrant nor foundation in Scripture, Wyclif
said that the surest way to put an end to ecclesiastical super-
stition and presumption was to acquaint the people with the
Bible. He resolved, therefore, to publish the Bible for the
people in their mother tongue. That, he concluded, would be
the true cure for corruption, and would give to the men of
England what John the Baptist was appointed to teach the
palsied nation of Israel—"the science of health.” 1
It need scarcely be said that it is from the original tongues
in which it was written that the Bible should be translated.
That would be going to the fountain head. But, in the days
of Wyclif, there was not in all England scholarship enough for
such an achievement. Instead, therefore, of translating the
Old Testament from its original Hebrew, and the New Testa- -
ment from its original Greek, Wyclif was content to give to his
countrymen a translation of the Vulgate, that is of the Latin
version of the Bible, which was virtually accepted in the
Church of Rome as the true canonical Scriptures. How Tong
he was actually engaged in the work of translation cannot be
confidently stated. It is generally admitted that in 1378 he
had commenced his work, and the date commonly assigned to
its completion is 1380.
Although it is customary to say that Wyclif gave to his
1 Wyclif may be said to have anticipated a modern phrase by rendering "know-
ledge of salvation ” (Luke, i. 77) "the science of health,”
6
Bibles of England.
countrymen an English version of the entire Bible, we are not
to suppose that all the translation was his own work. He had
a collaborateur, in the person of Nicholas de Hereford, who
translated the Old Testament from Genesis to the middle of
Baruch. The remainder of the Old Testament (from Ezekiel
to Malachi), and the whole of the New Testament, are believed
to have been rendered into English by Wyclif personally.
That Wyclif's Bible, in its first form, was a work of much
merit, and that it supplied a great want in England, is
universally conceded; but it had many imperfections never-
theless. Probably no one was more alive to that fact than
Wyclif himself, and we may presume that if he had lived a
few years longer, in health and strength, he would have issued
a new and a revised edition, with corrections and amendments.
But he was denied the opportunity. In 1379, he had a stroke
of paralysis; and in 1384, he died. After his death, however,
there rose up in England another anti-papalist of eminent
scholarship. This was John Purvey," who set himself to the
task of revising Wyclif's translation, and, in (or about) 1388,
gave to the world the fruits of his labours. All critics concur
in according to Purvey's revisionvery high commendation.
1 In some books, e.g., “Mombert's English Versions of the Bible," he is called
Richard Purvey.
2 In the translation of poetical passages, such as the Psalms, Purvey was less
stately in his diction than Hereford. The latter made large use of “congenial
inversions” in the structure of his sentences, which Purvey, in his revision,
discarded. Some people will probably consider Hereford's taste in this matter
more correct than Purvey's. The following passage will illustrate the respective
styles of the two men, in the rendering of poetical pieces :-
HEREFORD.
Purvey.
Psalm ciii., 7-10.--Knowen he made Psalm ciïi., 7-10.-He made hise
his weies to Moises, and to the sones of weies knowun to Moises : hise willis to
Jacob his willis. Reewere and merciful the sones of Israel. The Lord is a
the Lord, long abidende and myche merciful doer, and merciful in wille :
merciful. In to evermore he shal not long abidinge and myche merciful. He
wrathen, ne in to withoute end he shal schal not be wrooth with-outen ende :
threte. Aftir our synnes he dide not to and he schal not thretne with-outen ende.
us, ne aſtir oure wickednessis he zelde He dide not to us aſtir oure synnes :
to us,
nether he zeldide to us aſtir oure
wickednessis,
The Lollard's' Bible,
7
As a piece of scholastic workmanship, it is characterised by
great carefulness. It was prefaced, also, by a long and an
interesting prologue, explaining the principles on which “the
simple creature" proceeded in his revision, and shewing the
pains he was at to make the translation as good as loving
labour could. “With comune charite to saue alle men in our
rewme (realm), which God wole haue sauid, a symple creature,”
he said, “ hath translated the bible out of Latyn into English.
First, this symple creature hadde myche travaile, with diuerse
felawis and helperis, to gedere manie elde biblis, and othere
doctouris, and comune glosis, and to make oo Latyn bible
sumdel trewe : thanne to studie it of the newe, the text with
the glose and othere doctouris, as he might gete :
the
thridde tyme to counseile with elde gramariens and elde
dyuynes, of harde wordis and hard sentencis, hou tho mighten
best be understonden and translatid : the fourth tyme to
translate as cleerli as he coude to the sentence, and to haue
manie gode felawis and kunnynge at the correcting of the
translacioun."
As a matter of course, when Wyclif quarrelled with the
ecclesiastical powers he had to reckon with his host. Both at
home and at Rome he was regarded as a heretic; and although
he did not attain to the honours of martyrdom, he had the
privilege of enduring some persecution.2 . More than once, he
was taken to book for venting erroneous opinions; and on
one occasion the Pope directed the king of England “to
retain the said John in sure custody and in chains." But he
never was actually prevented from going at large ; and he died
in the enjoyment of both his priestly functions and his
i The word gloss is commonly used to signify an explanatory statement. In
early times it was used differently. Glosses, says Dr. Eadie, were interlinear
vernacular translations, “neither free nor yet literal translations, but the inter-
linear insertion of the vernacular, word against word of the original.”—History of
English Bible, Vol. I., p. 14.
2 Both Hereford and Purvey suffered for their opinions also. Hereford was
excommunicated and imprisoned, and seems to have regained his liberty by
renouncing his Lollardism. Purvey was imprisoned in 1390 ; in 1400 he was
frightened into recantation ; and in 1421, having recovered his courage, he was
hrown into prison again.-See Moulton's “ History of the English Bible."
8
Bibles of England.
ecclesiastical benefice. Forty years after his burial, however,
his remains were disinterred by ecclesiastical order ; and, in the
presence of a distinguished assemblage of prelates and priests,
they were burned on the bridge of a stream close by his grave.
And, to make his ignominy complete, his calcined ashes were
disallowed either honoured urn or quiet tomb to rest in, but
were thrown from the bridge, and committed to the current of
the underflowing waters.
After Wyclif's death, his Bible was judicially condemned.
In 1408, a Convocation at Oxford, proceeding on the preamble
that “it is a dangerous thing to translate the Holy Scripture,
it being very difficult in a version to keep close to the sense of
the inspired writers," decreed and ordained that “from hence-
forward no unauthorised person shall translate any part of the
Holy Scripture into English or any other language, under any
forin of book or treatise ; neither shall any such book, treatise,
or version, made either in Wyclif's time or since, be read, either
in whole or in part, publicly or privately, under the penalty of
the greater excommunication, till the said translation shall be
approved either by the bishop of the diocese or a provincial
council, as occasion shall require.”. Considering that, long
before Wyclif's time, there had been many translations of
different parts of the Bible made both in English and in Anglo-
Saxon ; that these translations, before being issued to the
public, had never to pass any official scrutiny; that they were
read, apparently with ecclesiastical approval, and certainly
without ecclesiastical remonstrance, by persons of quality, and
in fact by all people that could read, and could afford to
purchase such costly manuscripts; this decree of the Oxford
Convocation, in 1408, may well excite our astonishment. Its
i Temporal pains seem to have been subsequently added to spiritual anathemas.
Dr. Eadie states that, about 1414, the law inflicted on all Englishmen that were
guilty of reading the Scriptures in their mother tongue the forfeiture of their “land,
catel, lif, and goods from theyr heyres for ever."-"Hist. of English Bible,” Vol. I.,
p. 89.
2
The fact stated hy Archbishop Arundel in his funeral sermon on Anne of
Bohemia, wife of Richard II., that she habitually read the Gospels in the vulgar
tongue, with divers expositions, was probably true of many others of high rank.”
-Smith's “ Dict. of Bible," Article Version authorised, p. 1066.
The Lollards' Bible.
9
rigour is doubtless to be accounted for by the fact that, rightly
or wrongly, the Popish priests imagined that Wyclif's transla-
tion was, by the countenance it seemed to give to un-churchly
doctrines, a dangerous source of heresy and schism. This is
what Sir Thomas More, writing a hundred and fifty years after
Wyclif's death, averred. "The great arch heretike," said that
Catholic apologist, "did, in his translation, purposely corrupt
the holy text; maliciously planting therein such words as
might, in the reader's ears, serve to the proof of such heresies
as he went about to sow; which he not only set forth with his
own translation of the Bible, but also with certain prologues
and glosses which he made thereupon."
It was not till 1850 that English readers had the privilege of
seeing the whole of Wyclif's Bible in print. Portions of it had
been printed and published long before that date. In 1823,
the Song of Solomon, from Wyclif's original version, was
published in Dr. Clarke's “Commentary on the Old Testament.”
The whole of the New Testament, from Purvey's revision, was
published as far back as 1731, and has several times been re-
printed since. And, strange to say, this Wyclifite Testament
was supposed by its successive editors to be the original
version of 1380, instead of the revised version of 1388. Even
in Bagster's "Hexapla” that mistake is made. The first appear-
ance in print of Wyclif's own version of the New Testament
seems to have been in 1848. But in 1850 the whole text of
both versions--the original and the revised-Wyclif's and
Hereford's own, 1380, and Purvey's amended one, 1388—was
published under the editorial care of the Rev. Josiah Forshall
and Sir Frederic Madden. The two versions are there given
side by side, in parallel columns: the older on the left hand
column, and the later on the right hand column of each page.
And not only are both versions printed with great care from
two of the best extant copies in manuscript, but a large
number of different readings found in other manuscripts are
appended in footnotes.
To give the reader some idea of the alterations made by Pur-
vey on Wyclif and Hereford's version of the Bible, one or two
sentences, printed in parallel columns, shall here be cited from
B
10
Bibles of England.
the original (1380) and the revised (1388) versions respectively.
And, as the later version of the New Testament had long been
mistaken for the earlier, it may be premised that one means of
determining the question of priority is furnished in the prologue
prefixed by Purvey to the version of 1388. The true principle
of translation, Purvey says, is "to translate after the sentence,
and not oneli after the wordis, so that the sentence be as open
(or openere) in English as in Latin, and go not fer fro the
lettre : and if the lettre mai not be suid (i.e., followed) in the
translating, let the sentence euere be hool and open.” Many
Latin forms of expression he accordingly thought should be
resolved into their equivalent English forms, even although a
change of grammatical structure should be necessitated. He
would not, for instance, always render a Latin participle by an
English participle, or a relative pronoun in Latin by a relative
pronoun in English. "A participle of a present tens
may be resolved into a verb of the same tens, and a conjunc-
cioun copulatif
. and a relatif may be resolved into his
antecedent with a conjunccioun copulatif.” Purvey's version
of Wyclif's Bible may thus be distinguished from the original
version by its freer rendering of Latin participles and Latin
relatives. To bring out this distinction there shall be given,
in a separate column between the earlier and later renderings,
the corresponding passages from the Vulgate as now com-
monly printed. The words italicised will indicate the dis-
tinctive phraseology of the two versions :
WYCLIF AND HEREFORD,
VULGATE.
PURVEY'S REVISION, 1388
1380.
Acts xxi., v. 2.
And Acts xxi., v. 2.- Et cum Acts xxi., v. 2.-And
whanne we founden a schip invenissemus navem trans- whanne we founden a schip
passinge over into Fenyse, fretantem in Phoenicen, passynge ouer to fenyce we
wi stizynge uf, schippiden ascendentes navigavimus. wenten up into it, and
(or seiliden).*
saileden forth.
v. 5.-And the days ful- V.5.-Et expletis diebus, v. 5.—And whanne the
filled, we goinge forth profecti ibamus, deducenti- dayis weren
wenten, alle men with bus nos omnibus cum uxori- zeden forth, and alle men
wyues and fre children bus et filiis usque foras with wyues and children
ledinge forth us til 10 with- civitatem : et positis geni- ledden forth us withouten
oute the citee; and the bus in littore, oravimus. the citee, and we kneliden
knees putt in the see
in the sea brynke and
brynke, we preieden.
preiden.
Gen. xli., v. 43. —And Gen. xli., v. 43.-Fecit- Gen. xli., v. 43.-And
filled :
we
* The letter z in Wyclif's Bible is either silent or pronounced like y, and u is
often pronounced like v.
The Lollards Bible.
II
currum
suum
coram
eo
I.
made him steyz upon his que eum ascendere super Farao made Joseph to stie
secound chaar, cryinge a
secund- on his secounde chare,
bedel, that alle inen um, clamante praecone, ut while a bidele criede, that
shoulden bifore hym knele, omnes
genu alle men schulden knele
and they shoulden wite flecterent, et praepositum biſore hym, and schulden
hym to be prouest to all esse scirent universae ter- knowe that he was souereyn
the loond of Egypte. rae Aegypti.
of al the lond of Egypt.
Numbers xxiv., v. I. - Num, xxiv., v.
Numbers xxiv., v. 1. —
And whanne Balaam hadde Cumque vidisset Balaam And whanne Balaam siz
seen that he shulde plese quod placeret Domino ut that it pleside the Lord
to the Lord for to bless to benediceret Israel nequa- that he schulde blesse
Ysrael, he wente not as he quam abiit ut ante per- Israel, he gede not as he
wente bifore, for to seke rexerat, ut augurium quae- hadde go bifore, that he
dyuininge, but dressinge reret : sed dirigens contra schulde seke fals dyvynyng,
his chere agens the deseert, desertum vultum suum, et bi chiteryng of briddis, but
and arerynge the eyen, elevans oculos, vidit Israel he dresside his face agens
saw Israel in the tentis in tentoriis commorantem the desert, and reiside izen,
dwellynge bi her lynagis. per tribus suas : et irruente and siz Israel dwellynge in
And the spirit of God in se spiritu Dei, assumpta tentis bi hise lynagis, And
fallynge into hym, takun to parabola, ait,
whanne the spirit of God
a parable, seith,
felde on hym, And whanno
a parable was taken, he
saide,
The above passages shew that both the original version of
the Bible by Wyclif and Hereford, and the version revised by
Purvey are written in very antiquated English. It is not the
oldest form of English, however, but what is technically termed
Middle English.
Even in the later of the two versions, which is the one that
specially claims our consideration, because it was the ultimate
1 In both editions of Wyclif's Bible, notes or explanations are here and there
incorporated with the text, but printed with different type. In the first edition,
few notes are found in the part translated by Hereford, but a considerable number
in the New Testament, which was translated by Wyclif himself. Purvey rather
high-handedly reversed this arrangement, inserting notes where previously there had
been none, and abolishing the notes where they had formerly been. The following
two examples will give the reader a general notion of the nature of the glosses
inserted by Purvey. “ If he cometh to me, that is bi his grace.
Y schal not see
hym : if he goith awey, that is, in withdrawynge his grace. Y schall not undir-
stonde.”-Job, ix., 11. Fatnesse, that is, pride comyng forth of temporal
aboundance, hilide his face, that is, the knowynge of undirstandyng, and outward
fatnesse hangith doun of his sidis.”—Job., xv., 27, The following quotations will
shew on the other hand what kind of glosses in the first edition were expunged from
the second. “Forsothe in the oon of the saboth, that is, of the woke, mary
mawdeleyn cam erly, whanne derknessis weren zit, at the grave. And she syz the
stoon turned azen fro the grave."-John, xx., I. “Therefore god schal sende to
hem a worching of errour, that thei bileue to leesyng, or gabbyng, that all be
demyd, or dampyned, the whiche bileuden to treuthe, but consentiden to wickid-
nesse."
12
Bibles of England.
form that Wyclif's Bible assumed, and it superseded the earlier
edition, the grammatical structure of the language is very
peculiar. Both verbs and nouns are differently inflected from
what they are now. Prepositions are used in unfamiliar senses,
and in strange combinations. Interrogations are indicated in
ways we are not accustomed to; and inexperienced readers are
as much bewildered as amused by the eccentric spelling and
the still more eccentric applications of pronouns. At the
present day most nouns end with s in the plural. A few, how-
ever, such as men, women, children, oxen, have their plural
number indicated by the termination en.' In the days of
Wyclif and Purvey, en was a more common sign of the plural.
In Purvey's version of the Bible we find been for bees; kien for
cows; izen for eyes; and lambven for lambs. And en was a
much more frequent termination of verbs, than of nouns, in the
plural. It was, in fact, the usual termination of verbs that
followed a plural nominative. The verbs did, seide, found, fled,
went, blamed, believed, were all, when attached to a plural
nominative, changed into diden, seiden, founden, fledden, wenten,
blameden, believeden. A passage that exhibits this peculiarity
in the inflexion of verbs very clearly and fully, is the account
by St. Matthew of our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem :
“ The disciplis zeden and didden as Jesus commanded hem, and
thei brouzten an asse and the fole, and leiden her clothis on
hem, and inaden hym sitte aboue, and ful myche puple
streweden her clothis in the way, other kittiden braunchis of
trees, and strewen in the wey, and the puple that wenten before
and that sueden, crieden and seiden, osanna to the sone of
Dauith.” Of frequent occurrence, also, are such verbal
inflexions as the following :-"mai not be undo” (undone);
“hath bore (born a son"; "thei han take (taken) away my
Lord”; “Moses fley” (was afraid); “wolde haue slawe"?
1 In the earlier version of Wyclif's Bible we find kneen for knees (Gen. xxx., V. 3) ;
and, on the other hand, oxis for oxen; “I shall offre to thee oxis with buckis of
geet” (Ps. lxvi., v. 15).
2 Other inflexions similar to fley and slawe may be found in the earlier (1380)
version of Wyclif's Bible. In Isaiah, xliv. 19, we read, “I book (baked) upon his
coles loeues” (loaves), and in 2 Sam., xxii. 8, "smyten and squat” (squeezed).
The Lollard's Bible.
13
“ Have
(slain); “what art thou to doynge ?” (Acts, xxii. 26,—" quid
acturus es?”—(Vulg.) “what are thou going to do?”); “if
thou haddest be (been) here, my brother hadde not be (been)
dead." Very odd, again, appears' to be the sense in which
some of the commonest prepositions are used: “ In the
bigynnynge was the word and the word was at god."
“Dare ony of zou that hath a cause azens another be demed
at wicked men, and not at holi men.”
pacience in me, and I schal zelde to thee alle thingis."
“If we to day be demed in the gode deed of a sike man, in
whom this man is made saaf.”
“In that tyme, ihesus
wente bi cornes in the Saboth dai."
“ The word of
the Lord was sowun bi (throughout) all the countrey."
" It bihofte him to passe bi samarie.”
"Thei schuln
dampne hym bi deeth.”
“ We stonen thee not of gode
werke, but of blasfemy.”
“ This is the werke of god
that ye bileue to hym whom he sente.” Some prepositions,
too, appear to be used interchangeably, and without any regard
to rhythm or reason. In one sentence we read, “thou schalt
loue thi lord god of al thin herte and in al thin soule;” and in
another sentence," whoeuer swerith bi the temple of god it is
nothing, but he that swerith in the gold of the temple is
dettour." In a verse already quoted in this paragraph, it would
be noticed how oddly some of the pronouns are spelt. Their
is uniformly spelt her, and them, hem. We find such combina-
tions, too, as hem silf for themselves, and us silf for ourselves.
1 I only say “ appears to be the sense,” because in almost all the cases referred
to in this and the following sentences, the seemingly odd prepositions used by
Wyclif and Purvey are literal translations of the Latin words in tbe Vulgate :
“The word was at God,” (John, i. I) apud Deum ; “ In the good deed of a sick
man," (Acts, iv.'9) in benefacto hominis infirmi ; “Stone thee not of gode werke,
but of blasphemy,” (John, x. 33) de bono opere non lapidamus te, sed de
blasphemia; “Of all thine heart, and in all thine soul," (Mat., xxii. 37) ex toto
corde tuo, et in tota anima ; etc. In Beza's Latin translation of the New Testa-
ment most of these prepositions are changed. “ Apud Deum” remains; but “in
benefacto hominis” is turned into 66 super beneficio in hominem ; " " de bono
opere," and “ de blasphemia are altered into “ob bonum opus" and “ob
blasphemiam ;” and in Mat., xxii. 37, the preposition
, “ex is continued all
through the sentence.
14
Bibles of England.
But the application of the pronouns is more remarkable. At
the present day there are many anomalies in the use of
pronouns. Sailors, from a feeling of affection to the frail
vessel in which they skim the main, speak endearingly of a
ship or boat as she or her; and west highlanders may
occasionally be heard applying it and itself to a venerated
laird or a respected minister of the gospel. In Wyclif's Bible,
he and it, and him and it, are used very indiscriminately: the
one pronoun in a verse, say, of St. Matthew's Gospel, and the
other in the corresponding verse of St. Mark's or St. Luke's
Gospel. And some applications of pronouns, which in Wyclif's
day were reckoned quite orthodox in the guild of letters, have
a somewhat ludicrous effect now. In St. Matthew's Gospel we
read, "if thy rizt ize sclaundre thee, pull hym out and cast fro
thee
and if thi rizt hond sclaundre thee kitte hym
awey and cast fro thee, for it spedith to thee that oon of thi
membris perische, thanne that al thi bodi go in to helle.” The
gospel of St. John concludes in like manner :-"there ben also
many other thingis that ihesus dide, whiche if thei ben writun
bi eche bi hym silf, I deme that the world hym silf schal not
take tho bokis that ben to be writun."
As might be expected, there occur in both of the Wyclifite
versions many words that are widely different from those we
find in the same passages in our modern translations. In
some instances we meet with words that are now obsolete,
and in other instances we find words whose meaning has under-
gone considerable change. Sometimes proper names are
translated by their English equivalents, and sometimes they
are left untranslated; occasionally ecclesiastical terms of
technical meaning are introduced, as if to furnish Scriptural
authority for certain foregone conclusions.
Of obsolete words the store in both versions of Wyclif's Bible
is inexhaustible. To begin with Purvey's version : a word that
meets our eye in the first chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel is
clepid, which means called or named, and in the course of the
New Testament this word occurs times without number. We
read of "ihesus that is clepid Crist “poul the seruant
of ihesus Crist, clepid an apostle,"
" thilke that he bifor
The Lollards' Bible.
15
ordeyned to bliss, hem he clepid, and whiche he clepid hem he
justified.” For “mill” the word querne is used, as in the
passage, "twein wymmen schulen ben gryndynge in o querne,
oon schal be taken and the tother left." For “ascendeth” we
find stieth; as in the verse,—“No man stieth into heaven but he
that cam doun from heaven." An archaic expression that
stands for “this deceiver” is thilk gilour, and an obsolete
Anglo-Latin substitute for “the river Jordan” is the fluin Jordan.
More than once the expression “ful wood” occurs:—“Two men
metten hym that hadden deuils, and camen out of graves full
wood (exceeding fierce), so that no man might go bi that way."
Poul, thou maddist, many letters turn thee to woodnesse.”
A strange word that we meet with in the parable of the
prodigal son is croude :-“Whanne he (the elder son) cam and
nized to the hous, he herde a symfonye and a croude.” This
does not mean that along with the players on instruments
there was a roaring rabble at the house. The croude was a
kind of guitar or violin, or rather a combination of both, with
four bow strings and two thumb strings. Another word that
has long passed out of Queen's English is birle, in the sense
of “cause to drink ply with drink.” In the authorised
version of the prophecies of Jeremiah we read : “Thus saith
the Lord God of Israel unto me: Take the wine cup of this
fury at my hands, and cause all the nations to whom I send
thee to drink it." The latter clause of this command is con-
cisely and pithily rendered by Purvey “ thou schal birle thereof
to alle hethene men." Another obsolete word in the later
version of Wyclif's Bible is “chepynge,” which means market-
place:-"He seide to hem in his techyng, be ze ware of scribis,
that wolen wandre in stolis (long robes) and be salutid in
chepynge.” And this incidental use of the word wander
suggests another passage, which for its quaintness as well as
the obsoleteness of some of its terms, may well be quoted. It
is the account of the cure of the cripple who sat at the gate of
the temple begging alms :-“In the name of ihesus of nazareth, ,
(said Peter) rise thou up and go : and he took him by the rizt
hond and heued him up, and anoon his leggis and his feet
weren soudid to gidre, and he leppid and sto de and wandrid,
or
16
Bibles of England.
and he entrid with hem in to the temple and wandrid, and
leppid, and heried God.” The common designation now-a-days
of those that devote themselves to the cure of the sick and
infirm is physician, but in the days of Wyclif and Purvey
another word, apt to be misapprehended by modern readers,
was in use. This was leech. We read, accordingly, in one
passage of Purvey's Bible :-"Leche, hele thi silf," and in
another, “hoole men han no nede to a leche, but thei that ben
yuel at ease. This is very primitive diction, but still more
quaint, both in its tenderness and alliteration, is the announce-
ment,-"luk the leche, moost deare, and demas, greet you wel.”
A word that has a place in Wyclif's vocabulary, and still
survives in some of the local dialects of Scotland is shog. It
is not a very refined term, and would be voted out of place in
the House of Commons. It is introduced, however, with con-
siderable effect into the narrative of Christ's walking on the sea :
-"Whanne the euenynge was come he was there (on the hill)
alone, and the boot in the myddil of the see was schoggid 2
with wawis.” Another antiquated expression, very concise, but
not very precise, that we find in Purvey's version is "dalf,3 a
lake." This is what our modern translators with more
regard for details have rendered "digged a place for the
wine fat." Some of the obsolete words in Purvey's Bible
are words whose desuetude is much to be lamented, and others
are words that can be spared, without either loss or regret, from
the vocabulary of living English. For the long, cumbrous ad-
jective, unleavened, we have in Purvey's Bible the neat, tidy
little term therf, as in Luke xxii., v. 1,—“the halidai of the therf
looues, that is seide (called) pask nyzed ;” and in Acts xx., v. 6,
1 The physician did not, because of his penchant for blood-letting, get the cog-
nomen of leech from the reptile, but the reptile got its name of leech from the
physician, because, like him, it healed those that were “yuel at ease.” The
English word leech or leche is derived from the Anglo-Saxon laéce, one who heals.
-Skeat's Dict.
2 Shog is often used as an intransitive verb, in the sense of move off, by English
writers of no great antiquity. More than once it occurs in Shakespeare's play of
Henry V.
“Will you shog off ?
I would have you solus.”—Act 2, scene
I.
3 A literal translation of the words in the Vulgate, “fodit lacum."
The Lollards' Bible.
17
we schippiden aftir the daies of therf looues fro filippis.”
But, on the other hand, the word leaven, suggestive of spiritual
influences, and interesting on that account, is personated in
Purvey's Bible by the vile, realistic compound "sourdough,"so
that we read of "the kyngdom of heuene (being) like to sour-
dough, which a womman took and hid in thre mesuris of mele
til it were al sourid.” A very sorry and unhappy account,
surely, of the effects of Christianity on the world !
A small class of obsolete words found in both editions of
Wyclif's Bible are verbs derived from adjectives. These often
enabled a writer to express his meaning very briefly and
tersely, and sometimes very happily and daintily. The word
nigh, for instance, is often used as a verb in Wyclif's Bible.
“Whanne he nyzed, he siz the cite and wepte on it, and seide,
for if thou haddist knowen thou schuldist wepe also.”—Luke,
xix., 41.
A similar use was made of the words high and low.
“Eche that enhauncith hym schal be lowed, and he that
mekith hym shall be hizid."-Luke, xiv., 11.
The following among other obsolete words will also be found in Purvey's edition
of Wyclif's Bible :-Alie, father-in-law (A. V.)–Exodus, xviii., 5, (ally); aseeth.
contentment or satisfaction.-Mark, xv., 15; arerid, lifted up.–Mark, i., 31 ;
atwynny, asunder.-Acts, xv., 39; biclippid, embraced.-Acts, xx., 10; biggeris,
buyers.--Mark, xi., 15; bouge, bottle.-Ps., Ixxviii., 13; stonen cannes, pitchers.
- John, ii., 6; bie, a necklace. -Prov., i., 9; buriowne, to germinate, “buriowne at
the odour of water and make heer” (hair, foliage). ---Job viii., 9; calue, bald, "a
man whos heed heeris fleter awei is calu and clene.”—Lev., xiii, 40; cardue, thistle.--
2. Kings, xiv., 9; chaffare, trade.—Luke, xix., 13; colle, embrace, “tyme to colle,
and tyme to be far fro collyngis.”—Eccles., iii. 5; critouns, “refuse of frying pan.'
Skeat,-Ps., cii., 3; cosynes, kinsmen.-Acts, X., 24 ; clerenesse, praise or honour.
-John, V., 41 ; cacchepollis, serjeants.--Acts, xvi., 35; culuer, dove.-John, i.,
32 ; coddis, husks.—Luke, xv., 16; cracche, manger. --Luke, ii., 7 ; deidli men,
mortal.-Acts, xiv. 15; disciplesse, a woman that believed in Jesus Christ, -Acts,
ix., 36 ; fardels, baggage.-1 Sam., xvii,, 22; felli, craftily, “thei thouzten felli."
Josh., ix., 4; fonned, foolish.--I Cor., i., 20; grees, stairs.-Acts, xxi., 40;
hoose, hoarse, "my cheekis weren maad hoose.”—Ps., lxix., 3; irchons, hedgehogs.
:-Ps., civ., 18; jewlich, as the Jews.-Gal., ii., 14 ; lesewis, pasture. --John, X.,
9; male ese, sickness. -Mat. iv., 24; mynutis, mites.—Mark, xii., 42 ; moistide,
watered.—1 Cor., iii., 6; mysturne, pervert.-Gal., i., 7; neisch, soft or slack,
(mollis, Vulgate) “he that is neisch and unstedfast in his werk.”—Prov., xviii.; 9;
peyned, punished.----Acts, xxii., 5; purpuresse, woman that sells purple. --Acts,
xvi., 14; rue, repent, “ The Lord swoor and it schal not rewe him.--Heb., vii.,
21; snapere, to stumble.-Prov., iii., 23 ; seyn, pleasant or agreeable. --Acts, xv.,
28; sege, seat or throne.--Mat., XXV., 31 ; soler, upper room.--Acts, i., 13 ; sopun,
.
с
18
Bibles of England.
swallowed.-1 Cor., xv., 54 ; sort, lot.-Acts, viii., 21; souking fere, foster
brother.--Acts, xiii., I ; sweuenes, dreams, -Acts, ii., 17; good thewis, good
manners or resolutions.—I Cor., XV., 33; thirsten, press or throng.–Mark, iii., 9;
tristili, boldly.-Acts, xviii., 26 ; unbileful, incredible.--Acts, xxvi., 8; unconuen-
able, profane.—1 Tim., iv.. 7; underfongen, received.-Gal., i., 9; ver, cup or
glass.—Prov., xxiii., 31; yrene, spider, “His trist schal be as a web of yrene."
Job viii., 14.
Most of the foregoing obsolete words, which are taken from
Purvey's edition of Wyclif's Bible, are doubtless to be found in
the earlier version also, although not always in the same book
and chapter. For instance, where we read in the later version,
'chaffare ye till I come,” we read in the earlier, “merchaundise
ye till I come."
Instead of being called “the alie,” Jethro, in
the earlier version, is designated the "cosyne" of Moses. Most
of the obsolete words, however, that have been quoted in the
foregoing paragraphs, from the later version of Wyclif's Bible,
will be found somewhere in the earlier version. And there
are many very antiquated words in the first version which do
not appear in the corresponding passages of the second. An
expression that may often be heard at the present day, and
which probably is used by many people who are ignorant of
its meaning, is scot free. It is perhaps not necessary to say
that
scot in this connection has nothing to do with Scotsman, but
there are probably some persons who reckon themselves not ill-
educated, that need to be told it means assessment or contribu-
tion. In olden times, when people sat together in a tavern,
they had to give their scot to the reckoning. And in this sense
the word is used in the earlier version of Wyclif's Bible. I
“Thei tendende to drinkis, and zivende scot shul ben wastid.”
Another word that may still be heard, where slang is spoken,
is buffer. What its precise import is in modern speech need
not be discussed, but it doubtless conveys a vague idea of re-
proach and contempt. Although, however, it is only in degen-
erate speech that the word is heard now, it had once a place in
the English Bible. Its ancient meaning was stutterer or stam-
merer, and it occurs in the earlier of the Wyclif versions, at the
fourth verse of the thirty-second chapter of Isaiah:-“The tunge
of bufferes swiftli shal speke.” A quaintly expressed verse in
2 In later version, “zyuynge mussels togedre," (giving morsels together).
The Lollards' Bible.
19
Hereford's translation is 2 Sam, xiv. 26%" The more that he
(Absolom) doddied the heeris, so mych more thei wexen, for-
sothe onys in the year he was doddied, for the heere heuyde
hym.” Very graphic and plain-spoken, too, although some-
what coarse, is the title that Hereford bestows on enchanters,
and persons of a kindred order, “ deuel-cleperes," or invokers of
Satan. Two things he represents the prophets to say shall
come on the destroyers of Israel, in one moment--widowhood
and loss of children—“They shall come upon thee, O Babylon
and Chaldea, for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for 'the
huge hardness of thi deuel-cleperes,'”—Is., xlvii., 9. And
speaking of coarse, or so-called coarse expressions, it may here
be remarked that while indirect and allusive language is one
of the forms in which modern refinement displays its delicacy
of feeling, that art does not seem to have been mastered, if
even studied, by Wyclif and Hereford. These reformers spoke
bluntly, and called things by their proper names. And we
may be quite certain that their moral and religious sentiments
were as pure and exalted as are those of men who now talk
with greater excellency of speech and wisdom.
Among other obsolete words in the earlier version of Wyclif's Bible, the
following may be mentioned :-amyte, vesture.—Heb., i., 12; armaries, chronicles.
Ezra, iv., 15; biys, white silk.--Luke, xvi., 19; bob, to jeer, “I am afraid of the
Jews
lest
thei bobbe to me."--Jer. xxxviii., 19; bugle, a wild
ox.—Deut., xiv., 5; childide, brought forth a child, “she childide her firste born
sone.”—Luke, ii., 7; cleen, hoofs or heels, “bitynge the cleen of an hors.”-
Gen., xlix., 17; crockere, potter.-Ps., ii., 9; costrils, vessels for holding water. -
Ruth, ii., 9; croote, what Purvey terms critouns.--Ps., cii., 3; cultre, knife, “set
a cultre in thi throte.”—Prov., xxiii., 2; dymes, tenths or tythes.—Gen., xiv., 20;
eggiden, provoked.-Deut., xxxii., 16; em, uncle's son (A. V.), “ananeel the sone
of em.”—Jer., xxxii., 9 ; festu, a small piece of wood. a twig, “ seest thou a
festu in the eize of thi brother.”—Mat. vii., 3 ; flotereth, “flotereth and wagereth,”
rock and stagger.—Is., xxix., 9; fulfattid, fulgresid, fat and gross, (incrassatus,
impinguatus, Vulg.)—Deut., xxxii., 15; garringe, chiding, “garringe to us with
yuale wordis.--3 John, 10; gab, “ before God I lie not, or gabbe not.”—Gal.
i., 20; keetling, whelp, “Dan, keetling of a lyon.
Dan, keetling of a lyon.”—Deut., xxxiii., 22 ; loute,
bow down.-Gen., xxxvii., 7; obite, death.-Gen., xxvi., II; oker, give on loan
for interest," he shal oker to thee.”—Deut., xxviii., 44 ; plaag, district, “the
myn
1 One sentence of even more than Doric plainness in the earlier version of Wyclif
is i Samuel, v., 9:--"He smoot the men of ech cytee fro litil unto more, and the
arsroppis of hem goynge out stonken: and gethey wenten into counseil and maden
to hem letheran seetis."
20
Bibles of England.
eest plage of Eden.”—Gen., iv., 16; poos, peacocks.----2 Chron., ix., 21; route:h,
snoreth, (stertit, Vulg., snorteth, Donay Bible) “ he that 'routeth in somer' is a
son of confusion.”—Prov., X., 5; raskeyl, the common people, "of the puple :
seuenti men, and fifti thousandis of the raskeyl,” (porail, Purvey)—1 Sam., vi., 19;
sparlyvers, calves of legs. -Deut., xxviii., 35; stellion, “a stellion, that is, a
werme depeynted as with sterris.”—Lev., xi., 30 ; stithie, an anvil, “streyned as
the stithie of an hamer betere."--Job., xli., 24; twisil, double, “the mouth of the
twisil tunge I wlate.”—Prov,, viii., 13; tretable, (ad tractabilem montem, et
accensibilem igneum, Vulgate), “ze han not come to the tretable fyer.”-Heb.,
xii., 18; walkere, fuller.—Mark, ix., 3 ; withies, willows, (seven green withs.-
Judges, xvi., 7, A. V.), "In withies in the myddes of it, wee heengen up our
instrumens. ”—Ps. cxxxvii., 2; wonyng, habitation, “ cite of wonyng."-Ps., cvii.,
7; warnysshit, protected (munitum, Vulg.)-2 Samuel, xxiii., 5.
Of words not strictly obsolete, but used in an obsolete sense,
many interesting examples might, without difficulty, be culled
from both versions of Wyclif's Bible. Confining ourselves in
the mean time to the later of the two versions, we find the word
chimney, which in modern parlance means the flue or vent of a
fire place, used by Purvey for furnace :-“In the endynge of
the world, aungelis schulen goen out, and schulen departen
yuel men fro the myddil of just men, and schulen sende hem
in to the chymeney of fier." It will be seen, too, that in the
sentence just quoted the word departen is used in the peculiar
sense of separate or divide. This is a very common usage
in Wyclif's Bible :-" Eche kyngdom departid azens itself
schal be desolat, and eche citie or hous departid azens itsilf
schal not stonde." And so also the word
«
is
used, not in the sense of shun or evade, but in the
sense of make void or destroy :-“ It is good to me,”
Paul writes," rather to die thanne that ony man avoid
my glorie.” The word “defamed,” which at the present day
means slandered or reviled, is by Purvey employed in the
harmless sense of published or proclaimed :-"Se ye" (said
Jesus) "that no man wite; but thei zeden out and defameden
hym thoruz all that land." This untoward generation is, in like
manner, strangely described as “this schrewid generacioun":
unlearned and ignorant men are termed “unlettered and lewid
men": nations are designated folks; Bethany, the town of
avoid
I The word rendered “puple" is in the Vulgate, populus, and the word rendered
“raskeyl” or “ porail” is plebs.
The Lollards' Bible,
21
Mary and her sister Martha, is dignified into “bethanie, the
castel of marie and martha": and the fields into which the
prodigal son was sent to feed swine are called a town. The
word "sad," again, is used repeatedly in the sense of strong or
sure, as in the verses :-"We sadder men owen to susteyne the
feblenesse of sike men”: and—“We han a sadder word of
profecie.” The adverb " rather" occurs as the comparative of
an old adjective rathe, which meaut early or soon, as in the
statement: "If the world hatith you, wite ye that it hadde me
in hate rather thanne zou." And so, also, the composite term
"fulfilled” is, with a somewhat odd effect, substituted for
"filled full," as in the oft-quoted verse: “Eche man settith first
good wyne, and whanne men ben fulfilled, thanne that that is
worse.” Another word frequently used in an odd connection is
“science," in the sense of knowledge ; as in Luke i. 77—“the
science of helth," instead of "the knowledge of salvation"; and
in Eph. iii. 19—"the charite of Crist more excellent thanne
science," instead of "the love of Christ which passeth know-
ledge.” In several places again, where in modern translations
of the Bible the term goods occurs, the word "catel" appears in
Wyclif's version ; as in Luke xv. 11-12—"a manne hadde tweie
sones, and the yunger of hem seide to the fadir, fadir geve me
the porscioun of catel that falleth to me, and he departid to
hem the catel ;” and in Luke viii. 43—"a womman hadde
a fluxe of blood twelve yeer, and had spendid al her catel in
leechis, and she myght not be curid of ony." Incurable disease
is, of course, suggestive of death; and closely associated to us
with death is coffin. This is a word by which Englishmen at
the present day mean and signify the chest in which a corpse
is enclosed and conveyed to burial. Etymologically, however,
it simply means a basket; and in this sense it occurs more
than once in the later version of Wyclif's Bible. In the
account of the miracle of the loaves and fishes, as related in the
fourteenth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, it is said that “alle
eten and weren fulfilled, and thei token the relefis of brokun
I "He turnede awei his bak fro birthens : hise hondis serueden in a coffyn.” Ps.
lxxxi. 6—"had served in baskets "-Douay Bible ; were freed from the basket"
-Revised Version, 1885.
22
Bibles of England.
gobeitis twelve cofyns ful.” But, although coffins were baskets,
all baskets were not coffins. In the Greek language there are
two words for basket, kophinos and spuris. In the Latin
Vulgate these words are translated respectively cophinus and
sporta ; and these Latin words are by Wyclif and Purvy
rendered in English coffin and lepe. Strange to say, kophinos is
the name given by all the evangelists to the baskets that were
filled after the feeding of the five thousand men ; and spuris to
the baskets that were filled after the feeding of the four
thousand. In Purvey's version of Wyclif's Bible, we, therefore,
read, Mat. xvi. 9-10,—“Undirstonden not ze nether han
mynde of fyue loues in to fyue thousand of men, and hou many
cofyns ze token. Nether of seuene looues in foure thousand of
men, and hou many lepus ze token?” In the hasty and secret
deposition of St. Paul from the wall of Damascus, it was a
spuris, and not a kophinos that was employed; and he is said,
therefore, to have been let down “in a lepe.” One other word
of which a very curious use is made by Wyclif and Purvey, and,
it may be added, by Tyndale and Coverdale, also, is the word
minister. In Scotland, the common ecclesiastical meaning of
“minister” is priest or pastor ; and although Scots ministers
have ever, since the days of Knox and Melville, laid claim to
the exclusive power of what are termed the keys, the innocent
public never surmised that it was the keys of the jail they
insisted on wearing at their belts. To the simple reader,
Wyclif and Purvey may seem to throw doubt on this matter,
for in their version of the Sermon on the Mount it is said :
"Be thou consentynge to thin adversarie sone, while thou art
in the weye with hym, leest perauenture thin adversarie take
thee to the domesman, and the domesman take the to the
mynystre, and thou be sent into prisoun."
The following are a few more of the words used by Purvey in an obsolete sense :
abood, waited for, “he abood the rewme of God”—Mark xv. 43 ; borde, bank,
,
(which etymologically is bench), as in the parable of the talent, “why hast thou
not zouun my money to the borde, and I comynge schulde haue axed it with usuris
-Luke xix. 23; briggid, shortened, “the lord schal make a word briggid on alle
the erthe." —Rom. ix. 28; disese, care, “ disese of the world
entrith and
stranglith the word.”—Mark iv. 19; duyk, governor, Mat. ii. 6 ; feteh, fix, “in
his hondis the fetching of tha nailis.”—John xx. 25; foond, maintained or supported,
.
The Lollards' Bible.
23
“resceyued us bi thre dayes benyngli and foond us.”-Acts xxviii. 7; knighthood,
host (militiae, Lat. Vulg.) “serue to the knyzhthood of heuene.”—Acts vii. 42;
medelid, mingled, --Mark xv. 23 ; mysels, lepers,—Mat. x. 8; ostler, innkeeper,
" he brouzte forth tweie pens and zaf to the ostler, and seide, haue the cure of hym.”
Luke x. 35; profession, census or taxing. “alle men wenten to make profession
eche into his owne citee.”—Luke ii. 3 ; sermon, treatise, “first I made a sermoun
of alle thingis that ihesus began to do and to teche.”-Acts i. I ; studyes (studia,
Vulgate) ways or works, “telle ye hise studyes among hethen men.”—Ps. ix. II;
wed, pledge, --Job. xxii. 6; worschip, honour, "my fadir schal worschip hym.”-
Johu xii. 26.
From the earlier edition of Wyclif's Bible other instances of
familiar words used in senses that are now obselete might with
little difficulty be selected. The word fable, for instance, is
generally considered to mean a story without any foundation
in fact. But this is more than it means etymologically. The
word literally signifies a spoken narrative, and in that original
sense it is used in the first version of Wyclif's Bible. In our
Church Testaments, we are accustomed to read, Luke xxiv. 15,
--“it came to pass, that, while they communed together." In
the Vulgate, from which Wyclif made his translation, this is
latinised, "factum est, dum fabularentur," which Wyclif renders,
“it was don the while thei talkiden or fableden.” The word
comfort is a word that at the present day is largely used as a
verb, both in religious writings and in religious speeches;
and, when so used, it invariably means to cheer
console. It is derived, however, from the same root as
force, and it literally signifies to strengthen.
passages where the word strengthen occurs in modern
English Bibles (as in Luke i. 80, Acts ix. 19, Phil. iv. 13,
Col. i. 11, 2 Tim. iv. 17), confortare is the corresponding term
in the Latin Vulgate ; and confortare is usually in Wyclif's
Bible and Purvey's revision rendered by its English derivative
comfort. We read, for instance, Luke i. 80, "the child wexed
and was counfortid in spirit;" Acts ix. 19, “whanne he hadde
take mete he was counfortid;" Phil. iv. 13," I may alle thingis
in hym that counfortith me.” But, in the earlier edition of
Wyclif's Bible the word comfort is used in a much more
remarkable connection than any of those now instanced. It is
said, in our authorised version of the Scriptures, Isaiah xli. 6-7
_"They helped every one his neighbour ; and every one said
or
In many
24
Bibles of England.
to his brother, Be of good courage.
So the carpenter
encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the
hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the
sodering; and he fastened it with nails that it should not be
moved." Barring one clause, which is changed and made more
relevant to the context in the Revised Version, 1885, this
statement is very simply and clearly expressed. But the verse
as originally rendered by Wyclif presents difficulties of inter-
pretation that to plain English readers might seem well nigh
insurmountable : “Eche to his nezhebore shal helpen, and to
his brother seyn, Tac counfourt. Counforten shal the metal
smyth smytende him with an hamer that forgede that tyme,
seiende to the glyu, It is good : and he counfortide hym with
nailes that it shulde not be moved.” I The word “stable,"
again, is a word that by long usage has been restricted to a
house for horses. In the Latin language, stabulum generally
bears the same meaning, but is sometimes used for an inn, or a
place of entertainment for travellers. In the Vulgate, stabulum
occurs in Luke x. 34, and stabularius in the verse following ;
and in the Rhemes Testament these words are rendered
respectively inn and host; while in Purvey's edition of Wyclif's
Bible they are translated ostrie and ostler. But in the original
version of Wyclif's Bible they are rendered stable and kepere of
the stable; and the passage reads-" He puttynge on his hors
ledde in to a stable, and dide the cure of hym. And another
day he brouzte forth twey pens, and zaf to the kepere of the
stable, and seide, Have thou the cure of him.”
The following are also curious examples of common words used in a sense that is
now obsolete. Cristendon, baptism, “buried with him bi cristendom in to deeth,"
Rom. vi. 4; side, long, thei nakiden hym the side coote to the hele," Gen.
xxxvii. 23; waardropis, privies (Purvey), jakes (Douay), draught house (Authorised),
2nd Kings X. 27.
1 How literally Wyclif in this instance translated will be seen from the words in
the Latin Vulgate, which are, “Unusquisque proximo suo auxiliabitur, et fratri
suo dicet : confortare. Confortavit faber aerarius percutiens malleo eum, qui
cudebat tunc temporis, dicens : Glutino bonum est : et confortavit eum clavis, ut
non moveretur.”
The word cure, as used by Wyclif in this passage, is the representative of cura
in the Vulgate, and means care, not restoration to health.
2
The Lollard's Bible.
25
In Wyclif's Bible there is also to be found a large number of
Saxon compounds, which have now gone out of date, and have
for the most part been supplanted by words of Latin origin.
The usual designation of husbandman, for instance, is erthe
tilier; the term applied, Ex. xxi. 29 (first edition), to an ox
that is “wont to push with his horn," is horn-putter; and in at
least one verse, Gen. iii. 14, cattle are described by the curious
phrase "soul-hauers," possessors of souls. We might possibly,
or probably, commit a mistake, however, if we inferred from
this incidental expression that Wyclif or Hereford believed that
the lower animals have souls the same as human beings. The
word in the Vulgate which they have translated soul hauers is
animantia, which, strictly speaking, means things with life,
and thus what we call "life" Hereford called "soul." Very
many combinations are made by Wyclif and his coadjutors
with the prefix azen (back, against); as, azenbier, redeem-
ing; azenrysynge, resurrection; azenclepe, recall; azenbowid,
recurved ; azenfrusshiden, became stiff; azenseie, contradict;
azenstood, resisted. The preface bi is much used, also, in
the formation of compound terms; as in biclippe, to embrace;
bihete, to promise ; bimowe, to mock; bisprenge, to sprinkle ;
bispete, to spit upon; bi se, to look to; biweep, to weep for;
bithenke, to meditate. Under is employed, too, in a similar
way; so that we have underputtiden, laid down or laid under;
underfongen, received; underloute, bent under or subjected ;
undertakere, support. One prefix whose meaning might be
misunderstood by an inexperienced reader is to; as in the
words, to-draw, pull in pieces; to-bite, gnaw in pieces; to-stere,
move all together. Quaint uses are made of un; as, “it is
sowun in unnobley," I Cor. xv. 43, and “whanne this deedli
thing schal clothe undeedlynesse thanne schal the word be don
that is writun, deeth is sopun up in victorie.":
I Cor. xv. 54.
1 The following are curious applications of some of the above-mentioned com-
pound terms: “Azenclepe thou not me in the myddil of my daies,” Ps. cii. 25 ;
“ Alle the dwellers of Chanaan azenfrusshiden for ferde,” Ex. xv. 15 (first edition);
“I am giltles of the blood of this rightful man, bi se you,” Mat. xxvii. 24 ; “Thei
smyten his heed with a rehed (reed) and bispatten hym," Mark xv. 19; 6. I schal
sey to God, Myn undertakere thou art," Ps. xl. ii. 9. Another prefix used in
26
Bibles of England.
Translators, as might be expected, are sometimes at a loss
whether to treat a word as a proper name and present it to
their readers in the form in which it appears in the original
tongue, or to give its equivalent in English, as if it were a
common term. A very notable instance of this dubiety may
be found in the authorised and revised renderings of Judges
xv. 19. In the authorised translation the verse reads :—“God
clave an hollow place that was in the jaw (presumably of the
ass) and water then came thereout.” The statement in the
revised translation is:-"God clave an hollow place that was in
Lehi," that is, in the field or district called Lehi. And so, for
“Solomon” and “Baalhamon,” Song vii. 2., we find in the first
edition of Wyclif's Bible, peaceable and populous :—"vyne sche
was to pesyble in hir that hath peplis." In Purvey's revision, too, ,
there are many instances of words' being translated, which in
other English versions are left untranslated. The line, “In
Salem also is his tabernacle”—Ps lxxvi. 2.—is rendered,
place is made in pees”; “I will mete out the valley of
Succoth"--Ps. cviii. 7.—"I schal mete the grete valei of Taber-
naclis”; “Over Philistia will I triumph"-Ps. cviii. 9.—"Aliens
been maad frendis to me"; and, “In Rama was there a voice
heard”—Mat. ii. 18.—“A voyce was herd on hiz."' So also,
for “Simeon that was called Niger"-Acts xiii. 1.-we find
“Symount that was clepid blak”: for," driven up and down in
Adria”-Acts xxvii. 27.—"seilinge in the stony see”: for,
"whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca"--Mat. v. 22.--"he
that seith to his brother, fy.” On the other hand, several words
that are Englished in our church bibles are even in the late
edition of Wyclif's version left untranslated. For “cursed,"
Job xxxiv. 18., we read apostata ; for “governor of the feast,”
« his
"I
Wyclif's Bible is for, as in for-do, to destroy (dissolvo, Vulgate); and for-think, to
repent or change mind : “Eche spirit that for doith ihesus is not of God," 1 John,
iv. 3 ; “ Afterwarde he for thouzt and wente forth," Mat. xxi. 29.
1 In some of those cases, Wyclif and Purvey, while appearing to have translated
proper names, have only Englished words that are given in the Vulgate as common
terms. These mistakes in the Vulgate, for they are obviously mistakes, are for the
most part corrected in the Latin translations of the Bible issued during the progress
of the Reformation.
The Lollards' Bible,
27
John ii. 9., architriclyn; for "feast of tabernacles," John vii. 2,
senofegia; for “place that is called the pavement,” place that is
seid licostratos (Lithostrotos, Vulgate): and for “street that is
called straight,” Acts ix. II., street that is clepid Rectus. This
last instance of non-translation is a little remarkable. Rectus
is not the name given to street in the Greek Testament, but
the Latin translation of that name; so that in treating Rectus
as a proper noun which was not to be Englished, Wyclif and
Purvey unconsciously contravened the example set by St.
Jerome. Had Wyclif translated from the original Greek, and
not from the Latin Vulgate, he would not have said a street
that is clepid Rectus, but a street that is clepid Eutheia.
There are certain technical terms so frequently used by
ecclesiastical writers, and so much founded on for support of
high doctrines, that we should expect to find them figure
largely in Scripture ; and we should naturally like to hear
what Scripture has to say about them. There is the word
clergy, for instance, as commonly used to designate the pastors
of congregations, or "the stewards of the mysteries of God."
This term has never been received into the ecclesiastical
vocabulary of any of the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland.
James Melville said it smelled of Papistry ; George Gillespie
averred it to be " full of pride and vain glory”; and in such a
modern, prosaic book as “Cook's Styles of Writs "it is declared to
be "unpresbyterian." And it is a somewhat notable fact that
the word does not occur anywhere in our authorised English
Bible. But in Wyclif's Bible it will be found. In the exhorta-
tion, I Peter v. 2-3, (“feed the flock of God, which is among
you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint but willingly,
not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords
over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock”), Wyclif
uses the word clergy instead of God's heritage.
“Purueye ye
not,” he translates, “as hauynge lordschip in the clergie." This
looks like a good stone to fling at Popery and Prelacy. But it
does not seem to have been so considered by Catholics them-
selves, for it is given in the Rhemes, or Catholic version of the
Testament, as the proper rendering of St. Peter's meaning In
the Testaments of Tyndale and Cranmer the passage is trans-
28
Bibles of England.
lated, “Se that ze fede Christe's flocke which is among you
not as though ze were lords over the parishes.” The
word in the original Greek which thus seems to be so dis-
cordantly translated is klēros, which means “lot” or “allot-
ment." Heritage may be considered, therefore, quite a
warrantable translation; and so may parish or ministerial
charge, as the office allotted or appointed to a Christian pastor.
In the Latin Vulgate the word used for the Greek klēros is clerus,
which is used by ecclesiastical writers as equivalent to ordo
clericorum (Facciolati Lexicon), or clergy. Wyclif's transla-
tion, therefore, made from the Vulgate, was quite literal ; but,
having regard to the context, most people will probably
consider that the best rendering of the passage is that which is
given in the revised version of the New Testament, 1881.
“ Feed the flock of God which is among you
not as
lording it over the charges allotted to you."
The word clergy is suggestive of priests; although in the
Presbyterian Churches of Scotland there are no officers desig-
nated priests. Those ordained to preach the word and
administer sacraments are termed ministers or pastors. But
both in the Church of Rome and in the Church of England,
priest is the recognised designation of one of the three orders
of clergy. In our authorised version of the Bible, we frequently
meet with the word priest. It is the name given to the
members of the house of Aaron, whose duty it was to serve in
the temple. It is the name given, also, to the ministers of
heathen deities; and all Christians are said to have been
through Christ made kings and priests unto God. The word
in the Greek Testament which is so translated, priest, is hierus.
But, it is remarkable that in the authorised version of the New
Testament the word priest never occurs as the designation of
any officer in the Christian Church. This fact is all the more
wonderful from the circumstance, that the word presbyteros
from which both Presbyter and Priest are derived, occurs fre-
quently in the Greek Testament. But that word is never, in
our authorised version, translated by its English derivative,
priest. It is always rendered by its English equivalent, elder.
We read of “the apostles and elders and brethren,” Acts xv. 23,
The Lollards Bible.
29
instead of the apostles and priests and brethren, and Wyclif
very often uses the word elders or elder men where presbyteroi
appears in the Greek ; as in Rev. iv. 4,—"aboue the trones foure
and twenti elder men sittynge, hilid aboute with whizt clothis,
and in the heedis of hem goldun crownes.” It must be kept
in mind, however, that Wyclif translated from the Latin
Vulgate; and the author of the Vulgate translation, St.
Jerome, rendered the Greek word presbyteroi sometimes one
way and sometimes another. When it meant elders of the city
(that is civil rulers), or senior members of a congregation,
Jerome translated it seniores ; and when it meant officers of the
Church, he gave it the Latin form of presbyteri. When Wyclif,
therefore, found seniores in the Vulgate he translated it elders
or elder men; and when he found presbyteri he translated it
priests. Paul is thus, in Wyclif's Bible, made to say to Titus,
i. 5,—"I lefte thee at Crete that thou
ordeyne preestis
bi citees”; and to Timothy, ist Epis. v. 17,—“the preestis
that ben wel governouris, be thei hadde worthi to double
honour, moost thei that traueilen in worde and techynge." St.
James is, in like manner, represented as writing,—“ If ony of
you is sike, lede ye ynne preestis of the chirche, and preie thei
for hym, and anoynte with oile in the name of the Lord.” I
And every one will see the bearing of these translations on
sundry questions that have been subjects of ecclesiastical
controversy. A semblance of authority, is found for priestly
unction in certain cases; and for double honour to those
priests, of whom Wyclif was one, that not only read the prayers
of the Church in public, and ministered sacraments, but
preached the word and taught the people knowledge.
Other ecclesiastical terms that we might be curious to know
how Wyclif used are Church, Sacrament, Penance, and Con-
version. The first-mentioned of these, church, is of frequent
1 On the principle, apparently, that the Levites of old stood to the Jewish priests
in much the same relationship as Deacons stand to priests in the Christian Church,
Wyclif has in some places translated levitae, fn the Vulgate, deacons : “This is the
witnessynge of joon whanne jewis senten fro jerusalem preestis and dekenes to hym.”
John i. 19; “ It bifelle that a preest cam doun the same weie
dekene.”—Luke X. 31-32.
also a
30
Bibles of England.
occurrence in the authorised version of the English Bible. It
is the translation given, in certain places, to ecclesia, which
means an assembly or congregation. But it is not always in
the authorised version given as the translation of that word.
Etymologically, it means pertaining to the Lord ; and it is
used, therefore, as a rendering of ecclesia, only in cases where
ecclesia refers to a congregation of Christians. Wyclif was not
so particular in that matter. He translated ecclesia “Church,"
even although the ecclesia referred to was not a Christian
gathering. The "congregation of evil doers,” Ps. xxvi. 5, is
styled by him "the chirche of yuele men." The word church is
applied by him, also, to the uproarious assembly at Ephesus,
when the populace shouted for two hours, “Great is Diana of
the Ephesians.” And, as if confounding civil and spiritual
jurisdiction, he gives the name of church to the courts of
Cæsar: “If ze seken ouzt of ony other thing, it may be asoilid
in the lawful chirche," Acts xix, 39.
In the authorised version of the English Bible the word "sacra-
ment” does not appear at all; but in Wyclif's Bible it does more
than once.
And the reason of this apparent anomaly is evident.
In the Greek Testament there is a word mysterion, which is
sometimes in the Latin Vulgate translated sacramentum. The
authors of our received version, translating directly from the
Greek, have been content to render mysterion by its English
derivative mystery; and Wyclif, translating from the Vulgate,
has rendered sacramentum by its English derivative sacrament.
The statement, “Great is the mystery of godliness," i Tim. iii.
16, reads accordingly in Wyclif's Bible—“It is a great sacra-
ment of pitee"; and a seeming countenance is given by
Wyclif to the sacramentarian doctrine of marriage by his
rendering of Eph. V. 31-32%"A man schal forsake his fadir and
modir, and he schal draw to his wiif, and thei schulen be tweyne
in o fleisch: this sacrament is greet."
Penance, like sacrament, is a word that has no place in the
authorised English Bible; but, like sacrament, it is used
repeatedly in Wyclif's translation. John the Baptist, for
instance, is represented by Wyclif as crying in the desert,
“ do ze penaunce, for the kyngdom of heuenes schal nyz.”
The Lollard's Bible.
31
Jesus, too, is represented as apostrophising Chorazin and Beth-
saida, and saying to these graceless cities, “Woe unto you, for if
the mighty works that have been done in you had been done
in Tyre and Sidon, they would have don penaunce in heire
and aisch.'” And the Apostles, also, are made by Wyclif to bear
testimony to the efficacy of penance. On hearing the report of
Peter's visit to Cornelius they are said to have exclaimed, in
wonder and delight: “To hethen men God hath given
penaunce to leif !”
The words convert and conversion, the last of the ecclesias-
tical terms we have here to consider, are in the authorised
version applied, mostly, if not exclusively, to things spiritual.
"If any of you do err from the truth," we read in Jas. v. 19, 20,
and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth
the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from
death." And so, also, in Acts xv. 3, we read that Paul and
Barnabas “passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the
conversion of the Gentiles.” But in Wyclif's Bible the word
convert is used much less restrictedly: not as a technical term
in theology at all, but as the equivalent of turn, which might
be used in reference to all sorts of persons and to all sorts of
things. A prayer that sounds very strange in our ears occurs
in Ps. vi. 5, “ Lord be thou convertid, and delyuere my soul :"
and a statement equally at variance with modern forms of ex-
pression appears in Job xlii. 10 : “ The Lord was convertid to
the penance of Joob, whanne he priede for hise frendis." ;
Passing now from words to phrases, it may be said that some
phrases and expressions in Wyclif's Bible are notable for their
aptness, some for their inaptness, and some for their homeliness.
Although in point of clearness and precision of language, easy
continuity of statement, and richness of rhythm, the versions of
Wyclif are far inferior to our authorised translation of the
Scriptures, they nevertheless, particularly the later version as
amended by Purvey, contain many singularly happy phrases,
which whether strictly accurate or not as renderings of the
I
In the first version of Wyclif's Bible, 1380, the rendering of John xx. 16, is,
she, conuerted, saith to hym, Rabbony."
32
Bibles of England.
ܕ7ܝ
original Bible, and whether equal or not equal in force and
beauty to those that have superseded them, we cannot read
without delight and admiration. And it may be here remarked
that, although it is the same Bible that Wyclif and Tyndal,
the divines at Geneva, and the divines of the Church of Eng-
land in King James' reign, have translated, there are in the
style and diction of each version distinguishing features which
bear the image of the translator, and reflect the culture of the
times in which he lived. Very charming is the simplicity of
the following passages in Wyclif's version (Purvey's amended):
“If any man serve me, sue he me,”: John xii. 26; "Men, ye ben
britheren, whi noien ze eche other," Acts vii. 26; “Nyle ze deme
after the face, but deme ze a riztful dome," John vii. 24. So
far as sound goes, there is about as much liquid sweetness as
the ear could wish in the opening verse of the thirty-fifth
Psalm-"Lord, deme thou hem that anoien me;" and at the
same time there is about as much pungency of expression as
piety could allow a good man to vent. There is not only
simplicity, again, but graphic conciseness in the phrase—“passe
we ouer the sea," which in the authorised version of the Scrip-
tures is prolixly drawn out into “let us go over unto the other
side of the lake.” A similar remark may be made on the
statement of the man whom Jesus cured of blindness at the
pool of Siloam : "I wente, and waischid, and sai.”? And
although we may consider the expression “ brother tite” to
compare unfavourably with “Titus, my brother," it will
scarcely be disputed that there is a tenderness of Christian
feeling in the phrase, “Persida, moost dereworthe womman,'
which is entirely lost in in its modern substitute, “The beloved
Persis.” Occasionally, too, we meet with pleasant plays, or
what look like pleasant plays on words, and have no uneasy
feeling that the solemnity of the passage has been marred by
I
The same form of expression as this will be found in many parts of Wyclif's
Bible : “Light be maad, and light was made," Gen. i. 3 ; “ He that hath eeris of
herynge, here he,” Mat. xi. 15.
2 A clause in Wyclif's Bible that is made very misleading by means of peculiar
spelling occurs in i Cor. ii. 9—" I saie not.” This does not mean “I say not,”
but eye saw not. The transcriber or printer must surely have been at fault here.
The Lollards' Bible.
33
xii. 2.
the allusions. One of these pleasantries occurs in Ps. v. 7–
“Thou schalt leese (destroy) alle that speken leesyng” (false-
hood). Another occurs in Ps. cvi. 6—“That thou be heried
(praised) with thin eritage." There is a fine antithesis, again,
in the following statements : “Alle thingis ben nedeful to me,
but not alle thingis ben spedeful," i Cor. vi. 12; "I have takun
of the Lord that thing which I have bitakun to zou," 1 Cor. xi.
23 ; "If ony man unknowith he schal be unknowen," i Cor. xiv.
38.1 In some cases Wyclif's words (or Purvey's) convey a
clearer meaning than those that have replaced them in the
authorised version, e.g., “The seruant
“ The seruant is not gretter thanne his
lord, nether an apoostle is gretter thanne he that sente hym,” John
xiii. 16; “I schal putte my spirit on hym, and he schal telle
doom to hethen men," Mat. xii. 18; "Nyle ye be conformed to
this world, but be ye reformed in newnesse of youre wit," Rom.
There is sometimes a grand rhythm, again, in his
words, as in Acts xiii. 25—“I am not he whom ye demen me
to be, but lo, he comith aftir me, and I am not worthi to don
of the schoon of his feet.” At other times there is a weird and
ghastly picturesqueness in the repulsive terms he uses: as in
Matt. xxiii. 33----"ze eddris and eddris briddes"; and in Rev.
xxii. 15—"Withouten forth are houndis and wicchis, and un-
chast men, and manquellers, and servynge to idols, and ech
that loueth and makith leesynge."'.
Not only, however, is Wyclif's Bible as a translation much
inferior, all through, to our common authorised version-
less accurate, less clear, less concise, less rhythmical—but
it abounds in clauses and sentences that are positively
feeble, obscure, and clumsy. And this is not to be wondered
at, considering that the English tongue was only in process of
formation, and was neither perfected, established, nor settled,
when Wyclif and Purvey wrote. “How long dost thou make
us to doubt" (John x. 24), appears in Wyclif's Bible, how long
1 There is a very ingenious euphemism, also, which reflective readers will not
fail to perceive and appreciate, in the phrase, Ps. 1x. 9, “Moab is the pot of my
hope.” But Wyclif can scarcely be called the inventor of the euphemism. The
words in the Vulgate are, “ Moab olla spei meae." The Douay translators give
the same rendering as Wyclif.
D
34
Bibles of England.
takist thou awei oure soule ; "he groaned in the spirit” (John
xi. 33), he made noise in spirit; "he breathed on them” (John
xx. 22), he blewe on hem ; "children, have ye any meat” (John
xxi. 5), children, where ze han ony soupinge thing; "sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof” (Mat. vi. 34), it sufficith to the
dai his owne malice; "there was a great calm ” (Mat. viii. 26),
a greet pesiblenesse was made ; "hold thy peace” (Mark i. 25),
wexe doumbe; "all men glorified God for that which was done"
(Acts iv. 21), alle men clarifieden that thing that was don in that
that was bifalle ; "count I my life dear unto myself” (Acts xx.
24), make my liif prechour thanne my liif; "I was in a trance"
(Acts xxii. 17), I was made in rauyschynge of soule ; “I do the
more cheerfully answer for myself” (Acts xxiv. 10), I schal do
inous for me with good resoun; "why should it be thought a
thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead"
(Acts xxvi. 8), what unbileful thing is demed at zou if God
reisith deed men ; "worshipped, leaning upon the top of his
staff (Heb. xi. 21), honourede the hiznesse of his serd; "think
it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you”
(1 Peter iv. 12), nyle ze go in pilgrimage in feruour that is made
to zou to temptacioun.
The following are a few other specimens of crude diction in
the later and revised edition, 1388 (Purvey's), of Wyclif's
Bible :
Ps. xiv. 1-The unwise man seide in his herte, God is not. Thei ben corrupt,
and ben maad abhomynable in her studies ; noon is that doith good, noon is til to
001 (non est usque ad unum-Vulgate).
Ps. xc. 2–Fro the world and into the world thou art God (a seculo et usque in
seculum—Vulgate).
1 Sone of the sentences which are quoted as samples of crude diction are very
literal translations of the Vulgate, and might be called Latinisms. How closely
Wyclif and Purvey sometimes stuck to the letter of St. Jerome's Latin, may be seen
from the subjoined expressions : “For wille lith to me ” (Rom. vii. 18), nam velle
adjacet mihi (Vulgate); “ The prudence of fleisch is deeth (Rom. viii. 6), prudentia
carnis mors est (Vulgate); “ And there was made as a space of thre ouris (Acts
v. 7), factum est autem quasi horarum trium spatium (Vulgate); “For whiche
thing I hauyng myche trist in crist ihesus to comaunde to thee, that that perteyneth
to profete ” (Philemon 8), propter quod, multam fiduciam habens in Christo Jesu
imperandi tibi quod ad rem pertinat.
The Lollards Bible.
35
Ps. cxxxvi. 13—Whiche departide the reed sea in to departyngis (Qui divisit mare
rubrum in divisiones-Vulgate).
Mat. xxii. 34—And pharisees herde that he hadde putte silence to saduceis camen
to gidre.
Mark iii. 14–And he made that there weren twelue with hym, to sende hem to
preche.
Luke xii. 58%Lest the domesman bitake thee to a maistirful axer (exactori,
Vulgate), and the maistirful axer send thee in to prisoun.
Acts xxvi. 2–Of alle thingis 'of whiche I am accused of the Jewis, thou kyng
egrippa, I gesse me blessid at thee, whanne I schal defende me this day.
Rom. ii. 28—He that is in opene is not a jew, nether it is circumcisioun that is
openli in the fleisch.
2 Cor. i. 17-18—But whanne I wolde this thing, whether I uside unstidfastnesse ?
ether tho thingis that I thenke, I thenke aftir the fleische, that at me, be it is and it
is not, but god is trewe, for oure word that was at zou is and is not, is not therinne,
but is in it.
Eph. i. 9—To make knowe to us the sacrament of his wille bi the good pleasaunce
of hym the whiche sacrament he purposid in hym.
The diction of the earlier of the Wyclif versions, 1380, is still
cruder than that of the later, as the following examples will
shew :
FIRST VERSION, 1380.
SECOND VERSION, 1388.
Gen. xxix. 13.- The which whanne he Gen. xxix. 13.–And whanne he had
had herd, Jacob, his sister sone, comen, herde that Jacob, the sone of his sister,
zede azens metynge with hym, and clip cam, he ran azens hym, and he biclippid
pynge hym and fallynge in cossis, ladde Jacob, and kisside hym, and ledde hym
hym in to his hows.
into his hows.
Gen, xl. 23.–And neuerthelater aftir Gen. xl. 23.-And netheless whanne
fallynge welsum thingis, the prouest of prosperitees bifelden the souereyn of bote-
botelers forzete of his dreem reder. iers forgat his expownere.
Isa. xlviii. 3-4.-The rathere thingis Is. xlviii. 3-4.-Fro that time I telde
fro thanne I told out, and of my mouth the former thingis, and tho zeden out of
thei wenten out, and herd I made them ; my mouth, and I made tho knowun;
feerli I wrozte and thei camen. I knez sudenlie I wrouzte and tho things camen.
forsothe for thou art hard, and an irene For I wist that thou art hard, and thi
senew thin haterel and thi frount brasene. nol is a senewe of irun, and thi forhed is
of bras.
Luke xxii. 55.-Sothli a fyer kyndlid Luke xxii. 55.--And whanne a fier
in the myddil greet hous and her sitt- was kyndled in the myddil of the greet
inge aboute, Petre was in the myddel of hous, and thei saten aboute, petir was in
hem.
the myddil of hem.
1 The following odd expressions may be quoted as samples of ambiguity, as well
as of oddity :
Prov. iv. 3- I was the sone of my fadir, a tendir sone, and oon gendride bifore
my modir.
and he schal
Prov. vi. 15–His perdicioun schal come to hym anoon,
no more haue medecyn,
36
Bibles of England.
John xix. 42.—Therefore, there, for John xix. 42.-Therfor, there thei
the makyng redy of Jewis, for the graue putten ihesus, for the vigile of jewis
was nyz, thei puttiden ihesu.
feest, for the sepulcre was nýz.
3 John 2.-Moost dere, of alle thingis 3 John 2.—Moost dere brother, of alle
I make preyer, thee for to entre and fare thingis I make preier, that thou enter
welsumly, as thi soule doth welsumly. and fare wilfulli, as thi soule doith wil-
fulli.
In Wyclif's Bible there are, as might be expected, some
words and clauses that are not found in the authorised version,
and there are some words and clauses in the authorised ver-
sion that are not found in Wyclif's. This is easily explained.
Wyclif and Purvey translated from the Latin tongue, or rather
from a Latin text—"sumdel trewe ”-a text as correct as they
could put together by collating all manuscript copies of the
Vulgate they could lay hands on. Their adopted version of
the Vulgate varied in many places from that which, after more
extensive and skilful collation, has now been attested by the
Catholic Church as the authentic Scripture. The Vulgate,
again, differs from the most ancient manuscripts of the Bible
that have as yet been found in the Hebrew and Greek originals.
And, last of all, these old manuscript Bibles in Hebrew and
Greek do not correspond with each other in every word and
letter. In the process of copying, slips of the pen occurred.
Sometimes marginal notes, which were meant as explanations,
or appropriate reflections, were, by mistake, transferred into
the text. On the issue of the revised version of the New Tes-
tament, in 1881, great surprise was expressed in some quarters
that the "doxology," or conclusion, annexed to the Lord's
,prayer, was left out. That omission was no novelty. The
doxology is awanting in Wyclif's Bible, and, what to some
people may be more surprising, in all the old copies of the
English Prayer-Book. The second clause of the sixth peti-
tion in the Lord's Prayer—“but deliver us from evil”-is, in
Wyclif's version of Luke xi. 4, omitted also. On the other
1 One of the novations in the obnoxious Service Book of Scotland, 1637, com-
monly called Laud's Liturgy, was the addition of this Doxology to the Lord's
Prayer. It may be supposed, however, that this novation was not objected to by
the Presbyterians. In his “ Alliance of Divine Offices,” L'Estrange says that
“ Learned men conjecture, it (the Doxology) was transplanted out of the liturgies
of the Greek Church, or some such solemn usage, into the text of the Gospel."
The Lollards' Bible.
37
hand, there are words inserted in Wyclif's version which are
not found in the authorised translation. For instance, the
three italicised words in the following sentence have no place
in the English textus receptus : "Wherfor, britheren, be ze
more bisie, that bi good werkis ze make zoure clepynge and
chesynge certeyn." Another clause in Wyclif's Bible, which is
not in the authorised version, occurs in Acts xxiii. 24:-"Make
ze redi a hors for poul to ride on, to lede hym saaf to felix the
president, for the tribune dredde lest the jewis wolden take
hym bi the weye and sle hym, and aftirwarde he myzte be
chalengid as he hadde take money."
The number of cases in which Wyclif's Bible presents a
different reading from what we find in the authorised transla-
tion is legion. To select samples out of such a multitude of
instances is no easy task. What must strike people unac-
quainted with any English version of the Bible except the
authorised, as a very strange reading, is the first clause of Gen.
xli. 454" And he turnede the name of Joseph, and clepide him
bi Egipcian langage, the sauyour of the world." Another
curious reading occurs in Deut. xxxiv. 7-"Moises was of an
hundrid and twenti zeer whanne he diede, his ize dasewide not,
nether hise teeth weren stirid.” In the book of Job there is a
sentence that might be adopted as a text by a lecturer on the
principles of modern geology-“Watris maken stoonys holowe,
and the erthe is wastid litil and litil bi waischyng awey of
watir," xiv. 19. A very odd reading appears in Ps. lxxix. 1-
“Thei defouledin thin hooli temple, thei settiden Jerusalem into
the keping of applis." A still greater departure from the words
of the authorised version will be found in Prov. xxi. 16, where
it is said of those that turn aside from good doctrine, that they
“schal dwelle in the cumpany of giauntis," as if some pro-
motion were in store for them. Passing on to the New Testa-
ment, we find a very strange and not very relevant answer put
into the mouth of our Saviour by Wyclif, as a reply to the
I The words in the Vulgate are, “in coetu gigantum commorabitur." In many
other places the word gigantes is used in the Vulgate, where mortui (the dead) is
used in other Latin versions of the Bible, as in Is. xxvi. 14 and 19.
38
Bibles of England.
question from John the Baptist, “Art thou he that should
come, or do we look for another?"-"Go ze and telle azen to
Jon thoo thingis that ze han herd and seyn, blinde men seen,
crokid men gon, mysels ben made clene, deef men heren, deed
men risen azen, and pore men ben taken to prechynge of the
Gospel.” The saying “I will draw all men unto me” appears
in Wyclif's version, “I will draw all thingis to myself;” the
prayer of the legion of demons that they should not be sent
into the deep reads that they should not be sent into helle;
give alms of such things as ye have" is improved (shall we
say ?) into that that is ouerplus geue ze almes; and the historical
statement, Acts xix. 16, that "the man in whom was the evil
spirit leaped on them” is certainly not improved by its being
made to read “the man in whiche was the worst deuil lipped
on hem, and hadde victorie of bothe.” A rendering of Wyclif's
that many people, scholastic and unscholastic, will doubtless
consider preferable to the authorised translation is, John xi. 26,
-“Eche that lyueth and bileueth in me schal not die withouten
ende," instead of “shall never die.” In Wyclif's version of St.
James' Epistle, again, there is a small variation from the
authorised English reading, which, could it be accepted as the
true and authentic Scripture, would be very consolatory to
devout people that lack musical gifts: “If ony of zou is
sorwful, preye he with paciente soule, and seye he a salm.”,
The following are a few more cases in which it will be seen
that Wyclif's version differs in its readings or renderings from
the authorised translation :-
1 In most of the cases above cited, Wyclif's version is a literal rendering of the
Vulgate as printed at the present day; and Wyclif's translations are substantially
the same as those of the Douay divines. Wyclif's version of James v. 13 is remark-
able in this respect that it is founded on a peculiar punctuation of his Latin
original. The verse as commonly printed in the Vulgate is—“Tristatur aliquis
vestrum ? oret. Aequo animo est ? psallat ;” and is accordingly translated in the
Rhemes (Catholic) Testament substantially the same as in our authorised version.
In Wyclif's copy of the Vulgate there had apparently been no stop after oret, but a
comma after animo, and what is now printed est had been written et.
The phrase
“say a psalm” occurs elsewhere in Wyclif's Bible, “I schal synge, and I schal seie
salm to the Lord,” Ps, xxvi. 6.
The Lollard's Bible.
39
WYCLIF'S VERSION, 1388.
AUTHORISED VERSION, 1611.
Job v. 6-7.-.No thing is doon in erthe Job v. 6-7.-Although affliction cometh
without cause, and sorewe schal not go not forth of the dust, neither dɔth trouble
out of the erthe. A man is borun to spring out of the ground. Yet man is
labour and a brid to flizt.
born unto trouble, as the sparks fly up-
wards.
Job vi. 16.-Snow schal come on hem Job vi. 16.-Which are blackish by
that dreden frost,
reason of the ice, and wherein the snow
is hid.
Job xix. 28.-Whi therfor seien ze Job xix. 28.—But ye should say, Why
now, Pursue we hym, and fynde we the persecute we him, seeing the root of the
roote of a word azens hym ?
matter is found in me?
Job xxxviii. 36.--Who zaf undurstond- Job xxxviii. 36. —Who hath given un-
yng to the cok? I
derstanding to the heart?
Ps. viii. 5. - What is a man, that thou Ps. viii. 5. –What is man, that thou
art myndeful of hym : ethir the sone of art mindful of him, and the son of man,
a virgyn for thou visitist hym ?
that thou visitest him?
Ps. xvi. 5.-The Lord is part of myn Ps. xvi. 5.—The Lord is the portion
eritage and of my passion.
of mine inheritance and of my cup.
Ps. lv. 13-14. —But thou art a man of Ps. lv. 13-14.—But it was thou, a man
o wille : my leeder and my knowun, mine equal, my guide, and mine acquain-
which tokist togidre swete meetis (dulces tance. We took sweet counsel together,
cibos, Vulgate) with me : we zeden with and walked into the house of God in
consent in the hous of God.
company.
Ps. lxxxviii. 10.—Whethir thou schalt Ps. lxxxviii. 10.-Wilt thou shew won-
do merueils to deed men : ether leechis ders to the dead, shall the dead arise and
schulen reise, and thei schulen knouleche praise thee?
to thee?
Ps. xc. 9.-Qure zeris schulen bithenke Ps. xc. 9.--We spend our years as a
as an yreyn (spider).
tale that is told,
Rom. X. 19. --Moises seith I schal lede Rom. X. 19.—Moses saith, I will pro-
zou to enuye that ze be not folk, that ze voke you to jealousy by them that are no
be an unwise folk I schal sende zou in to people, and by a foolish nation will I
wrathe.
anger you.
1 Cor. i. 20.—Where is the purchasour 1 Cor. i. 20.-—Where is the disputer
of this world ?
of this world ?
Sometimes a considerable difference of meaning is produced
on a statement by the insertion or omission of the article a or
the, or the substitution of one of these articles for the other.
A noted instance of this occurs in the revised version of the
New Testament, where the love of money is said to be a root,
instead of the root, of all evil. In Wyclif's Bible there are
many phrases that are made to read differently from what they
do in the authorised version, from a slight difference of articu-
lation. In the Latin language, from which Wyclif's translation
was made, there are no articles. Wyclif was left free, there-
fore, to insert a definite or an indefinite article in his transla-
1 The Douay rendering is the same as Wyclif's, and in some editions of that ver-
sion there is subjoined to the passage the following explanatory note :-"Under-
standing. To distinguish the hours of the night”!
40
Bibles of England.
.
tion, wherever an innate sense of literary propriety prompted
him. Sometimes he has done this judiciously, and sometimes
njudiciously. One rendering of his that has found its way into
the revised version of the New Testament is, "settid hym on
the pynacle of the temple,” Mat. iv. 5. Another peculiar ren-
dering of his, which is not at variance with the original Greek,
and admits of something being said in its favour, is, "I came
not to send pees but swerde,” Mat. x. 34. One sentence which
reads so well in Wyclif's Bible, that we have a feeling of great
disappointment in finding that it lacks the merit of a true
translation of the Greek original, is John X. 11-“I am a good
scheepherde ; a good scheepherde geueth his liif for his scheep;
but an hired hyne
seeth a wolf cometh, and he leuith
the scheep and fleeth.” It will be noticed that in this verse
Wyclif makes a very frequent and very happy use of the in-
definite article. And this he has done in many other places,
with the effect of giving to sober narrative a somewhat quaint
and lively colouring. For instance, Job is made to say, chap.
xxxi. 40: “If my lond crieth azens me, and hise forewis wepen
with it: if I eet fruytis thereof without money, and I turmen-
tide the soule of erthe-tileris of it: a brere growe to me for
wheete, and a thorn for barli.” And so also in Ps. cv. Wyclif
translates : (ver. 31) “He seide, and a fleische flie cam : and
gnattis in alle the coostis of hem ; (v. 34) He seide, and a locust
cam: and a bruk of which was noon noumbre; (v. 40) Thei
axiden, and a curlew cam : and he fillide hem with the breed
of heuene. He brak a stoon, and watris flowiden." At other
times, Wyclif is not so happy in his use of the indefinite article.
The beneficence of Job is much shorn of its bounteousness by
the following rendering of chap. xxix. II-13—"An eere
herynge blesside me, and an ize seynge zeldide witnessyng to
me : for Y had delyueride a pore man criynge, and a fadirles
child that hadde noon helpere. The blessyng of a man to
66
I Sword is at the present day used as an abstract noun in such phrases as fire
and sword.” Wyclif uses the word in an abstract way in other parts of his Bible :
“In hungur he schal delyuere thee fro deeth, and in batel fro the power of swerd.'
-Job v, 20.
The Lollard's' Bible.
41
perische cam on me, and Y coumfortide the herte of a widowe.”
And so also the point of the question submitted to Jesus by
the Samaritan woman is very much obscured in Wyclif's trans-
lation, by the introduction of the article indefinite, where the
article definite should have been used: "Oure fadris worschip-
iden in this hille, and ze seien that at ierusalem is a place
where it bihoueth to worschip.” An entirely different mean-
ing, affecting what many people will consider a very vital point
of doctrine, is, in like manner, by the same small verbal altera-
tion, made on a noteworthy saying of our Lord's, recorded in
Luke xi. 13 :-“If ze whanne ye ben yuel, kunne zeue gode
ziftis to zoure children, hou myche more zoure fadir of heuene
schal zeue a good spirit to men that axith him."
It is not unworthy of remark that some of Wyclif's readings
and renderings, after having been shelved for three hundred
years, have been again revived and adopted in the new version
of the English Bible. This is not to say that Wyclif's research
and scholarship were so remarkable as to be three hundred
years in advance of the age in which the authorised translators
lived. It only means that the text of the Vulgate has been
found to be less corrupt than was once supposed ; and, conse-
quently, that in rendering the Vulgate faithfully Wyclif has in
many places, where his version varies from the authorised, given
accidentally the true teaching of Scripture. Every one knows
that the time-honoured phrase, “Almost thou persuadest me
to be a Christian," Acts xxvi. 28, is in the revised version dis-
placed by the cynical remark, “With but little persuasion thou
wouldest fain make me a Christian.” Wyclif's rendering in this
passage is not very explicit, but it at least points in the
direction of the revisers': “In litil thing thou counceilist me
to be made a cristen man.” By simply changing of into for,
the revisers have given an entirely new aspect to the Apostolic
assurance in James iii. 18—-" The fruit of righteousness is sown
in peace of them that make peace.” But in this matter they
were forestalled by Wyclif, who translates the latter part of the
verse, "to men that maken peace. For the words in the
authorised version, “All went to be taxed," Luke ii. 3, we find
in the revised version, “All went to enrol themselves," and in
>
42
Bibles of England.
Wyclif's, “ Alle wenten to make professioun," or (in verse 1) to
be “discryued.” In Wyclif's version, again, we meet with the
revised rendering of John xiii. 18—" he that eateth my bread,"
instead of "eateth bread with me ; as also the revised render-
ing of 2nd Peter i. 5, “in your faith supply virtue, and in your
virtue knowledge," &c.
The following are instances of coincidence between Wyclif's
version and the revised translation of the Old Testament:-
Wyclif'S VERSION, 1388. AUTHORISED VERSION, 1611. REVISED VERSION, 1885.
Job iii. 8.—Curse thei Job. iii. 8. -Let them Job iii. 8.
Let them
it, that cursen the dai, that curse it that curse the day, curse it that curse the day,
ben redi to reise Leuya- who are ready to raise up who are ready to rouse up
than.
their mourning.
Leviathan.
Job xxxvii. 22.-Gold Job xxxvii. 22. ---- Fair Job xxxvii. 22.-Out of
schal come fro the north weather cometh out of the the north cometh golden
and ferdful preisyng of north: with God is terrible splendour : God hath upon
God.
majesty.
him terrible majesty.
Ps. lxviii. 30.- Blame Ps. lxviii. 30.-Rebuke Ps. lxviii. 30.-Rebuke
thou the wielde beestis of the company of spearmen, the wild beast of the reeds,
the reheed, the gaderyng the multitude of the bulls thc multitude of the bulls,
togidere of bolis is among with the calves of the with the calves of the
the kien of puplis.
people.
people.
Prov. vii. 20.—He took Prov. vii. 20.—He hath Prov. vii. 20.-He hath
with hym a bagge of taken a bag of money with taken a bag of money with
money, he schal turne azen him, and will come home him : he will come home
in to his hous in the dai of at the day appointed. at the full moon.
ful moone.
Prov. viii. 30.—I was Prov. viii. 30.—I was Prov. viii. 30.-I was
making all thingis with by him as one brought up by him, as a master work.
him.
with him.
Prov. xi. 12.-He that Prov. xi. 12.--He that Prov. xi. 12.—He that
dispisith his freend, is nedi is void of wisdom despiseth despiseth his neighbour is
in herte.
his neighbour.
void of wisdom.
Prov. xvii. 27.—He that Prov. xvii. 27.—He that Prov. xvii. 27.—He that
mesurith his wordis is wiis hath knowledge spareth spareth his words hath
and prudent.
his words.
knowledge.
Prov. xix. 18.-Teche Prov. xix. 18.–Chasten Prov. xix. 18.-Chasten
thi sone, and dispeire thou thy son while there is thy son, seeing there is
not : but sette thou not thi hope, and let not thy soul hope: and set not thy
soule to the sleyng of hym. spare for his crying. heart on his destruction.
Prov. xxi. 4.-Enhaun- Prov. xxi. 4. -An high Prov. xxi. 4.-An high
syng of izen is alargyng of look and a proud heart, look and a proud heart,
the herte : the lanterne of and the plowing of the the lamp of the
wicked men is synne.
wicked, is sin.
wicked is sin.
Eccles. ii. 25. Who Eccles. ii. 25.--For who Eccles. ii. 25.-For who
schal deuoure so, and schal can eat, or who else can can eat, or who can have
flowe in delicis, as I did ? hasten hereunto
more enjoyment more than I?
than I ?
111 ani.
even
The most outstanding feature of Wyclif's Bible, however, is
the graphic homeliness of its diction. It was for the common
people that Wyclif translated the Scriptures ; and he wished
the common people to have the Scriptures set before them in
The Lollard's Bible.
43
the language of their every-day life. Hence the rustic plain-
ness of his phraseology, which at times is very quaint and
delightful, and at other times is deficient in both dignity and
delicacy. Very graceful, for instance, in its apostolic affection,
is the salutation that St. Paul is made (Rom. i. 7) to address to
his fellow Christians in the great city of the Gentiles :—“To
alle that ben at rome, derlyngis of god and clepid holy." Very
simply and very touchingly, again, is it said of Epaphras, who
sent his greeting to the brethren at Colosse, that he was "euer
bisie for them in preiers.” In the phrase, “ihesus zede aboute al
galilee techynge in the synagogis ” (Mat. iv. 23), there is a fine
air of leisureliness, in striking and instructive contrast to the
high pressure and the forced pace of modern religious life.
Very primitive, too, but very graphic withal, is the narrative
(Acts xii. 8) of the angel's interview with Peter in the prison
at Jerusalem :-" The aungel seide to hym: girde thee, and do
on thi hoosis, and he dide so ; and he seide to hym, do aboute
thee thi clothis, and sue me, and he zede out and sued hym.”
In the authorised version of the Bible, we read that when “the
Lord turned the captivity of Job," all his friends and acquain-
tances paid him a visit of congratulation, and “every man also
gave him a piece of money, and an ear-ring of gold.” As de-
scribed by Wyclif, the gifts had a more pastoral aspect :-
“Thei zauen to hym ech man o scheep, and o goldun eere-
ring.” More vividly, too, than in the authorised version, is
brought out in Wyclif's translation, the self-importance of
Sarah's handmaid, on discovering herself in a condition her
mistress had never attained. The damsel " dispisede hir ladie."
It must be admitted, however, that while the old-fashioned
homeliness of Wyclif's phrases is sometimes pathetic, the
associations awakened by them are more frequently of a ludi-
crous tendency. In the story of the legion's dispossession
(Luke viii. 33), it is said that "the deuelis wenten out fro the
man, and entriden in to the swyn, and with a birre the flok
wente heedlynge in to the pool.” Instead of the stately ex-
pression, “consider the ravens” (Luke xii. 24), we find in
Wyclif's Bible, biholde the crowis, instead of the grave charge,
occupy till I come," chaffare ye till I come; and instead of the
44
Bibles of England.
high misdemeanour of "perverting the nation," the Apostles
are accused of turnynge upso doun oure folk. The dread
solemnity of the declaration "their damnation slumbereth not,"
disappears entirely in Wyclif's rendering, the perdicioun of hern
nappeth not. The semi-regal magnificence of Felix, too, is
divested of much of its dignity by the statement, "he cam
doun with drussel his wif.” So also is the pomp of Pilate, in
being styled "pounce pilat;” and in another place, “pilat of
pounce, justice.” Even St. Paul is made to appear ridiculous
in having "clippid his heed”; and much more so is Bartimaeus,
who, in response to the call of Christ, “castid aweie his cloth,
and skippid, and cam." Sometimes Wyclif's diction, when
most vigorous, verges on coarseness of expression. The desig-
nation given to those that separate themselves from the Church
is (Jude 19), “beestli men, not hauynge spirit”; and (2 Peter
ii. I), “ maistir lieris that brynge in sectis of perdicioun." It
has to be borne in mind, however, that so changed since
Wyclif's days are our modes of speech, that many words and
phrases of his that would now be counted vulgar colloquialisms,
had once an admitted place in the vocabulary of the best
English. Of these degraded expressions, it may here suffice
to mention two, “certis," and "the toon and the tother." In
Wyclif's Bible the words attributed to Jesus regarding John
the Baptist are :—"Certis, I seie to zou ther is no man more
profete." And so, likewise, the words attributed to Jesus in
regard to a man's serving two masters, are :--"Ether he schal
hate the toon and loue the tother, eithere he schal susteyne the
toon and dispise the tother." I
The following other verses may be quoted as specimens of
Wyclif's homeliness of expression :
Wyclif's VERSION, 1388.
AUTHORISED VERSION, 1611.
Gen. xxix. 17.-Lya was blere ized. Gen. xxix. 17.-Leah was tender eyed.
Judges xviii. 19 (first edition).-To Judges xviii. 19. ---And they said unto
whom they answeriden, Whist.
him, Hold thy peace.
Job xix. 20.-Oneli lippis ben left Job. xix. 20.-I am escaped with the
aboute my teeth.
skin of my teeth.
I A title very commonly given to Jesus by his disciples, in Wyclif's Bible, is
commander ; a fact for members of the Salvation Army to note. " Petir seide to
ihesus, commander, it is good that we be here.”—Luke ix. 33.
The Lollards' Bible.
45
Job xxxiv. 9.–For he seide. A man Job xxxiv. ix. --For he hath said, It
schal not plese God, zhe, thouz he profiteth a man nothing that he should
renneth with God.
delight himself with God.
Job xl. 5.-Y spak o thing, which Job xl. 5.—Once have I spoken, but
thing y wold that y had not seid : and y I will not answer ; yea twice, but I will
spak anothir thing, to which y schal no proceed no further.
more adde.
Ps. lxxviii. 45.--He sent a paddock Ps. lxxviii. 45.—He sent frogs which
and it loste hem.
destroyed them.
Ps. cxxix. 4.—The just Lord schal Ps. cxxix. 4. -The Lord is righteous,
beete the nollis of synneris.
he hath cut asunder the cords of the
wicked.
Ps. cxlvii. 1.-Heriyng be myrie and Ps. cxlvii. 1.–For it is pleasant, and
fair to oure God.
praise is comely.
Prov. xx. 23. — Abhomynacioun at Prov. xx. 23. -Divers weights are an
God is weizte and weizte.
abomination to the Lord.
Prov. xxii. 29.—Thou hast seyn a man Prov. xxii. 29.-Seest thou a man
smert in his werk : he schal stonde bifore diligent in his business ? he shall stand
kyngis.
before kings.
Isaiah xix. 14.—The Lord mengde in
Isaiah xix. 14. - The Lord hath
his myddel the spirit of turnegidy (ist mingled a perverse spirit in the midst
version, 1380).
thereof.
Mat. x, 16.--Be ze slize as serpentis. Mat. X, 16.—Be ye therefore wise as
serpents.
Mat. 'xii. 44.-Fyndith it uoide, and Mat. xii. 44.-Findeth it empty, swept
clensid with bisoms and made faire. and garnished.
Mark ix. 47.-It is bettir to thee to Mark ix. 47.-It is better for thee to
entre gogil ized in to the rewme of God, enter into the kingdom of God with one
thanne haue tweie izen and be sente into eye, than having two eyes, to be cast
helle of fier.
into hellfire.
John iv. 49. —The litil kyng seith to John iv. 49.—The nobleman saith
hym. Lord come doun, bifor that my unto him, Sir, come down ere my child
sone die.
die.
Acts xiv. 8.- A man at listris was Acts xiv. 8.-A certain man at Lystra,
sike in the feet.
impotent in his feet.
Rom. ix. 10.-Rebecca hadde tweye Rom. ix, 10.– When Rebecca als o
sones, of o liggynge, bi of Isaac our fadir. had conceived by one, even by our
father Isaac.
2 Cor. xii. 3. -- Whether in bodi, 2 Cor. xli. 3.-Whether in the body
or out of bodi I noot, God woot.
I cannot tell, or whether out of the body
I cannot tell, God knoweth.
Rev. xii. 5.-Sche bare a man (knaue) Rev. xii. 5.—She brought forth a man
child that was to rulinge alle folkis in an child, who was to rule all nations with a
irun zerd.
rod of iron.
In trying to make the record of Apostolic life as near a
counterpart as possible to what prevailed in England in his
own day, Wyclif occasionally introduced into his Bible words
that had not been adopted by the Church, at the date of the
incidents to which they are made to refer. At the present
day, the words baptize and christen are used synonymously :
but we cannot think it other than an anachronism, as well as
an unliteral translation, to make St. Luke say (as Wyclif does),
Acts xviii. 8, that "many of the corinthies herden, and bileu-
eden and werun cristened." In Wyciif's Bible, again, the desig-
46
Bibles of England.
nation generally given to idols is "mawmets." “Ze ben
conuerted to God fro mawmetes," i Thess. i. 9.
“ Mi litil
sones kepe ze zou fro mawmetes," I John v. 21. The word
mawmet is a corruption of Mahomet; and as Mahomet was
not born for five hundred years after Paul had written his
epistles, it is a violation of the principles of dramatic unity to
represent the Apostle cautioning his readers against “mawmets.”
And it may be here remarked, that there never was more
injustice done to a man's name than was by Christians done to
Mahomet's, in making it a synonym for idol ; for there never
was a religion that denounced and condemned idolatry more
vehemently than does Mahometanism. Another anachronism
in Wyclif's Bible (also in Tyndale's Testament) is the intro-
duction into Paul's writings of the word whitsuntide. This is
a word of ecclesiastical and post-pauline origin. It could not
possibly, therefore, have been used by St. Paul himself: and
although it came to be considered only as another name for
Pentecost, it expressed certain facts or associations which could
not have been before the mind of the Apostle when he spoke
of the Pentecostal solemnity. Wyclif, nevertheless, introduces
the word into St. Paul's writings. He makes the Apostle say,
I Cor. xvi. 8, “I schal dwelle at effecie til to witsuntide."
There is at least one anachronism in our authorised version,
however, which does not appear in Wyclif's translation. It is
said of Herod, who killed James the brother of John, that he
put Peter into prison, "intending after Easter to bring him
forth to the people,” Acts xii. 4. Before the days of Chris-
tianity the word Easter seems to have been applied to the
April festival in honour of the goddess of light and spring.
But in that application, it had no place in the calendar of either
Jews or Christians: and it was not till it came to be applied
by the Church to the festival of the resurrection that any
Christian writer could have referred to it as a date. St. Paul
does not use the word in any of his Epistles: and the word
should not be given as the translation or equivalent of any of
St. Paul's terms. The revisers of 1881 have properly ex-
cluded it from their version of the testament; and have
substituted for it, in the passage quoted, the word pass-
The Lollards' Bible.
47
an
over, which is the literal translation and the true equivalent
of the Greek original. Wyclif also adheres to the Apostle's
own term, and does not even translate it passover, but "paske,"
which is the English form of the Greek and Latin pascha.
Another anachronism of Wyclif's occurs in the Gospels. In
the parable of the lost coin, a woman is represented in our
authorised version of the Bible as having ten pieces of silver.
In some old English translations, Tyndale's, Coverdale's, &c.,
these ten coins are called “grotes; » bnt in Wyclif's Bible
they are termed besauntis, a word that had no place in numis-
matology till the Byzantine empire was founded, four hundred
years after Christ had left the world.
That Wyclif's Bible is at all to be compared to either the
authorised or the revised version of the Scriptures, as
accurate translation or as a work of literature, cannot be pre-
tended; but it is a notable production notwithstanding, and
worthy of an honoured place in England's remembrance. It
cannot be supposed that even Wyclif himself considered it a
final translation of the Bible, perfect, entire, and needing no
amendment. It was not a translation from the original Scrip-
tures, but only from a Latin version of these. It was written
at a time when the English language was only taking shape,
and it was thus doomed to become prematurely archaic. But
it answered the immediate end for which it was published. It
gave to the English people of Wyclif's own generation a
substantially fair and faithful English version of the holy
Scriptures; and it thus enabled Englishmen of that day to
refer the doctrines and usages of the Church to the fundamental
and authentic test of Christian truth.
Besides issuing copies of his Bible in different sizes, and at
different prices, to suit the taste and means of different classes
of readers, Wyclif endeavoured to make his Bible practically
beneficial to the very poorest and most ignorant of the public
by instituting an order of readers and preachers, who "gede
aboute" all England, reading the gospels and epistles, and
giving simple expositions of what they read. The result was
that there grew up in the land a body of religionists, who held
a purer faith, walked in a clearer light, and led a holier life,
48
Bibles of England.
than their neighbours. These Puritans, as they may be termed,
were at first called Wycliffites, because it was from Wyclif's
preaching, Wyclif's preachers, Wyclif's writings, and Wyclif's
Bible that their inspiration was drawn. Afterwards, and down
till the Reformation, they went by the reproachful designation
of Lollards, or idle babblers. They were not confined to
English territory, either, but they had habitations in Scotland
also. In the central district of Ayrshire, in what are now the
parishes of Mauchline, Tarbolton, Stair, Loudoun, and Galston,
they had an important settlement. Finally they were absorbed
in the ranks of Protestantism ; but they have this honourable
testimony and memorial, that they were a shining light in the
land, till the day dawned and the day star of Reformation rose.
Their peculiar heritage and dearest possession was Wyclif's
Bible, which may thus be termed the light of the Lollards.
The Reformers' Bibles.
49
The Reformers' Bibles.
TYNDALE'S TESTAMENT, 1526; REVISED, 1534.
Editions consulted and quoted from-
Original version, 1526. Fry's facsimile.
Revised version, 1534. Reprint in Bagster's Hexapla.
THE place that the Bible should hold in men's estimation is
the fundamental question on which the Protestant Church and
the Catholic Church are at issue. Both Churches honour the
Bible, and acknowledge the Bible as a divine revelation. Both
Churches also found on the Bible for their doctrines. But the
Protestant Church founds on the Bible alone for her teaching ;
whereas the Catholic Church founds partly on the Bible, and
partly on special communications, or increased enlightenment,
given to the Church from age to age by the Holy Spirit. The
promised guide of the Church, Catholics assert, is the Holy
Ghost; and that guidance is an ever-living inspiration, which
has neither yet ceased nor been exhausted. According to
Catholics, therefore, the Church receives accessions of truth
from time to time; and the new revelations made to the
Church to-day are quite as authoritative as the old revelations
made in the days of the Apostles. The Church's own constitu-
tions, the decrees of her councils, and the official utterances of
her Popes, being all divinely inspired, have thus, with Catholics,
a degree of authority equal to that of the sacred Book itself.
Hence the Church's warrant for the worship of the Virgin, for
worship by images, for priestly absolutions, for sale of indulg-
ences, for the dogma of the immaculate conception. On the
other hand, the fundamental doctrine of Protestantism is that
the Bible is the only divine revelation given for our spiritual
direction; that nothing contrary to, or at variance with what
is written in the Bible can be allowed in the Church ; that
the teaching of the Bible is never to be annulled or superseded;
E
50
Bibles of England.
and that nothing which does not appear in the Bible can be
imposed by the Church on her members as an essential obliga-
tion of Christian life or Christian ritual. As the Reformers
came to recognise and realise their true doctrinal position, they
saw more and more clearly, and they felt more and more
strongly, that the Bible must be given to the people of all
nations and kindreds in their own tongues, so that every
Christian man might be able to judge for himself what
doctrines are to be received, what ordinances are to be observed,
and what duties are to be practised, by those that name the
name of Christ.
When the great revolt against Papal power and Popish
doctrine which ended in the Reformation arose in England,
there were, and for a hundred and forty years there had been,
in this country not a few manuscript copies of the Bible in
English. Wyclif's translation had been published in 1380, and
Purvey's amendment of it in 1388; and although both of these
publications had been condemned, and their perusal prohibited
under pains and penalties, copies of them were still in exist-
ence, and access to them could easily be obtained. It may
seem, therefore, that nothing more was requisite to satisfy the
demands of the Reformers than to have Wyclif's Bible re-
published by means of the recently invented printing press.
But such a re-publication would not have sufficed to meet
either the views of the leading Reformers or the wants of the
age. The language in which Wyclif's Bible was written had,
in the sixteenth century, become antiquated. It had ceased to
be the daily spoken language of the English people. Many of
its words had become obsolete, and others had assumed new
meanings. The structure and orthography of the language
had been radically changed ; and Wyclif's Bible, even if it
could have been accepted as a satisfactory translation, would
have required to be modernised in its diction, in order to be
made intelligible to ordinary readers. But Wyclif's Bible was
only a translation of a translation. It was only a rendering in
English of the Latin Vulgate; and by the time we speak of
(say 1520), copies of the Old Testament in Hebrew, and of the
New Testament in Greek, were to be had in England, and they
The Reformers' Bibles.
51
could be read by some English scholars. Those that desired
to give the English people a version of the Bible in English
could not content themselves, therefore, with any translation
that was not made from the tongues in which the Bible was
originally written. The living water must be drawn from the
fountain-head. Wyclif's Bible was, accordingly, left to lie on
the secret shelves of the Lollard and the antiquary; and a new
version of the Bible, as accurate and as clearly expressed as
care and scholarship could make it, was felt to be a necessity
of the times.
The first of the English Reformers to set about the task of
translating the Bible anew, and the most notable of all who
gave themselves to that great and good work, was William
Tyndale. History says, "he was born about the borders of
Wales;” tradition adds, in Gloucestershire ; and the latest
phase of accepted opinion is that his birth took place in 1484.
At an early age he was sent to the University of Oxford,
where "by long continuance, he grew and increased in the
knowledge of tongues and other liberal arts, and specially in
the knowledge of the Scriptures, whereunto his mind was
singularly addicted.” After “proceeding in degrees of the
schools," he removed from Oxford to Cambridge, where he
“likewise made his abode a certain space, and ripened further
in the knowledge of God's word.”
About 1521, Tyndale left Cambridge, to act as tutor or
chaplain in the family of Sir John Walsh, of Little Sodbury.
Here his religious views and character were markedly de-
veloped. In those days there was much in the Catholic
Church to provoke and grieve, if not alienate, the worthiest of
her members. Many of the most important bishoprics in
England were held by foreigners, who lived abroad, and who
never entered appearance within the bounds of their dioceses.
The greed and extortion, too, of the clergy had no limits; so
that when Tyndale took pen in hand, he wrote in one of his
books :-“The parson sheareth, the vicar shaveth, the parish
priest polleth, the friar scrapeth, and the pardoner pareth : we
lack but a butcher to pull off the skin." What was exhibited
in the Church as the Christian religion was a senseless mum-
52
Bibles of England.
mery, which had no root in the intellect, and no moral influence
on the lives of those that affected to find salvation in it. On
these scandals and corruptions Tyndale looked with scorn and
indignation, and out of the abundance of his heart his mouth
began to speak with greater plainness than prudence. “Being
in good favour with his master, he sat most commonly at his
(master's) own table, which kept a good ordinary, having resort
to him many times divers great-beneficed men, as abbots,
deans, and arch-deacons.
Amongst whom commonly
was talk of learning
and the said Master Tyndale
being learned,
did many times therein shew his
learning
until in the continuance thereof those great-
beneficed doctors waxed weary, and bore a secret grudge in
their hearts against Master Tyndale.": And, considering the
vehemence of language that Tyndale displays in his writings,
we may be quite sure that in his post-prandial discussions he
would not be very careful to express himself in measured
terms. We can easily understand, too, that the great-beneficed
dignitaries bore a grudge at him, and that murmurs arose
about his holding opinions at variance with the faith of the
Church. Tyndale, in fact, at this early period, and while
occupying a position that was not independent, had made him-
self a marked man. He was promptly taken to task, therefore,
by his superiors. In the absence of the non-resident bishop,
the chancellor of the diocese took occasion to summon before
him all the priests in the district where Tyndale resided. Tyn-
dale had his own suspicions of what was meant by this act of
authority; and he prayed heartily that God would "strengthen
him to stand fast in the truth.” What took place at the
meeting can only be gathered somewhat dubiously from the
partial accounts on the one hand by Tyndale himself, and on
the other by the adversary of his later years, Sir Thomas
More. “When I came before the Chancellor," Tyndale writes,
"he threatened me grievously, and reviled me, and rated me as
though I had been a dog: and laid to my charge (things)
whereof there could be none accuser brought forth, as their
I Foxe.
The Reformers' Bibles.
53
manner is not to bring forth the accuser : and yet all the
priests of the country' were the same day there." Sir Thomas
More, on the other hand, avers that as Tyndale "glosed his
words with a better sense, and said and swore that he meant
no harm, folk were glad to take all to the best.”
It was during his tutorship, or chaplaincy, at Little Sodbury,
about the year 1522, when he was thirty-eight years of age,
that Tyndale seems first to have announced his purpose of
translating the Scriptures into English. Falling into argument
with an ecclesiastical brother, about God's laws and the Pope's
laws, Tyndale said in the heat of his temper :-“I defy the
Pope and all his laws: and if God spare my life, ere many
years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know
more of the Scriptures than thou doest.” And the motives
that led Tyndale to cherish this high and grand design, he
detailed many years afterwards, in the preface to his transla-
tion of the Pentateuch. The rulers of the Church, he there
said, “be all agreed
to keep the world in darkness :
to the intent they may sit in the consciences of the people,
through vain superstition and false doctrine to satisfy their
filthy lusts, their proud ambition and unsatiable covetousness,
and to exalt their own honour above King and compeer, yea,
and above God himself.
Which thing only moved me
to translate the New Testament.
I perceived by ex-
perience how that it was impossible to establish the lay people
in any truth, except the Scripture were plainly laid before their
eyes in their mother-tongue, that they might see the process,
order, and meaning of the text: for else, whatsoever truth is
taught them, these enemies of all truth quench it again, partly
with the smoke of their bottomless pit
that is, with
I Pref. to Pentateuch. Demaus, p. 57.
2 In Scrivener's Introduction to Notes on the New Testament (1845), the follow-
ing statement occurs, p. 78-9: “In his 'Memoirs of Tyndale' Mr. Offer has re-
cently brought to light a few manuscript translations of various parts of the New
Testament, bearing the signature of W. T., and the date of 1502, just twenty years
before the publication of any portion of Luther's Bible. From these most curious
fragments it appears that Tyndale's version of Scripture was no hasty compilation to
serve an emergency, but the matured fruit of careful practice and patient study, con-
tinued through the course of four and twenty years."
54
Bibles of England.
apparent reasons of sophistry, and traditions of their own
making, founded without ground of Scripture, and partly in
juggling with the text, expounding it in such a sense as is im-
possible to gather of the text, if thou see the process, order,
and meaning thereof."
It is evident that the stand which Tyndale was taking
against ecclesiastical authority was not altogether in keeping
with the dependent position he occupied in Sir John Walsh's
family, and that it might possibly bring Sir John Walsh him-
self into trouble. Tyndale was not slow to realise these facts;
and he accordingly intimated his desire to be released from his
tutorship. “I perceive," he said to the worthy knight, in whose
hospitable house he had received much kindness," that I shall
not be suffered to tarry long here, nor will you be able to keep
me out of their (the clergy's) hands; and what displeasure you
might have thereby is hard to know, for the which I should be
right sorry."
Tyndale, therefore, “with his master's good will,” took leave
of Little Sodbury and Gloucestershire, and made his way to
the metropolis, where he hoped to be able to accomplish in
peace the great undertaking on which he was bent. He
obtained, and took with him, a note of introduction from Sir
John Walsh to Sir Harry Guildford, controller of the royal
household, who was thought likely to be able to further the
views of the poor tutor. Shortly before this time, a new
bishop had been installed in London; and this new bishop,
Cuthbert Tunstall, was not only of high repute as a scholar,
but was supposed to have some sympathy with the liberal
views that were spreading at the seats of learning. On reach-
ing London, Tyndale repaired without delay to Sir Harry
Guildford, who received him with all the courtesy anticipated,
and promised to recommend him to the bishop's favourable
notice. It was then arranged that Tyndale should, at a fitting
time, wait upon the bishop personally; and, after submitting
credentials of his scholarship, endeavour to ascertain if the
bishop could find for him any service that would enable
him to reside in London, and prosecute the work to which he
meant to devote his energies. The desired interview was
The Reformers' Bibles.
55
obtained, but the result was disappointing. Men that are
besieged with applications for sympathy and help, as bishops
are apt to be, are often compelled to be reserved and coldly
polite to suitors. It may very well be supposed, also, that
considering the disfavour with which translations of the Bible
into different tongues had come to be regarded by many
churchmen, Tunstall would be chary about committing him-
self to the project of an adventurer, whose ardour might
possibly have outrun his discretion. After hearing what
Tyndale had to say, therefore, the Bishop replied that “his
house was full, and that he had more (chaplains) than he could
well find." And he politely added, that he did not doubt, if
Master Tyndale would look about him in London he would
not long lack service.
While residing in London, Tyndale preached occasionally in
the Church of St. Dunstan's in the West. One that heard him
preach there was Humphrey Monmouth, a wealthy cloth
merchant in the east end of the city, who had begun "to be a
Scripture man, and to smell the Gospel.” Tyndale made the
acquaintance of this well-to-do hearer, and was installed for
half a year as chaplain in his house, at a salary of ten pounds
sterling, to pray for all Christian souls, and especially for the
souls of Monmouth's father and mother. During the half-year
he was so employed, “he lived,” said Monmouth, “like a good
priest as methought. He studied most part of the day and of
the night at his book; and he would eat but sodden meat by
his good will, and drink but small single beer.”
In England, the Bible was, at this time, to all intents and
purposes, an interdicted book. No scholar was allowed to
publish, and no person was allowed to peruse, under pains and
penalties, a translation of the Holy Scriptures, “ until the said
translation had been approved by the ordinary of the place,
or, if the case so required, by the council provincial.” It
accordingly became more and more clear to Tyndale, that not
only was there “no room in my lord of London's palace to
translate the New Testament, but also, that there was no
I “ Find” here means “provide for.”
56
Bibles of England.
place to do it in all England.” He resolved, therefore, to
embark for the continent, and achieve abroad what he was un-
able to accomplish at home. Early in 1524, he left England,
never to revisit her shores; and he made his way in the
first instance to Hamburg. He took with him the ten pounds
he received from Monmouth as payment for prayers; and in
about a twelvemonth afterwards, when his translation was
ready for the press, there was transmitted to him from Eng-
land a second sum of ten pounds, from friends whose names
are unknown.
It may be assumed as probable that Tyndale's original in-
tention was to translate the whole Bible into English. It was
more practicable, however, to do the work by instalments than
to do it all at once. And, as the object he had in view was to
indoctrinate the people of England in the true principles of the
Christian religion, he wisely determined that the first instal-
ment of his work should be a translation of the New Testa-
ment.
Although Tyndale landed at Hamburg in 1524, and was at
Hamburg again in 1525, when the ten pounds were sent him
from England, it is commonly supposed that he did not reside
at Hamburg during the interval. Where he went to is matter
of conjecture, and more than one hypothetical account of his
movements has been put into print. His latest biographer, Mr.
Demaus, is of opinion that from Hamburg Tyndale went direct
to Wittemberg, where Luther lived, and that he remained at
Wittemberg till the translation of the New Testament was
finished.
But it was not at Wittemberg that Tyndale's Testament
was printed. Cologne was the place chosen by Tyndale for
putting his work in type. Instead, however, of going direct to
Cologne from Wittemberg, he came round by Hamburg in
order to lift the friendly contribution that was sent him from
England to meet his printer's bill. At Cologne a mischance
occurred, which somewhat retarded the publication of his
book. There happened at that time to be residing at Cologne
a noted ecclesiastic, named John Cochlaeus, who was one of
the fiercest and bitterest enemies of the Reformation. For
The Reformers' Bibles.
57
o the
the vehemence and virulence with which he assailed the
Protestant doctrines, he was styled in some quarters
scourge of Luther.”
In his opinion, the root of all evil
was the dissemination of the Scriptures among the people
in their own mother tongues. He declared that transla-
tions of the New Testament, such as Luther's, were the food
of death, the destruction of discipline, a wellspring of vice, a
nourishment of contempt, and high treason against the truth. "
Unluckily, it reached the ears of Cochlaeus that a translation
of the New Testament into English was being rapidly pushed
through the press at Cologne; that the printers had already
advanced as far as the letter K in the order of the sheets;
that the expenses were abundantly supplied by English
merchants, who when the work was printed, were to convey it
secretly, and disperse it widely through all England, before the
King or the cardinal could discover or prohibit it." This was
startling intelligence to a man of Cochlaeus' temperament. He
lost no time in communicating his information to a civilian of
high rank, who “went to the senate of Cologne, and procured
an order interdicting the printers from proceeding further with
their work." Tyndale deemed it expedient to hurry off from
Cologne with all his papers and prints, and make his way to
Worms, where he could be sure of protection against the
Church's persecution. At Worms, the work, commenced and
interrupted at Cologne, was continued and finished. This was
the quarto edition of Tyndale's Testament, with glosses
marginal notes, published in 1526. Along with this edition in
quarto, another in octavo, without notes, was simultaneously
issued at Worms; and large consignments of both editions
were without delay smuggled over to England.
The name of Tyndale did not appear on the title-page of
or
1 Cochlaeus' own words are so choice that they are worthy of preservation in the
records of bigotry :-“Novum Testamentum, a Luthero in patriam linguam traduc-
tum, vere pabulum est mortis, fomes peccati, velamen malitiae, praetextus falsae
libertatis, inobedentiae praesidium, disciplinae corruptio, morum depravatio, con-
cordiae dissipatio, honestatis interitus, vitiorum scaturigo, virtutum lues, rebellionis
incendium, superbiae lac, esca contemptus, pacis mors, charitatis peremptio, uni-
tatis hostis, veritatis perduellio.” Tyndale by Demaus, p. 387.
58
Bibles of England.
either of these prints; and for some time it was not known
who was the person that had dared, in the face of a penal pro-
hibition, to publish a translation of the New Testament into
English, without the prescribed ecclesiastical licence.
It was at a most opportune juncture that Tyndale's transla-
tion appeared. The people of England were thirsting to
know what the word of God really contained; whether it sanc-
tioned the doctrines and practices of the Church or confirmed
the allegations of the Reforrners. The two editions of Tyndale's
Testament, therefore, although they each comprised three
thousand copies, were soon bought up by the reading public,
small as it was in those days. Before the close of 1526, another
edition, printed at Antwerp, apparently as a private speculation
by an enterprising publisher, was sent over to England, to meet
the unsated demand. And it was not only in that part of
Great Britain which is specially termed England, and which
was then under the sway of a separate King, that this grand
hunger for the Bible existed ; but in the northern part of the
island there was evinced a similar eagerness to have the word
of God presented to the people, in a language they could
understand. In January 1527, one of Cardinal Wolsey's
emissaries in the low countries wrote to his patron, that divers
merchants of Scotland had been buying Testaments, and had
taken them home, "a part to Edinburgh, and most part to the
town of St. Andrew."
All the more eagerly that Tyndale's Testament was pur-
chased by the people of England the more fiercely was it
denounced by the chief authorities in the Church. In the
course of the summer of 1526, a copy of the book came into
the hands of one of the English bishops, and with the zeal of
his order, this bishop submitted the book to his ecclesiastical
superior. A meeting of prelates was forthwith summoned ;
and, after deliberation, it was resolved that the book should be
called in and suppressed. To awaken the public mind to an
adequate sense of the danger attending the circulation of such
a pestilent volume, it was also agreed that a great gathering
i Tyndale by Demaus, p. 173.
The Reformers' Bibles.
59
should be convened at Paul's Cross, London, to hear a true and
an unvarnished account of the mistranslations and heresies
with which the book was filled, and then to witness its con-
signment, as a thing accursed, to the flames. The bishop on
whom devolved the task of preaching this inflammatory
sermon was the accomplished Tunstall, the friend of Erasmus,
and the patron of learning, who was expected by Tyndale to
aid him in his project of translating the Bible. Tunstall, as
the supposed gravity of the occasion required, discharged his
duty vigorously, and denounced the obnoxious book lustily.
He declared that in the book he had found of mistranslations
the good round number of three thousand. What could be
said of a book so replete with errors? It was, we may imagine
Tunstall saying, like the ground which instead of bringing
forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, beareth only
thorns and briars, and is therefore to be rejected, as nigh unto
cursing, whose end is to be burned.
The action of the prelates in reference to Tyndale's Testa-
ment did not end with this scene at Paul's Cross. An injunction
was issued by the Bishop of London to his arch-deacons, to
require all persons, within the bounds of his diocese, that had
in their possession a copy of the denounced book, to surrender
the same under pain of excommunication. In this injunction,
I
1 In May 1530, Tyndale's Testament was publicly burned a second time, at
Paul's Cross, under the superintendence of Tunstall. (Demaus, p. 224.) It is diffi-
cult to make out from the confused and contradictory accounts given of the
burning of Tyndale's Testament, whether there was not a third conflagration. It
is said by all the biographers of Tyndale that his brother John and Thomas Pat-
more, a London draper, were taken before the Star Chamber, and accused of im-
porting and selling the forbidden Testament ; and having been found guilty, they
were condemned to do penance in ridiculous guise. Loaded with as many of the
obnoxious books as could be lacked to their gowns, they were marched through the
city on horseback, with their faces towards the tails of their nags, and on reaching
the place where the fire was kindled, were compelled to cast into the flames, with
their own hands, the Testaments with which they were derisively adorned. Mr.
Demaus says that this procession (he makes no mention of the subsequent burning)
took place in 1531. For different accounts of these scenes, vide Dr. Mombert's
English versions, Mr. Paterson Smith's “ How we got our Bible," etc., etc.
2 At a later date, 1531, May 25, an edict was published by the King, with ad-
vice of his council and prelates, " that the translation of Scripture corrupted by
60
Bibles of England.
the book was not described as the work either of Tyndale
singly, or of Tyndale and some associate, but of“ many chil-
dren of iniquity, maintainers of Luther's sect.” And the
special charges brought against these translators were, that
they had intermingled with the text “heretical articles and
erroneous opinions," and had attempted, " by their wicked and
perverse interpretations, to profane the Majesty of Scripture
and craftily to abuse the most holy word of God.”
Offensive, however, as Tyndale's glosses in his quarto edition
may have been to the Catholic clergy, it would be a mistake to
suppose that the stir that was made about the English Testa-
ment was all or mainly on that account. There was a wide-
spread horror of Scripture translations, whether accompanied
with notes or not, and however faultlessly executed. Towards
the close of 1525, a churchman who came afterwards to
be Archbishop of York, wrote from the continent to his
Majesty, about a translation of the New Testament into
English,“ by an Englishman
at the solicitation and
instance of Luther," which was within a few days to be sent
over to England. In that letter, which has been preserved and
printed in more than one book, the writer takes on himself to
tell the King's grace, that "this is the next way to fulfil your
realm with Lutherans. For all Luther's opinions be grounded
upon bare words of Scripture, not well taken nor understanded.”
What the Catholics in 1526, therefore, were afraid to trust to
the people, were “the bare words of Scripture ;" for as Tyn-
dale in one of his books remarks, the way in which churchmen
sought to establish their superstitions and dumb ceremonies
was by "destroying the literal sense, (of Scripture) and setting
up a false feigned sense of allegories, when there is none
such."I
William Tyndale
should be utterly expelled, rejected, and put away out
of the hands of his people, and not be suffered to get abroad among his subjects.
To give this tyrannical edict an appearance of clemency, there was added a pro-
missory note, “that the King would see to it that the New Testament should be
faithfully and purely translated.”
1 Answer to Sir T. More's Dialogue, (Parker Society Edition) p. 44.
The Reformers' Bibles.
61
Despite the stringent measures adopted by the Church to
prevent the circulation of Tyndale's Testament in England,
and notwithstanding the oratorical artifices employed to create
in the minds of the public a prejudice against its accuracy as a
translation, it continued to be purchased and read in secret,
with the greatest avidity. In a postscript subjoined to his
octavo edition of the Testament, 1526, Tyndale entreated that
his work should be regarded “as a thing not having his full
shape, but as it were born afore his time, even as a thing begun
rather than finished.” And he added, “in time to come, if
God have appointed us thereunto, we will give it his full
shape; and put out, if aught be added superfluously ; and add
to, if aught be overseen through negligence ;
and
seek in certain places more proper English;
and will
endeavour ourselves to seethe it better, and to make it more
apt for the weak stomachs; desiring them that are learned and
able, to remember their duty and to help thereunto.” It was
not till 1534, that Tyndale redeemed this pledge, by the pub-
lication of a revised edition of his Testament; but, in the
meanwhile, several reprints, more or less accurate, or rather in-
accurate, of his first edition came into England from the con-
tinent To suppress the work, it was seen that something
more than denunciation and combustion was needed. And so
other devices were resorted to. It happened that, in 1529,
Tunstall was in Antwerp, where he forgathered with one
Augustine Packington, a London mercer, “of great honesty."
In the course of conversation with Packington, who was
secretly a friend of Tyndale's, although to the bishop he
“shewed himself the contrary," Tunstall intimated that in
order to destroy the interdicted Testaments, he would gladly
pay for all that could be brought to him.
pleasure to do so," said Packington, “I will assure you to have
every copy of them that is imprinted and is unsold in Ant-
werp.” “The bishop,” so runs the story, “thinking he had
God by the toe, when indeed he had
the Devil by
the fist, said, 'Gentle Mr. Packington, do your diligence and
“ If it be your
I His was, in Tyndale's day, used as its is now.
62
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get them; and with all my heart I will pay for them, whatso-
ever they cost you, for the books are erroneous and nought,
and I intend surely to destroy them all, and to burn them at
Paul's cross.' Packington thereupon hurried to Tyndale, and
said, William, I know thou art a poor man, and hast a heap
of New Testaments by thee,
and I have now gotten
thee a merchant, which with ready money shall despatch thee
of all that thou hast.' 'Who is the merchant?' asked Tyndale.
· The Bishop of London,' said Packington. 'Oh, that is be-
cause he will burn them,' said Tyndale. "Yea, marry,' quoth
Packington. 'I am the gladder,' said Tyndale, for these two
benefits shall come thereof: I shall get money to bring myself
out of debt, and the whole world will cry out against the burn-
ing of God's word ; and the overplus of the money that shall
remain to me shall make me more studious to correct the said
New Testament, and so newly to imprint the same once again.'
And so forward went the bargain. The bishop had
the books ; Packington had the thanks ; and Tyndale had the
money."
Another, and a better, device of Tunstall's for undoing the
mischief caused by Tyndale's Testament, was to expose
the errors of its text and confute the heresies in its annota-
tions And this he had set himself to do, or rather to get
done, even before his interview with Packington at Antwerp.
On the 7th March 1528, he wrote to Sir Thomas More, one of
the most accomplished and most esteemed men in England :
6 You will never be able to make a better use of your spare
hours
than by publishing in our native tongue some-
thing that will expose even to rude and simple people the
crafty malice of the heretics, and make them better prepared
against those impious enemies of the Church.” More took in
hand the task suggested, and, in June 1529, published a book
bearing the title: "A Dialogue of Sir Thomas More, Knight,
one of the Council of our Sovereign Lord the King, and
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, wherein be treated
divers matters, as of the veneration and worship of images and
relics, praying to saints and going on pilgrimage: with many
other things touching the pestilent sect of Luther and Tyndale,
1
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63
by the tone begun in Saxony, and by the tother laboured to
be brought into England." The scope of this treatise included,
but extended further than, a criticism of Tyndale's Testament;
and it called for an answer from Tyndale, in respect of the
pointed manner in which his name was associated with certain
alleged heresies. More's dialogue has the credit of being
“written in a witty, pleasant, and popular style.” This is more
than can be said of Tyndale's reply, which was published in
1531. The verdict of Sir Thomas Cromwell, that it was “un-
clerkly done," must be the finding of every one that attempts
to read through its dreary pages. It nevertheless contains a
few interesting remarks, which will bear quotation, regarding
objections to some of his renderings in the English Testament.
Eight years intervened between the publication of the first
and the revised edition of Tyndale's Testament. During these
eight years, however, from 1526 to 1533, Tyndale was by no
means idle.
On the contrary, he was busily employed in
literary work. Besides a translation of the Pentateuch, with a
general preface, a separate preface to each book and marginal
notes, and a translation of the prophecies of Jonah, with a
prologue, Tyndale during these years published several works
of a polemical character. These publications of Tyndale's are
all more or less interesting to the student of the English Bible,
as shewing what theories Tyndale held in regard to Biblical
interpretation and the true foundation of the Christian religion,
what charges he made against the Catholic Church in connec-
tion with these matters, and of what a keen, combative, and
vehement spirit he was possessed. The fundamental doc-
trine of Protestantism is that Christianity is founded solely and
entirely on the Scriptures. This was what Tyndale maintained ;
and he said further, that " Scripture hath but one sense, which
is the literal sense.” And in eloquent words he added : "That
literal sense is the root and ground of all, and the anchor that
never faileth, whereunto if thou cleave, thou canst never err or
go out of the way.”ı In another of his writings, he tells how
the Catholics, in opposition to this sound doctrine, had by false
1 Obedience of a Christian man.
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glosses and fantastical interpretations, perverted Scripture from
its true meaning in order to bolster up their own pretensions.
“When they come to the law," he says, "they put gloses to,
and make no more of it than of a worldly lawe which is
satisfied with the outward work. When they come to the
gospel, there they mingle their leuen, and say, God now
receiveth us no more to mercy, but of mercy receiveth us to
penaunce, that is to witte, holy deedes that make them fat
bellies, and us their captives both in soule and body.": And,
as may be seen from this last extract, it was not in minced
words nor with bated breath that Tyndale spoke and wrote.
His biographer apologises as far as truth will allow for this
vehemence; but he is constrained to admit that Tyndale hated
the system of Popery "with his whole heart, and condemned it
with his whole strength. In his eyes the Pope was Anti-Christ,
and the whore of Babylon
the monks and friars were
caterpillars, horse-leeches, drone-bees, and draff. In short,
Tyndale's indignation, sharpened by years of exile and home-
sick longing, knew no bounds, and his words knew no modera-
In his controversies with individual persons, too, ,
Tyndale was very little restrained by delicate consideration of
an honourable opponent's feelings. But sometimes he was
pithy without being abusive. At other times he railed and
reviled, and brought himself down to the level of his Popish
assailants. It is admitted by his biographer, that through
misinformation, he made odious charges against Sir Thomas
More,4 which had no foundation in fact; and, in addition to
tion."
Prologue to Book of Jonah.
2 Tyndale, Demaus, p. 254.
3 For instance, in reply to Sir Thomas More’s averment, that Apostles and Saints
were prayed to when alive and God was not dishonoured thereby, Tyndale says :
" What helpeth that your carnal purpose ? I have answerd you unto that, and
many things more
against which ye reply not, but keep your tune, and
unto all things sing, Cuckoo, Cuckoo." Reply to More (Parker Society Edition)
p. 119. In similar style, he says again in the same book, p. 15: “As the wise
people, when they dance naked in nets, believe that no man seeth them; even so,
Master More thinketh that his errors be so subtilly couched that no man can espy
them.”
4 Demaus' T yn lale, p. 272.
The Reformers' Bibles.
65
that, he applied to his learned opponent terms of the coarsest
opprobrium. For such indecencies in Tyndale's writings the
only valid apology that can be offered is that they corresponded
with the culture and courtesies of the times in which the author
lived. I
Towards the end of 1530, an effort was made to induce
Tyndale to return to his native country. This effort originated
with Thomas Cromwell, who possibly thought that, in the libera-
tion policy on which he had entered, Tyndale would be both
inclined and able to afford him material support. Cromwell's
overtures seem to have had the King's sanction and nominal
approval. One of the English envoys in the low countries was
accordingly instructed to discover, if possible, the residence of
Tyndale; and to hint that if he were content, as was rumoured,
to repair and come to England on promise of a safe conduct
from the King, influence would be used to procure for him
“whatsoever surety he would reasonably desire, for his coming
in and going out of the realm.” Tyndale, however, could not
be prevailed upon to venture home, albeit the King should
“promise him never so much surety;" for he feared that such
a promise would "shortly be broken, by persuasion of the clergy,
who would affirm that promises made with heretics ought not
to be kept." In this determination, Tyndale displayed a
prudence that was fully vindicated by subsequent events. The
King was too variable to be much depended on; and there were
many statements in Tyndale's writings with which crafty cour-
tiers could easily poison the mind of Henry against the Reformer.
It happened that just about this time, when inducements were
held out to Tyndale by the English envoy, Stephen Vaughan,
to return to England, the bitterest of all Tyndale's polemical
works made its appearance, and attracted notice in high quar-
1 Among other things Tyndale says of More, “His mighty arguments prove not
the value of a poding prick."
“He rageth, and fareth exceeding foul
with himself. There he biteth, sucketh, gnaweth, towseth and mowseth Tynedale.”
“Master More was their special orator, to feign lies for their purpose.”
“Controversies blinded the eyes of that gleering fox more and more, and
hardened his heart against the truth.” Answer to More, p. 141, 151, 168. Ex-
position of Sermon on Mount, p. 100.
F
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ters. In this book, the prosecution of the suit for Henry's
divorce was denounced as a scandalous attempt on the part of
the clergy to set aside the obligations of divine law. Early
in 1531, it reached the ears of Tyndale that the King had been
much displeased at the publication of this book; whereof, said
Tyndale in a conversation with Vaughan, "I have no little
marvel, considering that in it I did but warn his grace of the
subtle demeanour of the clergy of his realm towards his person,
and of the shameful abusions by them practised, not a little
threatening the displeasure of his grace and weal of his realm."
In the course of further conversation, Tyndale added that he
had finished a reply to Sir Thomas More's dialogue, but would
not put it in print till the King had had the opportunity of
perusing it. Part of this unprinted work, “sewed and inclosed
in leather," was thereupon forwarded by Vaughan for the
King's private perusal. This intended mark of dutiful respect
to the King was only a further contribution of fuel to the fire
that was burning in Henry's bosom. The King's rage became
* unbounded, and Cromwell was instructed to direct his envoy to
be less officious, and to desist from his efforts to induce Tyndale
to return to England."
Soon after this incident, Henry had the meanness to issue
orders for the apprehension of his loyal but outspoken subject.
.
1 The letter that Cromwell despatched to Vaughan is so characteristic, and so
clearly explains the situation, that a few sentences of it may be here quoted.
'Stephen Vaughan, I commend me unto you, and have received your letters,
dated at Antwerp the 18th day of April, with also that part of Tyndale's book
which
ye,
with your letters, directed to the King's Highness. And
albeit I might well perceive that his Majesty was right well pleased, and right ac-
ceptably considered your diligence and pains taken in the writing and sending of
the said book, as also in the persuading and exhorting of Tyndale to repair into this
realm ; yet his Highness nothing liked the said book, being filled with seditions,
slanderous lies, and fantastical opinions, shewing therein neither learning nor truth.
The King's Highness, therefore, hath commanded me to advertise you that
ye should desist and leave any further to persuade or attempt the said Tyndale to
come into this realm; alleging that he
is very joyous to have his realm
destitute of such a person.
For his Highness right prudently considereth
that if he were present, by all likelihood he would shortly do as much as in him
were to infect and corrupt the whole realm, to the great inquietation and hurt of the
commonwealth of the same.”—Deniaus.
.
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67
.
The person employed in this ignoble task was Sir Thomas
Elyot, a friend of Sir Thomas More's; and, sad to say, Elyot
devoted himself to his unhallowed work with a zeal that was
worthy of a better cause. Tyndale was not only in exile but
in hiding. Elyot accordingly wrote (1532), “ Albeit the King
willeth me
to remain at Brussels some space of time
for the apprehension of Tyndale, which somewhat minisheth
my hope of soon return, considering that like as he is in wit
movable, semblably so is his person uncertain to come by: and
so far as I can perceive, hearing of the King's diligence in the
apprehension of him, he withdraweth him into such places
where he thinketh to be farthest out of danger. In me there
shall lack none endeavour."
Sir Thomas Elyot's endeavours, whatever they were, to
apprehend Tyndale were not successful. The Reformer was
in wit too moveable to be caught by such a garrulous detective;
and although Sir Thomas, according to his own account, “gave
many rewards” to the Emperor's servants and others to reveal
or discover for him Tyndale's place of concealment, the service
so handsomely paid for beforehand was never rendered. But
the enemies of Tyndale were not content to rest satisfied with
the abortive efforts of Sir Thomas Elyot to secure the Re-
former's person. They resolved that another effort, conducted
with more skill and vigour, should be made. Towards the end
of 1534, or early in 1535, a new plan of campaign was secretly
concocted in England.
It has not been ascertained who were
the authors of that plan, but it is supposed that neither the
King nor any of his ministers was cognisant of it. The execu-
tion of the plan was entrusted to a Londoner, named Henry
Philips, and a friar, named Gabriel Donne. Tyndale was then
residing in Antwerp, and he did not require to make any secret
of his residence there, for at the date referred to it was one
of the privileges enjoyed by residents in that city that they
could not be “arrested in their houses except for some great
crime."
Strange to say, however, a man could be seized on
the streets of Antwerp and whipped off to another place,
where the Church's laws regarding heresy could be enforced
against him. Philips and Donne, therefore, were to make their
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way to Antwerp. Philips, who was “a comely fellow," was to
act the part of gentleman, and cultivate acquaintance with
the leading Englishmen in the city. Donne was to act the
humbler part of valet, and by surrounding his master with a
semblance of dignity make his society the more coveted. The
two together were to find ways and means of abducting
Tyndale, and how they did so may be best told in the words
of the martyrologist Foxe. Master Tyndale divers times was
desired forth to dinner and supper among merchants, by the
means whereof this Henry Philips became acquainted with
him, so that within short space Master Tyndale had a great
confidence in him, and brought him to his lodging, .
and had him also once or twice with him to dinner and supper.
One day Philip called at Tyndale's lodging and
requested to be allowed to entertain Tyndale in his own house
with such good meat as the market could give. No,' said
Master Tyndale, 'I go forth this day to dinner, and you shall
go with me and be my guest, where you shall be welcome.'
So when it was dinner-time, Master Tyndale went forth with
Philips, and at the going out of the house was a long narrow
entry, so that two could not go in a front. Master Tyndale
would have put Philips before him, but Philips would in no
wise, but put Master Tyndale afore, for that he pretended to
show great humanity. So Master Tyndale, being a man of no
great stature, went before, and Philips, a tall comely person,
followed behind him, who had set officers on either side of the
door upon two seats, and coming through the same entry
Philips pointed with his finger over Master Tyndale's head
down to him, that the officers which sat at the door might see
that it was he whom they should take." The officers, as
directed, seized Tyndale and carried him off with so little show
of resistance “ that they pitied to see his simplicity.” He was
marched in the first instance to the residence of the Emperor's
attorney, where he dined, and “from thence he was had to the
Castle of Vilford (or Vilvorde) eighteen English miles from
Antwerp."
Tyndale was now formally charged with venting heretical
doctrines, and, according to the common practice in cases of
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69
heresy, special commissioners were nominated for conducting
his trial. The trial was a tedious process, but the issue was
never doubtful. Tyndale had certainly vented opinions that
the Church considered heretical. Whether they should have
been called heretical is another question. Tyndale maintained
that all his alleged heresies were the very doctrines of Christ.
and his Apostles. But the Commissioners who tried Tyndale
had only to say whether or not Tyndale's opinions fell under
the designation of heretical, as that term was defined by the
Church.
The friends of Tyndale did what they could to procure his
release but, although the influence of Cromwell was obtained
on behalf of the prisoner, the law was allowed to take its
course. For sixteen weary months Tyndale lay in the jail
that was dignified by the name of castle. What rigours he had
to submit to in that lordly place of confinement may be seen
from the tenor of a letter he penned in his chamber, and
addressed to the governor of the castle, the Marquis of Bergen-
op-Zoom. “If I am to remain here during the winter," he
wrote, "you will request the procureur to be kind enough to
send me from my goods, which he has in his possession, a
warmer cap, for I suffer extremely from cold in the head
a warmer coat also, for that which I have is very thin.”
And then he adds pathetically, “I wish his permission to have
a candle in the evening, for it is wearisome to sit alone in the
dark."I From that cold and lonely prison Tyndale never was
removed till, on the morning of the 6th October, 1536, he was
led forth to be burned at the stake. And all for saying that
he believed certain doctrines, which seemed to him to be
plainly stated in the Scriptures on which Christianity is
founded, were the truth of God! His last prayer, like that of
his Divine Master, was for his enemies; and especially that
the Lord would “open the King of England's eyes.”
There were three advantages that Tyndale had over Wyclif
in translating the New Testament into English. First of all,
1 The letter was written in Latin, and is printed verbatim in Demaus' Life of
Tyndale, p. 475-6
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Tyndale was a Greek scholar, and had access to a copy of the
New Testament in its original Greek language. In the next
place, he had Luther's translation of the New Testament into
German to refer to. And in the third place, he had the oppor-
tunity of comparing a new translation of the Testament into
Latin with the old translation known as the Vulgate.
It was
a matter of great consequence for Tyndale to be able to say
that his translation was made from the original, even although
subsequent research has shown that the text from which he
translated contains many readings that are not authentic. The
purest text in Greek was not then known to Biblical critics.
And it was no slight benefit to Tyndale that, living at Wittem-
berg, the city of Luther's residence, he had both Luther's
German translation and Luther himself at hand to consult on
the right rendering of many Greek words and Greek phrases.
It is admitted that in his notes and prologues: Tyndale
was largely indebted to the labours of the German Reformer ;
and it is generally conceded that the inspiration of Luther can
be detected in some of Tyndale's renderings. It can scarcely
be doubted, too, that Tyndale both learned and unlearned
something from the Latin translation of the New Testament
by Erasmus. The Vulgate had so long held possession of the
public mind that many of its words and phrases had come to
be regarded as the divine original. Both usages and doctrines
were founded by the Church on these expressions in the
Vulgate. But, in the several Latin translations of the New
Testament issued by the Reformers a new phraseology was
introduced ; time-honoured words were discarded, and the
sacred page was made to exhibit a new meaning. It was in
Beza's Latin version of the Testament, published in 1556, that
these departures from the readings of the Vulgate became
most marked, but they were visible also in the earlier transla-
tion by Erasmus. For instance, the word sacramentum (sacra-
I Mr. Demaus says, “Of the whole number of ninety marginal glosses which
occur in the fragment of Tyndale's quarto (1526) that has come down to us, fifty-
two have been more or less literally taken from Luther," p. 129.
2 See Eadie's Hist. of English Bible, and Mombert's English Versions,
The Reformers' Bibles.
71
ment), Eph. v. 32, was by Erasmus changed into mysterium
(mystery); the Catholic term calix (chalice), Mat. xxvi. 27, was
secularised into poculum (cup); the sacerdotal word ecclesia was
in some places, Rom. xvi. 5, 1 Cor. xiv. 4, etc., transformed into
congregatio, and in other places, Acts xix. 32, and Heb. xii. 23,
substituted by concio; and that great rock of offence to Calvin-
istic heretics, "promeretur Deus (God is conciliated, or satisfied
by the merits of men's good works) was replaced by the colour-
less phrase placetur Deo (we please God).": These and other
verbal alterations affected questions of high doctrine, on which
Catholics and Protestants were at issue ; and they doubtless
strengthened the hands of Tyndale, and made him very inde-
pendent of the Vulgate, in translating the Testament from the
Greek.
That Tyndale had eminent qualifications for the great work
to which he devoted his mind is universally conceded. He had
good knowledge of Greek, and, what is of as much importance,
his style of English was singularly clear, terse, unaffected and
simple. His Testament, says one critic, "is a noble translation,
the basis of every subsequent English version, and on several
accounts better than all subsequent versions; it has an individu-
ality as pronounced as Luther's; its Saxon is racy and strong,
sometimes majestic, and above all things, it is hearty and true;
the reader feels that the translator felt what he wrote, that his
heart was in his work, and that he strove in prayer to reproduce
in his own mother-tongue, to the very best of his ability, what
he believed to be the true sense of the word of God, as he un-
derstood it.” “To Tyndale belongs," says Prof. Plumptre, “the
honour of having given the first example of a translation based
on true principles, and the excellence of later versions has
been almost in exact proportion as they followed his.
Throughout there is the pervading stamp, so often wanting in
other like works, of the most thorough truthfulness. No word
has been altered to court a King's favour, or please bishops, or
1 Although on Calvinistic grounds the phrase mereri supplicia (deserve punish-
ments), is allowable, the expression, Heb. x, 29, is by Erasmus changed into
afficietur suppliciis, and by Beza into supplicio dignus censebitur.
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make out a case for or against a particular opinion.” The
merits of what is called his Testament, too, are all his own. He
had no collaborateur. The name of Father Roye was some-
times associated with Tyndale's, as if the English Testament of
1526 had been their joint production. In reality, Father Roye
was only an amanuensis, who helped Tyndale to compare texts,
but had nothing to do with the translation. Roye, moreover,
was a source of much trouble and annoyance to Tyndale. He
“professed wonderful faculties and made boast of no small
things.” He was both reckless and unscrupulous, wrote squibs
about people in high places, and although his rhymes were as
destitute of poetical merit as they were of Christian decency,
they were very provocative, and not only brought himself into
deserved odium but put his friends to inconvenience. “When
that was ended which I could not do alone without one,” says
Tyndale, “I took my leave, and bade him farewell for our two
lives, and as men say, a day longer."
The first edition of Tyndale's Testament was published in
1526. A revised edition appeared in 1534. This edition of
1534 is the one that is printed in Bagster's Hexapla, and is the
one therefore that is best known to English readers at the
present day. It is acknowledged to be a very considerable im-
provement on the earlier version. Besides these two, there
were at least six other editions of Tyndale's Testament pub-
lished during the translator's life time. Some of these editions
were issued without Tyndale's supervision. One was edited by
a man named George Joye, who took the liberty of amending
the translation in several places. This liberty was keenly resented
by Tyndale, and as it was never graciously apologised for, it
was never altogether forgiven. An edition published in 1536
was characterised by a very peculiar style of spelling. At one
time, it was supposed that this peculiar spelling was intended
to represent the provincial pronunciation of the peasants of
Gloucestershire ; and a romantic interest was created in the
book, as if it had been the promised volume that was to make the
plough-boys of South England wiser than their priests. What
was imagined to be Gloucestershire phonetics has turned out to
be Dutch ignorance,
The book was printed after Tyndale's
|
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73
pure handes 3
arrest, and the proof sheets were left to the correction of a
Dutch compositor, who “naturally introduced, in many cases,
Flemish equivalents for the English vowel sounds."
Except for book collectors, the only editions of Tyndale's
Testament that are of much interest are the original edition of
1526 and the amended edition of 1534. Of the first issue in
1526, only three copies are now in existence. One of these
is a quarto copy, with glosses; and the other two are octavo
copies without glosses. Of the words and phrases in this
edition that were changed in the edition of 1534, the following
may be noted : Mat. v. 28, eyeth a wyfe (1), looketh on a wyfe
(2); Acts xiii. 15, after the lecture (1), after the lawe and the
prophets were redde (2); Gal. iv. 15, digged out your awne
eyes (1), plucked out your awne eyes (2); i Cor. iv. 9, the
hynmost off all (1), the lowest of all (2); 1 Cor. iv. 16, counter-
fayte me (1), follow pie (2); I Cor. xvi. 2, in some Sabothe
day (1), upon some Sondaye (2); 2 Cor. i. 12, without double-
nes (1), in syngleriess (2); 2 Cor. xii. 20, lest there be founde
among yon laviynge (1), debate (2); 1 Tim. ii. 8, lifting up
doubtinge (2); 1 Tim. ii. 9, that they araye themselves in
manerly aparell (1), in comlye aparell (2); 2 Tim. i. 7, honest
behaviour (1), sobrietie of mynde (2); James vi. 17, Helias was
a man in danger to tribulacioun as we are (1), mortal even as
we are (2)
A better comparison of the two versions will be afforded by
the following complete sentences taken respectively from Fry's
reprint of the 1526, and Bagster's reprint of the 1534 edition :
EDITION 1526.
EDITION 1534.
Acts xviii. 5. When Silas and Acts xviii. 5. When Sylas and
Timotheus wer come from Macedonia, Timotheus were come from Macedonia,
Paul was payned in the sprete as he Paul was constrayned by the sprete to
testified to the Jewes that Jesus was
testifie to the Jewes that Jesus was very
Christ.
Christ.
Rom. xv. 28. When I have per.
Rom. xv, 28. When I have per-
formed this, and have shewed them this formed this, and have brought them this
frute, I will come back agayne by you frute sealed, I will come back agayne
into Spayne.
by you into Spayne.
Rom. xvi. 19. -- Youre obedience is Rom. xvi. 19. - Youre obedience
spoken of among all men.
extendeth to all men.
i Cor, i. 25. - For godly folyshnes I Cor. i. 25. - For the folishnes of
is wyser than men, and godly weaknes is God is wyser than men, and the weak-
stronger than are men.
ness of God is stronger than men,
74
Bibles of England.
Set youre
2 Cor. vi. 11. - Oye Corinthyans, 2 Cor. vi. 11. -0 ye Corinthyans,
oure mougth is open unto you, oure herte our mouth is open unto you.
Oure
is made large, ye are nott brought into herte is made large, ye are in no strayte
combraunce by us, though that ye were in us, but are in a strayte in youre awne
youre selves off a true meanynge. I bowelles. I promyse you lyke rewarde
speake unto you as unto chyldren whych with me as to n.y children.
have lyke rewarde wyth us, stretche selves therefore at large, and beare not a
youre selves therefore out, beare nott straungers yoke wyth the unbelevers.
the yooke wyth the unbelevers.
2 Thess. ii. 7. — For already the 2 Thess. ii. 7. — For the mistery of
mistery off iniquytie worketh. Only he that iniquitie doeth he all readie worke
that holdeth let him nowe holde untill which onlie loketh untill it be taken out
hit be taken out of the waye, and then of the waye, and then shall that wicked
shall that wicked be uttered.
be uttered,
I Tim. i. 11. -- Accordynge to the I Tim. i. II. According to the
glorious gospell off the holy God, which gospell of the glory of the blessed God,
gospell is committed unto me.
which gospell is committed unto me.
Heb. xi. 3.
Thorowe fayth we
Heb. xi. 3.
Thorow fayth we un-
understonde that the worlde was derstonde that the worlde was ordeyned
deyned by the worde off God. That by by the worde of God : and that thynges
the menes of thynges whych apeare which are sene were made of thynges
thynges whych are invisyble myght be which are not sene.
knowen.
or-
It is the amended version of 1534 that we must consider to
be Tyndale's Testament. It was in that edition that his trans-
lation took its permanent form. It is of that edition, therefore,
that we have here more particularly to speak.
In respect of the language in which they are written, there is
a wide difference between Tyndale's Testament and Wyclif's
Bible. The one was written a hundred and fifty years before
the other, and during these hundred and fifty years the English
language underwent great changes.
Tyndale, for instance, never uses such words as “weren" for
were, “schulen” for shall, “crieden” for cried, “ kittiden” for
cut, “ijen” for eyes, "schon " for shoes. He never uses such
phrases either as “mai not be undo" for may not be undone,
“hadde not be born" for had not been born, “kepe ze as ze
kunnen” for keep ye as ye can, "gauen me to eten " for gave
me to eat.' The language in which he writes is not much
different from that in which the authorised version of the Bible
is written. But for the spelling one might read many verses,
1 An exception to what is here said will be found in Acts xi. 17, where St.
Peter is made by Tyndale to say:
" What was I that I should have with stonde
God ?" An obsolete inflexion used by Tyndale is leuch for "laughed”: “They
lewghe him to scorne” (Luke viii. 53).
The Reformers' Bibles.
75
In one
you."
perhaps a whole chapter, without knowing that one was reading
anything else than what is called Queen's English, and yet,
when gathered together, the archaisms in Tyndale's Testament
form a goodly collection.
In Wyclif's Bible, pronouns, as we have seen, are not used
with very uniform regard to modern rules of gender. He and
it are applied indiscriminately to the same nouns.
passage about the offending eye, it is said “pull hym out," and
in another, “pull it out.” In both of these passages, Tyndale
uses him-"Yf thy right eye offende thee, pluck hym out and
cast hym fro thee." And so also, in John xv. 18——“Yf the
worlde hate you, ye know that he hated me before he hated
There is no instance, in Tyndale's Testament, of
"them” and “their” being spelt hem and her ; but of "other"
and “others” there are very peculiar spellings, as in Mark vi.
15, “wother said, it is Helyas," and in Gal. i. 19, "no nother of
the Apostles sawe I, save James the Lorde's brother."!
Of obsolete words, and obsolete forms of words, there neither
are in Tyndale's Testament so many, nor are there to be found
such antiquated specimens, as occur on the pages of Wyclif's
Bible. Few of the obsolete terms quoted in last chapter from
Wyclif's version of the Testament are to be met with in
Tyndale's. But some are : such as "gobbetes," in the sense of
fragments-—" They gadered up of the gobbetes that remayned
twelve baskets full," Mat. xiv. 20. And there are many words
which are now out of use, although not included in that list of
obsoletisms from Wyclif. One such word, of frequent occur-
rence, is "yer." "He that cometh after me was before me,
because he was yer than 1,"3 John i. 15; and, “We which live,
and are remayninge in the comminge of the Lorde, shall not
" other
I The word other is sometimes used as a conjunction by Tyndale, for “or," as in
Rom. x. 7 ;
“other who shall descend into the depe ?” and Rom. xiv. 10, ,
why doest thou despyse thy brother ?”
2 Wyclif seems to use the word “gobet” in a slightly different sense. In Mat.
xiv. 20, he says, “thei token the relifis of brokun gobeites twelve cofyns full ;” and
in i Cor. v. 6, “a litil sourdough apeirith al the gobet.”
3 Yer is an old form of ere, and it appeared in the first edition, 1611, of the
authorised version-“Syr, come downe yer my child die,” John iv. 49.
76
Bibles of England.
or
come yerre they which slepe," 1 Thess. iv. 15. We meet with
the word fet, also, an old form of fetch ; as in John xx. 15—
“ Yf thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast layde
him, that I may fet him." We find lyvelod, too, an old form of
livelihood, used for land or field; as in Acts v. 3—“How is it
that Satan hath filled thyne hert that thou shuldest lye unto
the holy goost, and kepe away parte of the pryce of the
lyvelod.” For "continued,” we find bidden; as in Luke xxii.
28—“Ye are they which have bidden with me in my tempta-
cions.” In one passage, peased is used for “ quieted
"silenced ; " " All the multitude was peased, and gave evidence
to Barnabas and Paul,” Acts XV. 12. In more than one
passage, arede occurs where "prophesy" is now the word
employed; as in Mark xiv. 65-"Some beganne to spit at
him, and to cover his face, and to bete him with fistes, and to
say unto him, arede unto us.” In the sense of rob, the term
pill appears in 2 Cor. xii. 17; and a question that seems very
un-apostolic is thereby put into the mouth of St. Paul—“ Did I
pill you by any of them which I sent unto you.” This un-
apostolic phrase of Tyndale's, however, is more than compen-
sated for by another very interesting expression of his, shewing
the derivation of the theological terms "atone" and "atone-
ment,” which occurs in 2 Cor. v. 20—“So praye we you in
Christe's stede that ye be atone (at one) with God.”:
Much larger than the number of obsolete words in Tyndale's
Testament is the number of common current words that are
used in an archaic sense. The question, "Why troublest thou
the master,” Mark v. 35, appears in Tyndale's version, “Why
diseasest thou the master; the phrase "uncomely parts," I Cor.
1 Among other obsolete words, and forms of words, in Tyndale's Testament may
be mentioned : afyre, for “on fire,” Jas. iii. 6; comened, for “talked," Acts xx. II;
conspiracion, for “conspiracy,” Acts xxiii. 13; despicious, for “reasoning," Acts
xxviii. 29; hagge on me, for se weary me,” Luke xviii. 5; harberous, for "hospi-
table," I Tim. iii. 2; lever, for “ rather,” i Cor. xiv. 19; loweth, for “depth, ”
Rom. viii. 39 ; pistle, for “epistle,” i Cor. v. 9; perceavaunce, for “ prudence,"
Eph. i. 8; ungostly, for “profane,” i Tim. iv. 7. The “ profane and vain
babblings,” which Timothy was exhorted to avoid, are designated by Tyndale,
"ungostly vanities of voyces."
The Reformers' Bibles.
77
xii. IO.
xii. 23, is rendered ungodly parties ; busynes is used, Mark xiv.
2, in the sense of tumult; submitted, 2 Cor. xi. 7, in the sense
of abased; avoid, Mat. iv. 10, in the sense of “get thee hence;"
inordinatly, 2 Thes. iii. 7, in the sense of “disorderly ;” and
enfoarce, 2 Peter i. 15, in the sense of "endeavour," or "give
diligence.” As it may still be heard in provincial speech, the
word “ learn" is sometimes used by Tyndale for “teach ;”-
"They verely for a feaue dayes nurtred us after their awne
pleasure, but he learneth us unto that which is profitable," Heb.
The term soft, which in its reference to a man's char-
acter conveys now the imputation of feebleness, is by Tyndale
employed in the sense of “gentle.” In his epistle to Titus, St.
Paul is made to say :-“ Warne them
that they
speake evyll of no man, that they be no fyghters, but softe,
showing all meknes unto all men." And so, also, in Phil. iv.
5:— “Let your soſtenes be knowen unto all men.” A remon-
strance that, at the present day, might be very ridiculously
misconstrued, appears in Tyndale's version of Gal. vi. 17
" From henceforth let no man put me to busyness.” The word
business," however, signified, in Tyndale's time, carefulness or
anxiety: and the phrase "put me to busynes” meant,
accordingly, “put me to trouble," or "trouble me.”
It was remarked that, in Wyclif's Bible, the word minister
stands for “officer," in the verse where men are counselled to
agree with their adversaries, rather than go to law over their
quarrels. In that verse, the word minister is used by Tyndale
also. It is used for “servant,” too, by both Wyclif and Tyn-
dale, in John ii. 9:4"When the ruler of the feast had tasted
the water that was turned unto wyne, and knewe not whence it
was, the ministres which drue the water knew." And still
more strange is Tyndale's use of the word “minister," in Rom.
xvi. 1 :“I commende unto you Phebe, oure sister, which is a
minister of the congregacion at Chenchrea." But if these
references to ministers have mirth-provoking associations
for Scotsmen, what will Englishmen say of Tyndale's render-
ing of 1 Cor. v. 13, “ Put awaye from you that evyll parson?”ı
1 In Coverdale's Bible we read, Is. V. 27,
"There is not one faynt nor feble
78
Bibles of England.
And besides ministers and parsons, the laity are introduced to
us by Tyndale in a rather uncomplimentary way. The Greek
word idiotai, from which comes the English idiot, is, in Acts iv.
13, translated by Tyndale laye people; and unfortunately for
laymen this translation is not very wide of the mark. The term
idiot, too, suggests another expression of Tyndale's that cannot
but sound strange to modern readers. The heading of the first
epistle to Timothy is by Tyndale translated: "Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ,
unto Timothe, his naturall sonne in
the faith ;" and what is still more remarkable, the expression
here italicised has been retained in the Great Bible, in the
Geneva Bible, and in the Bishops' Bible.
Other instances of words used in Tyndale's Testament in an obsolete or archaic
sense will be seen in the following quotations :—Mat. xvi. 3, “Oye ypocrites, ye
can discern the fassion of the sky;” Mat, xxi. 24, “I also will axe of you a certayne
question, which if ye assoyle me I in lyke wyse wyll tell you by what auctorite I do
these things ; "2 Mark vii. 2, “When they sawe certayne of his disciples eate breed
with commen hondes (that is to say, with unweshen hondes) they complayned ;”
Luke iii. II, “He that hath two coottes, let him parte with him that hath none;
Luke vii. 14, “He went and touched the coffyn” (i.e. the bier, or common coffin
for carriage but not for burial); John xix. 2, “And they dyd on him a purple gar-
ment;'3 Acts xi. 26, “It chaunced that a whole yere they had their conversacioun
(residence) with the congregacion there ; " Acts xviii. 18,
Acts xviii. 18, “He shore his heed ;
Acts xix. 35, “When the town-clarcke had ceased the people;" Rom. iii. 23, “All
have synned, and laeke the prayse that is of valoure before God; Rom. xiii.
7, Geve to every man, therfore, his duetie,” i.e., what is due to him ; 1 Cor. ix.
13, “ They which minister in the temple have their fyndynge of the temple,” i.l.,
their living from the temple ; 2 Cor. ii. 11, “Lest Satan shuld prevent us,” i.C.,
circumvent us, or over-reach us ;” Gal. v. 7, 'Ye did runne well, who was a let,
unto you,” i.e., a hindrance to you.
amonge them, no not a slogish nor slepery parsone.” Of course parson is an old
form of "
person."
1
By the expression idiotai are meant private persons, as opposed to those who
hold any office, ecclesiastical or civil.” (Bloomfield's Greek Test) Matthew Henry's
comments on the verse are amusing but scarcely warrantable. “They were private
men, men that had not any public character or employment.
They were
idiots, so the word signifies; they were looked upon with as inuch contempt as if
they had been mere naturals." On the other hand the Catholic, Gregory Martin,
holds the translation of idiotai by the English term “laymen” to be altogether in-
defensible.
2 Assoyle, from absolvo. We still retain the phrase, “solve the question.”
3 This form of expression was noticed in Wyclif's Bible--" do on thy hoosis."
The Reformers' Bibles.
79
One of the special charges brought against Tyndale by his
adversaries was, that in his English Testament he inserted
novel expressions, in lieu of ancient ecclesiastical terms on
which the Catholic Church had founded some of her dogmas
and practices. It was complained, in particular, that for priests,
church, and charity, he had substituted respectively, seniors,
congregation, and love. And there were other objectionable
words that he had introduced. What should have been
rendered "grace," he had in some places translated favour ;
what should have been designated “confession," he had termed
knowledging; and to what was known as "penance" he had
given the new name of repentance. It was alleged that
by these and other innovations he designed to "make the
people believe that such articles of the faith as he laboured
to destroy, and which were well proved by Scripture, were
in holy Scripture nothing spoken of, but that the preachers
had all this fifteen hundred years misrepresented the
gospel, and Englished the Scripture wrong, to lead the
people purposely out of the way." While denying that
he handled the word of God deceitfully, Tyndale practi-
cally confessed that some of his renderings objected to by the
spokesmen of the Church were unhappy. In his revised trans-
lation of the New Testament, 1534, he introduced the word
grace into almost every passage where we find it now in the
authorised version. In a few passages, however, he still
retained the obnoxious term favour, as in Rom. iv. 4,
him that worketh is the rewarde not reckened of favour but of
duty; and in Rom. iv. 16," By fayth is the inheritance geven
that it myght come of favour." In regard to senior, Tyndale,
in his reply to More, 1531, wrote that “of a truth it is no very
good English,
but there came no better in my mind
at that time. Howbeit, I spied my fault since, long ere Master
More told it me, and have mended it in all the works which I
(have) since made, and call it an elder." Then, apprehending
that the word elder might be as objectionable to churchmen as
senior, Tyndale proceeds to say that if it be heresy to translate
" To
i More, quoted by Mombert, 103-4.
go
Bibles of England.
ܕܙܙܙ
the Greek word presbyteros by the English word elder, the
Vulgate itself, which is daily read in the Catholic Church, will
be convicted of heresy; "For thus standeth it in the Latin text,
I Peter v. I, “Seniores ergo qui in vobis sunt obsecro con-
senior.'”. To his other novations in ecclesiastical nomencla-
ture, Tyndale tenaciously adhered. He continued to flaunt
the word congregation in the face of the Church, and he de-
fended his conduct therein by declaring that the clergy had of
old beguiled the people in “making them to understand by
this word Church nothing but the shaven flock of them that
shore the whole world;" whereas the term ecclesia, which
churchmen insist on translating church, is, “ of right, common
unto the whole congregation of them that believe in Christ.”
He cited high scholastic authority, also, for rendering ecclesia
“congregation." "How happith it,” he asked, "that Master
More hath not contended against his darling Erasmus all this
long while? Doth he not change this word ecclesia into congre-
gatio, and that not seldom?" In Tyndale’s revised translation,
1534, we accordingly read, Mat. xvi. 18, “Thou arte Peter,
and upon this rocke I wyll bylde my congregacion.” We also
read, Gal. i. 2, “ All the brethren which are with me, unto the
congregacions of Galacia."; And this is not all ; but, as if by
way of assuming the role of the prophet of ecclesiastical demo-
cracy, Tyndale in one place introduces the term congregation in
such a connection as to give, by an ambiguous expression,
apparent warrant of Scripture for the popular election of
Church office-bearers. He translates Acts xiv. 23, “And
when they had ordened them elders by eleccion in every con-
1 Tyndale was no stickler for the three separate orders of Bishops, Priests and
Deacons. He says, “ all that were called elders (or priests, if they so will) were
called bishops also, though they have divided the names now: which thing thou
mayest evidently see by the first chapter of Titus, and Acts xx., and other places
more.”—Reply to More, p. 17.
2 Reply to More, p. 13.
3 Notwithstanding his objection to use the word church, where Catholics averred
it should have been used, Tyndale has not scrupled to introduce the word where it
was not appropriate. Instead of translating Acts xiv. 13, “ Then the priest of
Jupiter .. brought oxen and garlands unto the gates," he renders the last
part of the sentence, oxen and garlondes unto the Churche porche."
The Reformers' Bibles.
81
A
gregacion, after they had prayde and fasted, they comended
them to God on whom they beleved." Tyndale, in like
manner, defended his use of the word love in all those places
where it was alleged that the “known and holy term " charity
would have been a preferable translation. And in this matter
Tyndale's judgment has been confirmed by the New Testament
revisers of 1881.
The Church of Rome has always laid great stress on the
efficacy of her sacraments. The very word sacrament, in its
ecclesiastical sense at least, is a word of her own creation. It
occurs over and over in the Vulgate ; and she esteems it so
precious a word, that on no account should it be allowed to
drop out of the book of life. But in Tyndale's translation, the
word is conspicuous by its absence from those passages where
it was supposed to give special countenance to certain Catholic
doctrines. What appears in the Vulgate as dispensatio sacra-
menti, Eph. iii. 9, is rendered by Tyndale, the felyshippe of the
mistery, and the famous statement, sacramentum hoc magnum
est, Eph. v. 32, on which the sacramentarian theory of marriage
is built, is minimised by Tyndale into this is a great secrete.
All appearance of Scripture authority for penance and auricular
confession is likewise excluded by Tyndale from the English
Testament. Instead of rendering Mat. iii. 11, “I baptize you
in water unto penance," which is the literal translation of the
text in the Vulgate, Tyndale makes the Baptist say—“I
baptize you in water in token of repentaunce." Equally careful
was Tyndale to abstain from using the word confess in any
connection where it could be construed as giving authority for
the kind of confession enjoined and practised in the Catholic
Church. Confession, he said, is a term with which priests have
long “juggled, and so made the people, as oft as they spake of
it, understand shrift in the ear." He accordingly avoided the
use of a word that was so liable to misconstruction ; and, both
in Rom. x. 10, and James v. 16, he substituted for confess the
1 For instance he translated 2 Peter i. 5-7 :—" In youre fayth minister vertue
in brotherly kyndnes love." Coverdale renders the passage more ex-
plicitly-“in brotherly love general love."
G
82
Bibles of England.
antiquated verb knowledge ; “To knowledge with the mouth
maketh a man safe," Rom. X. IO.
Catholics have always maintained that images may be set up
in Churches, not only for ornament but for instruction. And
in saying so, they have constantly disavowed idolatry as
strongly as Protestants. An image they say is one thing, and
an idol is another. The veneration shewn to an image and the
worship offered to an idol are therefore, they aver, quite
different. In all their versions of the New Testament, whether
in Latin or in English, they are careful to make the distinction
between an idol and an image appear. But they complain of
Protestant translators for not observing this distinction.
“ It is
a known treachery of heretics," they allege, "to translate idola
'images' and they do it of purpose, to seduce the poor
ignorant people, and to make them think that whatsoever is
spoken in Scripture against the idols of the Gentiles is meant
of pictures, sacred images, and holy memories of Christ and his
saints."': To this stricture, Tyndale laid himself specially open.
In many places, he translated idola "images," instead of idols.
His rendering of 2 Cor. vi. 16, is—"how agreeth the temple of
God with ymages ;” and his translation of 1 Thess. i. 9, is—
“how ye tourned to God from ymages, for to serve the livynge
and true God.”
In last chapter some remarks were made on the introduction
of the word easter into the English Testament. For this
anachronistic sin it is Tyndale that must be held chiefly
responsible. And it is not in one place only, but in many
places, that Tyndale introduces the unseasonable expression.
He makes it be said, John, vi. 4, that "ester, a feast of the
Jewes, was nye ;” Mark, xiv. 16, that “the disciples came to
the cyte, and made ready the ester lambe;" Acts, xx. 6, that
we sayled awaye from Philippos after the ester holydayes ;
and, i Cor. v. 7, that “ Christ oure ester lambe is offered
up
for
us.” And that there might be no incongruity in his free
rendering of Jewish terms, Tyndale not only calls the passover
easter, but he designates the preparation good friday :—“The
i Rhemes Testament.
Annotation on 1 John v. 21.
The Reformers' Bibles.
83
nexte daye that foloweth good frydaye the hye prestes and
pharises got themselves to Pilate.”—Mat. xxvii. 62.1
From ecclesiastical terms to proper names the transition is
easy; and a word may be here said on Tyndale's treatment of
the names of persons and places. In many cases it may be
an open question whether, in translating the New Testament,
proper names should be Englished or given in their original
Greek form. Tyndale has not in this matter gone upon the
same lines as the translators of the authorised version have
done. Several proper names and technical terms he has
transformed into what he considered their nearest English
equivalents. For “Decapolis," he substitutes the ten cities;
for “ Areopagus," Mars-street; for “the Areopagite," a senator;
for “Pentecost," the fiftieth day; for “the Christ," anointed.
Some words and phrases, on the other hand, that are Englished
in the authorised version he leaves untranslated. Instead of
Mary the mother of James," we find in Tyndale's Testament,
Mary Jacobi ; and instead of "the quick-sands,” Acts xxvii. 17,
Syrtes. In the latter of these two cases, Tyndale's judgment
has been confirmed, and his example followed, by nearly all
subsequent translators.
More interesting than the individual words, dissociated from
their context, which occur in the writings of old authors are
the combinations of words. Next to scholastic accuracy, it is
adroitness in the art of phrasing, that stamps a translation with
merit.
And to show how skilful Tyndale was in this noble
art, the right course would be to cite some of the many happy
turns of expression that have been transferred from his to the
authorised version of the Testament in English. So far as
subsequent translators have adopted Tyndale's renderings, they
have borne testimony to the excellence of these renderings;
and how much of Tyndale's diction appears in the version of
1 In Coverdale's Bible, 1535, we read, 2 Kings, xxiii. 21.-" And the kyng
commanded the people, and sayde : Kepe easter unto the Lord your God, as it is
wrytten in the boke of this covenant." Both in Tyndale's Testament and in
Coverdale’s Bible, i Cor. xvi. 8, is rendered "I will tary at Ephesus untyll
whitsontyde."
84
Bibles of England.
the Testament in use at the present day, will be seen by com-
paring the following columns :
TYNDALE, 1534.
AUTHORISED VERSION, 1611.
Mat. xii. 43-45.-When the unclene Mat. xii. 43-45.-When the unclean
sprite is gone out of a man, he walketh spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh
throughout dry places, seking reest and through dry places seeking rest and
fyndeth none. Then he sayeth : I will findeth none. Then he saith, I will re-
retourne ageyne into iny housse, from turn into my house from whence I came
whence I came oute. And when he is out. And when he is come, he findeth
come, he lyndeth the housse empty and it empty, swept and garnished. Then
swepte and garnisshed. Then he goeth goeth he, and taketh with himself seven
his waye, and taketh unto him seven other spirits more wicked than himself,
other spretes worsse then him silfe, and and they enter in and dwell there. And
so entre they in and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than
the ende of that man is worsse then the the first. Even so shall it be also unto
beginning. Even so shall it be with this this wicked generation.
cvell nacion.
Luke xv. 17-24.- Then he came to Luke xv. 17-24.--And when he came
him selfe anı sayde : how many hyred to himself, he said, How many hired ser-
servauntes at my fathers have breed vants of my father's have bread enough
ynough, and I dye for honger. I will and to spare, and I perish with hunger !
aryse and goo to my father, and will saye I will arise and go to my father, and
unto him: father, I have synned agaynst will say unto him, Father, I have sinned
heven and before the, and am no moare against heaven and before thee, and am
worthy to be called thy sonne, make me no more worthy to be called thy son,
as one of thy hyred servauntes. And he make me as one of thy hired servants.
arose and went to his father. And when And he arose and came to his father,
he was yet a greate waye of, his father But when he was yet a great way off
,
sawe him and had compassion, and ran his father saw him, and had compassion,
and fell on his necke and kyssed him. and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed
And the sonne sayd unto him, Father, I him. And the son said unto him,
have synned agaynst heven, and in thy Father, I have sinned against heaven
sight, and am no moare worthy to be and in thy sight, and am no more worthy
called thy sunne. But his father sayde to be called thy son. But the father
to his servauntes, Bringe forth that best said to his servants, Bring forth the best
garment and put it on him, and put a robe and put it on him, and put a ring on
rynge on his honde and showes on his his hand and shoes on his feet. And
fete. And bringe hidder that fatted bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it,
caulfe and kyll him, and let us eate and and let us eat and be merry :: For this
be mery : for this my sonne was deed my son was dead, and is alive again ; he
and is alyve agayne, he was loste, and is was lost, and is found. And they began
120w founde. And they began to be merye.
to be merry.
I Cor. xv. 50-53. --This saye I, bre- I Cor. xv. 50-53.–Now, this I say,
thren, that flesshe and bloud cannot in- brethren, that flesh and blood cannot in-
heret the kyngdome of God, nether cor- herit the kingdom of God, neither doih
rupcion inhereteth uncorrupcion. Beholde corruption inherit incorruption. Behold
I shewe you a mystery. We shall not I shew you a mystery : we shall not all
all slepe, but we shall all be chaunged, sleep, but we shall all be changed : in a
and that in a moment, and in the twin- moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at
clinge of an eye, at the sounde of the the last trump.
the last trump. For the trumpet shall
last trompe. For the trompe shall blowe, sound, and the dead shall be raised in-
and the deed shall ryse incorruptible, corruptible, and we shall be changed.
and we shalbe chaunged. For this cor- For this corruptible must put on incor-
ruptible must put on incorruptibilite and ruption, and this mortal must put on
this mortall must put on immortalite. immortality.
It is obviously to the disadvantage of Tyndale to compare
his translation with the authorised version, in respect of the
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85
points wherein they differ. The changes made on Tyndale's
version may be presumed to indicate the places where Tyn-
dale's translation was most imperfect, and yet it will be found
that in many passages where Tyndale's translation has not
been adopted, his renderings are marvellously good. Laying
aside for a moment the question of scholastic accuracy, and
judging of phrases merely in respect of their inherent clearness,
vigour, and beauty, it may be matter of opinion whether
Tyndale's renderings are not, in some places, preferable to
those substituted for them in the authorised version. Instead
of “it came to pass,” we read in Tyndale's Testament, "it
chaunced” that he went through the corn fields; and
people may think that of these two renderings the older is the
simpler and better. The word stambered, again, used by
Tyndale, Mark vii. 32, in reference to one that was deaf and
could not articulate distinctly, is, whether strictly accurate or
not as a translation, at least better English than the long,
lumbering phrase, “had an impediment in his speech.” In
reminding the Galatians of his first visit to them, and how they
had then received him “ as an angel of God, or even as Christ
himself," St. Paul is made, in the authorised version, to say:
“where is then the blessedness you speak of?” In Tyndale's
translation, the apostolic appeal is much more terse and tender :
“How happy were ye then." I There is not only freedom but
felicity, too, in Tyndale's rendering of Luke xx.
Master, we knowe that thou sayest and teachest ryght,
nother considerest thou eny mannes degre but teachest the waye
of God truly.”
Some of Tyndale's phrases are very forcible and emphatic.
In the authorised version Peter is represented, John xiii. 8,
as saying to Jesus, " Thou shalt never wash my feet." This
declaration is not so strongly worded as it is in the original
Greek ; and the spirit of the original is much better brought
out in Tyndale's version : “ Thou shalt not wesshe my fete while
the worlde stondeth.” In respect of its literal accuracy, no fault
21 :
I A similar rendering is given by Dr. Doddridge, and approved by Dr. Bloom-
field in his notes on the Greek Testament,
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I
can be found with the translation of Titus ii. 14, “A peculiar
people, zealous of good works,” (if the meaning of peculiar be
not mis-apprehended), but, without sacrificing accuracy in the
least degree, Tyndale animates the passage with spirit and life
by rendering it :"A peculiar people, fervently geven unto good
workes." This tendency to accentuate and emphasise is shown
by Tyndale in many other expressions. The phrases, “God for-
bid,"
""would to God," “bid him God speed,” which we find so
often in the English Bible, are mostly of Tyndale's manufacture,
and in emphasis they even go beyond the words of the original.
The Greek for which they stand would be literally rendered by
"be it not so," (Rom. iii. 4), "I wish," (1 Cor. iv. 8), and
“say to him, hail,” (2 John 10). But such is the fascination
of a strong phrase that these emphasised renderings of
Tyndale's have been retained by Coverdale in the Great Bible,
by the Puritan divines in the Geneva Bible, by the Bishops in
their Church Bible, by the Catholic priests in the Douay Bible,
and by the King's translators in the national authorised Bible.
In the account of the woman " which had an issue of blood
twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians,
and had spent all she had,” it is mildly said in the authorised
version, Mark v. 26, that she “was nothing bettered but
rather grew worse." Tyndale brings against the physicians a
heavier indictment, by making the evangelist aver that after
they had drugged and tortured the woman all they could, she
"felte none amendment at all, but wexed worsse and worsse."
One verse that cannot be said to be happily, although literally,
rendered in the authorised version, is Phil. i. 8: “God is my
record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus
Christ." The Apostle's meaning is, I appeal to God, that I
yearn after you all with the greatest Christian affection; and
1 In several passages—e.g., Rom. iii. 4, Gal. ii. 17, Gal. iii. 21, where Tyndale
uses the phrase “God forbid”--the same expression is found in Wyclif's Bible.
But, in 1 Cor. iv. 8, Wyclif is content to say “I wold,” instead of I would to God,
and in 2 John 10, Wyclif translates literally “nether seie ze to him heil” instead of
"nether bid him God spede.
2 The Geneva divines coined one or two other phrases of a similar strain. They
make Judas Iscariot say to Jesus, Mat. xxvi. 49—"God save thee, Master," instead
of-"][ail, master,"
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25, read :
this meaning is brought out with strong accentuation in the
rendering of Tyndale : "I longe after you all from the very
herte rote in Jesus Christ.” This clear and forcible, if some-
what free and paraphrastic, translation was adopted both by
Coverdale in the Great Bible, and by the exiles at Geneva
in the Breeches Bible. The phrase, in the bowels of Christ,
appeared first in the Bishops' Bible, and is one of the
unhappy legacies we have inherited from that prelatic source."
It may seem a Hibernian statement, that many of Tyndale's
translations would be admirable, if they were only accurate.
Such a statement, however, is not far from the truth. How
11, for instance, does the following translation of John xy. 24,
“But now have they sene, and yet have hated bothe
me and my father: even that the sayinge myght be fulfilled that
is written in theyr lawe, they hated me without a cause."
This is a clear, sequent, and conclusive statement; but,
apparently with the view of making it clear, sequent, and con-
clusive, Tyndale has introduced connecting and illative par-
ticles, " yet" and "even that," which are not represented in the
original. A similar remark may be made on this other sen-
tence in Tyndale's version, "they have beaten us openly,
uncondemned, for all that we are Romans." So also on the
following, i Thess. ii. 15, "as they kylled the lorde Jesus and
their awne prophetes, even so have they persecuted us." The
objection to each of these three renderings is that, for the sake
of force and perspicuity, the translator has interpolated
emphatic and convenient little words of his own. Sometimes
Tyndale takes even greater liberties with the text han the
interpolation of a single word. In the fourth chapter of the
Epistle to the Galatians, we read in the authorised version:
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth
His Son made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adop-
tion of sons." The last clause in this passage_descriptive of
God's purpose towards men—is, in Tyndale's testament, ampli-
1 The word “bowels" is used in the sense of heart by Tyndale in 2 Cor. vi. 12,
Philem. xii. 29.
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fied into~"that we, thorow eleccion, myght receave the inheri-
tance that belongeth unto the naturall sonnes." As a marginal
note of explanation nothing could have been better than these
words of Tyndale's; but, as a translation, they are faulty, in
containing more than can be found in St. Paul's own writings.
The same may be said of Tyndale's translation of James ii. 15,
16. It is explanatory instead of literal ; and it looks like an
attempt to improve the Apostle's mode of statement: “If a
brother or a sister be naked or destitute of dayly fode, and one
of you saye unto them, Departe in peace. God sende you warm-
nes and fode,
what helpeth it them.”
One of the alleged peculiarities of diction in Tyndale's
Testament is the inversion of the natural sequence of verbs to
their nominatives. Tyndale does not always place the verb
before its nominative ; but he frequently does, and so frequently
that the frequency has occasioned remark. And because this
mode of expression is common in German literature it has
been called a Germanism. Be it a German importation or not,
it is a form of expression that in many cases is very effective,
and every reader of the Bible must be thankful that it has not
been banished from the pages of even the most recent version
of the English Scriptures. No one would wish to see any
alteration on the phraseology of the statement, ist John, i. 3—
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you."
Still less would any one wish to see an attempted improvement
on the words attributed to Peter in Acts iii. 6-"Silver and
gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee." These
italicised phrases are all Tyndale's coining; and there are
similar phrases of his that were received into the authorised
version which we regret to see excluded from the revised ; such
as, “Though he were Goddes sonne, yet learned he obedience
by tho thynges which he suffered," Heb. v. 8; and, “We are
comforted because ye are comforted : yee, and excedyngly the
moare joyed we for the joye that Titus had," 2 Cor. vii. 13. Some
other of Tyndale's Germanisms were not so happy, and we are
well rid of them. Of these may be mentioned: “Met him the
people," John xii. 18; "entred they” into Caesarea, Acts x,
24; “ so lefte he them and departed," Mat. xvi. 4.
:
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It might be expected that in Tyndale's Testament we should
find many expressions, besides a few Germanisms, that have
been changed for the better in subsequent translations. That
was inevitable. And it must be admitted that in Tyndale's
version there are both words and phrases that, to modern ears,
sound very inapt and infelicitous. In one place we read that
Jesus charged his disciples, " that they should not utter Him.”
For "get thee behind me, Satan,” we find in Tyndale's trans-
lation-go after me, Satan; for "deny himself," forsake him
silfe ; for "good to be here," here is good being for us; for
“ began to be much displeased with James and John,"
began to disdayne at James and John ; for “the assembly
was confused,” the congregation was all out
all out of quiet;
for, “be it far from thee Lord,” Master faver thyself ; for,
" Israel after the flesh," Israel which walketh carnally ; for, "a
linnen cloth cast about his naked body," cloothed in lynnen
upon the bare; for, "the Jews have no dealings with the
Samaritans," the Jews medle not with the Samaritans ; for,
“the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently," the Pharisees
began to wexe busye aboute him. Instead of the sonorous inter-
dict, “whom God hath joined together let not man put
asunder," Tyndale gives for the wedding charge the crabbed
order: "whom God hath cuppled let not man separate." And
it may shock some people to hear that in Tyndale's Bible it is
written, “all men at the beginnynge set forth good wyne, and
when man be dronke, then that which is worsse." It is a very
unphilosophic account of St. Paul's preaching, too, that Tyndale
attributes to the philosophers of Athens, “They sayd he
semeth to be a tydnges bringer of newe devyls."
In Tyndale's Testament, as in Wyclif's, there are homely
phrases without number. Some of these are very happy and
pathetic, others are not worthy of such praise. Very simple
and graphic, for instance, are the words "comers and goers," in
the narrative," he said unto them, come ye apart into the
wylderness and rest a whyle. For there were many coiners
and goers, that they had no leisure so moche as to eat.”
Equally simple and graphic is the account of the conveyance of
the paralytic into the room at Capernaum, where Jesus was
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teaching: "They went up on the toppe of the housse, and let
him doune thorowe the tylinge, beed and all.” Very graphic, if
not very classic, again, is the statement, "all the city was on a
roore,” which is Tyndale's way of saying that “the city was
filled with confusion.” In the expression,
In the expression, " that lost child,"
applied by our Lord to Judas, there is a sad tenderness which
does not appear in its modern substitute, "that son of perdi-
tion.” There is an honest warmth in the simple asseveration,
2 Cor. ii. 17, "we are not as many which choppe and chaunge
with the worde of God." There is a touching cogency in the
argument, also, Rom xiv. 20,"destroye not the worke of God for
a lytel meates sake." In the quaint words, "there arose
agaynste their purpose a flawe of wynde out of the north-easte,"
there is a fine picturesqueness, which is not preserved in the
statelier translation, “there arose a tempestuous wind called
Euroclydon." And there is a similar picturesqueness in Tyn-
dale's account of the discovery of Jesus in the temple, when he
was found, "sittinge in the middes of the doctours, both hear-
ynge them and posinge them.” The hit, too, in Luke xxii. 25,
at the folly of titular usages, which is somewhat obscure in the
authorised translation, is well brought out by Tyndale: "They
that beare rule over them are called gracious lords !” Other
homely expressions of Tyndale's will be admired by some
people and not relished by others. There is a pleasant pic-nic
aspect, for instance, given to the grand scene in the wilder-
ness, where it is said, in Tyndale's Testament, that the
people sate down here a rowe and there a rowe by
hundreds and fifties." A curious homely phrase, also, occurs in
St. Matthew's account of the Lord's supper : “When they had
sayde grace, they went out into mounte Olyvete.” There is a
colloquial aptness, again, in the following rendering: “Whoso-
ever shall saye unto this mountayne, take away thy silfe and
cast thy silfe into the sea, and shall not waver in his herte
whatsoever he sayeth shall be done to him.” Very
graphic and true, also, is the account given by St. Paul to
Timothy, of the preacher that sets himself against Church
authority, and will not content himself with the wholesome
words of Christ : "He is pufte up and knoweth nothinge, but
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wasteth his braynes aboute questions and stryfe of wordes.
And an exhortation that would not be out of place at the
present day is Eph. iv. 31, as rendered by Tyndale: “Let all
bitterness, fearsnes, and wrath, rorynge and cursyd speakynge be
put awaye from you.” Some of Tyndale's colloquialisms, how-
ever, are of questionable taste; and we cannot wonder that sub-
sequent translators "excommunicated ” them from the English
Bible. The tenth verse of the second chapter of the First
Epistle to the Corinthians, for instance, is translated by Tyndale:
“The sprete searcheth all thinges, ye the bottome of Goddes
secretes." The fifth verse of the first chapter of the Epistle of
James, again, is rendered : "Yf eny of you lacke wysdom, let
him axe of God, which geveth to all men indifferentlie, and
casteth no man in the teth." In a similarly blunt way it is said,
Mat. iv. 24, that there were brought unto Jesus "all sicke people
that were taken with divers diseases and gripinges ;” Mark. vi.
27, that Herod “sent the hangman” to bring into his banqueting
hall the head of John the Baptist; Luke xi. 46, that lawyers
lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, but will not them-
selves touch “the packes with one of (their) fyngers ;” and
Titus ii. 10, that Christians who occupy the position of
servants, should not be "pickers, but shewe all good faythfulnes.”
It is evident that the meaning of a passage may be greatly
modified by either the omission or the insertion of an article.
Tyndale's Testament reads, from this cause, very differently in
many places from the authorised version. In most of these
instances, Tyndale's renderings make good enough sense, and
sometimes they seem more in accordance with the idiom of
the English tongue than the literal translations substituted for
them in later versions. One sentence in the prayer at Gethse-
mane is rendered by Tyndale: “I desire not that thou shouldst
take them out of the world, but that thou keep them from
evil ;" instead of from "the evil," as in the authorised version,
or “the evil one," as in the revised version. In the narrative of
our Lord's temptation, Tyndale says, "he was then in the
wilderness forty days, and was with wilde beestis," instead of
“ with the wild beasts." The only objection to these render-
ings of Tyndale's is that they take no account of the article in
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the original Greek. There are cases, however, in which Tyn-
dale's misuse of the article takes away the point of particular
statements or allusions. The question put to our Saviour,
John i. 21, was not as given by Tyndale: “Art thou a
prophet?” but, “ Art thou the prophet?”—the prophet that is
expected in Israel. And so, also, the statement, John i. 9,
which appears in Tyndale's version : “That was a true light,
which lighteth all men that come into the world," is far short
of the evangelist's meaning. Another misapplication of the
article in Tyndale's Testament is so ludicrous and absurd that
we may wonder how it ever was made by a man so careful as
Tyndale was to express himself unambiguously and sensibly :
“ Have not I chosen you twelve and one of you is the Devil ?”
Sometimes Tyndale's accentuation of passages, by means of
the article, not only gives good sense, but is more accurate as
a translation than its counterpart in the authorised version.
His rendering of 1 Tim. ii. 8: "I wyll therfore that the
men praye everywhere, liftynge up pure hondes without wrath
or dowtinge," has been confirmed by the revisers of 1881; and
although Tyndale's rendering of the following verse, "Lyk-
wyse also the wemen that they araye themselves in comlye
aparell,” does not appear in the revised version, it is because
the revisers have translated from a slightly different text in the
Greek.
It is interesting to note that some of Tyndale's renderings
that were changed by the King's translators in 16u have been
restored by the revisers in 1881. It is said, for instance, in the
authorised version, Mark vi. 19, that "Herodias had a quarrel
against" John the Baptist. In Tyndale's Testament the
statement is, that "Herodias layd wayte for” John; and in
the revised version the words attributed to the evangelist are,
“ Herodias set herself against John." A verse in Tyndale's
Testament that reads more smoothiy, and flows more naturally
out of the context, than its counterpart in the authorised trans-
lation, is John xii. 13. In the latter-named translation the
crowds that accompanied Jesus on his triumphal entry into
Jerusalem are represented as crying, “Hosanna, blessed is the
king of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Tyndale's
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rendering of the passage is, "Hosanna, blessed is he that in the
name of the Lorde commetni kynge of Israel ;” and this is sub-
stantially what appears in the revised version. In the letter of
“ Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix,"
there is an expression which must have led many of its readers
to suspect that the “chief captain," although a Roman, was
rather given to the trick of exaggerating. “This man, Paul,”
he writes, " was taken of the Jews and should have been killed
of them ; then came I with an army and rescued him.” In
Tyndale's translation of the letter this apparent exaggeration
does not occur.
Instead of “I came with an army," it is said,
“I cam with soudiers ;” and that old rendering, slightly
modified into the soldiers, to signify the force under the charge
of Lysias, appears in the version of 1881. It is not unworthy
of note, too, that some of Tyndale's homely phrases have been
restored by the revisers. In the account of the mishap that
befell the young man who went asleep during the sermon of
St. Paul at Troas, the Apostle is represented in the authorised
version as saying, “ Trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him.”
The words of Paul, as given by Tyndale, are, “make nothing
ado;" and as given by the recent revisers, "make ye no ado.”
A statement in the authorised version that is open to mis-
construction, by persons unlearned in the mysteries of etymology,
is the often-quoted passage in 2 Thess. i. 10—“When He shall
come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in them
that believe." In Tyndale's Testament the sentence reads,
“ When He shall come to be made marvellous ;” and
in the revised version of 1881, “When He shall come to be
marvelled at." It is well known, also, that in the revision, 1881,
there is a very important change on a verse that bears on the
doctrine of the Bible's inspiration. The familiar words, "All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in
righteousness," have been altered by the revisers into “Every
Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching,” etc.
This rendering gives a very different meaning to the passage.
It is not a new reading or rendering, however, but a restoration
of the old reading and rendering of Tyndale's.
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X. II.
As might be expected, there are many cases in which Scrip-
ture is made to present in Tyndale's Testament a different
meaning from what it bears in the authorised translation. But
it is mostly in regard to small matters which have little or no
bearing on questions of faith or life that these differences appear.
An interesting version of one of our Lord's sayings that we
find in Tyndale's Testament is: “Yf salt have loste hyr saltness
what shall be seasoned therewith.” A very odd reading, also,
that we find in Tyndale's translation is : "He which hath pre-
pared the housse hath most honoure in the housse," Heb. iii. 3.
By the substitution of was for is, Tyndale clothes one of the
harges that Jesus gave to his seventy emissaries with a sadder
significance than it is commonly supposed to have had : “Yf
they receave you not, goo youre wayes out into the stretes
and saye, even the very dust which cleaveth on us of
your citie we wipe of agaynst you; notwithstondinge marke
this that the kyngdome of God was come nie upon you,” Luke
A reading again in Tyndale's Testament that gives a
different doctrinal and practical aspect to a passage in Scripture
is Acts iii. 26: "Fyrst unto you hath God raysed up his sonne
Jesus, and him he hath sent to blysse you that every one of you
shuld turne (instead of, in turning every one of you) from youre
wickednes.":
Some of Tyndale's peculiar readings and renderings are, if
the expression may be pardoned, amusing. One instance in
point is, Mat. ix. 18, 24: “Whyls he thus spake unto them,
beholde ther came a certayne ruler, and worshipped him, say-
inge, My doghter is euen now deceased, but come and lay thy
honde on her and she shall live. And when Jesus came into
the ruler's housse and sawe the minstrels and the people raginge,
he said unto them, get you hence, for the mayde is not deed
but slepeth.” At the close of the second Epistle to the Thes-
salonians, again, it is said, both in the authorised and the revised
version, "if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note
that man, and have no company with him that he may be
ashamed.” But according to Tyndale, a different course was
1 An odd rendering of Tyndale's is, 2 Cor. v. 7,
nut."
"We walke in fayth and se
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to be adopted with the refractory convert : “Yf eny man
obey not oure sayinges, sende us worde of him by a letter, and
have no companie with him.” Among the things, also, required
of a bishop, (which, according to Presbyterians, means a parish
minister), the clergy of Scotland will be glad to hear, and their
congregations should take note of the fact, that one specified
in Tyndale's version of 1 Timothy iii. 2, is that he be
"honestly aparelled." ; And a strange sight that St. John is
said by Tyndale to have seen at Patmos was “a grene horsse,
and his name that sat on him was deeth," Rev. vi. 8.2
There are clauses and sentences in Tyndale's translation, too,
that diverge much farther from the authorised than any of those
that have yet been cited. In Acts xiii. 33, for example, there
are certain words given by Tyndale as a quotation from the first
instead of from the second psalm. In another part of the Acts
of the Apostles, xvii. 11, where we are accustomed to read that
the Jews in Berea "were more noble than those in Thessalonica,
in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and
searched the Scriptures daily," it is stated in Tyndale's ver-
sion, “these were the noblest of byrthe among them of Thessa-
lonica, which receved the worde," etc. A passage that cannot
be said to be clearly rendered in plain language, in either the
authorised or revised version of the Scriptures, is 2 Cor. vi. II,
13.3 The closing words of that passage are, "be ye also en-
larged :" and then there follows a new verse (and in the revised
version a new paragraph) which begins: "Be ye not unequally
I The word so translated is kosmios, which in the Vulgate is rendered ornatus,
and in the Rhemes Testament comely. In the authorised version it is translated of
good behaviour, and in the revised version orderly.
2 Some of Tyndale’s expressions read very like puns. One that has been often
taken notice of, occurs in 2 Cor. v. II, Seynge then that we knowe how the lorde
is to be feared, we fare fayre with men. Another that is not so elaborate occurs
in James ii. 20—"Wilt thou understonde, O thou vayne man, that fayth without
dedes is deed.” A stiff piece of alliteration occurs in Acts iii. 11, " the halt which
was healed helde Peter."
3 The meaning of the passage is well brought out in Mr. Conybeare's translation,
“Corinthians, my mouth has spoken to you freely, my heart has opened itself
fully towards you. You find no narrowness in my love, but the narrowness is in
your own. I pray you, therefore, in return for my affection (I speak as to my
children), let your hearts be opened in like manner."
96
Bibles of England.
yoked together with unbelievers." In Tyndale's Testament
these two clauses, the last of one paragraph and the first of
another, are connected and made to read as one sentence :
“Set yourselves therfore at large, and beare not a straunger's
yoke wyth the unbelevers.” In the ordination of ministers in
Presbyterian churches, again, there is a ceremony gone through
which is called “giving the right hand of fellowship.” The phrase
by which this ceremony is designated is to be found in almost all
English Bibles, in Gal. ii. 9; and many people, who do not
consider themselves ritualists, may possibly imagine that the
ceremony is required by Scripture as an essential part of an
ordination service. But Tyndale, who was an ecclesiastical
democrat, bitterly opposed to everything that wore a priestly
aspect, does not in his translation of Gal. ii. 9, use the expres-
sion right hand of fellowship at all. He makes the Apostle say,
"when they perceaved the grace that was geven unto me, then
James, Cephas, and John, which semed to be pilers, gave to me
and Barnabas the ryght hondes, and agreed with us that we
should preache amonge the Hethen and they amonge the
Jewes."
The variations from the authorised version that appear in
Tyndale's Testament arose, in some cases, from his having a
different Greek text to translate from, and in other cases, from
his giving to the text an English rendering, which subsequent
translators have not seen fit to accept. How many of his varia-
tions arose from the former, and how many from the latter, of
these causes, might be approximately determined by a com-
parison of them with the old texts, from which he is supposed
to have translated. It will suffice for us to shew how some of
his variations can be accounted for, by what in modern editions
of the Greek Testament are noted as alternative readings. In
the Greek Testament, as commonly printed, the last word in
I Thess. v. 12, is heautois, but in some old manuscripts the word
is autois. The consequence is that while in some English
versions the passage is translated : “We beseech you, brethren,
to know them which labour among you, and are over you in
the Lord
and to esteem them very highly in love for
tieir workes sake, and be at peace among yourselves ;" in other
The Reformers' Bibles.
97
are
versions, Tyndale's, Coverdale's, and the Rhemes Testament,
the last clause is rendered "be at peace with them,” that is,
with your spiritual guides and
and governors.
There
also two Greek readings in Rom. xii. II. One of these
is kurio and the other is kairo. In some English ver-
sions, therefore (such as the authorised, the Geneva,
and the Bishops), we read : '"Fervent in spirit, serving the
Lord;” but in others (to wit, Tyndale's, Coverdale's, and the
Great Bible), “Be fervent in the sprete. Apply yourselves to
the time.” In the Greek text of James ii. 18, there are two
alternative readings, which do not bear much resemblance to
each other. The one is choris, and the other is ek. Some
English translators have adopted the one reading, and some
have adopted the other. In the authorised version we read,
"Show me thy faith without (choris) thy works, and I will
show thee my faith by my works.” And this statement, every
one will see, is pertinent to the subject under the Apostle's dis-
cussion. The fact, nevertheless, remains that in many of the
earlier English versions of the Testament (Tyndale's, Cover-
dale's, the Geneva, and the Bishops'), the passage was rendered,
“Shewe me thy fayth by (ek) thy dedes, and I will shewe the my
fayth by my dedes.” In another part of St. James' Epistle,
Tyndale's version presents a different reading from what is
found in the authorised. For "ye kill,” we read in Tyndale's
Testament, James iv. 2, ye envy; and although the reason for
that difference of reading in the two English versions does not
appear on the margin of the Greek Testament, as usually
printed, the reason nevertheless is obvious. The Greek word
for ye kill is phoneuete, and the Greek for ye envy is phthoneite."
The latter word had evidently found its way into some copies
of the Greek text; and not only Tyndale, but the exiles in
Geneva, 1570, and the Bishops, 1572, had accepted it as the true
reading. Strange to say, the following chapter in St. James'
Epistle furnishes another instance of Tyndale's variation from
the authorised version, through the adoption of a different
I Bloomfield says,
For phoneuete some would conjecture phthoneite
but for an alteration so unauthorised no real necessity exists."
H
98
Bibles of England.
reading in the Greek text. What is usually printed, v. 12,
hypo crísin, appears in some copies of the Greek Testament
hypócrisin; and it happens that, while the King's translators,
1611, have accepted the former of these readings, Tyndale has
accepted the latter. In Tyndale's version, therefore, we read :
"Let youre ye be ye, and youre naye naye, [not, as is commonly
said, lest ye fall into condemnation, but] lest ye faule into
ypocrecy."
Many other cases of divergence between Tyndale's and the authorised version of
the Testament could easily be adduced. In the authorised version, it is said, Acts
xiii. 42, that “when the Jews were gone out of the Synagogue the Gentiles
besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath ;” but the
statement in Tyndale's version is that the Gentiles besought the Apostles to
preache the worde to them bitwene the Saboth dayes.” Of the Philippian jailor it
is said, in the authorised version, Acts xvi. 34, that when he had brought Paul and
Silas “into his house, he set meat before them and rejoiced, believing in God with
all his house." According to Tyndale, the jailor “joyed that he with all his
housholde beleved on God.” In the account of St. Paul's voyage to Rome it is
said, in the authorised version, Acts xxvii. 9, that " sailing was now dangerous, ,
because the Fast was now already past,” and it was consequently far on in the
A very different statement is made in Tyndale's translation. The whole
verse reads there, “When moche tyme was spent, and saylinge was now jeoper-
deous, because also that we had ouerlonge fasted, Paul put them in remembraunce."
For weak and beggarly elements,” Gal. iv. 9., Tyndale, like a zealous Puritan,
has “weake and bedgarly cerimonies”; for “ being found in fashion as a man,”
Phil. ii. 8., Tyndale has, “ founde in his aparell as a man”; for “ beware of the
concision,” Phil. iii. 2., Tyndale has, “beware of dissencion ;” for “Devil," Tyn-
dale has in one place, Eph. iv. 27, “ backbyter,” and in other places, 1 Tim. iii.
6-7, evyll-speaker ; for “hast borne," Rev. ii. 3., Tyndale has "dydest wasshe thy
self”; and for “religious proselytes” Acts xiii. 43, that is, proselytes to the Jewish
religion, Tyndale has “verteous convertes," which, whatever it was intended to
mean, would be construed to signify converts to Christianity.
autumn.
Besides a translation of the New Testament, Tyndale pub-
lished a translation of the five books of Moses, and a translation
of the prophecies of Jonah. Both of these books were printed
abroad, the former in 1530 and the latter in 1531. He is
believed, also, to have left behind him, in manuscript, a trans-
lation of the historical books in the Old Testament from
Joshua to 2 Chronicles inclusive. It seems now
now to be
acknowledged that all these translations were made direct from
the original Hebrew, although use was made by Tyndale of
both Latin and German versions for instruction and correction.
The Reformers' Bibles.
99
I
The enduring glory of Tyndale, however, is that he laid the
foundation of the English version of the New Testament.
That work of his has never been set aside or superseded, but
only revised and amended. It is to a very large extent in the
words of Tyndale that English-speaking Christians at the
present day express their dearest hopes and richest consola-
tions.
IÓÓ
Bibles of Ëngland.
The Reformers' Bibles.
Coverdale's Bible, 1535.
Matthew's Bible, 1537.
Taverner's Bible, 1539.
The Great Bible, or Coverdale's second Bible, 1539. Revised Edition, with pro-
logue by Cranmer, 1540.
Editions consulted and quoted from :-
Coverdale's Bible.-Bagster's Reprint, 1838.
Matthew's Bible.-Edition, 1537, (Glasgow University Library).
Taverner's Bible.-Edition, 1539, (Glasgow University Library).
Great Bible.—Grafton's Edition, 1541, (printed Nov. 1540). ---New Testa-
ment, Reprint in Bagster's Hexapla of edition 1539.
THE demand for a Bible in English was every day becoming
louder and more urgent in England, as the Reformation ad-
vanced. The questions at issue between Churchmen and
Protestants must, it was felt, be decided by an appeal to the
Bible. The whole system of ecclesiastical teaching, ecclesias-
tical worship, ecclesiastical mediation, and ecclesiastical govern-
ment must, said the Reformers, be tried and judged by the
Scriptures on which it is alleged to be founded. Besides
Tyndale, therefore, other men were engaged in the work of
translating the Bible into English. One of the most notable
of these was Miles Coverdale.
Some authors have represented Coverdale as a collaborateur
of Tyndale's at Hamburg; but according to recent writers,
there is no evidence to support that statement. He is said to
have been born in 1488, and at an early age to have espoused
the principles of the Reformation. For so doing he “ found
himself in danger, and fled beyond sea, where he chiefly applied
himself to the study and translation of the Holy Scriptures." ;
1 Lewis' History of the several Translations of the Bible into English, p. 92.
The Reformers' Bibles.
IOI
Where he resided while engaged in this work is not known;
nor is it definitely ascertained where he found his first printers.
He did not, like Tyndale, issue his translation by instalments,
but published the whole Bible in English at once.
This was
in 1535, while Tyndale was still living. The book bore no
publisher's name ; and it presented itself to national notice, says
Dr. Eadie, “unheralded and unanticipated.”
This version of the Bible, by Coverdale, was not a translation
from the original tongues in which the Scriptures were written.
On its title page there was an honest confession that the trans-
lation was made out of " Douche and Latyn." It was, therefore,
only a secondary version of the Scriptures in English: the
translation of a translation.
It consequently had not the
scholastic and theological value it should have had, if it had
been drawn direct from the fountain head, And not only so,
but while Coverdale's Bible may be acknowledged to be in
part an independent translation from the "Douche and Latyn,"
it is in part not even that. Coverdale was preceded by Tyn-
dale in the translation of the New Testament, the Pentateuch,
and the Book of Jonah. And as far as these portions of Scrip-
ture are concerned Coverdale's translation was only a revision
of Tyndale's labours. Two parts of Coverdale's Bible have
thus to be considered separately: the part that was an original
translation, and the part that was not.
It is in the former of these parts that Coverdale's most
notable renderings occur. His Bible is sometimes spoken of as
the "treacle" Bible, and sometimes as the "bug” Bible, from
these words being used in his Bible in an odd sense and an odd
connection.2 The passages containing these readings are
I Some have surmised that it was printed at Frankfort by Egenolph; others that
it was printed at Cologne ; but, Dr. Eadie says, “there is a very strong presump-
tion that Frosehover of Zurich, who printed the edition of 1550, also printed that
of 1535." In an old French biography there is a statement, which till recently was
overlooked, that Jacob van Meteren “was at pains and very zealous at Antwerp,
,
towards the translation of the English Bible, and employed for that purpose a
certain learned scholar, called Miles Coverdale." This statement, Dr. Mombert
remarks,“ renders it probable that the first edition of Coverdale was printed at
Antwerp."
2 It might, also, for a similar reason be termed the "beer" Bible. One of the
IO2
Bibles of England.
found in the part translated at first hand. Where in the
authorised version of the Bible we read : “ Is there no balm in
Gilead," Jer. viii. 22, it is said in Coverdale's Bible: “There is
no more triacle at Galaad:" and where again in the authorised
version we read : “ Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by
night," Ps. xci. 5, it is said in Coverdale's translation, " thou
shalt not nede to be afrayed for any bugges by night.”; Other
odd renderings in this part of Coverdale's Bible might be
instanced. The invocation, "put them in fear, O lord,"? Ps.
ix. 20, is with unconscious humour rendered by Coverdale, "set
a schoolmaster over them:" Solomon's note on the incon-
vertibility of fools, Prov. xxvii. 22, is translated, "though thou
shuldest bray a foole with a pestell in a morter like otemeel,
yet will not his foolishness go from him": Shebna, the shame of
his Lord's house (Revised version, 1885) is denounced, Is. xxii.
18, as "thou vyllene of the house of thy Lorde": in comparison
of the Almighty, the isles of the earth are declared, Is. xl. 15,
to be “as the shadowe of the sonnebeame" : "the word that
judgments it pronounces on the people of Israel for their sins is, “The beer shall
be bytter to them that drinke it," Is. xxiv. 9.
1 The designation “treacle" Bible is sometimes given to Matthew's Bible also.
In the verse referred to, the word treacle occurs in all the Reformers' Bibles,
(Coverdale's, Matthew's, Taverner's and the Great Bible) and also in the Bishops'
Bible ; but as Coverdale's was the first published of these versions, it should have
the credit or discredit of the phrase. By bibliographers the term “bug Bible” is
applied specially to a particular edition of Matthew's Bible, printed in 1551 ;
although the word " bugges” appeared long before that date, not only in Matthew's
but in Taverner's and Coverdale's translation of Ps. xci. 5. In the sense of terror,
or scare-crow, "bug" appears in Shakespeare also : “Warwick was a bug that
feared us all.”—Henry VI. Part iii. Act 5, Scene 2.
2 "Constitue, Domine, legislatorem super eos.”— Vulgate. In some other Latin
versions this rendering is changed into : “Pone, Jehovah, timorem eis.”—Zurich,
1564.
To Coverdale's mind teaching and flogging were nearly synonymous terms. His
rendering of i Kings, xii. II, was "My father correcte you with scourges, but I
will nurtoure you with scorpions ;” and of Ps. xciv. 10, “He that nurtureth the
heithen and teacheth a man knowledge shal not be punysh.” A phrase quite
worthy of Coverdale, however, (and it is not a phrase of his) stands in both the
authorised and revised versions of the Bible : “He took the elders of the city,
and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of
Succoth,” Judges, viii, 16.
The Reformers' Bibles.
IO3
came to Jeremiah from the Lord” is paraphrased, "this is
another sermon which the Lord commanded Jeremy for to
preach”: and the two staves of Zechariah, which are known to
us by the names of Beauty and Bands, are strangely designated
Louynge Mekenesse and Wo.
The diction of Coverdale's Bible, it will thus be seen, is
characterised by the same quaintness and homeliness as that of
Wyclif's and Tyndale's translations. And this remark applies
not to one portion of Coverdale's Bible only, but to the whole
of it. A word of very frequent occurrence in his version
is tush: "The foolish bodyes saye in their hertes, Tush, there is
no God," Ps. xiv. I ; " Tush, God will not destroy us utterly,"
Jer. xii. 5; “He [the war horse] feareth not the noyse of the
trompettes, but as soone as he heareth the shawmes blowe, Tush,
sayeth he,” Job xxxix. 25. A passage whose sublimity is
made well nigh ridiculous by Coverdale's Arcadian phraseology,
is Ps. xlii. 7: “One depe calleth another with the voyce of thy
whystles.” In its simplicity and homeliness, however, Cover-
dale's style is sometimes very racy: "There be thre thinges
that are neuer satisfied, and the fourth saieth neuer hoo,” Prov.
XXX. 15 ; “ He that is geven to much slepe shal go with a
ragged cote," Prov. xxiii. 21 ; “Death and we are at a poynte ;
and as for hell, we haue made a condicion with it,” Is. xxviii. 15.
At other times, Coverdale's renderings are, in their homely
phraseology, extremely picturesque : "There be thre thinges
that go stiffly, but the goinge of the fourth is the goodliest of all.
A lyon which is kynge of beestes, and geueth place to no man;
a cock ready to fight; a ramme; and a kynge that goeth forth
with his people.": Now and again, however, the realism in
I Of homely diction, specimens without number could be gathered from Cover-
dale's Bible. The following will serve as additional examples here :—“When Jacob
sawe that there was moch corne in Egyipte, he sayde unto his sonnes, Why gape
ye?” Gen. xlii. 1 ; “ The kyne wente on blearynge,” i Sam. vi. 12 ; “We
trust in the Lorde oure God: A goodly god, indede ! whose hie places and aulteres
Ezechias toke downe,” Is. xxxvi. 7 ; "There went a rygge wall rounde aboute
them.
Then sayde he unto me, This is the kechin, where the ministers of
the house shall dight the slayne offerynges of the people,” Ezek. xlvi. 23-24 ; “They
call not upon me with their hartes, but lye youlinge upon their beddes,” Hos. vii.
14; “ Laye to youre sythes, for the haruest is rype,” Joel. iii. 13.
104
Bibles of England.
Coverdale's renderings verges on coarseness of expression, as in
Isaiah xix. 14: "The Lorde hath made Egypte droncken with
the sprete of erroure, and they shal use it in all matters; euen
as a dronken man goeth spewinge aboute." But, on the other
hand, his wording is occasionally so delicate that we wonder
why it was not retained in subsequent versions. Many a
jocund peal of irreverent laughter at David's denuded warriors
might have been left unstirred in the tents of the Philistines if
Coverdale's translation of 2 Sam. x. 4 had been quietly
adopted by the king's translators in 1611 : “Then toke Hanun
the seruantes of Dauid and shore of the one halue of their
beerdes, and cut of the halfe of their garments euen by the
girdell, and so let them go.” Not infrequently the narrative is
clearer and more pathetic in Coverdale's Bible than in either
the authorised or revised versions, as in Lam. ii. 11-12: “The
children and babes dyd swowne in the stretes of the cite, euen
when they spake to their mothers, where is meate and drynke?
for, whyle they so sayde, they fell downe in the stretes of the
cite, like as they had bene wounded, and some dyed in their
mothers bosome.” It has been complained by critics that the
freeness of Coverdale's renderings makes his Bible in some
places a paraphrase rather than a strict translation; but
although this is a fault, it now and then proves helpful to the
reader. I Statements are accentuated, and arguments put in
more cogent form, so that the narrative is followed with
greater ease. A good example of this paraphrastic freedom
occurs in Is. xxviii. 7: “They go wronge by the reason of
wyne, they fall and stacker because of stronge drynke. Yee,
euen the prestes and prophetes themselues go amisse, they are
dronken with wyne, and weake braned thorow stronge drynke.
They erre in seinge, and in judgment they fayle.”2 Still, it
must be said that, taken as a whole, the part of Coverdale's
+
1 A quaint paraphrastic rendering occurs in Is. viii. 4: “Or euer the childe shal
haue knowledge to saye, Abi and Im, that is, Father and Mother.”
2 Another graphic account of the drunkard is given by Coverdale in his transla-
tion of Prov. xxiii. 35:-" They wounded me, but it hath not hurte me, they
smote me, but I felt it not. When I am wel wakened I wil go to the drynke
agayne.”
The Reformers' Bibles.
105
Bible that was a first translation from " the Douche and Latyn'
is, in point of rhythm and dignity, much inferior to some later
English versions of the Scriptures. Many of the fine Biblical
expressions that are now familiar to us as household words are
not to be found in Coverdale's Bible. One or two selected
passages will show how much Coverdale's diction has been
improved on by the King's translators :
COVERDALE, 1535.
AUTHORISED VERSION, 1611.
Ps. xciii. 4. - The wawes of the see are Ps. xciii. 4.-The Lord on high is
mightie and rage horribly : but yet the mightier than the noise of many waters,
Lorde that dwelleth on hye is mightier. yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
Prov. iv. 18.---The path of the right- Prov. iv. 18.-The path of the just is
eous shyneth as the light, and is euer as the shining light, which shineth more
brighter and brighter unto the parfecte and more unto the perfect day.
daye.
Is, xliv. 22.-As for thyne offences I Is. xliv. 22.-I have blotted out as a
dryue them awaye like the cloudes and thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a
thy synnes as the myst.
cloud, thy sins.
Is. liii. 2.--He shal haue nether bewty Is. liii. 2.--He hath no form nor
ner fauore. When we loke upon him comeliness, and when we shall see him
there shalbe no fayrnesse : we shal haue there is no beauty that we should desire
no lust unto him.
him.
Is. lxiii. 1.- What is he this that Is. lxiii. 1.- Who is this that cometh
cometh from Edom, with stayned reade from Edom, with dyed garments from
clothes of Bosra (which is so costly Bozrah, this that is glorious in his ap-
cloth) and cometh in so neembly with parel, travelling in the greatness of his
all his strength ?
strength?
Jer. iv. 19.-How longe shall I se Jer. iv. 19.-0, my soul, the sound of
the tokens of warre, and heare the noyse the trumpet, the alarm of war !
of the trompettes ?
Jer. viii. 20. --The haruest is gone, the Jer. viii. 20.—The harvest is past, the
somer hath an ende, and we are not summer is ended, and we are not saved.
helped,
Jer. ix. 1.-0, who will geue my Jer. ix. 1.-Oh, that my head were
heade water ynough, and a well of teares waters, and mine eyes a fountain of
for myne eyes,
Jer. xxii. 10.—Mourne not ouer the Jer. xxii. 10.-Weep ye not for the
deed, and be not wo for them : but be dead, neither bemoan him: but weep
sory for him that departeth awaye for he sore for him that goeth away for he shall
com meth not agayne, and seeth his na- return no more, see his native
tyve countre no more.
country.
tears.
nor
It goes without saying that in Coverdale's Bible, as in Tyn-
dale's Testament, there are to be found many obsolete words,
and many words that although not obsolete are used in an
obsolete sense. One curious word that we find is perquellies :
“Who so euer smyteth the Jebusites, and optayneth the per-
quellies,”
shall be made chief and captain, 2 Sam. v. 8.
I In the edition, 1537, perquellies is spelt perquylles, and is doubtless equivalent
106
Bibles of England.
Another word repeatedly used in a connection that makes it
open to very flagrant misconception is dainn: “The Lorde
sente ye in to the waye, and sayde: Go thy waie and damne the
synners, the Amalechites, and fighte against them tyll thou
haue utterly destroyed them," 1 Sam. xv. 18. Every one has
heard of the Roundheads in the reign of Charles the Second,
but some people may possibly be ignorant of the derivation of
the term. For such persons the following sentence from Cover-
dale's Bible will be instructive: “In all Israel there was not so
fayre and so marvuelous goodly a man as Absalom. From
the sole of his fote unto the toppe of his heade there was not
one blemysh in him, and whan his head was rounded (that was
comonly euery yeare, for it was too heuy for him, so that it
must nedes have bene rounded) the heer of his heade weyed
two hundreth sicles after the kynges weight,” 2 Sam. xiv. 25, 26.
Of the many other antiquated words, or antiquated in-
flexions found in Coverdale's Bible, the following may be
mentioned : shope, "The Lorde God shope man euen of the
moulde of the earth," Gen. ii. 7; turne grese, “That they might
go up to the myddest stacion by a turne grese," i Kings vi. 8;
reconcile, “Reconcile me with Isope, and I shal be clene," Psal.
li. 7 ; wrutt, “ The wilde bore out of the wod hath wrutt it
up," Psal. Ixxx. 13 ; chaft bones, “With their chaft bones they
consume and deuoure the symple,” Prov. xxx. 14; redebush," A
fyre in a wod or a redebush," Is. ix. 18; hilchapel, “The hye
hilchapels off Isaac must be layed waist," Amos vii. 9 ; hand-
reachinge, "The disciples concluded to sende
an hand-
reachinge unto the brethren that were in Jewry," Acts xi. 29;
goodmeaninge, “I saye my goodmeanynge” (mind or opinion),
I Cor. vii. 25; childshippe, “Unto whom pertayneth the child-
shippe," Rom. ix. 4 ; Jewshippe, “I
preuayled in the
Jeweshippe, above many of my companyons in my nacion,"
.
.
Gal. i. 13.
In respect of the New Testament and Pentateuch, and
especially the New Testament, the indebtedness of Coverdale
to percullis, which (although stated in some modern Dictionaries to be a corrupt
form of portcullis) should from its etymology mean gutter or watercourse,
The Reformers' Bibles.
107
In the passage,
to Tyndale is very apparent. A large number of Tyndale's
most notable expressions—both those that are specially apt
and those that are specially inapt-are, in these parts of
Scripture, adopted verbatim by Coverdale. In both Coverdale's
and Tyndale's version of the New Testament it is said, Mat. vi. 7,
“When ye praye, bable not moche as the heathen do, for they
thincke that they shal be herde, for their inoche bablynges sake.”
In both versions it is said, also, Mat. ix. 23, “When Jesus came
into the ruler's housse, and sawe the minstrels and the people
raginge, he sayde unto them, get you hence."
Mat. xxiv. 40, 41, about two that shall be working in the fields
and two that shall be grinding at the mill, it is said in both
versions: “One shall be receaved and the other shall be refused."
The strange expression, “The Jewes ester was nye at hand,”
occurs, John xi. 55, in both versions ; so does the statement,
Acts viii. 1, "Saul had pleasure in his death ;” and so does the
exhortation, Heb. xii. 1, “ Laye awaye all that presseth downe,
and the synne that hangeth on, and let us run with pacience
unto the batayl that is set before us."
Coverdale's version of the New Testament is, nevertheless,
by no means a reprint of Tyndale's. The changes that Cover-
dale made on Tyndale's renderings are numerous, and, in not
a few cases, of some importance. One principle in translation
laid down by Coverdale was in direct antagonism to Tyndale's
practice. In the use of ecclesiastical terms Tyndale thought it
necessary to be very particular. He always translated presby-
teroi, elders and not priests; metanoia, repentance and not
penance ; ecclesia, congregation and not church. But Coverdale
was not so rigid. In his prologue to the reader, he says :
“Be not thou offended, though one call a scribe that another
calleth a lawyer; or elders, that another calleth father and
mother; or repentance, that another calleth penaunce or amend-
ment. For, yf thou be not deceaved by men's traditions, thou
shalt fynde no more dyversitie betwene these terms than
betwene foure pens and a grote. And this maner have I used
in my translacyon, callying it in some place penaunce that in
another place I call repentance; and that not only because the
interpreters have done so before me, but that the adversaries of
108
Bibles of England.
ܫܙܙ
the truth may see how that we abhorre not this word penaunce,
(as they untruly report of us), no more than the interpreters of
latyn abhorre penitere whan they reade resipiscere.”ı What
Tyndale almost uniformly translates repentance, Coverdale,
therefore, translates with indifference, repentance, penance, and
amendment of life. In his version of the third chapter of St.
Matthew's Gospel, we find all the three renderings : “Amende
youre selves, the kyngdom of heuen is at honde," verse 2;
"Brynge forth due frutes of penaunce," verse 8; "I baptise you
with water to repentaunce," verse II. Following out the princi-
ples advocated in his prologue, Coverdale has also, in one or
two instances, used the word elders, where strict regard for the
original should have required a translator to write parents.
The phrase, "disobedient to parents," 2 Tim. iii. 2, is para-
phrastically rendered by Tyndale,“ disobedient to father and
mother ;" and both loosely and erroneously rendered by Cover-
dale, "dishobedient to their elders.”2 Where the word Cæsar
occurs in the Testament, Coverdale translates it the emperor, as
in Luke, xx. 25: “Geue then unto the Emperoure that which
is the Emperoures," and in Phil. iv, 22: "All the sayntes salute
you, but especially they that are of the Emperours house."
He makes free with the title centurio also, and instead of being
content to put it into the English form of centurion, he trans-
lates it captain.3
Among other verbal changes that Coverdale made on Tyndale's translation, some
for the better and some for the worse, the following may be mentioned :-—the sub-
stitution of married for betrothed, Mat. i. 18; of Lord, Lord, for Master, Master,
6. The
1 A very curious use of the word grace occurs in Coverdale's Bible :-
ungodly (though he haue receaved grace) yet lerneth he not rightuousnesse,” Is. xxvi.
IO.
2 The word fore-elders in the sense of ancestors, occurs in Coverdale's Bible : as
in Prov. xxii. 28, “Thou shalt not remoue the lande inarcke, which thy fore-elders
haue sett”; and Ecclasiasticus, (Apocrypha) xliv. I, “Let us commende the noble
famous men, and the generation of our fore-elders and fathers." See Bishops'
Bible also.
3 In his translation of Centurio, Coverdale is more consistent than Tyndale.
The latter sometimes renders the word centurion, sometimes captain, and some-
times under captain. Tyndale, also, uses the word Cæsar in one place, Luke xx
and emperor in another, Phil. iv.
>
The Reformers' Bibles.
109
Mat. vii. 21 ; of shew breds for halowed loves, Mat. xii. 4 ; of the enemy for the
envious man, Mat. xiii. 28; of avoyde for take thy self away, Mat. xxi. 21 ; of two
murderers for two theves, Mat. xxvii. 38 ; of helped for saved, Mat. xxvii. 42 ; of
ungrekes for no Greeks, Rom. i. 13; of no respecte of personnes for partialyle, Rom.
ii. Il ; of we holde, for we suppose that a man is justified by faith, Rom. iii. 28; of
letteth us not come to confusion, for maketh not ashamed, Rom. v. 5; of minister's
for deacons, Phil. i. I; of the more haistely, for diligentliar, Phil. ii. 28: of maketh
you the surer, for to you it is a sure thynge, Phil. iii. 1 ; of manerly, for honestly
aparelled, 1 Tim. iii. 2.
It is only by means of parallel columns that larger variations
of rendering can be shown; and with the view of exhibiting to
the eye some of the changes of more than one word that
Coverdale made on Tyndale's translation, a few entire sen-
tences, from one of the four Gospels in each version, shall here
be set opposite one another, with differentiations italicised :-
were
by him.
TYNDALE, 1534.
COVERDALE, 1535.
Mat. xiii. 57.–And they were offended Mat. xiii. 57. — And they
Then Jesus said to them, A offended at him. But Jesus sayde unto
Prophet is not without honour, save in them, A Prophet is nowhere lesse sett by
his awne countre and among his awne than at home and amonge his owne.
kynne.
Mat. xxii. 10.—The weddinge was Mat. xxii. IO. The tables were all
furnysshed with guestes.
full
Mat. xxvi. 8.-When his disciples saw Mat. xxvi. 8.—When his disciples saw
that, they had indignacion, sayinge, that, they diszdayned, and sayde, Where
what neded this wast?
to serveth this waist ?
Mat. xxvii. 6.--And the chefe prestes Mat. xxvii. 6.—So the hye prestes toke
toke the sylver plattes, and sayd, It is the sylver pens, and sayde, It is not
not lawfull for to put them in to the lawfull to put them in to the Gods
treasury, because it is the pryce of bloud. chest, for it is bloudmoney.
Mat. xxvii. 24.--When Pilate sawe Mat. xxvii. 24. -So whan Pilate sawe,
that he prevayled nothinge, but that that he could not helpe, but that there
more busines was made, he toke water was a greater uproure, he toke water, and
and wasshed his hondes before the waszhed his handes before the people,
people, sayinge, I am innocent of the and sayde, I am ungiltie of the bloud of
bloud of this juste person, and that ye this righteous man. Se ye thereto.
shall se."
Mat. xxviii. 1.---The Sabboth daye at Mat. xxviii. 1.-Upon the euenynge of
even which dauneth the morowe after the Sabbath holydaye, which dawneth
the Sabboth, Mary Magdalene and the the morow of the first daye of the Sab-
other Mary came to se the sepulchre. bathes, came Mary Magdalene, etc., etc.
Mat. xxviii. 9.–And as they went to Mat. xxviii. 9. And as they were
tell his disciples, beholde, Jesus met going to tell his disciples, beholde,
them, sayinge, All hayle.
Jesus met them, and sayde, God spede you.
Mat. xxviii. 14.–And if this come to Mat. xxviii. 14. —And yf this come to
the rulers eares, we wyll pease him, and the debytes eares, we wyll styll him, and
save you harmles.
bringe it so to passe that ye shall be safe.
A reference to the authorised and revised versions of the
English Testament will show that more of Tyndale's original
110
Bibles of England.
renderings than of Coverdale's variations, in the above table,
have been retained in subsequent translations of the Bible. It
may be admitted that many of Coverdale's changes on
Tyndale's text are improvements; but it will probably be
found that over the whole Testament, as well as in the above
quoted verses, more of the renderings of Tyndale which Cover-
dale attempted to improve have, by subsequent revisers, been
retained than have been displaced."
Considering that Coverdale confessedly translated the Scrip-
tures “out of Douche and Latyn in to English," it may be
presumed that the changes he made on Tyndale's version of
the New Testament were inspired by Dutch and Latin reading
It may interest us to ascertain what particular translations in
Latin and Dutch gave most inspiration to Coverdale's render-
ings. The versions we should think he was most likely to have
consulted and followed were the Vulgate, the translation in
Latin by Erasmus, and the translation in Dutch (German) by
Luther. Taking for examination a chapter at random, Luke
xxiii., and comparing Tyndale's and Coverdale's renderings of
it, it will be found that, exclusive of minor variations of
particles, such as and, but, then, etc., there are about thirty-three
places in which Coverdale departs, more or less, from the text
of Tyndale. In several of these places the translation by
Coverdale harmonises with the Latin of both Erasmus and the
Vulgate ; as in v. 2, where give tribute is substituted for pay
tribute ; in v. 23, where lay still upon him is put for cried; and
in v. 25, where do with him what they would is changed into
their will. But the most distinctive of the changes that Cover-
dale made on the text of Tyndale-such as, the emperor for
Cæsar, v. 2; none of the causes for no fault, v. 14; after the
custom of the feast for at that feast, v. 17 ; the time will coine for
the days will come, v. 29; rent in two for rent even through, v.
45; stode by and beheld for came together at that sight, v. 48–
could not have been inspired by either of the two Latin
versions, and it is remarkable that these specially distinctive
2 A very unhappy rendering of Coverdale's is, Rom. xi. 16 : “ Yf the begynnynge
be holy, then is all the dowe holy."
The Reformers' Bibles.
III
I
.
renderings of Coverdale's are all literal translations of Luther's
version in German. And it is no less noteworthy that of all
the thirty-three instances in which Coverdale has made amend-
ments on the translation by Tyndale there is only one in which
his rendering does not accord with Luther's. That one render-
ing, of which no account is given in any of the three named
Latin and Dutch versions, is'" here and there in all the londe of
Jewry," v. 5, for “throughout all Jewry." It seems clear,
therefore, that Luther's Dutch version contains the text from
which Coverdale made his translation of the New Testament;
and that all the use he could have made of either the Vulgate
or the Latin version by Erasmus was merely in the way of
reference.
This conclusion is confirmed by an examination of the more
notable changes that Coverdale made on Tyndale's renderings.
Of the twenty-one mentioned in the paragraphs beginning on
page 107, there are only two, married for betrothed, Mat. i. 8, and
amende yourselves for repent, Mat. iii. 2, that do not correspond
with the Dutch text in Luther's Bible. And not only are the
other nineteen renderings of Coverdale's consistent with
Luther's version, but many of them, such as two murderers for
two theves, Mat. xxvii. 38 ; ungrekes for no Grekes, Rom. i. 13 ;
maketh you the surer for to you it is a sure thing, Phil. iii. I;
mannerly for honestly apparelled, 1 Tim. iii. 2, were obviously
inspired by the German Reformer. Of Coverdale's variations
from Tyndale, again, that appear in the eight verses in the
parallel columns on page 109, the most striking are literal
renderings of their counterparts in Luther's Testament, and
they bear no affinity to the words in either the Vulgate or the
Latin version by Erasmus. The passages to which this
remark specially applies are: "A prophet is nowhere lesse set
by than at home," Mat. xiii. 57 ; " The tables were all full,"
Mat. xxii. 10; “ It is not lawful to put them into the God's
chest, for it is blood-money," Mat. xxviii. 6; "Bring it to pass
that ye shall be safe,” Mat. xxviii. 14.
I
" Seenis clear.” As the Zurich version followed Luther's very closely in the
New Testament, Coverdale may have, for anything shown above, translated direct
from that version.
112
Bibles of England.
Of Dutch and Latin translations of the Bible, from which
Coverdale might have drawn his English version of the Old
Testament, there were several. Those that, from the frequency
with which they are spoken of by historians of the Bible, may
occur to us most readily are the German translation by Luther,
the Vulgate, and the Latin translation by Pagninus. Between
Coverdale's English and Luther's German version of the Old
Testament there are many instances of more than accidental
correspondence, but the correspondence between these two
versions is by no means so all-pervading in the Old Testament
as in the New. Among the notable readings and render-
ings in Coverdale's Old Testament which have been, or will in
succeeding pages be, referred to in this chapter, the following
may be specified as according literally with the German trans-
lation by Luther :“It goeth all over me,” (all these things are
against me), Gen. xlii. 36; “Reuben stode hye in his awne
consayte," (for the divisions of Reuben there were great
thoughts of heart), Judges v. 15; "He knewe how shamefully
his children behaued themselues and hath not once loked
sowerly therto," (he restrained them not), 1 Sam. iii. 13; “O,
who will geve my heade water ynough, (oh, that my head were
waters), Jer. ix. I; "After the King had clipte his shepe,"
(after the king's mowings), Amos vii. r. The following, again,
have no correspondence with the words in Luther's translation,
but harmonise with the readings in the. Vulgate: “David
stackered towards the dores of the gate” (scrabbled on the
doors of the gate), i Sam, xxi. 13; “A styll softe hissing" (a
still small voice), 1 Kings xix. 12; " between the mawe and
the lungs" (between the joints of the harness), 1 Kings xxii.
34 ; "hath comprehended all the earth of the world in thre
fyngers" (hath comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure),
Is. xl. 12; “A cake of bread and else no dight meate” (a piece
of bread out of the baker's street), Jer. xxxvii. 21.
There are
other distinctive readings and renderings in Coverdale's Bible,
however, for which no warrant can be found in either Luther's
translation or the Vulgate. In some of these there is an echo
of the Latin version by Pagninus, as in Jer. viii. 22, “There is
no more triacle at Galaad,” theriaca non est in Gilead ; and in
The Reforiners' Bibles.
I13
Psal. xlii. 7, "One depe calleth another with the voyse of thy
whystles,” vorago voraginem vocat ad sonitum fistularum
tuaruin. I But in Coverdale's Old Testament there are other
peculiar readings and renderings still, which do not harmonise
with their counterparts in either Luther's Bible, the Vulgate, or
the Latin translation by Pagninus. Of these may be men-
tioned: His cheeks were not fallen” (his natural force was
not abated), Deut. xxxiv. 7 ; “A cock ready to fight“ (a grey
hound), Prov. xxx. 31; "A vineyard of Muscatel” (a vineyard
of red wine), Is. xxvii. 2 ; “He shall be the most symple and
despised of all” (he is despised and rejected of men), Is. liii. 3;
“Come, let us cut out his tongue" (come, let us smite him with
the tongue), Jer. xviii. 18; "The boyes are hanged up upon
trees” (the children fell under the wood), Lam. v. 13. There
must have been some other Dutch or Latin version, therefore,
from which Coverdale drew largely in his translation of the Old
Testament. One Dutch version, besides Luther's, that was in
high repute in the days of Coverdale, was known by the name
of the Zurich Bible. It was a translation into German by the
preachers of Zurich, and was published at Zurich in 1530. And
that this German-Swiss translation was the version that Cover-
dale chiefly followed in his rendering of the Old Testament,
appears from the following remarks of Dr. Moulton's :-
“In the Pentateuch and in the New Testament the Swiss translators, to a very
large extent, followed Luther, merely adapting his work to the dialect of their
country. In the prophets and some other books of the Old Testament, the Zurich
Bible differs widely from Luther's ; and here Coverdale's preference for the Swiss
version is strongly marked. Dr. Ginsburg, in his Commentary on Ecclesiastes,
gives a number of passages in which Coverdale has literally followed the Zurich
Bible, and remarks that in this book of Scripture the instances in which Coverdale
follows the Vulgate and Luther are comparatively few. Professor Westcott goes
carefully into this subject. He examined fifty-five passages in which Coverdale has
shown some doubt as to the meaning, and has therefore given one interpretation in
the text and an alternative in the margin. Here then, reckoning text and margin,
we have more than one hundred renderings to trace. Dr. Westcott discovers
almost all in one or more of the following five versions, the Vulgate, Pagninus's
Latin version, Luther, the Zurich Bible, and Tyndale. In seven instances only
does he not identify the rendering. A more recent examination of early editions of
the two German versions has brought to light this small remainder, so that we have
now presumptive evidence that the sources of Coverdale's work are completely
before us."
1 Fistula, a shepherd's pipe.
I
114
Bibles of England.
Coverdale's translation was dedicated to Henry VIII., as
“defendour of the fayth, and under God the chefe and sup-
preme heade of the Church of Englonde." This was both right
and politic. To the dedication was prefixed a profuse invoca-
tion of divine blessings on the King, in the following Scriptural
terms: “The ryght and just administracyon of the lawes that
God gave unto Moses and unto Josua; the testimonye of fayth-
fulnes that God gaue of Dauid: the plenteous abundaunce of
wysdome that God gaue unto Salomon : the lucky and pros-
perous age, with the multiplicacyon of sede, which God gave
unto Abraham and Sara his wyfe: be geven unto you most
gracyous Prynce, with your dearest just wyfe, and most ver-
tuous Pryncesse, Queen Anne. Amen." In the dedication
itself, Coverdale refers in grateful language to a most blessed
change that had recently been witnessed in England. The
word of God, he said, is no longer “clene shut up, depressed,
cast asyde, and put out of remembraunce." The King has com-
manded, like Josias of old, that the Scriptures “shulde be
redde and taught unto all the people.” And so, Coverdale
adds: “I thought it my dutye, and to belong unto my allegi-
aunce, when I had translated this Bible, not only to dedicate this
translacyon unto your highnesse, but wholy to comytte it unto
the same: to the intent that yf any thynge therin be trans-
lated amysse (for in many things we fayle, euen when we
thinke to be sure) it may stonde in your graces hondes, to cor-
recte it, to amende it, to improve it, yee and clene to rejecte it,
yf your godly wysdome shall thynke it necessary.” A good
deal of diplomacy was, nevertheless, required to procure,
through the King, free course for the new translation. Without
entering into the details of that diplomacy, it will suffice to say
here that not only was Coverdale's Bible not seized and burned,
but it was allowed to be openly circulated. An edition,
published in 1537, was declared on the title page to be “sett
forth with the Kynges most gracious license.”
In 1537, there appeared another notable version of the Bible
in English. The name of the translator was given on the title
page as Thomas Matthew. That, however, was a pseudonym,
and the real name of the person responsible for the work was
The Reformers' Bibles.
115
John Rogers. This John Rogers was Tyndale's literary
executor: and the Bible he published was not a new and an
original translation, but only a well edited version of other
men's translations. It comprised, or substantially comprised, a
reprint of Tyndale's Testament and Pentateuch ; a first print
of the translations Tyndale left behind him in manuscript : and
a reprint from Coverdale's Bible, of the remanent portion of
Scripture, from Ezra to Malachi. Like Coverdale's translation,
this of Matthew's was protected by Royal License. The pro-
tection was obtained at the suit of Cranmer, who, in 1534, had
tried but failed to induce the bishops to undertake a transla-
tion of the Bible. Having failed in that endeavour, Cranmer,
in 1537, wrote to Cromwell, that it would be well if Matthew's
book were shown to the King, and permission craved for its free
circulation, "until such time that we bishops shall set forth a
better translation, which I think will not be till a day after
doomsday.” As a translation, Matthew's Bible was in some
respects, of higher merit than Coverdale's ; but it was accom-
panied by prologues and notes of Matthew's own, which were
too fierce and free to be palatable to all sorts of people. Like
his master Tyndale, Matthew (or Rogers) was a zealous and an
extreme Reformer; and as Tyndale, in 1536, was strangled
and burnt by Churchmen on the continent, so had Rogers the
uncoveted honour of being burned at Smithfield, in 1555,
during the persecution of Protestants by Mary of England.
A few specimens of his annotations will show what kind of
bread it was that Rogers gave the people of England to eat
with the pure milk of the word. Commenting on Isaiah
lviii. 3, "wherefore have we fasted and thou seest not," Rogers
remarks: "The fast remayneth yet amonge ye Christen, for
true chastenynge of the body and abstenynge from vice will we
yet nether understand nor heare of: but still thinke with the
Jews both that we do God a great pleasure when we fast, and
1 The licensing of Matthew's Bible was enough to have waked the ashes of Tyn-
dale into laughter. Matthew's Bible was just a revised edition of Tyndale's
translations, (which had been so fiercely denounced), with a new part, from Ezra to
Malachi, added! How little do some people know what they condemn and what
they commend !
116
Bibles of England.
also that we then fast when we absteyne from one thynge, and
fill our belyes with another." Good Catholics who thought
they did God service by subjecting themselves to an alterative
diet on Fridays could not but bristle at such reflections as
these on their religious customs. In some other notes, Rogers
made observations on the office and the modern practices of
bishops, which must have been very annoying to the mitred
occupants of episcopal sees. Comparing Titus i. 5, "I left the
in Crete that thou shuldest
ordeyne elders in every
citie,” with Titus i. 7, "a bisshoppe must be fautelesse," he
took occasion to lay downe the Presbyterian doctrine that,
Bisshopes and elders is all one, an officer chosen to governe
the congregation in doctryne and lyuyng.”: On i Tim. iii. 1,
“Yf a man covet the office of a bysshope he desyreth a good
worke,” Rogers remarks that, “Bysshoppe is as moche to say,
as a sear to, a taker heade to, or an ouer sear; which when he
desyreth to feade Christes flocke with the fode of healeth, that is,
with his holy worde, as the bysshopes dyd in Paul's tyme, desyreth
a good worcke, and the very office of a bysshope. But he that
desyreth honoure; gapeth for lucre; thirsteth greate rentes;
seketh preeminence, pompe, dominion; coveteth abundance of
all thinges without want, rest and hertes ease, castelles, parckes,
lordshyppes, yerldomes, etc., desyre not a worcke, moch lesse a
good worcke.” On the subjects of faith, holy life, and repen-
tance, Rogers shewed, by his notes, that he was in full touch
with the most advanced protestantism. He describes faith,
Mat. ix. 2, as “the rightwesnes of a christen man, which setteth
at peace the conscience, and receaveth the herytage euerlast-
ynge." He declares that reward, Mat. v. 12, "is geven to men
for their worcke, but is not due to the worcke.” And he says
that to repent, Mat, iv. 17, “is to forthynck, and to leve and
chaunge the euell lyfe for the loue of virtue and hate of synne."
His scholastic annotations are sometimes instructive, and when
not instructive they are sometimes entertaining, which is almost
better. The locusts that furnished fare for John the Baptist
1 Coverdale and the Bishops had their episcopal revenge for this outrage on
sacerdotal traditions. In 1 Tim. iii. 8, and elsewhere, they give to deacons the
designation of ministers.
The Reformers' Bibles.
IIZ
0
were, he tells his readers, “certen beastes which the people of
Parthia and of Ethiopia did comenly use to eate,
yet
do some holde opinion that they be the toppes or, as we call
them, the buddes of treas or frutes."I . The vipers again, to
whom Jesus compared the men of the evil generation in which
he lived on earth, were, “certen serpentes that breake their
mothers belyes at their byrth, and so kil them.”
Neither Coverdale's nor Matthew's Bible was altogether
satisfactory. Both seemed capable of improvement. “The
boldness of the pseudo-Matthew," says Dr. Plumptre, “had
frightened the ecclesiastical world from its propriety, and
Coverdale's version was too inaccurate to keep its ground.” It
was necessary, therefore, that an effort should be made to meet
a widely felt want, by a revision of all existing translations.
One person induced to enter on this undertaking was Richard
Taverner : and notwithstanding certain stories told of him to
his literary discredit, he had some considerable qualifications
for the work. He was an excellent Greek scholar, and was
quite competent, therefore, to correct the translation of the New
Testament wherever it required amendment. His competency
to revise the translation of the Old Testament has not been so
freely acknowledged. Some of his corrections there have been
cited by critics as proofs that “he knew no Hebrew." 2 One
virtue, however, he is well entitled to be credited with. He
had a clear and just sense of the arduousness of his task.
"The prynters," he says in his dedication, "were very desirous
to have the Byble come forth as faultlesse and emendatly as
the shortness of tyme for the recognysing of the same would
require, and they desyred me, for default of a better learned,
diligently to overloke and peruse the hole copy, and in case I
shold fynd any notable default that neded correction, to
amende the same according to the true exemplars." The re-
I Wyclif's translation of Mat. iii. 4, is “his mete was hony soukis (honey-
suckles) and hony of the wode.”
2 Mombert, p. 198. In Coverdale's Bible we read, Gen. xlix. 6, “they houghed
Taverner changed this into “they threw down the walls of the city."
Our authorised version retains Taverner's reading, with a marginal note,
houghed oxen.” The revised version has restored Coverdale's reading, and in the
margin makes no reference to a wall.
an oxe.
ΟΥ
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Bibles of England.
» I
vision he undertook was not intended to be exhaustive and
final. It was only “notable defaults” he was desired to amend.
And it was absurd, he said, for any one to suppose that a
faultless translation of the Bible could be made in a year's
time by any single man. "It is a worke," were his words, "of
so great difficultie so absolutely to translate the holie Bible
that it be faultlesse that I feared it could scarce be done of one
or two persons, but rather requyred both a deeper conferryng
of many learned wittes together, and also a juster tyme and
longer leysure."
On subsequent versions of the Bible in English Taverner's
labours had very little influence. His revision was, nevertheless,
a work of some merit. “The reviser's scholarship," says Dr.
Eadie, “appears on every page in many minute touches.”
Some other reviewers of his Bible are less eulogistic. “His
recognition (that is revision) in the Old Testament consisted
mainly,” says Dr. Mombert, “in suppressing many of Rogers'
notes, in correcting Rogers' English by the Vulgate, and in
endeavouring to give a clear sense to the text. His improve-
ments in the Old Testament are, therefore, with few exceptions,
of a very doubtful character. In the New Testament, where
his knowledge of Greek stood him in good stead, the changes
introduced are at once more numerous, and often also felicitous
although through haste he has left uncorrected errors,
which could not have escaped him, if he had paid greater
attention to his work." 2
As specimens of the changes that Taverner made on Tyndale's renderings, the
terms:
1 A story told of Taverner is that, on one occasion, when over three score years
old, he went with a gold chain about his neck and a sword by his side, to preach
to a company of young scholars, and commenced his discourse in the following
-“ Arriving at the Mount of St. Mary's, in the stony cage where I now
stand, I have brought you some fine biscuits, baked in the oven of charity, and
carefully conserved for the chickens of the church, the sparrows of the spirit, and
the sweet swallows of salvation.” Such a story would need to be well authenticated
before it is believed ; and with the literary structure of the above quoted sentence,
there is nothing to correspond in either Taverner's “recognition" of the Bible or
in his dedication of that work.
2 Dr. Westcott remarks that Taverner probably undertook a revision of the New
Testament, "for which his scholarship fitted him, first: and only afterwards
extended his labours to the Old Testament, for which he had no special aptitude.”
The Reforiners' Bibles.
119
66 Heave
following may be quoted :- “ He had never a word to say,” Mat. xxii. 12, for “he
was even speechless”; Stopped the Sadducees mouths,” Mat. xxii. 34, for “put
the Sadducees to silence"; Move,” Mat. xxiii. 4, for
at them with one
of their fyngers ; "Shall hew him," Mat. xxiv. 51, for "will divide him”;
“When they had given praises,” Mat. xxvi. 30, for “said grace";
" Which was
deare to him,” Luke vii. 2, for “whom he made moche of”; “bier,” Luke vii.
14, for “coffin”; Be not carried in the clouds," Luke xii. 29, for “ neither climb
ye up on high," (be not of doubtful mind-A. V.); “Hath enfraunchised,” Rom.
viii. 2, for “ hath delivered” me from the law of sin ; “Fordelles unto me,” Phil.
iii. 7, for “vauntage unto me”; and “He is our mercy-stock," i John, ii, 2, for
“he it is that obtaineth grace.” Taverner's adherence to the English text of Tyn-
dale, however, is much more noticeable and strange than his occasional departures
from it. In 1 Tim. vi. 17, the rendering of both Tyndale and Taverner is-
Charge them that are ryche in this world that they be not exceedynge wyse."
As the contents and history of Matthew's Bible came to be
more fully known, the advisers of the King realised the un-
pleasant fact that, in procuring for it a royal license, they had
befooled his majesty. Matthew's Bible contained a reprint,
very little altered, of Tyndale's Testament and Tyndale's Pen-
tateuch; and Matthew's own annotations were more offensive
than anything Tyndale had ever penned. In regard both to
Tyndale and Tyndale's Testament, the King had put his royal
judgment on public record. “ With the deliberate advice” of
the reverend fathers of the spiritualty, he had ordered Tyn-
dale's Testament to be burned as “an untrue translation."
Several years later, he had employed an agent on the Con-
tinent to search for Tyndale, and apprehend him as a broacher
of heresies and seditions. It was extremely awkward for
Henry's advisers, therefore, that they had persuaded him to
grant licence, unawares, for the circulation of what were prac-
tically Tyndale's Testament and Tyndale's other translations
of Scripture. The license had been procured by Crom-
well, the Chief Secretary of State, at the suit of Cranmer,
Archbishop of Canterbury. On discovering the real import of
this act, Cromwell must have felt it necessary to minimise the
effects of the license as quickly and quietly as possible. He
resolved, therefore, to supersede Matthew's Bible by a new
version, of which Matthew's Bible should be in part the basis,
but from which all Matthew's polemical annotations should be
excluded, and in which all Matthew's mistranslations should be
I 20
Bibles of England.
corrected. The person to whom he committed the execution
of this project was Coverdale, who had already given proof of
his skill and taste in translating and of his moderation and
courtesy in the treatment of ecclesiastical questions.
For some reason or other, it was determined that the printing
of the new version should be executed in Paris. Good paper
and good types, it was alleged, could easily be had there ; and
possibly it was thought that the work would be less subject to
interference there than in England. The sanction of the
French King was accordingly solicited and obtained, and the
work proceeded. Signs of ill-affected espionage, however,
were soon descried ; and, eventually, an order was issued by
the inquisitor-general to stop the work and seize whatever
papers were already printed. On hearing of this edict, Cover-
dale and his printer, Grafton, took flight and left behind them
all of their property that was confiscated. The printed sheets,
which were to have been “burned in the place Maubert," were
saved by a smart haberdasher, who bought them for paper " to
lay caps in," and then consigned them to England in four
large vats. People in those days of adventure and hazard were
not much disconcerted by small mishaps. Coverdale and
Grafton were, therefore, soon at their work again in London;
and in April 1539, a few weeks or months before the issue of
Taverner's Bible, the new version was in the hands of the
public.
On account of its large dimensions and massy appearance,
this new version of the Scriptures in English, which was de-
signed and expected so to supersede all previous versions,
whether licensed or unlicensed, as virtually to put them out of
the market, obtained the honourable name of “The Great
Bible.” By that name it is still known; and by that name it
will be convenient for us to designate not only the first edition,
but all subsequent editions of the same version. In one of these
subsequent editions, published in 1540, there is a long and
valuable prologue by Cranmer. For this reason, it has been
called Cranmer's Bible, and so have all later editions that con-
tain the Archbishop's prologue. But the title is not a just one.
If any person's name is to be associated with the Great Bible,
The Reformers' Bibles.
I21
+
it should be Coverdale's. He alone is responsible for the Eng-
lish text. But it cannot be called Coverdale's Bible, in the
same sense as the Bible formerly published by him was called
his. That former version was Coverdale's own translation of
the Bible, from the Latin and Dutch. The Great Bible was
only a revised version, by Coverdale, of his own and other peo-
ple's translations. The revision, nevertheless, was no mean
work. The Hebrew and Greek texts were examined; the
readings and renderings of the best translations in Latin and
German were considered ; the true meaning of the original
was thereafter determined according to the light of the times;
and the diction of former versions in English was smoothed
and perfected. To what extent the corrections and amend-
ments thus made, by Coverdale, on the earlier versions of the
English Bible were real improvements, is a matter on which
opinion may be divided.:
In order that the Great Bible might achieve the object for
which its publication was designed-of superseding and driving
out of the market all former licensed versions of the Scrip-
tures-a royal order was issued (at Cromwell's instance we may
be sure), while the printing was going on at Paris, that every
clergyman in England should provide on this side the feast
of-riext commyng, one boke of the whole Bible of the largest
volume in Englysche, and have the same sett up in summe
convenient place within the churche that he has the cure of,
whereat his parishners may most commodiously resort to the
same and rede yt." This injunction was not universally hon-
oured by the clergy. But it was partially obeyed, and in a
large number of churches, Bibles were set up for free and public
reading. In some churches, St. Paul's in London for example,
there were as many as six copies of the Bible located ; and his-
1 The under-noted amendments introduced by Coverdale into the Great Bible,
may strike the English reader as somewhat odd and lame versions of Scripture :-
'Made us sytte together with him amonge them of heaven in Christ Jesus,” Eph.
ii. 6 ; “Having shoes on your feet, that ye may be prepared for the gospell of
peace,” Eph. vi. 15; As new borne babes, desyre ye the mylke (not of the body
but of the soule) which is without disceate," i Pet. ii, 2; Seyng that we have
soch an offyce, even as God hath hed mercy on us, we go not out of kynde,” 2 Cor.
iv, I.
122
Bibles of England.
torians relate, that "it was wonderful to see with what joy this
book of God was received, not only among the learneder sort
and those that were noted for lovers of the Reformation, but
generally all England over, among the vulgar and common
people. Everybody, that could, bought the book, or busily
read it, or got others to read it to them, if they could not them-
selves, and divers elderly people learned to read on purpose.":
This was not all that Cromwell did to ensure for the Great
Bible a preference and pre-eminence over other Bibles in
English. He contrived, in Nov. 1539, to obtain for himself a
Royal patent, "to take special care and charge that no manner
of persone or persones within this our realme shall enterprise,
attempt, or sett in hand, to print any Bible in the English
tonge of any manner of volume, during the space of fyve yeres
next ensuying after the date hereof, but only such as shall (by
him) be deputied, assignid, and admitted.” This patent put it
in Cromwell's power to prevent for five years the publication in
England of any English version of the Scriptures except the
Great Bible.
In the five years between 1535 and 1539 there were thus put
into the hands of the English people no fewer than four trans-
lations of the Bible into English, viz., Coverdale's, Matthew's
or Rogers', Taverner's, and the Great Bible.2
There was a
1
.
•
1 The privilege procured for the people was, in some instances, abused. Com-
plaints were heard that “people read mostly during service and sermon,” shewing,
thereby, in their zeal for the word, contempt for the worship of God. How
ignorant of the Bible the very clergy were, may be gathered from the fact, that in
May 1542, Bonner thought it necessary to issue the following order :—“By the
authority givin to me of God
I exhort, require, and command that every
parson, vicar and curat shall read over and diligently study every day one chapter
of the Bible
proceeding from
the beginning of the gospel of
Matthew to the end of the New Testament :
and to come to the rehearsal
and recital thereof, at all such times, as they or any of them shall be commanded
by me, or any of my officers or deputies.”—Eadie, Vol. I. p. 400-I.
2 In some books, such as Adam Clarke's Commentary, reference is made to
Becke's Bible and Carmarden's Bible, as if they were translations of Becke's and
Carmarden's own. Becke's Bible was simply a reprint of Taverner's in 1549, with
dedication to the King by Becke, and " supputation of the yeares and time from
Adam unto Christe,” by the same person. Carmarden's Bible, again, was a re-
print, at Rouen in 1566, of the Great Bible, “at the cost and charges of Richard
Carmarden." Lewis, p. 178 and 214.
In the Ewing Collection of Bibles in the Glasgow University Library, there is
The Reformers' Bibles.
I 23
plethora of Bibles in those days, and there was some advantage
in that. People became curious to see wherein translations
differed, and by comparing different versions they made them-
selves well acquainted with the contents of Scripture. Each of
the four versions has still for us a special interest. Each was
the outcome of an effort to give to the English people a true
account of the word of God, on which so many current dogmas
and practices in those days were said by Churchmen to be
founded. Each was the work of a Reformer.
Each was a
material contribution to the Reformation; and between them
they made the Reformation in England complete. But while
each of these Bibles has for us a special interest, the Great
Bible has most. It was the culmination of all the work in
English Bible-making that had been going on from the day
that Tyndale set about his translation of the New Testament.
And not only does it represent the final shape that the Bible
of the English Reformers assumed; but, down to 1662, it sup-
plied the Church of England, in her Prayer-book, with the
lessons to be read in all her acts of divine service. And to this
day, part of the Great Bible lives in the Prayer-book of the
Church of England. The Psalter there is just the version of
the Psalms given in the Great Bible; and from the Great Bible
also are taken words of Scripture to be repeated in the office
of communion.
To determine the merits and demerits of the Great Bible, as
a translation of Scripture, it will be necessary to divide it into
three parts, and to examine each part separately. The three
parts into which, for this end, the Great Bible must be divided,
are the New Testament, the Old Testament from Genesis to
Chronicles inclusive, and the Old Testament from Ezra to
Malachi. And the questions we have to consider are, whether
Coverdale in the Great Bible mainly follows his own or
Tyndale's version of the New Testament, whether he mainly
another edition of the English Bible that bears Becke's name. This is a revision of
“ Taverner's Recognition
(called Matthew's translation on the title page),
printed by John Daye in 1551." (Notice of Ewing Collection, etc., by James
Lymburn, Librarian, 1888).
124
Bibles of England.
follows his own or Matthew's translation of the first part of the
Old Testament, and how far in the second part of the Old
Testament he deviates from his own former version printed in
1535. And as the Great Bible passed through several editions
which embodied considerable variations, it must be stated
here that while in the New Testament our references shall be
to the 1539 edition as reprinted in Bagster's Hexapla, our
quotations of the Old Testament shall be taken from the
edition issued by Grafton in 1541.2
1 To speak only of the two editions, 1539 and April 1540, the following, among
scores of other, instances of differentiation will be found in the volumes of Westcott,
Eadie, Mombert, etc. :-
Eccles. xi. 1. Sende thy vitayles ouer the waters, and so shalt thou fynde them
after many days. 1539.
Lay thy bread upon weate faces, and so shalt thou fynde after many
days. 1540.
Is. liii. 5. The pain of our punishment. 1539.
The chastisement of our peace. 1540.
Joel i. 18.
O what a syghynge make the cuell ! 1539.
O what a syghynge make the kyne! 1540.
Nahum ii. 3. His archers are not well deckte and trimmed. 1539.
His spere shafts are soked in venom. 1540.
2 Cor. ix. 6. Soweth plenteously shall reap. 1539.
Soweth in giving largely and freely shall reap. 1540.
Gal. i. IO. Speak unto men. 1539. Persuade men. 1540.
Jas. i. 13. For God cannot tempt unto evil, because he tempteth no man.
1539. For as God cannot be tempted with evil, so neither he
himself tempteth any man. 1540.
Jas. v. 17. A man mortal. 1539.
1539. A man under infirmities. 1540.
Jude 12. Feeding themselves. 1539. Living lawless and after their own
pleasures. 1540.
To these may be added :--
1 Cor. iv. 9. Us (whych are Apostles) for the lowest of all. 1539
Us (whych are the last Apostles). 1541 (Nov. 1540).
2 Grafton's reprint, 1541, from which quotations in this chapter are taken, is not,
although it was oversene and perused” by Tunstall and Heath, free from errata.
In the heading of Gen. xxxix., Joseph is said to have been tempted by Pharaoh's
wife. The following readings I found on reference to other editions in the Library
of Glasgow University are misprints :-“ He that hath no respecte unto the cloudes
shall not reape," Eccles. xi. 4; “Heare me, O ye that are of an hye stomacke but
are (instead of farre) from righteousness,” Is. xlvi. 12; “A thre-fold gable (cable)
is not easily broken," Eccles. iv. 12 ; “All nations shall preach (press) unto him,"
Is. ii. 2 ; “Yea, and thou Juda kepest an harlotte (harvest) for thyself,” Hos. vi.
“Who (woe) shall come to them when I departe from them,” Hos. ix. 12.
II;
The Reformers' Bibles.
125
One would naturally expect that the Great Bible should, in
that portion which comprises the New Testament, bear the
impress of Coverdale's translation, 1535, more than of Tyndale's,
1534. But it does not. The Great Bible follows Tyndale's
version much more closely than Coverdale's. In the paragraphs
that begin on page 107 in this chapter, there are specified
twenty-one cases of verbal difference between Coverdale's and
Tyndale's renderings. In twelve of these cases, the renderings
in the Great Bible agree with Tyndale's, and in only six with
Coverdale's. In the parallel columns on page 109, there are
indicated by italics thirty-three points of difference between
the translations of Coverdale and Tyndale; and on twenty-
three of these points the Great Bible agrees with Tyndale's
Testament, and on four only with Coverdale's first translation.
It is stated, alsó, on page 110 that an examination of Coverdale's
and Tyndale's version of the twenty-third chapter of St. Luke's
Gospel reveals thirty-three places in which the two transla-
tions diverge more or less. In twenty-eight of these places
Tyndale's renderings (with, in one or two instances, slight
modifications) have been retained in the Great Bible.
The strange fact comes out, therefore, that in the great Bible
Coverdale exalts the New Testament renderings of Tyndale
above the emendations that he himself made of them in
1535. Some of these emendations, however, are still happily
preserved. One verse that in Tyndale's Testament reads very
awkwardly is Rom. xiv. 7—"None of us lyveth his awne
servant: nether doeth eny of us dye his awne servant.”
Coverdale, in 1535, changed this crudely worded statement
into—"None of us lyueth to himselfe, and no man dieth to
himselfe;" and he transferred this amendment2 into the Great
Also “ bleate " for bleare, Is. xv. 4; “harvest" for her nest, Is. xvi. 2; "theyr
measures” for thre measures, Is. xl. 12, etc.
1 In Tyndale's Testament there are several cases of odd spelling, and some of the
strangest of these are to be found also in Coverdale's Bible, 1535, and in the Great
Bible, 1539. In all the three translations we read, Heb. iv. 12—“The worde of
God is quicke
and entreth through even unto the divyding of
the joyntes and the mary.”
2 Almost, but not quite, verbatim. Other amendments of Tyndale's renderings
that Coverdale did well to transfer from his own Bible, 1535, to the Great Bible
.
126
Bibles of England.
Bible. What again will strike the English reader as a very odd
rendering of Tyndale's is, 1 Cor. ii. 14,—"The naturall man per-
ceaveth not the thinges of the sprete of God. For they are
but folyshnes unto him. Nether can he perceave them, because
he is spretually examined.” The last clause of this verse is
made by Coverdale, in the Great Bible, to read, “they are
spiritually examined,” which is a proper correction. It is
worthy of note, however, that a phrase which appears in Cover-
dale's own translation, 1535, and was by Coverdale allowed to
be superseded in the Great Bible by the expression used in
Tyndale's Testament, was restored in the authorised version,
1611, viz., "spiritually discerned." But while Coverdale, as we
see, excluded from the Great Bible some renderings in his own
translation that were good, he had the bad taste to insert others
that were not good. In Acts xx. 7, the Greek Testament
contains a conventional phrase, which means "on the first day
of the week.” The words themselves might be literally trans-
lated «
upon one of the Sabbath days." Both in his own
translation, 1535, and in the Great Bible, 1540, Coverdale has
erroneously given the literal, instead of the conventional, ren-
dering of the phrase : so that the early Christians are repre-
sented as meeting together for communion on occasional
Saturdays, instead of every Sunday.
Of New Testament renderings in the Great Bible, 1539, that
exhibit improvement on what preceded them in either Tyn-
were:
“Give us this day our daily bread,” for oure dayly breed geve us evermore,
Luke xi. 3 ; “Oye of lytle faith,” for O ye endued with litell faith, Luke xii. 28 ;
' It is your father's pleasure to geve you the kingdome,” instead of a kingdom, Luke
xii. 32 ; “Verely this was a righteous man,” for of a surtie this man was perfecte,
Luke xxiii. 47 ; “Bewitched them with sorceries” for “with sorcery he had mocked
them,” Acts viii. II; “Have they therefore stombled that they shuld utterly fall
awaye together," for shuld but faule only, Rom. xi. II; “Stewardes of the secretes
of God,” for disposers of tbe secretes of God, i Cor. iv. I; “Deeth is swallowed up
in victory,” for deeth is consumed in to victory, 1 Cor. xv. 54 ;
“ Before them all,”
for before all inen, Gal. ii. 14; “The slaunder of the crosse,” for the offence which
the crosse geveth, Gal. v. II; “ Crucified unto me, and I unto the worlde," for
crucified as touching me, and I as concerninge the worlde,” Gal. vi. 14; “Hye
mynded,” for exceedinge wyse, 1 Tim. vi. 17 ; “ Watch unto prayer,” for be apte to
prayers," I Peter iv. 7; “Ye shall never fall,” for ye shall never erre, 2 Peter i.
10; etc., etc.
The Reformers' Bibles.
127
dale's Testament or Coverdale's Bible, 1535, the following will
serve as instances :-
xxxii. 35 ;
“Let her alone,” for let her be in reest, Mark xiv. 6; “Yf they do this in a
grene tree,” for if they do this to a grene tree, Luke xxiii. 31 ; “He saved other
men, let him save himselſe,” for he holpe other men let him helpe himselfe, Luke
“There stondeth one amonge you,” for one is come amonge you, John i.
26; “ Taried with them,” for haunted with them (Tyndale), and hed his beyinge
there with them (Coverdale), John iii. 22 ; “At the poynt of death,” for readie to dye
(Tyndale), and lay deed sicke (Coverdale), John iv. 47 ; “Rather geve place unto
wrath,” for geve roume unto the wrath of God, Rom. xii. 19; “ man's judgement,”
for man's daye, 1 Cor. iv. 3; “the singlenes that ye had toward Christ,” for the
singlenes that is in Christ, 2 Cor. xi. 3; “Fayth which worketh by loue," for
faith which by love is mighty in operacion, Gal. v. 6 ; " By nature,” for naturally,
the children of wrath, Eph. ii. 3; “ The thynges which happened unto me,” for my
busyness, chaunced unto the greater furtherance of the gospel, Phil i. 12; . Be lyke
mynded,” for drawe one waye, Phil. ii. 2; “Fathers, provoke not," for fathers, rate
not your children, Col. iii. 21 ; “Naked and open,” for naked and bare unto the
eyes of him of whom we speak, Heb. iv. 13; “Obtained a good reporte," for
well reported of, Heb. xi. 2 ; “One messe of meate,” for one breakfast, Heb. xii.
“Maruayll not that ye are proued by fyre," for be not troubled in this heate,
I Pet. iv. 12.
16;
As in the New Testament, so in the Old Testament from
Genesis to Chronicles inclusive, the Great Bible follows the
renderings of Tyndale (or Matthew) much more closely than it
follows the renderings given by Coverdale in 1535. Opening
the Bible at random, in three places, we light on the following
chapters, Exodus xvi., 2 Sam. xxiv., and 2 Kings xi. In the
first named of these chapters there are thirty-six verses, in the
second twenty-five verses, and in the third twenty-one verses.
Out of all these eighty-two verses there is only one in which
the words of the Great Bible correspond exactly with those in
Coverdale's translation. And in this verse, Ex. xvi. 36, it
would have been difficult to devise more renderings than one
“A gomer is the tenthe part of an epha.” In every other of
the eighty-two verses, there is a divergence more or less great.
Sometimes in one verse there are two or three points of differ-
ence, and sometimes a verse is different all through. In the
greater number of these eighty-two verses, there is more or less
difference, also, between the renderings in the Great Bible, and
those in Matthew's translation. But there are, in the two last
named Bibles, nearly a score of these eighty-two verses that
128
Bibles of England.
Conce
to
are absolutely identical, and many more verses that differ in
only one unimportant word. 1
To give the reader some definite notion of what is the real
amount of agreement and disagreement, sameness and
difference, in the texts of the three English Bibles (Coverdale's
1535, Matthew's 1537, and the Great Bible 1540), in that part
of the Old Testament which is comprised between Genesis and
Chronicles, a short passage from each of the three Bibles shall
here be presented in parallel columns.
COVERDALE, 1535.
MATTHEW, 1537.
GREAT BIBLE, 1541.
I Sam. ii. 30 - 33. -
I Sam. ii. 30-33. –
I Sam. ii. 30 - 33. –
Therefore sayeth the Lorde Wherefore the Lorde God Wherefore the Lord God
God of Israel : I have spo- of Israel sayth : I sayde of Israel sayeth, I sayde,
ken that thy house and thy that thyne house and the that thy house and the
father's houses houlde walke house of thy father shulde house of thy father shoulde
before me for ever. But haue walked before me walke before me for ever.
now sayeth the Lorde, for ever. But now the But now the Lord sayth
That be farre fro me. But Lorde, sayeth, That be That be farre from me : for
who so ever honoureth me, farre from me : for them them that worship me I wyl
him will I honoure also, as that worshippe me I will worship and they that des-
for those that despyse me worshippe, and they that pyse me shall
they shall not be regarded. despyse me shalbe des- shame. Behold the dayes
Behold the tyme shal pysed. Beholde the dayes come that I wyll cutte of
come, that I wyll break will come that I will cut thine arm, and the arm of
thyne arm in two, and the of thine arme, and the, thy father's house that
arm of thy father's house,
of thy father's there shall not be an olde
so that there shal no olde- house, that there shall not man in thine house : and
man be in thy house. And be an elder in thine house. thou shalt se thyne enemy
thou shalt see thine adver- And thou shalt see thine in the tabernacle (of the
saries in the habitacion, in enemy in the tabernacle, Lord) and in all the wealth
all the good of Israel, and in all that shall please which (God) shall give
there shal neuer be olde Israel, and there shall not Israel, and there shall not
man in thy father's house. be an elder in thine house be an elder in thyne house
Yet wyll I not rote out while the world standeth. for ever. Neverthelesse I
euery man of the fro myne Nevertheless I will not will not destroy all the
altare but that thyne eyes destroye all thy males from males that come of the fro
may be consumed, and that my aultare to dase thy myne altar. But to make
thy soul may be sory : and sight withal and to make thyne eyes base, and to
a great multitude of thy thyne hert melte. And make thyne herte melte.
house shal dye, when they all the multitude of thyne And all they that be mul-
are come to be men. house shall dye younge.
typlyed in thyne house
shall dye, yf they be men.
In the passage above cited, it will be observed that there is
not, in any of the three Bibles quoted from, either any notable
expression, or any great variation of expression. But it would
be a mistake to infer that there are no notable expressions to
arme
1 Westcott says that the Great Bible is simply a revision of “the text of Matthew,
which was laid down as the basis, by the help of Munster," that is, of Munster's
Latin translation.
The Reformers' Bibles.
129
be found in any of these three English versions of the first part
of the Old Testament, In each of these translations the
curious reader will find many obsolete words, and obsolete
forms of words, with many quaint and antiquated phrases. In
Coverdale's Bible, it is said, Ex. xvi. 21, that "as soon as the
manna) was whote of the sonne it melted away”; and 31, that
the manna" was like Coriander sede and whyte, and had a
taist like symnels with hony." In the Great Bible, the anti-
quated term whote is not retained ; but, in lieu of the modern
phrase "melted away," the obsolete inflexion moulte is substi-
tuted. In the subjoined parallel columns will be found a few
of the many peculiar readings and archaic renderings that may
be culled from the historical books of the Old Testament in
the Reformers' Bibles. And it will be seen that these extracts
confirm the conclusion stated in a previous paragraph that the
readings and renderings in the Great Bible correspond far more
closely with those in Matthew's than with those in Coverdale's
version. Taverner's Bible is so nearly a verbatim copy of
Matthew's, that its deviations from Matthew's are all that need
be noted in the columns below.
COVERDALE, 1535.
MATTHEW, 1537.
GREAT BIBLE, 1540.
Gen. viii. II.-And she Gen. viii. II.-And the Gen. viii. 11.-And the
returned unto him aboute doue came to hym agayne doue came to hym in the
the euen tyde: and be about euentyde: and be- euen tyde, and lo in her
holde she had broken of a holde there was in hyr mouthe was an olyue leafe
leafe of an olyve tre and mouth a lefe of an olyve that she had plucie.
bare it in her nebb.
tree, whyche she had pluck-
ed.
Gen. xxxix. 2. — And Gen. xxxix. 2. And Gen. xxxix. 2. - And
the Lord was with Joseph, the Lorde was with Jo- God was with Joseph and
in so moch that he became seph, and he was a luckie he became a luckye man.
a luckye man.
felowe, (and he prospered.
-Taverner.)
Gen. xlii. 36.--It goeth Gen. xlii. 36.--All these Gen, xlii. 36.-All these
all ouer nie.
things fall upon me. thynges are agaynst me. I
Gen. xlix. 4.
Thou Gen. xlix. 4. -As un- Gen. xlix. 4. --Unstable
passeth forth swiftly as the stable as water wast thou, as water thou shalt not be
water. Thou shalt not be thou shalt therefore not be the chefest.
the chefest.
the chefest.
1 A strange account of Joseph and his brethren is given in the Great Bible, Gen.
xliii. 34.—" And they drinking, were droncke with him." In Coverdale's own
Bible the passage reads" And they droncke and were mery with him.”
K
130
Bibles of England.
IO.
nesse.
XV.
XV.
XV.
Lev. xix. 27.-Ve shal Lev. xix. 27.--Ye shall Lev. xix. 27.-Ye shall
shave no crowns upon your not rounde the lockes of not rounde the lockes of
heade, nether shalt thou your heades, nether shalt your heades, neyther shalte
clyppe thy beerde cleane off. thou marre the tuftes of thou marre the tuftes of
thy bearde.
thy bearde.
Deut. xxxii, 10.-He Deut. xxxii.
10. —He Deut. xxxii. .He
founde him in the wilder- founde hym in a deserte founde hym in a deserte
nesse, euen in the drye land, in a voyde ground, lande, in a voyde grounde,
deserte, where he roared. and a rorynge wilderness. and in a roarynge wilder-
(A wild wilderness.-Ta-
verner).
Deut. xxxiv. 7. - His Deut. xxxiv. 7.-His Deut. xxxiv. 7.-Hys
eyes were not dymme, and eyes were not dym nor hys eye was not dymme, nor
his chekes were not fallen. chekes abated.
hys naturall coloure abated.
Judges v. 12.–Arise, Judges v. 12. — Up Judges v. I 2.
Aryse
Barak and catch him that Barak, and take thy praye Barak, and leade the cap-
catched thee, thou sonne of thou sonne of Abinoam. tiuitie captiue, thou sonne
Abinoam.
of Abinoan.
Judges v. 15.–Because Judges v. 15.But in Judges v. 15.-When in
Rúben stode hye in his the devysions of Rueben the departyng awaye of
awne consayte, and separ- were great ymaginations Ruben there were great
ated hiin selfe from us. of herte.
men and wyse of hert.
Judges xv. 5.–And thus Judges xv.
5. - And
Judges xv.
5.-And
he brent the stoukes and burnt up bothe the reped burnt up bothe the reped
the standynge corne. corne, and also the stand. corne and also the stand-
ynge.
yng.
Judges
8. - Не Judges 8. - He Judges 8. – He
smote them sore both upon smote them legge and smote them legge and
the shulders and loynes.
thighe with a mighty thygh with a mightye
plage.
plage.
1 Sam. iii. 13. — He i Sam. iii. 13.--For the I Sam. iii. 13. – When
knewe how shamefully his wickednesse whyche he the people cursed hys son-
children behaued them- knoweth, how his sonnes nes, for the same wycked-
selues and hath not once are ungraciouse and he nes, he hath not corrected
loked sowerly thereto. was not wroth therewith them.
(and he chastised them
not. ----Taverner.)
I Sam. xvii. 4.-Then I Sam. xvii. 4.-And I Sam. xvii. 4.-And
stepte there forth from then came a man, and there came a man betwene
amonge the Philistynes a stode in the myddes out of them both out of the tentes
stoute bolde man, named the tents of the Philistines, of the Philistines named
Goliath.
named Goliath.
Goliah.
I Sam. xviii. 6.- The I Sam. xviii. 6.—Wo- I Sam. xviii. 6.-Wo-
wemen wente out of all men came out of all cyties men came oute of all
the cities of Israel with of Israel synging and cyties of Israel syngynge
songes and daunses to daunsynge agaynst Saul, and daunsynge agaynste
mete kynge Saul with with tymbrelles, with joye Kynge Saul, and with
tymbrels, with myrth and and with fydilles.
tymbrels, with ioye and
with fyddels.
with instruments of inu-
syke.
I Sam. xxi. 13.-And I Sam. xxi. 13.--And I Sam. xxi. 13.-And
Dauid
shewed he
raved in their Dauid
fayned
himselfe as he had bene handes, and scrabbled on hym selfe mad in theyr
madd in their handes, and the doores of the gate, and handes and scrabbled on
stackered towarde the dores let his spittel falle downe the dores of the gate, and
of the gate, and his upon his bearde.
let his spettle fall downe
slauerynges ranne downe
upon his beerde.
his beard.
1 Kings iv, 26.-And 1 Kings iv. 26.-And I Kings iv, 26.---And
Salomon had fortye thou- Salomon had fourtie thou- Salomon had XLM stalles
sande cart horses.
sand stalles of horses for of horses for charrettes,
charettes.
The Reformers' Bibles.
131
was
small voyce.
i Kings xviii. 28.-And I Kings xviii. 28.-And I Kings xviii. 28.-And
they cried loude and pro- they cryed lowde and cut they cryed loude, and cutte
u oked themselues with themselves, as their man- themselues as theyr maner
knyues and botkens, as ner was with knyues and with knyues and
their maner was, tyll the launcers tyll the bloude launcers tyll the bloode
bloude folowed.
folowed on them.
folowed on them.
1 Kings xix. 12.-And 1 Kings xix. 12. — -And 1 Kings xix. 12.--And
after the fyre came there a after the fyre came a styll after ye fyre came a small
styll softe hyssinge.
styl voyce.
1 Kings xxii. 34.-A I Kings xxii. 34.-And I Kings xxii. 34.-A
certayne man bended his certen
drew a
certaine man drue a bowe
bowe harde, and shott the boowe ignorantly,
ignorantly, and ignorantly, and (by
kynge of Israel betwene smote the kinge of Israel chaunce) smote the kynge
the mawe and the longes. betwene the ribbes of his of Israel betwene the
harnesse.
rybbes and hys harnesse.
2 Kings xii.
,-
2 Kings xii. 12.–To 2 Kings xii. 12.–To
Namely, to the dawbers
and hewers of masons and hewers of
and masons, and to them stone to bye tymbre and stone. And they brought
that boughte tymber and fre stone.
tymbre and fre stone.
fre stone.
a
man
12.-
masons
In the other part of the Old Testament, from Ezra to
Malachi, Coverdale had simply in the Great Bible to revise
his own former version. The Great Bible, therefore, does not
present the same amount of divergence from Coverdale's own
in this part of the Old Testament as in the preceding part.
Out of every hundred consecutive verses here, there will
(probably) be found about fifty that, in the two Bibles, are
identical in their terms; and out of the other fifty, a consider-
able number in which the difference of phraseology is very
slight. Take at random four chapters, one here and another
there. The four we light on are Job xix., Prov. xx., Isaiah
xxxii., and Hosea xiii. In these chapters the number of verses
that are word for word the same in the two Bibles are :—in Job
xix., fifteen out of twenty-nine: in Prov. xx., sixteen out of
thirty : in Isaiah xxxii., seven out of twenty : in Hosea xiii.,
eight out of sixteen: in all, forty-six out of ninety-five. Many
of the variations counted in this enumeration, too, are the
closest possible approaches on imperceptible distinctions. In
one case the whole change on a verse is the substitution of a
for the : in another case, it is that man for he: in a third case,
it is the alteration of would be into are : and in a fourth, it is
the suppression of the adverb too.
And this statement fails to shew the amount of identity there
is in the two versions. Many peculiar words and phrases, and
132
Bibles of England.
not a few defective renderings, which appear in Coverdale's
translation, 1535, and which we should have expected a re-
viser to change, are retained in the Great Bible. In both trans-
lations, it is said, Is. xxxix., 2, that Hezekiah shewed to the
couriers of Merodach-baladin "all that was in his cubburdes."
In both translations, the famous prophecy regarding Zerub-
babel, Zech. iv., 7, is rendered : “He shall brynge up the fyrst
stone, so that men shal crye unto hym, good lucke, good lucke :'
a very different exclamation it will be observed from “grace,
grace.": And in both translations, there is an expression that
will probably sound strange, if not meaningless, in the ears of
Scotsmen, but may nevertheless be dear to the students and
lovers of ancient ritual : 2 “byd nether prayse nor prayer for
them," Jer. xi., 14. Of the renderings, moreover, that have been
transferred without change from Coverdale's Bible to the Great
Bible, there are many that may be called peculiar, although
they contain no words that are antiquated. One that, what-
ever may be said of its accuracy as a translation, has much
intrinsic reasonableness to recommend it as a directory of con-
duct occurs in Prov. xxvi., 4-5: “Geve not the foole an answer
after his foolishnesse,3 lest thou become like unto him: but
make the foole an answer to his foolishnesse lest he be wise in
his own conceate.” A rendering that not only differs consider-
ably from what appears in the authorised version, but is ex-
pressed in a quaint antithetical form occurs in the last clause of
Jer. xxx., 19:"I shall endue them with honoure, and no man
shall subdue them." The account that Nebuchadnezzar, accord-
I Matthew Henry's remark on this verse is :-" The acclamations are not huzzas,
but grace, grace : that is the burthen of the triumphant songs the Church sings.”
What would the Commentator have said of Coverdale's rendering of the verse ?
2 Of other words, little less notable than those mentioned above, that appear in
both Bibles may be mentioned :--querne for “millstone,” Is. xlvii. 2; gelded
chamberlains for “eunuchs,” Is. xxxix. 7 ; rammes of the flock for “ principal of
the flock,” Jer. xxv. 34 ; worthies for " young lions,” Ezek. xxxviii. 13; and the
adjective bayrded (Coverdale) or barbed (Great Bible) prefixed paraphrastically to
' horses,” Joel ii. 4.
3 In the Latin version of the Bible published at Zurich 1564, it is said :—“Ne
respondeas stulto juxta stultitiam ejus, ne adaequeris ei etiam tu, Responda stulto
secundum stultitiam suam, ne forte sit sapiens in oculis suis."
The Reformers' Bibles.
133
ing to Coverdale, gives of his dream, Danl. ii. 3, is well worthy
of remark also as a curious study in royal psychology: “I have
dreamed a dreame, and my sprete was so troubled therewith
that I have clene forgotten what I dreamed."
It is necessary, however, to have before us the corresponding
passages in the authorised version in order to see the striking
peculiarity of some of the readings and renderings that were
transferred without change from Coverdale's Bible, 1535, into
the Great Bible, 1540. A few passages shall, therefore, be sub-
mitted for comparison in parallel columns.
SO
to man.
COVERDALE'S BIBLE & GREAT BIBLE.
AUTHORISED VERSION.
Job. xxxix. 19.-Hast thou geuen the Job. xxxix. 19.—Hast thou given the
horse his strength or lerned him to bowe horse strength! Hast thou clothed his
downie his neck with feare: that he letteth neck with thunder ! Canst thou make
himself be dryuen forthelike a greshopper, him afraid as a grasshopper? The glory
whereas the stoute neyenge that he maketh of his nostrils is terrible.
is fearfull.
Ps. lxviii. 6.—He is the God that Ps. lxviii. 6.—God setteth the soli.
maketh men to be of one mynde in a tary in families : he bringeth out those
house, and bryngeth the presoners out of which are bound with chains but the
captiuitie in due season, but letteth the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
rennagates continue in scarcenesse.
Prov, xxvii. 19.-Like as in one water Prov. xxvii. 19.-As in water face
there apeare dyuerse faces, euen answereth to face, so the heart of man
dyuerse men haue dyuerse herts.
Jer. xv. 12.--Doth one yron hurte Jer. xv. 12.-Shall iron break the
another, or one metall that cometh from northern iron and the steel,
the north, another.
Lam. V. 13.—They haue taken yonge Lam. v. 13.---They took the young
men's lyues from them, and the boyes are men to grind, and the children fell under
hanged up upon trees.
the wood.
Hosea x. 11.-Ephraim was unto me Hosea x, 11.-And Ephraim is as an
as a cow that is used to go to plowe, there. heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread
fore I loued him, and fell upon his fayre out the corn; but I passed over upon
neck. I droule Ephraim, Juda plowed, her fair neck. I will make Ephraim to
and Jacob played the huszbonde man. ride, Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall
break his clods.
Joel i. 18.-0 what a sighinge make Joel i. 18.-How do the beasts groan
the catell ? the bullocks are in very cuell the herds of cattle are perplexed, because
likynge, because they have no pasture they have no pasture, yea the flocks of
and the sheep are fameszshed away. sheep are made desolate.
Amos vii. 1.--The Lorde God shewed Amos vii. 1.-Thus hath the Lord
me soch a vision : beholde, there stode God shewed unto me: and beholde he
one that made greszshoppers, euen when formed grasshoppers in the beginning of
the corne was shutynge forth, after the the shooting of the latter growth : and
kynge had clipte his shepe.
lo it was the latter growth after the
king's mowings.
Micah ii. 11.--Yff I were a fleshly Micah ii. 11.-If a man walking in
felowe, and a preacher of lyes, and told the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I
them that they might sit bebbinge and will prophesy unto thee of wine and of
bollynge and be droncken : O that were a strong drink: he shall even be the pro-
prophet for this people.
phet of this people.
Hab. ii. 2.-Wryte the vision planely Hab. ii. 2.Write the vision and
134
Bibles of England.
may rede it.
upon thy tables, that whoso commeth by make it plain upon tables that he may
run that readeth it.
Mal. ii. 15.-Therefore loke well to Mal. ii. 15.- Therefore take heed to
youre sprete, and let no man despyse the your spirit, and let none deal treacher-
wife of his youth. Yf thou hatest her ously with the wife of his youth. For
put her awaye, sayeth the Lord God of the Lord, the God of Israel saith that he
Israel, and geue her a clothinge for the hateth putting away : for one covereth
scorne, sayeth the Lorde of hoostes. violence with his garment, saith the
Lord of hosts.
Although, in the second part of the Old Testament, the Great
Bible reads in many places as if it were little else than a tran-
script of Coverdale's Bible, 1535, there are between the two
versions many notable points of difference notwithstanding.
About fifty per cent. of the verses in this part of the Great Bible
diverge more or less from the corresponding verses in Cover-
dale's earlier translation. And although many of these varia-
tions are unimportant, some are not.
Words are altered,
phrases are refined, renderings are corrected. Of antiquated
and peculiar words in Coverdale's Bible, which have not been
retained in the Great Bible, there will be found in the pro-
phecies of Isaiah alone : rowneth (whispereth) —"The Lorde of
hosts rowneth me thus,” v. 9; flakred—“From above flakred
the seraphims," vi., 2; colled—“All their heads were colled,
and all their beardes shauen,” xv., 2; myslinge—“There fel a
myslinge shower like a dew," xviii., 4; muscatel (red wine) -
"Shall men synge of the vynyarde of muscatel,” xxvii., 2;
neeres (kidneys)—"The fatnesse of neeres of the wethers,"
xxxiv., 6. A word that in Coverdale's first translation is used
in a very objectionable manner is fellow. In Job xxi., 15, the
man of patience, who in all his afflictions sinned not with his
lips, is represented as making the astounding exclamation :
“What maner of felowe is the Almightie that we should serve
him." This coarse and irreverent utterance is in the Great
Bible toned down to the short and simple form it assumes in
the authorised version. A sentence that underwent a very
curious change in Coverdale's hands is Ps. lxviii., 10. In his
first translation that verse reads sensibly enough: “Thou sendest
gracious rayne upon thine inheritaunce, and refreshest it when
it is drye, that thy beastes may dwell therein.” In the Great
Bible the word "congregation" is substituted, and rightly sub-
The Reformers' Bibles.
135
stituted, for beastes. A more notable correction, however, was
made by Coverdale on his first rendering of Jer. xviii., 18. In
that verse mention is made of a proposal by some of Jeremiah's
enemies to take ways and means of stopping the mouth of the
prophet. According to Coverdale's first translation, the method
suggested was to excise the prophet's tongue. In the Great
Bible, a less malignant aspect is given to the plot; and the
prophet's enemies are represented as forming only a con-
stitutional project to "smite him with the tongue.” All these,
and many other changes that Coverdale, in the Great Bible,
made on his former translation may be counted improvements.
But Coverdale sometimes miscorrected himself, as most people
do in the course of their lives. His original rendering of Ps.
lxxvii., 2, was: “In the tyme of my trouble I sought the Lorde,
I helde up my hands unto him in the night season, for my soul
refused all other comfort.” The words here italicised are, in
the Great Bible, changed into "my sore ran and ceased not in
the night season:" and this revised rendering was adopted both
by the Geneva translators, in 1560, and by the King's trans-
lators, in 1611. But, in such a popular commentary as Dr.
Adam Clarke's this is declared to be “a most unaccountable
translation: the literal meaning of the Hebrew words which we
translate, ‘my sore ran’ is my hand was stretched out, that is, in
prayer.” And so, Coverdale's original rendering of the passage,
after having been discarded by himself, and shelved by
authority for 345 years, has at length been vindicated and
restored to the Church in the latest English version of the
Bible, 1885.
Other corrections and amendments that Coverdale, in the
Great Bible, made on his former renderings, will be seen in the
following extracts.
COVERDALE'S BIBLE, 1535.
GREAT BIBLE, 1540.
Job iv. 16.-“The wether was still so Job iv. 16.—In the stilnesse herde I a
that I herde this voyce.
voyce.
Job vii. 15. — My soule wyssheth Job vii. 15.-My soule wyssheth ra-
rather to be hanged, and my bones to be ther to peryshe and dye, then my bones
deed.
to remayne.
Ps. cxviii. 27.-0 garnish the so- Ps. cxviii. 27.-Bynde the sacrifice
lempne feast with grene
braunches. with cordes.
Ps. cxxx. 6.-My soule doth pacient- Ps. cxxx. 6.-My soul flyeth unto the
136
Bibles of England.
ly abyde the Lorde, from the one Lorde, before the mornyng watche (I
mornynge to the other.
saye) before the mornyng watche.
Prov. x. 8.--A wyse man wil receave Prov. x. 8.-A wyse man wyll receyue
warnynge, but a foole will sooner be warnynge, but a pratynge foole shal be
smytten in the face.
punyshed.
Eccles. xii. 12.—Therefore, bewarre Eccles. xii. 12.--Therefore, beware
(my sonne) that aboue these thou make (iny sonne) of that doctryne that is
the not many and innumerable bokes, besyde thys : for, to make many bokes
nor take dyverse doctrynes in hande, to it is an endlesse worke; and too loude
weery thy body withal.
criynge weryeth the bodye.
Is. xxviii. 10.—Byd that may be byd- Is. xxviii. 10.-After one commaunde-
den; forbyd that may be forbydden; ment another commaundement, after one
kepe backe that may be kept backe; here rule another rule, after one instruccion
a litle, there a litle.
another instruccion, there a lytle and
there a lytle.
Jer. xxxvii. 21.-Dayly to be geuen
Jer. xxxvii. 21.-Dayly to be geuen
him a cake of bred, and els no dighte hym a kake of breade out of the baker's
meate, untill all the bred in the cite was streate untyll all the breade in the cytie
war eaten up.
Jer. xlviii. 12.-I shall sende hir trus- Jer. xlviii. 12.—I shall sende her trus-
sers to trusse her up, to prepare and sers to trusse her up, which shal remoue
season hir vessels, yee hir tankerdes her from her dwellyng, and empty her
rattell and shake to and fro.
vesselles, and breake her wyne pottes.
eaten up:
To the people of England, and of Scotland also, the English
versions of the Bible that were published during the struggle
for Reformation, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, were boons
of no common magnitude. They thoroughly served the special
and immediate purpose for which they were issued. They
acquainted men with the true doctrine of Scripture; they
exposed the corruptions of the Roman Catholic Church; and
they laid the foundations of a great spiritual and social
revolution in the country. But, as translations, they were not
perfect. Each successive version was meant to be an improve-
ment on its predecessor; and with the production of the Great
Bible the translator's labours in that age were practically
exhausted. The translation had been amended and polished,
several times over, till it admitted of no further refinement
from the same hands. But, with all its merits, the Great Bible
is neither as an accurate translation nor as a readable book
equal to the version that for more than two hundred and
seventy years has been read in our Churches. By dint of
superior literary skill, there has been given in our authorised
version a new sublimity to many of the most impressive
passages in Scripture. Racy enough are some of Coverdale's
renderings, as the verses already quoted, both from his own trans-
lation, 1535, and from the Great Bible, must have shown. Very
The Reformers' Bibles.
137
graphic, for instance, is the statement of Job as rendered by
Coverdale-"My bone hangeth to my skin, and the flesh is
away : only there is left me the skynne about my teth.” In its
own way, too, as according with civilised notions of the fitness
of things, nothing can be more admirable than the wise man's
precept as rendered by Coverdale, Prov. xxiii. 1- When thou
syttest at the table to eat, with a lord, order thyself manerly
wyth the thynges that are set before thee. Measure thine
appetite, and yf thou wylt rule thine owne self, be not ouer
gredye of his meate."; But, notwitstanding the "uncommonly
good ear” with which Coverdale has been credited by some of
his admirers, his rendering of many of the grander passages of
Scripture comes, in respect of melody and majesty, immeasur-
ably short of the literary standard that has been reached in
the authorised version. One or two extracts will speak for
themselves :
as
GREAT BIBLE. 1540.
AUTHORISED VERSION, 1611.
Job xxix. 25.—When I agreed unto Job. xxix. 25.--I chose out their way,
theyr waye, I was the chefe, and sat as and sat chief, and dwelt as a king
a Kyng wyth his armye about hym. And in the army, as one that comforteth the
when they were in heuynes I was theyr mourners.
comfortour.
Ps. lxxii. 6.-He shall come downe Ps. lxxii. 6.-He shall come down
like the rain into a flese of woll, euen as like rain upon the mown grass :
the droppes that water the earth.
showers that water the earth.
Isaiah xl. 31.—But unto them that Isaiah xl. 31.—But they that wait up-
haue the Lord before their eies shal on the Lord shall renew their strength :
strength be increased. Aegles winges they shall mount up with wings as
shall grow upon them ; when they runne eagles ; they shall run and not be weary;
they shall not fall ; and when they go and they shall walk and not faint.
they shall not be werye.
Jer. ii. 13.—My people have done two Jer. ii. 13.-My people have commit-
euyles. They have forsaken me the well ted two evils: They have forsaken me
of the water of lyfe, and dygged them the fountain of living waters, and hewed
pyttes, yea vyle and broken pyttes that them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that
can hold no water.
can hold no water.
Lam. v. 16.—The garland of our heed Lam. v. 16.-The crown has fallen
is fallen : alas, that we ever synned so from our head, woe unto us that we
have sinned.
Micah iii. 7.-They shal be fayne, all Micah iii. 7.—They shall all cover
the packe of them, to stop theyr mouthes, their lips, for there is no answer of God.
for they haue not Goddes word.
sore.
1 A free rendering in the Great Bible that makes an obscure passage of prophecy
very intelligible is Isaiah, xxvii. 4:—There is no displeasure in me, els when the
vineyarde bryngeth me forth breers and thornes I wolde go thorowe it by warre
and burne it up together.”
138
Bibles of England.
A matter to which in recent years public attention has been
pointedly called is the variety of readings alleged to be found
in old manuscript copies of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures.
The number of these duplicate readings is set down at
thousands. And it is a very difficult question for Biblical
critics to determine, which of two, or even three, readings in a
particular passage is the true original. On the margin of the
revised Bible will be found such remarks as, “another reading,"
or "according to some ancient authorities.” In the days of the
Reformers, many of these alternative readings were unknown;
but in books to which a certain amount of deference was paid
by the scholastic public of those days, different readings of
verses, here and there, were found. Words, and clauses, and
sentences that appeared in one version of the Scriptures were
awanting in another. Coverdale thought proper, in the Great
Bible, to present to the English public some of the controverted
passages which he personally was not disposed to accept as
part of the sacred text. These dubious passages are, in the
Great Bible, inserted in their alleged proper places, but are
inclosed within brackets, and are printed in different characters
from the surrounding text. They might be entitled supple-
mentary readings from the Vulgate. În many, or in most,
instances their presence or absence is of little consequence.
Some of them read like interpolated explanations, as, " Benoni
[the son of my sorrow], Gen. xxxv; and “Mara (that is to say
bitternessel," Ex. xv. Others look like an editor's insertions, to
complete unfinished sentences, and make the author's meaning
more clear ; as, “ The waters that came down from above, dyd
ryse up upon an heape [and appeared as great as a mountayne],
Josh. iii.; and “The man that fulfylleth the thinges [contayned
in the lawe] shall lyve in them,” Gal. iii. In other cases they
introduce new matter into the record, as in the following
sentence appended to ist Sam. v. 6—“The villages also and
the feldes in the myddes of the countre were ful, and there
came up myce, and there was a confusyon of greate death in the
cytie.” One of the largest of these interpolations appears in
Ps. xiv., after the third verse, so as to make the Psalm harmonise
with the words quoted, apparently from different sources, by
St. Paul, in Romans iv. 10-18.
The Reformers' Bibles.
139
It only remains to be added that Coverdale, to whose labours
the people of England were indebted, in 1535, for a useful and
most readable translation of the Bible, and, in 1539, for the
version called the Great Bible, which was the Bible par
excellence of the Reformers, was not only a fellow-worker, but a
fellow-sufferer with Tyndale and Rogers in the service of God.
He was not, like them, crowned with the crown of martyrdom ;
but he was sorely persecuted. Having been promoted, during
the reign of Edward the Sixth, to the bishopric of Exeter, he
was, after the death of Edward, removed, on a frivolous
pretext, and sent to a felon's prison. For two years he
lingered in his place of confinement; and but for the inter-
cession of the King of Denmark, to whom a brother-in-law of
Coverdale was chaplain, he might have been left to end his
days in a dungeon. And when set free, Coverdale had to flee
from England to preserve his freedom. As was natural, he
made his way, in the first place, to the country of his bene-
factor. He afterwards proceeded to Geneva, where many of
the English Reformers were at that time enjoying a peaceful
and literary retreat. On the death of Mary, the Catholic
Queen of England, he returned home; but not to be re-
installed in his former see, or to be appointed to another
episcopal benefice. His Geneva connections prejudiced his
interests; and till 1564 he had, notwithstanding all his public
services, to be satisfied with what in Scotland is contemp-
tuously termed a vagum ministerium. In the course of that
year, however, he was settled in a humble charge at London
Bridge; but even this small piece of prosperity he was not
privileged for any length of time to enjoy. Bent down by age
and hardships, he was compelled, in 1566, to resign his living.
To the shame of his church and country, he was then allowed
to close his life in neglect and penury.
140
Bibles of England.
The Puritans' and People's Bible, otherwise termed the Geneva
or Breeche's Bible.
Editions consulted and quoted from :-
First Geneva version of New Testament, 1557.--Reprint in Bagster's Hexapla.
Second Geneva version of New Testament, 1560.--Barker's Print, 1580.
Third Geneva version of New Testament, (Tomson's revision) 1576.-—Print by
Barker's deputies, London, 1599.
Geneva Bible, 1560.---London, Barker, 1580.
For nearly twenty years after the publication of Taverner's
Bible and the Great Bible with Cranmer's prologue, very little
was done in the way of perfecting or improving the English
version of the Scriptures. A small fragment of the New Testa-
ment was, by Sir John Cheke, translated into a sort of Doric,
or un-latinised English ; with the view, apparently, of giving
the common people of England a Bible, in a language more
truly native than that of either Tyndale or Coverdale. This
project of Cheke's, if it could be seriously termed a project, was
never completed. A very small portion of the New Testament
-the gospel according to St. Matthew (with two or three
passages awanting) and the first chapter of St. Mark's Gospel
is all that has come down to us. In reality, Cheke's transla-
tion, although generally referred to in histories of the English
Bible, is not worthy of mention, except as Cheke's own bio-
grapher candidly avows " for the reader's diversion.” It never,
till 1843, was put into print or obtained circulation : and it has
not exercised any influence on subsequent versions of the Bible
in English. While some churchmen thought that the English
translators of the Bible had gone too far in the substitution of
common English words, which were in daily secular use, for
Latin terms of vaguer meaning and holier association, Cheke
considered they had not gone far enough in that direction. As
substitutes for some of the uncouth words of foreign extraction
The Puritans' Bible.
141
which he found in the English Bible, he, therefore, manu-
factured new terms out of purely Saxon elements. And in this
process of verbal fabrication he shewed not a little adroitness.
He called apostles frosents; publicans tollers ; centurions
hunderders ; proselytes freschmen; and parables biwords. The
phrase, “possessed with devils,” he shortened into develd;
and such Latin derivatives as "crucified” and “lunatic," he
transmuted into crossed and mooned. He was not altogether
consistent, however, in his proclivity to Saxonise. For
“locusts" he substituted acrids, which is just the Greek word
akrides in an English form ; and for the simple, common word
spirit” he substituted, in Mat. xiv., 26, the much more schol-
astic term phantasm, which is just, again, the Greek original
phantasma, with its Greek ending cut off. More unaccount-
ably still, he, in one place at least, uses the Latin vel for the
English or: “Whosoever sweareth bi the gold of the temple
he is bound to perform it, vel he fauteth.”
Some of the archaisms that abound in Wyclif's and Tyndale's
Testaments appear in Cheke’s fragment also. The Greek
words that, in Mat. xvi., 23, are by Tyndale rendered, “Come
after me Satan” (instead of get thee behind me Satan) are so
translated by Cheke, too, in Mat. iv., 10. The phrase "chimnei
of fair," which occurs in Wyclif's version, Mat. xiii., 42, is used
by Cheke in the same connection. The word nigheth, likewise,
which we often meet with in Wyclif's Bible, is introduced by
Cheke into Mat. XV., 8: “This pepil nigheth me with their
mouth." A very unecclesiastical rendering of Cheke's is his
translation of Mark i., 8: “I have wasched you with water, but
he schal wasch you with the holi ghoost.” Of other renderings,
quaint and curious, by Cheke, the following may be given as
examples :-"Happi be the beggars in spirit, for the kingdom
of heeven is theers,” Mat. v. 3 ; “The eie is the candel of the
body, if theerfoor thyn eie be cleen al thy hool bodi wil be light-
som, but if thyn eie be not wel thi hool bodi wil be darksome,"
Mat. vi. 22-23; “Wisdoom is cleen rid from her own children,"
Mat. xi. 19; “Thei have winked hard with theer own eies least
thei schold se with theer eies," Mat. xiii. 15; "He wrong him
bi the neck saeing, Pai me that thou ouest me,” Mat. xviii. 28 ;
142
Bióles of England.
"I sai to you again that it is easier for a cable to passe through
a nedel's eie, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of
heeven,” Mat. xix. 24 ; " Then roos all thees virgins and fur-
nisched theer lampes,” Mat. xxv. 7.
Like other early translations of Scripture, Cheke's version of
St. Matthew's gospel is garnished with marginal notes. Some
of these are more entertaining than comments on Scripture
usually are. On Mat. X. 18, for instance, it is said :-
"The Jues called all men besid themselves sumtime grecians
but comunli hethen ; euen as the aegyptian and the grecian
called everi contree, in despite, beside theer own barbarous;
the romans called other externos, and our old Saxons called
the liik welsch men. We now call them strangers and outborns
and outlandish.“
In the note on Mat. xvi. 18, there is a remark that should be
grateful to the ears of Scotsmen. twitted for their ecclesiastical
provincialisms :-
“This word church, into the which we torn (turn) ecclesia, is
the hous wheer the outcalled do meet, and heer goddes word,
and use common praier and thankesgeving to God. For it
cometh of the greek kuriakon, which word served in the
primitiv church for the commons house of praier and sacra-
mentes, as appeareth in Eusebius. We folowing the
greek calle this house, as the north doth yet moor truli sound
it, the kurk, and we moor corruptli and frenchlike, the church!"
So much, then, for Sir John Cheke's translation of St.
Matthew's Gospel. Although it was the first instalment of a
work by one of the best scholars of his age, and was supposed
to have been designed to supplement, if not supersede, the
Testaments of Tyndale and Coverdale, it seems to us of the
present day more like the freak of a young patriotic schoolman,
who, in zeal for his mother tongue, had purposed to interdict
the growth of a national language by the importation of foreign
words, than an earnest effort to make the Scriptures plainer or
more intelligible to the common people.
From 1553 to 1558, England was under the rule of a Catholic
Queen-Mary, daughter of Henry the Eighth by his first wife,
Catharine of Arragon. During the reign of that “most
The Puritans' Bible.
143
vertuous, most wittie, and most studious ladie," as a Catholic
admirer has described her, the circulation of the Scriptures in
the English tongue was not encouraged. The public reading
of the Bible was positively prohibited by a proclamation, dated
18th August 1553; the importation of certain books, including
the works of Tyndale, Coverdale, and Cranmer, was prohibited
by another proclamation in June 1555; and in 1558, the
delivery of wicked and seditious writings, by which were meant
the writings of such authors as we call Reformers, was required
under pain of death. A relentless persecution, too, was directed
against all who endeavoured to promote the Reformers' '
opinions, or, in other words, called in question the doctrines of
the mother Church. Nearly three hundred persons in England
were, for this ecclesiastical offence, burned at the stake; and
far more were imprisoned, or otherwise evil entreated. The
first to perish in the flames during this persecution was John
Rogers, alias Thomas Matthew, the friend and literary executor
of Tyndale. Coverdale was honoured with apartments in a
prison ; whether, as commonly alleged, for his zeal in the work
of Reformation, or, as averred by the Queen, for debts due to
the Crown, may be left for historians to determine. Whatever
the offence may have been that was laid to his charge, his
position was reckoned so perilous that even after his liberation
was obtained through the royal influence of the King of Den-
mark, he saw reason to provide for his safety by voluntary
exile. Sir John Cheke, too, was disendowed of all his posses-
sions, and would have been sent the way of Rogers if he had
not made his peace with the Church, by a professed repentance
of his Protestant follies. But he purchased liberation from the
stake at a greater price than he counted on. In trying to save
his life, he lost his life. The insincerity of his conduct preyed
so much on his mind that within a year after his recantation
he died of a broken heart. So it is said.
Besides Coverdale, many Reformers were fain, at this time,
to seek shelter abroad. It is commonly stated that no fewer
than eight hundred Englishmen were, from fear of persecution
at home, scattered over the Continent. A favourite place of
resort for them was Geneva. In that city, Protestantism was
144
Bibles of England.
supreme. The form of government there was a kind of
theocracy, in which civil and ecclesiastical authority were
blended according to the Judaistic-Presbyterial notions of John
Calvin. The ruling spirit of the city was Calvin himself, and
the man of his right hand was Theodore Beza. To Geneva,
accordingly, so many Englishmen were attracted that they
formed by themselves a considerable congregation; and they
had for their minister, or pastor, in 1556-57, no less a personage
than John Knox. Another distinguished exile at Geneva was
William Whittingham, who married a sister of Calvin's wife,
and, in 1557, succeeded Knox in the pastorate of the English
Congregation. Whittingham was a scholarly man; and, both
before and after his admission to the pastorate at Geneva, he
devoted himself to the high and useful work of endeavouring
to perfect the English version of the Scriptures. The first
instalment of his Biblical labours was a revised translation of
the New Testament, with “most profitable annotations of all
harde places,” which was published at Geneva in 1557. To
this translation of Whittingham's was prefixed an epistle by
his brother-in-law, Calvin, which, doubtless, helped to introduce
the book to the favourable notice of the Protestant and Bible-
reading section of the English people.
One or two outward peculiarities characterised this new ver-
sion of the Testament in English. Not only were the several
books of the Testament broken up into chapters and sections,
but the chapters were divided into verses, and to each verse
was prefixed its number. This had never been done be-
fore in an English Testament; but it had been done “in the
best editions (of the Scriptures) in other languages,” ever since
1551, when Robert Stephen's edition of the Greek Testament
was given to the world. And, as affording facilities for refer-
1 At the date here referred to, Beza was not actually resident in Geneva, but was
in constant communication with Calvin. “In October, 1548, he retired to Gen-
eva, and joined the Reformed Church. In the following year, he was made Pro-
fessor of Greek at the Academy of Lausanne, where he remained for ten years,
communicating frequently with Calvin at Geneva.
In 1558, he removed
to Geneva, and succeeded Calvin as Professor in 1564."-Encyc. Brit.
2 "In the Old Testament the division into short verses was ready to hand in the
The Puritans' Bible.
145
ence, it was a matter of considerable consequence. Besides
dividing chapters into verses, Whittingham also indicated,
in characters different from those of the surrounding text, the
supplemental words that were inserted in order to express the
full sense of the original. This, also, was a benefit to the
reader.
"As touching the perusing of the text," the translator, in his
prefatory address says, "it was diligently revised by the most ap-
proved Greek examples, and conference of translations in other
tongues, as the learned may easily judge both by the faithful
rendering of the sentence and also by the propriety of the
words and perspicuity of the phrase." As the translation was
made in the city where Beza was held in special honour, we
should naturally expect that it would be, strictly speaking, a
revision,“ by the most approved Greek examples,” of the New
Testament contained in the Great Bible, 1540, with “confer-
ence" of Tyndale's Testament in English, 1534, and Beza's
Testament in Latin, 1556.
To see whether this is so, let us examine the renderings of
Whittingham in some particular chapter, taken at random. .
The chapter we light on is the second in the Epistle to the
Philippians. It contains thirty verses; and in these thirty
verses there are only forty-two changes, of word or phrase,
worthy of notice that Whittingham has made on either
Tyndale's renderings, 1534, or on those in the Great Bible, 1539.
In other words, the rendering of this chapter is, except in forty-
two cases, verbatim the same in Tyndale's Testament, in the
Great Bible, and in the Geneva Testament of 1557. This
amount of concord is remarkable, and cannot be accidental.
The words, “Let the same mynde be in you that was in Christ
Jesus," V. 5, which we find in all the three English versions, is
not such a literal translation of the original Greek that it would
inevitably occur to three independent translators, who had no
communication with each other. The same may be said of the
!
Hebrew Bible. Through Pagninus, 1528, this division became familiar to readers
of Latin. In the New Testament there was no precedent of this kind till 1551."-
Moulton.
L
146
Bibles of England.
statements in v. 6 and 7, “thought it no robbery to be equal
with God: but he made himself of no reputation :" and also of
the quaint expression “make moche of soche," V. 29. Beyond
all question, therefore, Whittingham's version, 1557, is based
either on the Great Bible or on Tyndale's Testament, or on
both jointly.
It is evidently, however, a free and careful
revision of the translation or translations on which it is based.
In a chapter of thirty verses there are eight instances in which
the rendering agrees with Tyndale's, and differs from that in
the Great Bible; thirteen in which it agrees with that in the
Great Bible, and differs from Tyndale's; and twenty-one in
which it differs both from Tyndale's and from what is given in
the Great Bible. In fifteen of these twenty-one cases,
Whittingham's renderings are literal translations of Beza's
version in Latin, and in the other six they might pass for
translations of Beza. As specimens of unmistakeable Bezaisms
in Whittingham's translation of this chapter, the following
phrases may be quoted :-“At the name," v. 10, for “in the
name," ad nomen ; "make an end of your own salvation,” v.
12, for “work out your salvation,” salutem conficite (operamini,
Vulgate); "his free benevolence," v. 13, for “his good will,”
gratuita sua benevolentia (bona voluntate, Vulgate); “putting
forth," v. 16, for “holding fast," praetendentes (continentes,
Vulgate); “your messenger," V. 25, for “your apostle," vestrum
legatum (apostolum, Vulgate); “such things as I wanted,” v.
1 It has to be remarked, however, thať although these figures indicate in Whit-
tingham's translation rather more concordance with the Great Bible than with
Tyndale's Testament, an examination of other chapters will indicate differently. In
some chapters there are two, or even three, variations from the Great Bible for
every one from Tyndale's Testament. And not only so, but the renderings of
Tyndale are in some cases adopted, where those in the Great Bible are preferable.
In Tyndale's translation of Acts xv. 39, there is a very irrelevant statement:-
"The dissencion was so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from
the other : so that Barnabas took Mark and sayled unto Cyprus." In the Great
Bible this irrelevancy is made to disappear, by the substitution of "and so
“ so that”; and yet, notwithstanding this improvement, Tyndale's rendering is
retained by Whittingham. In Tyndale's Testament again, Gal. ii. 14 is very
crudely translated :-" I said unto Peter before all men,” and this crude rendering
is also adopted by Whittingham, although in the Great Bible it had been corrected
into “ before them all."
» for
The Puritans' Bible.
147
25, for “at my nedes, quibus mihi opus erat (necessitatis meae,
Vulgate); “ when ye should see him again ye might rejoice,"
V. 28, for "when ye see him ye may rejoice again,” eo rursus
viso, gaudeatis (viso eo iterum gaudeatis, Vulgate).
The Geneva version of the New Testament, 1557, was so
soon superseded by another Geneva version that it is not
necessary for us to scan here its merits and demerits minutely.
To show, however, that some not inconsiderable alterations
(not always, although generally, for the better) were in 1557
made by Whittingham on the text of previous English versions
of the Testament, a few specimens of his translation may be
submitted to the reader's inspection, alongside of the corre-
sponding passages in Tyndale's Testament, in the Great Bible,
and in Beza's Latin version of the Testament : 1
IO.
IO.
.
TYNDALE, 1534.
GREAT BIBLE, WHITTINGHAM,
BEZA'S LATIN,
1539.
1557
1556.
Luke xiii. 7.—
Luke xiii. 7.-
Luke xiii. 7.--
Luke xiii. 7.-
Cut it doune, why Cut it downe, why Cut it downe, why Exscinde eam :
combreth it the combereth it the kepeth it the ground quorsum etiam ter-
ground.
ground.
barren.
ran inutilem red-
dit?
John ii. 10.
John ii.
John ii.
John ii. 10.
When in en be When men be
be When men have Affatim biberunt.
droncke.
droncke.
well drunk.
Acts xxvii. 13.---
Acts xxvii. 13.-
Acts xxvii. 13.-
Acts xvvii. 13.-
They lowsed Same as in Tyn. They lowsed Solvissent propius
unto Asson, and dale's Testament. nearer, and sailed praeteriegebant
sayled paste all
by Candia,
Cretam,
Candy.
Rom. iii. 2.-
Rom. iii. 2. Rom. iii. 2. Rom. iii. 2.
Unto them
Unto them
Unto them was Quod eis credita
committed the word commytted the wor- committed the ora- sunt eloquia Dei
of God.
des of God.
cles of God.
(oracula Dei.-Zu.
rich, 1564).
Rom. vi. 19.--
Rom. vi. 19.-
Rom, vi. 19. —
Rom. vi. 19.-
I will speake gross. I speak grosly be- I speake as Honiinum more lo-
ly because of the cause of the infirm- commonly use be-
commonly use le. quor, propter infir-
infirmitie of your itie of your fleshe. cause of the infirm- mitatem carnis ves-
flesshe.
itie of your flesh. trae.
Rom. xiv. 1.- Rom. xiv. 1.- Rom. xiv. 1. - Rom, xiv. 1.-
Him that is weak Same as in Tyn- Him that is weak Eum vero qui fide
in the fayth receave
dale's Testament, in the fayth, take est infirmus, assum-
unto you, not in
unto you, but not ite : non tanien ad
dispultynge
and
to enter into douto certamina discepta-
troublynge his con-
ful disputations of tionum.
science.
controversies.
was
were
211 enz
I The copy of Beza quoted from is of modern date,
148
Bibles of England.
VOS
essem
no
nian.
21.
21.
grace of God.
ex:
I Cor. xi. 2. — I Cor. xi. 2. — I Cor. xi. 2. — I Cor. xi. 2.--
That ye remember Same as in Tyn. That ye remembre Quod omnia mea
me in all things. dale's Testament. all my things. meministis.
2 Cor. y. 8.- 2 Cor. v. 8.- 2 Cor. v. 8. — 2 Cor. v. 8.-
To be absent from To be absent from To remove out of Migrare e corpore
the body and to be the body and to be the body, and to go et ad dominum ire
present with the present with God. to dwel with the habitatum.
Lord.
Lord.
2 Cor. xi. 9.--
2 Cor. xi. 9. -
2 Cor. xi. 9. 2 Cor. xi. 9.-Et
And when I was And when I was And when I was
quum apud
present with you present with you present with you
et
egerem
and had need I and had nede I was and had nede I non obtorpui cum
was grevous to no chargeable to was not slothful to cujusquam inconz-
irian.
the hinderance of modo.
any man.
Gal. ii.
21.
Gal. ii.
Gal. ii. 21.-I Gal. ii.
I despise not the Same as in Tyn- do not abrogate the Irritam non facio
grace of God.
dale's Testament.
gratiam Dei.
Gal. v. 5.-We
Gal. v. 5.-We Gal. v. 5.-Nos
loke for and hope in
wayte for (by the enim, spiritu
the spirite to be jus-
spirit through fide, spem justitiae
tified thorow fayth.
faith) the hope of exspectamus.
the righteousness.
Ephes. vi. 24. Ephes. vi. 24. Ephes. vi. 24.- Ephes. vi. 24.-
Grace be with all Grace be with all Grace be with all Gratia sit cum om-
them which love them which love them which love nibus diligentibus
Lorde Jesus our Lord Jesus our Lord Jesus Dominum nostrum
Christ in puerness. Christ unfaynedly, Christ to their im- Jesus Christum ad
(syncerely, 1541). mortalitie,
ininortalitatein.
Phil. i. 21.-For Phil. i. 21.
Phil. i. 21.-For Phil. i. 21.-Mi-
Christ is to me lyſe, Same as in Tyn Christ is to me both hi enim est Christus
and deeth is to me dale's Testament, in life and in death et in vita et in
a vauntage.
advantage.
inorte lucrum.
Col. ii. 16.-Let
Col. ii. 16.-Let Col. ii. 16.
no man, therefore,
no man, therefore, Nequis igitur vos
trouble your con-
condemn you about damnet ob cibum
science aboute
meat and drink. vel potum.
meate and drink,
Heb. xi. 21.
Heb. xi. 21. Heb. xi. 21.
Bowed himself to-
Leaning on the end Adoravit, baculo in-
warde the toppe of
of his staffe, wor. nixus.
shipped (God).
I Peter ii. 2.- I Peter ii. 2.- 1 Peter ii. 2.-- I Peter ii. 2. —
And as new-born And as new-borne And as new-born Ut modo nati in-
babes, desire that babes, desyre ye babes, desire the fantes, lac illud ser-
reasonable mylke the mylke (not of syncere milke of the monis sincerum ex-
which is without the body but of the word, that ye may petite, ut per illud
corruption that ye soul) which is with- grow thereby. adolescetis.
may growe therein. out disceate : that
ye may grow there.
by (unto salvation).
Our
02
his cepter.
Immediately after the publication of Whittingham's Testa-
ment, the Geneva exiles entered on a much larger work,
This was a revision of the whole of the English Bible. How
many of the refugees had a hand in this undertaking it is hard
to say. Coverdale was residing at Geneva at the time, and
The Puritans' Bible.
149
some writers have claimed for him a share of the honour.
Scotsmen have, of course, put in a similar claim on behalf of
John Knox, The biographer of Knox uses language that
might lead his readers to infer that the Scottish Reformer was
the chief person on the staff of the Geneva revisers. “Knox,''
he says, "returned to Geneva in the beginning of the year
1558. During that year he was engaged, along with several
learned men of his congregation, in making a new translation
of the Bible into English, which, from the place where it was
composed and first printed, has obtained the name of The
Geneva Bible.”: Whatever help, if any, was given to this noble
work at Geneva by Coverdale and Knox, it seems now to be
admitted that the chief credit of the work is due to Whitting-
ham, and that his principal assistants were two Englishmen,
named Thomas Sampson and Anthony Gilby.
“ For the
space of two years and more, day and night," these three
worthy men toiled at their task; and in 1560 they gave to the
world the fruit of their labours in the book that is now known
as the Geneva Bible. The New Testament, in this book, is by
no means a reprint merely of the translation published by
Whittingham three years previously. It is a new translation. .
There were thus, in 1560, two Geneva Testaments in the
market; and in 1576, there was published a revised edition of
the second of these, with so many amendments, by Laurence
Tomson, secretary to Sir Francis Walsingham, that it may be
said there were then three Geneva Testaments in circulation.
In a prefatory epistle, it was avowed by the Geneva divines
that they were moved to undertake the translation, 1560, by a
conviction that, in their exile, they could bestow their "labours
and study in nothing more acceptable to God and comfortable
to his Church." And the reason they gave for this conviction
was, that although there were already several translations of
the Bible into English these translations “ required greatly to
1 That Knox could not have had much to do with this work may be inferred
from certain dates which Dr. M'Crie himself supplies. Knox went to Geneva in
the autumn of 1556. He demitted his charge there in 1557, and left Geneva in
October of that year. He returned to Geneva in the beginning of 1558, and in
January 1559, he “ took his leave of Geneva for the last time."
150
Bibles of England.
be perused and reformed.” But, besides reforming previous
translations, the Geneva exiles set themselves to provide the
English people with both a cheaper and a better annotated
Bible than they had ever had. The authorised Bible, called
the Great Bible, and which from 1549 to 1560 was the Bible in
most request in England, was both costly and unwieldy. It
was well adapted for public reading, either in churches or in the
halls of gentlemen's mansions. But it was inconvenient for
private use; and its cost was a hindrance to its circulation.
The Geneva exiles, accordingly, resolved that their version of
the English Bible should be issued in a handier and cheaper
form than the one in common use. They resolved, also, to
furnish the reader with such marginal notes as it was supposed
the average man in those days required for the elucidation of
Scripture. And in this there was nothing new, but only a
reversion to an old practice. It was, nevertheless, a very
questionable practice; and something could be said against it
as well as for it. It was the offensiveness of the notes in
Matthew's Bible that led Cromwell to order the publication of
another version, in which there should be either no notes at all,
or none of a controversial character. And most people, now,
will heartily concur with the old writer who expressed a desire
that “the Scripture were so puerly and plyantly translated,
that it needed nether note, glosse, nor scholia ; so that the
reder might once swymme without a corke.” But in 1560
annotations were popular; and the Geneva translators took a
correct estimate of the popular taste and popular demand,
when they resolved to accompany their translation of the Bible
with prologues, headings of chapters, and notes on the margin.
For a multitude of reasons, the Geneva version of the Bible,
1560, became a great favourite. It was reckoned a better
translation than any that had ever been printed before. It
embodied the latest results of Biblical criticism.
portable, and moderate in price. For convenience in quota-
tion, it was cut up, like Whittingham's Testament, 1557, into
chapters and verses. Its origin was associated with romance.
Its authors, like the evangelist in Patmos, had suffered exile
" for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ," It
It was
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151
was the sweet fruit of suffering; and it contained notes
unmistakeably evangelical, sublimely predestinarian, conspicu-
ously anti-papal, and slyly democratic.
To Scotsmen, the Geneva Bible has an especial interest.
It was the Bible of their Reformed Church ; the Bible of Knox
and Melville ; the Bible that was read in all places of worship
in Scotland from 1560 to 1611, and in not a few places of
worship for many years longer. In some of the earlier public
documents of the Church of Scotland, such as the Confession
of Faith, 1560, and the Order of the Ecclesiastical Discipline,
1561 (revised, 1567), it is from the first edition of the Geneva
Testament, 1557, that quotations are made. In later writings,
quotations from the Geneva Testament are mostly taken from
the second (1560) or third (1576) version. And not only
Presbyterian, but Episcopalian ministers in Scotland continued
to use the Geneva Bible, after the King's translation, 1611, was
issued and “ appointed to be read in churches." It is from the
Geneva Bible that Bishop Cowper of Galloway draws his
citations of Scripture, both in "Good news from Canaan," 1613,
and in “ Pathmos," 1619. In the writings and sermons of the
heroes of the Second Reformation (1638), Henderson, Dickson,
and Rutherford, Geneva renderings are quoted occasionally, but
only occasionally... Traces of the Geneva version are even to
be found in the Epistle to the Reader, prefixed to the West-
minster Confession of Faith, 1647 : 1.g., "Above all getting,
get understanding,” Prov. iv. 7 ; “Without knowledge, the mind
cannot be good," Prov. xix. 2.
The first version of the Bible in English that issued from
the Scottish press was the Geneva version, and the publica-
tion of it was gone about with characteristic national caution.
i Calderwood, vol. ii., pp. 15 and 63. Quotations in these and other old records
are not always verbatim.
2 In the printed copy of the sermon preached by Henderson at the opening of
the Assembly, 1639, the text is given in the words of the Geneva version, and at
least one verse is quoted from that translation, viz. : “ The word of God is lively
and mightie in operation,” Heb. iv. 12. In No 27 of Rutherford's Letters (Bonar's
edition), it is said of Dives, in the words of the Geneva version," he fared well
and delicately every day.”
152
Bibles of England.
In the early days of the Reformed Church of Scotland, the
General Assembly required all writings bearing on religious
questions to be revised by the Kirk, previous to their publica-
tion. When Thomas Bassandyne, the printer, therefore, along
with Alexander Arbuthnot, merchant burgess, projected the
publication at Edinburgh of a version of the Bible in English,
they had at the outset to obtain for their project the sanction
of the Church. With that view they drew up a set of articles
in 1575, and submitted them to the judgment of the General
Assembly. One of these "godly propositions,” as they were
courteously termed by the ecclesiastical authority, astricted the
printers faithfully to "follow" a copy of the Bible delivered to
them by the Kirk as “authentick. " Another stipulated that
certain visitors, named by the Assembly, should supervise the
printing, and receive "a reasonable gratitude therefor, at the
cost of the said Alexander and Thomas.” On the other hand,
the “Bishops, Superintendents, and Commissioners,” in that
General Assembly, 1575, bound and obliged themselves, to "do
their utter and exact diligence, for purchasing of such advance-
ment as might be had and obtained within every one of their
respective jurisdictions,"'s and to “try how many of the lords,
barons, and gentlemer, of every parish), would be content to
buy one of the saids volumes.” It was also agreed by the
Assembly that “every person that is provided of old as well as
of new be compelled to buy a Bible for their parish kirk, and
to advance therefor the price foresaid, £4 135. 4d., Scottis."
Terms having thus been made with the Church, the printers
next procured from the Privy Council an exclusive license for
ten years to print and sell " within this realme or outwith the
samin, Bibillis in the vulgare Inglis toung, in haill or in partis,
with ane callindaire to be insert therein." The work of print-
ing was thereafter commenced, and before the end of 1576 the
whole of the New Testament was in type. In the execution
of the remaining part of the work some delay occurred, and it
was not till 1579 that the whole Bible was given to the public.
I This recommendation became afterwards a statutory obligation. See Balfour's
Practicks, p. 33.
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153
Meanwhile, Bassandyne had died; and Arbuthnot, who had
previously quarrelled with Bassandyne, and had obtained sole
possession of the printing house, was left to bring the work to
completion. On the title-page of the book, therefore, the
printer's name was Arbuthnot, and the year of publication
1579, while within the book there was a separate title-page for
the New Testament, on which the printer's name appeared as
Thomas Bassandyne, and the year of publication 1576.1
Down to 1610 this edition of the Bible was the one that was
commonly read in Scottish churches. It was printed from
what the General Assembly represented to be an “authentic
copy” of the Geneva version. But the copy selected to be
“ followed” was not so faultless as was supposed. It belonged
to an edition published at Geneva in 1562, and contained two
astounding misprints. The benediction," blessed are the
peace-makers,” Mat. v. 9, was converted into “ blessed are the
place-makers"2; and the heading of Luke xxi. was changed
from “ Christ commendeth” into “Christ condemneth the poor
widow." These errata, however, were too glaring to escape
the notice of the lynx-eyed visitors appointed by the Kirk, and
they were accordingly corrected in the Scottish issue. As was
fit and proper in a country where Church and State were
associated, this first edition of the Bible printed in Scotland
was, by the General Assembly, dedicated to His Majesty King
James. And in this dedication there is an interesting allusion
by the Assembly to the great and grateful change "between
thir days of light, when almaist in every private house the
buike of God's law is red and understand in oure vulgarie
language, and that age of darkness
when the false
namit clergie of this realme, abusing the gentle nature of your
hienes maist noble gudshir of worthie memorie, made it an
capital crime to be punished with the fyre to have or read the
New Testament in the vulgar language: and when to make
them to all men more odious (as if it had been the detestable
name of a pernicious sect) they were called New Testamenters.”3
I See History of the Bassandyne Bible, by W. T. Dobson, 1887.
2 For this reason called the Whig Bible. Date on title page, 1562 ; New Testa-
ment, 1561.
3 The heading of this dedication runs :—“To the richt excellent, richt heich and
154
Bibles of England.
In 1610 another edition of the Bible in English was pub-
lished at Edinburgh. The printer's name was Andro Hart,
and the version printed was the Geneva, with Tomson's
amendments in the New Testament. And it is worthy of note
that although in 1611 the present authorised version of the
English Bible, (on which it was known that for several years a
large company of learned divines had at the King's instance
been labouring), was published, the Synod of Fife, at their
April meeting that year, not only ordained that their be in
every Kirk ane commoune Byble," but directed that “evrie
brother should urge his parochinares to buy ane of the Bybles
laitlie printed be Andro Hart." There is reason to believe
that in some churches in Scotland Hart's Bible continued to
be used for more than half a century after that date.
Presbyterial visitation held at Kintore in 1674, the minister
reported that there “is a byble for publick reading in the
Church, but of the old translation, yrfore its recommended to
cause provyde one of the new translation."I
To this day, the Geneva Bible is well known in Scotland, not
only to biblical scholars, but to a large number of people in
almost all ranks of the lay community. Copies of it, more or
less perfect or imperfect, are to be had almost daily in the
shops of antiquarian booksellers. The name by which it is
commonly known is The Breeches Bible, from the rendering
given in it of the last clause of Gen. iii. 7:“They sewed figge
tree leaves together, and made themselves breeches." The
At a
!
michtie prince James the sext, King of Scottis ;” and in the body of the dedication
it is stated, that by James' "autoritie it was of a certane time bypast ordanit that
this holy buke of God sulde be set forth and imprentit of newe, within zour awne
realme, to the end, that in every Paroch kirk there sulde be at leist ane thereof
kepit, to be callit the common buke of the kirke, as a maist mete ornament for sik
a place, and a perpetuall register of the worde of God.” The Vulgate is referred
to in this, dedication rather contemptuously, as being written in ane strange
tongue of latine, not gud but mixed with barbaritie, used and red be fewe, and
almaist understand or exponit be nane."
i This fact was communicated to me by the Rev. Dr. Gammack, Aberdeen. In
his memorial for the Bible Society, 1824, Principal Lee states that, "till within the
last forty years, a Bible of Geneva translation was used in the Church of Crail.”
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155
popular cognomen, however, is in this instance scarcely war-
ranted. It is not in the Geneva Bible only, that the first human
garment is, contrary to all the principles of evolution, described
as a divided skirt. That tegumentary heresy is as old as the
days of Wyclif, or older ;' and it is to be found in both Here-
ford's and Purvey's translations of the Bible, and in other pre-
Reformation writings. Another notable word in the Geneva
Bible is cratch, instead of "manger," in Luke ii. 7: “She
brought forth her first begotten sonne, and wrapped him in
swadling clothes, and layed him in a cratch." This rendering
is often quoted as a peculiarity in the Geneva version, and as
one of the distinctive marks by which a copy of the Geneva
Testament may be identified. But it is not peculiar to the
Geneva version. It will be found in Wyclif's Bible, both in
Luke ii. 7, and in Luke ii. 12.
Of the New Testament there are, as has already been re-
marked, no fewer than three Geneva versions ; namely:—the
translation by Whittingham, published at Geneva in 1557; the
translation by Whittingham and his co-exiles, published at
Geneva in 1560; and the revision by Lawrence Tomson, pub-
lished at London in 1576. It will be convenient to designate
I In the one version of Wyclif's Bible the passage reads :-" Thei soweden to
gidre leeues of a fige tree and maden hem brechis”; and in the other version,
“maden brechis to hem silf.” In 1582, there was published by Gregorie Martin,
whom his literary antagonist, Dr. W. Fulke, designates " one of the readers of
Popish Divinitie in the traitorous seminarie of Rhemes,” a polemical work, en-
tituled, “A discoverie of the Manifold Corruptions of the Holy Scriptures by the
Heretikes of our days, specially the English sectaries, since the time of the
schisme.” In the preface to this book, it is alleged that it has been customary in
all ages for heretics “ to make false translations of the Scriptures for the mainten-
ance of errors"; and, curious to say, one of the cases of mistranslation adduced is
that of Gen. iii. 7 by a Pelagian, who rendered the last clause, “ fecerunt sibi
vestimenta, for perizomata or campestria, that is, they made themselves garments,
whereas the word of the Scripture is breeches or aprons.” In some books it is
stated that "it was really only one edition (of the Geneva Bible) published by Bar-
ker that contained the reading made themselves breeches.' This is not correct.
The expression occurs not only in editions printed at London, but in the editions.
printed at Geneva, both in 1560 and in 1562. In one edition of the Geneva
Bible, however, published at London by M. Lewis in 1775, the word breeches is
changed into “aprons.”
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Bibles of England.
these respectively, the first, second, and third Geneva versions
of the New Testament.
Of the Old Testament, there is only one Geneva version :
that published by the exiles in 1560.
We have seen that in the first Geneva version of the New
Testament there is a considerable amount of departure both
from Tyndale's translation, and from the translation in the
Great Bible ; and that that departure is largely due to the in-
fluence of Beza's Latin renderings. Let us now enquire how
far the second Geneva version departs from the first, and try to
discover how that departure originated.
If we turn, at random, to any chapter in the Testament, we
shall find a great difference between the first Geneva version of
that chapter and the second Geneva version of it: a greater
difference, possibly, than between Tyndale's version of the
chapter and the version given in the Geneva translation 1557.
Take the second chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians. In
that chapter there are twenty-three verses. In fourteen of these,
the first Geneva translation deviates more or less from Tyndale's;
and in twenty, the second Geneva translation varies less or
more from the first. In most of these changes that in 1560
were made by the Geneva divines on the earlier renderings of
Whittingham's, increased conformity to the Latin of Beza may
be traced; and in some, the inspiration of Beza is decidedly
manifest. In verse eight, for instance, "deceitful vanity” is
changed into vain deceit, which is the literal English of Beza's
inanem deceptionem ; in verse sixteen, "for a peece of an holy-
day,” becomes in respect of an holyday, which is the literal
English again of Beza's respectu festi; and in verse eighteen,
the strange rendering “wilfully rule over you by humbleness,"
is amplified into, at his pleasure bear rule over you in humbleness
of mind, which is practically no change at all except that it
shews a more slavish adherence to the words of Beza, ultro
sumat in submissione animi On the other hand, it must be
acknowledged, that in the last clause of the twenty-third verse,
1 The Greek words of the original might be literally rendered “in parte,” and in
the Vulgate they are translated in parte diei festi,
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157
it is the first and not the second Geneva translation that bears
the impress of Beza's Latin."
The changes made on the first Geneva version of the New
Testament, by the authors of the second, were, as might have
been expected, of two kinds. There were variations of a larger,
and variations of a lesser degree-variations that involved con-
siderable difference of meaning, or considerable change on the
structure of a sentence—and variations that were merely artistic
touches or scholastic refinements, which gave to particular pas-
sages either greater faithfulness to the original or more literary
grace.
Of the former class of amendments there are not so many as
of the latter. Still, there are not a few cases in which the
structure or meaning of an entire sentence is, in the second
Geneva version, broadly altered from what it was in the first.
What, without any irreverence, may be called an amusing
instance of this kind of change occurs in a verse referred to in
last paragraph, Col. ii. 23. The statement made in the first
Geneva translation of that verse is : The traditions, touch not,
taste not, handle not, on which some people set much store, are
really matters of little consequence, not pertaining directly to
spiritual life, but only to the things with which the body is
fed and pampered. The statement that seems to be made in
the second Geneva version of the passage is : These traditions,
so much made of by some persons, are fundamentally erroneous
representations of religious doctrine, in as much as they are
founded on the false principle that it is not a matter of
"estimation” to satisfy the wants of the body. In other words,
the old Rechabite rules-touch not, taste not, handle not-
I VERSION, 1557.
VERSION, 1560.
BEZA'S LATIN.
Which things have in- Which things have in- Quae rationem quidem
deed a shew of wisdom in deed a shewe of wisdom in habent sapientiae in cultu
voluntary worshipping and voluntary religion and voluntario, et submissione
humbleness, and in not humbleness of mind, and animi, et in eo quod cor-
sparing the body : yet are in not sparing the body: pori non parcant : nec ta-
of no value but apperteine neither have they it in any men ullius sunt pretii,
to those things wherewith estimation to satisfie the quum ad ea spectent qui-
the flesh is crammed. flesh. (Non in honore ali- bus farcitur caro.
quo ad expletionum carnis.
-Calvin.)
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Bibles of England.
were stoutly declared by the Geneva divines of 1560 to be con-
trary to the principles of Christian faith ; and in a marginal
note on the verse, they remarked, for the reader's warning, that
the advocates of these unauthorised traditions only "pinch and
defraude their body to shew themselves greater hypocrites”!
In the first Geneva version, again, Rom. xii. 3 reads the same
as in Tyndale's Testament, and nearly the same as it does in
the authorised translation : "For I say through the grace that
is geven unto me, to every man among you, that no man
esteme of himselfe inore than it becometh him to esteeme, but
that he discretly judge of himself.” In 1560, however, the
Geneva divines, slavishly following the Latin translation of
Beza, rendered the passage: "For I say
to every man
that is among you, that no man presume to understand above
that which is meete to understand, but that he understand
according to sobriety." By the change of one very small word,
there is a considerable difference of meaning, also, between the
first and second translations of Mark x. 21. In the former,
Jesus is represented as saying to the man who had kept all the
commandments of God from his youth up, and desired to know
what more he should do to inherit eternal life : "Go and sel all
that thou hast and geue to the poore, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven ; and come, folowe me and take up thy
crosse." In other words, deny yourself, to the extent of cross-
ing your own inclinations and temporal interests in every way,
for my sake and for the good of your fellow-men. In the
second Geneva version, the italicised word thy is changed into
the ; as if Jesus, contrary to all probability, spake beforehand,
in a manner that could not have been understood by his
hearers, of the popular name by which his doctrine was
destined to become known in the world, the cross, and simply
enjoined the man to become a disciple, and make a public
profession of the gospel. There is a difference of meaning, too,
1 It may be mentioned in passing that this rendering has the approval of Calvin,
who remarks upon it : “ Sic enim intelligere malo, quam secundum quod Erasmus
vertit. 'Nequis superbe de se sentiat': quia et hic sensus est aliquanto a verbis
remotior, et ille melius quadrat orationis contextui."
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159
between the first and second Geneva readings of 2 Cor. ii. 17. In
the former St. Paul is represented as saying: "We do not, as
many, disguise and counterfait the worde of God; but as of
syncere affection, but as of God, in the sight of God, so speake
we in Christe." This means, we do not distort the word of God
to suit our own convenience, or to advance any selfish end we
have in view, but we deliver to you the word of God as it was
spoken to us. But in the second Geneva version the Apostle's
statement is rendered : “We are not as many, which make
merchandise of the word of God;" that is, who preach it,
soundly or unsoundly, purely or corruptly, in its integrity or in
a mutilated form, for the sake of filthy lucre. And in regard
to this passage, it may be remarked that, while the translation
in the second Geneva version is a literal rendering of the
original Greek, the translators were probably led to the phrase
they used by the Latin expression of Beza, cauponamur, instead
of adulterantes, as in the Vulgate.
The refinements made by the Geneva revisers, 1560, on the
first Geneva version of the Testament, are very numerous, and
in many cases not unimportant. There is nothing specially
striking or beautiful, perhaps, in the simple narrative given in
the second Geneva version of Acts ix. 26: “When Saul was
come to Jerusalem, he assayed to joyne himself with the
disciples, but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that
he was a disciple.” If we consider, however, that in the first
Geneva version Saul was said to have "assayed to couple him-
self with the disciples," we shall see that we are indebted to the
revisers of 1560 for some improvement on the diction of the
verse. And none will refuse to admit that the simple words,
among whom ye be also, the called of Jesus Christ,” which
form the second Geneva version of Rom. i. 6, are much preferable
to the more inflated rendering in the first version, "of whose
numbers ye be also, which are Jesus Christ's by vocation."
And there might be adduced ever so many instances to the same
effect: as "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the
violent take it by force," Mat. xi. 12, for “the violent plucke it
unto them”: “the place was shaken where they were as-
sembled," Acts iv. 31, for "the place moved": "the days of un-
1бо
Bibles of England.
leavened bread," Acts xii. 3, for "the days of swete bread":
“the ruines thereof will I build again," Acts xv. 16, for “that
which is fallen in decay of it will I build again”:
“ when they
fell into a place where two seas met," Acts xxvii. 41, for "they
chanced on a place, which had the sea on both the sydes”;
“ bringeth forth,” for “bringeth” patience, Rom. v. 3 : "the
Israel of God,” Gal. vi. 16, for “Israel that pertayneth to God.”
Occasionally the little touches or refinements given by the re-
visors in 1560 to the first Geneva renderings are not only liter-
ary improvements, but scholastic amendments, which bring out
more forcibly and clearly the meaning of the passages in which
they appear. It cannot be said that the translation of John xi.
16, in the first Geneva version, is positively incorrect; but it re-
quires the supplementary words introduced into the second
version to make it perfect : “ Then saith Thomas, which is
called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, let us also go that we
may die with him."
The following quotations, without comments, will still fur-
ther illustrate the little changes, for, good, that were made on
the first Geneva version, by the revisers in 1560.
for us.
can
SECOND GENEVA VERSION, 1560.
FIRST GENEVA VERSION, 1557.
Mark v. 38. -Saw the tumult, and Mark v, 38.-Saw the wonderyng and
them that wept and wayled greatly. them that wept and wayled greatly.
Luke ix. 33.-It is good for us to be Luke ix. 33.-It is good being here
here.
Luke x. 30. — Jesus answered and Luke x. 30.----Jesus taking his word
said, A certain man went down from said, A certain man descended from
Jerusalem to Jericho.
Jerusalem to Jericho.
Luke xii. 56.-Hypocrites, ye Luke xii. 56.—Hypocrites, ye can
discern the face of the earth and of the skyl of the fasshyon of the earth and of
sky.
the sky.
John vii. 20.-Be ye angry at me John vii. 20. —Disdayne ye at me
because I have made a man every whit because I have made a man every whit
whole on the Sabbath day.
whole on the Sabbath day.
Acts xvii. 23.—Beheld your devotions. Acts xvii. 23.-Behelde the maner how
ve worship your goddes.
Romans ii. 20.--An instructor of them Romans ii. 20.-An informer of them
which lack discretion, a teacher of the which lack discretion, a teacher of un-
unlearned, which hast the form of learned, which hast the information of
knowledge.
knowledge.
1 Leaven was termed by Wyclif “ sourdough,” and unleavened bread was con-
sequently unsoured or sweet bread.
The Israel of God” is one of the phrases that were first introduced into the
English Testament by Taverner.
2
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161
we
are
Romans ii. 29.
- But he is a Jew Romans ii. 29.-But he is a Jew
which is one within, and the circum- which is hyd within, and the circumcision
cision is of the heart, not in the letter, of the heart is the true circumcision,
whose praise is not of men, but of God. which consisteth in the spirit, and not in
the letter, the which Jewes praise is not
of men but of God.
Romans vii. 6.- Now we are delivered Romans vii. 6.—But now
from the law, being dead unto it, delivered from the law, being dead unto
wherein we were holden, that we should it, wherein we were in bondage that we
serve in newness of spirit.
should serve in a new conversation of the
spirit.
I Cor. ii. 10.—The spirit searcheth all I Cor. ii. 10.-The spirit searcheth
things, yea, the deepe things of God. all things, yea the bottome of Goddes
secretes.
I Cor. xi. 29.-Discerneth not the I Cor. xi. 29.--Maketh no difference
Lord's body.
of the Lordes body.
I Cor. xvi. 9.-A great door and I Cor. xvi. 9.-A great dore and a
effectual is opened unto me.
frilteful is opened unto me.
2 Cor. viii. 2.--Their most extreme 2 Cor. viii. 2.-The povertie which
poverty abounded unto their riche had consumed them, even to the very
liberalitie.
botone, abunded unto their most riche
liberalitie.
Phil. iv. 8.-If there be any virtue, or Phil. iv. 8.—If there be any vertuous
if there be any praise, think on these thing, if there be any laudable thing,
things.
those same haue ye in your minde.
2 Tim. ii. 19.--The foundation of God 2 Tim. ii. 19.—The sure ground of
remaineth sure.
God remaineth.
2 Tim. iii. 5.-A show of godliness. 2 Tim. jii. 5. -A similitude of godly
living.
2 Tim. iii. 10.
10. — Thou hast fully 2 Tim. iii. 10.-Thou hast sene the
known my doctrine.
experience of my doctrine.
:
It can scarcely be maintained that all the new renderings in
the second Geneva version are improvements on those they
displaced. In the first Geneva version we read, Acts xx. 21,
“none of these things move me." This, it may be admitted, is
not a literal, but a free, translation of the passage, as it stands
in all modern Greek texts. It is a very happy translation, how-
ever, and it has been received into the authorised version. But
it was discarded by the Geneva revisers of 1560. And had they
substituted for it a more literal, and an equally intelligible
translation, there wonld have been no cause of complaint. But,
for plain words, they substituted words of very hazy import;
and for a rendering that was correct in meaning, they gave a
rendering that is neither correct in meaning, nor literal in form
of expression: I passe not at all. Another faultless phrase in the
first Geneva version, which we find also in the King's translation,
is, “their eyes have they closed," Acts xxviii. 27. This, in the
second Geneva version, is changed into, with their eyes they have
zinked. And here the influence of Beza is evident. While in
M
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Bibles of England.
the Vulgate we read, oculos suos compresserunt; we find in Beza's
Latin translation, oculis suis conniverunt. A verse that is
crudely rendered in the first Geneva translation is, 1 Cor. xiv.
IO: “Ther are so many kyndes of voyces, as it commeth to
passe, in the world, and none of them are so that they cannot
be discerned.” Only one alteration, however, is made on this
verse by the revisers of 1560, and that alteration is for the
worse. A single but ill chosen word, dumb, is substituted for
the last member of the second clause, so that the whole verse
reads: “There are so many kyndes of voyces (as it commeth
to passe) in the world, and none of them is domme."
Notwithstanding these instances, and others which might be
cited, of change for the worse, the Geneva version of 1560 is,
all things considered, a very great improvement on that of 1557.
It was a distinct step in the line of progress, and it brought the
New Testament a long way nearer the shape it was made to
assume, fifty years later, in the authorised version which is still
in use.
The third Geneva version of the New Testament that is,
the revision, by Tomson, of the 1560 edition-was by no means
so great an improvement on the second version as the second
was on the first. The changes introduced into the third version
were neither so numerous nor so important as those introduced
into the second. The variations between the third and second
versions, too, are far more numerous in some books of the New
Testament than in others. They abound much more in the
writings of St. John, for instance, than in the writings of St.
Paul, as the following summary will shew =
Chapter examined. Number of verses Verses in which ist and Verses in which 3rd and
in chapter.
2nd Geneva differ. 2nd Geneva. differ.
Luke xvi.
31
22
5
John i.
51
26
24
Romans ix.
33
23
2
Philippians iii.
21
13
0
James v.
20
I2
I
1 Peter v.
14
8
2
I John ii.
29
18
16
Total
199
I 22
50
It will be seen, from the above table, that out of the eighty
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163
verses in St. John's writings that happened to be examined,
there are no fewer than forty in which the third version differs
from the second; while of the 119 verses taken from the
writings of St. Luke, St. Paul, St. James, and St. Peter, there
are only ten in which the third version presents any difference
from the second. Many of the variations enumerated, too, are
very insignificant. Most, but not all, are simply accentuations
of the article. This, indeed, is the most outstanding feature of
Tomson's revision. The first chapter of St. John's gospel in
that revision opens as follows :-"In the beginning was that
word, and that word was with God, and that word was God.
This same was in the beginning with God. All things were
made by it: and without it, was made nothing that was made.
In it was life, and that life was the light of men. And that
light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended
it not.”
Although Tomson considered one of the best
linguists of his day, his renderings of the Greek article have
not been uniformly approved by modern scholarship. While
the revisers, 1881, have, like Tomson, emphasised many
passages by the introduction of definite articles where in the
authorised version there are no articles; they have never gone,
as Tomson did, beyond the letter of the Greek text by
converting articles into demonstrative pronouns.
In some
cases, again, the revisers have inserted articles where Tomson
did not.
A passage that, under the light of the revised version
of the Testament, 1881, will show the misaccentuations of
Tomson in both excess and deficiency, is Rom. V. 17:-
I
was
REVISED VERSION, 1881.
TOMSON'S REVISION, 1576.
For if, by the trespass of the one, For if, by the offence of one, death
death reigned through the one : much reigned through one, much more shall
more shall they that receive the abun- they which receive that abundance of
dance of grace, and of the gift of right- grace, and of that gift of that righteous-
eousness, reign in life, through the one, ness, reign in life through one, that is,
even Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ.
I A passage oddly accentuated in Tomson's revision of the Geneva Testament is
Rev. xviii. 18, where, for the phrase "the smoke of her burning,” we find " that
smoke of that her burning."
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Not a few of Tomson's thats, however, have found their way
into the authorised version, and become familiar to us, in oft
quoted phrases, as dear household words. In the second
Geneva version, 1560, we read, John vi. 48, “I am the bread of
life.” This is the translation given in the revised version, 1881,
and it is the translation in the Bishops' Bible, 1572. But it
was changed by Tomson in the third Geneva version, 1576,
into “ I am that bread of life." And although the authorised
version is professedly based on the Bishops' Bible, the Bishops'
rendering was, in this verse, rejected by the King's translators,
and Tomson's was adopted. The same has to be said of 1 John
iii. 12–“Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew
his brother.” We see the inspiration of Tomson, also, in the
following expressions which occur in the authorised version :
John i. 21, "art thou that prophet”; 1 John i. 2, "shew unto
you that eternal life”; Rev. i. 3, “ blessed
are they
that hear the words of this prophecy.” Indeed, it may be said,
with good shew of reason, that Tomson's theory has been
carried out by the King's translators, in some places where it
was not by Tomson himself. In the authorised version, we
find the phrases "that saying,” John iv. 37, and "that spirit,"
2 Cor, iii. 17, where in Tomson's Testament the words are" the
saying,” and “the spirit.”
While it was mainly, it was not exclusively in accentuations
of the article that Tomson's Testament varied from the Geneva
version of 1560.
Sometimes Tomson changed important
words, and sometimes he altered whole clauses. In John i. 12,
he changed power into prerogative:-“To them he gave preroga-
tive to be the sonnes of God.” In Rom. xiii. 3, he transformed
princes into magistrates :"Magistrates are not to be feared for
good workes, but for euill.” In 1 Cor. vi. 7, he substituted
M1
3
1 In most of the above quoted cases Tomson has followed Beza's Latin version
in rendering the Greek article by a demonstrative pronoun, as in John i. I, ille
sermo ; John i. 5, lux ista ; John vi. 48, panis ille ; 1 John i. 2, vitam illam aeter.
nam ; 1 John iii. 12, ex illo malo, etc. In other cases Tomson has emphasised the
Greek article where Beza has not, as in Rom. v. 17, "s of that gift of that righteous-
ness," doni justitiae ; and Rev. xviii. 18, “that smoke of that her burning,”
fumum incendii ejus.
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165
infirmity for fault :-“Now, therefore, there is altogether
infirmity in you, in that ye go to law one with another." One
statement in the Geneva translation, 1560, he literally reversed :
-" He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was
before me," John i. 15. This announcement he changed into
“He that cometh after me was before me, for he was better
than I.”: Another passage that he altered largely was Rom. ii.
18, where he substituted “Triest the things that differ from it,"
for “allowest the things that are excellent.” And a verse that
he translated with more pith than propriety is Gal. ii. 13:—"The
other Jews played the hypocrites likewise with him."
Of the Old Testament, there is only one Geneva version,
that, namely, which was first published at Geneva in 1560.
The authors of this translation, Whittingham, Sampson, and
Gilby, were Hebrew scholars ; and they translated, as Tyndale
did, direct from the Hebrew original. They were guided in
their translation, however, by the labours of other translators.
They had the Great Bible before them; and their object was
not so much to make an absolutely new translation as to
correct the version in use, wherever its renderings were faulty,
and to improve its diction wherever that was defective. They,
accordingly, read and studied all that could help or guide them
in their work : Latin translations of the Bible, German trans-
lations, French translations, Italian translations. Of Latin
translations, they had quite a store: the Vulgate, the transla-
tion by Pagninus, 1528, that by S. Munster, 1534, and that by
Leo Jude, 1542. Of German translations, they had Luther's,
and the one that went by the name of the Zurich version. It
also happened that while they were at work in Geneva on the
English Bible, others were at work, in the same city, on a
revision of versions in the French and Italian languages.
International conferences, therefore, we may well suppose, would
be held by those who were labouring in the same cause for
different peoples. The city wherein they resided, moreover,
was the city of Calvin and Beza ;2 and the translators were
I Qui post me venit, prelatus est mihi, quia praestantior me est, Zurich, 1564.
2 Beza came back to Geneva before 1560.
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Bibles of England.
neither ignorant of the privilege they thereby had, nor were
they slow to take advantage of it. In a book, whose author-
ship is attributed to Whittingham, on the troubles of those
distracted times, it is stated that, in order to have "the texte
off the Scriptures faithfully and truly translated,” the exiles at
Geneva, in preparing their version of the Bible in English, were
moved “with one assent to requeste two off their brethern, to
witt, Caluin and Beza, efsonnes to peruse the same, notwith-
standynge their former trauells.” While they were themselves
competent scholars, the Geneva translators had thus the benefit
of a no inconsiderable amount of help and counsel, in the pro-
secution of their work.
Learned critics have analysed passages in different parts of
the Geneva version of the Old Testament, and have pointed
out the probable inspiration of many of its differential expres-
sions. In one place, the inspiration seems to have come from
Pagninus; in another, from Munster; in another, from Leo
Jude; and in another still, from Luther. A phrase we are
very familiar with, in the authorised version of the Bible, is
" the tabernacle of the congregation.” This phrase was intro-
duced into the English Bible by the Geneva translators.
Both in the Great Bible and in Coverdale's Bible, the corre-
sponding phrase is in ever so many places “the tabernacle of
witness.” In changing the designation of the tabernacle, the
Geneva translators followed the Latin version of Pagninus.
While in the Vulgate we meet with the words, "tabernaculum
testimonii," the tabernacle of witness (Exodus xxix. 44, and
elsewhere), and “tabernaculum foederis,” the tabernacle of the
covenant (Exodus xxxiii. 7, and elsewhere), Pagninus in all
these places uses the terms "tabernaculum ecclesiae." And
so with other words and phrases in the Geneva Bible; one
seems to have come from this source, and another from that,
second hand so to speak.
The question of main interest to us, in connection with the
Geneva version of the Old Testament, is, to what extent it
differs from, and is an improvement on, the version in the
Great Bible. It was the Great Bible that, from 1539 to 1560,
was practically the Bible of England. It had the privilege of
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167
being read in all English churches. It had virtually superseded,
as it was meant to supersede, all other versions of the Bible in
English. It must have been of the Great Bible, therefore, that
the Geneva translators more particularly spoke, when, in their
epistle to the brethren of England, Scotland, and Ireland, they
said, “We thought we could bestow our labours and study in
nothing which could be more acceptable to God, and comfort-
able to his church, than in the translating of the Scriptures into
our native tongue: the which thing albeit that others have en-
deavoured to achieve, yet, considering the infancy of those
times and imperfect knowledge of the tongues in respect of
this ripe age and clear light which God hath now revealed, the
translations required greatly to be perused and reformed." To
what extent, then, was the Great Bible corrected and amended
by the Geneva exiles ?
To a very great extent indeed. Many verses are quite re-
modelled-changed all over—and made to express a different
meaning from what they did before. A still larger number of
verses are improved in their diction, so that they are made to
read more clearly and smoothly, and to come home to the
heart more impressively. A few verses, however, that are al-
tered, are not altered for the better; and several changes are
made, by way of correction, which we are almost sorry were
necessitated.
One passage in the Great Bible that we should have been
thankful to see retained, so well does it give expression to a
noble religious hope, which, but for the anachronism involved,
might be called Christian, is Job xix. 25, 26: "For I am sure
that my redemer lyueth, and that I shal ryse out of the earth in
the latter daye ; that I shal be clothed agayne with this skynne,
and se God in my fleshe." The Geneva translators had, of
course, to render the words of Scripture as they found them in
the original text, and they accordingly made the passage read :
'For I am sure that my redeemer liveth, and he shall stand
the last on the earth. And though, after my skinne,
1 This strange reading is countenanced by the Latin version Zurich, 1564. Noui
redemptorem meum esse viuentem et nouissimum qui super terram surget.
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Bibles of England.
wormes destroy this body, yet shall I se God in my flesh.”
Another verse in the book of Job that found a new rendering
in the Geneva version is chap. xxxiv. 29. In the Great Bible,
that verse reads: "If he graunt pardone, who wyll condemne?
and if he hyde awaye his countenance who shall be able to se
it. Whether it be to the people, or to any man, thus wyll he
do.” The Geneva translators changed this rendering into sub-
stantially the form it now assumes in the authorised version :
"When he giveth quietnesse, who can make trouble ? and when
he hideth his face, who can behold him, whether it be upon na-
tions or upon a man only ?" A very odd reading that we find
in the Great Bible is : “Geve part seuen dayes and also upon
the eighth ; for thou knowest not what misery shall come upon
the earth.”. Eçcles. xi. 2. The appearance of this reading in
the Great Bible is all the more strange, too, that Coverdale, in
his own translation, 1535, had previously given the right reading.
The Geneva divines restored Coverdale's first rendering ;
and put the verse in the form it still retains in the authorised
Bible. A message from the Lord, in very homely terms, ap-
pears in the Great Bible, Is. xl. 2: “Comfort Jerusalem at the
herte, and tell her, that her trauayle is at an end, that her of-
fence is pardoned, that she hath receyued of the Lordes hande
sufficient correccion for all her synnes.” The terms of this mes-
sage have at least the merit of perfect clearness, if nothing else;
and some commentators are of opinion that they express the
true mind of the spirit. But this opinion is open to question.
The words of the original admit of another interpretation ; and
the Geneva translators have accordingly given a literal render-
ing of the passage, which neither adds to nor takes anything
from the original text: “She hath received of the Lord's hand
double for all her sins." The alternative meaning of this ren-
dering they have also set before the reader, in a marginal note,
“sufficient and full correction” (as stated in the
Great Bible) "or double grace, whereas she deserved double
punishment."
which says:
1 In the Vulgate the words are so incomplete and ambiguous that they will bear
either translation, “Da partem septem, necnon et octo.” In other Latin versions,
such as Zurich, 1564, the words are, Da partem panis septem indigentibus.
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169
The following extracts will further illustrate the different
meanings that verses of Scripture were represented to bear in
the Great Bible and the Geneva Bible respectively :-
so
GREAT BIBLE, 1540.
GENEVA BIBLE, 1560.
Lev. viii. 33-34.-For seven days shall Lev. viii. 33-34. -For seven days,
he fyll your hande, as he dyd this day. said the Lord, shall he consecrate you,
as he hath done this day.
I Sam. ix. 20.—Moreover whose shall I Sam. ix. 20.--On whom is set all the
the beautifull thynges of Israel be? Be- desire of Israel, is it not upon thee, and
longe they not to the, and to all thy all thy father's house?
father's house?
Job ix. 3, 4.—Yf he (man) will argue Job ix. 3, 4.-If he (man) would dis-
with hym, there is not one among a thou- pute with him, he coulde not answere
sand that can answere hym. Concer- him one thing of a thousand. He is wise
nynge soch as be wyse of herte or myghtie in heart and mighty in strength ; who
in strength who euer prospered, that hath been fierce against him and hath
tooke parte agaynste hym.
prospered ?
Prov. xvii. 8.-A rewarde is a precious Prov, xvii. 8.—A reward is a stone
stone unto hym that hath it; but unto pleasant in the eyes of them that have
whomsoever it turneth, it maketh hyn it; it prospereth whithersoever it turneth.
Unwyse.
Prov. xix. 18.-Chasten thy sonne Prov. xix. 18.-Chasten thy sonne
whyle there is hope ; but let not thy whyle there is hope, and let not thy soul
soule be moued to slaye hyni.
spare for his murmuring.
Prov. xxvii. 19.-Lyke as in one water Prov. xxvii. 19.-As in water, face
there appere - dyuerse faces, euen answereth to face, so the heart of man
dyuers men have dyuerse hartes.
to man,
Eccles. v. 1.-When thou comest into Eccles. V. 1.--Take heede to thy foote
the house of God, kepe thy foot and when thou entrest into the house of God,
draw nigh, that God which is at hande and bee more neare to heare than to give
maye heare that thou geve not the off the sacrifice of fooles : for they know not
rings of fooles : for they knowe nought that they do euill.
but to do euell.
Eccles. v. 8.-If thou seest the poore Eccles. v. 8 (v. 7 in Geneva Bible).-
to be oppressed and wrongfully delt If in a countrey thou seest the oppression
withal, so that equitie and ryghte of the of the poore, and the defrauding of
lawe is wrested in the lande, maruayle judgement and justice, be not astonyed
not thou at soche a thynge, for one great at the matter : for he that is higher than
man kepeth touch with another and the the highest regardeth, and there be higher
myghtie men are in auctorytie ouer the than they.
poore.
Is. xlii. 3, 4. —But faythfully and Is. xlii. 3, 4.-He shall bring forth
truely shall he geue judgement, not be judgment in trueth. He shall not fayle
pensive nor carefull, that he may restore nor be discouraged till he have set judg.
righteousnes unto the erth.
ment in the earth.
Is. liii. 8.—Whose generacion yet who Is. liii. 8.--Who shall declare his
may nombre?
İs. liii. 10.-Yet hath it pleased the Is. liii. 10.--Yet the Lord would
Lorde thus to burste him with plages, breake him, and make him subject to in-
and to smyte him with infirmyties, that firmities; when he shall make his soul
when he had made his soul an offering an offering for sin, he shall see his seede
for synne he myght se longe lasting seed. and shall prolong his daies, and the wil
And this devyce of the Lorde shall pros- of the Lord shall prospere in his hand.
pere in his hande.
Hab. iii. 2.-The worke that thou Hab. iii. 2.-O Lord, revive thy work
hast taken in hande, shalt thou perfourme in the middes of the people ; in the
age?
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Bibles of England.
in his tyme, O Lord ; and when thy tyme middes of the yeres make it knowne ; in
commeth thou shalt declare it. In thy wrath remember mercy.
very wrathe thou thynkest upon mercy.
Zech iv. 10.--For he that hath ben de- Zech, iv. 10. --For who hath despised
spised a lytle season shall rejoice, when the day of the small things : but they shall
he seeth the tynne weight in Zorababel's rejoice and shall see the stone of tinne in
hand.
the hand of Zerubabel.
Zech. vi. 3.—In the fourth charet were Zech. vi. 3. - In the fourth charet
horses of dyuerse colours and stronge. horses of dyuerse colours and reddish.
Even more than by the accuracy of its translation, the
Geneva version asserted superiority over the Great Bible by
the refinement of its diction. A large number of words and
phrases and entire sentences, which have ever since been
retained in the English Bibles of the Protestant Churches, were
first introduced into these Bibles by the Geneva translators. A
large number, also, of other phrases and sentences that we find
in the authorised version made their first appearance, in a crude
and unfinished form, in the Geneva Bible.
Not to speak of such archaisms as ouerthwarte, in the phrase,
an ouerthwarte tonge," Prov. xvii. 20; and perbrake, in the
statement, “the morsels that thou hast eaten shalt thou per-
brake,” Prov. xxiii. 8; or of such malapropisms as abundance,
in the oft-recurring expression “the abundance of the liver,"
(the caul above the liver): there are in the Great Bible not a
few terms that are not as meet as they should be for the place
they occupy. One of these, which has already been commented
on, is luck. Whether from a sense of literary propriety, or
because the term seemed to countenance a certain metaphysical
theory at variance with Calvinistic views, this word is in the
Geneva Bible left out of more than one passage where it is
found in the Great Bible. The statement, "we have wished
you good lucke," Ps. cxviii. 26, is converted into "we have
blessed you”; and the ecphonesis “good lucke, good lucke,"
which is represented by Coverdale to have greeted the ears of
Zerubabel, when the head stone of the second temple was set
in its place, is transformed into the more reverent acclamation
of “grace, grace.” A phrase in the Great Bible that very im-
perfectly expresses the meaning it is intended to convey is the
noblenesse of any dignity :-“Reuben, myne eldest sonne, thou
art my might and the beginning of my strength, the noblenesse
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171
of my dignity and the noblenesse of my power." By the sub-
stitution of excellency for “noblenesse," the Geneva divines gave
to this utterance all the majesty that was wanted, and nearly
all the clearness that was possible. Another amendment that
was made by the Geneva divines on an old rendering in the
Pentateuch, is one that must be remitted to the faculty of
physicians to express their opinion upon. Both in Coverdale's
Bible and in the Great Bible the wives of the Israelites are
said, Ex. i. 19, to have been “sturdy wemen," and to have been
delivered of their children in Goshen, "yer" the midwives came
at them. The word sturdy, suggestive of plebeian vigour, was
by the Geneva divines courteously changed into another ad-
jective more consonant with cultured notions of physical
grace. A not overly delicate phrase, again, that was in high
repute and much vogue during the later struggles of Puri-
tanism in England was "hip and thigh.” The phrase, as every
one knows, occurs in the authorised version of the Bible,
Judges xv. 8. But it must have been gratifying to the mus-
cular Christians of the Puritan party in the days of "stout,
religious " Cromwell to think that that church-militant expres-
sion, which rose so oft to their lips and sounded so sweet in their
ears, was coined by their Puritan fathers in Geneva. The
castigation that Samson gave the Philistines is said in the
Great Bible to have been administered on "the legge and
thigh"; but that, it will be observed, was a much milder “in-
struction" than the sainted legions of the Lord Protector
thought it their duty to bestow on Cavaliers and Churchmen.
And, to pass from the scourge of the rod to the scourge of the
tongue, it may be remarked that never was lofty taunt ex-
pressed in choicer terms than in Lam. ii. 5, where strangers are
described as pointing to the humbled daughter of Jerusalem,
and saying, “Is this the city that men call the perfection of
beauty, the joy of the whole earth”! This rendering, which
we find in the authorised Bible, is just a transcript of what is
I The reading in the Vulgate is curious, “Ipsæ enim obstetricandi habent scien-
tiam.” The literal meaning of the Hebrew word translated lively in the Geneva
and Authorised Biblęs is, according to Dr. A. Clark, “strong, hale, and vigorous."
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Bibles of England.
given, and was first given, in the Geneva version. In the
Great Bible the verse reads, “Is this the cytie that men call so
fayre, wherein the whole land rejoyseth”: a pathetic utterance,
too, but a very rudimentary exclamation compared with what
it was matured into by the Geneva divines.
divines. It is only by
means of parallel columns, however, that we can fully perceive
the amount of improvement effected by the exiles at Geneva
on the diction of the English Bible. The following extracts
are accordingly, with this view, submitted, without comment,
for comparison.
>
GREAT BIBLE, 1540.
GENEVA BIBLE, 1560.
Gen. xxv. 8.-And then fell sycke, Gen. xxv. 8.-Then Abraham yeelded
and dyed in a lusty age, when he had the spirit, and died in a good age, an
lived ynough, and was put to his people. olde man and of great yeeres, and was
gathered to his people.
Deut. xxxii. 7.-Remember the days Deut. xxxii. 7.-Remember the dayes
of the world that is past, consyder the of olde, consider the yeeres of so many
years from tyme to tyme.
generations.
I Sam. iv. 13.-Eli sat upon a stole, 1 Sam. iv. 13.-Eli sate upon a seate
and looked toward the waye.
by the wayside, waiting.
Job xxx, 23.-Sure I am, that thou Job xxx. 23.--Surely, I know that
wilt delyver me unto death, even to the thou wilt bring me to death, and to the
lodging that is due unto all men lyuing. house appointed for all the living.
Job xxxvii. 4.-His glorious magesty Job xxxvii. 4:—He thundereth with
geveth soche a thondre clappe that the voice of his majestie, and he wil not
(though a man heare it) yet may he not staie them when his voyce is heard.
perceave it afterwarde.
Eccles. i. 2.-All is but moost vayne Eccles. i. 2. Vanitie of vanities,
vanytie, sayeth the Preacher, and all is sayeth the Preacher, vanity of vanities,
moost vayne.
all is vanity:
Eccles. xii. 1.–Remembre thy maker Eccles. xii. 1.-Remember now thy
the sooner in thy youth, or ever the days Creator in the dayes of thy youth, whiles
of adversitie come.
the euill dayes come not.
Is. i. 4.-Alas for this synful nation, Is. i. 4. —Ah, sinnefull nation, a people
a people of great iniquitie.
laden with iniquitie.
Is. i. 16.-Washe you, make you Is. i. 16.-Wash you, make you clean, ,
cleane, put away your euell thoughtes out take away the euil of your workes from
of my syght, cease from doynge of euell, before mine eyes, cease to do euil, lerne
learne to do ryght, applie yourselves to to do well, seeke judgment, relieve the
equitie, deliver the oppressed, helpe the oppressed, judge the fatherlesse, and de-
fatherlesse to his ryght, let the wydowes fend the widow.
complaint come before you.
Is. xi. 3.-He shall not give sentence Is. xi. 3. --He shall not judge after
after the thing that shall be brought be the sight of his eyes.
fore his eyes.
Is. xxxii. 2.- The shadow of a great Is. xxxii. 2.-The shadow of a great
rock in a dry land.
rock in a weary land.
Is. l. 11.-But take hede, ye al kyndle Is. 1. 11.—Beholde, all you kindle a
a fyre of the wrath of God, and steare up fire, and are compassed about with
the cooles, walk on in the glisteryng of sparkes : walke in the light of your fire,
your owne fyre and in the cooles that ye and in the sparkes that ye have kindled.
have kyndled.
Is. lxi. 3.—That I might geve, I saye, Is. lxi. 3.-To give unto them beautie
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beauty instead of ashes, joyful oyntment for ashes, the oyle of joy for mourning,
for syghing, pleasant raiment for an hevy the garment of gladness for the spirit of
mynde.
heaviness.
Jer. ix. 1.–Who wyll geve my heade Jer. ix. 1.-Oh that mine head were
water ynough, and a well of teares for ful of waters and mine eyes a fountain of
myne eyes that I maye wepe nyghte and teares that I might weepe day and night
daye for the slaughter of my people.
for the slain of the daughter of my
people.
Jer. x. 4.—It standeth as styffe as the Jer. x. 4. — The idols stand up as the
palme tree, it can neyther speake nor go palme tree, but speake not ; they are
one fote, but must be borne.
borne because they cannot go.
Jer. xxiii. 11.- - The prophets and the Jer. xxiii. 11.-Both the prophet and
priests themselves are polluted hypo- the priest do wickedly.
crites.
Hag. ii. 7.-I wyll move all heathen, Hag. ii. 7.-And I will move all na-
and the comforte of all heathen shall tions, and the desire of all nations shall
come, and so wyll I fyll this house with come, and I will fill this house with
honoure, sayeth the Lord of hoostes. glory, saith the Lord of hosts.
Zech. i. 5.—What is nowe become of Zech. i. 5.—Your fathers, where are
your forefathers, and the prophetes, are they, and do the prophets live for ever?
they yet styll alyue ?
Zech. ii. 5.-Yee, I myself (sayeth the Zech. ii. 5.-For I, sayth the Lorde,
Lorde) wyll be unto her a wall of fyre wil be unto her a wall of fire rounde
round aboute, and wyll be honoured in aboute, and will be the glory in the
her.
middes of her.
It will be seen that, in a considerable number of the fore-
going extracts from the Geneva version, the amendments made
on the renderings in the Great Bible have been retained in the
authorised translation. This is the best certificate that, at the
end of fifty years, could have been given to their intrinsic
excellence. In many cases, however, the amendments made
by the Geneva divines have not been retained in the authorised
version, but have been themselves amended. Still, although
they failed to receive the honour of being adopted into
the national Bible of 1611, they furnished, in not a few instances,
the lines on which the King's translators worked. They were, in
other words, not only improvements on the renderings in the
Great Bible, but they suggested and contributed materials for
still further improved renderings, which appear now in the
authorised version. They were scrolls or drafts of revision,
which were finally adjusted, by a national committee, fifty years
afterwards.
In some instances, it must be admitted, the changes of diction
made by the Geneva revisers on the English Bible were not
improvements. This was to be expected. Wherever many
changes are made, they can scarcely be all for the better. It is
satisfactory if a large majority are.
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Bibles of England.
The Geneva translators were neither invariably fortunate in
their choice of words, invariably successful in their composition
of phrases, nor invariably happy in their renderings. It is
a sound maxim in revision, to let well alone; and so, when the
Geneva divines found it said in the Great Bible, Prov. vi. 6,
“Go to the emmet, thou sluggard, and consider her wayes," it
may be asked, in the name of wonder, why they could not
have allowed that rendering to stand, but should have sub-
stituted for the word italicised an unsavoury term of nauseous
and obvious etymology. With the title dame no fault need
be found. It is a simple, good, old-fashioned term, perhaps a
little out of date now, but current enough at one time. And
quite a proper application is made of it in the Geneva version,
Gen. xvi. 8, where Hagar is represented as saying to the angel
of the Lord : “I flee from my dame Sarai.” Still, it was
unnecessary to introduce the word into that verse, when there
was in the Great Bible another word quite as good, and as well
understood,“mastresse.” One rendering in the authorised Bible
that has been disallowed in the revised is Hos. X. 1—“ Israel is an
empty vine."
This rendering is, in more ways than one, objec-
tionable. It is not a happy phrase, and even readers who
know nothing of Hebrew will see that it does not harmonise
with the context. On the Geneva divines must rest the dis-
credit of having introduced it into the English Bible. In the
Great Bible there was a different rendering, not very far re-
moved in meaning from what is given in the revised version,
1885; and, apart from its accuracy or inaccuracy as a transla-
tion, it contained a very cogently worded declaration for the
people of Israel to reflect on :-" Israel was a goodly vine, but
he hath brought forth unprofytable frute : yea, the more frute
he had, the more aultares he made: the more good I dyd
to their lande the more frendshypp shewed they to
theyr ymages.” . A verse admitted to be obscure and of
doubtful meaning in the Hebrew Scriptures is Gen. iv. 23.
1 Pismire.
"vitis frondosa Israel"; in the translation by
2 In the Vulgate the words are
Pagninus, "vitis vacua Israel."
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By some people the words of Lamech, recorded in that verse,
have been regarded as an expression of contrition and sorrow,
as if their purport were, “I slew a man, and I thereby brought
on myself a sore misfortune." By other people they have been
regarded as an exultation, "A young man wounded me, and I
gave him his quietus. So shall perish all the enemies of
Lamech." In the Great Bible it is the former of these inter-
pretations that is put on the passage, “I have slayne a man to
the woundynge of myselfe, and a young man to mine own
punyshment.” The Geneva divines adopted, as their marginal
note shews, the other interpretation; and that interpretation is
the one that at the present day finds most favour. But the
Geneva rendering is ill-worded and obscure, and is thus, from
the English reader's point of view, the reverse of an improve-
ment on what it superseded. Its tenor is, “I would slay a
man in my wound, and a yong man in mine hurte."! Another
verse in the Hebrew Scriptures that has presented itself in
different lights to different minds is Song vii. 5. In the
authorised Bible this verse reads, “Thine head upon thee is
like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple: the King is
held in the galleries.” What the meaning of the last clause
of this sentence can be, and what connection its words
have with those in the clause preceding, must be left to
men of more than common discernment to explain. In the
revised version, 1885, a rendering is given which admits
of easier comprehension :-" The King is held captive in the
tresses thereof." A still different, and a very picturesque,
rendering of the verse appears in the Great Bible :-“That
heade that standeth upon thee is lyke Carmell : and the heare
of thy heade is lyke purple, lyke a King going forth with his
gard about him.” This imagery, also, we can understand, and
its aptness strikes us forcibly. Yet another rendering of the
verse, and, whether accurate or not, "the goodliest of all” is
given in Coverdale's Bible :-“The hayre of thy heade is like
I The marginal note on the verse is, “ His wives, seeing that all men hated him
for his cruelty, were afraid ; therefore he braggeth that there is none so lusty that
were able to resist, although he were already wounded."
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Bibles of England.
the kynges purple, folden up in plates.” It may well be asked,
how did the authorised translators ever stumble on the ren-
dering they have given in their version? They found it in the
Geneva Bible, not exactly in the words in which they have
presented it to us, but in these words :-" Thine heade upon
thee is as scarlet, and the bushe of thine heade like purple : the
king is tyed in the rafters.". Another notable phrase that we
find in the authorised version, Is. li. 20, is "a wild bull in a
net." This, also, is an importation from the Geneva version.
To many readers, it conveys the idea of bridled fury. But this
is not the idea that the prophet meant to express, as will
appear from the context :-" Thy sons have fainted, they lie at
the head of all the streets, as --" something very helpless.
And this helpless object to which the sons of Zion are com-
pared is, in the Great Bible, pathetically called "a taken
venyson."
Between the issue of the last of what we have termed the
Reformers' Bibles and the first of the Geneva versions of the
Testament, there intervened a period of nearly twenty years.
This is not a long period, even in the history of a human life,
and it bulks much less in the history of a language. It is sel-
dom that, in so short a time, a language undergoes much
change. But wherever there is literary activity, language is
always changing; and in the days between the reigns of the
last Henry and Elizabeth, the English language was at that
particular stage of growth when appreciable changes could, at
very brief intervals, be discerned in its aspect. It thus hap-
pens, that between the diction of the Geneva versions and that
of the Reformers' Bibles there is a perceptible difference.
Many of the quaint antiquated words that abound in the
1 The words in the Geneva Bible are a literal rendering of what appears in the
Latin version printed at Zurich in 1564:—Caput tuum super te veluti coccinum et
coma capitis tui sicut purpura, Rex ligatus in tignis." For tignis we find canalibus
in the version by Pagninus. The reading in the Vulgate is :-“ Comae capitis tui
sicut purpura regis vincta canalibus,” which in the Douay Bible, 1610, is rendered :
“The hairs of thy head as a King's purple tyed to cundite pipes.” The ren-
dering in the Bishops' Bible, 1572, is :-"The heare of thy head is like purple, and
like a King dwelling among inany water conduites."
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It is per-
Some pre-
writings of Tyndale and Coverdale are replaced in the Geneva
versions by terms of more modern and familiar usage. And
yet in the Geneva versions, also, there is not a little interesting
archaism to be found.
There are, for instance, a few cases of antiquated inflexions
and of antiquated compoundings to be met with.
haps scarcely justifiable to call participles prefixed or preceded
by a antiquated forms of verbal construction, seeing that not
only in the authorised but also in the recently revised version
of the Bible, it is said in Luke ix. 42," as he was yet a coming”;
and in Heb. xi. 21, “ Jacob when he was a dying blessed the
sons of Joseph.” This form of speech, however, is at least less
common in modern writings than in writings three hundred
years old ; and we find instances of it in the Geneva version
which are not retained in the authorised, such as, “Fourty and
six yeres was this temple a building," John ii. 20.
fixes of be, also, which are seldom or never heard in modern
speech, may be found in one or other of the Geneva versions. .
In the Testament, 1557, it is said, Rev. xviii. 9:—"The kynges
of the earth shal bewepe her and wayle ouer her.” In the same
version, 1557, we find "holpe" for helped :-"He holpe other
men, let him help himself”; in both the first and second ver-
sions, “gnew” for gnawed :—“They gnew their tongues for
sorowe"; in all the three versions, "pight" for pitched :-"The
true tabernacle which the Lord pight and not man"; and
“ werest" for wert :—“I woulde thou werest cold or hotte.”
And not only do we, in the first of these versions, meet with
“other” for either, but in that version we repeatedly meet with
no nother” for none other :-Now preach I man's doctrine or
God's ? other go I about to please men ?” Gal. i. 10;
nother of the Apostles sawe I, save James the Lord's brother,"
An expression in the first Geneva version of the
Testament that has an antique appearance is, “geve accountes
of thy stewardship,” Luke xvi. 2; and in the subsequent ver-
sions, this expression is changed into one still further removed
from modern phraseology, "give an accounts of thy steward-
ship."
The obsolete words to be found in the Geneva versions are
16 No
Gal. i. 19.
N
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Bibles of England.
few in number, compared with those in earlier versions. Several
words that appear in Tyndale's are retained in the first Geneva
version of the Testament, but not in the two subsequent ones.
Of these may be mentioned, "arede" for prophesy, “bide" for
abide, “let” for hindrance, "yer while” for already, "eareth "
for ploweth. Other words in Tyndale's Testament that seem
equally antiquated are introduced into all the three Geneva
Testaments, such as "griece” or “grece” for stair, “ mete" for
measure, "polle money
polle money” for tribute. There are antiquated
words, too, in the Geneva Testaments, which do not appear in
the corresponding passages in Tyndale's version. For instance,
in all the three Geneva versions, we read in the Acts of the
Apostles, chap. v. 33., “They brast for anger," (were cut to
the heart); chap. xxi. 15, "We trussed up our fardels," (took
up our carriages);' chap. xxiv. 22, "I will decise your matter,
(I will know the uttermost of your matter).
A most unregrettably-obsolete word that appears in the first
Geneva version of the new Testament is "giltieship": "The
giltieship came of one offence unto condemnation, but the gyft
is geven to justifie from many sinnes.": A less objectionable
word that appears in the same version is "refection," in the
sense of a luncheon or refreshment: “He entred into the
house
to take his refection," Luke xiv. 2.
Of common words used in a peculiar and archaic sense, a
very considerable number will be found in the different Geneva
translations. In the first Geneva version of the Testament, the
1 By using the word carriage in this peculiar sense, the shepherd David is made,
in the authorised version, to conduct himself like a modern dandy in the field of
battle : “ Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into
the army." 1 Sam. xvii. 21, 22. See revised version. See also Is. x. 28.
2 In the second Geneva version of the New Testament, St. Paul is made to say,
Acts xxii. 28 : “With a great sum obtained I this burgess-ship.” A very homely
word used in the Geneva Bible (and in the Great Bible) is “nippers”: “I gave my
back unto the smiters, and my cheekes to the nippers,” Is. 1. 6. Another homely
rendering that occurs in all the Geneva versions of the Testament is i Pet. iii. 6 :
“Sarah obeyed Abraham, and called him, Syr." And what will probably be con-
sidered another homely phrase in the Geneva versions is James ii. 16—Warme
yourselves, and fill your bellies."
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word depart is used, as it is by Wyclif, in the sense of divide :
They solde their possessions and goodes, and departed them
to all men, as every man had need,” Acts ii. 45 :
« Nether
height, nether depth, nether any other creature shal be able to
departe us from the love of God,” Rom. viii. 39. The word
separate is also in that versión used in a peculiar sense. In the
authorised translation, 1611, we read, Luke xii. 46:“ The Lord
of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him,
and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder."
The last clause of this verse is rendered by Wyclif, “will departe
him ;" by Tyndale, “will devyde him ;” by Coverdale, in the
Great Bible, “will hew him in pieces ;” by the Geneva divines,
1560, “will cut him off ;” and by Whittingham, in the first
Geneva Testament, 1557, "will separate him.": A word, again,
that from time immemorial has had a place in the ritual of the
Church of England, and has lately been heard in some Presby-
terian churches in Scotland, is lesson, in the sense of a portion
of Scripture to be read publicly. And in this sense of the
term, "lesson” occurs in at least one English version of the
New Testament, the Rhemes or authorised Catholic translation :
“ After the lesson of the law and the prophets, the princes of
the synagogue sent to (Paul and Barnabas), saying, Men,
brethren, if there be among you any sermon of exhortation to
the people, speak,” Acts xiii. 15. But, what may seem strange
to Scotsmen, the word lecture, which in their country has for
more than two hundred years been synonymous with expository
discourse, is, in all the Geneva versions, the term used in this
passage for lesson or reading. This curious fact indicates that
the original Church lecture, in Scotland as well as elsewhere,
was not an extempore exposition or running commentary, but
a bare reading of Scripture. And this conclusion is corro-
borated by the name lectern, which in olden times was given to
the reader's desk in Scottish churches. Of other words used in
an obsolete or almost obsolete sense in one or other of the
I Whittingham's rendering, 1557, is a literal translation of Beza's Latin version
of the passage, "separabit eum. In the Vulgate the words are “dividet eum,”
and in the version of Erasmus, “ dissecabit eum."
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Bibles of England.
Geneva versions of the Testament may be mentioned :-
improve, in the sense of reprove, 2 Tim. iv. 2, "improve, rebuke ;'
slander, in the sense of an evil report, whether false or true,
Titus i. 6, "faithful children, not slandered of ryot;" honest, in the
sense of respectable or of good social position, Acts xvii. 12,
“ honest women, which were Grekes" ;? wealth, in the sense of
welfare, Rom. xiii. 4, “He (the civil magistrate) is the minister
of God for thy wealth"; harness, in the sense of armour, Luke
xi. 22, “When a stronger than he commeth upon hym at un-
awares, and overcometh hym, he taketh from him all his harnes
wherein he trusted"; and commodity, in the sense of privilege
or blessing, Rom. xiv. 16, “Cause not your commodity to be
evil spoken of: for the kingdom of God is not meat and
drinke, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy ghost.”
One word used in a very peculiar sense in the first Geneva
version of the Testament is patron—“ The under captayne be-
leued the gouernor and the patron of the ship better than those
things which were spoken of Paul,” Acts xxvii. 11.
We have seen how wakeful the watchmen of the Catholic
Church were lest any of their approved ecclesiastical terms
should not receive in the English Bible their proper place and
honour. Wyclif was faulted for using the word repentance in-
stead of penance, and Tyndale was exclaimed against for using
the plain and well understood word favour, instead of juggling
with the more mystical term grace. The refugees at Geneva
were mostly ultra-Protestants, Reformers of the radical type re-
presented by Calvin and Beza; and it might have been ex-
pected, therefore, that their version of the Bible would bristle
all over with the most consummately barbed ecclesiastical
spikes. They had the discretion, however, to make their eccle-
siastical proclivities known by their annotations rather than by
their text of Scripture. Their translation exhibits nothing that
is ecclesiastically startling, but there is some extremely
wor-
I Both in Tyndale's Testament and the Great Bible they are designated"
shypful wemen,” and in the revised version, 1881, “ women of honourable estate."
An odd application of the word “honest occurs in the Great Bible, “Up, Zion,
up, take thy strength unto thee : Put on thy honeste rayment, O Jerusalem, thou
holye cittie,” Is. lii. 1.
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181
and you
plain speaking in their marginal notes. A few of their render-
ings, nevertheless, must have been offensive to conservative
Catholics. Following the Latin Vulgate, both Wyclif and the
Popish exiles at Rhemes have translated Acts ii. 38, “ Do
penance, and be every one of you baptized
shall receive the gift of the holy ghost." For the phrase "do
penance” Tyndale and the framers of the authorised version,
translating directly from the original Greek, substituted repent.
The Geneva translators went a step further in the rationalistic
and anti-ceremonial direction, by rendering the first article of
St. Peter's instruction, “amend your lives.” There is at least
one instance, too, in which the Geneva translators have followed
Tyndale in the use of favour for grace : "To him that worketh,
wages is not counted by favour but by debt.” The terms
bishop and bishopric had long before the Reformation come to
have such specific meanings, and to signify in common ac-
ceptation so much more than they originally did, that a
presbyterian may be excused for saying they should never
have been introduced into the English Bible at all, any more
than the word priests in passages where presbyteroi occurs in
the Greek. And the Geneva translators have shewn how this
might have been done. “His bishopric let another take,” they
render, “his charge let another take." The democratic theory of
church government, too, which recognises the right of every
congregation to elect its own office-bearers, is shown pretty
clearly to have been the theory in vogue among the Reformers
at Geneva. In the postscripts attached to several of the
Epistles, the Geneva divines make use of the word elected in-
stead of ordained, in reference to bishops; as if to indicate that
episcopal appointments were originally conferred by popular
vote, and not by ecclesiastical ceremonial. In one case we
read, “Unto Timotheus, the first Bishop elected of the Church
of Ephesus;" and in another, “Unto Titus, elect the first Bishop
of the Church of the Cretians.”
It may be supposed, that in a version of the Bible so popular
as the Geneva version was in this country for nearly a hundred
years, there will be not only many well chosen expressions,
which have been adopted by subsequent translators; but also,
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that of those not so adopted and continued, there will be many
of considerable merit notwithstanding. And such is the case.
But there is, likewise, in the Geneva versions a large number of
readings that are much inferior to those in the authorised trans-
lation. Proofs of this statement could, with little difficulty, be
adduced in scores. The following, however, will suffice to
establish the assertion. In all the Geneva versions we read,
Luke xix. 8, “If I have taken anything from any man by
forged cavillation 1 restore him fourfold.” In the account of
St. Peter's denial of his Master, it is stated in all the Geneva
versions, Luke xxii. 58, that after the Apostle had been
challenged by one of the maids in the palace," "another man
saw him, and sayd, Thou art also of them." The immortal de-
scription that Jesus gave of John the Baptist, "a burning and a
shining light," is with more than pre-raphaelite realism con-
verted by the Geneva divines into "a burning and a shining
candle." Of Peter and John it is said in the Geneva versions,
Acts iii. I, that they “went up together into the temple, at the
ninth hour of prayer." The clear direction, "what God hath
cleansed call not thou common,” is ambiguously represented in
all the Geneva versions, “what God hath purified pollute thou
not." The generous rule of Christian courtesy, so finely and
delicately given by the way as it were, Rom. xii. 10, “In
honour preferring one another," is in the Geneva and earlier
versions statuted into what looks more like an order of cere-
monial than a law of loving kindness, “In giving honour, go
one before another." The Apostle's entreaty to the Galatians,
"Let no man trouble me,” is in all the Geneva versions, as well
as in Tyndale's and Cranmer's, rendered, “Let no man put me
to business." By the employment of the word preach for pro-
claim, a ludicrous effect is produced by the Geneva translators
on one of the grandest passages in the book of Revelation : “I
saw a strong angel, which preached with a loud voice." And in
another passage of the Apocalypse, a similar unhappy effect
results from their use of the culinary word “boiled” where
I In the corresponding passage, Mat. xxvi, the word “maid” is correctly given
in all the three Geneva versions,
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183
in the authorised version we find the term “scorched.” The
fourth angel, it is said, poured out his vial on the sun, “and
power was geven unto him to vex men with heat of fyre, and
men boyled in great heate, and blasphemed the name of God." ;
A very coarse word, again, which need not be emphasised,
occurs in all the Geneva.versions of i Cor. vi. 9-10: “Be not
deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor wantons, nor buggerers, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor extortioners shall inherite the kingdome of
God.” 2
In the Old Testament, too, we meet in the Geneva version
with many phrases that have been set aside by choicer ones in
the authorised translation. A wonderfully feeble ending, for
instance, is given to the twenty-third Psalm :"Doubtless kind-
ness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I
shall remain a long season in the house of the Lord.” An odd
and infelicitous phrase, again, is introduced into Gen. xxix. 1:
“Iaakob lift up his feete, and came into the east country."
Sweet, simple, and melodious are the words in which, in the
authorised translation of the Bible, the consolations of death
are sadly sung by the afflicted patriarch : “There the wicked
cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest." In
comparison with these artless strains, the rendering of the
Geneva divines is painfully halt: “The wicked have there
ceased from their tyrannie, and there they that laboured
valiantly are at rest." In respect of majesty and melody, again,
there is a wide difference between the Geneva rendering of Jer.
ii. 21, “How then art thou turned unto me into the plantes of
a strange vine," and the authorised, "How art thou turned into
1 The same rendering is given in the Rhemes Testament, 1582 : while in Tyn-
dale's Testament the passage reads, “The men raged in gret heate.” The word
both in the Vulgate and in Beza's Latin translation, which has been rendered boyled
is aestuaverunt (aestuaverunt aestu magno).
2 As specimens of odd rendering in the Geneva versions of the New Testament
the following may be instanced : Acts xix. 27. “Not only this thing is dangerous
unto us that the state should be reproved but also that the temple of the great
goddess Diana should be nothing esteemed,” (second version); 2 Cor. vii. 2, “We
have done wrong to no man, we have consumed no man," (second version), “We
have wasted no man's goods,” (first version).
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the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me." Between the
two phrases, "rejoice and blossom," and "be glad and flourish,"
it may seem to some people that there is little to choose, and
yet the choice may seriously affect the rhythm of a noble sen-
tence. In the Geneva rendering of Is. XXXV. I, “The waste
ground shall be glad and flourish as the rose," there is neither
the swell nor the jubilancy that there is in the more recent
translation, " The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.”
Worse than unmelodious, too, is the strange and unhappy ex-
pression ascribed to the Lord by the Geneva translators in Is.
xliii. 24: "Thou broughtest me no sweete sauour with money,
neither hast thou made me drunke with the fat of thy sacrifices." I
More than to aught else, the popularity of the Geneva
Bible was due to its prologues and marginal notes. These
annotations, however, are so numerous and miscellaneous that
it is not easy to give, in a brief statement, a fair representation
of their general tenor. Many of them are strongly anti-papal,
and for that reason they were idolised by immoderate Re-
formers. The abuse bestowed on the Pope is quite unparlia-
mentary. In one note, on Rev. ix. 11, he is bluntly designated,
“Anti-Christ, King of hypocrites, and Satan's ambassador.”
The odious number 666 is unhesitatingly assigned him ; for,
“these characters xĚs signify 666, and the number is gathered
of the small number latexos which
signifieth Latin,
1 An odd rendering in the Geneva version of the Old Testament is Zeph. i. 12 :
"The men that are frosen in their dregs."
2 The marginal notes are not the same in all editions of the Geneva Testament.
In the two editions referred to in the heading of this chapter, viz., London, 1580
(second version), and London, 1599 (third version), the notes are quite different.
For instance, on Acts xxiii. 5—“I knew not, brethren, that he was the high
priest, for it is written, thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people,"—the
note in edition 1580 (and 1560) is, “He made this excuse as it were in mockerie,
as if he would say, I know nothing in this man worthy the office of the hie priest.”
In edition 1599 (Tomson's revision) the note is, “We must willingly and from the
heart give honour to magistrates, although they bee tyrants.” A curious ethical
note on the following verse is given in this edition, 1599, “We may lawfully some.
times set the wicked together by the eares, that they may leave off to assault us”!
The notes quoted in this chapter are taken from the edition 1580, and are, strictly
speaking, the Geneva notes. The notes in editions that contain Tomson's revisions
are of more modern date.
The Puritans' Bible.
185
and noteth the Pope or Anti-Christ who useth in all things the
Latin tongue, and in respect thereof he contemneth the
Hebrew and Greek wherein the word of God was first and best
written.” The phrase, "worship the image of the beast," Rev.
xiii. 15, is paraphrased on the margin, “Receive the ordin-
ances and decrees of the seat of Rome, and kisse the villain's
foot, if he were put thereto." Equally polite things are said of
the other dignitaries of the Catholic Church. The locusts that
issued, during the apocalyptic vision, from the smoke of the
pit are declared to be "worldly subtle Prelates, with Monks,
Friars, Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Doctors,
Bachelors, and Masters, which forsake Christ to maintain false
doctrine." The statement of St. Peter, that "through covetous-
ness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you,"
is applied to "the Pope and his Priests, which by lies and
flatterie sell men's souls, so that it is certain he is not the suc-
cessor of Simon Peter but of Simon Magus." And, worse than
all, the "noisome and grievous sores, which fell upon the men
that had the mark of the beast,” are identified with the “boyles
or pocks, which reigneth commonly among Canons, Monks,
Friars, Nunnes, Priests, and such filthy vermin.";
As might be expected, the Geneva notes are also Calvinistic.
At the time the Geneva Bible was first published, Calvin was
the ruling spirit in Geneva. All the features of his theological,
ecclesiastical, political, and social system are accordingly re-
flected in the marginal annotations of the English Bible that
issued from the city of his residence. The doctrine of predes-
tination is proclaimed to be the head corner stone of the gos-
pel. In one note, on Luke x. 21, it is remarked that, “Jesus
attributed it to the free election of God that the wise and
worldlings know not the gospel, and yet the poor base people
1 In the edition 1599 (Tomson's revision) the annotations on the book of Reve-
lation are by Franc. Junius, and are of a very different strain from those quoted
above. For instance, the note by Junius on Rev. xvi. 2 is: The sore here referred
to “ doth signifie a spirituall ulcer, and that torture or butchery of conscience
seared with an hote yron, which accuseth the ungodly within, and both by truth
of the word (the light whereof God hath now so long shewed forth) and by bitter-
ness stirreth up and forçeth out the sword of God's wrath,”
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Bibles of England.
understand it.” In another note, on Rom. xi. 29, it is said that
“those to whom God giveth his spirit of adoption, and whom
he effectually calleth, cannot perish, for God's eternal purpose
never changeth.” The anti-episcopal, pari-presbyterial form of
Church government, advocated by Calvin and instituted in the
Church of Scotland by Melville, is also indoctrinated in the
Geneva Bible. One page is headed, "S. Luke, Chap. xxii. 26,
God's ministers equal." The pertinent comment on Phil. i. I
is, " By Bishops, the Apostle meaneth them that had charge of
the word, and governing, as pastors, doctors, elders.” Follow-
ing the text of Tyndale, the Geneva exiles translated Acts xiv.
23,"Ordeined them elders by election in euery Church, and
noted on the margin opposite that "the word signifieth to
elect, by putting up the hands, which declareth that ministers
were not made without the consent of the people.” This was
the democratic theory of ordination held by the first Reformers
in Scotland, as may be seen from their Book of Discipline,
1560. And another point of coincidence between the Geneva
annotations and the ecclesiastical government set up in Scot-
land at the Reformation was the recognition of superintendents
in the ministry, who were, in matters ecclesiastical, very much
like what inspectors of schools are now in matters educational.
On the statement, Acts xxi. 18, that "Paul went in with us to
James,” the note is, “who was the chiefe or superintendant of
the Church of Jerusalem.”
One of the most outstanding features of Calvinism was its
Puritanism, both in respect of worship and in respect of social
conduct. The Geneva notes accordingly teem with denuncia-
tions of idle and beggarly ceremonies, and of Church usages
not divinely appeinted. The apostolic statement, "bodily
exercise profeteth nothing,” is fancifully interpreted to mean
that no good can be got from " ceremonies and such things as
i This heading, taken from the edition 1580, does not appear in the edition 1560.
2 The Scottish Reformers objected to the “laying on of hands” in ordination.
“Other ceremonie than the public approbation of the people, and declaration
(thereof by) the chief minister we cannot approve : for albeit the Apostles
used imposition of hands, yet seeing the miracle is ceased, the using of the cere-
monie we judge not necessarie.” First Book of Discipline, Cap. iv., sec, 10,
The Puritans' Bible.
187
delite the fantasie of man." The phrase, “risen with Christ,"
is said to describe a spiritual condition that men attain to
“after they have become dead to beggarly ceremonies.”
Equally unsparing are the Geneva annotations in their
denunciation of all worldly vanities however amiable, and of
all gaieties supposed to be inconsistent with the gravity of
Christian deportment. One page is headed, "the inconveni-
ency of dancing," and half-way down the page there is a note
in almost identical terms in reference to the calisthenics of
Herod's step-daughter. Opposite the injunction that women
array themselves in comely apparell and go with their hair
unbraided, there is a note explaining that the word “ broyd"
means "to plat, to crispe, to folde, to busk, to curle, or to lay
curiously: whereby all pompe and wantonness is condemned,
which women use in trimming their heades."
In respect of things civil, also, as well as of things ecclesias-
tical, the Geneva annotations display a decided spirit of
Calvinistic radicalism. The civil government in Geneva was
theocratic, as distinguished from human and monarchical.
The city and state were governed by God's ministers and
according to God's laws. The political notes in the Geneva
Bible were, consequently, as much disliked by Kings of the
absolute order, as were the ecclesiastical notes by infallible
Popes, and by cardinals of expectant infallibility. One of the
reasons that led King James, in 1604, to express his desire for
a new translation of the Scriptures, was his dislike of the
politics preached on the margins of the Geneva Bible. In one
note, the conduct of King Asa was condemned in sparing the
life of his mother, the Queen Regent, after she had outraged
the national conscience by her public idolatry.
“ He gave
.
I Some editions of the Geneva Testament, 1.8., London, 1599, 12mo., have no
heading, and do not contain the note here referred to on Mark vi. 22.
2 The word “broid” is an old form of “braid." In most early versions of the
English Testament the expression “ broided hair” occurs. In the Bishops' ver-
sion, as printed in Fulke's Texts, 1633, broided is changed into braided, as it also is
in the revised Testament, 1881. Strange to say, however, while the phrase
66 broided hair appears in the authorised version, 1611, it is in many modern edi-
tions of that version transformed into a broidered hair."
188
Bibles of England.
place to foolish pity," said the merciless annotators, “and he
betrayed lack of zeal : for, both by the covenant and by the
law of God, his mother should have been put to death.” The
statement in Exodus i. 17, that the Hebrew midwives in
Goshen "feared God and did not as the King of Egypt com-
manded them," was backed with an annotation that “ their
disobedience was lawful but their dissembling evil.” The
freedom of these remarks, applicable as they were to events in
Scottish history, made the Geneva version very distasteful to
the Scottish monarch, although in other parts of the margin
considerable concessions were made to royal prerogative. Very
unacceptable to the bearers of hereditary titles must, also, have
been the Geneva comment on the words of Festus, Acts xxv.
26: “I have no certain thing to write unto my Lord." This
was a designation, said the Geneva politicians, that “flatterers
first advised to call Tyrants by,
and after, it so
growed into use that virtuous Princes refused it not."
Of quaint and curious notes, illustrative of customs and
social life, not a few will be found on the margin of the
Geneva Bible. The leprosy that Jesus healed, Mat. viii. 2, is
said to have been “not like that leprosy that is now,
but was a
kind thereof which is incurable."3 Of the man referred to in
Mark ix. 18, it is remarked, with more detail than was either
needful or edifying, that “when the spirit cometh upon him he
teareth him with inwarde sorrowe and pangs, as in a colike a
man feeleth such griefe as if his bowels were rent asunder.”
Very plain, sensible, and matter of fact, however, is the note
on marriage in heaven: “Since marriage is ordained to main-
tain and increase mankind, when we shall be immortal it shall
not be in any use." On the other hand, we cannot but think
that in the note on Heb. vi. 2, there is a futile attempt to
explain apostolic precepts anachronistically by modern
customs. The principles of the doctrine of Christ, specified
"2
i The note on Titus iii. I, is : Although rulers be infidels we are bound to
obey them in civil policies, when they command nothing against the word of God.
2 Hence perhaps the Geneva translation, “Sarah called Abraham, Sir," (not
Lord).
3 In Wyclif's Bible leprosy is called "mysels,” that is, measles.
The Puritans' Bible.
189
there by the Apostle, are said by the Geneva divines to have
been the “five points of the Catechism which was then in use."
On the word "novice," i Tim. iii. 6, the pert remark is made:
proud of his degree.” On the term,“ Lord's day," Rev, i. 10,
it is said with an obvious hit at certain people : “Which some
call sunday." To the expression, "pinnacle of the temple,"
Mat. iv. 5, is appended the not very well worded explanation :
"Vane, which shewed where the wind stood." And quite in
keeping with this last annotation is the heading of a page on
which some results of human learning are exposed : “Isaiah
xlvii., vaine sciences."
Amid a mass of annotations that are more entertaining than
instructive, a few may nevertheless be cited as really good
specimens of sound exposition. As good a commentary on
faith and works as might be desired at the present day will be
found in the note on James ii. 14: "Paul sheweth the causes
of our justification and James the effects : there it is declared
how we are justified, here how we are known to be justified:
there, works are excluded, as not the cause of our justification:
here, they are approved, as effects proceeding thereof: there,
they are denied to go before them that shall be justified : and
here, they are said to follow them that shall be justified.”
Very sound, also, if honestly read and interpreted, is the note
on Mark ii. 27 : “Seeing the Sabbath was made for man's use,
it is not meet that it should be used to his hindrance and
incommodity.” Worthy of all acceptation, too, is the remark on
Mat. xvi. 19:“The preachers of the gospel open the gates of
heaven with the word of God, which is the right key." A fine
specimen of allegorical interpretation, again, is the disquisition
on Rom. vii. 2: “The husband and wife must be considered
within ourselves. The first husband was sinne, and our flesh
was the wife. Their children were the fruits of the flesh. In
the second marriage, the spirit is the husband, the new
creature is the wife, and their children are the fruits of the
spirit.” A verse in the Old Testament that may puzzle plain
folks, who have nothing but mother-wit to guide them in the
interpretation of Scripture, is Hos. vii. 8: "Ephraim hath
mixt himself among the people : Ephraim is as a cake on the
190
Bibles of England.
hearth not turned.” The marginal note on this verse in the
Geneva Bible is, whether original or not, at least ingenious and
racy, and continues to hold its place as the orthodox explana-
tion of the passage. Ephraim hath mixed himself among the
people, "he counterfaiteth the religion of the Gentiles, yet
is but as a cake baked on the one side, and raw on the
other; that is, neither through hot nor through colde, but
partly a Jew and partly a Gentile."
The Bibles of the Churches.
191
t
THE BIBLES OF THE CHURCHES.
No. I.
Bible of the Church of England, commonly called the Bishops'
Bible.
Editions consulted and quoted from :
First version, 1568.
Jugge's folio, 1568.
Second Version, 1572.
Barker's quarto, 1584 ; Barker's Folio, 1585 (for Psalms).
New Testament in Fulke's Texts, 1633.
THE popularity of the Geneva Bible was somewhat disquieting
to the two churches of England and Rome. The Church of
England had from the day of her institution, as a national, re-
formed, and anti-papal Church, been zealous for the dissemina-
tion of the Scriptures in the English tongue. The reading of
the Scriptures in English was part of her canonical service.
The Great Bible was mainly the work of one of her own
bishops; and it was prefaced, in some editions, by another of
her prelates, of still higher eminence. But, notwithstanding the
civil and ecclesiastical patronage and protection it enjoyed, the
Great Bible did not hold its ground, in public estimation,
against the Geneva version. The churchmen of England had
the mortification, therefore, of seeing an unauthorised version of
the Scriptures preferred to one that was read, and ordered to
be read, in their own places of worship. And not only did
churchmen see the Geneva version purchased, possessed, and
prized by private persons ; but they heard it extolled by
scholars and divines, as a better translation than the large and
costly volume associated with the names of Cranmer and
Cromwell.
192
Bibles of England.
Nor was this all. While the Geneva version was pre-
ferred to the Great Bible for its better English and its superior
accuracy as a translation, its margins bristled with annota-
tions which were about as galling to the chiefs of the Church of
England as they were to the faithful members of the old Church
of Rome. Not only was the papacy denounced in these annota-
tions, but prelacy was held up to scorn. The locusts of the
apocalypse were declared to be "worldly subtil Prelates with
Archbishops, Bishops," etc.; and the “crowns like
unto gold," on the heads of the locusts, were interpreted to mean
titles of honour which certain of the priests affected to wear,
but “which in deede belongeth nothing unto them." The jus
divinuin, or divine foundation, of Episcopacy was also assailed.
By the word "bishops," the Apostle was said to mean "pastors,
doctors and elders ;” and by the word “deacons," such as had
charge of the distribution to the poor and sick. The proprieties
of ritual, too, were scoffed at in a way that was well-nigh pro-
fane. What St. Paul termed "beggarly elements” were stoutly
asserted to be nothing else than ceremonies in worship. The
religious observance of days, such as Easter, Whitsuntide and
the Feast of Tabernacles, was called a “superstitious slavery,"
and a hankering after “beggarly ceremonies, most pernicious
to them which have received the sweet liberty of the Gospel.”
Such remarks could not fail to give offence to many Anglican
Protestants. They were virtually attacks on the constitution of
the Church of England. For, it was patent to every one that
the Church of England, after renouncing the Pope's supremacy
and rejecting such Popish doctrines as she held to be un-
warranted by Scripture, purposely retained in her ritual many
ceremonies. Her priests were clothed in sacerdotal vestments
that were much more ornate than Geneva gowns. Postures
in worship were matters of ecclesiastical regulation, confirmed
by acts of Parliament. In the administration of the sacra-
ments, certain formalities, such as crossing in Baptism, which
rigid Puritans held to be neither necessary nor beneficial, were
ordered to be observed. The theological strain of the Geneva
annotations on matters of Christian doctrine was, we may sup-
pose, less objectionable to the then guardians of the national
The Bibles of the Churches.
193
faith. The Arminianism commonly attributed to the Church of
England was of a date subsequent to that which we are now
considering; and in the first days of the Reformation, when the
thirty-nine articles were drawn up, the Church of England as
well as the Church of Scotland, was both ostensibly and really
Calvinistic in her creed. Apart from matters of doctrinal
theology, however, the Geneva notes were so irritating to
Anglican divines, that the dignitaries of the Church of England
had to consider whether it was not expedient, or even neces-
sary, to provide the English people with a new version of the
Bible, which, from its intrinsic excellence, might supplant in
their affections the popular, but obnoxious, version that hailed
from Geneva.
There were other considerations that might have led the
ministers of any Church to desire a new translation of the Bible
into English, The Geneva version, although the best in the
field, was far from being perfect. It admitted of improvement,
like all its precursors.
And the ministers or members of
any Church may not only be excused but commended for say-
ing: We will never rest satisfied till we have the Bible trans-
lated into our mother tongue as accurately and aptly, as by
human scholarship and skill it can be translated.
A resolution was accordingly formed by some of the leading
lights of the Church of England, that a revised version of the
Bible, which should be de facto the Church's own version,
should with all convenient speed be issued to the people. As
early as 1564, that resolution was come to. The project is
generally attributed to Parker, the archbishop of Canterbury,
who saw, or imagined he saw, in the Puritanism around him a
mutinous spirit of individualism and dissension, incompatible
with ecclesiastical order, and which, if unrepressed, might
undo in England the whole work of the Reformation. If the
scheme did not originate with Parker, he at least put himself
at the head of the movement. He is represented in Hudibras
as having broached the matter to the Queen, and persuaded
Her Majesty to call a convocation to hear and discuss the pro-
posal. This statement of the Popish satirist, with his carica-
ture of the archbishop, has been keenly resented by a worthy
O
194
Bibles of England.
historian of the English Bible, as “a falsehood of that buffoon's
own inventing, in order to make the English Reformation as
ridiculous as his little wit and ill manners could.”: The same
historian states that the archbishop's project was never sub-
mitted to convocation at all ; but was carried out privately, by
such bishops and members of the Universities as his grace
considered best qualified for the work.
That the project, too, was not wholly an ecclesiastical
manoeuvre to defeat the anti-prelatic designs of the Puritans,
appears from the tenor of a letter written by Parker, after it
had been announced that a new translation was contemplated.
The exclusive privilege of printing the Geneva Bible in Eng-
land for a period of seven years, had been conferred on John
Bodleigh, father of the more famous man who founded in
Oxford the Bodleian library. Before the expiry of this patent,
it was proposed to publish a revised edition of the Geneva
version ; and, in March 1565, Bodleigh wrote to Cecil, the
Secretary of State, on the subject, knowing that Parker and
some of the bishops were “intending themselves speedily to
publish an English translation of their own providing.” Cecil
was unwilling to give any encouragement to the new Geneva
edition, without the advice of these prelates, and he therefore
submitted to them the communication he had received from
Bodleigh. Parker replied to the Secretary, in a spirit of much
greater generosity than was common in those days, or is even
yet, that “he and the Bishop of London thought so well of the
first impression of this Bible (the Geneva), and the review of
those who had since travelled therein, that they wished it
would please him (Cecil) to be a means that twelve years
longer term might be, by special privilege, granted to Bod-
leigh, in consideration of the charges sustained by him and
his associates in the first impression and the review since ; that
though another special Bible, for the churches, was intended
by them to be set forth, as convenient time and leisure should
hereafter permit, yet it should nothing hinder, but rather do
much good, to have diversitie of translations and readings."
1 Lewis' History of the Translations of the Bible.
2 Lewis, p. 234-5.
The Bibles of the Churches.
195
or
In the prosecution of his scheme, Parker adopted the princi-
ple of divided and distributed labour. He “sorted out the
whole Bible into parcels," and distributed these for examination
and revision among qualified divines. The task of reviewing
the corrections and amendments of the several revisers he
reserved to himself. To each of the revisers he sent a copy of
instructions regarding the spirit and method in which their
task was to be conducted. These instructions were of a most
praiseworthy conservative character. The labours of previous
translators were to be respected. Alterations were not to be
made in a spirit of wantonness. The first of the instructions,
“observations," as they were courteously termed, gave
direction that the revisers should "follow the common transla-
tion used in the Churches, and not recede from it, but where it
varieth manifestly from the Hebrew or Greek original," in
other words, that the new version should be based on the
Great Bible. Another instruction was that the editors should
“make no bitter notes upon any text, nor yet set down any
determination in places of controversy." And a third recom-
mendation was that “all such words as sound in the old
translation to any offence of lightness or obscenity be expressed
with more convenient terms and phrases."
Four years were spent on this commendable undertaking of
Parker's, and in 1568 the new translation was published.
Most of the persons to whom the work of translation and
revision was entrusted were occupants of the episcopal bench.
The book accordingly obtained the soubriquet, by which it is
still known, of the Bishops' Bible. “Every thing was done to
make it attractive." It was issued in magnificent style; pro-
fusely ornamented with wood engravings; embellished in
questionable taste with copper-plate portraits of the Queen,
Leicester, and Burleigh ; furnished with a map of Palestine; and
supplemented by an elaborate series of genealogical tables.
When all had been done that could be done by mechanical
means to make the book perfect, Parker wrote to the Queen,
“beseeching her highness that it might have her gracious
favour, license, and protection, to be communicated abroad; as
well for that in many Churches they want their books and
196
Bibles of England.
have long time looked for this, as for that in certain places be
publicly used some translations which have not been laboured
in (this) realm, having inspersed diverse prejudicial notes,
which might have been also well spared."
For some reason or another the favour thus besought was
not granted, and the Bishops' Bible never was, in the regal or
parliamentary sense of the term, authorised. In some editions
it is stated on the title-page to be " set forth by authoritie," but
this authority was only ecclesiastical. In 1571, an order was
issued by convocation that "every arch-bishop and bishop
should have at his house a copy of the holy Bible of the
largest volume, as lately published 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. The order was like-
wise extended to Cathedrals; and to all Churches, as far as it
could be conveniently done.”: But this order met with the
general fate of ecclesiastical edicts, It received only partial
attention from ecclesiastical persons. In 1587, the primate
wrote to one of the bishops : "I am credibly informed that
divers, as well parish churches as chapels of ease, are not
sufficiently furnished with Bibles, but some have either none at
all, or such as be torn and defaced, and yet not of the trans-
lation authorised by the synod of bishops. These are, therefore,
to require you strictly in your visitations, or otherwise, to see
that all and every the said churches and chapels in your
diocese be provided of one Bible or more, at your discretion,
of the translation allowed as aforesaid."
In 1659, a second edition of the Bishops' Bible was published;
and in 1572, a third. In the last named of these editions, a
considerable number of amendments or changes were in-
troduced into the New Testament. In the ninth chapter of
St. John's gospel, for instance, which contains forty-one verses,
there are about a dozen of such variations, of which the most
notable are parents, for “father and mother,” v. 2 ; made mani-
fest, for “shewed,” v. 3; anointed the clay upon the eyes, for
"anointed with the clay the eyes," v. 6; of age, for "old enough,"
1
i lombert, p. 270, 271.
The Bibles of the Churches.
197
V. 21; had agreed, for “had decreed," v. 22; doeth his will, for
"obedient unto his will,” v. 31. Of six variations in Acts xiv. the
only one worth noting is speaking boldly, for “ quit themselves
boldly," v. 3. About twelve variations may be counted in
i Cor. ix., such as, by all means, for "at the least wey," V. 22;
be partaker, for “have my part,” v. 23: know ye, for "perceive
ye,” v. 24; and a corruptible crown, for "a crown that shall
perish," v. 25. But a more important amendment than any of
the foregoing was made on the sixth verse of that chapter. In
the first edition, 1568, that verse reads, as in the Great Bible :
" Either only I and Barnabas have not power this to do." In
the edition 1572, this rendering was changed into, "Is the
liberty of not labouring taken from me and Barnabas only ?.” 1
One of the oddest readings in the first edition is, Col. ii. 13,
"Ye being dead to sin, and to the uncircumcision of your flesh,
hath he quickened.” The version that in this chapter shall be
treated, and quoted from, as the Bishops' Bible is that of 1572. ?
Practically, the Bishops' Bible was a failure. It was issued
from laudable motives, and it was framed under excellent in-
structions, but it lacked the qualities that procure popularity.
It was too timid a version. It got a footing in the Church of
England by the force of ecclesiastical precept, but it never suc-
ceeded in ingratiating itself into the favour of either laity or
clergy. “Of all the English versions," says a living dignitary
of the English Church, “the Bishops' Bible had probably the
1 In the Epistle to the Ephesians, the 1572 version of the Bishops' Bible differs
from the 1568 version in about fifty places; and among the new readings in the
later of these editions are the now familiar phrases“ less than the least of all saints,'
“ middle wall of partition," and "fellow-citizens with the saints." Moulton's
History of the English Bible, 178. See also Westcott.
2 The edition of the 1572 version quoted from in this chapter, viz., Barker's
quarto, 1584, is not free from misprints. In Prov. ix, 17, it is said that "stolen
wares," instead of stolen waters are sweet : and in Amos ii. 14, "the flight shall
not perish," instead of "shall perish from the swift.” The other edition of the 1572
version of the New Testament quoted from in this chapter, viz., that printed along
with the Rhemes Testament in Dr. Fulke's folio, 1633, is erroneously stated in
several books of high authority, such as Cotton's Editions of the Bible (p. 68), and
Eadie's History of the English Bible (vol. ii. p. 294), to be not the Bishops' trans-
lation at all, but the authorised translation of 1611,
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Bibles of England.
least success. It did not command the respect of scholars, and
its size and cost were far from meeting the wants of the people.
Its circulation appears to have been practically limited to the
Churches that were ordered to be supplied with it.” 1 The
following remarks on the Bishops' Bible by an American divine
are not only just in the verdict they convey, but probably
sound also in the theory they present: “It is a work of unequal
merit from first to last ; there being in the edition of 1568 a
very marked difference qualitatively between the different
books, and a very great improvement in the edition of 1572
over that of 1568. Perhaps, the peculiar plan adopted in the
preparation, the want of concert and discussion of the different
parts of the work by all the collaborators, and the impossibility
of the archbishop, with such aid as he could command, to
stamp upon the whole a consistent and harmonious unity of
spirit, style, and expression, are sufficient to account for all its
faults."
Parker himself was a scholarly, judicious man; but his team
were not all that could have been desired. Not to speak of
their learning or literary taste, some of them had special
crotchets, theories, and prejudices, which, if allowed indulgence,
might have led the bishops to play havoc with what they were
only very cautiously to amend. It is in these circumstances,
rather strange that the Bishops' Bible is so colourless a revision.
The archbishop was sorely put to it by some of his employés.
They afflicted him with tiresome letters, in which they postu-
lated untenable principles of translation, and submitted to him
impracticable suggestions. But Parker managed them with
tact. He did not enter into fruitless controversy with them,
but quietly took note of their folly, and contrived to set them
to a piece of work in which they would have little scope to air
their whims. Grave, stolid doctors of divinity, in recounting
this adroitness of Parker's, grow radiant with smiles, and
" It seems
1 Professor Plumptre, in Dictionary of the Bible, article “Versions."
to have fared somewhat the worse through the intemperate zeal of the sticklers for
the Geneva translation, and Broughton's ambition of being employed in making a
new one,”—Lewis,
The Bibles of the Churches.
199
>>
lighten their listless pages with sparks of sacerdotal humour.
One bishop, to whom the Book of Psalms had been sent for
revision, innocently wrote to his superior :-"I have not
altered the translation but where it gave an occasion to an
error: as, at the first Psalm, at the beginning, I turn the
praeter-perfect tense into the present tense, because the sense
is too harsh in the praeter-perfect tense. Where, in the New
Testament, one piece of a Psalm is reported, I translate it in
the Psalms according to the translation thereof in the New
Testament, for the avoiding of the offence that may arise to
the people upon divers translations.” In regard to this epis-
copal confession, one historian of the English versions mildly
remarks, that if the principle of distorting truth for the sake of
edification, by means of a pious fraud, has sometimes been
acted on by ecclesiastics, it has seldom at least been "so ex-
plicitly avowed.” On the subject of the Psalms, another
bishop suggested to Parker that "the translation of the verbs
be used uniformly in one tense.” Apropos of this suggestion,
another historian of the English versions naively remarks,
" The archbishop accordingly gave to this prelate Acts and
Romans"!
The Bishops' Bible does not occupy an important place in
history. As stated in Parker's letter to Cecil, already quoted,
it was designed for use in churches principally. And from 1568
to 1611, when the version now called the authorised was issued,
it was in common use in the churches of England. It does not
appear ever to have obtained a footing in Scotland.
The Bishops' Bible was avowedly nothing more than a
revision of the Great Bible; and its correspondence with
the Great Bible, over a large part of both Testainents, is very
marked. That correspondence, however, is not by any means
so close as is commonly represented. Keeping in mind that
“the version was entrusted to many hands, and that each
reviser seems to have acted independently," Dr. Moulton
1 This Bishop was not the first to adopt that principle. In the Vulgate, Ps. viii.
3 is rendered : “Ex ore infantium et lactentium perfecisti laudem,” (hast perfected
praise).
200
Bibles of England.
remarks justly, that "the version must be examined in various
parts, and that no one book must be taken as representing
others.” Dr. Moulton has, himself, in a way that looks fair and
satisfactory, made the kind of examination he suggests. He
has collated seven passages (each from a separate book in the
Old Testament) as they appear in the Great Bible, the Geneva
Bible, and the Bishops' Bible, and the result of his collation is
as follows:
"In Num. xxiv. 15-24, the Bishops' Bible agrees in almost
every point with Cranmer's (i.e., Great Bible). In 2 Sam. xxiii.
1-7, the Bishops' and the Great Bible differ about eighteen
times. Fifteen of the new renderings in the former version
are taken from the Geneva Bible. In i Kings xix., which is a
fair specimen of a chapter of the historical books, the Bishops'
Bible can hardly be distinguished from Cranmer's. In Prov.
viii. 22-35, not more than six words of the Bishops' Bible differ
from Cranmer's, and in Eccles. xii. not more than twelve, though
in each chapter the Genevan Bible contains some useful correc-
tions. In two difficult verses (12 and 13) of Is. xliv., in which
the Genevan Bible departs from Cranmer's at least twenty
times (and usually for the better) the Bishops' Bible agrees
with Cranmer's as far as the last word. On the other hand, in
Job xix, there are few verses of the Great Bible which have not
been altered in the revision."
The fact is pointed out, therefore, by Dr. Moulton that
while in some chapters of the Old Testament the text of the
Bishops' Bible departs very little from that of the Great Bible,
there are other chapters, presumably not so many as those of
the former class, in which a considerable number of the Geneva
renderings are adopted.
Even this definite statement fails to
convey a clear and correct idea of the extent to which the
Bishops' Bible in some places agrees with, and in other places
deviates from, the Great Bible, especially in the Old Testament
There are some books in which the bishops adhered almost
slavishly to the Great Bible, and appropriated very few of the
amendments presented to them in the Geneva version. There
are other books, again, in which the bishops departed very
conspicuously from the text of the Great Bible, and borrowed
very freely from the Bible of Geneva.
The Bibles of the Churches.
201
The following table shews (approximately) the result of an
examination of several chapters, taken at random, from different
parts of the Old Testament, in the Bishops' Bible. It will be
seen that, in the chapter taken from the prophecies of Hosea,
the bishops have departed far more frequently from the text
of the Great Bible, and have borrowed far more from the
Geneva Bible, than they have done in the other chapters men-
tioned in the table. And to this statement it should be added,
that so widely different are some of the renderings of Hosea's
words, in the Great Bible and the Bishops' Bible, that it is
difficult to say how the variations should be counted.
No. not
found in
Geneva
Bible.
No. of
verses,
Chapter.
No. of these
No. of varia- variations
tions from found in
Great Bible. Geneva
Bible.
18
26
20
9
4
37
16
No. of new
renderings
adopted in
Authorised
Version.
8
36
2
Gen, xlix.,
Judges V.,
Eccles. xii.,
Isaiah xl.,
Jeremiah v.,
Hosea viii.,
I
33
31
14
31
31
14
18
6
5
21
8
8
2
8
2
16
56
...
48
0
It is by extracts, however, that the extent to which the
bishops, in different parts of the Old Testament, have deviated
from or adhered to the text of the Great Bible, and appro-
priated from or disregarded the Geneva version, will be best
cxhibited. Two passages of several continuous verses shall
therefore be selected which will show that, in some places, the
bishops have adhered to the text of the Great Bible very
closely, and that, in other places, they have borrowed from the
Geneva version very largely.
First passage: in which the bishops slavishly adhered to the
text of the Great Bible and disregarded the Geneva amend-
ments :
GREAT BIBLE,
GENEVA BIBLE.
BISHOPS' BIBLE.
Ter. xvii
. 1.-Yoursynne, Jer. xvii. 1.-The sin of Jer. xvii. 1.—Your sinne,
O ye of the trybe of Juda, Judah is written with a Oye of the tribe of Juda,
is wrytten in the table of penne of yron, and with is written in the table of
youre hertes, and grauen so ihe point of a diamond, your hearts, and graven so
upon the hedges (sic) of and graven upon the table upon the edges your
youre aulters with a penne of their heart, and upon altars with a penne of
of yron, and with an ad- the hornes of your altars. yron, and with an adam-
amante clawe.
ant clawe.
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Bibles of England.
as
That the fathers 2. They remember their 2. That as the fathers
thyncke upon theyr chyl- altars as their children, thinke upon their children,
dren, so thyncke you also with their groves by the so thinke you also upon
upon youre aulters, wod- greene trees upon the hie your altars, woods, thicke
des, thycke trees, hye hills.
trees, high hilles, moun.
hilles, mountaines and
taines, and fieldes.
feldes.
Wherefore I will make 3. O my mountain in 3. Wherefore, O my
my mounte that standeth the field. I will give thy mount that standeth in the
in the felde, al your sub- substance, and all thy fields. I will make all thy
staunce and treasure to be treasures to be spoyled, substance and treasure to
spoyled, for the greate for the sinne of thy high be spoyled, for the great
synne that ye have doone places throughout all thy sinne that thou hast done
upon youre hye places borders.
upon thy high places,
thorowe oute all the
thorowout all the coasts of
coastes of your land.
thy land.
Ye shall be cast out also 4. And thou shalt rest, 4. Thou shalt be cast
from the heritage that I and in thee shall be a rest out also from the heritage
gave you. And I wyl sub- from thine heritage that I that I gave thee : and I
due you under the heauye gave thee, and I will cause will subdue thee under the
bondage of youre enemies, thee to serve thine enemies heavie bondage of thine
in a land that ye knowe in the lande, which thou enemies, in a lande that
not: For ye have minis- knowest not : for ye have yee know not : for ye have
tered fyre to myne indig. kindled a fire in mine ministered fire to mine in-
nacion, which shall burn anger, which shall burn dignation, which shall burn
for ever.
Thus sayth the Lorde : 5. Thus sayeth the Lord, 5. Thus sayeth the Lord,
Cursed be the man that Cursed be the man that Cursed be the man that
putteth his truste in man, trusteth in man, and mak- putteth his trust in man,
and that taketh fleshe foreth flesh his arme and and that taketh flesh for
his arme, and he whose withdraweth his heart from his arm, and he whose
herte departeth from the the Lord.
heart departeth from the
Lorde.
Lord.
He shall be like the 6. For he shalbe like 6. He shall be like the
heath, that groweth in the the heath in the wilder- heath that groweth in wil-
wyldernesse. As for the ness, and shall not see dernesse: As for the good
good thyng that is for to when any good cometh, thing that is for to come,
come, he shall not see it, but shall inhabit the he shall not see it, but
but dwell in a drye place parched places in the wil- dwell in a dry place of
of the wildernes, in a salte derness, in a fair land and the wildernesse, in a salt
and unoccupied land. not inhabited.
and unoccupied land.
euermoare.
evermore.
And to show that the above quoted passage from the pro-
phecies of Jeremiah is not one in which the bishops have, in
their translation of that book, adhered with more than usual
closeness to the text of the Great Bible, and disregarded with
more than usual heedlessness unquestionable improvements, in
diction at least, that were set before them in the Geneva
Bible, a few other verses from different chapters of the same
book shall now be submitted.
1 The bishop that revised the translation of the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah
was Horne of Winchester.
The Bibles of the Churches.
203
GREAT BIBLE AND BISHOPS BIBLE.
GENEVA BIBLE.
Jer. iii. 1.-Commonly when a man Jer. iii. 1.-They say, If a man put
putteth away his wife, and she goeth away his wife, and she go from him, and
from him, and marrieth with another, become another man's, shall he return
then the question is, Should he resort again unto her ?
unto her any more after that ?
Jer. iv. 25.--I looked about me and Jer. iv. 25. -I beheld, and lo, there
there was no body, and all the birdes of was no man, and all the birdies of the
the ayre were away.
heaven were departed.
Jer. vi. 13. -For from the least to the Jer. vi. 13.-For, from the least of
most they hang all upon covetousness. them even unto the greatest of them,
every one is given unto covetousness.
Jer. ix. 2.-Would God that I had a Jer. ix. 2.-Oh that I had in the wil-
cottage some where far from folk, that I derness a cottage of wayfaring men, that
might leave my people and go from them, I might leave my people and go from
for they be all adulterers and a shrinking them : for they be all adulterers and an
sort.
assembly of rebels.
Jer. x. 19.--Alas, how am I hurt, Jer. x. 19.-Wo is me for my destruc-
alas, how painful are my scourges unto tion, and my grievous plague : but I
me, for I consider this sorrow by myself, thought, Yet it is my sorrow, and I will
and I must suffer it.
bear it.
Jer. xi. 9, 10. —It is found out that Jer. xi. 9, 10.-A conspiracy is found
whole Israel, and all the cities of Jeru. among the men of Judah and among the
salem are gone back.
inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They have turned themselves to the They are turned back to the iniquities
blasphemies of their forefathers which of their forefathers, which refused to
had no lust to hear my worde.
hear my words.
Jer. xvii. 9.-Amonge all thynges man Jer. xvii. 9.—The heart is deceitful
hath the most disceatful and stubburne and wicked above all things : who can
hert. Who shall then knowe it?
know it?
Second passage: in which the bishops depart widely from the
text of the Great Bible, and draw largely from the amendments
in the Geneva version.
euen
GREAT BIBLE.
GENEVA BIBLE.
BISHOPS' BIBLE.
Hosea xi. 3.- I learned Hosea xi. 3. -I led Hosea xi. 3.- I gave to
Ephraim to goe, and bare Ephraim also, as one Ephraim one to leade him,
them in myne armes, but should beare them in his who should beare him in
they regarded not me that armes, but they knew not his armes, but they knew
wolde have helped them. that I healed them.
not that I healed them.
I led them wyth cordes I led them with cordes I led them with cordes
of frendschyp and with of a man, euen with of a man,
with
bandes of loue.
I was
bandes of loue : and I was bandes of loue : and I was
euen he that layd the yoke to them as he that taketh to them as hee that taketh
upon theyr neckes. I off the yoke from their off the yoke from their
gave them fodder myself. jawes, and I laid the jawes, and I layde meate
meate unto them.
to them.
That they shuld not go He shall no more re- He shall no more re-
agayne into Egypt. And turne into the land of turne into Egypt : but
now is Assur theyr kyng. Egypt : but Asshur shall Asshur shall be his king,
For they wolde not turne be his king, because they because he refused to con-
unto me.
refused to conuert.
vert.
Therefore shall the And the sworde shall Therefore shall the
swerde begyn in theyr fall on his cities, and shall sworde fall on his cities
cityes, the store that they consume his barres and and shall consume his
have layde up shalbe de- devoure them, because of branches, and devoure
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Bibles of England.
stroyed and eaten and that their owne counsels. them, because of their
bycause of theyre owne
owne counsels.
ymaginacyons.
And my people shall And my people are bent And my people shall be
stand in a doubt whyther to rebellion against me: in a doubt for their rebel-
to turne them, for when though they called them lion against me : for when
the prophetes called them to the most hie, yet none the prophets called them
to the most hiest, not one at all would exalt him. to the most high not one
yet wolde gyve hym hys
yet woulde give him his
glorye.
glory.
What great thynges How shall I give thee Howe shall I give thee
haue I gyven the, O'Eph- up, Ephraim : how shall I up, Ephraim : how shall I
raim : howe faythfully deliver thee, Israel : howe deliver thee, Israel : howe
haue I defended the O Is- shall I make thee as Ad. shall I make thee as Ada-
rael: haue I dealt with mah : how shall I set thee ma : how shall I set thee
the as with Adama, or as Zeboim : mine heart is as Zeboim : mine heart is
haue I entreated the lyke turned within me, my re-
turned within me, my re-
Seboim. No my hert is pentings are rouled to. pentings are kindled with-
otherwyse mynded. Yea, gether.
my mercye is to fervent.
Therefore haue I not I will not execute the I will not execute the
turned to destroye fiercenesse of any wrath, I fiercenesse of my wrath, I
Ephraim in my wrathful will not return to destroye will not return to destroy
dyspleasure.
Ephraim.
Ephraim.
in me.
me
It is clear that in the above quoted passage the bishops
have borrowed freely and frequently from the Geneva version.
And that they have done so all through the book of Hosea 1
will be seen from the following renderings, in which they not
only adopt the Geneva translation but deviate widely from the
text of the Great Bible :
GREAT BIBLE.
GENEVA BIBLE AND BISHOPS' BIBLE.
Hos, iv. 19. -A wynde shal take hold Hos. iv. 19.-The wind hath bound
of theyr fethers : and they shalbe con- them up in her wings, and they shall be
founded in theyr offrynges.
ashamed of their sacrifices.
Hos. v. 8.--Crye out at Bethauen Hos. v. 8.-Cry out at Bethaven, after
upon the yonde-side of Ben Jamin. thee, O Benjamin. I
Hos. vii. 5.- Euen so goeth this daye Hos. vii. 5.--This is the day of our
with oure kynges and princes, for they king: the princes have made him sick
1 The bishop that was entrusted with the version of the minor prophets, from
Hosea to Malachi, was Grindal of London, who was a Protestant of the Geneva
type. Quoting Strype, Dr. M'Crie in his Life of Knox (fourth edition, vol. i., p.
388), says that when Grindall was appointed to the Bishopric of London, “he re-
mained under some scruples of conscience about some things, especially the habits
and certain ceremonies required to be used of bishops." Quoting from Burnet, Dr.
M‘Crie says further (vol. i., p. 389), that “Grindal and Horne (of Winchester)
wrote to Zurich that they did not approve of, but merely suffered, kneeling at the
eucharist, and signing with the cross in baptism, etc., hoping that they would
speedily obtain their abrogation."
The Bibles of the Churches.
205
begyn to be wood dronken thorowe with flagons of wine. He stretcheth out
wyne, they use familyaritye with suche his hand to scorners.
as deceyue them.
Hos. vii. 6.-.-Their slepe is all the Hos. vii. 6.—Their baker sleepeth all
nyght lyke the slepe of a baker. 2
the night.
Hos. ix. 11.-Ephraim flyeth lyke a Hos. ix 11.-Ephraim, their glory
byrde, so shal theyr glorye also. Inso- shall flee away like a bird : from the
much that they shal neyther beget, con- birth, from the womb, and from the con-
ceyue, nor beare chylde.
ception.
Hos. X. 10.-I wyll chasten them, Hos. X. 10.-It is my desire that I
euen after myne owne desyre : the people should chastise them, and the people
shalbe gathered togyther ouer them, shall be gathered against them, when
when I punysh them for theyr great they shall gather themselves in their two
wyckednesse.
furrows.
Hos. X. 11.—Ephraim was unto me Hos. X. 11.–And Ephraim is as an
as a cow that is used to go to plowe, heifer used to delight in threshing :3 but
therefore I loued hym, and fell upon hys I will pass by her fair neck, I will make
fayre necke: I droue Ephraim, Juda Ephraim to ride, Judah shall plow, and
plowed, and Jacob played the husbande- Jacob shall break his clods.
Hos. xii. 7.—But thou art lyke the Hos. xii, 7.-He is Canaan, the
marchant, that hath a false wayght in balances of deceit are in his hand, he
his hand, he hath a pleasure to occupye loveth to oppress.
extorcion.
man.
But while in some parts of the Old Testament the Bishops'
Bible presents both very many and very notable deviations
from the text of the Great Bible, it must admitted that, over
the Old Testament generally, the points of correspondence
between these two Bibles are far more striking than the points
of difference. And it is not only where the translation in the
Great Bible would, at the present day, be considered preferable
to that in the Geneva version that the bishops retained the old
renderings, but in many instances where the translation in the
Great Bible had been improved by the Geneva exiles, the
bishops clung, with a half commendable conservative partiality,
to the rendering which they found in the version they were
instructed mainly to follow.
In some cases where, judging by the revised version of the
Old Testament, 1885, we must consider the readings in the
Great Bible incorrect, and the Geneva readings right, the
I In these verses the Bishops' renderings sometimes differ by a word from the
Geneva translation.
2 A marginal note in the revised version says that according to some ancient
authorities the verse should read “their anger” instead of "their baker” sleepeth
all night.
3. “Treading out the corne,” Bishops'.
3
206
Bibles of England.
bishops had the unwisdom to retain the evil and reject the
good. The following curious version of Prov. xvi. Io, appears
in the Great Bible: “When the prophecye is in the lyppes of
the kynge, his mouth shall not go wronge in judgment." This
is as much as to say that at certain times and on certain
occasions, but not always nor perhaps generally, we may
expect sound judgment to come from the throne. This may
be true in fact, but it can scarcely be supposed to be what
Solomon meant to say. It does not inspire reverence for the
institution of monarchy, and we find in both the authorised
and revised versions a very different reading of the passage.
The authorised translation is : "A divine sentence is in the lips
of the king, he transgresseth not in judgment.” And this is
substantially the statement that appears in the Geneva
version. But the bishops, notwithstanding their reverence for
the throne, disregarded what, not only on scholastic but on
common-sense grounds, must be held as the true reading of the
verse, and adopted without a word of change the old rendering
they found in the Great Bible. Another peculiar reading in
the Great Bible, which has been retained by the bishops, is
Eccles. x. 3 : "A foole wyl shewe himself when he goeth by
the waye, yet thynketh he that euerye man doth as foolyshly
as hym self."
So far as its intrinsic truthfulness is concerned
this is a statement that might quite well appear in the book of
Ecclesiastes. But it is not what we are told by approved
English interpreters of the Scriptures is the right translation
of the real words of the preacher. By the revisers, 1885, the
verse is made to read : “ Yea also, when the fool walketh by
the way, his understanding faileth him, and he saith to every
one that he is a fool.” And this reading, in a very slightly
different form of expression, was set before the bishops in the
Bible of Geneva. Many other instances to the like effect, pro-
bably better instances, could easily be culled from the Bishops'
version of the Old Testament, but the following will suffice to
confirm the averment made in this paragraph :
GENEVA BIBLE.
GREAT BIBLE AND BISHOPS' BIBLE.
Prov. x. 6. ---The mouth of the ungodly
keepeth mischief in secret.
Prov. x. 6.-Iniquity shall cover the
mouth of the wicked.
The Bibles of the Churches.
207
Eccles. x. 4.-If a principall spirite Eccles. X. 4. --If the spirite of him
be given thee to beare rule, be not negli- that ruleth ryse up against thee, leave
gent then in thine office : for he that can not thy place : for gentleness pacifieth
take care of himself avoydeth great of- great sins.
fences.
Is. xvi. 2.--For, as for the daughters Is. xvi. 2.-For it shall be as a bird
of Moab, they shall be as a trembling that fieth, and a nest forsaken: the
bird that is put out of her nest : for they daughters of Moab shall be at the fords
shall carry them unto Arnon.
of Arnon.
Is. xxiv. 16.—I know a thing in secret, Is. xxiv. 16.—My leanness, my lean-
I know a thing in secret.
ness, woe is me.
Is. xxv. 6.-Most pleasant and dainty Is. xxv. 6.-Wines fined and purified.
dishes.
Micah v. I.-Now shalt thou be robbed Micah v. 1.-Now assemble thy garri-
thyself, O thou robber's daughter. sons, O daughter of garrisons.
Nah. ii. 3 (Bishops').—The charet is Nah. ii. 3 (Geneva).—The charets
compassed with flaming torches in the shall be as in the fire and flames in the
day of his expedition and the fyrre staues day of his preparation, and the firre trees
are drenched in poyson.
shall tremble.
(Great Bible).-Hys charettes are as (Revised 1885). —The chariots flash
fyre, when he maketh him forwarde, and with steel in the day of his preparation,
his spere shaftes are soked in venom. I and the spears are shaken terribly.
!
The bishops were in like manner content, in many cases, to
accept crude and careless expressions from the Great Bible,
when more correct forms of speech were submitted to them in
the Bible of Geneva. It is not worth while to dwell at length
on this point, but the following instances may be adduced to
speak for themselves.
GREAT BIBLE AND BISHOPS'.
GENEVA BIBLE.
Gen. xlix. 5.-Simeon and Levi bre- Gen. xlix. 5.-Simeon and Levi, bre-
thren, are cruell instruments in their thren in euill, the instruments of crueltie
habitations. (Bish.)
are in their habitations.
Judges xviii. 7.--They dwelt carelesse, Judges xviii. 7.—Which dwelt care-
after the maner of the Sidons, still and lesse, after the maner of the Zidonians,
without casting of perils:
quiet and sure.
Eccles. xi. 1.-Lay thy bread upon Eccles. xi. 1.--Cast thy bread upon
wet faces, 2
the waters.
1 Some readings adopted by the Geneva divines, but rejected by the King's trans-
lators, 1611, and by the revisers, 1885, were also disallowed by the bishops. Of
these may be mentioned :
GENEVA VERSION.
BISHOPS' VERSION.
Job xxxvi. 5. --Beholde, the mighty Job. xxxvi. 5.-- Behold the great God
God casteth away none that is mightie casteth away no man, for he himself is
and valiant of courage.
mightie in power and wisedome.
Is. xliii. 8.--I will bring forth the Is. xliii. 8.-- Bring forth that people
blinde people, and they shall have eyes : which is blind and yet hath eyes : which
and the deaf, and they shall have ears. are deafe, although they have eares.
2 The word faces is here equivalent to surfaces, as in the familiar expression “face
of the earth."
208
Bibles of England.
Is. xlv. 15.-0, howe profounde art Is. xlv. 15.-Verily thou, O God, hid-
thou, O God, thou God and Saviour of est thyself, O God, the Saviour of Israel.
Israel.
Is. xlvi. II.-As soon as I think to Is. xlvi. II.--I have purposed it, and
devise a thing, I do it.
I will do it.
: While the bishops failed, in so many instances, to take
advantage of amendments on the Great Bible which were
presented to them in the Geneva version, they also not infre-
quently adopted Geneva readings and renderings when these
were not improvements on the older English text, or were, at
least, far from being satisfactory. One or two examples from
the prophecies of Micah will make this apparent. In both the
authorised and revised versions we read, ch. ii. 8, "Ye pull off
the robe with the garment (strip the robe from off the garment,
Revised) from them that pass by securely as inen averse from
war." Very different from this, in expression at least, is the
statement given in the Great Bible: “They take away both
cote and cloke from the symple, ye have turned yourselves to
fyght.”
In the Geneva version another reading appears,
"They spoyle the beautifull garment from them that passe by
peaceably, as though they returned from the warre;": and this
reading was adopted without any amendment by the bishops.
A verse that is at least elliptical, if not also open to serious
misapprehension, in the authorised and revised Bibles is Micah
iii, 5, “Thus sayeth the Lord concerning the prophets that
make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace:
and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare
war against him.” Of this verse a somewhat free but most racy
rendering, in which the true meaning of the prophet is pictur-
esquely exhibited, is given in the Great Bible: “As concernyng
the prophetes that deceave my people, thus the Lord sayeth
agaynst them, When they have any thing to byte upon, then
1 In the Latin version printed at Zurich in 1564, the passage reads (in accor-
dance with the Geneva translation) : “Pallium expoliatis a transeuntibus confiden-
ter qui reuertuntur e praelio." In the Vulgate (Clementine version) there is still
another reading of the passage :-"Desuper tunica pallium sustulistis : et eos qui
transibant simpliciter convertistis in bellum”: which in the Douay Bible is
literally englished :— “You have taken away the cloak off from the coat, and them
that passed harmless you have turned to war."
The Bibles of the Churches.
209
they preach that al shalbe wel, but yf a man put not some
thing into their mouths, they preach of warre agaynst hym.”
In substituting for this free translation a more literal one, the
Geneva divines have, by the interposition of one word (them),
given to the verse a most peculiar rendering, suggestive of a
meaning very different from what they intended to convey; and
the bishops adopted both the Geneva rendering and the Geneva
marginal note of explanation. This faulty and misleading
rendering made first by the Geneva divines, and then adopted
by the bishops, is: “Thus saith the Lord concerning the
prophets that deceive my people, and bite them with their teeth,
and cry, Peace etc.” Another very racy description of the evil
doers in Israel, in the degenerate days in which Micah lived, is
given in the Great Bible, in the second and third verses of the
seventh chapter of that prophet's testimony, "They labour all
to shede bloud, and euery man hunteth his brother to death;
yet they say they do wel, when they do euyl. As the prynce
wyl, so sayth the judge, that he may do hym a pleasure agayne.
The great man speaketh what his hert desyreth, and the hearers
alowe hym.". Be this reading a correct or an incorrect render-
ing of the true original--the Hebrew verity—it is at least plain
English; and it has been superseded in the Geneva and Bishops'
Bibles by a translation that is much less explicit : “They all
lye in wayte for blood, euery man hunteth his brother with a
net. To make good for the euil of their handes, the prince
asked, and the judge judgeth for a reward ; therefore the great
man hee speaketh out of the corruption of his soule ; so they
wrap it up."
3
1 The marginal note on this verse in the Geneva Bible is, “ They (the prophets)
devour all their (the people's) substance, and then flatter them, promising that all
shall go well : but if one restraine from their bellies, then they invent all ways to
mischief."
2 “Alowe,” used here in the old sense of approve or praise. See Skeat's Dict.
The words in the Latin version (Zurich, 1564) are corroborant illam,"
In old or
middle English there are words loue, lowe, and louen (laudo, Latin), signifying to
praise ; so that in Gau's “ Richt vey to the kingdome of Heuen " we find Is. xxvi.
19 rendered. “ vaik up and lowff God," and Ps. cxxxvii. 4 “nay man cane sing my
lowine in ane fremmit land."
3 The Bishops' rendering is slightly different from this. The Authorised and
Revised versions follow the track of the Geneva, but introduce some changes.
Р
210
Bibles of England.
The bishops did not obtrude into their version of the Old
Testament either many original translations or many original
expressions. They have left, however, here and there on the
pages of the English Bible traces of their literary taste, if not
also of their scholastic insight. One verse in the authorised
translation that may be said to have been moulded by the
bishops is the opening verse in the ninth chapter of the pro-
phecies of Isaiah: “Nevertheless the dimness (darkness, Bish.)
shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he
lightly afflicted the land of Zebulon, and the land of Naphtali,
and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of
the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations," (heathen,
Bish.) Another beautiful verse that was perfected and brought
into its present shape by the bishops is Job iii. 22 : “Which
rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they can find the grave."
Other alterations on the Geneva text that were made by the
bishops, and have left their mark on later versions of the Bible,
are Gen. xlix. 6, "O my soule, come not thou into their
secretes, neither unto their congregation let mine honour be
united”; Prov. xi. 15, "He that is suretie for a stranger shall
smart for it”; Prov. xxii. 9, “He that hath a bountiful eye
shall be blessed"; "Joel ii. 13, “Rend your hearts and not
your garments"; Joel ii. 23, “Moderate rain"; for the teacher
of righteousness, G. B., and the rain of righteousness, Gen.;
Amos i. 2, "The dwelling places of the shepherds shall
mourn," (perish, Gen.); Nah. iii. 2, “The rattling of wheels,
the pransing of horses, and the jumping of chariots"; "Hab.
iii. 2, "Revive thy work in the midst of the years,” (people,
Gen.); and Mal. iii. 15, "Now we call the proud happy.”
Certain words, too, that in our authorised version are treated as
proper names, or technical terms, have, by the bishops, been
translated into plain English, and one may be excused for
thinking that, in some cases, a certain picturesqueness and a
little light have by that means been thrown by the bishops on
the pages of Scripture. In both the authorised and revised
versions it is said, Num. xxiii. 14: “And he took him into the
field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars.”
The statement in the Bishops' Bible is : "And he brought him
The Bibles of the Churches,
211
into a field, where men might see farre off, to the top of an hill,
and built seven altars." In like manner we read in the
authorised version, Deut. xxxiii. 8: "And of Levi, he said,
Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one." But
the blessing here pronounced on Levi is rendered by the
bishops : “Right and light shall be with thee, and with every
one that is godly in thee.”
It must be said, however, that the larger half of the original
emendations, whether as new readings or new renderings, made
by the bishops on the English text of the Old Testament, have
failed to find a permanent place in the English Bible. They
stand neglected on the disused pages of the Bishops' version,
and on the pages of that version only. In the burden of
Nineveh, as translated by the divines of Geneva, the following
pitiable story is told, Nahum ii. 10: “She is emptie and voide,
and waste, and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together,
and sorrowe is in all loines, and the faces of them all gather
blackness." With only two verbal alterations for the better,
the substitution of "anguish" for "sorrow," and "are waxed
pale” for “gather blackness," this rendering has been retained
by the recent revisers, 1885. It did not satisfy the bishops,
however, and they set it aside for the following translation,
which in the italicised words is original, and in the last four
words is taken from the Great Bible:“Sacking, resacking, rasing,
a dissolved heart, and collision of knees, sorowe in all loynes
also, and the faces of them all as blacke as a potte." In a
previous paragraph in this chapter, several verses were quoted
from Hosea to show that the bishops in some cases deviated
considerably from the text of the Great Bible and drew largely
from the Geneva translation. In one of these verses the
bishops have made a faint show of originality. They have
departed from the Geneva text in one word, by changing bars
into branches, and making the sixth verse read: “Therefore
shall the sword fall on his cities, and shall consume his
branches. I This rendering of the bishops has been retained
i Matthew Henry's note on this verse is worth quoting, as a sample of ingenious
interpretation, which covers and explains all readings. " This judgement shall
spread far: the sword shall fasten upon his cities, those nests of people and store.
212
Bibles of England.
in the authorised version, but in the revised version the
Geneva rendering has been restored. Other instances of
unappreciated originality or research, on the part of the
bishops, will be seen in the following quotations from the Old
Testament:
– - But a
GREAT BIBLE.
GENEVA BIBLE.
BISHOPS' BIBLE.
Gen. xlix. 20. - Of Gen. xlix. 20.-Con- Gen. xlix. 20.-Out of
Asser : his bread shalbe cerning Asshur : his bread the fat land of Aser shall
fat, and he shall give shalbe fat, and he shall be his bread, and he shall
pleasures for a kynge. give pleasures for a kynge. give pleasures for a king.
Job iii. 23.
That Job. iii. 23.—Why is Job. iii. 23.–From
should be joye to that man the light given to the man whom their endes are hid
whose joye is hydde, and whose waye is hid, and and concealed by God.
God kepeth it backe from whome God hath hedged
hym.
in ?
Job. iv. 12.–And to me Job. iv. 12.
Job. iv. I2.-But where
came the worde secretly, thing was brought to mee as a thing was hid from
and myne eare hath re- secretly, and myne eare me, yet mine eare hath
ceyued a lytel thereof. hath receiued a little receiued a little thereof.
thereof.
Hos. ix. 9.–They be Hos. ix. 9. -They are Hos. ix. 9.-They have
gone to far, and haue des- deeply set : they are cor- gone to the bottome, they
troyed themselves, lyke as rupt as in the days of are corrupt as in the days
they did aforetyme at Ga- Gibeah.
of Gibea.
baa.
Nahum i. 3. — The Nahum i. 3,—The Lord Nahum i. 3. – The
Lorde goeth forth in tem- hath his way in the whirl- Lordes dealing is with
pest and stormye wether. winde, and in the storm. blustering tempest and
whirlewinde.
Nahum ii. 7. The
Nahum ii. 7. — And Nahum ii. 7.--Huzah
quene her selſe shalbe led Huzzah, the Queene shall is brought forth captive,
away captyue, and her be led away captive, and made to ascende into the
gentylwemen shall mourn her maidens shall leade charets, her handmaydens
as the doues, and grone her as with the voyce of also leadiug one another as
with theyr hartes.
doues, smiting upon their in the voyce of doues,
brests.
knocking upon their
breastes.
The Bishops' version of the New Testament, especially their
revised version, 1572, has received much more favourable criti-
cism than has been accorded to their translation of the Old
Testament. Their version of the New Testament, however,
like that of the Old, is not of uniform merit throughout. Some
houses of wealth : it shall likewise reach to his branches, the country villages, so
some (the Bishops' in marginal note) : the citizens themselves, so others : or the
bars (so the word signifies) and gates of their cities : or, all the branches of their
revenue and wealth : or, their children, the branches of their families.” In the
Latin version, Zurich, 1564, the words are consumetque villas ejus"; and in the
Vulgate consumer electos ejus.”
The Bibles of the Churches.
213
of the bishops did their work better than others. “The verdict
of the student will,” therefore, says Professor Moulton, “vary
according to the portion which he is examining." But the
judgment pronounced on some parts of the Bishops' translation
by such a competent scholar as Dr. Westcott, must be held to
imply very high praise. In a passage of ten verses, Eph. iv.
7-16, the bishops have made twenty-six departures from the
text of the Great Bible. “Of these twenty-six variations, no
less than sixteen," says Dr. Westcott, “are new, while only
ten are due to the Genevan version; and the character of the
original corrections marks a very close and thoughtful revision,
based faithfully upon the Greek. The anxiously literal
rendering of the particles and prepositions is specially worthy
of notice; so, too, the observance of the order and of the .
original form of the sentences, even where some obscurity
follows from it." I
Similar remarks to what have, in this chapter, been made on
the Bishops' version of the Old Testament may, nevertheless,
be made on their version of the New. While their principle of
adhering as closely as possible to the text of the Great Bible
is laudable, they sometimes carry that principle too far, and
retain renderings given in the Great Bible, when better
renderings were set before them in the Geneva version. In
adopting Geneva amendments, again, they sometimes shew
good discretion, and sometimes not. Their original renderings,
also, are sometimes happy and sometimes unhappy. We
cannot do better than illustrate and establish these points in
the order in which they are here stated.
Some readings and renderings in the New Testament of the
Great Bible that, at the present day, cannot but be held as
incorrect have been retained by the bishops. One verse in
the Great Bible that presents a studied appearance of literal
translation, is Mat. viii. 7. A centurion had come unto Jesus
and said "Master, my seruant lyeth at home sicke of the
palsye, and is grevously payned.” To this statement Jesus is
1 It may be doubted whether the “observance" here commended is entitled to
commendation.
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Bibles of England.
represented in the Great Bible as having replied in the following
terms "Whan I come unto hym I wyll heale hym.” This
is scarcely what we should have expected Jesus to say; and
it is not what modern scholars declare to be the true rendering
of the evangelist's peculiar phraseology. But the bishops
adopted that strange rendering into their Bible, although
common sense might have made them distrustful of the correct-
ness of the translation, and the Geneva Bible held up to their
view another rendering of the passage, which was much more
consonant with our Lord's courtesy and charity “I will come
and heal him." Following the Great Bible, again, and disre-
garding the corrected rendering in the Geneva version, the
bishops, in Acts xxvii. 13, translate the Greek word asson as a
proper noun, instead of an adverb meaning nearer, and make
the passage read : "loosed unto Asson, and sayled paste all
Candye." The odd rendering of James ii. 18 that appears in
the Great Bible is also adopted by the bishops :“Thou hast
a fayth and I have deedes. Shew me thy fayth by thy dedes,
and I wyll shew the my fayth by my dedes.” This rendering,
in its natural interpretation, harmonises so ill with the context,
and is so irrelevant to what goes before, that one might be
excused for wondering if the word by were not used here in
two different senses :-in the sense of beside or without in the
second clause, and in the sense of through or by means of in
the third. As shewn in a previous chapter, however, there are
two readings of the verse in Greek manuscripts, and the
bishops' rendering is simply a literal translation of what
must be considered an incorrect Greek text. A very peculiar
rendering, or reading, which the bishops took from the Great
Bible, is Heb. xi. 9: “By faith Abraham removed into the land
of promise, as into a strange country, when he had dwelt in
tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob.” Another odd rendering, for
which Tyndale was originally responsible, that the bishops
appropriated from the Great Bible, is 2 Cor. iii. 18: “We all
beholding as in a myrror the glorie of the Lorde with his face
open are changed unto the same image."
Besides incorrect translations, the bishops took from the
New Testament in the Great Bible many renderings whose
The Bibles of the Churches.
215
diction was very far from being apt or felicitous; and in not a
few of these cases, alterations for the better might have been
found in the Geneva version. For instance, Mat. vi. 7, is in the
Bishops' Bible translated : “When ye pray, babble not much, as
the heathen do ; for they think that they shall be heard for
their much babbling's sake." This is the translation given in
the Great Bible also. But it is not choice diction, and it does
not correspond in dignity with either the speaker or the subject
of discourse. It was so far improved by the Geneva divines
that “ babble" in the first clause of the verse was changed into
“use no vain repetitions," and to that extent it might have
been amended by the bishops without strain on their literary
resources. I There are cases, again, in which the bishops
adopted in part the Geneva amendments on the Great Bible,
but would have done better to accept these amendments
without abatement. One verse that the Geneva divines
put into a form of expression well-nigh perfect is i Cor.
x. 16: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the com-
munion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is
it not the communion of the body of Christ ?" This rendering
was a great improvement on the unrhythmical translation that
appears in Tyndale's Testament and the Great Bible; and the
bishops did well to accept the new order of words submitted
to them in the Geneva version. They declined, however, to
retain the most distinctive word in the whole verse, the word
communion, but restored the word that had been used by
Tyndale and Coverdale, partaking. This fact is the more
strange, too, that the term used by the puritans is a churchly
one, while that adopted by the prelatists is non-churchly.2
I Beza's rendering of this passage is—“Precantes autem ne eadem blaterate.”
In the Vulgate the translation is—"Orantes autem nolite multum loqui ;” and in
the Zurich version, 1564—“Ne sitis loquaces.” The Rhemes translators, in their
marginal note, say that what is here condemned by Jesus is not " long prayer," but
“long rhetorical prayers " such as those by which heretics “thinke to persuade
God: whereas the Collects of the Church are most briefe and most effectuall."
2 The following statement appears in the eleventh of the fourscore questions of
Ninian Winzet :-" Quhy vse ze this terme communioun for the Lordis Supper
nocht contenit in Scriptuir in that significatioun, and samekle abhorris fra the terme
Missa expresslie contenit in the original Hebrew text for an oblatioun, Deut. xvi.”
216
Bibles of England.
Wonderful to tell, also, the bishops, in their rendering of James
i. 5, preferred to retain the slang phrase, “Casteth no man in
the teeth," which they found in the Great Bible, rather than
adopt the staider words, “reproacheth no man,” which appear
in the second Geneva version. A very obscure translation, to
non-classical readers at least, which the bishops were content
to take from the Great Bible, is Heb. iii, 14 : “For we are
made partakers of Christ, if we keep sure unto the end the
beginning of the substance." But in this case the substitute
offered in the Geneva version was little more satisfactory : “We
are made partakers of Christ, if we keep sure unto the end the
beginning, wherewith we ure upholden." And so of Heb. ix. 25.
The rendering of that verse, in the Great Bible and the Bishops'
Bible, is very inexplicit ; but all the improvement on it in the
Geneva Bible is the substitution of other for strange : "Not that
he should offer himself often, as the High Priest entereth into
the holy places every year in strange blood.” But it will
scarcely be disputed that in the following passages the Bishops'
version might have been improved, either in propriety or in
dignity of expression, by the adoption of the Geneva renderings :
GREAT BIBLE AND BISHOPS' BIBLE,
GENEVA BIBLE.
Acts iv. 31.-As soon as they had Acts iv. 31. When as they had
prayed the place moved where they were prayed the place was shaken where they
assembled. 1
were assembled.
Acts xix. 32.—The Assembly was all Acts xix. 32.—The Assembly was out
out of quiet.
of order,
Acts xxv. 21.—But when Paul had Acts xxv. 21.—But because he ap-
appealed to be kept unto the knowledge pealed to be reserved to the examination
of Augustus.
of Augustus.
Rome vi. 10.–For as touching that Rom. vi. 10.–And in that he died he
he died, he died concerning sin once. died once to sin.
Rom. vii. 9.-I once lived without Rom. vii. 9.-I once was alive, with-
law.
out the law.
Rom. X. 21.-A people that believeth Rom. X. 21.-A disobedient and gain-
not, but speaketh against me.
saying people.
Rom. xiv. 5. This man putteth Rom. xiv. 5.- This man esteemeth
difference between day and day.
one day above another.
1 Cor. xi. 29.-Eateth and drinketh I Cor. xi. 29.-Eateth and drinketh
The words Missa and mass are not Hebrew words at all. They are derived from
the Latin formula in dismissing a congregation, ite, missa est : as much as to say,
"hearers go, and communicants remain,” The word referred to by Winzet was
probably matstsah, unleavened bread.
1 In the passages here cited the Bishops' Bible and Great Bible do not in all in-
stances agree verbatim.
The Bibles of the Churches.
217
or
or
damnation to himself, making no differ- his own damnation, because he discerneth
the
not the Lord's body.
Col. i. 16.-Whether they be majes- Col. i. 16.-Whether they be thrones
ties or lordshippes, either rulers or dominions, or principalities,
powers.
powers.
2 Thess. iii. 8.-Wrought with labour 2 Thess. iii. 8.—Wrought with labour
and sweat night and day.
and travail night and day.
Heb. xi. 24.—Moses, when he was Heb. xi. 24.-Moses, when he was
great, refused to be called.
come to age, refused to be called.
James iv. 11.-Backbite not one an- Jas. iv. 11.-Speak not evil one of
other, brethren. He that backbiteth his another, brethren. He that speaketh
brother backbiteth the law.
evil of his brother
speaketh
evil of the law.
3 John 14.--Thy lovers salute thee. I
3 John 14.-Thy friends salute thee.
Rev. xvi. 2.--There fell a noisome Rev. xvi. 2.--There fell a noisome
and a sore botch upon the man which and a grievous sore upon the man which
had the mark of the beast.
had the mark of the beast.
.
It is not to be supposed, however, that there are no cases in
which the judgment of the bishops is to be approved in
adhering to the text of the New Testament in the Great Bible,
and rejecting the changes made thereon by the Geneva
divines. In the Geneva Bible there is a very peculiar render-
ing of Acts xxiv. 22 : “When Felix heard these things, he
deferred them and said : When I shall more perfectly know the
things which concern this way, by the coming of Lysias, the
chief captain, I will decise your matter,"2 This is so like what
Felix should have said that we are tempted to think it must be
the correct rendering of the verse. But it is a strained render-
ing of the words as they stand in the Greek text. The bishops
did right, therefore, to adhere to the reading in the Great Bible,
and translate the original Greek, not as they might have it to
be, but as they actually found it. In the following further
cases, the bishops showed a wise discretion in rejecting the
changes made on the Great Bible by the Geneva exiles:
GREAT BIBLE AND BISHOPS' BIBLE.
GENEVA VERSION.
Mat. xviii. 26.—The servant fell down, Mat. xviii. 26.—The servant fell down,
and besought him, saying, Lord, have and besought him, saying, Master, ap-
words are,
1 In the Great Bible the words are,
- The lovers salute thee”: a fine synonym
for, “The believers,” or “ The Christians.” In the revised version, 1881, the
The friends salute thee."
2 The Geneva translators here followed Beza's Latin :-“ Felix distulit eos,
Postquam exquisitius pernovero quae ad viam istam pertinent, inquiens, quum
tribunus Lysias descenderit, pernoscam vestrum negotium.”
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Bibles of England.
patience with me, and I will pay thee all. pease thine anger towards me, and I will
pay thee all. 1
Luke xxii. II.- Where is the guest- Luke xxii. 11.-Where is the lodging,
chamber, where I shall eat the Passover where I shall eat my Passover with my
with my disciples.
disciples.
Acts xvi. 12.-And a free city.
Acts xvi. 12.-And whose inhabitants
came from Rome to dwell there.
Acts xxvii. 14-15.-But not long after Acts xxvii. 14-15.-But anon after there
their arose against their purpose a flaw arose by it a stormy winde called Euro-
of wind out of the North-east (which is clydon. And when the ship was caught,
called Euroclydon, Bishops'). And when and could not resist the wind, we let her
the ship was caught, and could not re- go and were carried away.
sist the wind, we let her go, and were
driven with the weather, 2
Rom. viii. 6.--To be carnally minded Rom. viii. 6.-The wisdom of the flesh
is death ; but to be spiritually minded is is death, but the wisdom of the spirit is
life and peace.
life and peace.
2 Timn. ii. 6.-The husbandman that 2 Tim. ii, 6.-The husbandman must
laboureth must first receive of the fruits. first labour before he receive the fruits.
(The labouring husbandman must first be
partaker of the fruites, Bishops'.)
While the bishops, in their translation of the New, as well
as of the Old Testament, followed in the main the text of the
Great Bible, they also in the New, as in the Old Testament,
adopted a very large number of the Geneva renderings. The
extent to which they deviated from the Great Bible,3 and
appropriated from the Geneva Bible, may be gathered from
the following tabulated figures :
No. of
Verses.
Chapter.
Luke xvi.,
Acts xi.,
I Corinthians xi.,
Hebrews ix.,
Revelation xxi.,
31
30
34
29
27
No. of new
No. of these No. of these renderings
No. of varia- variations variations not received into
tions from found in found in Authorised
Great Bible. Geneva Bible. Geneva Bible. Version.
30
13
17
4
21
II
IO
51
33
18
67
29
38
23
22
12
IO
9
7
14
|
Total,
151
191
98
93
57
The amount of deviation in the Bishops' Bible from the text
of the Great Bible, is shewn here to have been very considerable. .
For every three verses there are, on an average, four cases of
1 Cohibe iram adversus me, Beza ; Patientiam habe in me, Vulgate.
2 The translation here commended is both free and paraphrastic, which by some
people are reckoned grievous faults, but it has the rare merits of being really true,
and singularly graphic.
3 The edition of the Great Bible consulted in the formation of this table is that of
1539, as reprinted in Bagster's Hexapla,
The Bibles of the Churches.
219
deviation. As nearly as possible, too, one half of these devia-
tions consist of Geneva renderings. Of the other half, again,
,
which are presumed to be original amendments by the bishops,
more than sixty per cent have been retained in the authorised
version. All this indicates a fair measure of revisional care
and skill. Speaking at present, however, of the renderings
appropriated by the bishops from the Geneva Bible, it may be
said that they were sometimes renderings which modern taste
and judgment would approve, and sometimes not. The cases
that shall now be undernoted, are cases in which it will hardly
be disputed that the bishops did well to accept the amend-
ments made by the Geneva divines on the Great Bible.
1
GREAT BIBLE.
GENEVA AND BISHOPS' BIBLE.
Mat. xxiii. 4.—They bynde together Mat. xxiii. 4.--They bind together
hevy burthens and grevous to be borne, hevy burthens and grevous to be borne,
and laye them on mennes shoulders : but and laye them on mennes shoulders :
they themselves wyll not heave a: them but they themselves will not move them
wyth one of theyr fyngers.
with one of their fingers.
Mat. xxvi. 18.-My tyme is at hande, Mat. xxvi. 18.-My time is at hand,
1 wyll kepe myne Easter by the, wyth I make (will kepe, Geneva) the Passover
my disciples.
at thy house with my disciples.
Acts viii. 23.-For I perceive that Acts viii. 23.--For I perceive that
thou arte full of bytter gall and wrapped thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in
in iniquitie.
the bond of iniquity.
Acts xxvii. 9.-—When sailynge was Acts xxvii. 9. - When sailing was now
nowe jeopardous, because also that they jeopardous, because also that the fast
had ouerlonge fasted.
was now already past,
Rom. vii. 1.-Knowe ye not brethren Rom. vii. 1.-Know ye not, brethren
how that the lawe hath power over
how that the law hath power
a man as longe as it endureth.
(dominion, Geneva) over a man as long
as he liveth.
Rom. vii. 6.-That we shuld serve in Rom. vii. 6.That we should serve
a new conversacyon of the sprete and not in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness
in the olde conversacyon of the letter. of the letter.
Gal. iv. 5.-That we thorow eleccion Gal. iv. 5.- That we might receive
might receyue the inherytaunce that be. the adoption of children (of the sons,
longeth unto the naturall sonnes.
Geneva).
Heb. X. 33.-Partly whyle all men Heb. x. 33.—Partly while ye were
wondred and gazed at you for the shame made a gazing stocke, both by reproaches
and tribulacyon that was done unto you: and afflictions, and partly while ye be-
partly while ye became companyons of came companions of them which were so
them which so passed their tyme.
tossed to and fro.
In other cases, the bishops did not exercise a wise discretion
in adopting the Geneva renderings. In the Great Bible, Acts
viii. 33 is translated : “ Because of his humbleness he was not
esteemed.” This is a statement that accords with fact, and it
is in meaning not very remote from the rendering given in both
the authorised and the revised versions. But the bishops,
220
Bibles of England.
following the Geneva divines, translate the verse—“in his
humility his judgment is exalted;" which is fancifully explained
in the margin of the Geneva version-"the punishment he
suffered was the beginning of his glory.” One verse in which
it might have been thought, a few years ago, that the bishops
did well to follow the Geneva translators is Heb. v. 7, in which
the Apostle is made to say that our Lord "was heard in that
which he feared.” This is one of the renderings that Catholic
divines specially impugn, as a pernicious and presumptuous
corruption of the sacred text, in order to give apparent sanc-
tion to the Protestant heresy, that Christ was in terror of
damnation! In their English version of the Scriptures, the
Catholics accordingly give a different rendering of the passage.
They make it read: he was “heard for his reverence." This,
too, is how the verse reads in the Great Bible; and now at
length, with a slight variation of words, in the revised version,
1881.
As shown in the table on page 218, the bishops introduced
into the Testament a considerable number of new renderings
of their own; at all events, renderings that are not found in
either the Great Bible or the Geneva Bible. A goodly pro-
portion, too, of the bishops' original renderings have been
retained in later versions. Two, of which more has been said
than their importance warrants, will be found in Mat. xvii. In
the Great Bible, the 25th verse of that chapter reads: “Of
whom do the kynges of the earth take trybute or tolle, of their
chyldren or of straungers ?” And so, also, in the first edition
of the Bishops' Bible, 1568; but in the second version, 1572,
the words “their children were changed into "their own
children," and this alteration was hailed by scholastic critics as
a very important amendment. Alas, for the fickleness of
scholastic judgment! This amendment, which in 1572 was
deemed a matter of high consequence, and in 1611 was retained
in the King's translation, has by the revisers of 1881 been dis-
carded in favour of the earlier and less emphatic rendering.
Two verses further on in the chapter, Jesus is represented in
the Great Bible to have said to Peter: "Go thou to the see,
and cast an angle, and take the fish that first cometh up." In .
The Bibles of the Churches.
221
1572, the italicised word angle was by the bishops changed
into hook; and this change also was proclaimed as a notable
correction, although it was really an ostensible distinction
without a shade of difference.
While few of the changes made by the Bishops on pre-
vious renderings of Scripture are of great importance, some
are improvements. In the Great Bible it is said, Mat. xxiv. 12 :
“Because iniquitie shall have the upper hand, the love of many
shall abate." The expressions here italicised were, in the
Geneva Bible, changed into be increased, and be cold; but a
finishing touch was given to the sentence by the bishops, who
made it read, as it still does in the authorised version," because
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." In
some cases, archaisms of obscure and doubtful meaning which
are found in the Great Bible and Geneva Bible are in the
Bishops' Bible replaced by simple and definite terms; as in
Acts i. 21, where the words had all his conversacyon (Great
Bible) and was conversant (Geneva Bible) are changed into
“went out and in ;” and in Acts xiii. 15, where the term
lecture is changed into "reading." Here and there a cumbrous
phrase is replaced by a happier expression; as in Rom. viii.
17, where joint-heirs is substituted for “heirs annexed" with
Christ. Some verbal inaccuracies are likewise corrected ; as
in i Cor. iii. 2, which in the Great Bible and the Geneva Bible
reads, “I gave you milk to drink, and not meate," but in the
Bishops' Bible is rendered, “I have nourished you with milk,
and not with meate.”
As further specimens of amendments made by the bishops
on the diction of previous versions, the following passages may
be cited :
GREAT BIBLE.
GENEVA BIBLE.
BISHOPS' BIBLE.
Rom. ix. 33.-A rocke Rom. ix. 33.-A rocke Rom. ix. 33.-A rock
that men shall be offended to make men fall.
of offence.
at.
Rom. X. 10.--To beleue Rom. x. IO..With the Roni. x. 10.-With the
wyth the hert justifyeth : heart, man believeth unto heart man believeth unto
and to knowledge wyth righteousness, and with the righteousness, and with the
the mouth maketh a man mouth man confesseth to mouth confession is made
safe.
salvation.
unto salvation.
Rom. xii. 18.- As muche Rom. xii. 18. ---As much Rom. xii. 18. -As much
as is in you, lyve peaceably as in you is, have peace as lyeth in you, live peace-
wyth all men.
with all men.
ably with all nen.
222
Bibles of England.
2 Cor. iv. 2.—Reporte 2 Cor. iv. 2.--Approve 2 Cor. iv. 2. Com-
ourselves to every mannes
ourselves to every man's mending ourselves to every
conscience.
conscience.
man's conscience.
2 Cor. ix. 5.--To pre- 2 Cor. ix. 5.-To finish 2 Cor. ix. 5.-And pre-
pare youre good blessynge your benevolence appoint- pare your fore-appointed
promysed afore, that it ed afore, that it might be beneficence, that it might
might be ready, so that it ready, and come as of be ready as a beneficence
be a blessyng and not a benevolence and not as of and not as an extortion.
defraudynge.
sparing
Eph. i. 5. — Ordeyned Eph. i. 5.-Predestin- . Eph. i. 5.-Predestinat-
us before thorow Jesus ated us to be adopted ed us unto the adoption of
Christ, to be heyres unto through Jesus Christ unto children by Jesus Christ
hymself.
himself.
unto himself.
Phil. iv. 17.—Not that Phil. iv. 17.-Not that Phil. iv. 17.-Not that
I desyre gyftes : but I de- I desire a gift, but I desire I desire a gift; but I desire
syre aboundaunt frute on the fruit that may further fruit abounding to your
your parte.
your reckoning.
account.
I Thess. iv. 11.—That I Thess. iv. 11.--That I Thess. iv. II.-That
ye studye to be quyet and ye studie to be quiet and ye study to be quiet and
to medle with youre awne to medle with youre awne to doe your awne busi-
busynes.
busines.
2 Peter iii. Io. - The 2 Peter iii. 10. -- The 2 Peter iii. IO. - The
heauens shall passe awaye heavens shall passe away heavens shall passe away
in maner as a tempest, and with a noyse, and the ele- with a great noyse, and
the elementes shall melt ment shall melt with heat. the elements shall melt
wyth heat.
with fervent heate.
nesse.
All the changes, however, that the bishops made on pre-
vious translations, are not entitled to praise. Some of them
are positively mistranslations; as “Hearts grief and misery
are in their ways," Rom. iii. 16; “ All have sinned, and have
need of the glory of God," Rom. iii. 23; "Let us fear, there-
fore, lest at any time, by forsaking the promise of entering into
his rest, any of you should seem to be defrauded,” Heb. iv. I;
“The first covenant then had verily justifying ordinances,”
Heb. ix. I; “ Justifyings of the flesh, which were laid up until
the time of reformation," Heb. ix. 10. Infelicitous words, too,
were sometimes substituted by the bishops for better words
that were to be found either in the Great or in the Geneva
Bible ; as, “Then will I confess unto them, That I never knew
you," Mat. vii. 23; “Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest,
I The bishops may have been influenced in these renderings by words in Latin
versions :--Contritio, Rom. iii. 16, Vulgate ; Egent gloria Dei, Rom. iii. 23, Vul-
gate ; Aliquis ex vobis fuisse frustratus, Heb. iv. I, Beza ; “Any of you should
seem to be deprived,” Geneva Version. The following verse either exhibits a very
peculiar reading in some Greek text, or is a misprint : “Let the peace of God
have the victorie in your hearts, to the which also we (ye) are called in one body,"
Col. iii. 15.
The Bibles of the Churches.
223
that he will thrust forth labourers into his harvest," Mat. ix. 38;
"While they were conversant (abode, Gen.) in Galilee,” Mat.
xvii. 22 ; “Repent ye, therefore, and revert that your sins may
be blotted out," Acts iii. 19; “That every mouth may be
stopped, and that all the world may be endangered to God,"
Rom. iii. 19; “Not lither (slothful, G.B.) in business,” Rom. xii.
II; “Praying night and day exceedingly to see you personally,
and repaire the wantings of your faith," i Thess. iii. 10; “For
there hath appeared the grace of God, which is healthfull to all
men," Titus ii. II; “When he would have inherited the
blessing, he was reprobated," Heb. xii. 17. An oft-quoted,
beautiful verse in the authorised translation, is Mat. vi. 28 :-
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow : They toil not,
neither do they spin." This rendering is taken all but one
word, toil instead of labour, from the Great Bible; and yet the
bishops, with such a model before them, cumbered the passage
as follows:-“ Learne of the lilies of the field, how they grow :
They weary not themselves with labour, neither do they spinne."
The phrase, "land of Sodom and Gomorrha,” which appears
both in the Great and Geneva Bible is, in like manner, inflated
by the bishops, Mat. x. 15, into “land of the Sodomites and
Gomorrhoeans." A verse that reads well enough in both the
Great Bible and Geneva Bible, is Heb. xiii. 7. The bishops,
however, were not satisfied with that verse as it stood in these
Bibles, and they remodelled it in a way which, it will be
enough to say, no subsequent revisers have ever copied
" Whose end of conversation ye considering, follow their faith.”
A goodly proportion of the original emendations made by
the bishops on the text of the Great Bible, in both the Old
and New Testaments, have, as will be seen by reference to
pages 210 and 221-2, been retained in the present authorised
version of the Scriptures. This retention is a valuable testi-
mony to their scholastic and literary merits. Some of these
accepted emendations, too, being improvements in expression,
may be said to have permanently enriched the English Bible.
We owe the bishops something for their labours, therefore ;
and that obligation should be cordially acknowledged. Of
Bible phrases coined by the bishops, instances may be found
224
Bibles of England.
en-
in almost every other chapter of the New Testament. Out of
a very few chapters read specially for that purpose, the follow-
ing have been culled : “Children of the bridechamber," Mat. ix.
15; "faithless and perverse nation," Mat. xvii. 17; "with
(hearty) desire I have desired to eat this Passover, Luke xxii.
15; "they that have authority upon them are called benefactors,"
Luke xxii. 25 ; "where prayer was wont to be made," Acts xvi.
13; " set at nought thy brother," Rom. xiv. 10; "rightly divid-
ing the word of truth” 2 Tim. ii. 15; "sought it carefully with
tears," Heb. xii. 17 ; serve God acceptably with reverence and
godly fear, Heb. xii. 28 ; "superfluity of naughtiness,” and “
grafted word,” Jas. i. 21 ; "an inheritance incorruptible and
undefiled, and that fadeth not away," i Pet. i. 4; "not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible," 1 Pet. i. 23; “since the
fathers fell asleep," 2 Pet. iii. 4; “led away with the error of the
wicked," 2 Pet. iii. 17.
Of ill-chosen words again in the Great Bible or Geneva
Bible that were displaced by the bishops for other and
happier terms may be mentioned : "avoid Satan," Mat. iv. 10 ;
“for fear of him the keepers were astonied," Mat. xxviii, 4;
"counted worthy to suffer rebuke for his name," Acts v. 41.
One verse, in the rendering of which a very marked progressive
improvement may be traced, is Rom. xiv. 4. In the Great
Bible, the first part of this verse is clumsily translated : “What
art thou, that judgest another mannes seruaunt whether he
stande or fall? That pertayneth unto his owne master.” A
much simpler rendering is given in the Geneva version : “Who
art thou that condemnest another man's servant ? he standeth
or falleth to his own master." But with very little change of
words there is an epigrammatic finish given by the bishops to
this rendering: “What art thou that judgest another man's
servant ? To his own master he standeth or falleth.”
It is commonly alleged that the bishops shewed a tendency
to introduce into the Bible inflated and latinised diction.
Their translation, says Dr. Eadie, is "more stately than precise,"
and it abounds in "mouth-filling words" and “rounded
periods.” And in confirmation of this statement, their rendering
of 2 Cor. ix. 5, which has been quoted in this chapter as a
The Bibles of the Churches.
225
favourable specimen of their emendations, has been adduced :-
"I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they
should come before unto you, and prepare your fore-promised
beneficence, that it might be ready as a beneficence, and not
as an extortion.” Other verses, besides, might doubtless be
quoted, and quoted with more force, in justification of the
above-mentioned criticism. The bishops, for instance, following
the text of the Great Bible, make Heb. vii. 12 read :-“If the
priesthood be translated, of necessity also there is made a
translation of the law.” And, in James i. 14, they introduce a
phrase of their own coinage for no apparent purpose, unless to
fill the mouth of the reader and give rotundity to the sentence:-
“Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away, and enticed
with the baite of his owne concupiscence." Turning to the Old
Testament, we find an instance of similar padding in the first
verse of the twenty-third Psalm "God is my shephearde,
therefor I can lacke nothyng: he wyll cause me to repose
myself in pasture full of grasse, and he wyll leade me unto
calme waters." And a still more emasculated piece of English
will be found in the opening verse of the last chapter of
Nahum's prophecies. In the Great Bible that verse reads:
"Wo to the bloudthursty citye, which is all full of lyes and
robberye, and wyll not leaue of from rauyshynge." Without
any assistance from the Geneva divines, the bishops have
transformed this strong and heart-penetrating cry of the
prophet into the following flabby malediction :-“O bloody
citie, stuffed throughout with falshoode, with extreme dealing,
nor will be broughte from spoyling.
lo, I against
thee, saith the Lorde of hostes.” Another pompous rendering
of the bishops is Prov. xxv. 26:-"Curiously to search the
glory of heavenly things is not commendable.” But the
bishops' diction is not generally characterised by "great
I A large number of the stilted renderings in the Bishops' Bible are taken from
the Great Bible: such as, “Provoke the presence of his majestie to anger,” Is. iii. 8;
“In the day see that ye sing of the congregation, which is the vineyard that bringeth
forth the best wine,” Is. xxvii. 2; “No man shall invade thee, to hurt thee,” Acts
xviii. 10;
Abhorring fighting, abhorring covetousness,” i Tim. iii. 3.
Q
226
Bibles of England.
swelling words.” As a rule, the bishops adhered to the homely
and vernacular style of the Great Bible, when in the Geneva
version there was presented to them a more inflated form of
expression; and, taken all over, the Bishops' Bible is less
sonorous and stately in its style than the Geneva, as the
following extracts will tend to shew :-
a l'ore.
BISHOPS' BIBLE,
GENEVA BIBLE.
John v. 27.-Power also to judge. John v. 27.-Power also to execute
judgment.
Acts i. 13.—And when they were Acts i. 13. —And when they were
come in they went up into a parlour come in they went up into an upper
where abode both Peter and James. chamber where abode, etc.
Acts xviii. 28.—He overcame the Jews Acts xviii. 28.—Mightily he confuted
mightily, and that openly.
publicly the Jews with great vehemencie.
Acts xix. 23.–And the same time Acts xix. 23.-And the same time
there arose no little ado about that way. there arose no small trouble about that
way.
Acts xix. 29.--And all the city was on Acts xix. 29.–And the whole city
was full of confusion.
Acts xix. 31.-Desiring him that he Acts xix. 31.—Desiring him that he
would not preasse into the common hall. would not present himself in the com-
mon place.
Acts xxi. 14.-And when we could Acts xxi. 14.–And when he would
not turn his mind we ceased.
not be persuaded we ceased.
Acts xxi. 24.- Do cost on them that Acts xxi. 24.—Contribute with them
they may shave their heads.
that they may shave their heads.
Ácts xxvii. 27.–As we were sailing Acts xxvii. 27.–As we were carried
in Adria about midnight.
to and fro in the Adriatical sea about
midnight.
Deut. xxxiii. 7.—His hands shall be Deut. xxxiii. 7.--His hands shall be
good ynough for him, if thou helpe him sufficient for him, if thou helpe him
against his enemies.
against his enemies.
Deut. xxxiii. 10.—They shall put in- Deut. xxxiii. 10.—They shall put in-
cense to thy nose.
cense before thy face.
Job. vii. 3.—Many a careful night have Job vii. 3.- Painful nights have been
I told.
appointed unto me.
Job. ix. 32.—He that I must give an- Job ix. 32.—He is not a man as I am
swer unto and with whom I go to the law, that I should answer him if we come to-
is not a man as I am.
gether to judgment.
Job xvii. 1. — I am hard at deaths Job. xvii. i.-. The grave is ready for
doore.
Ps. xxvii. 13.--If I had not believed Ps. xxvii 13.— I should have fainted
verily to see the goodness of God in the except I had believed to see the good-
land of the living, (their spite had killed ness of the Lord in the land of the
me.)
living.
Ps. xxviii. 1.—Make not as though Ps. xxviii. 1.-Be not deaf toward
thou wert deafe at me.
Ps. xxviii. 4.–Pay them home that Ps. xxviii. 4.-Render them their re-
they have deserved.
ward.
Ps. xxxviii. 6.-I am become crooked Ps. xxxviii. 6.—I am bowed and
and am exceedingly pulled downr. crooked very sore.
Prov. xvi. 28. – Afrowarde bodie Prov. xvi. 28. - - A froward person
acuseth strife, and he that is a blabbe of soweth strife, and a tale teller maketh
his tongue maketh division among prin- division among princes.
me.
me.
ces.
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227
I
Prov. xvii. 17. - In adversitie a man Prov. xvii. 17.—A brother is born for
shall know who is his brother.
adversity.
Prov. xvii. 22.--A merie heart maketh Prov. xvii. 22.-A joyful heart causeth
a lusty age.
good health.
Eccles. X. 18.—Through slothfulnesse Eccles. X. 18.–By slouthfulnesse the
the balkes fall down.
roof of the house goeth to decay.
Is. xxx. 27.- His presence is so hot that Ís. xxx. 27.—His face is burning and
no man is able to abide.
the burden thereof is heavy.
Is. xxxii. 18.-Dwell in the innes of Is. xxxii. 18.-Dwell in the taber-
peace.
nacles of peace.
Is. lxii. 6.-Ye that remember the Is. Ixii. 6.-Ye that are mindful of the
Lord, ye shall not keep him close. Lord, keep not silence.
Is. lxvi. 3.-He that killeth a sheep
Is. lxvi. 3. He that sacrificeth a
for me (is as one that) knetcheth a dogge. sheep (is) as if he cut off a dogges necke.
(Choketh a dog, Coverdale.)
Jer. xxiii. 9. --My heart breaketh in Jer. xxiii. 9.-Mine heart breaketh
my body.
within me.
Jer. xxvi. 20.—There was a prophet Jer. xxvi. 20.--There was also a man
that preached stiffty in the name of the that prophesied in the name of the Lord,
Lord, called Urias.
one Uriah.
Considering that even in the authorised version there are
many antiquated words and phrases, we cannot be surprised to
find that in the Bishops' Bible there have been retained, from
the older translations, a goodly number of archaic terms and
forms of expression. Some of these, however, are more antique
than we might be prepared for. The following phrases among
others were adopted by the bishops from the Great Bible :
"the owne accord,” Acts xii. 10; "other many," Acts xv. 35;
a good many of days,” Acts xxi. 10; although in each of
these instances there had been introduced into the Geneva
version a phraseology of more modern aspect. Where we are
accustomed to read, Mat. xxi. 44, "it shall grind him to
powder," we find it said in the Bishops' Bible, “it shall all to
grinde him ;” that is, it shall grind him utterly and com-
pletely. Other archaic words in the Bishops' Bible are:
"depart from,” in the sense of part with, or give away; "The
nigarde having inough will depart from nothing, and yet is
euer in povertie," Prov. xi. 24; "sprong," in the sense of
1 This expression “all to," which was common in the early translations of the
Bible, and less common in subsequent ones, still lives in the authorised version :-
“A certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to
brake his skull,” Judges ix. 53. In the Geneva Version we read, Matthew vii. 6.
“ Neither cast ye your pearles before swine, lest they tread them under their feet,
and turning again all to rent you."
228
Bibles of England.
sprinkled, " Their blood shall be sprong upon my clothes,” Is.
lxiii. 3 ; "safe,” in the sense of whole, “Thy faith hath made
thee safe,” Mat. ix. 22 ; "occupying," in the sense of trading,
“Howe much every one had gayned in occupying,” Luke xix.
15 ; tarried,” in the form of a verb transitive; “ These going
before, tarried us at Troas," Acts xx. 5; “fet," for fetched,
"From them we fet a compass,” Acts xxviii. 13;"pight," for
pitched, “The true tabernacle which the Lord pyght, and not
man,” Heb. viii. 2; "herberous," for hospitable, “Be ye
herberous one to another, without grudging," i Pet. iv. 9; and
“raines," for fine linen; "To her was granted that she should
be arayed with pure and goodly raynes: for the raynes is the
righteousness of Christ," Rev. xix. 8. An odd expression
taken by the bishops from the Great Bible occurs in James i.
24, “For hee hath considered himselfe, and is gone his wayes,
and hath forgotten immediately what his fashion was."
Another odd and antique phrase, which the bishops them-
selves introduced into the English Testament, is, "make you
careless," in the old sense of secure. “ If this come to the
Deputy's ears we will persuade him and make you careless."
A quaint, antique, and expressive word that the bishops found
in the Great Bible, and retained in their own version, is "hus-
wifely," "A huswifely woman is a crowne unto her husband,"
Prov. xii. 4.
The marginal notes in the Bishops' Bible are not very
numerous, not nearly so numerous as in the Geneva Bible, and
they are generally not interesting. They are mostly designed
for the instruction of readers of weak capacity. A few of them,
however, are racy and entertaining. Some of them, too, are of
a theological and ecclesiastical strain that we should scarcely
have expected in a Bible issued by a body of prelates. To use
a phrase of Cardinal Wiseman’s, applied to another matter,
"they remind us of Geneva caps, and smack of predestination.”
And, in truth, the raciest and best of the bishops' notes are
1 Although the word fet does not occur in modern editions of the authorised
Version, it appears in the first edition of that version, 1611. See English Hexapla,
Acts xxviii. 13.
The Bibles of the Churches.
229
xxxvi. 24,
taken verbatim, and without grace of either acknowledgment
or thanks, from the Geneva Bible. On the statement, Gen.
“this was that Ana that found mules in the wilder-
ness as she fed her father Gibeon's asses," there is appended, in
the margin, a note that, "Man's vanitie cannot be content with
God's distinction of beastes, but inventeth the prodigious
generation of mules, between the asse and the mare." This is
very spicy criticism, but it lacks the virtue of originality; for,
if we turn to the Geneva Bible, we shall find there the same
ethical reflection expressed in the same words. From the
Geneva Bible, also, is taken the sour and unjust remark on
Gal. vi. 14: " By the world he meaneth all outwarde pompes,
ceremonies, and thinges which please mens fantasies.” The
quaint exposition of Heb. ii. 1, which we find in the Geneva
Bible, that "we must diligently keep in memorie the doctrine
which we have learned, lest like vessels full of chops, we leake
and run out on every part," is likewise appropriated by the
bishops. The Geneva note on i Peter V. I, that, “By elders he
understandeth all them which preach, teach, or minister in the
Church," appears in the Bishops' Bible also; but not the note on
Phil. i. 1, that, “By Bishops, the Apostle meaneth them that
had charge of the word and governing, as pastours, doctours,
elders;"2 nor the note on Acts xiv. 23, “That ministers were
not made without the consent of the people.” The sweeping
inference, deduced by the Geneva divines, from 2 Pet. ii. 3, that
the Pope “is not the successor of Simon Peter, but of Simon
Magus,” is, also, unscrupulously inserted by the bishops in their
marginal annotations. Episcopal prudence restrained the
bishops, however, from adopting the Geneva note on Rev. ix. 3,
that the locusts, which came out of the smoke of the bottomless
'I The reflection is out of place, for the passage was mistranslated of old, and now
reads in the revised version, "found the hot springs in the wilderness.”
2 Many dignitaries in the Church of England in the first days of the Reformation
would have acquiesced in this statement. "Cranmer expressed his opinion formally
in writing that bishops and priests were not two things, but both one office in the
beginning of Christ's religion. Thirteen bishops, with a great number of other
ecclesiastics, subscribed this proposition, that in the New Testament there is no
mention made of any degrees or distinctions in orders, but only deacons or ministers,
and priests or bishops." M'Crie's “Life of Knox," Note R, Vol. I.
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Bibles of England.
pit, were "worldly, subtil Prelates
with Archbishops,
&c., &c." Of sturdy doctrinal notes, taken by the bishops from
the margin of the Geneva Bible, many might be cited, but
one will be sufficiently illustrative: 1 Peter i. 2, “The free
election of God is the efficient cause of our salvation; the
material cause is Christes obedience ; our effectual calling is
the formal cause; and the final cause is our sanctification."
An interesting, although not very numerous, class of notes
in the Bishops' Bible, is that in which the Geneva annotations
are either modified or controverted. The conduct of Jacob in
passing himself off for Esau, in order to obtain his father's
blessing, is a matter that is differently regarded according as
the facts of the case are apprehended. The marginal note on
the subject in the Geneva Bible is : "Although Jaakob was
assured of his blessing by faith, yet he did euill to seeke it by
lyes, and the more because he abused God's name thereunto.”
The bishops were not prepared to endorse this condemnation,
in an unqualified way; and, for the Geneva note, they sub-
stituted the following: "The subtill dealing of Rebecca and
Jacob with Isaac, considered by itself, is altogether blame-
worthy; but if it be referred to the will of God, and setting
forth of his decree, it is commendable.” In his speech to the
men of Shechein, about a treaty of intermarriage with the
Israelites, Hamor is reported, Gen. xxxiv. 23, to have said: "Shall
not their goods and their substance, and all their cattel be ours;
let us only consent unto them, and they will dwell with us."
In the Geneva Bible, the note on this statement is: “They
lacke no kind of perswasion, whiche preferre their own com-
modities before the common welth.” By the bishops, the
more apposite remark is made: “Euile magistrates pretend a
common welth, and yet all is but for their owne cause."
Of original notes (or at least notes uninspired from Geneva),
that appear on the margin of the Bishops' Bible, the following
may be quoted as favourable specimens of those that are other
than common-place: Gen. xxiv. 49, “He treateth with the
mother and brother concerning the maiden, whereby it may
appeare that priuie contractes, without the knowledge and con-
sent of their parents, are not good”; Gen. xxv. 25 (“hee was
The Bibles of the Churches.
231
all ouer as it were a hearie garment, and they called his name
Esau”), “The crueltie of his minde answered to the roughness
of his body"! Phil. ii. 12 "work out your own salvation, &c.");
“Our health hangeth not on our workes, and yet are they sayd
to worke out their health, who doe runne in the race of justice.
For although we be saved freely in Christ by faith, yet must we
walke by the way of justice unto our health"; Rom. xvi. I
("Phoebe, our sister, which is a minister of the Church of
Cenchraea") "In the primitive Church, ancient widowes and
other vertuous women were chosen and appointed to minister
unto the needy, and therefore called ministers; and not because
they had any publique authoritie to teach in the congregation."
The distribution of notes over the margin of the Bishops'
Bible is very irregular and unequal. In some books hard to
understand, such as the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah, the
notes are very sparse, so sparse that five or six consecutive
pages may be found, here and there, ungarnished by a single
annotation; while in other books, such as Genesis, Exodus,
Job, and the Epistles of St. Paul, the notes are “thick as
autumn rains." It is not a little remarkable that while the
bishops have incorporated some of the Geneva observations on
the ritual, doctrines, and ecclesiastical assumptions of the
Catholic Church, they have scarcely a note on the margin of
the book of Revelation, where the most obnoxious of their
anti-Papal reflections were inserted by the Geneva divines.
One of the features of the Great Bible was the number of
interpolations it contained. These were enclosed in brackets,
and were printed in a different type from the surrounding text.
Few of these interpolations were transferred to the Bishops'
Bible, but a few were, such as: “ They did flye in the aire as it
were two cubits high,” Num. xi. 31 ; "desiring to be refreshed
with the crumbes which fell from the rich man's boord, and no
man gave unto him," Luke xvi. 21 ; “providing aforehande
things honest, not only before God, but also in the sight of all
men," Rom. xii. 17; “that ye may grow thereby unto salvation,"
1 Pet. ii. 2; “ he that knowledgeth the sonne hath the father also,"
1 John ii. 23. But into the Bishops' Bible (at least into some
editions of it), there were introduced a number of interpolations
232
Bibles of England.
that are not found in the Great Bible. To the question,
“where is he, or who is he?” Job. ix. 24, is appended, by the
bishops, the supplementary clause, “that can shewe the contrarie.”
In the eighteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel, two interpola-
tions have been inserted by the bishops, viz., v. 13,
“ And
Annas sent Christ bound unto Caiaphas the high priest ;” and v.
22, “one of the officers which stood by smote Jesus with a
rodde.” With the text of Acts ix. 22, the bishops incorporated
a note (which appears on the margin of the Geneva Bible), so
as to make the verse read : “ Saul increased the more in
strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus,
proving by conferring one Scripture with another that this is
On the other hand, there are in the Bishops'
Bible many instances in which words and phrases, printed as
part of the text in the Great Bible, appear in different type as
interpolations. In most of these cases, the interpolations are
simply supplementary words, supposed to be necessary to con-
vey the meaning of the original Scripture, by completing the
sentences in which they appear. Of these may be mentioned,
have I therefore seen an angel of the Lord face to face, that I
should die," Judges vi. 22 ; "to go dwell where he could find
very Christ."
I In Fulke's edition of the bishops' version of the New Testament (published
along with the text of the Rhemes Testament, 1633), the passage interpolated in
John xviii. 13 is given on the margin, as a reading advocated by some authorities;
and the words interpolated in Acts ix. 22 are given on the margin, as a comment
or explanation. In Fulke's Defence of the English translations of the Bible, chap.
XX., sec. 2, there is a curious statement regarding the latter interpolation, Gregory
Martin had alleged that this interpolation appears in a version bearing date 1577,
and that it was added by the Protestant translators“ in favour of their presump-
tuous opinion, that conference of Scripture is enough for any man to understand
them.” To this averment, Fulke replies :-“Either you make a loud ly or else
some one print which you have of the Bishops' Bible, which you call Bib. 1577,
hath put that in the line which should be the note in the margent. For, of foure
translations that I have, never a one hath that addition.” To Fulke's statement
Dr. Mombert adds :- “ The only edition of the Bishops' Bible known to have the
obnoxious clause is that of 1584, which Martin could not have used, because he
wrote in 1583,” p. 292. The interpolation here referred to may be seen, exactly as
printed by Martin (that is, in brackets), in a handsome folio bearing date 1577, and
said on the last page to be printed by Henrie Denham and Richard Watkins. It
will also he found in Barker's folio, 1588. Both of these volumes are in the library
of the University of Glasgow,
The Bibles of the Churches.
233
Gal. ii. 9;
a convenient place,” Judges xvii. 8 ; "and he made two pom mels
of moulten brass, after the fashion of a crown, to set on the
toppes of the pillars," i Kings vii, 16; "last of all, when we
women did sacrifice," Jer. xliv. 19; “as he sat at the boord,”
Mat. xxvi. 7 ; “that we should be apostles unto the heathen,"
Apollyon, that is to say, a destroyer."': Some of
these italicised expressions, or equivalents to them, will be
found in the authorised version also ; and what may seem
more remarkable, as a reversion to the form of the Great Bible,
two of them will be found unitalicised, as a part of the
legitimate text, in the revised version of the New Testament,
1881.
1 In Fulke's edition, 1633, this interpolation is given as a marginal note.
1
234
Bibles of England.
THE BIBLES OF THE CHURCHES.
NO. II.
Bible of the Catholic Church, commonly called the Douay Bible.
Editions consulted and quoted from :
Original version. 1609.
Old Testament, vol. I., Genesis to Job. Douay, 1609.
Old Testament, vol. II., Psalms to Malachi. Rouen, 1635.
New Testament. Bagster's Hexapla.
Challoner's Revision.
Coyne, five volumes. Dublin, 1811,
WHATEVER may be said of the scholastic merits of the
bishops' translation of the Scriptures, the watchmen of the
Church of England, in 1564, are at least to be commended for
taking measures to prevent prejudice to the doctrines and
constitution of their church, by the circulation of annotated
Bibles in which contumelious remarks were made on prelates
and ceremonies. There was urgent need for similar action
on the part of the Church of Rome, if she desired to retain any
hold on the English people.
The popish clergy, and popish statesmen, had hitherto more
than discountenanced the circulation of Bibles in English.
Not to speak of earlier edicts on the subject, the Council of
Trent, which sat from 1545 to 1563, ordained that “The Holy
Scriptures, though truly and catholikely translated into vulgar
tongues, may not be indifferently read of all men, nor of any
other than such as have express license thereunto of their
lawful ordinaries, with good testimony from their curates and
confessors that they be humble discreet, and devout persons,
and like to take much good and no harm thereby.". Instead
I Preface to Rhemes Testament. Some Catholic prelates at that date opposed
even these concessions. In 1553, three bishops wrote a joint letter to the Pope in
The Bibles of the Churches.
235
of proclaiming freedom, the Catholic Church, it will thus be
seen, insisted on the necessity of license to read the Scriptures
even when truly and catholikely translated ;' and in defence of
that principle it was said by their apologists :—“We must not
imagine that in the primitive church either every one that
understood the learned tongues wherein the Scriptures were
written, or other languages into which they were translated,
might without reprehension read, reason, dispute, turn and toss
the Scriptures; or that our forefathers suffered every school-
master, scholar, or grammarian, that had a little Greek or Latin,
straight to take in hand the holy Testament; or that the
translated Bibles into the vulgar tongues were in the hands of
every husbandman, artificer, prentice, boy, girl, mistress, maid,
man ; that they were sung, played, alleaged, of every tinker,
taverner, rhymer, minstrel ; that they were for table talk, for
ale-benches, for boats and barges, and for every profane person
or company."
2ܙܙ
which they represented " that as little as possible of the Gospel (especially in the
mother tongue) be read in all countries subject to your jurisdiction. That little
which is usually read at Mass is sufficient, and beyond that no one whatever must
be permitted to read." (Brown's edition of Ortuinus Gratius' Fasciculus Rerum,
London, 1690, vol. ii., p. 648.) The words in the original Latin are :—“Denique
(quod inter omnia consilia, quae nos dare hoc tempore beatitudini tuae possumus,
omnium gravissimum, ad extremum reservavimus) oculi hic aperiendi sunt, omnibus
nervis adnitendum erit, ut quam minimum evangelii poterit (praeserim (sic) vulgari
lingua) in iis legatur civitatibus, quae sub tua ditione ac potestate sunt. Sufficiat-
que tantillum illud quod in Missa legi solet, nec eo amplius cuiquam mortalium
legere permittatur. Quamdiu enim pauculo illo homines contenti fuerunt, tamdiu
res tuae ex sententia successere ; eadem-que in contrarium labi coeperunt, ex quo
ulterius legi vulgo usurpatum est. Hic ille (in summa) est liber qui praeter caeteros
hasce nobis tempestates et turbines concitavit quibus prope abrepti suinus.
Quare occultandae pauculae illae chartae erunt, sed adhibitae quadam cautione ac
diligentia, ne ea res majores nobis turbas ac tumultus excitet.”
1 On this point the attitude of the Catholic Church is still practically unchanged:
Less than ten years ago it was forbidden to buy in Ireland a Douai version (the
authorised Roman Catholic version) of the Bible without being furnished with a
license from the priest. And to-day if a Roman Catholic ventures to open a Bible
-even the carefully annotated Douai version which is supposed to be permitted —
he is bound to confess such act to his priest.” (The Pope and the Bible, Christian
Life Publishing Co., London, 1888.)
2 Preface to Rhemes Testament.
236
Bibles of England.
It was ostensibly, however, on the grounds that all English
versions of the Scriptures, hitherto published, were incorrect
and untruthful translations of God's word, and that they
tended to pervert and corrupt the minds of those who read
them, that the circulation of the Bible in English was
denounced and opposed by Catholic prelates. But it was soon
discovered that the prohibition and denunciation of English
versions of the Bible could not prevent the spread of heresy.
In spite of prohibition and denunciation, the Bible in English
continued to be read by more and more of the English people.
The attempt, by the Catholic clergy, to suppress English
i versions of the Bible created, in fact, a prejudice against the
Catholic Church. It seemed an admission of the Protestant
doctrine, that the Scriptures are the sole standard of Christian
faith ; and it created a suspicion, that the Catholics were so
conscious of their defection from the truth that they were afraid
to appeal to the divine word. As time wore on, many Catholics
felt that something more must be done than merely exclaim
against the foul dealing of the English sectaries with the holy
'Scriptures, by means of a partial and false translations, to the
advantage of their heresies, in their English Bibles used and
authorised since the time of their schism.” If the Catholic
Church considered these English Bibles corrupt and heretical,
it was clearly her wisest policy as well as her bounden duty,
both to her own children and to those that had declined from
her communion, to issue a new version of the Bible in English,
which she could warrant to be authentic and genuine.
During the reign of Elizabeth, the Church of Rome could
scarcely do in England what we have seen was done by the
Reformed Church. The mass was prohibited, and the English
liturgy was established in its stead. All beneficed ecclesiastics
were compelled to take the oath of supremacy,
and
renounce
the spiritual as well as temporal jurisdiction of every foreign
prince or prelate, on pain of forfeiting their office or benefice."
From that date, there ceased to be a popish hierarchy, or face
of a Catholic Church, in all England. Popish bishops could
Inot unite together as Protestant bishops did, in 1564, to revise
the English Bible, and issue a new version of the Scriptures
The Bibles of the Churches.
237
under high ecclesiastical patronage. The faithful Catholics of
England were scattered abroad. But, to their praise be it said,
some of these poor persecuted Papists, true to their principles
and professions, did in their exile what the Protestant refugees
had done before at Geneva. They set themselves to the task
of translating the Bible. And, in 1582, they brought out, from
the press at Rhemes, an English translation of the New Testa-
ment. “ Lack of good means,” in their poor estate of banish-V
ment, prevented them from publishing, at the same time, their
translation of the Old Testament ; but in 1609-1610, they were
enabled to give the public the full benefit of their labours, in an
English version of that part of the Bible also, which was
printed at Douay, and has hence come to be designated the
Douay Bible.
The credit of this version of Scripture, translated on Catholic
principles, devolves mainly on three men, tres diversi eruditissimi
theologi, whose names were Gregory Martin, William Allen, and
Richard Bristow. Of these, Martin was the most eminent;' and
he seems to have been the one that made the translation. He
was a man of considerable learning, "reputed the best Hebrew
and Greek scholar of his college,” when he took his degree at,
Oxford ; and he was distinguished also as a polemical writer
of both vigour and asperity.
The title on the Rhemes Testament, 1582, indicated both the
source from which that translation was derived, and the special
objects the translators had in view by its publication. The
source from which the Rhemes Testament came was
authentical Latin, diligently conferred with the Greek and other
editions in diverse languages.” The objects, again, for which
the Rhemes Testament, with its "annotations and other
necessary helps," was published, were “the discovery of the
corruptions of diverse late translations, and of the clearing of
controversies in religion."
The title-page of the Douay Bible, 1609-1610, bore a similar
declaration.
The first thing, therefore, to be noted in regard to the
" the
1 Allen attained the rank of cardinal.
238
Bibles of England.
Rhemes Testament and the Douay Bible, is that, like Wyclif's
Bible, they were translated from the Latin Vulgate. In other
words they are translations of a translation. They were not
drawn from the fountain head, like the translations by Tyndale,
and the Geneva exiles. It was not, however, because Martin
and his colleagues wanted the necessary scholarship. They
were, from all accounts, quite competent to have translated
from the Greek and Hebrew originals; and, indeed, they were
careful to state, on the title pages of both the Rhemes and the
Douay publications, that the original Scriptures had not been
1
overlooked or disregarded. The Vulgate was compared "with
the Hebrew, Greek, and other editions in diverse languages.'
But the apparently strange theory was held, that the Vulgate
Latin is of more authority, and more to be relied on for
accuracy, than any copy we have of the Scriptures in Hebrew
and Greek. In a prologue prefixed to the Rhemes Testament,
the translators say, that, besides its antiquity and the commen-
dation it receives from the Fathers, the Latin Vulgate is
declared by the Holy Council of Trent to be "not only better
than all other Latin translations, but than the Greek text itself
in those places where they disagree.” In an epistle to the
English reader, prefixed to the Douay Bible, 1609-1610, it is
said to the same effect " Another question may be proposed
why we translated the Latin text, rather than the Hebrew or
Greek which Protestants prefer as the fountain tongue, wherein
holy Scriptures were first written. To this we answer, that if
indeed those first pure Editions were now extant, or if such as
I That the Rhemes translators of the New Testament had a Greek text before
them, is held to be conclusively proved by the way in which articles, unexpressed
in the Vulgate, are introduced into the English version. “It might well be sup-
posed,” says Dr. Moulton, “that of all English versions the Rhemish would be
least accurate in this point of translation. The very reverse is actually the case.
There are many instances in which, of all versions, from Tyndale's to the authorised
inclusive, this alone is correct in regard to the article.” While the Greek article,
however, is in many instances correctly rendered in the Rhemes Testament, it is in
many other cases left untranslated, and an English article is sometimes introduced
where there is no article in the original : as- Five loaves among five thousand,”
(instead of “ The five loaves among the five thousand ") Mark viii. 19; "
of truth,” (instead of “The way of the truth”), 2 Pet. ii. 2; and," You are not
under the law," (instead of “under law'), Rom. vi. 14.
66 The way
The Bibles of the Churches.
239
be extant were more pure than the Latin, we would also prefer
such fountains before the rivers, in whatsoever they should be
found to disagree. But the ancient best learned Fathers and
Doctors of the Church do much complain and testify to us that
both the Hebrew and Greek editions are foully corrupted by
Jews and Heretics, since the Latin was truly translated out of
then, while they were more pure ; and that the same Latin
hath been far better conserved from corruptions.”
The text from which the Rhemes Testament and Douay
Bible are translated is termed, on the title pages of both of
these publications, “the authentical Latin.” And an explana-
tion of the term authentical is given in the prologue to the
Rhemes Testament, where it is stated that the Vulgate was
the only one of all the Latin translations of the Scriptures
declared by the Council of Trent to be “authentical.” This
account of the Council of Trent's declaration is a slight
over-statement. All that the Council of Trent affirmed was
that in public readings, disputations, sermons, and lectures,
the Vulgate edition should be held as authentic." I The
Council of Trent gave orders, also, that the Vulgate should,
henceforth, be printed with all the accuracy attainable.
But, for years after the Council of Trent had brought its sessions
to a close, there was no copy of the Vulgate that was pronounced
authoritatively to contain the standard text of Scripture. It was
reserved to Pope Sixtus V. to supply this want for the Church.
In 1590, that pontiff published a carefully collated copy of the
Vulgate, with the following proclamation attached to it :-" By
the fulness of Apostolical power, we decree and declare that
this edition
approved by the authority delivered to us
by the Lord, is to be received and held as true, lawful, authentic
and unquestioned, in all public and private discussion, reading,
preaching and explanation.” Even the decree of a Pope, how-
ever, will not make any text or version of Scripture "authen-
tical,” in the sense of being absolutely without error. And the
1
I The terms of the Council's declaration were :-“Statuit et declarat, ut haec
ipsa vetus et vulgata editio, quae longo tot seculorum usu in ipsa ecclesia probata
est, in publicis lectionibus, disputationibus, praedicationibus et expositionibus pro
authentica habeatur."
240
Bibles of England.
character of this true, lawful and authentic edition of the Vulgate
is thus described by Canon Westcott:: "He (Sixtus) had
changed the readings of those whom he had employed to report
upon the text with the most arbitrary and unskilful hand, and
it is scarcely an exaggeration to say that his precipitate self-
reliance had brought the Church into the most serious peril."
Sixtus died soon after the publication of this authentic Vulgate;
and so great was the scandal created in learned circles by his
| arbitrary and unskilful editing, that within little more than a
year after his death, Bellarmin, with consummate casuistry,
,
proposed that a new and corrected edition of the Vulgate
should with all convenient speed be printed, “under the name
of Sixtus, with a prefatory note, that several errors had crept
into the former edition through the carelessness of the printers.
The result was that in 1592 a new authentic edition of the
Vulgate was published under the authority of another Pope,
Clement VIII. This second authentic Vulgate differed widely
from the first; more widely, it is said, than did the first from
almost any unauthenticated copy in circulation.
It is quite clear, therefore, that in 1582, when the Rhemes
Testament was published, there was no "authentical” Vulgate
to found upon, for an absolutely correct version of the Scrip-
tures in Latin. One critic says, “it is impossible to tell what
edition of the Vulgate was used by the Rhemish translators,
but it must have been one of the very worst.”2 To do them
justice, however, it should be mentioned that in the preface to
their translation of the New Testament they have the candour
to say: "We bind not ourselves to the points of any one copy,
print, or edition of the vulgar Latin, in places of no controversy,
but follow the pointing most agreeable to the Greek and to the
fathers' commentaries.” The translation of the Old Testament
was, like that of the New, completed before the publication of
either the Sixtine (1590) or the Clementine (1592) authorised
edition of the Vulgate; but having been left unpublished till
1609, it was revised and “conformed to the most perfect Latin
text" before it was issued to the English public.
* Article, Vulgate, in Smith's “Dictionary of Christian Antiquities.”
2 Mombert.
The Bibles of the Churches.
241
The principle on which the Rhemes and Douay translators
proceeded is indicated in the preface to the first edition of the
Rhemes Testament. “ We wish it,” they say, “to be most
sincerely, as becometh, a Catholic translation, and have
endeavoured so to make it ; we are very precise and religious
in following our copy, the old vulgar approved Latin ; not only
in sense, which we hope we always do, but sometimes in the
very words also and phrases, which may seem to the vulgar
reader and to common English ears not yet acquainted there-
with rudeness or ignorance.
Moreover, we presume
not, in hard places, to mollify the speeches and phrases, but
religiously keep them word for word, and point for point, for
fear of missing or restraining the sense of the Holy Ghost to
our phantasie." This procedure was in strict accordance with
the principles of Scripture translation that had long previously
been propounded by Catholic Churchmen. In 1542, when the
Church in England was in a transition state between Popery
and Protestantism, with some of its benefices held by reform-
ing and some by reactionary divines, a proposal was made in
Convocation that the Great Bible should be revised according to
the Vulgate. To this proposal was added a rider by Gardiner,
the Popish bishop of Winchester, that something like a hundred
Latin words in the Vulgate, which he enumerated, should in
the new translation be either retained in their original form
“for their genuine meaning and the mystery of the matter in
them contained,” or be “fitly Englished with the least
alteration." Gardiner's list of words comprised, as might be
expected, poenitentia (penitence or penance); caritas (love or
charity); gratia (favour or grace); ecclesia (congregation or
church); sacramentum (mystery or sacrament); and such other
ecclesiastical terms as have in previous chapters of this volume
been referred to. Besides these controverted words, too, Gardi-
ner's list included simulacrum (image); idolum (idol); spiritus
sanctus (holy ghost); benedictio (blessing); adorare (to worship);
elementa (rudiments); hostia (an animal offered in sacrifice),
etc., etc. In the preface to the Douay Bible, 1609-1610, the
translators accordingly say :-"Now for the strictness observed
in translating some words, or rather the not translating of
R
242
Bibles of England.
some, which is in more danger to be disliked, we doubt not but
the discreet learned reader, deeply weighing and considering
the importance of sacred words, and how easily the translator
may miss the sense of the Holy Ghost, will hold that which is
here done for reasonable and necessary. We have also the
example of the Latin and Greek, where some words are not
translated, but left in Hebrew, as they were first spoken and
written ; which seeing they could not, or were not convenient
to be translated into Latin or Greek, how much less could they
or was it reason to turn them into English.
Briefly,
our apology is easy against English Protestants ; because they
also reserve some words in the original tongue, not translated
Vinto English, as Sabbath, Ephod, Pentecost, Proselyte, and some
others.
Adherence to this principle has exposed the Douay' version
of the Bible to much unfavourable criticism. There are so
many Latin words printed in it unchanged, or only changed in
termination, that one English divine has called it a translation
which needs to be translated. Another critic says, it is prob-
ably to the general reader the least intelligible of all the
English versions of Scripture. Another author remarks that
the style has few admirers. Even a Catholic scholar, who
himself tried his hand at translation, has not scrupled to
pronounce the Douay Bible a barbarous translation. It would
be correct to say it is just what the translators themselves
professed it was their aim to make it-a semi-translation or
a translation to the extent they felt they could safely go, with-
out compromising some Catholic doctrine or some Catholic
sentiment. The argument of the editors was, it would be easy
to give a more smoothly-flowing translation, a simpler narrative,
and a finer specimen of English literature, but it would be at the
risk of taking from, or adding to the meaning of God's own
revelation. They were of opinion, therefore, that duty both to
God and man, required the translators to be accurate rather
than entertaining, and to quote the ipsissima verba of inspira-
I The phrase Douay Bible is here, and in some other places, applied to the
Rhemes Testament also-in other words, to the Catholic version in English of the
whole Bible.
The Bibles of the Churches.
243
tion rather than bring themselves under the condemnation of
handling the word of God deceitfully.
Let us now turn to the Douay Bible itself, and see how the
translators have done their work; and first in the New Testa-
ment. One thing that specially strikes the reader of the
Rhemes Testament is the number of long words, obviously of
Latin extraction, that appear on almost every page. If we
refer to the Latin Vulgate we shall find that a very large pro,
portion of these long words are just the words of the Vulgate
slightly anglified. Some of them are words we seldom, or
never, meet with anywhere else; others are words that,
although not uncommon, are used in a sense quite different
from what they bear in modern speech ; and others are words
that, although intelligible enough, might with much advantage
be displaced by shorter and simpler terms of Saxon origin.
As furnishing examples of the first of these three classes of
words—those, namely, that are rare, antiquated, or obsolete-
the following passages may be quoted : “He shall be great
before our Lord, and wine and sicer (vinum et siceram) he shall
not drink,” Luke i. 15: "And Joseph buying sindon (sin-
donem) and taking him down, wrapped him in the sindon and
laid him in a monument" (in monumento), Mark xv. 46;
" Captiving me in the law of sin,” Rom. vii. 23 ; “Purge the
old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you are azymes
(azymi), 1 Cor. v. 7 ; " Contristrate not (nolite contristrare) the
holy spirit of God,” Eph. iv. 30;" "Fathers, provoke not your
children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and
correption (correptione) of our Lord,” Eph. vi. 4; “ Acception of
persons (personarum acceptio) is not with him,” Eph. vi. 9; "I
pursue to the marke, to the price of the supernal vocation
(supernal vocationis) of God,” Phil. iii. 14; “Elias was a man
like unto us passible” (passibilis), James v. 17; “ As we went
to prayer, a certain wench, having a pythonical spirit (spiritum
pythonem) met us,” Acts xvi. 16; "Give us to-day our super-
substantial bread” (panem supersubstantialem), Mat. vi. 11.2
1 More simply expressed by Wyclif, "nyle ye make the holi goost of God sorie."
2 In the parallel passage, Luke xi. 3, the phrase in the Rhemes Testament is
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Of the second class of Latin-English terms found in the Rhemes
Testament—those, namely, which are used in an etymological
and archaic sense different from the meaning they now bear in
common speech_examples to any number might be cited.
The "shew-bread,” for instance, is called “the loaves of propo-
sition," that is, the loaves placed or set before the Lord on the
altar In accordance with a special meaning of prevaricor in
Latin, the words prevaricate and prevarication are used by the
Rhemes translators, not in the sense of dissembling or shuffling,
but in the sense of sinning or transgressing. It is said of Judas
Iscariot, that "he prevaricated, that he might go to his own
place," and St. Paul is made to say, what to the ears of modern
litigants and legal counsel must be curiously suggestive,
"Where is no law, neither is there prevarication.” Another
word that appears in the Rhemes Testament in an odd connec-
tion is mortification: "We bear about in our body the mortifica-
tion (mortificationem) of Jesus,” 2 Cor. iv. 10. And as a synonym
to mortification, in this sense, the word resolution occurs also :
*“ The time of my resolution (tempus resolutionis) is at hand,” 2
Tim. iv. 6. In like manner, for "fruit of the vine," we find "gen-
eration of the vine"; for “deceive himself," "seduce himself"; for
power of God," "virtue of God”; for "fatherless," pupils; ;
and for “disbelief," diffidence. In two verses, almost con-
tiguous to each other, we meet with form and reform in the
sense of their Latin counterparts in the Vulgate: “Be followers
of me, and observe them that walk so as you have our form
(forinain nostram). . For our conversation is in heaven,
whence also we expect the Saviour, who will reforın (qui
reformabit) the body of our humility, configured (configuratum)
to the body of his glory," Phil. iii. 17-21.
Of the third class of Latinistic words imported into the
Rhemes Testament from the Vulgate--those, namely, which
although used in a current and popular sense might with ad-
daily bread, and in the Vulgate, panem quotidianum. In the Greek Testament the
word used to designate the bread prayed for is in both passages epiousion. But
this Greek word has been differently interpreted. By some scholars it is rendered
in Latin quoditianus, and by others, who trace it to a different source, substantificus,
supersubstantialis, or superessentialis. See Scapulae Lexicon.
The Bibles of the Churches.
245
vantage be replaced by simpler terms of Saxon origin—there
is no end to the examples that might be quoted. On almost
every page we encounter foreign terms, which to our “profane |
and delicate ears sound hard and barbarous." Where, for
instance, the word filled might have been used the word replen-
ished is introduced. People are spoken of as being replenished
with fear, replenished with madness, replenished with zeal, re-
plenished with the Holy Ghost. Another word that is used
where a simpler might have been found is assumpted. The day
on which Jesus ascended into heaven is called, Acts i. 2, the
day on which He was assumpted; and when the hour for His
assumption came, it is said, Acts i. 9, that “in their sight he
was elevated.” In like manner, “the Lord's day” is designated,
Rev. i. 10, the dominical day; "the household of faith,” Gal. vi.
10, the domesticals of faith; "The redemption of the purchased
possession," Eph. i. 14, the redemption of acquisition. For
"harden not your hearts," Heb. iii. 15, we read, do not obdurate
your hearts; for “drawn away of his own lust and enticed,"
Jas. i. 14, of his own concupiscence abstracted and allured; for
"beholding his natural face," Jas. i. 23, beholding the counten-
ance of his nativity; and for “pass the time of your sojourning,"
1 Pet. i. 17, converse ye the time of your peregrination. As if
with the view of bewildering plain people, and suggesting to
them supersubstantial significance in the most realistic things,
“drunkenness and revellings” are Gal. v. 21, termed ebrieties
and commesations ; “vile affections,” Rom. i. 26, passions of
ignominy; “filthiness” and “spots,” 2 Cor. vii. I, and 2 Pet. ii.
13, inquinations and coinquinations.
Not only, too, are the words of the Latin Vulgate translated
in the Rhemes Testament, as far as practicable, by their
English derivatives, rather than by their best understood
equivalents, but in some cases, Latin words are transferred
bodily, without any change whatever, into the English version.
In one place, I Tim. vi. 20, we read :-"Oh Timothee, keep
the depositum"; in another, Heb. ix. 3—“The tabernacle,
which is called sancta sanctorum”; in a third, John v. 2–
“ There is at Jerusalem upon Probatica a pond." The reten-
tion of the Latin word in its native form, in the last cited
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passage, may possibly be considered practically justified by the
fact, that the word Probatica (which appears in the Greek text
as well as in the Vulgate) has been differently Englished by
different translators. Wyclif renders it “a waischynge place ;"
Tyndale, “ the slaughter-house"; the Geneva exiles “ the place
of the sheep”; the bishops, “ the sheep-market ”; and now the
international revisers, 1881, have adopted, what in the
Bishops' Bible and the authorised version appears as the alter-
native rendering on the margin, “the sheep gate.” Other un-
translated words in the Rhemes Testament are : Parasceue,
Mat. xxvii. 62, for “day of preparation”; archysynagogue,
Mark v. 35, for “ ruler of the synagogue”; scenopegia, John vii.
2, for “ feast of tabernacles”; and Euro-aquilo, Acts xxvii. 14,
for, what in familiar nautical language is called “Nor-easter."
In the Rhemes Testament, again, we find not only a slavish
adherence to the very words of the Vulgate, but an adherence
almost equally slavish to the idiom of the Vulgate. In some
cases, the structure of a sentence, down to its minutest details,
is carefully reproduced not only word for word but "point for
point." This at times is done with good enough effect, but at
other times not so happily. At Luke vii. 44, we read :-“ And
turning to the woman, Jesus said unto Simon. Dost thou see
this woman? I entered into thy house. Water to my feet
thou didst not give, but she with tears hath watered my feet,
and with her hairs hath wiped them.” The order of words
here may not, perhaps, be considered the best possible, but it
at least occasions no ambiguity nor difficulty of interpretation.
That, however, is more than can be said of the following
rendering of 1 Thess. iv. 14—" For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, so also God them that have
slept by Jesus will bring with him." But the Rhemes
divines were
never at a loss for a reason with which
to vindicate their procedure. . When ambiguity resulted
Ifrom the excessive literalness of their renderings, they justified
the ambiguity, on the ground that what in the original admits
of more meanings than one should in the translation be as open
to several constructions. They pronounced it "a common
fault and intolerable” in Protestant versions of the Scriptures,
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247
that the sense of the Holy Ghost was abridged "to one particu-
lar understanding.” They, therefore, translated i Pet. ii. 2: “As
infants ever new-born, reasonable, milk without guile desire ye,
that in it you may grow unto salvation.” The grammatical
chaos of this sentence was intentional. “Here," they said, "we
do so place reasonable of purpose, that it may be indifferent
both to infants going before, as in our Latin text, or to milk
that followeth after, as in other Latin copies, and in the Greek.”
One thing that, from (we suppose) regard to the verbal inspira-
tion of the Scriptures, they were very chary of doing was the,
insertion, in their English text, of supplementary words that
had no counterparts in the original. Some sentences in their
translation have, for this reason, a look of incompleteness ;
others are obscure; and others still are out of harmony with the
context. One sentence that, from this cause, is both elliptical
and obscure is Rev. xxi. 17 : “ He measured the wall thereof of
an hundred fourtie foure cubites, the measure of a man which
is of an angel.": One sentence, again, that is obviously at
variance with what follows is 1 Tim. iv. 3: “Forbidding to
marie, to abstaine (i.e., forbidding, instead of commanding to
abstain) from meates which God created to
created to receave with
thankes-giving for the faithful." And it may here be
remarked that not only is it often necessary for translators
to supply a word in order to set forth the meaning of the
original, but it is sometimes necessary to do so in order
to make their translation literal as well as intelligible. In
the Rhemes Testament, for instance, we read, 2 Cor. iii. 7: "If
the ministration of death, with letters figured in stones, was in
glory, so that the children of Israel could not behold the face
1 A sentence that by this means is shorn of its Apostolic dignity is 2 Cor. xi. 24,
“Of the Jewes five times, did I receive fourtie, saving one.”
One verse that has its theological import affected by the punctuation is 2 Cor. v.
17. According to the punctuation in the Greek text as commonly printed, the
verse is correctly rendered—“If any man (be) in Christ, (he is) a new creature: old
things are past away.” If otherwise pointed, the verse might be rendered, as in
the Vulgate-"Si qua ergo in Christo nova creatura, vetera transierunt.” The
Rhemes translation, like good money, answereth all things.” “ If then any be
in Christ a new creature: the old are passed, behold all things are made new.”
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.
of Moses, for the glory of his countenance, that is made void.”,
But the question arises, what is it that is here said to be made
void? The relative pronoun that might apply to any one of
several nouns. In the Latin and Greek Texts, however, the
gender of the word translated that removes the ambiguity. In
order, therefore, to be strictly literal, the Rhemes translators
should have done as Tyndale did before them, and rendered
the last clause of the verse, "which glory is made void."
A feature in the Rhemes and Douay version of the Scrip-
tures that has been much commended by scholastic critics is
the uniformity of its renderings. It may be remarked, how-
ever, that the renderings in the Rhemes Testament ar
absolutely uniform. In Mark i. 30, 31, two Latin words derived
from the same root, are englished not only by dissimilar words,
but by words that although originally of identical meaning
have come now to signify respectively the hot and the cold
stages of an intermittent malady: “Simon's wife's mother lay
in a fit of a fever
and comminge neere, he lifted her
up, taking her by the hand; and incontinent the ague (febris)
left her.” The Rhemes translators are nevertheless consistent,
as a rule, in their rendering of words; and they are sometimes
Icareful to make distinctions overlooked in both the authorised
and revised versions, as in Mark viii. 19, 20, “When I brake
five loaves, among five thousand, how many baskets ful of frag-
ments tooke ye up? When also, seven loaves among four
thousand, how many maundes of fragments took you up ?”
It need scarcely be said that the Rhemes translators are
extremely careful to use no English word in reference to things
ecclesiastical that would in the remotest degree discountenance
any dogma or custom cherished in the Catholic Church. One
of their charges against Protestants was, that, by false transla-
tion of Scripture, "they had, instead of God's law and testa-
ment, and for Christ's written will and word, given people their
own wicked writing and phantasies, most shamefully in all their
versions
corrupting both the letter and sense
and altering all the authentical and ecclesiastical words used
sithence our Christianity into new profane novelties of speeches
agreeable to their doctrine,” Among other things, Protestants
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249
were charged with using “in ill part, where they are not in the
original text," the words, procession, images, excommunicate ;.
and with avoiding the following other words, when they do occur
in the original, church, altar, sacrament, priests, Catholic, tradici
tions, etc. There is marvellous acuteness shewn, too, by the
Rhemes translators in detecting Protestant heresies. In the early
Protestant versions of the Bible in English, Rom. viii. 18 is
translated :-“I am certainly persuaded that the afflictions of
this time are not worthy of the glory which shall be shewed
upon us." The words here italicised, said Martin, are meant
to indicate "that the tribulations of this life, be they never so
great, and though suffered for Christ, do not merit or
heavenly glory”-in other words, that justification is to be
obtained through faith only, and in no manner or measure by
good works. But, he added, the word worthy is a mis-transla-
tion; and in this contention, he has been supported by the
framers of the authorised version, who have changed the words
worthy of into "worthy to be compared with.” In the Vulgate
the verse reads "Existimo enim quod non sunt condignae
passiones hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam,” which in the
Rhemes Testament is literally rendered, "I think that the
passions of this time are not condign to the glory to come.”
Another Protestant rendering faulted by Catholics is, Luke
xxii. 20 :—“This cup is the New Testament in my blood
which is shed for you.” Translated directly and literally from
the Vulgate this clause reads in the Rhemes Testament:
'This is the chalice, the New Testament in my blood, which
shall be shed for you." By this rendering, two points were
supposed to be scored for catholicism. The use of the word
“chalice” was meant, as Dr. Fulke says, “to make fools believe i
that Christ used not a common cup, usual to be drunken in at
meat, but a consecrated vessel such as is occupied at masse."
It was alleged, also, by the translators, that the word " which
being made to refer to chalice and not to blood, “taketh away
all cavillations and shifts from the Protestants, both against
the reall presence and the true sacrificing; for it sheweth
evidently, that the blood as the contents of the chalice, or as in
1
16
250
Bibles of England.
the chalice, is shed for us, and not only as upon the cross." ;
Another of the points of abstruse doctrine in regard to which
Catholics and Protestants, in the sixteenth century, were at
variance, was the freedom of man's will. The Scottish Re-
formers in their Confession of Faith, 1560, declared "that the
cause of good works (is) not our free-will, but the spirit of the
Lord Jesus, who, dwelling in our hearts by true faith, bringeth
forth such works as God hath prepared for us to walk in.”
This was not Catholic doctrine ; and we find, accordingly, that
certain verses of Scripture, which three hundred years ago
were supposed to bear very directly on the question of
free-will, are differently rendered in the Catholic and
Protestant translations of the New Testament. One of
these verses is I Cor. xv. 10, which in the Great Bible, the
Geneva Bible, and the Bishops' Bible, is translated—"By the
grace of God I am that I am, and his grace which is in me,
was not in vain ; but I laboured more abundantly than they
all ; yet not I, but the grace of God which is with me." The
words italicised are omitted in the Rhemes Testament, so that
the last clause reads simply-"yet not I, but the grace of God
with me." This rendering, which is a literal translation of the
Vulgate (non ego autem sed gratia Dei mecum) “may," says
Gregory Martin, “ have this sense, 'not I, but the grace of God
which is with me,' as St. Hierome sometime expoundeth it ; or
this, 'not I, but the grace of God which laboured with me.'
And by this latter is most evidently signified, that the grace of
God and the Apostle both laboured together; and not only
grace, as though the Apostle had done nothing, like unto a
I On this annotation, Dr. Fulke remarks, with the ecclesiastical etiquette of his
times :--"All your trifling of the reall presence and true sacrificing is nothing but
vaine and unlearned insultation. For no ancient writer, for a thousand years after
Christ, or more, ever observed any such matter out of this text. And whereas you
say that Beza turneth himselſe roundly upon the holy Evangelist, charging him
with Soloecisme or false Greeke
except you would be taken for such ig-
norant asses that you know not the difference of Soloecismus and Soloecophanes
your malicious slander can have no excuse.
So miserable be your slights
and shifts of falsehood, forged upon impudent lies, and malicious slanders and un-
learned collections, God be praised who daily maketh your folly and madnesse more
and more manifest to all men."
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251
block forced only; but that the grace of God did so concurre,
as the principal agent, with all his labour, that his free-will
wrought withall.' Against which trueth and most approved
interpretation of this place, you translate according to the
former sense only, making it the very text, as your masters
Calvin and Beza taught."
From what has been said in previous chapters, it may be
surmised that in several places where the word "mystery
occurs in our authorised version of the Scriptures, the word
sacrament” will be found in the Rhemes Testament. And so
it is. In that translation, Eph. i. 9 is rendered : “That he
might make known unto us the sacrament of his will;" Eph. iii.
3,"According to revelation the sacrament was made known to
me ; I Tim. iii. 16, “It is a great sacrament of piety which
was manifested in flesh;" Rev. i. 20, "The sacrament of the
seven starres
the seven starres are the angels of the
seven churches," &c. The word "penance' is, also, of frequent
occurrence in the Rhemes Testament. It is said of John the
Baptist, Luke iii. 3, that he came into all the country of Jordan,
preaching the baptism of penance; and of St. Peter, that he
exhorted the strangers in Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, to
“ do penance, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ."
And it may be said generally, that by an apt use of particular
words, an appearance of Scriptural authority is, in the Rhemes ,
Testament, given to almost all the pecular dogmas and customs,'
institutions and nomenclature of the Catholic Church. Instead
of “ordain elders,” we read, Titus i. 5, “ordain priests”; instead
of“ remember them which have the rule over you,” Heb. xiii. 7,
“remember your Prelates";2 instead of " to the end ye may be
established,” Rom. i. 11, "to confirm you"; instead of "saved
us by the washing of regeneration,” Titus iii. 5, “saved us by
the laver of regeneration”; instead of “the laying on of the
hands of the presbytery," I Tim. iv. 14, "imposition of the
1 In some modern versions of the Rhemes Testament the word sacrament is in
all these passages changed into mystery.
2 Better still, as an inculcation of good manners, “Salute all your prelates,"
Heb, xiii. 24!
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Bibles of England.
hands of priesthood"; and instead of “messengers
messengers" and
"ambassadors" for Christ, 2 Cor. V. 20 and Eph. vi. 20, “legates”
for Christ. I
Three words that Catholics consider particularly ecclesi-
Jastical and sacred are grace, charity, and justice; and one
of the gravest faults imputed by Catholics to Protestant
translations of the Bible is the suppression of these words, or
the substitution of others for them, in places where they
should have been found. In the Bishops' Bible we read 2 Cor.
i. 15: "In this confidence was I minded first to have come unto
you, that ye might have had one pleasure more." The Greek
word here translated pleasure is charis, and the usual render-
ing of charis in Latin is gratia, and in English grace. The
Rhemes divines accordingly translate 2 Cor. i. 15 more ecclesi-
astically: “In this confidence I would first have come to you,
that you might have a second grace." But their Catholic rule of
translating charis in Greek, and gratia in Latin, by the English
word grace, was not invariable. In Acts xxv. 3, they translate
postulantes gratiam "requesting favour.” And as with grace
so with charity. Wherever the word caritas occurs in the
Vulgate, it is by the Rhemes divines translated charity; but
although caritas stands, in the Vulgate, for agape in the Greek
original, it does not follow that wherever agape is found in the
Greek Testament charity appears as its counterpart in the
Rhemes translation. In the Vulgate, agape is sometimes
rendered caritas, and sometimes dilectio. In the former case it
is, by the Rhemes divines, Englished charity, and in the latter
love. Thus, in one place, we read :-"God is charitie, and he
that abideth in charitie abideth in God"; and in another
passage of the same Apostle's writings-——“Greater love than this
no man hath, that a man yeld his life for his frendes." In
regard to the meaning and application of the last of the three
specially sacred terms, justice, the Rhemes theologians had a
(
1 An argument for Purgatory is founded on Acts ii. 27, “thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell” (in inferno, Vulgate); and on Gen. xxxvii. 35, “I will go down into
the grave unto my son” (in infernum, Vulgate). It was not grave,” says Mar-
tin, “ for Joseph was not buried" !
The Bibles of the Churches.
253
very curious theory. They found that in some places where
the word justus occurs in the Vulgate, the corresponding word
in English translations is just, while in other places it is
righteous. In this diversity of rendering, they imagined that
Protestants had a deep design. “They put the word just when
faith is joined withal, as 'the just shall live by faith.' But if
works be joined withal, and keeping the commandments, there?
they say righteous to suppresse justification by works.” A
glance at a common concordance will shew that there is no
ground for this charge against Protestants; and Dr. Fulke
was warranted in saying, “there is no professor of justification
by faith only that esteemeth it the worth of one haire whether
you say in any place of Scripture just or righteous.” The
Rhemes translators, however, with this fanciful distinction in
their minds, were very particular in using the word just, and its
English derivatives, whenever in the Vulgate they found justus
or any of its Latin derivatives. And in this way they were
often led to use expressions that to English ears are obscure as
well as uncouth, as, Luke i. 6, “They walked in all the,
commandments and justifications of our Lord”; and Rom. iv.
II, Abraham “received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
justice of faith that is in prepuce, that he might be the father of
all that believe by the prepuce, that unto them also it may be
reputed to justice."
It could easily be shewn that the Vulgate, from which the
Rhemes version of the Testament is derived, is with all its
merits, not perfect as a Latin translation. In its rendering of
particular words there is a want of uniformity. The word
agape, as we have seen, is sometimes rendered caritas and
sometimes dilectio. In some places mysterion is translated
mysterium; and in others, sacramentum. In some instances
inetanoesate and metanoeite are rendered poenitemini; and in
others, poenitentiam agite. There are many cases, again, of
antitheses presented to us in the Greek original which are not
preserved in the Latin Vulgate; such as apeithousi and
peithomenois, Rom. ii. 8, equivalent to obedient and disobedient,
but rendered by Jerome, non acquiescunt and credunt; ekdusasthai
and ependusasthai, 2 Cor. v. 4, equivalent to unclothed and
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Bibles of England.
« We
clothed upon, but rendered exspoliari and supervestiri; ende-
mountes and ekdemoumen, 2 Cor. v. 6, equivalent to at home and
from home, but loosely rendered dum sumus in corpore and
peregrinamur. The consequence is that the Rhemes renderings,
being literal translations of the Vulgate, are, in all these cases,
exceedingly feeble and pointless, as a repetition of them will
shew : Rom. ii. 8, "To them that obey not the truth, but give
credit to iniquity, wrath and indignation"; 2 Cor. V. 4,
would not be spoiled but overclothed ”; and 2 Cor. v. 6,
" While we are in the body we are pilgrims from God.”
It will thus be seen that from close and literal adherence to
the words and phrases of the Vulgate the Rhemes divines gave
to their English version of the Testament several uncommend-
able peculiarities. The translators were afraid to translate.
They had no lack of scholarship or command of good English.
They could discuss the meaning of words learnedly, and when
luntrammelled they could write trenchant English. But in
translating the Scriptures they were hampered by their own
maxim-—"not in hard places to mollifie the speeches or phrases,
but religiously keep them word for word, and point for point,
for fear of missing or restraining the sense of the Holy Ghost
to our fantasie.” Apart, however, from any reference to the
Vulgate, we have to consider what kind of book, from a literary
point of view, the Douay Bible is. It was not intended for
those that could read the Vulgate, but for those that could not.
Besides being accurate, therefore, it was requisite that it should
be readable ; a book that plain people could understand, and
a book that both educated and uneducated could peruse with
pleasure.
In previous chapters we have criticised, separately, the words
and phrases that occur in different English versions of the
Bible. In this chapter we shall follow the same method. One
feature of some of the older versions is the number of archaic
I The translation of this verse in the Bishops' Bible is singularly prosaic, which is
the more to be wondered at that the passage is well rendered in the Great Bible.
The bishops' rendering is, we would not put off our clothing, but upon the same
put on more.
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255
and obsolete words they contain. Of such words there are not
so many specimens to be found in the Rhemes testament. The
outstanding literary characteristic of that version, as has already
been remarked, is the latinity of its expressions. For the
simple precept “study to be quiet,” we read in the Rhemes
Testament, employ your endeavour to be quiet ; for “the sky is
red,” the element is red; for "lose his soul,” sustain the damage
of his soul; for “trance," excess of mind; and for “vexed with
the filthy conversation of the wicked," oppressed by the injury
and luxurious conversation of the abominable men. For « work-
fellow," we find coadjutor; for “preach the gospel,” evangelise ;
for "a gluttonous man," a gurmander; for “songs,” canticles,
for" built up," superedified; and for “novice," neophyte. Some
interesting archaisms may nevertheless be found in the Rhemes
Testament. It is said, I Cor. xi. 4, “Every man praying or
prophesying with his head covered dishonesteth his head”;
Gal. i. 7,“ There be some that trouble you and will inuert the
gospel of Christ"; Gal. vi. 6," Let him that is catechized in the
word communicate to him that catechizeth him, in all - his
goods.": Sometimes simpler and homelier words will be found
in the Rhemes than in the authorised Testament; as "the
manor," for the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to Joseph,"
John iv. 5 ; “judge not according to the face,” for judge not
according to the appearance, John vii. 24; “my dearest,” for
beloved, 3 John v. 2; and “ouergoe,” for go beyond or over-reach,
I Thess. iv. 6.
Passing now from single words and brief expressions to,
whole clauses and sentences, we shall again find much to note
with disfavour in the Rhemes Testament. Statements are
often indistinct, and sentences ill constructed. One verse in
the first Epistle of Peter has already been referred to, as having
been purposely and professedly left obscure by the translators,
I The words translated, " that is catechized,” are in the Vulgate, qui catechiza-
tur, and in the original Greek ho catechoumenos. The meaning of the Greek verb
catecheo is, not to put questions, but to din in people's ears, or teach by word of
mouth. Some of the old Catechisms were not in the form of question and answer,
but were simple expositions of faith and duty. See Prof. Mitchell's Introduction to
Gau's Richt Vay to the Kingdom of Heuine, p. xxviii.
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Bibles of England.
" He
I
"for fear of missing or restraining the sense of the holy ghost.'
Another verse avowedly left obscure for the same reason is
Eph. vi. 12: “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but
against Princes and Potestats, against the rectors of the world
of this darkenes, against the spirituals of wickednes in the celes-
tials." For the following sentences, some of which are crude
and incomplete, some hazy and well nigh meaningless, and
some grammatically open to misconstruction, no apology is
offered by the translators; and some readers will be inclined
to think it would be difficult to frame a satisfactory apology:
“This think in yourselues, which also in Christ Jesus,” Phil. ii. 5;
"See the dogges, see the euil workers, see the concision," Phil.
iii. 2; “To illuminate al men what is the dispensation of the
the sacrament hidden from worldes in God," Eph. iii. 9;
that is in secrete is a Jew,” Rom. ii. 29; “I will doe my diligence,
you to haue often after my decease also, that you may keepe a
memorie of these things," 2 Pet. i. 15.
It would be strange, however, if there were not some quaint
and happy phrases in the Rhemes Testament along with the
clumsy and incoherent ones that have been cited. We have
seen that in some of the early versions of the English Bible
there is occasionally what looks like an intended and a pleasant
play on words. And, notwithstanding their avowed aversion
to a “meretricious manner of writing " the Rhemes translators
sometimes, in the Testament, treat their readers to a little of
this pleasantry. Their rendering of Rom. iii. 24, is “justified
gratis by his grace," a neat expression, but not so neat in Eng-
lish as in the Latin from which it is derived, “justificati gratis
per gratiam ipsius. An unconscious idyllic simplicity, as well
as a pointed antithesis, appears also in the account of the
Sodomites, 2 Pet. ii. 8, “who from day to day vexed the just
soule (Lot) with unjust workes." A quaint colloquialism, too,
which few will find fault with, is: “See (quod he) that thou
make al things according to the exempler," Heb. viii. 5.
1 Another phrase of the same kind may be found in modern editions of the Douay
Bible (e.g., Dublin, 1811), in Eph. i. 6, “Unto the praise of the glory of his grace,
in which he hath graced us in his beloved son.”
The Bibles of the Churches.
257
Another not unpleasant colloquialism, which it may be re-
marked in passing is a literal rendering of the Vulgate? (tem-
poraneum et serotinum), appears in James v. 7:“The husband-
man expecteth the pretious fruite of the earth; patiently bear-
ing till he receive the timely and the lateward." Free and racy
again are such renderings as: “Who euer plaieth the souldiar
at his owne charges," I Cor. ix. 7; and "Fallen into a place
betwene two seas, they graueled the ship,” Acts xxvii. 41.
More forcible still are the following: “Thratled him, saying,
Repay that thou owest,” Mat. xviii. 28 ; Euery one that
falleth upon this stone shal be quashed," Luke xx. 18; and
"Damned them with subuersion," 2 Pet. ii. 6. There is a fine
ecclesiastical ring, which may well come home to the hearts of
Churchmen, in the words," the stipends of sin is death ;” and
there is all the appositeness of every day speech in the exhor-
tation, “ be not easily moued from your sense, nor be terrified
as though the day of our Lord were at hand.” A very
clumsy phrase, introduced by Tyndale, and retained in both
the authorised and revised versions, occurs in Mark ii. 12,
“They were all amazed and glorified God, saying, we never
saw it on this fashion.” The Rhemes divines rendered the last
clause more simply : “We neuer saw the like.”
That there should be in the Rhemes Testament some differ-
ent readings, and different renderings of the same readings,
from what we find in the authorised version of the Testament
in English, will occasion no surprise. A large proportion of
these differences are of a very minute kind. Some of them
have, nevertheless, been founded on for verification of import-
ant dogmas. We have already seen how much was made of
the Rhemes rendering of Luke xxii. 20:“This is the chalice,
the New Testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you."
Authority for another sacramentarian doctrine of the Catholic
Church was drawn by the Rhemes divines from their rendering
of Acts ii. 42 : “And they were perseuering in the doctrine of
the Apostles, and in the communication of the breaking of bread.”
This, they say, was the blessed sacrament," which the Apostles
1
1 Erasmus has " pluviam tempestivam et serotinam.”
TA
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Bibles of England.
daily administered to the Christians, at least in one kind." ;
Another verse that has both a Catholic and a Protestant read-
ing is i John iv. 3. The Protestant reading is : " Every spirit
that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not
of God.” The Catholic reading, as given in the Rhemes
Testament, is : "Euery spirit that dissolueth Jesus (qui solvit
Jesum, Vulgate) is not of God;" and the annotation on this
obscure reading is, that “to dissolve, loose, or separate Jesus
asunder was proper to all those old heretics that taught either
against his Divinity or Humanity, or the unity of his person."
Sometimes it is difficult to determine to which of two nouns in
the original a certain adjective, participle, or relative pronoun
should be referred, and in such circumstances it is not to be
wondered at that different renderings are given by different
translators. In the Greek text of 2 Cor. vii. 10, there is a word
ametameleeton, It is not agreed, says Dr. Bloomfield, whether
that word should be applied to salvation or repentance. In our
authorised translation of the Bible, the latter interpretation is
adopted, and the verse reads: "Godly sorrow worketh repen-
tance to salvation not to be repented of.” In the Rhemes
Testament the other interpretation is adopted, and the verse
reads there: “The sorow that is according to God worketh
penance unto saluation that is stable,” (salutem stabilem, Vul-
gate).
Some of the peculiar readings and renderings in the Rhemes
Testament might fitly be included in the chapter of Biblical
curiosities; such as, “He departed, and went and hanged him-
self with an halter," Mat. xxvii. 5; "Where is my refectorie,
where I may eate the pasche with my disciples,” Mark xiv. 14;
1
I A reading in the Rhemes Testament on which Catholics set much store is the
italicised clause in 2 Pet. i. 10, "Wherefore, brethren, labour the more that by
good works you may make sure your vocation and election. In the annotation on
this version of St. Peter's admonition, it is said that “Protestants not much liking
these words by good works .. leave them out of their translations by their
wonted policy.” There is really, however, no force in this insinuation ; for, as Dr.
Fulke remarks, “if in any translation, by good works be left out, it is because they
were left out of the text which we translated, yet we always confess that the cir-
cumstance of the place doth of necessity require that good works be understood
though they be not expressed."
The Bibles of the Churches.
259
“Forthwith his feete and soles were made strong," Acts iii. 7;
“If ... al speake with tongues, and there enter in vulgar
persons or infidels, will they not say that you be madde," I Cor.
xiv. 23; "We shall al in deede rise againe, but we shall not al
be changed," i Cor. xv. 51; "It was tedious unto us euen to
liue," 2 Cor. i. 8; “ The Holy Ghost being sent from heauen,
on whom the angels desire to looke," i Peter i. 12.
Considering the strain of the foregoing remarks, and the
vehemence with which the Rhemes Testament has been decried
by Protestants as a corruption of the word of God, the reader
will perhaps be scarcely prepared to hear now that a large
number of its peculiar readings and renderings have been
confirmed and adopted by the framers of the Revised New
Testament, 1881. This fact, which may easily be verified, is a
remarkable testimony to the intrinsic value of the Latin
Vulgate, as a faithful representation of the most ancient and
approved manuscript copies of the original Greek Testament.
One passage in the authorised version that the revisers, 1881,
have altered, is Mat. xix. 17:"Why callest thou me good ?"
For these words they have substituted, "Why askest thou me,
concerning that which is good ?" and this reading is just what
had been given as the true Scripture in the Rhemes Testament
three hundred years before. Another passage that the revisers
have altered is Rom. V. I. In the authorised translation that
verse reads: "Being justified by faith, we have peace with
God." The statement "we have peace," is by the revisers
changed into an exhortation, " Let us have peace with God”;
and this change is also a reversion to the Rhemes reading.
What appears in the authorised version, Gal. iv. 14, as “my
temptation," is in the Rhemes Testament called your
temptation"; and it is the latter reading that the revisers have
accepted. In the Rhemes Testament we read, 1 Tim. vi. 17-19,
“ Commaund the riche of this world
to doe wel, to
become riche in good workes, to giue easily
apprehend the true life.” Instead of "the true life," we find
in the authorised version, and in all the early English Protestant
versions, eternal life; but now in the revised translation “the
life that is life indeed.” And so, also, in Rev. xxii. 14, the
that they may
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Bibles of England.
revisers have, for the authorised reading, “Blessed are they that
do his commandments," inserted the Rhemes, "Blessed are
they that wash their robes." I
It is well known that many words, clauses, and sentences,
which are found in the authorised version of the New
Testament, are omitted in the revised. And it is a very
instructive fact that not a few of the passages so excluded from
the revised Testament are awanting in the Rhemes also. Of
these it will suffice to mention : “For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen," Mat. vi. 13 ;
“And to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized
with," Mat. xx. 22 ; “Verily, I say unto you, it shall be more
tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment
than for that city,"2 Mark vi. II; “But if it be of works then
is it no more grace, otherwise work is no more work,” Rom.
xi. 6.
To the student of ecclesiastical history, not the least
interesting reading in the Rhemes Testament are the annota-
tions. The notes in the Geneva Bible are well “
“powdered
with salt, but they are not much more saline and savoury than
those of the Rhemes translators. Every thing in the Church
of Rome that the Geneva divines allege to be inventions of the
man of sin, are by the Rhemes translators vindicated with
confident shew of Scripture authority; while, on the other hand,
the monstrous blasphemies of Protestants are triumphantly
exposed and lustily denounced.
The following will serve as samples both of the notes that
are polemical, and of those that are doctrinal :-
Mat. vi. 24.—Two masters. Two religions, God and Baal, Christ and Calvin,
Masse and Communion, the Catholic Church and Heretical Conventicles. Let
I The revised rendering of 1 Cor. iv. 4, “I know nothing against (instead of by)
myself, yet am I not hereby justified," may be said to have been anticipated in the
Rhemes translation, “I am not guilty in conscience of anything, but I am not
justified herein.” Wyclif's rendering was, “ I am nothing ouertrowinge to my silf,
but not in this thing I am justified.”
2 The passage omitted in the Rhemes and revised versions of Mat. xx. 22, is
given in Mark x. 38, and the words omitted in these versions of Mark vi. 11 are
given in Mat. X. 15.
The Bibles of the Churches.
261
them inark this lesson of our Saviour, that think they may serve all masters, all
times, all. religions.
Acts xx. 29.-The governors of the Church are foretold of the great danger that
should fall to the people by wolves, that is to say by heretics, whose cruelty towards
the Catholics is noted by this term.
Such wolves came afterwards indeed/
in diverse ages, Arius, Macedonius, Nestorius, Eutyches, Luther, Calvin, great
blood-sucking wolves and wasters of the flock of Christ.
2 Pet. ii. 19.-Who ever promised more liberty to their followers than Luther,
Calvin, and the like, taking away penance, fasting, continency or chastity, keeping
of vows, necessity of good works (because faith doth all), obedience.
I Tim. ii. 12.-In times of licentiousness, liberty, and heresy, women are much
given to reading, disputing, chatting, and jangling of the holy Scriptures ; yea, and
to teach also, if they might be permitted. But St. Paul utterly forbiddeth it ; and
the Greek doctors upon this place note that the woman taught but once, that was
when after her reasoning with Satan, she persuaded her husband to transgression,
and so she undid all mankind. And in the ecclesiastical writers we find that
women have been great promoters of every sort of heresy, which they would not
have done, if they had, according to the apostle's rule, followed piety and good
works, and lived in silence and subjection to their husbands."
2 Cor. ii. 17.
“ The Greek word signifieth to make commodity of the word of
God, as vulgar vintners do of their wine. Whereby is expressed the peculiar trade
of all heretics, and exceeding proper to the Protestants, that so corrupt Scriptures
by mixture of their own fantasies, by false translations, glosses, colourable and
pleasant commentaries, to deceive the taste of the simple, as taverners and tapsters
do, to make their wines saleable by manifold artificial decoctions. The Apostles
contrarywise, as all Catholics, deliver the Scriptures and utter the word of God
sincerely and entirely.”
2 Tim. iv. 8. A crown of justice.
A crown of justice. This place convinceth for the Catholics, that
all good works done by God's grace, after the first justification, be truly and
properly meritorious, and fully worthy of everlasting life; and that thereupon
heaven is the due and just stipend, crown, or recompense, which God by his justice
oweth to the persons so working by his grace, for he rendereth or repayeth heaven
as a just prize, and not only as a merciful giver ; and the crown which he payeth is
not only of mercie, or favour, or grace, but also of justice ; it is his justice for these
merits to give us a crown correspondent in heaven.
The parable also of
the men sent into the vineyard proveth that heaven is our own right, bargained for
and wrought for, and accordingly paid unto us as our due at the day of judgment.
John iii. 5. “Born again of water.” We see, first, this sacrament to be called
our regeneration. .. and that no man can enter the kingdom of God.
without it. Whereby the Pelagians and Calvinists be condemned that promise
everlasting life to young children that die without baptism. ... Lastly, it is
proved that this sacrament giveth grace ex opere operato, that is of the work itself,
which all Protestants deny, because it so breedeth our spiritual life in God, as our
carnal birth giveth the life of the world.
1
In the Douay version of the Old Testament we find, if not
to the same extent, still to a considerable extent, all the
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literary peculiarities that so markedly characterise the diction
of the Rhemes version of the New Testament. Peculiar
ecclesiastical words and phrases are there, reading in some
cases like strange anachronisms in the old records of the pre-
Christian dispensation. We meet with such terms as penance,
chalice, and bishopric. In Lev. v. 5-6, we read : “Let him do
penance for his sinne, and offer of the flocks an ewe lamb, or a
she-goat, and the priest shall pray for him.” In Ps. xxiii. 5, it
is said : “ Thou hast fatted my head with oil; and my chalice
inebriating, how goodlie is it !” And an explanatory note on
the verse states that by chalice we are here to understand "the
blessed sacrament and sacrifice of Christ's bodie and bloud."
Among the curses imprecated in Ps. cix. is “Let another take
his bishopric." This was
a strange malediction for the
Psalmist to utter, if it was meant for the traitor Ahithophel.
But to show how completely the words of the Old Testament
were, by the Douay divines, interpreted in a secondary and
mystical sense, it is stated in the marginal notes that the
Psalm is a prophecy, written with reference to Judas Iscariot,
and that by “bishopric” was meant the apostleship of him
“ who fell and went to his own place.” The word "
The word " Christ,"
also, frequently occurs in the Douay version of the Old Testa-
ment, and not as a general term signifying anointed, but as a
proper name, and in reference to our Lord and Saviour. The
latter part of i Sam. ii. 10, is rendered: "Our Lord shall judge
the endes of the earth, and shall give empire to his king, and
shall exalt the horne of his Christ.” And apropos of this state-
ment it is remarked on the margin: “Neither David nor
Solomon, much less any other king, possessed or judged the
endes of the earth: but Christ's inheritance reacheth to the
world's end.”
Like the Rhemes New Testament the Douay version of the
Old Testament abounds in long and unfamiliar words, which
are taken from the Latin Vulgate, either literatim or in a very
slightly altered form. Of these may be mentioned": "apos-
i Besides long there are also short unfamiliar words in the Douay Bible, as
“gith” for fitches, Is. xxviii. 27; "mamzer” for bastard, Deut. xxiii. 2;
The Bibles of the Churches.
263
tate” for worthless person, Prov. vi. 12;
“calends” for new
moons, Is. i. 14: "conculcation ” for treading down, Is. xxii. 5 ;
"dominator" for sovereign, Is. iii. 1: "ecclesiastes" for preacher,
Eccles. i. 12; “excelse ” for high place, 1 Sam. ix. 25; "expro-
bating" for reproaching, Job xvi. 11; “ holocaust” for burnt-
offering, Is. i. II; “hyacinth” for blue, Ex. xxviii. 5 ; “immo-
lated ” for offered, 1 Sam. ii. 13; "libaments” for drink-offer-
ings, Num. vi. 17 ; "peregrination” for sojourn, Ruth i. 22;
" rationale” for breast-plate, Ex. xxv. 7; and "recordation"
for memorial, Num. v. 18. A very strange expression in the
Douay Bible is "the plague of the bed”: “Thus sayth our
Lord: As if a pastour should get out of the lion's mouth two
legges, or the tippe of the eare : so shall the children of Israel,
that dwell in Samaria, be delivered in the plague of the bed,
and in the couche of Damascus," Amos iii. 12. The word
plague was evidently introduced into this passage from a mis-
apprehension of the Vulgate text, and disregard of the Hebrew
original. The words in the Vulgate translated “plague of the
bed” are plaga lectuli, but in the Latin language there are two
words spelt plaga ; one of which, plāga, means a blow or a
plague, and the other, plăga, means a region or district, and also
a net, and so when used with lectus or lectulus may signify the
curtain or corner- of a bed.
I
"musach” for canopy, 2 Kings xvi. 18; “nables” for psalteries, i Chron. xv. 16;
“pomes” for fruits, Deut. xxxiii. 14; “ptisane" for bruised corn, Prov. xxvii.
22 ; “sciniphes” for lice, Ex. viii. 16. “sculptils” for graven images, Is. xxi. 9;
and "title" for pillar, 2 Sam. xviii. 18. Some of the above quoted words, such
as mamzer and musach, are Hebrew words Latinised in the Vulgate. Sciniph, on
the other hand, is a Greek word imported into the Vulgate from the Septuagint.
1 The word plåga is of frequent occurrence in the Vulgate as the counterpart of
peah in the Hebrew, especially when peah is in our authorised version translated
side or quarter. In many places, however, where peah is in the authorised version
rendered corner, its counterpart in the Vulgate is not plaga but angulus. And in
some Latin translations of the Bible, (e.8., Zurich, 1564), angulus is the substitute
for peah in Amos iii. 12. In Gen. iv, 16, the words “ad orientalem plagam Eden'
occur in the Vulgate, and are rendered in the Douay Bible, "at the East side of
Eden.” But we have seen that in Wyclif's translation of that verse the word plaga
is Englished by its derivative plage or plaag, a word now obsolete, which meant a
district, region or country. It may occur to the reader, therefore, that the word
plague in the Douay version of Amos iii. 12, is a misprint for plage in the sense of
264
Bibles of England.
In the Douay Bible, again, there are not only words of
inordinate length and barbarous aspect, but there are cumbrous
combinations of Latinisms, which, if they do not positively
bewilder unscholastic readers, might at least with much
advantage be displaced by simpler phrases. In the prophecy
pronounced on Gad by Moses, Deut. xxxiii. 21, it is said in the
revised English version, 1885: "He provided the first part for
himself, for there was the lawgiver's portion reserved." This
is a clear, intelligible statement, which no reader is likely to
misunderstand. But the Douay rendering of the passage might
be propounded as a riddle for philosophers: "He saw his
principalitie, that in his part the doctor was reposed.". It was
the extreme fidelity with which the Douay Divines adhered to
the text of the Vulgate that mainly led to the introduction of
such sentences into their version of the Bible. And some of
the dark renderings in the Douay translation are, when cleared,
not without form and beauty of a kind. “ The doctor is
reposed” in them. The soul-destroying woman, for instance,
is described, Prov. vii. 11, as“ babling and wandering, impatient
of rest, nor able to consist in the house on her feet.” (Quietis
impatiens, nec valens in domo consistere pedibus suis). In
most cases, however, the Latinisms in the Douay Bible have
little to commend them, as the majority of the following
examples will shew.
DOUAY BIBLE.
AUTHORISED VERSION.
Gen. 1. 10.--They celebrated the ex- Gen. 1. 10.—They mourned.
sequies (celebrantes exequias).
Lev. xix. 5.--If ye immolate an hoste Lev. xix. 5.-- If ye offer a sacrifice of
of pacifiques to the Lord, (si immolaver. peace-offerings to the Lord.
itis hostiam pacificorum Domino).
district, side, or corner. This will appear the more probable, too, from the fact
that in modern editions (or revisions) of the Douay Bible the passage in question is
rendered “in a piece of a bed.” This theory, however, is scarcely tenable. The
word is spelled plague both in the Douay print, 1610, and in the Rouen reprint,
1635. In Wyclif's Bible the passage reads, “that dwellen in Samaria, in plage,
or wound, of the litil bed."
I “Vidit principatum suum, quod in parte sua doctor esset repositus,” Vulgate.
In the Latin translation, Zurich, 1564, the same passage is rendered :-“Vidit
principium sibi, quod illic esset portio legislatoris tecta."
The Bibles of the Churches.
265
Deut. xv. 9. -An impious cogitation, Deut. xv. 9.–A thought in thy wicked
(impia cogitatio).
heart, (a base thought. --Revised).
I San. ii. 6.-Our Lord mortifieth I Sam. ii. 6.-The Lord killeth and
and quickeneth, (Dominus mortificat et maketh alive.
vivificat).
2 Sam. xiii. 8. -Taking meal, tem- 2 Sam. xiji. 8.--She took flour and
pered it, and resolving it in his sight, kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight,
she made suppinges.
and did bake the cakes.
2 Kings xix. 25.–Fenced cities shall 2 Kings xix. 25.-Lay waste fenced
be into ruin of little hills bickering to- cities into ruinous heaps.
gether, (in ruinam collium pugnantium).
2 Chron. xxi. 19.-When day suc- 2 Chron. xxi. 19.-It came to pass in
ceeded day, and the spaces of time process of time, after the end of two
passed about, the circuite of two years years.
was complete, (Cumque diei succederet
dies, et temporum spatia volverentur,
duorum annorum expletus est circulus.)
Job xxxii. 4.--Elihu expected Job Job. xxxii. 4.-Elihu had waited till
speaking, (expectavit Job loquentem). Job had spoken,
Ps. xlix. 4.--I will open my proposi- Ps. xlix. 4.-I will open my dark say-
tion on a psalter, (Aperiam in psalterio ing upon the harp.
propositionem meam).
Ps. cix. 24.—My flesh is changed by Ps. cix, 24.—My flesh faileth of fat-
reason of oil, (immutata, propter oleum).
Prov. xi. 25.-He that inebriateth, Prov. xi. 25.--He that watereth shall
himself shall also be inebriated, (Qui in- be watered also himself.
ebriat ipse quoque inebriabitur).
Is. xxiv. 3. -With dissipation shall Is. xxiv. 3.—The land shall be utterly
the earth be dissipated, (Dissipatione emptied.
dissipabitur terra).
Is. lxi. 3. —They shall be called in it Is. lxi. 3.—That they might be called
the strong of justice, planting of the Trees of righteousness, The planting of
Lord to glorify, (vocabuntur in ea fortes the Lord, that he might be glorified.
justitiae, plantatio domini ad glorifican-
dum).
Jer. ii. 22.- If thou shalt wash thyself Jer. ii. 22. —Though thou wash thee
with nitre, and multiply to thyself the with nitre, and take thee much soap.
herb borith, (multiplicaveris tibi herbam
Lorith).
Jer. xxx. 3.--I will convert the con- Jer. xxx. 3.-I will bring again the
version of my people Israel.
captivity of my people Israel.
Amos i. 13.-Dilate their limit.
Amos i. 13.-Enlarge their border.
Zech. iv. 14.—These are the two sons Zech. iv. 14.-These are the two
of oil which assist the dominator of the anointed ones that stand by the Lord of
whole earth, (Duo filii olei, qui assistunt the whole earth.
dominatori universae terrae).
ness.
In the predilection of the Douay divines for long words of
ecclesiastical association, and in their Balaamitish resolution not
to go beyond the text of the authentical scriptures, less or more,
although sentences should thereby be left ever so incomplete
and obscure, there is a certain air of austere and dignified High
Churchism, which, it might have been supposed, would have
led to the exclusion of all colloquialisms or literary whims from
the Catholic version of the old Testament. But such has not
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Bibles of England.
been the case. The Douay version of the Old Testament is
full of quaint and odd phrases, archaic and obsolete words, free,
naive, and vigorous renderings. These curiosities of diction
are, indeed, a very outstanding feature of the Douay translation.
Of the words referred to as obsolete or archaic, in our notice
of earlier versions, a few are to be found in the Douay Bible.
The word "chimney,” for instance, is used in the sense of fur-
nace or fire-place, as in Ex. ix. 8, "Take your handes full of
ashes out of the chimney." The antiquated term “fardels," also,
has a place in the Douay Bible. One of the gracious speeches
made to Ruth by Booz was, “If thou shalt thirst, go to the
fardels, and drink the waters whereof the servants drink,” Ruth
ii. 9. And in the painful story of the Levite, to whom the churls
of Gibeah refused a night's lodging, it is said, that the man was
found "sitting with his fardels in the streete of the city."
But besides these and similar obsolete words, which have
already been commented on in former chapters, there are other
antique terms in the Douay translation worthy of note. One
common word that occurs in an old and unfamiliar sense is
“esquire," as in i Sam. xvi. 21, “David came to Saul and stood
before him
and was made his esquier.” In 2 Sam.
xviii. 15, the word is abbreviated into squire; and we read
there, that “when as yet Absolom panted for life, sticking on
the oke, there ran ten young men, the squyers of Joab, and
striking they killed him.' A less familiar word in the Douay
Bible is manchet. “When thou shalt come to the oak Thabor,"
said the prophet to Saul, 1 Sam. x. 3, "three men going up to
God into Bethel shall finde thee there, one carrying three
kiddes, and another three manchettes of bread, and another a
flegon of wine." A phrase, also, that to many people will
probably seem inscrutable occurs in the Douay version of
Isaiah i. 31, “Your strength shall be as the isles of towe, and
your work as a spark.” The word here spelt isles may possibly,
however, be recognised by Scotsmen as an old Scottish word,
usually printed issilis, which means ashes or embers. And this
surmise will be confirmed by the amended reading which
.
I
1 It is what is termed a middle-English word,
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267
appears in modern editions of the Douay translation : "Your
strength shall be as the ashes of tow.” Another word in the
Douay Bible that must be pronounced an archaism, in so far as
it stands for the name of an ornamental article of female attire,
is “sloppes ;": "In that day shall our Lord take away
the sheading combes, and sloppes, and tablets, and sweet balles
and earlets," Is. iii. 20.
Besides what are strictly speaking antiquated words, there
are, also, in the Douay Bible not a few antiquated forms of
words. Specimens of these will be seen in the following sen-
tences : “ Thou shalt make a silken mitre, and a bawdrike
(baldric) of embroidered worke," Ex. xxviii. 39: “The first
among thirtie, but yet the three he raught not" (reached not),
I Chron. xi. 25: "The mouth of fooles bolyeth forth follie,'
"
Prov. xv. 2:
“ Behold I will screake under you, as a wayne
screaketh loden with hay,” Amos ii. 13: “Can horses run upon
rocks, or can there be ploughing with buffles?"3 Amos vi. 12.
Of notable, simple English phrases, sometimes quaint and
sometimes queer, sometimes tender and sometimes tart, a
a
1 Periscelidas, Vulgate, literally what goes round the legs, breeches or garters.
2 Some words in the Douay Bible are strangely spelt.
In several places
champaign” is spelt champion, as in Num. xxxvi. 13, where we read :-" These
are the commandments, etc., which the Lord commanded in the champion
countrie of Moab”; and in Deut. xi. II, where it is said :-" The land which thou
goest to possess
is hilly and champion, expecting raine from heaven.”
In i Kings X. 12, “ vials” is printed for viols or violins. But it has to be admitted
that neither the 1609 nor the 1635 edition, which are the two editions quoted from
in this chapter, is free from obvious misprints. In Vol. I. of the edition 1609, I
have happened to note “ carcasse of cartaine,” for “carcass of caraine," or carrion,
(morticini, Vulgate), Lev. vii. 24; "a stranger, or a natural sinne," for "
stranger, or a natural sonne,” (peregrinus, sivi civis, Vulgate), Lev. xxiv. 22; and
“coler of a wate,” for “collar of a coate,” (capitio tunicae, Vulgate), Job. xxx. 18.
In Vol II. of edition 1635, which is very carelessly printed, a strange reading is, by
the omission of “not,” given to Is. xi. 9 :-“They shall (not) hurt, and they shall
not kill in all my holie mountayne."
3 One word in the Douay Bible that, we should say, must have been very modern
when inserted there, especially if it was inserted when the translation was first made
out in manuscript, (before 1582) is coaches :—“In chariots, and in horse litters,
and on mules, and in coaches," Is. lxvi. 20. It is commonly said that it was in
1580 that a coach was first seen in England. The word cochere, also, is used in the
Douay Bible, for chariot driver, 1 Kings xxii. 34.
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goodly store could without much difficulty be gathered out of
the Douay translation of the Old Testament. A very dainty
expression is "penury of wit :” and no maxim is more worthy
of perpetual remembrance than the Douay version of the second
clause of Pro. X. 21 : They that are untaught shall die in the
penury
of their wite.” A curious anthropopathic picture, again,
of the delightful life that was led in chaos, before creation, is
given in the words of Wisdom, as rendered by the Douay
divines, in Prov. viii. 27-30: “When he prepared the heavens I
was present.
when he hanged the foundations of the
earth I was with him framing all things; and was delighted
every day, playing before him at all time, playing in the world;
and my delights to be with the children of men.' Sweetly
picturesque, too, in their primitive metaphors and pastoral
simplicity are the opening verses of the fifth chapter of Isaiah:
"I will sing to my beloved the canticle of my cosin concerning
his vineyeard. A vineyeard was made to my beloved in horne,
the sonne of oile, and he hedged it, and chose stones out of it,
and planted it elect, and built a towre in the middes, thereof,
and set up a presse therein : and looked that it should yeald
grapes, and it yealded wild grapes.” Of the other homely and
semi-colloquial phrases in the Douay Bible, some are more
forcible than refined. The impotent rage of Saul, in his
jealousy of David, is thus depicted : “The evil spirit of God in-
vaded Saul, and he prophesied.
And David played
with his hand as every day. And Saul held a speare, and threw
it, thinking that he could nail David to the wall,” i Sam. xviii.
10-11. Very blunt, again, are the terms in which the prophet
is said to have denounced the feckless watchmen of Israel, Is.
lvi. 11: "Dumb dogs and not able to bark.
and most
impudent dogs.” But, not to dwell on individual cases, the
following passages may be cited in slump, as further specimens
of the quaint, homely, and realistic renderings of the Douay
divines in their version of the Old Testament.
16
“Ranne to the heard, and tooke from thence a calfe verie tender and verie good,
and gave it to a young man, who made hast and boiled it,” Gen. xviii. 7 ; Lia
was bleare-eyed,” Gen. xxix. 17 ; “Knowe ye not that there is not the like to me in
the science of divining," Gen. xliv. 15; “Samson, who brake the bands, as iſ a
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269
.
man should breake a thread of toe twyned with spittle,” Judges xvi. 9; “Tast first
a little bread, and strengthen thy stomach," Judges xix. 5; “Heli sate upon a
stooler over against the way looking
and all the city howled,” i Sam. iv.
13; Being gathered in a plumpe into one troupe they stood in the toppe of one
hil," 2 Sam. ii. 25; “If he shal slippe away, thy life shal be for his life, or thou
shalt pay a talent of siluer," i Kings xx. 39; “Be not caught with her becks,"
Prov. vi. 25; “Taking the young man she kisseth him, and with malepert coun-
tenance speaketh fayre," l'rov. vii. 13; “Be not with them that stick down their
hands and that offer themselves sureties for debts,” Prov. xxii. 26 ; (The Lord)
shall whistle to him of the ends of the earth,” Is. v. 26; “Sobna, the provost of
the temple,” Is. xxii. 15; “He that killeth a sheep in sacrifice, as he that should
braine a dog," Is. Ixvi. 3 ; “I am become as a drunken man, and as a man wet
with wine,” Jer. xxiii. 9; “Be ruler in the house of our Lord, upon everie man
raving and prophesying, to put him into the stocks," Jer. xxix. 26; “All faces are
turned into the jaundice," Jer. xxx. 6; “The sunne beate upon the head of Jonas,
and he broyled for heat,” Jon. iv. 8.
viii. 22,
As distinguished from the foregoing, there are many render-
ings in the Douay Bible that may be entered in the category
of oddities. Much has been said of Coverdale's version of Jer.
“There is no more triacle at Galaad." Quite as
remote from spiritual associations is the Douay rendering of
the same verse : “ Is there noe rosen in Galaad ?"2 Much has
been heard, also, of Coverdale's version of Ps. xci. 5, “ Thou
shalt not nede to be afrayed for any bugges by night.” The
Douay rendering of the verses that follow suggests ideas quite
as ludicrous: “Thou shalt not be afrayed
of business
walking in darkness
and the inidday divel.” What
every one, again, will consider a very odd reading in the Douay
Bible is Is. xxii. 17:—"Behold our Lord will cause thee to be
carried away as a cock is carried.” And a glance at the Vulgate
will remove all doubt about the kind of cock that is here
referred to. It is neither a cock of hay nor a weather-cock;
but a gallus gallinaceus, which lexicographers say is the full and
midday
C
I Stool is one of the words whose meaning has been degraded. In Anglo-Saxon
it meant a seat or throne.
2 Numquid resina non est in Galaad ? Vulgate. Some resins are still used for
medicinal purposes. The theriaca of Pagninus, or treacle of Coverdale, originally
meant an antidote against the bite of poisonous animals.– Facciolati Lexicon. So
far from being a product of the sugar-cane, it is said to have been a decoction of
viper's flesh, and its efficacy as a medicine was accounted for on the homeopathic
and tippler's principle of “ eating a hair of the dog that bit you."
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Bibles of England.
proper appellation of the domesticated chanticleer, in distinc-
tion from gallus simpliciter, which might mean a Frenchman !
Another verse in the Douay Bible that to some people may
seem odd is i Sam. ii. 8 :“ The poles of the earth are our
Lord's, and upon them he hath sette the world.” In both the
authorised and revised versions the same rendering appears,
except that for “poles " the word pillars is substituted. It
might be concluded, therefore, but erroneously, that by poles
the Douay divines meant pillars; and it might be supposed
that in this Douay expression the origin of the terms North
and South Pole, with the underlying theory of them, may be
discovered. In this passage, however, the word "poles " is used
by the Douay divines in the sense of hinges and not of pillars,
cardines terrae ; in the sense, in fact, in which the terms North
and South Pole are really used, as the pivots on which the
earth revolves.
Among other odd readings in the Douay version of the Old Testament the fol-
lowing are worthy of notice :-
"The land of Heuilath, where gold groweth," Gen. ii. 11;
" He (Samson)
stroke them with a great plague, so that astonied they laid the calfe of the leg upon
the thigh," Judges xv. 8; "Thou shalt not bring his hoare head peaceably unto hel,
1 Kings, ii. 6; “With a shell scraped the corruption, sitting on a dunghill,” Job
ii. 8 ; “The spirit of my bellie streyneth me,” Job xxxii. 18; “There Benjamin,
a young man, in excesse of minil,” Ps. lxviii. 27 ; "The price of an harlot is scarce
worth one loaf,” Prov. vi. 26 ;“ Behold not wine when it waxeth yellow, when the
colour thereof shall shine in the glass,” Prov. xxiii. 31 ; "As a lame man hath fayre
legs in vain : so a parable is undecent in the mouth of fools,” Prov. xxvi. 7 ; "The
bed is streitned, so that one must fall out, and a short mantel cannot cover both,
Is. xxviii. 20; “He shall humble his glory with dashing of his hands,” Is. XXV. II;
“Attend to the rocke whence you are hewen out, and to the cave of the lake from
the which you are cut out,” Is. li. 1 ; “Ruddier than the old yvorie," Lam. iv. 7;
"Cut your ploughs into swords, and your spades into spears,” Joel iii. 10; “I have
given you dulness of the teeth in all your cities,” Amos iv. 6 ; “Our Lord God pre-
pared an yvie tree, and it came up over the head of Jonas,” Jonah iv. 6.
A great many words that in the authorised version of the
Scriptures are given as proper names, are, in the Douay Bible,
translated as if they were common nouns.
Sometimes this
gives realism and picturesqueness to the narrative, as in Gen.
xiv. 3, “All these came together into the woodland vale (vale of
Siddim), which now is the Salt Sea”; and Gen. xxiii. 9, “ That
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271
he give me the double cave (cave of Macpelah) which he hath in
the uttermost part of his field.” At other times the effect pro-
duced is not good. The narrative is obscured, and the reader
is set on a wrong track of interpretation, if he is not left in
absolute bewilderment. Proof of this statement will be found
in the following passages : Gen. xxii. 2, “Take thy only be-
gotten sonne, whom thou lovest, Isaac, and goe into the land
of vision” ; Gen. xxiv. 62, “ Isaac walked along the way, that
leadeth to the well of the living and the seeing”; Judges ii. I,
"The angel of our Lord went up from Gilgal to the place of
weepers”; Is. xvi. 11, “For this my bellie shall sound as an
harpe to Moab, and my bowels to the wal of baked bricke.” The
Douay divines, moreover, were not strictly uniform and con-
sistent in their way of dealing with proper names.
In the
seventh chapter of i Chronicles, there is what might be termed
a garden of genealogical trees. The stems and scions are for
the most part designated by their Hebrew names, Manasses,
Ezriel, Machir, Galaad, etc. But in the eighteenth verse, this
rule is departed from; and instead of reading there, as in the
authorised version, "his sister Hammoleketh bare Ishod," etc., we
read that “his sister Queen bare Goodlieman, and Abiezer and
Mohola.” And the reason for this procedure is stated on the
margin in the following note: “We leave the Hebrew names in
this place, because St. Jerome and the whole Church doth so in
the Latin text, which we translate."
What, however, to the English Protestant reader, will probably,
appear the chief peculiarity of the Douay Bible is the large
number of readings it contains that vary considerably in mean-
ing from their corresponding passages in the authorised and
revised versions. The number of such distinctive readings is
legion. Some of them should, perhaps, be called renderings
rather than readings. They give one translation of a text while
their counterparts in the authorised version give another. Turn-
ing, for instance, to Is. xxvi. 18, we read in the Douay Bible :
“We have conceived, and as it were travailed, and brought forth
the spirit"; and in the authorised Bible, “We have been with
child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth
wind." Between these two statements there is apparently a
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very wide difference, but the difference is one of translation
only. The Latin word in the Vulgate (spiritus) which the
Douay divines have translated spirit means wind also, and in
Challoner's revision of the Douay, as well as in the authorised
Protestant, version spiritus receives this latter rendering. Turn-
ing, again, to i Sam. xiii. 19-21, we find it said in the Douay
Bible, “There was not found an yron smith in all the land of
Israel. • All Israel therefore went down to the Philisthijms,
that euerie man might whette his plough culter, and spade, and
axe, and rake.
Therefore the edges of the shares, and spades,
and forkes with three teeth, and axes, were blunt, even to the goad
prick, which was to be mended." Instead of the sentence here
italicised, we read in the authorised version : “Yet they had a
file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and
for the axes, and to sharpen the goads." Between the Douay
and the authorised version of this passage there is thus not
only variation but positive variance, not only difference on
points of detail but disagreement all through. How it may be
asked can so much divergence be accounted for ? On the
margin of the revised version there is a note, which says that
the Hebrew text of this passage is obscure, and that instead
of being translated, "they had a file for the mattocks,” it
might be rendered, "When the edges of the mattocks
and of the axes were blunt." The peculiarity of the Douay
reading in this passage is, therefore, due to translation also, not
to the Douay translation of the Vulgate text, but to the trans-
lation in the Vulgate of the original Hebrew text. But
although some, or even many, of the peculiar readings in the
Douay Bible may be made out to be only peculiar renderings
either of the Vulgate or in the Vulgate, a large number of
them must be attributed to differences in the texts from which
the Vulgate and the authorised English version have been re-
spectively taken. Both in the Vulgate, and in the Douay
translation of the Vulgate, there are to be found whole clauses,
and even whole sentences, that have no place in the authorised
English version. In the book of Proverbs, particularly, these
Catholic interpolations are numerous. There is one attached
to the fifth verse of the sixteenth chapter, and it gives ex-
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273
pression to a most important doctrine of biblical religion: "The
beginning of a good way is to doe justice ; and it is more
acceptable with God than to immolate hosts." Another is ap-
pended to the last verse of the twenty ninth chapter, and is to
the effect, that “the sonne who keepeth the word shall be out
of perdition.". In addition to these interpolations, there are in
the Douay Bible many readings so widely different from those
in the corresponding parts of the authorised version that, with-
out referring to the Hebrew original, we might say at once
that they can only be accounted for by a difference in the text
from which the Catholic and the Protestant English versions
have been at first derived. But without pursuing this question,
or attempting to shew how this and that peculiar reading in
the Douay Bible originated—whether by a mistranslation of the
Vulgate-or from a mistranslation in the Vulgate-or from a
translation in the Vulgate of a different text from that which
underlies the authorised English version--we shall consider the
peculiar readings in the Douay Bible as reading's simply, and
indicate a few of these to shew how widely, in some places, the
Douay and authorised versions differ.2
One verse that reads with a curious, although unimportant,
difference of meaning in the Douay and authorised transla-
1 A somewhat grotesque reading, occasioned no doubt by a small interpolation,
is given by the Douay divines to I Chron. xiii. 9 :--“When they were come to the
floore of Chidon, Oza stretched forth his hand, to holde up the Arke; for the oxe
being wantone had made it leane a little a side." The words of the Vulgate are,
sbos quippe lasciviens paululum inclinaverat eam. In the Latin version, Zurich,
1564, the words are simply, “quoniam declinaverant boves."
2 Although the Douay version of the Old Testament is said to have been con-
formed to the Clementine text of the Vulgate, the statement can scarcely be
accepted as quite accurate. There are several interpolations added to the Douay
Bible by modern revisers, and these are found in the Clementine text (as usually
printed). One of these occurs in Prov. xviii. 22 :-“He that driveth away a good
wife, driveth away a good thing." There are renderings, also, in the original
Douay version which do not correspond with the Clementine text, such as Tob. iii.
23:—"To a man whose life is hid.” The reading in the Clementine Vulgate is :
“Viro cujus abscondita est via," and Catholic revisers have accordingly changed
the word life into way. Instead of via the Douay divines had doubtless found vita
in the copy from which they translated ; and vita is the word given also in the
Protestant version, Zurich, 1564.
T
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tions, is Joshua xv. 18. In the latter named version it is said
that "it came to pass, as she (Achsah) came unto him, that she
moved him to ask of her father a field : and she lighted off her
ass : and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou ?” The
reading in the Douay Bible is : "She was moved by her husband
to ask a field of her father, and she sighed as she sate on her asse.
To whom Caleb said, What aileth thee ?" A sentence in the
prophecies of Isaiah that conveys, in the Douay Bible, a mean-
ing very remote from what it does in the authorised version of
the Scriptures, is chap. xvi. I. In the latter named version the
prophet is represented calling on the children of Moab to pay,
as of old, their tribute to the King of Israel" : "Send ye the
lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela to the wilderness, unto
the mount of the daughter of Zion.” The Douay divines, on
the other hand, represent the prophet praying for the advent
of Messiah : “Send forth, O Lord, the lambe, the dominatour
of the earth, from the rocke of the desert, to the mount of the
daughter of Zion.” In the writings of Amos, again, there is a
judgment proclaimed, chap. iv, 2, against the rulers of Israel,
which, as rendered in the authorised version, was fearful
enough to contemplate: “The Lord God hath sworn by his
holiness, that the days shall come upon you, that he will take
you away with hooks and your posterity with fish hooks." As
given in the Douay Bible, however, the prediction sounds
much more dreadful: “They shall lift you upon poles, and your
fremnant in pots boyling hot." Other passages that read differ-
ently in the two versions will be seen in the subjoined parallel
columns :
DOUAY VERSION.
AUTHORISED VERSION.
Gen. xlix. 3.-My strength, and the Gen. xlix. 3.--My might, and the
beginning of my sorrow.
beginning of my strength.
Gen. xlix. 22.-Joseph, a child en- Gen. xlix. 22.-Joseph is a fruitful
creasing, encreasing and comelie to behold : bough, even a fruitful bough by a well,
the daughters coursed to and for (fro?) whose branches run over the wall.
upon the wall.
1 It is recorded in 2 Kings iii. 4-5, that "Mesha, King of Moab, was a sheep.
master, and rendered unto the King of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an
hundred thousand rams, with the wool. But it came to pass when Ahab was dead,
That the King of Moab rebelled against the King of Israel."
The Bibles of the Churches.
275
Lev. xxi. 18.–Neither shall he ap- Lev. xxi, 18. —He shall not approach:
proach to his ministerie
if he
he that hath a flat nose or any
have a litle or a great, or a crooked nose. thing superfluous.
Ruth. ii. 14.--She therefore sate at Ruth " ii. 14.--She sat beside the
the side of the reapers, and she heaped reapers ; and he reached her parched
to herselfe polent, and did eat and was corn, and she did eat and was sufficed,
filled and tooke the leavinges, (Tulit reli- and left, (Reliquum fecit, Zurich 1564).
quias, Vulgate).
I Sam. xvii. 4.-And there came forth I Sam. xvii. 4.-And there went out
a man that was a bastard (vir spurius, a champion out of the camp of the
Vulg.) from the camp of the Philistians, Philistines, named Goliath.
named Goliath.
I Sam. xix. 24.–And he stripped I Sam. xix. 24.--He stripped off his
himselfe of his garments, and prophecied clothes also, and prophesied before
with the rest before Samuel, and sang Samuel in like manner, and lay down
naked all that day and night. I
naked all that day and all that night.
Ps. iv. 4.—Be ye angrie and sinne Ps. iv. 4.–Stand in awe, and sin not:
not: the things that you say in your harts, commune with your own heart upon
in
your
chambers be ye sorrie for.
your bed and be still.
Ps. xix. 12-13.--From my secret sins Ps. xix. 12-13.-Cleanse thou me from
cleanse me, and from other men's spare secret faults; keep back thy servant also
thy servant.
from presumptuous sins.
Ps. Ixxvii. 3. -I was mindful of God, Ps. lxxvii. 3.-I remembered God,
and was delighted.
and was troubled.
Prov. xxvi. 8.-As he that casteth a Prov. xxvi. 8.-As he that bindeth a
stone into the heap of mercurie ; so he stone in a sling ; so is he that giveth
that giveth honour to the unwise.
honour to a fool.
Jer. xxxvii. 21.--There should be Jer. xxxvii
. 21. -They should give
given him a piece of bread every day, him daily a piece of bread, out of the
beside broth.
bakers' street.
Lam. iv. 14.—They were polluted Lam. iv. 14.--They have polluted
with bloud ; and when they could not, themselves with blood, so that men could
they held their skirts.
not touch their garments,
Hos. xiii. 2.--To these they say, Im. Hos. xiii. 2. —They say of them, Let
molate men adoring calves, (sacrifice the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
men, ye that adore calves, Challoner ;
Immolate, homines vitulos adorentes,
Vulg.).
Joel i. 17.--The beasts are rotted in Joel i. 17.---The seed is rotten under
their dung
their clods.
Amos viii. 2.--What seest thou Amos? Amos viii, 2.-Amos what seest thou?
And I said, an apple-hook.
And I said, a basket of summer fruit.
Amos viii. 3.-And the hinges of the Amos viii. 3.-And the songs of the
temple shall creak in that day.
temple shall be howlings in that day.
Zech. iv. 7.-He will bring forth the Zech. vii. 7.--He shall bring forth the
principal stone, and will make grace head stone thereof, with shoutings, cry.
equal to the grace thereof.
ing, grace, grace unto it.
As setting forth not only the special doctrines of the Catholic
Church, but the spirit of Catholic churchmen in the age
succeeding the Reformation, there is no part of the Douay
1 The word in the Vulgate corresponding to sang is cecidit which means fell or
lay down, and is so rendered by Challoner. One is tempted to express a conjecture
that in the copy of the Vulgate from which the Douay divines made their translation
cecidit had been printed cecinit, and was thus rendered sang.
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Bibles of England.
Bible more interesting than the marginal notes, and the
annotations on whole books and chapters. It is impossible,
however, in a single paragraph to convey an adequate notion
of their contents. They all proceed upon the theory that
Catholic doctrines, and Catholic institutions, are mystically
taught and enjoined in every part of the Old Testament.
There is a marginal note, for instance, on Gen. xlviii. 14, that
when Jacob placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and
his left on the head of Manasseh, "he made a cross, pre-
figuring the cross of Christ.” In another note, on Gen. xlix.
II, countenance is given to a fanciful opinion of one of the
fathers, that by the wine in which it was prophesied that Judah
should "wash his stole," was meant "the wine of the chalice of
our Lord's blood." Almost every doctrine, rite, custom,
practice, and institution of the Catholic Church is, in this way,
grounded or sought to be grounded upon some statement or
)
other in the Old Testament. And while instant in season and
out of season in expounding, establishing, maintaining, and
defending the tenets of their own church, the Douay annotators
were no less assiduous in exposing and denouncing the heresies
and mal-practices of other churches. “Sons of God and sons
of men,” they remark, in reference to Gen. vi. 2, was in the
days before the flood "such a distinction as now is Catholiques
and Hereticks." In their annotations on Ex. xx., they accuse
Protestants of " egregious lies against the whole church militant,
and blasphemous reproaches against the glorious sainctes.”
Touches of a gentler spirit are, nevertheless, discernable in
some other of the Douay notes. In reference to the incident
that occurred when Jacob and Rachel made their first acquaint-
ance at the well in the east, Gen. xxix. II, it is noted on the
margin, that " St. Augustine commendeth familiar kissing of
kinsfolke and friends as a laudable custom in some countries.”
And to this statement, it is courteously added by the doctors
of Douay, for the gratification of their "right well beloved
English readers,” that this familiar kissing “is nowhere more
civil and modest than in England."
That the Douay and Rhemes version of the Old and New
\Testament have merits of a kind, will not be disputed. They
The Bibles of the Churches.
277
been excellent in?
were framed on principles that able and learned men thought
were the true principles of biblical translation. The translators
too, were scholars of no mean repute, and theologians of no
mean ability. “They were well known to the world, to have
.
And to this day, there are scholastic persons that see in the
Douay Bible and Rhemes Testament, much to admire. In
these versions they meet with Catholic and ecclesiastical ex-
pressions, which delight their minds. Some of the words and
phrases referred to in this chapter as dark, crude and uncouth,
are the very ones in which these people discern mysterious, if
not mystic, charms. The Latinisms awake both classic and
spiritual associations. They are pleasant echoes of the dear
old Vulgate; and, to change the metaphor, they recall to
memory the rock from which they were hewn. Such in par-
ticular are the phrases, "supersubstantial bread "_" the time of
my resolution "_"every spirit that dissolveth Christ”—“keep
the good depositum”_"with such hosts God is promerited.”
And there are in all parts of the Douay Bible both evidences
and fruits of advanced scholarship; so that, as a good Protes-
tant divine says, "there is no other English version of the
Scriptures that will prove more instructive to the student, who
will take the pains to separate what is good and useful from
what is ill-advised and wrong." ?
But the Douay Bible was not a people's book. It was not
noty
even intended to be. It was given to the laity with some re-
luctance. It was “a benefit bestowed as of necessity”; on
account of the wide circulation of "false and impious transla-
tions," through which many good souls were endangered, both
ecclesiastically and spiritually. And it was not a free and
frank translation into current English. The translators both
shewed and avowed far more fear to commit mistakes, by the
substitution of plain Saxon words for words of ecclesiastical
Latin, than honest desire to satisfy the yearnings of com-
mon people after the knowledge of biblical truth. Instead of
I Preface to Douay Bible, 1609.
2 Moulton.
278
Bibles of England.
opening up the holy of holies unreservedly, they only drew the
veil a few inches aside. To make the Douay Bible a popular
book, therefore, some revision of it was necessary. One good
Catholic on whom this conviction lay heavily was Cornelius
Nary, “Consultissimae Facultatis Parisiensis Doctor.” He
accordingly, in 1719, published a Catholic version of the New
Testament, "translated out of the Latin Vulgate, and with the
original Greek and divers translations in vulgar languages
diligently compared and revised”: and, in a preface to this
translation, he indicated the reasons that had mainly induced
him to undertake the work. “ We had no Catholic translation
of the Scriptures in the English tongue," he said, “but the
Douay Bible and the Rhemish Testament, which have been
done now more than an hundred years since, the language
whereof is so old, the words in many places so obso-
lete, the orthography so bad, and the translation so very
| literal, that in a number of places it is unintelligible, and all
over so grating to the ears of such as are accustomed to speak,
in a manner, another language, that most people will not be at
the pains of reading them.”ı It was reserved for Dr. Challoner,
1
however, thoroughly to accomplish what Nary aimed at, the
superseding of the Rhemes and Douay versions of the Scripture
by a Catholic version written in a simpler and more popular
style. In 1749, he published what may be termed a revised
version of the Rhemes New Testament, and in 1750 a revised
version of the Douay Old Testament, both"corrected according
to the Clementine edition of the Scriptures."2 A second
edition of Challoner's New Testament, with some amendments,
was published in 1750, and a third edition with more amend-
ments in 1752. In 1783 a revision of Challoner's versions,
both of the Old and New Testament, was made by the Rev.
Bernard M‘Mahon, with the approbation of Dr. Troy, the
Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, whence it is commonly known
as Troy's Bible. At the present day the Catholic version of
I Lewis' History of English Translations of Bibles, p. 357.
2 The Old Testament published at Douay, in 1609, was itself said to be corrected
in the manuscript, according to the Clementine edition of the Vulgate.
The Bibles of the Churches.
279
the Scriptures commonly used in this country is Challoner's
version of the Old Testament, and either one of Challoner's
versions or Troy's of the New. In America, Challoner's
version is strictly adhered to, except where Kenrick's Testa-
ment, 1849-51, is adopted.
Some Catholic dignitaries have declared themselves not very
much taken with Challoner's revisions. The old wine they
allege is better than the new; and with all its imperfections
and faults they prefer the Douay-Rhemes version to its modern
substitutes. That version, says Cardinal Wiseman, “has been
altered and modified till scarcely any verse remains as it was
originally published ; and so far as simplicity and energy of)
style are concerned, the changes are in general for the worse.
For though Dr. Challoner did well to alter many too decided
Latinisms, which the old translators had retained, he weakened
the language considerably, by destroying inversion where it
was congenial,
and by the insertion of particles where
they were by no means necessary. ?
And it had been well,” 3
the Cardinal adds, “if Dr. Challoner's alterations had given
stability to the text.
But, far from this being the case,
new and often important modifications have been made in
every edition which has followed, till at length many may
appear rather new versions than revisions of the old.
And these systematic variations are not the only vicissitudes
to which the text has been subject. The mass of typo-
graphical errors to be found in some editions is quite frightful, 4
and not so much disfiguring them
as transforming
them into others that give a correct grammatical but unsound
theological sense.”
I
I“ Ever since 1800, Challoner's versions of the New Testament have been con-
stantly intermixed, and with them Troy's text, till it is nearly impossible to dis- 1
sociate them. It is only in the New Testament that Troy's reading is retained :
Challoner's now remaining almost verbatim in the Old.
The edition
of Coyne” (quoted from in this chapter) "is as near an approach to Challoner's
original as any other.” (Private letter from a Catholic Prelate.)
2 Wiseman's Essays.
4 One misprint in the Dublin edition, 1815, is “the wickedness (weakness) of
God is stronger than man," i Cor. i. 25.
3 Ibid.
280
Bibles of England.
In a popular and generally excellent handbook on English
versions of the Scriptures, it is stated "that Challoner's text is
substantially that of the original Catholic version, the changes
relating chiefly to syntax and spelling, and only rarely to the
meaning
"; and “that the grand difference between
the current edition of the Rhemes-Douay versions and the
original editions is the suppression of many of the savage, fana-
tical notes, although quite a number of these remain." This is
not a correct statement of facts. It is true that Challoner's
version rarely differs in meaning from the Douay-Rhemes
version, except where the Clementine edition of the Vulgate
differs from the old edition used by the Rhemes translators of
the New Testament. But Challoner's version differs very
widely in diction, as well as in syntax proper and spelling, from
the Douay-Rhemes ; and its new diction has, in some parts,
been to a very large extent imported from the Protestants'
authorised version of 1611.
One of the most outstanding features in the Rhemes Testa-
ment and Douay Bible is, as we have seen, the large number
of “inkhorn" terms they contain. For many of these scholas-
tic terms, common words are substituted in Challoner's revision,
especially of the New Testament. Instead of “celestials,
( terrestrials, and infernals," Phil. ii. 10, we read, "those that are
in heaven, on earth, and under the earth." So also, in the
fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians, we find the
phrase "consummation of the saints," verse 12, displaced by
“perfecting of the saints"; the clause "impudicity to the opera-
tion of all uncleanness," verse 19, altered into " lasciviousness,
to the working of all uncleanness”; and “contristrate not the
holy spirit of God, by which you are signed unto the day of
redemption, verse 30, changed into “grieve not the holy spirit
of God, whereby you are sealed.” And it is not in a verse here
and there that this simplification of diction appears, but on
almost every page.
“Repairing their nets," Mat. iv 21, is
transformed into “mending their nets”; “ministers,” John ii.
9, into “waiters"; "dissolve this temple," John ii. 19, into
1
destroy this temple"; "exalted the serpent,” John iii. 14, into
“ lifted up the serpent”; “docible of God,” John vi 45, into
The Bibles of the Churches.
281
“taught of God"; "execration," Acts xxiii. 14, into " a great
oath"; "hostes," I Cor. x. 18, into “sacrifices”; “ diffidence,"
Eph. ii. 2, into "disobedience"; "evacuating," Eph. ii. 15, into
“making void"; "prefinition of worlds," Eph. iii. ii, into
“eternal purpose"; "affiance," Eph. iii. 12, into "boldness”;
“subministration," Phil. i. 19, into “supply"; "exinanited,"
Phil. ii. 7, into “debased”; “odible," Titus iii. 3, into "hateful”;
agnition,” Philemon 6, into “ acknowledgment"; "exas-
perate," Heb. iii. 16, into "provoke"; "sabbatism," Heb. iv. 9,
into “rest”; “proposition of loaves," Heb. ix. 2, into "setting
forth of loaves"; "magnifical glory," 2 Peter i. 17, into "ex-
cellent glory"; "dominical day," Rev. i. 10, into "the Lord's
day.”
Besides these and scores of similar scholastic terms, there are
many odd and archaic, super-homely and inapt words in the
Douay Bible, that have in Challoner's version been displaced
by less outre expressions. Of such amendments the following
may serve as examples :
RHEMES TESTAMENT, 1582. CHALLONER'S REVISION, (Coyne, 1811).
Mat. viii. 16.--Al that were ill at Mat. viii. 16.—All that were sick he
ease he cured.
healed.
Acts xxiii. 5.—The prince of thy peo- Acts xxiii. 5.-Thou shalt not speak
ple thou shalt not misspeake.
evil of the prince of thy people.
Acts xxvii. 39.—Into the which they Acts xxvii. 39.
Ínto which they
minded, if they could, to cast a land the minded, if they could, to thrust in the
ship.
ship.
1 Cor. xv. 53.--This corruptible must i Cor. xv. 53:--This corruptible must
doe on in corruption,
put on incorruption.
Phil. ii. 22. —And know ye an experi- Phil. ii. 22. —Now know ye the proof
ment of him.
of him.
Philemon 7. -. The bowels of the Philemon 7.-The bowels of the saints
sainctes have rested by thee, brother. have been refreshed by thee, brother.
Heb. xi. 16.-God is not confounded Heb. xi. 16.—God is not ashamed to
to be called their God.
be called their God.
3 John 10.— With malicious wordes 3 John 10.--Prating against us with
chatting against us.
malicious words.
Rev. i. 7.-Euery eie shall see him, Rev. i. 7.--Every eye shall see him,
and they that pricked him.
and they also that pierced him.
It will be seen that in a very large number of the above
cited cases in which Challoner has amended the phraseology of
the Rhemes Testament, he has adopted the words of what we
call the authorised version. The extent, however, to which he
has plumed the Catholic version, especially in the New Testa-
ment, with Protestant feathers, will be more fully realised when
282
Bibles of England.
we have examined passages that have not only been altered in
respect of a significant word or a significant phrase, but have
been recast all over. Some of these reconstructed verses will
be found to correspond word for word with the translation in
the authorised Bible, and others to come very near that
measure of identity.
RHEMES TESTAMENT, 1582. CHALLONER'S REVISION (Coyne, 1811).
Rom. iii. 3.—Hath their incredulitie Rom. iii. 3. --Shall their unbelief make
made the faith of God frustrate ?
the faith of God without effect?
Rom. viii. 18.-- For I think that the Rom. viii. 18.--For I reckon, that the
passions of this time are not condigne to sufferings of this present time are not
the glory to come.
worthy to be compared with the glory to
come,
I Cor. xv. 19.-If in this life only we I Cor. xv. 19.--If in this life only we
be hoping in Christ, we are more miser- have hope in Christ, we are of all men
able than al men.
most miserable.
Phil. iii. 7.—But the things that were Phil. iii. 7.-But what things were
gaines to me, those haue I esteemed for gain to me, those I have counted loss for
Christ, detriments.
Christ.
Phil. iii. 10.--To know him, and the Phil. iii. 10.—That I may know him,
vertue of his resurrection, and the societie and the power of his resurrection, and
of his passions, configured to his death. the fellowship of his sufferings, being
made conformable to his death.
Heb. iii. 13.-But exhort yourselues Heb. iii. 13.-But exhort one another
euery day, whiles to-day is named, that every day, whiles it is called to-day, lest
none of you be obdurate with the fallacie any one of you be hardened through the
of sinne.
deceitfulness of sin.
Heb. ix. 17.-For a testament is con- Heb. ix. 17.–For a testament is of
firmed in the dead; otherwise it is yet of force after men are dead : otherwise it is
no value, whiles he that tested liveth. as yet of no strength, whilst the testator
liveth.
Heb. xi. 34.-Extinguished the force Heb. xi. 34.-Quenched the violence
of fire, repelled the edge of the sword, of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
recouered of their infirmitie, were made recovered strength from weakness, be-
strong in battel, turned away the camp came valiant in war, put to flight the
of forainers.
armies of the aliens.
Heb. xii. 10.–And they indeede for a Heb, xii. 10.–And they indeed for a
time of few daies, according to their will, few days chastised us according to their
instructed us; but he, to that which is own pleasure ; but he, for our profit, that
profitable in receiuing of his sanctifica- we might be partakers of his holiness.
tion.
Heb. xiii. 16.–And beneficence and Heb. xiii. 16.--And do not forget to
communication do not forget.
do good and to impart.
While Challoner made such great changes on the diction of
the Catholic Bible, there was also a large number of notable
words and phrases in the old version that he left unaltered. In
the ninth chapter of the Epistles to the Hebrews, the following
phrases of the Rhemes translators have been retained by
Challoner :-"justifications (ordinances, A.V.) of divine service,
verse 1; cherubims of glory overshadowing the propitiatory
The Bibles of the Churches.
283
(mercy-seat, A.V.), verse 5 ; divers washings and justices of the
flesh (carnal ordinances, A.V.), verse 10 ; offered once to exhaust
(bear, A.V.) the sins of many," verse 28.1 Of other Latinisms
in the Douay Bible that Challoner thought proper to retain
may be mentioned :>“ The redemption of acquisition," Eph. i.
14; “ All paternity in heaven and earth is named,” Eph. iii. 15;
“ Aliens from the conversation of Israel," Eph. ii. 12; "Every
spirit that dissolveth Jesus," i John iv. 3; "Elias was a man pass-
ible like unto us," James v. 17. Some quaint and homely expres-
sions in the Rhemes Testament have also been preserved by
Challoner, as :-“Every soul got safe to land,” Acts xxvii. 44 ;
“By faith, he abode in the land of promise, dwelling in
cottages,"2 Heb. xi. 9; “Both now, and unto the day of eternity,"
2 Pet. iii. 18; "Two pound of wheat for a penny and thrice two
pounds of barley for a penny," Rev. vi. 6.
It is evident that Challoner did not set so much store, as the
Rhemes translators did, on words that were held to be ecclesi-
astical and Catholic terms. The phrase "our Lord," which
constantly occurs in the Rhemes Testament, and which Cardinal
Wiseman specially lauds as Catholic and affectionate (although
not invariably scriptural), is, in all cases where in the Vulgate
it is represented by the unadjectived noun Dorninus, changed
by Challoner into "the Lord.” In one verse at least, Rom. viii.
39, the word "love" is substituted by Challoner for charity; in
several passages, Eph. i. 9, 1 Tim. iii. 16, and Rev. i. 20," sacra-
ment” is displaced by mystery; and in one part of his writings,
Eph. vi. 20, St. Paul is made to doff the Roman title of legate,
and assume the British rôle of ambassador.
In modern editions of the Catholic version of the New Testa-
ment, annotations of all kinds, good and indifferent, liberal and
illiberal, may possibly be found. They are certainly not in
every case fanatical or offensive. Those in the edition of
Challoner's revision from which the foregoing extracts have
been taken are neither lengthy nor virulent, and of neither
much literary nor much scholastic merit. But, in so far as they
I Ad exhaurienda peccata, Vulgate. Ut pecata tolleret, Erasmus.
2 “In casulis, Vulgate. In tabernaculis, Erasmus.
284
Bibles of England.
set forth the distinctive points of the Catholic doctrine, they
are instructive, and any Protestant may read them without the
slightest detriment to his nervous system. Among those that
contain statements of, or apologies for, Catholic tenets, the fol-
lowing may be quoted for entertainment:
come.
Mat. i. 25.-These words “ assure us that our Blessed Lady was a virgin when
she brought forth her Son,” which is the great point the Evangelist has here in
view; without meddling with the question what was done afterwards. But, by
Apostolical tradition we are assured that she always remained a virgin.
Luke i. 48.--All generations shall call me blessed. These words are a prediction
of that honour which the Church of all ages should pay to the Blessed Virgin. Let
Protestants examine whether they are any way concerned in this prophecy.
Mat. vi. II.-Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. In St. Luke the
words 66
supersubstantial bread" are rendered daily bread. They are understood
of the bread of life, which we receive in the blessed sacrament.
I Cor. xi. 27-29.-Guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord
not
discerning the body of the Lord. This demonstrates the real presence of the body
and blood of Christ, even to the unworthy communicant, who otherwise could not
be guilty of the body and blood of Christ, or justly condemned for not discerning
the Lord's body.
Mat. xii. 32.-Not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to
From these words St. Austin and St. Gregory gather that some sins may be
remitted in the world to come, and consequently that there is a Purgatory, or a
middle place.
i Peter iii. 19.--Spirits in prison. See here a proof of a third place, or middle
state of souls; for, these spirits in prison, to whom Christ went to preach, after his
death, were not in heaven, nor yet in the hell of the damned ; because heaven is no
prison, and Christ did not go to preach to the damned.
Rom. iii. 28.—Justified by faith, without the works of the law. The faith to
which the Apostle here attributes man's justification, is not a presumptuous
assurance of our being justified ; but a firm and lively belief of all that God has
revealed or promised ; in short, a faith which takes in hope, love, repentance and
the use of the sacraments. And the works which he here excludes are only the
works of the law : that is, such as are done by the law of nature, or that of Moses,
antecedent to the faith of Christ ; but, by no means such as follow faith and proceed
from it.
I Cor. ix. 5.- A woman a sister. Protestants have corrupted this text, by ren-
dering it a sister a wife ; whereas, it is certain St. Paul had no wife (Chap. vii.
7,8), and that he only speaks of such devout women, as, according to the custom
of the Jewish nation, waited upon the preachers of the gospel, and supplied them
with necessaries,
Rev. ix. 3.—Locusts. It is commonly understood of heretics, They are not able
to hurt the green tree, that is, such as have a lively faith, working by charity—but
only the reprobate. They are represented as prepared to battel, as being ever ready
to contend. They wear counterfeit gold on their heads, for all is but pretence and
fiction. In shape they are as men ; in smoothness of speech as women; in fury and
The Bibles of the Churches.
285
rage against all that oppose them as lions ; their breasts and hearts are as hard as
iron; they are full of noise and shuffling ; the sting of their pestiferous doctrine is
worse than that of a scorpion; but their reign is generally for a short time only.
286
Bibles of England.
THE NATIONAL BIBLE,
Sometimes called, The King's Translation,
Commonly termed, The Authorised Version.
Editions consulted and quoted from :-
For text as commonly printed, modern copies.
For original text as printed in 1611-Old Testament, Parallel Bible, Oxford,
1885; New Testament, Bagster's Hexapla ; Parallel New Testament,
1882, Oxford.
For Preface :
Pulpit Bible, Cambridge (modern).
1
At the close of the sixteenth century, there were in England
three very notable Protestant versions of the Bible, in the ver-
nacular tongue. The Great Bible, which bore on its title page
the imprimatur of civil authority, still retained some of its
pristine celebrity; and from its pages the Service Book of the
Church of England was furnished with its gospels, epistles, and
psalter. The Geneva Bible, on the other hand, had lost none
of its prestige with the people. The Bishops' Bible, again, pre-
sented all the improvement on the Great Bible and the Geneva
Bible that, in 1572, could be effected by the learning and piety
of the Church of England.
But there was still a cry for another and better translation
of the Bible than any that had yet been printed. Possibly the
cry was neither very loud nor very general, but it happened to
be raised at a juncture so opportune that action followed.
In 1603, James the Sixth of Scotland succeeded to the
throne of England. At that date, there were in the Church of
England two parties that may be described respectively as
I At this date, the Psalter was not printed with the Book of Common Prayer,
but was read out of the Bible. Lewis, p. 258.
The National Bible.
287
Ritualists and Puritans. The latter complained of certain
grievances to which they were subjected. Ceremonies that
they disliked were made part of the Church's ritual ; and from
the compulsory observance of these obnoxious formalities they
desired to be relieved. They accordingly put themselves in
the way of the King on his journey to London, and submitted
to him a petition for redress of their grievances. This petition
purported to represent the views of a thousand ministers in
the National Church ; and was, therefore, called the millenary
petition. In response to this petition, the King appointed a
conference to be held at Hampton Court the following January,
1604; at which representatives of both parties in the Church
should have an opportunity of stating their views to His
Majesty, on the matters of complaint. The result of this con-
ference was not what the Puritans anticipated. The King
avowed himself to be, in the main, favourable to the courses of
the High Church party; and he intimated his resolution, while
amending some abuses, to maintain in the kingdom "one doc-
trine, one discipline, and one religion in substance and cere-
mony."
But there was one point in which James met the wishes of
the Puritans. A request was made by their representatives
that there should be “ a new translation of the Bible, because
those which were allowed in the Reign of King Henry VIII.
and Edward VI. were corrupt and not answerable to the truth
of the original.” In the Psalter appointed to be read in church,
one verse, Ps. cv. 28, was rendered, “They were not obedient”
(instead of disobedient) "unto his word"; and another verse,
Ps. cvi. 30, was translated, "Then stood up Phinehas and
prayed," instead of and executed judgment. The Epistle, again,
set down in the Prayer-book for the fourth Sunday in Lent,
contained the extraordinary geographical mis-statement, Gal.
iv. 25, “Mount Sinai is Agar in Arabia, and bordereth upon
the city which is now called Jerusalem." The version from
which these citations were made was the Great Bible ; but the
Bishops' Bible was, in part, open to the same criticism. It con-
contained the false rendering of Gal iv. 25; and although the
Bishops themselves corrected the rendering of Ps. cvi. 30, their
288
Bibles of England.
I
0
version of the Psalms, not being appointed to be read or sung
in Churches, was not printed in some editions of their Bible.
To the surprise and chagrin of some of the bishops, the
Puritans' motion for a new translation of the Bible happened
to fall in with the King's humour. "I have never yet," said
the royal theologian, “seen a Bible well translated into
English ; and the worst of all the translations I have seen is
the Geneva." The unexpected outcome of this episode in the
Hampton Court discussions was the expressed desire of His
Majesty that "some special pains should be taken
for
one uniform translation, ! to be done by the best
learned in both Universities ; after them, to be reviewed by
the bishops and the chief learned of the Church; from them
to be presented to the Privy Council ; and lastly, to be ratified
by his royal authority.” With his characteristic imperial
notions of one doctrine, one discipline, and one form of wor-
ship, he said further, that to this new translation, and none
other, the whole Church in the kingdom should be bound.
The people of England have cause to be thankful to the
King for the action he took on this occasion. For whatever
were the merits of the Great Bible, the Geneva Bible, or the
Bishops' Bible, the new translation desired by the King, and
through him procured a few years later, for the English people,
was better than all its precursors. It is a curious fact, how-
ever, that the issue of the new translation, in 1611, did not
remove the complaint of the Puritans, that in church they were
obliged to read and listen to mis-renderings of Scripture.
Although the King had said that the whole Church in the
realm should be bound to the new version of the Bible and to
none other, the old translation of the Psalter and the Epistles
continued long afterwards to be used in public worship as
before. It was not till the reign of Charles II. that the
Gospels and Epistles according to the translation 1611, were
1 In the quarto edition of the Bishops' Bible, 1584, quoted from in chapter v. of
this volume, the Psalms are printed according to the translation in the Great Bible.
In the edition, 1572, there are two versions of the Psalms, the Bishops' own, and
the one in the Great Bible, which was the authorised version.
The National Bible.
289
admitted into the Prayer-book; and the Psalter according to
that translation has not been admitted yet. In the Church of
England, people to this day hear it read on Sundays that
Phinehas stood up" and prayed."
Some Churchmen, as was remarked, did not go in very
heartily with the King's wishes. They thought that enough
had been done in the way of changing the words of Scripture.
The bishop of London is alleged to have said cynically at the
conference, that “if every man's humour should be followed
there would be no end of translating." The King took the
matter in hand, nevertheless, and the work went on. In the
summer of 1604, a list of men well qualified to be employed in
the work of translation was submitted to, and approved by, his
Majesty The bishops were thereupon directed to invite
learned men within their several dioceses to send in to the
Hebrew reader at Oxford, or to the dean of Westminster, any
notes they had made of errors or obscurities in former transla-
tions. But three years passed before the work of translation
was actually begun.
The list of translators comprised originally fifty-four names;
but only forty-seven persons came forward to take part in the
labours of revision. The translators, or revisers, as we choose
to term them, were divided into six cornpanies; and to each
company was assigned a separate portion of Scripture. Three
companies were set to the Old Testament; two companies
to the New Testament; and the sixth company to the
Apocrypha. Each of the translators was required to make his
own translation, chapter by chapter, of the portion of Scripture
assigned to his company. Each company held meetings from
time to time, to hear and compare translations, and to draw
out a scroll of what was eventually agreed on as the company's
renderings. After an entire book had been gone over in this
way, the scroll was sent the round of the other companies, to
be "considered of seriously and judiciously”; and it was then,
with remarks, remitted to the company from whom it came.
By that company these remarks or criticisms were, in turn,
reviewed ; and if not approved, they were referred to a select
committee of final revisers. The execution of the work
ช
290
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1
as he
occupied about three years; and both the length of time em-
ployed in the work, and the elaborate mode of procedure
adopted, indicate the pains that were taken to make the trans-
lation worthy of its high design. In 1611 the new version was
given forth to the public; and before the year was out a second
edition was issued.
Considering the interest that the King had taken in the mat-
ter, it was fitting that his name should be permanently associated
with the new translation. Practically, he was the originator of
the undertaking ; it was he, also, that apparently laid down the
lines of procedure ; and when means were awanting to
remunerate the translators for their labours, he did all he could
to procure for them such promotion in the Church as was meet
" for men of their deserts." Patrons of prebends and parsonages
were requested not to fill up vacant appointments in their gift
till the King had an opportunity of “commending for the same
some such of the learned men on the translation staff,
should think fit to be preferred thereto." Through the good
offices of James, seven of the forty-seven translators were
fraised to episcopal dignity, and more than twice seven were
settled in other comfortable livings.
The new version was accordingly dedicated to the King,
“as the principal mover and author of the work"; and, in the
epistle dedicatory, His Majesty's gifts and graces were ex-
tolled in the adulatory language peculiar to such writings at
that period. He was described as the "sanctified person, who
under God is the immediate author of his loyal and religious
people's) true happiness.” His zeal for the house of God was
said to be manifested "every day at home, by religious and
learned discourse,
by hearing the word preached, by
cherishing the teachers thereof, and by caring for the Church,
as a most tender and loving nursing-father.” The renown of
his literary achievements was declared to have reached "the
farthest parts of Christendom”; and his writings in defence of
the truth were averred to have "given such a blow unto the
man of sin, as will not be healed." The approbation and
patronage of so learned and judicious a Prince shall, therefore,
said the dedicators, "more honour and encourage us than all
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291
the calumniations and hard interpretations of other men shall
dismay us. So that if, on the one side, we shall be traduced
by Popish persons
because we are poor instruments
to make God's holy truth to be yet more and more known,
or if, on the other side, we shall be maligned by self-
conceited brethren, who run their own ways, and give liking
unto nothing but what is framed by themselves and hammered
on their anvil, we may rest secure, supported within by the
truth and innocency of a good conscience,
and sus-
tained without by the powerful protection of your Majesty's
grace and favour.” The writer of this courtly document was
Dr. Miles Smith, whose compliments to the King and labours
in the work of revision were deservedly rewarded by his pre-
ferment from the canonry of Hereford to the bishopric of
Gloucester.
Along with this dedication, there was prefixed to the new
version a lengthy preface, explaining the design of the trans-
lators, and vindicating the spirit in which their work had been
executed. This prefatory epistle was also the composition of
Dr. Smith, and it set forth the important fact that the trans-
lators "never thought from the beginning that they should
need to make a new translation, nor yet to make of a bad one
a good one,
but to make a good one better, or out of
many good ones one principal good one.” This statement of
Dr. Smith's is fully confirmed by the tenor of the King's in-
structions. The first of these directed that in the revision the
Bible ordinarily read in church, and commonly called the
Bishops' Bible, should be followed, and as little altered as the
truth of the original would permit. Another of the instruc-
tions specified the particular translations that should be
adopted, when they agreed better with the text than the
Bishops' Bible did. These were Tyndale's Testament, Cover-
dale's Bible, Matthew's Bible, the Great Bible, and the Geneva
Bible. The Rhemes Testament, it will thus be seen, was ex,
cluded from reference ; but this exclusion may be sufficiently
accounted for, irrespective of ecclesiastical prejudice, by the
fact that that translation was made from the Vulgate and not
from “the original tongues." Among the other instructions to
292
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the translators were the following The names of prophets
and holy writers to be retained, as near as may be, according
to former usage; old ecclesiastical words to be used, such as,
church instead of congregation; the rendering of words that
have different meanings to be that which has most authority
from eminent fathers, being agreeable to the propriety of the
place and the analogy of faith ; the divisions of chapters to be
'altered either not at all, or as little as possible ; no notes to be
printed on the margin except for the explanation of such
Greek or Hebrew words as cannot without circumlocution be
fully translated in the text."
The scholastic attainments of the translators, and the
reverent spirit in which they entered on their work, are referred
to in the preface with honest pride. "Many," says Dr. Smith,
were chosen that were greater in other men's eyes than in
their own, and that sought the truth rather than their own
praise. They came, or were thought to come, not exercendi
causa, but exercitati, that is learned, not to learn : for the chief
overseer under His Majesty, to whom not only we, but also our
whole Church was much bound, knew by his wisdom
that it is a preposterous order to teach first and to learn after.
And in what sort did these assemble? In the trust of their
own knowledge, or of their sharpness of wit, or deepness of
judgment, as it were an arm of flesh? At no hand.
. They
trusted in Him that hath the key of David, opening and no
inan shutting : they prayed to the Lord, the father of our
Lord, to the effect that St. Augustine did-Oh, let thy Scrip-
tures be my pure delight, let me not be deceived in thein, neither
let me deceive by thein. In this confidence, and with this
devotion, did they assemble together; not too many, lest one
should trouble another; and yet many, lest many things haply
might escape them.”
As stated on the title page, the translation 1611 was made
1 The Geneva notes were incorporated in several editions of the authorised ver-
sion published at Amsterdam between 1642 and 1715, for the use of “the exiled
English Church abiding for the present” in Holland. Atheneum, ist December,
1888.
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293
see."
from the original languages of holy Scripture; and every
available help in the translation of obscure and difficult
passages was freely used. All the English versions specified
in the instructions were carefully studied. And not only so,
but "neither did we think much," says Dr. Smith, "to consult
the translators or commentators, Chaldee, Hebrew, Syrian,
Greek, or Latin ; no, nor the Spanish, French, Italian, or
Dutch : neither did we disdain to revise that which we had
done, and to bring back to the anvil that which we had ham-
mered : but having and using as great helps as were needful,
and fearing no reproach for slowness, nor coveting praise for
expedition, we have at the length, through the good hand of
the Lord upon us, brought the work to that pass that you
It need scarcely be said that the chief aim of the translators,
in preparing the national version of the Bible, now commonly
called the authorised version, was to express without addition
or diminution the exact meaning of the original Scriptures.
They adhered with great strictness to the diction of the
Bishops' Bible ; but wherever the truth of the original, or what
they held to be so, required any change of expression, they
made alterations according to their instruction. And this
scrupulous regard to "the truth of the original" exposed their
work, when first published, to not a few unfavourable com-
ments. “The English translation of the Bible," said Selden,
“is the best translation in the world, and renders the sense of
the original best. But the Bible is rather translated into
English words than into English phrases. This is well
enough so long as scholars have to do with it, but when it
comes among the common people, Lord, what gear do they
make of it." Notwithstanding what was said by Selden,
however, the framers of the authorised version were not un-
mindful of literary grace in their translation. They changed
many expressions and phrases in the Bishops' Bible, from
regard to sound as well as to sense. Indeed, according to the
revision committee of 1881, they went too far in this direction.
They gave to Greek and Hebrew words a diversity of render-
1 Gear. In some editions of Table Talk printed jeer.
294
Bibles of England.
.
ings, in order to please the ear, and prevent a too frequent
recurrence of the same sound. And they were sensible that in
so doing their procedure was open to cavil and criticism : for
they took occasion in their preface to vindicate their conduct in
that particular. " Another thing," said their apologist, Dr.
Smith, "we think good to admonish thee of, gentle Reader,
that we have not tied ourselves to an uniformity of phrasing,
or to an identity of words, as some peradventure would wish
we had done. Truly, that we might not vary from the sense of
that which we had translated before
we were especially
careful, and made a conscience, according to our duty. But
that we should express the same notion in the same particular
word, as, for example, if we translate the Hebrew or Greek
word once by purpose, never to call it intent; if one where
journeying, never travelling; if one where think, never suppose :
thus to mince the matter, we thought to savour more
of curiosity than wisdom.”
One thing for which the framers of the authorised version
claimed to themselves special credit was their steering a middle
course between Puritanism and Papistry. “We have on the
one side," they said, "avoided the scrupulosity of the Puritans,
who leave the old ecclesiastical words, and betake them to
other, as where they put washing for baptism, and congregation
instead of church; as also, on the other hand, we have shunned
the obscurity of the Papists, in their azymes, tunike, rational
holocausts, pasche, and a number of such like, whereof their late
translation is full, and that of purpose to darken the sense, that
since they must needs translate the Bible, yet by the language
thereof it may be kept from being understood.” Notwithstand-
ing this disclaimer, critics have taken on themselves to say
that the theological and ecclesiastical bias of the translators
betrays itself in the authorised version. The Church of
England was from the first prelatic in its constitution, and was
in 1611 far more Calvinistic in its actual creed than it is sup-
posed to be now; and it has accordingly been observed that
Prelacy and Calvinism obtain in several passages of the
authorised version a show of countenance which is scarcely
warranted. The Calvinistic phrase, “such as should be saved,"
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295
introduced by Tyndale and retained in the Geneva, Douay, and
Bishops' Bible, appears in the authorised version at Acts ii. 47,
where modern scholarship has substituted the expression,
“those that were being saved.” The prelatic word "bishopric,”
also, appears in Acts i, 20, where modern scholarship has sub-
stituted the more general term "office."
It was not all at once that the new national version of the
Bible displaced previous translations. Although its title-page
bore the statement that it was appointed to be read in
Churches, it is not known where that appointment came from.
“No evidence," says Dr. Westcott, “has yet been produced to
show that the version was ever publicly sanctioned by
Convocation, or by Parliament, or by the Privy Council, or by
the King." It is believed that in many Churches the Bishops'
Bible continued to be read for years after the publication of the
King's version. Indeed, we can understand that, in those
impecunious times of dear books, if a Church were supplied
with a good copy of one version, neither the preacher nor the
parish would care to be at the expense of providing a copy of
any other translation. But "the printing of the Bishops' Bible
was at once stayed when the new version was undertaken.” It
may be presumed, therefore, that churches unsupplied with
Bibles were, after 1611, supplied with the new version. By the
visitation articles of Laud, 1622, a copy of the "whole Bible of
the largest volume and latest edition” was required to be
placed in each of the Churches within the diocese (St. David's)
of that prelate. On the promotion of Laud to the see of
London, in 1628, a similar order was issued to the clergy under
his new episcopacy. And in 1636, when he unwisely and un-
fortunately took in hand to direct the ecclesiastical affairs of
Scotland, it was inserted in the obnoxious book of canons, that
the Bible used in Church “shall be of the translation of King
James.” In the homes of the people, the Geneva version held,
its ground long after 1611. It is said that no fewer than
thirteen editions of the Geneva version were issued from the
press between 1611 and 1617. The conspicuous merits of the
new version, however, gradually gained recognition. It was
i
not only pronounced a more scholarly, but it was found to be
296
Bibles of England.
a more readable, book than any other English translation of
the Scriptures.
Surprise has often been expressed at the number of different
| readings found in ancient manuscripts of the Bible. That
surprise will be lessened when we hear how many variations
are to be found in the several editions of the authorised version
of the Scriptures in English. In a printed book, of which
proof sheets are read, examined, and corrected previous to
publication, we should not expect one-tenth part of the errata
that may appear in a manuscript copy of the same work. But
so difficult is it to ensure absolute accuracy that there scarcely
are, or at least till recently there scarcely were, any two
editions of the authorised version of the Bible in English
exactly alike. The two editions published in 1611 differed
from each other considerably. A subsequent edition, 1613, is
accredited with more than four hundred variations from the
original; and in later issues the number of variations increased
“ Some of these were very important, and others extremely
ludicrous ; so that, after a lapse of time, a careful correction of
the current editions became indispensably necessary. This
important task was first executed by Dr. Scattergood in the
year 1683 ; but the latest and most complete revision was per-
formed by Dr. Blayney, Oxford, in the year 1769. He collated
the original edition of 1611; that of Bishop Lloyd, 1701 ; and
two Cambridge editions ; thoroughly revised the punctuation,
examined and corrected the italics, added a translation of
proper names, altered the summaries of the chapters and the
running titles, corrected some errors in the chronology, and
greatly increased the number of the marginal references.”. To
the Cambridge paragraph Bible, 1873, there is appended a
| catalogue of the variations from the text of the original
authorised version, 1611, which are found in different modern
editions, and so long is this catalogue that it occupies sixteen
closely printed quarto pages.
The strange misprints that have been made in successive
editions of the authorised version of the Bible form one of the
Preface to Bagster's Hexapla.
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297
7
most interesting chapters in the curiosities of literature. It is
well known that in one of these editions, 1631, the seventh
commandment was, by the omission of the word not, trans-
formed from a prohibition into an injunction. For this over-
sight the printers were mulcted in a penalty of £300. But the
1631 edition of the Bible was not the only one in which a
prank was played with not. In one of the early editions, 1613,
St. Paul is made to say, 1 Cor. ii. 17, In this that I declare
unto you I praise you [instead of, I praise you not] that you
come together, not for the better, but for the worse"; and in
another edition, 1653, the same Apostle is made to say, 1 Cor.
vi. 9, " Know ye not that the unrighteous shall (instead of shall
not) inherit the kingdom of God." An Edinburgh edition,
1760, contains a new reading of Luke vi. 29, which may, at
least, claim the credit of accordance with modern notions of
self-protection, “ Him that taketh away thy cloke forbid '
[instead of forbid not] to take thy coat also"; while another
Scottish edition, published the following year, represents the
Psalmist as praying, Ps. cxix. 35, “Make me not to go in the
path of thy commandments." Among other misprints that
have been noted in different editions are: “vinegar," for vine-
yard; "loves,” for loaves; “ate her," for hate her; "oul,”
for soul; "eyes," for ears; "he killed,” for he is killed;
"deliver up their children to the swine," instead of to the
famine ; "covereth," for converteth a sinner; "liked" for
licked his blood ; "seventy" [instead of seven] years from her
virginity ; “let all tongues [instead of all things] be done
decently."I
I Mombert, p. 363-4. Other instances will be found in the pages of Dr. Eadie;
such as, in one of the editions, 1611, Lev. xvii. 14, “Ye shall not eat the blood of
no manner of flesh”; and in the edition of 1613, Lev. xix. 10, “ Thou shalt (not)
glean thy vineyard.” It is commonly alleged that the expression “strain at a
gnat,” Mat. xxiii. 24, was a misprint in the first edition for "strain out a gnat”;
and that the misprint has been continued ever since, except in one edition pub- |
lished in 1754. The words “ strain out” occur in Tyndale's Testament, the Great
Bible, the two Geneva versions, 1557 and 1560, and the Bishops' Bible. In the
edition, 1599, of the third Geneva version (Tomson's revision) quoted from in
chapter iv. of this volume, the phrase is changed into “strain at.” In other edi-
tions of Tomson's revision that I have examined, one of them being a copy of the
298
Bibles of England.
One misprint, over which a considerable commotion arose,
was the substitution of "ye" for "we," in Acts vi. 3. This
misprint found its way into many editions of the Bible that
were issued from the press between 1638 and 1682. That was
a period in which a strong democratic spirit displayed itself
among Presbyterians in Scotland; and the misprint was sup-
posed to be cherished by some of these Presbyterians as a
declaration of the people's scriptural right not only to elect,
but to ordain, their own ministers. One English parson,
named Gipps, with more zeal than discretion, preached and
published a sermon, in which Presbyterians, and particularly
those of Scotland, were charged with being corrupters of the
word of God, in countenancing this misprint, for the bearing
it had on the question of Church government. The charge
was both groundless and ridiculous; but it was reckoned at
the time so grave, that the General Assembly, in 1698, thought
proper to give it formal denial in a public and solemn declara-
tion, which still stands in the printed Acts of the Church of
Scotland. In this declaration, the Assembly "unanimously
declare that as they allow no power in the people, but only in
the pastors of the Church, to appoint or ordain Church officers,
so they disclaim the above-named error of the press, if any
such be found in any Bibles printed in this nation ; and do
declare that they do not own any other reading of that text to
be according to the original but "look ye out among you seven
men of honest report, full of the holy ghost and wisdom, whom
we may appoint over this business. "I
.
Geneva Bible printed the same year, 1599, by the same publishers, “strain out” is
the rendering given. The most notoriously careless printer of Bibles that ever
disgraced her craft was a Mrs. Anderson, who, from 1676 to 1711, enjoyed the
exclusive right of printing Bibles in Scotland. Nothing came from her press,"
ywrites her adversary, James Watson, “but the most illegible and incorrect Bibles
and books that ever were printed in any one place in the world.” As a specimen
of her typography the following sentence may be quoted from one of her prints,
1705 : “Whyshoulditbethoug tathingincredible wtyou, yt God should raise the
dead?” See History of Bassandyne Bible, by W. T. Dobson, p. 187-190.
1 One early misprint that has to the present day continued to hold its place in the
authorised version is shamedfacedness instead of "shamefastnesse,” I Tim. ii. 9, as
it was spelt in the first edition. See Bagster's Hexapla,
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299
The authorised version of the Bible in English, as commonly
printed at the present day, deviates in many places from the
text of the original edition, 1611. The most notable of these
deviations, whether “due to corrections of the edition of 1611,
or to errors which have subsequently crept in," are indicated
on the left hand margin of a well-known modern book, the
Oxford Parallel Bible, 1885. They are mostly very trivial, but
there are some that affect the meaning of Scripture consider-
ably. Of what appear to be errata in the first edition, the
following may be mentioned :-“Behold thou art taken to "
(instead of in) "thy mischief," 2 Sam. xvi. 8; "They shall bury
them in Tophet till there be no place else to bury,” Jer. xix. II;
“She poured it” (instead of poured it not) " upon the ground,'
"
Ezek. xxiv. 7; "A new building" (instead of a row of building),
Ezek. xlvi. 23 ; “Approved ” (instead of appointed) “to death,"
I Cor. iv. 9; and “Helps in governments” (instead of helps,
governments), 1 Cor. xii. 28. In more than one place there is
a whole clause awanting in the edition 1611, and these
omissions, we cannot but think, must have been due also to
the negligence of the printer. In the inventory of St. Paul's
personal requirements, 2 Tim. iv. 13, the words and the books
are omitted ; so that the only articles said to be solicited by
the Apostle for his bodily and mental comfort were his cloak
and parchments. A stranger and a more serious omission was
made in Lev. xxvi. 40. That verse, as usually printed now,
contains a promise of pardon and grace to the unfaithful chil-
dren of Israel, if they would “confess their iniquity, and the
1 The words “helps in governments were regarded by George Gillespie as
something worse than a misprint. He recognised in these words a covert attack
on the constitution of the Church of Scotland. In his Assertion of the Government
of that Church, 1641, he says: “We cannot enough admire how the authors of the
new English translation were bold to turn it helps in governments, so to make one
of two, and to elude our argument (for the office of ruling elder).
The original
hath them clearly distinguished. And I find some late editions of the English
translation to have it as it is in the Greek, helps, governments. How this change
hath been made in the English Bible, I know not,” p. 40. Although Gillespie
here speaks of the authorised version as “the new English translation,” it is from
that translation, and not from the Geneva Bible, that all quotations in his “ Asser-
țion" are taken,
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iniquity of their fathers.” In the edition of 1611, the words
here italicised were left out; and the Lord was thus repre-
sented as making overtures of reconciliation to men if they
would only acknowledge their fathers' transgressions !
Some curious amendments, too, have been made on the ori-
ginal punctuation of the authorised version. In Ps. xlii. 9, we
are accustomed to read, “I will say unto God my rock, Why
hast thou forgotten me.” As originally punctuated, the
Psalmist was made in this passage to assume rather more
familiarity with his Maker, “I will say unto God, My rock, why
hast thou," etc. As now printed, there is no comma after the
word pray, in Luke xxii. 40, “Pray that ye enter not into
temptation. According to this punctuation, our Lord sets
before us in this precept what should be one of the subjects of
our petitions at the throne of grace. But in the edition of 1611,
there was a comma after the word pray, which made the ex-
hortation mean, Have recourse to prayer as an exercise that
will defend you against the wiles of your adversary.
Passing from these curiosities of printing to a consideration
of the work by the King's translators in 1611, we remark that
the National Bible and the Bishops' Bible were framed on
similar lines. Both of these English versions of the Scriptures
were conservative in their character. Neither of them was a
radically new and original translation ; but each of them was a
revision and an amendment of the version in use in the Church
of England at the date of their publication. The first of the
instructions given to the translators in King James' reign was
that "the ordinary Bible read in the Church, commonly called
the Bishops' Bible, be followed, and as little altered as the
truth of the original will permit.” We have seen how observa-
tion No. I was attended to by the Bishops, let us see now how
instruction No. I was carried out by the King's translators.
And in pursuing this inquiry, we may take note, at the same
time, of the way in which instruction No. 14 was obtempered,
especially in regard to the Geneva version. As the Rhemes
1 Instruction 14. These translations to be used when they agree better with
the text than the Bishops' Bible :-Tyndale's, Coverdale's, Matthew's, Whit-
church's, Geneva.”
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301
Testament was not included in the list of translations to be
perused, we may, likewise, examine whether there is any evi-
dence of its having been unauthorisedly consulted and utilised.'
For this purpose, we shall take, at random, two portions of
Scripture, one from the New Testament and one from the Old,
and see in how many places the King's translators have
deviated from the text of the Bishops' Bible, and in how many
of these deviations they have accepted the rendering given in
the Geneva and Douay Bibles respectively."
Let the passage for examination in the New Testament be
the sermon on the mount, as recorded by St. Matthew In
this portion of Scripture, extending over three chapters and
comprising more than a hundred verses, it will be found that
there are not quite sixty cases of variation between the
authorised and the bishops' renderings. In about a third of,
these cases, the Geneva translation has been adopted ; in fully
a fourth of them, the Rhemes version has been followed ; and
in the others, original amendments have been introduced. The
most notable importations from the Geneva version are the
following: v. II, "falsely," after, “all manner of evil”; v. 13,
“lost his savour," for, become unsavoury ; v. 39, “smite thee on
thy right cheek,” for, give thee a blow on thy right cheek; vi. 7,
use not vain repetitions," for, babble not much; vi. 19, “lay
not up for yourselves treasures, for, hoard not up treasures; vi.
29, “Solomon in all his glory," for, Solomon in all his royalty.
Of distinctive renderings taken from the Rhemes Testament
the following may be noted : v. 18, “one jot or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from the law," for, one jot or one tittle of the
law shall not scape ; v. 25, “deliver thee to the officer," for,
deliver thee to the minister ; v. 47, “what do ye more than
others,” for, what singular thing do ye ; vi. 2, “ do not sound,"
for, do not blow a trumpet before you ; vi. 26,“nor gather,” for,
nor carry into barns ; vi. 30, “the grass of the field, which to-
day is,” for, the grass of the field which though it stand to-day;
Very few, if any, renderings in the Old Testament were taken from the Douay
Bible. The first volume of that Bible was published in 1609, and the second in
1610, while the King's translation was issued from the press in 1611.
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Bibles of England.
vii. 25, “founded,” for, grounded on a rock. Of the new
renderings, by the King's translators, in the sermon on the
mount, the most characteristic are : v. 21, “ye have heard that
it was said by (instead of, to) them of old time”; v. 22, "angry
with his brother without a cause," for, angry unadvisedly ; v.
44, despitefully use you,” for, hurt you ; vi. 2, “have glory of
men,” for, be esteemed of men (Bishops), praised of inen
(Geneva), honoured of men (Rhemes); vi. 24, “hold to the one,”
for, lean to the one; vi. 25, “take no thought," for, be not
careful; vii. 4, “let me pull out the mote," for, suffer me, I will
cast out a mote ; v. 6,"trample them under their feet, and turn
again and rend you," for, tread them under their feet, and turn
again, all to rent you."
The passage from the Old Testament that we shall name, in
a similar hap-hazard way, for examination is the book of the
prophecies of Micah, which contains seven chapters, and, like
the sermon on the mount, comprises fully a hundred verses.
In this portion of the Old Testament Scripture, there is a much
we
to you.
• The above remarks may leave on the reader's mind an impression that the
authorised version of the New Testament contains very few, and only insignificant,
amendments, on the Bishop's renderings. This is not the case, as the subjoined
quotations, not laboriously selected, will help to show :
AUTHORISED VERSION. BISHOPS' VERSION. GENEVA VERSION. RHEMES VERSION.
2 Cor. V. 13.-Whe- 2 Cor. y. 13.-If we 2 Cor. v. 13.-Whe- 2 Cor. v. 13.-Whe-
ther we be besides our- be too fervent, to God ther we be out of our ther
exceed in
selves it is to God: or are we too ſervent; or wit, we are to God: or mind, to God: or whe-
whether we be sober it if we keep measure, for whether we be in our ther we be sober, to
is for your cause, your cause keep we right mind we are unto you.
measure.
you.
Gal. v. 4.-Christ is Gal. v. 4.-Christ is Gal. v. 4. —Ye are Gal. v. 4.-You are
become of no effect un- become but vain to abolished from Christ. evacuated from Christ.
you.
Gal. vi. 1.-If a man Gal. vi. 1.-If a man Gal. vi. 1.- If a man
Gal. vi. I.-If a man
be overtaken in a fault. be prevented in any be fallen by occasion be pre-occupated in any
fault.
into any fault.
fault.
Eph. vi.
4. - The Eph. vi. 4.-Instruc- Eph. vi. 4.--The in- Eph. vi.
4.
The
nurture and admonition tion and information of struction and informa- discipline and correp-
of the Lord.
the Lord.
tion of the Lord.
tion of our Lord.
i Tim. vi. 6.-Godli- I Tim. vi. 6.-Godli. I Tim. vi. 6.-Godli- I Tim. vi. 6.- Piety
ness with contentment ness is great lucre if a ness is great gain, if a with sufficiency is
great
is great gain.
man be content with man be content with gain.
what he hath.
what he hath.
I Tim. vi, 15.-The I Tim. vi. 15.-Bless- 1. Tim. vi. 15.-Bless- I Tim. vi. 15.--The
blessed and only Poten- ed and Prince only. ed and Prince only. blessed and only
tate.
Mighty.
Heb. iv. II.--Let us Heb. iv. II.- Let us Heb. iv. II.-. Let us Heb. iv. II.--Let us
labour, therefore, to study, therefore, to studie, therefore, to hasten, therefore,
enter into that rest. enter into that rest. enter into that rest. enter into that rest.
Heb. vi. 6.-Put him Heb. vi. 6.-Making Heb. vi. 6. Make a Heb. vi. 6.-Making
to an open shame. a mocke of him.
mock of him.
him a mockery.
2 Peter iii. 1.--I stir 2 Peter iii. I.-I stir 2 Peter iii. 1.-I stir 2 Peter, iii. 1.- I stir
up your pure minds by up and warn your pure up and warn your pure up by admonition your
way of remembrance. minds.
minds.
sincere mind.
to
w
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303
greater amount of variation between the King's and the
Bishops' renderings than there is in the portion of the New
Testament that was examined. In the first five verses of the
fourth chapter, which are in no way exceptional verses, the
King's translators have made no fewer than thirty-six departures
from the text they were directed to adhere to as closely as
possible. And it is noteworthy that thirty out of these thirty-
six variations are retrogressive, and conduct us back to the
Geneva text. Of these the most important are the substitution
of “exalted,” v. I, for “set up higher"; "flow," v. I, for “press”;
“nations,” v. 2, for "people”; and “vine," v. 4, for “vineyard.”
The remaining six departures from the text of the Bishops'
Bible we may assume to be original amendments; and that
they were either corrections or improvements may be inferred
from the fact that they have all been retained in the revised
version of 1885. The most notable of these are "established,"
V. I, instead of “prepared"; "pruning hooks,” v. 3, instead of
"scythes"; and the noun "war," v. 3, instead of the verbal
expression “to fight.”
to fight.” It would be tedious to enumerate all
the changes made by the King's translators on the Bishops'
version of the whole book of Micah. There is only one verse
in the book that is absolutely identical in the two translations.
That verse is the tenth of the third chapter—" They build up
Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.” And although
in the case of some verses, the difference between the King's
and the Bishops' renderings is extremely slight, there are
other cases in which the difference is very considerable; as the
following examples will show :
AUTHORISED VERSION.
BISHOPS' VERSION.
Chap. iii. 6. —Night shall be unto you, Chap. iii. 6. ---Night shall be unto you
that ye shall not have a vision, and it for a vision, and darknesse shall be unto
shall be dark unto you that ye shall not you for a divination.
divine.
Chap. v. 1.–Now gather thyself in Chap. v. 1. -Now shalt thou be
troops, O daughter of troops.
robbed thyself, O thou robber's daughter.
Chap. v. 4.-They shall abide : for Chap. v. 4.--When they be converted,
now shall he be great unto the ends of he shall be magnified unto the farthest
the earth.
partes of the world.
On the other hand, while the King's translators, in departing
from the text of the Bishops' Bible, did in many instances
304
Bibles of England.
adopt and revive the Geneva renderings, they betrayed no
conspicuous deference to the scholastic authority of the Puritan
fathers. They made frequent and notable departures from the
Geneva text as well as from the Bishops'. Indeed, while there
are many passages in the prophecies of Micah that read almost
the same in the Geneva and the King's translations, there are
only nine verses that are exactly alike.
The outcome of our investigation, therefore, is that the
King's translators, although in some parts adhering very closely
to the text of the Bishops' Bible, have everywhere deviated
from it more or less, and in some places widely; that a large
number of these deviations, both in the Old and New Testa-
ment, are reversions to the text of the Geneva Bible ; that, in
the New Testament, a goodly number of them accord with the
Rhemes renderings; and that a further goodly number of them
'in both the Old and New Testament are entitled to the credit
of being original emendations.
In the instructions issued to the King's translators, it was
not only declared that the Bishops' Bible was in a general way
to be made the basis of the new version, but that its diction
was to be a
as little altered as the truth of the original would
perinit.” It was further intimated, that when any of the other
English Protestant versions were used or followed, it should be
“when they agreed better with the text than the Bishops'
Bible.”
It would appear, therefore, that the King's translators were
required to adhere literally to the bishops' version, except when
the translation in that version was not merely infelicitous or
feeble but positively inaccurate or imperfect. And renderings
were not to be borrowed or appropriated from other versions,
unless these renderings were not only terser or happier, more
sonorous or more rhythmical, but more accordant with the
letter and spirit of the original Scripture than were the corres-
ponding translations in the Bishops' Bible. Let us see, whether,
in this matter, the King's translators adhered strictly to their
instructions, or assumed a little more latitude than they were
ostensibly allowed.
This question might be determined by considering instances
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305
of change on the bishops' text that have already been adduced
from the sermon on the mount, and from the prophecies of
Micah. Many of these changes are obviously alterations for
the sake of literary improvement. They give no new meaning
to the Scriptures, but simply express the old meaning in an-
other way. Let us investigate this matter afresh, however, and
with that view let us turn to the 8th chapter of the Epistle to
the Romans. In the last fourteen verses of that chapter, it
will be found that the reading in the authorised version departs
in forty-four instances from the words of the Bishops' Bible;
and some of these departures are evidently made with a view
to greater accuracy of translation. It really agrees " better"
with the truth of the original (whether completely or not is
another question) to say, in verse 26, "we know not what we
should pray for as we ought," than, as in the Bishops' Bible, to
say, “we know not what to desire as we ought." The phrases,
"work together," v. 28 ; " freely give," v. 32; and, "are more
than conquerors," v. 37, are plainly also more correct transla-
tions of the Greek Scripture (sunergei, charisetai, and hyperni-
komen) than are the unsupplemented verbs work, give, and
overcome, which are used in the Bishops' Bible. It is not only
a more easily accepted doctrine, again, but a more faithful ren-
dering of the word, that we find in the King's translation, v. 28,
“all things work together for good," than appears in the
Bishops' Bible, “all things work for the best, to them that love
God."
But in other, and far more cases, the changes that were
made by the King's translators on the bishops' rendering of
Romans viii. 26-39, were introduced for the sake of good plain
English, and pleasant cadence in reading. There was no dif-
ference of meaning occasioned by the substitution of "uttered”
for expressed, v. 26; of “whom he did foreknow," for those
which he knew before, v. 29; of "conformed to the image of his
son,” for “like fashioned unto the shape of his son, v. 29; of “he
also," for "also he," v. 30; of "elect,” for chosen, v. 33 ; or of
persuaded,” for sure, v. 38. But it will be found that in these
and other instances where verbal changes, not affecting the
meaning of the passage, have been made on the Bishops' Bible
W
306
Bibles of England.
by the King's translators, a sweeter, smoother, or statelier
diction has been introduced into our English version of the
“ dearworth book. And this has been no small gain. The
English Bible is designed for public reading, and whatever
makes it read more smoothly, and in a style of pathos or
majesty more accordant with its subject matter, is a help to
the reader, and a benefit to the hearer. The statements of the
Bible, again, that bear on our conduct and comfort, on our
sanctification and salvation, are meant to be remembered, so
as to be present in our minds whenever temptations or afflic-
tions come our way; and whatever choice or arrangement of
words makes these statements of the Bible more striking or
impressive, more pleasant to the ear or more fascinating to the
imagination, makes them also more easily remembered, and
more potent for good. It is not enough that our English
Bible be a mathematically correct translation of the original
Scriptures, word for word, and point for point; but it should,
both in its literary charms and its divine revelations, be a well-
spring of spiritual life in the broadest, as well as the highest,
sense of the terms. We cannot be too grateful, therefore, that
the framers of our authorised version were not only skilled in
the “discernment of tongues,” but were gifted with an ear for
melody. “Who will not say," writes a famous Catholic digni-
tary, in words that have been often quoted, "that the un-
common beauty and marvellous English of the Protestant
Bible is not one of the great strongholds of heresy in this
country? It lives on the ear like a music that can never be
forgotten, like the sound of church bells. Its felicities often
seem to be things rather than words. It is part of the national
mind, and the anchor of national seriousness."
It is scarcely worth while to enquire whether all the Geneva
renderings that have been imported into the authorised version
were adopted on the ground of their stricter fidelity to the
original than were their counterparts in the Bishops' Bible, or
whether some of them were appropriated on the ground of
choicer diction. From what we have already seen, we may be
quite confident that the King's translators would not scruple
to borrow a phrase either from the Geneva Bible or from the
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307
Great Bible, if, for any reason whatever, they found it
advantageous to do so. In the 2nd chapter of St. John's first
Epistle there are about fifty-two changes made by the King's
translators on the Bishops' Bible. Assuming that every dis-
tinctive 'expression in the authorised version which we find in
the Geneva and not in the Bishops' Bible was imported from
the Geneva translation, there could not have been, out of these
fifty-two changes, more than ten that were drawn from the
people's favourite. And of these ten changes that may have
been derived from that source, at least one-half are simply
improved phrases, which present no difference of signification
from those they displaced. For "sins of all the world," which
appears in the Bishops' Bible, v. 2, we find in the Geneva, as
well as in the authorised, version, "sins of the whole world”;
for “verity,” in the Bishops' Bible, v. 4, truth; for “cannot
tell," V. II, knoweth not; and for “babes," V. 12, little children.
It will thus be seen, that wherever the King's translators found
in the Geneva version a happier word or phrase than they
found at the same place in the Bishops' Bible, they appro-
priated that word or phrase, to adorn and enrich their own
translation.
Among Geneva renderings not found in the Bishops' Bible,
but imported direct (with almost no change) from their original
source into the authorised version, the following, in addition to
others mentioned in former chapters, may be specified :
" The
“Canst thou by searching find out God, canst thou find out the Almighty unto
perfection,” Job xi. 7; “Not judge after the sight of his eyes, ” Is. xi. 3 ;
land shadowing with wings,” Is. xviii. 1 ; “To whom is the arm of the Lord re-
vealed,” Is. liii. 1; “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all,” Is. liii. 6;
“He shall see of the travail of his soul,” Is. liii. II; “O, thou afflicted,
tossed with tempest,” Is. liv. II; “The angel of his presence,” Is. Ixiii. 9; “The
fountain of living waters,” Jer. ii. 13; “Is there no balm in Gilead,” Jer. viii.
22 ; “The joy and rejoicing of mine heart,” Jer. xv. 16; “Because his compas-
sions fail not,” Lam. iii. 22 ; “ It is good for us to be here,” Luke ix. 33 ; Men
of like passions with you,” Acts xiv. 15; A disobedient and gainsaying people,'
Rom. x. 21 ; “We see through a glass darkly, I Cor. xiii. 12 ;
affliction, which is but for a moment, 2 Cor. iv. 17 ; “We walk by faith, not
by sight,” 2 Cor. v. 7 ; " Ambassadors for Christ,” 2 Cor. v. 20; 6. The love of
Christ, which passeth knowledge,”. Eph. iii. 19; “The glorious gospel of the
blessed God,” i Tim. i. II ; “The eyes of him with whom we have to do," Heb.
"A man subject to like passions as we are,” Jas. v. 17.
• Our light
iv. 13;
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Bibles of England.
Little esteemed as the Rhemes Testament is, either on
scholastic or literary grounds, it has nevertheless helped, and in
no small degree, to enrich the national Bible with living
words. A familiar phrase in the authorised translation is
“subverting your souls.” It occurs in Acts xv. 24, “Foras-
much as we have heard that certain, which went out from us,
have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying,
Ye must be circumcised and keep the law.” That phrase is
an importation from the Rhemes Testament, and although it
has no special power or beauty or aptness, it has the merit of
being a great improvement on what it superseded. In the
New Testament of Tyndale, in the Great Bible, in the Geneva
Bible, and in the Bishops' Bible the verse reads: "We have
heard that certain, which departed from us, have troubled you
with words, and cumbered your minds.": Another oft-quoted
expression in the authorised version, which appears also in the
Rhemes Testament, is, “Thanked God and took courage,"
Acts xxviii. 15. In most of the earlier versions the rendering
is thanked God and waxed bold : which describes a state of
feeling somewhat different from took courage, and a state of
feeling not so natural to the situation. A still more familiar
and oftener quoted phrase, which has come to us from the
Rhemes version is "the goodness and severity of God," Rom.
xi. 22. Tyndale's words, in this version, are, “the kyndnes
and rigourousnesse of God”; and that rendering is, strange to
say, retained in all its hirsute barbarity by Coverdale in the
Great Bible, and by the bishops in theirs. In the second
Geneva version the phrase was recast and changed into the
bountifulness and severity of God, which was an improvement
certainly, but left room for further improvement in the way of
smoothness and simplicity. Other phrases appropriated from
the Rhemes Testament will be found in the following quota-
tions: “a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation," I
Tim. i. 15;
"to me to live is Christ, and to die is
gain,” Phil. i. 21; "the form of sound words,” 2 Tim
“evil communications corrupt good manners,” i Cor
i. 13;
1 In Wyclif's version, the rendering is turneden upsodoun your soulis.
The National Bible.
309
XV. 33; “speech contemptible,” 2 Cor. x. 10; “giveth to all
men liberally abundantly, Rhemes), and upbraideth not,"
Jas. i. 5; "unction from the holy one," 1 John ii. 20; "per-
fected praise,” Mat. xxi. 16; "one shall be taken, and the
other left,” Mat. xxiv. 40 ; "commendeth his love” (charity,
Rhemes), Rom. v. 8; "as ye see the day approaching," Heb.
x. 25; "the spirits of just men (the just, Rhemes) made per-
fect," Heb. xii. 23. It will thus be seen that not a few of our
household Bible words and phrases have come to us from a
source that is not usually considered a well of English unde-
filed. All the more honour to the King's translators, that, in
their search for the right word for the right place, they left no
corner unexplored.
It may be said roughly that each successive version of the
English Bible (barring the Rhemes-Douay version, which has
characteristic merits and demerits of its own) was an improve-
ment on the one of which it professed to be a revision. In
version after version there are increased accuracy and increased
felicity of expression to be found ; and there are many clauses
and sentences that, in their transition from one version to
another, indicate growth and development at almost every
stage.
In successive translations, the meaning of Scripture is in
some verses presented to us in a series of different lights. For
instance, in Prov. xi. 17, we are accustomed to read :
merciful man doeth good to his own soul, but he that is cruel
troubleth his own flesh.” The proverb, however, does not bear
this meaning in all the English versions of the Bible. By
changing subject into predicate, and predicate into subject, in
one or other or both clauses of the verse ; and by transforming
kinsmen into own flesh, the proverb comes before us in the
Bibles of England, in no fewer than five forms, as will be seen
from the following quotations :
" The
1 Another of the Rhemes renderings that the King's translators would have done
well to adopt is Acts v. 30: “ Jesus whom you did kill, hanging him upon a tree."
Instead of that, the translation of Tyndale, continued in the Great Bible, the
Geneva Bible, and the Bishops' Bible, was retained : “ Whom ye slew and hanged
on a tree.
310
Bibles of England.
“A merciſul man doith wel to his soule : but he that is cruel casteth awei, zhe
kynsmen.”-Wyclif.
“He that hath a gentle liberall stomacke is mercifull : but whoso hurteth his
negboure is a tyraunt."- Coverdale,
.
“He that is mercifull doeth himselfe a benefite : but whoso hurteth his neigh-
bour is a tyrant.”—Great Bible and Bishops' Bible.
“Hee that is mercifull rewardeth his owne soule : but he that troubleth his own
flesh is cruel.”-Geneva Version.
Turning tò the New Testament, we find verses there, also,
interpreted in four, five, or six different ways in the principal
translations of the Bible. Reference has already been made to
I Cor. xv. 34, which in the authorised version is rendered,
“Awake to righteousness." And so is it in the first Geneva
version 1557, and in the Bishops' Bible; but in Wyclif's
Bible and the Douay Bible the verse reads, " Awake, ye just”;
in Tyndale's Testament and the Great Bible, " Awake truely
oute of slepe"; in Coverdale's Bible, “Awake righte up"; and
in the Geneva Bible, 1560, “Awake to live righteously.” It is
by means of extracts, however, without comment that the
diversity of meaning given to particular passages of Scripture
in different translations will be best exhibited. The following
are specimens of instances to this effect that might be adduced
in considerable numbers:
JOB VI. 18.
“For the paths that they (my brethren) go in are crokid, they haist after vaine
things and shall perish.”—Coverdale's Bible, Great Bible, and similarly in Douay
Bible.
"They (the rivers) depart from their way and course, yea they vanish and
perish.”—Geneva Bible.
They (the rivers) depart from the course of their wonted channel to other
places, they run in vain and perish.”-Bishops' Bible.
“The paths of their (the rivers') way are turned aside, they go to nothing and
perish." I --Authorised Version.
JOB XXXI. 35.
“Who zyueth an helpere to me, that Almyzti God here my desire ? that he that
demeth write a book."-Wyclif.
“Lo this is my cause. Let the Almightie geue me answere : and let him that is
my contrary party sue me with a lybell.”—Coverdale.
I “ The caravans that travel by the way of them turn aside : They go up into
the waste and perish,”~-Revised Version,
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311
"Lo, this is my cause.
.
In the which the Almyghty shall answere for me,
though he that is my contrary party hath wrytten a boke agaynst me.”—Great
Bible.
“Beholde my signe that the Almightie will witnesse for me: though mine
adversarie should write a booke against me.”—Geneva Bible and Bishops' Bible.
“Behold my desire is that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adver-
sary had written a book.”I -Authorised Version,
JOB XXXVI. 33.
“He shal heren heringe in gastnesse of his vois, and the soun goende out of the
mouth of hym."—Wyclif (Hereford).
He tellith of it to his freend, that it is his possessioun : and that he may stie
to it.”—Wyclif (Purvey), Douay Bible.
“The rysinge up thereof sheweth he to his frendes, and to the catell."-Cover-
dale and Great Bible.
“His companion sheweth him thereof, and there is anger in rising up.”—Geneva
Bible.
“ Which dashing upon the next cloudes, shewe tokens of wrath.”—Bishops'
Bible,
“The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the
vapour.” 2–Authorised Version.
ISAIAH XXVII. 8.
“In measure azens measure, whanne it schal be cast awei, he schal deme it : he
bithouzte in his hard spirit, bi the day of heete.”—Wyclif (Purvey). Modernised
in Douay Bible.
Every man recompenseth with the measure that he receaveth : He museth up-
on his sore wynde, as upon the days of extreme heate.”—Coverdale.
In measure doth he smyte hym whyle he sendeth to him soch thingis whereby
he commeth to his mynde agayne, for in the day that the East wind bloweth sore,
it taketh away the fruits.”—Great Bible.
“In measure in the branches thereof wilt thou contend with it, when he bloweth
with his rough winde in the day of the Eastwynde.”-Geneva Bible.
“ Thou wilt punish it in the branches, yet not beyond measure : for in the day
that the East wind bloweth sore it taketh away the fruits.”_Bishops' Bible.
“In measure, when it shooleth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his
rough wind in the day of the east wind."3 ---Authorised Version.
I In the revised version, 1885, the passage, including prefatory exclamation,
reads: “Oh that I had one to hear me! (Lo, here is my signature, let the
Almighty answer me): And that I had the indictment which mine adversary hath
written."
2 - The noise thereof telleth concerning him,
The cattle also concerning (the storm) that cometh up."
-- Revised Version, 1885.
In measure, when thou sendest her away, thou dost contend with her: he
hath removed her with his rough blast in the day of the east wind."-Revised
Version.
3
312
Bibles of England.
ACTS IX. 31.
" And the chirch by alle judee and galilee and samarie hadde pees, and was edi-
fied, and walkid in the drede of the Lord, and was filled with comfort of the holi
goost."--Wyclif. (Same rendering modernised in Coverdale's Bible and Rhemes
Testament).
" Then had the congregacyons rest throwout all Jewry and Galilee and Samary,
and were edified and walked in the fear of the Lord, and multiplied by the comfort
of the holy ghost.”—Tyndale. Geneva and Bishops' Bible, except churches for
congregations).
" Then had the Churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee, and Samaria,
and were edified : and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the
Holy Ghost were multiplied."--Authorised Version.
2 PETER II, 13.
“ Thei gessen delicis of defoulinge and of wemmen to be likynges of day.”—
Wyclif.
“Count it pleasure to live deliciously for a season."— Tyndale, Coverdale, Great
Bible, Geneva Bible, Bishops' Bible.
Esteeming for a pleasure the delightes of a day."-Rhemes Testament.
"Count it pleasure to riot in the day time.”-Authorised Version.
The foregoing extracts exhibit such amendments, by the
King's translators, on previous versions of the English Bible, as
affect the meaning and interpretation of Scripture. But we
have seen that on the Bishops' Bible there were made, by these
translators or revisers, many changes that were only literary
improvements. Some of these literary improvements were the
culmination of a long process of development. It may not
occur to people that in the statement, Luke xxi. 14, “ Settle it,
therefore, in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall
answer,” there is anything that from a literary point of view is
strikingly felicitous. It is merely a plain statement of a plain
instruction. But in its simplicity and directness, it presents a
great improvement on the diction of the earlier translations.
Tyndale's rendering of the passage was, “ Let it stick, therefore,
fast in your hearts, not once to study before what ye shall
answer." In the Great Bible, and also in the Bishops' Bible,
the verse was made to read, “ Be at a sure point in your hearts
not to study before”; while, in 1560, the Geneva divines gave
the precept a third form of expression, “ Lay it by, therefore,
in your hearts, that ye premeditate not." In the impeachment
of St. Paul, again, by the orator Tertullus, as recorded in the
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313
authorised version of Acts xxiv. 5, there is a very concise and
graphic account of the alleged misdemeanour of the Apostle :
“We have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of
sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a
ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes." The term ringleader
is so forcible and expressive, and likewise so natural for any
one to use in the circumstances, that we might suppose there
never could have been any other word put for it in this part of
the English Bible. But what is natural in expression seldom
comes naturally to people. As a rule, it is the slow result of
long whittling. And so, in one English version of the Bible
after another, from Tyndale's to the Bishops', we find, instead
of ringleader, “ maintainer" or "chief maintainer" of the sect
of the “Nazarites."! A very beautiful exclamation of our Lord's,
which has served as a text for many a sermon, is, “Behold an
Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." Short and simple as
that exclamation is in English, it passed through a great deal
of rounding before it assumed the final and perfect form it now
has in the authorised and revised versions. Tyndale's render-
ing of it was very prosaic : “Behold a right Israelite." Both
the Geneva and the Rhemes divines had well nigh won for
themselves the honour of perfecting the sentence; but the one,
by an inharmonious order of words, “indeed an Israelite” for an
Israelite indeed, and the other, by an overly emphasised state-
ment, “an Israelite in very deed," precluded the rhythm they had
almost attained. A most grateful relief, again, not unworthy
of mention, that the King's translators have in many instances
brought to the ears and minds of readers, is the alteration of
verbs from the subjunctive to the indicative mood, or from the
past-perfect to the past-imperfect tense. Both in the Bishops'
and the Geneva Bible, for instance, we find it said, John xii.
On the morrow, a great multitude that were come to the
feast, when they heard that Jesus should come to Jerusalem,
I2:
1 The distinguished Catholic scholar, Dr. Alexander Geddes, who died about
the beginning of the present century, says of the authorised version of the Bible in
English : “Every sentence, every word, every syllable, every letter and point,
seem to have been weighed with the nicest exactitude, and expressed either in the
text or margin with the greatest precision.”
1
314
Bibles of England.
took branches of palm trees,” etc. The reading of these, and
such like forms of expression, strains the mind. But the strain
is removed, and the verse is made clear and simple, when the
words should come are changed, as they are in the national
Bible, into was coming.
The following quotations will, without comment, illustrate
further the progressive improvement in phraseology that
characterises the successive versions of the Bible in English :
PROVERBS III, 17,
“The weies therof ben feire weis, and alle the paths therof ben pesible.”.
Wyclif (Purvey).
“Her wayes are pleasant wayes and all her paths are peaceable.”—Coverdale,
Great Bible, Bishops' Bible.
“Her wayes are wayes of pleasure, and all her paths prosperity.”—Geneva Bible.
“Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace."-Authorised
Version.
PROVERBS XXVI. 7.
“Like as it is an unseemly thing to have legges and yet to halte, even so is a
parable in the foole's mouth.”—Coverdale's Bible.
“Like as in a lame man his legges are not equal, so is a parable in a fool's
mouth.”—Great Bible, Bishops' Bible.
“ As they that lift up the legs of the lame, so is a parable in a foole's mouth."
Geneva.
“ As a lame man hath fair legs in vain, so a parable is unseemly in the mouth of
a fool.”-Douay Bible (modern).
“The legs of the lame are not equal, so is a parable in the mouth of fools." I —
Authorised Version,
ISAIAH IX. 5.
" A cloth meddlid with blood.”—Wyclif.
“But a cote fyled with blood." 2-Coverdale.
“Defyling their garments with blood.”—Great Bible and Bishops' Bible, .
“With tumbling of garments in blood.”—Geneva Bible.
66 With
garments mingled with blood.”—Douay Bible (modern
version).
66 With
garments rolled in blood." -Authorised Version.
I “ The legs of the lame hang loose :
So is a parable in the mouth of fools."- Revised Version.
2 The whole sentence in Coverdale's Bible differs widely from modern render-
ings : “Moreover all temerarious and sedicious power (yee where there is but a
cote fyled with bloude) shalbe burnt and fede the fyre,
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315
LUKE XIX. 42.
“If thou haddist knowen, thou schuldist wepe also, for in this day the thingis
ben in pees to thee."--Wyclif.
'If thou haddest knowen those thinges which belonge unto thy peace, even at
this thy tyme.”—Tyndale.
"Yf thou knewest what were for thy peace, thou shuldest remember it euen in
this present daye of thine.”—Coverdale. .
“ If thou haddest knowen those thynges whyche belong unto thy peace, euen in
this thy daie, thou wouldeste take hede."--Great Bible.
“ If thou haddest euen knowen, at the least in this thy day, those things which
belong unto thy peace.”—Geneva Bible.
“ If thou haddest knowen those things which belong unto thy peace, euen in this
thy day."-Bishop's Bible.
“If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that pertain to
thy peace."-Rhemes Testament.
If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which
belong unto thy peace.”-Authorised Version.
ROMANS XIII. 12.
“ The nyzt went bifor, but the dai hath nyzed."-Wyclif.
"The night is passed, the day is come nigh."--Tyndale, Coverdale, Great
Bible, Bishops' Bible.
"The night hath come unto us, and the day is at hand.”—Geneva Testament,
1557.
“The night is passed, and the day is at hand.”—Geneva Bible, 1560, Rhemes
Testament.
“The night is far spent, the day is at hand."- Authorised Version.
1 PETER I. 8.
“Schuln haue joie and gladnesse that mai not be teeld out, and ze schuln be
glorified."—Wyclif.
rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorious.”—Tyndale, Great
Bible, Geneva Bible, Bishops' Bible.
“ Ye rejoice also with unoutspeakable and glorious joye.”--Coverdale.
“You rejoice with joy unspeakable and glorified."-Rhemes Testament.
“Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."-Authorised Version:
HEBREWS XIII. 8.
“Jhesus crist zistirdai, and to dai, he is also in to worldis."-Wyclif.
"Jesus Christ yesterdaye, and to daye, and the same continueth for ever.".
Tyndale, Coverdale, Great Bible.
Jesus Christ yesterday, and to day, the same also is for ever.”—Geneva Bible.
“Jesus Christ yesterday, and to day, and the same for ever."--Bishops' Bible.
“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever."-Authorised
Version,
66 Ye
These examples of successively amended renderings, so far
as they go, make it plain that the authorised version of the
316
Bibles of England.
English Bible is, in respect of those particulars which specially
make a translation of the Scriptures precious to the common
reader, a very great improvement on all preceding versions.
The language is clearer and choicer, more impressive and more
capable of making itself remembered ; and it may be assumed
that the translation is at least quite as faithful and accurate as
in any former version, if not more so. But the examples
given fail to exhibit the full extent of the improvement made
by the King's translators on the versions they were set to
amend. The improvement is not here and there only, nor is it
only very markedly in a few special points; but it is all over,
and although for the most part faint it is still perceptible both
to the judgment and the ear. And both from a literary and a
spiritual point of view, there are few things more to be desired
by a Christian community than a translation, as good as care
and skill can make, of those holy Scriptures which are the
guide and the solace of life and which make their readers
wise unto salvation.
Not content with expressing, in general terms, their admira-
tion of the authorised version of the Scriptures in English,
some critics have set themselves to form a catalogue of its
peculiar and particular excellences. In a sentence that
probably cost him a great deal of study, Dr. Eadie says of the
authorised version that :-" It has the fulness of the Bishops',
without its frequent literalisms or its repeated supplements; it
has the graceful vigour of the Geneva, the quiet grandeur of
the Great Bible, the clearness of Tyndale's, the harmonies of
Coverdale's, and the stately theological vocabulary of the
Rhemes." There is too much judgment crowded here into
one sentence; and the characterisation of the different versions
is not very accurate. The basis of the authorised version, so
far as the New Testament and the greater part of the historical
portion of the Old Testament are concerned, is Tyndale's
translation ; and, so far as the rest of the Old Testament is
concerned, the basis of the authorised version may be held to
be the Great Bible. The phraseology of these old translations
is accordingly, in a large degree, retained in the authorised
version. In every chapter, we have distinctive expressions
!
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317
that were shaped by Tyndale and Coverdale. But the diction,
as well as the renderings of these ancient worthies, has been
much altered ; and in these alterations, the inspiration of
Geneva and Rhemes as well as of the English Bishops of 1572
is clearly traceable. Rhythm and majesty, terseness and
vigour, pathos and tenderness are extracted from all previous
versions ; so that nearly every special feature of excellence in
each of these versions is appropriated and utilised. Dr.
Moulton says, that on the authorised version of the New
Testament the Geneva and Rhemes translations have exercised
far more influence than the Great Bible and the Bishops' Bible.
This must mean that, in cases of different and distinctive
renderings, the Geneva and the Rhemes versions were more
followed than the home ones. But the fact remains that the
Bishops' Bible, of which the authorised version is simply a
revision, supplied verbatim four fifths, if not nine tenths, of
the whole text in the King's translation ; and the Great Bible,
of which the Bishops' Bible is a revision, supplied verbatim
four-fifths, if not nine-tenths, of all the bishops' text.
A considerable number of archaic words and forms of ex-
pression are to be found in the authorised version. For the
word its, the modern possessive case of the neuter personal
pronoun, we find his used times without number ; as in Ex,
I
once.
1 Examining the chapter, Rom. X., that accidentally turns up on opening the
testament, I find that that chapter in the authorised version contains 461 words,
and of these only 50 are different from the text in the Bishops' Bible. In the
Bishops' Bible the chapter contains 468 words, and only 51 of these are different
from what are given in the Great Bible, 1539.
2 In the original edition of the Authorised Bible, 1611, the word its did not occur
In modern editions, it will be found in Lev. xxv. 5:-“That which
groweth of its own accord, etc." This originally read—“That which groweth of
it own accord”; and the verse, as thus printed, is referred to by some grammarians
as affording an instance in which “hit or it was sometimes used (as a possessive) in
place of his (neuter) or its.”-Bain's Higher English Grammar, p. 139. An
example of it for its will be found in Gau's Richt way, p. 75,
" of it aune natur.”
At one time it was customary to use his as the sign of the possessive case, and in
the frst edition (and many subsequent editions) of the authorised version asa's
heart, 1 Kings xv. 14, and Mordecai's matters, Est. iii. 4, were printed “Asa his
heart” and “Mordecai his matters.” In the Geneva Bible (ed. 1580) we read,
Asas heart and Mordecais matters.
318
Bibles of England.
xxxv. 11, “The tabernacle, his tent and his covering, his taches,
his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets”; Ps. i. 3,
"Like a tree that bringeth forth his fruit in his season”; and
2 Sam. vi. 17, “They brought in the ark of the Lord, and set
it in his place." The pronoun either, also, is used in some con-
nections where each would now be reckoned the proper word ;
as in Lev. X. I, where it is said that “Nadab and Abihu, the
sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer"; and in 2 Chron.
xviii. 9, where it is said that “the king of Israel and Jehosaphat
king of Judah, sat either of them on his throne.” The verb be
is, in like manner, often used archaically in an indicative sense
for “are”; and, from failing to apprehend this fact, people some-
times misinterpret the language of Scripture. The sentence,
“ Thy sins be forgiven thee," Mat. ix. 2, does not mean, as
some readers of the Bible suppose, “let thy sins be forgiven,"
as if forgiveness were to follow the words of Jesus, but “thy
sins are forgiven" even now.
. The curious word "all to,"
meaning completely or thoroughly, which occurs frequently in
the earlier versions of the English Bible, has in one place been
allowed to remain in the authorised version, “A certain woman
cast a piece of millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to
brake his scull," Judges ix. 53. A few colloquialisms, too,
which belong to a past age, still survive in our church Bibles;
as, “ They said, Go to, let us make brick," Gen. xi. 3 ; “With
weeping shall they go it up," Is. xv. 5; “The calling of Assem-
blies, I cannot away with," Is. i. 13; “The thieves also cast the
same in his teeth,” Mat. xxvii. 44. Of words entirely, or nearly
obsolete now, a considerable number may be found in the
authorised version. For chest or box the word ark is frequently
used, as it still is in the rural districts of Scotland; ear (verb)
'and earing (noun) occur more than once in the sense of plough
and ploughing ; charger is the stately term employed in some
cases for bowl or dish; withs is, in one or two instances, made
to do duty for wands; and the phrase worse liking stands in
one place for worse like or worse looking:' Besides obsolete
I To these examples of obsoletisms may be added :—“parcel,” for a little part,
Gen. xxxiii. 19; “taches" for buttons, Ex. xxvi. II ; “neesing" for sneezing,
The National Bible.
319
words, there are also in the authorised version of the Bible
many familiar words used in an archaic sense. The word
carriage, for instance, is again and again used not in the
modern sense of vehicles, by which travellers are conveyed from
place to place, but in the sense of luggage, or that which people
carry with them in their journeys, 1 Sam. xvii. 22, Acts xxi. 15.
The high-sounding term artillery, again, by which now-a-days,
is designated the heavy ordnance of an army, is, 1 Sam. xx. 40,
applied to a sportman's or a soldier's personal equipment of
bow and arrows.
In one passage the word road is used for
raid or foray: "David and his men went up and invaded the
Geshurites, . and Achish said, Whither have ye made
a road to-day," I Sam. xxvii. 8-10 ; in another passage title is
used for monument: “What title is that that I see?
It
is the sepulchre of the man of God," 2 Kings xxiii. 17;' and in
more passages than one prevent is very oddly used in the sense
on
Job xli. 18; “ouches” for sockets, Ex, xxviii. II; "sith" for since, Ezek. xxxv.
6; “taber” for beat, Nah. ii. 7 ; “ fray" for frighten, Zech. i. 21; "ought " (o
whit) for aught (a whit), Mat. v. 23; etc., etc.
Of obsolete forms of words, the following, quoted by Archbishop Trench (English
Past and Present), may be mentioned:-"sod” for seethed, Gen, xxv. 29;
chode"
for chid, Gen. xxxi. 36; “slang" for slung, i Sam. xvii. 49; “strake” for struck,
Acts xxvii. 17; ought” (in edition 1611) for owed, Luke vii. 41 ; “lift" for
lifted, Luke xvi. 23.
An antiquated phrase in the authorised version of the New Testament is “
'sleep” for asleep, Acts xiii. 36. This is a phrase of Coverdale's, which occurs fre-
quently in his translation of the Old Testament ; and in his translation of the New
Testament, 2 Pet. iii. 4. It was introduced into Acts xiii. 36, by Coverdale, in the
Great Bible, then passed on to the Bishops' Bible, after being set aside by the
Geneva divines, and was subsequently adopted by the King's translators, 1611.
In the original edition, 1611, of the authorised version, there were many other
archaisms, which have since been removed : e.g., " It came to pass in the six hun-
dredth and one (first) year,” Gen. viii. 13; "all manner (of) plague of leprosy,
Lev. xiv. 54 ;
"the child neesed (sneezed) seven times," 2 Kings iv. 35; "had
dedicate," 2 Kings, xii. 18; “hast thou not poured me out as milk, and cruddled
(curdled) me like cheese,” Job. x. 10; "oh that thou wouldest rent (rend) the
heavens,” Is. lxiv. 1 ; “they returned (turned) not when they went, ” Ezek. i. 17.
I The Hebrew word here rendered title is in Jer. xxxi. 21 rendered waymark.
In the Douay Bible the word title is used for pillar or memorial ; Gen. xxviii. 18,
22, “This stone which I have set up for a title." (Lapis iste, quem erexi in titu.
lum, Vulgate.)
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Bibles of England.
of precede : "I prevented the dawning of the morning," Ps. cxix.
147. A strange use of several, in the sense of separate, occurs
in 2 Kings xv. 5, “The Lord smote the king, so that he was a
leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house."
And so of Jehoram the wicked son of Jehoshaphat, who "died
of sore diseases, and for whom his people made no burning
like the burning of his fathers,” the quaint and curious state-
ment is made, 2 Chron. xxi. 20, “He reigned in Jerusalem
eight years, and departed without being desired," that is, with-
out being regretted.
Of other current words used in the authorised version of the Bible in an archaic
sense, 1 the following may be mentioned :-“ strakes” for streaks, “pilled white
strakes in them,” Gen. xxx. 37 ; challenge," for claim, “ which another
challengeth to be his,” Ex. xxii. 9; tablet,” for a personal ornament, Ex. xxxv.
22 ;
“ profane," for polluted, “a divorced woman or profane
shall he
not take,” Lev. xxi. 14; nephews," for grandsons, Judges xii. 14, 1 Tim. v. 4;
eyed,” for envied, “Saul eyed David,” i Sam. xviii. 9 (Non rectis oculis Saul
aspiciebat David, Vulgate); "avoided” for withdrew, « avoided out of his
presence twice,” i Sam. xviii. II; “discovered” for laid bare, “the foundations
of the world were discovered,” 2 Sam. xxii. 16; for disclosed, “ discover not a
secret to another, Prov. xxv. 9; oracle," for holy place, " to set there the ark of
the covenant," 1 Kings vi. 19"; "ranges” for enclosures, “have her forth without
the ranges ” (extra septa templi, Vulgate), 2 Kings xi. 15; castles” for encamp-
ments, "these are their dwelling places throughout their castles,” i Chron. vi. 54
(vicos, Vulgate : palatia, Zurich 1564 ; towns, Geneva); “perfected,” for finished,
“the house of the Lord was perfected,” 2 Chron. viii. 16 (was all prepared, Cover-
dale ; was perfite, Geneva); “ wealth” for weal or welfare, "seeking the wealth
of his people,” Esth. x. 3 ; “Let no man seek his own, but every man another's
wealth,” i Cor. x. 24 ; “vile,” for lightly esteemed, “
vile,” for lightly esteemed, “Behold, I am vile,' Job xl.
4 (contemptibilis, Zurich, 1564); for foul, “ a poor man in vile raiment," James ii.
2 (sordida, Zurich, 1564); "room," for place, “ Thou hast set my feet in a large
room,” Ps. xxxi. 8; vagabond,” for homeless wanderer, "Let his children be
continually vagabonds,” Ps. cix. 10; quick," for alive, “they had swallowed us
up quick,” Ps. cxxiv. 3; "in continuance," for after many days, “which in
continuance were fashioned,” Ps. cxxxix. 16 (diebus multis, Zurich, 1564);
" organs," for pipes, Ps. cl. 4, etc.; "prudent,” for supernaturally wise, “the
prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,” Is. iii. 2 ; “bravery,” for beauty, "the
bravery of their tinkling ornaments,” Is. iii. 18; “ renowned," for have a nane,
" the seed of evil doers shall never be renowned,” Is. xiv. 20 ; “reckon," for
i There are several books in print that treat of this subject. They have not been
consulted by me, but the reader who desires to investigate this subject further will
probably find in them a more interesting as 'well as a much longer list of Bible
archaisms than is here given.
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321
secure
from care,
reason with one's self, “I reckoned till morning,” Is. xxxviii. 13 ; "confirm'
for strengthen,
6 confirm the feeble knees, " Is. xxxv. 3 ; "converted for
turned, "the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee,” Is. lx.
5; “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness,
Is. i. 27 ;
equal” for just (well weighed), “Is not my way equal ? are not your
ways unequal,” Ezek. xviii. 25; for of the same age, "profited ... above many
mine equals,” Gal. i. 14;
worthies "I for braves, Nah. ii. 5;
for free
we will persuade him, and secure 2 you,” Mat. xxviii. 14; “ by and
by” for immediately, "give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Bap-
tist," Mark vi. 25; “cousin” for kinsman, “thy cousin Elizabeth,” Luke i. 36 ;
"allow" for praise, "ye allow 3 the deeds of your fathers,” Luke xi. 48; “worship
for honour, "then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them,” Luke xiv. 16;
"occupy" for trade or traffic, "occupy till I come,” Luke xix. 13; "passion” for
suffering, “after his passion," Acts i. 3 ; "proper” for one's own, " called in their
proper tongue, Aceldama,” Acts i, 19; “lively" for living, “lively oracles," Acts
vii. 38; “lewdness" for villainy, a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness," Acts
"entreat” for treat, “Julius courteously entreated Paul," Acts xxvii. 3;
“let” for hindered, “was let hitherto,” Rom. i. 13; "convenient for becoming,
things which are not convenient,” Rom. i. 28;“revenger” for avenger, "a reven-
ger to execute wrath,” Rom. xiii. 4; "secondarily” for secondly, “first Apostles,
secondarily Prophets,” i Cor. xii. 28; “offend” for stumble, “if meat make my
brother to offend,” i Cor. viii. 13; "tables" for tablets to write on, “not in tables
of stone but in fleshy tables of the heart, 2 Cor. iii. 3; experiment” for proof,
“the experiment of this ministration,” 2 Cor. ix. 13; "sometime and
times” for formerly, “ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh," Eph. ii. 13;
"record” for witness, “God is my record,” Phil. i. 8; “broided” for braided,
“not with broided hair," 1 Tim. ii. 9; 4 “profit” ſor progress,
" that thy profiting
may appear,” i Tim. iv. 15; "heady for headstrong, 2 Tim. iii. 4;
" dressed " for
cultivated, “ bringeth forth herbs meet for those by whom it is dressed,” Heb. vi. 7;
conversation” for conduct, “Let your conversation be without covetousness,'
Heb. xiii. 5; "admiration” for wonder, “I saw the woman drunken with the
blood of the saints,
and when I saw her I wondered with great admira-
tion,” Rev. xvii. 6; "delicacies " for wantonness, Rev. xviii. 3.
xviii. 14;
1
some.
It is not necessary to say much about the headings of
chapters, and the marginal references, that appeared in the
1 A better example of “worthies” in the sense of braves occurs in Coverdale's
translation of the Bible :-" Of the Gaddites resorted there unto Dauid to the
castell in the wyldernesse mightie Worthies and men of armes, which handled
spears and swerdes, and had faces like lions, and were as swiſte as the Roes upon
the mountaynes,” I Chron. xiii. (xii.) 8.
2 Secure literally means free from care. An old author writes, “ We care not to
be safe, but to be secure."--Dictionary.
3 See note on p. 209.
4 Often printed “broidered,” and not only in modern e.litions of the authorised
translations, but in modern revisions of the Rhemes Testament, e.go, Dublin, 1811.
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Bibles of England.
I
King's translation, 1611. The headings were new. In the
Bishops' Bible, the Geneva Bible, and the Great Bible, all the
chapters were headed with a short table of contents; but the
King's translators made out tables of their own. And these
tables, which were drawn up in 1611, appear in many editions
at the present day unaltered, save in some twelve instances.
The most notable of these few alterations is in the heading of
Psalm cxlix. That heading in modern editions reads as
follows : “The prophet exhorteth to praise God for his love to
the Church, and for that power which he hath given to the
Church.” To this was added, in the original edition, 1611, " to
rule the consciences of men." How much the headings in the
authorised version differ from those in the Bishops' and Geneva
Bibles, may be seen by a comparison of two, taken at random,
from the Old and New Testaments respectively :
AUTHORISED VERSION.
BISHOPS BIBLE.
GENEVA BIBLE.
Cambridge. Large issue.
Barker. 1584.
Barker. 1580.
1854.
Jer. X.-1. The unequal Jer. X.-1. The con- Jer. X.--1. The con-
comparison of God and stellation of the starres are stellations of the starres
idols. 17. The prophet not to be feared. 5. Of are not to be ſeared. 5.
exhorteth to flee from the the weakness of idols, and The weaknesse of idols,
calamity to come. 19. of the power of God. 21.
and of the power of God.
He lamenteth the spoil of Of euell Curates.
21. Their pastours are be-
the tabernacle by foolish
come bruite beastes.
pastors. 23. He maketh
an humble supplication.
John xii.-1. Jesus ex- John xii.--3. Marie John xii.-7. Christ ex-
cuseth Mary anointing his anointeth Jesus feete. 37. cuseth Maries fact. 13
feet. 9. The people flock Wherefore the Jewes The affection of some to-
to see Lazarus. 10. The beleeue not.
wards him, and the rage
high priests consult to kill
of others against him and
hiin. 12. Christ rideth
Lazarus. 25. The com-
into
Jerusalem.
moditie of the
Grecks desire to see Jesus.
27. His prayer. 28. The
23. He foretelleth
answer of the Father.
death. 37. The Jews are
32. His death and the
generally blinded : 42. yet
fruits thereof. 36. He ex-
many chief rulers believe,
horteth to faith.
but do not confess him :
blindness of some and the
44. therefore Jesus calleth
infirmities of others.
ernestly for confession of
faith.
20.
Crosse.
his
40. The
I The statement commonly made, even in works of high authority, that there are
only twelve variations between our present headings of chapters and those of 1611,
is misleading. The headings of chapters are not the same in all modern issues of
the Bible. Those, for instance, in the edition that lies on my study table, published
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323
In the original edition, 1611, of the authorised version, the
number of marginal references to corresponding passages was,
including those in the Apocrypha, about 9,000. Large as that
number seems, it is but a small fraction of what the references
now amount to, in some well edited Bibles. To some people,
these references are doubtless helpful, but to thoughtful students
of Scripture they are not of much expository value. Many of
them obscure the meaning of the statements to which they are
attached. It is different, however, with what are called the
marginal notes. In the original edition, 1611, these notes were
nearly as numerous as the marginal references. In the Old
Testament there were 6,588 references and 6,637 notes; in the
New Testament 1,517 references and 765 notes; in the
Apocrypha 885 references and 1,017 notes. These notes are
both brief and non-polemical ; and, in these respects, they
differ very markedly from the annotations in both Matthew's
and the Geneva Bible. They indicate, for the most part, either
alternative or more literal renderings. In some cases they
specify different readings in the original text; and, in other
cases, they give brief explanations of words or expressions.
Not a few of the alternative renderings they present have been
adopted, either verbatim or substantially, in the revised version
of 1881-1885; as for instance, in the Old Testament: “They
houghed an ox," instead of " digged down a wall," Gen. xlix.
6; "The way of the righteous is raised up as a causey" (made
an high way, Rev. version), instead of "made plain," Prov. xv.
19; “The north wind bringeth forth rain," instead of " driveth
away rain," Prov. xxv. 23; "He that hath an evil eye hasteth
to be rich," instead of the converse, “He that hasteth to be rich
hath an evil eye,” Prov. xxviii. 22; “Wisdom is as good as an
inheritance, yea better," instead of " Wisdom is good with an
inheritance, and by it there is profit," Eccles. vii. II; “Hast
thou not heard how I have made it long ago, and formed it of
ancient times," instead of “Hast thou not heard long ago, how
by Cowan & Co., Edinburgh, 1858, are much mutilated. It was published by
royal authority, “but so far as regards the text only." Hence the liberty taken
with the ancient headings.
324
Bibles of England.
to
I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it,”
Is. xxxvii. 26; “Saying of the soder, It is good," instead of
“Saying, It is ready for the sodering," Is. xli. 7; and in the
New Testament, “I praise you brethren, that you keep the
traditions," instead of “ keep the ordinances," I Cor. xi. 2;
“Eateth and drinketh judgment," instead of “damnation
himself, i Co. xi. 29; “Under the rudiments," instead of under
the elements of the world,” Gal. iv. 3 ; "I am perplexed for
you," instead of “ I stand in doubt of you,” Gal. iv. 20; "Fulfil,”
instead of, make full proof of, “thy ministry," 2 Tim. iv. 5;
"The grace of God, that bringeth salvation to all men, hath
appeared," instead of “The grace of God, that bringeth salva-
tion, hath appeared to all men,” Titus ii. II; “ The word
preached did not profit them, because they were not united by
faith to them that heard it," instead of “ did not profit them,
not being mixed with faith in them that heard it,” Heb. iv. 2.
Even in cases where they have not been adopted by the
revisers of 1881-1885, the alternative renderings on the margin
of the authorised version are worth noting. For "wring off his
head,” Lev. i. 15, the alternative rendering submitted on the
margin is, "pinch off the head with the nail"; for "mincing as
they go," Is. iii. 16, "tripping nicely”; for "bushes,"
Is. vii. 19, "commendable trees ” ; for “unicorns," Is. xxxiv.
7, “rhinocerots”; for “cast him out,” John ix. 34, “ excom-
municated him"; for "false accusers, Titus ii. 3, “ make-
bates”; for “no place of repentance," Heb. xii. 17, "no
way to change his mind.” Delightfully quaint and amusingly
odd, too, are some of the explanatory notes as well as the
alternative renderings. The reader is told, for instance, that
the Hebrew words translated, "the man whose hair is fallen
off his head," Lev. xiii. 40, literally mean, “the man whose
head is pilled"; that "idols," Deut. xxix. 17, would be more
correctly designated “dungy gods”; that the phrase "a word
ſitly spoken,” Prov. xxv. II, is in the original, "a word spoken
upon his wheels”; that what is rendered “tablets” in the
authorised version, and “perfume boxes” in the revised version,
literally signifies " houses of the soul." Simple and informatory,
however, are the terms that most correctly describe the notes
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325
in general. In some cases they give the meaning of the names
applied to persons or places : as, “ Allonbachuth, the oak of
weeping”; “Benoni, the son of my sorrow," Gen. xxxv. 8 and
18. In other cases, they explain expressions that are
supposed to need explanation, as "the caul above the liver,"
Ex. xxix. 13 "It seemeth by anatomy and the Hebrew
doctors to be the midriff.” In other cases, still, they show the
way in which the translators endeavoured, in idiomatic
English, to convey the force and spirit of peculiar Greek and
Hebrew phrases. Some of this last mentioned class of notes
are particularly interesting in showing that consideration,
judgment, taste, and literary art are all required for the
effective translation of a book from an ancient language of
primeval structure into a modern tongue. As samples of this
class of notes, the following may be cited : “Thou mayest
freely eat,” Gen. ii. 16, “Hebrew, Eating thou shalt eat”;
“thou shalt surely die,” Gen. ii. 17, "Hebrew, Dying thou shalt
die";
“ the humble person,” Job xxii. 29, "Hebrew, Him that
hath low eyes"; "a very fruitful hill,” Is. v. I, “Hebrew, The
horn of the son of oil”; “He feedeth on ashes," Is. xliv. 20,
Hebrew, That which comes of a tree"; "It is a very small
thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment,"
I Cor. iv. 3, “Greek, Day"; "in a voluntary humility," Col. ii.
18, “Greek, Being a voluntary in humility”!
i
326
Bibles of England.
THE INTER-NATIONAL BIBLE,
Commonly called the Revised Version.
New Testament, 1881.
Old Testament, 1885.
As was stated in last chapter, the National Bible did not on
its appearance in 1611 supersede at once all earlier English
versions of the Scriptures. Long after 1611 the Geneva
version continued to be the household Bible of a large portion
of the English people, and in some parts of England the
Bishops' Bible retained its place in church. As recently as
1703 the bishop of Carlisle found that in several churches
within his diocese the Bible used was “of the old translation." I
This tardiness on the part of the public to appreciate the
new version, of 1611, was only what the translators expected
or professed to expect. The tone of their preface was apolo-
getic, as if the publication of such a book as theirs required
defence, and as if a somewhat cold reception of their work were
a foregone conclusion. It was, they said, the uniform fate of
all novations, however well intended, to meet with opposition.
“Zeal to promote the common good, whether it be by devising
anything ourselves, or revising that which hath been laboured
by others, deserveth certainly much respect and esteem, but
findeth cold entertainment in the world. It is welcomed with
suspicion instead of love, and with emulation instead of thanks ;
and if there be any hole left for cavil to enter (and cavil, if it
do not find a hole, will make one), it is sure to be misconstrued,
1 The phrase " of the old translation" would in Scotland have meant the Geneva
version, but notwithstanding what has recently been said on the subject (Athenæum,
December, 1888), it must in England have meant the bishops' revision of the Great
Bible.
The Inter-National Bible.
327
.
and in danger to be condemned. Whosoever attempteth
anything for the public (especially if it pertain to religion and
clearing of the word of God), the same setteth himself upon
a stage to be gloated upon by every evil eye; yea, he casteth
himself headlong upon spikes, to be gored by every sharp
tongue. For he that meddleth with men's religion in any part
meddleth with their custom, nay, with their freehold ; and
though they find no content in that which they have, yet they
cannot abide to hear of altering." The augury implied in these
remarks was not unverified. Hostile criticism of the new
translation was soon heard ; and, along with a daily increasing
measure of appreciation, there has down to the present time
been a constantly swelling murmur of dissatisfaction.
The first person of note to raise his voice against the new
version was Hugh Broughton, one of the most learned Hebraists
of his age, but a man of overweening spirit, whose conceit made
him intolerable and impracticable. No translation of the Bible
pleased him, and his own translations pleased nobody but him-
self.: Our Bishops' Bible,” he said, "might well give place to
the Alcoran, pestered with lyes." And so, when the King's
translation was issued, he wrote: “Tell his Majesty that I had
rather be rent in pieces with wild horses than any such trans-
lation, by my consent, should be urged on poor churches."
For obvious reasons, Mr. Broughton was not included in the
list of translators submitted to, and approved by, James; and
the question may fairly be raised, whether his dissatisfaction
with the new version was not partly due to mortification at
I He published translations of the prophecies of Daniel (1597) and Jeremiah
(1608); also, of the books of Ecclesiastes (1609) and Job (1610). Specimens of
his translation are given by Lewis : of which the following is one.
Job i. 4-6, “ An age passeth, and an age cometh, though the truth abideth still.
Both the sun ariseth and the sun goeth down, and to his place doth he breath,
there he ariseth. He walketh unto the south, and compasseth unto the north: The
wind whirleth, whirleth, walketh, and unto his circuits returneth the wind.”
Broughton's rendering of Daniel iii. 5, bears such a resemblance to the authorised
rendering that Lewis is led to make the remark (which, strange to say, is repeated
by Dr. Westcott without correction) that the King's translators cannot have wholly
neglected the vain-glorious man's labours. The King's translators, however, did
not need to go to Broughton's Daniel for their rendering. It stood before their
cyes in the Geneva Bible.
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Bibles of England.
that exclusion. Even Selden, however, accorded to the King's
translation only modified praise. He admitted it to be the
best translation in the world, as rendering “the sense of the
original best," but he complained of its un-English phrases
which were much ridiculed by the common people.
In little more than thirty years after its first issue, a serious
proposal was made for a revision of the national Bible. It
was urged on Parliament in 1645. A distinguished member of
the Westminster Assembly, in the course of a sermon preached
that year before the House of Commons, entreated his hearers
“ to think of a review and survey of the translation of the
Bible"; so that, by a revised translation, "exact, vigorous, and
lively," the people of the three kingdoms might come to know
the proper and genuine sense of the Scriptures. It is clear,
therefore, that some of the Westminster divines did not
suppose that the King's translation would continue for ever to
be the only Bible appointed to be read in Churches. And so,
in their directory for public worship, which was adopted by
the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1645, it is
said, under the heading of public reading of the Scriptures :-
“ All the canonical books of the Old and New Testament shall
be publicly read in the vulgar tongue, out of the best allowed
translation."
A bill was actually brought into the long Parliament, shortly
before its dissolution in 1653, to appoint a committee to review
and revise the "new translation," as the King's or authorised
version was then termed. It was alleged that that translation
had been "wronged by the prelates, or printers, or others”;
and it was proposed that all the injuries so done to that
translation, in malice or in ignorance, should be repaired by
this committee," before there be any further printing of the
Bible.” It was further alleged to be a common stumbling-
block to the weak, and a subject of cavil for scoffers, that, in
sermons preached and printed, people heard or found it said,
“the original bears it better thus and thus." It was accordingly
proposed that the committee appointed by Parliament should
carefully consider all translations, annotations, and marginal
readings that they knew of; and give their approbation to
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329
what, “after seriously looking up to the Lord for his gracious
assistance in so weighty a work, and advising together amongst
themselves, they should judge to be nearest to the text, and to
the mind of the Lord.” And that there might be security
against the hasty adoption, and unadvised insertion, of fanci-
ful and unfaithful renderings in the English Bible, it was
proposed that another committee of three divines should be
“appointed and authorised to be supervisors of what is so
approved, and that what those (supervisors) should so approve,
should be printed and published for the general edification and
benefit of the whole nation, to be read both privately and in
the public congregations.
The sudden dissolution of the long Parliament put an end to
this scheme. It is evident, however, that the scheme was
something more than a pedantic project of some whimsical lay-
man's, which had no countenance either in the Church or
country. It was fostered, if not devised, by some of the leading
divines of the age. On the proposed committee of review and
revision stood the names of Dr. John Owen and Dr. Ralph
Cudworth ; and on the proposed committee of supervision,
the names of Dr. Thomas Goodwin and Mr. Joseph Caryl.
On the committee of review there was the name of a Scotsman
also, Mr. John Row, Professor of Hebrew at Aberdeen. This
Mr. John was son of the more famous John of Carnock, but
was one of the unstable zealots who in those days of ecclesi-
astical revolt deserted the Presbyterian Church of their fathers
and adopted the principles of congregational independence.
So ready was he to undertake the duties proposed for him in
the bill brought into Parliament, that he had a programme of
his committee's procedure, cut and dry upon paper.
bettering of ye Inglish translation of ye Bible (first printed
A.D. 1612)
five things are to be endeavoured," said
Mr. John. These five things are, “a more proper, rational, and
dexterous” division of chapters, verses and sentences; an
amendment of “needless transposition of words or stories, pre-
tending to Hypall or Synchyses”; the excision of all useless
additions that debase the wisdom of the spirit”; the repara-
tion of “all sinful and needless detractions”; and the introduc-
« For ye
330
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tion of certain specified "mutations and changes. ” Under
several of these heads, detailed explanations and instructions
were given. The useless additions to be removed from the
Bible were, all the apocryphal writings; all popish prints,
plates, and pictures ; all prefixes of saint to evangelists and
apostles ; and all spurious subscriptions of particular epistles.
Among the mutations and changes recommended, were, the
printing of God's names and titles in capital letters ; magisterial
correction of all misprints ; an “idiomatization" of English
words not understood in Scotland ; a substitution of English
for Hebrew, Greek and Latin terms; and “something equivocal
to Keri and Kethib!”
From 1653 to 1871, demands more or less loud continued to
be made from time to time by divines and biblical scholars for
a revision of the King's, or what we are more accustomed to
call the authorised, version of the Scriptures. In 1659," An
essay toward the amendment of the last English translation
of the Bible," was published by Dr. Robert Gell; and in 1702 a
similar essay was published by “H. R., a minister of the
Church of England.” In the middle of the eighteenth century,
revision was advocated by several men of note, including
Lowth and Secker. Towards the end of the century the agita-
tion was renewed. In 1788, a book was printed at Cambridge
under the title of “Reasons for revising by authority our
present version of the Bible.” From the same University
town were issued, in 1789, “Observations on the expediency of
revising the present English version of the four Gospels and
the Acts of the Apostles," by Professor John Symonds; and
five years later there was published, by the same author,
another set of observations on the expediency of retranslating
the Epistles. In 1792, Archbishop Newcome gave the weight
of his name and influence to the movement for revision, and
cited high authorities of unquestioned orthodoxy, who were all
in favour of the project. Among those that, in the present
century advocated the desirability of a new translation of the
Bible into English, it will suffice to name Dr. Marsh, Bishop
of Peterborough (1828), Professor Scholefield (1832), Professor
Selwyn (1856), Dr. Trench, Archbishop of Dublin (1858), Dr.
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331
Ellicott, Bishop of Gloucester (1870), Dr. Lightfoot, Bishop of
Durham, (1871). It must be admitted however, that men of
equal or almost equal eminence, both in the first and second
half of the present century, set themselves sternly against the
project of revising the King's version. In 1819, an able vindi-
cation of the authorised translation of the Bible was published
by the Rev. Henry John Todd. In 1820, Archbishop Law-
rence took up his episcopal pen, and, on the grounds that
it was impossible to restore the original text of the Hebrew
Testament, and to clearly establish the text of the Greek
Testament, contended that no revision of the English Bible
could be satisfactory or beneficial. During the first decade of
the present half century, when Selwyn and Trench were advo-
cating revision, and holding forth the benefits that would
result therefrom, Mr. Malan, Mr. Scrivener, Dr. Cumming, and
Dr. M'Caul were as vigorously enforcing the duty of "holding
fast what we have."
And not only has there, from 1645, been a demand, more or
less loud and widespread, for a revision of the King's version of
the Bible, but not a few attempts have been made to furnish
such a revision in whole or in part. As far back as 1639, a
translation of the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Canticles was pub-
lished by Dr. Henry Ainsworth, a member of the Brownist
persuasion So well thought of, too, in the time of the
commonwealth was this work of Dr. Ainsworth's, that, in the
bill before Parliament in 1653, his translation was specially
commended to the favourable consideration of the proposed
committee of review. But it does not appear to have been a
really meritorious work. The translation was literal beyond
all propriety, and the diction was even more archaic than that
of the version it was meant to supersede. In the ninety-fifth
1 In his “ Supplement to the Authorised English Version of the New Testament,'
1845, Mr. Scrivener writes :-“I hope it is no presumptuous belief, that the
Providence of God took such care of His Church in the vital matter of maintaining
His Word pure and uncorrupted, that He guided the minds of the first editors, in
their selection of the authorities on which they rested.” An argument of that kind,
if accepted, would prove too much. It would prove that the Vulgate is the
authentic Bible, which Catholics assert and Protestants deny.
332
Bibles of England.
"I
open them.
Psalm the following renderings occur: "Let us prevent his face
with confession."
“Whose the sea is, for he made it ;
and the dry land his hands have formed."
“ Come let
us bow down ourselves and bend."
“Forty years I
was irked with that generation ; and said, they are a people
erring in heart.
The catalogue of private translations of parts of the Scrip-
tures that, since 1639, have been issued from the English press
is very large. But, to ordinary readers, it is very uninteresting.
Few of these translations have any literary or scholastic value.
They are rarely found even on the shelf of the antiquary.
They lie buried in the recesses of great libraries, where human
eye seldom sees them, and where human hands more seldom
But to this rule, as to most others, there are
exceptions. A book that is very deservedly held in high
repute at the present day is Dr. Philip Doddridge's Family
Expositor. No book in the English language more truly bears
out its designation. It is about the briefest, clearest, and most
complete commentary on the New Testament that the common
English reader can find. On the margin is printed the text
of the authorised version ; and alongside of each verse, in the
body of the page, there is a copious paraphrase, bringing out
by circumlocution the full scope and meaning of the verse, as
apprehended by Dr. Doddridge. Within this paraphrase are
to be seen, here and there,-rari nantes in gurgite vasto-words
printed in italics. These words, if not carefully noted, might be
supposed to be the same as the words on the margin. But they
are a little different, and they are Dr. Doddridge's own transla-
tion of the Testament, as appears from the following statement,
in the preface to the first volume of the original edition : I
thought it might be some additional improvement of this work,
and some entertainment to the more accurate reader, to give
the text in a new version : which I have accordingly done from
the original, with all the care I could. There are so few places
1 Lewis : who remarks, apropos of this specimen of translation, “would any one
now imagine that Ainsworth was an Englishman, and that he understood his own
language ?"
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333
in which the general sense will appear different from our
received translation, that some will perhaps think this an
unnecessary trouble ; but I can by no means repent it, as it has
given me an opportunity of searching more accurately into
several beauties of expression which had before escaped me,
and of making some alterations, which, though they may not
be very material to the edification of men's souls, may yet in
some degree do a further honour to Scripture ; raising some of
these ornaments which were before depressed ; and sufficiently
proving that several objections urged against it were entirely of
an English growth.” Dr. Doddridge, like many another person, ,
has in this passage rather misjudged the work of his own
hands. His translation has done very little literary honour to
Scripture, and has revealed very few beauties that were formerly
concealed. His renderings, as a rule, are clear and vigorous,
but they want the smoothness and simplicity that give charm
to the King's translation. He had a great gift, and by means
of it he did great service to the church.
But his gift was,
exposition, rather than translation : not tongues, but interpre-
tation of tongues.
In some cases he has anticipated, sub-
stantially, the revised renderings of 1881; as in Rom. i. 17,
“the righteousness of God by faith is revealed to faith"; Rom.
i. 18, “who restrain the truth in unrighteousness”; Phil. ii. 7,
"emptied himself, taking the form of a servant"; Heb. ii. 16,
“ for truly he took not hold of the angels, but he took hold of
the seed of Abraham"; 1 Pet. v. 3, "not assuming dominion
over those who fall to your lot.” In his translation, too, of the
line from Menander, quoted by St. Paul, 1 Cor. xv. 33, he
gives not only a good and forcible, but a rhythmically happy
rendering of the original :
“Good manners are debauched by talk profane."
His translation, however, is very faulty. It abounds in
Johnsonian words and inflated phrases. For the simple
expression, "did eat their meat," Acts ii. 46, it has the long,
connotative statement, partook of their refreshinent; for “higher
powers,” Rom. xiii. 1, superior authorities; for “fitly framed
together," Eph. ii, 21, harmoniously ceinented; for“ ambassador
334
Bibles of England.
in bonds," Eph. vi. 20, discharge my embassy in a chain; for
“sincere milk of the word," 1 Pet. ii. 2, rational and unmingled
milk, etc., etc.
On the north as well as on the south side of the Tweed,
attempts were made, from time to time, by ministers of schol-
astic proclivities, to provide the reading public with translations
of the Bible, or parts of the Bible ; in the hope of thereby re-
presenting the mind and meaning of the Spirit more faithfully
and clearly than is done in the authorised version. The best
as well as the best known of these, it will probably be admitted,
is the literal translation of the “ Apostolic Epistles” by Dr.
James M'Knight of Edinburgh. Although first published in
1795, this work still finds appreciative readers ; more, however,
like Doddridge's “Expositor," on account of the accompanying
commentary, than on account of the translation itself. As
specimens of Dr. M‘Knight's translation, the following may be
submitted :
you?
AUTHORISED VERSION. M'KNIGHT'S TRANSLA- REVISED VERSION,
TION.
Gal. iii. 1.-0 foolish Gal. iii. I.--O senseless Gal. iii. 1.–0 foolish
Galatians, who hath be. Galatians, who hath de- Galatians, who did bewitch
witched you, that you ceived you, not to obey the you
before whose
should not obey the truth, truth to whom visibly Jesus eyes Jesus Christ was
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was set forth cruci- openly set forth, crucified ?
Christ hath been evidently fied for you?
set forth crucified among
2 Cor. ii. 5.—But if any 2 Cor. ii. 5.--Now, if a 2 Cor. ii. 5.—But if any
have caused grief, he hath certain person hath grieved hath caused sorrow, he
not grieved me, but in me, he hath not grieved hath caused sorrow, not to
part : that I may not over. me, except by a part of you, me, but in part (that I
charge you all.
that I may not lay a load press not too heavily) to
on you all.
Gal. iv. 18.–But it is Gal. iv. 18.But it is Gal. iv. 18.–But it is
good to be zealously affect- honourable to be ardently good to be zealously
ed always in a good thing, in love with a good man, sought in a good matter at
and not only when I am at all times, and not mere- all times, and not only
present with you.
ly when I am present with when I am present with
you.
you.
Eph. iv. 29.—Let no Eph. iv. 29. “Let no Eph. iv. 29.-Let no
corrupt communication rotten speech come out of corrupt speech proceed out
proceed out of your mouth, your mouth : but if any of your mouth, but such as
but that which is good to speech be good for the use is good for edifying as the
the use of edifying that it of edification, speak it, need may be, that it may
may minister grace unto that it may minister plea. give grace to them that
the hearers.
sure to the hearers.
hear.
Eph. V. 4.
Neither
Eph. V. 4.–Also obscen- Eph. V. 4.-Nor filthi-
filthiness, nor foolish talk ity, and foolish talking, ness, nor foolish talking or
ing, nor jesting, which are and double meanings are jesting, which are not be-
you all.
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335
not convenient : but rather things not proper, but fitting : but rather giving
giving of thanks.
thanksgiving rather is pro- of thanks.
per.
Eph. V. 31.-For this Eph. V. 31.–For this Eph. v. 31.-For this
cause shall a man leave reason shall a man leave cause shall a man leave
his father and mother, and his father and mother, and his father and mother, and
shall be joined unto his shall be glued to his wife, shall cleave to his wife :
wife, and they two . shall and the two shall become and the twain shall become
be one flesh.
one flesh.
one flesh.
From these specimens of Dr. M'Knight's translation, it is
clear that its diction was northern and rugged, and had no
beauty to make it desired for household reading. It claims,
however, to be a literal translation ; and consequently, if it
satisfies the demands of faithfulness and accuracy, it should
not be complained of for want of smoothness and grace. In
some of its distinctive renderings it has been followed by the
revisers of 1881, but in others it has not.
Another private translation of the New Testament which, on
account of local associations, may be here mentioned is that of
the Rev. William Thomson of Ochiltree. It was published
at Kilmarnock in 1816. Mr. Thomson was a vigorous evan-
gelical preacher, an indefatigable pastor, and a man of great
parochial renown. He was also a scholarly and studious man,
who, in his quiet rural parish, gave "attendance to reading (as
well as) to exhortation and to doctrine.” For nearly twenty
years he “employed his leisure time principally in studying,
writing, and repeatedly transcribing his translation and notes."
But his labours on the revision of the New Testament, although
considerable, have not been highly lauded. One of the sub-
scribers for his book was Thomas Carlyle, who was then
sojourning at Annan, the town of Mr. Thomson's birth, and
had become a vagrant from the paths of orthodoxy. Carlyle
bitterly grudged his subscription, which was “one pound four,"
and wrote to a fellow-student that whatever might be the merit
of Mr. Thomson's new renderings, his“ style both of writing
and thinking was dull and sluggish as the clay itself.” And
from other quarters a similar strain of criticism has been
heard. In his Bibliotheca Sacra, Mr. Orme pronounces a very
unfavourable judgment on the Ochiltree version.
« The Eng-
lish idiom," he says, " is continually sacrificed to the Greek, and
grammatical propriety is often violated, and the desire to
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Bibles of England.
render the translation very faithful and very clear has often
made it obscure and incorrect. The author never departs from
the received text in a single instance, so that for him Mill, and
Wetstein, and Griesbach, have all laboured in vain." Not-
withstanding these strictures, however, Mr. Thomson's volumes
may be consulted with both entertainment and profit. His
translation being "studiously made as literal as possible," is in
some places dull and sluggish enough, but in other places it is
terse and vigorous, and in many passages it shows the courage
of peculiar convictions on questions of scholarship. It contains
above two hundred "renderings that exhibit a meaning
somewhat different from that which is expressed in the common
version." Of these distinctive renderings, "a few," says the
author, “have been adopted from the works of former transla-
tors : but the greater number are entirely new," and the pro-
priety of them being vindicated in the notes, "they will," he
adds, " be found so literal, so simple, and so consistent with
the context that they will be readily understood and admitted.”
As samples of Mr. Thomson's sluggish literalism the following
renderings may be cited : "The disciples having taken him by
night, let him down over the wall, having suspended him in a
basket," Acts ix. 25; “Ye who are wives be obedient to your
appropriate husbands," Col. iii. 18; "Speak thou the things
which become sound doctrine, that aged men may be vigilant
healthy by the faith, by the love, by the patience :
that aged women in like manner be sacredly decent in deport-
mrent," Titus ii. 1-3; “Reject younger widows: for when they
have waxed wanton to a disregard of Christ, they desire to
marry :
and at the same time they learn also to be
idle,
and not only idle, but also tatlers
speaking things that are not proper," I Timothy, V. 11-13 ;
“ The overseer (bishop) ought to be blameless, the husband of
one wife
decent, hospitable
not a tip-
pler
not a pursuer of dishonourable gain,” i Tim.
iii. 2-3; “Deacons in the same way ought to be respectable, not
double-tongued." As happier specimens of Mr. Thomson's
translation, showing how clearly and vigorously, if not tersely,
he sometimes rendered the original, the following passages may
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337
vi. IO,
also be quoted : “If any one wrestle, he is not crowned, unless
he wrestle according to the rules," 2 Tim. ii. 5 ; "If he hath
wronged thee in any thing or oweth any thing, charge that to
me," Philemon 18; “Faith is a realising of things hoped for,
a conviction of things not seen,” Heb. xi. 1; “Who have
received the law as ordinances of angels, and have not kept it,”
Acts vii. 53.
In not a few passages Mr. Thomson has antici-
pated the renderings of the revised version, 1881 ; as for
instance, in Gal. vi. 11, “ye see with how large letters I have
written to you”; in I Tim. i. 16, “that in me a chief sinner
Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering ”; in i Tim.
a root of all the evils is the love of money”; in Tit. ii.
II, “ the grace of God, which bringeth salvation to all men";
and in Heb. vi. 5, “the powers of the future age.” One render-
ing of Mr. Thomson's that seems to deviate very far from the
received translation will be found in Heb. ix. I, where for
“worldly sanctuary" holy ornature is substituted. This render-
ing, or one similar to it, sacred furniture, has had the counten-
ance of several scholars of repute, and it certainly, to an
ordinary English reader, makes the passage have a clearer
meaning. Another interesting rendering of Mr. Thomson's is
Rom. viii. 33-34, “Who will bring a charge against the elect of
God ? will God who justifieth ? Who is he that condemneth ?
Is it Christ who died, yea rather who was raised again, who
also intercedeth for us?”
But although ever since 1645 there has been a clamour
raised from time to time to have the received version of the
Bible in English revised and corrected, and although many
scholars 'have, in part, responded to that demand by issuing
translations of special portions of Scripture, it was not till the
year 1870 that steps were taken in earnest to have a thorough
revision of the whole Bible instituted. The honour of being
the first to take action in this matter is due to the convocation
of the province of Canterbury. And the action taken by that
convocation, in 1870, was not taken a day too soon.
statements had been scattered abroad, on high authority, that
1
So many
I
I See Bloomfield's Testament.
Y
338
Bibles of England.
the received version of the Scriptures contains a large number
of errors, both in text and translation, and so customary had
it become for preachers to tell their hearers that the true text
or the true translation, in this and the other passage, is some-
thing altogether different from what common people found in
their Bibles, that it became necessary for the Church to show
her members plainly what the true Bible really is, and what is
the total amount of change that modern scholarship alleges
should be made on King James's translation. And now that a
revised version of the whole Bible has been issued to the Eng-
lish speaking peoples a distinct gain has been secured. The
public have before them what they are told is as faithful and
correct a translation as present scholarship can give of what is
held, on the authority of ancient manuscripts, to be the best
authenticated texts in the original of both the Old and the
New Testaments.
Not only did the proposal for a revision of the authorised
translation of the Bible emanate from the Convocation of Can-
terbury, in 1870, but the work of revision was undertaken by
that Convocation itself. A committee of its own members was
nominated, “to undertake the work of revision, (with)
liberty to invite the co-operation of any eminent for scholar-
ship, to whatever nation or religious body they might belong."
This committee separated itself into two companies; one for
revision of the Old and the other for revision of the New
Testament. To each company were added, by invitation,
distinguished scholars from different churches in the United
Kingdom. In both companies Scotland was well represented,
not only by ministers of the established Church, but by minis-
ters of the non-established Churches. The Churches of America,
also, were invited to form a committee of co-operation. And
it was agreed that to this American committee, the English
I“ It was in my account a serious breach of Church order that
a body
of divines, professing to act under the authority of the Southern Convocation,
should spontaneously associate with themselves ministers of various denominations,
Baptists, Congregationalists, Wesleyan Methodists, Independents, and the like; and
especially that a successor of the Apostles should have presided over the delibera-
tions of this assemblage of Separatists” | Burgon, p. 505.
The Inter- National Bible,
339
revisers should send confidentially their revision in its successive
stages; that all suggestions from the American committee
should be specially considered by the companies at home; that
before publication of the revision the American committee
should be furnished with copies of the translation in its final
shape, and should be allowed to present, in an appendix, all the
unadopted readings and renderings they had submitted to the
English companies. On the other hand, the American revisers
pledged themselves "to give their moral support to the author-
ised editions of the University presses, with a view to their
freest circulation within the United States," and not to issue a
rival edition for a term of fourteen years."
Long as was the time expended on the production of the
authorised version, that expended on the recent revision was
still longer. In the month of June, 1870, the revisers com-
menced their labours. Their translation of the New Testament
was completed in November, 1880, and their translation of the
Old Testament on the 20th June, 1884. The time devoted
to the revision of the New Testament was thus ten years
and a half; while that devoted to the revision of the
Old Testament was about fourteen years. A session of
four days each month, except August and September, was
held by the New Testament company every year
from
the commencement till the close of their work. “The revision
of the Old Testament was completed in 85 sessions, and it
occupied 792 days. The greater part of the sessions were for
ten days each, and each day the company usually sat for six
hours.”3 And this statement does not indicate anything like
the total amount of time and toil expended on the revision.
Each member of each company was expected to have the
subject set down for discussion at each session carefully studied
beforehand in private.
There perhaps never was such a demand for any book as
there was for the revised version of the New Testament, in
1
i Mombert's English Versions, p. 454.
2 Published on 17th May, 1881.
3 Preface to revised version of Old Testament.
.
340
Bibles of England.
1881. Early in the spring of that year it was announced that
the long expected volume would be issued on the 17th May.
It was near the 17th June before some of the earliest applicants,
in Scotland at least, could be supplied with a copy of the edi-
tion that was most coveted. The demand for the revised version
of the Old Testament, in 1885, was not so urgent; partly, it
may be presumed, because the Old Testament has not so many
readers as the New; and partly, because the revised version of
the New Testament, after satiating curiosity, failed to kindle
popular enthusiasm.
The revised version of the Bible is, in the strictest sense of
the terms, only a revision. It is based on the authorised version,
1611; as that was based on the Bishops' Bible, 1572 ; and as
the Bishops' Bible, in its turn, was based on the Great Bible,
1540 ; and the Great Bible on Tyndale's and Coverdale's
translations. In what are termed the "fundamental resolutions,"
adopted by the convocation of Canterbury, in May, 1870, it was
declared that a new translation of the Bible was not contem-
plated, and that no alteration was proposed to be made on the
language of the authorised version, "except where, in the
judgment of the most competent scholars, such change is
necessary."
The revision embraced both a revision of the text in the
original languages and a revision of the translation, besides a
revision of “the headings of chapters, pages, paragraphs, italics,
and punctuation."
It cannot be said that the revisers were rash in making
changes on the text that was presumed to underlie the autho-
rised version. They resolved “to introduce as few alterations
(of that kind) as possible, consistently with faithfulness"; and,
although changes on the text might, on the first review, be
carried by a majority of votes, they were not, in the final
I Of the many impatient and disappointed applicants for the best edition the
writer of this volume had the misfortune to be one, and in reply to what may
possibly have been a somewhat petulant letter he was, on the 31st May, informed
by the publishers that the edition he was in quest of had been issued as advertised,
but the demand for it was so great that all the morocco binders in London could
| not have succeeded in keeping up the supply.”
.
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341
revision, to be retained, unless "two thirds of those present
approved the same." And in determining questions of
reading, they proceeded on the principle “That the text
to be adopted be that for which the evidence is decidedly
preponderating; and that when the text so adopted differs
from that from which the authorised version was made, the
alteration be indicated in the margin.' The revisers of the
New Testament found it impracticable to carry out the second
part of this resolution. The English reader is, therefore, not
shewn on the margin the extent of textual change made on the
New Testament by the revisers. He sees, here and there,
"some authorities " or "many authorities," read so and so; but
these marginal notes do not represent the tenth part of the
changes made on the text. It is stated, however, in the revisers'
preface, that a better mode of giving publicity to these changes
has been found. Instead of indicating them on the margin of
the English Testament, it has been thought preferable to
"introduce them into a continuous Greek text, and to set at
the foot of each page the readings which they displace." This
continuous Greek text of the revised version of the English
Testament, with displaced readings, has now been published
in several forms, so that we can with very little trouble
ascertain the extent to which the revisers have really departed
from the presumed text of the authorised version. The author
of this volume has had the curiosity to count the number of
displaced readings so indicated,' and the following table exhibits
the result of his investigation. Each displacement is counted
one, whether it comprises one word or several words.
Textual variations in revised and authorised versions of
New Testament :
93
In Gospel by St. Matthew, 425
Mark,
614
Luke,
799
John,
503
Acts of the Apostles,
725
Epistle to the Romans, 160
Ist Epistle to the Corinthians, 246
2nd
137
In Epistle to the Galatians, 49
», Epistle to the Ephesians, 80
Philippians, 49
Colossians,
60
Ist Epistle to the Thessalonians 47
2nd
25
Ist Epistle to Timothy,
47
2nd Epistle to Timothy,
31
1 In the Parallel New Testament, Greek and English. Oxford, 1882.
342
Bibles of England.
20
II
IO
In Epistle to Titus,
Philemon,
Epistle to the Hebrews,
the Epistle of James,
Ist Epistle of Peter,
2nd
», Ist Epistle of John,
In the 2nd Epistle of John,
the 3rd
the Epistle of Jude,
the Revelation of St. John,
21
582
13
131
59
73
34
51
Total in New Testament, I
5002
From this table, it will be seen that there are no fewer than
5000 readings in the Greek Text, "presumed to underlie the
authorised version" of the New Testament that have been set
aside and changed by the revisers of 1881. The amount of
divergence caused by these changes is not so great, however,
as might be supposed. A very large number of the readings
noted as displacements scarcely deserve to be counted changes.
Some of them do not affect the English version, either in sense
or in sound, either in meaning or in form of expression. For
instance, we read in the authorised version, Luke xiv. 15,
“ Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God”;
and, in the revised version we find the same words. But
there is a different reading in the Greek texts from which
the two English versions have been derived. In the one Greek
text there is hos, where in the other there is hostis. In other
cases, the new reading is a particle equivalent to and, or but, or
Sometimes it is the substitution of a personal pronoun
for the noun to which it refers, as, Mark vii. 27, “ He," instead
of Jesus, "said unto her; let the children first be filled.” Some-
times it is the substitution of a personal name for a title, or of
one title for another, as Acts x. 48, “He commanded them to
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ," instead of, in the name
of the Lord. Sometimes it is a trifling verbal change, which in-
volves no difference of meaning, as in Luke xx. 28, "He be," for
he die, “childless," or in Mark i. 27, “What is this? a new teach-
ing?" for what new teaching is this. Sometimes it is only the
transposition of two words or two clauses, as in Mark xi. 18,
"The chief priests and the scribes," for the scribes and the chief
110w.
I "The traditional text has been departed from by them (the Revisers) nearly six
thousand times—almost invariably for the worse. Burgon, Revision Revised,
p. 107.
The Inter-National Bible.
343
priests. Sometimes it is a transposition which can scarcely be
indicated by the inelastic forms of English speech, as John i.
37, hoi duo inatheetai autou, for autou hoi duo matheetai; or
Mark xii. 17, “The things of Cæsar render to Cæsar," instead
of render the things of Cæsar to Cæsar.
There are cases, however, in which a very slight change on
the words, or even the letters, of the Greek text has made a
great alteration on the meaning of a verse. In 2 Cor. vii. 12,
there occur in the Greek text two words, which differ from each
other in only one letter, hēmou and humou. But by the transpos-
ition of these words, the verse has been completely transformed
—and transformed from plain sense to what is not so
clear-by the revisers. Instead of reading, "that our care for
you in the sight of God might appear to you,” we are now
bidden read, "that your earnest care for us might be made
manifest unto you in the sight of God." It is quite possible,
therefore, that although a large number of the new readings
adopted in the revision of the New Testament are only insig-
nificant variations of expression, there might still remain many
that make serious changes on the text of Scripture. To ascer-
tain roughly whether such is the case or not, let us take at
random some particular Epistle, and examine the most notable
of the new readings introduced there. The Epistle to the
Galatians should, in respect of length, be suitable for this pur-
pose.
The revised version of it contains forty-nine new read-
ings, and of these there are only five that by plain English
readers would be considered of any importance. In these five
cases certain words that appear in the authorised version are
omitted in the revised ; and how little these omissions affect
the teaching of Scripture will be seen by comparing the old
and new readings in the subjoined parallel columns.
AUTHORISED VERSION, 1611.
REVISED VERSION, 1881.
Gal. iii. 1.-0 foolish Galatians, who Gal. iii. 1.-O foolish Galatians, who
hath bewitched you, that you should not did bewitch you.
obey the truth.
Gal. iii. 17.-The covenant that was Gal. iii. 17.-A covenant confirmed
confirmed before of God in Christ the beforehand by God the law doth
law
cannot disannul.
not disannul.
Gal. v. 19.-The works of the flesh Gal. v. 19.-The works of the flesh
are manifest, which are these, adultery, are manifest, which are these, fornica.
fornication, uncleanness, lascivousness, tion, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
344
Bibles of England.
-
Gal. v. 21.—Envyings, murders, drun- Gal. v. 21.-Envyings, drunkenness,
kenness, revellings, and such like. revellings, and such like.
Gal. vi. 15. — For in Christ Jesus Gal. vi. 15. -For neither is circum-
neither circumcision availeth any thing cision anything, nor uncircumcision, but
nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. a new creature.
The ground on which changes were made by the revisers on
the received text of the Greek Testament, was the weight of
evidence from ancient manuscripts that these changes were
reversions to the true original. In the sixteenth century it was
alleged by Catholics that the Vulgate was of higher authority
than any Greek text of the New Testament that was then
known to be in existence. The question may be asked, there-
fore, if in the textual changes adopted by the revisers, in 1881,
there is any considerable return to the readings in the Vulgate.
There certainly are not a few cases of such reversion. In the
P.502.
1
I Some biblical scholars deny that the new readings adopted by the revisers are
supported by the authority of the most trustworthy manuscripts. The following
extracts from Dean Burgon's work on The Revision Revised, 1883, will shew what
these objectors have to say on the subject :-
“The most learned of our living prelates (Wordsworth of Lincoln), says it is
well known that there are two opposite schools of biblical criticism among us, with
very different opinions as to the comparative value of our manuscripts of the New
Testament."
Singular to relate, the first, second, fourth, and fifth of these codices, but
especially the codex Vaticanus and the codex Sinaiticus, have within the last
twenty years established a tyrannical ascendancy over the imagination of the critics,
which can only be fitly spoken of as a blind superstition.” P. II.
“How it came about that
the revisers of 1881 should have deliberately
gone back to those vile fabrications, from which the good providence of God pre-
served Erasmus and Stunica, Stephens and Beza, and the Elzevirs, three centuries
ago, it is useless to enquire." P. 238.
* Just five days before the appearance of the revised version), under the editor-
ship of Drs. Westcott and Hort, revisionists themselves, had appeared the most ex-
travagant text which has seen the light since the invention of printing. No secret
was made of the fact that, under pledges of the strictest secrecy, a copy of this wild
performance, marked 'confidential,' had been entrusted to every member of the re-
vising body; and it has since transpired that Dr. Hort advocated his own peculiar
views in the Jerusalem Chamber with so much volubility, eagerness, pertinacity,
and plausibility, that in the end, notwithstanding the warnings, remonstrances, and
entreaties of Dr. Scrivener, his counsel prevailed ; and the utter shipwreck of the
"revised version has been, as might have been confidently predicted, the disastrous
consequence. Dr. Hort is calculated to have talked for three years out of the ten.”
P. 365.
Strong language like the above refutes itself, and shews on what side sound
judgment may be looked for,
The Inter-National Bible.
345
gospel by St. Matthew the revisers have made 425 changes on
the received Greek text. Only twenty-six of these, however,
are likely to strike the cursory reader as of much consequence.
And even these are not of consequence, in the sense of altering
the Evangelist's meaning ; but of consequence only in having
caused changes of notable words or whole clauses, and not
merely of particles, in the English Testament. In nineteen of
these twenty-six departures from the old textus receptus the
reading in the Vulgate is revived. The doxology for instance
is omitted in vi. 13 ; entire clauses are left out in xv. 8, xx. 7,
xx, 22-23, xxiii. 19, and xxviii. 9; and in xix. 17 the question,
“Why callest thou me good ?" is transformed into, “Why
askest thou me concerning that which is good ? ”
In St. John's gospel, again, the revisers have made 487
changes on the Greek text that is believed to have formed
the basis of the King's translation. Only thirteen of these are
in any way notable, and seven of the thirteen are reversions to
the Vulgate. Both in the Rhemes and the International
versions the clauses italicised in the following quotations
are omitted : v. 16, “And therefore did the Jews persecute
Jesus, and sought to slay him"; viii. 9, “And they which heard
it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one";
viii. 59, “ Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going
through the midst of them, and so passed by.
To indicate a little more fully, however, the amount and
nature of the changes introduced into the English Testament
by the revisers, through the adoption of a different Greek text
from what was received in 1611, a few verses may here be
quoted from other parts of the book. Those quoted in the first
table give readings in the revised version that do not accord
with the Vulgate, and those in the second table readings that
appear in the Vulgate also.
TABLE I.
Readings in the revised version that do not accord with Vulgate.
REVISED VERSION, 1881.
AUTHORISED VERSION, 1611.
Mat. xi. 19.-Wisdom is justified by Mat. xi. 19.-Wisdom is justified of
her works,
her children,
346
Bibles of England.
Luke xxii. 64.--And they blindfolded Luke xxii. 64.–And when they had
him, and asked him saying, Prophesy : blindfolded him, they struck him on the
who is he that struck thee?
face, and asked him, saying, etc.
Luke xxiii. 15.-Nor yet Herod : for Luke xxiii. 15.--Nor yet Herod : for
he sent him back unto us : and behold I sent you to him, and lo, nothing worthy
nothing worthy of death hath been done of death is done unto him.
by him.
Luke xxiii. 38.-And there was also Luke xxiii. 38.-And a superscription
a superscription over him, This is the also was written over him, in letters of
king of the Jews.
Greek and Latin and Hebrew, This, etc.
Luke xxiv. 17.—What communications Luke xxiv. 17.-What manner of
are these that ye have one with another, communications are these that ye have
as ye walk? And they stood still, look- one to another as ye walk, and are sad ?
ing sad.
Acts iii. 26.-Unto you first God, Acts iii. 26.–Unto you first, God,
having raised up his Servant, sent him, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent, etc.
etc.
Acts xv. 18.-Saith the Lord who Acts xv. 18.-Known unto God are
maketh these things known from the all his works from the beginning of the
beginning of the world.
world.
i Cor. ii. 1.-Proclaiming to you the I Cor. ii. 1.-Declaring unto you the
mystery of God.
testimony of God.
2 Cor. xii. 1.-I must needs glory, 2 Cor. xii. 1.-It is not expedient for
though it is not expedient.
me, doubtless, to glory.
Eph. V. 15.-Look therefore carefully, Eph. v. 15.-See that ye walk cir.
how ye walk, not as unwise but as wise. cumspectly, not as fools but as wise.
Col, iv. 8.-Whom I have sent unto Col. iv. 8.-Whom I have sent unto
you for this very purpose, that ye may you for the same purpose, that he might
know our estate.
know your estate.
I Tim. i. 4.-Questionings, rather I Tim. i. 4.- Questions, rather than
than a dispensation of God which is in godly edifying, which is in faith.
faith.
TABLE II.
Readings in revised version that accord with Vulgate.
REVISED VERSION, 1881.
AUTHORISED VERSION, 1611.
Luke ii. 43. - His parents knew it not. Luke ii. 43.-Joseph and his mother
knew not of it.
Luke xxi. 19.-In your patience ye Luke xxi. 19.-In your patience pos-
shall win your sou
sess ye your souls.
Acts xiii. 42.-And as they went out Acts xiii. 42.-And when the Jews
they besought that these words might be were gone out of the synagogue, the
spoken to them the next Sabbath. Gentiles besought that these words might
be preached to them the next Sabbath.
Rom. v. 1.-Being therefore justified Rom. v. 1.—Therefore, being justified
by faith, let us have peace with God by faith, we have peace with God through
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Cor. ix. 10.–And he that supplieth 2 Cor. ix. 10.—Now he that minister-
seed to the sower and bread for food eth seed to the sower, both minister
shall supply and multiply your seed for bread for your food and multiply your
sowing, etc.
seed sown.
Eph. iii. 9.--To make all men see Eph. iii. 9.–To make all men see
what is the dispensation of the mystery what is the fellowship of the mystery,
which from all ages hath been hid in which from the beginning of the world
God who created all things.
hath been hid in God, who created all
things by Jesus Christ.
Eph. v. 9.—The fruit of the light is in Eph. v. 9.The fruit of the spirit is
all goodness, and righteousness, and in all goodness and righteousness and
truth,
truth,
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347
I Thess. iv. 1.-Ye received of us I Thess. iv. 1.-Ye have received of
how ye ought to walk and to please God, us, how ye ought to walk and to please
even as ye do walk.
God.
I Tim. iii. 16.-Without controversy I Tim. iii. 16.— Without controversy
great is the mystery of godliness : He great is the mystery of godliness : God
who was manifested in the flesh, etc. was manifest in the flesh, etc.
Jas. iii. 12.-Neither can salt water Jas. iii. 12. --So can no fountain both
yield sweet.
yield salt water and fresh.
Rev. xv. 3.–Righteous and true are Rev. xv. 3. ----Just and true are thy
thy ways, thou King of the ages,
ways, thou king of saints.
Rev. xv. 6.—The seven angels
Rev. xv, 6. The seven angels
arrayed with precious stone, pure and clothed in pure and white linen.
bright.
It is certainly a remarkable circumstance that so many of
the Catholic readings in the New Testament, which in reforma-
tion and early post-reformation times were denounced by
Protestants as corruptions of the pure text of God's word,
should now, in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, be
adopted by the revisers of our time-honoured English Bibles.
Some of the watchmen of Zion may possibly see in this cir-
cumstance an indication of the re-ascendency of Popery in
England, or possibly an evidence of concealed Jesuitism in the
Protestant churches. There is no cause for alarm on the
subject. The revisers have simply accepted the readings
which they found best supported by the testimony of ancient
manuscripts. If other manuscripts, of ancient date and well-
established authenticity, should come to light, the divines who
fixed the text of the revised version of the Bible will most
cordially, in a spirit of truthfulness, adopt such new readings
as shall then have the greatest weight of authority in their
favour. The concordance, in some or in many points, of the
Revised version of the New Testament with the Rhemes
version simply proves, what no one should be sorry nor need
be surprised to find proved, that St. Jerome, when he wrote the
Latin Vulgate, had before him Greek manuscripts of the New
Testament very much akin to those that have since the Refor-
mation been discovered ; that the Vulgate, in short, is a purer
and better version of the Scriptures than Protestants at one
time were willing to believe. We need not be surprised either
to find that when Stephen and Beza astonished and confounded
the world of their day by the unearthing of old and lost Greek
manuscripts of the New Testament which presented many
348
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1
I
points of difference from the Vulgate, they had not lighted on
either the oldest or the most incorrupt versions that had been
stowed away in times of ignorance. The manuscripts first
✓ found were not the most valuable. Other finds have brought
to light more precious treasures, and by a careful collation of
these a text supposed to be nearer the original has been
gradually obtained. And so far from being a matter of morti-
fication, it should be to us a matter of thankfulness to learn
that recent discoveries have raised rather than lowered the
authority of the Vulgate, and that the only version of the
Bible which the Western Church for centuries possessed was
not so corrupt as was by some people supposed and
represented.
Besides rectifying the text from which to translate, the
revisers have given new renderings to many verses of the New
Testament in which the old text was not altered.
Notwithstanding all the pains taken by King James's trans-
lators to make their work perfect before the Lord, and not-
withstanding all the praise they have received for their faithful
rendering of the original, there are many passages where they
have failed to exhibit to their English readers the true and full
meaning of the inspired writers. This is not disputed ; and in
adducing instances of their mis-translation, only such shall be
here quoted as have been faulted by acknowledged authorities.
In the authorised version we read, Acts iii. 19-20: “Repent ye
therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of
'T
1 In an article written by Cardinal Wiseman, in 1849, the following remarks will
be found:
" The oldest and best manuscripts, and the most ancient versions, almost invari-
ably agree with the Vulgate ; and their concurrent testimony establishes the fact,
that the Vulgate represents manuscripts more accurate than have been used to form
the received Greek text."
“ When we consider the scorn cast by the Reformers upon the Vulgate, and
their recurrence in consequence to the Greek as the only accurate standard, we can-
not but rejoice at the silent triumph which truth has at length gained over clamorous
For, in fact, the principal writers who have avenged the Vulgate, and ob-
tained for it its critical pre-eminence, are Protestants." Essays, Vol. I. Paper on
Parables of the New Testament.
error.
The Inter-National Bible.
349
the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was
preached unto you.” In the revised version this is changed
into: "Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may
be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing
from the presence of the Lord : and that he may send the
Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus.” Between
these two renderings there is a distinct difference of meaning.
According to the older version the duty of repentance is
enjoined as a means towards a desired end in the indefinite
future: “When the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord.” But, according to the newer version,
repentance is enjoined for the sake of immediate forgiveness,
and both seasons of refreshment and a blessed reception of
Christ are indicated as subsequent boons that will accompany
or flow from conversion. This particular rendering by the
revisers, too, is no novelty, for although it does not
occur in any of the principal versions of the English Bible,
it was given long ago in some of the private translations
to which reference has been made in this chapter. Both
in Doddridge's translation and in Thomson's translation,
the new rendering is given almost ipsissimis verbis.' Another
passage in the Acts of the Apostles that has, by a new transla-
tion, received a new meaning in the revised version, is the
saying recorded by Agrippa in the 28th verse of the 26th
chapter. In the King's translation we read : "Agrippa said
unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian,"—as
if Agrippa had felt the weight of the Apostle's argument, and
was at the point of embracing the Christian faith. A very
different statement is imputed to Agrippa in the recent revision,
He is there represented as having said to Paul: "With but
little persuasion thou would'st fain make me a Christian," as if
the King had treated the Apostle's reasoning with contempt,
I Another verse in which the revisers' rendering has been anticipated by Dr.
Doddridge is Mat. xii. 15. Following the Bishops' Bible, and disregarding the
Rhemes Testament, the King's translators have rendered the opening words of that
verse, “ When Jesus knew," as if Jesus for a time did not know. This is clearly
a very unorthodox statement, but it has now been corrected by a more literal trans-
lation, “Jesus perceiving it, withdrew."
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and insinuated that the Apostle's reference to the prophets was
beside the question. In none of the early principal versions of
the English Testament does the revisers' rendering of this
passage occur, nor does it occur in either Thomson's or
Doddridge's translation. But it was not unknown a hundred
and fifty years ago as a possible rendering of the verse.
Doddridge refers to it as a very untenable rendering, but a
rendering that scholastic ingenuity had broached nevertheless.
“ To interpret this as an irony," he writes, “as if Agrippa had
said 'This is a very compendious way of persuading me to
become a Christian,' is to suppose Agrippa very unreasonably
and absurdly ludicrous." The ironical interpretation of
Agrippa's words did not appear to the revisers so ludicrous as
it did to the estimable Dr. Doddridge ; and it is given by them
not only as their rendering, but as a rendering that cannot be
disputed. There is not even a marginal note to say that any
other rendering is possible. And in this opinion they are at
one with Mr. Conybeare, who translates Agrippa's exclamation :
“Thou wilt soon persuade me to be a Christian !” and adds
that “the words were doubtless spoken ironically and in con-
tempt.”+ Another instance of corrected translation will be
found in 1 Tim. vi. 5. In the authorised version, certain
persons are there referred to, as "supposing that gain is
godliness." And in all the earlier versions the same statement
is made. But in the revised version there is a very different
averment. It is there said that a mercantile spirit sometimes
betrays itself in religious professions, and that some men of
corrupt minds imagine “godliness to be a way of gain.” Every
one will see that if this rendering is faithful to the original, it
should on grounds of common sense be hailed as very much
preferable to the one it supersedes. And it is given by the
revisers not on account of its intrinsic truthfulness, as a record
of fact, but on account of its strict accordance with St. Paul's
own words in the Greek. Nor is it altogether a modern
1 In Conybeare and Howson's Life and Epistles of St. Paul. The revisers have
adopted a slightly altered reading of this verse. They have substituted poieesai,
“make,” for “ genesthai, “be.”
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351
rendering of the passage. It is found in Conybeare's free and
paraphrastic translation, which is both translation and com-
mentary combined, where it is happily expressed by the phrase,
“think godliness a gainful trade," and it occurs also in
Thomson's translation. The following note by Mr. Thomson,
too, is as good as any that has since been written on the
subject : “ The rendering which I have given, viz., who suppose
godliness to be gain, is more agreeable than the received render-
ing to the construction of the original words; for eusebeia
(godliness) having the article before it is the subject, or thing
affirmed of, and it is more agreeable to the truth."
One passage in which a very curious difference of rendering
appears in the authorised and revised versions respectively, is
2 Tim. ii. 26. The authorised translation is, “That they may
recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken
captive by him at his will.” The revised translation reads, “If
peradventure
they may recover themselves out of the
snare of the devil, having been taken captive by the Lord's
servant unto the will of God.” Between these two versions of
St. Paul's statement, the discordance is so great that we may
wonder whether they could have been drawn from the same
Greek text. But, in the case of this verse, the revisers have
not adopted any reading that was not in the Greek text used
by the King's translators. The difference between the two
versions is simply a difference of rendering. The literal trans-
lation of the passage is “ that they may recover themselves out
of the snare of the devil having been taken captive by him
unto the will of him." And a question arises who is the person
referred to by the first and second him respectively. Is it for
the devil or for the servant of the Lord that the first him stands?
The King's translators thought one thing and the revisers
another; and the revisers' view is confirmed by the fact that
in the Greek the two words translated “him” are different, as
if they referred to different persons."
1 The authorised rendering of this verse is found in nearly all the English trans-
lations of the Testament. In the first Geneva version (1557) of the Testament,
however, the revisers' view was adopted :--- Being delivered out of the snare of
the devil, may come to amendment and perform his will." In MacKnight's trans-
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1
Many of the amended translations in the revised version of
the New Testament have been occasioned by stricter regard to
the grammatical construction of the Greek language. In Greek
the article is a very important part of speech, and it may be
safely asserted that in the authorised and earlier English ver-
sions of the New Testament the Greek article was not trans-
lated with sufficient precision. In some cases it was over-looked,
and in others it was over-emphasised. Scores of cases might
be cited in which it is left untranslated in the authorised version,
but the following corrected renderings in the revised version
will suffice for examples: "In the resurrection, therefore, whose
wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife,”
Luke xx. 33 ; "And after the two days he went forth,"
John iv. 43 ; “As he reasoned of righteousness and temper-
ance and the judgment to come,” Acts xxiv. 25; “ Distributing
to the necessity of the saints," Romans xii. 13 ; " That no
one of you be puffed up for the one against the other," i Cor.
iv. 6. Sometimes, again, the article, although not altogether
untranslated, is inadequately translated in the authorised
version. The definite article is rendered indefinite, as in Mark
“Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under
a bed, and not to be set on a candlestick ?" The substitution
of the for a all through the foregoing sentence gives realism to
the picture, by setting before us the interior of a humble house
in Israel, where the lamp, the bushel, the bed, and the lamp-
stand were all specific and single articles of furniture. The
English reader will see, too, that in the following passages the
substitution of the definite for the indefinite article gives new
iv. 21:
lation of the Epistles, the revised rendering is still more clearly anticipated ; “ Being
caught alive by him out of the snare of the devil they may awake to do the will of
God."
A similar instance of discrepancy between the authorised and revised renderings
will be found in Acts xxvii. 40. In the older version, we read :-“When they had
taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea ”; in the newer
version—" Casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea.
It may be here mentioned also that the time honoured rendering nothing
doubting,” Acts xi. 12, is by the revisers changed into “ making no distinction,"
and the Greek word, Mat. iv. 24, that was literally translated by Tyndale lunatic
and by Sir John Cheke moored is now in the revised version altered into epileptic.
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353
point and force to the translation : "Art thou the teacher of
Israel, and knowest not these things ?” John iii. 10; "The
root of Jesse," Rom. xv. I2; "Wherefore, also, God hath highly
exalted him, and given unto him the name which is above
every name,” Phil. ii. 9; “It will not be except the falling away
come first,” 2 Thess. ii. 3 ; “I have fought the good fight. I
have finished the course. I have kept the faith,” 2 Tim. iv. 7.1
But while in some cases articles are in the authorised version
omitted where they should be inserted, they are in other cases
inserted where they should be omitted. In John i. 12 it is
said : "To them gave he power to become the sons," instead of
sons" of God”; in Acts i. 7, “ It is not for you to know the
times or the seasons," instead of times or seasons; in Rom. vi.
15,“ We are not under the law," instead of under law; in Rom.
xi. 19, “The branches," instead of branches "were broken
off that I might be graffed in”; in i Cor. i. 23,
“ Christ
crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the
Gentiles foolishness," instead of unto Jews a stumbling block
and unto Gentiles foolishness; and in Phil. iii. 5, “An Hebrew
of the Hebrews," instead of a Hebrew of Hebrews. Sometimes,
also, definite articles occur in the authorised version where
there should be indefinite ones. Many an English reader, for
instance, has stumbled at the statement, 1 Tim. vi. 10 :
love of money is the root of all evil.” There is evidently much
evil in the world that does not proceed from love of money.
Insufficient regard for money is the cause of some evil. People
were relieved, therefore, when they found it said in the revised
version that the love of money is only “a root of all kinds of
evil." And yet this was not a new account of the Apostle's
statement, for although it is not to be found in any of the
principal English versions of the New Testament, nor in Dr.
Doddridge's Expositor, it is given both in Conybeare's and in
Thomson's translation of the Epistles. Indeed, the wonder is
that the rendering in the authorised version ever was made by
“ The
I So also :-"He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion,” Mark iv. 38;
“Then he poureth water into the bason,” John xiii. 5; “ There sat in the window,"
Acts xx. 9; “Say the amen at thy giving of thanks,” i Cor. xiv. 16.
z
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:
Bibles of England.
any translator.
It is neither a right rendering nor a true
statement of fact. But in the authorised version there are
many places in which the same form of mis-translation occurs.
And, as was shown in a previous chapter, there are instances
not a few in the King's translation where the article is unduly
lemphasised, and is even transformed into a demonstrative pro-
noun, as in i Cor. x. 4, "That rock was Christ"; and in 1 Cor.
X. 17,
We
e are all partakers of that one bread.” In these and
other cases the revisers, in their zeal for scholastic accuracy,
have displaced the demonstrative pronoun, and substituted the
definite article in its room.
It may be asked whether it is either absolutely necessary or
beneficial that, in an English version of the New Testament,
the Greek articles in the original text should be uniformly and
literally rendered. It can scarcely be said so. The revisers
state in their preface that in using the definite article "it was
necessary to consider the peculiarities of English idiom, as well
as the general tenor of each passage. Sometimes they felt it
enough to prefix the article to the first of a series of words to
all of which it is prefixed in the Greek, and thus, as it were, to
impart the idea of definiteness to the whole series without
running the risk of overloading the sentence. Sometimes,
conversely, they had to tolerate the presence of the definite
article in their version when it is absent in the Greek
simply because English idiom would not allow the noun to
stand alone. In a word, they were careful to observe the
use of the article, wherever it seemed to be idiomatically
possible : where it did not seem to be possible they yielded to
necessity.” In the translation of the Greek article, therefore,
some freedom and discretion are allowed. How much should
be, is a question on which there may be difference of opinion.
Some eminent scholars have, on scholastic grounds, objected
to the literalness with which the Greek article is, in many
cases, translated by the revisers. Dean Burgon, for instance,
takes exception to the following and other renderings as
unidiomatic English: "greater than the herbs," Mat. xiii. 32 ;
“Did not I choose you the twelve," John vi. 70 ; " for the joy
that a man is born into the world,” John xvi. 21 ; "the lust
:
.
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355
when it hath conceived beareth sin," James i. 15. The revisers
themselves, too, have not been absolutely consistent in their
treatment of the Greek article. The same Greek words are in
one place translated "serpents," and in another “the serpents”;
“Be wise as serpents," Mat. x. 16; "Perished by the serpents,"
I Cor. x. 9.
One verse in the translation of which the revisers
have played fast and loose is 1 Tim. iii. 2: “ The Bishop must
be without reproach, the husband of one wife." The first
article in this sentence has its counterpart in the original text,
but the second has not. If the verse were translated literally
throughout, it might read: “The Bishop must be . a
husband of one wife.”. Such a rendering, however, would pre-
sent unutterable horrors to the episcopal mind. While
forbidding the bishop to indulge in the pleasures of polygamy,
it would give, or seem to give, Scripture sanction for his wife's
luxuriating in the barbaric dignity of polyandrism! For the
bishop's sake, therefore, the revisers, like all previous transla-
tors, made the rules of grammar, in this instance, succumb to
the dictates of sober theology. And seeing that the revisers
in translating the Greek article have given some
sideration to “the peculiarities of English idiom, and the
general tenor of each passage,” it may be questioned whether
they would not have done well to have gone a little further in
that direction than they have done. The following passages
are not improvements on the authorised renderings : "The city
was filled with the confusion," Acts xix. 29; "Where then is
the glorying," Rom. iii. 27 ; " Peradventure for the good man
some one would even dare to die," Rom. v. 7.
Of other small particles more correctly translated in the
revised than in the authorised version of the New Testament,
prepositions may be instanced.2 In the authorised version we
read, 2 Thess. ii. 1; "Now, we beseech you, brethern, by the
con-
verse are
1 Mr. Conybeare, in a note, remarks that the Greek words ton episkopon in this
"rightly translated in the authorised version, “A Bishop,' not the bishop,
in spite of the article.” The phrase " in spite of the arlicle” is good.
2 In Young's Analytical Concordance it is shewn that in the authorised version
the English prepositions in and of each represent 14 different Greek particles ; with
and for 13 each; and at and by 11 each.
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coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering to-
gether unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind or be
troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as that
the day of Christ is at hand." From this translation we might
imagine that the Apostle was here adjuring his Thessalonian
converts by their belief in Christ's second coming, and by all
the terrors and blessings of that great event, not to let their
minds be disturbed by any of the current mistakes about the
near approach of their Lord's return. And it is expressly said
in some popular commentaries that this is really what the
Apostle was doing. It would have been a pointless argument,
however, and it does not express the Apostle's meaning. That
meaning is brought out very plainly by the revisers who, for
the italicised preposition by have substituted the word touching,
and made the verse read : “Now, we beseech you, brethren,
touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gather-
ing together unto him: to the end that ye be not quickly
shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled
the day of the Lord is now present.” And this is neither a
fantastical nor a modern rendering, but one that is to be found
in the writings of such popular commentators as Dr. Dodd-
ridge and Mr. Conybeare. Another instance of prepositional
mistranslation in the authorised version is Luke xxiii. 42,
“Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
It is stated, in the margin of the revised version, that some
ancient authorities give a reading in the original which would
warrant that translation. But the text from which the revised
version is taken, and the text which is presumed to underlie
the authorised version should be rendered, “in thy kingdom."
In respect of letters this is a very slight alteration, but it makes
a great change on the meaning of the prayer. And there are
scores of passages in the revised version where, by similarly
slight prepositional changes, the diction of the authorised trans-
as that
"I
1 One verse in the authorised translation that is much obscured by the use of the
word by is i Cor. iv. 4. The substitution of against for by in that verse has
virtually to common readers unacquainted with the archaic meanings of by, thrown
new light on the apostle's argument :-"I know nothing against myself, yet am I
not hereby justified."
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357
lation has been much improved. The following cases will
show the kind of improvement that by this means has been
effected!:
AUTHORISED VERSION.
REVISED VERSION.
Rom. v. 12.-As by one man sin en- Rom. v. 12.-As through one man sin
tered into the world, and death by sin : entered into the world, and death through
and so death passed upon all men, for sin: and so death passed unto all men,
that all have sinned.
for that all sinned,
Gal. iii. 19.-It was ordained by angels Gal. iii. 19.-It was ordained through
in the hand of a mediator.
angels by the hand of a mediator.
Heb. vi. 7.—Bringeth forth herbs meet Heb. vi. 7. — Bringeth forth herbs
for them by whom it is dressed.
meet for them for whose sake it is also
tilled.
Jas. iii. 4.-Behold also the ships, Jas. iii. 4.-Behold, the ships also,
which though they be so great and are though they are so great, and are driven
driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned by rough winds, are yet turned about by
about with a very small helm.
a very small rudder.
The point, however, to which the New Testament revisers
devoted most particular attention was the correct rendering of
the Greek verb, and accuracy in this matter is not so easily at-
tained as the English reader uninitiated in the mysteries of the
Greek tongue may imagine. The inflections of the Greek and
English verb are altogether different. It is very difficult, there-
fore, to express in English the precise shade of meaning that is,
conveyed in a particular tense, mood, and voice of the Greek
verb for which there is no English equivalent. The revisers
have with much pains done their best in this matter, and the
English reader must accept their translations in faith and trust,
as scholastic dicta which it is beyond his province to dispute.
2
says :-
I The correct translation of the prepositions in the Greek Testament was a point
on which Mr. Thomson laid much stress. In his “ Preliminary Observations,” he
In my opinion the most numerous and the greatest faults in the common
version, and in other versions, have arisen from a mistranslation of the prepositions."
Mr. Thomson has, in many instances, anticipated the translations of the prepositions
that now appear in the revised version : as in Mat. xxviii. 19, “Baptizing them into
the name of the Father, etc.” ; John xi. 38, "a stone lay against it”; Rom. xi.
32, “God hath shut them all up unto disobedience”; 1 Cor. xii. 8, “to one indeed
is given through the spirit the word of wisdom ; and to another the word of know.
ledge, according to the same spirit "; 1 Cor. xv. 5, “he appeared to Cephas, then
to the twelve"; Gal. i. 12, “ neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it,
but through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
2 They are disputed, however, by some learned critics. See Burgon's Revision
Revised.
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Bibles of England.
Sometimes the mind is strained with noting the little distinc-
tions of tense and mood that the revisers have introduced into
the Scripture narrative ; but there are at least many cases in .
which we can see that from a literary point of view the changes
are improvements. The following passages which contain
translations of different tenses of the Greek verb will shew how
far correct tensing goes to make statements accurate and argu-
ments cogent.
AUTHORISED VERSION.
REVISED VERSION.
Luke i. 59.—They called him Zach- Luke i. 59.-—They would have called
arias.
him Zacharias.
Luke xvi. 1.-Was accused unto him Luke xvi. 1.-Was accused unto him
that he had wasted his goods.
that he was wasting his goods.
Luke xxi. 31.-When ye see these Luke xxi. 31.—When ye see these
things come to pass, know ye that the things conting to pass, know ye that the
kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
kingdom of God is nigh.
Luke xxii. 31.-Simon, Simon, be- Luke xxii. 31.—Simon, Simon, be-
hold, Satan hath desired to have you hold Satan asked to have you
but I have prayed for thee that but I made supplication for thee, that
thy faith fail not.
thy faith fail not.
Luke xxiv. 37.-They were terrified Luke xxiv. 37.—They were terrified
and affrighted, and supposed that they and affrighted, and supposed that they
had seen a spirit.
beheld a spirit.
John i. 3.-Without him was not any John i. 3.—Without him was not any-
thing made that was made.
thing made that hath been made.
John iv. i.—That Jesus made and bap- John iv. I.—That Jesus was making
tised more disciples than John.
and baptizing more disciples than John.
1 Cor. iii. 6. —I have planted, Apollos I Cor. iii. 6.-I planted, Apollos
watered, but God gave the increase. watered, but God gave the increase.
2 Cor. vii. 8.—Though I made you 2 Cor. vii. 8.--- Though I made you
sorry with a letter, I do not repent. For sorry with my epistle, I do not regret it,
I perceive that the same Epistle hath though I did regret : for I see that that
made you sorry, though it were but for a epistle made you sorry, though but for a
season. "V, 13.-Therefore we were com-
V. 13.—Therefore we have been
forted in your comfort, yea and exceed- comforted; and in our joy we joyed the
ingly the more joyed we for the joy of more exceedingly for the joy of Titus;
Titus, because his spirit was refreshed because his spirit hath been refreshed by
season.
by you all.
you all.
2 Cor. xi. 4.-If he that cometh 2 Cor. xi. 4.—If he that cometh
preacheth another Jesus whom we have preacheth another Jesus, whom we did
not preached, or if ye receive another not preach ; or if ye receive a different
spirit which ye have not received, or spirit, which ye did not receive ; or a
another gospel which ye have not accepted, different gospel, which ye did n2ot accept,
ye might well bear with him.
ye do well to bear with him.
Gal. i. 6.-I marvel that you are so Gal. i. 6.-I marvel that ye are so
soon removed from him that called you quickly removing from him that called
into the grace of Christ.
you in the grace of Christ.
Gal. iii. 1.-0 foolish Galatians, who Gal. iii. 1.--O foolish Galatians, who
hath bewitched you, that you should not did bewitch you, before whose eyes
obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Jesus Christ was openly set forth cruci.
Christ hath been evidently set forth, fied ?
crucified among you.
2 Thess. ii. 13. — God hath from the 2 Thess. ii. 13.—God chose you from
beginning chosen you to salvation. I the beginning unto salvation.
i The question of shall or will is involved in the rendering of the Greek verb,
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359
One point on which the New Testament revisers declared
themselves at issue with the King's translators is the import-/
ance of uniformity in the rendering of words and phrases. This
is a species of literary bondage to which the King's translators
would not submit. "We cannot,” they said, "follow a better
pattern for elocution than God himself: therefore, he using
divers words in his holy writ, and indifferently, for one thing in
nature, we, if we will not be superstitious, may use the same
liberty in our English versions." The revisers contend that
this liberty was carried too far by the King's translators, “and
that their studied avoidance of uniformity in the rendering of
the same words, even when occurring in the same context, is
one of the blemishes in their work." For instance, we read in
the authorised version, Phil. i. 4, "always in every prayer of
mine for you all making request with joy.” It is the same
Greek word that is here variously translated prayer and request.
And in Phil. iv. 6, it is translated supplication. The revisers
shew scholastic consistency, therefore, by rendering the word
and of the Hebrew verb also ; but it is one on which it would be presumptuous for
Scotsmen to express an opinion. They may modestly take note, however, of the
contentions of Englishmen on the subject. There are more than a score of cases in.
which the revisers have substituted their will for the shall of King James's divines,
or vice versa. The reason why, and the nature of the change thereby made on the
meaning of some passages of Scripture, will be apparent to those that have eyes to
For other people the following quotations may furnish food for reflection :-
see.
AUTHORISED VERSION.
REVISED VERSION.
Ps. xvii. 15.-As for me, I will behold Ps, xvii. 15.-As for me, I shall be.
thy face in righteousness.
hold thy face in righteousness.
Ps. xxxii. 7.--Thou shalt preserve me Ps. xxxii. 7.-Thou wilt preserve me
from trouble ; thou shalt, etc.
from trouble ; thou wilt, etc.
Amos i. 2. —And he said, The Lord Amos i. 2.—And he said, The Lord
will roar from Zion.
shall roar from Zion.
Mark ii. 20.—The bridegroom shall Mark ii. 20.—The bridegroom shall
be taken away from them, and then shall be taken away from them, and then will
they fast in those days.
they fast in those days.
I Cor. xiv. II.-If I know not the I Cor. xiv. II.-If then I know not
me ing of the voice I shall be unto him the meaning of the voice, I shall be to
that speaketh a barbarian, and he that him that speaketh a barbarian, and he
speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me. that speaketh will be a barbarian unto
.
2 Tim. iv. 18.— The Lord shall deliver 2 Tim. iv. 8.—The Lord will deliver
me from every evil work, and will pre- me from every evil work, and will save
serve me unto his heavenly kingdom. me unto his heavenly kingdom.
me.
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Bibles of England.
:
“supplication," in all the three places. In the authorised ver-
sion, again, we read, 1 Pet. i. 19, that men have been redeemed
by the precious blood of Christ "as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot.” The word rendered in this sentence, “with-
out blemish,” in distinction from "without spot,” is in Heb. ix.
14, translated without spot, and in Jude 24, faultless. On the
other hand, the English word blameless is used by the King's
translators to represent no fewer than five different Greek
words. It may be conceded, therefore, that the received ren-
derings in the New Testament required some revision, and it
can scarcely be disputed that the revisers, by adhering to the
principle of uniform translation, have in many cases improved
the English text of the Bible?
i The following are other instances in which the revisers have curtailed the
diversity of renderings found in the authorised translation : agora, market, Acts
xvii. 17 ; street, Mark vi. 56 :-aulee, court, Rev. xi. 2; hall, Mark xv. 16; palace,
Mark xiv. 54 :-gnomee, mind, Rev. xvii. 13 ; will, Rev. xvii. 17; agree, Rev. xvii.
17 ; judgment, i Cor. vii. 25; advice, 2 Cor. viii. 10 :--diabolos, devil, Mat. iv, I;
slanderer, 1 Tim. iii, II; false accuser, 2 Tim. iii. 3 :-zeelos, zeal, Rom. X. 2;
fervent mind, 2 Cor. vii. 7 ; jealousy, 2 Cor. xi. 2; emulation, Gal. v. 20 ; envy,
Acts xiii. 45; envying, I Cor. iii. 3 :-kleesis, calling, 2 Tim. i. 9 ; vocation, Eph.
iv. I:-mneema, tomb, Luke viii. 27; sepulchre, Luke xxiii. 53 ; grave, Rev. xi. 9:-
patheema, suffering, 1 Peter v. I; affliction, 1 Peter v. 9; passion, Gal. v. 24
(margin); affection, Gal. v. 24 ; motion, Rom. vii. 5:--paraiteomai, entreat, Heb.
xii. 19; make excuse, Luke xiv. 18; refuse, 1 Tim. iv. 7 ; avoid, 2 Tim. ii. 23;
reject, Tit. iii. 10 :-tasso, ordain, Rom. xiii. 1 ; set, Luke vii. 8; addict, i Cor.
xvi. 15; appoint, Acts xxviii. 23; determine, Acts, xv. 2 :--hubris (injury, Rev.
Version), reproach, 2 Cor. xii. 10; hurt, Acts xxvii. 10.
2 Following out this principle, the revisers have translated some verses much
more accurately than the King's translators have. For instance, in the Greek text
of Eph. iii. 6, there are three compound words with the same prefix. There is an
idea, therefore, conveyed by each of these words in common, which the Apostle
wishes to bring home to the minds of his readers. The idea is fellowship, and the
fellowship extends to three particulars. How much more cogently the Apostle's
argument in that passage is stated in the revised than in the authorised version will
be seen by a comparison of the two translations side by side.
REVISED VERSION.
AUTHORISED VERSION.
Eph. iii. 6.—That the Gentiles are Eph. iii. 6.—That the Gentiles should
fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the be fellow-heirs, and of the same body,
body, and fellow-partakers of the promise and partakers of his promise in Christ by
in Christ Jesus through the gospel. the gospel.
The rendering in the Rhemes Testament is :-"The Gentils to be coheires, and
concorporat, and comparticipant, of his promise in Christ Jesus by the gospel."
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At the same time, that principle, while sound enough in a
general way, may be carried out too rigidly.
Almost every
word has more meanings or more shades of meaning than one;
and it is reasonable to expect that many words in the original
Scriptures must, in order to be fully and accurately translated,
be differently Engļished in different places. And the revisersi
have paid rather little attention to this fact. There is, for
instance, in the Greek language, a small particle oun, whose
meanings, as given in the Dictionary, are "(1) then, denoting the
mere sequence of one clause upon another; (2) therefore, accord-
ingly, consequently, to denote the consequence of one clause upon
another.” This particle is not invariably, but it is too frequently,
translated therefore by the revisers. In the eighteenth chapter
of St. John's Gospel it occurs at least twenty times. In seven-
teen out of these twenty times it is translated therefore; in two
it is translated so; and once it is rendered then. In many of
the cases where it is rendered therefore there is plainly no con-
sequence or causation intended to be expressed, and the text is
accordingly made by the revisers to read very unnaturally, as
the following passage will shew :-
Verse 23-28. Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the
evil ; but if well, why sinitest thou me? Annas therefore sent him bound unto
Caiaphas, the high-priest. Now Simon l'eter was standing and warming himself.
They said therefore unto him, Art thou also one of his disciples? He denied and
said I am not. One of the servants of the high-priest, being a kinsman of him
whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with him? Peter
therefore denied again ; and straightway the cock crew. They lead Jesus therefore
from Caiaphas into the palace; and it was early.”
1 The following words in the Greek Testament have more meanings than one,
widely apart from each other, and their different meanings are exhibited in the
revised as well as in the authorised version :-Agoraios, of the baser sort (A. V.),
of the rabble (R. V.), Acts xvii. 5; the law (A. V.), the court (R. V.), Acts xix,
38; therapeia, healing, Luke ix. II, household, Luke xii. 42; kosmos, world,
1 Pet. i. 20, adorning, 1 Pet. iii. 3; meros, part, John xiii. 8, Acts xxiii. 6, respect,
Col. ii. 16; coast (A. V.), country (R. V.), Acts xix. 1 ; craft (A. V.), trade
(R. V.), Acts xix, 27.
2 The word oun occurs unemphasised more than 450 times in the Greek Testa-
ment. In 245 places, the King's translators have rendered it therefore ; in 192,
then; in II, so; in 7, now ; and in other places, wherefore, and, but, etc.-
Young's Analytical Concordance.
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Bibles of England.
In the varieties of rendering that appear in the authorised
version of the New Testament, the revisers profess to have
discriminated between those "which were compatible with
fidelity to the true meaning of the text, and those which
involved inconsistency and were suggestive of differences that
had no existence in the Greek.
If the meaning was
fairly expressed by the word or phrase that was before them in
the authorised version they made no change, even where rigid
adherence to the rule of translating, as far as possible, the same
Greek word by the same English word might have prescribed
some modification." There are, therefore, to be found varieties
-of rendering in the revised as well as in the authorised version.
Indeed, there are cases in which the revisers have broken up
the uniformity of rendering which they found in the authorised
version, and, for reasons of their own, have introduced variety.
The words apistia and makarismos, for instance, have in the
authorised version only one rendering respectively, but in the
revised version apistia is in one passage, Heb. iii. 12, translated
unbelief, and in another, Rom. iii. 3, want of faith ; while
makarismos is, in Rom. iv. 9, translated blessing, and in Gal. iv.
15, gratulation. Both in 1 Cor. i. 8, and in 1 Tim. iii. 10, again,
the word anengkleetos is, in the authorised version, translated
blameless, but in the revised version it is in the one verse
rendered blameless and in the other, unreprovable. The word
splanchna is, in like manner, variously rendered by the
revisers, “ bowels, Acts i. 18; "heart," Philemon 12; "com-
passion," i John iii. 17; "affections, 2 Cor. vi. 12 ; “tender
1 For instance, himatismos is translated raiment (Luke ix. 29), vesture (John xix.
24), and apparel (Acts xx. 33); kosmeo, trim (Mat. xxv. 7), garnish (Mat. xxiii.
29), and adorn (1 Tim. ii. 9); misthos, hire (Luke x. 7), wages (John iv. 36), and
reward (Luke vi. 23); synoche, anguish (2 Cor. ii. 4), and distress (Luke xxi. 25);
biblion, scroll (Rev. vi. 14), book (Rev. i. 11), and bill (Mark x. 4); didaskalos,
teacher (John iii. 2), doctor (Luke ii. 46), and master (John i. 38); therapeuo, heal
(Luke iv. 23), and cure (Luke ix. I); kurios, lord (Mat. viii. 8), sir (Mat. xiii. 27),
master (Mat. vi. 24), and owner (Luke xix. 33); parakleesis, comfort (2 Cor. i. 4),
consolation (Acts xv. 31), encouragement (Heb. vi. 18), exhortation (Heb. xii. 5),
entreaty (2 Cor. viii. 4); and prosopon, face (Mat. vi.' 17), countenance (Luke ix.
27), fashion (Jas. i. 11), appearance (2 Cor. v. 12), presence (2 Cor. x. 1), person
(Mat. xxii. 16).
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}
mercies,” Phil. i. 8.1 On the other hand, splanchna is in the
authorised version almost uniformly rendered bowels, and the
changes made on that fleshly rendering by the revisers are as 1
grateful as they are varied. There are other cases in which
the revisers might, with much advantage, have studied a
similar variety of expression. From a mistaken resolution to
translate two different parts of one Greek verb by the same
English word, they have made their rendering of 2 Cor. x, 2,
very feeble and pointless : “I beseech you, that I may not
when present shew courage with the confidence wherewith I
count to be bold against some, which count of us as if we
walked according to the flesh.” The repetition of the word
count, which many people will think not a well-chosen word,
grates on the ear; and in the Greek there is no such grating,
because the two words translated count (logizomai and logizo-
menous), although parts of one verb, have very dissimilar end-
ings. A like remark may be made regarding the revised
version of I Cor. xiii. 8: “Love never faileth : but whether
there be prophecies, they shall be done away: whether there
be tongues, they shall cease : whether there be knowledge, it
shall be done away.”
The authorised translation of this verse,
however, although sonorous enough, is not very felicitous
either; the word fail as applied to prophecy being capable of
a false meaning, and the statement that knowledge shall
vanish being of doubtful truth and orthodoxy. If we wish to
find an admirable rendering of this noble verse we have only
to turn to Mr. Conybeare's translation, where, untrammelled
by the bonds of soulless literalism, the sense and spirit of the
original are exhibited in simple and vigorous English : "Love
shall never pass away : though the gift of prophecy shall
vanish, and the gift of tongues shall cease, and the gift of
knowledge shall come to nought."
In respect of diction, that is wording and phrasing, the revised
1 The word anengkleetos is in one passage (Col. i. 22) of the authorised version
rendered unreprovable ; splanchna is in one passage (2 Cor. vii. 15) rendered
inward affection, and in another (Luke i. 78) tender. In all these cases the
authorised rendering has been retained by the revisers,
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1
version of the New Testament has been subjected to severe
criticism, and certainly there could easily be culled from its
pages a ghastly array of most unfamiliar expressions. The
excessive eagerness of the revisers to bring out the full signifi-
cance of the Greek article has led them to coin phrases, which
plain people may be excused for refusing, notwithstanding
epistles of commendation from learned men, to pass as Queen's
English. One verse that has been much lauded by scholastic
admirers for its precision of statement, but which, from the
frequent iteration of the definite article, strains and perplexes
the untutored intellect of the common reader and throws him
into acrobatic attitudes of imagination which are too much for
him, is Rom. v. 15: “Not as the trespass so also is the free gift.
For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did
the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus
Christ, abound unto the many." A phrase that would need, but
is not likely, to be well bushed is, "the weeping and gnashing
of teeth.” In their zeal, again, to present literally the exact
significance of every tense in the Greek verb, the revisers have
occasionally introduced forms of expression that are little better
than conundrums. We have been accustomed to read in Heb.
xi. 5: "Before his translation he (Enoch) had this testimony
that he pleased God." This plain and easily comprehended
statement has been changed by the revisers into the following
grammatical and historical puzzle: “Before his translation he
hath had witness borne to him that he had been well pleasing
unto God.”? And passing on to changes on single words, it
I “ The difference between the A. V. and the R. V. seems to ourselves," writes
Dean Burgon, “to be simply this, that the renderings in the former are the idiom-
atic English of certain well understood Greek tenses, while the substitutes are
nothing else but the pedantic efforts of mere grammarians to reproduce in another
language idioms which it abhors.”—p. 158.
2 Among other cases of infelicitous expression in the revised New Testament, the
following may be given as specimens :-“Glorify thy Son that the son may glorify
thee; even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that whatsoever thou hast
given him, to them he should give eternal life,” John xvii. 1, 2;
Thy much
learning doth turn thee to madness,” Acts xxvi. 24; “ The mystery which hath
been kept in silence through times eternal,” Rom. xvi. 25; “Being in the form of
God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied himself,"
Phil. ii. 7 ; "Turned about by a very small rudder, whither the impulse of the
steersman willeth,” Jas. iii. 4.
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may be said confidently that few people will think it an
improvement that the revisers have made on the translation of
Mat. xii. 43, by substituting waterless for dry: “The unclean
spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless
places seeking rest, and findeth it not." The bowls of wrath
are not a happy substitute either, Rev. xvi. I, for vials of
wrath ;t and there is nothing gained in accuracy, but a good
deal lost in dignity, by the sụbstitution, Mat. ix. 23, of flute-
players for minstrels. A word that has been much praised as
an improvement on what it has been made to supersede is
“advanced” for profited, in Gal. i. 14. It is far, however, from
being the right word in the right place, for it leaves the reader
doubtful whether St. Paul means to say that he made proficiency
in the knowledge of the Jewish religion, made religious progress
according to Judaistic standards of religion, or gained notoriety
and distinction for his zeal in upholding and defending the
Jewish system of religion. Far more again is lost than gained
by the crude literalism of such expressions, as : "Love our
Lord Jesus Christ in uncorruptness," Eph. vi. 24 ; “God sendeth
them a working of error that they should believe a lie,” 2 Thess.
ii. II; and “Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may runi
and be glorified,” 2 Thess. iii. 1. The adoption of a new Greek
reading in Heb. xii. 7, by the substitution of eis for ei, makes a
verse that was clear and relevant before well nigh incompre-
hensible now: "It is for chastening that ye endure : God
dealeth with you as with sons.” But although these, and
" baskets full” of other similar expressions, may be quoted as
samples of infelicitous rendering by the revisers of the New
Testament, and may be held as going far to shew that the
revised version of the Bible needs to be revised again, the text
of the English Scriptures has still, from a literary point of view,
been very greatly changed for the better by the revisers.
. The word vial or vials appears in the authorised version of the New Testament
only in the Revelation of John, and it is uniformly changed by the revisers into
bowl or bowls. It appears in the authorised version of the Old Testament only
once, 1 Sam. X. 1, and it is there left unchanged by the revisers. The Greek word
for vial in Revelation is phiale, and the Greek word in the Septuagint version of
the Old Testament for vial, 1 Sam. x. I, is phakos.
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Bibles of England.
Clearer, terser, more graphic, and more correct phraseology is
on almost every page substituted for what is found in the
authorised version. “ Lord it over them,” Mark x. 42, is terser
English than exercise lordship over them; "He was minded to
go forth into Galilee," John i. 43, is more explicit than he would
go forth; "When men have drunk freely,” John ii. 1o, is a
better phrase than when men have well drunk ; and less open
to misconstruction, by Scotsmen at least, is the statement, Heb.
xii, 17, “He desired to inherit the blessing," than he would have
inherited the blessing. It accords much more with our notions
of divine majesty, again, that God should be represented, Acts
xvii. 30, as overlooking, than as winking at the times of
ignorance; “Persuasive words of wisdom," I Cor. ii. 4, is a
choicer expression than enticing words of man's wisdom;
" Preached to you the gospel of God for nought," 2 Cor. xi. 7
has not the ambiguity of preached the gospel of God freely;
“Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth, Gal. iii. I,
is a clearer statement than Christ was evidently set forth;
"They that have served well as deacons gain to themselves a
good standing," i Tim. iii. 13, is a better specimen of literary
art than they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase
to themselves a good degree; "We make known to you the
grace of God, 2 Cor. viii. 1, is a more direct and simple form of
writing than we do you to wit of the grace of God; “Not a
hearer that forgetteth, but a doer that worketh," James i. 25, is
in point both of precision and of antithetical force a happier
phrase than the time honoured one, not a forgetful hearer, but
a doer of the work. And scores of other passages might be
adduced in which the revisers have made an equally great
improvement on the diction of the authorised version of the New
Testament. The following cases will serve for illustration :-
1 The revisers, like the King's translators, sometimes use which where modern
writers (Dean Alford excepted) would use who; as in Mat. vi. 9, “Our father,
which art in heaven"; 1 Thess. i. 10, “Even Jesus, which delivereth us
from the wrath to come.” The revisers, also, do not always, any more than
the King's translators, use which and that in the distinctive senses that some
modern grammarians assign to these relative pronouns. In the revised version we
read, “ All they which dwelt in Asia,'' Acts xix. 10 ; “ They are not all Israel
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367
you before.
AUTHORISED VERSION.
REVISED VERSION.
Mat. xxiv. 25.-Behold, I have told Mat. xxiv. 25.-Behold, I have told
you beforehand.
Luke xxiii. 48.--And all the people Luke xxiii. 48.–And all the multi-
that came together to that sight, behold- tudes that came together to this sight,
ing the things which were done, sinote when they beheld the things that were
their breasts, and returned.
done, returned smiting their breasts.
Acts xii. 13.-And as Peter knocked Acts xii. 13.--And when he knocked
at the door of the gate, a damsel came to at the door of the gate, a inaid came to
hearken, named Rhoda.
answer, named Rhoda.
Acts. xix. 7.–And all the men were Acts xix. 7.--And they were in all
about twelve.
about twelve men.
Acts xxiii. 27.-This man was taken Acts xxiii. 27.-This man was seized
of the Jews, and should have been killed by the Jews, and was about to be slain of
of them : Then came I with an army, them, when I came upon them with the
and rescued him, having understood that soldiers, and rescued him, having learned
he was a Ronian.
that he was a Roman.
Acts xxv. 20.-Because I doubted of Acts xxv. 20.—I, being perplexed how
such manner of questions, I asked him to enquire concerning these things, asked
whether he would go to Jerusalem, and whether he would go to Jerusalem, and
there be judged of these matters. there be judged of these matters.
Rom. iii. 3.-For what if some did Rom. iii. 3.-For what if some were
not believe ? shall their unbelief make without faith ? shall their want of faith
the faith of God without effect ?
make of none effect the faithfulness of
God?
Rom. vi. 17.--But God be thanked, Rom. vi. 17.-But thanks be to God,
that ye were the servants of sin ; but ye that whereas ye were servants of sin, ye
have obeyed from the heart that form of became obedient from the heart to that
doctrine which was delivered you. form of teaching whereunto ye were
delivered.
i Cor. vii. 28.-Such (as marry) shall I Cor. vii. 28.--Such (as marry) shall
have trouble in the flesh : but I spare have tribulation in the flesh : and I
you.
would spare you.
1 Cor. ix. 5,--Have we not power to I Cor. ix. 5.-IIave we no right to
lead about a sister a wife as well as lead about a wife that is a believer even
other Apostles ?
as the rest of the apostles ?
I Cor. xii. 27.-Now ye are the body I Cor. xii. 27.–Now ye are the body
of Christ, and members in particular. of Christ, and severally members thereof.
I Cor. xvi. 15.—They have addicted I Cor. xvi. 15.-They have set them-
themselves to the ministry of the saints. selves to minister into the saints.
2 Cor. v. 21.-He hath made him to 2 Cor. v, 21.-Ilim who knew no sin
be sin for us, who knew no sin.
he made to be sin on our behalf.
2 Cor. viii. 20-21.-Avoiding this, 2 Cor. viii. 20-21 -Avoiding this that
that no man should blame us in this any man should blame us in the matter
abundance which is administered by us. of this bounty which is ministered by us ;
Providing for honest things, not only in for we take thought for things honour-
the sight of the Lord, but in the sight of able, not only in the sight of the Lord,
but also in the sight of men.
Col. iv. 3.-Praying also for us, that Col. iv. 3.—Praying for us also, that
God would open unto us a door of utter. God may open unto us a door for the
ance, to speak the mystery of Christ. word, to speak the mystery of Christ.
I Tim. i. 16.--I obtained mercy, that I Tim. i. 16.—I obtained mercy, that
in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth in me as chief might Jesus Christ shew
men.
which are of Israel,” Rom. ix. 6; and “ It is God which worketh in you both to
will and to work, for his good pleasure,” Phil. ii. 13. As a rule, however, the re-
visers correct the improper use of which for that in the authorised version, as in
Luke vi. 27-28, Rom. xii. 14, Rev. xxii. 11, etc., etc.
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all longsuffering for a pattern to them forth all his longsuffering, for an example
that should hereafter believe.
to them which should hereafter believe.
I Tim. vi. 2.-And they that have I Tim. vi. 2.—And they that have
believing masters, let them not despise believing masters, let them not despise
them because they are brethren : but them, because they are brethren : but let
rather do them service because they are them serve them the rather, because they
faithful and beloved.
that partake of the benefit are believing
and beloved.
Titus i. 12.—The Cretians are alway Titus i. 12.--Cretans are alway liars,
liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
evil beasts, idle gluttons.
Heb. ix. 5. Cherubims of glory Heb. ix. 5.-Cherubim of glory over-
shadowing the Mercy-seat.
shadowing the mercy-seat.
Heb. xi. 26.—He had respect unto I Heb. xi. 26.-He looked unto the re-
the recompense of the reward.
compense of reward.
Heb. xiii. 5.-Let your conversation Heb. xiii. 5.—Be ye free from the love
be without covetousness.
of money.
Turning now to the Old Testament, we find that, in deter-
mining the text of this part of the original Scriptures, the
revisers had a comparatively simple task to perform. They
were not embarassed with a multitude of discordant manuscripts.
"The Received, or, as it is commonly called, the Massoretic Text
of the Old Testament Scriptures has come down to us in
manuscripts which are of no very great antiquity, and which
all belong to the same family or recension." And although it
is admitted to be probable that other recensions were at one
time in existence, the revisers considered that “the state of
knowledge on the subject is not at present such as to justify
any attempt at an entire reconstruction of the text.” . . They
accordingly deemed it “most prudent to adopt the Massoretic
Text as the basis of their work, and to depart from it, as the
authorised translators had done, only in exceptional cases.
In some few instances of extreme difficulty, a reading has been
adopted on the authority of the ancient versions, and the de-
parture from the Massoretic Text recorded in the margin. In
other cases, where the versions appeared to supply a very
probable, though not so necessary, a correction of the text, the
text has been left, and the variation indicated in the margin
only."
1 The phrase, he had respect unto, is a phrase that has come from Tyndale, and
has evidently been inspired by the Latin version of Erasmus :-“Respectum enim
habebat remunerationis." In the Vulgate, we read, “aspiciebat enim”; and in
Beza “intuebatur enim."
e Preface.
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369
On the margin of the revised version of the old Testament,
therefore, a number of alternative readings are indicated.
Sometimes, a note states “another reading” (which means
another reading in the Massoretic text) is so and so; at other
times, the note states that "according to some ancient versions,"
(that is according to some other text than the Massoretic) the
passage should read thus and thus. In many cases, where
alternative readings are presented on the margin, the revisers
have adopted the same reading as appears in the authorised
translation. Their version of Deut. xxviii. 22, for instance, is:
“The Lord shall smite thee with consumption
and
with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew.” A mar-
ginal note, however, states that "according to some ancient
versions, drought" should be substituted for sword. If we turn
to the authorised translation we shall find that the reading
adopted there is not the one that the revisers have relegated
to the margin but the one that they have embodied in the text
of Scripture. So also in Josh. vii. 17, Judges viii. 16, 1 Sam.
ii.
3, Psalms ii. 12, Hos. vii. 6. In other cases where alternative
readings are noted in the revised translation, the one that
appears on the margin is the one that is given in the text of
the authorised version. In these cases the revised version
deviates from the authorised, and the deviation is caused not
by a different rendering of the same Hebrew words, but by the
adoption of a different, and presumably more authentic Hebrew
text. As specimens of these textual variations the following
passages may be cited.
.
REVISED VERSION, 1885.
AUTHORISED VERSION. 1611.
Ex. xxxi. 10.—The finely wrought Ex. xxxi. 10.—The cloths of service.
garments.
Lev, x. 6.-Let not the hair of your Lev. x. 6.-_Uncover not your heads,
heads go loose, neither rend your clothes. neither rend your clothes.
Josh. iii. 16. The waters
Josh. iii. 16.—The waters
rose up in one heap, a great way off, at rose up upon an heap very far from the
Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan. city Adam, that is beside Žaretan.
2 Sam. xvi. 10. - What have I to do 2 Sam. xvi. 10.-What have I to do
with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? Because with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him
he curseth and, etc.
curse, etc.
Job. iii. 6.--As for that night
Job. iii. 6.-As for that night
let it not rejoice among the days of the let it not be joined unto the days of the
year.
year.
Ps. c. 3.--It is he that hath made us, Ps. c. 3.-- It is he that hath made us,
and we are his.
and not we ourselves.
.
2 A
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Bibles of England.
Is. ix. 3.—Thou hast multiplied the Is. ix. 3.-Thou hast multiplied the
nation, thou hast increased their joy. nation, and not increased the joy.
Amos iii. 12.-That sit in Samaria in Amos iii. 12.-That dwell in Samaria
the corner of a couch, and on the silken in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus
cushions of a bed.
in a couch.
Amos v. 26.--Ye have borne Siccuth Amos v. 26.-Ye have borne the
your king, and Chiun your images. tabernacle of your Moloch, and Chiun
your images.
Micah i. 10,-At Beth-le-Aphrah have Micah i. 10.-In the house of Aphrah
I rolled myself in the dust.
roll thyself in the dust.
We have seen that in a large number of cases in which the
revisers have departed from the text believed to underlie the
authorised version of the New Testament they have adopted
readings that Catholics have all along maintained to be the
true letter of Scripture. It is not a little strange, therefore,
that out of all the foregoing passages from the Old Testament,
there is not one in which the new readings adopted by the
revisers correspond with the text of either the Vulgate (Clemen-
tine) or Douay Bible.
In respect of its renderings, the revised version of the Old
Testament has provoked very little hostile criticism. The
revisers have, in the Old Testament, been content to adhere
to the established forms of speech. Some of their renderings,
however, will scarcely commend themselves to English readers.
One verse, for instance, to which they have given a singularly
feeble ending is Jonah iv. 6: "The Lord God prepared a
gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a
shadow over his head, to deliver him from his evil case." A
well-known verse, again, that they have robbed of soul, if not
of sense, is Jer. xvii. 9: “The heart is deceitful above all
things, and it is desperately sick : who can know it?" For the
clear, simple statement attributed to the perverse man, Deut.
xxix. 19, "I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagina-
tion of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst,” they have
substituted the dark saying: “I shall have peace, though I
walk in the stubbornness of mine heart, to destroy the moist
with the dry." The fine religious phrase, “vexation of spirit,”
they have, from some scruple of scholastic conscience, perverted
into "striving after wind." But for every instance in which
the revisers have enfeebled or impaired, there are ten and
more than ten instances in which they have strengthened and
The Inter-National Bible.
371
improved the English of the Old Testament. A very inconse-
quent statement in the authorised version is : " Though thy
people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them
shall return," Is. X. 22. This reads like a declaration of mercy
and not of judgment. But by the substitution of only for yet,
the revisers have thrown on this prophetic utterance a new
light, and its meaning is now quite apparent to the most
cursory reader : “Though thy people Israel be as the sand of
the sea, only a remnant of them shall return : a consumption is
determined, overflowing with righteousness." Another sen-
tence in the old version that may well perplex plain people is
Is. xvi. 6: “We have heard of the pride of Moab : he is very
proud : even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath :
but his lies shall not be so." For the words italicised the
revisers substitute "his boastings are nought," and by this
change they divest the passage of all obscurity." One yerse
that has a new antithetical force imparted to it by the revisers
is Hos. xii. 3: “In the womb he took his brother by the heel :
and in his manhood he had power with God." And many are
the verses that in the authorised translation are clear and ex-
plicit enough, but are made in the revision to read more
smoothly or more forcibly by a slight transposition or inversion
of words, as Prov. viii. 2: "In the top of high places by the
way, where the paths meet, she standeth"; Is. ix. 4. ; "For the
yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his
oppressor, thou hast broken."
To show as briefly as possible, however, what amendments
1
I To make language so plain that it cannot be misunderstood is impossible. A
countryman (five and thirty years ago) once confessed to me that he was sorely
exercised over Job ix. 25, “ My days are swifter than a post." A post, he said,
has neither swiftness nor motion. It is a thing that stands still for people to hang
gates on, or tie horses to! Another countryman confessed to me that he was as
sorely exercised over Ps. cvii. 23, “They that go down to the sea in ships.”
People, he said, go down to the sea in carts, and go into ships when they come to
the sea ! On asking a class of grown-up lads in a small landward parish the
meaning of the word “ trance” in Acts x. 10, “Peter went up upon the housetop to
pray,
and he fell into a trance,” I was told it was a "passage” or
“lobby”! and at this answer no one present evinced the slightest sign of either
amazement or amusement.
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Bibles of England.
have been made by the revisers on the diction of the English
version of the Old Testament, a few selected verses from the
authorised and revised translations respectively may, without
comment, be submitted for comparison in parallel columns :
AUTHORISED VERSION.
REVISED VERSION.
Job xv. 29.—He shall not be rich, Job xv. 29.--He shall not be rich,
neither shall his substance continue, neither shall his substance continue,
neither shall he prolong the perfection neither shall their produce bend to the
thereof upon the earth.
earth.
Ps. xvi. 2.- Thou art my Lord; my Ps. xvi. 2.-Thou art my Lord : I
goodness extendeth not to thee ; but to the have no good beyond thee. As for the
saints that are in the earth, and to the saints that are in the earth, they are the
excellent, in whom is all my delight. excellent, in whom is all my delight.
Ps. xlv. 13.-The King's daughter is Ps. xlv. 13.---The King's daughter
all glorious within.
within the palace is all glorious.
Ps. lxxxviii. 5.-Free among the dead, Ps. lxxxviii. 5.—Cast of among the
like the slain that lie in the grave, whom dead, like the slain that lie in the grave,
thou rememberest no more.
whom thou rememberest no more.
Ps. cxxxvii. 7.--Remember, O Lord, Ps. cxxxvii. 7.--Remember, O Lord,
the children of Edom in the day of Jeru- against the children of Edom the day of
salem.
Jerusalem.
Ps. cxli. 5.--Let the righteous smite Ps. cxli. 5.-Let the righteous smite
me : it shall be a kindness; and let him me, it shall be a kindness; and let him
reprove me: it shall be an excellent oil reprove me, it shall be as oil upon the
which shall not break iny head.
head: let not my head refuse it.
Prov. viii. 26.—While as yet he had Prov. viii. 26.-While as yet he had
not made the earth, nor the fields, nor not made the earth, nor the fields, nor
the highest part of the dust of the world. the beginning of the dust of the world.
Prov. xiii. 23.--Much food is in the Prov. xiii. 23.--Much food is in the
tillage of the poor; but there is that is tillage of the poor ; but there is that is
destroyed for want of judgment.
destroyed by reason of injustice.
Prov. xix. 14.-House and riches are Prov. xix. 14.—House and riches are
the inheritance of fathers : and a prudent an inheritance from fathers, but a pru-
wife is from the Lord.
dent wife is from the Lord.
Eccles. viii. 8. Neither hath he Eccles. viii. 8. Neither hath he
power in the day of death.
power over the day of death.
Eccles. xi. 5. -As thou knowest not Eccles. xi. 5.-As thou knowest not
what is the way of the spirit,
what is the way of the wind,
even so thou knowest not.
even so thou knowest not.
Is. ix. 1. Nevertheless the dimness Is. ix. 1.--But there shall be no gloom
shall not be such as was in her vexation, to her that was in anguish.
In the
when at the first he lightly afflicted the former time he brought into contempt
land of Zebulun, and the land of the land of Zebulun and the land of
Napthali, and afterwards did more Napthali, but in the latter time hath he
grievously afflict her by the way of the made it glorious, by the way of the sea,
sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
nations.
Is. xxix. 16.-Surely your turning of Is. xxix. 16.--Ye turn things upside
things upside down shall be esteemed as down! Shall the potter be counted as
the potter's clay ; for shall the work say clay ; that the thing made should say of
of him that made it, He made me not. him that made it, He made me not.
Is. lvii. 2.—They shall rest in their Is. lvii. 2.-They rest in their beds,
beds, each one walking in his uprightness. each one that walketh in his uprightness.
Is. Ixv. 11.-But ye are they that for. Is. Ixv. II.-But ye that forsake the
sake the Lord, that forget my holy Lord, that forget my holy mountain,
mountain, that prepare a table for that that prepare a table for Fortune, and
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373
troop, and that furnish the drink offering that fill up mingled wine unto Destiny.
unto that number.
Jer. xxxi. 35.-Which divideth the sea Jer. xxxi. 35.-Which stirreth up the
when the waves thereof roar.
sea, that the waves thereof roar.
Jer. xlvi. 7.—Who is this that cometh Jer. xlvi. 7.—Who is this that riseth
up as a flood, whose waters are moved as up like the Nile, whose waters toss then-
the rivers ?
selves like the rivers ?
Jer. xlviii. 12. Behold, the days Jer. xlviii. 12. Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that Í will send come, saith the Lord, that I will send
unto him wanderers, that shall cause him unto him them that pour off, and they
to wander, and shall empty his vessels, shall empty his vessels, and break their
and break their bottles.
bottles in pieces.
Jer. xlviii. 27.-Was not Israel a de- Jer. xlviii. 27.-Was not Israel a de-
rision unto thee? was he found among rision unto thee ? was he found among
thieves ? for since thou speakest of him, thieves ? for as often as thou speakest of
thou skippedst for joy.
him, thou waggest the head.
Ezek. vii. 7.—The morning is come Ezek. vii. 7.-Thy doom is come unto
unto thee, Othou that dwellest in the thee, Oh inhabitant of the land ; the
land : the time is come, the day of time is come, the day is near; a day of
trouble is near, and not the sounding tumult and not of joyful shouting upon
again of the mountains.
the mountains.
Micah ii. II.-If a man walking in Micah ii. 11.-If a man walking in
the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I wind and falsehood, do lie, saying, I
will prophesy to thee of wine and of will prophesy unto thee of wine and of
strong drink.
strong drink.
Zeph. iii. 3.-Her princes within her Zeph. iii. 3.--Her princes in the
are roaring lions ; her judges are evening midst of her are roaring lions ; her
wolves ; they gnaw not the bones till the judges are evening wolves ; they leave
nothing till the morrow.
Dan. viii. 17.-At the time of the end Dan. viii. 17.—The vision belongeth to
shall be the vision.
the time of the end.
Dan. viii. 25.-He shall magnify him- Dan. viii. 25.—He shall magnify him-
self in his heart, and by peace shall des- self in his heart, and in their security
troy many.
shall he destroy many.
nior row.
Out of the dissimilar English readings in the authorised and
revised versions of the Old Testament an interesting chapter of
curious information might be compiled. In some cases the
readings in the two versions are as nearly as possible the oppo-
site of each other. In the one version we read, Prov. XXV. 23,
that "the north wind driveth away rain," and in the other that
“the north wind bringeth forth rain." In the one version we
are told, Ex. xxxiv. 33, that Moses put a veil on his face" till
he had done speaking with the Israelites," in the other that he
put on the veil “when he had done speaking.” In the one
version the prophet is represented as saying, Hos. viii. 5, “Thy
calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off," in the other, "He hath cast
1 The term “ readings" is here used to signify the English words found in the
two translations, whether the difference of wording in the two versions arises from
the adoption of a different Hebrew text, or from a different rendering of the same
Hebrew text.
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Bibles of England.
off thy calf, O Samaria." The blessing pronounced on Reuben
in the one version, Deut. xxxiii. 6,“ Let Reuben live and not
die ; and let not his men be few," is in the other version so
minimised as to look like an imprecation rather than a benedic-
tion, "Let Reuben live and not die ; yet let his men be few.”
The "handful of corn" on the top of the mountains that in the
one version is predicted, Ps. lxxii. 16, for Israel during the be-
nignant reign of Solomon, is in the other version magnified into
“abundance of corn, the fruit whereof shall shake like Lebanon."
Of Immanuel the child of hope, it is said in the one version, Is.
vii. 15, “Butter and honey shall he eat that he may know to re-
fuse the evil and choose the good." The enigma of this state-
ment is in the other version removed by converting the words
" that he may know” into "when he knoweth.” Of the man,
again, that has begotten an hundred children and seen many
days on earth it is in the one version said sorrowfully, Eccles.
vi. 4, that "an untimely birth is better than he ; for he cometh
in with vanity and departeth in darkness, and his name shall
be covered with darkness." In the other version it is not the
rich and prosperous man but the untimely birth that is declared
to be the subject of this oblivion. “It cometh in with vanity
and departeth in darkness.
moreover it hath not seen
nor known the sun." I
In order to give complete expression to their renderings, the
King's translators introduced into their version of the Bible
many English words for which there are no counter-parts in
the original. And, that no misapprehension might arise from
this paraphrastic mode of translation, the added words were
printed in italic characters. In the revised version also, there
are interpolated words printed in a similarly distinctive manner.
i The following may be cited as curious readings in the revised version of the
Old Testament :-"And he (Ishmael) shall be as a wild ass among men,” Gen.
xvi. 12; “ Abraham said unto his servant, the elder of his house, that ruled over
all that he had, etc.," Gen. xxiv. 2 ; " I asked her and said, Whose daughter art
thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel : and I put the ring upon her nose,"
Gen. xxiv. 47. A phrase that is shewn by the revisers to be of far greater antiquity
than many people suppose, is “ worth one's salt.” The authorised rendering of
Ezra iv. 14, “We have maintenance from the king's palace,” is changed on princi-
ples of literalism into, “We eat the salt of the palace.
The Inter-National Bible.
375
But by
It is clear, however, that by interpolations of this kind the
Scriptures might be twisted ever so far from their true mean-
ings. In the new version of the nineteenth Psalm, for instance,
it is said of the heavens which declare the glory of God, and of
the, firmament which showeth his handiwork : “There is no
speech nor language ; their voice cannot be heard.”
inserting the word where, the King's translators have in the old
version given a very different representation of the Psalmist's
statement. Instead of making the Psalmist describe the hosts
of heaven as dumb and voiceless, they make him say: "There
is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” In
the following verses will be found other instances in which the
meaning of Old Testament Scripture has been affected by
interpolations."
AUTHORISED VERSION.
REVISED VERSION.
Ps. xxxvii. 8.-Fret not thyself in any Ps. xxxvii. 8.--Fret not thyself, it
wise to do evil.
tendeth only to evil doing.
Ps. lx. 9-10,-
Who will lead me into Ps. lx. 9-10.-Who hath led me unto
Edom? Wilt not thou, O God, which Edom? Hast not thou, O God, cast us
hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, off? and thou goest not forth, O God,
which didst not go out with our armies ? with our hosts.
Job. xi. 20.-Their hope shall be as Job. xi. 20.—Their hope shall be the
the giving up of the ghost.
giving up of the ghost.
2 Sam. i. 18.-He bade them teach 2 San. i. 18. He bade them teach
the children of Judah the use of the the children of Judah the song of the
bow. 2
bow.
It is astonishing to find how much the revisers have changed
the meaning of some verses, by the alteration of a single word,
sometimes an apparently unimportant word. The following
passages will speak for themselves, the distinctive words being
1 In the New Testament, also, the meaning of some passages has been affected
by the revisers' interpolations. A new light, for instance, is thrown on Mark
vii. 19, by the interpolation of the words “this he said.”
AUTHORISED VERSION.
REVISED VERSION.
Mark vii. 18-19.-Whatsoever thing Mark vii. 18-19.-Whatsoever from
from without entereth into the man, it without goeth into the man, it cannot
cannot defile him, because it entereth defile him : because it goeth not into his
not into his heart, but into the belly, heart, but into his belly, and goeth out
and goeth out into the draught, purging into the draught. This he said, making
all meats.
all meats clean.
2 Two passages previously quoted, namely, Is. x. 22, and Is. xvi. 6, are also cases
in point.
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Bibles of England.
italicised, and all other words, whether interpolated or not, being
printed in common type.
AUTHORISED VERSION.
REVISED VERSION.
Ps. xvi. II.-At thy right hand there Ps. xvi. II.-In thy right hand there
are pleasures for evermore.
are pleasures for evermore.
Ps. xxvii. 3. —Though war should rise Ps. xxvii. 3.-—Though war should rise
against me, in this will I be confident. against me, even then will I be confident.
Ps. Ixix. 5.-- When the iniquity of my Ps. xlix. 5.- When iniquity at my
heels shall compass me about.
heels compasseth me about.
Ps. li. 12.-Uphold me with thy free Ps. li. 12.–Uphold me with a free
spirit.
spirit.
Ps. lx. 2.-
Thou hast made the earth Ps. lx. 2.—Thou hast made the land
to tremble.
to tremble.
Ps. lxxiii. 8.9.---They speak loftily. Ps. lxxiii. 8-9.—They speak loftily.
They set their mouth against the They have set their mouth in the
heavens; and their tongue walketh heavens, and their tongue walketh
through the earth.
through the earth.
Ps. lxxvi. 4.-Thou art more glorious Ps. lxxvi. 4.-Glorious art thou and
and excellent than the mountains of excellent from the mountains of prey.
prey.
Ps. lxxxvii. 4.- I will make mention of Ps. lxxxvii. 4.-I will make mention
Rahab and Babylon to them that know of Rahab and Babylon as among them
that know me.
me.
In a very considerable number of instances, the revisers have
inverted the authorised renderings, so as to make the predicate
of a sentence the subject, and the subject the predicate. This
is particularly noticeable in the book of Proverbs, as will appear
from the following examples :-
AUTHORISED VERSION.
REVISED VERSION.
Prov. xi. 12.-He that is void of wis- Prov. xi. 12.—He that despiseth his
dom despiseth his neighbour.
neighbour is void of wisdom.
Prov. xi. 30.—He that winneth souls Prov. xi. 30.—He that is wise winneth
is wise.
souls.
Prov. xii. 27.--The substance of a Prov. xii. 27.— The precious substance
diligent man is precious.
of men is to the diligent.
Prov. xiv. 31.– He that honoureth his Prov. xiv. 31.-He that hath mercy on
Maker hath mercy on the poor.
the needy honoureth his Maker.
Prov. xvii. 27. —He that hath know- Prov. xvii. 27.—He that spareth his
ledge spareth his words, and a man of words hath knowledge, and he that is of
understanding is of an excellent spirit. a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
The most remarkable thing however, about some of the re-
vised readings is that they have no apparent point of either
resemblance or contrast to those they have superseded. They
have seemingly no more in common with the authorised read-
ings than the clusters of Eshcol had with the sword of Gideon.
: For instance, the nation described in the authorised version, Is.
xviii. 2, as "scattered and peeled,” is, by the revisers, renovated
The Inter-National Bible.
377 .
into "tall and smooth"; the man that by the King's translators,
was designated "a quiet prince,” Jer. li. 59, is transformed into
“chief chamberlain" or "quarter-master"; and those of the
uncircumcision formerly particularised, Jer. ix. 26, as inhabiting
the utmost corners,”: are now specified as the men of peculiar
customs, who "have the corners of their hair polled.” To the
delectation doubtless of modern Rechabites, “flagons of wine"
have several times over been changed into “cakes of raisins";
and these innocent materials of refection are set forth, Is. xvi.
7, as what were anciently reckoned the “foundations" of Kir-
hareseth. In like manner, “linen yarn” is commuted, 1 Kings
x. 28, into “droves of horses"; "mules" are metamorphosed,
Gen. xxxvi. 24, into "hot springs”; “ musical instruments”
are abandoned, Eccles. ii. 8, for “concubines"; and “the pen
of the writer” is exchanged, Judges v. 14, for “the marshall's
staff.” Among other substitutions, too, may be mentioned
"sheep-folds” for “two burdens," Gen. xlix. 14; "seamew" for
cuckoo,” Lev. xi. 16; "submit themselves” for “ be found
liars,” Deut. xxxiii. 29;2 “ porcupine” for “bittern,” Is. xiv. 23;
"them that are lusty” for “desolate places,” Is. lix. 10; "en-
largest thine eyes” for “rentest thy face,” Jer. iv. 30 ; “ break
bread” for “tear themselves,” Jer. xvi. 7; “ desolations " for
“Sabbaths,” Lam. i. 7 ; " eminency among them” for “wailing
for them,” Ez. vii. 11 ; “spears” for “fir-trees,” Nahum ii. 3 ;
pledges” for “thick clay," Hab. ii. 6; and “mantles” for
" hats,” Dan. iii. 21.
Not a few notable words and phrases in the authorised
version, too, have been excluded from the revised. Conspicuous
among these are some terms that were regarded as designa-
tions of Christ. The proclamation, “I will raise up for them a
I The revised renderings of Jer. ix. 26, and Jer. li. 59, are given as alternative
renderings on the margin of the authorised version.
2 The zoological nomenclature in the authorised version has undergone much
change in the recent revision. One verse will suffice for an example :
AUTHORISED VERSION.
REVISED VERSION.
Lev. xi. 30.-And the ferret and the Lev. xi. 30.-And the gecko, and the
chameleon, and the lizard and the snail land-crocodile, and the lizard, and the
and the mole,
sand-lizard, and the chameleon.
378
Bibles of England.
plant of renown," Ez. xxxiv. 29, is changed into, “I will raise
up unto them a plantation for renown"; the word “Messiah,"
Dan. ix. 25, is turned into “the anointed one"; and the ex-
pression “ desire of all nations," Hag. ii. 7, is transmuted into
“the desirable things of all nations." In these changes, how-
ever, there is nothing to cause uneasiness, as if modern scholar-
ship were abstracting from holy Scripture its true spiritual
meaning. There was a tendency in divines of the old school
to strain the language of the Bible, and to bring out Messianic
references where none really existed.2
Many passages, also, are made to read differently in the old and
new versions according as certain words in the original text
have been considered common or proper nouns.
The follow-
ing will serve as instances :
AUTHORISED VERSION,
REVISED VERSION.
Gen, xxxiii. 18.–And Jacob came to Gen. xxxiii. 18.-And Jacob came
Shalem, a city of Shechem.
in peace to the city of Shechem.
Deut. ii. 23.—The Avims which dwelt Deut. ii. 23.—The Avvim which dwelt
in Hazerim even unto Azzah.
in villages as far as Gaza.
Judges viii. 13.-Gideon returned from
Judges viii. 13.-Gideon returned from
battle before the sun was up.
the battle from the ascent of Heres.
i Kings v. 18.--Hiram's builders did I Kings v. 18.-Hiram's builders and
hew them, and the stone squarers.
the Gebalites did fashion them.
Is. xv, 5.--My heart shall cry out for Is. xv. 5.—My heart crieth out for
Moab: his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, Moab : her nobles flee unto Zoar, to
an heifer of three years old.
Eglath-shelishiyah.
Is. xxiii. II.-The Lord hath given a Is. xxiii. 11.-The Lord hath given
commandment against the merchant city, commandment concerning Canaan, to
to destroy the strongholds thereof. destroy the strongholds thereof.
Is. xxx. 7.—For the Egyptians shall Is. xxx. 7.-For Egypt helpeth in
help in vain, and to no purpose : there. vain and to no purpose; therefore have
fore have I cried concerning this. Their I called her Rahab, that sitteth still.
strength is to sit still.
Ter. li. 1.—Behold, I will raise up Jer. li. 1.-Behold, I will raise up
against Babylon, and against them that against Babylon, and against them that
dwell in the midst of them that rise up dwell in Leb-kamai a destroying wind.
against me, a destroying wind.
2 For instance, Jer. xi. 19 is in the revised (and, barring a slight variation, in the
authorised) version rendered :-“I was like a gentle lamb that is led to the
slaughter, and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, let us
destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the
living that his name be no more remembered." These words are by all Protestants
considered as referring to the prophet himself. But Catholics contend that they
are spoken of Jesus, and in Catholic Bibles the passage italicised above is made to
read, “Let us cast wood on his bread,” which by St. Jerome is fancifully inter-
preted to mean, let us cast the cross on the body of our Saviour.--See Fulke's
Defence, etc., chap. xvii. sec. 18.
The Inter-National Bible.
379
Ezek. xxvii. 6.-The company of the Ezek. xxvii. 6.--They have made thy
Ashurites have made thy benches of benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood, from
ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim. . the isles of Kittim.
Zech. vii. 2.- When they had sent Zech."vii. 2.--Now they of Bethel had
unto the house of God Sherezer and sent Sherezer and Regem-melech, and
Regem-melech, and their men, to pray their men, to entreat the favour of the
before the Lord.
Lord.
By a change of spelling, too, the revisers have, in some
instances, thrown light on the meaning of a verse in which a
proper name occurs. In the authorised translation, Joshua, the
servant of Moses, is referred to in Acts vii. 45 and Heb. iv. 8,
under the name of Jesus; and the English reader who does not
happen to have a Bible with marginal notes, or does not consult
the marginal notes, is very apt to imagine that the person there
called Jesus is the Saviour of sinners, who died on the cross.
By printing the name Joshua, the revisers have removed this
source of misapprehension ; and it is interesting to note that in
this orthographic change they have simply reverted to the old
spelling of the word, as given in Tyndale's Testament.
As further specimens of dissimilar English readings in the
authorised and revised translations of the Old Testament, the
following verses may be adduced :
AUTHORISED VERSION.
REVISED VERSION.
Job v. 24.—Thou shalt visit thy Job. v. 24.--Thou shalt visit thy fold,
habitation, and shalt not sin.
and shalt miss nothing.
Job xi. 6.—That he would shew thee Job. xi. 6.- That he would shew thee
the secrets of wisdom, that they are the secrets of wisdom, that it is manifold
double to that which is.
in effectual working.
Job xvii. 6.-Aforetime I was as a Job. xvii. 6.-I am become an open
tabret.
abhorring
Ps. X. 4.-God is not in all his Ps. x. 4.-All his thoughts are.
thoughts.
There is no God.
Ps. lxviii. 4.-Extol him that rideth Ps. Ixviii. 4.—Cast up a highway for
upon the heavens, by his name Jah. him that rideth through the deserts ; his
name is Jah.
Ps. lxviii. 19.-Blessed be the Lord, Ps. lxviii. 19.--Blessed be the Lord,
who daily loadeth us with benefits. who daily beareth our burden.
Prov. V. 16.—Let thy fountains be Prov. v. 16.-Should thy springs be
dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in dispersed abroad, and rivers of water in
the streets.
the streets ?
Prov. xviii. 24.-A man that hath Prov. xviii. 24.--He that maketh
friends must shew himself friendly. many friends doeth it to his own des-
truction.
Eccles. x. II.-Surely the serpent will Eccles. X. 11.-If the serpent bite
bite without enchantment, and a babbler before it be charmed, then there is no
is no better.
advantage in the charmer.
Is. xix. 10.–And they shall be broken Is. xix. 10.—And her pillars shall be
in the purposes thereof, all that make broken in pieces, all they that work for
sluices and ponds for fish..
hire shall be grieved in soul.
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Bibles of England.
Is. xxvii. 8.—He stayeth his rough Is. xxvii. 8.-He hath removed her
wind in the day of the east wind. with his rough blast in the day of the
east wind.
Is. lix. 19.—When the enemy shall Is. lix. 19.-For he shall come as a
come in like a flood, the Spirit of the rushing stream, which the breath of the
Lord shall lift up a standard against Lord driveth.
him.
Jer. vi. 2.-I have likened the daugh- Jer. vi. 2.—The comely and delicate
ter of Zion to a comely and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, will I cut off.
woman.
Jer. xviii. 14.--Will a man leave the Jer. xviii. 14.-Shall the snow of
snow of Lebanon, which cometh from Lebanon fail from the rock of the field ?
the rock of the field ?
Ezek. xi. 3.-Which say, It is not Ezek. xi. 3.—Which say, The time is
near : let us build houses.
not near to build houses.
Hos. xiii. 9. - Israel, thou hast de- Hos. xiii. 9.--It is thy destruction, O
stroyed thyself, but in me is thine help. Israel, that thou art against me, against
thy help.
Hab. ii. 5.-Yea, also, because he Hab. ii. 5.--Yea, moreover, wine is
transgresseth by wine, he is a proud a treacherous dealer, a haughty man,
man, neither keepeth at home, who en- and that keepeth not at home : who en-
largeth his desire as hell, and is as death largeth his desire as hell, and he is as
and cannot be satisfied.
death, and cannot be satisfied.
Mal. i. 10.-Who is there even among Mal. i. 10.-Oh that there were one
you that would shut the doors for among you that would shut the doors,
nought? neither do you kindle fire on that ye might not kindle fire on mine
mine altar for nought.
altar in vain.
One of the rules laid down to the revisers was to introduce
into the new version of the Bible" as few alterations as possible,
consistent with faithfulness." The revisers admit that, in the
application of this conservative principle to the numerous and
intricate details of their work, they found themselves “con-
strained by faithfulness to introduce changes which might not
at first sight appear to be included under the rule.” There
are, for instance, many words in the authorised version that are
either never used in modern English, or are used in a sense
widely different from what they were by the King's translators
two hundred and eighty years ago. The revisers had to con-
sider what should be done with these words, whether they
should be retained or changed. The result is that some of
them have been changed, and others have been kept as they
were. “We have never,” say the revisers of the New Testament,
"removed any archaisms, whether in structure or in words,
except where we were persuaded either that the meaning of the
words was not generally understood, or that the nature of the
expression led to some misconception of the true sense of the
passage.” The revisers of the Old Testament make a similar
The Inter-National Bible.
381
declaration in their preface. Unless words were both unin-
telligible and obsolete they have been retained, but when they
were both obsolete and unintelligible they have been changed.
The word "earing,” in the phrase "earing and harvest,” has been
changed into its equivalent, ploughing ; because, not only was
the true meaning of earing unknown to most readers, but a
positively erroneous meaning was generally attached to the
word. On the other hand, the term "bolled," applied to flax
when in pod, has been retained, Ex. ix. 31 ; because, although
obsolete, it is not associated with a wrong meaning. The
consequence is that, in the revised version of the Bible, there
are to be found a great many archaic words, which some people
may possibly consider should have been displaced by words
that are less antiquated. In the Old Testament we still find
ark for basket; bravery for beauty ; chargers for platters;
chapmen for traders ; clouted for patched ; cunning for skill;
desired for regretted ; dukes for chiefs; eminent for projecting ;
fats for vats; fine for refine ; fray for frighten; imperfect for
unformed; mount for mound; neesings for sneezings; occurrent
for opponent; peculiar for own; prevent for anticipate ; several
house for separate house; seethe for boil ; sith for since ;
stomacher for robe; tabering for beating ; withs for twigs, etc.,
etc. In the New Testament, we find fulfilled for “made full
(John iii. 29); hale for drag : honestly for honourably, and also
for becomingly; instant for urgent; listed for desired; mortify
for put to death; perfected for ended; reprobate for cannot
stand the test; wot and wist for know and knew. It is a
matter of opinion whether all or any of these old fashioned
words should have been extruded by more modern terms.
The line must be drawn somewhere ; and very few of those
who think that the diction of the Bible might have been more
modernised by the revisers, will go the length of approving the
transatlantic suggestion that the "ladder” of Jacob's dream
should be changed into “staircase." But whether the revisers
---
1 Besides these, the most of the words given in last chapter, pages 319-20, as
specimens of words used in an archaic or peculiar sense in the authorised version of
the Bible have been retained by the revisers of 1881 and 1885.
382
Bibles of England.
have, or have not, gone as far as they might in purifying the
diction of the Bible, it must be conceded that they have gone.
a considerable length. The curse on Cain no longer reads "a
fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be,” but “a fugitive and a
wanderer.” The reproach of Asher is no longer that he "con-
tinued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches," when the
trumpet sounded to battle, but that "he sat still at the haven
of the sea, and abode in his creeks." In the New Testament,
too, there are many passages that the revisers have made much
plainer to the English reader, by the removal of words that
had grown out of their original meaning. Very hazy must
have been the notion in some minds of what was meant by
the exhortation, Luke xiv. 8, “when thou art bidden of any
man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room." The
revisers have made the exhortation plain, by modernising the
expression “highest room" into chief seat. . It may be
questioned, again, if in these latter days many people have
been able, unaided, to find out what is meant by the statement,
Gal. iv. 17: “They zealously affect you, but not well : yea they
would exclude you, that you might affect them.” But no one
needs to ask the meaning of the revisers' rendering of the
verse : “ They zealously seek you in no good way: nay, they
desire to shut you out, that ye may seek them.” Even in
passages that did not require explanation or clearing, the
revisers have greatly improved the text of the English Testa-
ment by removing uncouth and archaic words, and setting in
their place simple terms in current use. In the story of the
woman who touched the garment of Jesus, it is said in the
authorised version, Mark v. 30, that Jesus, “knowing in himself
that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press,
and said, who touched my clothes ?" Possibly no reader mis-
apprehends this statement, but every one will, nevertheless,
admit that the revisers have made it more explicit by changing
the words virtue and press into power and crowd.
1 An archaic phrase in the Old Testament, which has been modernised by the
revisers, is :-" They should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was
wont to be heated,” Daniel iii. 19. Another archaic phrase in the authorised ver-
The Inter-National Bible.
383
It may now be asked what good, if any, has been got from
the recent revision of the English version of the Bible. Much
good has doubtless been got, and in more ways than one. For
twenty years before the issue of the revised version of the New
Testament, people had been hearing so much said about the
wrong readings and the wrong renderings in the authorised
translation of the Scriptures that many persons were wondering
if the true Bible was altogether different from the book hitherto
received in this country under that designation. The alleged
wrong readings and wrong renderings have now been subjected
to careful scrutiny, and been by a large body of competent
scholars rectified, where correction was needed; and as the
result of this scrutiny and rectification we have now a Bible
that in every point of practical significance is the same as we
had before. Suspicions have thus been laid to rest. And
besides allaying suspicions the revisers have supplied us with a
noble work. Their emendations, although for the most part
minute, are numerous, and they have done much to elucidate
the Scriptures to English readers. But to say that the revision
is perfect would be to say of it what cannot be said of any
work that the head and hand of man ever executed. Like all
previous versions of the Bible in English, it has faults of both
omission and commission, and it is not unlikely that many
persons are alive to-day that shall live to see the issue of
another and still better revision of the “dearworth" book.
sion of the Old Testament, which has been retained in the revised, is :-“They
made ready the present against Joseph came at noon," Gen. xliii. 25. Of archaic
phrases in the New Testament which have been modernised by the revisers may be
mentioned, “ About an eight days after these sayings,” Luke ix. 28, and "by and
by” in the sense of immediately or at once, as in Mark vi. 25, Luke xvii. 7, etc.
1 How much some persons endeavour to make of small matters may be inferred
from the following remarks by Dean Burgon. 'We entirely miss (in the revised
version of the Testament) many a solemn utterance of the Spirit, as when we are
assured that verses 44 and 46 of Mark ix. are omitted by the best authorities," p.
510. The two verses here referred to are :-“Where their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched," and they are the same as verse 48, which is retained in
the revised as well as in the authorised version.
APPENDIX.
A
EARLY SCOTTISH RENDERINGS OF SCRIPTURE.
In the month of March, 1542 (1543 modern reckoning) an Act was
passed by the Parliament of Scotland declaring it “lefull to all our
souirane ladyis lieges to haif the haly write, baith the new testament
and the auld, in the vulgar toung, in Inglis or Scottis of ane gude and
trew translation, and (that) thei sall incur na crimes for the hesing or
reding of the samin, providing alwayis that na man despute or hald
oppinzeones under the panis contenit in the Act of parliament.”
Dr. Eadie says that by the word “Scottis” in this Act is meant
Gaelic. Before accepting that opinion we would need to see evidence
in support of it. In the sixteenth century Gaelic was in Scotland
called Irish. In 1595 a preacher was presented to the parish of
Callander, but found himself “not meet for that congregation in
respect he wants the Irish language"; and in 1598 another presented
to the same parish was found by the Presbytery unfit for the charge
“ in respect he knaws not the Irish language quhilk is maist commonlie
usit be the saids parochiners” (Scott's Fasti). On the other hand
Scottis was the term applied in the sixteenth century to the dialect
of English that was then spoken in Scotland. In a letter addressed
to John Knox, on the 27th October, 1563, Ninian Winzet says :-
“Gif ye, throu curiositie of nouationis, hes forzet our auld plane
22
I
“Among the means used for the reformation of the Highlands, it is proper to
mention the translation of Knox's Liturgy into Gaelic, by John Carswell, Superin-
tendent of the West, and Bishop of the Isles, printed at Edinburgh, in 1567. .
I have little doubt that the Highlanders had the Psalms in their own language
during the Sixteenth Century. A Gaelic translation of the first fifty Psalms was
published by the Synod of Argyll in the year 1650, most probably made from the
newly authorised version in English.”—M'Crie's Life of Melville (sec. edition) ii.
P. 91.92, note.
2 B
386
Appendix.
Scottis quhilk your mother lerit you, in tymes cuming I sall wryte to zou
my mynd in Latin, for I am nocht acquyntit with zour Southeroun.". It
seems clear, therefore, that the vulgar tongue referred to in the fore-
going Act, 1543, was English in its two forms, as spoken in England
and as spoken in Scotland. But although permission was granted to
the Queen's lieges to possess and read a translation of the Bible in
Scottis, no such translation was then, or ever afterwards, published.
In the works of some Scottish authors, however, there are to be
found renderings of particular verses of Scripture in the writers' own
vernacular, and a comparison of these renderings with their counter-
parts in the English translations of corresponding date will shew what
difference there was between “auld plane Scottis” and fashionable
Southeroun.”
The first printed exposition in Scottis of the Protestant doctrine is a
treatise that was published by John Gau in 1533. This treatise is
now ascertained to be a translation of a work by a Continental
Protestant named Christiern Pedersen. A comparison of Scripture
quotations in this work of Gau's, with the renderings in Tyndale's first
version of the Scriptures, will indicate how far the "Inglis" of 1526,
and the “Scottis” of 1534, differed both in their vocabulary and
pronunciation
GAU, 1533
TYNDALE, 1526.
Mat. ix. 12.--Thay quhilk ar hail Mat. ix. 12.--The whole neade not
thay mister notht ane lech bot yay the visicion but they thatt are sicke.
quhilk ar seik. P. 62.
Mat. xii. 40.-Siclik as he wesz iii Mat. xii. 40.--For as jonas was thre
dais and iii nichtis in the weyine of ane days and thre nyghtes in the whales
quhail sua sal the sone of man be iii dais belly, soo shall the sone of man be thre
and iii nichtis in the hart of the zeird. days and thre nyghtes in the hert of the
P. 46.
erth,
1 Archbishop Hamilton's Catechism is in like manner described in an Act of
Provincial Council, Jan., 1551 (1552), as a certain book written in the vulgar and
Scottish dialect :-“librum quendam vulgari et Scotico idiomate conscriptum.”
-MI‘Crie's Life of Knox, vol. i. p. 411. As specimens of Scottish renderings of
Scripture in Hamilton's Catechism, the following verses may be submitted :-
Ex. XX. 2-5.--I am ye Lord thi God, quhilk hais brocht ye fra the land of
Egypt, fra the house of bondage. Thow sall haif na other goddis but me, thou
sal nocht mak to thee ony grauit ymage, nother ony similitude of ony thing that is
in the heuin abone, or in ye erd beneth, nor of ony thing yat is in the watter under
the erd. Thow sal nocht adorne yame, nor worschip yame.
Hos. xiii. 14.-0 dede I sal be thi dede, O hel I sal byte the. (Morsus tuus
Vulgate. I will be thy bite.-Douay Trans.
Mat. xviii. 17.-Gif he will nocht heir the kirk, lat him be to the.as ane infidele,
unchristinit, and ane publica n.
ero.
Appendix.
387
Mat. xvi. 18.-Thow art Peter, and Mat. xvi. 18.-Thou arte Peter, and
apone this steyne I sal big my kirk. apon this roocke I wyll bylde my congre-
P. 61.
gacion.
Mat. xviii. 28.-Thane he twik hime Mat. xviii. 28.–And toke hym by the
be the halsz and said pay quhat thou aw throote sainge, paye that thou owest.
to me.
P. 60.
Mat. xviii. 32-34.—Thow vikkit ser- Mat. xviii. 32-34.40 evyll servaunt,
uand, I forgaif ze al thy det quhen thow y forgave the all thatt dett, because
desirit of me, suld thow noth siclik be thou praydest me. Was it not mete also
marciful to thy marow and forgiff hime that thou shuldest have had compassion
his dettes as I forgaff ze thyne? yane he on thy folow even as y had pitie on the?
vesz crabit I and deliuerit hime to ye And his lord was wrooth and delyvered
tormentours. P. 60.
hym to the ioylers.
Mat. xxv. 34. -Cum ze quhilk ar ye Mat. xxv. 34. -Come ye blessed chyl-
blist barnis of my fader and possess ye dren of my father, inheret ye the kyng-
euerlastand kingdome quhilk is graith to dom prepared for you from the beginn-
zow or ye beginning of ye vardil. p. 72. inge of the worlde.
Mat. xxvii. 29-34.-Crounit with ane Mat. xxvii. 29-34.-Platted a croune
croune of thorne and be claischit apone of thornes and putt uppon hys heed, and
his chekis and they suld cast cauels smoote hym on the heed, they parted
apone his kot and giff to hime vinaker. his garments and did cast lotts, and they
gave hym veneger to drynke.
Mark ix. 23-24.-Cane thow trow, for Mark ix. 23-24.--Yf thou couldest be-
al thing is possibil to hime that trowis, leve all thynges are possyble to hym that
thane he criit and grat and said Lord I belevith. And streygthwaye the father
trow.
P. 76.
off the chylde cryed with teares saying,
Lorde I beleve.
John v. 14.—Nou thow art hail tak John v. 14.-Beholde thou arte made
tent that thow sine na mair, sua yat it whole se thou synne no moore, lest a
happine noth ye var. P. 65.
worsse thinge happen unto the.
Roni. viii. 17.--Giff we be the barnis Rom. viii. 17.-Yf we be the sonnes
of God thane ar we alsua heritours zei we are also the heyres (the heyres I
heritours of God and heritours with meane of God) and heyres anexed with
Christ. P. 38.
Christ.
I Cor. ii. 9.--The E 2 of man hes noth I Cor. ii. 9.—The eye hath not sene
seine, na the eir of man hes noth hard. and the eare hath not herde.
I Cor. xv. 18.-Haid he notht rissine I Cor. xv. 18.-Yf it be so thatt
up fra deid thane we haid beine tint and Christ rose not, then is youre fayth in
zeit in our sinnes.
vayne, and yetare ye in youre synnes.
I Cor. xv. 55.- deid quhair is thy I Cor. xv. 55.--Deeth where is thy
brod ? P. 70.
stynge ?
P. 41.
P. 69.
1 Dr. M‘Crie remarks (Knox, vol. i., note N.) that in a printed edition of
Knox's Treatise on Prayer, the word "crabbid” occurs in the quotation of two
verses of Scripture where in the Reformer's manuscript “angrie” is used. “Thou
art crabbid, O Lord,” Is. lxiv. 5, and in v. 9, “Be not crabbid, O Lord.” This
word, says Dr. M'Crie, I have never met in any old version of the Bible. It
occurs, however, as we see in Gau's rendering of Mat. xviii. 34.
2 Wyclif's (or rather Purvey's) translation of this verse is given in a footnote,
p. 32, as “ I saie not," and a remark is made that the transcriber or printer must
have made a mistake in representing eye by I. It may seem that the capital I in
this case is not more strange than capital E in Gau's treatise. As a matter of fact,
e and ee are given in Middle-English Dictionaries as spellings of eye, but I is not.
The quotation on page 32 was taken from Bagster's Hexapla. In Forshall and
Madden's edition of Wyclif's Bible the words are printed, (Ist version, 1380) yze
syz not, (2nd version, 1388) ize say not.
388
Appendix.
Col. ii. 9.--Al the fouth of God ra-
manis verale in hime. P. 37.
Jas. ii. 19.-The dewillis trowis and
trinilis. P. 29.
Col. ii. 9.-In him dwelleth all the
fulnes of the godheed boddyly.
Jas. ii. 19.—The devyls also beleve
and tremble.
A few specimens of Scripture renderings may now be taken from
Winzet's Tractates, 1562-5, and placed alongside of the corresponding
passages as printed in the first edition of the Geneva Bible. This will
help to shew wherein Scottis differed from Southeroun in 1560.
WINZET, 1562-63.
GENEVA BIBLE 1560.
Ezek. xxii. 28.-Bot the prophetes of Ezek. xxii. 28.—Her prophetes haue
it, spargeonit thaim with untemperit dawbed them with untempered morter,
morter, seing vaniteis and propheciing seeing vanities, and diuining lies unto
leis unto thaimn. P. 14. (Hewison's them.
edition).
Ezek. xxii. 30.—I socht of thaim ane Ezek. xxii. 30.--I soght for a man
man that wald mak vp the haige, and among them, that shulde mak up the
set hymself in the slope before me in the hedge, and stand in the gap before me
landis behaif, that I suld not vterlie for the lande, that I shulde not destroy
destroy it; bot I could fynd naine. it, but I founde none.
P. 14.
P. 105.
P. 45.
Joel ii. 12.–Turn to me in all your Joel ii. 12.—Turne you unto me with
hert, in fasting, sobing, and greting. all your heart, and with fasting, and
with weping, and with mourning.
Luke x. 2.-That the Lorde of the Luke x. 2.—Pray therefore the Lord
winezarde send us lauchfull treu work of the haruest to send forth laborers into
men thairto.
his harvest.
Ps. lxxx. 13.-(A reference rather Ps. lxxx. 13.---The wilde bore out of
than a quotation). To schute oute the the wood hath destroyed it, and the
unclene baris, and to schut out, or cut wilde beastes of the fielde haue eaten
of, alsua the wyld sangleris. I P. 45. it up.
Acts vii. 51.--Ze haif ay gainstand Acts vii. 51.-Ye haue alwayes
the Haly spirit. P. 130.
resisted the holie Gost.
i Cor. xv. 41-42. —As a sterne differis I Cor. xv. 41-42.-One starre differeth
fra an wther sterne in brychtnes, sua from another starre in glory. So also is
sall be the resurrection of the deid. P. the resurrection of the dead.
I 22,
2 Cor. ix. 6.—Quha sawis scairslie 2 .
Cor. ix. 6.-He which soweth
sall scheir scairslie. P. 122.
sparingly shall reape also sparingly.
Heb. iv. 12.-Quhais Worde is mair Heb. iv. 12.-The worde of God is
peirceand than ony twa aigeit sworde. sharper than anie two edged sworde.
.
Rev. iii. 15—Nother haet nor cauld. Rev. iii, 15–Nether colde not (nor)
P. 26.
hote.
P. 37
In chap. iv. it is stated that the Geneva Bible was the version of the
Scriptures that was used by Knox and the Scottish Reformers. That
statement must of course be limited to the period subsequent to 1560,
when the Geneva Bible was first published. But some of Knox's
writings pertain to a date previous to 1560, and in these early writings
1 Exterminavit eam aper de silva : et singularis ferus depastus est eam, Vulgate.
The words italicised are both in Wyclif's Bible and the Douay Bible imperfectly
translated a singular wild beast. The Greek word in the Septuagint is monios.
Appendix.
389
own.
of Knox's there are many quotations of Scripture to be found. As a
rule these quotations are not drawn word for word from any English
version of the Bible, but are free renderings or paraphrases of Knox's
Occasionally a word appears that seems to have been taken
from Coverdale's version, 1535; at other times a word or phrase
indicates that Knox preferred the rendering in the Great Bible to what
is given in Coverdale's original translation. For instance, in his
denunciation of the mass, 1550, Knox uses the expression, "Who
slayeth a scheip choketh a dog." This is Coverdale’s rendering of
Is. Ixvi. 3, and the amendment made on it in the Great Bible is
“knetcheth a dog." On the other hand, in a quotation of Gen. xlix.
6, which is given in a letter of date 1553, Knox evidently adopts the
Great Bible version in preference to Coverdale's original one, and
instead of saying they "houghed an ox,” he says they “ destroyit the
citie." As has already been stated, however, the quotations of
Scripture that are found in Knox's early writings are generally
paraphrastic, and not taken verbatim from any version of the Bible in
English. They are expressed in auld plane Scottis," moreover, and
not in an unknown “Southeroun" tongue, as the following examples
will shew.
Knox's WRITINGS PRIOR 10 1560. GREAT BIBLE (EDITION, Nov. 1541).
Deut. iv. 7.-Thair is no natioun that Deut. iv. 7.--What other nacyon is so
have thair Godis so adherent or neir great that Goddes come so nye unto, as
unto thame as oure God, whilk is pre- the Lorde oure God is nye unto us in all
sent at all oure prayeris. (On Prayer, thynges as ofte as we call unto him.
1554.)
Deut. vi. 6.9.-Theis wordis whilk I Deut. vi. 6-9.—These wordes whiche
command the this day salbe in thi hart, I commaund the this day shalbe in thyne
and thou sal exerceis thi children in hart and thou shall shewe them unto thy
thame, thou sal talk of thame when thou chyldren and shalte talke of them when
art at home in thi hous, and as thou thou arte at home in thyne house and as
walkest be the way, and when thou lyis thou walkest by the waye and when thou
doun, and when thou rysis up, and thou lyest downe, and when thou rysest up,
sall bind thame for a signe upon thi and thou shalt bynde them for a sygne
hand, and they salbe paperis of remeni- upon thyne hande. And they shalbe
brance betwene thi eis, and thou sall warnynges betwene thyne eyes, and thou
wryt thame upon the postis of thy hous, shalt wryte them upon the postes of thy
and upon thi gatis.
thi gatis. (Letter to Protest house and upon thy gates.
ants of Scotland, 1557.
Rom. vii. 24.--O unhappie man that Rom. vii. 24.-Owretched man that
I am, wha sal delyver me fra this bodie I am, who shal delyuer me from this
of syn. (Letter, 1553).
body subdued unto death,
Rom. viii. 26. Mychtelie making Rom. viii. 26.-The sprete maketh
intercessioun for us with incessibili intercessyon for u;s with gronynges
1“ A token of remembraunce."--Coverdale,
390
Appendix.
ence.
groanis whilk cannot be expressit with whyche cannot be expressed. •
toung.I (On Prayer, 1554).
Rom. xiv. 20.-Yf a man eat with Rom. xiv. 20.--It is euell for that
offence he synneth.2 (Mass, 1550). man whych eateth wyth hurte of consey-
.
Heb. ix. 12.-By his awn blude hath Heb. ix. 12.—By hys owne bloud he
he anis enterit into the halie place. entred in once into the holy place.
(Mass, 1550).
Heb. x. 18.-Remissioun of synnis Heb. x. 18.-Where remissyon of
anis gotten, thair resteth na mair sacri- these thinges is there is no more offering
fice. (Mass, 1550).
for synne.
A good illustration of what Winzet means by auld plane Scottis as
opposed to Southeroun will be found in the published Sermons (1599)
of Robert Rollock, Principal of the University, and minister of Grey-
friars' Church, Edinburgh. Rollock's texts are taken from the Geneva
version (Tomson's revision of the New Testament, but the words are
changed from their English into a Scottish form, as the subjoined
specimens will indicate.3
GENEVA VERSION (Tomson's).
ROLLOCK's Texts.
I Cor. ii. II.--For what man knoweth I Cor. ii. 11.-For quhat man knaws
the things of a man, saue the spirit of a the thingis of man, saue the spreit of a
man, which is in him ? euen so the things man, quhilk is in him ? euen sa the
of God knoweth no man but the Spirit thingis of God knawis na man, bot the
of God.
Spreit of God.
2 Cor. v. 5-6.—God, who also hath 2 Cor. v. 5-6.-God, quha also hes
giuen unto us the earnest of the Spirit, giuen unto us the arlis of the Spreit,
thereſore we are alway bold, though we thairfoir we ar alwayis bauld, thocht we
know that whiles wee are at home in the knaw that quhylis we ar at hame in the
body, wee are absent from the Lord. body we ar absent from the Lord.
2 Cor. x. 4. -For the weapons of 2 Cor. x. 4. -For the weapons of our
our warfarre are not carnall, but mightie weirfair ar not carnall, bot michtie
through God to cast down holdes.
throuch God to cast down haldis.
Titus iii. 5.—Not by the workes of Titus iii. 5.—Not be the warkis of
righteousnesse, which we had done, but richteousnes quhilk we had done, bot
according to his mercie he saued us, by according to his mercie hé saued us, by
the washing of the new birth, and the the wasching of the new birth, and the
renewing of the holy Ghost.
renewing of the halie Gaist.
I "The sprete maketh intercession mightely for us with gronynges which cannot
be expressid with tonge.”—Tyndale.
2 " It is euill for the man which eateth with offence.”—Geneva, 1560.
3 As a sample of this learned dignitary's diction, the following sentences (p. 18)
may be quoted :—“It is the violent that enters in heuin, Mat. xi. 12, as ze will see
ane man violentlie thring in at ane zet. Thou that wald gang to heuin, make thee
for thringing throw quhill all thy guttis be almaist thrụstit out,”.
Appendix.
391
B
MODERN SCOTCH VERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE.
WITHIN the last fifty years there have issued from the press several
booklets purporting to be Scottish versions of parts of Scripture.
These versions however were not called for, in order to meet any real
want, and they have not served any practical purpose. They can be
regarded only as literary exercises, written for the writers' amusement
and put into print for the reader's entertainment; and very little
entertainment some of them are fitted to give.
In 1862, there was published a Scottish version of the Gospel by
St. Matthew. It was a work of neither merit nor originality. It was
simply a travesty of the authorised English version, in bad 'spelling,
which was meant to indicate Scottish pronunciation, with a vulgar
Scotticism here and there from the language of low life in the north.
Its diction is as unlike the Scotch of Gau and Winzet as affectation is
unlike reality. The following passage will give the reader a fair notion
of the style of this version :
Chapter viii. 28-34: “An' whan he was come til the ither side intil
the kintra o' the Gergesenes, there met him twa possesset wi' deevils
comin' out o' the tombs, unco fierce, sae that nae man micht gang by
that road. An', behald, they cried out, sayin, What hae we to do
wi' thee, Jesus, thou son o God? Art thou come here to torment
us afore the time? An' there was a guid way aff frae them a
hirsel o'mony swine feedin'. Sae the deevils besoucht him, sayin',
Gif thou cast us out, let us gae intil the hirsel o’swine. An' he
said until them, gae. An' whan they were come out, they gaed intil
the hirsel o'swine : an', behald, the hale hirsel o'swine ran headlang
doun a heugh intil the sea, an' perishet in the waters. An' they wha
herdet them fled, an' gaed their gate intil the toun, an' tauld ilka thing,
an' what was befa'en to the possesset o' the deevils. An', behald, the
hale toun cam' out to meet Jesus, an' whan they saw him they be-
soucht him that he wad gang awa out o' their marches.”
Of a considerably higher literary character than this prosaic version
of St. Matthew's gospel is the Scotch version of the Psalms by the
Rev. P. Hately Waddell, LL.D., which was published in 1871. In
Dr. Waddell's work there is no lack of either originality or vivacity.
There is rather much of both of these qualities. The translation is
accordingly not a faithful representation of the original. It is a para-
phrase, some would say a burlesque, of David's Psalms and senti-
392
Appendix.
ments: such as a woman like Mause Headrigg would be likely to give
in her higher moments. There is a gusty inflation in the language as
if the writer had fairly lost command of himself, and were carried
away by his own verbosity. Sometimes, too, there is an assumption
of familiarity with the Deity, like what we find in persons of the Mause
Headrigg type, but which nevertheless is very unlike the reverential
tone of the Psalms themselves. Where for instance in the authorised
English version we read, Ps. xxii. 2, “O my God, I cry in the day
time, but thou hearest not,” it is said in Dr. Waddell's Scotch version,
My God, I hae skreight the lee-lang day, bot ye mind me nane.”
As specimens of Dr. Waddell's vigorous Scotch the two following
verses may be quoted :
Ps. xxii. 12, Droves o' nowt hae rinket me roun: stoor stirks o'
Bashan hae fankit me about.
Ps. cxviii. 12; They byket about me, like bees: they gaed down
like a bleeze o'thorns : i' the name o' the Lord, I maun sned them
by.
Not only is Dr. Waddell's language generally rhythmical, but it
often runs into rhyme, sometimes for an instant in a single clause, and
sometimes for a longer period in several successive sentences. The
statement, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy," reads in Dr.
Waddell's version, "Wha saw wi' a tear, wi' a sang they shall shear.”
Of longer and more elaborate rhymes, the following will furnish
favourable specimens of Dr. Waddell's peculiar paraphrase :
PSALMS XXVII. 5, 6.
For mysel in his howff he sal hap, i' the day o'dule an' dree;
He sal biel' me ben i' his biggin then ; on a craig he sal set me hie.
Syne sae sall my head, abune my faes, be lifted fu' heigh roun' a';
An' gifts o'glee in his house I maun gie ; till the Lord I maun lilt and blaw.
PSALMS XXXVII, 23-24.
Frae the Lord, the wide yett o'the mighty man's sett :
An he fuhres on his gate fu' blythe :
Tho' he stacher a wee, he sal nane down gae :
For the Lord hauds his han' fu' stythe.
PSALMS CV, 34, 35
40, 41.
He spak, an' the locust scho cam :
An' the worm (an' that ayont count) on the swaird :
An' they glaum'd a' the green on their grun':
An' they sorn'd on the frute o' their yaird.
They sought, an' he airtit them quails :
An' he stegh't them wi' bread frae the lift :
He racket the craig, an' the waters cam but :
They gae'd i' the wust, like a drift..
Appendix.
393
;
с
THEOCRACY IN GENEVA AND SCOTLAND.
The statement on page 187, in regard to the Theocracy established
by Calvin at Geneva, is open to misconstruction, particularly in so far
as it may seem to imply that the sole authority exercised in that city
and state was ecclesiastical.
The theory of Government held by the Reformers at Geneva was
much the same as that preached by the Reformers in Scotland. The
tenor of the Scottish theory, gathered from historical documents, may
be stated in the following propositions :
1. Civil government is authorised and ordained by God. In the
Confession of Faith, drawn up by the Scottish Reformers, and ratified
by the Scottish Parliament, 1560, it is said in chapter xxiv. : “We
confesse and acknowledge impyres, kingdoms, dominions, and citeis,
to be distructed and ordeaned by God, and the powers and authorities
in the same
to be God's holie ordinance.
So that
whosoever goeth about to tak away, or to confound the whole state of
civill policeis now long established, we affirme the same men not onlie
to be enemeis to mankinde, but also wickedlie to fight against God
his expressed will (Calderwood's History, II., page 35).
II. A hereditary monarchy established by popular consent, and a
supreme magistracy and council periodically elected by the people are each
agreeable to the ordinance of God. In Geneva, in the days of Calvin,
the civil Government was republican. All legislative and executive
power was vested in certain Councils popularly elected for limited
periods. In Scotland, the government from time immemorial till the
rebellion in 1652, was monarchical. In Buchanan's treatise De jure
regni apud Scotos, the question is asked : “By
By what name shall we
qualify him who shall perform the part of physician to the body
politic?” The answer returned is : "About the name I am not very
anxious; but such a personage, whatever his name may be, I hold to
be of the first excellence.
Much forecast seems discovered
in the wisdom of our ancestors, who distinguished an office so honour-
able in its own nature by a very splendid name, King." Further on
it is asked, “if the people, from a dislike to an ambitious canvass
every year, should choose to elect as king an individual not possessed
indeed of every regal virtue, but still eminent for nobility, etc.
might not he with the greatest justice be deemed a king ?” And the
answer to this is, “undoubtedly; for the people have a right of invest-
394
Appendix.
ever
ing whom they please with the sovereign power.” So also Samuel
Rutherford in his Lex. Rex., chapter xliv., quest. 4 and 5, says that
nature has not determined whether there should be one supreme ruler
or many rulers in a free community, but that every free community
has in it a supremacy of majesty, which it may formally place in one
person or in many persons.
III. In every Christian country, the word of God as contained in the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments must be the fundamental
law of the State, and everything inconsistent with the said word of God
be held illegal. In the first Parliament of King James VI. it was
statute and ordained, " That all Kings, Princes or Magistrates whatso-
which hereafter shall happen in any time to raign and
beare rule over this realm
shall make their faithful promise
by oath in the presence of the eternall God that during the whole
course of their lives, they shall
rule the people committed
to their charge according to the will and command of God revealed in
his word.” Rutherford accordingly says in his preface to Lex. Rex.,
No. 29, "What civil laws parliaments make against God's word, they
(Assemblies of the Church) may authoritatively declare them to be
inlawful, as though an emperor (Acts xv.) had commanded fornication
and eating of blood.”
IV. All civil magistrates, from the King downwards, are accordingly
only vicegerents and ministers of God. So far from having absolute and
unlimited power to rule as he pleases, the King is bound to rule in
accordance with God's laws, and is, as Andrew Melville told James
VI., only “ God's sillie vassal.” Many other statements in corrobora-
tion of this account of the Reformers' doctrines might be quoted, but
the following will suffice. In the General Assembly's seasonable and
necessary warning, 1649, it is said that “as Magistrates and their
power is ordained of God, so are they in the exercise thereof, not to
walke according to their own will, but according to the law of equity
and righteousness, as being the ministers of God for the safety of his
people : Therefore a boundless and illimitted power is to be acknow-
ledged in no King nor Magistrate.” “At the coronation of King
Charles II. at Scone, on the ist January 1651, a sermon on the
functions and duties of kings was preached by Robert Douglas. In
the course of this sermon, Douglas said that “ Kings not only have
their crowns from God, but must reign according to his will. They
are called Ministers of God: they are God's servants.”
V. Along with a civil government in the State, God has also appointed
Appendix.
395
an ecclesiastical government in the Church ; and within the same realm
these two governments are in their respective spheres distinct, independent,
and supreme. One document in which this doctrine is clearly declared
is the General Assembly's Answer to the Profession, etc., made by the
Marquis of Hamilton, his Majesty's High Commissioner to the said
Assembly in 1638. It is there stated that: “The Acts of the
Assembly and the book of policie in the first and tenth chapters,
putteth clear merches betwixt civill and ecclesiasticall jurisdiction :
making every one independent in matters properly belonging to their
owne judicatorie, and every one subject to the other in matters
properly belonging to that other; so that as the Assembly cannot
make civill laws nor repeal them, nor imped the Parliament from
making or repealing civill laws, no more can the Parliament make
ecclesiasticall laws originally, nor repeal or hinder the lawful Assemblies
to repeal the same. For albeit Acts of the Assembly are and may be
ratified in Parliament, that is only that the civill sanction may concur
with the ecclesiasticall constitution, but will not stop the Assembly to
recall their own act, which being adnulled by them the civill ratifica-
tion and sanction falls ex consequenti.” (Large Declaration, by the
King, 1639, p. 349.) By Act of Parliament, 1570. “The jurisdiction
granted to the Kirk was declared to stand in preaching of the word,
ministratioun of the sacraments, and correctioun of maners.” (Calder-
wood iii. 460.) How the freedom of action claimed for the Church
within this jurisdiction was abused by injudicious preachers, who con-
verted their pulpits into privileged sanctuaries where they asserted their
right to libell and lampoon whom they pleased without interference
from the civil magistrates is known to all readers of Scottish history.
Norwithstanding what was declared by churchmen, therefore, we may
safely say that the "merches between civil and ecclesiastical jurisdic-
tion” were not put clear for the first hundred years after the Reforma-
tion.
I “ They (Churchmen) allege that they meddle only in ecclesiastical causes
but by ecclesiastical they mean, as their practice sheweth, any thing which is in
ordine ad ecclesiastica, nay more, in ordine ad spiritualia, whatsoever may be
thought conducible to the good of the Church, or to any spiritual good, and yet
more vastly to the glorie of God: by which latitude of the word, ecclesiastical, we
would know what they have left out of the compasse of their cognisance. Just
nothing. For in this sense they may set the price on victuals, they may censure the
actions of all men in what kind soever, because St. Paul biddeth us, whether we
eate or drinke, or whatsoever we doe, doe it all to the glory of God.”—(Large
Declaration, p. 415.)
396
Appendix.
VI. While it was declared that the word of God contains the funda-
mental laws of the land according to which the civil magistrate is to
exercise his government, the Church claimed the right to interpret and
teach the word of God to the magistrate. In the second book of
discipline it is said: “The ministeris exerce not the civill jurisdiction,
bot teich the magistrat how it sould be exercit according to the word."
In the contentions between civil and ecclesiastical authority during
the time of the troubles in Scotland, we thus read a great deal about
what is termed the Church's right of " antecedent judgment.” There
were ever so many cases, it was alleged, in which the magistrate had
no right to take action till "an antecedent judgment” on the premises
was pronounced by the Church. And this claim that was made by
the Church was often submitted to by the State, when the State and
Church happened to be on affectionate terms. In 1641, the Parliament
deputed certain of its members to wait on the General Assembly, and
crave from that reverend court its judgment on the lawfulness of a
certain engagement subscribed by Montrose and others. Here, says
Baillie, “great wisdom was requisite.” But the Assembly was equal
to the occasion, and a Committee appointed to consider the question
“ drew up their wise answer penned by the Moderator, making that
band to be unlawful and not obligatory of any." What are known as
the Public Resolutions of 1651, were in like manner submitted to the
Commission of Assembly for “ antecedent judgment," before the King
and his Ministers ventured to proclaim them.
VII. The Church claimed the right also of calling upon and requiring
the civil power to enforce her orders. In the second book of discipline
it is declared that while “ the civill power sould command the spiritual
to exercise and doe their office according to the word of God, the
spiritual rewlaris sould requyre the Christian magistrate to minister
justice and punish vice and maintaine the libertie and quietness of the
kirk within their boundis.” How far the Church was in this matter
alleged to have pressed her authority on the State may be conjectured
1 In the General Assembly of 1639 a small passage of arms took place between
the King's Commissioner and the Moderator. “How farr the constitutions of the
Kirk will warrand you to go on in censuring such thinges I know not,” said the
Commissioner, “but I believe you intend not to exclude the civile magistrat from
punishing of such thinges." To this the Moderator replied with more wit and
humour than might have been expected of a Churchman, “We are so farr froin
that, that we are content to be the first tryers of those thinges, that we may make
schorte worke for the civile magistrat,"
Appendix.
397
from the King's complaint in 1639 : “If we or our Commissioner
sitting in Assembly shall denie our voice to any thing which to us
appeareth to be unjust, and repugnant to our laws, yet if that shall be
concluded by most voices of the Assemblie, that then we are bound
jure divino to see all these conclusions made in despight of us obeyed
by all our subjects, and by our authoritie to inforce obedience to these
acts; and if our Councillors or judges shall refuse to do the like, then
they shall be lyable to the sentence of excommunication, and so be
deprived not only of their places but of their estates" (Large Declara-
tion, p. 411)
VIII. While, in things civil, ecclesiastical rulers were submissive to the
Magistrate; the Magistrate was required, in things spiritual, to be as
submissive to the Church. This is expressly stated in the first chapter
of the second book of discipline. And very submissive high potentates
sometimes were to ecclesiastical rule. King James openly declared
his willingness to listen to public rebuke, if private remonstrance were
adopted first, and found to fail. On the 25th March, 1596, he was
present in the General Assembly, and heard ominous references to a
proposal “concernyng the purgatione of the Kirk.” Every estate in
the realm was alleged to have “its owne gross sins,” and it was whispered
that even in his Majesties house there were some
“ offences." It
behoved the church, accordingly, to do her duty to all her members.
The King thereupon rose and "granted he was a sinner, as other men
were, but not infected, he trusted, with anie sinne that could be called
gross: and he therefore requyred that no preacher would inveygh
against him or his counsell publictlie, but to come to him or them
privile, and tell what is the offence; and as for himself, if he mended
not, in cace he were guiltie, they might deale publictlie; his chamber
doore sould be made patent to the meanest minister in Scotland, there
sould not be anie meane gentleman in Scotland more subject to the
good order and discipline of the Kirk than he would be.” (Calder-
wood, v. 397.)
IX. It was the duty of the civil and ecclesiastical powers to co-operate,
and work to each other's hands for the glory of God and the welfare of
“They be both of God, and tend to one end, if they be rightly
usit, to wit, to advance the glorie of God and to have godlie and gud
subjectis.” (Sec. Bk. of Discip.) This conviction of duty led to alliance
in different forms. There was concurrent legislation.
There was concurrent legislation. The Church
drew up ecclesiastical constitutions and to these the State gave civil
sanction. The State framed what at the present day would be called
nen.
398
Appendix.
“ bills,” and the Church pronounced on these bills a favourable
“antecedent judgment,” which armed the State with the authority of
public opinion to pass them into statutes, and enforce their observance.
Local authorities, too, were ingeniously constructed out of combined
civil and ecclesiastical elements. In Geneva there was a consistorial
court. . “It was constituted by the five pastors of the city parishes and
twelve elders. These elders were selected from the two representative
councils of the city, two from the Council of Sixty and the remainder
from the Council of Two Hundred.” (Tulloch's Leaders of Reforma-
tion.) Although an ecclesiastical court, therefore, the majority of its
members were laymen and nominees of the State councils. This
arrangement enlisted the interest of the State in Church affairs, and
gave churchmen a certain amount of indirect influence on the councils
of the city. Although ecclesiastical in name, too, the consistorial
court " extended its jurisdiction over all social usages, as well as
offences against morality and religion. It was a court of practical
ethics in the widest sense of the term.” And while its only direct
weapon of authority was excommunication, if this was unavailing,
offenders were transmitted to the council where they were dealt with
as criminals and punished with fines or imprisonment. In Scotland
there was in every Parish a Kirk-Session not unlike the consistorial
court in Geneva. It had lay as well as clerical members, and the lay
members outnumbered the clerical. Not a few of the ruling elders
in it, too, were men of good social position. It was a court of strict
inquisition, and took cognizance of every form of offence from murder
to gossip, and from blasphemy to "science falsely so called.” Its own
censures were merely spiritual, but like the consistorial court in Geneva
it brought offences formally under the notice of the magistrates. And
to facilitate business it was usually arranged to have a magistrate in the
Session, who sat at meetings of Session in both an ecclesiastical and
a civil capacity. When a “delinquent” was found guilty in the
Session of a sin that was also an offence at law punishable by a fixed
penalty, he was first dealt with by the Court for his scandal and then
by the Session-Bailie for his crime.
It will thus be seen that both in Geneva, in the days of Calvin, and
in Scotland from the days of Queen Mary to those of Charles II. the
form of government was practically theocratic. The laws in force
were the laws of God: the rulers, civil and ecclesiastical, were
regarded as Ministers of God : the church by her right of “antecedent
judgment” had a large say in the affairs of state : and by her courts of
Appendix.
399
discipline, she wielded over the community a power that was
practically both spiritual and temporal. In a small state like Geneva
this distribution of power made a man like Calvin virtually dictator.
At the present day, Scotsmen are content to say that Presbytery is
"agreeable to the word of God," and they sneer at the pretensions of
Anglicans who claim for prelatic government in the Church a jus
divinum. At one time it was the Presbyterians that were pretentious,
and the Prelatists that were modest. In their answer to the Declara-
tion of the Parliament of England, the General Assembly, 1642, wrote
that " although the Reformed Kirks do hold, without doubting, their
Kirk-officers and Kirk-government by Assemblies higher and lower, in
their strong and beautiful subordination, to be jure divino and
perpetuall; yet Prelacie, as it differeth from the office of a Pastor, is
almost universally acknowledged by the Prelates themselves, and their
adherents, to be but an humane ordinance, introduced by humane
reason, and settled by humane law and custome for supposed
conveniencie." These old prelates were right. Whatever form of
church-government is agreeable to Scripture, and most convenient for
the people, is the one that has the best raison d'être, whether it be
Presbytery, as in Scotland, or Prelacy, as in England.
D
THE WORD "MASS."
In the note on page 216 it is said: “The words Missa and Mass are
not Hebrew words at all. They are derived from the Latin formula,
ite, missa est.”
The account thus given of the etymology of the Church terms
Missa and Mass is quite correct ;? but there, nevertheless, are Hebrew
words that might in Roman characters be printed Missah and Mas.
The latter word Mas occurs frequently in the Hebrew Scriptures. In
the first chapter of Judges it occurs four times, and is translated in
one place tribute and in three places tributaries. In the fifth chapter
of the first book of Kings it occurs three times, and is there translated
1 While by some authorities no doubt is expressed on this point, Prof. Skeat
cautiously remarks, “ Mass, usually said to be from the phrase, ite missa est (go,
the congregation is dismissed), used at the end of the service : in any case, the
derivation is from Latin missus, pp. of mittere, to send away.
400
Appendix.
levy. The word Missah on the other hand occurs once, and apparently
only once, in the Hebrew Bible; and it is in Deut. xvi. 10, where
is translated tribute. This word Missah, therefore, and not Matstsah
(unleavened bread), as conjectured in the note on page 216, is evidently
the word referred to by Winzet in the eleventh of his Four Score
questions. The ingenuity of Winzet in connecting the Church term
Mass or Missa with the Hebrew word Missah in Deut. xvi. 10, will
appear if we read the verse as given in the authorised English transla-
tion : “ Thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God
with a tribute ( Missah) of a free-will-offering of thine hand which thou
shalt give.” The verse, as will be seen, would read sensibly enough if
the word mass were substituted for tribute, but a false meaning of the
verse, and a wrong etymology of the word mass, would be suggested
to the reader.
INDEX.
1
2
2
2
:::::
I
Aelfric, Abbot of Peterborough, 2, 3 | Carswell, John, Superintendent
Ainsworth, Dr. H.,
331-2
of the West of Scotland, .. 385
Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne,
Catharine of Arragon,
142
Aldred of Holy Isle,
Cecil, Lord Burleigh, 194-5, 199
Alford, Dean,
366 Challoner, Dr. 234, 272, 275, 278, 283
Alfred, King,
Charles II.,
106, 288, 394, 398
Allen, Cardinal,
237 Cheke, Sir John,
140-3, 352
Anderson, Mrs.,
298 Clarke, Dr. Adam, 1, 3, 4, 9, 122, 133,
Anne of Bohemia,
8
135, 171
Anne Boleyn,
114 Clement VIII.,...
240
Arbuthnot, Alexander, 152, 153 Cochlaeus, John,
56-7
Arius,
261 Conybeare, 'Rev. W. J., 95, 350-1, 353,
Arundel, Archbishop,
8
355-6, 363
Augustine, St.,
276, 284, 292 Cook, Dr. John,
27
Cotton, Dr.,
197
Baber, Rev. Henry, ...
Coverdale, Miles, 77, 83, 86, 97, 100-
Bagster, S., 1, 9, 49, 72, 73, 100, 124, 117, 120-3, 125-9, 131-140, 142-3,
140, 218, 234, 286, 296, 298, 387 148-9, 168-9, 171, 175, 179, 215,
Baillie, Robert,
396 269, 291, 300, 308, 310-12, 314-17,
Bain, Prof.,
317
340, 319, 321, 389
Balfour, Sir James,
152 Cowan, James,
323
Barker, Christopher, 140, 155, 191, 197, Cowper, Bishop of Galloway,.. 151
232 Coyne, Richard,
234, 279, 282
Bassandyne, Thomas,
152, 153 Cranmer, Archbishop, 27, 47, 115, 119,
Becke, Edmund,
122, 123
120, 140, 143, 182, 191, 200, 229
Bede,
Cromwell, Oliver,
171
Bellarmin,
240
Cromwell, Thomas, 63, 65-6, 69, 115,
Bergen-op-Zoom, Marquis of,... 69
119, 121-2, 150, 191
Beza, Theodore, 13, 144-7, 156-7, 159, Cudworth, Dr. Ralph,...
329
161-2, 164-6, 179, 180, 183, 215, Cumming, Dr.,...
331
217-8, 222, 250-1, 344, 347, 368
Blayney, Dr.,
296 Daye, John,
123
Bloomfield, Dr., 78, 85, 97, 258, 337 Demaus, Rev. R., 53, 56-59, 64, 66,
Bodleigh, John,...
194
69, 70
Bonar, Rev. Andrew,
151 | Denham, Henry,
232
Bonner, Bishop,
I22 Dickson, David,
151
Bristow, Richard,
237 Dobson, W. T.,
...153, 298
Broughton, Hugh,
198, 327 | Doddridge, Philip, 85, 332-4, 349-50,
Buchanan, George,
393
353, 356
Burgon, Dean, 338, 342, 344, 354, Donne, Gabriel,
67-8
357, 364, 383 Douglas, Robert,
394
Burleigh, See Cecil.
Dudley, Earl of Leicester,
195
Burnet, Bishop,
204
Eadie, Dr. John, 7, 8, 70, IOI, 118, 122,
Calderwood, David, 151, 393, 395, 397
124, 197, 224, 297, 316, 385
Calvin, John, 144, 157-8, 165.6, 180, Edward VI.,
185-6, 251, 260-1, 393, 398-9 | Egenolph of Frankfort,
Carlyle, Thomas,
335
Elizabeth of England, 176, 193, 195,
Caryl, Joseph,
329
236
Carmarden, Richard,
I 22 Ellicott, Bishop,
331
2
...139, 287
IOI
:::
: : :
2 C
402
Index.
36
52, 68
ΙΟΙ
46
398
Elyot, Sir Thomas,
67 | Laud, Archbishop,
36, 295
Elzevir,
344 Lee, Principal,
154
Erasmus, 59, 70, 71, 80, 110, III, 158, Leicester, Earl of. See Dudley.
179, 257, 283, 344, 368 L'Estrange, Roger,
Euing, William (Glasgow), 123 Lewis, Rev. John, 100, 122, 194, 198,
Eusebius,
142
278, 286, 327-332
Eutyches,
261 Lewis, M.,
155
Lightfoot, Bishop,
331
Facciolatus, Jacobus,
28, 269 Lloyd, Bishop,...
296
Forshall, Rev. Josiah, 1, 9, 387 | Luther, Martin, 53, 56-7, 60, 62, 70-1,
Foxe, John,
110-113, 165, 261
Froschover, Christopher,
Lowth, Bishop,
330
Fry, F., ...
49, 73 Lymburn, James,
123
Fulke, Dr. William, 155, 187, 191, 197,
232-3, 249, 250, 253, 258, 378 | Macedonius,
261
Madden, Sir Frederick, I, 9, 387
Gammack, Dr. James,
154 Mahomet,
Gardiner, Bishop,
241. Malan, Mr.,
331
Gau, John, 209, 255, 317, 386-7, 391 Marsh, Bishop,
330
Gaunt, John of,
4 Martin, Gregory, 78, 155, 232, 237-8,
Geddes, Dr. Alexander,
313
249, 255, 252
Gell, Dr. Robert,
330 Mary of England,
139, 142
Gilby, Anthony,
149, 165 Mary of Scotland,
Gillespie, George,
27, 299 Matthew, Thomas. See also
Ginsburg, Dr.,
113 John Rogers, 100, 102, 114-5, 117,
Gipps, Rev. Thomas,
298 119, 122-4, 127-9, 143, 150, 291,
Goodwin, Dr. Thomas,
329
300
Grafton, Richard,
100, 120, 124 M'Caul, Dr.,
331
Gratius, Ortuinus,
235 M'Crie, Dr.,
149, 204, 229, 385-7
Gregory, St.,
284 M.Knight, Dr. James, 334-5, 351
Griesbach, J. J.,
336 M‘Mahon, Rev. Bernard,
278
Grindal, Bishop of London,
204 Melville, Andrew, 22, 151, 186, 385, 394
Guildford, Sir Henry,
54 Melville, James,
27
Menander,
333
Hamilton, Archbishop,
386 | Meteren, Jacob van,
Hamilton, Marquis of,
395 Mill, John,
336
Hart, Andro,
154 | Mitchell, Prof. A. F.,
255
Heath, Bishop of Rochester, 124 Mombert, Dr., 6, 59, 70, 79, 101, 117-8,
Henderson, Alexander,
151
124, 196, 232, 240, 297, 339
Henry VIII., 65-6, 114, 119, 136, 176, Monmouth, Humphrey,
55, 56
287 Montrose, Marquis of, ...
Henry, Matthew,
78, 132, 211 More, Sir Thomas, 9, 52-3, 60, 62-67,
Hereford, Nicholas de, I, 6, 8-11, 19,
25, 155, 311 Moulton, Prof., 8, 113, 145, 197, 199,
Horne, Bishop of Winchester, 202, 204
200, 213, 238, 277
Hort, Dr.,
344 | Munster, S.,
128, 165, 166
Howson, Dr.,
350 | Nary, Cornelius,
Nestorius,
261
James VI. of Scotland ist of
Newcome, Archbishop,
330
England, 32, 153-4, 187, 286-292,
295, 300, 348, 359, 394, 397 | Offer, Mr.,
53
Jerome, St., 27, 29, 34, 250, 271, 347. Orm or Ormin,
3
Joye, George,
72 | Orme, William,
335
Jude, Leo,
165-6 Owen, Dr. John,
329
Jugge, Richard,
191
Junius, Francis,
185 Packington, Augustine,
61, 62
Pagninus, 112-3, 145, 165-6, 174, 176,
Kenrick, Bishop,
279
269
Knox, John, 22, 144, 149, 151, 204. Parker, Archbishop of Canter-
229, 385-9
bury,
193-5, 198-9
...
IOI
::
396
79, 80
278
...
::
:::
Index.
403
65, 66
Patmore, Thomas,
59 Tomson, Laurence, 140, 149, 154-5,
Pedersen, Christiern,
386
162-4, 184-5, 297
Philips, Henry,...
67-68 Trench, Archbishop of Dublin, 319,
Plumptre, Dean,
71, 117, 198
330-1
Purvey, John, 1, 4, 6, 8-18, 20, 22-4, Troy, Archbishop
Troy, Archbishop (Cath.) of
26-7, 31-4, 36, 50, 155, 311, 314, 387 Dublin,
278-9
Tulloch, Principal,
398
Rogers, John, (see also Thomas
Tunstall, Bishop of London, 54-5, 59,
Matthew), 115, 116, 118, 122, 139,
61-2, 124
143 | Tyndale, John,
59
Rolle, Richard, of Hampole, . 3 Tyndale, William, 27, 32, 46-7, 51-101,
Roye, Father,
72 103, 105, 107-III, 115, 118, 119,
Rollock, Robert,
390 123, 125-7, 139 143, 145-7, 156,
Rutherford, Samuel,
151, 394 158, 165, 177-183, 186, 214-5, 238,
Row, Prof.,
329 246, 248, 257, 291, 295, 297, 300,
Row, John, of Carnock,
329
308-10, 312-13, 315-7, 340, 352,
368, 379, 386, 390
Sampson, Thomas,
149, 165
Scapula, J.,
244 Vaughan, Stephen,
Scattergood, Dr.,
296
Scholefield, Prof.,
330 | Waddell, Rev. P. H.
391-2
Scott, Dr. Hew,
385 Walsh, Sir John,
51-54
Scrivener, Dr.,
53, 331, 344 Walsingham, Sir Francis,
149
Secker, Archbishop,
330 | Watkins, Richard,
232
Selden, John,
293, 328 Watson, James,
298
Selwyn, Prof.,
330-1 Westcott, Dr., 113, 118, 124, 128, 197,
Shakespeare,
16, 102
213, 240, 295, 327, 344
Sixtus V.,
239, 240 Wetstein, Prof.,
336
Skeat, Prof.,
16, 17, 209, 399 Whitchurch, Edward,
300
Smith, Dr. Miles,
291-4 | Whittingham, William, 144-150, 155-6,
Smith, Dr. William,
165-6, 179-181
Smyth, J. Paterson,
59 | Winzet, Ninian, 215, 385, 388, 391
Stephens, Robert, 144, 344, 347
Wiseman, Cardinal, 228, 279, 283, 348
Strype, Rev. John,
204 | Wolsey, Cardinal,
58
Stunica,
344 Wordsworth, Bishop of Lincoln,
344
Symonds, Prof. Joan,
330 Wyclif, John, 1 to 48, 50-1, 69, 74-5,
77-8, 86, 89, 103, 141, 155, 160,
Taverner, Richard, 100, 102, 117-8, 179, 188, 237, 243, 246, 260, 263-4,
120, 122-3, 129, 140, 160
308, 310-12, 314-5, 387-8
Thomson, Rev. W., 335-7, 349-51, 357
Todd, Rev. H. J.,
331 | Young, Dr. Robert,
355, 361
8, 240
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