ON THE HISTORY AND RECENT COLLATION OF THE ENGLISH VERSION OF THE BIBLE-: PRESENTED BY THE COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS TO THE BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, AND ADOPTED, MAY 1, 1851. PRINTED AT THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY'S PRESS. ASTOR PLACE, NEW YORK. 1857. REP ORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON VE RSIONS. To THE BOARD OF -MANAGERS OF THEE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: The Committee on Versions, to whom the subject of collating the editions of the English Bible published by this Society with those issued in Great Britain,was referred in the year 1847, respectfully beg leave to present this as their full and final Report. Three years and a half have now elapsed, since the subject of such a collation was first brought to the attention of the Committee. They have regarded it from the beginning as a matter of high importance; connected as it is with the purity of that Holy W/~ord, which it is the object and business of this Society to diffuse as widely as possible. Having now brought their work to a close, the Committee would, first of all, render thanks to God, for the favour with which he has vouchsafed to attend them in their labours; for the mutual feelings of Christian respect and affection, accompanied by entire unanimity of action, which he has enabled them to cherish; and for the preservation of their lives and health during so long a period. Since the commencement of the work, only a single change has taken place in the Committee itself; occasioned by the retirement of the Rev. Dr. PECK, and the accession of the Rev. Dr. M'CLINTOCK in his place. One of the Secretaries of the Society, who met with us during the first year, the Rev. Dr. LEVINGS, has been called to his eternal reward; and is now, we doubt not, rejoicing in the truth of God's perfect Word unclouded by any admixture of human imperfection. From the other Secretaries of the Society, who have often met with us, the Rev. Drs. BRIGHAM and HOLDICH, the Committee have received much aid and many valuable suggestions. 4 REPORT OF THE Before proceeding to speak in detail of their own labours, the Committee beg leave to present a brief summary of the facts relating to the origin and history of the present English Version. In this way the Board will be the better able to apprehend the nature and character of the revisions heretofore made, by which the English Bible has been brought into its present form; as also to judge of the importance and necessity of the collation, in which the Committee have been engaged. ORIGIN OF THE PRESENT VERSION. Besides the translation of Wickliffe, completed about A.D. 1380, but existing until quite recently only in manuscript, six Protestant English versions had been printed and circulated, anterior to the one now in use. The earliest published English Bible was that of Tyndal. The New Testament was printed in Holland, in 1526 and several times afterwards; the Pentateuch at Hamburg in 1530. This version was followed in 1535 by Coverdale's translation of the whole Bible; which was twice republished, in 1550 and 1553. MlIatthew's Bible, so called, was printed in 1537, in Hamburg or some other part of Germany. The name Thomas Matthew is understood to be fictitious; and the work seems to have been mainly made up from the translations of Tyndal and Coverdale. According to some, the real editor was the martyr John Rogers. In 1539 was published Cranmer's or the Great Bible, in folio, printed at London by Grafton and Whitchurch, king's printers; and hence sometimes known also as Whitchurch's Bible. This was a revision of Matthew's version; and measures were taken to have it kept in the churches and publicly read. Other editions appeared in 1540. The Geneva Bible, so called, was translated at Geneva by English scholars, who had taken refuge there during the reign of Queen Mary. The New Testament was printed at Geneva in 1557; and the whole Bible in 1560. This version was reprinted at London in 1572, and often afterwards. In 1568 appeared the Bishops' Bible, so called, in folio. It was a revision of Cranmer's or the Great Bible, by archbishop Parker and other bishops; and took the place of Cranmer's Bible as the authorized English version. COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 5: At the accession of king James I, in 1603, the two versions last named, the Bishops' Bible and the Geneva Bible, were those mainly in use in England; the former authorized to be publicly read in the churches, and the latter mostly used in private families, The immediate occasion of the present translation was the celebrated Hampton Court Conference, held before the king, Jan. 12th, 1604. On the second day, Dr. leynolds, the leader of the Puritans, proposed to the king, that there should be a new translation of the Bible, because of the imperfections of the former versions. The king entertained the proposal; with the understanding, that the new version should " last of all be ratified by his royal authority, and so the whole church be bound to this translation, and not to use any other." Accordingly, before the middle of the same year, 1604, the king commissioned a large number of scholars of both the Universities and elsewhere, to meet, and consult together, in order to make a new and more correct translation of the Bible. These were divided into six classes, comprising fortyseven persons, whose names are given; who were to meet at Westminster, Cambridge, and Oxford, two classes in each place. The original Scriptures, including the Apocrypha, were in like manner divided into six portions; one of which was assigned to each class for translation. Certain rules, prescribed by the king, were transmitted to the translators by the bishop of London, at midsummer 1604. Among these the following serve to mark definitely the character of the translation and the manner of proceeding. "1. The ordinary Bible read in the Church, commonly called The Bishops' Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the original will permit. " 14. These translations to be used when they agree better with the text than the Bishops' Bible, viz. T'zyndal's, Coverdale's, Matthew's, WThitchurch's [i.e. Cranmer's], Gcneva. "6. No marginal notes at all to be affixed, but only for the explanation of the Hebrew or Greek words, which cannot, without some circumlocution, so briefly and fitly be expressed in the text. " 7. Such quotations of places to be marginally set down, as shall serve for the fit references of one Scripture to another. " 8. Every particular man of each company to take the same chapter or chapters; and, having translated or amended them 6 REPORT OF THE severally by himself where he thinks good, all to meet together, to confer what they have done, and agree for their part what shall stand. "9. As any one company hath dispatched any one book in this manner, they shall send it to the rest, to be considered of seriously and judiciously." Besides these forty-seven translators, it appears that "three or four of the most eminent and grave divines of each university" were appointed to be overseers of the translations; and these with the others probably made up, the number of fifty-four mentioned in the king's letter of July 22nd, 1604. After the work was actually commenced, nlore than three years, or, as the original Preface has it, "twice seven times seventy-two days and more," were spent by the several companies in completing the first draught of the new version. When thus far finished, three copies of the whole Bible were sent to London; one from Cambridge, one from Oxford, and one from Westminster From the companies in these several places, two persons were now selected from each place, six in all, who met in London to review the whole work, and prepare one copy from the three, to be com. mitted to the press. Their labours extended through three quar. ters of a year. "Last of all, Bilson bishop of Winchester, and Dr. Myles Smith afterwards bishop of Gloucester, again reviewed the whole work, and prefixed arguments to the several books;", by which "' arguments" are probably intended the contents of the chapters, etc. Dr. Smith also wrote the Preface. The translation thus laboriously and faithfully prepared, was first printed and published in A.D. 1611, in folio, and in the old black letter. InJthe Preface the translators say: "We never thought from the beginning, that we 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, not justly to be excepted against, that hath been our endeavour, that our mark." This is doubtless a true and appropriate statement of the object and motives, which these eminent persons had before their minds, in executing the great work thus solemnly committed to their charge. They claimed no infallibility for themselves, nor for their labours. The work assigned them was strictly a revision of the Bishops' Bible; which itself had grown up out of all the preceding versions. But they every where took the original Scrip COMMIITTEE ON VERSIONS. 7 tures as their basis; diligently comparing likewise all the former translations. In this way they certainly succeeded in making " one principal good translation, not justly to be excepted against." Yet notwithstanding all their care and diligence, their own first edition exhibits some grave errors of the press; most of which were speedily corrected in subsequent editions. Such was the origin of this venerable and truly national work; which immediately became the standard English Bible, and superseded all the other versions. Confined at first to the limited territory of the British Islands, and intended only for a population of a few millions, it had the effect at once to develope and fix the structure and character of the English language; and with that language it has since been borne abroad even to the ends of the earth. And now, during the lapse of almost two and a half centuries, it has gladdened the hearts, and still gladdens the hearts, of millions upon millions, not only in Great Britain, but throughout North America and India, in portions of Africa, and in Australia. At the present day, the English is probably the vernacular tongue of more millions than any other one language under heaven; and the English Bible has brought and still brings home the knowledge of'God's revealed truth to myriads more of minds, than ever received it through the original tongues. The translators little foresaw the vast results and immeasurable influence of what they had thus done, both for time and for eternity. Venerated men! their very names are now hardly known to more than a few persons; yet, in the providence of God, the fruits of their labours have spread to far distant climes; have laid broad and deep the foundations of mighty empires; have afforded to multitudes strength to endure adversity, and grace to resist the temptations of prosperity; and only the revelations of the judgment day can disclose, how many millions and millions, through the instrumentality of their labours, have been made wise unto salvation. The English Bible, as left by the translators, has come down to us unaltered in respect to its text; except in the changes of orthography which the whole English language has undergone, to which the version has naturally and properly been conformed; and excepting also the slight variations and discrepancies, which in so long an interval must necessarily arise, by reason of human 8 - REPORT OF THE imperfection, in the preparation and printing of so many millions of copies. The exposure to variations from this latter source is naturally greater, wherever the printing of the Bible is at the option of every one who chooses to undertake it, without restriction and without supervision; as in this country since the Revolution. In Great Britain, where the printing has been done only under royal authority, by the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, and the king's printers in London and Edinburgh, the like exposure does not exist in the same degree; although, even there, slight variations are continually manifesting themselves between the copies bearing these different imprints. This will appear more fully in the sequel. In respect to the accessories of the text, comprehending the contents of the chapters, the running heads of the columns, the marginal readings and references, and the chronology, the Bibles of the present day are much less conformed to the original edition. The translators, as we have seen, were to append "no marginal notes at all, but only for the explanation of the Hebrew or Greek words; " and also "fit references of one Scripture to another." To this requirement the early editions were entirely conformed; and the marginal references were very few. In the lapse of time, however, extensive changes and additions have been made in most of the above particulars. The contents of the chapters only have been preserved in the editions of larger size, without very great variation; while in copies of a smaller form, these likewise have been frequently and variously altered and abbreviated. VARIOUS EDITIONS AND REVISIONS. The following is a brief summary of the periods and editions, in which these changes seem to have been first made. An edition of king James' Bible was printed in octavo at Amsterdam, in 1664, with a preface by John Canne, a leader of the English Brownists. His purpose was to make Scripture the interpreter of Scripture, by the addition of important marginal references "so far as the margin could contain." This edition, with the preface and references of Canne, was several times reprinted by the king's printers in Edinburgh and London. There were editions by them in 1696, 1698, 1701, 1762, 1766, etc. COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 9 In England "many parallel texts," were added by Dr. Scattergood, in an edition published at Cambridge in 1678. Two years later, 1680, an edition was issued at Oxford, with the insertion of Usher's chronology. More important was the Bible published in folio and quarto in 1701, under the direction of Dr. Tenison, archbishop of Canterbury. In this edition Dr. Lloyd, then bishop of Worcester, added the chronological dates at the head of the columns, and a further collection of parallel Scriptures. At.the, end were also appended tables of Scripture measures, weights, and coins, by Dr. Cumberland, bishop of Peterborough. This edition was disfigured by typographical errors to such a degree, that the lower house of Convocation, in 1703, made a representation on the subject to the archbishops and bishops. But the careless printing of the Bible still continued, and was carried to such a height, in respect both to correctness and paper, that at last complaint was made to king George I. That monarch in consequence issued an order to the patentees for printing Bibles, dated April 24th 1724, directing that "they shall employ such correctors of the press, and allow them such salaries, as shall be approved from time to time by the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of London for the time being." @ At a later period, in an edition published at Cambridge, Dr. Paris made large corrections in respect to the words printed in Italic. This fact is mentioned by Dr. Blaney; but we have seen no further account of the edition. The most complete revision of the English Bible was that undertaken at Oxford by Dr. Blaney, about A. D. 1767, under the: direction of the Vice Chancellor and other Delegates of the Clarendon press.- According to his instructions, the Oxford copies were carefully collated with the folio edition of 1611, that of, Dr. Lloyd in 1701, and two Cambridge editions of a late date. The work occupied between three and four years; and in 1769 both a quarto and a folio edition were published at the Clarendon press; of which the folio was supposed to be the most perfect. The editor rernarks, that "many errors found in former editions have been corrected, and the text reformed to such a standard of * Thus far the facts respecting the origin and history of the authorized Version have been mainly drawn fromn LrEWIS' tHistory. of the several Translations of the Bible into. English, second edition, London, 1739, 8vo. See also the authorities there cited. 1.0. REPORT OF THE purity, as, it is presumed, is not to be met with in any other edition hitherto extant." —The points upon which particular attention was bestowed,. were the following: 1. The punctuation was revised, in order to express the true sense, and also to ensure uniformity, as far as possible. 2. As to the words printed in Italic, the Hebrew and Greek originals were compared, and many alterations made. These changes were all submitted previously to the Select Committee, and especially to the Vice Chancellor of Hertford College and Mr. Wheeler, Professor of Poetry. 3. In the heads or contents of the chapters, likewise, considerable alterations were made. On these much labour was expended by the editor; as also by the two gentlemen above named, and by Mir. Griffith of Pembroke College and the (then) late Warden of New College; by whom the suggestions of the editor were corrected and improved. 4. The running titles over the columns had to be adapted to editions of different size. 5. The Hebrew proper names, where the text contains an allusion to their meaning, were more fully translated in the margin. 6. Obvious and material errors in the chronology were rectified. 7. The marginal references were carefully compared and corrected, and many new ones added, particularly from what is mentioned as a " Scotch edition." The new references are said to have amounted to the number of 30,495, or about thirty to each page on an average.* This edition of the Bible by Dr. Blaney has been regarded, ever since its publication, as the standard copy; to which all subsequent issues in England have been conformed. A beautiful edition in quarto was published in London by Eyre and -Strahan, printed by Woodfall, in 1806, and again in 1813. In carrying this copy through the press, it is said that one hundred and sixteen errors were detected in Blaney's edition; one of them an omission of some importance. — $The preceding details are taken from Dr. Blaney's Report to the Vice Chancellor and other Deleqatesf ofthe Clarendon Press, dated Oct. 25th 1769, and printed in the Gentletman's Myagazine for Nov. 1769, Vol. XXXIX. p.: 517 sq. The number of new marginal references is given.in the Enncy/clop. MIetropol. art. Bible. COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 11 REPRINT OF THE ORIGINAL EDITION. Your Committee, are not aware, that any later general revision or collation of the English Bible has taken. place in Great Britain. About twenty years ago, the public mind, in that country and in our own, was for a time agitated by the charge openly made against our present English Bibles, that they had been greatly corrupted from the original edition; and that what we now have is not the English version as prepared by king James' translators. In consequence of this charge, the Clarendon Press issued in 1833, in quarto, an exact reprint in Roman letter of the folio edition of 1611 in black letter. " The reprint is so exact, as to agree with the original edition page for page, and letter for letter; retaining throughout the ancient mode of spelling and punctuation, and even the most manifest errors of the press." The publication of this reprint tranquillized the public mind; for it presented ocular demonstration, that, with the exception of typographical errors, and of the changes conformed to, and required by, the: progress of orthography in the English language, the text of our present Bibles remains unchanged, and is without variation from the original copy as left by the translators. Appended to this reprint is a collation made with one of the copies of the year 1613, two. years after the original edition. The variations are about 375 in number, exclusive of the Apocrypha. Whether the editions of 1613 were printed under the supervision' of the translators, probably. cannot now be known. The variations may be divided into three classes, viz. Manifest errors of the press in the copy of 1611; Manifest errors of the press in the copy of 1613; Other variations from the reading of 1611, but whether with or without design is not always certain. We subjoin specimens of each class, in the modern orthography. It may be proper here to add, that with the exception of the first class, or errors of the press, the present copies of the Bible accord throughout withthe edition of 1611. 1. MANIFEST ERRORS OF THE PRESS IN 1611. 1611. 1613 and present copies. Ex. 4, 10. 0 my lord, [said of Jehovah] O my Lord, " 14, 10. the children of Israel lift up their the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them, and they marched after them; and they 12 REPORT OF THE were sore afraid: and the chil- were sore afraid: and the children of sraellift uptheireyes,and dren of Israel cried out unto the behold, the Egyptians marched LORD. after them, and they were sore [A printer's doublet.] afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. Ex. 38, 11. hoops of the pillars hooks of the pillars Lev. 4, 35. shall burnt them shall burn them "13, 56. the plaine be the plague be "17, ]4. Ye shall not eat Ye shall eat "18, 3. doings of land of Canaan doings of the land of Canaan Num. 16, 3. lift you up lift ye up Ezra 3, 5. willingly offred, offered a free willingly offered a free Is. 13, 8. 21, 3. woman that travelletb woman that travaileth "49, 20. too straight for me too strait for me Jer. 5, 24. rain.. the later rain... the latter " 22, 3. deliver the spoiler deliver the spoiled "36, 21. fet the roll fetch the roll " 50, 29. hath done unto her hath done, do unto her Ez. 6, 8. that he may have that ye may have "14, 18. sons nor daughter sons nor daughters "241, 7. poured it upon poured it not upon Hos. 6, 5. shewed them by the prophets hewed them by the prophets Mic. 7, 7. unto you the LORD unto the LORD fMal. 1, 8. And if he offer and if ye offer Matt. 6, 3. what thy right doeth what thy right hand doeth " 8, 25. and awoke, saying and awoke him, saying " 13, 4. by the way's side by the way side 1 Cor. 11, 2. that you remember me that ye remember me 2. MANIFEST ERRORS OF THE PRESS IN 1613. 1611 and present copies. 1613. Gen. 42, 31. we said unto him we said unto them Lev. 7, 25, the fat of the beast the fast of the beast' 9, 10. shalt not glean shalt glean' 26, 24. also walk contrary also wake contrary Num. 15, 38. make them fringes make their fringes Deut. 5, 33. that ye may prolong that you may prolong' 12, 21. thou shalt kill thou shall kill " 19, 5. slippeth from the helve slippeth from the helme 1 Sam. 14, 28. father straitly charged father straightly charged 1 Kings 3, 15. and offered peace offerings Omitted " 20, 3. even the goodliest even thy goodliest 2KIings 22, 3. eighteenth year of eighteenth were of 1 Chr. 26, 31. at Jazer of Gilead as Jazer of Gilead 2 Chr. 6, 10. in the room of David in the throne of David Ezra 9, 2. the hand of the princes... hath the hand of the princes... have been chief been chief Neh. 10, 31. we would leave the we -would not leave the Job 29, 3. I walked through darkness I shined tlhrozugh darkness Is. 59, 7. shed innocent blood shed blood Ez. 5, 5. This is Jerusalem Thus is Jerusalem "23, 7. she defiled herself she delighted herself COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 13 Dan. 4, 13. a watcher and an holy one came a watcher holy and an one came Hos. 13, 3. smoke out of the chimney smoke out the chimney Hab. 2, 5. nations, and heapeth unto him all Omitted Matt. 13, 8. some sixty fold Omitted "16, 11. I spake it not to you concerning Omitted bread, that Luke 5, 30. But their scribes But the scribes " 8, 2. And certain women, which And a certain woman which John 6, 16. down unto the sea down into the sea "20, 25. put my finger into the print of the Omitted nails, and 1 Cor. 11, 17. I praise you not, that I praise you that 2 Cor. 2, 8. would confirm your love would continue your love Heb. 7, 11. another priest should rise another should rise 3. OTHER VARIATIONS FROM THE READING OF 1611. 1611 and present copies. 1613. Gen. 2, 24. and shall cleave and cleave 3, 5. day ye eat thereof, then your day when ye eat there.of, your "12, 14. she was very fair she was fair 25, 19. are are "27, 44. fury turn away fury pass away 45. of you both in one day of you in one day " 39, 6. bread which he did eat bread he did eat Lev. 26, 40. the iniquity the iniquities Num. 3, 41. instead of all the first born instead of the first born 45. I am the LORD I am the LORD " 4, 4. This shall be This shall be Judg. 16, 30. upon all the people upon the people 2 Sam. 13, 29. gat him up upon his mule gat him upon his mule 1 Kings 4, 27. unto king Solomon's table unto Solomon's table 2 Kings 20, 8. go iup into the house go into the house 2 Chr. 21,9. compassed him in, and compassed him, and Job 36, 29. spreadings of the clouds spreading of the clouds Ps. 25, 16. me: for I am desolate me: I am desolate Cant. 2, 7. till she [some read he] please till he please Is. 7, 3. Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub Ahaz, and Shear-jashub 47, 12. enchantments enchantment'49, 2. mouth like a sharp sword mouth a sharp sword Lam. 2, 10. daughter o Zion daughters of Zion Mlark 9, 24. help thou mine unbelief help my unbelief John 5, 3. a great multitude a great company Acts 21, 38. Art not thou that Egyptian Art not thou the Egyptian Rom. 15, 16. the offering up of the Gentiles the offering of the Gentiles 1 Pet. 1, 8. though now ye see him not though ye see him not Rev. 2, 18. feet are like fine brass feet are like brass "5, 4. no man was found worthy no man was worthy "7, 14. out of great tribulation out of tribulation " 20, 10. where the beast and the false where the beast and the false prophet are prophets are A careful examination of the preceding lists, and the evident absence of all plan in the deviations from the edition of 1611, 14 REPORT OF THE except in the first class, will probably lead most minds to the conclusion, that the alterations of the above third class are also mostly, if not all, merely errors of the press, which have been corrected in later editions. RESULTS. The results of the preceding historical investigation may be thus stated: That the edition of 1611, although prepared with very great care, was not free from typographical errors; and that, while most of these were corrected in the editions of 1613, others in much greater number were nevertheless then introduced, which have since been removed. That the edition of Dr. Lloyd in 1701 was disfigured by like errors of the press; and these were increased to such an extent, that in 1724 the correctors of the press employed by the various patentees were required to be approved by the archbishop.of Canterbury and the bishop of London. That the revision of Dr. Blaney, made by collating the then current editions of Oxford and Cambridge with those of 1611 and 1701, had for its main object to restore the text of the English Bible to its original purity; and that this was successfully accomplished, to as great a degree as can well be expected in any work of like extent. LIABILITY TO ERROPR. It may perhaps be supposed, that, after such a revision, and especially after the corrected copies of 1806 and 1813, it would be no difficult matter to keep up the standard of correctness at the same elevated point. Such an expectation, however, could never be cherished by those, who have had much practical experience in relation to the press. And especially, when we take into account, that the printing of Bibles is carried on in Great Britain at four different places, and in this country entirely ad libitumr; and that each copy contains, on an average, more than a thousand closely printed pages; it must be regarded as beyond the power of all human skill, even with the aid of stereotype plates, to prevent the occasional occurrence of minor errors and variations, arising sometimes from accident, and sometimes from the inadvertence of proof readers. Along with all these, too, there is certainly the possibility, COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 15 that some Slight oversights may have remained uncorrected throughout all the editions, even from the very beginning. It may not be inappropriate here to refer to two or three examples of important errors which have formerly crept into the text of some editions, through inadvertence. There exists, for instance, the "Vinegar Edition," so called, printed at Oxford in 1717, in two volumes folio; in which the word " vinegar " is put for " vineyard" in Luke 13, 7. In like manner, in several editions between 1638 and 1685, in Acts 6, 3, where the appointment of seven deacons is spoken of, the reading is changed from "whom we may appoint" to "whom ye may appoint." This variation has sometimes been charged upon the Independents, as intentional on their part; but as it first appeared in the Cambridge edition in 1638, and is not noted again until the time of the restoration, when it is found in the copies of Cambridge, London, and Edinburgh, this charge would seem to be without foundation; and the error, probably, was merely one of the press.* In one American edition, in Gal. 4, 27, the verse is thus printed:."For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an hundred;" so printed instead of " husband." RECENT COLLATION. Having thus presented a summary of the history of the present English Version, your Committee turn to the detail of their own labours. The attention of the Committee was first drawn to the subject under consideration, at their meeting Oct. 6th, 1847. At that time Mr. Secretary Brigham communicated to them, that the Superintendent of printing found many discrepancies still existing between our different editions of the English Bible; and also between our editions and those issued by the British and Foreign Bible Society. Several specimens of such discrepancies were exhibited to the Committee, relating mostly to the use of Italic words, Capital Letters, and the Article a or an. After consideration the A~ Lewis' History of the English Bible, p. 340. 16 REPORT OF THE Committee referred the matter to the Board of M anagers for counsel and direction. At the meeting of the Board of Managers on the next day, Oct. 7th, 1847, the matter was taken up and considered; and was referred back to the Committee on Versions, with directions to have the necessary collation made, and report the result to the Board. No further action was had in the Committee until Feb. 1st, 1848; when it was resolved, " that a suitable person be employed to collate the principal editions of the English Bible published by this Society with the latest British editions, and report from time to time to the Committee." A week later, Feb. 8th, 1848, it was resolved that the Rev. JAMES W. McLANE, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Williamsburgh, N. Y., be employed to commence the collation of the English Bible, as directed by the Board; beginning with the'New Testament. The work of collation was immediately begun; and the Collator made his first report to the Committee on the 26th of the same month. After several further meetings, the Committee having convened on the 25th of March, 1848, the Rev. Dr. Robinson submitted the following series of resolutions, which were adopted, as expressing the general views to which the Committee had been led by their examination and experience hitherto, and to serve as rules for their further guidance: "' 1. That the royal octavo edition of the English Bible, issued by this Society, be adopted as the basis for corrections. " 2. That the said American copy be compared with recent copies of the four leading British editions, viz. those of London, Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh; and also with the original edition of 1611.' "3. That the comparison include the Orthlography, Capital Letters, Words in Italic, and Punctuation. (To these were added in practice the Contents of the chapters, and the running Heads of the columns.) " 4. That so far as the four English copies are uniforon, the American copy be conformed to them, unless otherwise specially ordered by the Committee. 5. That the Collator be instructed, in his further labours, to apply the principles and cases previously adopted and decided by COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 17 this Committee; and that hereafter he lay before the Committee only such cases as have not before been acted upon, or such as may seem to need further consideration. "6. That in respect to the indefinite article, the form an be used before all vowels and diphthongs not pronounced as consonants, and also before h silent or unaccented; and that the form a be employed in all other cases." After further examination and experience, at a meeting of the Committee Sept. 22nd, 1848, the following additional rules were adopted:'; 7. That in cases where the four recent British copies, and also the original edition and our own copy, vary in Punctuation, the uniform usage of any three of the copies shall be followed. " 8. That when the London, Oxford, and Cambridge editions agree in the use or omission of the hyphlen in compound words, the same usage be adopted. " 9. That when the term Scripture or Scriptures refers to the whole volume of inspired truth, it begin with a capital letter; but when the reference is to some particular portion, it begin with a small letter." A meeting of the Board of Managers was held on the 28th of Sept. 1848; at which the Secretary read the minutes of the Committee on Versions, and gave explanations in respect to the preceding rules. After consideration, the said minutes were approved; and the whole matter was referred back to the Committee with power. The Committee met again Oct. 2d, 1848. Having thus received the sanction of the Board of Managers upon their proceedings, and upon the rules already established; and it being found difficult for the whole Committee to convene so often; it was resolved, " that the REV. DR. ROBINSON and the REV. DR. VERMILYE be a Sub-Committee to inspect the further alterations suggested by the Collator, and see that they are made according to the rules prescribed; and, if cases of peculiar importance arise, to convene the entire Committee." The collation was now fairly in progress. The Sub-Committee met the Collator once in each week, and sometimes oftener; and were occasionally assisted by other members of the Committee, and by the Secretaries. Each sitting usually occupied sev is REPORT OF THE eral houirs; and was devoted to a close examination of the varia. tions and other cases presented by the Collator. In the vast majority of instances, the Sub-Committee were enabled to decide at once, and without any hesitation. Wherever a doubt existed, or might be supposed to exist, the case was reserved for the action of the whole Committee. These cases were disposed of by the Committee at various meetings called for the purpose. It may not be inappropriate to state here,the method, in which the collation of the text was carried on. A book was prepared with columns for each of the six copies collated; and wherever a variation was found, the reading in each copy was entered in its own column. An additional column contained notes or remarks suggested by the particular case, or bearing upon a proper decision. In this way a single glance sufficed to ascertain, whether a case came under the prescribed rules, or was to be considered on its own merits. In an additional column was then entered the decision of the Sub-Committee; and in another, the cases referred to the whole Committee, with their decision. These entries form a complete record of the collation, and of the judgment of the Committee in every instance; and as the book (or rather books) will be deposited in the archives of the Society, it will be possible, at any future time, to determine, by reference to them in a particular case,. what was the decision of the Committee, and in general the grounds on which it rested. It was not until after nineteen months, on the 28th of April, 1850, that the Sub-Committee were ready to report, that in connection with the Collator they had now gone through the text of the entire Bible; and that new plates were in the process of preparation in conformity with the corrected copy. It was thereupon resolved, that the Rev. Mr.' McLane be requested to read again with care the sheets of the corrected copy as made ready for the press; and also to collate the marginal readings and references, with a view to the preparation of another still more correct edition, which may be made the standard copy of the Society. The same Sub-Committee were charged with the further supervision of the work, to assist the Collator in perfecting the proposed edition. In accordance with this resolution the plates then in progress have been finished, and editions from them carried through the press. The collation of the marginal readings and references has been quite recently completed; and the plates of a new Reference COMMITTEE OX: VERSIONS. 19 Bible in octavo, of beautiful form and type, are in the course of preparation. These will be finished under the care of the Collator and the Committee. When that time shall have arrived, the Committee will feel, that the important work entrusted to their charge, and in which some of them have spent so many pleasant hours, has been fully and successfully accomplished. SPECIMENS OF VARIATIONS. The Committee deem it important, in this connection, to lay before the Board some specimens of the variations and discrepancies in respect to which they have been called to decide, and of the changes which they have seen fit to adopt both in the Text and its Accessories. The Board and all other persons will thus be in a situation to judge of the manner in which the Committee have fulfilled their work; and of the degree of confidence which may properly be felt in the results. I. IN THE TEXT. It will be apparent from an inspection of the rules above given, that, the great and leading object of the Committee has every where been uniformity. It is only where the British copies differ, that any question has been raised; except in a few instances to be noted in the sequel. It has been the wish and endeavour of the Committee, to see the English Version restored, so far as possible, to its original purity;, saving the necessary changes of orthography and other like variations, which would assuredly be acceptable to the translators themselves, were they living at the present day. The Committee have had no authority and no desire to go behind the translators; nor in any respect to touch the original version of the text; unless in cases of evident inadvertence or inconsistency,, open and manifest to all. 1 WoRDs. Here, on the very threshold, we light upon an inconsistency in respect to the gender of a pronoun in the edition of 1611, which all the modern editions have only made worse. Thus in Ruth 3, 15, all the present copies read: " and she went into the city;" but the Hebrew and the translators have it:'" and he went into the city." Again, in Cant. 2, 7, all the present copies read: "nor awake my love, till he please;'" but the Hebrew and the translators: "till she' please." Yet in Cant. 3, 5, and 8, 4, where the Hebrew is precisely the same, the translators and all the copies 20 REPORT OF THE have: "till he please." All these instances have of course been corrected according to the Hebrew. In Isa. 1, 16, the present copies read, "Wash you," where the translators put " Wash ye." This is according to the Hebrew, and has been restored. Another change of a word occurs in Josh. 19, 2; where the recent copies read: "and Sheba;" but the translators have: "or Sheba." Here the Hebrew may in itself be taken either way; but the number of thirteen cities specified in v. 6, requires "or.' In Matt. 12, 41, which reads in all the copies: " shall rise up in judgment," the Committee have not hesitated to insert the definite article: "in the judgment." This is required by the Greek; and the same Greek phrase, in v. 42, is so rendered by the translators, and is so read in all the copies. 2. ORTHOGRAPHY. The Committee entertain a reverence for the antique forms of words and orthography in the Bible, where they do not conflict with a clear understanding of the sense. Indeed, it is such forms, in a measure, which impart an air of dignity and venerableness to our version. For this reason, phrases like: "hoised up the mainsail" Acts 27, 40; also words like "graff' and "graffed" Rom. 11, 17. 19. 23. 24; have not been altered. But when these forms have become obsolete and unintelligible; or have already been changed in some places and not in others; or where in themselves they are of no importance; there seems to be no valid reason for longer retaining them. By far the greater portion of the readers of the English Bible are unlearned persons and children; and it is essential to remove every thing in the mere form, which may become to any a stumblingblock in the way of the right and prompt understanding of God's holy word. The following examples still occur in the English editions; but have mostly already been changed in the Edinburgh and American copies. Many of them are variations from the edition of 1611. English Copies. Corrected. Gen. 8, 1. asswaged assuaged " 11, 3. morter mortar throughly thoroughly (Tr. Cam.) " 15, 11. carcases carcasses " 18, 19. houshold (Lound.) household (Tr. Ox.) " 30, 35. ringstraked ringstreaked " 37. strakes streaks "31, 10. grisled grizzled COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 21 English Copies. Correced. Gen. 39, 6. ought aught " 49, 27. ravin raven Ex. 6, 21. Zithri (prob. error of press) Zichri (Tr. Edin.) " 7,18. lothe loathe (Tr.) "12, 22. bason basin 27, 4. brasen brazen " 31,10. cloths clothes (Tr.) "32,20. strowed strewed " 33,22. clift cleft Lev. 14, 42. plaister plaster " 25, 9. jubile jubilee Num. 10, 25. rereward rearward " 13, 33. grashoppers (Tr. Lond.) grasshoppers " 20, 14. travel travail (Tr.) Deut. 14, 15. cuckow cuckoo " 15, 17. aul awl " 20, 19. ax axe (Tr.) "24, 6. milstone (Tr. Lond.) millstone (Ox.) Judg. 5, 22. pransings prancings " 13, 5. rasor (Tr. Lound. Cam.) razor (Ox.) Ruth 1, 18. stedfastly steadfastly 2 Sam. 15, 12. counseller (Tr. Lond. Cam.) counsellor (Ox.) 1 Kings 6, 15. cieling (Tr. sieling) ceiling " 8,37. caterpiller caterpillar 2 Chr. 2, 16. flotes floats " 7, 6. musick music Neh. 9, 1. sackelothes sackcloth (as in Joel 1, 13.) Is. 41, 7. sodering soldering " 59, 17. cloke cloak (Tr.) Jer. 2, 22. sope soap Ez. 40, 31. utter court outer court Zech. 11, 13. prised prized Matt. 20, 11. good man (Tr. Am.) goodman (Lonud. Ox. Cam.) " 27, 48. spunge sponge Acts 7, 28. diddest didst "14, 6. ware aware Eph. 5, 8. sometimes sometime (i. e. once, formerly.) 1 Tim. 2, 9. broidered (Tr. broided) braided Rev. 14, 20. horse bridles horses' bridles (so the Greek.) A variation likewise occurs in the mode of writing the Imperfect and Participle of many verbs; all of which have been corrected to the present standard. The following are examples: Gen. 7, 17. " was lift up" (so the translators); also Ez. 1, 19; but in v. 20, " lifted up." The recent copies have mostly "lifted," but not always. 8, 11. " pluckt"; but "plucked" Deut. 28, 63. " 18, 7. "fetcht;" but in v. 4, "fetched." " 21, 7. "have born," in recent copies; the translators correctly: "have borne." Deut. 2, 37. "forbad," in recent copies; the translators correctly: "forbade." Ps. 68, 13. "lien;" so the translators usually. This has been changed in the modern copies, in most cases, to "lain,' as Num. 5, 19, 20. Job 3, 13; but not throughout. 22 REPORT OF THE Ezra 9, 3. "astonied;". and so in all the copies, Job 18, 20. [Ez. 4, 17. Dan. 3, 24. etc. In some passages this has been already changed to "astonished," as Job 17, 8. In expressing the Plurals of such Hebrew words as are not rendered in the text, the translators adopted the plural form of the Hebrew in -izr, but with the superfluous addition of an s; as cherubirns, seraphims, Nethinims, Anakims, etc. This is strictly wrong, and is not in accordance with present usage. The s has therefore every where been dropped in such words; as Gen. 3, 24. Is. 6, 2. 6. etc. In respect to the Particles of Exclamation, 0 and Oh, it appears on examination that the former (0) is every where used before a Vocative case; while before an Optative we find both: "0 that," Deut. 32,-29. Ps. 55, 6; and " Oh that," Job. 6, 2. Jer. 9, 1. In order to maintain the proper distinction, the form Oh has every where been retained with the Optative; leaving O as the sign of the Vocative. The forms of the Indefinite Article, a or an, have been adjusted throughout according to the sixth rule above given. In order to show the necessity of the rule, the following examples of inconsistency in all the copies, from first to last, are here selected: Gen. 25, 25. an hairy Matt. 5, 14. an hill "27, 11. a hairy Josh. 24, 33. a hill Judg. 4, 21. an hammer Ex. 28, 32. an hole Jer. 23, 29. a hammer 2 Kings 12, 9. a hole Gen. 38, 15. an harlot Ex. 19, 6. an holy Joel 3, 3. a harlot (Ox. an) Is. 30, 29. a holy 1 Sam. 16, 16. an harp Matt. 10, 12. an house 10, 5. a harp Mark 3, 25. a house Is. 25, 2. an heap Ruth 1, 12. an husband "17, 11. a heap (Ox. an). " a husband (Ox. an) "11, 16. an highway etc. etc. etc. " 19, 23. a highway 2. PROPER NAMES. There exists in the Old Testament a very considerable diversity in the mode of writing Hebrew proper names in English. Thus the names of the first seven patriarchs of the world, as they appear in Gen. ch. 4, and as they are now usually written, are: Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch. But in 1 Chr. 1, 1 sq. the same are recorded as: Adam, Sheth, Enosh, Kenan, iIabalaleel, Jered, Henoch; the -Hebrew forms being in both places precisely the same. This is but a single specimen; and shews at least an inadvertence on the COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 23 part of the translators. In some instances, also, there is a slight difference even in the Hebrew forms themselves in different books. In cases like the preceding, involving as they do a difference of pronunciation, the Committee have not felt themselves authorized to introduce any change; regarding the great principle of uniformity in the copies as of higher importance. In the New Testament the case is somewhat different. Here it is to be regretted, that, in respect to persons already known in the' Old Testament, the translators did not retain their names in the form in which they had thus become familiar. Instead of this, they have often introduced the personages of ancient Jewish history under names modified, and sometimes disguised, by transmission through the Greek tongue. Thus in Acts 7, 45, and Heb. 4, 8, we find the name Jesus, which the common reader will naturally refer only to the Saviour; while in reality it is simply the Greek form for Joshua, and should properly have been so written. In the same way the name Core, in Jude 11, is unintelligible to most readers; for comparatively few would ever suspect its identity with the Tforah of the Old Testament. So too, the translators have sometimes taken the form of the Greek genitive Juda, Jona, to represent the Hebrew names Judah, Jonah. The principle adopted in such cases has been the following: When such names occur singly in the narrative, and there would arise no marked difference in the pronunciation, the form in the Old Testament has been restored. The name Jesus, as above cited, is explained in the margin by the translators themselves. The following are examples: Former Reading. Corrected. Former Readiny. Corrected. Matt. 2, 6. Juda Judah Acts 7, 30. Sina Sinai 10,15. Gomorrha Gomorrah Heb. 5, 6. Melchiseclec Melchizedek 21, 5. Sion Zion "11, 11. Sara Sarah 24, 37. Noe Noah " 32. Gedeon Gideon Mark 6, 3. Juda Judah " " Jephthae Jephthab John 1, 42. Jona Jonas Jude 11. Core Korah Acts 7, 11. Chanaan Canaan Rev. 2, 14. Balac Balak 3. COMPOUND WORDS. The eighth rule prescribes, that the usage of the English copies be followed in respect to the insertion or omission of the hyphen in compound words. It was found, that the Edinburgh and American copies employ the hyphen in very many instances, where by the operation of the rule it has been dropped. In such cases, generally, the words have afterwards 24 REPORT OF THE been written as one word, or as two words, according as the ac. cent in pronunciation is placed upon the first word, or otherwise. Thus bedchamber, handmaid; but meat offering, burnt sacrifice. This accords for the most part with the English copies. 4. CAPITAL LETTERS. The ninth rule provides for the manner of writing the term Scripture or Scriptures, with or without a capital letter. A similar rule has been followed in practice in respect to the word " Spirit;" which every where is made to begin with a capital when it refers to the Spirit of God as a divine agent; but not when it denotes other spiritual beings or the spirit of man. The following is a specimen of changes which have been made: English Copies. Corrected. Gen. 6, 3. My spirit My Spirit So too Gen. 41, 38. Num. 24, 2. Ps. 21, 7. most High 5Most High Is. 63, 10. holy Spirit Holy Spirit Rev. 4, 5. seven Spirits of God seven spirits of God 5. WORDS IN ITALICS. These were inserted by the translators to fill out the English idiom, in cases where the Hebrew and Greek usage omits the copula or other connecting or dependent words. These insertions were carefully revised and compared with the original by Dr. Blaney; but notwithstanding his diligence, quite a number of errors have been detected, some of which belong to the'translators. The following are examples: Ex. 8, 21. 22. 24. 29. 31. Here the recent copies all read: "swarms of.flies"; while in Ps. 78, 45, and 105, 31, the same Hebrew word is rendered: "divers sorts of flies", without Italics. In all these passages the edition of 1611 has no Italics. Judg. 9, 53. The edition of 1611 and all others here read: "and all to brake his skull." This has been often misunderstood, and has been sometimes printed: "and all to break." But "all to" is an antique form signifying "altogether," and was last so used by Milton. It here gives an emphasis to "brake," which is not in the Hebrew. The Committee have therefore put all-to in Italics, with a hyphen; and have inserted a note of explanation in the margin.@ Ps. 89, 34. " the thing that is gone out of my lips." So without Italics in the edition of 1611 and all British copies. The American has, correctly, that is, in Italics. Luke 1, 35. "which shall be born of thee." So in all the copies first and last; but the words of thee should be in Italic; there being nothing corresponding in the Greek. John 10, 28, 29, " any man.... no man;" so in the edition of 1611. The Oxford copy rightly reads: " any man.... no man;" the Edinburgh and American have: "any... none." Corrected like the Oxford: " any man.... no man." 1 John 2, 23, see in no. 8 below. See Biblioth. Sacra, Aug. 1849, p. 607. COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 25 6. PUNCTUATION. It was found that the three English copies have a general uniformity in respect to punctuation, especially in the frequent use of the colon; while the Edinburgh and American often prefer the semicolon, and are in general more conformed to the edition of 1611. The seventh rule prescribes, that "the uniform usage of any three of the copies shall be followed." In the great majority of instances, the operation of the rule has produced conformity with the English copies. In cases where the rule was not applicable, the Committee have endeavoured to decide each according to its own merits. The following five changes made in the punctuation, are all, it is believed, which affect the sense: Rom. 4, 1. "that Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the flesh hath found." Here, according to the order of the Greek, it should read: "hath found as pertaining to the flesh." The true pointing, therefore, is a comma aftei'Abraham, and another after father. This is found in no edition hitherto. 1 Cor. 16, 22. "let him be Anathema. Maran atha." There should be a:period after Anathema which no edition inserts. The two words " Maran athea' are simply an Aramman formula signifying "The Lord cometh;"' compare Phil. 4, 5. 2 Cor. 10, 8-11. All the copies now have a colon after v. 8, and a period after v. 9, con necting the two verses in sense. The true pointing, however, is a period after v. 8, and then a colon after v. 9 and also v. 10; thus connecting v. 9 as protasis with v. 11 as apodosis. So Chrysostom, and so the Syriac and Latin versions; and this is required by the logical sequence. Heb. 13, 7. Here should be a period at the end of the verse after "conversation." So the translators, the Oxford, and other copies. The Edinburgh and American have sometimes a colon, and sometimes a comma. Rev. 13, 8. Here a comma is inserted after "slain;" since the qualification "from the foundation of the world" refers not to "slain," but to "written;" as is shown by the parallel verse, Rev. 17, 8. The translators wrongly insert a comma after "Lamb;" others put no stop at all. 7. PARENTHESES. Our collation has shown, that very many parentheses have been introduced into the text since the edition of 1611. Some of these are fit and proper; but in general they only mar the beauty of the page, without adding any thing to perspicuity. In some instances, too, they have the force of commentary. For these reasons, those not inserted by the translators have been in great part omitted; as in Rom. 5, 13-17. 11, -8. 2 Cor. 12, 2. Gal, 1. 1. Rev. 2, 9. etc. 8. BRACKETS. These are found but once, 1 John 2, 23, enclosing the last clause of the verse, which the translators put in Italic. This was done, because that clause was not then contained in the Received Text of the Greek New Testament; although the sense 26 REPORT OF THE requires it, and it was read in the best manuscripts and in the Versions. The clause is now inserted in all critical editions of the Greek Testament; and as there is no question of its genuineness, both the brackets and the Italics have been dropped. IT. IN THE ACCESSORIES OF THE TEXT. We here tread on different ground. The edition of 1611 contained indeed valuable accessories of the text; and these have been continued, and are greatly increased, in many of the editions at the present day. But it is the text, and strictly nothing but the text, that constitutes the Bible. Of the many editions published by this Society, and by the British and Foreign Bible Society, by far, the greater number, and the great multitude of copies, comprise the text alone, with the briefest possible accessories. 1. CONTENTS OF THE CHAPTERS. These, as found in the larger copies of the Bible, have mostly come down to us from the translators. Some of' these summaries early gave rise to remark; especially that originally prefixed to Ps. 149: "The prophet exhorteth to praise God for his love to the church, 5 and for that power which he hath given to the church to rule the consciences of men." In the later copies, the last clause: "to rule the consciences of men," is omitted.* Many minor changes were also made in the edition of Dr. Blaney. —In the editions without references, for common readers or for ordinary distribution, and partitularly in the Edinburgh and American editions, these summaries have often been greatly abbreviated, and sometimes wholly omitted. Such a summary, in full, ought to comprise a reference to the main incidents or points in each chapter; expressed in the briefest form consistent with perspicuity; and, so far as possible, in words contained in the text. There should be no ambiguity and no prolixity; and, above all, there should be no comment. In all these particulars, the contents of chapters in the larger Bibles are very frequently deficient; and the Committee have endeavoured to apply the above principles, in making such alterations as seemed in each case to be required. Their attention has been mainly directed to the change of quaint, obsolete, ambiguous, or inappropriate words and expressions; to a greater condensa-Lewis' History of the English Bible, p. 330. COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 27 tion and conformity with the language of the text; and to the removal of comment. As specimens of the changes made under the first of these heads, the following may suffice: Gen. 20. He is healed by Abraham's prayer. Corrected: At the intercession of Abraham he is healed. Gen. 22. Isaac is exchanged with a ram. Corr. A ram is sacrificed instead of Isaac. Gen. 50. He dieth, and is chested. Corr. He dieth, and is embalmed. Lev. 18. Unlawful lusts. Corr. Abominable lusts. Num. 3. The firstborn are freed by the Levites. Corr. The Levites are taken instead of the firstborn. Num. 12. shut out of the host. Cotrr. shut out from the camp. Num. 14. Moses persuadeth God, etc. Corr. Moses intercedeth with God, etc. Deut, 20. Trees of man's meat. Corr. Fruit trees. 1 Sam. 16. Samuel sent by God, under pretence of a sacrifice, cometh to Beth-lehem. Corr. Samuel sent to Beth-lehem to anoint one of the sons of Jesse. Esth. 5. he buildeth for him a pair of gallows. Corr. he buildeth a gallows for him Is. 45. lIe convinceth the idols of vanity. Corr. The vanity of idols. Ez. 18. God reproveth the unjust parable of sour grapes. Corr. God reproveth the people for their unjust parable of the sour grapes. Zech. 5. By a woman pressed in an ephah, the final damnation of Babylon. Corr. The vision of the ephah. Matt. 1. The angel satisfieth the misdeeming thoughts of Joseph. Corr. The angel removeth the doubts of Joseph. Matt. 22. and poseth the Pharisees about the Messias. Corr. Christ the Son of David. In the matter of condensation and greater conformity with the language of the text, the changes have also not been infrequent. Most readers of the Bible are perhaps not aware, that the words Christ and the church are neither of them found in our version of the text of the Old Testament; the corresponding terms being there Liessiah and Zion; see Dan, 9, 25. 26. Ps. 149, 2. Is. 61, 3. 66, 8. Yet in the contents of the chapters the former words are often employed; thus departing from the language of the text, and in fact introducing comment. An example is the summary prefixed to Ps. 149, quoted above; which, as amended, now reads: REPORT OF THE "The psalmist exhorteth to praise God for his love to Zion, 5 and for that power which he hath given to the saints." Other examples of the like kind are the following: Ex. 33. The people murmur thereat. Corr. The people mourn. (As in v. 4.) Is. 42. The office of Christ graced with meekness and constancy. Corr. The servant of Jehovah. 2 His character. Also Ps, 86. Ecc. 1. Matt. 1. 1 Cor. 7. 1 Tim. 2. Heb. 1. 5. 6. So generally the summaries throughout the Gospels and the Book of Acts. One other example is too striking not to be quoted in full: Acts 8. By occasion of the persecution in Jerusalem, the church being planted in Samaria, 5 by Philip the deacon, who preached, did miracles, and baptized many, among the rest Simon the sorcerer, a great seducer of the people: 14 Peter and John come to confirm and enlarge the church: where, by prayer and imposition of hands giving the Holy Ghost, 18 when Simon would have bought the like power of them, 20 Peter sharply reproving his hypocrisy, and covetousness, and exhorting him to repentance, together with John preaching the word of the Lord, return to Jerusalem. 26 But the angel sendeth Philip to teach, and baptize the Ethiopian eunuch. Corr. The disciples are scattered abroad and preach the word. 5 Philip preacheth at Samaria. 9 Simon the sorcerer is baptized. 14 Peter and John are sent to Samaria, in answer to whose prayer and with the laying on of their hands the Holy Ghost is given. 18 Simon offereth them money for the like power. 20 Peter rebuketh him. 26 Philip is sent to teach and baptize the Ethiopian eunuch. In respect to comment, some instances are already given in the preceding paragraphs. It is most frequent in the prophetical books; and in some of them it occurs in the contents of almost every chapter. The following are also examples: Ps. 49. An earnest persuasion to build the faith of resurrection, not on worldly power, but on God. Corr. The psalmist calleth upon all men to hear. 6 He sheweth the vanity of trusting in wealth. Is. 40. The promulgation of the gospel. 3 The preaching of John Baptist. 9 The preaching of the apostles. 12 The prophet by the omnipotency of God, 18 and his incomparableness, 26 comforteth the people. Corr. God's command to comfort his people. 3 An exhortation to prepare the way of the Lord, 9 and to proclaim the glad tidings of his coming. 12 The power and wisdom of God. 18 The folly of likening him to any thing. 26 His perfections a sure ground of trust in him. Is. 49. Christ, being sent to the Jews, complaineth of them. 5 He is sent to the Gentiles with gracious promises. 13 God's love is perpetual to his church. 18 The ample restoration of the church. 24 The powerful deliverance out of captivity. Corr. The Messiah and the object of his advent. 7 God promiseth him protection and success. 13 God's unchanging love to Zion. 18 Her glorious enlargement foretold. 23 The enemies of Zion shall be destroyed. See, too, Is. 42, 43, 44, 50, 51, 52, 54, 60, 62, 63, 66, etc., etc. A special example of commentary is found in the contents of COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 29 all the chapters in the Song of Solomon; which every where present, as the subject of the book, the mutual love of Christ andthe church. The Committee fully believe, that this poem is intended to symbolize the mystical union between God or Christ and the souls of believers on earth, either individually or collectively; but nothing of this is expressed in the literal language of the text. The two persons introduced as speaking are every where the spouse or bride (ch. 4, 8-12. 5, 1) and her beloved. In accordance with this view, all the summaries of this book have been recast. 2. RUNNING HEADS OF THE COLUMNS. These have always been varied, and are still varied, in almost every edition; inasmuch as scarcely any two different editions have the pages and columns precisely alike. In the editions now in preparation by the Committee, these heads have been arranged by the Collator, under the supervision of the Sub-Committee, with special reference to brevity, appropriateness, and conformity with the text. 3. MARGINAL READINGS. The king's sixth rule made it imperative upon the translators, that "no marginal notes at all should be affixed, but only for the explanation of the Hebrew or Greek words, which cannot,... so briefly and fitly, be expressed in the text." The comparatively few readings which the translators introduced, were of two kinds. The one kind is marked by a dagger (t), and gives the signification of the Hebrew or Greek proper names, where there is a corresponding allusion in the text; and also the meaning of other words in the original, where the English idiom cannot express it literally. These are introduced by " Heb." or " Gr." Examples from the edition of 1611 may be seen in the margin of Gen. 1, 4. 5. 6. 14. 16. etc. etc. Of this kind the Committee have added but two examples; one in Acts 12, 4, where opposite the word "Easter" they have inserted: "Gr. the Passover;" and the other in Josh. 6, 4, opposite the phrase: "of rams' horns," where they have put: "Heb. of jubilee." The other kind is denoted by parallel lines (II), and presents a different or parallel rendering of the original word or phrase, introduced by " Or." These readings are not unfrequently better than those adopted in the text. Examples from the original edition are found in Gen. 2, 6. 14. 3, 7. etc. Sometimes also the note, to which s0 REPORT OF THE this mark refers, is merely explanatory of a word or phrase in the English text, preceded by " That is." So the translators, opposite to the name " Jesus" in Heb. 4, 8, have inserted this note: " That is, Joshua." The Committee have added the same note in the margin of Acts 7, 45; as also one explanatory of;. all-to," Judg, 9, 53; one explanatory of " Selah," Ps. 3, 2; and another upon the name "Azzah," Deut. 2, 23. Sometimes, also, the same mark is used, where a different reading or form of a word is referred to. The number of marginal readings, particularly of the former kind, has by degrees been greatly enlarged, and especially by Dr. Blaney. These, so far as they are not inappropriate, the Committee have permitted to remain; their object here, too, being mainly uniformity rather than revision. In printing our editions, the readings are so arranged, as always to stand opposite the verse to which they belong. Another species of note has been added in the modern copies in a few instances, especially in the book of Judges; containing merely conjectural and unwarranted commentary. Such notes are found Judg. 3, 31. 11, 29. 12, 8. 11, 13. 13, 2. 15, 20; also opposite the title of the book of Job. These have been every where omitted. 4. MARGINAL REFERENCES. Here the translators were limited, by the king's seventh rule, to " such quotations of places, as shall serve for the fit references of one Scripture to another." The edition of 1611 exhibits comparatively few. They were greatly increased first by Canne, whose selection was several times reprinted in England and Scotland; and last of all, and very extensively, as we have seen, by Dr. Blaney. He seems not always to have confined himself to Canne's rule, to insert only " so far as the margin could contain;" for in some instances the bottom of the column is also occupied with references. Here, likewise, the object of the Committee has been, not revision, but uniformity; and only in a few instances have they diminished the number on an over-full page, by omitting some of those, which, on actual examination, proved to be of little or no importance. Here, too, in printing, the reference letters with the texts under each are separated by a printer's lead; in order that the eye may the more readily catch the reference. 5. CHaRONOLOGY. In respect to this branch, the Committee have COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. 3i only taken care to have the several dates adjusted over against the paragraphs or verses to which they respectively belong. This was the more necessary; as in not a few instances they had in the course of time become displaced. CONCLUSION. Such is the account which the Committee have to render to the Board of Managers, of their stewardship in this work; although this account, and the few specimens above presented, can of course afford no adequate idea of the time, the attention, and the labour bestowed on the work by the Sub-Committee and the Collator during the period of three years. And now, invoking the continued blessing of the Most High, and with a deep sense of their own imperfections, the Committee would commend the result of their labours to the favourable consideration of the Board, as also of the Society, and of the Christian public. They claim no special freedom from error; they may, very possibly, not always have fully carried out their own rules; they may have committed oversights. But they shrink from no responsibility; and they have no desire to cover up, either what they have done, or what they have ieft undone. The thing has not been done in a corner. As illustrating the necessity of the present collation, and the remarks already made upon the exposure to variation and error in the printing of so many millions of copies, it may suffice here to mention, that the number of variations recorded by the collator. solely in the text and punctuation of the six copies compared, falls but little short of Twenty Four Thousand. Yet of all this great number, there is not one, which mars the integrity of the text, or affects any doctrine or precept of the Bible. In thus closing their labours, the Committee desire, with grateful praise to God, distinctly and formally to state, that no decision whatever has been made, and nothing whatever has been done, except with ENTIRE UNANIMITY on the part of the Committee and those acting with them. In behalf also of their able coadjutor, the Rev. Mr. McLane, the Committee would record their testimony to his fidelity, diligence, and accuracy, in the work of collation, and in bringing to their notice the various points which required attention. His task has been one of great labour, requiring minute accuracy and 32 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS. much patience. May he find a rich reward in the precious fruit of knowledge and experience thus acquired; and so be permitted to reap an abundant harvest in the Master's field. In conclusion, the Committee would present for consideration and adoption by the Board the two following RESOLUTIONS: 1. That the Octavo Reference Bible, now in the course of preparation under the direction of the Committee on Versions, be adopted as the Standard Copy of this Society; to which all future editions published by the Society shall be conformed. 2. That, in order to carry out the preceding Resolution, the Committee on Versions be charged with the supervision of the Press; and the Superintendent of Printing and the Proof Readers be responsible to them. All which is respectfully submitted. GARDINER SPRING, THOMAS COCK, SAMUEL H. TURNER, Committee EDWARD ROBINSON, on THOMAS E. VERMILYE, Versions. JOHN MXCLINTOCK, RICHARD S. STORRS, J. J BIBL I HOUSE, May 1st, 1851.