Suggestions for Translators, Editors, & Revisers of the Bible

Suggestions For Translators Rev. R. B. Girdlestone

ISBN: 9781648171253

Suggestions for translators, editors, & revisers of the Bible R.B. Girdlestone First Fruits Press, ©2022

Digital version at https://place.asburyseminary.edu/firstfruitsheritagematerial/210/ First Fruits Press is a digital imprint of the Asbury Theological Seminary, B.L. Fisher Library. Asbury Theological Seminary is the legal owner of the material previously published by the Pentecostal Publishing Co. and reserves the right to release new editions of this material as well as new material produced by Asbury Theological Seminary. Its publications are available for noncommercial and educational uses, such as research, teaching and private study. First Fruits Press has licensed the digital version of this work under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/.

For all other uses, contact: First Fruits Press B.L. Fisher Library Asbury Theological Seminary 204 N. Lexington Ave. Wilmore, KY 40390 http://place.asburyseminary.edu/firstfruits

Girdlestone, Robert Baker, 1836-1923.

Suggestions for translators, editors, & revisers of the Bible [electronic resource]/

by R.B. Girdlestone. – Wilmore, Kentucky : First Fruits Press, ©2022.

1 online resource (62 p. : port.) : digital.

Reprint. Previously published: London : Hatchards, 1877.

ISBN: 9781648171239 (paperback) ISBN: 9781648171253 (uPDF) ISBN: 9781648171246 (Mobi) OCLC: 1310205828 1. Bible--Translating.

I. Title.

BS449.G57 2022eb Cover design by April Hardman

220.5

First Fruits Press The Academic Open Press of Asbury Theological Seminary 204 N. Lexington Ave., Wilmore, KY 40390 859-858-2236 first.fruits@asburyseminary.edu asbury.to/firstfruits

SUGGESTIONS FOR

TRANSLATORS, EDITORS, & REVISERS OF

THE

BIBLE.

BY THE REV.

R. B. GIRDLESTONE,M.A., Formerly Superintendent of the Translating and Editorial Department of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

LONDON: HATCHARDS, 187, PICCADILLY. 1877.

Y IJ:UFA SUNT FINITA

i RES AUTEl\1 INFINlT..E.

PREF

HAVING

ACE.

been ordered by my medical advisers to give up my

official position in connection with the British

and Foreign

Bible Society, it seemed fitting that I should spend my first few months

of leisure and returning strength in embodying

whatever experience I had attained during the past ten years m a paper of practical suggestions for those who are engaged m preparing versions or editions of the Scriptures.

Though originally undertaken at the request of the Committee, this paper is put

forth on my own responsibility, and the

Committee are not pledged to any of its statements.

R. B. G. CLAPHAM

April,

COMMON,

1877.

CONTENTS. PAGE

§ l, The spiritual and intellectual requirements of a Translator

.

.

1

§ 2. On methods of translating ; with remarks on some existing Versions .

9

§ 3. The Received Text to be followed; on the use of alternative readings .

13

§ 4. On accuracy and consistency in the translation of Religious Terms.

15

§ 5. On the translation or representation of the Biblical names for God .

.

§ 6. On the transference or translation of the word Baptize

17 19

§ 7. On diversities of Dialect and Style; and on Honorific Titles

.

21

§ 8. Cases in which a ti·anslator is liable to be misled by the English Bible.

23

§ 9. Alternative Renderings, Explanations of Proper Names, &c. .

.

27

.

31

§ 10. Marginal References .

.

.

.

.

.

§ 11. Italics and other modes of marking supplementary words.

33

§ 12. Summaries, Page Headings, Dates, and Chapter Headings

.

38

§ 13. On the best method of exhibiting the structure of the Prose and

Poetry of the Bible

40

§ 14. On Punctuation and the use of Inverted Commas and Capital Letters

44

§ 15. On Orthography and Character; and on attempts to form a Universal

Alphabet.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

45

§ 16. On Title-pages, Tables of Contents, Paging, &c., with a few words on Proof-reading .

• 48 § 17. On methods of conducting Joint Revisions

49

SUGG E ST IO NS.

§ 1.-THE

SPIRITUAL AND INTELLECTUAL REQUIREMENTS OF A TRANSLATOR.

IT is no easy matter to translate out of one language into another, especially if neither of them is our mother tongue.

The difficulty is enhanced when the subject matter to be translated is abstruse, or in some respects removed from the sphere of everyday life. The responsibility becomes enormous when the translator is engaged not on the word of man, but on the inspired records of God's truth.

Who can sit down to such a task without being overwhelmed with the sense of its gravity, whilst encouraged by a consciousness of its importance? The difficulties are manifold : the antiquity and peculiarity of the original languages, Hebrew, Chaldee, and Hellenistic or J udreo-Greek; the brevity of the idiom ; the uncertainty of the meaning of mat1y words ; the necessity of translating some things definitely which are left indefinite in the original ; the difficulty of getting rid of early prepossessions connected with our own English version and with the school of religious thought in which we were broµ.ght up ; the consciousness that by our work, whether it be good or bad, the religious ideas of hundreds, thousands, or perhaps of many generations, may be formed. Truly, as one meditates on these things, one mav well tremble at the task. ' He ·hath need to live a clean life: says Purvey, in his Prologue to Wickliffe's Bible, 'and be full devout in prayers, and have not his wit occupied about worldly things, that the Holy Spirit, Author of wisdom, knowledge, and truth, dress him in his work and suffer l1im not to err. . . . By this manner, with good living and great travail, men may ccme to true and clear translating, and true

6

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

understanding of Holy Writ, seem it never so hard at the beginning.

God grant to us all grace to ken well and keep well Holy Writ, and suffer joyfully some pain for it at last.'

Let a man then examine himself as to his motives and wash his hands in innocency before approaching this sacred and stirring task. Let all the work be begun, continued, and ended in God. Once a month, at least, all translators, revisers, and editors of the Scripture are remembered before God in prayer by those rr1embers of the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society whose special department it is to watch over this branch of the work. Each individual translator ought to be supported by the prayers and sympathy of his Christian friends -and fellow workmen and by the intercessions of the churches. If this were done more persistently, surely there would be greater success and more happiness in the work.

A translator has need of patience. He longs to get at least one Gospel complete. His brethren press him on, and perhaps officials at home do the same ; and he is tempted to hurry to a conclusion and to get his work quickly into print. But in such a work as this the old adage is true, 'most haste is worse speed.' It is far better to keep the MS. back for a time, to go over it again and again with missionaries and with natives, and if possible to translate two or three books in the rough before printing any portion, because each new part will reflect linguistic light on that already accomplished. The translators of the English Bible write thus concerning their wor1< : ' We did not disdain to revise that which we had done, and to brmg back to the anvil that which we had hammered ; 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 see.'

Again, a translator has need of an unbiased mind. But where is such a mind to be found? and whence can even any tendency towards it be obtained? Who can strip himself of all his predilections? Did Beza ? did Luther? did our English translators?

We have noble instances of honesty and fidelity, indeed, in the history of Bible translation from the days of Jerome downwards.

The grand words of Tyndale are never to be forgotten. He writes thus to his friend John Fryth : ' I call God to recorde as against the day we shall appear before our Lorde Jesus Ch~ist, to give reckoning of our doings, that I never altered one syllable of God's Word against my conscience, nor wolde do thys day, yf all that is in earth, whether it be honour, pleasure, or ryches, myght be geven me.' Miles Coverdale also says in his Preface to the First English Bible, ' I have neither wrested nor altered so much as one word for the maintenance of any manner of sect, but have with a clear

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

7

conscience purely and faithfully translated ... having only the manifest truth of the Scriptures before mine eyes.'

Such honesty of purpose can only be obtained and acted upon where there is faith, prayer, and pureness of living; and after all, no man can rise from his work as a translator without the consciousness of his great shortcomings. When Judson had completed the Burmese Bible, he made the following entry in his diary : 'Jan. 31, 1834. Thanks be to God! I can now say, '' I have attained.''

I have knelt down before Him, with the last leaf in my hand, and imploring His forgiveness for all my sins that have polluted my labours in this department, and His aid in future efforts to remove the errors and imperfections which necessarily cleave to the work, I have commended it to His mercy and grace ; I have dedicated it to His glory. May He make His own inspired ·word, now complete in the Burman tongue, the grand instrument of filling all Burmah with songs of praises to our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.'

The history of Bible translation is a history of triumph over linguistic and other difficulties. It has yet to be written. The nearest approach to it is to be found in Bagster's 'Bible in every Land : ' but it would take volumes to detail the lives and characters of the men ; the marvellous ways in which they were led to undertake and carry on the task; the practical obstacles which they overcame; the unlooked-for calamities which sometimes befell their work when it was nearing its completion ; the providence which guarded them, the zeal which animated them, the results which rewarded them. As an example of the personal toil involved in this undertaking, we may give the experience of Mr. Hands, one of those engaged in the Canarese version. Writing in 1828, he says, 'The work was commenced sixteen years ago, and scarcely a day has passed in which I have not laboured therein ; it has engaged the best part of my time and strength : many of the books have been revised and re-copied seven or eight times.' It is stated that when Luther was preparing the complete edition of the Bible, a select party of learned men assembled every day to revise every sentence, and sometimes they returned fourteen successive days to the reconsideration of a single line, several days being given occasionally to a single word. If this was the case with such men as Luther, who was translating into his mother tongue, and who was surrounded with an atmosphere of erudition, what must be the perplexities of a man who stands almost alone, with no great amount of learning, rendering the Scriptures into a language in which there often exists no literature at all, not even a grammar or dictionary, nay, in some cases not so much as a written language. Such was the case with Elliot, ' the apostle of the Indians,' who translated the Bible into a Massachusetts

8

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

dia1ect, and gave the secret of his success in one pregnant sentence:' PRAYER

AND PAINS, THROUGH

FAITH

IN CHRIST

JESUS,

WILL DO ANYTHING.'

It is not every one that is called to be a translator. Some have been forced into the service who are utterly unfitted for it. Many men are cut out admirably for Missionary labour, and are capable of picking up a working acquaintance with a native tongue, who have a horror of grammars and dictionaries, and of all sedentary occupation whatsoever. If there are several missionaries in one field, one or two ought specially to be told off for the literary branch of mission work, not to shut themselves up in their studies, but to aim at a more critical knowledge of the native language than the rest have time to attain, and const~ntly to be on the watch for words and idioms which will help them in their translations. Dr. Moffat used to collect the Bechuanas around him and set them to talk on various topics in his presence, taking note of their modes of expression, and only occasionally putting in a word or two so as to elicit some fresh information. Many other translators have followed the same plan. But evidently much skill and tact are needed to carry out this course effectively.

It is a good plan to subdivide the work of translation, where it is feasible, some men being more capable of rendering the poetical parts of Scripture, others the prose ; some only competent to deal with the New Testament, others able to avail themselves of the sacred original in the Old Testament also. Let no man be ambitious to have a translation of a Bible called after his name.

First versions are often necessarily undertaken by single individuals, but the sooner many minds can be brought to bear on the work, the better. The first Bible translators-those of Alexandria-if not seventy in number, were at any rate not a few; their work is still held in honour, but their names have not come down to us.

The English Bible had about fifty hands engaged on it. The Manx Old Testament was divided among twenty-four persons, and their work revised by two. The Dutch Version had twelve translators and sixteen revisers employed on it. Even Luther had many helpers before his Bible was brought out in its complete form.

The names of all engaged in translation, and the course which they pursue in carrying out their work,. ought to be carefully recorded for the information of future generations; but the prospect of fame is not to be held out as a stimulus to the worker. He has something better by way of reward, for if the undertaking is a hard one, it brings its own recompense with it. Henry Martyn thus wrote concerning his Urdu version: 'If the work should fail, which however I am far from expecting, my labour will have been richly repaid bv the profit and pleasure derived from con-

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

9

sidering the Word of God in the original with more attention than I had ever done. Often have I been fi11edwith admiration, after some hours' detention about one or two verses, at the beauty and wisdom of God's words and works; and often rejoiced at meeting a difficult passage, in order to have the pleasure of seeing some new truth emerge. It has been frequently a matter of delight to me that we shall never be separated from the contemplation of these divine oracles, or the wondrous things about which they are written. Knowledge shall vanish away, but it shall be only because the perfection of it shall come.'

§ 2.-0N

METHODS OF TRANSLATING; WITH REMARKS ON SOME EXISTING VERSIONS.

It is impossible to dictate or even suggest any exact course or system to be adopted by translators. There is no royal road for them to follow but the path of loyalty, diligence, and perseverance.

The translator is supposed to have a thorough experimental acquaintance with Divine truth, familiarity with his own Bible, a good working knowledge of the language into which he is going to translate, and, if possible, at least such an acquaintance with the originals as will enable him to compare the structure of sentences in the two languages. If he be acquainted with some other languages, by all means let him avail himself of the versions existing in them. He should have before him (i.) the works of his predecessors in the same task if there be any, for he ought to conform his idioms and words to their usage so far as possible, the rudest translation being a help to any one who follows after, in more ways than one; (ii.) a well-printed English Bible with marginal references and readings ; (iii.) a Hebrew Old Testament and a Greek New Testament; (iv.) concordances and critical works ; (v.) an ample supply of writing materials.

He should leave in his first copy a wide margin and some space between the lines for correction, and must be prepared to write the same thing over and over again. The copy for the printer should only be written on one side of the paper.

Purvey, whose name is always associated with Wickliffe's work, describes his method of translating in the following quaint terms : ' A simple creature hath translated the Bible out of Latin into English. First this simple creature had much travail with divers fe1lows and helpers to gather many old Bibles and other doctors and common glosses, and to make a Latin Bible somewhat true; and then to study it afresh, the text with the gloss ... ; the third time to counsel with old grammarians and old divines of hard words and hard sentences, how they might best be understood and

10

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

translated ; the fourth time to translate as clearly as he could after. the sense, and to have many good fellows and cunning at the correcting of the translation.'

This was an admirable course to pursue, especially in the matter of translating ' as clearly as he could after the sense.' For this is always to be the translator's aim-to give the sense of Scripture.

For doing this he will find it impossible to render word for word, or idiom for idiom, or even to retain the same order of words, unless he is tr:rnslating into a strictly cognate idiom. In some of the Turanian languages he will find it hard even to keep to the order of verses in the more elaborate of St. Paul's arguments, and he may have to throw two or three verses together; but this plan had better not be resorted to if any other expedient can be devised.

The Scylla and Charybdis between which the translator has to steer are the danger of sacrificing the sense by being too literal, and that of losing the force of the original words by being too idiomatic.

It is certainly a good rule of Jerome's ' magis sensum e sensu q_uam ex verbo verbu,m transferre' (Pref. Judith), or as Purvey puts it, 'to translate after the sense, and not only after the words.'

But, as Jerome says in another place, 'Melius est in divinis libris transferre q_uoddictum est licet non intelligas q_uaredictum sit, quam auferre quod nescias' (Com. in Ezek. xx.). If a translator is doubtful whether a certain expression is to be rendered literally or to be regarded as an idiom, it is best to put the literal rendering in the text and the idiomatic in the margin, or vice versa, according as his mind most inclines one way or the other. The context is a great help in most cases ; as Purvey says again, ' a translator hath great need to study well the sense before and after.' After all, it is no easy thing to distinguish the idiomatic from the literal in such a pictorial language as the Hebrew.

How our English translators have acted under the circumstances will be seen further on.

It ought to be mentioned in so many words, though already implied in the earlier part of this section, that the British and Foreign Bible Society has never considered the English version a fixed standard in all matters of translation. It is only regarded as a generally safe guide, a type of what a version ought to be in style, idiom, and learning. Its renderings are not infallible, but they ought not lightly to be set aside.

A translator ought to avoid fanciful renderings, and to have a very considerable respect for those which have come down from early times. A man must not introduce his ' hobbies ' into a version of God's Word. All translations made by single individuals contain them, it is to be feared, but they should be resolutely reduced to a minimu,m. There is a strong tendency,

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

11

for example, in some minds, to translate Gen. 4, ' I have begotten a man that is Jehovah' (see Luther's and Almeida's versions), and to render John viii. 25, 'The beginning as I have said to you;' but fanciful renderings like these should be well sifted by grammar, by the context, by the general analogy of Scripture, and by the opinion of sound scholars, before they are introduced. We should therefore say to a translator, Where a traditional rendering cannot manifestly be improved, accept it, and put any rendering in the margin which commends itself to yout own judgment very strongly, but which is not sanctioned by the majority of standard versions and authorities. 1 Jerome to a remarkable degree forbore to press his own views, though they were formed on a critical study of the text. Hence his notes and his version do not always agree.

Another rule which is important to be borne in mind, is this : Do not determine a sense where the original seems to have been purposely left ambiguous ; in other words, Do not let your translation be more definite than the original was intended to be. Our Authorised Version is a very good instance of conformity to this rule, the English language being capable of very considerable ambiguity from its want of genders. In many languages, however, the case is far different. Thus in the French language a great deal depends upon definiteness of expression.

The manifest danger in such a case is lest a translator should put too much into a version, not too little, • He dare not sacrifice the idiomatic necessities of the language to a bald literal rendering; and hence his work is in danger of degenerating into a paraphrase. De Sacy's version, for example, is excellent French, but is decidedly too paraphrastic, introducing into the text many words which savour of comment. The Icelandic version is the same. Diodati, Luther, and other most eminent translators have found it impossible to avoid this evil altogether. A distinction was drawn by Rhenius in his interesting little work on Bible translation, between verbal, idiomatic, and paraphrastic translations. He himself in his Tamil version decidedly erred in the last-named direction.

How far we may legitimately supplement the sense conveyed in the original by the use of italics will be discussed further on in this paper.

It would be beyond the scope of this paper to give critiques on the existing standard versions, but a few may be mentioned as especially useful to the translator. Of old standard versions the first place must naturally be given to the Septuagint, which, though 1 It is part of the business of the head of the Translating Department of the British and Foreign Bible Society to give advice on all such points. He has access to books and to living scholars, who are always ready to help ; and translators are freely invited to get aid through him in the matter of difficult texts, and also, if needful, to apply for a loan or grant of critical books.

12

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

it fails one in matters of text and exact criticism, gives the current sense of the Hebrew Scriptures as they were understood by the Alexandrine Jews two centuries before our Lord's time. Its chief value, as pointed out elsewhere, is in its choice of Greek words to represent predominating Hebrew ideas. The Latin Vulgate is of great value. We yet need a critical edition of it. In the Old Testament Jerome's renderings of difficult passages are frequently accompanied with the older renderings made from the Septuagint.

These ought to have been put into brackets or thrown into the margin; the translation would then have been of far greater practical utility to other workers. Jerome was not only the most learned man_ of the fourth century, but he obtained the aid of Jewish teachers and helpers, by whose assistance he often got hold of renderings which are now accepted by our best scholars. His New Testament is not a fresh translation but is simply a recension of the old Latin text. The Syriac version is of exceeding value for those who can use it, having been made from the originals.

Of comparatively modern versions, we should mention Luther's work not so much because of any merit due to it as a critical translation, but because of its directness and masculine vigour .1 Diodati's Italian version is a very scholarly work, and one of decided individuality. The Dutch Bible and the most modern edition of Almeida's Portuguese Bible will be found useful. We should especially recommend the Modern Greek Bible, whiGh is quite intelligible to any who can read ancient Greek.

The Arabic Bible is also of great value in making Oriental versions.

The Modern Russ has been made from the original with much care, but it is a sealed-book to most translators. Of the versions made in more distant lands, several are of great value, having been made by many hands and with the help of the original. Of Modern Latin Versions Castalia affected too great elegance ; Pagninus made his version too Hebraic ; Arias Montanus, in his determination to be systematic, let uniformity become his master instead of his servant ; Father Simon says of him that he attempted to correct Pagninus, but quot correctiones, tot corruptiones ! The versions of Beza, Munster, and Tremellius and Junius may be consuJted with advantage.

1 Luther must not be followed as an infallible guide.

He ought not to have introduced the name Christ into Dan. ix. 25, 26, and his translation of some important expressions, as for example, 'the righteousness of God,' Rom, i. 17, &c., is too paraphrastic.

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

§ 3.-THE

13

RECEIVED TEXT TO BE FOLLOWED; ON THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE READINGS.

The translators of the English Authorised Version have taken very few liberties with the received Hebrew text as published by Van der Hooght and his successors. Occasionally, but very rarely, they have allowed themselves to alter points, to transpose letters, to disregard aC'cents, and even to accept a conjectural emendation.

They have freely availed themselves of the Hebrew marginal readings called Keri, and they have accepted in some doubtful passages the suggestions of the Chaldee Targums, the Greek Septuagint, and the Latin Vulgate.

This respect for the Hebrew text as a generally safe guide not to be departed from except in extreme cases, is very much to be commended, and the example thus set by men of learning and authority ought to be followed by translators generally.

It is true that Hebrew MSS. have been largely collated since 1611, but the results (as at present known) are not such as to justify the abandonment of the received text in many important particulars. A further and more scientific collation, now ( 1877) in course of preparation by Mr. J. B. Ginsburg, may lead to some further changes, but it would be premature to speculate upon their nature at present.

There can be no doubt that there are preserved in the LXX., the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Syriac, and the Latin Vulgate, some ancient readings of great value which are not to be found in our present Hebrew copies. Occasionally also some very important readings of Old Testament passages appear to have been preserved in quotations in the New Testament. Thus in Gen. ii. 24, where our Hebrew text is "they shall be one flesh," the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Ancient Versions are supported by our Lord and by St. Paul in their reading, 'They TWO shall be one flesh.'

Again, in Deut. xxvii. 26, the existing Hebrew text stands thus, ' Cursed be he that confirmeth not the words of this law to do them.'

Our translators have added the important word all in italics, out of deference no doubt to St. Paul's quotation, and the introduction of this word is supported by the testimony of the Samaritan Pentateuch and of many Hebrew MSS. Although the Hebrew points are not of the highest authority, yet they generally represent the traditional Jewish pronunciation, just as the accents represent the old intonation. Each may be departed from on occasion, when standard authorities and scholars justify such a departure, but translators ought not lightly to avail themselves of this liberty.

Where New Testament

t4

SUGGESTIO~S

FOR TE,ANSLATORS,

authority can be cited in favour of altering the vowel points in the Old Testament, there appears no reason why it should not be done. This is notably the case in Gen. xlvii. 31, where by altering the points of the word rendered bed it would be translated staff, and would thus be conformed to the LXX. and to the reference in Heb. xi. 2L. A. translator employed on a version to be published by the British and Foreign Bible Society, wishing to introduce alternative readings into the margin, other than those sanctioned by the usage of the English version, ought to submit the list beforehand to the head of the Translation Department for the sanction of the Committee. He must not attempt emendations of his own without this sanction, as it would be quite out of the power of the Committee to accept them. This restriction is trying to some, but for the present at any rate no greater liberty can safely be extended.

With regard to the New Testament the state of the case is certainly very different from that of the Old. The last half century has wrought a revolution in the views of textual critics.

Important MSS. have been discovered; there has been a col1ation and classification of most of the known MSS., together with a verification of old versions, and a searching criticism of early quotations. We have now abundant materials for the establishment of a text generally answering to that which was current in the 4th century, and although editors have not yet come to an agreement as to certain passages, yet there is a strong tendency towards union, and probably in a very few years a text may be prepared which (being accompanied with a certain number of alternative readings) will be stamped with the authority of the leading masters of textual criticism, including the most cautious and conservative amongst them.

Meanwhile there must be patience.

It would be unwise to allow translators to pick and choose for themselves amongst the ever-varying critical editions. Until a new text is ready, the least inconvenient course would be to follow the Greek Textus Receptus, obtaining permission to put a few passages of more than doubtful authority into brackets, and to insert in the margin a few important alternative readings. This permission would probr1.blybe granted by the Committet:: of the Bible Society, provided a list of those readings proposed to be thus adopted were sent beforehand for the approval of the Editorial Superintendent and Sub-Committee.

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

§ 4.-0N

15

ACCURACY AND CONSISTENCY IN THE TRANSLATION OF RELIGIOUS TERMS.

' A translator of the Bible finds his work beset with difficulties at every step. He has not on]y to seek how he may convey sub]ime and heavenly ideas in human idioms, but also to feel about for bare words, and this, not merely in such matters as unknown weights, measures, animals, and trees, but in others of far greater importance. He constantly has to pause and consider whether he had better use a native word, which but indifferently represents the original, or whether it be preferable to transfer a word from the Hebrew, Greek, or some other language. In the one case he is· in danger of creating a misunderstanding in the mind of his readers; in the other, he is certain to convey no sense at all until by oral teaching, or otherwise, the newly-grafted word has become familiar. He wants to speak of the sins of the flesh, and can only find a word which signifies meat; he has to speak of angels, and must choose between messengersand genii; he wants to write about the hngdoni of heaven, but finds to his astonishment that such a thing as a kingdom is unknown ; he has to speak concerning the soul and the spirit to those who are apparently without a conception of anything beyond the body. Thus a version of the Scripture must needs be full of anomalies and obscurities at first, and though the substantial facts contained therein may be plainly set down, a clear understanding of its details will only be arrived at after much study on the part of native readers.' 1 Every sentence in a new translation ought to be read out to natives,-not to one only, but to several,-before it is finally fixed; and all must be done that can be done to make it intelligible to them. The importance of this rule is extreme, owing to the fact that the missionary is not usually translating into his own mother tongue, or into one with which he is thoroughly familiar, but into what even after many years is still a strange language to him.

He may know it not only superficially, but well, and yet be unable to fathom the ideas which certain words awaken in the mind of his reader.

It is not until one has thoroughly investigated the subject, that one realises the strict consistency with which certain words are used for definite purposes in the Old and New Testaments. Our English translators have by no means attained the like accuracy, but it is to be hoped that the revisors will do so. All important words in Scripture ought to be rendered uniformly. This can readily be done in the case of the Old Testament by means of 1 '

Old Testament Synonyms,' p. 32.

16

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

Fiirst's 'Hebrew Concordance,' the 'Englishman's Hebrew Concordance,' or Wilson's 'Dictionary and Concordance.' The leading Greek word used in the LXX. to represent each Hebrew term can be learnt from Trommius' or Kircher's 'Concordance.' The translator then turns to the Greek Testament, armed with a set of words suitable for every important topic there introduced ; and by the aid of the ' Englishman's Greek Concordance,' or, better still, Bruder' s ' Concordance,' he can make his renderings consistent throughout.

This plan will commend itself to every thoughtful mind when it is remembered that the Greek in which the New Testament was written was formed amongst the Jews by the impregnation of Greek words with Hebrew ideas. The Septuagint version of the Old Testament is thus the key to the Greek of -the New Testament, and in order to understand it we must go back to the Hebrew so as to discover what were the ideas imported into it from that source.

But the question will be asked, What classes of words are we to treat in this elaborate way? To subject all the words in the Bible to this exhaustive process would be an endless task. We answer by subjoining a list of the most important words, which we recommend translators to make up their minds about before they begin their work. Having once determined, after much conference with their brethren and with natives, the right word to be used in each case, let them adhere to it throughout the Bible. 1 (i.) The various names for God. (ii.) If the language contains different names for man, answering to those used in Hebrew and Greek, let them be noted. (iii.) Psychological words, such as those for spirit, soul, heart, will, desire, pleasure, conscience. (iv.) Words for heaven, earth, world, land, nation, tribe. (v.) Words representing sin in its varied aspects, and those which have to do with temptation and the tempter. (vi.) Moral attribides, such as perfection, uprightness, righteousness, justice, truth, faithfulness, love, grace, pity, mercy, compassion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, humility, holiness. (vii.) Words for repentance, conversion, &c. (viii.) Words marking God's way of salvation, such as salvation, propitiation, reconciliation, pardon, deliverance, acceptance, redemption. (ix.) Ceremonial words for washing, sprinkling, baptizing. (x.) Sacrificial words, for the various offerings, and for the altar, incense, &c.

1 All these terms, with others, are uisct1ssedat length in the writer's work on ' Old Testament Synonyms,' Longmans, 1870.

17

EDITOUS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

(xi.) De11:otiona.lwo1·ds, for prayer, praise, worship, temple, church, synagogue. lxii.) Official terms, for prophet, seer, king, judge, priest, minister, presbyter, bishop, deacon. (xiii.) Words relating to death, the grave, the peace of the departed, eternity, the final condition of the saved and lost.

§ 5.-0N

THE TRANSLATION OR REPRESENTATION OF THE BIBLICAL NAMES FOR GOD.

The missionary is a preacher before he becomes a translator.

As soon as he has made himself somewhat familiar with the language of the people amongst whom he is called to work, it becomes his business to find out the nature of their religion.

Whom do they worship'? What is their name for the Supreme Being to whom they look as their Creator,-if there is one?

What ideas have they of his character'? Sometimes the answer is easily obtained,-as amongst the American Indian tribes. Sometimes there are 'Lords many and Gods many,' and it is no easy matter to choose amongst them. At other times, as amongst the Bechuanas, there is the greatest difficulty in finding out whether there is any object of reverence or worship among the people at all.

Much care is needed by the missionary in taking the first step, as it is not easy to recede. Three possible courses present themselves to him : He may transfer the Hebrew name; or he may translate it ; or he may substitute for it that one among the existing titles for God in the language which appears most suitable.

The most general name in Hebrew is Elohim, which no doubt originally conveyed to the Jewish mind an idea of Power. Whether it was a primreval word or not we cannot tell, as we do not know whether Hebrew was the primreval language. It runs through the Semitic family, but does not appear to be indigenous in the Aryan or Turanian groups of languages. The Greeks, Romans, and other Aryan races had a different word, which is supposed by some moderns to have originally signified the Dawn of Day, though Greeks of the age of Plato and Aristotle seem to have thought otherwise. This word (THEOS) was accepted by the Alexandrine Jews as a substitute for ELOHIM, and has been acquiesced in ever since. The Persians, Hindoos, Teutons, Scandinavians, and others (though also of Aryan origin) had a totally different word,-that which we call GoD,-which is popularly supposed, though on doubtful authority, to signify the Good. The Sclavonic races have another utterly different word, BOGH; the Finnish races, JUMAL; the Hungarians, ISTEN; the Basques, JATNCOA; the Albanians, PERENDIA; the Bengalis, ISHW AR; the Chinese, alas ! who shall B

18

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

answer? Aclhiw sitb judice lis est! We have no doubt that missionaries in each case have done their best to find the most suitable name in the language, though of course they may have made mistakes. If all the names which were connected in the heathen mind with idolatrous rites were to be rejected, it is hard to know what would be left. 'Every care should be taken to select the best word, but it is well to remember that in all countries the truth about God is gathered not so much from the name as from what is taught concerning Him who bears it. Little by little the false ideas which man too readily forms with respect to his Maker are removed from his mind, and new thoughts take their place.' 1 As there will be false Christs, so there have been and still are false Gods, but we must not be debarred from using the title in a good sense because it has been used in a bad sense by others. Thus in the case of China, although the ideas which some minds associate with SHA.NG-TIare false, yet in the opinion of many missionaries there is no other name which seems on the whole to answer so well to that of ELOHIM. With this judgment the present writer, after examining most of what has been written on each side, from the days of the Portuguese missionaries to those of Canon McClatchie, is inclined to agree.

The whole question, however, is one for missionaries to decide ; and Bible Societies must defer to their views on the matter, and must be prepared to print versions in which that name for God is adopted which, after deliberate judgment and conference, experienced men sanction as the best.

Before leaving the title ELOHIM,we must not omit a passing notice of its secondary sense as applied to J1idges, who are called Gods, because they act in a magisterial capacity, as God's representatives. See Ex. xxi. 6; xxii. 8, 9, 28 (where our translators have missed the sense, as they have also done apparently in 1 Sam. xxviii. 13). If the word is translated Judges in these passages, the word 'gods ' should be put in the margin, and a reference given to the 82nd Psalm and to our Lord's comment thereon, which shows that those were called gods to whom the word of God came. See John x. 34-36.

Passing by the other Hebrew names for God, such as ELION, the Most High; SHADDAI,the All-Sufficient or Most Bountiful ; and ADONAI,the Lord or Master; a few remarks must be made on the name JEHOVAH. Some translators have felt strongly the duty of retaining it ; others have a decided objection to this course, and have translated it by a word meaning ' Lord,' or (in a few cases) • the Eternal.' ·The Alexandrine Jews unfortunately 1 'Synonyms of the Old Testament,' p. 47. The subject of the present Section is gone into fully in the second chapter of that book.

EDITORS,

19

AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE,

used the same word for JEHOVAHas for ADONAI,hence no difference is made in the Greek Testament, and it thus becomes impossible to tell whether the title ' Lord,' when found there, stands for Adonai or for Jehovah. It is true that there are some phrases, such as 'the angel of the Lord,' where the matter can be decided by reference to Old Testament usage, and there are quotations from the Old Testament where of course the Hebrew is a safe guide; but in other passages a translator must be left to his own judgment. The interest and the difficulty of the question thus presented become enhanced when we reflect that the title ' Lord ' is so often used with reference to the Saviour in the New Testament, and that it may be legitimately inferred from some Old Testament passages quoted by the apostles, that the name Jehovah was not only applicable to the Father, but also to the Son. Certainly the title Jehovah ought to be distinguished from Adonai throughout the Old Testament, either by difference of type (a line of explanation as to this peculiarity being printed with the Table of Contents), or by a difference of translation (the one being the Living or Eternal, the other the Master or Possessor), or by a reproduction of the word itself. There can be no serious objection to any one of these courses. Where Jehovah is plainly referred to in the New Testament a uniform rendering should· be given. Where it only appears probable, a marginal alternative may be suggested. § 6.-ON

THE TRANSFERENCE OR TRANSLATION OF THE WORD BAPTIZE.

It may seem strange that the mode of administering the initiatory rite of the Christian Church should be made to depend on the rendering of one word, and that a special denomination should be named after it, but so it is. Nay more, a Bible Translation Society has been formed solely (in the first place) with the view of rendering the word Baptizo by one which signifies immerse. The Society in question, however, has enlarged its field of operations, and has done good service in the cause of Bible Translation, taking as its fundamental principles these two admirable positions, first, that every word in the Bible which can be translated ought to be translated; and secondly, that the text from which translations are made ought to be in accordance with the best MS. readings of the Old and New Testaments. The practical bearing of the second of these aphorisms has been briefly considered in a previous section. In dealing now with the first of them, the writer wishes to guard both himself and the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society, with whose feelings he is well acquainted,

B2

20

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

from the imputation of any want of due respect for the views of their Baptist brethren. It is simply as a Biblical student that he approaches the question, and he wishes in doing so to give all honour to those members of the Baptist persuasion who from the days of Carey to those of Wenger and Saker have taken part in the work of Bible Translation.

We would lay down the following principles as of importance in discussing the right term for Baptism in any language :-(i.) that Greek words found in the New Testament must be translated in accordance with Jewish usage, rather than with classical usage ; (ii.) that technical and ceremonial words ought to be translated as far as possible by analogous words in other languages ; (iii.) that where those analogous words do not exist, it is often a wise course to leave the word untranslated.

Let us apply these principles to the case in question. What was the Jewish use of the word Baptize ? With the Septuagint and Greek Testament before us, we may confidently answer that it is a ceremonial word, used in a peculiar technical sense, and that a term signifying sac1·ecl washing would be its best representative in another language. To clip is bapto; to wash for the purpose of cleansing ceremonially is baptizo. Ceremonial washing might take place by the process of dipping, as in the instance of N aaman (2 Kings v. 10-14, ' Go wash ' . . ' he clipped(or baptized) himself seven times'), or it might be performed by the process of sprinkling, as in Ecclesiasticus xxxiv. 25, where we read of one washing himself (or being baptized) after the touching a dead body, that is to say by being sprinkled, as we see from Numbers xix. 13.

The washings or baptisms of persons and vessels mentioned in Mark vii. 4, 8 ; Luke xi. 38, and the divers washings or baptisms mentioned in Heb. ix. 10, were of the nature of ceremonial washing, and were performed by pouring or sprinkling, not by dipping.

The mode of administration in ·the case of the Christian rite is not defined in Scripture, nor was it rigorously restricted to immersion, so far as we can gather from early Christian usage or from ancient and standard versions. When, therefore, new translations were made by Baptist Missionaries, and a particular rendering was g~ven which supported the views of one denomination and condemned the usage of almost all others, complaints were made, and it became the duty of the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society to consider what course they ought to adopt.

The rule they have acted upon is evidently based on the fact shown above, that the word baptism means ceremonial washing, whether by dipping, pouring, or sprinkling. They have decided that the word Baptizo and its cognates should be transferred into the language of any new version, as is done in the English Bible, unless it can be translated by some native word indicative of

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

21

sacred washing, and not implying that either dipping or sprmkling is the essential matter.

One cannot help asking before passing on, what does the rite of Baptism symbolise? Is it not the washing of the inner man, of the moral being, by the Blood of Christ, and by the clean water of the Holy Ghost ? We are not dipped in the blood, but sprinkled by it-the heart being sprinkled from an evil conscience ; we are not plunged in the Spirit, but cleansed by Him, our bodies washed with pure water (Heb. x. 22), by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour (Titus iii. 6).

It has often been considered whether it would be possible to harmonise the differences existing among Christian brethren on this subject by giving alternative renderings in the margin or at the foot of the page where the word first occurs in the New Testament, the word Baptize being kept in the text. A statement might be inserted to this effect:-' This word is used in Scripture in the sense of sacred washing, whether by dipping, pouring, or sprinkling.' If Baptists would accept this statement, which is most certainly true, the difficulty which now exists might be got over. 1

§ 7.-ON

DIVERSITIES OF DIALECT AND STYLE; AND ON HONORIFIC TITLES.

Dialectal differences exist in all large and populous countries.

We find them in England, France, Germany, Italy, &c. They haunt the Missionary and Translator in Abyssinia, Sierra Leone, Malabar, China, the Saskatchewan, and Madagascar.

How far is he to attend to them? The general principle may safely be laid down that the sooner dialects are done away with, the better; and there is no more excellent way for accomplishing this object than by adhering to the predominant form of the language as far as possible in preaching and te<1ching, and alt'Ogetherin printing. Dialectal variations in words may conveniently be printed in early editions of the Scriptures in one or other of the following ways, which have all been adopted at various times with the sanction of the British and Foreign Bible Society. They may be inserted in brackets, or in the margin, or at the foot of the page, or (which is 1 It is sometimes supposed that the Bible Society ought to circulate denominational versions, inasmuch as it has occasionally sanetioned the circulation of ver:,;ions made from the Latin Vulgate; but those who take this ground may be reminded that in the Vulgate versions there is no systematic use of any ritual, ceremonial, or moral term, condemning the practice of other Christians. It is the exclusiveness of the term ' immerse' which led Protestant missionaries to appeal to the Bible Society to discontinue their sanction of it in modern versions.

22

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

the most convenient plan, though it has not often been permitted) they may be introduced as a glossary at the end of the book. The glossary in such a case becomes simply an alphabetical list of alterna~ive renderings, thrown together at the end for the reader's convemence.

It is impossible to lay down a boundary line between dialects and languages ; or to determine, by rule. where a new translation is needed in consequence of a marked variation in speech. It may be said generally that where diversities only affect names of things, the variation is simply one of dialect; but where the grammar varies. this is a sign of a distinct language.

Not only do we fip.d diversities of dialect in a language, but also marked differences of style. Thus in Turkish there is an elaborate upper class style, abounding with inflated expressions, and there is a vulgar style, far more direct, which is current among the lower classes. In some Oriental languages there is a style peculiar to ancient poetry, legends, and religion, and it would be thought by the natives highly improper to express theological ideas in writing in any other, whatever may be done in speaking. 'To read the Bible in the language of Chaucer, and then expound it or preach it in that of Spurgeon or John Bunyan, would be something like what we hear when a (Telugu) pandit expounds any classical poem to a Hindu audience.' 1 'All are agreed,' says the writer just quoted, ' that the language in which the Holy Scriptures are given to the people should be granimatical in the ordinary and best meaning of that word, and as free from vulgarisms as possible.' The language used by the pandit, the sovereign, and the man of toil cannot be regarded as 'vulgar' in an objectionable sense, though most truly 'the vulgar tongue.' Words ought to be used in the sense in which they are understood by the people; and this may generally be done without making a version rude and boorish.

There exist in some languages, such as Singhalese, some peculiar honorific titles used in addressing a superior, and applied in the same way as we speak of 'your Majesty,' 'your Serene Highness.' &c. These have given considerable trouble to Missionaries, and consequently to translators. In Singhalese the simple word for Thou is To, but there are grades of fancy titles, until we reach the exalted 'Oba-wahansay.' Custom and national prejudice are in favour of the use of these honorific terms in approaching God whether in prayer or otherwise; and it is by no means easy to overcome these strong feelings of the natives without giving serious offence in the process. The words of the Rev. S. Lambrick, who took a prominent part in the discussion of this question, are applicable to other countries and circumstances as well as to the 1

Rev. John Hay, in his Introduction to the revised Telugtt Genesis.

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

case of Ceylon. He says, 'in fixing on the best principle on which a version of the Scriptures should be made, let those who are to determine it bear in mind that they are acting for the benefit of a future Christian community, and let them recollect that there are always great impediments in the way of changing a long received version of the Bible ; and that the thanks of the Churches, which will hereafter rise up and call them blessed, will be given in proportion to the vigour with which they now stem the torrent of present prejudices, real and assumed, in order to give them a version resembling the beautiful simplicity and transparent perspicuity of the original.'

§ 8.-CASES

IN WHICH A TRANSLATOR IS LIABLE TO BE MISLED

BY THE ENGLISH BIBLE.

As these' suggestions' are not for the general public, but for the few, no apology is needed for discussing what might seem at first sight to imply a want of confidence in the English Authorised Version. The writer's only object is to point out various matters calling for watchfulness on the part of the translator, who is frequently in danger of following the English Version to the neglect of the original. To go through the whole Bible, pointing out all doubtful renderings,· would be utterly beyond the scope of this paper; besides, it is always much easier to criticise the work of others than to suggest anything better.

The excellence of the Authorised Version is acknowledged even by those who wish to see it made more accurate. But it is one thing to praise a version as a good one for readers, and another to set it forth as a basis of foreign translations. In the nature of things the English language is not good for this purpose, though better, in certain respects, than the Latin, from which Roman Catholics have to translate. Nor is it to be forgotten that accuracy in certain details is more within the reach of translators now than it was in A.D. 1611. Whilst, therefore, a missionary who has undertaken to prepare a version in a new language may take the English Bible as an admirable model of what a vernacular translation ought to be, and whilst he generally follows its guidance in the renderings of difficult passages, he must not allow himself to be led blindfold, but must be on his guard lest it should cause him to go astray in certain important particulars. Of these the following are especially worthy of notice:(i.) The use of the definite article has not always been sufficiently attended to either in the Old Testament or the New. Numerous instances might be cited, but it is unnecessary to do more than point out the fact and urge the importance of always examining

24

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

the original in this matter. Versions made from the Latin are peculiarly liable to defect here, because that language has no definite article.

It is now a generally accepted rule amongst Biblical critics that if a definite article is in the original, it should be expressed, as far as is consistent with the nature of the language into which a translation is being made ; but the absence of the definite article in the original does not equally necessitate its absence in the translation. (ii.) With regard to the use of prepositions v<1.riouspoints are to be observed. Our word •of' is peculiarly ambiguous, and the original should be consulted in doubtful cases. It often stands for • from,' as in the sentences ' He shall not speak of himself' (John xvi. 13), 'My kingdom is not of this world' (John xviii. 36), 'The righteousness which is of God' (Phil. iii. 9), • An apostle, not of men' (Gal. i. 1), 'A Hebrew of the Hebrews' (Phil. iii. 5).

Again, the word • by' is misleading in the expressions • Justified by faith' (Rom. v. 1), 'I know nothing by myself' (1 Cor. iv. 4).

The preposition ' for' is ambiguous in the sentence ' Faith was reckoned to him for righteousness' (Rom. iv. 3). It is very much to be doubted whether our translators were right in following the Geneva version in Phil. ii. 10, where we read 'At the name of Jesus every knee should bow,' instead of 'in the name,' &c., as the older versions read.

The words 'by' and 'through' ought to be more carefully distinguished in the New Testament, especially where the direct work of God the Father, as contrasted with the operation of His agents, is referred to.

The preposition 'in' is much used by St. Paul when treating oi the union between Christ and His people. It needs a more careful and systematic rendering than it has sometimes received. Perhaps it has never been worse translated than in Eph. iv. 32, ' God for Christ's sake,' instead of 'God in Christ.'

For instances of other doubtful renderings of prepositions in St. Paul's Epistles see Rom. iii. 21, 2 Cor. v. 20, 1 Thess. iv. 14, 2 Thess. ii. 1. (iii.) We may now pass on to consider the tenses. There are only two tenses in Hebrew, and they are used with great latitude, though no doubt the sacred writers had a system of their own which may best be discovered by comparing the application of the tenses in Arabic at the present time. Our English translators, on the whole, have hit the sense marvellously ; but in the poetical and prophetical books it is often very difficult to tell what tense should be used. Future things are regarded by the prophet as having already taken place before his mind's eye; and what is present in its results cannot always be distinguished from what is past in its causes. No clear rules can be given for the guidance of trans-

25

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BTBLE.

lators, but the views of Dr. Robert Young, as set forth in his new English version, are certainly worthy of consideration.

The Authorised Version does not always give an accurate idea of the tenses in the New Testament. The Greek present is really very often an incomplete tense, marking something which is going on, or which is certain to take place. When this tense is in the passive voice, it needs much care in translation, as the ordinary English rendering is too much like a perfect tense. Thus, 'Ye are builded' (Eph. ii. 22) signifies ' ye are being builded,' and ' My body which is given' (Luke xxii. 19) signifies 'which is being given, or about to be given.'

There is a remarkable use of the aorist in several of St. Paul's Epistles, where he refers to the change which came over the converts on their acceptance of Christ. See, for example, I Cor. vii.

18, 2 Cor. v. 5, Gal. ii. 19, iii. 27, Col. ii. 20. Some critics, including the late Dean Alford, would translate these as past tenses.

Our translators, however, seem to have taken the aorist as referring to the action itself rather than to the fact of its completion ; they considered, in other words, that it answered to the Hebrew tense which some call the present.

The perfect tense, in the Greek, might sometimes be more clearly denoted than it has been, as in Rom. iii. 21, Gal. ii. 20, Eph. ii.

5, and 2 Thess. ii. 2.

The future tense is not to be distinguished in our English Bible from the will, pleasu,re, or determination of the agent to act. For this the Hebrew and Greek languages have special words, which should be carefully watched for and trans]ated. (iv.) The distinction between the copula and the various verbs denoting existence is an important one, and is to be observed in translating both Testaments. Our language is very imperfect in this respect. Compare, for example, the English with the original in John viii. 58, ' Before Abraham was, I am.' Our translators have done their best to render the verb ryl"/voµa1,both here and in other passages, and have resorted to various words for this purpose.

Thus, in John i. 3, we read 'all things were made by him;' verse 12, ' power to beconie the sons of God ; ' verse 14, ' the word was niade flesh;' verse 15, 'is preferred before me;' verse 17, 'grace and truth canie by Jesus Christ;' verse 28, 'these things were done in Bethabara.'

The verb 'to be rmade' is often misleading when applied to Christ, who was 'neither made nor created, but begotten.' Thus when He is described in our version of the 8th Psalm and in the 2nd of Hebrews, as 'made a little lower than the angels,' an ordinary reader might be seriously misled. By using the word 'set' or 'put' instead of 'made,' the true sense would be brought to light.

1

26

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

Passing from gmrnrnatical inaccuracies to ,verbal,one feels like the mariner about to start on an ocean; but as these suggestions are not intended to take the place of dictionaries or critical works, it will be enough to put the translator generally on his guard against accepting the English words he sees before him as if they were necessarily the best. Generally speaking they are the most accurate that could be found at the time, but it must be remembered that some have disappeared from use, as 'alto' (i.e. altogether) in the phrase 'alto brake his skull' (Jud. ix. 53), which printers in their wisdom have turned into 'all to break his skull.' Others have lost their original sense, as 'carriage,' nephew, &c.; whilst others are not translations at all, but simply reproductions from the Latin, Greek, or Hebrew, as baptize, repent, amen, hallelujah, charity, create, justify, church, bishop, martyr, tetrarch, mystery, religion, spirit, synagogue1 presbyter, parable, communion, person, conversation. Although most of these words are now naturalised, their exact meaning in the original ought to be well weighed so far as it can be ascertained.

In numerous instances the point of a passage is lost by the variation of a word in the translation where it is designedly the same in the original. This is the case both in the Old and New Testaments. Instances may be found in Acts xxiv. 5, 14, Rom. x. 15, 16, 1 Tim. i. 15, I 6, Heb. xii. 27, 28. They should diligently be watched for. It is a pity that the force of an argument should be lost merely so as to afford an instance of the wealth of a language.

This leads us to consider another point, which has been often discussed, viz. : whether the same word in the original should always be rendered in the same way. First, it is to be noticed that a word in the original may have several distinct senses, and therefore miist be translated by different words. Secondly, there are many words which may be rendered in various ways without at all sacrificing the sense. In some languages (especially in the South Seas) variation of words is almost imperative, if one does not wish to shock the taste of the natives. But, having made these concessions to taste, it must be affirmed as a settled principle, that wherever the sacred writer's argument seems to depend in the slightest degree on the use of the same word, there the same word ought to be retained in the translation. Thus, there is no harm in using the words ' eternal ' and ' everlasting' in our Bible as renderings for the same Greek word, but it is a mistake to vary them in such a dogmatic passage as Matt. xxv. 46. Numerous instances in which our translators have departed from consistency will be noted if the usage of the foilowing words amongst others in our English Bible be examined in the light of the original : miracles and signs ; comfort and consolation ; creature and crea-

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BII3LE.

27

tion; apostleship and mission ; teaching and doctrine ; soul and life; blessed and happy; serve and. worship; castaway and reprobate ; righteous and just ; reckon, impute, and account ; covenant and testament ; coming, appearing, and manifestation ; dispensation and stewardship ; sanctification and holiness. Considering that our translators 'made a conscience' of always translating important words consistently, it would seem strange that they have varied their expressions in so many passages in which a uniformity of rendering would have helped the reader to see the connection of a passage. In discussing the matter in their Preface to the Authorised Version, they expressed themselves admirably on the subject, drawing a most just distinction between those variations which were desirable and those which were undesirable. But their theory appears to have somewhat broken down in practice. These are their words:'We have not tied ourselves to an uniformity of phrasing, or to an identity of words. Truly, that we might not vary fr01n the sense of that which we had translated before, if the word signified the same thing in both places (for there be some words that be not of the same sense everywhere), we were especially careful, and made a conscience according to our duty. But that we should express the same notion in the same particul~r word ; as for example, if we translate the Hebrew or Greek word once by purpose, never to call it intent; if one were journeying, never travelling,,- if one were to think, never suppose, &c. ; thus to mince the matter, we thought to savour more of curiosity than wisdom. . . . For is the kingdom of God become words or syllables? Why should we be in bondage to them, if we may be free? Why use one precisely when we may use another, no less fit, as commodiously?

Translators cannot do better than walk in the course thus laid down, declining, however, to follow the English Version where it departs from its own principles.

§ 9.-ALTERNATIVE

RENDERINGS, EXPLANATIONS OF PROPER NAMES, &c.

There are many words and passages of Scripture about the exact meaning of which there has ever been, and probably must continue to be, difference of opinion. Authorities for the different renderings will be equally, or almost equally, balanced. Again, there are renderings sanctioned by the use of ages which modern critics are disinclined to allow. What is to be done in such cases?

The translator must act according to his judgment; and very heavy is the burden thus laid upon him; but it v;ill be a material relief to him to adopt some such plan as the translators of the English Bible have sanctioned, viz., the use of alternative renderings. The

28

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

other plan-which exists in the Latin Vulgate-is to combine two renderings in one. and thus to exhibit the testimony of the Septuagint and that of Jerome side by side without giving the reader a hint by the use of brackets or otherwise that the two renderings stand for one text.

Our ordinary English Reference Bibles contain abo·Jt eight thousand marginal variations, even when issued ' without note or comment ; • they are. however. neither of a doctrinal nor practical character, but are generally such elucidations of the original text as every careful reader ought to possess. The rule with respect to their introduction, as laid down by James I., stands as follows : 'No marginal notes at all to be affixed, but only for the explanation of the Hebrew and Greek words. which cannot without some circumlocution so briefly and fitly be expressed in the text.'

This rule has been fairly carried out, and may be taken as a guide by translators in all languages; but unfortunately English readers fail to derive full benefit from the materials thus provided for their use, owing to the fact that they are mixed up with crowds of references ; moreover, in most editions they have but two marks by which their presence is indicated, viz., t and 11,the former denoting a critical expl?-nation, and the latter an alternative reading.

It would be far better to separate them from the references, and to put them in a separate column or at the foot of the page, marking them with small figures by which each can be identified.

Taking the Authorised Version as our guide, we find that the kind of notes which are admissible may be classified as follows :-

(i.) Liteml translations of Hebrew expressions for which an idiomatic 1·enderingis given in the text.-The original words often have a force which corresponding idioms in other languages have not, and it is of great interest to the reader to be put in possession of the literal rendering in many cases. Thus :Text.

Ex: vi. 8, 'I did swear to give it.'

Ex:. xxix. 9, 'consecrate Aaron.

1 Sam. nii. 22, 'Saluteu his brethren.'

1 Sam. x. 24, 'God save the king.'

I Kings xxii. 34, 'at a venture.' .Tobiii. 9, 'the dawning of the Jay.' Ps. xxxvii. 5, ' Commit thy way unto the Lord.'

Is. xxvi. 4, 'everlasting streIJgth.'

:Margin.

' I lift up my hand,' &c.

'Fill the hand of Aaron.'

'Asked his brethren of peace.' ' Let the king live.'

'In his simplicity.' ' The eyelids of the morning.' ' Roll thy way upon the Lonl.'

'The Rock of Ages.'

See also Gen. iv. 3, Ex. xii. 6, xiii. 18, Lev. xvm. 18, I Sam. xv. 9. (ii.) Specific or technical renderings of words to which a less definite interpretation has been given in the text. Examples are: 'builded' for 'made,• Gen. ii. 22 ; 'nests' for 'rooms,' Gen. vi.

EDITOHS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIDLE.

2!)

14 ; 'whet or sharpen' for 'teach them diligently,' Deut. vi. 7 ; 'city of God' for 'exceeding great city,' Jonah iii. 3; 'orphans' for 'comfortless,' John xiv. 18.

We see no reason why all the indelicate expressions in the Bible, such as those in 1 Sam. xxv. 34, 2 Kings xviii. 27, Ezek. xviii. 7, should not be treated in the same way. yv1e are obliged to alter them when we read aloud, and there can be no possible advantage in preserving a more literal translation, which must be offensive to every modest reader, whilst it furnishes merriment to the immodest. (iii.) Oases whetre the grarnmatical • structure of the original is doiibtful, or cannot exactly be reprodiwed.-Thus, in Is. vii. 9, 'if ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established,' the margin reads, ' do ye not believe ? it is because ye are not stable ; ' in Is. xl. 9, '0 Zion, that bringest good tidings,' the margin reads, ' 0 Thou that tellest good tidings to Zion ; ' in Tit. ii, 1 L ' The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,' the margin reads ' . . . that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared.'

To these we might add the important suggestions given in the margin at Judges xi. 31, 40, which completely do away with the ordinary idea, that Jephthah slew his daughter. (iv.) Alternative renderings for words the meaning of which rnay perhaps be thiis better expr-essed.-Thus ' expansion ' for ' firmament' (Gen. i. 6), 'punishment' for 'iniquity' (Gen. xix. 15), born 'from above' for born 'again' (John iii. 3), 'office or charge' for 'bishoprick' (Acts i. 20), 'testament' for 'covenant' (Heb. viii. 6).

(v.) Explana.tions of weights, coins, distances, &c.- See for example the notes on Matt. v. 15, x. 29, xiii. 33, xvii. 24, 27, xviii. 24, 28, xx. 2.

These explanations, however, might be thrown into a tabular form, and printed at the end of the Bible, as has been done in the Bulgarian Bible printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society. (vi.) Explanation of proper names and of foreign words.-Tbese have been introduced into the text in brackets in some versions, whilst in others they have been printed in a list at the end of the Bible. The English Authorised Version, however, has them in the margin, though by no means so frequently as would be desirable. See for examples, Gen. iv. 1, xli. 45, John i. 41. Sometimes the interpretation is given in the text and the original word in the margin. See Gen. ii. 13, Jud. iii. 10, Is. xxxvii. 38. Similarly we find the rare word • Teraphim ' introduced into the margin at Gen. xxxi. 19, Gad and Meni in Is. lxv. 11, Harel and Ariel in

30

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

Ez. xliii. I 5. For geographical explanations see 2 Kings ix. 27, xxiii. 13, 2 Chron. ix. 26, Acts xx vii. 7. (vii.) A point to be observed with regard to proper names is that they are not always spelt the same way in Hebrew, and that there is a still further divergence in the spellings of Hebrew names when they reappear in the New Testament. The plan sanctioned, though not uniformly carried out, in the Authorised Version, is to spell the same name always in the same way both in the Old and New Testaments, specifying the divergencies, whenever it seems needful, in the margin. Thus our translators have put 'Benjamites' for ' J aminites ' in several passages ; ' Sennacherib ' for ' Sanherib ' in 2 Kings xviii. 13. They ought, however, to have reproduced the name of 'Joshua' instead of 'Jesus' in Acts vii. 45, and Heb. iv. 8, and to have printed 'Noah,' 'Sinai,' 'Elijah,' and 'Elisha,' instead of the Grecised forms' Noe,'' Sina,' 'Elias,' and 'Eliseus.'

Similarly they ought to have printed 'Hallelujah' in the New Testament as they have done in the Old, the initial and final letters being essential to the Hebrew, but the Greek language being incapable of reproducing the last and careless about the first. (viii.) Historical notes intended to harmonise different parts of Scripture or to illustrate the fulfilment of propheey.-There are a good many notes of this character in the English Bible. Some indeed are barely indicated by the word ' fulfilled ' with a reference to another text. These might well come under the head of references, and the word 'see' substituted for the word 'fulfilled.'

Others are of greater length. See notes on Gen. xxxvi. 39, Jud. iii. 31, iv. 2, xi. 29, xii. 8, 11, 13, xiii. 1, xv. 20, 1 Sam. iv. 18, 2 Kings i. 17, viii. 17, ix. 29, xiii. 10, xiv. 7, 29, xv. 1, 8, 30, 2 Chron. xvi. 1, Dan. i. 21, ix. 24, Hos. xiii. 10. In the note on 2 Kings xiv. 7, there is a reference to the Antiquities of Josephus.

This class of note seems to open a large door, but it must be used with caution, if at all. (ix.) Explanatory remarks on peculiar expressions.-There not many of these. The following are specimens :Job iv. 9, 'by the breath of his nostrils.'

Job x. 17, 'thy witnesses.'

Job xxvii. 3, 'the spirit of God.' Hos. ix. 3, ' Ephraim shall return to Egypt.'

are

' That is, by his anger.' ' That is, thy plagues.'

'That is, the breath which God gave him.' ' Not into Egypt itself, but into another bondage as bad as that.'

See also Ezek. xiv. 6, Acts xiii. 18, 34, xvii. 19, xxvii. 9, 1 Cor. xi. 10. (x.) Lastly, the margin or foot of the page is the place in which translations of MS. readings differing from those of the received

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

31

text ought to be exhibited. See examples in the English Bible at Ps. cii. 3, Zech. xii. 13, Matt. i. 23, Acts xxv. 6, Heb. x. 17.

§ 10.-MARGINAL REFERENCES.

One of the most interesting features of the Bible is the unity of truth and purpose which exists amidst the greatest diversity of style and matter in the sixty-six sacred books which compose it.

The only rational key to this unity is that the whole work has proceeded from one Spirit, ' Who spake by the prophets.' But whilst this unity amidst diversity constitutes a fair proof of the inspiration of the Bible, it does something more ; it compels the student to compare passage with passage in order to take in God's truth in all its aspects and bearings. Hence the value of references from one part of the Book to another.

As translations of Scripture are usually made and published in portions in the first instance, there is no place for references in early editions. But when the Bible has been completed and the translation is sufficiently settled and established, it is usually felt that the time has arrived for the preparation of marginal references.

They may be classified as follows :(i.) The first and most important are the quotations in the New Testament from the Old, being about three hundred in number.

These should be printed in all editions of the Bible ; if none others are added they might be inserted in brackets in the body of the text, or placed at the foot of the page with suitable figures or marks to identify them. (ii.) Indirect or implied quotations.-It sometimes happens that the New Testament writers took words which were familiar to them and applied them to the matter in hand without formally citing them. Stephen's speech is full of such allusions to the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The student is glad to have these indirect references noted where they are not mere verbal coincidences. A case in point is Eph. iv. 26, 'Be ye angry, and sin not; ' this is a verbatim quotation from the LXX. version of Psalm iv. 4, where our translation runs thus, 'Stand in awe and sin not.' This class of reference, however, is not so important for ordinary readers as the first. (iii.) Allusions to persons, places, or events of which a full account is given in another part of the Bible.-Tbese abound in Scripture and references of this class are very helpful, if not carried to excess. Supposing, for example, a reader not well versed in the Bible comes to the words, ' Remember Lot's wife,' it would be

32

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

material help for him to find a reference to the nineteenth of Genesis.

Or if he had been reading about the contention between Paul and Barnabas concerning Mark, how interesting would it be to him to find a reference to that Epistle written by St. Paul many years afterwards, in which he speaks of Mark as ' profitable for the ministry.' (iv.) Quotations front one another by Old Testam,ent writers.These are far more numerous than is generally supposed, and are deeply interesting for many reasons. (v.) References for the purpose of eliicidating doctrine and practice.-These approach so near to the nature of ' comment' that they should not be added except where there appears to be a very clear necessity for them. Of course it is easy to confirm almost any direct doctrinal statement of Scripture by numerous parallel passages, and the same may be said of the practical rules and exhortations of the Bible. But doctrinal bias is particularly liable to come in here, and this should be excluded as far as possible, especially where Christians of various shades of thought use the same references.

It is for this reason, amongst others, that the British and Foreign Bible Society has laid down the following principle for editors who prepare references :-That those contained in the English Authorised Version be taken as the general standard, free permission being given to 01nit any which are unsuitable, but no additions being allowed without special leave being given. In some cases additional references have been allowed to be taken from Bagster's ' Commentary wholly Biblical.' It should be added that whenever the Society has printed an old standard version containing references, such as that of Diodati (in Italian) or Valera (in Spanish), free leave has been given for the modern editor to incorporate such of the original translator's references as seem suitable.

The most accurately prepared reference Bible in the English language is that edited by Dr. Scrivener (Cambridge 1870), and it is highly to be desired that his valuable work should be taken as a standard for all future editions. He has omitted many of the old references which were purely verbal, and others which were misleading, whilst he has added a great many which are of real value.

In his Preface Dr. Scrivener tells us that 'more than half the references contained in the edition of I 611 are derived from manuscript and printed copies of the Vulgate Latin Bible, and thus present to us the fruits of the researches of medireval scholars and the traditional expositions of the Western Church,' He adds that ' the references found in the Standard Edition of 1611 scarcely amount to a seventh part of those printed in modern Bibles, and have been computed not to exceed nine thousand.'

33

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

If there is any doubt in an editor's mind as to a reference, he had better leave it out. The mind of a reader ought not to be distracted and confused either by verbal or doubtful references, and it cannot be denied that some which our existing editions contain are worse than useless. A few well-selected references, coming under the first four heads enumerated above, will be found to supply what is most needed and valued by searchers after truth.

The Bible student may well be left to find the rest for himself.

The work of selecting and arranging references is evidently a very great one, requiring accuracy, patience, discrimination, and (if doctrinal and practical parallels are to be given) a knowledge of the original.

In order to be printed without difficulty they should be written on blank strips of paper pasted on the margin of a carefuJly corrected copy of the Scriptures.

For the comfort of those who undertake t1e preparation of marginal references, the testimony of Canne, one of the most laborious editors of such a work, may be given. He writes thus:• The sweetness and great content which I have had all along in this Scripture work hath caused me to account other studies and readings (which I formerly used) very low, in comparison with it. It is said of Jacob that he served seven years for Rachel. and they seemed but a few days, for the love he had to her.

I can truly speak it ; I have served the Lord in this work more than thrice seven years, and the time hath not seemed long, neither hath the work been anyway a burden to me, for the love I have had to it.' § 11.-ITALICS

.AND OTHER MODES OF MARKING SUPPLE:M;ENTARY WORDS.

In translating out of one language into another which is not closely related to it, many sentences cannot be rendered idiomatically or even intelligibly without the introduction of supplem.entary words. This is especially the case where the idiom of the original language is very concise, as in Hebrew. It is not customary to mark the introduction of such supplementary words by any peculiar type except in the case of the Scriptures, and that chiefly amongst Protestants, who as a rule attach espeoial importance to the literal rendering of the Word of God. When a translation of part of the Bible is made for the first time, it wou]d be unwise to confuse the eye and mind of readers, to whom the whole is new, by the introduction of varieties of type or by any pec~liar marks, the prime object then being to get into C

34

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

the reader's mind the simplest elements of revealed truth. But when a Christian Church has been formed, and men have become habituated to the reading of the Scriptures, it is right to adopt all legitimate means to ensure the accurate reading of God's Word.

A careful revision of the version is usually made at such a time, and the question arises whether any mode of marking the supplementary words should be adopted.

The original editions of the Authorised Version were printed in black letter, and the supplementary words were printed in small Roman letters ; but the italic or running character was substituted for these when the body of the book was printed in Roman letter.

This course would have been a very good one were it not the fact that italics are used in almost all other books to denote the emphatic words in a sentence. Two other plans have been resorted to by translators into foreign languages: one is to put the accessory words in brackets ; the other. to print them in smaller type than the rest-as in the modern Greek Bibles printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

In any case a line of explanation ought to be given at the foot of the page in which the first supplementary word occurs, or (better still) beneath the Table of Contents, so that readers may understand the object of the peculiarity in the text.

Supposing that a translator has determined to adopt one or other of these modes for marking the accessory words in his version, it remains for him to consider what words ought to be so marked. It is often thought that the translators or editors of the English Bible have been too scrupulous in this respect, and that our Bibles are overladen with italics. Many things are implied in the original which must from the necessities of language be exP'ressed in the translation. These need not be marked as accessory.

The only cases where supplementary words ought to be marked in order to guard the reader against a misapprehension, are. first, when there is some ambiguity in the original owing to its conciseness, so that the translator is obliged to exercise his discretion in completing the sentence ; secondly, when a word is absent from the.. original, not through the necessities of the language, but through the choice of the inspired writer. In these cases it is certainly desirable, at any rate for advanced readers, to distinguish between what is fixed by the sacred original and what is left open to the human interpreter.

The following instances, taken from the Authorised English Version, will illustrate the use of italics, and can be applied, 1nutatis mutandis, to other versions. (i.) The copula, or auxiliary verb, is usually omitted in Hebrew, but expressed in English. There would be no need, however, to put it in italics were it not left to the discretion of the trans-

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

lator to use the present, future, or optative. example:Blessed is the man, Blessed be the man, Blessed shall be the man.

35

He may say for

Thus it is open to him in many passages to turn a sentence into a statement, a wish, or a prophecy. Important passages are affected by the liberty thus imposed upon him. Where, however, the context absolutely fixes the meaning, italics need not be resorted to. (ii.) The change from, the oblique to the direct style of narrative is very common in Hebrew, especially in poetry, and is often puzzling to an English reader. The insertion of some such word as sayin,q would be a great help to him, and our translators have sometimes supplied it, though not so often as they might have done. The following are instances :Gen. iv. 25, 'God, said she, hath appointed me another seed.'

Deut. ii. 13, ' Rise up, said I, and get you over,' &c.

1 Chron. xxiii. 5, ' The instruments which I madet said David, to praise therewith.'

Ps. xii. 8, '.An evil disease, say they, cleaveth,' &c.

Nahum ii. 8, 'Stand, stand, shall they <;ry.' .Acts i. 4, 'Wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me.'

(iii.) Prepositions, though often omitted in Hebrew, must be inserted in English. Fourteen instances are subjoined :Ps. ii. 12, 'Ye perish from the way.'

Ps. iii. 7, 'Thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone.'

Ps. lxxx. 1, 'that dwellest between the cherubim.'

Ps. lxxxiii. 9, 'Do unto them as unto the l\fidianites/ Ps. xii. 2, ' witli flattering lips.'

Ps. ii. 8, 'I shall give thee the heathen/or thine inheritance.'

Is. x. 32, 'He shall shake his hand against the mount.'

Ex. xl 28, 29, 'He set up the hanging at the door; and he put the altar of burnt offering by the door.'

N um. xxv. 6, 'weeping before the door.1 N um. xxvi. 3, 'by Jordan near Jericho.'

N um. xxxiv. 6, 'and as for the western border.'

1 Sam. vi. 4, 'accordin,q to the number,' &c.

2 Kings xxii. 18, ' as touching the words,' &c.

1 Chron. xxiii. 14, 'now concerning Moses the man of God.'

(iv.) Conjunctions and Adverbs are frequently omitted in Hebrew, but are added in English to save the version from being bald and unintelligible-sometimes, perhaps, needlessly :--r, 2

36

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

Ps. x. 10, 'He croucheth, and humbleth himself.'

Ps. x. 15, 'Seek out his wickedness till thou find none.'

Ps. xi. 1, 'Flee as a bird.'

Ps. xvii. 5, 'Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.'

Ps. xlix, 5, 'in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels,' &c.

Ps. lxvi. 19, 'But verily God hath heard me.'

Ps. Ix.vii.6, 'Then shall the earth yield her increase.'

Gen. xxxi. 30, 'Though thou wouldest needs be gone, yet wherefore,' &c.

Num. xxxii. 4, 'even the country,' &c.

Deut. iv. 43, 'namely, Bezer in the wilderness.'

Deut. iv. 10, 'specially the day that thou stoodest.'

1 Chron. xxii. 5, 'I will therefore now make preparation.'

(v.) The introduction of Proper Names is sometimes necessary to save ambiguity, e.g.:Gen. xxi. 33, '.And Abraham planted a grove.'

Ex. xxxiii. 9, '.And the Lord talked with Moses.'

1 Sam. xvi. 7, 'For the Lord seetli not as man seeth.'

Mark v. 24, 'And Jesus went with him.'

Acts vii. 8, ' And so .Abraham begat Isaac.'

Occasionally our translators have had to exercise their own judgment as to the best word to be introduced, and possibly they have not always been right.

See Acts vii. 59; Col. i. 19; 1 John iii. 16. (vi.) Emphasis, which is often expressed in Hebrew and Greek by the order of the words, can frequently be expressed in English by a slight paraphrasis. Our translators have occasionally availed themselves of this plan, but by no means so often as they might have done. The following are instances :Ps. Ix.xiii. 25, 'There is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.'

Gen. xlv. 8, 'It was not you that sent me, but God.' (vii.) The condensed idioms of the original often need expanding.

This can well be done by means of italics. Thus :Gen. xxxiii. 8, 'what meanest thou by all this drove 1' Ps. iii. 8, 'Salvation belongethunto the Lord.'

[Compare Rev. vii. 10, where unfortunately the supplementary word is not introduced.]

Ecc. viii. 2, 'I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment.'

Rom. xi. 21, 'Take heed, lest He also spare not thee.'

Ps. lxx. 1, 'Make haste, 0 God, to deliver me.'

Ps. cxviii. 2, &c., 'His mercy endureth for ever.'

Ps. xvi. 6, 'in pleasant places.' [Compare 'heavenly places,' Eph. i. 3.]

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

Gen. i. 16, 'He made the stars also.'

Gen. iv. 20, 'and of such as have cattle.'

Gen. vi. 15, 'This is the fashion which thou shalt make it of.'

Gen. xviii. 28, 'Wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five 1' Gen. xxiv. 52, 'He worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth.' (Compare Heb. xi. 21.]

Gen. xxiv. 60, ' Be thou the mother of thousands 1 ' Num. xiv. 27, 'How long shall I bear with this evil congregation 1' 2 Sam. vi. 5, 'all manner of instruments made of fir-wood.'

2 Kings xiii. 1, 'and reigned seventeen years.'

1 Chron. xxiv. 5, 'governors of the house of God.' 2 Chron. ii. 3, 'As thou didst deal with David, even so deal with me.'

Neh. xii. 31, 'two great companies of them that gave thanks.'

John vii 39, 'The Holy Ghost was not yet given.'

Rom. v. 18, 'By the offence of one judgment came . . • by the righteousness of one the free gift came.'

1 Cor. vi 7, 'Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded.'

1 Tim. iv. 3, 'Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats.'

1 John ii. 2, 'Also £or the sins of the whole world.' (viii.) There are numerous other condensed idioms constantly reappearing in the sacred originals which need expansion when translated into such a language as English. Thus we often read of • the dry land,' ' the tenth month,' • the first day of the month,• • a thousand pieces of silver,' • to draw water,' • spare the guilty,' • the third generation,' • goat's hair,' • gathered unto his people,' 'a cup of cold water,' ' as thorns in your sides.' Occasionally our translators may have made a mistake in the words which they have supplied. as in 2 Sam. i. 18, where for • the use of the bow' ~e should probably read • the dirge of the bow.' The accuracy of the expression 'under the fifth rib,' has also been questioned.

Foreign translators have often taken much greater licence in adding upplementary words, from the days of the Septuagint downwards, than those who prepared the Authorised Version felt justified in taking; but with all their caution our translators occasionally added considerably to the original. though doubtless they had good authority for so doing. The following are among the most striking instances :2 Sam. i 21, 'as though he had not been anointed with oil.'

Job iii. 23, 'whg is li,ght given to a man whose way is hid 1' Job xix. 26, 'and though after my skin worms destroy this body.'

Job xx. 11, ' his bones are full of the sin of his youth.'

Job xxiii. 6, 'he· would put strength in me.' [Compare Rev. xi. 3.J Job xxxv. 3, 'what profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin 1'

38

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

Ps. vii. 11, 'God is angry with the wicked every day.'

1 Cor. xiv. 2, &c., 'an unknown tongue.'

1 John iii. 16, 'hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for u~.'

§ 12.-SUMMARIES, PAGE HEADINGS, DATES, AND CHAPTER

HEADINGS.

It was the custom in early Latin Bibles that each of the sacred books should have a few lines of preface to it, simply by way of historical introduction. The only Book in the Authorised Version which has anything like such a preface is the Book of Job ; many of the Epistles, however, have postscripts, which answer the same purpose, but which are not regarded as of high authority, and are not required to be translated any more than the ancient prefaces to Psalms.

The British and Foreign Bible Society Committee have never sanctioned anything like a Historical Introduction either to the Bible as a whole or to the individual books ; their one object is to circulate the sacred volume itself, leaving it to others to furnish information about its contents. The Society. however, prints chapter-headings in many languages, and also page-headings where they seem desirable.

To deal with the last first, it is the custom to print at the head of every page, first, its number, secondly. the book of which it represents part, and thirdly the number of the chapter or chapters of which parts are found on the page. Sometimes these practically take up all the space ; but if this is not the case, there may be introduced a word or two giving a brief idea of the gener~l contents of the page. It can only at best be some prominent event. some leading name, or some general topic which can be introduced ;-and that needs to be spread over the outside and inside corners of the page. so that the numbering of the page may have to be relegated to the bottom, either at the centre or at the outside corner. Where there are no chapter-headings, these pageheadings may be desirable ; otherwise they are needless.

Some editors introduce chronological notices at the top of the page, but it is impossible for the reader to tell to what event mentioned in the page the date at the head .refers. li dates ,are introduced at all they ought to be put in the margin with -a note of reference. The chronology of the Bible is not fully fixed, though modern Assyrian discoveries go far to determine the most uncertain of the dates. At present, editors may be content with the approximate dates given by Archbishop Ussher and printed iu. the Authorised Version,

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

39

If it is difficult to arrange page-headings so as to make them of practical value, still harder is it to prepare chapte1·-headingswithout touching on the forbidden ground of" note and comment."

There is much difference of opinion as to the comparative advantages and disadvantages of chapter-headings. They certainly tend to widen the gulf between chapter and chapter, which is already in many cases far too wide. If they could be printed together at the beginning of each book this objection would be done away with, and a most valuable help would be offered to the reader of the Bible. In the first English Bible ever printed, that of Coverdale, A.D. 1535, the chapter-headings of each book were printed together at its beginning. There does not appear, on the face of it, any objection to the publication of the headings in this form by the Bible Society instead of their being printed between the chapters. The plan however has not hitherto been carried out.

Passing from the arrangement of these headings to their sub-stance we come at once to a practical difficulty. The headings are to be pure summaries of the contents of the chapters, free from anything which can be fairly called comment ; but a Christian must perforce read the Old Testament in the light of the New, and he cannot help reading both Old and New Testament through a doctrinal atmosphere tinged by the ideas which he has imbibed in the course of his life. Thus there is a constant tendency to run into comment, to give a Messianic interpretation to the prophecies and types, and to throw the concrete statements of the Scriptures into an abstract and doctrinal form. Certainly a chapter-heading ought not to be a comment, though it ought to regard the contents of the chapter from a Christian point of view, and in the light of the whole of God's revelation.

The headings prepared by the translators of the English Authorised Version are very fair on the whole, though it must be granted that they are capable of improvement. They vary very much in merit. Some are thoroughly analytical ; occasionally the theological element has been omitted altogether, as in the heading of Num. xxi. 7, wher,e we read "they repenting are healed by a brazen serpent;" or in the heading of Psalm Iii., where we are told that '' David, condemning the spitefulness of Doeg, prophesieth his destruction.'' The headings in the Apocalypse are remarkably free from comment, but those in the prophetical writings of the Old Testament have a defect running through them, namely, that promis,es and threatenings relating to Judah and Is.rael are applied (in about fifty instances) to '' the Church," whereas a neutral term, '' God's people," would not have limited them either way.

Those who prepare chapter-headings will find the work of the English translators very helpful, but they will do well to avoid the

40

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRL~SLATORS,

stumbling-blocks just noticed, and they must consider themselves free to improve the headings both by addition here and there, and by alteration and elimination in other places. The following specimens may be given as calling for improvement, illustrating eccentricities and faults to be avoided :Gen. xxxii. 24, 'Jacob wrestleth with an angel.'

Num. xxii. 22, 'an angel would have slain him if his ass had not saved him.'

I Sam. xiv. 15, 'a divine terror maketh them beat themselves.'

I Sam. xxviii. 9, 'The witch . . . raiseth up Samuel.'

2 Sam. xiv. 25, 'Absalom's beauty, hair, and children.'

2 Kings xiii. 20, 'Elisha's bones raise up a dead man.'

I Chron. xiv. 2, 'David's felicity in people, wives, and children.'

Ps. cxiv. '.An exhortation by the example of the dumb creatures,' &c.

Ps. cxxvii. 3, 'Good children are God's gift.'

Is. liii. 'The prophet complaining of incredulity, excuseth the ecandal of the cross by the benefit of his passion and of the good success thereof.'

Mark xiii. 32, ' ... that we be not found unprovided when he cometh to each one particularly by death.'

Luke v. 34-39, 'likeneth faint-hearted and weak disciples to old bottles and worn garments.'

Luke vii. 36, 'Sheweth by occasion of Mary Magdalene,' &c.

Luke xiv. 15, ' Sheweth how worldly-minded men, who contemn the Word of God, shall be shut out of heaven.'

John xx. 30, 'The Scripture is sufficient to salvation.'

Acts xix. 13-19, ' The Jewish exorcists are beaten by the devil.'

1 Cor. x. 1, 'The sacraments of the Jews are types of ours.'

§ 13.-ON

THE BEST METHOD OF EXHIBITING 'rHE STRUCTURE OF THE PROSE .A.ND POE1'RY OF THE BIBLE.

There is a general agreem~nt that much can be done in the way of typographical arrangement to elucidate the structure and design of a book ; and if we wish to promote the intelligent use of the Scriptures we ought to avail ourselves of every device which ingenuity can suggest, so as to enable readers to use them with pleasure and profit.

We must not force the style and arrangement of one country upon another. As-it is with the character of the writing, so it is with the arrangement of the printing. Some nations write up and down, some from left to right, and others from right to left.

Some prefer square books, some like oblong books opening the Jong way, others must have them opening the short wny. No question of principle is involved in these things, and _wemust accommodate

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

41

ourselves, at any rate in the early stages of our work, to the prevailing tastes and customs, gradually introducing solid improvements wherever opportunity offers itself.

The division of the books _of the Bible into chapters and verses is convenient for the purpose of reference, but for no other purpose.

In many respects it is a hindrance rather than a help ; and it cannot lay claim to antiquity. 1 It must be adhered to, as a matter of course, but for the arrangement of the prose portions of Scripture most editors will be glad to fall back on the original plan-that of paragraphs.

So far as we can judge from the Synagogue Rolls and other ancient Hebrew MSS., the Old Testament (in its prose parts) was originally written in paragraphs. These were of two kinds, as may be seen in the most carefully edited copies of the Hebrew Scriptures. Principal paragraphs began a new line; subsidiary paragraphs only had a space left after the conclusion of the previous sentence.

In a Jerusalem Synagogue Roll in the writer's possession the division by no means follows our present arrangement. Thus, to take the first ten chapters of Genesis, each day's creative work has a paragraph to itself. At the end of what ·answers to our first chapter there is the space of a line and then a short paragraph, including the three verses about the Sabbath. There is no break of any kind from Gen. ii. 4 to Gen. iii. 15; the 16th verse forms a separate paragraph ; verses 17-21 another ; then a space of a line as if for the beginning of a new chapter before iii. 22, which describes the driving of our first parents from Eden. The next paragraph begins at chap. iv. 1, and the next at chap. v. 1; each of the descendants of Adam has a paragraph to himself, and there is also a paragraph at chap. vi. 4. There is extra space before the 9th verse, where the generations of Noah begin, and a new paragraph at the 13th verse, whence we proceed without a pause to chap. viii. 15. At ix. 8 there is another paragraph, and at the 18th verse a space of a line, with paragraphs at x. 1, 15, and 21.

The Gospels were early divided into sections, but the Greeks did not take the trouble to arrange the Scriptures in paragraphs, or even always to separate their words, partly no doubt because writing materials were scarce and expensive. Our present arrangement of chapters and verses in the Old Testament dates from the time of Cardinal Hugo or Archbishop Stephen Langton, whilst 1 The numbering of chapters and verses does not agree in all languages and editions. Some versions follow the Hebrew, and others are arranged in con• formity with the English plan. The latter course is most common in new trans• lations, though it mnst be acknowledged that the Hebrew is often the best, as in Lev. v., vi.

42

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

the New Testament is supposed to have been divided by Robert Stephens only three .centuries ago. The searching of the Scriptures brought about by the Reformation taxed the ingenuity of printers and editors to invent such modes of setting forth the text as would facilitate the turning from passage to passage. No one can ha.ve carefully examined the editions of the German Bible which passed under Luther's own hand, particularly that of 1545 (the last which he edited) without appreciating the thoroughness with which he did his work, indicating the principal and subsidiary paragraphs by various kinds of initial letters·; and if some such plan as his were combined with verse enumeration, we should get as near perfection of arrangement for the prose parts of the Bible as we are likely to attain. The paragraph English Bible issued by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1877, and edited by the present writer, is intended to set forth an arrangement of this kind, av.aiding the extremes of too long and too short paragraphs, and modifying the form of the page to suit its varied contents, whether narrative, dialogue, decree, letter, catalogue, or prayer. It does not lay claim to authority, but is simply put forth as an effort in the right direction.

The only tangible objections to the adoption of the paragraph system appear to be, that it adds to the bulk and cost of the Book, that it is less convenient for finding references, that it will put a hindrance in the way of the good old plan of committing verses to memory, and that it throws too much responsibility on the editor.

The first objection is a very small one, for what is lost in the poetical parts is partly gained in the prose parts ; the second and third objections are met by the truth that it is far better to find and -to learn a verse with its context than without it; with regard to the fourth objection. it is quite true that those who divide God's Word into paragraphs for the purpose of facilitating its intelligent rreading, incur a great responsibility ; but why should they not undertake it 2. In editing the Bible above-named, the w.riter willingly incurred this responsibility. He had before him the labours of other men from the days of Luther downwards, and verified the arrangement finally decided on, throughout~ hy comparison with the original Scriptures. It has been a labour, not of months, but of years, but was undertaken from a sense of its necessity, and it is hoped that the work thus accomplished may be in many respects a guide to those who come after, both at home and abroad, though of course open to further improvement.

A few words must be added on the best mode of printing the poetical parts of the Bible. In the Jewish Rolls, some portions, as the Song of Moses, are written in a special manner, but not in a style which commends itself to European taste. The peculiarity of Hebrew poetry is that it consists not in rhyme, nor in metre, but

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

43

in parallelisms of thought, one idea being expt·essed in two modes which are either similar, progressive, or contrasted. It should be added that whilst in all the Hebrew Scriptures there is a certain swing which is marked by the accents, and which is attended to by the Jewish reader in the intonatioll of the sacred language, the cadences of the poetical parts are peculiarly rhythmical, though not actually metrical. The following arrangement of Gen. iv. 23, 24, is offered as a specimen of the best way of exhibiting the parallelism of the original :' .And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice ; Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech : For I have slain a man to my wounding, And a young man to my hurt.

If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold Truly Lamech seventy and seven fold.

When a Bible is in double columns the poetical parts must either be printed in single columns, or else the lines must be subdivided, as in the Bible printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society in I 877, and almost as our ordinary hymn books are printed. Thus Jer. 13. 16 may be read:' Give glory to the Lo RD your God, Before he cause darkness, And before your feet stumble Upon the dark mountains, And, while ye look for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, .And make it gross darkness.'

Another peculiarity in Hebrew poetry may be marked in printing, viz. the subdivision of most of the Psalms and of some other poems into strophes~that is to say. portions :separated from one another by the sense, and possibly taken up by different singers in the old Hebrew services. Thus the 19th Psalm naturally falls into three portions, containing respectively six, five, and three verses, the first subject being the silent testimony -of creation to God, the second, the perfection of God's revelation and its -effects on the soul, the third. the devout man's reliance on God for preservation from evil thoughts, words, and deeds. These strophes ought to he separated from one another by a line of space., as is done in the Paragraph Bible mentioned above.

Some of the Psalms and a few other sacred poems in the Bible are acrostic or alphabetical. The 119th Psalm is the best known .instance, the whole being divided into twenty-two portions of eight verses, the initials of the first eight being aleph, the first

44

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and so on through all the letters.

In the 37th Psalm the couplets are alphabetical, in the 25th, 34th, and 145th, the verses, and in the 111th and 112th the clauses.

Other instance;; of this arrangement are to be found in the description of the virtuous woman (Prov. xxxi.) and in the Book of Lamentations.

The Bible Society's Bible of 1877 indicates this peculiarity by inserting the Hebrew initial letter in its place, as had already been done in the Paragraph Bible of the Christian Knowledge Society.

The proportion of the poetical to the prose parts of the Old Testament is considered as twenty-two to twenty-five, or nearly half; but it is by no means easy to draw an exact line between poetry and prose, being a question rather of degree than of kind, parallelism being almost inherent in Jewish thought. Editors do not all agree, and no fixed boundary line has yet been discovered.

§ 14.-ON

PUNCTUATION .AND THE USE OF INVERTED .AND C.A.PIT.AL LETTERS.

COMM.AS

Editions of the English Authorised Version are not considered final authorities on punctuation, as they vary from one another, and also because our modern mode of pointing differs from that of 1611. It is a good plan to use the colon only when a speech follows, which must begin with a capital letter. Commas are used more or less frequently in different languages. As a rule we think that it is best to err in the direction of too few commas rather than too many. In argumentative passages the punctuation needs special care ; and sometimes a doctrine may depend upon the right placing of a comma. Some passages needing· special attention are Matt. xix. 28; Luke xxiii. 32, 43; Rom. iv. 1, viii. 20, xi. 13; 1 Cor. vii. 34; 2 Cor. v. 19; Gal. ii. 20; Eph. vi. 6, 7; Col. i. 3, ii. 14, 21, 22, 23; 2 Thess. iii. 4; 1 Tim. iii. 15, 16; Tit. ii. 4; Heb. iii. 9. x. 12 ; 1 Pet. i. 23 ; Rev. xiii. 8.

The parenthesis is often of value in an intricate passage and also where the sacred writer seems to introduce something answering to a side note. The dash is also useful in such a verse as Rom. ii. 7. 'To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality,-eternal life.'

The note of exclamation ought not to be used too freely, but is of value in the poetical parts of Scripture.

Inverted commas are very useful for marking dfrect quotations.

These have sometimes been otherwise exhibited ; either by the use of a peculiar type, as in the Rheims New Testament, or by spaced letters, as in Dr. Scrivener's edition of the English Bible. Of

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE :BIBLE.

43

these three plans the ordinary one, that is to say, the use of inverted commas, seems best. They might also be introduced with advantage, not in ordinary speeches, the beginning and end of which can easily be found out, but in the case of a quotation of another's words within a speech, as in 2 Kings xix. 23, 24. They need not, however, be double, as single commas answer all practical purposes.

The Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society have been somewhat chary in permitting the use of these commas, partly no doubt because they have not been introduced into the English Authorised Version ; but their value is undoubted, and probably no opposition would be offered to their being used in the two cases named above.

With regard to capital letters, most European languages have fixed rules from which an editor must not deviate. In a few cases capitals are prefixed to pronouns referring to the Divine Name, as in Russ. In some languages the names of the winds, points ot the compass, &c., are spelt with capitals. The tendency, however, in Europe at the present time is to reduce the number of capital letters ; it would therefore be a wise plan in new translations to introduce as few as possible. The expression ' Son of Man• when applied to our Lord is generally distinguished either by one capital or by two. It is difficult to decide when the word ' spirit• should be printed with a capital. Editions of the English Authorised Version do not agree. Special attention has been given to this point in the Paragraph Bible published by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1877.

The Committee of this Society have sanctioned a useful plan in many editions where paragraphs are not used, viz. only to begin verses with a capital letter where the previou~ verse ends with a full stop.

§ 15.-0N

ORTHOGRAPHY .A.ND CHARACTER; AND ON ATTEMPTS TO FORM A UNIVERSAL ALPHABET.

The question of orthography is comparatively simple at home, but exceedingly puzzling abroad. We know not why our English Bible should retain such spelling as 'astonied,' 'throughly,' • strawed,' 'clift,' 'jubile,' 'ax,' 'sope,' 'ware,' 'hoised,' • musick,' &c. Why, again, should we call the plural of cherub 'cherubims• instead of ' cherubs ; • and the same with ' seraphims,' ' nethinims,' • anakims •?

The orthography in some foreign countries is in a state of constant fluctuation. Even the German is not settled. The Flemish is becoming so like the Dutch that the two languages will soon

46

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

become one; the Portuguese is at every editor's mercy; the Rouman drifts helplessly hither and thither, being apparently connected with the popular politics. If questions of a very important kind have to be decided by editors in these languages, what must be the re!-iponsibilityof those who have to start from the very beginning and frame an orthography in an unwritten language? A quick and accurate ear is needed to catch the sounds of a strange tongue, and, experience alone can enable any one to express phonetically in letters that which he believes he hears. When there are so many ways of pronouncing the same word in English, can it be thought surprising that missionaries receive very various impressions from different natives as to the best spelling of words? Patience, forbearance, and conference are needed before orthography can be settled, and what is fixed for a first edition will probably have to undergo considerable modification before very long. After one such careful revision, no further alterations, at least in important words, ought to be introduced.

In the case of proper names there are sometimes slight diversities in the Hebrew; moreover, the LXX. does not profess to reproduce them literally; and again, the New Testament writers follow sometimes the Hebrew and sometimes the LXX. It is best to spell the same name always in the same way, throwing- textual variations (where necessary) into the margin. It is most puzzling to unlettered people to read Noe for Noah, Elias for Elijah, Eliseus for Elisha, and Jesus for Joshua; nor can there be any advantage in keeping up such varieties of form as Henoch and Enoch, Seth and Sheth, Enos and Enosh, Cainan and Kenan, Jared and J ered, Core and Korab, Juda and Judah, Jona and Jonah, Gomorrha <1nd Gomorrah, Chanaan and Canaan, Sina and Sinai, Melchisedec and Melchizedek, Sara and Sarah, Gedeon and Gideon, Jephthae and Jephthah, Balak and Balac.

With regard to character, if one already exists in a language, of course it must be followed. If, however, the natives know nothing of writing, the case is very different.

There can be no doubt that the introduction of the Roman alphabet everywhere would be of unspeakable advantage to all concerned; but it can only be done gradually, and cautiously as missionaries and other literary authorities see their way. In 1858, a proposal having been made to print Indian languages in the Roman character, the opinions of many leading men were elicited.

The learned Dr. Wilson of Bombay was opposed to the plan, and rather inclined to press the use of the Nagri character. Others followed in the same line. But there were not wanting some who saw the great advantages which would accru~ in the gradual introduction of the Roman alphabet wherever possible.

The question has frequently arisen in China, whether the

EDITORS, AND REVISER8 OF THE BIBLE.

47

colloquials should be printed in Chinese character or in Roman.

It can hardly yet be said to be decided, but experiments in each have had some year's trial. Probably the Roman will prevail in the end. In the case of Swahili and other African languages which have Arabic words mixed up with them, and are largely impregnated with Mohammedan modes of expression, the best course appears to be to stick steadily to the Roman and root out the Arabic.

In new languages, where there is no extant literature, there hardly can be a doubt that the Roman character should be used everywhere. Dr. Duff of Calcutta wrote thus concerning its use for one of the native hill tribe languages :, Thoroughly and absolutely do I approve of your determination to print your translated works in the Roman characters. It is a strange delusion of Satan that men should strive to uphold varieties of alphabetic characters anywhere, provided they could without violence be superseded by one, at once uniform and effective, seeing that such variety is a prodigious bar and impediment to the diffusion of sound knowledge, and especially Divine Truth. But in a case like yours, where the natives had really no written characters of their own at all, to dream of introducing a clumsy, awkward, and expensive character like that of the Bengali, in preference to the clear, precise, and cheaper Romanised alphabet, would seem to me to be voluntarily raising up new ramparts to guard against the invasions of Truth. No, our object ought ever t!o be to facilitate and not to obstruct the dissemination of true knowledge of every kind; and one of the ways of doing so is everywhere to encourage the introduction and the use of the Roman Alphabet in place of the native alphabets, which are linked, associated, and saturated with all that is idolatrous.'

In the case of some of the North American Indian tribes, missionaries have resorted to a syllabic character invented by one of their body. It certainly has the merits of simplicity and ingenuity, and is said to be picked up more rapidly than our alphabet. But new missionaries are by no means inclined to undergo the labour of learning it, whilst those who have given the syllabic system their general approval, do not hesitate to suggest alterations in its structure from time to time. Probably it will die out before very long~ having served as an introduction to the art of reading, and having familiarised the Indian tribe1:1with an occupation for which their roving life by no means fitted them.

Professor Lepsius' universal alphabet has been used for some of the West African languages, but opinions differ as to its advantages.

He recommended the use of an Italic type rather than the Roman, because it is so much more like the written character, but the p1·esent tendency is to return to the Roman and to discourage the Italic. In some countries there are peculiar sounds requiring

48

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

special sorts of letters to be cast. Missionaries ought to be invited to confer and agree on all such matters before any proposition is submitted to the British and Foreign Bible Society. That body is always prepared to act on any printing scheme which is endorsed by the Missionary Societies labouring in the country in question.

M. Silvestre, in his interesting work on writing, remarks that it is.as easy to learn ten alphabets of thirty letters as one of three hundred. We are not sure if this is the case, nor do we suppose that three hundred sounds need be represented by written characters.

Professor Max Muller and the Rev. R. Hunt, of the Church Missionary Society, have each proposed plans of their own. The former is said to have been found inconvenient by printers. The latter is the result of the earnest convictions of a devoted missionary that far more may yet be done than has been attempted to facilitate the learning of strange languages through a set of universal signs which should not only appeal to the eye, but should be associated in the mind with a series of muscular actions. Mr. Hunt has been occupied in developing his scheme for many years, and an attempt is now (1877), we understand, being made to carry it into practice; with what results, it remains to be seen.

We must never forget that alphabets are, as M. Silvestre has said, a social institution, and that nations who already possess them are not prepared to give them up without undergoing something of a social revolution. Moreover, some alphabets are identified with religious creeds ; the Latin character, for example, in some countries, with the Roman faith, Arabic with Islam, Pali with Buddhism.

§ 16.-ON

TITLE-PAGES, TABLES OF CONTENTS, PAGING, &c., WITH A FEW REMARKS ON PROOF READING.

Every volume of Scripture ought to have a title-page, which should indicate the contents of the book as a whole, and the language in which it is written, also the place at which and the year in which it is printed. In some cases the fact that the work has been prepared at the expense of a particular society is recorded, and in other cases the name of the translator is given. Where there are several translations, or where it is necessary to guarantee a particular edition as trustworthy, one or other of these plans may be adopted. But generally it is better to avoid all needless advertising of persons or societies on translations of the Scripture.

An English imprint is often a disadvantage on a book intended for foreign circulation, and it is best to substitute for it the address of the central foreign depot where the volume may be obtained.

The table of contents ought to follow the title-page, being printed

49

E.DJTORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

on· a separate leaf. It should contain the names of the books, the numbers of the Chapters, and the page on which each Chapter begins.

It has become the custom of the British and Foreign Bible Society when printing Gospels and other integral Portions of the Scriptures. to prefix a complete list of the Books of the Testament from which the Portion is taken, so as to encourage readers to inquire for the whole.

All volumes of Scripture ought to be paged right through, the numbers being placed in the position where the reader would most natura1ly look for them, which is usually the outside top corner of the page.

Where several books have been printed at various times and bound up together. a Table of Contents becomes doubly important. as the paging does not run on ; but it would be desirable that, whenever practicable, the paging of portions issued from time to time should begin where the previous portion left off, so as to make the whole uniform.

It is advisable that the titles of books should be transliterated, not translated, respect of course being had to the requirements of the language in each case. Sometimes an alternative title may be given in the margin where the book begins, if for special reasons it seems desirable.

With regard to styles of printing and binding, national feeling and taste must be consulted, and the habits of the people, together with the peculiarities of the climate, must be considered. When the work is to be printed and bound in England, full information on these points is required from the missionaries. The lettering on backs of books should be as far as possible in the native language.

We may append to this section a few words with regard to proof-reading. Each proof should be read twice, once with the copy, in order to secure that nothing is omitted, and once without, in order to ensure the correctness of the sense. A revise ought to be read with equal care; and then a second revise will seldom be needed.

The mechanical toil involved in reading the proof-sheets of a Bible cannot be over-estimated. Nothing taxes the eyesight and the brain so much as this. Constant watchfulness is needed lest his interest in the sense should make the editor negligent of the letter. We know not whether an immaculate edition of the Bible exists in any language ; but perfect accuracy ought to be strenu~ ously aimed at by every editor. His hand and eye will often be weary, and he will need at times almost to goad himself to his task.

But a moment's thought about the nature of the work on which he is engaged, and a moment's prayer to Him whose Message of: l.)

50

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

Salvation he is setting forth, will tend to make the toil less irksome and the prospect more bright.

§ 17.-ON

METHODS OF CONDUCTING JOINT REVISIONS.

Under this head all we propose to do is to give a few examples, which may assist in the formation and regulation of the many Boards of Revision which must hereafter be called into existence.

Wben the Authorised English Version was taken in hand, the translators, being forty-seven in number, were divided into six companies. Ten were appointed to take the early part of the Bible as far as 1 Chronicles, one of them being, according to Fuller's History, 'skilled in architecture, and his judgment much relied on for the fabric of the tabernacle and temple.' Eight took from 2 Chronicles to Ecclesiastes, and seven others had the remainder of the Old Testament as their charge. including Dr. Smith, who made 'the learned and religious preface to the translation.' Seven were appointed for the Apocrypha ; eight for the Gospels, Acts, and Apocalypse, and seven for the Epistles.

Their work was in many respects a revision rather than a new translation, especially in the New Testament. The following were among the rules laid down by King James I. for their guidance :' The Bishops' Bible to be followed, and as little altered as the original wil1 permit. ' The names of the prophets and the holy writers, with the other names in the text, to be retained, as near as may be, according as they are vulgarly used. ' The old ecclesiastical words to be kept. ' When any word hath divers significations, that to be kept which hath been most commonly used by the most eminent Fathers, being agreeable to the propriety of the place and the analogy of faith. ' The divisions of the chapters to be altered either not at all, or as little as may be.

'No marginal notes at all to be affixed, but only for the explanation of the Hebrew and Greek words, which cannot without some circumlocution so briefly and fitly be expressed in the text.

'Every particular man of each company to take the same chapter or chapters ; and having translated or amended them severally by himself where he thinks good, all to meet together, confer what they have done, and agree for their part what shall stand. ' As any one company hath despatched any one book in this manner, they shall send it to the rest, to be considered of seriously and judiciously; for his Majesty is very careful on this point.

EDITORS, AND REVISERS OF THE BIBLE.

51

' If any company, upon the review of the book so sent, shall doubt or differ upon any places, to send them word thereof, note the places, and therewithal send their names ; to which if they consent not, the difference to be compounded at the general meeting, which is to be of the chief persons of each company, at the end of the work.'

The translation, thus subdivided, made rapid progress, and was concluded in three years ; with what happy results all the world knows.

A revision of the English Bible was taken in hand in 1870, having been inaugurated by the Convocation of Canterbury.

The following were its primary resolutions.

'That the revision be so conducted as to comprise both marginal renderings and such emendations as it may be found necessary to insert in the text of the Authorised Version.

'That we do not contemplate any new translation of the Bible, or any alteration of the language, except where, in the judgment of the most competent scholars, such change is necessary.

'That in such necessary changes the style of language employed in the existing version be closely followed.

'That it is desirable that Convocation should nominate a body of its own members to undertake the work of revision, who shall be at liberty to invite the co-operation of any eminent for scholarship, to whatever nation or religious body they may belong.'

In consequence of these Resolutions an Old Testament company and a New Testament company were formed, having on them scholars who represented the leading churches and denominations in England and Scotland.

Several of these have died before seeing the conclusion of the work, which has not yet come to an end. Each company meets for several days periodically, the respective members having prepared a portion of work. A tentative revision is thus arrived at, and is printed for the consideration not only of the English members, but of an American body of revisers, whose co-operation has been secured. Absent members send their suggestions, but these suggestions do not count as votes. The mode of arriving at a decision on the introduction of changes is thus set forth :' 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. ' To make and retain no change in the text on the second and final revision by each company, except two-thirds of those present approve of the same, but on the first revision to decide by simple majorities.

52

SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSLATORS,

' In every case of proposed alteration that may have given rise to discussion, to defer the voting thereupon till the next Meeting, whensoever the same shall be required by one-third of those present at the Meeting, such intended vote to be announced in the notice for the next meeting.'

One other Resolution, worthy to be imitated, is this :-' To refer, on the part of each company, when considered desirable, to divines, scholars, and literary men, whether at home or abroad, for their opinions.'

In the case of that revision or re-translation of the Chinese Bible which is called the Delegates' Version, the work was divided among the different mission stations, and when the portion allotted to one station was completed, it was sent round to the other stations for examination and criticism. The delegates also met together occasionally.

When it was decided to revise the Malagasy Bible, a principal reviser was appointed, half his salary being paid by the British and Foreign Bible Society ; each Protestant Missionary Society labouring in the island was invited to send a certain number of delegates in proportion to their staff. A tentative revision of certain parts of the Bible was prepared by the principal reviser, in the first place, and Bent round to the delegates, who returned their criticisms ; after which a further revise wa~ issued, and the delegates were summoned to conSii<lerand vote on it. Instructions which had previously been drawn up by the present writer in his official capacity, and were printed and circulated among the delegates, calling their attention to points which would need to be decided in the first instance before the revision could be carried through satisfactorily.

We cannot conclude this paper of suggestions in a better way than by referring to the very successful revisions of the Tamil Bible, accomplished by a Joint Board, representing the various Protestant Missions in the Tamil-speaking part of India. The work took above ten years, having been begun in 1858. The principal reviser prepared a revised text of portion after portion, and after considering the suggestions made by the delegates, he prepared a second revision, which they met to consider. When the New Testament was thus accomplished, a circular was addressed by the Madras Bible Society to all missionaries labouring in the Tamil country, requesting them to state how far they thought it desirable that the Old Testament should be revised in a similar way. A majority deciding in favour of this course, the work was taken in hand and completed. The various meetings held by the

EDITORS, AND REVISRRS OF THE BIBLE.

53

delegates extended to ten months and a half, seven months and nine days of which were expended on the Old Testament. In the interesting report drawn up and signed by the revisers when the whole was completed, reference was made to the fact that all were preserved in health through their meetings, notwithstanding the arduous nature of the work. 'This result,' the report states, • we attribute partly to the regularity of our hours and the care with which our time was apportioned into periods of endurable length, and partly to the excellent climate in which the greater part of our work was carried on, but chiefly to the interesting character of the work itself.'

'We have much reason,' continues the report, 'to be thankful for the unbroken harmony which has prevailed among us from first to last. Coming as we have done from different missions, from different parts of the Tamil country, where different local peculiarities of expression prevailed, bringing to the discussion of every subject different habits of thought, and influenced probably mo!'e than we were aware by different theological predilections, there has never been the slightest jarring or discord of feeling apparent among us during our long conferences. Differences of opinion and taste there were, and ever will be, when men of independent judgment meet t9gether to settle questions of language and style by a joint decision ; but in no instance did any such difference pass beyond the limits of Christian courtesy and charity ; it being the desire of all that truth should prevail over individual opinion, that the Scriptures should speak not the language of any one man or of any one party, but their own language. and that the questions before us should be discussed and settled, not as questions of theology, but as questions of Hebrew and Greek criticism and Tamil idiom.

'The work has proved the most interesting task in which we have ever been engaged. Never have we felt so deeply impressed with the wisdom, the truthfulness, the beauty, the moral goodness -or to use a word which human philosophy knows not-the spirituality of these divinely-inspired Scriptures. Our daily work brought us so directly in contact with the great things and deep things of God, that it was a source of continual refreshment to us and continual delight, and the brotherhood of feeling with which we were united turned our toil into a pleasure. The only day that hung heavily on our spirits was the last, when we felt that our work had come to an end, and that all that remained for us to do was to prepare to part.•

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

SYNONYMS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT: THEIR BEARING ON CHRISTIAN FAITH AND PRACTICE. 15s.

LONGMANS.

"Mr. Girdlestone deserves the thanks of students of Scripture for this book.

It is an attempt to give a distinct and accurate explanation of the meaning of a great number of words which occur in the Hebrew Scriptures, but many of which in the English version are scarcely distinguishable from one another; and then, by means of the Septuagint, to bring this distinctness and accuracy to bear upon the words which correspond to them in the New Testament."Literary Churchman.

"To a competent knowledge of Hebrew and Greek, Mr. Girdlestone unites a wide acquaintance with grammatical and exegetical aids, fairness of judgment, and that reverential sympathy with the Old Testament without which neither an ordinary reader nor a learned investigator can possibly understand it aright."

-British Quarterly Review.

"A very valuable work for the critical student of Scripture."-Literary World.

"A work of well-digested learning, careful and conscientious research, and in parts of considerable polemical merit, and in a tone of Christian and loving temper, which speaks well for his charity."-School Board Chronicle. '' Combines a tone of piety with rich Biblical Scholarship.'' -John, Bull.

"Thorough philological knowledge and hearty belief in the Word of God permeate the whole."-Dr. Delitzsch.

DIES IR~: THE FINAL JUDGMENT AND FUTURE PROSPECTS OF MANKIND. 3s. 6d.

H.ATCHARDS.

"The special value of Mr. Girdlestone's thoughtful and well-weighed book is that the writer carefully examines the Scripture meaning of all the expressions used on the subject. Mr. Girdlestone's reasonings, however, are not confined to Scriptural interpretations. He passes in review every topic that the question has brought to the surface, and reasons upon each with a view to establish or defend

55 the Scripture doctrine. The tone of his book is both able and attractive. He is careful to keep within the limits to which man's reason is rightly confined on such subjects. He regards the subject in a Christian and loving, not in a controversial spirit. He takes care not to misrepresent opponents, or to overstate his own side of the case. And his book, in consequence, as may fairly be hoped, will influence many who are open to calm and thoughtful statement."Guardian.

"The topics discussed are solemn and important beyond all others, and have been handled by the author in a very careful and reverent spirit. Many of his suggestions merit serious consideration ; and although we might possibly demur to some of the views which he propounds, and to some of the conclusions at which he arrives, it could hardly be otherwise when such deep things of God form the subject of inquiry. His sentiments are generally remarkable for sobriety and orthodoxy, and contrast most favourably with the crude and fanciful speculations which are afloat, wherein men's crotchets are substituted for God's revelations.''

- Ohri.stian Observer. ". . . Nor does his breadth of view stop even here ; for, taught by the hints and allusions of Scripture itself, he recognises that God's dealings with the race of Adam are but a part of His dealings with the universe, and must therefore necessarily branch out into relations, and be complicated by considerations so wide and vast that the human intellect is at present totally incompetent to understand them. '' The moderation, good temper, candour, and truthfulness, for which the whole volume is conspicuous, a1·emaintained throughout, and enable the reader to differ on points of detail without compromising for a moment his frank and affectionate sympathy with the author. We refer our readers for further information to the volume itself, and cordially commend it, alike for its ability, its scholarly accuracy, its comprehensiveness of view, and its devout and Scriptural tone." -Christian Advocate.

THE ANATOMY OF SCEPTICISM: AN EXAMINATION INTO THE CAUSES OF THE PROGRESS WHICH SCEPTICISM IS MAKING IN ENGLAND. 3s.

HUNT

AND

Co.

"This volume condenses in a few pages the result of much study and thought; the style is lucid, the arrangement simple and logical. It is a book which we have much pleasure in recommending, as being especially fitted for young men whose minds may be unsettled by the 'divers and strange doctrines' of the present day. The concluding chapter, on 'Rules to be observed in Arguing with Sceptics,' is full of useful hints to young curates, Scripture-readers, and others, who have this controversy frequently forced upon them."-.Record.

LONDON! R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, BREAD

STREET

QUEF.N VIOTORIA

l'RINTERS,

HILL, 8TREET.

About First Fruits Press

Under the auspices of B. L. Fisher Library, First Fruits Press is an online publishing arm of Asbury Theological Seminary. The goal is to make academic material freely available to scholars worldwide, and to share rare and valuable resources that would not otherwise be available for research. First Fruits publishes in five distinct areas: heritage materials, academic books, papers, books, and journals.

In the Journals section, back issues of The Asbury Journal will be digitized and so made available to a global audience. At the same time, we are excited to be working with several facultymembersondevelopingprofessional,peer-reviewed,onlinejournalsthatwouldbe made freely available.

Much of this endeavor is made possible by the recent gift of the Kabis III scanner, one of the best available. The scanner can produce more than 2,900 pages an hour and features a special book cradle that is specifically designed to protect rare and fragile materials. The materials it produces will be available in ebook format, easy to download and search.

First Fruits Press will enable the library to share scholarly resources throughout the world, provide faculty with a platform to share their own work and engage scholars without the difficulties often encountered by print publishing. All the material will be freely available for online users, while those who wish to purchase a print copy for their libraries will be able to do so. First Fruits Press is just one way the B. L. Fisher Library is fulfilling the global vision of Asbury Theological Seminary to spread scriptural holiness throughout the world.

asbury.to/firstfruits