Revision of the New Testament.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3951, 27 August 1881, Page 2

Revision of the New Testament.

MR NEILL'S LECTURE.—Continued.

The expression, " For His name's sake," which occurs in Ist John, ii., 12, and is retained in the new version, must be read in connection with the Love which is Light and Life in the preceding verses. In that sense iL Ends a parallel in Psalm s.xv., 11: "For Thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity." If persons will take the trouble, as I hare done, to go through every place in the New Testament where the term " For the sake of" occurs, it will be found that the new revision has been very conservative here. It will also be found that the five Greek words, dia, iiper, eneken, peri, aud en, have, in nearly every cane, iv tilt* utw as Wfcll &* the old version, been

rendered by the one English phrase, even" where through would have been a natural rendering of dia. In 2nd Corinthians, iv., 5, the new revision says in the margin that some authorities read through, whereas that is the ordinary .reading of the text, which seems to imply either an obscurity or an actual mistake on tbe part of the revisors. The new revision shows what Bishop Moorhouse called a " little timid conservatism " in some parts, thereby teudiuy; to perpetuate old errors. An example of this is visible in the reteution in the 24th of Matthew of the phrase " the end of the world," and placing the true translation in the margin, " the con> summation of the age." In Ist Cor., iii., 7, a change in what may be regarded as a matter of some importance has been made. The old version reads, "Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence,'' whereas the new version stands, "Let the husband render unto the wife her due." As has been before noticed, a change has been made in the command, " Search the Scriptures," so that it reads as a simple statement, "Ye search the Scriptures !" Owing to the form of the verb used here, either reading may be regarded as correct, but I believe the one which gives the true sense is the one now given, "Ye search the Scriptures !" A very considerable change has taken place in the language used in Scripture to describe the future state. In a very long and interesting lecture given a few weeks/ ago by the Bishop of Melbourne, he'\ describes this not so much as an actual change, as " au effect " or " drift " which tends to exhibit to ordinary readers the ideas of the Wiginal in a clearer light. It, is well knoijvn that the usual argument for the support, of eternal punishment is that the same adjective is applied to the wicked and the righteous. Hence, it is said if the state of tbe good is endless, therefore the state of the wicked must be also endless. But the new version helps us to see that when King James' translators used the word everlasting, they were acting as expositors, not as translators simply; the true rendering of the Greek expression aenical being eternal, an English word derived from the Latin aetas, an age. The new version gives the word eternal instead of everlasting. The word eternal will therefore have to be distinguished in our language from everlasting. There are general Greek words which the New Testament writers could have used to express endless duration, but these are not used by them iv any case, I believe, with regard to the state of the wicked. One'of them is in a certain place applied to Christ, atelentos —" the pang of au endless life." The word "hell" the new version shows also a little conservatism, retaining it as the translation of Gehenna, which is placed in the margin. But hell is no more a translation of Gehenna than it is of Hades, and the word in the margin should in thia instance have been placed in the text. A very considerable change has been made iv a well known proof text bearing oa the character of the Bible, viz., 11. Tim., iii., 4. "Instead of all Scriptures given by inspiration of God," it now reads, Every Scripture inspired gj God is also profitable, Sfc, This is perhaps the most important change of all. In this case, as in some others, we find the old reading placed in the margin. You will find many passages similar in importance to those we have mentioned, and what we have brought before you is only a specimen to give you a desire to search for yourselves, and if by a careful search, usiug your understanding to the bast of your ability, you obtain a clear view of God's will, and of man's duty, you will be rewarded in the highest possible manner.