r-Sv,

:/90(^

By j. I. MOMBERT, D.D.

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HAND-BOOK

ENGLISH VERSIONS

THE BIBLE,

WITH COPIOUS EXAMPLES ILLUSTRATING THS
ANCESTRY AND RELATIONSHIP OP THE
SEVERAL VERSIONS, AND COMPAR
ATIVE TABLES,

BY
J. I. MOMBERT. D.D.
SECOND EDITION.

NEW YORK :
D. APPLETON & COMPANY,
I, 3, & 5 BOND street.
1890.

COPYRIGHT, 1883, Br
J. I. MOMBERT.

ST. JOHNLAND PRINTED BY
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PREFACE,

Next in importance to the conservation of a pure
text of the Original Scriptures is confessedly their
faithful translation into the living speech of man.
An account therefore of the common English Ver
sion, from its first rude beginnings in Anglo-Saxon
times, through all the changes it has undergone, to
the form in 'which more than seventy millions of peo
ple diffused over the globe, now claim it as their
common inheritance and joint possession, needs no
apology for its existence.
From the moment of the first inception, and
throughout the long course of the preparation of
this work, I have striven to write a history useful
not only to scholars but to all readers of the Eng
lish Bible, and therefore deemed it expedient to
present the longer illustrative examples, drawn from
the sacred originals and from versions in extinct
or foreign tongues, with companion translations in
English. In submitting the results of independent study
and research in the interesting field of inquiry
touching the ancestry of the Authorized Version,
and its relationship to various English and Foreign
Versions, the noble labors of others have been duly
acknowledged to the full extent of their use.

iv Preface.
A glance at two Comparative Tables following
the Contents may suflfice to convey some idea of the
magnitude of those labors.
The parallel production of related versions in nu
merous collations and analyses, on the principle of
making the several translations disclose their origin
and history will, I trust, prove as advantageous to
the reader, as their preparation has been beneficial
to the 'writer. The uttnost care and laborious study
have been bestowed Upon this difficult but very in
structive part of the present undertaking.
In ordei- to enhance the general utility, and in
the hope of establishing the permanent value of
this volutne", a full accOutit of English Versions
based on the Vulgate has beeri introduced, and
the chapters on the Authofized Version and the
Revision of the Bible have been prepafed with
special reference to that importaiit work. The
material provided is designed to enable the reader
to form art indeperiderit judgment of the merits
of the Authorized Version, and bf the extent to
which its dertierits may be i-emoved by the forth
coming revised edition of the Old Testamietlt, or
have already been reitioved in the published revised
editibn of the New.
In most instances the examples adduced have
beeti copied ffom original editions, free access to
which was kindly accorded to me by the custodiails
of public and private libfarie's, ^hose coiiftesy I hefe
beg gfaf'efuify to acknowledge. The original spell-
irig has beeri preser'v'ed whenever practicable.
I also desire to discharge a debt of gratitude

Preface. v
to the Rev. Samuel M. Jackson, M.A., one of the
editors of the Herzog-Schaff Religious Cyclopcedia
¦for his kindness in reading the plate proofs.
A Table of Contents and two Indexes will facili
tate reference and render a more lengthy account
of the work unnecessary.
May the Great Head of the Church own and bless
this humble effort to make the reading and knowl
edge of His Word truly profitable to all readers of
the English Bible.
J. I. Mombert.
New York, AJ,ril, tSSj.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.
ANGLO-SAXON VERSIONS.
The Ruthwell Cross. Caedmon. Aldhelm and Guthlac's Psalter.
Bede. King Alfred. Anglo-Saxon and Semi- Saxon examples.
Manuscripts. The Heptateuch. Extracts frora .lElfric. The
mutilated Decalogue. Printed Scriptures. Anglo-Saxon com
pared with other tongues. Illustrative examples of Anglo-Saxon
versions. Versions in Anglo-Saxon and Old English compared.
Anglo-Saxon helps.  i
CHAPTER II.
THE EARLIEST ENGLISH VERSIONS.
The Ormulum. The Sowlehele. Metrical Psalms. William de
Schorham. Richard Rolle. Prose Versions of the Psalms. Il
lustrative examples. Purport of the Translations. John de Tre-
visa. Literature  27
CHAPTER III.
THE WICLIFITE VERSIONS.
Account of John Wiclit His version the first English published.
Knyghton. The veraons translated from the Vulgate. Order
of the books. Ificholas de Hereford. Purvey's revision.
Principles of translation. 'Wiclif s style. Analytical and com
parative examples: Vulgate— Hereford — Authorized Version;
Old French and English; 'Wiclif and Purvey's revision; Here
ford and Purvey. Purvey's annotations. Collation of St. Mat-
thew 'viii. 1-13: Anglo-Saxon— Vulgate — Wiclif— Purvey —
Authorized Version. Examples exhibiting the literalness of

viii Contents.
WicliPs translation. Wiclif's version compared with sundry ver
sions in manuscript. Characteristics. The influence of Wiclifs
version on the Authorized Version illustrated. The Epistle of
Paul to the Laodiceans. Editions of Wiclif. . . . .4c
CHAPTER IV.
TYNDALE'S VERSION.
Ignorance of the monks. Historical notice. Difficulties in England.
Departure for the Continent. Conjectures considered. Ham
burg, Cologne, Worms. Tyndale arid Luther. Tyndale's helps.
The influence of Luther's Version, and the character of Tyn
dale's. Use made of the Vulgate. Tyndale's independence.
His scholarship. His English. Collation exhibiting the relation
of Tyndale's Version to the Vulgate, and the versions of Wiclif
and Luther. The version in England. Account of the various
editions. Joye. Hacket. The pseudonyme Hulchins. Entry
in Spalatiri's Diary. Facts relating to Marlborow (Marburg) de
veloped. Original correspondence on the subject. Tyndale's
knowledge of Hebrew illustrated. Helps relating to the Ver
sion of the Old Testament. The' Pentateuch. His miscellane
ous writings. Later editions of his version. Tyndale and Joye.
The labors of Joye. Coriiparison of the editions of 1526 and
1534. His betrayal and martyrdom. Peculiar spelling in the
edition of 1535. The New Testament of 1536. Estimate of
Tyndale. Examples of his version, indicating the extent to
which it continues in the Authorized Version. Collation of
different editions. Archaisms and idiosyncrasies. . . .77
CHAPTER V.
COVERDALE.
Historical notice. The Bible of 1535; the title changed in the edi
tion of 1536. The Nicolsori editions. Order of the books. The
Latin-English New Testament. Collations. Estimate of Cov
erdale's New Testament. His life and lab6rs on the Continent.
Sketch of his career. The notices of Bishop Tanner and Bale.
Examination of the version; not made from the Originals. His
own account. Collation of his version with Pagninus and the
ZOi'ich version, also with Luther, SchOfer's Bible, aind the Com-

CONTENtS. ix
biriation Bible, as well as the Vulgate, Pagninus and the Ztt-
rich. His sentiinerits concerning the value of different trans
lations. Examples of his notes. Estimate of the version.
Idiosyncrasies. The Prayer-Book version of the Psalter. Spec
imen from his Ghistty Psalms. The versions of Tyndale and
Coverdale compared. Prayers in the edition of 1537. Order
of the books  149
CHAPTER VI.
MATTHEW'S BIBLE.
Publication of the volume in 1537. Conjecture as to where it was
printed. Notice of John Rogers. The initials R. G. and E. W.
The first Authorized Version. Nature of this Bible. Foxe's ac
count in correction of Bale's. The name Thomas Matthewe.
Examination of the text with respect to its authorship. The
labors of Rogers described. Collation of Jonah in Tyndale and
Matthewe. Collation of Luther, Zurich, Coverdale, and He
brew. Agreements and differences in the versions of Tyndale,
Coverdale, and Matthew stated and illustrated. Additional Ex
amples. Remarkable notes, explanatory and otherwise; some
traced to Pellican and Luther. "The Summe and Content of
all the Holy Scriptures." The antipapal t6ne of many notes
illustrated. Comparison of the text of the New Testament in
Tyndale, 1534, 1535, and Matthew, 1537. His Bible set forth
by royal authority. Extracts from the Prologue. . • 1 74
CHAPTER VII.
TAVERNER'S BIBLE.
Account of Taverner. His Bible published in 1539. The Dedication.
Character of the version. The individuality of the translator
or reviser strongly stamped upon it; illustrations. His depend
ence on the Vulgate. Natare of his recognition, and examina
tion of his corrections. Exaimples of words and phrases, intro
duced by Taverner, remaming in the Authorized Version. . 194
CHAPTER VIII.
THE GREAT BIBLE.
Crom'well the promoter of a new edition of the Bible. Coverdaile in
Paris. The work of printing there stopped by the inquisitor

X Contents.
general, resumed and finished in London, 1539. Description of
the volume; the title-page, and frontispiece designed by Hol
bein. Contents of the volume. The injunctions of 1538, and
royal declaration. Account of its reception. The nature of the
version. Helps used by Coverdale. Account of the early edi
tions. Collation of the version with the Hebrew, Vulgate, Lu
ther, Zurich, Matthew, Coverdale, and MUnster, and in a second
example with these and Pagninus. The influence of MUnster
and the Zurich. Textual comparisons of different editions. The
influence of Erasmus. Coverdale the editor of the Great Bible.
Cranmer's Prologue. Cranmer's Bible. Merits and demerits.
Objectionable additions. The Prayer Book Psalter taken from
this version. Synoptical comparison of renderings of the Psalms
in the Prayer Book and the Authorized Version. Later editions
of the Great Bible. Extract from The Supplication of the Poor
Commons to tlie King. The pecuniary interest of Grafton in the
production of this Bible.  201
CHAPTER IX.
THE ENGLISH BIBLE DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS OF
HENRY VIIL, AND UNDER THE REIGNS OF
EDWARD VI. AND MARY.
Convocation of 1542. Gardyner's proposals. Act for the Advance
ment of true. -Religion. The injunctions of Edward VI. Edi
tions of the Bible and New Testament published in his reign.
Mary's translation of Erasmus' paraphrase on John. Leo Judae's
paraphrase on the Revelation. Sir John Cheke; specimens of
his English, and extracts from his version. Account of Mary's
hostility to the reading of the Scriptures in the vernacular. . 23c
CHAPTER X.
THE GENEVAN BIBLE.
The exiles at Geneva. Their labors. The New Testament of ISS7'
Title and description of the volume. Examples, collated and
annotated, illustrating its relation to Tyndale's version. The
Genevan Bible. Description of the edition of '1560. TTie
Breeches Bible. The Dedication and Address to the Christian
Reader. The popularity of the version. Helps used by the
translators. Collations of the text of the Great Bible and the

Contents. xi
Genevan, and of the same versions and the French of 1 556 and
1588. Collation illustrating changes in different editions and re
visions of the Genevan Bible. The influence of Beza. Supple
mentary clauses. Peculiarities of the version illustrated. The
marginal notes. The first Bible printed in Scotland a reprint of
the Genevan edition of 1561. Collation of the New Testaments
of 1557 and 1560. Examples with annotations. Account of
sundry matters furnished after the New Testament. Specimens
of the Arguments before the books. . . . 239
CHAPTER XI.
THE BISHOPS' BIBLE.
Origin ofthe version. Archbishop Parker's Observations respected
of the Translators. His perplexity concerning the translators.
List of the revisers. The archbishop's letter to tbe queen upon
the completion of the work. Account of editions. The Bible
described. Classification of the books of the Bible as legal, his
torical, sapiential, and prophetic. The order of the books.
The preface. Quality ofthe translation. Helps used. Influence
ofthe Genevan and other versions. Lawrence's list of errors in
the renderings of the New Testament. Example, and Colla
tions. Specimens of literalness and expansion. Marginal notes.
The Apocrypha. Brough ton's critique ; specimens of his stric
tures. Collations with other versions, and notes. The use of
the Vulgate in the Apocrypha. Exaraple from double version
of the Psalms in edition of 1572. The controversy of Martin
and Fulke illustrated. ... .... 26}
CHAPTER XII.
THE RHEMES NEW TESTAMENT AND DOUAY BIBLE.
Account of the translators. The New Tfistaraent of 1582. Title.
Extracts from the preface. Examples of characteristic render
ings. Its dependence on WicHf. Specimens. Redeeming fea
tures. Illustrations. Animus of the notes. Controversy be
tween Martin and Fulke. The Old Testament of 1610. Title.
Preface. Collation of two infallible versions of the Vulgate.
Origin of the text of the Douay Bible. Examples from the ver
sion, and specimens of the notes. Literature on the version.
Anecdote of Mary, queen of Scots. The relation of different R.

xii Contents.
C. versions to the Authorized Version. Collation' exhibiting
the differences in the text of R. C. editions of the Bible. Ac
count of R. C. versions. Caryl's Psalms. Nai-y's New Testa
ment. Witham's New Testament. Troy's Bible. Geddes'
Biile. Murray's Bible. Lingard's Gospels. Kenrick's Ver
sion. Ward's Errata  293
CHAPTER XIII.
THE AUTHORIZED VERSION.
Historical notice of its origin. Order agreed upon for translating
the Bible, with biographical notices of the translators. Set of
instructions. Information respecting the version drawn from the
preface, frpm Selden, and the account of the delegates to the
Synod of Dort. Title of the edition of 161 1. Np evidence of its
haying been authorized. Preliminary niatter. Account pf varir
ous editions. Errata. The Cambridge Paragraph Bible. Amer
ican editions. The italic type. Collation illustrating its use.
Authorized and unauthorized matter contained in the volume.
Examples of alternative renderings. Parallel reference?^ -their
number, and arithmetical statement of the contents^rf-^he Au
thorized Version. Punctuation. Chapter heading. Origin of
chronological dates. Exaraination pf the wprk done by the sev
eral companies of translators. Illustrations. Examples with
analysis. Collation showing the demerits of the Apocrypha.
Felicitous renderings. The same Greek word expressed by dif
ferent English words. The preponderance of Saxon words.
Estimate ofthe version by Selden, Walton, Lowth, British Critic,
Middleton, White, Whittaker, Doddridge, Taylor, Geddes,
Beattie, Clarke, and Newman. Critical apparatus used by the
translators. The nature of their Greek text. Collation of A. V.,
the Vulgate, and Tremellius, and of A. V'., the Vulgate, and ^
Beza. Nature and origin of the improvements introduced into
the version. The versions of Cassiodoro de Reyna, Usque, and
Diodati; examples of their influence on the Authorized Version.
Critical examination of six longer passages. Classified lists of
alleged blemishes, imperfections, infelicities an-l archaisms re
maining in the version and necessitating revision, with proposed
corrections. Survey of attempted revision in chronological order
by Broughton; Ainsworth; Canne; Fox; Beausobre and L'En-
fant; Mace; Simon; Whiston; Purver; Wynne; Doddridge; Har-

Contents. xiii
wood; Lowth; Blayney; G. Campbell; Wakefield; Newcome;
Scarlett; Macrae; Evans.on; Thomson; Socinian New Testa
ment; Bellamy; Campbell-Doddridge-MacKnight; Alex. Camp
bell; Nourse; Coit; Dickinson; Webster; Penn; Lee; Norton;
Sawyer; Wellbeloved-Sroith-Porter; Five Clergymen; Heinfel-
ter; Bagster; Baptist version; Alford; Noyes; Tischendorf; Da-
vidsop; McClellan; Julia E. Smith; Cheyne -Driver-Clarke-Good
win; Gotch-Davies-Jacob-Green; Taylor; Rotherham. . . 338
CHAPTER XIV.
THE ANGLO-AMERICAN REVISION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT;
OR, THE WESTMINSTER 'VERSION.
Lightfoot's Sermon. Parliamentary action in 1 653. John Row's
Proposal. Additional Literature on the subject. Reference to
American writers. Controversy on the merits of the Revised
New Testament. History of the present Revision drawn frora
official documents. Lists of the Revisers with notes. Appear
ance of the New Testament. Title. Contents. The Preface.
The Greek text used. Illustrations. Nature of the altera
tions made, with critical estimate of them. Classification of
changes introduced, with examples. Language. More changes
de.sired by the American revisers. Treatment of proper names.
The marginal notes. Italics. Paragraphs. Metrical arrange
ment. Punctuation. Illustrative collation. The omission of
.Summaries of contents, chapter headings, and parallel refer
ences. Adverse criticism. Renderings less felicitous than (hose
of the Authorized Version. Compromise and concession. Ex
amples of shortcomings. The Appendix. Classes of passages
preferred by the American Committee. Specimens. Collation
of three representative passages with notes. Estimate of the
version. Conclusion. ........ 442
Preface ............ iii.
Contents  v.
Comparative Tables .  xiv.
General Index  49S
Index to illustrative Passages  507

TABLE I.— GENESIS XLV 26-28.

S^tua^nt (JValton,
26 Et nunciaveruut ei,
dicentes, Quia tilius tuus,
JosepK vivet, et ip.se est
princeps universSB terriB
iEgypti. Et obstupuit
mente Jacob: non enim
credidit eii;.
27 Locuci sunt autem ei
omnia, quEB dicta fuerant
&Joseph,qusecumque dixit
eis. Videns a.utem plaus
tra, qu» miserat Joseph,
ut assumerent eum, revix
it spiritus Jacob patris eo
rum. 28 Dixit autem Israel,
Magnum mihi est, si ad
huc Jaseph filius, meus vi-
v)t: profectus videbo eum,
priusqiiam moriar.

Samariian Pentateuch
(IValton. 1657).
26 Narraveruntque illi,
dicentes; Adhuc vivit Jo
seph, & ipse dominatur
omni terrflB ^Egypti: Tunc
defecit cor ejus, non enim
credebat illis. — 27 Retule-
runtque illi omnia verba
Josephi qu« dixerat illis:
videris quoque currus quos
miserat Joseph ad vehen-
dum ipsum, revixit spiritus
Jacobi patris eorum. 28
Et dixit Israel, Sufficit; vi
vit adhuc filius> meus Jo
seph: ibo, videbo eum,
antequam moriar.

Chaldee [Onkelos) {WaU Syriac [Walton, i6s7).
ton, i6S7)-

26 Et narraverunt ei,
dicente.s, Adhuc Joseph
vivit; et quod dominatur
in universa terrfi iEgypti:
Et erant verba hac vacil-
lantia in corde siio; quo
niam non credebat eis.
27 Et locuti sunt cum eo
omnia verba Joseph, quse
locutus fuerat cum eis: &
vidit plaustra quEB miserat
Joseph, ut portarent eum:
& requievit Spiritus sanc
tus super Jacob patrem
suum. 28 Dixitque Isra
el; Magnum gaudium est
mihi,J osepho filio meo ad
huc vivente: Vadam & vi
debo eum, antequam mo
riar.

26 Et nunci&runt ei, di
centes; Adhuc Joseph vi
vit, ipseque dominatur in
tota terra iEgypti. Ipse
ver6 neglexit in corde suo,
quia non credidit eis. — 27
Et retulerunt ei omnia ver
ba qu» dixerat eis Joseph:
cernensque Jacob plaUstra
qu» miserat Joseph ad ve-
hendum eum, quievit spi
ritus Jacob patris eorum.
28 Et ait. Maximum est
apud me hoc, quod hacte-
nus Joseph filius meus vi
vit: ibo, videbo eum ante
quam moriar.

Arabic [Walton 16J7),

26 Et nunciaverunt ei,
acdixerunt; Adhuc Joseph
superstes est; quinetiam
est praepositus universte
regioni iEgypti: hiBsitavit
autem cor ejus, nec fidem
prsebuit eis.— 27 Praate-
rea narraverunt ei omnes
sermones Josephi quos lo
cutus fuerat ad eos, vidit-
que currus quos miserat
ad vehendum ilium, qua-
propter revixit spiritus Ja-,
cob patris eoruni. 28 £t
dixit, sufficit mihi quod
Joseph filius meus adhuc
superstes est; vadam, &
videbo eum antequam mo
riar.

Vulgate [Basel. rsS7)-
26 Et nunciauerunt ei,
dicentes loseph (filius tu-
us) uiuit: & ipse domina
tur in omni terra ^gypti.
Quo audito lacob, quasi
oe graui somno euigilans,
tamen non credebat eis. —
27 Illi econtra referebant
omnem ordinem rei.

Wiclif [Forshall and
Madden), 1380,
26  and telden to
hym, and seiden, Joseph,
thi sone, lyueth, and he
is lord in al the lond of
Egipt. And whanne this
was herd, Jacob wakide
as of a greuouse sleep;
netheles he bileuyde not
to hem. 27 Thei telden

Luther [JS^S)-
26 Und verkUndigten
ihm, undsprachen: Joseph
lebet noch, und 1st ein
Herr im ganzcn Egypten-
lande. Aber sein Herz
gedachte gar -viel anders,
denn er glaubte ihnen
nicht. 27 Da sagten sie ihm

Pagninus [1528).
26 £t nunciaverunt ei,
dicendo; Adhuc Joseph
vivit & ipse dominatur in
universa terra iEgypti.
Ec debilitatum est cor
ejus, quia non credebat
eis. VJ Et locuti sunt ad eu m
omnia verba Joseph, qusa

Tyndale {1330).
26 ... I and tolde him
saynge. Joseph is yet a
lyue and is gouerner ouer
all the land of iEgipte.
And Jacobs hert wauered
I for he beleued the not.
27 And they tolde him
^all the wordes of Joseph
which he had savde unto

Cumque ludisset plaitstra
& uniuersa quse miserat.
reuixit spiritus eius, — 28
et ait, Sufficit mihi si ad
huc loseph filius meus ui
uit: uadam & uidebo ilium
antequam moriar.

aghenward al the ordre
of the thing; and whanne
Jacob hadde seyn the
Waynes, and all thingis
whiche Joseph hadde sent,
his spirit lyuede aghen,
and he seide, 28 It suffi-
sith to me, if Joseph my
soue lyueth yhit, Y schal
go and Yschal se hym be
fore that Y die.

alle Worte Josephs, die er
zu ihnen gesagt hatte.
Und da er sah die Wagen,
die ihm Joseph gesandt
hatte, ihn zu ftthren; ward
der Geist Jakobs, ihres
Vaters, lebendig.
28 Und Israel sprach:
Ich habe genug, dass mein
Sohn Joseph noch lebet;
ich will hin, und ihn se-
hen, ehe ich sterbe.

locutus fuerat ad eos: &
vidit currus quos miserat
Joseph ad deportandum
eum; & revixit spiritus pa
tris eorum.
28 Dixitque Israel: Suf
ficit; adhuc Joseph filius
meus vivit; ibo, & videbo
eum, antequam moriar.

them. But when he saw
the charettes which Jo
seph had sent to carie
him I then his sprites re-
viued. And Israel sayde.
28 I have ynough | Yf
Joseph my sonne be yet
alyue: I will goo and se
him I yer that I dye.

Zvxick [Froschouer,
fo., IS3I)'
26 Also zugend sy auss
von Egypten, vnnd kam-
end ins land Canaan zu
jrem vatter Jacob | vnnd
verklindigetend es jm,
vnnd sprachend: Deyn
sun Joseph labt noch,
vund ist ein herr im gan-
tzen Egypten land. Aber
sein hertz schwancket,
ilann ergiaubt es jnen nit
27 Do sagten sy jm alle
wort Josephs, die er zu
jiien geredt halt. Vnnd
do er sach die wagen die
ihm Joseph gesendet hat
jun zefiiren, ward seyn
geyst labendig, 28 vnnd
sprach: Ich hab gniig das
meyn sun Joseph noch
labt, ich wil hin, vnd jn
sehen ee ich sterb.

Olivetan (iSSS)-

26 et luy racopterent
disans: loseph vit encore
t lequel domine en toute la
terre de Egypt. Et son
coeur luy evanuyt: car il
ne leur adioustoit point
de foy. 27 Et ilz luy di-
rent toutes ses parosles
que Joseph leur avoit dit.
Puis veit les chairs que
Joseph avoit enuoye pour
I'emporter. Et le sperit
reuint a Jakob leur pere.
28 Adonc Israel dit: 11
suffit [ puis que Joseph
mon fals vit encore. Ie
iray et le verray deuant
que ie meure.

Coverdale, [iSJS)-

26 ... . and tolde him
and sayde: Thy sonne Jo
seph is yett alyue and is
a lorde in all the lande of
iEgipte. But his hert
wauered, for he beleued
them not, 27 The tolde
they him all the wordes
of Joseph, which he had
sayde unto them. And
when he saw ye charettes
that Joseph had sent to
fetch him, his sprete re-
uyued, 28 and he sayde,
I haue ynough that my
sonne Joseph is yet a Hue
I wil go, and se him. be
fore I dye.

Matthew {iJS7).

26&toldhimsayinge. Jo
seph is yeta lyueandisgou-
erner ouer all the land of
Egypte. And Jacobs hert
wauered | for he beleued
the not. 27. And they
tolde him all the wordes
of Joseph which he had
sayde unto them. But
when he saw the charettes
whych J oseph had sent to
carye him | then his
sprites reuiued. 28 And
Israel sayde. I haue
ynough | yf Joseph my
sonne be yet alyue: I
will goo and .see hym |
yer that I dye."

Cranmer [iS39\ {Ca-
wood's ed., Jj68).
26 They departed there
fore from Egypt and came
into the land of Canaan
vnto Jacob theyr father
i& tolde hym, sayinge:
oseph is yet alyue, and is
gouernour ouer all the
Lande of Egypte. And
Jacobs hart wauered, for
hee beleued theym not.
27 And they tolde hym all
the wordes of Joseph,
which he had sayde vnto
them. And when hesawe
the charettes, whiche Jo
seph had sent to cary hym,
the spyrite of Jacob theyr
father reuyued. 28 And
Israeli sayde: I haue
ynoughe, that Joseph my
sonne is yet alyue: I wil
go and see him ere that I
dye.

>a

<

¦ Taverner iiS39)-

26 ... , and tolde hym,
sayenge, Joseph is yet a
lyue, and is gouvemour
ouer all the lad of iEgy pte.
And Jacobs hert was trou
bled, but he beleued them
not. 28 And they tolde
him all the wordes of Jo
seph, which he had sayde
unto them. Hut when he
sy.we the charettes which
Joseph had sent to carye
him, then his sprytes re
uyued. 28 And Israel
sayde, I haue ynoughe,
yf Joseph my sonne be
yet alyue; I will go and
se hym, or that I dye.

Castalio [ed. Basel,
JtSS^yfolio).
26 Qui postqu&m ex
.^gypto in Chanannam
ad patrem suum lacobum
perueneruht, narrapt ei,
losephum adhuc in uiuts
esse, & principatum tenere
in omni i^ypto. Ad
quem ille nnncium exani-
matus, fidem eis non ha-
bebat. 27 Sed cum illi
omnia losejphi uerba ex-
ponerent, quibus apud eos
usus esset, simulque missa
a losepho uehicula ad se
uehendum conspiceret,
cpliegit ipse se, 28 et, satis
est, inquit Israel ! post-
quam uiuit adhuc filius
meus losephus, a^ibo,
eumque uidebo antequ^
moriar.

Usque [1553) [AmsicT'
dam, S39o-S4^^)
26 Y denunciaron a el
por dezir, aun Yoseph
bibo, y quel el podest&n
en toda tierra de Egypto;
y debiiitose su coraflon
que no creia $ elias.
27 Y hablaron & ^1 &
todas palabras de Yoseph
que hablo a ello's, y vido
a las carretas que embi6
Yoseph por Ifevar a el,
y rebivio espiritu de Yaa-
cob su padre. 28 Y dixo
Ysrael, basta aun Yoseph
mi hijo bivo? andarS y
yerloe en antes que mjiera.

Geneva {TSt>0),

26 And tolde him, say
ing, loseph is yet aliue,
^nd he alsp is gouerner
ower all the ladd of Egypt,
a^d laakolfs heart ^failed:
for he b'eleiied theiii pot.
27 And thei tolde ^im
all the wordes of loseph,
which he had said vnto
them: but when he sawe
the charets which loseph
had sent to cary him, then
the spirit of laakob their
father reuiued-
28 And Israel said, /
haue ynough: loseph my
sone is yet aliue; t wil go
and se him yer I dye.
1 As one beiwene ^pe
andfedre.

Bifhops* [yugge, rS74)-

26 And tolde him, say
ing, Joseph is yet aliue,
and is gouernour ouer'al
the lande of Egypt. Afld
Jacobs hart "wauered, for
he ibeleeued them not.
27 And they tolde him
all the wordes of Joseph,
whiche he had sayde vn.to
them: And when he sawc
the charrettcs which Jo
seph had sent to cary hym,
the spirite of Jacob theyr
father reuiued.
28 And Israel sayde, (/
haue) 2yenough that Jo
seph my sonne is yet aliUe:
I wyl goe, and see him
yer that I dye.
" Was loosed.
1 The aucthoHes qf lyrs
are scarce beleued when
they tell trtieth.
2 His toue ivas not de
cayed by space qf tyme.

>

Cassiodoro de Reyna,
[Basle?] [is6g-i622).
26 Y dierdle las nueuas
diziedo, loseph biue aun:
y el es sefior entoda la
tierra de £gypto: y su
cora^o se desmay6: que
no los creya.
27 Y ellos le contaron

Tremellius {IS7S-79)-

26 Cui quum renunc}a-
rentdicendo,adhuc loseph
vivit, & ipsum prffiesse
universSB terrffl jEgypti:
defecit animus ejus, quia
non credebat eis
27 Sed quum eloquuti

l^aiera {i8os)
1602.
26 y di6ronle las nuevas
diciendo: Joseph yiveaun:
y 61 es sefior en toda la
tierra de Egypto: y su
corazon se desmayd, que
no los creia.
27 Y ellos le contaron

Diodati [Fir enze, t868),
1607.
26 E gli rapportarono
/a (Toja, dicendo: Giuseppe
vive ancora; e ancbe 6
rettore iii tjitto il paese di
Egitto. E il cuore gli
venne meno; perciocchd
non credeva loro.

Douay [4to., 16 10),

26 .... And they ,told
him saying, loseph thy
sonne is liuing: and he
ruleth in al the Land of
.^gypt. Which when Ja
cob heard, awaking as it
were out of a heauie

todas las palabras de lo
seph, que el les auU ha-
blado, y v'edo el los car-
ros que loseph embiana
pai-a lieuarlo, el espiritu de
lacob su padre rebiuio.
28 Entices dixo Israel,
Basta, ati loseph mi hijo
biue: yo yr6 y verlohfi
antes qae muera.

essent apua eum omnia
verba losephi quibus erat
alloquutus ipsos, vidisset-
que plaustra quie miserat
loseph ad deportandum
ipsum, revixit spiritus la-
hakobi patris eorum :
28 Et dixit Ilsrael, sufii-
cit, adhuc loseph filius
meus vivit: ibo & videbo
eum antequam moriar.

todas las palabras de Jo
seph, que 61 les habia ha-
blado; y viendo 6i los
carros que Joseph enviaba
para llevarle, el espiritu
de Jacob su padre revivi6
28 Entbnces dijo Israel:
Basta; aun Joseph mi hijo
vive-; yo ir6 y verie he
intes que muera.

Authorized t-^ersion
[J 61 1).
26 And told him say
ing. Joseph is yet aliue,
and he is gouernour ouer
all the land of Egypt.
And Jacob's heart fainted,
for he beleeued thein not.
27 And they told him
all the words of Joseph,
which he had said vnto
them; and when he .saw
the wagons which Joseph
had sent to cary him, the
spirit of Jacob their father
reuiued. 28 And Israel said. It is
ynough; Joseph my sonne
is yet aliue; I will goe
and see him before I die.

27 Ma essi gli dt^ero
tutte le parole che Giu
seppe avea lor dette; ed
egli vide i carri, che Gi
useppe avea mandati per
levari^; allora lo. spirito
si ravvivd a Giacobbe, lor
padre. 28 E Isr&ele disse: Basta,
il mio figliuolo Giuseppe
vive ancora; io andr6, e lo
vedro, avanti che io mu-
oia.

sleepe, notwithstanding
did not beleeue them.
27 'I'hey on the co^trarie
side reported the whole
order ofthe thing. And
when he saw the waynes
and al things that he had
sent, his spirit reuiued,
28 and he said: It sufii-
ceth me if Joseph my
sonne be liuing yet: I wil
goe, and see him before I
dye.

This table is designed to illustrate all that had been done in the way
of traii-slation until 1611. King James's translators were probably ac
quainted with all the version? given, and made use of not a few of
their number. The order observed ffom Wiclif forward is strictly
chronological. The extracts in almost every instance have been made
from the first editions; they show at a glance the material available
to the authors of each succeeding version. The uniform verse reference
may be fotind useful.

<

TABLE IL— JOHN L 6-12.

<

Vulgate (Basel, IS S7)- Anglo-Saxon [ggs).

6 Fuic homo missus &
deo, cui nomen erat lo-
annes. 7 Hic venit in testimo
nium ut testimonium per-
hiberet de lumine, ut om
nes crederent per ilium;
8 non erat lUe lux, sed
ut testimonium perhiberet
de lumine.
9 Erat \wx nera qufle il-
luminat omnem hominem
uenientem in hunc mun-
dum: 10 in mundo erat, Et
mundus per ipsum factus
est, & mundus eum non
cognouit, II In propria uenit, &
sui eum non receperunt:
12 quotquot autem re
ceperunt eum, dedit eis
potestatem filios dei fieri,
his qui credunt in nomine
ems.

6 Man wtes fram Gode
asend, dhSBs nSBma w£B.s
lohannes. 7 Dhes com to gewit-
nesse, dhast he gewitnesse
cydhde be dham leohte,
dhS8t ealle men thurh hyne
gelyfoon. 8 Nsas he leoht, ac dhsat
he gewitnesse forth-bfflre
be dham leohte.
o Soth leoht wffis, dhsBt
onlyht ffllcne cumendne
man on dhisne middan-
eard. 10 He wfBs on middan-
earde, and middan-eard
wSBs geworht thurh bine,
and middan-eard hine ne
gecneow. II To his agenum he
com, and hig hyne ne un-
derfengon. 12 Sothlice swa hwylce
swa hyne underfengon, he
sealde him anweald dhiet
hig wBBron Godes beam,
dham dhe gelyfath on his

Wiclif [1380).
6 A man was sente fro
God, to whom the name
was ion,
7 this man cam in to wit-
nessynge, that he schulde
here witnessyngs of the
ligt, that alle men schulde
bileue bi hym,
8 he was not the ligt,
but that he schulde here
witnessynge of the ligt,
g ther was a verri ligt,
whiche ligtneth eche man
that cometh in to this
world. 10 he was in the world,
and the world was made
bi hym: and the world
knewe hym not,
II he cam in to his owne
thingis: hise resceyueden
hym not:
12 but how many euer
resceiueden hym: he gaf
to'hem power to be made
the sones of God, to hem
that bileueden in his nzLme.

Wiclif [1389).
6 A man was sent fro
God, to whom the name
was Joon.
7 This man cam in to wit-
nessinge, that he schulde
here witnessinge of the
ligt, that alle m eu schulden
bileue bi him.
8 He was not the ligt,
but that, he schulde here
witnessing of the ligt.
g It was verri ligt.which
ligtneth ech man comynge
into this world.
10 He was in the world,
and the world was maad
bi him, and the world
knew him not.
II He cam in to his own
thingis, and hisereceyued-
en not him.
12 Forsothe how inanye
euere receyueden him, he
gaf to hem power for to
be maad the sones of God,
to hem that bileuen in his

Rkemes {iSSs).
6 There vvas a man sent
from God whose name
vvas lohn .
7 This man came for
testimonie: to giue testi-
monie of the light, that al
might beleeue through
him. 8 He vvas not .the light,
but to giue testimonie of
the light.
9 It vvas the true light,
vvhich lighteneth euery
man that commeth into
this world.
10 He vvas in the world,
and the world vvas made
by him, and the world
knew him not.
II He came into his
owne, and his owne re-
ceiued him not.
12 But as many as re-
ceiued him, he gaue chem
povver to be made the
sonnes of God, to those
that beleeue in his name.

w

Douay [Haydock)[i848). Luther(^onGebhardt,i88i) £ras?nus{3d.ed){rS22).
[IS 3 2).
6 There was a man sent 6 Es ward ein Mensch 6 Erat homo missiLs a
from God whose name was von Gott gesandt, der hiess deo, cui nomen lohannes.
John. Johannes. 7 Hic uenit ad lestifican-
7 This man came for a 7 Derselbige kani zum dum, ut testaretur de luce,

Zurich [fOt ISS^)'
6 Es war aber ein
mennsch vonn Gott ge
sandt, der hiess Johannes,
rhe same came as a 7 derselb kam zur zeui;-

Tyndaie[iss^)-
6 There was a man sent
from God, whose name
was Jhon

witness; to bear witness of
the light, that all men
might believe through
him. 8 He was not the light,
but was to bear witne.<is of
the light.
O That was the true
light which enlighteneth
every man that cometh
into this world.
- lo He was in the world,
and the world was made
by him, and the world
knew him not.
1 1 He came unto his
own, and his own received
him not.
12 But a.s many as re
ceived hiin to them he
gave power to be made
the sons of God, to them
that believe in his name.
Tyndale {is 34)-
6 There was a man sent
from God, whose name
wa-s John.
7 The .s.^me cam as a
witness to beare witness of
the lyght. that all men
through him myght be-
leve. 8 He was not that lyght:
but to beare witness ofthe
lyght. 9 That wa-s a true lyght,
which lyghteih all men
that come into the worlde.'
TO He was in the worlde.

Zengni<i5, dass er von dem
Licht zeugete, auf dass sie
alle durch ihn glaubten.
8 Er war nicht das
Licht, son dem dass er
zeugete von dem Licht.
g Das war das wahr-
haftige Licht, welches
alle Menschen erleuchtet
die in diese Welt kom-
men. IO Er war in der Welt,
und die Welt is durch
dasselbige gemacht; und
die Welt kannte es nicht.
II Er kam in sein Ei-
genthum, und die Seinen
nahmen ihn nicht auf
12 Wie viele ihn aber
aufnahmen, denen gab er
Macht Gottes Kinder zu
werden, die an seinen
Namen glauben.
Great Bible [fo., rS39^-
6 There was sent from
God a man, whose name
was lohn.
7 The same cam as a
wytnes to beare wytne.ss
ofthe lyght, that all men
through hym myght be-
leue. 8 He was not that lyght:
but was sent to beare wyt
nes of the lyght.
9 That lyght was the
true lyght, whych lyght-
eth euery man that com
eth into the worlde.

ut omnes crederent per
ipsum. 8 Non erat ille
lux ilia, .sed missus erat
ut testaretur de luce g
Erat lux itla, lux nera:
quae illuminat omnem
hominem uenientem in
mundum. lo In mundo
erat, & mundus per ipsum
factus est, & mundus eum
non cognouit. ii In sua
uenit, & sui eum non re
ceperunt. 12 Quotquot
autem receperunt eum,
dedit eis nt Hceret filios
dei fieri, uidelics't his qui
credidissent in nomen ip-
sius.

Taverner [fo., IS49)-
6 Ther was a man sent
from God, whose name
was John.
7 The same came as a
wytnes to beare wytnes of
the light, that all men
through him myght be-
leue. 8 He was not tha t lyght,
but to beare witnes of the
lyght. 9 That was a true lyght,
which lyghteth all men
that come into the worlde.
IO He was in the worlde.

witnes, to beare witnes ol
the light, that all men
through him myght be-
leve 8 He was nott that light,
but to beare witnes of the
light. 9 That was a true light,
which lighteneth all men
that come into the worlde.
loHe was m the worlde,
and the worlde by him
was made, and the worlde
knewe hym not.
II He cam into his
awne, and his receaved
him not.
12 Vnto as meny as re
ceaved him, gave he pow
er to be the .sonnes of God,
'in that they beleved on
his name.

Geneva [i2mo., iSS?)-
6 There was a man sent
from God, whose name
was lohn.
7 The same came for a
wytnes, to beare wytnes of
the light, that all men
through hym might be-
leue. 8 He was not that light,
but was sent to beare wyt
nes of the light.
g That was that true
lyght, which lyghteth all
men that come into the
worlde.

nuss, das er von dem liecht
zeugete, aufF das sy alle
durch es glaubtind. 8 Er
was nitt das liecht, sunder
das er zeugete vonn dem
liecht. 9 Das was ein waar
liecht, welches alle men
schen erleuchtet durch
sein zukunfft in dise welt.
IO Es war in der welt, vnd
die welt ist durch das sel-
big gemachet, vnd die
welt kannt es nit. ii Er
kam in seyn eygenthum,
vn die seinen namend jn
nit an. 12 Wie vii jn aber
annamend, denen gab er
macht kinder Gottes ze-
werdenn: denen die an
seinen namen glaubtend.

Geneva [4to., IS^O).
6 There was a man sent
from God, whose name
was John.
7 The same came for a
witn^, to beare witnes of
the light, that all men
through him might be-
leue. 8 He was not that light,
hut was sent to beare wit
nes ofthe light.
9 That was the true
light, which lighteth eu-
erie man that cometh into
the worlde.

>a

and the worlde was made
byhim: and yetthe worlde
l^new him not.
XX He cam amonge his
(awne) and his awne re
ceaved him not.
X2 But as meny as re
ceaved him, to them he
gaue power to be the
sonnes of God in that they
beleved on his name.

Beza {Amsterdam, T628)
6 Exstitit homo missus
a Deo, cui nomen Joannes :
7 Is venit ad dandum
testimonium, id est, ut tes
taretur de ilia Luce, ut
omnes per eum crederent
8 Non erat ille Lux ilia,
^eA 'missus fuit ut testare
tur de ilia Luce,
9 Ific erat Lux ilia vera
qim illuminat omnem ho
minem venientem in mun
dum. 10 In mundo erat, &
mundus per eum factus
est, sed mundus eum non
agnovit. IX Ad sua venit, & sui
eum non exceperunt.
12 Quotquot autem euin
exceperunt, dedit eis hoc
ius at Filii Dei sunt facti.

10 He was in the worlde,
and the world was made
by hym: and the worlde
knewe hym not.
XI He cam amonge hys
awne, and hys awne re-
ceaued him not.
12 But as many as re-
ceaued hyhi to them gaue
he poWer to be the sonnes
of God: euen them that
beleued on hys name.

and the worlde was made
by him, and yet the worlde '
knewe him not.
II He came amonge his
(owne) and his owne re-
ceiued him not.
12 But as manye as re-
oeyued him, to them he
gaue power to be the
spnnes of God in that they
beleued on his name.

10 He was in the worlde,
and the worlde was made
by hym; and the worlde
knewe him not.
1 1 He came among his
owne, and his owne re-
ceaued him not.
T2 But as many as re-
ceaued hym, to them he
gaue power to be the
sonnes of God, euen to
them that beleue in his
name.

10 He was in the worlde,
and the worlde was made
by him*: & the worlde
knewe him not.
II He came vnto his
owne, ahd his oWhe re-
ceiued him not.
12 But as many as re-
ceiued him, to them he
gaue power to be the
sonnes of God, euen to
them that beleue in his
Nahie. * Or, are borne.

Bishops {fo., is68).^ Cassiodofc [is^g). Tomson [isSo). Valera {i86s) {1602).

6 There was a man sent
from God whose name
was John.
7 The same came for a
witnesse, to beare witnesse
of the lyght,* that all
men through hym myght
beleue. 8 He was not that lyght;
but was sent t to beare
witnesse of the lyght,
9 That [lyghtt] was the
true lyght, which lyght
eth every man that cpm-
meth into the worlde.
10 He was in the worlde,
and the worlde was made
by hym, and the worlde
knewe hym not.
1 1 He came among
his owne,S and his owne
receaued hym not.

6 Fue vn hombre em-
biado de Dios, el qual se
llamaifa loan.
7 .Este vino por testi
monio, para que diesse
testimonio de la Luz, para
que todos creyessen por
el. 8 El no era la Luz: sino
para que diesse testimonie
de la Luz.
g AquellA Palabra era
la Luz verdadera, que
alumbra a todo hombre,
que viene en este mundo.
to En el mundo estaua,
y el mundo fue hecho por
el, y el muildo no lo cono-
cid. II A lo que era suyo
vino: y los suyos no lo
recibieron.

6 There was a man sent
fro God, whose name was
John, 7 The same came for a
witnes, to beare witnes of
that light, that al men
through him might beleue.
8 He was not that light,
but vvas sent to beare
witnes of that light.
g This was that true
light, which lighteth eu-
erie man that commeth
into the world.
10 He was in the world,
atid the world was made
by him: and the world
knew him nbt.
II He came vnto his
owne, and his owne re-
Ceiued him not.
12 But as m^ny as re-

6 Fu6 un hombre envi-
ado de Dios, el cual se
llamabajuah. 7 Este vino por testi
monio, para que diese tes
timonio de la Luz.
8 El nb era la LUz; mas
^fiiFMz'Atf/tfparaquediese testimonio db la Luz.
9 Aguella Palabra era
la Luz verdadera, que
alumbra I[ todo hombre,
que viene en este miindo.
10 En el mundo estaba,
y el mundo fu6 hecho por
et, y el mundo no le cono-
cid, II A la suyo vino; y los
suyos no le recibieron.
12 Mas a todos los que
le recibieron, di6les poder
de ser hechos hijosde Dios.

>w

nempe iis qui credunt in 12 But as many as re- 12 Mas & todos los que ceiued him, to them he esto es, & los que creen ca
nomen eju.s. ceaued hym, to them gaue lo recibieron, dioles potes- gaue prerogatiue to be the su nombre.
he power to be the sonnes tad de ser hechos hijos Sonnes of God, euen to
of God, euen them || that de Dios, S. los que creen them that beleue in his
beleuedH on his name. en su Nombre. Name.
1 Changes in Bishops [i S 7 4)'» * that he should beare witnesse ofthe. t (w«f sent). X{}yght). % in to his owne. (j {^uento). ^beleeued.
Diod. {Fir., i868)[i6q7). Auth. Ver. [161 1). Auth.Ver. [Blayney, 17 69). Revision (188 1).

6 Vi fu un uomo manda
te da Dio, il cui nomo era
Giovanni. 7 Costui venne per tes-
timonianza, afin di testi-
moniar della Luce, accio-
ch6 tutti credesser per
lui. 8 Egli non era la Luce,
anzi era mandato per tes-
timoniar della Luce.
9 Colui, che h la Luce
vera, la quale allumina
ogni uomo che viene nel
mbndo, era.
10 Era nel mondo, e il
mondo h state fatto per
e.sso; ma il mondo non
I'ha conosciuto.
II Egli h venuto in casa
sua, e i suoi non Than ri-
cevuto. 12 Ma a tutti coloro
che Than ricevuto, i quali
credono nel suo nome,
egli ha data questa ragi-
one, d'esser fatti figliuoli
diDio.

6 There was a man sent
from God whose name
was lohn.
7 The same came for a
witnesse, to beare witnesse
of the light, that all men
through him might be
leeue. 8 He was not that light,
but was sent to beare wit
nesse of that light
9 That was the true
Light, which lighteth eu
ery man that commeth
into the world.
IO Hee was in the World,
and the world was made
by him, and the world
khew him not
II He came vnto his
owne, and his owne re-
ceiued him not
12 But as many as re-
ceiued him, to them gaue
hee power to become the
sonnes of God, euen to
them that beleeue on his
Name.

6 There was a man sent
from God whose name
was John.
7 The same came for a
witness to bear witness of
the Light, that all men
through him might be
lieve. 8 He was not that Light,
but was sent to bear wit
ness of that Light.
9 That was the true
Light, which lighteth ev
ery man that cometh into
the world.
10 He was in the world,
and the world was made
by him, and the world
knew him not.
II He came unto his
own, and bis own received
him not
12 But as many as re
ceived him, to them gave
he power to become the
sons of God, ^)en to them
that believe on his name.

6 There came a man,
sent from God, whose
name was John.
7 The same came for
witness, that he might
bear witness of the light,
that all might beUeve
through him.
8 He was not the light,
but came that he might
bear witness of the Ught
Q There was the true
light, even the light which
lighteth every man, com'-
ing into the world.
10 He was in the world.
and the world was made
by him, and the world
knew him not.
II He came unto his
own, and they that were
his own received him not.
12 But as many as
received him, to them
gave he the right to be
come children of God,
even to them that believe
on his name.

>ts

THE ENGLISH VERSIONS.

THE ENGLISH VERSIONS.
CHAPTER I.
ANGLO-SAXON VERSIONS.
The statement, very ftequently repeated, that the Anglo-
Saxons were provided with a complete vernacular translation
of the Bible, if not purely fictitious, is certainly unhistorical,
for thus &r no such volume, although eagerly sought for,
has been discovered, and it is very doubtful whether any will
be discovered, because the existence of an entire Anglo-Saxon
version is highly improbable. This applies only to an entire
version — i. e., a translation of the whole Bible into Anglo-
Saxon; it does not apply to portions of the Word of God
which have been translated at different times and by different
men. The Bible among the Anglo-Saxons was for all prac
tical purposes a Latin book; it was quoted in Latin, and
then, by way of explanation, turned into the native idiom.
This is unquestionably the origin of those portions of the
Scriptures in Anglo-Saxon which have come down to us.
While there is abundant testimony that the Anglo-Saxon
clergy were really anxious to spread a knowledge of the
Bible, we have testimony equally clear showing that they
were averse to its indiscriminate publication — e. ' g., in this
extract from ^Elfric to .iEthelwold, alderman (Prafatio Gen
esis Anglice, Ed. Thwaites, p. i): "Now it thinketh me,
love, that that work (the translation of Genesis) is very dan
gerous for me or any men to undertake; because I dread lest

2 The English Versions.
some foolish man read this book, or hear it read, who should
ween that he may live now under the new law, even as the
old fathers lived then in that time, ere that the old law was
established, or even as men lived under Moyses' law. " He
then goes on to narrate how an illiterate instructor of his own
dwelt upon Jacob's matrimonial connections with two sisters
and their two maids.
The absence of an Anglo-Saxon version of the whole Bible
being thus partly accounted for, an explanatory word as to
the term "Anglo-Saxon" appears to be in place prior to ex
amining the venerable monuments in our possession. Raske,
in the preface to his grammar, commenting upon the state
ment of the Venerable Bede, that from "Germanji ca.me the
old Saxons, the Angles, and the Jutes," reaches the conclu
sion that the Anglo-Saxon language was gradually formed by
the intermingling of their dialects running parallel with the
union of the tribes into one nation. The stages of its devel
opment are: Anglo-Saxon proper, from the arrival of the
Saxons to the irruption of the Danes; Dano-Saxon, from the
Danish to the Norman invasion; and Norman-Saxon (en
croaching upon the English), down to the time of Henry H.
The printed documents do not exhibit a marked variation of
dialect, although they show the development of the language.
One of the oldest and most interesting monuments of
Anglo-Saxon Christianity is a runic inscription on a cross at
Ruthwell in Dumfriesshire, which was for the first time de
ciphered in 1838 by Mr. John Kemble as part of a poem on
the Crucifixion. The discovery, at Vercelli, ofa MS. volume
of Anglo-Saxon homilies containing a more complete copy
of the same poem, has triumphantly confirmed Mr. Kemble's
interpretation. The Ruthwell Cross (about a. d. 680), with the inscription,
"Cadmon moe FAU.ETHO," contains some thirty lines of runes,
which read as follows: —

Anglo-Saxon Versions.

Anglo-Saxon Original.*
Geredse hinse
God almeyottig
tha he walde
on galgu gi-stiga
modig fore
(ale) men
(ahof) ic riicnse cuningc
heafuntes hlaford
hselda ic(«)i darstse
bismsEraedu ungcet men ta 8etgad(/')e
ic (wass) milh blodsebistemid
Krist WKs on rodi
hwethi'Ee ther fusse
feairan kwomu.
seththilse ti lanum
ic thaet al 'bi(h)e3i(d)
s(eoc) ic waes
mi(th) sorgu(wi) gi(</)rac(/.?)d
mith strelum giwundsed
alegdun hiSB hinse lirawse rignse
gistoddun him (set) \i(is l)i C£es(,4) eaf
(du)'cn.

Verbatim Version.
Girded liira
God Almighty
when he would
on gallows mount
proud for
all men
I heared the rich King
heaven's lord
heel (over) I not durst
mocked us men both together
I was with blood besmeared
Christ was on rood
whither there confasedly
afar they came
the Prince to aid
I that all beheld
sick I was
with sorrow grieved
with arrows wounded
laid down they him limb weary
they stood (near) him (at) hil
corpse's head.

Among the few remaining specimens of Anglo-Saxon of the
earliest period is that subjoined "On the Origin of Things,"
given in two versions, by Caedmon, a monk of Whitby, who
died in a. d. 680. The narrative of Bede {Hist. iv. 24)
specifies that his origin was very humble, that he did not even
know poetry by heart, and that when, at the customary hall-
gatherings, the harp came to his turn, he had to leave the
table to hide his shame. On one occasion, after such a hu
miliating scene, it was his duty to keep watch in the stable,

* In the examples given the Anglo-Saxon letters are represented by their EiigUsh
equivalents, on the principle that ih bas the power of th in thm and thing, dli that
of ih in Mine and smoo/A. G, gh, gg are used to give the power oi g in ^ive, ^eat,
and bi^: where the power of that letter comes nearest to y in j/ear or d.Ty it is ex
pressed.)' orj'j/ sometimes they are used interchangeably.

4 The English Versions.
but he fell asleep. In his slumber he heai^d a stranger call
him by his name, saying, "Caedmon, sing me something."
He pleaded inability, but the stranger continued, "Nay, but
thou hast something to sing. " ' ' What must I sing ? " asked
Caedmon. "Sing the Creation," ran the reply, and then he
began to sing verses "he had never heard before," and they
are said to have been those which follow. When he awoke
he not only was able to repeat them, but to continue in a
similar strain. He was tak-en to the Abbess Hilda, w^ho, as
well as the learned men with her, listened to his story, and
held that he had received the gift by inspiration. They ex
pounded to him a portion of Holy Scripture, bidding him
repeat it in verse; the next day he came with a poetic version
of great beauty. This induced Hilda to invite him to enter
her house as a monk; and it is said that, at her instance, he
composed many Bible histories in verse. They were, of
course, not properly translations, but poetical paraphrases.
Poems of this description under the name of Csedmon were
published by Junius at Amsterdam in 1655. Bede sajfs that
' ' He sang of the creation of the world, of the origin of man,
of the whole history of Genesis, from the exodus of Israel to
the possession of the promised land, and of most of the his
tories of the Holy Scriptures. "

*' On the Origin of ThingsP preserved in^AlfrecCs Translation of Bed^s Eccl.
History, -written about a. d., 670.
MS. by King Alfred, A. D. 885, at Literal English.
Oxford.*
" Nu we sceolan herian, " Now ought we to praise
lieofon-rices weard. heaven-kingdom's Warden (guard
ian)
metodes mihte. the Creator's might,
* King Alfred probably composed these verses himself.

Anglo-Saxon Versions.
and his mod-gethonc. and his mind's thought,
wera wuldor-faeder. glory-Father of men !
swa he wundra gehwaes. how he of every wonder,
ece dryhten. eternal Lord,
cord onstealde. the begmning formed.
he aerest gesceop. He first framed
eordhan beamum. for earth's bairns (children)
heofon to hrofe. heaven as a roof;
halig scyppend. holy Creator !
tha middangeard. Then mid-earth,
mon-cynnes weard. mankind's guardian,
ece dryhten. Eternal Lord,
aefter teode. afterward did (-produced)
firum foldan. for men the earth
frea aelmihtig." Lord almighty ! "

To the beginning of the eighth century belongs the Psalter
of Aldhelm and Guthlac, which contains the Latin with an
exceedingly minute interlinear Anglo-Saxon version. The
text is the Roman psalter in use at Canterbury, whereas the
Gallican text was used in other parts of England. It is said
to be the identical copy sent by Pope Gregory to Augustine,
A. D. 596. The translation is of much later date. It is among
the Cotton MSS., marked Vespasian, A i.
Next in order of time (a. d. 735) comes the Venerable
Bede, who undertook the translation of the Gospel of St.
John "for the advantage ofthe Church" (see page 4).
King Alfred's name is also mentioned in lists of scholars
who at an early period translated the Bible into the vernacu
lar. His labors seem to have been confined to the transla
tion of isolated portions of Scripture. In his laws he trans
lated many passages from Exodus xx. , xxi., xxii., and he is
said to have been employed upon a regular translation of the
Book of Psalms when he died (a. d. 901). His version ofthe
Decalogue is here presented:

The English Versions.

extract from king Alfred's anglo-saxon code in wilkins's
Leges Anglo-Saxonicce.

Anglo-Saxon.
" Drihten wses sprecende thses word
to Moyse, and thus cwseth:
"Ic earn Drihten thin God. Ic the
ut gelsedde of Aegypta londe and
of heora theowdome. Ne lufa
thu othre fremde godas ofer me.
"Ne minne naman ne cig thu on
idelnesse ; forthon the thu ne bist
unscyldig with rae; gif thu on
idelnesse cigst minne naman.
" Gemine that thu gehalgie thone
feste (reste) dseg. . Wyrceath eow
syx dagas, and on tham seofothan
restath eow, thu and thin sunu
and thine dohter ; and thine
theore, and thin wylne, and thin
weorcnyten; and se cuma the bith
binnan thinan durum. Fortham
on syx dagum Christ geworhte
heofenas and eorthan, sses, and
ealle gesceafta the on him synd,
and hine gereste on thone seofo
than daege; and forthon Drihten
hine gehalgode.
" Ara thinum fseder and thinre me-
der; tha the Drihten sealde the,
that thu sy thy leng libbende on
eorthan.
"Ne slea thu.
" Ne stala thu.
" Ne lige thu dearnunga.
" Ne saage thu lease gewitnesse with
thinum nehstan.
" Ne wilna thu thines nehstan yrfes
raid unrlhte.
" Ne wyrc thu the gyldcnc godas,
olhthe seolfrene."

English.
Lord was speaking these words to
Moses, and said thus:
I am the Lord thy God; I led thee
out of the land of Egypt and its
thraldom. Not love thou other
strange gods over me.
Not my name utter thou in vain;
because thou art not guiltless with
me, if thou in vain utterest my
name.
Mind that thou hallow the festal
(sabbath) day. Work ye six
days, and on the seventh rest
ye, thou and thy son, and thy
daughter, and thy man-servant,
and thy maid-servant, and thy
cattle, and those who come with
in thy doors; because in six days
Christ created heaven and earth,
seas, and all creatures that in
them are, and rested on the sev
enth day, and therefore the Lord
hallowed that day.
Honor thy father and thy mother,
whom the Lord gave thee, that
thou be long living on earth.
Not slay thou.
Not steal thou.
Not commit thou adultery.
Not say thou false witness against
thy neighbor.
Not desire thou thy neighbor's in
heritance with unright (wrong
fully).
Not work thou thee golden gods,
or silvern.

Anglo-Saxon Versions. 7
Examination of the subjoined versions of the Lord's
Prayer in Anglo-Saxon, will show the changes in the lan
guage. Respecting some literal differences, it is difficult ,
without the manuscripts at hand to verify them. This .ap
plies especially to the letters R and S, which are very similar
in Anglo-Saxon, and on that account frequently confounded
by transcribers. The interlinear translation added to No. 3
will suffice to explain the rest
THE lord's prayer.
I. Anglo-Saxon version, by Eadfride, eighth bishop of
Lindisfarne, about a. d. 700.
" Fader uren thu in Heofnas,
Sie gehalgud Nama thin,
To Cymeth rie thin;
Sie fiUo thin suse is in Heofne and in Eortha.
Hlaf userne oferwirtlic sel us to dieg;
And forgef us scyltha urna suse we forgefon scylgum urum.
And ne inlead wrlth in Cosnunge.
Al gefrigurich from evil."
II. Anglo-Saxon version, from the Gospels of Mareschall
and Junius, about a. d. 890.
" Fseder ure thu the eart on heofenura,
Si thin nama gehalgod;
To becume thin rice.
Gewurthe thin willa on eorthan swa swa on heofenum.
Urne dseghwamlican hlaf syle us to daeg;
And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgifadh urum gyltenduui;
And ne galaed thu us on costnunge.
Ac alys us of yfele.
Sothlice."
111. Anglo-Saxon Lord's Prayer, by Alfred, bishop of
Durham, a. d. 900.
"Uren fader dhic ardh in heofnas, sic gehalged dhin noma, tocymedh
Our father which art in heavens, be hallowed thine name, come

8 The English Versions.
dhin rie, sic dhin uuilla sue is in heofnas and in eordho. Vren hlaf
thy kingdom, be thy will so as in heavens and in earth. Our -loaf
ofer uuirthe sel vs to dseg, and forgef vs scylda urna, sue uue
supersubstantial give us to day, (tndfitrgive us debts our, se we
fotgefati sculdguft vrulii, and nb inlead vridh in costnung, al
forgive debts ours, and do not lead us into temptation, but
gefrig ¦vrich from ifle."
deliver everyone from evil.
IV. Semi-Saxon Lord's Prayer, from a MS. of thfe early
part ofthe thirteenth century, JRdiquice Antiquce, i. 235.
"Fader oure that art in he've, i-halgeed bee thi nome, i-cume thi kine-
reiche, y-worthe thi wylie also is in hevene so be on erthe, oure ich-
dayes-bred gif us to-day, and forgif us our gultes, also we forgifet cure
gultare, and ne led ows nowth into fondiagge, auth ales ows of harme.
So be hit."
V. Semi-Saxon metrical Lord's Pirayer, from a MS. of the
thirteenth century, Reliquice AntiqiuE, i. 57.
" Ure fader in hevene riche,
Thi name be haliid ever i-liche,
Thu bringe us to thi michil blisce,
Thi wille to wirche thu us wisse,
Als hit is in hevene i do
Ever in eorthe ben it al so.
That holi.bred that lesteth ay
Thu send hit ous this ilke day.
Forgive ous alle that ue havith don,
Als ne forgivet uch othir man,
Ne lete us falle in no fondinge,
Ak scilde us fro the foule thinge."
Guthlac, the Saxon anchoret of Croyland, who died in
A. D. 714, is the reputed author ofa version of the Psalms,
which (or one very similar to it) is preserved between the
lines of a very pld Roman psalter, considered to be one of
the identical books sent by Gregory to Augustine, archbishop
of Canterbury.

Anglo-Saxon Versions. 9
Aldhelm, first abbot of Malmesbury, and afterwards bishop
of Sherborne, made another version of the Psalms about a. d.
706, which has been identified with one discovered in the
Royal Library at Paris. The first fifty psalms are in prose,
the rest in metre. (It has been published under the title.
Liber Psalmorum, versio Latina antiqua cum paraphrast Anglo-
Sa.vonica, etc., by Benjamin Thorpe, Oxon. 1835,) The
following is a specimen: PSALM CUL 1-1.2.
I. Bletsa, mine sawle, blidhe drihten;
and call min inneran his thsene ecean naman !
2. Bletsige, mine sawle, bealde dryhten !
ne wylt thu ofergeottul sefre weordhan.
3. He thinum mandsedum miltsade eallum;
and thine adle ealle gehselde.
4. He alysde thin lif leof 6f forwyrde;
fylde tliinne willan fsegere mid gode.
5. He the gesigefseste sodhre miltse
and the mildhebrte mode getrymede;
eart thu eadnowe earne gelicast
on geogudhe nu gleawe geworden.
6. Hafast thu milde mod, mihta strange drihten,
domas eallum the deope her
and ful treaflice teonan tholian.
7. He his wegas dyde wise and cudhe
Moyse tham mseran on msenige tid;
Swylce his willan eac werum Israhela.
8. Mildheort thu eart and mihlig, mode gethyldig,
ece dryhten, swa thu a wjere,
is thin milde mod mannum cydhed.
9. Nelle thu odh ende yrre habban,
ne on ecnesse the awa belgan.
10. Na thu be gewyrhtum, wealdend, urum
wommum wyrhtum woldest us don,
ne sefter urum unryhte awhser gyldan.
II. Forthon thu sefter heahweorce heofenes thines
mildheortnysse mihtig drihten,
lustum cydhdest tham the lufedon the.

ID The English Versions.
12. Swa thas foldan fsedme bewindedh,
thes eastrodor and sefter west,
He betweonan tham teonan and unriht
us fram afyrde aeghwser symble, etc.
There are still extant two copies of the Gospels in Latin,
written in Roman uncials, which Gregory the Great sent to
Augustine, the one in the library of Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge, and the other in the Bodleian, Oxford. The
latter is the original from which numerous copies have been
made. It is the old Latin version, the Vetus Italica, not the
Vulgate, and the Anglo-Saxon version was made from it.
This is clear from a few examples:
MATT, xxvii. 32.-
Vetus Hal. Invenerunt hominem Cyremeum, venientem obviam illis.
Vulgate. Invenerunt hominem Cyrenceum.
Anglo-Saxon. Dhi gemStton hig aenne Cyreniscne man, cumende
heom togfces. MATT. XXIV. 41.
Vetus Ital. Duo in lecto, unus assumetur, et unus relinquetur.
Vulgate. Wanting.
Anglo-Saxon. Twegen beoth on bedde, 4n byth genumen, and odher
byth Isefed. LUKE XV. 8.
Vetus Ital. Et evertit domum.
Vulgate. Et everrit domum.
Anglo-Saxon. And Awent hyre hlis.
The same applies to Matt. xxii. 14, where the whole verse
ofthe Vulgate: Multienim sunt vocati, paucivero electi, is want
ing in the Vetus Italica and the Anglo-Saxon.
It is not improbable that the copy of the Vetus Italica in
the Bodleian is that from which the Anglo-Saxon version
was made, but it is not possible to indicate with a degree of
certainty the date when, and by whom, it was made. It is
known on the authority of Cuthbert, that the Venerable

Anglo-Saxon Versions. u
Bede was translating St. John's Gospel when he died (May
27, 735) but evidence is wanting to show that the first trans
lation of the Gospels, and Bede's, have come down to us.
Cuthbert's description of the last day of Bede's life is very
touching. "When the morning dawned he told us to write
diligently what we had begun. This being done, one of us
said, 'There is yet, beloved master, one chapter wanting;
will it be unpleasant to be asked any more questions ? ' He
answered, 'Not at all. Take your pen and write with speed.'
He did so. At the ninth hour he said to me, ' I have some
valuables in my little chest; fetch them that I may distribute
my small presents.' He addressed each and exhorted to
prayer. We wept. In the evening his pupil said, 'Dear
master, one sentence is still wanting.' 'Write it quickly,'
exclaimed Bede. When it was finished, he said, 'Support
me while I go to the holy place, where I can pray to my
Father. ' When he was placed there, he repeated the Gloria
Patri, and expired in the effort."
ANGLO-SAXON MANUSCRIPTS OF THE GOSPELS.
I. B.,* or MS. No. CXL. in Corpus Christi College, Cam
bridge, assigned to a. d. 990-1030. At the end of St.
Matthew occurs this note, written in the same style of let
ter as the MS., though of later date: Ego Aelf ricus scripsi
hunc librum in Monasterio Badhonio, et dedi Brihtwoldo Pre-
postto. Many vowels are accented.
2. C, or MS. Ii. 2. II, in the University of Cambridge, is
in small folio, assigned to the time of the Conquest, or to a
still earlier period, very valuable on account of its grammati
cal accuracy and excellent west Saxon orthography, and of
its being the only copy with the rubrics complete. Many
vowels are accented. One of the blank leaves, in 1865, at
• For much of this information I am indebted to Bosworth, Gothic and Anglo-
Saxon Gospels, etc., London, 1865.

12 The English Versions.
the end of the volume, contained the note: Hunc textum
Euangeliorum dedit Leofricus episcopus ecclesice Sancti Petri
Apostoli in Exonia ad utilitatem successorum suorum; followed
by this entry in a similar Anglo-Saxon hand of somewhat
later date: Das hoc Leo/ric biscop gef Sancto Petro and eallum
his ccftergengum into Exancestre Gode mid to dhenitnne. It was
presented to Archbishop Parker in 1566, who wrote in it
"Matthseus Cantuar: 1574," and "Continet pag. 401."
The Gospels run from p. i to p. 343; Pseudo- Evangelium
Nichodemi, pp. 344-383, and Nathanis Judea Legatio Fabu-
losa ad Tiberium Ccesar em, pp. 383-401. Wanley, Catalogue
of Anglo-Saxon MSS., etc., 1705, gives the following ac
count: Cod. membr. in fol. min. circa tempus Canquisitionis
AnglisB scriptus, in qua habentur. I. Evangelia quatuor Anglo-
Saxonice ... II. pag. 344, Gesta Salvaioris nosiri, sive Pseu-
do-EiMngelium Nichodemi ... III. Nathanis Judcci Legaiicr
Fabubsa ad Tiberium Cccsartm  Fronte Cod. habentur hee
qucB sequuntur Inscriptiones. Hunc textum Euangeliorum, etc.
(as above). Thas Boc Leofric, etc. (as above). Manu autem
neoterica, Hunc Codieem Evcmgeliorum Gregorius Dodde, De-
coMus EecksicB Exoniens. Cum assensu fratrum suorum Canon-
icorum done dedit Matthaso Cantuarimsi Arehiepiseopo, qui ilium
in hoMc navamformam rtdigi and ornari curavit. 1 566.
3. C, Cotton Library, British Museum, Otho C. i. was
(in 1704) in a perfect state from Matt, xxvii. 6, but so much
injured by the fire of Oct. 23, 1731, that it looked like a
charred mass; thanks to the judicious directions of Sir Fred
eric Madden the saved portions have been so mounted that
the MS-, bound in two large folio volumes, can be easily
consulted. The first folio noAv is number 26, twenty-five
folios have been lost.
4. H., or the Hatton MS. No. 38 in the Bodleian, Ox
ford, a large 8°, on vellum, in a beautiful upright hand,
about the time of Henry II. The Gospels are arranged in the

Anglo-Saxon Versions. 13
order: Mark, Luke, Matthew, John. The archbishop's son,
Rev. John Parker, wrote the missing leaf, Luke xvi. It has
only few accents and there is only one rubric in Anglo-Saxon at
the beginning of St. John: "Her onginth dhset god spell dhe
Johannes se godspellere gewrat on Pathmos dham eiglande,"
5., or MS. RK, Roval Library, British Museum, I. A.
XIV. , ' 8", of somewhat earlier date than the Hatton MS. ,
has only few accents, and presents the Gospels in the order:
Mark, Matthew, Luke, John. St. Mark begins: Initium
Sa. EuangtUi secundum Marcum. Her ys Godspelles angin,
Halendes Cristes Godes sune, swa awriten is on thas
witegan bee Isaiam. St. Matthew: Her ongindh Matheus
boc thas balga Godspelleres. — Begins, Sodhlice wel is to
understanden that aefter Matheus gerecednysse her his
oncneornysse boc Haelendes Cristes Dauides suna. St.
Luke: Nu we willadh her eow areccen Lucas boc dhaes
halgan Godspelleres. — Begins, Fordham dhe wytodlice ma-
neg'i" thohte thare thinge wace ge endebyrden dhe on us
gefylde sint, swa us betahten tha the hit of frimdhe gesawon,
and dhare spraece the nas waeron. The rubric to St. John
is exactly like that in the Hatton MS. as given above. This
MS. belonged to St. Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, and
at one time to archbishop Cranmer, whose name appears
on the upper margin of the first leaf
6. The Oxford MS. 44 1 , in the Bodleian, is nearly related
to Nos. I, 2, 3, above, in small folio, with some vowels
accented, written before the Conquest, in a fine, bold Saxon
character; the rubrics and a number of leaves upon new
parchment are of lat-er date. The first edition of the Anglo-
Saxon Gospels, by John Foxe, 1571, was printed from this
MS., and it is likewise the basis of that by Junius and
Marshall in 1665 (see b^Um).
7. The Durham Book (Nero, D., IV., Cotton MSS.,
British Museum), so called because it belonged to the

14 The English Versions.
dean and chapter of Durham, is also known as fhe St
Cuthbert Gospels, on the supposition that St. Cuthbert
used it; it is in Latin and Anglo-Saxon, the Latin was
written by Eadfrith, bishop of Lindisfarne, about a. d. 687,
and the interlinear, verbal, Anglo-Saxon gloss was added by
Aldred, a priest of Holy Isle between 946 and 968. This
book contains the four Gospels, and the Gospel of St. Mat
thew in Anglo-Saxon ofthis version, and in Gothic from the Co
dex Argenteus, was published by Rev. Samuel Henshall, 1807.
,i. 8. The Rushworth Gloss, so called from the name of
a former owner, in the Bodleian Library, is of about the
same age as the former. Like the Durham Book, it is
interlined, the Anglo-Saxon word appearing directly over
the corresponding Latin. It was made by Farmen and
Owen, Farmen executed St. Matthew, as is clear from
the subscription, which runs, "Farmen presbyter thas boc
thus gleosode," 1. e., Farmen, presbyter, thus glossed (in
terpreted) this book. The remainder is the work of Owen,
according to his subscription: "The min bruch gebidde
fore Owen . the thas boc gloesede Faermen, thaem preoste
set Harawada; " "He that of mine profiteth bede [pray]
he for Owen that this book glossed [and] Faermen the
priest at Harewood." To this the transcriber added his
own subscription in these words, written in Saxon char
acters: Macregol depincxit hoc Evangelium, qtticumque legerit
et intellegerit islam narrationem orat pro Macreguil scriptori.
It has been justly inferred from these subscriptions that
vernacular versions were not prohibited at the time, and
that the transcriber thought it a good work, deserving
the prayers of the reader. This version is peculiarly in
teresting from the fact that its text agrees with that of
the Codex Bezae where it differs from the Tej^tus Re-
ceptus. The statement of Plumptre, that this version was
edited by Foxe, the martyrologist, is a mistake. St. Mat-

Anglo-Saxon Versions. 15
thew in the Rushworth Gloss may be regarded as an in
dependent version; the other three Gospels are in the
main transcripts of the Durham Book. The Surtees So
ciety has published St. Matthew, edited by Rev. Jos. Stev
enson, M.A., 1854; St. Mark, 1861; St. Luke, 1863; and
St. John, 1865, edited by G. Waring, M.A. Four Anglo-
Saxon versions of St. Matthew in parallel columns, begun
by Mr. Kemble, and completed by Mr. Hardwicke in 1858,
exhibit the text of B., C.C.C, Cambridge, of MS. 38, in
the Bodleian (the Hatton MS. ), the interlinear Lindisfarne,
and the Rushworth without the Latin.
One of the Cotton MSS., marked Vespasian, D. VI.,
belonging to the tenth century, contains a partial gloss
of the Book of Proverbs, the version being inserted be
tween the lines of a Latin copy through a considerable
portion of the book.
To'ward the close of the tenth century ^Elfric — whose
writings place him in the front rank of his age, and whose
history is shrouded in an obscurity for which he is un
questionably indebted to the odium theologicum of the Ro
mish fraternity — executed in popular form paraphrases of
the Pentateuch, Joshua, and Judges; part of the history
of the Kings, as found in the six historical books (Sam
uel, Kings, and Chronicles); Esther, Job (perhaps), Ju
dith, and the two books of Maccabees. Of these, the Pen
tateuch, Joshua, Judges, Job, and part of Judith were
printed in 1698-9.
It goes by the name oi Heptateuch, i. e., the five books
of Moses and the Books of Jushua and Judges. Home
says that the version was made by .iElfric, archbishop of
Canterbury, a mistake, for the ^Elfric in question was abbot
of Peterborough, in 1004, and archbishop of York in 1023.
The Book of Job was printed from a transcript of a MS.
in the Cotton Library, and the apocryphal gospel of Nico-

i6 The English Versions.
demus fi-oro Junius's copy of the original MS. in the Li
brary of C.C.C, Cambridge; the version of the fragment
of the Book of Judith is, Dano-Saxon. The title of this
rare book is Heptateuchus., Liber Job, et Evangelium Nicodemi,
Aitglo-Saxonice, Histories Judith. Fragmentwm, Dano^Saxonice.
Edidit nunc primum ex MSS. Codicibus Edwardus Thwaites.
Oxoniae, 1698, 8vo. It has beea reprinted by B. Thorpe, in
Anakcta Anglo- Sasxomca (London, 1834), arranged as verse.
He says, "The entire poem, of which it probably formed
an inconsiderable portion, must have been a noble produc
tion " (Pref viii. ).
Subjoined is a specimen of .(Elfric's translation, trans
cribed by Professor F.- J. Child, Harvard College, from a
copy of the Heptateuch in the College Library, for Mr.
Condit's History of the English Bible (New York, 1882),
with the Anglo-Saxon characters changed into their Eng
lish equivalents. EXODUS XX.
I. God sprsec thus:
2. Iq eom Drihten thin God 

4. Ne wire thu the agrafene godas.
5. Ne ne wurtha. Ic wrece fsedera unriht wisnysse on beamum.
6. And ic do mildheortnysse tham the me lufiath, and mine bebodu
healdalh.
7. Ne nem thu Drihtnes naman on ydel; ne byth unscyldig se the
his naman on ydel nemth.
8. Gehatga thone restedseg.
9. 'Wire six dagas ealle thine weorc.
10. Se sexjfotha ys Diihtnes restedseg thines Godes; ne wire thu nan
weorc on tham daege, ne nan thara the mid the beo.
II. On six dagon God geworhte heofetian and eorthan and sse and
ealle tha thing the on him synd, and reste thy seofothan
dsege, and gehalgode hyne.
12. Arwurtha fseder and modor.
13. Ne sleh thu.
14. Ne synga thu.

Anglo-^axon Versions. 17
15. Ne stel thu.
16. Ne beo thu on liesre gewitnysse ongen thinne nehstan.
17. Ne wilna thu thines nehstan huses, ne thu his wifes, ne his wyeles,
ne his wylne, ne his oxan, ne his assan, ne nan thara thinga
the his synd.*
The Heptateuch was translated from the Latin, and Ml-
fric says in the preface to Genesis: "Nothing should be
written in the English but what is found in the Latin, nor
should the order of the words be changed, except when the
Latin and English modes of expression differ. For he who
interprets, or translates frora the Latin into English, should
carefully preserve the English idiom, or else those who are
unacquainted with the idiom of the Latin may be led into
many errors."
And as to the object contemplated in the translation, he
says, in the homily On Reading the Scriptures, "Whoever
would be one with God, must often pray, and often read
the Holy Scriptures. For when we pray, we speak to God;
and when we read the Bible, God speaks to us. The read
ing of the Scriptures produces a twofold advantage to the
reader. It renders him wiser, by informing his mind; and
also leads him from the vanities of the world to the love
of God. The reading of the Scriptures is truly an honorable
employment, and greatly conduces to the purity of the soul.
For as the body is nourished by natural food, so the sub-
limer man, that is, the soul, is nourished by the divine
sayings, according to the words of the Psalmist: ' How
sweet are thy words unto my taste ! yea, sweeter than honey
to my mouth.' Happy is he, then, who reads the Script
ures, if he convert the words into actions. The whole of
the Scriptures are written* fbr our salvation, and by them
we obtain the knowledge of the truth. The blind man
• See on the origin of the mutilated form of the Decalogue, p. 19.

i8

The English Versions.

stumbles oftener than he who sees; so he who is igno
rant of the precepts of Scripture offends more frequently
than he who knows them," each of them being without
guide. *
The following extracts from .lElfric's Homilies (about a. d.
1040) illustrate how loosely the Old Testament was quoted
in Anglo-Saxon: GENESIS in.

" Tha cwsedh God, ' Nis na geda-
fenlic Ihset thes man ana beo and
nsebbe nsenne fultum; ac uton ge-
wyrcan him gemacan, him to fiil-
tume and to frofre.' And God
tha geswefode thone Adam, and
thatha he slep, dha genam he
an rib of his sidan and geworhte
of dham ribbe aenne wifman,
and axode Adam hu heo hatan
sceolde. Tha cwsedh Adam,
' Heo is ban of minum banum,
and flsesc of minum flsesce; beo
hire name Uirago, thset is fsem-
ne; fordhan dhe heo is of hire
were genumen.' Dha sette Adam
eft hire odheme naman JEna.,
that is lif: fordhan dhe heo is
ealra lybbendra modor."

Then said God, "It is not fitting
that this man be alone, and have
no help; now let us make him a
mate for help and comfort." And
God then caused Adam to sleep,
and as he slept, he took a rib from
his side, and of that rib wrought
a woman, and asked Adam how
she should be called. Then said
Adam, "She is bone of my bone,
and flesh of my flesh; be her name
Virago, that is, female; because
she is taken from her husband."
Then Adam afterwards bestowed
on her another name, Eva, that is,
life; because she is the mother of
all living.

In the Pentateuch, likewise ascribed to .iElfric, the text of
the Ten Commandments reads:
I. Ic eom Drihtin thin God.
2. Ne wire thu the agrafene Godas. Ne ne wurtha; ic wrece fsedera
unrihhtwisnysse on beamum, and ic do mildheortnysse tham
the me lufath, and mine bebodu healdalh.

* Usserii, Hist. Dogm., pp. 378, 379, quoted by Townley, A'W. Liter., i. p. aya,
973: Am. 'ed.

Anglo-Saxon Versions. 19
3. Ne nem thu Drihtnes naman on ydel, ne byth unscyldig se the
his naman on ydel nemth.
4. Gehalga thone restedseg. Wire six dagas ealle thine weorc. Se
seofotha ys Drihtnes restedseg thines Godes; ne wire thu
nan weorc on tham dsege, ne nan thara the mid the beo.
On six dagon God geworhte heofenan and eorthan and sse
and ealle tha thing the on him synd, and reste thy seofothan
djege, and gehalgode hyne.
5. Arwurtha fseder and modor.
6. Ne sleh thu.
7. Ne synga thu.
8. Ne stel thu.
9. Ne beo thu on liesre gewitnysse ongen thinne nehstan.
10. Ne wilna thu thines nehstan huses, ne thu his wifes, ne his wyeles,
ne his wylne, ne his oxan, ne his assan, ne than thara thinga
the his synd." — Heptateuchus , etc., E. Thwaites, 1699.
The mutilation of the Decalogue by the entire omission of
the second commandment and the division of the tenth into
two, is very old, to wit:
" Primum prssceptum in Lege de colendo uno Deo: Non erunt, inquit,
tibi dei alii prater me. Secundum prseceptum, Non accipies nomen
Domini Dei tui in vanum. Tertium prseceptum. Memento diem Sabbnti
sanctificare eum. Quartum prseceptum est, Honora patrem tuum el
tnatrem tuam. Quintum prseceptum est, Non mcechaberis. Seirtum
prseceptum, Non occides. Sequitur, Non furaberis, prseceptum sep-
timum. Octa'vnim prfficeptum, Falsum testimonium, non dices. Nonum
prseceptum, Non concupisces uxorem proximi tui. Decimum prsecepmm,
Non coiuupisces ullam rem proximi tui, non pecus, non possessionem,
non subjugiuM, non aliquid omnino proximi tui concupisces." — S. Aug.
Serm.viii., De decern Plagis et Praeceptis.
MS. 441, in the Bodleian (No. 6 above) is the basis of
the version, from an ante-hieronymian Latin text, which,
at the suggestion and expense of Archbishop Parker, was
printed under the care of John Foxe the martyrologist, under
the title:
The Gospels of the fower Euangelistes translated in the old Saxons
tyme out of Latin into the vulgare toung ofthe Saxons, newly collected

20 The English Versions.
out of Auncient Monumentes of the sayd Saxons, and now ptMished for
testimonie of the same at London. Printed by John l>aye dwelling ouer
Aldersgate, 1571. Cum Priuilegio Regite Maiestatis per Decennium.
The Preface says: "We haue published especially to this end, that the
said hoke imprinted thus in the Saxons letters, may remaine in the
Church as a profitable example, and president of olde antiquitie, to the
more confirmation of your gratious procedinges now in the Church agre-
able to the same. Wherin as we haue to see how much vre are beholden
to the reuerend and learned father in God, Matthew, archbishop of Cant.,
a cheefe and famous trauailler in thys Church of England, by whose
industrious diligence and learned labours, this booke, with others moe,
hath bene collected and searched out ofthe Saxons Monumetes: so like
wise haue we to vnderstand and conceaue, by the edition hereof, how
the religion presently tauglit and professed in the Church set thys present,
is no new reforraation of thinges lately begomie, which were not before,
but rather a reduction of thfe Church to the Pristine state of old confor
mitie, which once it had."
This edition was the first Anglo-Saxon book printed in
England. The Anglo-Saxon version is accompanied by the
Bishops', occasionally adapted to the earlier version. It was
reprinted by Junius the younger and Marshall, London,
1638; and by the same editors in a more correct forna,
with the Gothic in parallel columns, at Dordrecht in 1665,
and Amsterdam in 1684.
The edition of Benjamin Thorpe: The Anglo-Saxon Ver
sion of the Holy Gospeb, London, 1835 (reprinted New
York, 1846), rests for its text on the two Cambridge MSS.,
with occasional references to a MS. in the Bodleian, and
another MS. in the British Museum.
A very accurate and complete edition is that by Bos
worth; The Gothic and Anglo-Saxon Gospels in Parallel
Columns, with the Versions of Wyclif and Tyndale, with Pref
ace and Notes, London, 1865; 2d ed., by Bosworth and
Waring, London, 1874. Great pains havebeen bestowed on
a collation of the best MSS.
' 'The Gospel according to St. Matthew {1858, by Charies Hard-

Anglo-Saxon Versions.

21

wick), and The Gospel according to St. Mark (1871, by Rev.
W. W. Skeat, M.A.), according to St. Luke (1874, by the
same), and according to St. John (1878, by the same), in
Anglo-Saxon and Northumbrian Versions, synoptically ar
ranged," eta, Cambridge^ 4to. A very valuable and beau
tiful edition with Collations of the best manuscripts. The
following is a specimen:

MS.CCC.No.CXL.

ST. MATfHEW V.
MS. Hatton.

W^anl^. Cai.,p. Mlb. H^anley, Cai.,p. -jb.

29 Gyf thin sWydhre
eage the seswicie,
ahola hit flt, and
awOrp hyt fram
the: sodhlice the
ys betere thset kci
thinra lima for-
wurthe, thonne eal
thin lichama si on
helle asend.

30And gyftliin swi
dhre hand the as-
wice, aceorf hi of,
and awurp hi fram
the: witodlice the
ys Ijetere thset 4n
thinra lima for-
wurdhe, thonne

Gyf thin swidhre
eage the aswikie,
aholeke hit ut, &
awerp hit fram the:
sodlice the is betere
thset an thinre lime
forwurdhe, thonne
call thin lichame
syoon helle gesent.

And gyf thin swi
dhre band the as-
wike, acerf hyoof,
& awerp hyo fram
the: witodlice the
is betere thset an
thinre lima forwur
dhe, thanne all thin

29, 30. Lindisfetnu Gospels.
U^^per line {Nero D. IV.) Wan-
ley, p. 2 so. Lower line {Jiush-
ivorih) gloss only.
That gif dha sie + ^o dhin 29
Quodji oculus iuia
suidhre ondspymas dhe
dexter scandalizat te,
gener-l-genim hine &
erue eum et
worp from dhe behoflic is
pro/ice obs te: expedit
fordhon dhe thsette
emm tibi ut
dead sie enne liomana
per eat ¦unum membrorum
dUnra dhon all lich-
iuorum, quam tOtum cor-
oma dhin gesendad bidh
pus tuum mittatur
in tintergo+in'Cilrsung. in geherma.
& ^if suidhra hond dhin 30
Et n dextera manus tua
ondspurnas dhe cearf
scandalizat te, abscide
hea & worp from dhe
eam et pro/ice dbs te:
behofes fordhon dhe
expedit enim tibi

22

The English Versions.

eal thin lichama
fare to helle.

lichama fare to
helle.

Various Readings.
29, 6. A. seswicige
II. B. awyrp.
A. limena. 23.
forweordhe. 25
call. 28. A. sig.
12. A. aweorp.
A. forweordhe.
A. eall. 30. A.

22. A. A.
30-
24.
26.
on.

Various Readings.
-29, aswicie;
ahole; awyrp;
thinra lima for-
wyrdhe; eal; lich
ama; asend. 30,
send; aswice; ace
orf heo; awyrp;
thonne eall; lich
ama.

thsette deadege enne
ut pereai unum
liomana dhinra dhon
membrorum tuorum,quam
all lichoma dhin
totum corpus tuum
gsedh + fseredh in tintergo.
eat ingehenna.
29. Gif thanne thin ege
thset swithre aswicadh the
-i-fselle thec ahloca hit &
awerp from dhe forthon the
the betherfedh thset to lore
weordhe an thine lioma thon
ne all thin lichoma sise sended
in helle. 30. & gif seo swith
re hond thin fselle+seswi-
cadh dhec aceorf hise &
aweorp from the forthon the
the bedhserfeth thset to lose
wear the+lore beon an thine
leoman thonne eall thin lich
oma gseth in helle.

There has also been published: H. C. Leonard, A Trans
lation of the Anglo-Saxon Version of St. Mark's Gospel, with
Preface and Notes, London, 1881; this work I have not yet
seen. The subjoined extracts, from Bosworth and Waring, may
serve the purpose of presenting to the reader the extraordinary
changes in the language pf England from the close of- the
tenth century to that of the fourteenth, while the brief table
exhibits the relation of Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, German, and
English. The text of the Anglo-Saxon is based on manu
script B., A. D. 995, collated with the rest, and that of Wiclif
is the revised edition of a. d. 1389.

Anglo-Saxon Versions.

23

ST. MATTHEW
Anglo-Saxon, ggj.
31 He rehte him dhi gyt 6dher
bigspel, dhus cwedhende, Heo-
fena rice is geworden gelic sene-
pes come, dhset seow se man on
hys secre.
32 Dhset is ealra sseda laest, s6th-
lice dhonne hit wyxth, hit is
ealra wyrta maest, and hit wyrth
treow; swi dhaet heofnan fuhlas
cumath, and eardiath on his
bogum.

XIII. 31, 32.
Wiclif, ijSg.
An other parable Jhesus putte 31
forth to hem, seiynge. The
kyngdam of heuenes is like to
a. corn of seneuey, the whiche
a man takynge sewe in his feeld.
The whiche trewly is leest of 32
alle seedis, but when it hath
wexen, it is most of alle wortis,
and is maad a tree; so that brid-
dis of the eyre cummeii, and
dwellen in bowis * therof.

13 Dhi sendon hi to him suttie of
Phariseum and Hecodianutn,
dliset hi be&ngou hine on liis
worde.
14 Dhi comon hi and dhus midh
iicae cwiedon, Lareow, we
witon dhset dhii eart s6thfeest,
and Ah& ne r^cst be aenegum
men; ne besceawast dhii manna
ansyne, ac dh(i Godes weg Iserst
on sdthliestnysse. Alyfth gaful
to syllanne dham Casere? . . .
15 Hwaedher dhe we ne syllath?
Dha cwaeth he, aud heora lot-
wrenceas wiste, Hwi faiidige ge
min? bringath me dhone pen-
ing, dhaet ic hine gesro.
16 Dha brohton hi hira. Dhi ssede
he liim, llwsesisdheos aniicnys,
and dhis gewrit ? Hi cwsedon,
Dlia3S Caseres.
17 nil! cwaeth se Hselc'nd to him,
Agyfath dham Casere dha thing
dhe dhaes Caseres synd, and

ST. MARK XII. 13-17.
And thei senden to him summe 13
of the Farisees and Erodians, for
to take hym in word.*

The whiche comynge seyn to 14
hym, Maistir, we witen for thou
ert sothfast, and reckist not of
ony man; sothly neither thoa
seest in to face of mail, but thou
techist the viey of God in treuthe.
Is it leefful for to ghyue tribute
to Cesar ? . . .
Or we schalen uot ghyue ? The 15
which witinge her priuey fals-
nesse, seith to hem, What tempt-
en yhe me ? brynge yhe to rae
a peny, that I se.
And they oflfriden to him. And 16
he seith to hem, Whos is this
ymage, and the in wrytinge?
Thei seien to him, Cesaris.
Forsotlie Jhesus answeringe 17
seith to hem, Therfore yhelde
yhe to Cesar that ben of Cesar,

* Or braunchis.

24

The English Versions.

Gode dha dhe Godes synd. and to God tho thingis that ben
Dhi wundrodon hi be dham. of God. And alle wondriden
on him.
ST. LUKE XIII. 34, 35.

34 Eali Hierusalem, Hierusalem,
dhfl dhe dha witegan ofslyhst,
and hsenst dha dhe to dh.6 isende
synd, hd oft ic woide dhihe beam
gegaderian, swa se fiigel deth
his nest under his fidherum, and
dhii noldest.
55 Nfl ! bith eower hfls eow for-
Iseten. Sdthlice ic eow secge,
dhset ge me ne geseoth, a^rdham
dhe cume se, dhonne ge cwe-
dhath, Gebletsod sy, se dhe
com on Drihtnes naman. ST. JOHN
5 Ic eom win-eard, and ge synd
twigu. Se dhe wunath on me,
and ic on him, se byrth mycle
blseda, fordham ge ne migon
nin thing d6n btitan me.
6 Gif hwi ne wunath on me, he
byth iworthen lit swi twig, and
fordnSwath; and hig gaderiath
dha, and ddth on fyr, and hig
forbymath.
7 Gyf ge viruniath on me, and
mine word wuniath on eow,
biddath, swi hwset swi ge wyl-
lon, and hyt byth eower.
8 On dham ys min fseder geswlStel-
od, dhset geberon mycele blseda,
and beon mine leoming-cnihtas. *
9 And ic lufode eow, swi fseder
lufode me ; wuniath on mime lufe.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that sleest 34
prophetis, and stoonest hem that
ben sent to thee, hou ofte woide
I gedere to gidere thy sones, as
a brid his nest vnder pennes,
and thou noldist.
Loo ! yhoure hous schal be left 35
to you desert. Sothli I seie to
you, for ye schulen not se me,
til it come, whanne ye schulen
seye, Blessid is he, that cometh
in the name of the Lord.
xv. 5-9.
I am a vyne, ye ben the braun- 5
chis. He that dwellith in me,
and I in him, this berith moche
fruit, for with outen me ye mown
no thing do.
If ony man schal not dwelle in 6
me, he schal be sent out as a
braunche, and schal wexe drye;
and thei schulen gadere him,
and thei schulen sende him in
to the fier, and he breiineth.
If ye schulen dwelle in me, and 7
my wordis schulen dwelle in
you, what euere thing ye schul
en wilne, ye schulen axe, and
it schall be do to you.
In this thing my fadir is clari- 8
fied, that ye brynge moost fruyt,
and ye be maad my disciplis.
As my fadir louede me, and I 9
louyde you ; dwelle ye in my loue.

Learning youths=:di5Cipies.

Comparison of gothic, anglo-saxon, German, and English.*

Gothic.

Anglo-Saxon.

German.

English.

Wheitos swe snaiws.

Swi hwite swa sniw.

Weiss wie Schnee.

White as snow.

Mark ix. 3.

Hardu-hairtei.

Heortan heardness.

Hartherzigkeit.

Hardness of heart.

" X. 5.

Gakiks ist uiann.

He ys gelic men.

Er ist gleicli einem
Menschen.

He is like a man.

Luke vi. 48.

Wha ist namo thein ?

Hwset is thin nama ?

Was ist dein Name?

What is thy name ?

" viii. 30.

Yut^a a-Lihsne.

An getyme oxena.
(A team of oxen).

Joch Ochsen.

Yokes of oxen.

" xiv. 19.

I.angai wheilai.

Langre tide.

Lange Weile.

For a long while;

" xviii. 4.

Wh s brothar.

Hwses br6thor.

Wessen Binder.

Whose brother.

" XX. 28.

Sibun brothryus.

Seofon gebrfithru.

Sieben BrOder.

Seven brothers.

" XX. 29.

In bukom Psalmo.

On tham Sealme.

Im Psalmbuch.

In tlie book of Psalms.

" XX. 42.

Hardu ist thata waurd.

Heard is theos sprsec.
(Hard is this speech).

Hart ist das Wort.

Hard is that word.

John vi. 60.'

Ik i n thata daur.

Ic eom geat.

Ich bin die Thttr.

I am the door.

" X. 9.

Kaiirno whaiteis.

Hwsetene com.

Weizenkorn.

A coiTi of wheat.

" xii. 24.

Nauh leitila wheila.

Gyt sume while.
(Yet some while).

Noch eine kleine Weile.

Now a little while.
(Now=yet).

" vii. 33.

>
Otr"

>
o <;oen

* This table, except the column in German, which I have added, has been prepared from that given by Bosworth and
Waring, The Gothic and Anglo-Saxon Gospels, p. iii.

a6 The English Versions.
A brief account of helps for the study of Anglo-Saxon may
be found useful :
Hickes, Linguarum Vett. Septentrionalium Thesaurus, 3 'Vols.,
folio, Oxon, 1705. A standard work of reference.
The Dictionaries are: Somner's, folio, Oxon, 1659; J.>ye,
Diclionarium Saxonico et Gothico-Latinum, edited by Manning,
2 vols., fol., London, 1772, with Benson, Vocabulary, chiefly
abridged from^ Somner, 8", Oxon, 1701. An Anglo-Saxon
Dictionary based on the Manuscript Collection of the late Joseph
Bosworth, D. D. , edited and enlarged, by T. Northcote Toller,
M.A., Oxford, 1882.
Grammars: Hickes, 4", Oxf, 1689, reprinted with addi
tions in the Thesaurus, and abridged by Thwaites 8°, Oxf ,
1 711; Elstob's Grammar, 4°, Lond., 1715: Orator Henley's,
Lond., 1726; Manning's prefixed to Lye's Dictionarium, fol.,
1772; Ingram's Short Grammar prefixed to the Saxon Chron
icle, 4° Lond., 1 82 3; Bosworth's Elements, accompanied b'y
a Grammatical Praxis, 8°, London, 1823, followed by a Com
pendious Grammar, 8°, Lond., 1826; Gwilt, Rudiments, 8°,
Lond., 1829; Raske, Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Tongtte,
translated from the Danish by Benjamin Thorpe, 2d. ed., 8°
Copenhagen, 1830; B. Thorpe, Analecta Anglo- Saxonica, a se
lection in prose and verse, from Anglo-Saxon authors of various
ages, with a Glossary; designed chiefly as a first-book to stu
dents; 8°, Lond., 1834. Bosworth, Origin of English, Lond.,
1847; G. P. Marsh, The English Language, etc.. New York,
1863; Helfenstein, Comparative Grammar of the Teutonic Lan
guages, Cambridge, 1870; Loth, Etymologische Angelsccchsisch-
Englische Grammatik, Elberfeld, 1870; March, Comparative
Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Language, etc., New York,
1871; Stratmann, Dictionary of Old English, Krefeld, 1867;
Corson, Handbook of Anglo-Saxon and Early English, 12°,
New York, 1871.

The Earliest English Versions. 27
CHAPTER II.
THE EARLIEST ENGLISH VERSIONS.
Sir Thomas Mork, commenting on the constitution
adopted by a convention presided over by Archbishop
Arundel in a. d. 1408, states: "Ye shal understande that
the great arch heretike Wickliffe whereas j^ hole byble was long
before his dayes by vertuous and wel lerned men translated into
y Englysch tong & by good and godly people w*" deuotion
& sobreness wel and reuerently red, toke vpon hym of a ma
licious purpose to translate it of riew. In which translacion
he purposely corrupted y« holye text, maliciously planting
therin such wordes as might in y= reders eres serue to y' profe
of such heresies as he went about to sowe, which he not only
set furth with his own translacion of the Bible, but also wt
certain prologes and glosis whiche he made therupon. "...
" It neither forbiddeth tianslacions to be read that wer already
wel done of old bef ore Wicliffe's dayes, nor damneth his because
it was new, but because' it was nought, nor prohibited new to
be made, but prouideth that they shall not be read if they be
miss made til they be by good examinacion amended excepte
they bee such translacions as Wicliife made and Tyndall, that
the malicious minde of the translator had in such wise hand
led it as it were labor lost to go about to mende them." . .
And once more in another place: "Myself haue seen and can
shcwe you .Bybles fayr and old written in Englisch which haue
been knowen 6" sene by the byshop of the dyoces, and left in
'eymens handes & womens to such as he knew for good and
catholike folk that used it with deuocion and sobreness. " It
is proper to say here that the drift of Sir Thomas More's
speech was to set forth Bishop Tonstall as having performed

28, The English Versions.
not only a defensible, but a praiseworthy act in burning Tyn
dale's New Testament. With that, however, and his curious
reasoning we have nothing to do here, but his positive and
strong assertion that the whole Bible was translated into Eng
lish long before Wiclif, and that he himself had seen such
copies, does concern us, for if that assertion were not only
made, hat proven, it would follow that, contrary to the sense
of history and the monuments that have come down to us,
or have been referred to by writers during the last four hun
dred years, Wiclif's is not the first published translation of
the Bible in English. Without entering at length upon the
discussion of the assertion, it may suffice here to say Sir
Thomas More seems to have made a speech which his parti
sans thought, doubtless, very eloquent and telling, but which
gives painful evidence that he did not understand much of the
subject, that he confounded what he called catholic and heret
ical versions, and actually praised one of Wiclif's own versions
as catholic, while he condemned another of Wiclif's as heret
ical from sheer ignorance that the one he praised was Wiclif's.
Of course he had seen ' ' Bybles iayr and old written in Eng-
lische," but that they were complete versions of the whole
Bible, executed long before Wiclif's days, he did not say, and
what others told him on the subject were just such assertions
as those he made, and possibly believed them to be true, just
as there have been, and perhaps still are, persons who repeat
Sir Thomas More's assertion as historical verity. As a matter
of known fact, it may be affirmed and proved that there exists
no printed or published copy of the whole Bible in English
prior to Wiclif; but there are translations of certain portions
of the Bible, and of these we have now to speak.
I. The Ormulum, a metrical paraphrase on the Gospels
and Acts, made -by one Orm, or Ormin, an English monk
of the order of St. Augustine, of uncertain date, though
ascribed to the twelfth century. It is not written in allitera-

The Earliest English Versions. 29
tive English verse (as Plumptre states), nor has it rhyme, but
seems to be an imitation of a certain species of Latin poems
of the middle ages, and is chiefly remarkable for smooth,
fluent, and regular versification. A MS. of the Ormulum is
in the Bodleian Library, marked Junius I. ; it was published
at the Oxford University Press in 1852, and edited by Dr.
White; the original manuscript is a volume in folio, contain
ing ninety parchment leaves, and twenty-nine others inserted
on which the poetry is written in double columns, and not
divided into verses (Craik, English Literature and Language,
i. p. 211, New York, 1863); a new edition, with White's
Notes and Glossary, by Rev. R. Holt, M.A., appeared in
1878, 2 vols. 8°. The name comes direct from the author,
who states: " ThL^s boc is nemmedd Orrraulum,
Forrthi thalt Orrm itt wrohhte."
At the end of the dedication he says: ,
Ice thatt tiss Ennglissh hafe sett I that have composed this English
Enngliashe menu to Iare, for to teach Englishmen,
Ice wa.ss thser thser I crisstnedd I was, there where I was christened,
wass
Orrmin bi name nemmedd. named Ormin by name.
And ice Orrmin full inwarrdliy And I Ormin very sincerely
Withth muth and ec withth herrte With mouth and also .with heart
Her bidde tha Crisstene menu Here ask the Christian men
Thatt herenn otherr redenn Who hear others read
Thiss boc, hemm bidde ice her This book, them I ask here that
thatt teyy they
Forr nie thiss bede biddenn, for me offer this prayer,
Thatt brotherr thatt tiss Enng- That brother that this English writ-
lissh writt ing
AUrseresst wrat and wrohhte. First of all writ and made,
Thatt brotherr forr hiss swinnc to That brother in reward for his-lalx)r
Isen
Soth blisse mote iindenn. True bliss may find.
Am [sen]. Amen,

50 The English Versions.
The following extract, with the translatitin, is taken from
G. P. Marsh, Origin and History of the English Language,
p i8i, 182, read by the original:
And siththen o thatt yer thatt Crist
and afterwards in the year that Christ
Wass off twellf winnterr elde
was of twelve winters age
Theyy commen irmtill Yerrsalam
they come into Jerusalem
Att teyyre Passkemesse,
at their ¦ Passover,
&' heldenn thar thatt hallyhe tid
and held there tbat holy time
O thatt yudissketm wise.
in the Jewish wise.
<&= Jesu Crist wass thar withth hemm,
and Jesus Christ was there with them,
Swa sunrm the Goddspell kithethtk.
so as the Gospel saith.
6^ affterr thatt te tid wass gan
and after that the lime was gone
Theyy luennderm fra the temmple,
they wended from the temple,
dr'ferrdenn tmoarrd Nazarath
and fared towards Nazareth
An dayyess gang tifl efenn,
a day's journey till evening,
6? wenndenn that the Lafeirrd Crist
and weened that the Lord Chiist
Withth hemm thatt gate come;
with them that way came;
fi^ he wass tha behindenn hemm
and he was then behind them
Bilefedd att te temmple;
remaining at the temple;
^ tatt ne wisste nohht hiss kinn
and that not wist not his kin
Ace wennde thatt he come,
but weened that he came,

The Earliest English Versions. 31
dr* ghedenn heore weyye forrth
and went their way forth
Till thatt itt comm till efenn,
till that it came to evening,
dr" ta theyy misstenn theyyre child,
and then they missed their child,
dr" itt hemm offerthmhhte,
and it them . grieved,
dr» ghedenn till, dr» sohhtenn himm
and (they) went, aud sought him
Bitwenenn sibbe &' cuthe
among relations and acquaintances,
dr" teyy nefundenn nohht off himm,
and they not found nought of him,
Forr be was^ att te temmple.
for he was at the temple.
df" theyy tha wenndenn efft onnghan
and they then turned back again
'halt dere child to sekenn,
that dear child to seek,
dr" comenn efft till Yerrsalam,
and came again to Jerusalem,
To sekenn himm thar binnenn.
to seek him there within.
dr" teyy himm o the thridde da-yy
and they him on the third day
thar fundenn i the temmple
there found in the temple
Bitwenenn thatt yudisskenn flocc
among the Jewish flock
Thatt laredd wass o boie;
that learned was in book ;
dr" tare he salt tofrayynenn hemm
and there he sat to ask tbem
Off theyyre bokess tare, '
of their book's lore,
&' alle thatt himm herrdenn thar,
and all that him heard there,
Hemm thuhhte mikell wunderr
them thought much wonder

32 The English Versions.
Off thatt he wass full yap df* wis
ai that he was full shrewd and wise
To swarenn dr" to frayynenn.
To answer and to ask.
2. The Sowlehele, a very large volume among the MSS. of
the Bodleian Library, 779, bearing the title: "Here begyn-
nen the tytles of the Book that is cald in Latyn tonge SALUS
ANIM^, and in Englysh tonge SOWLEHELE." It con
tains a very miscellaneous collection of religious poetiy, and
a metrical paraphrase of the Old and New Testaments. The
authorship is unknown and the date uncertain, but it has
been assigned to the thirteenth centuiy.
The subjoined extract is from Warton, History of English
Poetry, i. 19, London, 1774:
Our ladi and hire suster stoden under the roode,
And saint John and Marie Magdaleyn with wel son moode;
Vr ladi bi heold hire swete son i brought in gret pyne,
Ffor monnes gultes nouthen her and nothing for myne.
Marie weop wel sore and bitter teres leet.
The teres fuUen uppon the ston doun at hire feet.
Alas, my son, for serwe wel off seide heo
Nabbe iche bote the one that hongust on the treo;
So ful icham of serwe, as any wommon may bep.
That ischal my deore childe in all tins pyne iseo;
How schal I sone deore, how hast I yougt liven withouten the,
Nusti nevere of serwe nougt sone, what seyst you me ?
Then spake Jhesus wordus gode to his modur dere.
There he heng uppon the roode here I the take a fere,
That trewliche schal serve ye, thin own cosin Jon,
The while that you alyve beo among all thi fon;
Ich the hote John, he seide, you 'wite hire both day and niht
That the Gywes hire fon ne don hire none unriht.
3. A paraphrase of the Books of Genesis and Exodus,
written in the northern dialect, of uncertain date (probably
before A. d. 1300) and unknown authorship, in Corpus Christi
College, Cambridge;

The Earliest English Versions.

33

4. A metrical version of the Book of Psalms, of about the
same age as No. 3, in the same college. Other MSS. ofa
similar version are in the Bodleian and in the British Mu
seum. They contain emendations and revisions, their or
thography is more modern, and they are remarkable for be
ing the first attempts of translation into English; they follow
the Gallican version of the Latin Psalter, which is Jerome's
correction according to the Greek text of Origen's Hexapla.
That version was adopted toward the close of the sixth cen
tury in Gaul, and somewhat later in Britain.
Subjoined is presented Psalm C in the two forms of the
English metrical versions:

C. C. C. Cantab. MS. 378.
Mirth to god al erthe that es
Serves to louerd in faines.
In go yhe ai in his siht.
In gladnes that is so briht"^
Whites that louerd god is he thus.
He us made and our .self noht us.
His folke and shep of his fode:
In gos his y hates that are gode:
In schrift his worclies belive.
In ympnes to him yhe schrive.
Heryhes his name for louerde is
hende.
In all his merci do in strende and
strende.

Cotton MS. Vespasian D. vii.
Mirthes to lauerd al erthe that es,
Serues to lauerd in fainenes.
Ingas of him in the sight
In gladeschip bi dai and night.
Wite ye that lauerd he god is thus,
And he us m ade and ourself noght us ;
His folk and schepe ofhis fode;
In gas his yhates that er gode:
In schrift his porches that be.
In ympnes to him schriue yhe^
Heryes oft hira name swa fre.
For that lauerd sofl es he.
In euermore his merci esse
And in strende and strende his soth-
nesse.

5. Williara de Schorham, vicar of Chart Sutton, near Leeds,
in Kent, during the first half of the fourteenth century trans
lated the Psalms into English. His version of Psalm xxiii.
(Latin xxii. ) may be compared with that of Hampole given
below, who was his contemporary:

34 The English Versions.
Our Lord gouemeth me, and nothynge shal defailen to me; in the stede
of pasture, he sett me ther.
He norissed me vp water of fyllynge; he turned my soule fram the
fende. ,^
He lad me vp the bistiges of rightfulness; for his narae.
-For yif that ich haue gon araiddes of the shadowe of deth; Y shall
nougt douten iuels, for thou art wyth me.
Thy discipUne and thyn amendyng; coraforted me.
Thou madest radi grace in my sight; ogayns hem that trublen me.
Thou makest fatt myn heued wyth mercy; and my drynke makand
drunken ys ful ciere.
And thy merci shal folwen me; alle dales of mi lif.
And that ich wonne in the hous of our Lord; in lengthe of dales.*
6. Schorham's Translation and The Prose Version of the
Psalter, by Richard Rolle, hermit of Hampole, near Don-
caster, executed before the middle of the fotirteenth century,
are the first prose translations into English of which we have
authentic information. It is certain that Rolle, or, as he is
generally called, Hampole, translated the psalms and hymns
of the Church into English prose, with a comment subjoined
to each verse; he likewise prepared a metrical version of the
seven penitential psalms, and a paraphrase in verse on por
tions of Job, as well as a profuse paraphrase on the Lord's
Prayer. In the prologue of the prose version of the Psalter
Hampole says: "In this worke y seke no straunge Englishe
bot esiest and communeste and sich that is moost lyche to the
Latyne: so that thei that knoweth not the Latyne by the En
glishe may com to many Latyne wordis. In the translacione
y folewe the letter as much as I may and thore y fynde no
proper Englice I folewe the wit of the wordis so that thei that
shal reede it thar not drede erryng. In expownyng I folewe
hooly Doctors, and resoun: reproving synne. . . . Ffor this
boke may comen into summe envyous manns honde , . .
and such wolle seye that I wiste not what I seyde, and so do
* Forshall and Madden, Wyctiffiie Versions, Preface I., iv.

The Earliest English Versions. 35
harme to hymsilf and to othur." After the prologue, follows:
"Here bigynneth the Sauter. Psalmus primus. Beatus vir. —
In this psalme he spekith of Crist and his folewris blaundish-
yng to us, bihotyng blisfulhede to rightwise men. Sithen he
speketh of veniaunce of wikkede men that thei drede peyne,
sith thei wolle not loue ioye. He begynneth at the goode
man and seith. Blessed is that man the whuche ghede not in the
counsel of the wikede, and the wey of synfule stood not, and in
the chayer of pestilence satte not. "
Subjoined is Psalm xxiii. (Latin Psalm xxii.) firom Ham-
pole's version ofthe Gallican Psalter:
Our lord gouemeth me and nothyng to me shal wante: stede of pas
ture that he me sette.
In the water of hetyng forth he me brougte: my soul he tumyde.
He ladde me on in the streetis of rygtwisnesse: for his name.
For win gif I hadde goo in myddil of the shadewe of deeth: I shal not
dreede yueles, for thou art with rae.
Thi geerde and thi staf: thei haue coumfortid me.
Thou hast greythid in my sygt a bord: agen hem that angryn me.
Thou fattide myn heued in oyle: and my chalys drunkenyng what is
cleer.
And thi mercy shal folewe me: in alle the dayes of my lyf.
And that I wone in the hous of oure lord in the lengthe of dayes.
7. There are two other prose versions ofthe Psalter; the first
in the Harleian Library (No. 93, D. 2); Psalm ii. i, with
the gloss, is of this version; "Quare fremuerunt gentes. — Why
gnastes the gens, and the peple thoughte ydil thingis .? — The
prophete snybband hem that tourmentid crist sales, whit the
gens thoo were the knyttes of rome that crucified crist, gnasted
as ijestes with oute resoun : and the peple thoo were the iewes,
thoughte vaynte thoughtes: that was to holde crist ded in sep-
ulcre that thei might not doo, forthi in veyne thei traueilde."
The second MS. is an imperfect copy of a translation of
the Psalter from Psalm lxxxix. to cxviii. (King's Library, No
1517). "Psalmus 89 (Latin Vulgate). Domine refugium. —

36 The English Versions.
Lord thou art made refute to us fro generacioun to genera-
cioun. — Here the profete, aftir sharp reprouynge of vicious
men, was mould of the hooly goost to ymagin and to knowe
that malicious enmytee and feers pursuyng wole sue sone aftir."
8. Lewis {History of the Translations ofthe Bible) mentions
a MS. in the Library of Benet College, Cambridge, contain
ing a gloss on the Gospels of St Mark and St. Luke, the
Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians (the apocryphal Epistle to the Laodi
ceans), Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and He
brews, of which the subjoined specimens were communicated
to him by Dr. Waterland:
St. Mark i. I, And he prechyde sayande, a stalworther thane I schal
corae efter me of whom I am not worthi downfallande, or knelande, to
louse the thwonge of his chawcers; vi. 22, When the doughtyr of that
Herodias was in comyn and had tombylde and pleside to Harowde, and
also to the sittande at mete, the king says to the wench; xii. i, A man
made a vynere and he made aboute a hegge and grofe a lake and byggede
a tower; xii. 38, Be se ware of the scrybes whylke wille go in stolis and
be haylsede in the market and for to sit in synagogis in the fyrste chayers;
St. Luke ii. 7, . . . and layde hym in a cratche: for to hym was no
place in the dyversory.
Lewis says the comment accompanying this version greatly
resembles that of Hampole on the Psalter; but the question
whether Hampole be the author or not cannot be decided.
The authorship thus far is purely conjectural, though the
work itself is the most important in the field of English trans
lation down to that period.
9. A MS. in the British Museum, written in the northern
dialect, contains the Gospels for the Sundays throughout the
Church year, with an exposition; date and authorship are un
known. The following is a specimen :
ST. JOHN I. 19-28.
And this is the testimoninge of Ion when the lues of ierulm sent
prestes & dekenes vnto Ion baptist forto aske hira what ertow: And he

The Earliest English Versions. 37
graunted what he was & ayensaide noyt. And he graunted & said: fof
y nam nonyt crist. And liii asked him, what ertow than, ertow elyf
And he answered, I am nouyt ely. And hii saiden, Ertow a pphete ?
And he answered and said, nai. And hii said lo him, what ertow, that
we may yif answer to hem that sent u.s, what sais tow of the seluen ? I
am a uoice of the criand in desert that dresceth our lordes wai as Isaie
saith. And hii that were sent thei were of phariseus. And hii asked
him and said to him wharto baptizes too, yif thou ne be noyt crist, ne
heli ne prophete? Ion answered to hem and saide, I yow baptize in
water fforsothe he stode in middes of you that ye ne wot nouyt, he seal
com efter rae that is made tofore me of whom inam nouyt worthi to undo
the thwonge of his schoes. Thes thinges ben don in bethaine beyond
iordan ther Ion baptized.
The purport of these different translations may only be
divined; in many instances they appear to have been made
for the instruction of the clergy, many of whom, being ignor
ant of Latin and Greek, needed just such helps; they may
also have been made for occasional use by those of the high
est culture kmong the nobility, as intimated in the speech of
Sir Thomas More, and in a funeral sermon preached by Arch
bishop Arundel on Anne of Bohemia, wife of Richard II. , to
the effect that she was in the habit of reading the Go.spels in
the vulgar tongue with divers expositions. In all probability
both Sir Thomas and the archbishop refer to these versions;
but for all practical purposes they might not have existed at
all, for they were never published, nor put in general circu
lation. Those who used them were either priests or unex-
ceptionally good Catholics, for whose benefit the glosses and
comments were likewise added. At the period in question,
the earlier part of the first half of the fourteenth century, to
which these versions have been referred, the people did not
crave a version of the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, and
therefore there was no occasion whatever on the part of the
Church to forbid it. But matters stood very different in the
time of Arundel and More, as we shall point out in a subse
quent paragraph.

38 The English Versions.
There still remains to be considered the positive assertion'*
that John de Trevisa, Vicar of Berkeley, in the county of
Gloucester, who was a native of Cornwall, translated the Old
and New Testaments into English at the desire of Lord Berke
ley, his patron. Home supposes that as no part of this trans
lation has ever been printed, the alleged translation of the
whole Bible seems to have been confined to a few isolated
passages scattered through his works, or which were painted
on the walls of the chapel at Berkeley Castle. Trevisa lived
about the period of Wiclif, and whatever he did in the way
of translation must have been done at that time or very soon
after, for he had completed the Polychronicon of R.anulph of
Chester in a. d. 1387. Dr. Waterland, who examined his
writings, extracted for Mr. Lewis's use in his history the fol
lowing passages:
St. Matt, xviii. 32, I forgave the al thy det bycause thou praydest me,
wicked servant; xxv. 18, The slowe servant hidde his lorde's talent in
the erthe; xxvii. 19, Moche have I suffred by syghte bycause of him; St.
Luke xi. 45, My lord taryeth to come. . . . Ifa servant begynneth
to drink, and is dronken, and smiteth and beateth the meyny his lord
shall come. . . .; xix, I3, 16, The nobleman called his servauntes
and bytoke hem ten mnas, a!nd he saide to these servauntes marchaundise
with it tyll I come . . . Lo, lord, thy mna hath raade ten mnas,
and his lorde sayde to him, and be thou hauynge power over ten cities.
These are all the known attempts of translations of the
Holy Scriptures into English down to the time of Wiclif of
which I have been able to get information from Lewis's His
tory of the Translations of the A'^/e'/ Johnson's Historical Ac-
* The assertion rests on very slender foundation. Ca.'rton, in the Profiemye to his
edition ofthe Polychronicon, says: " Atthe request of Lord Berlteley, Trevisa trans
lated the said book, the Bible, and Bartholomfflns de pi'oprietaie rerum," Bale
[Script. fUusir., p. 518. Basel, 1557} repeats Caxton, Ussher {Hist. Dogmat., p.
346) repeats Bale, Wharton {Auctar., p. 348) repeats Ussher, and Fuller [Church
Hisi., and vol. i. p. 468) calls the revised Wiclifite version Trevisa's masterpiece,
-King James' translators actually say in their preface of early English versions, that
in " King Richard's dayes, John Trevisa translated thera into English.'*

The Earliest English Versions. 39
count, etc., reprinted in vol. iii. of Bishop Watson's Collection
of Theological Tracts; Newcome's View of the English Biblical
TfanslaMons, Dublin, 1792; Baber's Historical Account, etc.,
prefixed to his edition of Wiclif's New Testament, 18 iD;
Forshall and Madden, Preface to Wiclif's Bible; and the ex
haustive statements in the prefece to Bagster's English Hexapla,
from which some of the samples have been transcribed. If
there are others, their existence has not been made known to
the world.
It has also been alleged (by Stow) that Reginald Pecocke,
bishop of Chichester, a. d. 1450, made an English version of
the Bible. But Lewis says that in his (MS. ) account of that
prelate's life he has shown the error of the statement, and
that the biblical labors of Pecocke 'were confined to the trans
lation of passages of the Bible quoted in his writings, of which
the following are specimens:
S. Matth. xxviii. 19, 20, Go ye therefore and teche ye alle folkis, bap
tizing hem in the name of the fadir and of the sone and of the holi goost;
teching hem to keep alle thingis whatever thingis y haue comaundid to
you; S. Mark xvi. 15, 20, Go ye into al the world, and preche ye the
gospel to every creature. . . . Thei forsothe goyng forth prechiden
everywhere; St. John xxi. 25, Mo myraclis Crist dide, than \xra. written
in this book, which if they weren written, al the worlde though it were
turned into bokis, schulde not take and comprehende; Effes. iv. 5, Oon
is the Lord, oon feith, and oon baptism ; Ebrues vii. 7, The lesse woithi
is blessid of the more worthi.
These are certainly very remarkable renderings fbr the
times, and what the times were in the way of learning may be
gathered from two or three significant facts. When Fitz-Ralph,
archbishop of Armagh, sent (a. d. 1357) several ofhis secular
priests to Oxford to study divinity, they were compelled to
return for the almost incredible reason that they could not
buy a copy of the Bible there. Wiclif charged the clergy of
his day that they "left the Holy Scriptures to study heathen
men's laws, and worldly covetous priests' traditions or the civi!

40 The English Versions
and canon law."* Mneas Sylvius, afterward Pope Pius II.,
said of the Italian priests that they had not even read the New
Testament, t Robert Stephens states that some Sorbonists
being, asked where a certain passage occurred in the New Tes
tament, replied that they had seen it in Jerome on the De
crees, but they did not know what the New Testament was.
Indeed the ignorance of the clergy ofthe period almost beggars
belief, for we have it on the testimony of Wiclif, Clemangis,
Beleth, and others, that the majority were unable to read
Latin or con thefr psalter.

CHAPTER III.
WICLIFITE VERSIONS.
Whether this, the simplest mode of spelling Wiclif, is
more authentic than Wyclif, Wycliflfe, and Wicliffe, I can
not determine; I adopt that given in the title on account of
its simplicity: the pronunciation of the name is the same
throughout John Wiclif was born in 1324, it is thought, in the parish
of that name, near Richmond in Yorkshire. It seems an
established fact that he studied at Oxford, although reliable
data concerning his early career there and the greater portion
of his life have not come to light. Similar obscurity hangs
over his earliest writings, and there is nothing certain as to his
public life except the prominent part he bore in resisting the
Mendicants, denouncing their blasphemy in likening their
institutes to the Gospels, their founder to the Saviour, and
branding the higher members of the orders as hypocrites, and
the lower as common, able-bodied beggars, who ought not
* Creai sentence of curse expounded, MS. t Hody, De Bibl, te.viibus. p. ^64.'

WiCLiFiTE Versions. 41
to be permitted to infest the land. From 1361 to 1365 he
was warden of Baliol Hall, rector of Fylingham, and warden
of Canterbury Hall. His reputation for learning and judg
ment must have been very considerable, for he was appointed
a royal chaplain, and in 1374 sent, probably through John
of Gaunt's infiuence, to Bruges as second in a commission lo
treat with the papal 'egate to effect an understanding on the
differences between 'le king of England and the pope. On
"his return to England the crown presented him with the
prebend of Aust in Worcestershire, and the rectory of Lutter
worth in Leicestershire, which he held until his death. The
details relating to his ecclesiastical and theological status do
not belong here, apart from their connection with the trans
lation of the Bible, which probably would never have been
executed but for his nearer acquaintance with Rome at
Bruges, which led him to champion the cause of freedom
and truth against the spiritual despotism and lying pretensions
of the papacy. There was not in all England at the time,
and for two hundred and fifty years later, an abler and bolder
man than Wiclif; and it is a great mistake to represent him
either as deficient in learning and scholarship or in judgment.
But a man who did not hesitate to call the pope "Anti
christ, " ' ' the proud, worldly priest, the most cursed of clip
pers and purse-kervers," who told the people in plain, bold,
terse Saxon, and the theologians at Oxford in terms of the
most consummately skilful language of the schools, that, ac
cording to the true teaching of Holy Scripture, the papacy,
with its sacerdotalism, pardons, indulgences, excommunica
tions, absolutions, pilgrimages, images, and transubstantia-
tion, was a gigantic fraud — such a man could not escape the
hatred of the Roman hierarchy, and being consigned, as far
as they were able to consign him, to the never-dying flames
invented for the peculiar benefit of heretics like Wiclif
It is generally stated that it was only during the last ten

42 The English Versions.
years of his life that Wiclif was engaged upon the transla
tion of the Scriptures. The statement lacks proof, and in the
absence of proof, with the undoubted evidence of his splendid
scholarship and theological and metaphysical skill, it seems
safer to agree with Baber, that "from an early period of his
life he had devoted his various learning and all the powerful
energies of his mind to effect this, and at lengtb, by intense
application on his own part, and with some assistance froiri
a few of the most learned of his followers, he had tbe glory to
complete a book which alone would have been suflBcient (or
at least ought) to have procured him the veneration of his
own age and the commendations of posterity. "
In 1379 Wiclif was struck with partial paralysis at Oxford.
The friars, believing that the attack would end fatally, de
spatched four picked men to the supposed moribund to make
him, if possible, recant. When they had poured their ab
surdities into his ears until his patience could stand it no
longer, the imagined dying man looked at them sternly, and,
in a voice anything but dying, exclaimed, ' ' I shall not die,
but live, to declare the evil deeds of the friars." He recov
ered, and was permitted in the following year to finish the
translation of the whole Bible. In 1382 he was condemned
by the convocation at Oxford, and two years later, on Inno
cent's Day, 1 384, during the celebration of the mass in the
parish church at Lutterworth, he was struck again with pa
ralysis, and died on the last day of the year. *
Wiclif's translation of the Bible is the first English transla-

* Ail that is thus far known of Wiclif may be gleaned from the works on his Life
by Lewis,, London, 1720; Gilpin, lb,, 1766; Vaughan, lb,, 1828, 1831; and in a mono.
graph, 1833; Le Bas, 1832; Baber, Preface to Wiclifs New Testartient, 1810; Lcchler,
yohannes von Wiclif, Leipzig, 1873; Forshall and Madden*s edition of Wiclifs Bible.
Oxford, 1S50; and Montagu Barrows' Wiclif's Place in History. London, 1882; this
volume contains three lectures deUvered at Oxford, which from original sources of
information, supply much valuable matter on the subject of the theological views of
Wiclif.

Wiclifite Versions. 43
tion that was published. What we understand by the term
" published" is altogether different from the sense it bore be
fore the introduction of printing. Publication before that
period meant one or all of several things. An author would
either employ copyists to multiply transcripts of his work,
which were offered for sale, or he would deposit his work in
some convent or college library, where it might be consulted
or copied by learned men; or he might do both; or he might
in some way make publicly known the contents of his work,
and enable those desirous of securing copies of it to have
their wishes gratified. In illustration of the last method may
be mentioned the case of Giraldus Cambrensis, who lived in
the reign of Henry II. , and accompanied Baldwin, Arch
bishop of Canterbury, on his journey through Wales to
preach the crusades. Giraldus, wishing to publish some of
his works, had a pulpit erected in an open thoroughfare at
Brecon, from which he read them aloud to all passers-by,
who, if any desired to obtain copies, might have opportunity
to get them transcribed.
.\pplying this to Wiclifs version, his diligence in the direc
tion of publication must have been very great, for, in spite of
the prohibition of 1408, numerous copies* of it have come
down to us, and the testimony of his enemies is decisive on
this point. Knyghton says:
"The Gospel which Christ delivered to the clergy and doctors ofthe
Church, that they might themselves sweetly administer to the laity and
to weaker persons with the hunger of their mind according to the exigency
of the times, and the need of persons, did this Master John Wiclif trans
late out of Latin into Englishe, . . . whence through him it became
vulgar and more open to the laity and women who could read than it
used to be to the most learned of the clergy, even to those of them who
had the best understanding. . . . And in this way the Gospel pearl
is cast abroadj and trodden under foot of swine, and that wMch used to
• At least one huildred and seventy copies, all written before a. d. 1430.

44

The English Versions.

be precious to both clergy and laity is rendered, as it were, the commoiv
jest of both. The jewel of the clergy is turned into the sport of the laity,
and what was hitherto the principal talent of the clergy and doctors of the
Church is made forever common to the laity."
What is known as Wiclif's version was made from the Latin
of the. Vulgate — i. e., from Jerome's version, or from such
copies as passed for it. On the authority of Forshall and
Madden, the text of that version, from Genesis to Baruch
iij. 20, where it abruptly ends with the second word of that
verse, is the work of Nicholas de Hereford,* an English ec-

* He was Vice Chancellor of Oxford, recanted; was made Chancellor (1394) and
Treasurer (1397} ofthe Cathedral of Hereford, but retired to the Carthusian Monas
tery at Coventry, where he died. He was a fine scholar. The place where he left
off is marked by the entry: Explicit translacionem Nipholay de Herford. Two
MSS. of his translation are preserved in the Bodleian Library: one the original, the
other a contemporaneous copy by another hand. Hereford's renderings are very Ut-
eraJ, e. g., et viso eo, " and him seen," he still employs Anglo-Saxon idioms, he omits
the .r as the sign ofthe possessive, uses be in a future sense, and the feminine termina
tion in ster, but instead of the earlier ending enne he has inge, with to prefixed.
Wiclif likewise is extremely literal, e. g., St. John i. 5, " derknesses "; 13, " bloodis ";
iii, iS, "believeth in to him"; 29, "joyeth in joy"; iv. 47, "bigan to die"; 52, "had
him. better"; v. 28, "all men that ben in buriels." (See Eladie, The English Sible,
i. 65, 66.)
It may not be unimportant to note here the order of the books observed in the Wic
lifite versions:

^',

/t^Genesis, I Exodus,
^ / Leviticus,
I Numbers,
.j\ Deuteronomy,
' j Joshua,
1 Judges,
LRuth, ;
r~l Kings (I Samuel), i X
'^11 Kings (II Samuel), ?(
lIl'Kings (I Kings), \/
IV Kings (II Kings), ,
IChronide,^ .;'^ Um '
II Chronicle, 0''"''' 'J-
: I Esdras, ^^
Lii Esdras, -.

s

OLD TESTAMENT.

ill Esdras,

Daniel,

Tobias,

Hosea. ^

Judith,

' Joel,

Esther,

Amos,

\Job,

Obadiah,

Psalms,

Jonah,

Proverbs,

Micah, ^

Ecclesiastes,

Nahum,

Song of Solomon,

Habakkuk,

Wfedom,

, Zephaniah,

Ecclesiasticus,

/ Haggai, 1

Isaiah,

Zechariah. /
Malachi, ~^

' Jeremiah,

Lamentations,

I Maccabees,

^Wch,

II Maccabee*.

Ezekiel,

Wiclifite Versions. 45
clesiastic; the balance of the Old Testament and the Apocry
pha, as well as the whole of the New Testament, are ascribed
to Wiclif The first or original text of the version was com
pleted about 1380; a, revision of it was made by Richard
Purvey, and completed about 1388. The prologue to this''
revision, which is exceedingly valuable and interesting, but
very lengthy (it covers sixty quarto pages in Forshall and
Madden's edition), is supposed to be from the pen of Purvey,
and illustrates very fully the difficulties of translation. One
or two extracts will furnish the reader with much useful infor
mation, and acquaint him with the styl^, purpose, and meth
od ofthe writer:
For these resons, and othere, with comune charite to saue alle men
in oure rewme, whiche God wole haue sauld, a symple creature hath
translatid the bible out of Latyn into English . First, this symple crea
ture hadde myche trauaile, with diuerse felawis and helperis, to gedere
manie elde biblis, and othere doctouris, and comune glosis, and to make
00 Latyn bible sumdel trewe, and thanne to studie it of the newe, the
NEW TESTAMENT.
Matthew, II John, Colossians, *'
Mark, III John, I Thessalonians,
Luke, Jude, II Thescalonians,
John, Romans, I Timothy,
Acts, I Corinthians, II Timothy,
James, II Corinthians, Titus,
I Peter, Galatians, Philemon,
II Peter, Ephesians, Hebrews,
I John, Philippians, Revelation.
In MS. Caius and Emmanuel Coll., Cambridge:
Matthew, Philippians, Acts.
Mark, Colossians (Laodiceans), James.
Luke, I Thessalonians, I Peter.
John, II Thessalonians, II Peter,
Romans, I Timothy, I John,
I Corinthians, II Timothy, II John,
II Corinthians, Titus, III John,
Galatians, Philemon, Jude,
Ephesians, Hebrews, Revelation.

46 The English Versions.
text with the glose, and othere doctouris, as he mighte gete, and special!
Lire on the elde testament, that helpide ful myche in this werk; the
thridde tyme to counseile with elde gramariens, and elde dyuynis, of
harde wordis, and harde sentencis, hou tho mighten best be vnderstonden
aud translatid; the iiij. tyme to translate as cleerli as he coude to the sen
tence, and to haue manie gode felawis and kunnynge at the correcting of
the Iranslacioun. First it is to knowe, that the best translating is out oi
1 ,atyn into English, to translate aftir the sentence, and not oneli after the
wordis, so that the sentence he as opin, either openere, in English as in
Latyn, and go not fer fro the lettre; and if the lettre mai not be suid in
the translating, let the sentence euere be hool and open, for the wordLs
owen to serue to the entent and sentence, and ellis the wordis ben super-
flu either false. In translating into English, manie resolucions moun make
the sentence open, as an ablatif case absolute may be resoluid into these
thre wordis with couenable verbe, the while, for, if, as gramariens seyn;
as thus, the maistir redinge, T stonde, mai be resoluid thus, while the
maistir redith, I stonde, either, if the maistir redith, etc. either for
Ihe maistir, etc. ; and sumtyme it v/olde acorde wel with the sentence to
be resoluid into whanne, either into aftirward, thus, whanne the maistir
red, I stood, either aftir the maistir red, I stood; and sumtyme it mai
Wel be resoluid into a verbe of the same tens, as othere ben in the same
resoun, and into this word- «^,-that is and in English, as thus, arescentibiis
hominibus pra tlmore, that is, and men shulen wexe driefor drede. .Also
a participle of a present tens, either preterit, of actif vois, eillier passif,
may be re.sjjuid into a verb of the sarae tens, and a coniunccioun copula-
tif, as thus, dicens, that is, seiynge, mai be resolnid thus, and seith eithir
that seith; and this wole, in manie placis, make the sentence open, where
to Englisshe it aftir the word, woide be derk and douteful. Also a rela-
tif, which mai be resoluid into his antecedent with a coniunccioun copu-
latif, as thus, which renneth, and he renneth. Also whanne oo word is
oonis set in a re^spun, it mai be set forth as ofte as it is vndurstonden,
either as ofte as reesoun and nede axen: and this word autem, either vera,
mai stonde iox forsothe, either for but, and thus I vse comounli; and sum-
tyme it mai stonde for and, as elde gramariens seyn. Also whanne right-
ful construcciou!) is lettid bi relacion, I resolue it openli, thus, where this
reesoun, Dominum fprmidabunt adversarij ejus, shulde be Englisshid
thus bi the lettre, the Lord hise aduersaries shulen drede, I Englishe
thus bi resolucioun, the aduersaries of the ItPrd shulen drede him; and so
of othere resons that ben like. ...
. . . Also Frenshe men, Beemers an4 Britons han the bible, and
othere bokis of deuocioun, and of exposicioun, translatid in l^ere modir lan-

Wiclifite Versions. 47
gage ; whi .shulden not English men haue the same in here modir langage,
I can not wite, no but for falsnesse and necgligence of clerkis, either for
oure puple is not worthi to haue so greet grace and ghifte of God, in peyne
of here old synnes. God for his merci amende these euele causis, and
make oure puple to haue and kunne, and kepe truli holi writ, to lijf and
deth ! But in translating of wordis equiuok, that is, that hath many sig-
nificacions vndur oo lettre, mai lightli be pereil, for Austyn seith in the
ij. book of Cristene Teching, that if equiuok wordis be not translatid into
the sense, either vndurstonding, of the autour, it is errour; as in that
place of the Salme, the feet of hem ben swifte to shede out blood, the
Greek word is equiuok to sharp and sv/ifte and he that translatide sharpe
feet, erride, and a book that hath sharpe feet is fals, aud mut be amendid;
as that sentence vnkynde yhonge trees shulen not gheue deep rootis, owith
to be thus, plattntingis of anoutrie shulen not gheue depe rootis. Austyn
seith this there. Therefore a translatour hath greet nede to studie wel
the sentence, both bifore and aftir, and loke that such equiuok wordis
acorde with the sentence, and he hath nede to lyue a dene lif, and be ful
deuout in preiers, and haue not his wit ocupied about worldli thingis, that
the Holi .Spiryt, autour of wisdom, and kunnyng, and truthe, dresse him
iri his werk, and suf&e him not for to erre. Also this word ex signifieth
sumtyme of, and sumtyme it sigmfieth bi, as Jerom seith; and this word
\«fo/« signifieth comynli forsothe, and, as Jerom seith, it signifieth cause
thus,forwhi; and this wosd secundum is taken for aftir, as manie men seyn,
a.iJ comynli-, but it signifieth wel bi, eithir vp, Hw&bi yhoure word, eithir
vp yhoure word. Manie sueh aduerbis, coniuncciouns, and preposiciouns
ben itet ofte oon for a nother, and at fre chois of autouris sumtyme ; and
now tho shuten be taken as it accoidith best to the sentence. Bi this
maner, with good lyuyttg and greet trauei, men moun come to trewe and
deer translating; and trewe vndurstonding of holi writ, seme it neuere
so hard at the bigynning. God graunte to us alle grace to kunne wel,
and kepe wel holi writ, and suffiie ioiefuUi sum peyne for it at the laste I
Amen. From the same source (Forshall and Madden) is taken
this passage contained in the prologue to St. Luke, in a
commentary upon the Gospels believed to be of Wiclifs
composition: Herfore [a pore] caityf,* lettid fro piechyng for a tyme for causes
knowun of God, writith the Gospel of Luk in Englysh, with a short ex-
* A favorite phrase of Wiclifs to designate himself.

'48 The English Versions.
po-sicioun of olde and holy doctouris, to the pore men of hisnacioun which
kunnen litil Latyn ether noon, and ben pore of wit and of worldli catel,
and netheles nche of good will to please God. Firste this pore caitif
-settith a fill sentence of the text togidre, that it may well be knowun fro
the exposicioun; aftirward he settith a sentence of a doctour declarynge
the text; and in the ende of the sentence he settith the doctouris name,
that men mowen know verili hou fer his sentence goith. Oneli the text
of holi -writ, and sentence of xM doctouris and appreuyd, ben set in this
exposicioun. From The Apology for the Lollards, likewise ascribed to
Wiclif, and published by the Camden Society, as reprinted
in Marsh's English Language, etc., p. 367, I present a short
section, just enough, in connection with the former extract,
to illustrate Wiclifs style, argument, and language, and to
place the intelligent reader with a feir modicum of grammati
cal knowledge in a position to form an independent judgment
ofthe versions about to be brought under his notice:
An other is this that is put and askid, that ilk prest may vse the key
in to ilk man. To this, me thinkith, I may well sey thus, syn al power
is of God, and, as the gospel seith, ther is no power but of God, ne man
may do no thing, but if he giue him the migh^ as Crist seith, ye may
with out me do no thing, that onely a man vse his power in to ilk thing,
as God werkith by him, and lefith him to vse it vnblamfiilly, and no
forther, and fro that may no manne lette him. And this is that we sey,
that we may of right so, if ther be ani vsing of power, or callid power,
that is not bi Crist, that is no power, but fals pride, and presumid, and
onli in name, and as to yhend and effect is nowght. Neiiertheles, a man
is seid to haue power, and leue to vse power, in many wyse, as sum bi
lawe and ordre of kynd, sum bi lawe and ordre of grace, and some bi
lawe and ordre made and writun. And so it is seid by lawe that is mad
of the kirk, that ilk prest hath the same power to vse the key in to ani
man in tho poynt of deth, as the pope; but not ellis, not but autorite in
special be geuun to him of the kirk ther to. But if it be askid, if ilk prest
mai vse the key in to ilk man, that is to say, to assoile him, or ellis to
bind him fro grace, it semith opunly that ilk prest may not asoile ilk to
bring him to heuyn; for the gospel seith, that Crist in a coost of the Jewis
might not do ani vertu ther, for the vntrouth, not but helid a few seek,
the handus leyd vpon, and he maruelid for ther vntrowth; than, wan
Crist, tha* is God Almighty, and ofhis absolul p.iv.cr may al thing, and

Wiclifite Versions. 49
no thing is vnpossible to him, nor no thing may agen stond him, and
yhet may not of his ordinal power yhele the folk for ther vntrowth,
and vndisposicioun, and vnabilite to reseyue, mich more ani other beneth
may not help, but after the disposicioun of him that receyuith. Al so it
semith bi this, that the pope may not bring in to grace, ne bles, him that
lastith in vntrowth, and in ther synnis; os it semith bi Jewes and Sara-
cenis and other swilk, os is witnessid, and of feithful witness. Also God
gaue him no farrer power, not but asoyl hem that wil leue ther synne, or
to bynd hem and curse that wil dure ther mne. And bi so the same re
soun none other prest may not excede. And if it be axid wether ilk prest
hath as mykil power as the pope, as a nenist God, it semith to me that is
foly to a ferme in this case oither yhie or nay, be for that it mai be schewid
out of Holi Writte. And so it semith al so to me it is foly ani prest to
presume him to haue euyn power with ilk other, be for that he may ground
him in the feith ; and foli it were to deme to ani man any power that God
hath geuun to him, or the vsyng ther of; for certeyn I am, how euer ani
man tak power to him, or vse power, it profith not, but in as myche as
God geuith it, and wirkith with it, and confermith it; and certayn I am,
that the power that God gaue Petre, he gaue it not to him alone, ne for
him alone, but he gaue it to the kirk, and for tho kirk, and to edifying
of al the kirk ; os he geuith the sigght of the ee, or the act of ani membre
of the body, for help and edifying of al the body.
For the purpose of examination four specimens of the
Wiclifite versions, two from the Old and two from the New
Testament, are subjoined. In the first. Psalm ciii. , the Latin
text from the Surtees Psalter, which may have been that from
which Hereford translated, is placed above the text of Here
ford, and immediately under it the text of the Authorized
Version, so that the reader may see at a glance the agree
ments and differences. In the subsequent passages the Wic
lifite text only will be given. PSALM CII. (cm).
I. Benedic, anima mea, Dominum; et omnia interiota
Bless thou, my soul, to the Lord; and all thingus that withiime
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within
mea nomen sanctum ejus !
me ben to his holi name !
me, bless his holy name I

50 The English Versions.
2. Benedic, anima mea, Dominum ! et noli oblivisci
Bless thou, my soule, to the Lord ! and wile thou not forgete
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget uot
omnes retributiones ejus.
alle the gheldingus of him.
all his benefits.
3. Qui propitius fit omnibus iniquilatibus tuis; qui sanat omnes
That hath mercy to alle thi wickidnessis; that helith alle
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all
languores tuos.
thin infirmytees.
thy diseases.
4. Qui redemil de interitu vitam tuam; qui coronal le in
That agheen bieth fro deth thy life; that crouneth thee in
Who redeemeth thy life frora destruction; who crowneth thee with
miseratione et misericordia.
mercy and mercy doingis.
lovingkindness and tender mercies.
5 . Qui satial in bonis desiderium tuum ;
That fulfiUeth in goode thingus thi diseyr;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things;
renovabitur sic ul aquilse juventus tua.
schal be renewid as of an egle thiyh outhe.
so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6. Faciens misericordias Dominus,
Doende mercies the Lord,
The Lord executeth righteousness,
et judicium omnibus injuriam patientibus.
and dom to alle men suffrende wrong.
and judgment for* all that are oppressed.
7. Notas fecit vias suas Moysi;
Knowen he made his weies to Moises;
He made known his ways unto Moses,
fillis Israhel volimtates suas.
and to the sones of Irael lus willis.
his acts unto the children of IsraeL
-8. Misericors et miserator Donuntts,
Reewere and merciful the Lord,
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
patiens et mullum misericois.
long abidende and myche merciiiil.
slow to anger, and p7 en teous in mercy.

Wiclifite Versions. 51
9. Non in finem irascitur.
In lo euermore he shal not wralhen.
He will not always chide,
neque in seternum indignabitur.
ne in to withoute ende he shal threte.
neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10. Non secundum peccata nostra fecit nobis,
Aftir oure synnes he dide nol lo vs.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins;
neque secundum iniquitates nostras retribuit nobis.
ne aftir oure wickidnessis he ghelde lo ns.
nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
1 1 . Quia secundum altitudinem coell a terra.
For aftir the heighte of heuene fro erthe,
For as the heaven is high above the earth,
confirmavil Dominus misericordiam suam super limentes eunti
he slrengthide his merci vpon men dredende hym.
so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12. Quantum distal oriens ab occasu.
How myche the rising slant fro the going doun
As far as the east is firom the west,
elongavit a nobis iniquitates nostras.
aferr he made fro vs oure wickidnessis.
so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13. Sic ut miseretur pater fillis.
What maner wise the fader hath mercy of the sonus,
Like- as a father pitieth his children,
ita misertus est Dominus timentibus se:
the Lord dide mercy to men dredende hym:
so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
14. Quia ipse scil figmentum nostrum.
For he knew oure britil makii^.
For he knoweth our frame.
Memento Domine quod pulvis sumus.
He recordide for pouder wee be.
he remembereth that we are dust.
15. Homo sic ut faenum dies ejus,
A man as hey his daghes.
As for man his days are as grass,
et sic ut flos agri, ita floriet.
as the flour of the feld, so he shal floure oul.
as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.

52 The English Versions.
i6. Quia spiritus pertransiit ab eo, et non erit,
For the spirit shal thurghh passen in hym, and he shal not stonde
For the wind passeth over it, and il is gone; [stille;
et non cognoscit amplius locum suum .
and he shal no more knowen his place.
and the place thereof shall know il no more.
17. Misericordia autem Domini a sseculo est,
The mercy forsothe of the Lord fro withoute ende,
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting,
el usque in sasculum sseculi super limentes eum,
and vnto withoute ende, vpon men dredende hym,
lo everlasting upon Ihem that fear hira,
el juslilia ejus super filios filiorum,
and the rightwisnesse of hym in to the sones of sones,
and his righteousness unto children's children.
^ 18. custodientibus testamentum ejus; et memoria
To hem that kepen his testament; and myndefiil
To such as keep his covenant, and lo those that
retinentibus mandata ejus ut faciant ea.
thei ben of his maundemens to do them.
remember his commandments to do them.
19. Dominus in coelo paravil sedem suam.
The Lord in heuene made redi his sete.
The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens,
el regnum ejus omnium dominabitur.
and his reume to alle shal lordshipen.
and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20. Benedicite Dominum omnes angeli ejus;
Blisse yhee lo the Lord, alle his aungelis,
Bless the Lord, ye his angels,
potenles virtute, qui facitis verbum ejus,
mighli bi vertue doende the woord of hym,
that excel in strength, that do his commandments,
ad audiendum voeem sermonum ejus.
to ben herd the vois of his sermounes.
hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21. Benedicite Dominum, omnes virtutes ejus,
Blessith to the Lord all yhee his verlues,
Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts;
ministri ejus qui facitis voluntatem ejus.
yhee his .serua:uns that don his wil.
ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.

Wiclifite Versions. S3
22. Benedicite Dominum omnia opera ejus, in omni loco
Blessith to the Lord, all yhee his werkis, in alle place
Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places
dominationis ejus. Benedic, anima mea, Dominum !
yhee his domynaciouns. Bless thou, my soule lo the Lord !
of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul !
Comparison of these three versions will show that Here
ford's cannot have been made from the Latin alone: he must
have used another version, not Saxon, to account for the
new idiom he uses. That version was in all probability
the French translation of the twelfth century, published by
F. Michel in i860, and given in Marsh, from which a few
verses, arranged immediately above the metrical version of
the psalms, published by the Surtees Society, are subjoined,
to illustrate the source ofthis idiom:
1 . Beneis, la meie aneme & nostre Segnor
e tres-tutes les coses qui dedenz mei sunt, al saint num de lui.
Blisse, my saute, to Laverd ai isse
And alle that with in me ere to hali name hisse.
4. Chi racated de mort la tue vie ;
chi coruned tei en misericorde e miseraciuns.
That biesfra sterving thi life derli;
That crounes the with rewthes and with merci.
5. Chi raemplist en bones coses le tuen desiderie;
sera renovfe sicume d'aigle la lue juvente.
Thatfilles in godes thi yheminges al;
Als erne thi yhouthe be newed sal.
13. Cum failement al merci li pere des filz
Merci ad li Su-e des cremanz sei,
14. Kar il conul la nostre failure.
Recorda qui nus sumes puldre.
Als rewed es fadre of sones,
Hewed es Laverd, thare he wanes.
Of tha that him dredand be;
Fore our schaft weie knmoes he.
Mined es he weie in thoght
Tliat dust ere we and worth noght.

54 The English Versions.
21. Beneigseiz al Segnor, tutes les vertuz de lui,
li suen ministre, chi faites la voluntad de lui.
Blisses to Laverd, alle mightes his.
His hine that does tliat his wille is.
In Hereford's version this new idiom is almost literally
reproduced. From the manuscript with the signature I, C, viii. (among
the MSS. in the British Museum), confessedly one of the best,
is taken the subjoined extract, giving the Song of Moses, Ex
odus XV.
1 . Thanne Moises song, and fhe sones of Israel, this song lo the Lord,
and thei seiden, Synge ue to the Lord, for he is magnyfied
gtoriousli; he castide doun the horse and the stiere into the
see.
2. My strengthe and my preisyng is the Lord, and he is maad to me
. into heelthe, this is my God: y schal glorifie hym the God of
my fadir: and y schal enhaunce hym.
3. The Lord is a man figten: his name is almigti.
4. He castide doun into the see the charis of Farao and his oost, his
chosun princes weren drenchid in the reed see;
5. The deepe walris hiliden fhem; they geden doun into the deplhe
as a stoon;
6. Lord thy rigt hond is magnyfied in strengthe: Lord thy rigt hond
smool the enemye:
7. And in the mylhilnesse of thi glorie thou hast pur doun all myn
adversaryes; thou sentist thine ire that devouridehem as .stobil.
8. And watris waren gaderid in the spirit of thi woodnesse, flowing
watir stood: depe watris waren gaderid in the middis of the
see.
9. The enemy seide, Y schal pursue and y schal take, y shal departe
spuylis: my soul schal be fillid: y schal drawe out iny swerde;
myn hond schal sie hem.
10. Thi spirit blew; and the see hilide hem, thei weren drenchid as
leede, in grete watris.
II. Lord who is lyk thee in strong men: who is lyk thee, thou art
greet doere in hoolynesse; ferdful and p'isable, and doyng
miracles.
12. Thou heldist forth thin hond, and the erthe devouride hem:

Wiclifite Versions. 55
13. Thou were ledere, in tlii merci, to thi puple, which thou agen
bougtest, and thou hast bore hyiii in thi strengthe, to thin
holi dwellyng placfe:
14. Puplis stieden and weren wroothe: sorewis helden the dwelleris
of Fillistiym.
15. Thahe the pryncis of Edom wef^ri distufbid: trembling helde the
strong mon of Moab: all the dwelleris of Canaan weren
Starke.
16. Inward drede falle on hem: and outward drede ih the greetnesse
of thin arm. Ba fhdi rftaad imineovable as a stbofl, til thi
puple passe lord, til this thi puple passe,
17. Whom thou weldidist, thou schalt brynge hem in, and thou schall
plaUnte in the hil of thin eritage: in the moost stidefast dwell-
yng-plaee whish thou hast Wrougt Lord, Lord thy seyrituarie
which thin hondis made stidefast.
18. The Lord schal regne in to the world, and ferth'e.
ig. Forsothe Farao a ridere entride with his charis and fcnygtis in to
the see; and the Lord birdugte the watris of the see oh hilh;
solheli the sones of Israel geden bi the drife place, in the myddis
of the see.
20. Therefore Marie profsffisse, thd sister of Aaron, looke a tynipan in
her hond, and all the wymmen geden out aftir hyr with tym
pans cumpariyes:
21. To which sche song before and seide, Synge we to the Lord: for
he is magnyfied * gloriously, he castide .doun into the see the
hors and the stiere of hym.
The second extract gives Purvey's revision (from Marsh's
English Language and its Early Literature, p. 376) of Psalm
cii. (ciii. A. V.):
I. Mi soule, blesse thou the Lord; and alle thingis that ben with ynne
nie, blesse his hooli name.
2 Mi soule, blesse thou the Lord; and nyle thou forghete alle the
gheldy ngis of him .
3. Which doith merci to alle tlji wickidnessis; which heeleth all thi
.sijknessis.

* The spelling in this and other extracts furnished conforms exactly to that found
in the original documents. Its retention shows how unsettled and fluctuating ib waf
during theformative periods of the language.

$6 The English Versions.
4. Which aghenbielh thi lijf fro deth; which corovraeth thee in merci
and mercifijl doyngis.
5. Whicb fillith thi desijr in goodis; thi yhongthe schal be renulid
as the yhongthe of an egle.
fr. The Lord doynge mercies; and doom to alle men suffiinge wrong.
7- He made his weies knowun to Moises; his wiUis lo the sones of
Israel.
8. The Lord is a mercifiil doer, and merciful in wille; longe abidinge,
and thy che merciful.
9. He schal not be wrooth with outen ende; and he schal not Ihrelne
with outen ende.
10. He dide nol lo vs aftir oure synnes; neither he gheldide lo vs aftir
oure wickidnessis.
II. For bi the highnesse of heuene fro erth; he made strong his merci
on men dredynge hym.
12. As myche as the eest is fer fro the west; he made fer oure wickid
nessis fro vs.
13. As a fadir hath merci on sones, the Lord hadde merci on men
dredynge him;
14. For he knewe oure makyng. He bithoughle that we ben dust.
15. A man ;'.; as hey; his dai schal flowre out so as a flour of the
feeld.
16. For the spirit schal passe in hym, and schal not abide; and schal
no more knowe his place.
17. But the merci of the Lord is fro with out bigynnyng, and til in lo
with outen ende ; on men dredinge hym. And his rightful-
nesse is in to the sones of sones.
18. To hem that kepen his testament. And ben myndeful of hise
comaundementis; to do tho.
Ig. The Lord hath maad redi his seete in heuene; and his rewme schal
be lord of alle.
20. Aungels of the Lord, blesse yhe the Lord; yhe myghti in vertu,
doynge his word, to here the vois ofhis wordis.
21. Alle vertues of the Lord, bless yhe the Lord; yhe mynystris of
hym that doen his wille.
22. Alle werkis of the Lord, blesse yhe the Lord, in ech place of his
'ordschipe; my soule, blesse thou tlie Lord.
The third extract places in juxtaposition part of Psalm
xlv. (xlvi. ) in Hereford's version and Purvey's revision.

Wiclifite Versions.

57

Hereford.
2 Oure God refut, and vertue; hel-
pere in tribulaciouns, that found-
en vs ful myche.
3 Therfore wee shul not drede, whil
the erthe shal be disturbid; and
hillis shul be born ouer in lo the
herte of the se.
4 Ther souneden, and ben dis
turbid the watris of hem; the
hillis ben disturbid in the strengthe
ofit.
5 The bure of the flod gladith the
cite of God, the alther heghist
halewide his tabernacle.
6 God in the myddel of it shal nol
be stirid; God shal helpen il erli
fro the morutid.
7 Jentilis ben disturbid, and reumes
be inbowid; he ghaf his vois,
moued is the erthe.
8 The Lord of vertues with vs; oure
vndertakere God of Jacob.

Purvey.
Oure God, thou art refuyl, and 2
vertu: helpere in tribulacions,
that han founde vs greetly.
Therfor we schulen nol drede, 3
while the erthe schal be troblid,
and the hillis schulen be borun
ouer in lo the herte of the see.
The watris of hem sowneden, and 4
weren troblid; hillis weren trob
lid logidere in the strengthe of
hym. The feersnesse of flood makith 5
glad the citee of God; the high-
este God hath halewid his taber
nacle. God in the myddis therof schal 6
not be moued; God schal helpe
il eerli in the great morewtid.
Hethene men weren disturbid to- 7
gidere, and rewmes weren bowid
doun. God ghaf his vois, the
erthe was moued.
The Lord of vertues is with; God 8
of Jacob is oure vplakere.

And the following is a specimen of Purvey's annotations:

ECCLESIASTES XII.

Text.

I Haue thou mynde on thi creatour
in the dales of thi yhongthe, bi
fore that the time of thy torment
come, and the yheris of thi deth
neighe, of whiche thou schalt seie,
Tho plesen not me.
2 Haue thou mynde on thi creatour
bifore that the sunne be derk, and
the light, and sterrys and the
mone; and cloud e turne aghen
after reyn.

I . thi creatour; that is, God, that
made thee of nought to his ymage
and licnesse. 2. after reyn; that
is, aftir the tribulacioun of eelde.
3. the keperis; that is, iyen, kep-
eris of the body, bigynnen to faile,
and to be duelid ; and strongeste
men; that is, hipis and leggis; and
grynderis; that is, teeth; and
seeris; that is, iyen, sel betwixe
the holis ofthe heed. 4. llie doris

58

The English Versions.

3 Whanne the keperis of the hous
schulen be mouyd, and strong
este men schulen tremble; and
grynderis schulen be idel j vihanae
the noumbre schal be maad lesse,
and seeris bi the hoolis schulen
wexe derk ;
4 and schulen close the doris in the

in the street; that is, lippis, set
in the pleyn place of the face;
voise of a brid; that is, the cok ;
doughtris of song; that is, the
eeris, that deliten in melody. 5 .
be aferd in the weie; that is, in
the highere part of soule, and
the lowere part that hath com-

street, in the lownesse of vois of passioun on the bodi; for alle
a gryndere; and thei schulen rise men dreden kyndly the deth

at the vois of a brid, and alle the
doughtris of song schulen wexe
deef.And high thingis schulen drede,
and schulen be aferd in the weie ;
an alemaunde tre schal floure, a
locuste schal be maad fat, and
capparis schal be distried; for a
man schal go in to the hous ofhis
euerlastyngnesse, and weileris
schulen go aboute in the street.

neighinge, and lo go out of the
weye of present liyf; an ale
maunde tre schal floure; that is,
the heed schal wexe hoor; locuste;
that is, the wombe; capparis;
that is, coueitise of flesh; go; bi
deth; euerlastyngnesse; for he
schal neuere turne aghen to pres
ent liyf; capparis is an herbe
[caper] .

The New Testament, printed, will now engage our atten
tion. In order to form an intelligent conception and esti
mate of that great work, it is necessary to reproduce, as fer as
we may be able, the material from which the version was
made. As there is no positive evidence that Wiclif, Pur%'ey,
and their coadjutors possessed such knowledge of Greek and
Gothic as would enable them to make independent use of the
few manuscripts to which they possibly had access, while
there is evidence that they depended in that respect on the
light derived from commentators, the Greek text and the
version of Ulfilas may be set aside in the comparison of the
sources and the products which is now presented. 1 select
for the purpose the first thirteen verses of St. Matthew viii.,
and furnish, i, the Anglo-Saxon version from the edition of
the University Press at Cambridge, 1858, with Marsh's word-
for-word English translation subjoined in italics. 2. The text

Wiclifite Versions. 59
of the ' Clementine version of the Latin Vulgate from
the edition of Leander van Ess, Tiibingen, 1824, which,
though better than any found in England in Wiclif's
time, sufficiently resembles that actually used to justify
its reproduction for the purpose in hand. 3. The origi
nal version of Wiclif! 4. The revision of that text by
Purvey, and 5. The Authorized Version. The advantage
of such an arrangement is self-evident; the reader may at
a glance form his own jijdgment of the degree of merit
attaching to each version. ST. MATTHEW VIII.
Verse i.
I . Sodhlice tha se Hael^nd of tham munte nydher-astah, tha
(.For) sooth when the Saviour from the mount came-down, there
¦fyligdon him mycle msenio.
followed him great multitudes.
2. Cum autem descendissel de monte, seculse sunt eum turbse multae.
3. Forsothe when Jhesus hadde comen doun fro the hil, many cum-
panyes folewiden hym.
4. But whanne Jhesus was come doun firo the hil, mych puple suede
hym. 5. When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes fol
lowed him. Verse 2.
I . Dha genealsehte an hreofla to him and hine to him ge-eadhmedde,
Then nighed a leper to him and himiself)to him humbled,
and thus cwsedh; Drihten, gyf thu wylt, thu mihi me geclsensian.
and thus spake; Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst me cleanse.
2. Et ecce, leprosus veniens adorabat eum, dicens: Domine, si vis, potes
me mundare.
3. And loo I a leprouse man cummynge worshipide hym, sayinge:
Ijjrd, yhif thou wolt, thou maist make me clene.
4. And loo ! a leprouse man cam and worschipide him, and seide:
Lord, if thou wolt, thou maist make me clene.
5. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord..
if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

6o The English Versions.
Verse 3.
I. Dha astrehte se Hselend hys hand and hrepode hyne and thus
Then outstretched the Saviour his hand and touched him and thus
cwaedh, Ic wille; beo geclaensod. And hys hreofla waes hrsedlice
spake, I will; be cleansed. And his leprosy was immediately
geclsenSod. cleansed. 2. Et exlendens Jesus manum, tetigit eum, dicens: Volo, mundare !
Et confestim mundata est lepra ejus.
3. Arid Jhesus holdynge forthe the hond, touchide hym sayinge, I wole;
\ie thou maad clene. And anoon the lepre of hym was clensid.
4. And Jhesus helde forth the hoond, and touchide hym, and seide, Y
wole; be thou maad cleene. And anoon the lepre of him was clensid.
5. And Jesus put forth to hand, and lonched him, saying, I will; be
thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Verse 4.
I . Dha cwsedh se Haelend to him, Wama the thset thu hyt. nsenegum
Then said the Saviour to him. See that thou it (to) no
men ne secge; ac gang, seteowde the tham sacerde, and bring hym Iha
nian tell; but go, show thee (to") the priest, and bring him the
lac the Moyses behead, on hyra gecydhnesse.
gift that Moses bad, for their information.
^. Et ait illi Jesus: Vide, nemini dixeris; sed vade, ostende le sacerdoti
et offer munus, quod prsecipit Moyses, in testimonium illis.
3. And Jhesus saith lo hym; See, say thou to no man; but go, sliewe
Ihee to prestis, and offre that ghifte, that Moyses comaundide, mto wit
nessing lo hem.
4. And Jhesus seide to hym; Se, seie thou to no man; but go, shewe
thee to the prestis, and offre the ghift that Moyses comaundide, in wit-
nessyng to hem.
5. And Jesus saith unto him. See thou tell no man; but go thy way,
shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, fol
a testimony unto them. Verse /.
I . Sodhlice tha se Hselend ineode on Caphamaum, tha ge
[For-) sooth when the Saviour went in to Capernaum, then
nealsehte hym an hundredes ealdor, hyne biddende.
nighed {to) him a hundred's captain, him praying.

Wiclifite Versions. 6i
2. Cum autem introisset Caphamaum, accessit ad eum cenlurio, ro-
:gans eum.
3. Solhely when he hadde entride in to Caphamaum, cenlurio neighide
to hym preyinge.him,
4. And whanne he hadde entrid m to Cafamaum, the cenlurien
neighede to him and preiede him,
5. And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him
a centurion, beseeching him. Verse 6.
I . And thus cwedhende, Drihten, min cnapa lidh on minum huse lama,
And thus saying. Lord, my knave lieth in my house lame,
and mid yfle gethread.
and with evil afflicted.
2. El dicens: Domine! puer meus jacet in domo paralyticus et male
torquetur. 3. And said, Lord, my child lyeth in the hous sike on the palsie, and
is yuel tourmentid.
4. And seide. Lord, my child lijth in the hous sijk on the palesie, and is
yuel lurmentid.
5. And saying. Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, griev
ously tormented. Verse 7.
I. Dha cwsedh se_ Hselend lo him, Ic cume and hine gehsele.
Then said the Saviour to him, I come and him heal.
2. Et ait illi Jesus: Ego veniam et curabo eum.
3. And Jhesus saith lo hym, I shal cume, and shale hele hym.
4. And Jhesus seide lo him, Y schal come, and schal heele him.
5. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
Verse 8.
I . Dha answarode se hundredes ealdor and thus cwsedh, Drihten, ne
Then answered the hundred's captain and thus said. Lord, not
eom ic wyrdhe thast thu ingange under mine Ihecene*; ac cwsedh thin an
am [worthy that thou in-go under my roof; but speak thy one
word, and min cnapa bidh gehaeled.
word, and my knave will-be healed.
2. Et respondens centurio ail: Domine, non sum dignus ul inlres suit
tectum meum, sed tantum die verbo, et sanabitur puer meus.
? c hard hke k; compare German Decke — cover, roof; Latin, tectum.

62 The English Versions.
•3. And centurio answerynge saith lo hym. Lord, I am not worthi, that
thou enlre vndir my roof; but oonly say bi word, and my child shal be
helid. 4. And the cenlurien answeride, and saide to hym. Lord, Y am not
worthi, that thou entre vndur my roof; but oonli seie thou bi word, and
my childe schal be heelid.
5. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy thai Ihou
shouldest come under my roof; but speak the word only and my servant
shall be healed^ Verse q.
1. Sodhlice ip eom man iinder anwealde gesetl, and ip hsebbe
{For-) sooth I am (a) man under authority set, and I have
thegnas under me: and ic cwsedhe to thysum. Gang, and he gsedh; and
spldiers under pie: and I say to thi^. Go, and he goeth; and
ic cwsedhe to othrum. Cum, and he cymdh ; to minum theowe, Wyrc
/ say to (an-) other. Come, aii^ he' cometh, to. my servant. Do
this, and he wyrcdh.
this, and he doeth [or. Work, and he worketh^ .
2. Nam et ego homo sum sub potestate constitutus, habens sub me
milites, et dico huic: Vade! et vadit; et alii: Veiii! et venit; et servo
meo: Fac hoc ! et facit.
3. For whi and I am a man ordeynd vnder power, hauynge vndir me
knighfis, and I ^y tp this, Go,, and he goth; and to an other, Coine thou,
and he cometh; and to my seruaunt. Do thpv this thing, and he doth.
4. For whi Y am a man ordeyned vndur powe , and have knyghtis
vndir me; and Y seie to this. Go, ond he goith; and to another, Come,
and he coineth; and to my seruaunt. Do this, and he doith it.
5. For I am a man under authority, having spldiers under rae; and I
say to this man. Go, and he goeth; and to another. Come, and he com
eth; and to my servant. Do this, and he doeth it.
Verse JO.
I . Witodlice tha se Hselend this gehyrde, tha wundrode he, and
Now TvJien the Saviour this heofrd, then wondered he, and
cwsedh to tham the hym fyligdon: Sodh ic secge eow ne gemetle ic
said to them that him follomed: Sooth I say (to-) you not met 1
swa mycelne gel^afan on Israhel.
so much belief in Israel.
2. Audiens autem Jesus miratus est, et sequenlibus se dixit: Amen
dico vobis, non uiveni tantam fidem in Israel !

Wiclifite Versions. -63
3. Sothely Jhesus, heerynge these thingis, wondride, and saide to
men suy inge hym: Trewly I saye to yhou I fond nal so grete feith
in Yrael.
4. And Jhesus herde these thingis, and wondride, and seide to men
that sueden him: Treuli I seie to yhou Y foond not so greete feith in
Israel. 5. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that fol
lowed. Verily I say unto you, I have nol found so great faith, no, not
in Israel, Verse ii.
I. To sodhum ic secge eow, Dhset manige eumadh fram
In soath I say (to-)yoif, that many (shall) come from (the)
east-dsele and west-dsele, and wuniadh mid Abr^hame !|nd Isaace
(ast-deal and ((he\ west-deal and dwell with Abraham and Isaac
andjaeobe, on heofena rice;
and jfacob in heaven's realm;
2. Dico autem vobis, quod mulli ab Oriente et Occidente venient, et
recumbent cum Abraham, el Isaac, el Jacob in regno cpelorum.
3. Solhely Y say to yhou, that manye shulen come fro the est and
west, and shulen rest with Abraham and Ysaac and Jacob in the kyng
dam of heuenes;
4. And Y seie to yhou, that many schulen come fro the eest and the-
west, and schulen reste with Abraham, and Ysaac, and Jacob in the
kyngdom of heuenes;
5. And I say unto you. That many shall come from the east and west,
and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacpb, in the kingdom
of heaven. Verse 13.
I . Witodlice thises rices beam beodh aworpene on tha yte-
vettily this realm's children (shall) be out-cast in (to) the out-
mcstan thystro: thser bidh wop, and totha gristbitung.
ermost darkness: there (shall) be weeping, and (of) teeth grinding.
z. Filii autem regni egicientur hi tenebras exleriores, ibi erit fletus et
stridor dentium !
3. Forsothe the sonys of the rewme shulen be cast oul into vttremest
derknessis; there shal be weepynge, and beetynge togidre of teeth.
4. But the sones of the rewme schulen be cast out in to vtmer mest
derknessis; there schal be wepyng, and grynting of teeth.
5. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer dark
ness: there 'ihall he weeping and gnashing of teeth.

64 The English Versions.
Verse 13.
I. And se Halend cwsedh lo tham hundrydes ealdre, Ga; and gewurdhe
And the Saviour said to the hundred's elder. Go; and be (jV)
the swa swa thu gelyfdest. And se cnapa wses gahseled on thsere
(to) thee so as thou believedst. And the knave was healed in that
tide.
hour. 2. Et dixit Jesus Centurioni, Vade! el sicut credidisti fiat tibi. Et
sanatus est puer in ilia hora.
3. And Jhesus saide to cenlurio. Go; and as thou hast bileeued be it
don to thee. And the child was helid fro that houre.
4. And Jhesus seide to the centurioun. Go; and as thou hast bileuyd
be it doon to thee. And the child was heelid fro that hour.
5. And Jesus said unto the centurion. Go thy way; and as thou hast
believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the
selfsame hour.
The next three specimens are intended to illustrate the ex
treme literalness of Wiclifs rendering. L
GENESIS XXXVII. 31-36.
Vulgate. Wiclif.
31 Tulerunt autem tunicam ejus, et Forsothe thei token the coote of 31
in sanguine hoedi, quem occide- hym, and in the blood of a kyde
rant, tinxerunt; that thei hadden slayn, steyne-
den;
32 Mittentes, quiferrent ad patrem the which sendynge shulden here 32
et dicerent: Hanc invenimus: to fader, and seyn. This we han
vide utrum tunica filii tui sit, foundun, loke whether the cool
an non. of thi sone it be or noon.
33 Quam cum agnovisset pater, ait: The which whanne the fadir 33
Tunica filii mei est, fera pessi- knowith, seith. The coote of my
ma comedit eum, bestia devo- sone it is, the moost yuel wiylde
ravit Joseph. beesl hath etun hym, a beesl
hath deuowrid Joseph.
34 Scissisque vestibus indutus est And the clothis to - rent, was 34
cilicio, lugensfilium suum multo clothed with an heyr, weilynge
tempore. his sone myche tyme.

Wiclifite Versions.

61

35 Congregatis aute?n cunctis liber-
is ejus, ut lenirent dolorem pa
tris, noluit consolationem acci-
, pere, sed ait: Descendam ad
filium meum lugens in infer-
num. Et illo perseverante in
fletu,
36 Madianita vendiderunt Joseph
in .Egypto Putiphari eunucho
Pharaonis, magistro militum.

And alle his free children gedered 35
togideres, that they myghlen
swage the sorrow of the fader,
he nolde coumfortyng take, but
seith, Y shal descende to my sone
weilynge into helle. And hym
stedfaslli dwellynge in wepyng,
Madenylis solden Joseph in 36
Egepte, to Puliphar, the geld-
yng of Pharao, the maysler of
chyualrye.

n.
ST. MATTHEW
Vulgate.
23 Et ascendente eo in naviculam,
secuti sunt eum discipuli ejus.
24 Et ecce ! motus magnus factus
est in mari, ita ut navicula
operiretur fluctibus; ipse vero
dormiebat.
25 Et accesserunt ad eum discipuli
ejus, et suscitaverunt eum dicen
tes, Domine, salva hos: perimus.
26 Et dicit eis Jesus, Quid timidi
estis, modicee fidei ? Tunc sur-
gens imperavit ventis et Tnari, et
facta est tranquillitas magna.
27 Porro homines mirati sunt, di
centes: Qualis est hic, quia
venti et mare obediunt ei ?

VIII. 23-27. Wiclif.
And Jhesu sleyinge vp in to a litel 23
ship, his disciplis sueden him.
And loo ! a. grete steryng was 24
made in the see, so that the litil
ship was hilid with wawis; but
he slepte.
And his disciplis camen nigh to 25
hym, and raysiden hym, say
inge, Lord, saue vs: we perishen.
And Jhesus seith lo hem, What 26
ben yhee of litil feith agasl?
Thanne he rysynge comaundide
to the wyndis and the see, and a
grete pesiblenesse is maad.
Forsothe men wondreden, say- 27
inge: What manere man is he
this, for the wyndis and the see
obeishen to hym.

5 Qui

HL
ROMANS VIII. S-8.
Vulgate. Wiclif.
enim secundum camem For thei that ben aftir the fleisch 5

sunt, qua camis sunt, sapiunt; saueren tho thingis that ben of

66 The English Versions,
qui vero secundum spiritum the fleisch, but thei that hen aflir
sunt, qua sunt spiritus, senti- the spirit felen tho thingis that
unt. ben of the spirit,
(> Nam prudentia camis mors est; For the pradence of fleisch: is 6
prudentia autem spiritus vita deeth, but the prudence of spirit:
et pax, is liif and pees,
7 Quoniam sapientia camis in- For the wisdom of fleische is ene- 7
imica est Deo; legi enim Dei non mye to God, for it is not sugel to
est subjecta nec enim potest. the lawe ofGod: fornetheritmay,
8 Qui autem in came sunt Dee And thei that ben in fleisch: 8
placere non possunt. moun not please to God.
In connection with these Wiclifite versions, and as an indis
pensable datum to an intelligent appreciation of their great value,
I have still to refer to several important manuscripts. One of
these (MSS. Trin. Coll., Dubl. 237.97), ascribed to Purnay,
A. D. 1395, exhibits remarkable agreernents with another MS.,
once the property of Bishop Butler; and both, again, very strik
ing agreements and differences as compared with Wiclif's text.
To illustrate this, the reader will please compare a few pas
sages, given in parallel columns, and take note ofthe captions:
ST. MATTHEW I. I.
Wiclif, A. D. 1380. MS. 237.97, T. C. D., A.D.ijgs-
The book of the generacioun of The book of generacioun of jesus
ihesus crist: the sone of dauith, the crist the sone of davith, the sone of
sone of Abraham. Abraham bigat abrahara. abrahara ^i?»i77'(fe or bi-
Isaac, Isaac bigat lacob, lacob bi- gaat ysaace, ysaace forsothe bigat
gat ludas and hise brethren. Jacob, Jacob forsothe bigat judas and
his brethren.
This MS, 237 agrees verhatim with Bishop Butler's MS.
There now follow specimens of agreements and differences in
said MSS. as compared with Wiclif:
Agr?et?ients.
ST. LUKE I. 5.
Wiclif. Bishop Butler's MS.
In the daies of eroude king of iu- There was sum preest zacharie by
dee, there was a preest zacarie bi name in the daies of heroude King

Wiclifite Versions. O'f
name of the sorte of abia, and his of Judee of the sort of abia and his
wiif was of the doughtris of aaron; wyf of the doughtris of aaron; & hir
and hir name was elizabeth. name Elizabeth
Differences.
ST. LUKE X. 30.
and jhesus bi-helde and seide, A Sothely iesu biholdynge seyde,
man cam down from ierusalem in sum man cam doun fro ierlm in to
to ierico, and filde among theues, iericho, & felde among Iheeuves
and they robbeden hym, and wound- which also robbiden hira and
iden hym, and wenteh aweie: and Woundes putte inn wenten aWaye
leften the man half alyue. the man lefte halfe quyke.
MS. Bibl. Reg. I. B. VI. , in the British Museuni, agfees
with Bishop Butler's MS. in the Gospels, but differs from it
in the Epistles. As compared with Wiclifs version, the dif
ferences are notable. I CORINTH, vm. I, 2.
Wiclif. Bibl. Reg. I. B. VL
But of the tlringis that ben sacri- Forsothe of thes thingis that ben
fied to idolis we witen fPr alle we offirid to ydolis that ben syinalacris
hau kunninge, but kunnynge blow- maid to manns lykenesses. Wewit-
ith, charite edifieth, but if ony man en for alle we hau kunnyng; solhe-.
gessilh that he kan ony thing, he li science or kunnyng in bloweth
hath nol ghit knowe houe it bi- with pride, charite edifyeth forsothe
houeth hym to kunne. if ony man gesse or deme him forto
wite ony thing he hath not yhit
knowun hou it behoueth him for lo
kunne.
Among the MSS. in the Bodleian, one, marked Fairfax 2,
has the subscription,. "y= eer of y= lord mccc viii yis book wa
endid." The fourth c is erased to make the book appear
older: its true date is a. d. 1408, the year of the enactment
of archbishop Arundel's Oxford Constitutions. The altera
tion, of course intentional and fraudulent, was very clumsily
made, and survives as a specimen of pious fraud to deprive
Wiclif ofthe honor and merit ofhis translation; for if Fairfax
2 were so much earlier than Wiclifs Fairfax would simply Le

68 The English Versions.
a copyist; but, unfortunately for Arundel's scholarship and
knowledge, this version, which he lauds to the skies as su
perior to Wiclif, turns out to be a veritable Wiclif and noth
ing else. Lewis has somehow fallen into the erroneous state
ment that Fairfax 2 is the manuscript of which Bishop Bonner
said in a. d. 1555 that he had a MS. in his possession which
had been written about eight score years earlier. Fairfax 2
has Wiclifs version, and the juxtaposition of the subjoined
passage in Wiclif's version and the version of the MS. cited
by Bonner and printed in Lewis proves that it is a different
version, the MS. of which has not yet been identified.
DEUT. V. 7, 9.
Wiclif. Bonner MS.
Thou shalt not haue alien goddis Thou schalte nol haue alyen god-
in my sight. Thou schalt not make dys in my syghl, thou schalt not
to thee a grauen ymage neyer a make lo thee graven thinge, ne
licnesse of all thingis that ben in lyckenesse of alle thinges that in hev-
heuene aboue & that ben in erthe ene ben above and in erthe benethe,
binelhe & that ben in watris under and that dwellen in waters under
erthe, thou schalt not herie tho & erthe, thou schalt not honoure hem
thou schalt nol worshippe tho. ne herye hem.
By way of summary, then, it is pjQven and certain that
about the close of the tfeff^entb century there existed, first,
Wiclifs translation from the Latin, not independent of the
Anglo-Saxon and the French, but, nevertheless, rather literal;
and, secondly, Purvey's revision, which, as well as .the other
versions placed before the reader, seek to give the sense of the
original (or of the Latin, as the case may be) rather than the
words. The light derived from collateral scholarship is dis
tinctly described in the passage on translation from Purvey:
his authorities were Augustine, Jerome, the Glossa Ordinaria,*
and Lire (Lyra), the same of whom it has been said,

* This work was compiled by Walafrid Strabo; the Gloss Interlineary by Anselm.
deacon of the Church of Laon.

Wiclifite Versions. 69.
Si Lyra non lyrasset Luther non cantasset,
and whose commentaries are as completely forgotten as his
name appears to be, for there are very few encyclopaedias
which perpetuate the memory of Nicolas de Lyra.
As to style, Wichfs version is robust, terse, popular, and
homely; Purvey's, and those noticed, less so, and somewhat
more polished, though decidedly quaint; but, for all that,
Wiclifs version is the original stock of the Authorized Ver
sion, whose peculiar strength is directly derived from his.
Among the peculiar renderings of Wiclif may be noted
the following: "The provost of the house stood bifore it (the
ark) in those days," Judges XX. 28; "And Menahem settled
the tallage of silver on Israel," 2 Kings xv. 20; "Thanne
knyghtis ofthe iustise token ihesus in the moote halle," St.
Math, xxvii. 27; "They ledden hym bounden: bitook to
pilat of pounce iustice," v. 2; "No man holdinge knyght-
hood to God: wlappith hym silf with worldli nedis," 2 Tim.
ii. 4; "Manaen that was the soukynge fere (foster-brother)
of eroude tetrark," Acts xiii. 2.
The feminine gender is marked in both endings ster and
ess; e. g., spousess, purpuress (of Lydia), discipless, cous-
yness; daunster or daunceress, syngster and syngeress, devour-
css, servauntess, lecheresse, synneresse, thralesse, weileresse,
chesister, cheseresse, leperesse; ster, however, sometimes de
notes the masculine.
The adjective ending en, surviving in golden, brazen, wool
en, etc., occurs in many forms now obsolete, e. g., silvern,
reeden, treen, stonen, hairen, bricken, hornen, etc.
His prefixes in compound words are very remarkable; they
are above, after, again ("bi waischyng of agen bigetyng and
agen newying of the Hooli Goost," Tit. iii. 6), at, alto, be
fore, bi, dis, en, even, ever, for, fo^-e, ful, in, mel, mis, 0, if, on,
over, out, through, to, un, under, up, and with.
Dr. Eadie, where more illustrations may be seen, men-

70 The English Versions.
tions quite a number of words still surviving in Scotch, and
many Wiclifite words which by a slight change in spelling
may be identified with their modern representatives; e. g.^
abaished, aish, abregge, abite (habit), axe, brid (bird), brisse,
brest (burst), bigge (buy), bocherie, boysehel (bushel), bott
ler, brennCj caitiif, coryoUr, coz (kisS), drede, fait, gree (de
gree), hole, carkeis, hoxe, ligge {liegen^ to lie), par'fyt, pistil,
raied, rede, scrowis (scrolls), suget (subject), snybbe, sorwe,
spitele (hospital), treede, weilen (wail), wilden, wlaten (loathe),
yuel, wrethen, minutis (mites); A statement in the Christian
Annotator (iii; p. 58), said to rest on the authority of Dr.
Tregelles, is to the effect that not many yeafs ago Wiclif's ver
sion was read aloud in Yorkshire with the surprising result
that there was hardly a word or expression at all out of the
way, (See Eadie, L c, i. 78).
The following characteristics of the Wiclifite versions de
serve to be marked:
I. The curious attempt to render quasi-technical words by
English equivalents, e. g., St. Matthew v. 22, raca is trans
lated "fy" or "fogh"; iii. 6, baptised is rendered "washed";
St. Luke xvi. 9, 11, 13, mammon becomes " richesse, " and
the terra high-spriest is Englished into ' ' bishop. "
2. The curious glosses explanatory of passages, and more
frequently of single words, found in some of the MSS. , ex
amples of which occur in the extracts, to which the following
are added as exhibiting occasionally the singular circumstance
that the explanatory term is now more obscure than the
word to be explained — e. g. , incorruptible, that may not dye ne
ben peyred; creatour, maker of noughte; yvel feme, schendeschepe;
maales, men; accorden not, by semen not; bakbyters, saweres
of discorde; detractours, open bakbyters; proude, high ouer
measure; affeccion, loue; benignite, good wil; accepcion of
persons, that is put oon bifore an other that is withouten deserte;
sacrilegie, that is theft of holy tkenges; m^'cA.^, founden irati]

Wiclifite Versions. 71
preuarication, trespassing; allegorie, or gospels vndir standing : a
libel, that is a little book; a byliber of wheat, a weighte of tweye
pound; with wonder and extasi, that is, lesyng of mynde and
resoun and lettyng of tongue; and, oolde bottelis, orwynevasels.
3. Many words in these versions are strictly obsolete; e. g.,
conlakes, reproaches; faage, flatter; heriynge, praising; querne.
mill; and rewme, kingdom. There are others still in current;
use, but employed in a different sense; e. g., cofyns, basket.^:
departe, divide; bitake, deliver; tree, wood; and tent, heed.
4. The influence of the Wiclifite versions on the Author
ized Version may be illustrated in the following juxtaposition-
matth. vii. 14.
Wiclifite. Authorized Version.
I * Streil is the gate and narewe Strait is the gate, and narrow i.-> the
the weye. way.
MATTH. XVI. 22.
2 Fer be it fro thee, Lord. Be it far from thee. Lord.
JOHN m. 3.
I No but a man schal be born Except a man be born again.
agen. ROM. XII. I.
2 A lyuynge sacrifice. A living sacrifice.
I COK. II. IO.
I, 2 The depe thingis of God. The deep things of God.
I COR. x. 16.
I, 2 The cuppe of blessynge the The cup of blessing which we bless.
which we blessen. JAMES I. 5.
1, 2 And vpbraydith not. And upbraidth not.
And in a longer extract may be seen at once the agreement
and the difference:

* 1 denotes the earlier, 2 the later, version.

72

The English Versions.

LUKE vi. 20-26. Authorised Version (ibu).
And hee lifted vp his eyes on his 20
disciplis, and said, Blessed bee
yee poore: for yours is the king-
dome of God.
Blessed are ye that hunger now: 21
for yee shall bee filled. Blessid
are yee that weepe now, for ye
shall laugh.
Blessed are yee when men shall 22
hate you, and when they shall
separate you from their com
pany, and shal reproach you,
and cast out your name as euill,
for the Sonne of mannes sake.
Reioyce ye in that day, and leape 23
for ioy : for beholde, your reward
is great in heauen, for hi the like
maner did their fathers vnto the
Prophets.But woe vnto you that are rich: 24
for yee haue receiued your con
solation.
Woe vnto you that are full: for 25
yee shall hunger. Woe vnto you
that laugh now: for yee shall
moume and weepe.
Wo vnto you when all men shall 26
speake well of you: for so did
their fathers to the false prophets.

Wiclif (1380).
20 And whanne his iyen weren cast
vp in to his disciplis: he seide,
Blessid be ye pore men, for the
kyngdom of god is youre.
21 Blessid be ye that now hungren:
for ye schuln be fulfiUid, Blessid
be ye that now wepen: for ye
schuln leiye,
22 blessid ye schulen be whanne
men schuln hate you, departe
you aweie, and putte schenschip
to you: cast out youre name, as
yuel for raannes sone,
23 ioye ye in that dai, and be ye
glad: for lo youre mede is myche
in heuene, for aftir these thingis:
the fadirs of hem diden lo
profetis,
24 netheles wo lo you riche men:
than han youre comfort,
25 wo to you that ben fulfillid; for
ye schuln hungre, wo to you that
now leiyen ; fbr ye schuln moome
and wepe,
26 wo to you whanne alle men
schulen blesse you, aftir these
thingis the fadris of hem diden
lo profetis.
And lastly, St Paul's speech on Mars' Hill is given in Wic
lif's own tran.slation: ACTS xvii. 22-34.
Older Version.*
Sothely poul stondynge in the mydil of ariopage (or comyn stole) seith,
• From The Mew Testament in English, translated by John WyctifTe, circa, 1380.
4to. London, 1848. Printed after the MS. then in the possession of Lea Wilson, now
in the hands of the Eart of Ashburnham.

Wiclifite Versions. 73
men of athenes, by alle thinges I se yhou as veyne worschipers, sothely I
passynge & seing yhoure symulacris: fonde & an auter in whiche it was
writen to vnknowen god, therfore whiche thing yhee vnknowynge w. r-
schipen: this thing I sche we to yhou, god that made the worlde & alle
thingis that ben in it : this whanne he is lord of heuene & erthe dwellith
not in templis made by handis • nether is worschipide by mannes handis
hauynge nede of any thing: whanne he ghyueth lijf to alle men • & in-
brethinge & alle thingis, and made of one alle the kynde of men ¦ for
to enhabite on al the face of erthe ¦ deterraynynge tymes ordeynyde . &
termes of habitacon (or dwellynge) of hera • for to seek god ¦ ghif par-
auenture thei feelen hym other fynden: though he be not fer fro eche of
yhou, sothely in hym we lyuen & ben mouede & ben: as & summe of
yhoure poetis seyden, sothely we ben & the kynde of hym, therfore sith
we ben the kynde of god : we schulen not deme (or gesse) godly thing for to
be of golde et siluer or stoon : to grauynge of crafte & thoughte of man,
and solhely god dispisynge the limes of this vnkunnynge ¦ nowe schewith
lo men- that alle euery where dt) penaunce for that he ordeynyde a day •
in whiche he is to demynge the worlde in equyte • in a raan in whiche he
ordeynyde feith ghyuynge to alle: reysynge hyra fro deade men, sothely
whanne thei hadden herde the aghen rysynge of deade men:, sothely
summe scomeden • summe forsothe seyden, we schulen heere thee efte
of this thing, so poul wente oute of the mydel of hem, forsothe some cleu-
ynge to him bileueden, in the whiche & dionyse ariopagite (or greet man
of comoune stole •) & a womman by name damaris; and other with hem.
In Baber's edition of Wiclifs N. T. are given two versions
of the Epistle of Paul to the Laodiceans, which, on account
of their rarity are here reproduced.
The prefatory note in Pepys, MS. 40, reads:
Laodicensis ben also Colocensis: as tweie townes and o peple in maners.
These ben of Asie: and among hem hadde ben false Apostlis and dis-
seyued manye. Therfore the .\postil bringith hem to mynde ofhis con-
versacioun and trewe prechinge of the Gospel and excitith hem to be stide
fast in the trewe witt and loue of Crist, and to be of o will. But this
epistil is not in comyn latyn bookis and therfore it was but late trans
latid into Englische /ww^f^. leroxa in his prolog seith this. [Et si quid
r.lihi naris est, eiusdem est opificis, qui naeniis suis omnium ueterum
theologonim omnia scripta contaminauit, conspuicauit, perdidit, ac
proecipue eius, qui pra: cseteris indignus erat ea coiituraelia, nempe
diui Hieronymi.]

H

The English Versions.

From the Dering MS.
Poul apostle not of men ne bi
man, but by Jesu Crist, to the
brilhecen that ben of Laodice,
grace to ghou and: peec of god
the fadir and of the lord iesu crist.
gracis I do lo crist bi al myn ori-
soun, that ghe be dwellinge in, him
and lastinge bi the biheeste abidj-
inge in the dai of doom, ne he un-
ordeynede us of sum veyn speche
feynynge, that us.overturne fro the
sothfastnesse of the Gospel that of
me is prechid. also now schal god
do hem levynge, and doynge of
blessidnesse of werkis, which heelthe
of lyf is. and now openli ben Iny
baoridis which I suiifre in criat iesu:
in whiche, I glade and ioie and that
is to me heelthe euerlastynge; that
that I dide with pure preieris &
mynystringe the holy spirit bi lyf
or bi deeth, it is .forsothe to me- lyf
into crist and to die ioie withouten
eende: In us he schal do his merci
that ghe have the same lovynge, and-
that ghe beof o wil. therfore, der-
lyngis, as ghe hau herd in pres
ence of me, hold ghe ahd do ghe
in drede of god, and it schal be to
you lyf withouten eende. It is for
sothe god that worchith in us: and
do ghe withoulen ony withdrawinge
whatsoevere ghe doon. And that
it is, derlyngis, joie ghe in crist, and
flee ghe maad foul in clay. Alle
ghoure axingis ben open anentis
god, & be ghe fastncd in the witl
of crist, and whiche been hool. and
sooth and chast and righUvys, and

From MS. in Jesus. Col., Comb.
Paitl apostili not of men ne bi
man, but bi Jeau Crist to the brithe-
ren thftt ben at Laiodice: graae to
ghoU: and pees of god the fadir and
of the lord Jesu crist: I do thank-
yngis to mi god bi. al my preier,
that ghe ben dwfillynge, and last-
ynge in, him, abidinge the biheeste
in the dai of doom. For neithir
the vein spekynge of summe unwise
men hath lettid. ghou the whiche
wolden tmpe ghou fro the treuthe
of th$:.gospelilhat is prechid of me
and now- ben that ben of me fo the
prqfight. of treueth of the gospel.
god, schal make deservynge and
doynge benygnyte of werkis and
of heelthe of everlaslynge Uif. And
now mi boondis ben open whiche I
suiifre in Crist Jesu;, in which I glade
& joie, and that is , to me euerlast
ynge heelthe: that; this same thing
be doon by ghoure preiers and
mynystringe of the holy goost ei
ther bi lyf eithir bi deeth. For
sothe to ine it is lyf to lyve in
Crist, and to die joie. And his merci
schal do in ghou that same thing,
that ghe -moun have the same love,
and that ghe may be of u wil.
Therfore ghe weel beloved blithe.^
ren, holde ghe and do ghe in the
drede of god as ghe han herd the
presence of me, & lyf schal he to
ghou withouten eende. Sotheli it
is god that worchith in ghou. And,
my weel beloued britheren: do ghe
withouten ony withdrawynge wJiat
evere that ghe doon. joie ghe in

Wiclifite Versions. 75
lovable do glie: and whiche herden crist and eschewe ghe man defoulid
and take in herte hold ghe ; and it with lucre, eithir foul wynnynge.
schal be to ghou pees. Holi men Be atle ghoure axingis open anentis
greeten ghou weel in the grace of, god: and be ghe stidefast in the
oure lord Jesu Crist with the hooli witt of cnst, and do ghe tho thingis
goost; and do ghe that pistil of col- that ben hool and trewe and iust
osensis to be red to ghou amen, and able to be loved, and kepe
Here eendith . the pistil to Laodi- ghe in herte the thingis that ghe
sensis and bigynneth a. prolog on have herd and take; and pees schal
the firste pistil to tessalonicensis. be to ghou. alle holi men greeten
ghou. The grace of oure lord Jesu
Crist be ¦w'ith ghoure spirit, and do
g'he that pisdl of Colosensis to be
red to gihou: Heere eendith the
pistil lo Laodisensis, and bigynneth
the prolog on the firste pistil to
Tessalonisensis.*
EDITIONS OF WICLIF.
1. Rev. John Lewis, M.A., printed the first edition of
the New Testament of Wiclif, folio, London, 1731, with a
glossary of old and obsolete words. The text was taken from
two MSS., one of which in 1850 was in the Bodleian Library
(Gough, Eccl., Top 5), and the other in the possession ofthe
very Rev. Wm. Conybeare, dean of Llandaff.
2. Rev. Henry Baber reprinted it in 4to., London, 1810,
with "a short memoir ofthe Life, Opinions, and Writings of
Dr. Wycliffe: an historical account ofthe Saxon and English
versions of the Scriptures which have been made previously to
the fifteenth century. " The Glossary at the end of tlie vol
ume is corrected and considerably enlarged.
3. The New Testament, in the same version, was published
in tbe first column of Bagster's English Hexapla, 4 to., Lon
don, 1 841; it is claimed to be much more accurate and com-

* This version is later than the farina, and both belong to a later period than
Wiclif's time.

76 The English Versions.
plete than the editions of Lewis and Baber, having been mi
nutely collated with it, and every variation compared with the
readings of twenty-one MSS. The introductory verses to St.
Luke's Gospel are supplied from a MS. in the library of
Queen's College, Oxford.
4, The earlier version of the New Testament from a MS.
(in 1850 in the Earl of Ashburnham's collection) was printed
by Mr Lea Wilson in 1848 under the title: The New Testa
ment in English, translated by John Wycliffe, n'rca MCCCLXXX. ,
etc., 4to, London, 1848.
5. The New Testament was likewise published, very care
fully, by Bosworth and Waring, London, 1865.
6, Of the Old Testament the only portion published, was
the Song of Solomon by Dr. Adam Clarke, in the third vol
ume of his Commentary, 8 vols., 4to., London, 1810-1825;
from a MS. now in the British Museum, Eg. 618, 619.
7. The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments,
with the Apocryphal Books, in the Earliest English Versions,
made from the Latin Vulgate by John Wycliffe and his Followers,
edited by the Rev. Josiah Forshall, F. R,S., etc., late Fellow
of Exeter College, and Sir Frederic Madden, K. H. , F. R. S, ,
etc.. Keeper of the MSS, in the British Museum, 4 vols., 4tc.,
Oxford, 1850. This is a work on which the editors bestowed
twenty-two years of labor; they have examined and described
one hundred and seventj' MSS. and printed two of the best
in parallel columns, the first written before 1390, and the
second before 1400, A full glossary is added to vol. iv.
They say that with the exception of the Song of Solomon,
given by Dr. Adam Clarke, no part of the earlier of the two
versions before 1390 had ever been printed before 1850.

Tyndale's Version. y-j

CHAPTER IV.
tyndale's version.
The printing of the Hebrew Bible (Brescia, a. d. 1488)
and ofthe Greek Testament (Basel, a. d. 15 16) in successive
editions, eagerly bought up, and the impulse it gave to the
study of the Word of God, alarmed the ignorant and illiterate
monks, who tried to arrest the movement by violent utter
ances from the pulpit that "there was now a new language
discovered called Greek, of which people should beware, since
it was that which produced all the heresies; that in this lan
guage was come forth a book called the New Testament, which
was now in everybody's hands, and was full of thorns and
briers; that there was also anpther language now -started up
which they called Hebrew, and that they who learned it were
turned Hebrews" (Hody, de textib. bibl., p. 4.65). On the re
ception his Testament met with in England, Erasmus (Epist.
Lib. xxxi.. No. 42, ed. 1642) says: "These" (especially one
college in the University of Cambridge) ' ' object to us the
feigned authority of synods, and magnify the great peril of the
Christian faith, and the danger of the Church, which they
pretend to support with their shoulders, that are much fitter
to prop a wagon. And these clamours they disperse among
the ignorant and superstitious populace, upon whom, having
the reputation of being great divines, they are very loth to
have their opinions called in question, and are afraid that
when they quote the Scripture wrong, as they often do, the
authority of the Greek and Hebrew verity should be cast in
their teeth, and that by and by appear to be a dream, which
was by them given out for an oracle." The vicar of Croydon
said in a sermon, preached at St. Paul's Cross: " We must

78 The English Versions.
root out printing, or printing will root out us " (Foxe, Acts
and Monuments, I,, p. 927).
It was while such sentiments prevailed in England that
William Tyndale conceived the idea of translating the Scrip
tures from the original tongues into English. "I defy the
pope and all his laws," he said in 1520, in the heat ofa con
versation with a Roman Catholic divine, who held it better to
be without God's laws than the pope's, ' ' and if God spare
my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the
plough to know more of the Scripture than you do ! " (Foxe
in Anderson's Annals of the English Bible, Am. ed,, p. 43.)
William Tyndale was born in Gloucestershire, a. d. 1471.
Of his early life authentic data are wanting, except the state
ment of Foxe (II, , p. 301) that he went early to Oxford
(about A, D. 1500) and "grew up and increased as well in
the kiiowledge of tongues and other liberal arts, as especially
in the knowledge of the Scriptures, whereunto his mind was
singularly addicted. " He is said to have taken his degrees in
Magdalen Hall, and to have privately read lectures in divinity
to the students and fellows of that hall and the adjoining col
lege. His picture is preserved in fhe former, with this in
scription: Refert hcec Tabella, quod solum potuit ars, Oulielmt
Tindal effigiem, hujus olim Aulae Alumni simul ^ Ornamenti,
qui p>ost felices purioris Theologies primitias Mc depositas Ant-
werpim in Novo Testamento nec non Pentateucho in vernaculum
transferendo eperam navavit Anglis suis ea usque saltttiferam, ut
inde non immeriio Anglice Apostolus audierat. Wilfordice prope
Bruxellas Martyrio coronaius anno 1536. Vir, si vel adver
saria {procuralori nemp>e Imperatoris gener ali) credamus, per-
docius, plus et bonus (Hist. ^ Antiq. Oxon., lib, II., p. 379,
col. 2).* From Oxford he went to Cambridge, and as the
* The picture is a wretched affair, so wretched indeed that the engraver whom
Lewis wanted to copy it tohi him "that it was not worthwhile to copy it.** The
statement in the inscription, that Tyndale translated the New Testament and the Pen
tateuch at Antwerp, is not true.

Tyndale's Version. 79
state of learning in the latter university at that time was not
sufficiently advanced to attract scholars, and as it would seem
that during the wide gap in the history of Tyndale, the period
a. d. 1509 to 1 5 14 marks the residence of Erasmus on the
banks of the Cam, it is very probable that he was the centre
of attraction. Whether he had any thing to do with the col
lection of MSS, and material for the preparation of the Com
plutensian Bible by Cardinal Ximenes, as Plumptre seems to
intimate, can not be ascertained; but it is certain that he
turned his opportunities to good account, for having, as early
as 1502, translated portions of the New Testament, and vis
ited London in 1522, for the purpose of securing Tonstal's
sanction of his scheme of translating the whole New Testa
ment into English, it may fairly he surmised that he filled up
the interval with studies qualifying him for that work. In
the same year he seems to have accepted a tutorship in the
family of Sir John Wailsh at Little Sodbury, a short distance
from Bristol, w'here he met many ecclesiastical dignitaries of
the neighborhood, who did not at all relish his arguments
drawn from the Scriptures, and "bore him a secret grudge,"
which they did not hesitate to express to the knight and his
lady. The lady repeated to Tyndale the drift of their unen
viable criticism, and sought to cut short his vindication with
the following irresistible argument: "Well, there was such a
doctor, which may dispend a hundred pounds, and another
two hundred pounds, and another three hundred pounds, and
what were it reason, think you, that we should believe you
before them ? " Unable to ' ' dispend " his hundreds of pounds,
the poor tutor could not argue with her ladyship on that basis,
but succeeded, nevertheless, to establish himself in her heart
and that ofher husband by his presentation to them ofhis transla
tion a*" Erasmus's Enchiridion Militis (Manual of a Christian
Soldier), whicTi seems to have wrought a very deep conviction
in their minds. That conviction, and the consequent aliena-

8o The English Versions,
tion from the ecclesiastics with plethoric purses, did not cure
these of their hatred of Tyndale, who says in this connection,
' ' For when I was so turmoiled in the country where I was
that I could no longer dwell there (the process whereof were
too long here to rehearse), I this wise thought in myself: this
I suffer because the priests of the country be unlearned, as
God knowath these are a fiill ignorant sort, which have seen
no more Latin than that they learn in their portesses and mis
sals, which yet many of them can scarcely read; and therefore
(because they are thus unlearned, thought I), when they come
together to the ale-house, which is their preaching place, they
affirm that my sayings are heresy. And besides that, they add
of their own heads what I never spake, as the manner is, to
prolong the tale, to short the time withal, and accused me
secretly to the chancellor and other the bishop's officers. And
indeed, when I came before the chancellor, he threatened me
grievously, and reviled me, and rated me as though I had
been a dog, and laid to my charge whereof there could be
none accuser brought forth (as their manner is not to bring
forth the accuser), and yet all the priests in the country were
thesame day there" (Tyndale and Frith, Works, I., 3, 1831).
From the uncomfortable surroundings in Gloucestershire,
where, after all, the worst that befell him had been abuse, and
where he had preached as well as taught, he went to London,
and for some time preached at St. Dunstan's in the West, his
main object, however, being the accomplishment of his set
purpose to translate the Holy Scriptures into English. With
that end in view, he thought ofthe bishop of London, "whom
Erasmus (whose tongue maketh of little gnats great elephants,
and lifteth up above the stars whosoever giveth him a little
exhibition) praiseth exceedingly, among other, in his An
notations on the New Testament, for his great learning"; but
although he tried to secure the patronage of Tonstal by in
ducing Sir Harry Guildford, the king's comptroller, to whom

Tyndale's • Version. 8 1
he presented his translation of an oration of Isocrates, to use
his good offices in his behalf with the bishop, the latter gave
him no encouragement whatever, convincing him, to use his
own words, that "not only there was no room in my Lord of
London's palace to translate the New Testament, but also
that there was no place to do it in all England, as experience
doth now openly declare. " According to Foxe (Life of Frith,
prefixed to his works), his acquaintance with Frith, whose
spiritual life was quickened by Tyndale, began at that time.
Frith fell a martyr to his convictions at the early age of twenty-
six, and was at that time not more than seventeen. With
him he conferred upon the subject of an English version as
the only means of bringing the truth to the people. In Lon
don he had been kindly entertained by Mr. Humphry Mon
mouth, a wealthy citizen, who favored the Reformation, and
enabled him, by the promise of an exhibition of ten pounds
a year (which Parker, Constit., 1571, says was then a sufficient
maintenance for a single man), to set out for the continent in
the spring of 1524, not improbably accompanied by Frith,
.who is supposed to be the "faithful companion" to whom he
refers in his preface to the Parable of the Wicked Mammon,
as having left him before he became acquainted with Roye.
Tyndale's manner of life in London may be gathered from
the testimony of Mr Humphry Monmouth in answer to the
charge of having rendered pecuniary aid to him while abroad,
he said (in his memorial to the Privy Council, May, 1528):
"I took him into my house half a year; and there he lived
as a good priest, as me thought. He studied most part of the
day and ofthe night at his book; and he would eat but sod
den meat, by his good will; and drink but single small beer.
I never saw him wear linen about him, in the time he was
with me. I did promise him ten pounds sterling to pray for
my father and mother, their souls, and all Christian souls.
I did pay it him when he made his exchange to Hamborough.

82 The English Versions.
Afterward he got of some other men, ten pounds sterling
more, the which lie left with me. And within a year after, he
sent for his ten pounds to me from Hamborough, and thither
I sent it him by one Hans Collenbeke. And since I have
never sent him the value of one penny, nor never will. I
have given more exhibitions to scholars in my days than to
that priest. Mr. Doctor Royston, chapkin to my lord of
London, hath cost me more than forty or fifty pounds ster
ling. The foresaid sir William left me an English book,
called Enchiridion. Also I had a little treatise that the priest
sent me, when he sent for his money. When I heard my
¦ lord of London preach at St. Paul's Cross, that sir William
Tyndale had translated the New Testament in English, and
was naughtily translated, that was tbe first time that ever I
suspected or knew any evil of him." *
Tyndale sailed direct for Hamburg, and from there he
paid a visit to Luther at Wittenberg. Some say that he went
to Luther at once, in order to make out that his translation
was merely a translation of Luther's version; others, and es
pecially Anderson, maintain the opposite, for the purpose
Of making out that he was not at all indebted that way to
the German reformei-. In the absence of positive histori
cal data it is impossible to make a reliable positive statement.
It is proba:ble that Tyndale did meet Luther; it is clear that
he used Luther's version, as I expect to prove; the rest is ut
terly immaterial, and may be appropriately left in the vast
wilderness of historical conjecture, for the benefit of those
inclined to explore that region.
I may pause here for a moment to show how utterly unre
liable even so-called authorities are on such simple matters as
these. Lewis (Complete History, etc., p. 59) states that Tyn
dale went to Antwerp (which he did not), Anderson (Annals,
* App. to Strype, Eccl. Mem., I^o. 89, vol. ii. p. 363.

Tyndale's Version. 83
etc., p. 47), says that Tyndale could not have met Luther at
Wittenberg in 1524 (which is absurd and, a gratuitous as
sumption), and the author of the Introduction to the English
Hexapla asserts that Luther had in that year just completed his
German Bible (which he did not do until 1534).
The preponderance of evidence points unmistakably to Tyn
dale's visit to Wittenberg. Foxe states that Tyndale "took
his journey into Germany and into Saxony, where he had
conference with Luther, and other learned men in those
quarters. " * Cochlaeus mentioning the presence of Tyndale
and Roye at Cologne, describes them as "duo Angli apos-
tatcE qui aliquamdiu fuerant WiitembcrgcE." \ Mr. Humphrey
Monmouth, who was charged in 1528 that "with his knowl
edge, William Hutchin, otherwise called Tyndale, and friar
Roye, or either of them went into Ahnayne to Luther, there
to learn his sect, " does not deny the charge or plead ignor
ance. Sir Thomas More affirms that at the time of his tians-
lation of the New Testament "Tyndale was with Luther at
Wittenberg, and the confederacj' between him and Luther
was well known. " \ Tyndale did not deny the visit, but the
confederacy, § (The argument of Anderson on this latter
point is twisted). Lee, the king's almoner, wrote from Bor
deaux, Dec. 2, 1525: "Please it your Highness to understand
that I am certainly informed, as I passed in this country,
than an Englishman, your subject, at the solicitation and in
stance of Luther, with whom he is, hath translated the New
Testament into English, and within few days intendeth to
arrive with the same imprinted in England, " || Ridley writes:
' ' As concerning this common and vulgare translation of the

* Acts and Monuments, iv. 119. London, 1838.
t De Actis ei Scripits M, Lutheri, p. 132.
% Dialogue, iii. 8, p. 221; iv. 17, p. 283. London, 1557.
g Answer io More, 147. Works, Parker Soe, ed., vol. iii.
II Cotton MSS., Vespasian, C. III., fol. zii.

84 The English Versions.
New Testament into English, done by Mr William Hichyns,
otherwise called Mr. William Tyndale, and Friar William
Roye, manifest Lutheran hereticks and apostates, as doth
openly appear by their daily company and familiarity with
Luther and his disciples . . . " * Paul Freherus also 'af
firms the visit of Luther, f Add to this the established feet.
that Tyndale never printed anything at Marburg, and that
the printer Hans Luft, if he did print his works, must have
printed them at Wittenberg, the only place where he had a
printing-press, as will be more fully stated farther on, and
it seems to follow that all this concurrent testimony, contem
porary, friendly, and inimical, tacitly admitted, and uncon
tradicted, renders the visit to Wittenberg highly probable,
and may be regarded as proven until these facts are set aside
by something more substantial than the absurd reasoning of
Mr. Anderson, and the rash assertions of Mr. Green and Mr.
Froude, and their repetition by numerous writers.
In Hamburg, where we may suppose him to have tempor
arily fixed his abode, which, of course, did not exclude oc
casional journeys — or wherever he lived that year — he was
busily engaged on his great work of translating the Scripture,
employing as amanuensis, first. Frith (see above), and, after
he had left him, William Roye, a friar observant of the Fran
ciscan order at Greenwich.
How much of the work was done there cannot be deter
mined; nor have I been able to discover any positive data, be
yond bare assertions, as to how he translated — that is, what helps
he had in the way of books, and from what text he translated.
The case seems to stand thus: He had before him the Greek
Testament of Erasmus (Erasmus, folio, 2d ed., 1519, and the
3d ed, , 1522), the Vulgate (edition unknown), and Luther's
New Testament, 1522. Available helps then extant were
• Cotton MSS., Cleopatra, E. V., p. 362.
t Theatrum Virorum Eruditione Ctarorum, p. 109. 168S.

Tyndale's Version. 85
Lascaris' Greek Grammar, Milan, 1476; Craston, Greek Dic
tionary, 1478; Grammar, 1497; Dictionarium GrcEcum (Aldus),
1497, Suidas, Lexicon, Milan, 1499; Aleander, Lexicon Grccco-
Laiinum, Paris, 1512; and Budaeus, InstituHones Grammaticce,
1 513 (Aldus).
Anderson is positive that he translated and had printed at
Hamburg the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark, but al
though no copy of these has been preserved, there is little
doubt that they had been read and bitterly denounced in the
beginning of 1527, "and as a publication, not only separate
from the New Testament with its prologue, but as printed
previously " (Annals, p. 48). But he appears to have done
that first year, wherever he spent it, a great deal more, for in
April or May, 1525, we find him at Cologne, accompanied
by Roye, engaged in commencing to print his quarto edition of
the New Testament, after the whole of it, the prologue in
cluded, had been prepared for the press; this is evident, not
merely from the language of the prologue, but also from the
order of the typographical signs.
There was at that time at Cologne one of the most bitter
enemies to the translation of tbe Word of God into any ver
nacular tongue that ever lived. That was John Cochlaeus, a
violent and virulent opponent of Luther, who, on account of
his fanatical sentiments, had been obliged to leave Frank
fort, and was at the time living as an exile at Cologne, where,
while carrying the work of Rupert* through the press, he
• Rupert, i, e,, Rupertus Tuitiensis, or Ruprecht of Deutz, opposite to Cologne, a
BeL^dictine, and Abbot of Deutz, who diedin 1135, was a mystic and an exegete,
noted for two things: ist. He recommended the study of the Scripture; zd. He re
jected the doctrine of transubstantiation without maintaining the merely spiritual par
ticipation of the Body and Blood of Christ, teaching that the bread and wine partook
in an invisible manner of the truth of the immortal substance of the divine and human
nature of Christ. It was a kind of impanation doctrine admitting the Real Presence.
His views, though assailed, did not expose him to persecution. One of his tracts. Of
the Victory of the Word of God, had been edited by Osiander, and Cochlaeus, de.
terinining to prevent the remainder of his works, supposed to favor the Reformation,

S6 Tpie English VerS'IONs.
had become familiar with the printers, who, when in their
cups, had boasted * ' that whether the king and cardinal of
England would or not, all England would in a short time be
Lutheran. " He heard likewise from them^ that two English
men were working there, learned, skilful in langjiiages, and
fluent, whom, however, he never could see or converse with.
So, plying the printers with wine, he drew from one the as
tounding intelligence that three thousand copies of the Lu--
theran. New Testament, translated into English, were in- the
press, and advanced, m ordine quaternionum, as far as K.*
This he communicated to an official, called Herrmann Rinke,

falling into the hands of the reforraeK, induced the abbot to give them to him for pt^b- '
lication. I cannot iind a reliable notice ofhis edition, although -the works of Ruprecht
were published, edited by Myjlius, ilrst at Cologne in 1602, at Mainz in 1631, at Paris
in 1633, and af Venice- 1748-52. Besides these, which treat of Exegesis, Dogmatics,
and Ethics, he also wrote the History tf^^ the Monastety of St. Laurenizus, at Liege,
and the Lives ff St. Heriberi and 5if. Eliphius.
* The fragment ofa copy of this first impression, discovered by Mr. Rodd, an an
tiquarian bookseller in London->in 1836, is now in the Grenville Library, British Mu
seum. It has been photo-lithographed by Mr. Arber, The printer was Peter Quentel,
and the fragment has been identified as printed by him by an initial Y, and a woodcut
originally used for Tyndale's Testament, which after the stoppage of the printing was
adapted to fit Rupert's. Commentary of St. Matthew. This fragment proves, by the
by, as will be proved presently by other considerations, that Tyndale knew German,
for fifty-one of the ninety-two -marginal glosses are taken frora Luther's New Testa
ment. The prologue likewise contains about half of Luther's preface. In-the extract
the old spelling is retained, but the contractions are supplied:
THE GOSPELL OF S. MATHEW, III.
" Then cam Jesus from galile into iordan to Ihon, for to be baptised of him. But
Jhon forbade hym sayinge: Y ought to be baptised ofthe: and commest thou to me?"
Jesus answered and sayd to him, let ytt be so nowe. For thus hit becommeth vs, to
fulfyll all * rightwesnes. Then he suffred hym. And Jesus as soone as he was bap
tised, cam strayght out ofthe water: And lo heven was open vnto him: and he sawe
the spirite of God descende lyke a dove, and lyght vppon him. And lo there cam a
voice from heven, saying: thys ys my deare sonne, in whom is my delyte."
* "All Rightwesnes, ys fulfilled when we forsake all oure awne rightwesnes, that
God only tnaye be counted he which is rightwes, and maketh righives, rightwes
throw feith. This doeth Jhon in that he putteth from hytn hys awne rightwesnes,
and wold he wesshedqf Christ and made rightwes. This also doeth Christe, in ihat
he taketh nott rightwesnes and honour on hym: hut suffreth hymsilfe to he iaptited
m,nd killed, for baptism is none other thinge then deeth."

Tyndale's Version. 87
who, upon verifying the information, obtained an injunction
against the printer restraining him from continuing the work.
The Englishmen thereupon snatched away with them the quartd
sheets printed, and fled by ship, up the Rhine, to Worms; while
Cochlaeus and Rinke apprized by letter the king, the cardinal,
and the bishop of Rochester of the discovery (see Annals, pp.
49-51)- At Worms, the printing of the quarto edition begun at Co
logne, was completed, but as the book had been described, and
was doubtless doomed to be seized and burned in England,
to baffle his enemies Tyndale forthwith arranged for another
edition of three thousand copies in octavo, without prologue
and glosses, which found their way into England, and were
widely circulated there early in 1526. Of the former, only a
fragment, containing the prologue and twenty-one chapters
of St. Matthew, is in the Grenville Library in the British Mu
seum; ofthe latter a perfect copy* is preserved in the Baptist
college at Bristol, and a defective one in the cathedral library
of St. Paul's. The Prologue, considerably changed, under
the title, A Pathway to the Scriptures, appears in Tyndale's
works; in its original form, as printed at Cologne, it is here
produced entire:
Y have here translated, brethren and sisters, most dear and tenderly
beloved in Christ, the New Testament, for your spiritual edifying, conso
lation, and solace: Exhorting instantly, and beseeching those that are
better seen in the tongues than Y, and that have higher gifts of grace lo
interpret the sense of the Scripture, and meaning of the Spirit than Y, lo
consider and-poiider my labour, and that with the spirit of meekness.
And if they perceive in any places that Y have not attained the very sense
of the tongue, or meaning of the Scripture, or have not given the right
Engli-sh word, that they put to their hands to amend it, remembering that
so is their duty to do. P"or we have not received the gifts of God for our
selves only, or for to hide them: but for to bestow them unto the honour-

• The copy is perfect in everything but the title-page, which is wanting. A cor
rect and beautiful fac-simile edition oi it lias been published by Mr. Fry.

88 The English Versions.
ing of God and Christ, and edifying of the congregation, which is the
body of Christ. :
The causes that jnoved me to translate, Y thought better that others
should imagine, than that Y should rehearse them. Moreover Y sup
posed it superfluous; for who is so blind to ask, why light should be
sowed to them that walk in darkness, where they cannot but stumble,
and where to stumble is the danger of eternal damnation ; either so (fe-
spiteful that he would envy any man (Y speak not his brother) so neces
sary a thing; or so- bedlam mad as to affirm that good is the natural cause
of evil, and darkness to proceed out of light, and that lying should he
grounded in truth and verity ; and not rather clean contrary, that liglit
destroyeth darkness, and verity reproveth all manner (of) lying.
After it had pleased God to put in my mind, and also to give me grace
to translate this forerehearsed New Testament into our English tongue,
howsoever we have done it, I supposed it very necessary to put you in re
membrance of certain points.
Both the first quarto and octavo editions were published
without a name, the reason whereof appears from his Prefade
tothe Wicked Mammon: '
The cause why I set my name before this little treatise, and have not
rather done it in the New Testament, is, that then I followed the counsel
of Christ, which exhorteth men to do their deeds secretly, and to be coh-
tent with the conscience of well doing; and that God seeth us, and pa
tiently to abide the reward of the last day, which Christ hath purchased
for us; and now would I fain have done likewise, but am compelled other
wise to do.
The character of Tyndale's version has now to be con
sidered, and I propose to show that while he made use of
Luther's translation and the Vulgate, it was the legitimate use
of a scholar, and that his translation is independent through
out, made direct from the Greek. It was doubtless Cochlae
us, who, in order to disparage the work of Tyndale and to in
gratiate himself with the influential ecclesiastics iri England,
maliciously or ignorantly, circulated the slander that it was an
English ¦ translation of Luther. Le Long actually describes
the first edition as ' ' the New Testament translated into Eng-

Tyndale's Version. 89
lish from the German version of Luther. " This statement is
not true, and is contradicted by the express declaration of
Tyndale that he translated from the Greek, and by the trans
lation itself.
The matter for which he is clearly indebted to Luther re
lates: I, to the order of the books, for he places the epistle
of James next to that of Jude, and that to Hebrews next to
the third epistle of John; he likewise follows Luther in mak
ing Heb. iv. 14 the commencement of chapter v. ; 3, to the
notes, many of which, as already stated, he took from Luther;
3, to the prologues, that to Matthew embodying his views on
the comparative value of the books of the New Testament,
and those to 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philip
pians, I and 2 Thessalonians, 2 Timothy, Titus and the»
Johannean Epistles resting mainly on those of Luther; but
he omits what Luther says of the Epistle of James, many of
his remarks in the prologue to i Corinthians, the allegory in
that to Philemon, while the prologue to James, Hebrews,
and Jude are in direct opposition to those of Luther. In the
prologue to Romans he uses both the German and Latin
text of Luther's prologue. The prologues to the Gospels,
with the exception noted above, are entirely Tyndale's own.
Many of the Germanisms charged upon Tyndale's version
are good Old English, characteristic of the period, and found
even in the writings of Sir Thomas More. One of these, the
verb followed by the personal pronoun, has been recognized
as so strictly idiomatic English that the inversion is retained
in the Authorized Version in the following places, and only
abandoned in the Westminster Revision in those given in
italics, Matth. xiii. 13; Luke ii. 29; i Cor. vii. 12, 17; ix.
22, 26; xii. 31; 2 Cor. vii ij; xi. 24; I Thess. ii 13; Heb.
V. 8; James i. 18; i Jno. i. 3.
The influence of Luther is unmistakable in Matth. i. i,
"this is the boke'; ii. 18, "on the hilles was avoyce herde";

90 The English Versions.
xviii. 19, "Jesus" omitted; Jno. xix. 17, " the place oiF deed
mennes sculles"; Acts xxviii. 2, "the people off the countre ";
16, " vnder captayne, chefe captayne"; Rom. i. 14, "tothe
grekes, and to them which are no grekes "; ii. 5, ' ' harde herte
that cannot repent"; ix. 13, "Iwill magnify myn office"; i
Con i. 25, "godly folysshnes"; ii. 14, "the natural man";
2 Cor. V. II, "we fare fayre with men"; vi. 12, "ye uexe
youre selues off a true meanynge"; Eph. iii. 15, "which is
father ouer all thatt ys called father in heuen and in erth ";
Col. iii. 16, "' and spretuall songes which haue fauour with
them"; i Tim. i. 7, "doctours in the scripture"; Rev. xi. 2,
"the quyre which is within the temple"; xxii. 14, "their
power may be in the tree off' lyfe. " *
, Just as unwarranted as the charge that Tyndale's version is
the translation of Luther's is the other, that it is not made
from the Greek, but from the Vulgate. Although all writers
of the English Versions cannot be expected to be good Ger
man scholars, and their rash statements have to be credited to
their ignorance of that tongue, those that know so little Latin
and less Greek as to be unable to determine whether Tyndale
translated direct from the Greek or from the Latin, have clearly
no business to write on the subject, and their unsupported,
bold assertions deserve only contempt. But that scholars like
Hallam (Const. Hist, of England, i. 83, note) and Macknight
(A New Literal Translation, etc., Lond., 1821) should make
such assertions, and that they should be repeated in their
worst form in Biblical Notes and Queries (p. 195; Edinb.,
187 1) seems almost incredible, and is certainly utterly un
justifiable. That his translation is strictly independent, is clear from
the following instances:

• Eadie, I, c, p. 146.

Tyndale's Version.

91

Vulgate.
Matth. vi. I, justitiam.
 vi. II, super substantialem.
Luke ii. 14, hominibus bona voluntatis.
 ii. 18, et de his.
 xvii. 36, duo in agro: unus assume
tur: et alter relinquetur.
 xxiii. 39, latronibus.
Eph. V. 32. sacramentum.
I Tim. iii. 16, quod.

Tyndale.
alms. our daily bread.
and unto men rejoicing.
wondered at those things.
(omitted).
malefactours.
secrete.God.

In all these places he follows the Greek, and rejects the
Vulgate; on the other hand, the renderings which follow are
instances of such as were clearly suggested by the Vulgate:
Vulgate. Tyndale.
Matth. iv. 5, pinnaculum templi. pinnacle of the temple.
Mark. xii. 44, omnes enim ex eo quod they all putt in of their super
abundabat illis, miserunt. finite.
Luke xi. 13, quanta magis Pater vester howe moche more shall your
de coelo dabit spiritum father celestiall give a good
bonum. sprett.
— — xii. 20. hac nocte animam tuam this night will they fetch
ripetunt a te. awaye thy soul again from
ihee.
John xiv. 2, In domo Patris mei man- In my father's house a. e
siones multce sunt. many mansions.
Heb. xii. I, curramus ad propositvm let us run unto the battayle
nobis certamen. that is set before us.
I Pet. ii. I, Deponentes igitur omnem Wherefore laye asyde all
malitiam et omnem datum maliciousness and all gyle,
et simulationes et invidias and dissimulacion, and en-
et omnes detractiones . vie, and all backbytynge.
Kev. xiv. I, scriptum infrontibus suis. written in their foreheds.
The last passage illustrates the independence of Tyndale's
version, for though Erasmus in the first, second, and third
editions of his Greek Testament gives the reading, Hato/tevor,
he preferred the reading, yEypanfievov, and renders afl:er the
Vulgate written, not burning.

92 The English Versions.
One of the most noticeable defects of his translation is the
almost total disregard of the Greek connecting particles Se,
yoLfj, Hai, and oijv. A random opening of the English Hex
apla at John XX. 18-30, shows that oijr is not translated verses
19, 25, Se verse 25, and xai verse 28.
Samples of incorrect rendering are the following:
Matth. i. 18. Hys mother Mary was maryed to Joseph.
John V. 2. by the slaughterhousse a pole.
Col. ii, 23. chosen holynes and humblenes (an unfortunate attempt of
rendering Luther's selbsterwahlete Geistlichkeit).
Heb. xi.'3. That by the means of thynges whych apeare, thynges
whych are invisyble myghte be knowen (this is the
rendering in the first edition, that of 1534 reads,
" that thynges which are sene, were made of thynges
which are not sene ").
Many of his translations are paraphrastic and interpreta
tive, e. g.,
Matth. xii. 20. flaxe that begynneth to burne.
Rom. xii. 1 1 . I..et not that busyness which ye have in honde, be tedious
to you.
Heb. vi. I. the doctryne pertaynynge to the begynnynge ofa Chris
ten man.
Jas. V. 17. Helias was a man in daunger to tribulacion as we are
(ist. ed.); mortall even as we are (1534).
He often indulges in homely renderings, e. g. :
Matth. xxvii. 62. the next daye that foloweth good fry daye.
Acts xiii. 15. after the lecture (Ist. ed.); after the lawe and the proph
ets were redde (1534); . . . yf ye have eny ser-
mon to exhorte the people.
Per contra, many, it may be said most, of his renderings are
felicitous and singularly clear, e. g. :
Matth. XV. 27. the whelppes eate of the crommes.
Mark V. 40. sat ddune here a rowe and there a rowe.
Luke xxii. 44. droppes of blood tricklynge doun to the grounde.
John ii. 7. fylled them vp to the harde brym.

Tyndale's Version. 93
Acts xii. 18. there was not lytell adoo among the soudiers.
Rom. xii. 2. be ye chaunged in youre shape by the renuynge of yout
wittis.
I Cor. V. 7. that ye maye be newe dowe as ye are swete breed.
2 Cor. xii. 20. lest there be founde amonge you lawynge.
Phil. i. 8. I longe after you all from the very herte rote in Jesus
Christ.
Col. ii. 1. as many as have not sene my parson in the flessbe.
2 Thess. i. 3. Every one of you swymmeth in love.
That Tyndale's English is decidedly superior to the writ
ings of his time which have come down to us, cannot be dis
puted; it is a noble translation, the basis of every subsequent
English version (the Rhemish is not English), and on several
accounts better than all subsequent versions; it has an indi
viduality as pronounced as Luther's, its Saxon is racy and
strong, sometimes majestic, and above all things, it is hearty
and true, the reader feels that the translator felt what he wrote,
that his heart was in his work, and that he strove in prayer to
reproduce in his own mother-tongue to the very best of his
ability what he believed to be the true sense of the word of
God, as he understood it.
The subjoined collation shows at a glance the extent to which
Tyndale's version was influenced by the Vulgate, Wiclif, and Lu
ther The italicized words indicate the sources of his text;
some of the words italicized in Wiclif, but not reproduced in
Tyndale, differ only linguistically, not in the meaning. The
result fully sustains the views advocated in this chapter.
ST. UJKE XV. 1 Iv24.

Vulgtite.

Wiclif.

Luther.
Canstein ibmo.

Tyndale.

Stier and Theile.

1380.

iSyd, cojnpared
¦with IS4S.

rS34-

II Ait autem: Ho

And he seide:

Und er sprach:

And he sayde: 11

mo quidam ha

a man hadde

Ein Mensch

a certayne man

buit duos filios.

tweie sones:

hatte zween
Sohne.

two sonnes,

94

The English Versions.

12 Et dixit ado-
lescentior ex
illis patri: Pa
ter, da mihi
portionem sub-
stantise, quse
me contingil.
~Et divisit illis
substantiam.
13 Et non post
multos dies,
congregati-bus omnibus,
adolescentiorfilius peregre
profectus est
in regionem
longinquam, et
ibi dissipayit
substantiamsuam vivendo
luxuriose.

14 Et postquam
omnia consum-
masset, facta
est fames va-
lida in regione
ilia, et ipse
coepit egere.

15 et abiit et ad-
hasit uni civi
um regionis
illius; et misit
ilium in villam
suam, ut pas-

and the yung-
er of hem seide
to the fadir,
fadir geue me
the porscioun
of catel that
fallith to me,
fl«i/^^departidto hem the
catel,
and not aftir
many daies,
whanne alle
thingis were "
gaderid to gid-
re: the yong
er sone wente
forth in pil-
grymage in to
a fer cuntre,
and there he
wastid his
goodis; in lyu
ynge lecher-
ou.sli,
aud aftir that
he hadde endid
alle thingis: a
strong hungir
was made in
that cuntre and
he biganne to
haue nede.

and he wente
and drouge
him to oon of
the citeseyn'-s
of that cuntre,
and he sente

Und der jlSng-
ste unter ihnen
sprach zu dem
Vater: Gibmir,
Vater, das
Theii der Ou
ter dai mir ge-
hSrt. Und er
theilte ihnen
das Gut.
Und nicht lang
darnach samm-
lete der jUng-
ste Sohn alles
zusammen und
zog feme Uber
Land; und da-
selbst brachte
er sein Gut urn
TciilPrassen.f^)

Da er nun alle
das Seine ver-
zehret hatte,
ward eine ^ffj-
se Theurung
durch dassel
bige game
Land, und er
fieng an zu
darben. Und gieng hin
und hangte sich
an einen Bur
ger desselbigen
Landes, der
schickte ihn

and the yonger 12
of them sayde
to his father:
father geve me
my part of the
goodes that to
me belongeth.
And he divided
vnto them his
substaunce.
And not longe 13
after, the yong
er Sonne gad-
dered all that
he had to ged-
der, and toke
his iomey into
a farre countre,
and theare he
wasted his
goodes with
royetous lyv-
inge.

And when lie 14
had spent all
that he had,
ther rose o.
greate derth
thorow out all
thatsamelande,and he began
to lacke.
And he went 15
and clave to a
citesyn of that
same countre,
which sent him
to his felde, to

Tyndale's Version.

95

ceret porcos.

l6 Et cupiebat im-
plere ventrum
suum de sili-
quis, quas porci
manducabant,
et nemo illi
dabat.
17 In se autem re-
versus dixit:
Quanti mer-
cenarii in domo
patris mei
abundant pani-
l5us! ego autem
hic fame pereo.

18 .Surgam et ibo
ad patrem me
um, et dicam
ci: Pater, pec-
cavi in coelum
el coram te:

19 jam non sum
dignus vocari
filius tuns, fac
me sicut unum
de mercenaiiis
tnis.
20 Et surgens ve
nit ad patrem
suum. Cum
autem adhuc

hym in to his
towne: to fede
swyne,and he coueitid
to fille his
wombe of the
coddis thai the
hoggis eten;
and no man
gaf to hym.
and he turned
agen in to hym
silf: and seid,
hou many
hirid men in
ray fadris hous
had plente of
looues and I
perisch here
thorug hungir!
/schal rise up
and go to my
fadir; and I
schal seie io
hym, fadir I
haue synned m
to heuene and
bifor thee,
now / am not
worthi to be
clepid thi sone,
make me as
oon of thin
hirid men,
and he roos up
and C3.m to his
fadir, and
whanne he was

auf seinen Ac
ker der S&ue zu
hiiten. Und er be-
gehrte seinen
BauchzufuUen mit Trebem-
die die Saue as-
sen, und nie-
mand gab sie
ihn. T)a, schlug er in
f«V/5 and sprach:
Wie viel Tag-
lOhner hat
mein Vater,
die Brot die
Falle haben,
and ich ver-
derbe im Hun
ger.
Ich will mich
aufmachenundzu meinem Va
ter gehen und
zu ihm sagen:
Vater, ich ha-
ba gesflndiget
ill deii Himmel
und vor dir,
und bin hin-
fort nicht mehr
werth dass ich
dein Sohn heis-
se;machemich als einen deiner
TaglOhner. Und er machte
sich auf und
kam zu seinem
Vater. Da er

kepe his swyne.

And he woide ifi
fayne have
filled his bely
with the coddes
that the swyne
ate: and noo
man gave him.
Then he came 17
to him selfe and
sayde: how
many hyred
servauntes at
my fathers,
have breed
ynough, and I
dye for honger.

18

I will aryse,
and goo to my
father and will
saye vnto him:
father, I have
synned agaynst
heven and be
fore the.

and am no 19
moare worthy
to be called thy
Sonne, make
me as one of
thy hyred ser
vauntes. And he arose 20
and went to his
father. And
when he was

96

The English Versions.

longe esset, vi
dit ilium pater
ipsius et miseri
cordia motus
est, et accur-
rens cecidit su
per coUum ejus
et osculatus est
eum.
21 Dixitque ei fili
us: Pater, pec-
cavi in coelum
et coram te;
jam non sum
dignus vocari
filius tuus.

22 Dixit autem
pater ad servos:
Cito proferte
slolam primam
etinduite ilium,
et date annu
lum in manum
ejus, et calcea-
menta in pedes
ejus.

23 et adducite vi-
tulum sagina-
tum et occidite,
et manducemus
et epulemur;

yit afer, his fa
dir sale hym,
and was stirid
bi merci, and
he ranne and
fit on his
necke: kissid
hym,and the sone
seide to him,
fadir I haue
synned in to
heuene and bi
for thee: and
now / am not
worthi to be
clepid thi sone.

and the fadir
seide to his ser-
aauntis,svryihe brynge ye forth
tlie first stole:
and clothe ye
hym: and geue
ye a ryng in
his hond: and
schoon on his
feet:

and brynge ye
a fatte calf,
and j/irye:and
etc we and
make we feest.

aber noch feme
von dannen
war, sahe ihn
sem Vater, und
jammerte ihn,
lief und fiel
ihm um seinen
Hals and kttss-
te ihn.
Der Sohn aber
sprach zuihm:
Vater, ich habe
gesUndiget in
den Himmel
und vor dir;
ich bin hiftfort
nicht mehr
werth dass ich
dein Sohn
heisse. Aber der Vater
sprach zu sei
nen Knechten:
Bringet das
beste Kleid
hervor und
thut ihn an,
und gebet ihm
einen Finger-
reif an seine
Hand und
Schuhe an
seine Fusse,
und bringet
ein gemSstet
Kalb her, und
schlachtet's;lasset uns essen
und frOhlich

yet a greate
waye of, his fa
ther sawe him
and had com
passion, and ran
and felle on
his necke, and
kyssed him.
And the sonne 21
sayd vnto him:
father, I have
synned agaynst
heven, and m
thy sight, and
am no moare
worthy to be
called thy
Sonne.
But his father 22
sayde to his ser
vauntes: bringe
forth that best
garment and
put it on him,
and put a rynge
on his honde,
and showes on
his fete.

And bringe 23
bidder that fat
ted caulfe and
kyll him, and
let vs eate and
be mery:

Tyndale's Version.

97

24 quia hic filius for this my
meus mortuus sone was deed:
erat et revixit, and hath lyued
perierat et in- agen, he per-
ventus est. Et ischid, and is
coeperunt epu- founden, and
lari. alle men bi-
gunnen to ete.

denn dieser
mein Sohn war
todt, und ist
wieder leben
dig worden; er
war verloren,
und ist gefun-
den worden.
Und fiengen
an frUhtich zu
sein.

for this my 24
Sonne was
deed, and is
alyve agayue,
he was loste,
and is now
founde. And
they began to
be merye.

COLLATION OF ROMANS XII. I-3.

Vulgate.
I Obsecro itaqxie
vos, fratres, per
misericordiam Dei, ut
exhibeatis cor
pora vestra
hostiam vi-
ventem, sanc-
tam, Deo pla-
cenlem, ratio-
nabile obsequi-
uni vestrum.

2 Et nolite con-
formarihuicsse-
culo, sed re-
formamini in
novitate senses
¦ vestri: ut pro
betis quse sit
voluntas Dei
bona, et bene-
placens, etper-

Erasmus.
3rd. ed, 1322.
Obsecro igitur
vos, fratrfes, per
miserationesDei, ut praebe-
atis corpora
vestra, hostiam
viventem,sanc-
tani, accept am
Deo, ratio-
nalem cultum
vestmm.

Et ne accom-
modebis vos ad
figuram saeculi
hujus, sed
transformemini
per renovatio-
xiemmentisyes- trae, ut probetis
quEe sit volun
tas dei, quod

Luther.
Ich ermahne
euch, lieben
Brilder, durch
die barmhert-
sigkeit Gottes,
dass ihr cure
leiber begebet
zum opfer, das
da lebendig,
heilig und
Gott wohlge-
fallig sey, wel
ches sey euer
vernUnftiger Gottesdienst.
Und btellet
euch nicht die-
serWeltgleich;
sondera verdn-
(&/¦; euch durch
verneurung
cures sinnes,
auf dass ihr
prOfen mOget,
Welches da sey

Tyndale. fS2d,
I beseeche you I
therfore breth
ren by the mer-
cifulnes of God,
that ye make
youre bodyes a
quicke sacrifise,
holy and ac
ceptable vnto
God which is
youre resonable
servynge off
God,

and fassion note 2
youre selves
lyke vnto this
worlde. But
be ye chaunged
[in youre shape]
by the renu
ynge of youre
wittes that ye
maye fele what

98

The English Versions.

fecta.

3 Dico enim pei
gratiam quae
data est mihi,
omnibus qui
sunt . inter vos
non plus sapere
quam oportet
sapere, sed sa
pere- ad sobrie
tatem, et uni-
cuique sicut
Deus divisit
mensuram fidei.

bonum est, ac-
ceptumque et
perfectum.

Dico enim per
gratiam, quse
data est mihi,
cuilibet ver
santi inter vos,
ne quis arro-
ganter de se
sentiat, supra
quam oportet
de se sentire:
sed ita sentiat,
ut modestus sit
ct sobrius ut
cuique deus
partitus est
mensuram fi
dei.

der gute, der
wohlgefallige,
und der voU-
kommene Got-
teswille. Denn ich sage
durchdie gnade
die mir gegeben
ist, jedermann
unter euch,
dass niemand
welter von ihm
halte, denn
sichs gebuhret
zu halten, son-
dem dass er
von ihm mSs-
siglich halte,
ein jeglicher,
nach dem Gott
ausgetheilethat das mass des
glaubens.

will
saye 3
the

thynge that
good, that ac
ceptable, and
perfaicte of god is.
For I
(thorowe grace that vnto
me geven is)
to every man
amonge you,
that no man
esteme off hym
silfe more then
it becommeth
hym to esteme:
But that he dis
cretely iudge
offhym silfe Of-
cordynge as
god hath dealte
to every man
the measur of
faith.

The italicized words in Luther and Tyndale show the in
fluence of the former on the latter;- those in Erasmus, the
renderings preferred by Tyndale against Luther; and those in
the Vulgate, Tyndale's adoption of that version; some of these
renderings agree also with Luther.
In spite of the description of the Cologne quarto edition,
finished' at Worms, copies of it, as well as large numbers of
the octavo edition, had found their way into England in the
same year (1526), for Tonstal in his prohibition, issued at
the instance of Wolsey, mentions that the Testaments im
ported were "some with glosses and some without."
The prohibition, which was dated October 24, 1526, re
quired all persons within the Diocese of London, within

Tyndale's Version. 99
thirty days, under pain of excommunication, to deliver to
the bishop's vicar-general "all and every one of the books
containing the translation of the New Testament in the vul
gai tongue, " which was alleged to have been craftily executed
by some sons of iniquity and ministers of the Lutheran faction.
Tyndale himself admits, in the preface to the edition of
1534, that the Cologne- Worms editions contained many er
rors caused by lack of help and oversight. But the impres
sions were so readily bought up that Christopher of Endhoven,
a printer at Antwerp, printed in 1526 a third edition.
At the instance of Hacket, the English envoy to Brussels,
Endhoven was arrested, who had mildly proposed that for
printing the New Testament, he "ought to be banished out
of all the emperor's lands and countries, and that the third
part of all his goods should be confiscated in the emperor's
hands, and all the foresaid English books burnt in the fire,
according to the emperor's last mandment upon such like here
sies. " The Antwerp authorities, however, refused to do his
bidding and released Endhoven. Unable to get the books
confiscated, he proposed to buy up the whole edition, and
in that way he did collect and burn all the books he could
find at Antwerp and Barrow (z'. e., Bergen-op-Zoom). Dur
ing the imprisonment of Endhoven, another Antwerp print
er published a new edition " in a greater letter." Hacket
wrote about it to Wolsey on May 23, 1527: "Some new
printers of the town of Antwerp have brought to be sold
to this Barrow market diverse English books, entitled the
New Testament . . of which I have found twenty-four
in one man's hand. . . I trust shortly to see them
burned. . . I hear say that there have been at the last
Frankfort market more than two thousand such like Eng
lish books. "
In order to prevent misapprehension as to the conduct of
Tyndale with respect to the Antwerp editions of 1527 and

ICO The English Versions.
1528, amounting to five thousand copies, it should be re
membered that they were piratical editions, the Dutchmen
having stolen the copy. ]oye (Apology, p. 39, 1527) says of
it: "Anon aftir, 1527, the Dutchmen got a copye, and
printed agen in a small volume ¦[i2mo] adding the Kalan-
dare in the begynning, concordances in the margent, and the
table in the ende. But yet, for that they had no Englishe-
man for to correct the setting, thei themselves, havyng not
the knowledge of our tongue, were compelled to make many
mo fauts than were in the copye, and so corrupted the book^
that the simple reader might ofte tymes be taryed and steck.
After this, about .1528 or 9, thei printed it agein also without
a correctour in a greater letter and volume with the figures in
thapocalipse, which were therefore miche falser then their
firste." As* copies of these surreptitious editions are very rare, the
following description, relating to the second, will be read
with interest.* It is in i2mo, printed in the Dutch letter,
and has in the margin heads of the text, scriptural references,
and brief notes. The Epistle to the Hebrews is placed after
the Epistles of St. Peter and St. John, and before that of St.
James, i. Pet. ii. 13 is wanting. In Revelation twenty-one
wood-cuts illustrate the contents. At the end are "the.Pistles
taken out of the Old Testament, which are read in the Church
after the use of Sarum, upon certain daies of the year," in a
version different from that given in Matthew's Bible, as will
be seen by this specimen:
The next Sondaye after the xiii, daye: The Epistle Es. xii. a.
I will prayse the, O Lorde, that though thou were angrye with me,
* For a full account of the various editions, etc., see Biblio^aphicai Description of
the editions ofthe Ne-jj Testament. Tyndal^s Version in English, with numerous
readings, comparisons of texts, a'nd historical notices, the notes in full from ihe
edition qf Nov., j:S34, an account of two octavo editions qfthe New Testament qf
ilie Bishops^ Version, without jiumbers to the verses, illustrated iviih seventy-three
plates, titles, colophons, pages, capitals, by Francis Fry, F.S.A., London, 1878, 410

Tyndale's Version. ioi
yet thyne anger is turned, and thou hast comforted me. Beholde God
is my salvation: I will be bolde therfore and not feare. For the Lorde
God is my strength and my prayse whereof I synge: and is become my
Savyoure. And ye shall drawe water in gladnes oute of the welles of
salvacion. And ye shal saye in that daye: Geve thanks unto the Lorde:
call on his name: make his dedes knowen amonge the hethen: remem
ber that his name is hye. Lyfte up an hye. Synge unto the Lorde,
for he hath done excellentlye, and that is knowen thorowe oute all the
Avoilde. Crye and showte thou inhabiter of Syon, for great amonge
you is the hplye of Israel.
This edition again was speedily followed by still another,
and the introduction of the volume assumed such wholesale
proportions that Tonstal's zeal against it found vent in most
violent and very unecclesiastical measures, which were, nev
ertheless, eclipsed by those of some of his brethren on the
bench, who did not content themselves with the burning of
the books, for they committed their readers to the flames.
At the treaty of Cambray. in 1529, where Tonstal, More,
and Hacket represented England, it was stipulated that the
contracting parties were not "to print or sell any Lutheran
books on either side. " Tonstal took Antwerp on his way to
England, and to that visit (in 1529) is referred the following
incident narrated by Halle, the chronicler (Chronicle, p. 762,
London, 1809). The bishop consulted there with Austin
Packington, a mercer and merchant of London, as to the
best way of securing the English Testaments for the purpose
of burning them. The mercer, who is said to have been a
friend of Tyndale, and knowing that he had a great number
of Testaments on his hands, and that he was sadly in want of
money, deemed it a fair opportunity to serve the bishop and
his friend at the same time, and told the former that if he
would pay for them, he believed his interest w'th the Dutch
men, and strangers who had bought them of Tyndale, to be
sufficient to procure for his lordship every copy that was yet
unsold. The bishop consenting, Packington got the books

I02 The English Versions.
from Tyndale, and sent them to England, where, on the
bishop's return, they were publicly burnt at St. Paul's Cross.
But when the supply continued from the same source in spite
of the burning, the bishop sent for Packington to expostulate
with him, who stated in reply that his lordship had received
all the unsold copies oi that impression, according to his bar
gain, but that more had been printed since, and he could
not see how that could be prevented, unless he should like
wise buy the types and the presses. Halle adds that George
Constantine, a Cambridge LL.B., suspected of sympathy with
Luther, who fled on that account to the continent, and had
there made the acquaintance of Tyndale, being apprehended
and examined by the Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More, and
asked how Tyndale, Joye, etc. , were furnished with money to
support them, replied that "it was the Bishop of London who
had helped them, since his lordship had distributed a great
deal of money among them by his buying the New Testa
ments, which he burnt, which had been, and yet was, their
only succor and comfort. " Burnet says this occurred in 1529,
Foxe that it was in 1530. But as Sir Thomas More, in his
Dialogues, printed in June, 1529, refers to the burning ofthe
Testaments, and Tyndale himself, in the preface to the Par
able of the Wicked Mammon, published May Sth, 1527, says
explicitly, "In burning the New Testament they dyd none
other thing than that I looked for," it follows that either it
must have taken place before that date, or that there was more
than one such public burning of New Testaments.
Tonstal preached against Tyndale's Testament, and alleged,
at St. Paul's Cross, that it contained not less than two thou
sand mistranslated texts. The importers of the book were
prosecuted, compelled to abjure, and to do penance (espe
cially John Roremund, [Raymond], a Dutchman, John Tyn
dale, the translator's brother, and Thomas Patmore) for hav
ing imported them, by riding with their faces to their horses

Tyndale's Version. 103
tails, with the books fastened thick about them, pinned or
tacked to their gowns or cloaks, to the Standard in Chepe,
and there with their own hands to fling them into the fire
made on purpose to burn them (Foxe, II. , p. 315; Lewis,
/. c, 66). Tonstal, likewise, with a view to convince the
people of "the reasonableness of these proceedings," induced
Sir Thomas More, reputed to be the greatest wit and philoso
pher of the age, to write against Tyndale. This he did in the
Dyalogue already referred to, written in a witty, pleasant, and
popular style, and full of anecdote, but destitute of merit in
point of scholarship, reasoning, and Christian spirit. In the
third book, e. g.. Sir Thomas's imaginary interlocutor, de
siring to "know his mind concerning the burning of the new
testament in english which Tyndal lately translated, and, as
men said, right well, which made them muph marvail of the
burning," was told by Sir Thomas "that whoso called those
books which were burned New Testaments gave them a wrong
name, since they were rather Tyndale's or Luther's Testament,
it being so corrupted and changed from the good and whole
some doctrine of Christ to their own devilish heresies as to be
quite another thing," observing in proof thereof that "Tyn
dale had mistranslated three words .of great weight, and they
often repeated and rehearsed in the book; they were the words
priests, church, and charitie, _The first of these he never called
priests, but seniors; the second he styles the congregation; and
the third he nameth lave; " adding that he commonly ' ' changed
the word grace m\.o favour; that he translated confession into
knowledging, penance into repentance, and a contrite heart into
a troubled heart; that by this means he would with his false
translation make the people believe that such articles pf the
fiith as he laboured to destroy, and which were well proved
by scripture, were in holy scripture nothing spoken of, but
that the preachers have all this fifteen hundred years misre
presented the gospel, and englished the scripture wrong, tc

I04 The English Versions.
lead the people purposely out of the way" (More, Worhs,
p. 309).
Tyndale, in An Answere unto Sir Thomas More's Biahgut
(1530), said: "That Sir Thomas, who understood Greek,
and knew these words long before he did, could not prove that
he gave not the right English unto the Greek words; but that
what made them, whose cause Sir Thomas espoused, so un
easy and impatient, was they had lost their juggling terms,
wherewith they imposed on and misled the people. For in
stance, the word church, he said, was by the popish clergy
appropriated to themselves, whereas of right it was common
to all the whole congregation of them that believe in Christ.
So, he said, the school-doctors and preachers were wont to
make many divisions, distinctions, and sorts of grace; with
confession they juggled, and made the people, as ofi; as they
spake of it, to understand by it shrift in the eare. So by the
word penance * they made the people understand holy deeds
of Aeir enjoining, with which they must make satisfaction for
their sins, to God-ward. " As for rendering ' ' presbuteros "
senior, he owned " that senior was no very good English . . .
but that he had spied his fault since long before Sir Thonjas
had told him of it, and had mended it in all the works which
he had made lately, and called it an elder " ; as to his render
ing "agapee" loue, and not into charity, he said '¦''charity was
no known English in that sense which ' agapee ' requireth. "
The retail price of these Testaments in 1528 v/as seven or
eight groats apiece, the wholesale price charged by the Dutch
men being at the rate of thirteen pence apiece, or three hun
dred for sixteen pounds, five shillings.
The question of Tyndale's movements on the continent is

* Cor. Nary and other Romish translators give as their reason for rendering the
Greek "metanoia," and the Latin " pcenitentia " /^«ffBCi?, that they do not signify a
bare sorrow or repentance, but a repentance accompanied with fasting, weeping,
and other penal works.

Tyndale's Version. 105
one of great interest, but apparently involved in inextricable
confusion. The confusion is the result of three sets of cir
cumstances. First, as Tyndale was hunted down by emis
saries of Henry VIII. , Wolsey, and Tonstal, in order to elude
them and enhance his own safety, he was compelled not only
to move with great secrecy, but to assume a feigned name —
e. g. , at the time when West, Hacket, and Rincke were after
him, he called himself Hutchyns; * so Frith had assumed the
name of Jacob for the same reason, and Tyndale wrote to
him under that pseudonyme. Secondly, many of the -docu
ments are without dates and the names of the places where
they were written. Thirdly, many of the writers on Tyndale
follow Anderson, who, in his Annals of the English Bible, ex
hibits a surprising recklessness in departing from every known
principle of chronological order, and is perfectly infatuated
with the idea of proving that Tyndale's translation was made
without any help derived from Luther and his version. Rul
ing out, therefore, the unreliable data furnished by Anderson
and thb numerous writers who have transferred them to their
pages, we have to go back to Lewis (Complete History, etc. ),
who is rather credulous, f the works of Tyndale, Burnet (also

* Tyndale had a certain right to the name of Hutchins, as will be seen from the
following extract from a letter written by Thomas Tyndale, of Kingston, St. Michael,
near Calne, dated February 3d, 1663, to a namesake, whom he addressed as his cousin,
and whose father was a grandson of the reformer's elder brother:
" The first of your family came out of the north, in the times of the wars between
the houses of York and Lancaster, at what time many of good sort (their side going
down) did fly for refuge where they could find it. Coming into Gloucestershire, and
changing his name to that of Hutchins, he afterwards married there, and so having
children, he did, before his death, declare his right name, and from whence, and upon
what subject he came thither; and so taking his own name, did leave it unto his chil
dren, who have since continued it, as it was fit they should. This I have heard from
your good father himself." Professor Walter in Doctrinal Treatises, etc.. By Wil
liam Tyndale. Parker Society's Edition, Cambridge, 1848, Preface, p. lx.
t Home, in the main, depends upon Lewis, and has made no independent re
searches, and Plumptre (in Smith's Dictionary qf the Bible) for similar reasons Is
equally unreliable.

io6 The English Versions.
very doubtful), Foxe, and other contemporary writers and un
published documents in MSS. As the result of my researches
in such books, and extracts from the documents printed in
the Parker Society's Series, I submit the following consecu
tive account, which, from the causes enumerated, is, of course,
liable to error; but I cordially invite and shall gratefully re
ceive, from whatever quarter, authentic data tending to cor
rect it.
In the year 1526 Tyndale had completed at Worms the
printing of the New Testament begun at Cologne. As there
was practically nobody in England before Tyndale left it who
could have made him a competent Hebrew scholar, it is safe
to infer that he applied himself to the study of Hebrew when
he reached the continent, although it does not appear whether
he received instruction at the hands of Jewish scholars or oth
ers. There is, however, this entry in the diary of Spalatin,
the friend of Luther: "Busche told us that six thousand
copies of the New Testament had been printed at Worms,
and that this translation had been made by an Englishman,
sojourning there with two other natives of Britain, who was
so skilled in seven languages — Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Italian,
Spanish, English, and Dutch * — that whichever he might be

• The passage, as given in The Lif e of Tyndale preRxed to the Dactr. Treatises,
Park. Soe, ed. 1848, p. xxx., gives " Dutch " without a query. The query is justified,
for I find that the quotation is wrong, the original Latin reading " Gallicas," i. e.,
French. The original passage occurs in the following context: " Dixit nobis in coena
Matthias Leimbergius, Erasmum Rot. mirb consternatum editione Servi Arbitrii, ei
libello non responsorum, jam scribere de conjugio Buschius vero a Rege Gallorum
revocatum Jacobum- Stapulens.. & nonnullos aHos, & reverses liberatos XII captivns,
quos Evangelii nomine Parlamentum conjecisset in carcerem. Item Wormatise VI
miUe exemplaria Novi Testamenti Anglice excusa. Id operis versum esse ab Anglo.
illic cum duobiis aliis Brit.-mnis divertente, ita VII linguarum perito, Hebraicx, Graca;.
Latinae, Italica:, Hispanicse, Britannicae, Gallicje, ut, quamcunque loqu,-\tur, in ea
natum putes. Anglos enim, quamvis reluctante & invito Rege, tamen sic suspirare ad
Evangelion, ut affirmcnt, sese empturos Novum Testamentum, etiamsi centenis milli-
bus aeris sit redemendum. Adhsec Wormatiae etiam Novum Testamentum Gallice ex.
cusum esse."

Tyndale's Version. 107
speaking you would think it to be his native language " (Schel-
hornii Amcenilates LiteraricB, iv. p. 431. Excerpta quaedam
e diario Georg. Spalatini). The entry in the diary immedi
ately preceding this bears date August, 1526. In that year,
then, Busche seems to have met Tyndale at Worms. Her
mann von dem Busche, a pupil of Reuchlin, the earliest
German Hebraist, had about this time accepted a professor
ship in the newly-founded University of Marburg in Hesse,
and from that circumstance it has been inferred that Tyndale
went with him and studied there. This inference, which is
reasonable enough, seems to be corroborated by the circum
stance that at Marburg, supposed to be Englished Marlborow,
Tyndale published in 1527, The Parable of the Wicked Mam
mon; in 1528, The Obedience of a Christian Man; and in 1530,
the Pentateuch. Thus far everything seems clear, and it is
added, e. g. , by Walter, the editor of the Doctrinal Treatises,
etc., of Tyndale (Parker Society, Volume I., 1848), in the
introductory notice to the second of these works, p. 129, that
Hans Luft, the printer, had just established a printing-press
at Marburg. The colophon of Genesis reads: "Emprenled
al Marlborow in the lande of Hesse, by me, Hans Luft, the yer e
of oure Lord MCCCCCXXX. the XVII. dayes of Januarii, "
and I incline to the opinion that the last statement of
Hans Luft having just established a printing-press at Marl
borow (Marburg) is purely conjectural. Of course he may
have done so, but I have not been able to discover the
proof, nor am I convinced that Marlborow is the English
equivalent qf Marburg; it may have been so in the sixteenth
century, although it is not so now. In my judgment Marl
borow is a pseudonyme, deliberately chosen by Tyndale to
mislead his pursuers, and designates no other place than Wit
tenberg, where Luther lived. In this matter I take, of course,
issue with all the writers who affirm, on what grounds I can
not tell, that Marlborow is Marburg, and that Luft had a

io8 The English Versions.
print!ng-press there. Now, Han^ Luft was the most Cele
brated printer of the sixteenth century, who was bom, who
lived ahd died at Wittenberg, printed Luther's Testarneht
and Bible for about sixty years, and is perhaps better known
than any other German, not an author, of that period. In
the notices of his life which I have seen nothing is said about
his having established a printing-press at Marlborow or Mar
burg, nor have I been able to find anywhere a trace of another
Hans Luft, a printer, in that century. The authors referred
to may have seen such traces, and based their statements on
facts, but until they are made known and proven, I mean, to
uphold the view that Wittenberg is the enigmatical Marlborow.
But wherever Marlborow may have been, Tyndale seems
to have been there from 1526 to 1529, in which year (unless
the dates be wrong) he visited Antwerp, and left that place
before the negotiators of the treaty of Cambray, of whoin
Tqnstarl was one, arrived there several days after August 5th,
1 5^9. What Foxe says about his movements is strikingly in
accurate: "At that time Tyndale had translated the fifth book
of Moses, called Deuteronomium, minding to print the same
at Hamborough, he sailed thitherward; where, by the way,
upon the coast of Holland, he suffered shipwreck, by which
he lost all his books, writings, and copies, and so was com
pelled to begin all anew, to his hindrance and doubling of
his labors. Thus, having lost by that ship both money, his
copies, and his time, he came in another ship to Hamborough,
where, at his appointment, Master Coverdale tarried for him,
and helped him in the translating of the whole five books of
Moses, from Easter till December, in the house of a worship
ful widow, Mrs. Margaret Van Emmerson, anno 1529, a
great sweating sickness being at the time in the town. So,
having despatched his business at Hamborough, he returned
afterward to Antwerp again."
If I svfceeed in correcting this paragraph, I correct the still

Tyndale's Version. 109
more hopeless confusion in Anderson's account and that of
those who cite him as an aiithority. Mairbiirg is in the heaft
of Gerinany, about two hundred miles distant both from Ant
werp and Hamburg. If he wanted to go to Hamburg, two
hundred miles N. N. E. , he needed not to travel two hun
dred miles W. N. W., to Antwerp, and thence by sea four
hundred miles more N: by E. ; he would,- like every sensible
man, have travelled direct overland through a friendly coun
try in about one-fifth the time, even in the sixteenth century,
minus all the danger he ran in Brabant and the perils of ship
wreck. If he went to Antwerp he had a motive, and his mo
tive was to facilitate the introduction of his Testament into
England; so we may admit that he went to Antwerp. If he
wanted to return to Marburgj he would, for the geographical
and other reasons just stated, have returned by the Way he
came, unless he had a motive. That motive, in order to give
color to his story, Foxe says, was an appointment with Cover-
dale at Hamburg. Pearson, who has very ably edited the
Remains of Coverdale in the Parker Society Series (1846), and
not only had. access to every available work and docuraent
bearing on the subject, but knew how to use the material,
denies, and very justly, the ridiculous story of Foxe, which,
un his authority (p. i.^E. Biogr. Notice^, leaves Tyndale with
out a motive in visiting Hamburg.
Now if Marlboro* is not Marburg; but Wittenberg, the
whole case stands differently. Tyndale had to go to Ant
werp, and would travel the distance of about four hundred
miles W., and desiring to return (for his printing and his
work were there in that Mairlborow); the less costly voydge of
four hundred miles from Antwerp to Hamburg, and thence
up the Elbe to Wittenberg, about one hundred and sixty
miles distant, would certainly tempt a man so impecunious
as Tyndale is known to have been at that time. These con
siderations appear to me conclusive that Foxe's ston' (copied

IIO The English Versions.
by Lewis, obfuscated by Anderson, and rashly accepted by
Plumptre [in Smith's Did. ofthe Bible'], and many who copy
from them) is historically untrue.
The foregoing paragraphs were written in the autumn of
1881, and although I felt thoroughly convinced that my rea
soning was borne out by the facts of the case and that the con
clusion reached was correct, I hesitated, in the absence of
proof, to express it in the shape of assertion, but resolved, if
possible, to ascertain the facts of the case.
It occurred to me that the best and surest way might be to
open direct communication on the subject with the authori
ties of the University of Marburg, and for that purpose 1 took
occasion on November 7th, 1 881, to address a letter to the Rec
tor Magnificus of that university, inquiringamong other matters:
I. If Hans Luft had a printing-press at Marburg.? and
2. If William Tyndale, as well as John Frith and Patrick
Hamilton, ever studied there 1
Professor Ennetterus very courteously- handed my letter to
Professor Dr Julius Csesar, the librarian of the University, and
author of Catalogiis studioriim scholcc Marpurgensis, Marburg,
1875, who having thoroughly explored the archives of the
University, and the documents in the library of the same, is
unquestionably the most competent scholar to testify on the
subject under consideration. This scholar, in a letter to me,
bearing date November 26th, 1881, after briefly traversing the
field of inquiry, informs me:
I. That Hans Luft never lived, and never had a printing-
press at Marburg.
2. That while the Album of the University enumerates
among the matriculates for the year 1527 the following per
sons — thus :
Patritius Hamilton, a Litgau, Scotus, mgr. parisiensis,
loANNES Hamilton, a Litgau, Scotus,
Gilbf.rtus Winram, Edinburgensis,

Tyndale's Version. iii
there is no entry in the Album, or a trace in any document what
ever in the archives ofthe University that Tyndale and Frith ever
were at Marburg.
Professor Csesar, moreover, agrees with me in the opinion
that the name of the printer, Hans Luft, and of the place
of printing, Marburg, i e. , Marlborow, in the land of Hesse,
are fictitious, and were probably selected to conceal the real
place of printing from Tyndale's enemies in England. He
further coincides with me in the belief that the statement of
Tyndale having, followed Hermann von dem Busche to Mar
burg is simply an inferential conjecture.
It follows, by the stern logic of historical fact, that all the
notices to the contrary found in catalogues, histories, and en
cyclopaedias require to be corrected, and all the deductions
drawn from them to be abandoned as speculative and con
jectural. *
The importance of the subject appears to me to render it
dcjirable that the correspondence on it should be preserved;
it is therefore produced here in the original, and the transla
tioii accompanying it may prove useful to persons not familiar
w!t!i German. Navr., 7, 1881, Novr,, 7, 1S81,
Dem Rector Magnificus der To the Rector Magnificus of
Universitat Marburg. the University of Marbur(;.
Hochgeehrter Herr: — Im Verfolg Very honored Sir: — In the prose-
einer geschichtlichen Untersuchung cution of an historical inquiry, I ven-
wage ich es mich an Sie um Auf- ture to address you for information
schluss Qber eine Sache zu wenden, in a matter, which may not be void
die auch fttr Sie nicht ohne Interes- of interest to you.
se sein dUrfte.
Bei Gelegenheil der Bearbeitung Engaged on the preparation of an
eiiies Aufsatzes Uber den englischen essay on~the English Bible transla-

* On Jan. 7, 1882. I sent a preliminary announcement, containing these details, to
the London Times, aud the Churchman, published at New York.

112

The English Versions.

Bibelflbersetzer William Tyndale
fand ich, dass eine Notiz folgenden
Inhalts- in verschiedenen altefen
Werken vorkOmmt, die von den
NeUeren immer wiederholt wird, iind
die, wie es mir scheint, bis jetzt noch
nicht durch historische Belege er-
wiesen ist.
Die betreffende Notiz behauptet
dass William Tytidale einer der erst-
en Studirenden in Marburg geWe-
sen, und dass verschiedene seiner
Werke von Hans Luft in Marburg
gedruckt seien.
John Frith und Patrick Hamil
ton sollen auch in Marburg studirt
haben, und der Narae des Letzteren
auf der ersten Seite des Universitats-
Registers eingetragen sein.
Da es Ihnen vermOge Ihrer amt-
liclien Stellung wohl nicht schwer
sein diirfte, diese Uberlieferungeh zu
vfirifieiren, erlaube ich mit bei Ih
nen anzufragen,
I. Ob Hans Luft eine Buchdruc-
kerei in Marburg gehabt hat, und
2. Ob das Universitats-Register
irgend welche authentische Nach-
richten tlber die in Frage stehenden
PersOnlichkeiten enthalt ?
In der Hoffnung dass Sie die Ge-
wogenheit haben mOgen mir im
Interesse geschichtlicher Wahrheit
das mitzutheilen, was Sie dartiber
ermitteln kOnnen, und mir die Frei-
heit, mit der ich mich an Sie wende,
nicht vertlbeln wollen, empfiehlt sich
mit ausgezeichneter Hochachtung,
ErgeTjenst, J. I. Mombert.

tor, William Tyndale, I find the
following notice in older writers,
which, though persistently repeated
by modern authors, does not appear
to ine proven by historical evidence.

The notice in question asserts that
William Tyndale was one of the
first students at Marburg and that
several of his works have been
printed by Hans Luft at Marburg.
John Frith and Patrick Hamil
ton are also said to have studied at
Marburg, and that the name of the
latter is recorded on the first page
of the University Register.
As you, in virtue of your official
position, may not find it difficult to
Verify these traditions, I beg leave
f o inquire I . If Hans Luft ever had a print-
ing-press at Marburg ? and
2. If the University Register con
tains authentic notices Of the per
sons in question ?
Hoping that in the interest of his-
torical truth you may be obliging
enough to communicate to me what
you may be able to learn on this
subject, and that you will kindly
pardon the trouble to which I put
you, I beg you to believe me, with
high regards, Yodrs -very truly,
J. I. Mombert.

Tyndale's Version.

113

Marburg, s6 Nov., 188 1.
Dem Ehrw.Herrn,Dr. Mombert.
Hochgeehrter Herr ! — Der zeitige
Rector unserer Universitat, Herr
Professor Ennetterus, hat mir Ihren
an ihn under dem 7. d. M. ge-
richteten Brief zur Beantwortung
Uberlasseh, da ich mich schon frii-
her mit der von Ihnen gestellten
Frage genauer beschaftigt habe.
Obgleich mir augenblicklich nicht
Alles gegenwartig ist, was ich ein-
mal dartlber gewusst habe, and auch
die Zeit felilt, die Nachforschung von
Neuem zli beginnen, so glaube. ich
Ilinen doch ttber einetl Hauptpunkt
eme bestiinmte Aiitwort geben zu
kOnnen. Es hat nie einen Buchdrucker
Hans Luft iii MarlMrg gegeben.
AUerdings exisliren verschiedene
Drucke mit seineni Naitlen und dem
riruckort Marburg ( Ma [r]i borough,
Mal borow, u. a.) in Ihe land of Hes-
sia, die Sie linte'f den Werken vori
'fyndaleuhdvonFrytlibei Lowndes,
in ci-'ni O.>iforder Katalo/ u. sonst
nii.;cfuhft fiiiden, aber es 1st nicht
zu liezweifeln, dass so wohl der
Druckort als der Nattie des Druc-
kers fingirt ist,vielleicht um den Wah-
ren Druckort in England zu ver-
ber jeh. Man haf sich dabei der in
der Geschichte der Reforiuatidh be-
riihmten Namen der Universitat
Marbtirg und des Wittehberger
Druckers bedieht, und diese in
eine durch Nichts gerechtfeftigte
Verbindung gebracht.

Marburg, zb Nov,, 1881.
To the Rev. Dr. Mombert.
Very honored Sir:^—'Y\ie temporary
Rector of our University, Professor
Mr. Ennetterus, has requested me
to answer the letter you addressed
to him on the 7th inst. as I have al
ready more fully considered the
question you have submitted to
him. Although I do not at this
moment recollect all that at one
time I knew on the subject, and
lack the necessary leisure to begin
the research anew, I nevertheless
believe to be able to give you a
definite reply concerning a princi
pal point.
There has never existed at Marr
burg a printer of the name of Hans
Luft. There exist, to be sure, sun
dry printed works" With his name
and Marburg (Ma[r]lborough, Mal-
borow, etc.) in the land of Hesse,
as the place of printing, whicli you
will firiJ under the works of Tyn
dale ahd Fryth in Lowpdes, in the
Oxford Catalogue arid elsewhere,
but it cantiot be doubted that both
the place of printing and the name
of the printer are fictitious, probably
for the pufpose of concealing the
true place of printing (from the au
thorities) in Eiigland. For that pur
pose the names of Marburg and of
the Witteaijerg printer, celebrated
in the history of the Reformation,
have been employed and connected
together without anything to justify
it.

114

The English Versions.

Es ist richtig dass Patrick Ham
ilton in Marburg imraatriculirt war;
und sein Name unter dem J. 1527
sich fol. 5 b. unseres Albums ein
getragen, findet, und zwar in Ver
bindung mit zweien seiner Genossen,
in folgender Weise:
Patritius Hamilton, a Litgau,
Scotus, mgr, Parisiensis.
Joannes Hamilton, a Litgau,
Scotus.
GiLBERTUs Winram, Edinburg
ensis (CF. Catalogus stu-
DlORUM SCHOL.ffi MARPUR
GENSIS. Ed. Jul. C^sar.
P. I. Marb., 1875, 4, p. 2).
Aber dass Tyndale und Fryth
• wirklich hier in Marburg gewesen
seien, davon habe ich nirgends eine
urkundliche Spur finden kOnnen;
in unserm Album kommen sie mcht
vor. Was Lorimer in seinem Buch
Uber Hamilton (Edinb., 1857), p.
93 f. erzahlt, indem er sich auf An
derson's Annals of the Bible, I., p.
139, 167 beruft, habe ich leider bis
jetzt ..nicht controliren kOnnen, da
wil- nur die zvveite abgekOrzte Aus-
gabe des Andersonschen Werkes
besitzen (das auch in Gottingen
nicht vorhanden ist). Ich weiss nicht
wo der von ihm erwahnte Brief vou
Hermann von dem Busche an Spa
latin gedruckt ist. Geht daraus
hervor, dass Tyndale bei diesem
imj. I526in Worms war, so scheint
das Weitere, dass er dem imj. 1527
nach Marburg Obergesiedelten B.
dahin gefolgt,sei nur eine auf jenen
fingirten - Druckort gestlUzte Ver-
muthung zu sein.

It is correct that Patrick Hamil
ton matriculated at Marburg, and
that his name is entered under the
year 1527 on folio 5 b. of our Al
bum, and that in connection with
two of his comrades as follows:
Patritius Hamilton, a Litgau,
Scotus, mgr, Parisiensis.
Joannes Hamilton, a Litgau,
Scotus.
Gilbertus Winram, Edinburg
ensis (CF. Catalogus stu-
diorum schol.«; Marpur
gensis. Ed. Jul. -C^sau.
P. I. Marb., 1875, 4, p. 2)
But that Tyndale and Frith were
really here at Marburg, I have not
been able to find a documentary
trace thereof anywhere ; their name
does not occur in our Album. What
Lorimer in his book on Hamilton
(Edinb., 1857), p. 93 sq. narrates
with reference to Anderson's An
nals of the Bible, I., p. 139, 167, I
regret to have been thus far unable
to verify, as we have only the sec
ond abridged edition of Anderson
(nor is there a copy of it at GOttm-
gen). I do not know where the
letter of Hermann von dem Busche
to Spalatin, to which he refers, is
printed. If it states that Tyndale
was with him at Worms in 1526,
the rest, that he followed B. on his
removal to Marburg in 1527, ap
pears to be a conjecture based on
the fictitious place of printing.

Tyndale's Version.

"5

Es wllrde mir sehr interessant
sein, wenn Ihre Forschungen tiber
Tyndale zu sichereren positiven Re-
sultaten fiihrten.
Mir selbst haben die Mittel niclit
zu Gebote gestanden, um dazu zu
gelangen, und die Zeit um die Sa
che durch Nachfragen an grOssere
Bibliotheken, oder in England wel
ter zu verfolgen, doch habe ich
sie nicht aus dem Auge verloren.
HochachtungsvoU und ergebenst,
Dr. Julius C.«sar.
Professor und Bibliothekar an de
Universitat Marburg.

It would be interesting to me if
your researches respecting Tyndale
should lead to more certain and pos
itive results.
I myself did not possess the means
to accomplish it, nor the time to
prosecute the matter by inquiries
directed to larger libraries, or in
England, but I have not lost it out
of sight. With high regards, etc..
Dr. Julius C.«sar.
Professor and Librarian of the
University of Marburg.

Having cleared the field, we may now return to the mat
ter of Tyndale's knowledge of Hebrew, concerning which, as
authentic data (for what we have are simply conjectures of the
vaguest sort) are wanting, I may say that whether he got it
from Busche, the Rabbis, Bugenhagen, or Luther and his
friends at Wittenberg, he acquired it somehow and attained
great proficiency in it. Of this, and the further fact that he
was lawfully indebted to Luther's version, I shall now supply
2i proof . For this purpose I subjoin Deuteronomy vi. 6-9 in
Luther's version and in Tyndale's version:

German.
I Und diese Worte, die ich dir
heute gebiete, sollst du zu Her-
ztn nehmen,
Und sollst sie deinen Kindern
scharfeti, und davon reden, wenn
du in deinem Hause sitzest, oder
auf dem H'ege gehest, wenn du
dich niederlegest, oder aufste-
hest; Und sollst sie binden zum Zei-
chen auf deine Hand, mid sollen

Tyndale.
Let these words which I command 6
thee this day stick fast in thine
heart. And whet them on thy children, 7
and talk of them as thou sittest in
thine house, and as thou walkest
by the way, and when thou liest
down, and when thou risest up ;
And bind them for a token to 8
thine hand, and let them be a re-

u6 The English Versions.
dir ein Denkmaal vor deinen inenibrance between thine eyes,
Augen seyn;
9 Und sollst sie Uber deines Ha^sfs And write them on the post^ and 9
Pfosten schreiben und an die gates of thine house.
Thore. The rendering of these four verses proves an independent
knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German, ^nd English,
There was nothing in the English language he could have
used, e. g. , for the rendering of the Hebrew Shinnaen by the
English whet, which conveys an idea contained neither in the
Greek itpoliifidiiEii of the Septuagint, nor the Latin narrabis
of the Vulgate; but it had been employed by Luther, who
renders schdrfen, the obsolete form for einscharfen — to whet
in (with the government aliquid alicui). Had he been a ser
vile imitator of Luther, he would have rendered, after the
example ofthe dreadful translators ofthe period, "and whet
them in, or into thy ehildren "; but he knew that that would
have violated the English idiom, and therefore he rendered
' ' whet on "; and he understood the Piel force of the root
shdnan which Simonis renders: acuil, exacuit, metaphorice,
instigamt, incukavit; plainly showing by his rendering that he
had grasped the primary sense of the Hebrew word, which
has been retained in the margin of the Authorized Version,
and though uncurrent and somewhat harsh, is stronger than
" teach diligently. " Again, in verse eight, Luther translates
the Hebrew: Letctaphoth beyn eyneycha: " Denkmaal vor deinen
Augen" (a remembrance or memorial before thine eyes); the
Septuagint: dedXcvva itpd 6g)9aX/i(av 6ov, "unshaken be
fore thine eyes''; the Vulgate; eruntque el mcvebunlur inter
oculos tuos, "and shall be moved between thine eyes." It
is evident that he deliberately gave preference to Luther's
admirable free rendering, as much superior to the vague
Greek and still vaguer Latin of the literal Hebrew ' ' bands or
fillets "; but knew Hebrew enough to perceive that "remem-

Tyndale's Version. 117
brance between thine eyes " conformed at once to the Hebrew
and English idioms. These two examples, I think, will suf
fice to convince and prove to scholars that Tyndale used Lu
ther and understood Hebrew. His discriminations through
out are excellent, and his English vocabulary is more choice
by far than that of the reputed English Demosthenes of the
period, Sir Thomas More.
But let Tyndale himself be heard on this subject. He says
in the preface to The Obedience of a Christian Man (Parker
Soe. edr, p. 148), arguing with those who opposed the trans
lation of the Bible into the vernacular: " The sermons which
thou readest in the Acts o the Apostles, and all that the
apostles preached, were no doubt preached in the mother
tongue. Why, then, might they not be written in the mo
ther tongue ? As, if one of us preach a good sermon, why
may it not be written ? Saint Jerom also translated the Bible
into his mother tongue, why may not we al^o I They will
say it cannot be translated into our tongue, it is so rude. It
is not as rude as they are false liars. For the Greek tongue
agreeth more with the English than with the Latin. And
the properties of the Hebrew tongue agreeth a thousand
times more with the English than with the Latin. The
manner of speaking is both one; so that in a thousand places
thou needest not but to translate it into English, word for
for word, when thou must seek a compass in the Latin, and
yet shalt have much work to translate it well-favouredly, so
that it have the same grace and sweetness, sense and pure
understanding with it in the Latin, and as it hath in the
Hebrew. A thousand parts better may it be translated into
the English than into the Latin." This he wrote in 1528.
The helps available to Tyndale were: The Hebrew Bible
(Soncino, 1488, Brescia, 1494), the latter edition was that
from which Luther translated; Bomberg's Bible, published in
15 18; and the Rabbinical Bible, in 15 19 and 1525. Pelli-

II 8 The English Versions.
can's Hebrew Grammar had appeared in 1503, Reuchlin's
Dictionary in 1506, Miinster's Grammar in 1525, and the
Complutensian Polyglot with a Hebrew Grammar and Lec-
tionary in 151 7-20. The Latin translation of the Hebrew
Bible, by Pagninus (Lyons, 1528), and his Thesaurus (1529)
he may have seen, but the presumption is that he did not.
In addition to what has been said of Tyndale's knowledge
of Hebrew, the following Tables expounding certain words
in the Pentateuch, prepared by Tyndale, taken from Walter's
Doctrinal 'Treatises (Parker Soe. Ed., Cambridge, 1848) will
be of permanent value for reference, the longer notes being
indicated by ... . The reader will find Walter's notes,
which, for want of space, cannot be given here, very valuable
and instructive. genesis.
Abrech, Tender father *; or as some will. Bow the knee.
Ark, A ship made flat, or as it were a chest or a coffer.
Bisse. Fine white, whether it be silk or linen [cf /ivtSdoS, Luke xvi. 19] .
Bltss. God's blessings are his gifts 
Cain. So it is written in Hebrew. Notwitlistandmg, whether we call
him Cain or Cairn, it maketh no matter, so we understand the mean
ing. Every land hath this manner: that we call yohn, the Welchmen
call Evan, the Dutch [German] Haunce. Such difference is between
the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and that maketh them that translate
out of the Hebrew vary in names from them that translate out of Latin
or Greek.
Curse. God's curse is the taking away of his benefits ....
Eden. Pleasure.
Faith, is the believing of God's promises, and a sure trust in the good
ness and truth of God: which faith justified Abraham, and was the
mother of all his good works which he afterwards did 
Firmament, The sky.*
Grace, Favour: as Noah found grace; that is to say, found favour and
love.
Haiii and Cam,, all one.'
Jehovah, is God's name; neither is any creature so called; and it is as
much to say as. One that is of himself, and dependeth of nothing [self-
existent] 

Tyndale's Version. 119
Marshal. In Hebrew he is called Sartdbaim: as thou wouldest say, lord
ofthe slaughtermen. And though that Tabaitn be taken for cooks in
many places (for the cooks did slay the beasts themselves in those days),
yet il may be taken for them that put men to execution also * 
Slime, was their mortar .... a fatness that ooses out of the earth like.
unto tar; and thou mayest call it cement if thou wilt.
Siloh, after some, is as much to say as " sent " \^ui mittendus est, Vulg.] ;
and after some "happy"; and after some, it signifieth Messiaa,* that
is to say " anointed," and that we call Christ after the Greek word.
Testament; that is, an appointment made between God and man, and
God's promises 
Tyrants. "There were tyrants in those days, for the sons of God saw
the daughters of men," etc. The sons of God were the prophets'
children 
Vapour, A dewy mist, as the smolte of a seething pot.
Walk. To walk with God is to live godly, and to walk in his com
mandments ....
Zaphnath Paenea. Words of Egypt are they (as I suppose); and as
much to say as, " a man to whom secret things be opened "; or " an
expounder of secret things,'' as some interpret it."
EXODUS.
Albe. A long garment of white linen.
Ark. A coffer, or chest, as our shrines, save it was flat; and the sample
of our slirines was taken thereof.
Booth. An house made of boughs.
Brestlap, or biestflap, is such a flap as thou seest in the breast of a cope.
Consecrate. To appoint a thing to holy uses.
Dedicate. Purify or sanctify.
Ephod, is a garment somewhat like an amice; save the arms came through
and it was girded to (chap. xxv.).
Geeras. In weight as it were an English half-penny, or somewhat more.
Heave-offerings , Because they were ho ven up before the Lord.
House. He made them houses; that is, he made a kindred, or a multi
tude of people to spring out of them; as we say the house of David,
for the kindred of David.
Peace offering. Offering of thanksgiving of devotion, and not for con
science of sin and trespass.
Pollute. Defile.
Reconcile. To make at one, and to bring in grace or favour.

120 The English Versions.
Sanctify. To cleanse and purify; to appoint a thing unto holy uses,
and to separate from unclean and unholy uses.
Sanctuary. A place hallowed and dedicate unto God.
Shewbread. Because it was always in the sight and presence of the
Lord (chap. xxv.).
Tabernacle. A house made tentwise, or as a pavilion.
Tunicle. Much like the uppermost garment of the deacon.
Waive-offering. Because they are waiven in the priest's hands to divers
quarters.
Worship. By vnorehipping, whether it be in the old Testament or new,
understand the bowing of a man's self upon the ground : as we ofttimes,
as we kneel in our prayers, bow ourselves, and lie on our arms and
hands, with our face to the ground.
^Iwill be, of this word cometh the name of God, Jehovah, which we in
terpret Lord; and is as much to say as, I am that I am (chap. iii.).
\Sheep.* That I call here [ch. xii.] sheep, in Hebrew is a word indiffer
ent to a sheep and to a goat both 
^jfehovah Nissi.* The Lord is he that exalteth rae (ch. xvii.).
DEUTERONOMY.
Avims. A kind of giants, and the word signifieth crooked, unright, or
wicked.
Belial. Wicked or wickedness; he that hath cast the yoke of God off his
neck, and will not obey God. *
Bruterer. Prophesier or soothsayer.
Emims. A kind of giants, so called because they were terrible and cruel,
for emim signifieth terribleness.'"
Enacke. A kind of giants, so called haply because they wore chains about
their necks; for enach is such a chain as men wear about their necks."
Horims. A kind of giants, and signifieth noble; because that of pride
-they called themselves nobles, or gentles. •
Rock. God is called a rock, because both he and his word lasteth forever.
Whet them on thy children.* That is, exercise thy children in them and
put them in use. [For a fuller account of this rendering see what is
said pages 115, 116].
Zamzumims. A kind of giants, and signifieth mischievous, or that \»
always imagining.*
Note. The places marked * denote passages illustrative of Tyndale's independence
as a Hebrew scholar, which in many instances is sustained by the best authorities.
In the Brief Declaration of ihe Sacraments, by Tyndale, he explains Pheniel, Abel
Miisraim, Pesach, Mahanaim, El Eloih Israel, El Bethel, Horma, Lehi. Mahanek-
Dan, Abel-hagedolaih, Eben-haazer, Neser, rnd others.
t Nof found in ihe Pentateuch of 1330 an.. 1534, but in Day\ folio.

Tyndale's Version. 121
Tyndale's Pentateuch, the first English translation direct
from the Hebrew appeared, as has been stated, in 1530; it is
unique in typography, and exceedingly rare. The book of
Genesis is in the black letter, or, as they used to call it last
century, in the Dutch (German) letter, Exodus and Leviti
cus are in the Roman letter. Numbers in the black letter, and
Deuteronomy again in the Roman. The four books begin
ning with Exodus contain no clue as to where and by whom
they were printed, but the colophon at the end of Genesis
states: " Emprenled at Marlborow in the land of Hesse, by me,
Hans Luft, in ihe yere of our Lord, MCCCCCXXX., the xvii.
days of Januarii. "
This date designates a. d. 1530, not 1531, as Anderson,
and others that follow him, hold, for although legal and of
ficial documents signed between January i and March 25,
1 53 1, would have been dated 1530, this was not the usage
in dating unoflicial letters and in historical works, and is not
likely to have been common with publishers.
A complete copy of this small octavo is in the Grenville Li
brary in the British Museum, another in the Lenox Library;
and as every writer on the subject has his own "simplest way
of accounting for this irregularity,'- which, however satisfactory
to himself, is not so to others, I venture to say that beyond
the certainty that Genesis and Numbers in the same black letter
were printed by Hans Luft at Marlborow, (.'') the name of the
printer and the place of the printing of the three remaining
books belong to the things unknown.
In 1530 the Dutch printers brought out the fourth surrepti
tious edition in i2mo, which, in the language of Joye, was
"miche more false than ever it were before."
Tyndale's Obedience ofa Christian Man appears to have been
quite congenial to Henry; Cromwell was now gaining influ
ence over him, and probably had told him the drift of Tyn
dale's argument in The Practice of Prelates (without showing

122 The English Versions.
him the book)* as far as it encouraged princes to resist and
humble the hierarchy, and his account, as well as the perusal
of the Obedience by Henry, seem to have made him anxious
at the time to secure, if possible, Tyndale's pen against the
pope, and in advocacy of his projected measures against the
monasteries. The circumstances under which he became ac
quainted with the Obedience appear to have been as follows:
Anne Boleyn having obtained a copy, lent it one of her at
tendant ladies, Mrs. Gainsford, whose suitor, George Zouch,
plajrfuUy snatched it fi-om her and took it to the king's chapel,
where he was reading it so attentively that dean Sampson
noticed it, took the book from him, and gave it to the car
dinal. The queen, asking for her book, the lady, on her
knees, confessed all the particulars. "The lady Anne shewed
herself not sorry, nor angry with either ofthe two; but, 'Well,'
said she, ' it shall be the dearest book that ever the dean or
cardinal took a-way. ' So she goes to the king, and upon her
knees she desireth the king's help for her book. Upon the
king's token the book was restored. And now, bringing the
book, she besought his grace, most tenderly, to read it. The
king did so, and delighted in the book: 'For,' saith he, 'this
book is for me and all kings to read ' " (Strype, Eccl. Mem.
I. ch. xv., p. 173; confirmed in Wyatt's Memoir, printed
fi-om a MS. in Cavendish's Life of Wolsey, by Singer, II. pp.
202-5). In 1530 Stephen Vaughan, the new envoy to the princess-
regent of the Netherlands, met Tyndale at Antwerp, to see
w^hetber he might not, under royal promise of safety, be in
duced to return to England. Tyndale, who knew what was
in store for him there, preferred exile to certain death. The
negotiations were entirely unsuccessful.
* The title of the first edition reads: The Praciyse of Prelates, g. Whether the
king's grace maye be separated from hys guene. because she'was his brother's wyfe
Marborch. In the yere of oure Lorde, MCCCCC & XXX.

Tyndale's Version. 123
To this period (1531) belong Tyndale's Answer to Sir
Thomas More's Dialogue, and his translation of the Book of
Jonah. In the prologue to the latter he says, "When the
hypocrites come to the law, they put glosses to, and make
no more of it than of a worldly law, which is satisfied with
the outward work, and which a Turk may also fulfil; when
yet God's law never ceaseth to condemn a man until it be
written in his heart, and until he keep it naturally without
compulsion and all other respect, save only of pure love to
God and his neighbor; as he naturally eateth when he is an
hungered, without compulsion and all other respect, save to
slake his hunger only. And when they come to the gospel,
then they mingle their leaven and say, ' God now receiveth
us no more to mercy, but of mercy receiveth us to penance*;
tbat is, to wit, holy deeds that make them fat bellies, and
us their captives both in soul and body. And yet they feign
their idol the pope so merciful, that if thou make a little
money glister in his Balaam's eyes, then is neither penance,
nor purgatory, nor any fasting at all, but to fly to heaven as
swift as a thought, and at the twinkling of an eye.
"And the lives, stories, and gests [doings] of men, which
are contained in the bible, they read as things no more per
taining unto them than a tale of Robin Hood, and as things
they wot not whereto they serve, save to feign false descant
and juggling allegories, to stablish their kingdom withal."
And further on: "And thirdly, ye see in the practice, how as
God is merciful, and long-suffering, even so were all his true
prophets and preachers, bearing the infirmities of their weak
brethren, and their own wrongs and injuries, with all pa
tience and long-suflering, never casting any of them off their
backs, until they sinned against the Holy Ghost, maliciously
persecuting the open and manifest truth: contrary unto the
ensample of the pope, which in sinning against God, and to
quciuli the truth uf his Holy Spirit, is ever chief captain and

124 The English Versions.
trumpet-blower to set other at work, and seeketh only his
own freedom, liberty, privilege, wealth, prosperity, profit,'
pleasure, pastime, honor, and glory, with the bondage, thral
dom, captivity, misery, wretchedness, and vile subjection of
his brethren ; and in his own cause is so fervent, so stiff and
cruel, that he will not suffer one word to be spoken against
his false majesty, wily inventions, and juggling hypocrisy, to
be unavenged, though all Christendom should be set together
by the ears, and should cost, he cared not how many hundred
thousand, their lives.
"Now, thou mayest read Jonas fruitfully, and not as a poet's
fable, but as an obligation between God and thy soul, as an
earnest-penny given thee of God, that he will help thee in
time of need, if thou turn to him, and as the word of God,
the only food and life of thy soul, this mark and note. First,
count Jonas the friend of God, and a man chosen of God, to
testify his name unto the world; but yet a young scholar,
weak and rude, after the fashion of the apostles while Christ
was with them yet bodily,"
No wonder this prologue and'the translation did not please
Sir Thomas More, who,- in his Confutation of Tyndale s An
swer, etc., 1532, says: "Jonas made out by Tyndale: a booke
that whoso delighte therein shall stand in peril that Jonas was
never so swalowed up with the whale, as by the delyte of that
booke, a man's soule may be so swalowed up by the Devill
that he shall never have the grace to get out agayne. "
It is interesting to note in connection with the translation
of this book the elaborate argument of Professor Walter, the
e litor oi Doctrinal Treatises (Parker Soe. ed., pp. 447, 448),
of its non-existence, chiefly because it is not found in Mat
thew's Bible. This was in 1848. No copy of it was known
to exist. • But in 1861, Lord Arthur Hervey, bishop of Bath
and Wells, discovered one in the library at Irkworth bound up
in a volume which for two hundred years had been in the pos-

Tyndale's Version. 125
session of his family. The prologue and the translation seem
to have been printed at Antwerp by Martin Emperour, the
former having this preface: "The Prophete Jonas, with an
introduction before, teaching ye to understand him and the
right use of all the Scriptures," and the usual address: "W.
T. unto the Christen Reader." The translation is intro
duced witb: "The storie ofthe prophete Jonas." This trans
lation, as well as Coverdale's version, has been published by
Mr. Fry (The Prophet Jonas, etc. London, 1863).
On May 25th, 1531, the king conferred with his council
and prelates in the Star Chamber on the subject of Tyndale's
translations, etc. , and caused an instrument to be drawn up
declaring that "all the books containing these heresies, etc.,
with the translation also of Scripture corrupted by William
Tyndal, as well in the Old Testament as in the New, should
utterly be expelled, rejected, and put away out of the hands
of his people, and not be suffered to get abroad among his
subjects," and enjoining preachers publicly to denounce them
and to demand their delivery; that it was not necessary that
the people should read the whole Scripture in English, and
that the king would see to it that the New Testament should
be faithfully and purely translated, etc." (The instrument,
and the names of the persons present, may be seen in Wil-
kins' English Councils, iii. p. 727; see also Foxe, Acts ii. p.
588, col. 2; Collier, Eccl. Hist ii. p. 50, col. 2).
This order, although the promise connected with it was not
kept, vvas strictly enforced, and Stokesly, newly-made bishop
of London, burnt as many of the obnoxious books as he
could get in St. Paul's church-yard.
Nor was a decree passed by the Convocation of the Prov
ince of Canterbury, March 17th, 1533, that the Holy Scrip
ture should be translated into the vulgar tongue, -executed
at this time.
In 1532, Sir Thomas Elyot, who, under royal instruction,

126 The English Versions.
tried his utmost, happily in vain, to trepan Tyndale, wrote
from Ratisbon, March '14th, to tbe Duke of Norfolk: "Al
beit the king willeth me, by his grace's letters, to remain at
Brussels for some space of time for the apprehension of Tyn
dale, which somewhat minisheth my hope of soon return;
considering that like as he is in wit moveable, semblably as
is his person uncertain to come by: and, as far as I can per
ceive, hearing of the king's diligence in the apprehension of
him, he withdraweth him into such places where he thinketh
to be farthest out of danger. In me there shall lack none
endeavour." (British Museum, Cotton MSS. Vitell. B. xxi.
fol. 54. Cited by Anderson, i. p. 323, Eng. ed.)
From this it appears that Tyndale was again Hving in con
cealment, continuing the work of translating the Hebrew
Scriptures, besides writing an exposition on St. Matthew v. ,
vi., vii., and preparing a new edition of the New I'estament.
Something has already been said of Frith, whose relation to
Tyndale resembled that of Timothy to Paul. He had been
with him through these sad years of exile, but in 1532 he was
sent by his father in tbe gospel to England, that he might
know the estate of certain brethren there and comfort their
hearts. His movements having been betrayed to More and
Stokesley, he was arrested on the coast of Essex while waiting
for a fevorable oppiortunity to return to the continent, and
committed to the Tower. On the details relating to his con
finement, literary and evangelical labors, I cannot enter here.
Iiis fate was most sad, for, refusing to recant, he was burned,
a youthful martyr to evangelical liberty, in Smithfield, July
4th, 1533.
In August, 1534, there appeared a further Dutch edition
of Tyndale's New Testament in i2mo, the collation of which is
taken frqm Anderson: ^^ The New Testament as it was written
and caused to be written by them which hearde yt, whom also our
Saueoure Christ Jesus commanded that they shulde preach it unto

Tyndale's Version. 127
al creatures." — Title, at the back of which is an "almanack
for xviii. yeres. " The signatures run a to z, A to H. Then
the epistles of the Apostle St. Paul, on sign Aai, and extend
to Ccc. At the end of the Revelation is this colophon:
' ' Here endeth the Newe Testament diligently ouer sene and cor
rected, and printed now agayn at Antwerpe by me Widowe of
Christoffel of Endhoue, in the yere of oure Lorde MCCCCC. and
xxxiiii. in August." In 1845, the only known copy of this
very rare book was then in the Grenville Library, in the Brit
ish Museum. This edition was corrected by George Joy, alias
Gee, alias Clarke, a Bedfordshire man, educated at Peter-
house, Cambridge (b.a. 1512-13; m.a. 15 17), who, charged
with heresy in 1527, fled to the continent, first to Strasburg,
where he translated The Prophet Esay* from the Latin, and
in 1532 to Barrow (Bergen-op-Zoom, in Holland) and ven
tured to put forth the surreptitious edition just described, re
vised by the Vulgate, without the knowledge of Tyndale, who
had come to Antwerp to bring out his second edition, of
which the following collation may be fittingly inserted here:
"The Newe Testament dylygently corrected and compared
with the Greek by Willyam Tindale, and fyneshed in the
yere of Our Lorde God a. MD. and xxxiiii. in the moneth of
Nouember. '' This title is within a wood border, at the bot
tom of which is a blank shield. " W. T. to the Christian
reader, '' 1 7 pages. ' ' A prologue into the iiii. Evangelystes, "
4 pages. Then a second title: The Neue Testament, imprinted
at Antwerp by Marten Emperowr, Anno MDXXXIIII. Mat
thew begins on folio II. ; Revelation on CCCLV. ; and after
ward follow: " The Epistles taken out ofthe Old Testament,"
running on to folio CCCC. A table ofthe Epistles and Gos
pels for Sundays, 16 pages, with "some things added to fill
up the leffe with all," 5 pages. The signatures run in eighths,
* For full particulars of his literary labors see the sequel.

128 The English Versions.
and a full page has 33 lines. It has wood-cuts in Revelation,
and some small ones at the beginning of the Gospels and sev
eral of the Epistles. The Epistles, taken out of the Old Tes
tament, "are read in the Church, after the use of Salisbury,
upon certain days of the year," include -78 verses, from the
Pentateuch, 51 from i Kings, Proverbs, and Canticles, 147
from the prophetical books, chiefly Isaiah, and 43 from the
Apocrypha. Anderson, "in his invincible dislike of the Apocrypha act
ually omits the extracts from those books in his list of places
from the Old Testament translated by Tyndale.
Copies of this edition occur more frequently than of Joye's
surreptitious version, concerning which it may be here pre
mised that Tyndale felt very sore, as will be seen from the
extracts presently to be produced, which place the whole
case before the reader; and he had good cause to feel sore,
for the Dutch printers, hearing that he was about to repub
lish, ' ' were anxious to forestal the market, and therefore has
tily got out a new edition," in which they employed Joye.
The opening paragraph in Tyndale's prologue upon the
Gospel of St. Matthew reads: " Here thou hast (moost deare
reader) the New Testament or covenaunt made wyth us of
God in Christes bloude. Which 1 have looked over agayne
(now at the last) with all dylygence, and compared it vnto
the Greke, and have weded oute of it many fautes, which
lacke of helpe at the begynninge and oversyght did sowe
therein." In an additional prologue, beginning, "W. Tyn
dal yet once more to the Christen reader," he says: "Thou
shalt understand, most dear reader, when I had taken in hand
to look over the New Testament again, to compare it with
the Greek, and to mend whatsoever I could find amiss, and
had almost finished my labour; George Joye secretly took in
hand to correct it also, by what occasion his conscience know^
eth, and -prevented [anticipated] me, insomuch that his cor-

Tyndale's Version. 129
rection was printed in great number (most of the sheets) ere
mine began. " . . . . He takes special note of Joye's trans
lation of the word resurreclio by ' ' the life after this, '' and re
marks that if he wanted to alter the text he should have put
it forth for his own translation, and not for his (Tyndale's),
concluding with the statement: "Finally that New Testament
thus dylygently corrected, beside this so ofte putting out this
word resurreccion, and I wote not what other chaunges, for I
have not yet reed it ouer, hath in the ende before the table
of the epistils and gospelles this tytle: Here endith," etc. (as
above), "which tytle, Reader, I haue here put in, because
by this thou shalt knowe the book the better. Vale. "
Joye came out with an apology in November, 1533, which
in its way (which the reader may characterize for himself) can
hardly be excelled, especially if it be borne in mind that his
M. A. notwithstanding, he was only an indifferent Latin schol
ar, appears to have known less Greek than Latin, as the se
quel will show, and to have been blessed with a degree of
assurance and conceit wonderfully adjusted to the Cimmerian
darkness of his ignorance. Here is'the title of this vindica
tion : ' ' An Apology made by Geo. Joye to satisfy, if it may
be, W. Tyndale, to pourge and defende himself agaynst so
manye slaunderause Lies fayned upon him in Tyndale's un
charitable and unsober Pistle, so wel worthye to be prefixed
for the Reader to induce him into the understandyng of his
New Testament, diligently corrected and printed in the Yeare
of oure Lorde MCCCCC and xxxiii., in November." He
explains how he came to be connected with the matter and
so forth, thus: "Then the Dewche began to printe them the
fourth time, because thei sawe no man els goyng about them.
And after thei had printed the first leife, which copye another
Englissh-man had corrected to them, thei came to me and
desired me to correcke them their copie; whom I answered —
That if Tyndal amende it with so grete diligence as he prom^

I30 The English Versions.
iseth, yours will be never solde. Yisse, quoth they, for if he
prynte two thousand, and we as many, what is so little a
noumber for all England ? and we will sel ours better cheap,
and therfore we doubt not of the sale: so thaf I perceyved
well and was suer, that whether I had correcked theyr copye
or not, thei had gone forth with their worke, and had given
us two thousand mo bokes falselyer printed than ever we had
before. Then I thus consydered with my self: England hath
ynowe and to manye felse testaments, & is now likely to have
many mo; ye and that whether Tyndal correcktith or no, yet
shal these now in band go forth uncorrecked to, except some
body correck them. — ^Aftir this consydered, the printer came
to me againe & offred me two stuvers and a half for the cor
recting of every sheet of the copye which folden contayneth
xvi. leaves; and for three stuvers, which is fourpence half
penny starling, I promised to do it. So that in al I had for
my labour but xiv. shylyngis flemeshe; which labour, had
not the goodnesse of the deede & comon profyte and helpe
to the readers compelled me more then the money, I woide
not have done yt for five tymes so miche, the copye was so
corrupt, and especially the table." He further states that
"this Testament was printed or Tindal's was begun, and
that, says he, not by my prevention but by the printer's ex
pedition, & Tindal's owne long sleeping. For as for me I
had nothing to do with tbe printing thereof, but correcked
their copie only as where I founde a worde falsely printed, I
mended it; and when I came to some derke sentencis that no
reason coude be gathered of them, whether it was by the ig
norance of the first translatour or of the prynter, I had the
latyne text by me, and made it playne: and where any sen
tence was unperfite or clene lefte oute, I restored it agene,
and gave many wordis their pure and native signification in
their places which thei had not before." He moreover de
clared that ' ' he woide the scripture were so puerly and ply-

Tyndale's Version. 131
andy translated, that it needed neither note, glose, nor scholia,
so that the reder might once swimme without a corke. "
Now all this was written after Tyndale's own corrected New
Testament had been published, and at a time when poor Tyn
dale was in prison. There was one correction in particular
of which Joye was uncommonly proud, and that may enable
the reader to determine his scholarship. He says: "Ere he
(Tyndale) came to one place of the Testament to be last cor
rected, I told his scribe that there was a place in the begin
ning of the sixth chapter of the Acts somewhat darkly trans
lated at first, and that T had mended it in my correction, and
bade him shew it Tyndale to mend it also. But yet, because
/ found the fault and had corrected it before, Tyndale had
lever to let it stand, as he did for all my warning, still darkly
in his new correction, whereof the reader might take a wrong
sense, than to have mended it. Which place, whether it
standeth now clearer and truer in my correction than in his,
let the learned indge." *
The passage in Tyndale's version read thus: "In those
dayes, as the nombre of the disciples grewe, ther arose a
grudge amonge the Grekes agaynste the Ebrues, because
their wyddowes were despysed in the dayly raynystracion. "
The improved, corrected, and clearer passage reads in Joye's
version: "In those dayes, the nombre of the disciples grewe,
there arose a grudge amonge the grekes agaynst the ebrues,
because theyr pore nedy were neglege in the dayly almose dea/inge. "
The italicized clause contains the improved rendering of the
Vulgate's: Eo quod despicerentur in ministerio quotidiano vidum
eorum. Before noticing the changes introduced into Tyndale s cor
rected New Testament by himself this seems the proper place
to enumerate the labors of Joye:
* The last extract with the italics is taken from Anderson, which accounts for the
different spelling.

132 The English Versions.
I. A Translation of the Prophet Esay into English. Svo.
Strassburg: Balthaser Backneth. 1530.
2. David'.s Psalter, etc. 12 mo. Antwerp: Martin Em
perowr. 1534.
3. Jeremy the Prophete translated into Englishe, etc. Date:
¦ May, 1534. Name of printer and place not given. The ti
tle has a second clause: The Songe of Moses is added in the
ende to tnagnifie oure Lorde for the Fall of Pharao the Bisshop
of Rome. Anno M. D. and xxxiiii. in the monthe of Mcvye.
Immediately after the prefece then follows: "To supplee
the lefe take here, crysten reder, that goodly and godly songe
of Moses, wherewith thou oughtest now gloriously to magnifie
and prayse God for the destruccion and throing downe of our
cruel Pharao, the Bisshop of Rome, non otherwyse then did
Moses and his chirche loaue him for drownyng- of Pharao,
which Pharao fygured our blodye Bisshops of Rome. The
songe of Moses and his Chirche songen aftir Pharao's dethe,
drowned with his hoste in the redde sea."
4. The surreptitious edition of Tyndale's New Testament,
fully described before.
Of the numerous changes introduced by Tyndale in his
corrected edition, the following table furnishes an illustration.
MATTHEW VI.
iS2(>- IS34-
I youre father in heven. youre father which is in heven. I
7 But when ye praye. And when ye praye. 7
" gentyls. hethen. "
12 as ue forgeve them which tras- as we forgeve oure trespacers. 12
pas vs.
13 Leede vs not into temptacion. And leade vs not into tempta- 13
but delyvre vs from yvel. cion, but delyver vs from evell.
Amen. For thyne is the kingdome and
the power and the glorye for
ever. Amen.
16 that hit myght apere vnto men that they myght be sene of men 16
that they faste. how they faste.

Tyndale's Version. 133
21 there are youre heartes also. " there will youre hertes be also. 21
22 The light off thy body. The light of the body. 22
" ys full of light. shalbe full of light. "
24 he shall lene the one. he shal lene to the one. 24
25 what rayment ye shall weare. what ye shall put on. 25
26 Are ye not better than they? Are ye not much better than they? 26
28 Behold the lyles. Considre the lylies. 28
34 Care not therfore for the daye Care not then for the morow, 34
foloynge ; For the daye foloynge but let the morow care for it
shall care ffor yt sylfe. Eche selfe; for the day present hath
dayes trouble ys sufficient for ever ynough of his awne trouble.

the same silfe day.

A

Many of his renderings are more idiomatic, and he availed
himself of the criticisms of his enemies. He exchanged sen
ior for "elder," and, in several places, favor for "grace."
The other objections made by More and others he disallowed.
How he improved his renderings may be illustrated by Ga
latians V. 5, which in the first edition ran, "We loke for and
hope to be justified by the sprete which commeth of fayth,"
and stands in that of 1534, "We loke for and hope in the
sprite to be justifyed thorow fayth. " At i Peter iv. 6 there
is this note: "The dead are the ignorant of God." On the
other hand, the strange rendering of Rev. vi. 8, "And I
loked, and beholde a grene horsse," occurs in both editions.
Joye had detected in the first edition of 1526 the marginal
gloss upon I John iii., "Love is the first precept and cause
of all other,'' contradicted by one on the other side, "Fayth
is the first commandment, and Love the seconde." This was
corrected in the last (1536) into "Faith and Love is the
fyrste commaundement and all commaundementes, and he
that hath them is in God and hath his Sprete. " The edition
of 1534 notices likewise a curious erratum at St. Matthew
xxiii. 26, where, by mistake, it had been printed, "Clense
fyrst the out syde of the cup and platter," and for which ^«^
lide is to be substituted.

134 The English Versions.
As Joye's revision of the Dutch editions did not sell after
the appearance of Tyndale's own, the printers brought out a
surreptitious edition in exact imitation of Tyndale's; this was
a i2mo, and is occasionally met with.
The statement of Foxe that after Tyndale had finished the
manuscript, but "before it was quite finished at the press"
he was betrayed and apprehended by the imperial officers and
imprisoned at Vilvorde, is not correct, for the events to which
he refers did not take place until the following year; but ac
curacy in the matter of dates cannot be enumerated among
the virtues of the martyrologist.
That he was busy writing and translating, and correcting
proof-sheets until he died is undoubtedly true, but the second
edition was published in November, 1534, and Tyndale was
at liberty, perfectly fiiee and unmolested, living in the house
of Mr. Thomas Poyntz, an English merchant, who had a
brother in the king's household, and was himself a lover of
the Gospel, until toward the close of 1535.
Before supplying from Foxe an abstract of that Judas busi
ness, I have the more pleasing duty to record the touching
manner in which Tyndale expressed his appreciation of the
kind interference of Queen Anne Boleyn on behalf of Richard
Herman, who for having, ' ' with his goods and policy, to his
great hurt and hinderance in this world, helped to the setting
forth ofthe New Testament in English,"* had sufTered loss
and imprisonment, and had at her instance been "restored to
his pristine freedom, liberty, and fellowship aforesaid" (i. e.,
to his former position in the English house at Antwerp).
When Tyndale heard thereof he caused a single copy of his
Testament to be beautifully printed with illuminated letters
on vellum, bound in blue morocco, with the queens name,
in large red letters, equally divided, placed on the fore-edges
* Queea Anne's language.

Tyndale's Version. 135
of the top, side, and bottom margins, thus: On the top,
ANNA, on the right margin fore-edge, REGINA, and on
the lower, ANGLIAE, and with his own name suppressed,
without dedication or preface, to be sent to the queen. This
relic, once in possession of the Rev. C. M. Crackerode, has
been in the British Museum since 1799.
The history of the tragical fate of Tyndale remains to be
written, fiar neither Foxe nor Anderson, although their con
tributions are meritorious, have done justice to the subject
Foxe narrates how Tyndale, lodging in the house of Poyntz,
made the acquaintance of a certain Henry Philips, of Poole,
in Dorset, on the borders of Gardiner's diocese (of Winches
ter), accompanied by a servant Poyntz took a dislike to
him from the first, but Tyndale, simple and unsuspecting,
was imposed upon by the frank and pleasant manners of the
good-looking Philips, whom Anderson has identified as an
agent of Gardiner, while his servant, or coadjutor, was dis
covered by Tebold, Cromwell's agent, to have been a monk
of Stratford Abbey named Gabriel Donne. These two, veiy
probably in the pay, and at the instance of Gardiner, suc
ceeded in getting the emperor's procuror-general, with divers
officers, to corae from Brussels to Antwerp for the purpose
of arresting Tyndale. They embraced the opportune absence
of Poyntz to trap Tyndale, whom they removed to the castle
of Vilvorde, between Malines and Briissels, and seized all his
books and other belongings. This happened in 1535. Poyntz
tried everything in his power to induce influential people in
England to interpose in behalf of Tyndale, having actually
gone to England for the purpose, and returned with letters to
the emperor's council at Brussels, " according to the tenor "
o'' which Tyndale should have been delivered to him. But
Philips, hearing thereof, accused Poyntz of heresy, and caused
him likewise to be arrested and imprisoned. This occurred
about Christmas, a. d. 1535. "He was long kept in prison;

136 The Ei. glish Versions.
but at length, when he saw no other remedy, by night he
made his escape, and avoided their hands. " It does not ap
pear that Poyntz, after his escape, was able to do anything
more for poor Tyndale.
The jailor, John Baers, was fined eighty pounds for con
nivance (Demaus, p. 497). Poyntz returned to England,
where he died in 1562; his epitaph contains a notice ofhis
escape. The lady of Sir John Walsh, with whom Tyndale
lived at Littie Sodbury, was a Poyntz of Gloucestershire, and
a relative of the Essex Poyntzes.
During the twelve months that had already elapsed since
Tyndale was sent to Vilvorde, his godly life and powerful ex
hortations, like those of St Paul at Philippi, were so blessed
that, according to Foxe, ' ' he converted the keeper and his
daughter, and others of his household." It was doubtless
through the good offices of that keeper that he was enabled
to employ his time in the prosecution of his great work of
translating the Scriptures. Three editions of the New Testa
ment are known to have been printed af Antwerp in that
year, and although they were probably all carried through the
press with his knowledge, it is certain that one of them claims
to have been prepared under his special care, being entitled.
The Newe Testament, dylygently corrected and compared with the
Greeke by William Tyndale, and fynnesshed in the yere of our
Lordi God MD. and XXXV. It will be remembered how
many years ago he had declared to a Romish priest, ' ' If God
spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth
the plough to know more of the Scriptures than you do. " In
the gloomy prison of Vilvorde he remembered that vow, and
as he must have realized that, humanly speaking, life would
not be spared much longer, he prepared this edition, exceed
ingly rare (of which a perfect copy exists in the Camb. Univ.
Library), for the instruction of the plough-boys of England,
conforming the spelling to their rude pronunciation, and fur-

Tyndale's Version. 137
nishing for their better understanding of the subjects treated
of, for the first time, headings to the chapters. In this edi
tion father is s^^Xt faeiker ; master, maesier; stone, stoene;.Qnc^
oones; worse, whorsse; etc. (Tyndale, Dod, Treatises, Parkef
See. ed, p. lxxiii. ). Westcott and Eadie think, however, and
not without good reason, especially as the theory of the pro
vincial form of spelling does not make the language any
clearer to rustics, that the flat diphthongal orthography was
due to the copy being read to a Flemish compositor who did
not know English; te for the, thongs for tongues, and thaugh for
taught, are certainly rather Flemish than provincial English.*
How the theologians of Louvain, that stronghold of Ro
manism, beset him with their attacks, and how, when the
king of England and his council had abandoned him, they
got Carondelet, archbishop of Palermo, and president of the
privy council of Brussels f to condemn the noble Tyndale,
the translator of the Word of God, and the strenuous advocate
ofthe doctrine of justification by faith alone, as a heretic, under
the detestable decree promulgated at Augsburg, November
* Professor Westcott, from materials furnished by Mr. F. Fry, has drawn up a table,
in which the pecuUar vowel-sounds are so arranged as to exhibit their affinity with
Flemish vowel-sounds. The following are specimens:
ae for a faether, graece.
ae " ay vaele.
ae " ea aete, paerle,
ae " e belaeved, naedeth.
oe " o aboede, roese.
oe " ou foere.
oe " e kneeled.
00 " o boones, moore.
There is also much inconsistency of spelling, ?. ^., boeldely and booldly; hoeme
and hnome, etc. Westcott, History, (2d ed., pp. 55, 56).
t What this Brabant government was may be gathered from the language of
Erasmus in a letter to Cholerus, written in 1534, in which, after referring to the
monks, he says: "These animals are omnipotent at the emperor's court [in the Low
Countries]. Mary is a mere puppet, maintained by our nation; Montigni, a man ot
authority, is a tool of the Franciscans; the Cardinal of Liege is an ambitious friend,
and, when he takes offence, a violent enemy; the archbishop of Palermo is a giver oi
good words, and nothing else."

ye for y

abyede.

ey " e

agreyment.

ee " e

heere, teell.

ea " a

eare {=are).

ie " y {=i

] bliend.

ea " e

streates, neade.

ue " u

crueses, ruelers.

138 The English Versions.
igtli, 1530, cannot be related here at length. If ever a man
was innocent and earned the martyr's crown it was Tyndale,
of whom even the procurator-general, the emperor's attorney,
was constrained to say that he was ' 'Homo doclus, plus et bonus. "
Compare the inscription on his picture given before. Yes, a
learned, a godly, and a good man he was, whom on Friday,
the 6th of October, 1536, they led forth from the castle of
Vilvorde to the place of execution, where they tied him to a
stake, upon which, crying with a fervent zeal and a loud voice,
' 'Lord/ open the eyes ofthe King of England, " the hangman first
strangled him, and then gave his body to be consumed with fire.
It remains historically unproved who was the prime mover
in this Judas affair. Anderson, with a strong degree of prob
ability, has named Gardiner, for Philips was certainly not an
agent either of Henry VIII. or Cromwell, and his intimate
relations to the Romish party, as well as his paternal home,
point strongly to some wealthy ecclesiastic in England. Fisher
and More had too much trouble of their own at the time to be
implicated in the matter, and the correspondence of Cromwell
and other contemporary documents in the British Museum ex
onerate Henry VIII. and Cromwell. The monk Donne,
likewise, the servant in disguise, has been connected by An
derson with Gardiner, who has further discovered that he was
rewarded at this very time from the patronage of Vesey, bishop
of Exeter, a bitter persecutor of the reformers.
There was one person who, from his intimate relations to
Tyndale, probably found means to communicate with him at
Vilvorde, and who may be regarded as his literary executor,
to whom reference must here be made. That was John
Rogers, who had been educated at Cambridge, and came as
chaplain to the English Merchant Adventurers * to Antwerp
* They were an old guild under a charter conferring many privileges on them, and
had heen originally known as The Merchants of St. Thomas a Beckei. For further
particulars see Demaus, Life qf Tyndale, p. 413, sg.

Tyndale's Version. 139
while Tyndale was there. He became to him, what Frith
had been, "his own son in the faith," and continued the
work, interrupted by the untimely murder of Tyndale. Of
the nature of that work more will be said hereafter
Mr. Galesloot has discovered in the archives of the Council
of Brabant a letter written by Tyndale in prison to the gov
ernor, the marquis of Bergen-op-Zoom, which sheds light on
his condition there, and confirms incidentally what is other
wise abundantly clear, that he translated the Old Testament
from the Hebrew. The first passage gives his appeal to the
governor, ' ' that if I am to remain here during the winter,
you will request the procureur to be kind enough to send me
from my goods which he has in his possession a warmer cap,
for I suffer extremely from cold in the head, being afflicted
with a perpetual catarrh, which is considerably increased in
the cell. A warmer coat also, for that which I have is very
thin; also a piece of cloth to patch my leggings; my shirts are
also worn out. He has also 3 woollen shirt of mine, if he will
be kind enough to send it. I have also with him leggings
of thicker cloth for putting on above; he also has warmer caps
for wearing at night." The second passage states: "I wish
also his permission to have a candle in the evening, for it is
wearisome to sit alone in the dark. But, above all, I entreat
and beseech your clemency to be urgent with the procureur,
that he may kindly permit me to have my Hebrew Bible, He
brew grammar, and Hebrew dictionary, that I may spend my
time with that study. And in return may you obtain your
dearest wish, provided always it be consistent with the salva
tion of your soul" (Demaus, Tyndale, p. 476).
Another unsolved mystery connected with the imprison
ment of Tyndale is the appearance, at the very time of hia
martyrdom at Vilvorde, of i. folio edition of his New Testament,
printed in England, at the press of the king's own patent
printer in London. Whether he read the proofs, whether the

I40 The English Versions.
queen Anne was instrumental in the matter, or how it came
to pass, we have no means to determine, but it was certainly
the first sacred volume printed in England. Of this edition
I now give the title, followed by the collation:
The Newe testament, yet ones agayne corrected by W. Tindale:
And in many places ameded, where it scaped before by negly gence
of the printer. Also a Kalender, and a necessary table, wherein
easily and lightly may be founde any story cbteyned in ye foure
Euangelystes, and in the Actes of ye apostles. Also before every
pyslel of S. Paul is a prologue, very frutefull Ioye reder. And
after ye newe testament, foloweth the Epistels of ye olde testament.
Newly printed in the yere of oure lorde MDXXXVI.
Collation (from Anderson): Prefixes, viz. : Almanake for 23
years — Kalender — W. T. to the Christen Reder — a prologue
into the four Euangelystes — the Oflfyce of all Estates, and the
Bokes conteyned in the Newe Testament: 14 leaves. The
Newe Testament contains folio cxcvii., but the folios run on
to ccv. ; then the table of the Epistles and the Gospels, in
double columns, etc. The distinguishing mark at the end:
"GOD SAUE THE KYNGE AND ALL HIS WELI^
WYLLERS. "
Its orthography is peculiar in the one particular of giving
throughout the Anglo-Saxon particle of negation nat for not,
and «a/withstanding. The name of the printer, Thomas
Berthelet, is not given. Ames (Herbert), Dibdin, and An
derson ascribe it to his press, but Mr. Bradshaw, of the Uni
versity Library, Cambridge, to that of T. Godfray, to whom
the engraved border belonged before it passed into the pos
session of Berthelet, which he thinks could not have been
as early as 1536.
In his conversation with Vaughan (see above) Tyndale had
said : " If it would stand with the king's most gracious pleas
ure to grant only a bare text of the scripture to be put forth
among his people, like as is put forth among the subjects of

Tyndale's Version. 141
the emperor in these parts, and of other Christian princes, be
it of the translation of what person soever shall please his
majesty, I shall immediately make faithful promise never to
write more, nor abide two days in these parts "; he had ceased
to write upon earth, and while his name was recorded in the
book above, the Book of God which he translated into Eng
lish, was printed and openly sold in England with all his pro
logues and prefaces. And though many more versions were
made in after times, it may be safely asserted that the version
of Tyndale, for which he was martyred, still continues to be
among the best parts of the Authorized Version, and it is so
excellent in many points that even the Westminster Version
has returned to not a few of his renderings.
From among the numerous testimonies borne to the excel
lence of Tyndale's version, I shall select three modern ones,
as showing the universality of the high estimate in which it is
held. Geddes, a Roman Catholic scholar, says: "In point
of perspicacity and noble simplicity, propriety of idiom and
purity of style, no English version has as yet surpassed it "
(Prospectus for anew Translation, p. 89). J. A. Froude writes:
"The peculiar genius, if such a word may be permitted,
which breathes through it, the mingled tenderness and ma
jesty, the Saxon simplicity, the preternaturar grandeur, un
equalled, unapproached, in the atterapted improvements of
modern scholars, — all are here, and bear the impress of
the mind of one man, and that man William Tyndal"
(History of England, iii. 84); and lastly, G. P. Marsh de
clares: "Tyndale is merely a full-grown Wyclif, and his re
cension of the New, Testament is just what his great predeces
sor would have made it, had he awaked again to see the dawn
of that glorious day, of which his own life and labors kindled
the morning twilight. Not only does Tyndale retain the gen
eral grammatical structure of the older version, but most of
its felicitous verbal combinations, and, what is more remark-

143 The English Versions.
able, he preserves even the rhythmic flow of its~ periods, which
is again repeated in the recension of 1611. Wyclif, then,
must be considered as having originated the diction and
phraseology, which for five centuries has constituted the
consecrated dialect of the English speech; and Tyndale
as having given to it that finish and perfection, which
have so admirably adapted it to the expression of religious
doctrine and sentiment, and to the narration of the re
markable series of historical facts which are recorded- in
the Christian Scriptures" (Lectures on the English Language,
First Series, p. 627).
A few brief examples of Tyndale's version, in which the
portions in Roman type show what remains of it in the Au
thorised Version, will be perused with interest; no change
has been made in the spelling. The first is a passage from
the Pentateuch; the others are taken from the edition of
1534. Matthew viii. 1-13 may be compared with Wiclifs,
pp. 59-64. NUMBERS -XVI. 28-3O.
28. And Moses said: Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath .sent
me to do all these works, and that I have not done them of mine own
mind. 29. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited
after the visitation of all men, then the Lord hath not sent me.
30. But, and if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her
mouth, and swallow them, and all that pertain unto them, so that they
go down quick into hell, then ye shall understand that these men have
railed upon the Lord. ST. MATTHEW VIII. I-I3.
. I. When l^e was come downe frora the mountayne, moch people fo\-
owed hini.
2. And lo, ther came a lepre, and worsheped him sayinge: Master, if
thou wylt, thou canst make me clene.
3. And lesus put forthe hys hond and touched hym sayinge: I wyll,
be thou clene, and immediatly hys leprosie was clensed.

Tyndale's Version. 143
4. And lesus sayde vnto him. Se thou tell no man, but go and shewe
thy selfe to the preste, and offer the gyfte that Moses commaunded, in
witness to them.
5. When lesus was entred into Capernaum ther came vnto him a cer
tayne Centurion, and besought hym
6. Sayinge: Master my seruaunt lyeth sicke at home of the palsye,
and ys greuously payned.
7. And lesus sayd vnto hyrn: I will come and heale hym,
8. The Centurion answered and sayde: Syr I am not worthy that thou
shuldest come vnder my rofe, but speake the worde only and my ser-
uaiit shalbe healed.
9. For I also myself e am a man vndre power, and have sowdiers vndre
me, and I saye to one, go, and he goeth, and to anothre come, and he
cometh : and to my seruaunt, do this, and he doeth it.
10. When lesus hearde that, he marveled and sayd to them that fol-
owed hym. Verely I say vnto you, I have not founde so great fayth:
no, not in Israel.
1 1 . I say therfore vnto you that many shall come from the eest and
weest, and shall rest with Abraham, Isaac and lacob in the kingdome ol
heven: 12. And the chyldren of the kyngdome shalbe cast out in to vtter
darcknes: there shalbe weping and gnasshing of tethe.
13. Then lesus sayd vnto the Centurion, go thy waye, and as thou be
te-, .st so be it vnto the. And his seruaunt was healed the selfe houre.
ACTS XV. 36-41.
3&. But after a certayne space, Paul sayde vnto Barnabas: Let us goo
agayne and visile oure brethren in every cite where we haye shewed the
worde of the Lorde, and se how they do.
37. And Barnabas gave counsell to take with them John, called also
Marke. 38. But Paul thought it not mete to take him vnto their company,
whiche departed from them at Pamphylia, and went not with them to
the wopke.
39. And the dissencion was so sharpe bitwene them, that they aeparted
a sunder one from the other: so that Barnabas toke Marke, and sayled
vnto Cypers.
40. And Paul chose Sylas and departed delyvered ofthe brethren vnto
the grace of God.
41. And he went thorowe all Cyria. and Cilicia, stailishynge the con
gregations.

144 The English Versions.
ACTS XXIII. 3-5.
3. Then sayde PsmI to ium: God smyte the thou payntyd -wall. Sit-
test thou and ludgest me after the lawe: and commaundest me to be smyt-
ten contrary to the lawe ?
4. And they that stode by, sayde: re vy lest thou Goddes hye
preste ?
5. Then sayd Paul: I wist not, brethren, that he was the hye preste.
For it is written, thou shalt not curse the rular of thy people.
R0MAN^,^J^-8.
I. Vni3.t preferment then hath the lewe? other what a vauntagetk
circumcision ?
2. Surely very moche. Fyrst vnto them was committed the worde of
God. 3. What then though some of them did not beleve ? shall their vnbe-
leve make the promes of god with out effecte ?
4. God forbid. Let god be true, and all men lyars, as it is written:
That thou myghtest be iustifyed in thy saying? and shuldest overcome
when thou arte iudged.
5 . Yf oure vnrightewesnes make the rightewesnes of God more excel
lent: what shall we saye ? Is God vnrighteous which taketh vengeaunce ?
I speake after the maner of men.
6. God forbid. For how then shall God iudge the worlde ?
7. Yf the veritie of God appere moare excellent thorow my lye, vnto
his prayse, why am I hence forth iudged as a synner ?
8. And saye not rather (as men evyll speake of vs, and as some affirme
that we saye) let vs do evyll, that good maye come therof. Whose
damnacion is iuste. I COR. XV. 51-53.
51. Beholde I shewe you a mystery. We shall not all slepe; but we
shall all be chaunged, and that in a moment, and in the twinclinge of an
eye, at the sounde ofthe last trompe.
52. For the trompe shall blowe, and the deed shall ryse incorruptible,
and we shalbe chaunged.
53. For this corruptible must put on incorruptibilite; and this mortall
must put on immortalite. I PETER III. 7-12.
7. Lyke wyse ye men dwell with them accordinge to knowledge,
gevinge honoure vnto the wyfe, as vnto the weaker vessel!, and as vnto

Tyndale's Version. 145
them that are heyres also of the grace of lyfe, that youre prayers be
not let.
8. In conclusion, be ye all of one mynde, one suffre with an other, love
as brethren, be petifuU, be courteous,
9. Not rendringe evyll for evyll, nether rebuke for rebuke: but contrary
wyse, blesse, remembringg that ye are thervnto called, even that ye shuld
be heyres of blessinge.
ID. If eny man longe after life, and loveth to se good dayes, let
him refrayne his tonge from evyll, and his lippes that they speak
not gyle.
II. Let him eschue evyll and do good: let him seke peace, and en
sue it.
12. For the eyes of the Lorde are ouer the righteous, and his eares are
open vnto their prayers. But the face of the Lorde beholdeth them that
do evyll. I JOHN III. I-IO.
I . Beholde what love the father hath shewed on vs, that we shuld be
called the sonnes of god. For this cause the world knoweth jroM not be
cause it knoweth not him.
2. Derely beloved, now are we the sonnes of God, and yet it dothe not
appere what we shal be. But we knowe that when it shall appere, we
shalbe lyke him. For we shal se him as he is.
3. And every man that hath thys hope in \i\ia pourgeth him silfe, even
as he ys pure.
4. Whosoever committeth synne, committeth vnrighteousnes also, for
synne is vnrighteousnes .
5 . And ye knowe that he appered to take awaye oure synnes, and in
him is no synne.
6. As many as byde in him, synne not: whosoever synneth hath not
sene him, nether hath knowen him.
7. Babes, let no man deceave you. He that doeth righteousnes, is
righteous, even as he is righteous.
8. He that committeth synne, is ofthe devill; for the devyll synneth
sence the begynnynge. For this purpose appered the sonne of god, to
lowse the workers of the devill.
9. Whosoever is bome of God, sinneth not: for his seed remayneth in
him, and he cannot sinne, because he is borne of god.
10. In this are the children of god knowen, and the children of the
devyll. Whosoever doeth not rightewesnes, is not of God, nether he that
loveth not his brother.

146 The English Versions.
REVELATION II. I2-I7.
12. And to the messenger ofthe i'OM^^faaVw in Pergamos wry te; This
sayth he which hath the sharpe swearde with two edges.
13. I knowe thy workes and where thow dwellest, evyn where Sathans
seat ys, and thou kepest my name and hast not denyed my fayth. And
in my dayes Antipas was a faythfull witnes of myne, which was slayne
amonge you where sathan dwelleth.
14. But I have a fewe thynges agaynst the: that thou hast there, they
that mayntayne the doctryne of Balam which taught in balake, to put
occasion of syn before the chylderne of Israhell, that they shulde eate of
meate dedicat vnto ydoles, and to commyt fomicacion.
15. Even so hast thou them that mayntayne the doctryne of the Nico-
laytans, which thynge I hate.
16. But be converted or elles I will come vnto the shortly and will
fyght agaynste them with the swearde of my mouth.
17. Let him that hath eares heare what the sprete sayth vnto the con-
gregacions: To him that oyercommeth will I geve to eate manna that is
hyd, and will geve him a whyte stone, and in the stone a newe name
vvrytten, whych no man knoweth, saving he that receaveth it.
The differences between the editions are exhibited with
great accuracy in the collation of Mr. T. Fry, of Bristol.
Three New Testaments of William Tyndale, that of 1534, 1535,
1535-34, and the text of Matthew's first edition, of which
a specimen is here subjoined. The letters GH denote
1535-34, and M Matthew.

COLLATION OF EDITIONS 1534, GH 1535-34, AND MATTHEW 1537.

/ CORINTHIANS.

Ch,

Ver.

2
4
'34
1 —
7
'34
GH
'35
—
8
'34
3
6
'34
20
'34
GH
M
—
22
'34
5
8
'34
GH
M
37
'34
GH
M
8
7
'34
GH
'35
9
13
'34
GH
ivi
14
'34
GH
M
—
'34
GH
M
10
32
'34
12
3
'34
Gfi
'35
—
23
'34
14
6
•34
GH
'35
IS
2
34
10
34
—
12
3+
—
15
'34
—
29
'34
GH
M
—
33
'34
GH
M
—
5°
'34
• . .
16
3
'34
GH
M
preaching were not with.
ordained before the world.
the rulers of the world.
God gave increase.
God knoweth the thoughts.
other, 4 times in the verse,
and vvickedness.
his virgin doeth well . .
eat as of a thing offered.
have their finding.
so also did the Lord.
should live of the gospel.
ye give occasion.
but by the Holy Ghost.
members of that body.
unto you other by revelation.
by which also ye are.
not I but the grace.
firom death . . from death.
rise not up again.
if the dead rise not at all.
malicious speakings.
corruption inherileth.
allow by yuur letters.
GH GliGH GH
GH GH GH
GH GHGH GH
M
'35 M
'35 M
'35 ••
. . M
'35 ¦-
'35 •-
'35 ••
'35 M
. M
'35 M
. M
'35 M
'35 M
'35 ^
'35 M
'35 ••
'35 -v
'35 M
'35 -
preaching was not with.
ordained before the word.
the rulers of this world.
God gave the increase.
God knoweth thoughts.
either, 4 times in the verse.
omitted.
his virginite doeth well.
eat as a thing offered.
have they finding.
so did the Lord.
omitted.ye give none occasion.
but the Holy Ghost.
members of the body.
to you other by revelation.
by the which also ye are.
yet not I but the grace.
from the dead . . ofthe dead.
rise not again.
if the dead rise not all.
malicious speaking.
doth corruption inherit.
allow by our letters.
>
< HH
o 2;
4».
148 The English Versions.
Among the words in Tyndale's version which have become
obsolete in meaning, are: angle, hook; avoyd, depart; aught,
awed; by and by, immediately; corn,* wheat or barley ; meate,
food; diseasest, troublest; quicke, living; scrip, small bag;
wittes, mind; wode, tree; dyd on, put on; gostiy, spiritually;
knowledge, confess; and both in meaning and form: arede,
prophesy; bewreyeth, betrayeth; closse, field; pill, make a gain;
gohhets, fragments; grece, stairs; harbourless, shelterless; lyve-
lod, land; partlettes, handkerchiefs; shamfastness, modesty; woot
not, know not; yerwhyle, already.
The following are instances of his homely and quaint ren
derings: " ester, " Matth. xxvi. 2; "good frydaye," xxvii. 62;
"witsontyde," i Cor. xvi. 8; "sondaye," Rev. i. 10; "Marse-
street," Acts xvii. 19; " towne clarcke, " xix. 35; "which for
one breakfast solde his right," Heb. xii. 16; "his awne shire-
toune," Luke ii. 3; "she laye a dyinge," viii. 42; "com
mon hostry," x. 34; "ten grotes," xv. 8; "did I pill you?"
2 Cor. xii. 16; " this is the pyth," Heb. viii. i.
The spelling is very curious and inconsistent; e. g., we
meet with: it, hit, and hyt; loost, lost; citesen, citesyn;
ageynst, agaynst; of, off; go, goo; so, soo; one, woon;
other, wother. Such connections as "litleons," "shalbe," are
common; we find also: beknowen, be known; dough terelawe,
motherelawe, and moter eleawe, Luke xii. 53. Forms like
despeared, heedes, sherer, kynred, brydde, a brood (abroad),
moche, moare, theare, etc., are of constant occurrence, and
it is startiing to read: "better to Mary then to bourne," I
Cor. vii. 9. Mary is not a proper noun, but the verb to
marry, and bourne means burn. Proper names with small
letters, and common nouns with capitals, and the same words

* Only in America, where corn designates maize, not in England where it denotes
all kinds of grain. This list is taken from Condit, History qf ihe English Bible, pp
129, 130, a thoughtful work written with special reference to the Protestant religion
and the English language. New York, 1882.

Coverdale. 149
with both as fency led, are also frequent, e. g., "lewry and
galile and Samary" occur in one clause. Acts ix. 31; " Da-
masco,"ver. 22, and " damasco, '' ver. 27; " hye Prestes, " xxii.
30, "hye prest," xxiii. 2; Ihon and John, Matth. xi. 4, 7;
"let vs put on the Armoure of lyght,' Rom. xiii. 12.
In conclusion, I feel constrained to say of one of England's
noblest sons, to whom the Church at large, and more espe
cially all readers of the English Bible, are under the greatest
obligations, and who has grown dear to me by his beautiful
character, his undaunted manliness, and his translucent pu
rity and truthfulness, in the pithy phrase of Fuller: "What
he undertook was to be admired as glorious, what he per
formed to be commended as profitable, wherein he failed
is to be excused as pardonable, and to be scored on the ac
count rather of that age than of the author himself. "
" His tongue was never traitor to his heart."

CHAPTER V.
coverdale.
It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to obtain reliable data
relating to the early historj' of this translator of the Bible
into the vernacular. It is supposed that he was a native of
the District of Coverdale in the parish of Coverham, near
Middleham, in the North Riding of Yorkshire; the year a. d.
1488 is given as that of his birth, and Whitaker (History of
Richmondshire, i. p. 17), alleges that Coverdale is an assumed,
and not a family name. He is said to have been educated
at the monastery of the Augustines at Cambridge, of which
Dr. Robert Barnes was at that time prior. To him he was
indebted for his learning and religious convictions. The

150 The English Versions.
name of Coverdale is mentioned among the chief promoters
of the Reformation in the University, of whom Bilney, Staf
ford and Latimer are the most celebrated. According to
Tanner (Bibl Brit. Hibern. ) he was priested by John, bishop
of Chalcedon, at Norwich a. d. 15 14; took the degree of
Bachelor of Canon Law at Cambridge, a. d. 1531, and that
of D.D. at Tiibingen. In 1527 he had made the acquaint
ance of lord Cromwell, and while an inmate of his house,
corresponded with him.
When Barnes was arrested for heresy, Coverdale accompa
nied him to support him under his trials. But when the for
mer recanted, the latter threw off the monk's habit, left the
priory, and became a secular priest, and chose Essex as a
field for missionary work. Soon after that period (1528) he
either went to the Continent or labored elsewhere; but whert
he worked in retirement, remains uncertain. The story, cir
culated by Foxe, and repeated by numerous writers, that he
went to Hamburg and assisted Tyndale, is destitute of histor
ical evidence, and must therefore be disregarded.
It may be, however, admitted that Coverdale, wherever he
worked, was encouraged, if not employed, by Cromwell in
the translation of the Bible, and it would seem from a letter
without date (assigned to 1527 or 1532), that Sir Thomas
More was aware of his occupation. The letter is given by
Anderson, and in Pearson's Remains of Coverdale, p. 490; the
passage in question is this: " Ifit like your favour to revocate
to your memory the godly communication, which your mas
tership had with me your orator in master Moore's house
upon Easter Eve " etc. And further on he says: " Now I be
gin tc taste of Holy Scriptures: now honour be to God ! I
am set to the most sweet smell of holy letters, with the godly
savour of holy and ancient doctors, unto whose knowledge I
cannot altain without diversity of books, as is not unknown
to your most excellent wisdom. Nothing in the world I de-

Coverdale. 151
sire but books, as concerning my learning: they once had, I
do not doubt but Almighty God shall perform that in me,
which he of his most plentiful favour and grace hath begun. "
That these passages relate to the translation of the Bible can
not be doubted, but they shed no light on the place where, and
the circumstances under which Coverdale progressed with and
completed his great work, which was published in 1535 agree
ably to the subjoined Title and collation. The Book is a
small folio and has the title: BIBLIA, The Bible: that is, the holy
Scripture of the Olde and New Testament, faithfully translated
out of Douche and Latyn in lo Englishe, MDXXXV. S. Paul.
II Tessa, iii. Praie for us, that the worde of God male haue
fre passage & be glorified, etc. S. Paul. Cols. iii. Let .the
worde of Christ dwell in you plenteously in all wysdome, etc.
Josue i. Let not the Boke of this lawe departe out of thy
mouth, but exercyse thyselfe therein da)e and nyghte. — There
are six woodcuts: that on the top displays Adam and Eve'
after the fall, and the Redeemer trampling on the serpent's
head; the two beneath, on the one side represent Moses re
ceiving the law, and Ezra reading it to the people; the two on
the other exhibit our Lord investing the disciples with power
to preach and heal, each having a symbolical key, and Peter
preaching on the day of Pentecost; the cut at the bottom
shows the monarch on his throne delivering the Bible to his
prelates and peers; David, with his lyre, stands on the one
side, and Paul, with the martyr's sword, on :he other — It
also displays four scrolls with these texts: "In what daye so
euer thou eatest thereof thou shalt dye. Genesis 2." — "This
is my deare sonne in whom I delyte, heare him. Matthew
17." — "O how sweete are thy wordes vnto my throte: yee
more then hony, etc. Psal. 118." — "I am not ashamed of
the Gospell of christ for it is the power of god. Rom. i."
Under the woodcut of Moses are the words: "These are the
lawyes that thou shalt laye before them "; and under that of

152 The English Versions.
Christ above described: " Go youre waye int<>all the worlde,
and preach the Gospel;" — The Collation (from Anderson)
is this: "Woodcut title, dedication, to K. Henry VIIL, in
cluding his ' dearest just wife, and^ -most virtuous pryncesse
Queen Anne, ' '' 5 pages. — r- '¦' A prologueto the reader, " 6 pages.
"The Bokes of tl>e hole Byble," 2 pages.— "The con-
tentes of the boke of Genesis," i page. — "The first book of
Moses," fol. i. to xc A map ofthe Holy Land, — "The
seconde parte of the Olde Testament," Josua to Hester, fol.
ii.-cxx,— " Job to Salomon's Bg^lettes," fol. i. -lii. ^" All the
Prophets in Englishe'," fol. ii.-cii. — "Apocripha," fol. ii.-
Ixxxiii., falsely numbered lxxxi., a blank leaf. "The Newe
Testamente," fol. ii. -cxiii., and on the reverse of the last is,
" Prynted in the yeare of oure Lorde, MDXXXV, and fyn-
ished the fourth daye of October. "
It is not certain where this Bible was printed; it was not
printed in England; ofthe places mentioned, vi^., Ifrankfort,
Cologne and Ziirich, the one named last is regarded by the
most competent scholars (including Westcott and Eadie) as
the most likely place, mainly on account of the similarity of
the black-letter type used tp that of other books, printed about
that time by Christopher Froschover at Ziirich.
Mr. Henry Stevens (The Bibles in the Caxton Exhibition, p.
88) has established the fapt, before unknown, that Jacob van
Meteren of Antwerp was copnected with Coverdale in the
translation of the Bible. The passage reads in the original :
"Luy avail faict apprendre sa jeunesse I'art d'imprimerie, <&
estoifc doiie de la cognoissance de plusieurs langues, & autres
bones sciences tellement que des lors il sceust si bien distin-
guer la lumiere des t6nebres, qu'il employa sa peine, & mon
stra son zele en Anvers a la traduction de la Bible Angloise,
& employa a cela un certain docte escolier nomm6 Miles Cov-
erdal ce qu'il fit a I'avancement du Royaume de J^sus Christ
en Angleterrc ' (La Vie el la Mort de Vhonorable et Renommi

Coverdale. 153
Hislorien Emanuel de Meteren, printed at the end of L' Histoire
dis Paysbas d' Emanuel de Meteren, La Haye, 1618); Ih Eng
lish: " He had learned [in] his youth the art of printing, and
was endowed with the knowledge of several languages, and
other good sciences so that he understood so well to distinguish
light from darkness that he was at pains and very zealous at
Antwerp towards the translation of the English Bible, and em
ployed for that purpose a certain learned scholar, called Miles
Coverdale, which he did for the advancement of'the kingdom
of Jesus Christ in England. " This renders it probable that
the first edition of Coverdale was printed z.t Antwerp, but the
language used does not warrant any other inference but that
he aided in money, or otherwise in the furtherance of the
work. There is a very curious circumstance connected with the Ded
ication and Prologue. In the original edition ofi 535 " queen
"Anne" is referred^ to as the king's "dearest just wife, and
most virtuous pryncesse." The copy in the British Mut
seum has the same words, but Anne, altered by the pen into
Jane, thus: JAne. At Lambeth there are two copies, one
with Anne, another with Jane; a copy at Sion College has
Jane, and there are some copies with the name of the queen
entirely expunged. The explanation is not difficult. As
Queen Anne was beheaded in 1536, and the book, though
published abroad in 1535, had not yet been allowed to cir
culate in England in 1536, Anne was changed into Jane
(which appears also in the editions of Nicolson, one folio,
and one quarto of 1537), while the entire suppression of the
queen's name in some copies, probably made at a later date,
may refer to the rapid succession of wives justifj'ing the ex
pedient of leaving that an open question.
Diplomacy and expediency were necessary to get the royal
approbation, and accordingly in 1536, the first title was with
drawn and a new one substituted, omitting likewise the words

154 The English Versions.
".translated out of Douch and Latj'n," and running simply:
Biblia, The Byble: that is, the Holy Scrypture of the Olde and
New Testament, faythfully translated in Englyshe, MDXXXVI.
Whether the royal sanction was ever expressly accorded to
Coverdale's version is extremely doubtful, and the testimony
of Fulke (Defence of the Translations of the Bible, p. 98.
Parker Soe. Ed.) probably contains all that is really impor
tant in the matter: "I myself," he says, "and so did many
hundreds beside me, heard that reverend father, M. Doctor
Coverdale, of holy and learned memory, in a sermon at St.
Paul's Cross, upon occasion of some slanderous reports that
then were raised against his translation, declare his faithful
purpose in doing the same; which after it was finished, and
presented to King Henry VIII. of famous memory, and by
him committed to divers bishops of that time to peruse, of
which (as I remember) Stephen Gardiner was one; after they
had kept it long in their hands, and the king was divers times
sued unto for the publication thereof, at the last being called
for by the king himself, they redelivered the book; and being
demanded by the king what was their judgment of the trans
lation, they answered that there were many faults therein.
"Well," said the king, "but are there any heresies main
tained thereby ? " They answered, there were no heresies,
that they could find, maintained thereby. "If there be no
heresies, " said the king, ' ' then in God's name let it go abroad
among our people. " *
In 1537, when Coverdale appears to have been in London,
there were published by J. Nicolson of Southwarke, a quarto,
and a folio edition of Coverdale's Bible. Both are dedicated
to " Henry VIII. and his queen Jane," and are "sett forth
with the Kynges most gracious license." This dedication,

? There is some doubt whether this passage relates to this Bible, oi to the Gria'
Bible of 1539. Westcott, Eadie and Moulton refer it to the latter.

Coverdale. 155
which is couched in terms of abject flattery, is almost as bad
as that to King James, the retention of which is as inexplica
ble as the all but universal suppression of the noble Preface.
The title of this second edition runs: Biblia, The Byble,
that is the Holy Scripture ofthe Olde and New Testament, fayth
fully translated in Englysh, and newly oversene and corrected,
MDXXXVII. Imprinted in Southwarke for James Nycolson.
The order of the books in Coverdale's Bible, 1535, is as
follows. It is divided into six tomes, or parts.
Tome I. contains the Pentateuch.
" II. " Josua, Esther, Ezra and Nehemiah being
called I and 2 Esdras.
" III. " Job, the Psalter, the Proverbs, the Preacher
and " Salomon's Balettes. "
" IV. " All the prophets. Baruch, with the Epis
tle of Jeremy, appears next unto Jeremy
"because he was his scrybe, and in his
tyme."
Lamentations is thus introduced : ' ' And it came to passe
(after Israel was brought into captiuyte and Jerusalem de
stroyed) that Jeremy the Prophet sat wepinge, mournynge,
and making his mone in Jerusalem; so that with an heuy
herte he sighed and sobbed, sayenge."
Tome V. contains the " Apochripha. " "The bokes and
treatises which among the fathers of olde
are not rekened to be of like authorite
with the other bokes of the byble, nether
are they founde in the Canon of the He-
brue. " The Prayer of Manasses is omitted.
" VI. " The New Testament in the following order:
4 Gospels, Acts, The Epistles of St. Paul,
Romans to Philemon, i and 2 St. Peter,
I, 2, 3 St. John, Hebrews, St. James,
St. Jude, Revelation.

iS6- The English Versions.
It is necessary to supply additional particulars fo the Nicol
son editions of .1537.
In 1538 Coverdale was in Paris, at the instance and charge
of Cromwell, and engaged with Grafton in cariying through
the press another edition of the Bible, the ,particulars relating
to which will be considered in the chapter on "The Great
Bible." During his absence in Paris, the -first New Testament of
Coverdale, professing to contain his translation and the Latin
in parallel columns was published by Nicolson of Southwark.
Of this Latin-English Testament we have three editions.
There is one in 4tG!, with this title: "The Newe Testament both
in Latine and 'ExigVishe £che correspondent to the other after the
vulgare text communely called St. Jeromes. Faithfully translated
byjohan Hollybushe, Anno MCCCCCXXXVIII. — Jeremie xxiii.
29. 'Is not my worde like afyre, saith the Lorde: and lyke
a hammer that breketh the harde stone ? ' — -Prynted in South
warke by James Nicolson. Set forth wyth the Kynge's moost
gracious license. " This edition is not the first, but really the
third. The accounts in Anderson, following Lewis, Home,
Bagster's Hexapla, and other works, are dreadfully confused,
and it is necessaiy to set them in order; the facts then appear
to be these: During Coverdale's absence in Paris, Nicolson
printed an edition of the Latin-English New Testament with
this title: "The newe .testament both Latine and Englyshe ech
correspondent to the other after the vulgare text, commonly
tailed S. Jeroms. Faithfully translated by Myles Couerdah
Anno MCCCCCXXXVIII.— Printed in Southwarke by James
Nicolson. Set forth wyth the kynges moost gracious license."
This edition was very faulty, so ".sinistrally printed and neg
ligently corrected" as he .says in the Dedication and Prologue
to the Paris edition, and found ' ' that as it was disagreeable
to my former translation in English, so was not the true copy
of the Latin text observed, neither the English so correspond-

Coverdale.

157

ent to the same as it ought to be, but in many places, botli
base, insensible, ahd clean contrary not only to the phrase
of our language, but also from the understanding of the text
in Latin " (Remains, p. 33). On this account he repudiated
the first Nicolson edition, and ' ' endeavoured ... to weed
out the faults that were in the Latin and English before," and
brought out an 8vo edition, printed at Paris by Francis Reg-
nault, and published by Grafton and Whitchurch, a. d. 1538,
with this title : ' ' The new testament both in Latin and English
'•after the vulgare lexte: which is read in the churche. Translated
and corrected by Miles Couerdale: and prynted in Paris by
Fraunces Regnault, MCCCCCXXXVIII. in Nouembre . . .
Cum gratia et priuilegis regis." — ^After the appearance, of this
edition, and still in the same year, Nicolson published another
edition of this Testament, still without the sanction of Cover-
dale, and with the name of Johan Hollybushe prefixed as that
of the editor; but whether this Johan Hollybushe was a mythi
cal personage, or a real .person, belongs to the realm of conject
ure. What these versions are, will be evident from the sub
joined examples, as collated by Westcott (History of the Eng
lish Bible, 2d ed. pp. 324-27), in which the following abbre
viations are used: N^Sficolson; H=Hollybushe; R=Regnault;
V= Vulgate. The text to which the various renderings refer,
is that of Coverdale's Bible. I JOHN I. I-IO.
I . That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands
have handled of the word of life; 2. and the life hath appeared, and we
have seen and bear witness and shew unto you the life that is^ everlast
ing, which was with the Father and hath appeared unto us. 3. That
which we liave seeii and heard declare we unto you, that ye also uiay
have felloW.ship with us, and that our fellowship may be with the father
and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4. And this -write we unto you that your
joy may be full. 5. Artd this is the tidings yahich we have heard of him
artd declare unto you that God is Ught and in him is no darkness at all.

iS8 The English Versions.
6. If we say that we have fellowship with him andyet wa/k in darkness.,
we lie and do not the truth. 7. But if we walk in light even as he
is in light, then have we fellowship together, and the blood of jlesas
Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8. If we say that we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; 9. but ifyie knowl
edge our sins, he is faithful anAjust to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
us frora all unrighteousness. 10. If we say we have not sinned, we make
him a liar and His word is not in us.
COLLATION.
Ver. 1. that which, N., H.; eyen, N. ; beholden, N., H.; concerning,
R., of, N., H., (de, v.). Ver. z. is manifest, N., H.; testify, N., R.,
H.; everlasting, N., R., (vitam Eetemam, V.); by, N., H.; appeared,
N., H. Ver. 3. Even that, R., (Quod vidimus, V.); have heard, N.,
H.; do we shew, N., H.; be, N., H. Ver. 4. these things, N., R.,
(haec, v.); do I write, N.; ye may rg'oice and (that, K.) your, N., (R.),
(ut gaudeatis et gaudium vestrum, V.). Ver. 5. that, N., H. ; do sKew,
N., H.; there is no darkness in him, N., H. Ver. 6. walk, N., R.
Ver. 7. as he also, N., R., (sicut et ipse, V.); we have, N., H.; his Son
Jesus Christ, N., H. Ver. 8. do say, N., H. Ver. 9. if, N., R.;
righteous that he do, N., H.; cleanse, N., H. ; wickedness, N., H. Ver.
10. do say, N., H. ; that we, N., R., (quoniam, V.).
I JOHN V. 16-21.
16. If any man see his brother sin a sin not unto death, let him ask
and he shall give him Hfe for them that sin not unto death. There is a
sin unto death, yiir the which say I not that a raan should pray. 17. Ali
unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death. We know that
whosoever is bom of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God
keepeth himself and that wicked toucheth him not. 19. We know
that we are of God and the world is set altogether on wickedness, 20.
But we know that the Son of God is come and hath given us a mind to
know him which is true, and we are in him that is true, in his Son jfe-
su Christ. TX/j is the true God and everla-sting life. Ver. 21. Babes
\iee-p yourselves from images. Amen.
COLLATION.
Ver. 16. He that knoweth, N., R., H.; to sin, N., R.; life shall be
given to him that sinneth (sinning, N., H.) (N.), R. (H.); I say not that
any man should (do, N.) pray /or that (N.), R., H. Ver. 17. Every
wickedness, N., H.; « sin, N., R., H.; omit not, N., R., H. Ver. 18.
every one that, N., H.; doth not sin, N., R., H.; the generation, N.,

Coverdale. 159
R., H.; him, N., R., H.; the, N., R., H. Ver. 19. the whole world is
set on (in, N.) mischief (N.), R., H. Ver. 20. and, N., R., H.; under
standing that we may, N., R., H. ; the true God, N., R., H. ; be (we are,
N., 'R.)in his true son(^.), R., (H.); The(t\iis, N., Yi.)same(ti., R., H.).
Ver. 21. Little children, N. H.;you, N., R., H.; omit Amen, N. R. H.
Of the merits of Coverdale's New Testament it may suffice
here to say that, based on Tyndale's first edition, and cor
rected by the second and Luther's, it is a very creditable pro
duction. Westcott, who has gone into a thorough examina
tion of the subject, says that on a rough calculation more than
threefourths of the changes introduced by Coverdale into Tyn
dale's version of i John are derived from Luther, and that
the changes in that epistle, nearly all verbal, are only a hun
dred and twenty-three.
In 1 540 Cromwell died on the scaffold, and from that pe
riod dates Coverdale's Continental exile, during which he
lived in the first instance at Tiibingen (Godwin, de prccsuli-
bus Anglice, p. 413), afterwards at Bergzabern, in the Palatin
ate, where he kept a school and held a pastoral charge to
which he had been preferred in virtue of his proficiency in the
German language until his return to England in 1548. The
following authentic account of him at this place is in a letter
from Richard Hilles to Henry BuUinger (No. cxiv. p. 247,
in the Third Series of Letters relating to the English Reforma
tion, Parker Soe. edition): "... The other, I think, is
somewhat known to you, both by my commendation, and
also his own letters sent to you some time since. He is
called Myles Coverdale, and is truly one who is very dear,
and honourably esteemed by all the ministers of the word
and other learned men in these parts. . He is the master of a
grammar-school at Bergzabern, a town not far from Weissem-
berg, and where; by translating in his leisure hours, for the
sake of the extensive advancement of the kingdom of Christ,
various religious works into our language, partiy yours, and

i6o The English Versions.
partly those of other learned men, he is of veiy great service
in promoting the Scriptural benefit of those persons in the
lower ranks of life, who are anxious for the truth, and in
flamed with zeal and desire of obeying the will of God. He
is one of those, who, after the example of Moses, rather choose
to be banished, than with a wounded conscience enjuy the
pleasures of sin in their native Egypt. "
Recalled to England on the accession of Edward VI. , he
was, through the influence of Cranmer, appointed one of the
king'5 chaplains, and -almoner to the queen Catherine; in
1.550, he served in conjunction with the archbishop, the bishops
of Ely, London, Lincoln, Sir John Cheke, Latimer, and Dr
Parker, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, on a commis
sion against the anabaptists and other sectaries.
In ^550 Coverdale brought out a new edition ofthe Bible,
printed by Froschover at Ziirich, and published in London,
by Andrew Hester. The same work was re -issued, in 1553,
in London, with a new title-page, and the dedication and
prologue reprinted, by Richard Jugge. Not having had an
opportunity to examine copies of these impressions,' I have to
state on the rather doubtful authority of Lewis: "They are
exactly alike, and both of a foreign print, though it is pre
tended by Hester and Jugge that it was printed at London. "
Appointed in 155^ coadjutor to Veysey, bishop of Exeter,
he was on the 30th of August of that year consecrated bishop
of that see. Deprived in 1553, and imprisoned, he was
finally released at the personal intercession of the king of
Denmark, which came about as follows. Coverdale, during
his first exile, had married a lady of Scotch descent, named
Macheson; her sister was the wife of Dr, John Macbee, called
on the Continent Machabaeus, chaplain to the king of Den
mark and highly esteemed, among other things, for his prom
inent share in the Danish Version of the Bible. Through
him, the king persisted in his intercession with Mary and ob-

Coverdale. ,i6i
tained Coverdale's release in February, 1555 (Remains, p. xiv.).
Coverdale then went to Denmark, was appointed preacher to
the exiles 'at Wesel in Friesland (Strype, Memorials, IIL, i.
pp. 233, 410), and shortly after returned to his former charge at
Bergzabern. In 1558 he was at Geneva, and as he returned
the same year to England (Strype, Annals, I. i. c. vii. pp.
150-4), the supposition that he aided in the preparation of
the Geneva Bible appears to be unfounded.
There is reason to believe that he declined the offer of the
bishopric of Llandaff in 1563. He was presented by bishop
Grindal to the living of St. Magnus, London Bridge in 1564,
but resigned it in 1566. He took the degree of D. D. at Cam
bridge in 1563. He died in February 1569, aged eighty-one,.
and was buried in St. Bartholomew's Church behind the Ex
change. When that church was taken down in 1840,, his re
mains were removed to St. Magnus, where they were finally
interred (Remains, p. xvi.).
Bishop Tanner, in Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica, gives an
account of Coverdale, and his works, frorn which are taken '
the following passages relating to his life, and his translation
of the Scriptures: *
" Coverdalus [Mils] patria Eboracencis in Cantabrigiensi academia
studia philosophica et theologica sedulo excoluit. Dein unus ex primis
doctrinae reformatse praedicatoribus. Prater eremita Augustinianus A.
MDXCIV. Norwici per Jo. Calcidonensem episcopum suffrag, presbyter.
{A. MD-XLVII. in eoclesia S. Pauli London, praedicabat, cum multi
Anabaptistae palinodiam canebant. Stow, A^zj/. p. 596. EtA. MDXLIX.
dominum Russel comitatus est in expeditione contra rebelles Devon.
Hooker ad HoUinsh. iii. 1023.] S. theol. doctor Tubingae in Germania
creatus, A. MDLI. 20 Aug. consecrabatur episcopus Exon. Post bien-
nium in carcerem detrusus, segre, Danorum regis opera, flammas evasit,
et solum vertit (Fox, I. edit. 1081). Post obitum reginae Mariae e Ger
mania in patriam rediit, sede vero suam repetere non curavit, quia calvin-
istarum dogmatihus in Germania imbutus, cereraoBiis et vestibus sacris in
* The whole passagfe is given in Works of Coverdale, Remains (Parlc. Soe.) p. xix.

i62 The English Versions.
ecclesia Anglicana infensissimus erat. A. MDLXIII. per episcopuni
Grindal ad episcopatum Landavensem commendabatur (Strype in Vita
Grindall. p. 91). Et hoc anno 3 Martii collatus fuit ad «cclesiam S.
Magni ad pedem pontis Londin. quara resignabat A. MDLXVI. Reg.
Grind. Newe. I. 396, A. MDLXIV. 15 April. Edmundura Grindall.
episc. Londinensem ad gradum doctoratus virtute mandati procancellarii
universitatis admisit, (Strype in Vita Grindall. p. 95) 
" Transtulit in sermonem Anglicum Biblia tola., cum praefatione ad
Henr. VIII. extant MDXXXV. et MDXXXVII. Vetus Testamentum
huius translationis . Pr. epist. ad Edw. VI. 'Caiaphas being byshop
that yeare. ' In fine hujus epistolae ait se translationem hanc ante annos
16 patri Henr. VIII. dicasse. Pr. pr. lectori. 'Consydering how excel
lent.' In praef. ait se hanc translationem A. MDXXXIV. inchoasse ro-
gata doctorum araicorum. Pr. transl. 'In the beginning,' etc. Lond.
MDL. MDLIII. 4to. Principium epistolae dedicatoriae et praefationis
hujus impressionis idem est cum epist. et praefat. principio editionis
Southwark. MDXXXVII. fol. Novum Testamentum. Pr. ded. dom.
Cromwell. 'I was never so wy Hinge to labour," Lond. MDXXXVIII.
Svo. Hiec editio anni MDXXXVIII. accurata est; in praefatione de er-
roribus in alia editione conqueritur. Impr. Lat. et Anglice Lond.
MDXXXIX. Svo. Translatio haec coUata cum versione Gul. Tindalli.
Lond. MDL. Svo  "Londini grandaevus aetatis .80, vel 81,
obiit Jan. 20, MDLXXX. Fuller, Eccl. Hist. ix. 64, 65, A. MDLXV.
juxta Strype in Vita Parker, p. 149, attaraen juxta pag. 241, ejusdem
libri in vivis adhuc erat A. MDLXVII. Et in ecclesia S. Bartholomaci
humatus jacet. Godwin 1. 476. Bal. ix. 61."
To which is added the account of his personal friend Bale
in Scriptores illustres majoris Britannice:
" Milo Coverdalus, patria Eboracencis, ex Augustiniano fratereulo
Christianus minister factus, ex primis unus erat, qui renascente Anglorum
erclesia, cum Roberto Barnso, suae professionis doctore, Christum pure
docuit. Alii partim, hic se totum dedidit ad propagandam Evangelii
regni Dei gloriam, ut patet in utriusque Testamenti laboriosisssima ver-
sione  claruit episcopus Excestriensis sub rege Eduuardo sexto,
anno Domini 1552, nunc autem in Germania pauper ac peregrinus macet."
The omitted part of this notice enumerates some of his
works. Turning to die Version itself, it is impossible, to reach any

Coverdale. 163
other conclusion than that it is a secondary, eclectic transla
tion. The Pentateuch and Jonah (probably also Job) and the
whole of the New Testament are Tyndale's version revised by
Luther, the Ziirich, Sanctes Pagninus and, in the subsequent
revisions, especially by Miinster. The clause in the title of
his first edition of 1535 "faythfully translated out of Douche
and Latyn," must be admitted, after the thorough examina
tion to which his version has of late years been subjected, to
be literally true. The reason of its withdrawal from the titie-
page of subsequent editions can only be conjectured, and no
conjecture appears to me fairer than that the alteration was
not due to Coverdale, but to those who bore the expense of
the undertaking, and took umbrage at that phrase, which, at
that time, seemed to give it an odor of heresy (for "Douche"
or German, on account of Luther, was viewed in that light)
and interfere with its circulation. But be that as it may, the
later editions simply stated in the title: "faythfully translated
in to Englyshe" (1535-36), and "translated in Englysh"
(1537 and the subsequent issues). In connection with his
first edition he stated distinctly in the Dedication ; " I have
with a clear conscience purely and faithfully translated this
out of five sundry interpreters, having only the manifest truth
of the Scriptures before mine eyes," and he says to the Chris
tian Reader: "To help me therein, I have had sondrye trans
lacions, not only in Latin, but also of the Douche interpreters,
whom, because .of their singuler gyftes and special diligence
in the Bible, I have been the more glad to follow for the most
part. " Whether these five interpreters include Tyndale, whom
he certainly most freely consulted, cannot be determined, but
that he consulted the Vulgate, and Pagninus in Latin, and
Luther and the Ziirich in German is certain; it is also highly
probable that he consulted the Worms translation and the
Biblia Sacra of g.udelius, with marginal renderings, Cologne,
1527.

164 The English Versions.
It is nevertheless certain that Coverdale distinctly and ex
plicitly declares that he knew Hebrew; to wit, the followihg
extract from his letter to Cromwell, dated from Paris, June
23, 1538: "For we follow not only a standing text of the
Hebrew, with the interpretation of the Chaldee and the Greek,
but we set also in a private table the diversity of readings of
all texts with such annotations ih another table, as shall doubt
less elucidate and clear the same, as well without any singu
larity of opinion, as all checkings and reproofs " (State Papers,
Cromwell Correspondence, I. No. 107 in Coverdale's Remains,
Park. Soe. ed. ). This applies, of course, to the Great Bible;
and he says likewise in the dedication to the Diglott, Nicol-
son's edition of 1538: "For, inasmuch as in our other trans
lations we do not follow this old Latin text word for word,
they cry out upon us, as though all were not as nigh the
truth to translate the Scripture out of other languages, as to
turn it out of the Latin; or as though the Holy Ghost were
not the author of his Scripture as well in the Hebrew, Greek,
French, Dutch, and in English, as in Latin. The scripture
and word of God is truly to every Christian man of like wor
thiness and authority, in what language soever the Holy Ghost
speaketh it. And therefore am I, and will be while I live, under
your most gracious favour and correction, alway willing and
ready to do my best as well in one translation as in another. "
Two or three short specimens are now produced to present
to the reader's eye the origin of Coverdale's version.
NUMBERS xxiv. I5-I7.
« Pagninus (Vatablus). Ziirich. Coverdale.
15 Tunc assumpsit par- Vund er hub auf seine And he toke vp his 15
abolam suam, et dix- sprttch, vund sprach: parable, and sayde:
it, " Dixit Bileam, fi- Es sagt Bileam der Thus sayeth Balaam
lius Beor, dixit, vir sun Peor: Es sagt der the sonne of Beor:
apertum habens oc- Mann dem die Au- Thus sayeth the man,
ulum, gen georthet sind: whose ey^s are opened:

Coverdale.

165

16 " Dixens audiens elo-
quia Dei, et sciens
scientiam Altissimi.
Visionem Omnipo-
tentis videbit: ca
dens, & disco aper-
tos habens oculos.

17 "Videbo ilium, sed
non nunc: intuebor
ilium, sed non pro
pe; procedet Stella ex
Jacob, etsurget virga
ex Israel: " et trans-
figet terminos Moab,
et destruet omnes fi
lios Seth.

I Et dices in idi^. ilia,
"Confitebor tibi,
Domine quanquam
iratus fuisti contra
me, auersus est fu
ror tuus et consola:
tus es me.

2 " Ecce Deus salus
mea, confidam, et
non pauebo; quia
forbitudo mea, et
laus mea Deus Do
minus, fititque mihi

Es sagt der hOrergStt-
licher red, vnd der
die erkanntnuss hat
dess hOchsten, der
die gesicht des AU-
m^chtigen sach, vnd
niederfiel, vund seine
augen erOfihet wur-
dend: Ich wird jn sehen,
aber yetz nit; ich
wird jn schauwen,
aber nit von der na-
he. Es wirt ein stem
auss Jacob dahar trSt--
ten vund ein scepter
auss Israel aufkom-
mcn, vund wird zer-
schroattern die ober-
sten der Moabitern,
vnd tibergewaltigen
alle Kinder Seth.
ISAIAK XII. Ir6.
Das du dgnn also
sprechen wirst: O
Herr, ich s^ dir
danck : dann . du
wart erzOrnet fiber
mich, aber du hast
deinen zom abgelas-
sen, vnd hast dich
mein erbarmet.
Sihe, Gott is mein
heyl,dem ich trliwen,
vnd fOrcht mir nit.
Dann mein stercke
vund mein lob ist der
herr Gott, der wirdt
auch mein zuflucht

TTttts sayelhhewhich 16.
heareth the wordes of
God, &f that hath
the knowledge of the
liyest, euen he that
sawe the vision of
the Allmightie, &'
fell downe, and his
eyes were opened:
I shal se hitn, but 17
not now; I shal be
holde Mm, but not
nie at hande. There
shal a starre come
out of Jacob, <2r= a
cepter shall come vp
out of Israel, and
shal smyte the ru
ler-s of the Moabites,
and ouercome all the
children of Seth.

So that then., thpul
shalt saye: O Lorde,
Ithanke the, for thou
wast displeased at
me, but thou, hast re-
frayned thy wrath,
and hast mercy vpon

Behold, God is my 2
health, in whom I
trust, and am not
afrayde. For the
Lorde God is my
strength, and my
prayse, he also shal
be my refuge.

1 66

The English Versions.

3 Et haurietis aquas in
gaudio e fontibus
salutis:

4 et dicetis in die ilia,
"Confitemini Dom
ino, invocate nomen
ejus; scire facite in
.populis opera ejus,
mementote quod ex-
celsum est nomen
ejus.

5 Cantate Domino quo
niam magnificentiam
fecit: scitur hoc in
uniuersa terra.
6 Exalta voeem, et
lauda habitatrix Si-
ion, quia magnus in
medio tui sanctus Is
rael.

6 Et pr^parauit Do
minus Deus cucurbi-
tam et ascendit su
per Jonah, ut esset
vmbra super caput
ejus, ut erueret eum
k malo ejus.

Darumb werdend jr
wasser mit frOuden
schOpfTen auss dem
brunnen des hey-
lands,
vund zur selben zeyt
sprechen: Lassend vns
dem herreu dancken,
vund seinen nam-
raen anruffen, vund
vnder den vOlckeren
seyne rSdt auskiln-
deu vnd gedencken,
dann sein narara ist
hoch. Lobsingend dem
Herren, dann er thut
grosse ding dz mans
wUsse in alter welt.
Schrey vnd frolock
du eynwonerin Zion,
dann gross ist dein
fdrst der heylig Is
raels. JONAH IV. 6.
Dann der Herr Gott
has jm ein kikaion
lassen wachsen, das
wttchs ttber Jona auf,
vnd macht seinem
haupt einen schatten
das es jn von dera
das jra wee thatt be-
schirmpte.

Therefore with ioye 3
shal ye drawe water
out of the welles of
the Sauioure,
and then shal ye 4
saye: Let us geue
thankes unto the
Lorde, and call vp
on his name, and de
clare his counsels
amonge the people,
and kepe them in
remembraunce, for
his name is excel
lent. O synge praises vnto 5
the Lorde, for he
doth greate things,
as it is known in all
the worlde.
Crie out, and be 6
glad, thou that
dwellest in Sion, for
greate is thy prince:
the holy one of Is
rael.And the Lord Godd
prepared a wyld
vyne which sprange
vp ouer Jonas that
he raight have shad-
owe aboue his heade,
to delyuer him out
ofhis payne.*

* The italicized portions in Numbers and Isaiah are literal renderings of the Ziirich
version. In Jonah the italicized words are from Pagninus, the wyld vyne is the kikaion
of the Zurich, delyuer from Luther, and payne again from the Zttrich.

Coverdale. 167
From Coverdale's Bible (Fragment*) 1535:
MALACHI IV.
For marck, the daye commeth that shall burne as an ouen : and all the
proude, yee and all soch as do wickednesse, shalbe straw: and the daye
that is for to come, shall burne theni vp (sayeth the Lorde of hoostes) sn
¦ that it shall leaue them nether rote ner braunch.
But vnto you that feare ray narae, shall the Sonne of rightuousnesse
aryse, & health shalbe vnder his winges. Ye shal go forth, & multi-
plie as ye fat calues. Ye shal treade downe ye vngOdly: for they .shalbe
like the asshes vnder the soles of youre fete, in the daye that I shal make,
sayeth the Lorde of hoostes.
Remember the lawe of Moses my seruaunt, which I committed vnto
him in Oreb for all Israel, with the statutes and ordinaunces. Beholde,
I will sende you Elias ye prophet: before the coramynge off the daye of
the great and fearfuU Lorde. He shall turne the hertes of the fathers to
their children, and the hertes of the children to their fathers, that I come
not, and srayte the earth with cursynge.
I have collated this chapter with Luther, the Zurich, the
Worms edition of Peter Schofer (1528, i6mo. ), and the Com
bination Bible of Wolff Kopphl (Strassburg, 1529-32, foHo),
with the result, that there is hardly a word that cannot be re
ferred to ohe or more of them. It would lead me too far, to
state the details here, but many will be supplied in the chap
ters on the German versions. Unless I am mistaken, the pe
culiar character of the Combination Bible, with vvhich Cover-
dale must have been very familiar, suggested to him the
adoption of the same principle in his own versions.
The coUarion of these passages with the Vulgate and Luther,
as well as the Ziirich and Pagninus on the one hand, and the
Hebrew on the other, shows very plainly that they cannot
have been translated from the original. A similar process of
collation has been pursued by Professors Westcott and Eadie
v,,th references to other passages, and by Dr. Ginsburg, who
* Kindly placedin my Iiandi. by the Rev.. Dr. Gilman, Secretary of the American
Bible Society.

i68 The English Versions.
was the first to call attention to it, in Koheleth, and as the
portions examined belong to, the various books of ^'le Old
Testament and have uniformly led to the same result, it may
be regarded as proven that Coverdale's translation is decidedly
secondary and eclectic. In the Apocrypha, however, he is
much more independent, while the New Testament, ) lased in
the, first instance on the first edition of Tyndale, was revised
by the second and the German of Luther (see above)
Coverdale set great store by many different translations,
deeming them highly advantageous (Remains, pp. 13, 14),
and carried his eclecticism into his own translation. His
liberality, in this respect, is certainly very remarkable, as may
be seen from his own words;
Now whereas the most famous interpreters of all give sun icy judg
ments of the text, so far as it is done by the spirit of knowleu ,e in the
Holy Ghost, methink no man should be offended thereat, for thfy refer
their doings in meekness to the spirit of truth in tlie congregation of God:
and sure I am, that there comelh more knowledge and underslandinsr of
the Scripture by their sundry translations than by all the glosses of our
sophistical doctors. For that one interpretetli something obscurely in one
place, the same translateth another, or else he hiraself, more manifestly
by a more plain vocable of the Same meaning in another place. Be not
thou offended, therefore good reader, though one call a scribe that an
other calleth a lawyer; or elders, that another calleth /aM^r and mother;
or repentance, that another calleth penance or amendment. For if mei
be not deceived by men's traditions, thou shalt find no more diversity be
tween these terms, than laetween fourpence and a groat. And this man
ner have I used in my translation, calling it in some place penance, tha/
in another place I call repentance; and that not only because the inter.
preters have done so befoie rae, but that the adversaries of the truth may
see, how that we abhor not this word penance, as they untruly report of
us, no more than the interpreters of Latin abhor panitere, when they
read resipiscere. Only our heart's desire unto God is, that this people
be not blinded in their understanding, lest they believe penance to \x.
ought save a very repentance, amendment, or conversion unto God, and
to be an unfeigned new creature in Christ, and to live according to his
law. For else shall they fall into the old blasphemy of Christ's blood,

Coverdale. 169
and believe that they themselves are able to make satisfaction unto God
for their own sins; from the which error God of his mercy and plenteous
goodness preserve all his (Prologue).'
The very limited number of notes (sixty-six in all, forty-
seven in the Old Testament, and nineteen in the New) in
Coverdale's Bible indicates very plainly that they also are
drawn from the versions which stand to his in the relation of
parent to child. They furnish both alternative readings and
explanatory matter; e. g. —
Gen. iii. 6. " A pleasant tree to make wise." " Sorae reade: whyle it
made wise, ' ' Luther, Ziirich.
Gen. xvii. .i. "I ara the Almighty God," Luther, Pagninus and Vul
gate. "Some reade: I am the God Schadai" (that is, plenteous in power,
abundant, sufficient, and full of all good). Zurich BilDle (das ist ein
voUmachtigen, vund ein (iberfliissige genugsarame vnd voUy alles gutenn).
Gen. xli. 45. " Zaphnath Paena, that is to saye, an expounder of se
cret things, or a man to whom secrete thinges are opened." The He
brew spelling is taken from Tyndale and the Zurich Bible, the expla
nation from Pagninus with the clauses reversed: "Vir cui abscondita
revelata sunt, vel absconditorum expositor."
E.xod. xvii. 16. "The Lord Nissi (so Luther and Zurich), that is:
the Lord is he that raiseth me up." Pagninus: Dominus elevatio mea.
2 Kings xxv. 6. " And he gave judgment upon him," Luther. " Some
reade: And they talked with him of judgment." Zurich: sy redtend rail
jm vom rechten. Pagninus: locuti sunt cum eo judicium.
Matth. i. 8. " Before they came together," Erasmus. ^ " Some reade: be
fore they sat at home together." Zurich: ee sy raiteinanderen zu hausz
sassend. (a specimen of the Zurich improved reading of) Luther: ehe er
sie heimholete. Tyndale (2d ed.): came to afrw// together.
Matth. xxvi. 7. "A box with precious ointment," Tyndale. (2d ed.)
An alabaster box of p. o. "•Some reade: a glas with precious water."
So Luther.
Mark iii. 21. " He taketh too much upon him," Zurich. ^^ Some reade:
he wil go out of his witt." Luther: Er wird von Sinnen kommen.
It were a great mistake to suppose that in spite of this un
questionable dependence of Coverdale's version, it is a pooi

ifo The English Versions.
version. The very opposite may be maintained, and he cer
tainly possessed admirable taste and an uncommonly correct
ear. Many of his renderings are decided improvements on
those of Tyndale, and not a few are retained in the Author
ized Version. Some of these may be seen in the collations
given before, e. g., in i John ii. 1 6, 17, where his ' ' pride of
life," and "the world passeth away" are vastly better than
Tyndale's ' ' pride of goods, " and ' ' the world vanisheth away. ''
Among those preserved ia the A. V. are these: "a righteous
man's reward," Matth. x. 41; "there will the eagles be gath
ered together," xxiv. 28; and among those not retained, very
meritorious, the following: "that we might receive the child-
ship," Gal. iv. 5; and "with the angels of his power," 2
Thess. i. 7.
A few specimens of antique and quaint expressions may be
added. ' ' Layed the fleshe in a maunde and put the broth
in a pot, " Judges vi. 19; " and brake his brain panne, '' x.
53; "the man Micah had a god's house and made an over-
body cote" (ephod), 'xvii. 5; "then answered the tydinge
bringer,'' i Sam. iv. 17; "it is man that is borne vnto mys-
ery, lyke as the byrde for to fie," Job v. 7; "he that is a
blabbe ofhis tonge maketh devysion," Prov. xvi. 28; "graven
vpon the edge of your aulters with a pen of iron and with an
adamant clawe," Jer. viii. 52; "the erth shal geue a greate
crack, it shal h^aue a sore ruyne, and take an horrible fell,"
Is. xxiv. 20; "because of his unshamefast begginge," Luke
xi. 8; "not loked vpon in the daylie handreachinge," Acts
vi. i; "one member hangeth by another thorowout all the
iontes," Eph. iv. 16; "but waysteth his brayne aboute ques
tions and stryuynges of wordes," i Tim. vi. 4.
^ And the following obsolete terms, or only surviving in dia
lects: to clyp (=shear sheep); a maund (=large basket); body
(—man); to spar a door (=5close it); rowles (=waves); bug
(-bugbear, object of fear); symne! (=a cake).

Coverdale. 171
A large portion of Prayer Book Version -of the Psalms is
the work of Coverdale; e. g., " My flesh and my heart faileth,
but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever."
' ' Enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight
shall no man living be justified." "Thou Lord in the be
ginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heav
ens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish but thou
shalt endure; they shall all wax old as doth a garment; and as
a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed.
But thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail."
Coverdale wrote quite a number of "Ghostly Psalms,"
which strangely enough are often as unmusical, as his prose
translation is musical. A single stanza may serve as a Speci
men to mark the contrast:
DEUS MISEREATUR NOSTRI, PS. LXVI. (LXVII.).
" God be mercy full Unto us,
And sende over vs his blessynge;
Shewe us his presence glorious,
And be ever to us lovynge ;
That men on earth may knowe thy waye,
Tliy savyng health and ry ghteousnesse ;
That they be not led by nyght nor day,
Throwe the pretexte of trewe justice,
To seke saluacyon where none is. ' '
A few brief examples from the New Testament with refer
ence to Tyndale's version, very characteristic and suggestive,
may conclude this general survey of Coverdale's translation.
The first two are literal reproductions of Tyndale's version:
Rom. viii. 3, And sent his Son ia the similitude of syhfiiU flesh, and by
synne damned synne in the flesh.
Heb. ii. 16, For he in no place taketh on him the angds, but the sede
of Abraham taketh he on him.
The second two give the two versions in parallel columns,
Coverdale's alterations in italics.

1/2

The English Versions.

LUKE XV,
Tyndale,
1 I say vnto you that lykewise ioye
shalbe in heven over one synner
that repenteth, moore than over
nynety and nine luste persons,
which nede noo repentaunce.
10 Lykwise I saye vnto you, ioye
is made in the presence of the
angels of god over one synner
that repenteth.

7, IO.

Coverdale.

I saye unto you: even so shall 7
there be joye in heven over one
synner that doth pennaunce more
than nyne and nyentye righteous
which nede n»t repentaunce.
Even so (I tell you) shall there IC
beju-ye before the Angels of God,
over one synner that doth pen
naunce.

The following specimens show the nature of the differences
and agreements in Tyndale's original edition of 1526, and
Coverdale's, 1535. MARK IX. 42-44.
Tyndale.
42 Aud whosoever shall hourte won
of this litell wons, that beleve
in me, it were better for hira,
that a myllstone were hanged
aboute his necke, and that he
were caste in to the see.
43 And yf thy hande offende the,
cut hym of. Itt ys better for
the, to entre into lyffe mayraed,
then to goo, with two hondes in
to hell, in to fire that never shal
be quenched,
44 where there worme dyeth nott,
and the fyre never goeth oute.

Coverdale.
And who so offendeth one of 42
these litle ones that beleue in
me, it were better for him that a
raylstone were hanged aboute
his neck, and he cast in to the
see.
Yf thy hande offende the, cut 43
him of Better it is for the to
entre in to life lame, then hau-
ynge two hondes to go in to hell
in to the euerlastinge fyre,
where their worme dyeth not, 44
and their fyre goeth not out.

I I beseche you therfore brethren
by the mercifiilnes of God, that
ye make youre bodyes a quicke
sacrifise, holy and exceptable
vnto God which is your resonable
servynge off God.

ROMANS XII. I, 2.
I beseke you b'^thren by the I
mercyfulnesse of God, that ye
geue ouer youre bodies for a sac
rifice, that is quycke holy, and
acceptable vnto God, which is
youre reasonable seruynge off
God.

Coverdale.

173

2 and fassion nott youre selves
lyke vnto this worlde: But be
ye chaunged [in youre shape,]
by the renuynge of youre wittes,
that ye maye fele what thynge
that good, that acceptable, and
perfaicte will of God is.

And fashion not youre selutis 2
like vnto tliis worlde, but be
chaunged thorow the renewynge
off youre mynde, that ye maye
proue, what thinge that good,
that acceptable, and perfeck wil
of God is.

The differences between the editions of 1535 and 1537 are
very slight. The following prayers before and after reading
the Scriptures were added in the edition of 1537.
A prayer to be used before reading the Bible: because that wlien thou
goest to study in Holy Scripture thou shouldest do it with reverence,
therefore for thine instruction and loving admonition thereto, the rev
erend father in God Nicholas, bishop of Salisbury, hath prescribed
this prayer following taken out of the same:
O Lord God Almighty which long ago saidst by the mouth of Jaraes
thine Apostle: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask it of God ....
Hear my petition for this thy promise sake . . . Have mercy upon me
and graciously hear me for Jesus Christ's sake our Lord, which liveth
and reigheth with Thee, His Father, and the Holy Ghost, world with
out end. Amen.
After the end of any chapter (if tliou wilt) thou mayest say these verses
following: Lead me, O Lord, in thy way, and let me wallc in thy truth. Oh let
mine healrt delight in fearing thy name.
Order ray goings after Thy Word that no wickedness reign in rae.
Keep my steps within thy paths, lest my feet turn into any contrary
way. The order of the books in Coverdale's Bible is as follows ,

OLD TESTAMENT.

Genesis,

Ruth,

I Esdras,

Exodus,

I Kings,

n Esdras,

Lfiviticus,

II Kings,

Esther,

Numbers,

III Kings,

Job.

Deuteronomy,

IV Kings,

Psalms,

Joshua,

I Chronicles,

Proverbs,

Judges,

II Chronicles,

Ecclesiastes,

174

The English Versions.

Canticles,

Hosea,

Nahum,

Isaiah,

Joel,

Habakkuk,

Jeremiah,

Araos,

Zephaniah,

Lamentations,

Obadiah,

Haggai,

Baruch,

Jonah,

Zechariah,

Ezekiel,

Micah,

Malachi.

Daniel,

APOCRYPHA.

III Esdras,

Ecclesiasticus,

IV Esdras,

Susannah,

Tobias,

Bel,
Judith,
Manasses,
Rest of the Book Of Esther,
I Maccabees,
Wisdom,
NEW TESTAMENT.
11 Maccabees.
Matthew,
Ephesians,
I Peter,
Mark,
Philippiins,
II Peter,
Luke,
Colossians,
1 John,
John,
I Thessalonians,
II John,
Acts,
11 Thessalonians,
III John,
Romans,
I Timothy,
Hebrews,
I Corinthians,
II Timothy,
James,
II Corinthians,
Titus,
Jude,
Galatians,
Philemon,
Revelation.
CHAPTER VI.
MATTHEWS BIBLE.
It will be remembered that Coverdale's Bible was published
in A. D. 1535, and the last edition of Tyndale's New Testa
ment, printed in England, about the time he suffered mar
tyrdom at Vilvorde in 1536. In the next year appeared a
folio volume containing the Bible, of which the Title, and a
brief account are here given. Title: — The Byble, which is all
the Holy Scriptures: in which are contayned the Olde and Newe
Testament truely and purely translated into Englysh. By Thomas
Matthew's Bible. 175
Matlhewe. — Esaye I. ' ' Hearken to ye Heavens, and thou earths
geave eare: for the Lord speaketh," MDXXXVII. — Set Forth
with the Kinge's most gracyous lycence. — (The royal imprim
atur is printed iii red letters). Next to the title-page follows,
A Dedication to Henry viii., subscribed by "His grace's
faythfull and true subject, Thomas Matthew," three pages;
and A Preface to the Christen Reders. Then follows: A
Callender and Almanac for 18 years, beginning 1538, in
which are continued as holydays St. Nicholas, St. Lawrence,
The Invention and Exaltation of Holy Cross; — An Exhorta-
cyon to the studye of the holy Scrypture, gathered out of the
Bible, with the two large flourished initials I. R. at the end;
— The Summe and Content of all the Holy Scrypture of the
Olde and Newe Testament, and a brief rehearsal of the years
passed since the begynnynge of the world, unto this yeare of
our Lord, MDXXXVII.— " Genesis to Salomon's Ballet," fol.
i.-ccxlvii. "The Prophetes in Englysh"; on the reverse of
this title is a large wood-cut between the initials R. G. and
E. W. — "Esay to Malachi"' — fol. i.-xciiii., and at the end
of Malachi the initials W. T. in large flourished capitals. —
Tiii Apocrypha, taken from Coverdale, with the omission of
th," third book of Maccabees, followed by the New Testament
with this title: The Newe Testament of our Sauyour Jesu Chiist,
newly and dylyg'enllye translated into Englishe, with annolacions
in the margent to helpK the Reader to the understandynge of the
Texte. Prynted in the yere of our Lorde God, M. D. XXXVII.
Matthew to Revelation, fol. ii.-cix. — Tables, etc., fol. cx.-
cxi. On the last leaf is printed: "The ende of the Newe
Testamente and of the whole Byble. — ^To the honoure and
prayse of God was this Byble printed and fyneshed in the
Yere of our Lorde God a M. D. XXXVIL— The wood-cuts in
the Apocalypse are the same as those used ' ' in the second
Dutch (.?) edition of Tyndal's New Testament," and other
engravings were taken from the blocks, which had already

1/6 The English Versions.
been used in the Liibeck Bible of 1533. There is not in
any part of the volume the faintest information as to the place
where the book was printed, but as the types are German,
and as the initials I. R. are admitted to stand for John Rog
ers, the first who suffered in the reign of Queen Mary, who
lived in the same year (1537) at Wittenberg,* I conclude, on
the same grounds already fully set forth in the chapter on
Tyndale, corroborated by this fact, that this Bible was printed
neither at Antwerp nor Hamburg, but at the mysterious
Marlborow, that is, at Wittenberg, by Hans LufL
A brief account of John Rogers, unquestionably the editor
of this Bible, is now in place. Born about 1500, he took
the degree of B.A. at Cambridge in 1525, and received an
invitation to Christ Church, Oxford, then known as "Car
dinal College." About 1534 he became chaplain to the Mer
chant Adventurers at Antwerp, and there made the acquaint
ance of Tyndale. YoYie (Acts and Monuments, vi. p. 591), says
that there he chanced "to fall in company with that worthy
martyr of God William Tyndale, and with Miles Coverdale,
which both for the hatred they bare to popish superstition and
idolatry, and love they bare toward true religion, had forsaken
their native country. In conferring with them the Scriptures,
he came to great knowledge in the gospel of God, insomuch
that he cast off the heavy yoke of popery, perceiving it to be
impure and filthy idolatry, and joined himself with them two
in that painful and most profitable labour of translating the
Bible into the English tongue, which is entitled, 'The Trans
lation of Thomas Matthew.'" Professor Westcott (/. c. p. 88)
denies this statement of Foxe, and holds that Thomas Mat
thew is not a pseudonym for John Rogers, surmising that be
cause the former name is given in full at the end of the Ex-

* The statement that he went to Wittenberg I bave not been able to trace farther
than Lewis (History nf Transl. of the Bible, p. io8).

Matthew's Bible. 177
hortation to the study of Scripture, it designates a real person
who probably furnished the money for the work as had been
surmised before by Walter, but, if that be so, it is necessary
to remove the stubborn fact that in the official record of the
apprehension of Rogers he is called: "Johannes Rogers alias
Matthew."* In 1537 Rogers married and moved to Witten
berg, and is supposed to have remained there until 1547.
Distinguished by many marks of favor under the reign of
Edward VI. , he was the first martyr in the Marian persecu
tion, being burned alive in Smithfield in February, 1555.
Before examining the translation, it is necessary to state
that the initials on the reverse of the titie to the prophets,
R. G. and E. W. stand for Richard Grafton and Edward
Whitchurch, at whose expense the book was printed, which
seems to settle the surmised pecuniary aid derived from the
mythical Matthews. This is evident from a letter written by
Grafton (who subscribes himself "Richard Grafton, Grocer"),
to Cranmer seeking the protection of the Privy Seal against
opposition and unauthorized reprints, in which he says: "But
now, most gracious Lord, forasmuch as this work hath been
brought forth to our most great and costly labours and charges;
which charges amount above the sum of five hundred pounds;
and I have caused of the same to be printed to the sum of
fifteen hundred bookes complete, which now, by reason that
of many this work is highly commended, there are that will,
and doth, go about the printing of the same work again, in a
* In the sentence of condemnation John Rogers is four times called "Johannes Rog
ers alias Matthew"; and in the Council Register of queen Mary's reign occurs the
entry: "John Rogers alias Matthew, is ordered to keep his house at Paul's." It is
evident that under the circumstances a denial of historical stateraents on mere grounds
of conjecture is not a refutation. The alias remains unshaken, and until it is satisfac
torily removed, Foxe's statement should be upheld. All that make counter-state
ment; are charged with the onus probandi. Professor Westcott has slightly modi
fied the view given in the text, but he still states that " Rogers, by the help of an
unknown fellow-labourer Thomas Matthew, or simply under this assumed name," etc.
(2d ed p. 68, Lond., 1872).

178 The English Versions.
lesser letter; to the intent that they may sell their little books
better cheap than I can sell these great; and so make that I
shall sell none at alt, or else very few, to the utter undoing
of me, your orator, and of all those my creditors, that hath
been my comforters and helpers therein. " The sum specified
was a very large one al the time, and represents at the present
value of money not less than J^*], 50D, or $37, 500. The ora
tor was successful every way, and the whote edition was speeds
ily sold. The full particulars relating to the introduction of
the volume into England may be read at length in Lewis,
Anderson, Westcott, etc. ; they embody these facts: that though
it is uncertain whether Cranmer knew of the preparation of
the Work, he gave it a cordial welcome and urged Cromwell
with great earnestness to show the book, which he thought a
better translation than any he had until then seen, to the king
and obtain fi'om him a ' ' license that the same may be sold
and read of every person, without danger of any act; procla
mation, or ordinance heretofore granted to the contrary, until
such time that we the bishops shall set forth a better transla
tion, which I think will not be till a day after doomsday. " —
How successful Cromwell was is evident from Cranmer's let
ter of Aug. 13, 1537, ih which he thanks him for his good
offices in that he "hath not only exhibited the bible ....
to the king's majesty, but also hath obtained of his grace that
the same shall be allowed by his authority to be bought and
read within this realm. " So it would seem that this transla
tion in Matthew's Bible may be called the first Authorized
Version of the English Bible, and Coverdale's the second.
"The setting forth of Matthew's Bible," says Foxe, "did
not a little offend the clergy, especially the bishops aforesaid
(the bishop of Winchester and his fellows), both for the pro
logues, and especially because in the same book was one spe
cial table, collected of the common places in the Bible and
the Scriptures for the approbation of the same; and chiefly

Matthew's Bible. 179
about the Supper of the Lord, and marriage of priests, and
the mass, which there was said not to be found in Scripture. "
The translation itself consists of three distinct elements: i.
The reprints from Tyndale (The Pentateuch and the New Tes
tament); 2. The reprints from Coverdale (Ezra to Malachi
and the Apocrypha); 3. A New Translation (Joshua to 2
Chronicles). Strype (Cranmer I. p. 117) says after Bale, that
Rogers "translated the Bible into English from Genesis to
the end of Revelation, making use of the Hebrew, Greek,
Latin, German and English copies." The same writer al
leges that he ' ' added prefaces and notes oiit of Luther, and
dedicated the whole book to King Henry, under the name
of Thomas Matthews by an epistle prefixed, minding to cour
ceal his own name. " On the other hand Foxe (Acts and Mon
uments, V. p. 410) says; "In the translation of this Bible the
greatest doer was indeed W. Tyndale, who with the help of
Miles Coverdale had translated all the books thereof except
only the Apocrypha, and certain notes in the margin which
were added after. But because the said W. Tyndale in the
meantime was apprehended before this Bible was fully per
fected, it was thought good ... to father it by a strange
name of Thomas Matthewe. John Rogers at the same time
being corrector to the print, who had then translated the res
idue of the Apocrypha and added also certain notes thereto
in the margin: and thereof came it to be called 'Thomas
Matthewe's Bible.'"
Many of the particulars in these accounts are already set
aside by the facts developed in the papers on Tyndale and
Coverdale, and of the remainder it may suffice to say that,
leaving aside the mysterious Matthewe, according to the fore-
mentioned classification it may be regarded as established that
John Rogers was the editor of the whole, and as the literary
executor of Tyndale, the third element described as the New
Translation is most probably that portion of the Old Testa-

i8o The English Versions.
ment which Tyndale was permitted to finish before his
death. The reasons for this supposition are so strong as to amount
alraost to certainty; and they are admirably illustrated in the
following passage from Moulton (History of the English Bible,
p. 128): 'There is a Hebrew word (elon) occurring nine
times in the Old Testament, which is rendered " plain " in
our common Bibles, but which in Tyndale's Pentateuch is
more correctly translated "oak" or "oakgrove" (in Deut.
xi. 30, ' ' grove "). We turn to the later passages in which
the "word occurs, viz., Judg. iv. 11; ix. 6, 37; i Sam. x. 3,
and find that in each of these passages Matthew's Bible has
' ' oak. " The curious expression rendered in our Bibles ' ' shut
up and left " occurs five times (with slight variations), viz. ,
once in Deuteronomy and four times in the Books of Kings.
In Matthew's Bible the uniform rendering is "prisoned (or
in prison) and forsaken." .... Amongst the musical in
struments frequently mentioned in the Old Testament is the
tambour or hand-drum, in Hebrew toph. Now this word oc
curs three time in the Pentateuch,' five times between Joshua
and 2 Chronicles, and nine times in later books, — thtit is,
three times in the part which was certainly Tyndale's, nine
times in Coverdale's portion, and five times in the books
which lie between. In the Pentateuch (Tyndale) the trans
lation is always timbrel. In the books from Ezra onwards
(setting aside three passages in which entirely different words
occur) Coverdale always adopts tabret. In the books of which
we are now speaking, — Matthew's Bible has always timbrel,
never tabret — that is, has Tyndale's rendering and not Cover-
dale's.' It will be admitted by all who duly consider the ef
fect of such an accumulation of minute coincidences, that the
probability of Tyndale being the author, and Rogers the edi
tor, of the new translation, amounts almost to certainty, and
completely disposes of the inaccurate statements given by, un

Matthew's Bible. i8i
discerning writers. It is supposed that the manuscript of the
translation of the books in question was contained in the
packet of papers, which Foxe states that the martyr on
the morning of his execution sent to his friend Poyntz. In
support of the view here advocated, attention is called to the
statement of Westcott that upon examination the "Episties
of the Old Testament " added to Tyndale's New Testament
of 1534, which contain several passages from the Pentateuch
as well as the Historical Books, exhibit about the some rela
tion to the translation in Matthew as those from the Penta
teuch do to Tyndale's published text This view, it is proper
to add here, is also shared by Eadie (English Bible, i. 322),
and Plumptre ("Authorized Feratw," Smith's Diet, of the Bi
ble), although the new pagination beginning with Isaiah (see
above) and his account of the whole history of the book is
rather imaginary, barring the main circumstance that Graf
ton and Whitchurch wanted to make their commercial
venture remunerative (see Chester, Life of Rogers, pp. 29,
425-430), and of which the published letters afford abun
dant evidence.
It must not be imagined, however, that although the trans
lation of almost the whole of Matthew's Bible is the work of
Tyndale and Coverdale, the labors of Rogers were light or
unnecessary. They were neither, and from beginning to end
the judicious hand of that accomplished scholar is clearly per
ceptible. The prayer of Manasses in the Apocrypha has been
ascribed to Rogers, although he did not translate it from the
Greek (not accessible to him), but from the French Bible of
Olivetan (1535), and from the same source likewise is taken
the Preface to the Apocrypha, the Table of the principal mat
ters contained in the Bible, and for the most part, the Preface
to Solomon's Song, the division of the Psalter into five trea
tises, and a number of notes, to be mentioned more in detail
below.

1 82

The English Versions.

The reasop why he preferred Coverdale's versioh of Jonah
to Tyndale's has not been ascertained. The learned and in
genious argument of Walter, prefixed to the reprint of the
Prologue in the Parker Society's Doctrinal Treatises, etc. , of
Tyndale, that if there had been a version by Tyndale "the
editors" (sic) of Matthew's Bible, would certainly have used
it in spite ofthe king's dislike of Tyndale, etc., etc., has been
completely demolished by the discovery in 1861 by Lord A.
Hervey, of a copy of that book translated by Tyndale, which,
with the Prologue and Coverdale's version, has been published
by Mr. Fry in fac-simile (1863). As this matter is more or
less misstated, the reproduction, in this place, of Professor
Westcott's collation of the various readings of chapter ii. of
that book in both versions may be useful:

Tyndale.
I bowels.
2 and 4 he said,
tribulation.answered.
3 +for thou hadst.
and all thy w.
+ dnd 7th.
S water.
««to.
6 + and I went. '
+tf« every side for e. ¦
and yet thou.
Lord.
broughtest.
8 observe.have forsaken .
him that was merciful unto them.
9 s.icrifice+aK/o thee.
thai saving c.

Coverdale (Matthew).
I belly.
2 omits he
trouble. heard,
3 omilifor,
yea all thy w.
omits and.
5 waters. to.
6 omits and.
omits on every side.
but thou.
+ O Lord.
hast brouglit.
8 hold of.
will forsake.
his mercy.
9 \do the sacrifice.
For why? Salvation.

Westcott adds that, as the collation itself will show, Cover-
dale's version was not independent of Tyndale's.

Matthew's Bible. 183
In the following example are given first Luther's translation
(1532), then the Ziirich (1534), followed by Coverdale's ver
sion collated with Tyndale's, and the literal rendering of the
Hebrew, with which I have collated it. The only difference
is in the spelling, which in the former of these folios is no
toriously bad. JONAH IV. 6.
Luther (i^ J 2). Ziirich (ijj4).
Der Herr aber verschaffte einen Dann der Herr Gott hat jm eiu
Kl'irbiss, der wuchs uber Jona, das Kikaion* lassenwachsen,daswuchs
er schatten gab uber sein heubt, vnd uber Jona auf, vn tnacht seinem
ergetztjnjnn seinem iibel. haupt einen Schatten, das es jn
von dem des jm wee thett be-
schirmpte.
But the Lord provided a gourd. Then the Lord God caused for
which grew over Jona, that it gave him a liikaion \ to grow, which grew
shade over his head, and delighted up over Jona, and made a shadow
him in his evil. to his head, that it might shield
him from that which hurt him.
Hebrew. Coverdale.\
And the Lord God prepared a And the Lord God (o\n. Tynd.)
gourd [or the ricinus, i. e,, Palma prepared (as it were add. Tynd.) a
Christi, Jer. Talm. Heb. interpre- wild vine which sprung up over Jo-
ters] which grew up above Jona, nas, that he might have shadow
that it inight be shadow over his aiJffZ'/ (over, Tynd.) his head, to de-
head, to deliver him from his evil. liver him out ofhis pain.
The preference then of Coverdale's version of Jonah to Tyn
dale's in Matthew by Rogers (for he seems to have edited the
whole) appears somehow to be owing to the influence of
Grafton and Whitchurch, who were very diplomatic.
Matthew's Bible appeared in 1537; at that time there had
been published besides the New Testament of Tyndale, his
"* Kikaion isi ein Krut oder gewdchs.
t Kikaion ' is an herb or a plant.
1 The rendering in Coverdale agrees verbatim with two copies of Matthew's Bibia
fRaynalde and Hyll, 1549, and John Daye and W. Seres fBecke], 1549).

1 84 The English Versions.
version ofthe Pentateuch (1531, 1534), of Jonah (1531),
and his Epistles from the Old Testament and the Apocrypha
(1534). Coverdale's Old Testament and Apocrypha had also
appeared. The New Testament in Matthew's Bible gener
ally agrees with Tyndale's edition of 1535.
As an example of the close agreement of Matthew with
Tyndale in the Pentateuch; a few verses from Numbers xxiv.
are here subjoined in which the differences are only in spelling:
TYNDALE (153I).
15. And he began his parable and sayed: Balam the sonne of Beor
hath sayed, and the man thai hath his eye open hath sayed,
16. and he hath sayed that heareth the wordes of God and hath the
knowledge of the most hye and beholdeth the vision of the allmightie,
and when he falleth downe hath his eyes opened.
17. I se him but not now, I beholde him but not nye. There .shall
come a starre of Jacob and rise a ceptre of Israel, which shall smyte the
c<X)stes of Moab and vndermyne all the children of Seth.
18. And Edom shal be his possession, and the possession of Seir shalbe
their enimyes, and Israel shall doo manfully.
19. And out of Jacob shall come he that shall destroye the remnaunt
of the cities.
Of the changes introduced into the Pentateuch, Moulton
(/. c. p. 126) mentions two examples. In Levit. xi. 22,
where Tyndale and Rogers agree with Luther in not trans
lating the four words which in the Authorized Version are
rendered locust, bald-locust, beetie and grasshopper, the first
adds no explanation, while Rogers in Matthew's Bible says
that "Arbi, Selaam, Hargol, Hagab, are kyndes of beastes
that crepe or scraul on the grounde, which the Hebreues
themselves do not now a dayes know. " At Deut. xiv. 4, 5,
in the list of unclean beasts Tyndale calls the last five, the
bugle, hart-goat, unicorn, origin and camelion, and the only
change introduced in Matthew's Bible is wild-goat for hart-
goat. Eadie states in a note that "bugle" is Biiffel in Luther,
and " img\n'' Auerochs, the lxx. having opu^, and that the

Matthew's Bible. 185
word so rendered is a kind of antelope, adding that "all these
terms seem to denote animals of that species." They may
have seemed so to the good Doctor, but they cannot mislead
any one who has not forgotten his Natural History. It is
possible that the Zevi was an antelope, and that Orux also
designated one, but Biiffel is a buffalo, and Auerochs, the
wild ox.
In the following example are given the versions of Tyndale,
Matthew and Coverdale, showing at once the agreements and
differences in the first two, and the variations of both from
the third. I KINGS XIX. 5-7.*
Tyndale, 1334.
5. And as he lay and slept under a genaper tree behold an angel
touched him and said thus: Up and eat. 6. And he looked up, and be
hold there was at his head a cake baken on the coals and a cruse of water.
And he ate and drank and laid him down again. 7. And the angel of
the Lord came again the second time and touched him, and said. Up and
eat, for thou hast a great way to go.
Matthew (Tyndale), IS37,
5 . And as he lay and slept under the ginaper tree, behold there came
an angel and touched him and said unto him. Up and eat. 6. And he
looked about him, and see there was a loaf of broiled bread and a cruse
of water at his head. And he ate and drank, and laid him down again
to sleep, 7. And the angel ofthe Lord came again the second time, and
touched him and said Up and eat, for thou hast a longjoumney to go.
Coverdale, iS3S^ ^537-
5. And he laid him afeww'and slept under the juniper tree; and be
hold the angel touched him and said unto him Stand up and eat. 6. And
he looked about him, and behold at his head there was a bread baken on
the coals and a cruse with water. And when he had eaten and drunken
he laid him down again to sleep. 7. And the angel of the Lord came
again the second time and touched him and said Stand up and eat, for
thou hast a great way to go.
* The examples and the printing ofthem are taken from Westcott {/. c. pp. 22^, 28J.

1 86 The English Versions.
The next specimen relates to the differences between Tyn
dale and Matthew (Coverdale), showing a verbal agreement
of Matthew and Coverdale, and an absolute difierence between
both and Tyndale, and establishing the fact that Rogers was
as particular in preserving the integrity of the one version as
well as that of the other.
•• ISAIAH LI. 6.
Tyndale.
My righteousness is n^h, and my salvation shall go out and mine
arra shall judge nations and islands shall look for me and shall tarry after
mine arm. Matthew (Coverdale) .
It is hard by that my health and my righteousness shall go forth, and
the people shall be ordered with mine arm. The islands (that is, the
Gentiles) shall hope in me and put their trust in mine arm.
The following is a collation of Coverdale (1535), and the
faulty Matthew (1549), not for critical purposes, but to indi
cate the strange character of some Bibles of the period.
ISAIAH LX. 1-3.
Coverdale (iS3Sj-
And therfore get the vp by tymes, for thy light cometh, & the glory
of the Lorde shal ryse vp vpon the. For lo, while the darknesse and
cloude couereth the earth and the people, the Lorde shal shewe the light,
& his glory shal be sene in the. The Gentiles shal come to thy light,
and kynges to the brightnes that springeth forth vpon the.
Matthew (Raynalde and Hyll, IS49) ¦
And therfor gel the vp betyme for thi light cometh & the glory of
the Lord shal rise vp vpon the. For lo, whyle the darckeness and cloud
coureth the erth and the people, the lord shall shewe the lyght, & your
glory shal be sene in the. The gentyles shalcome to thy lyght and
kynges to the brightnes that springeth forthe vpon the.
The change of the pronoun is characteristic of the slovenly
execution of this Bible. Some of the notes are very curious
and convey information not generally possessed; e. g., the fol
lowing on ch. lxix. 5 :

Matthew's Bible. 187
To brede cockatryse egges, is to go aboute that which is mischeuous
and wycked. And to weue the spyders webb, is, to go aboute vayne and
tryflynge thynges, whiche are of noo valure : although they seame neuer
so excellent vnto the doers — as he that eateth of a cockatryce egg dyeth,
so they that delyte in euell worckes, or that consente vnto them shall per
ish. And yf a man at vnware, treade on theyr egges, and so presse out
the cockatryse and be touched, he shalbe kylled ofher: euen so shall the
thoughtes of the euell bringe them to death.
V. 6. As no man maketh clothes of the spyders web, so shal wicked
worckes enryche no man, nor profyt him in the daye of iudgemente,
when we must go in vntoo the feast in the weddynge garment. Matt.
xxii. 6.
Those which follow are taken at random from Raynalde &
Hyll (marked Ra. ), and Day and Seres (marked Da. ). The
former are selected at haphazard without much judgment, the
latter are those of John Rogers.
Words explained at the end of the Introduction to Exodus.
(Ra.)
Albe, a longe garmente of whyte lynen.
Boothe, an house made of bowes.
Brestlappe, or brestflap, is soche a flap as thou seest in the brest of a cope.
Geeras, in weyght as it were an englyshe halfpeny or somewhat more.
Tunicle, moche lyke the vppermost garment of the deaken.
Worship, by worshipping whether it be in the old testament or the new,
vnderstand the boweng of a man's self vpon the grounde: as we oftymes
a we knele in oure prayers) bowe our selues & lye on our armes &
handes, wyth our face to the ground.
Exod. xxxv. 25. Gotes hayre is that whych we cal chamblet. (Ra,)
¦  " " Bysse is fyne whyte, whether it be sylcks or lynen.
(Ra.)
2 Sam. vi. 25. Cab was a certen vessel vsed that tyme, as ue nowe use
skoutelles or suche lyke. (Da.)
Lamentations. (printed with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet).
 ch. ii 3. Home here sygnyfyeth strength, pouer, nobylitie and
domynion: which al the Lorde by hys just auenge-
meni toke from the kyngdome of the Jewes and from
Jerusalem. (Da.)

1 88 The English Versions.
Ezek. xvii. 3. By this great aegle hauynge greate wynges is vnder
stand -the kyng of Babylon with hys great army.^
V. 22. By thys braunche vnderstande our ladye, and
by the hye cedar tree the trybe of Juda, of whiche she
came; by the vppermost twigge is vnderstande Christ,
and by the hyll of Syon, . is fygured the churche.
(Da.)
Matth. xxiv. 28. Egles are byrdes that fly hygh and feade vpon canon.
Wherfore they resorte vnto the dead carkas that lyeth
somtyme far from them. It is therfore a mete sym-
plitude to declare that the Christians (whose conuer-
sation is highe in heauen) shall at the laste daye resorte
to Christe their fode, from all partes of the worlde.
(^«-)
I Tim. iii. l . Bishop is as muche to say, as a watchman, an ouer sear,
a sear to, or one that taketh heed to. When this man
desireth to feade the flocke of Christ, with his holy
worde: then desireth he a good worke, and the very
ofifice ofa bishoppe: but he that desirelh honoure, gap-
eth for lucre, thyrsteth great rentes, seket prehemi-
nence, pomp, dominion: couetheth aboundaunce of
all things without wante, reste and hertes ease, cas-
telles, parkes, lordships, erldomes, and desireth not a
worke mooh lesSe, a good worke, and is nothyng lesse
then a bishop, as sainct Paule doeth here vnderstande
a bishoppe. (Da.)
Still there are changes, such as those already noted above,
and others indicative of advanced scholarship, e. g. , the ex
planation of technical terms in the Psalms, such as Shiggaion,
Sheminilh, etc. Psalm ii. is printed as a dialogue; in Psalm
xiv. the spurious verses are excluded; in Psalm cxix. the let
ters of the Hebrew alphabet are given at the head of each
section; the '.'Hallelujah" in the last Psalm is rendered
"Praise the Everlasting." In "Salomons Ballet" (Canti
cles) the characters are indicated by rubricated headings. The
source of many of these changes has already been pointed out.
It remains to notice the distinguishing feature of Matthew's
Bible, namely the marginal notes, a few of which additional

Matthew's Bible. 189
to those marked Da. are subjoined; some of them have been
traced to Pellican and Luther.
Selah. This word after Rabbi Kimchi was a sign or token of lifting
up the voice, and also a monition and advertisement to enforce the thought
and mind earnestly to give heed to the meaning of the verse unto which
il is added. Some will that it signify perpetually or verily.
2 Mace. xii. 44: Judge upon this place whether the opinion hath been
to pray for the <lcad, as to be baptized for them, I Cbr. xv., which thing
was only done to confirm the hope of the resurrection of the dead, not to
deliver them from any pain. St. Paul did not allow the ceremony of
Christening for the dead, no more doth any place of the canonical scrip
ture allow the ceremony of offering for the dead. FurHiermore: This
wliole book of the Maccabees, and specially Ihis second, is not of sufli
cient authority to make an article of ou* faith, as it is before sufficiently
proved by the authority of St. Jerome in the prologue of the books called
Apocrypha. St. Matth. i. 18: Messiah. It signifieth anointed. Jesus Christ then
is the earnest and pledge of God's promise, by whom the grace and fa
vour of God is promtsed to us with the Holy Ghost, which illumineth,
lighteth, renewelh our hearts to fulfil the law.
St. Matth. vi. 34: It is commanded us in the sweat of our face to win
our bread; that travail must we daily, diligently, and earnestly do, but
not be careful what profit shall come us thereof, for that were to care for
tomorrow. Wei must therefore commit that to God, which is ready to
prosper our labours with His blessing, and that abundantly, so that most
shall we profit, when we are least careful.
St. John V. 17: That is, my Father keepeth not the Sabbath day, no
more do I. But my Father used no common merchandise on the Sab
bath, and no more do I.
St. John vi. 33: The word of the Gospel which is Christ, is the true
and lively bread of heaven that giveth life to the whole world.
St. James ii. 24: Justified, that is, is declared just, is openly known
to be righteous, like as by the fruits the good tree is known for good.
Otherwise may not this sentence be interpreted.
In the introductoiy paragraph ofthis chapter, giving an ac
count of the contents of Matthew's Bible, reference is made to
"The Summe and Content of all the Holy Scriptures," etc.,
it covers twenty-six folio pages, and furnishes in alphabetical

igo The English Versions.
order a vast amount of valuable matter, taken for the most
part from Olivetan's French Bible. As the chapters are not
broken up into verses, the letters of the alphabet are used to
mark annotated passages, and the italics following the chapters
in the subjoined examples refer to those passages:
Angels. The angels assyste before God, Job xxv. a; Xxviii. a; Dan.
vii. c; Matth. xviii.; and do minister to men, Ps. civ. a; Heb. i.
Also they do rebuke sinners, Judg. ii. a, and do comforte the afflycte.
Gen. xxi. b, Lke. xxii. es, Dan. vi. f. Also they do teach the ignor-
aunte, example of ye angel which taught Elijah, what he should say
to the seruantes of Ohoziah, 4 Reg. i. a, also of Daniel, ix.f, also of
Joseph, Matth. i., ii. d, also of Cornelius, Actsx. a, also of Zecha
riah, Luke i. By the angelles God scourgeth his people, 2 Reg.
xxiv., 4 Reg. g, Acts vii. d.
Meryte. In lokynge ouer the Byble, as well the newe as the olde Tes
tament, I haue not founde this word meryte. Meryte then is noth
ynge; for to meryt is to bind God vnto his creatures, and not to ob-
serue the meryte of Jesus Chri.st, by which only we are saued ; not
accordynge to oure workes or merytes, but according to his holy
purpose and grace, which was geuen vnto vs Ijefore al time. 2 Tim.
i. b. Tit. iv. b: it is then by grace that we are saued through fayth,
and not of vs, but by the gyft of God lo thyntent that none do boast
hym selfe, Eph. ii., Rom. iii. For the tribulacyons of thys world,
are not worthye of the glorye that shal he shewed vnto vs, Rom.
viii. And if we haue pacyence in them, that cometh of God, I Cor.
iv. Houe then can we glorye that we do meryte that thyng which
is none of ours, in as much as God dolh and accomplyshelh in vs the
good wil, Phil. ii.
Religion, for obseruing (not of cloister rules), bnt of thynges ordayned
of God, Exo: xii. d, Leue. viii. g. Numb. xix. d, religion for the
sect of the Pharises which were proud Ipocrites and ftil of cere
monies, of which S. Paul was at the fyrste. Act. xxvi. b. Cornelius
being captain of the Italians' army, is called a religious man, and
yel he had made no moiiastycall vowes. Acts x. a. The true relig
ion of the Christen standeth not in the dyuereitye of habytes or of
vowes; but in visitynge of the fatherlesse and Wydowes in their tribu
lacyons and kepyng a man's selfe pure from the wickedness of this
world, James i.

Matthew's Bible. 191
Many of the notes are strongly anti-papal. ' ' One of these
notes fixeth us in the year ofthe edition; viz., Mark i. Upon
those words. What new doctrine is this? the note in the margin
is, ' That that was then new, after XV. C. XXXVI. years, is
yet new. When will it then be old .' ' This note was made
to meet with the common reproach then given to the religion
reformed, that it was a new upstart religion, and called the new
learning. Another marginal note was at Matthew xxv. , And
the wise answered, Not so, lest there be nol enough, etc. , where
the note is, ' Note here, that their own good works sufficed
not for themselves; and therefore remained none to be dis
tributed unto their fellows: ' against works of supererogation,
and the merits of saints. And Matthew xvi., I say unto thee,
that thou art Peter : and upon this rock, etc. The note is,
' That is, as saith St. Austin, upon the confession which
thou hast made, knowledging me to be the Christ, the Son
of the living God, I build my congregation or church. ' And
again, Iwill give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The note
is, 'Origen, writing upon Matthew, in his first homily af-
firmeth, that these words were as well spoken to all the rest of the
Apostles as to Peter. And proves it, in that Christ, John xx. ,
saith. Receive the Holy Ghost. Whose sins soever ye remit, etc.,
and not thou retnittest. ' And Matthew xviii. , Whatsoever ye
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye loose on
earth, etc. Margin, ' Whatsoever ye bind, etc. , is. Whatsoever
ye condemn by my word in earth, the same is condemned in
heaven. And what ye allow by my word in earth, is allowed
in heaven. ' These and such like notes and explications, giv
ing offence, no doubt, to the Popish Bishops, when the Bible
was printed again (which was in the year 1540) all was left
out." *
The text of the New Testament in Matthew's Bible agrees
* Strype, Mc-niorials of Cranmer, I., pt. i. p. 47c. 0-\f 1848.

192 The English Versions.
in the main with that of Tyndale's Revised edition of 1535,
which declares on its title-page that it had been "diligently
corrected and compared with the Greek." Professor West
cott, who collated Tyndale's editions of 1534 and 1535 and
Matthew of 1537 in St. Mark xvi. and the Epistles to the Ro
mans and Galatians, failed to perceive a characteristic reading
of Tyndale^ 1535, which does not likewise appear in Mat
thew, 1537; and shiewdly conjectures that the production in
both of the same mistakes points to the use of the same cor
rected copy of Tyndale, which under the circumstances is
very probable. A few passages will make this abundantly
clear. The text here used is Tyndale's, 1534, the readings
in italics in [ ] are those of 1535.
St. Mark xvi. II, And when they herde, that he was alyve and he had
appered to hyr, they beleved it not. [And though
they heard .... and had appered .... yet they be
leved nof^. So Matthew, 1537.
 " 17, And these signes shall folowe them that lieleve. {these
things] . This mistake is also in Matthew.
Romans viii. 15, For ye have no received .... \not\. So Matthew.
 ix. 16, So lieth it not then in a man's will or cunnynge ....
[. . . . running^. So Matthew.
 xiii. 8, For these commaundements .... [the commaunde-
ments be] . Not Matthew.
 xvi. 5, Lyke wyse grete all the company that is in thy housse.
[. . . . the congregation that is in tHeir house'\ . So
Matthew.
Galatians ii. 2, .... but apart with them which were counted chefe.
[. . . . between ourselves with them . . . .] So
Matthew.
This Bible, which was set forth by royal authority, and a
copy of which was ordered to be set up in every church, con
tains not only annotations more bold and outspoken than
Tyndale's, but substantially the obnoxious Prologue to the
Romans, which for the greater part is a paraphrase, and
sometimes a literal translation of Luther's Preface to the Ro-

Matthew's Bible. 193
mans, of which a Latin version had been published in 1523,
with this title: Prcsfatio methodica totius Scripturcc in epistola
ad Romanes, e vernacula Martini Lutheri in Latinum versa; per
Justum Jonam. This Prologue, which covers seven pages in
folio closely printed, is often couched in terms, and through
out breathes a spirit of freedom, intolerable to the Romish
clergy and partisans, stands in this Bible, which of course would
not have been allowed to circulate, if it had been read by the
king or Cranmer. Two passages giving the portions taken
from Luther in quotation marks, may serve as specimens:
"And as thou callest him flesh which is not renewed with the Spirit,
and born again in Christ, and all his deeds, even the very motions of his
heart and mind, his learning, doctrine, and contemplation of high things,
his preaching, teaching, and study in the Scriptures, Ijuilding of churches,
fninding of abbeys, giving of alms, mass, matins, and whatsoever he
doth, though it seem spiritual and after the laws of God; so, contrari
wise, call him spiritual who is renewed in Christ, and all his deeds which
spring of faith, seem they never so gross, as the washing of the disciples'
feet done by Christ, and Peter's fishing after the resurrection; yea, and
whatsoever is done within the laws of God, though it be wrought by the
body, as the very wiping of shoes and such like, however gross they ap
pear outwardly."
Where God's word is not purely preached, but men's dreams, tradi
tions, imaginations, inventions, ceremonies, and superstition, there is no
faith; and consequently no spirit that cometh from God. And even where
God's Spirit is not, there can be no good works, even as where an apple-
tree is not, there can grow no apples; but there is unbelief, the devil's
spirit, and evil works. Of this, God's Spirit and his fruits, have our
holy hypocrites not once known, neither yet tasted how sweet they are;
tliough "they feign many good works, of their own imagination, to be
justified withal, in which is not one crumb of true faith, of spiritual love,
or of inward joy, peace, and quietness of conscience " ; forasmuch as they
have nol the word of God for them, that such works please God, but
they are even the rotten fruit of a rotten tree.
" The last chapter is a chapter of recommendation, wherein he yet ming-
leth a good monition, that we should beware of the traditions and doc
trine of men, which beguile the simple with sophistry and learning that
is not after the gospel," and draw them from Christ, and noosel them ia

194 The English Versions.
weak and feeble and (as Paul calleth them in the epistle to the Galatians)
in beggarly ceremonies for the intent that they would live in fat pastures
and be in authority and be taken as Christ, yea, and above Christ, and
sit in the teraple of God, that is to wit, in the consciences of men, where
God only, his word and his Christ, ought to sit. Compare therefore all
manner of doctrine of men unto the Scripture, and see whether they agree
or not. And commit thyself whde and altogether unto Christ; and so
shall he with his Holy Spirit, and with all his fulness, dwell in thy soul.
Amen. From all that has been said, it follows, that for critical pur
poses, Matthew's Bible possesses only a relative merit; and yet
it is a very important one, as being virtually the basis of the
text of the Authorized Version.

CHAPTER VII.
TAVERNER'S BIBLE.
This Bible, although published in point of time after the
Great Bible (April, 1539), yet on account of its close connec
tion with Matthew's, may not inappropriately be considered
in this place. It appeared in the same year, and of its editor
and translator the account given by one of his descendants,
Anthony a Wood, in his Athenes Oxoniensis (I. col. 143) ap
pears to be the most authentic. He was born at Brisley,
Norfolk, about 1505, and after some time spent at Benet
College (Corpus Christi), Cambridge, entered the Cardinal
College, Oxford, under the patronage of Cromwell, or as
Eadie says, "as one of the young men selected by Wolsey
for his college." He took the degree of B.A. there in 1529.
For reading Tyndale's New Testament he and some others
were imprisoned in the college cellar, and it is said that he
owed his speedy release to his musical skill. About 1 530, he
" went to an inn of Chancery, near London (Lewis says^

TAVERNER'S BiBLE. I95
'Staire Inn,' that is 'Stronde Inn'), and thence to the Innei
Temple, where his humour was to quote the law in Greek when
he read anything thereof." In 1534 he went to court, be
came attached to the service of Cromwell, and through his
recommendation was appointed in 1537, a clerk of the signet.
His proficiency in Greek, it is thought, induced Cromwell to
suggest to him the revision of the Bible, which he completed
in 1539, and published in folio and quarto, the latter in parts,
to enable the poorer class of people, who could not afford to
buy the whole, to procure some portion. It was printed in
London and allowed to be read in churches. His New Tes
tament likewise was issued the same year in two editions, folio
and quarto, and in i2mo in 1540. After Cromwell's death
he was imprisoned for this very work, but soon released and
reinstated to the royal favor In 1551 his Old Testament ap
peared in the folio Bible, revised by Becke, and printed by
Ihon Day. After that period it fell into neglect. In 1552
Edward VI. licensed him to preach, and he is reported to
have preached before the king, and elsewhere, dressed in ^
damask gown, a velvet bonnet, and a gold chain; and, though
in retirement during the reign of Mary, he reappeared in the
pulpit after the accession of Elizabeth, who greatiy favored
him, and appointed him in 1569, high-sheriff of Oxfordshire,
in virtue of which last office, he added the official sword to
his pulpit attire, as appears from what Fuller (Church History,
ii. p. 459) delivers: "Surely preaching now ran very low,
if it be true what I read, that Mr. Tavernour, of Water Eaton,
in Oxfordshire, High Sheriff of the County, gave the schol
ars a sermon in St. Mary's, with his gold chain about his
neck, and his sword by his side, beginning with these words,
'Arriving at the Mount of St. Mary's, in the stony stage
where I now stand, I have brought you some fine biscuits,
baked in the oven of charity, and carefully conserved for the
chickens of the church, the sparrows of the Spirit, and the

196 The English Versions.
sweet swallows of salvation. ' " (See also Wood, Athence Oxon. ,
i. p. 182.) He died July 14, 1577.
Taverner's Bible has certain peculiarities which will now be
noted. Its titieis as follows: " The most sacred Bible, whiche
is the holy Scripture, conteyning the old and new testament,
translated in to English, and newly recognised with great dil
igence after moost faithful exemplars, by Richard Taverner. —
Harken thou heven, and thou earth gyve eare, for the Lord
speaketh. Esaie i.— Prynted at London in Fletestrete, at the
sygne ofthe sonne, by John Byddell for Thomas Barthlett. —
Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum. — M. D. XXXIX."
After this title follow: " i. A Dedication to the King. 2.
An exhortacion to the studye of the holy Scripture, gathered
out of the Bible. 3. The summe and content of all the holy
scripture bothe of the Olde and New Testament. 4. The
names of all the Bokes of the Bible, with the contents of the
Chapters. 5. A brief rehersall declarynge how long the worlde
hath endured from the creation of Adam unto this present
yeare of our Lord M. D. XXXIX. 6. A Table to fynde
manye of the chyefe and pryncypal matters conteyned in the
Bible. — The title to the Apocrypha is the same as in Mat
thew's Bible, 1537. — The Registre thereof, etc. — The Newe
Testament of our Sauyour Jesu Christ, translated Tn to Eng
lish, and newly recognised with great diligence after moost
faythful exemplars. By Rycharde Taverner — Pray for us,
that the worde of God may hau fre passage and be glori
fied. 2 Tessa, iii. — -Prynted in the yere of our Lorde God,
M. D. XXXIX— The ende ofthe Newe Testament."
The dedication is manly and outspoken, and contrasts fa
vorably with the fulsome language of previous documents of
that sort. He says: "This one thing I dare full well affirm,
that among all your majesty's deservings .... your high
ness never did any thing more acceptable unto God, more
profitable unto the auauncement of true Christianity, more

Taverner's Bible. 197
displeasant to the enemies of the same, and also to your
grace's enemies, than when your majesty lycensed and wylled
the moost sacred Byble, conteynyng the unspotted and lyvely
word of God, to be in the English Tonge set forth to your
highness' subjectes .... Wherefore the premises well con
sidered, forasmuch as the prynters herof were very desirous
to haue the Byble come forth as faultlesse and emendatiy as
the shortnes of tyme for the recognysing of the same wold
require they desyred me, your moost humble seruaunt, for
default of a better learned, diligently to overloke and peruse
the hole copy, and in case I shold fynd any notable default
that neded correction, to amende the same according to the
true exemplars, which thing according to my talent I have
gladly done  " He understood and fully appreciated
the great responsibility and difficulty of the undertaking, say
ing: " It is a worke of so great difficultie so absolutely to trans
late the hole Bible that it be faultlesse that I feared it could
scare be done of one or two persons, but rather requyred both
a deeper conferryng of many learned wittes together, and also
a juster tyme and longer leysure. " .... "These therefore
my simple lucubrations and labours to whom might I better
dedicate than unto your, etc  "
Bale calls this recognition : ' ' sacrarum bibliorum recognitio seu
potius versio nova. " It is more than an examination and less
than a new translation; and bears throughout the marks of
his own individuality. The opening chapter of the Bible
brings that out very clearly. Gen. i. The fyrst boke of Mo
ses called Genesis or Generation. By the worde all thynges
be create of God; of man's creation, rule and sustenance.
Margin. Matthew's note: brethed or stered, followed by Tav
erner's: Spirite signifyeth a breth or stirynge, and is taken som
tyme for the wynde, as in the viii of this boke, a; but in this placi
the moste parte of lerned men understande it of ihe holy ghost.
Ver. 22. God blesseth, that is to say, prosper eth his creatures.

198 The English Versions.
His recognition of Matthew's text in this chapter led him to
render v. 2 "the Spirit of God was borne upon" (fere-
batur, Vulgate); v. 7 to change "for it was so" into
"and so it was doon" (Et factum est ita, Vulgate); v. 11
"that sowe seed" into "that bereth seed" (afferentem, Vul
gate). The influence of the Vulgate is very pronounced in
his renderings of the Old Testament, but not exclusively so,
for he often corrects without reference to the Vulgate, which,
according to Westcott, was his only help. In Gen. xlix. 6,
the older rendering "they houghed an ox " becomes "they
threw down the walls of the city " (suffoderunt murum, Vulg. ),
which shows that he knew no Hebrew, and did not consult
the Septuagint. The same applies to his bold rendering of
the word Abrech in ch. xli. 43, "that every person should
bow his knee before him"; and to i Kings xxi. zi, where he
changed "prisoned and forsaken" (Matthew) into "incluse
and furthest " in servile imitation of the Vulgate. A correc
tion of the independent sort is that of "chemerim" with a
note in Matthew, into "religious persons" at 2 Kings xxiii.
5. His recognition in the Old Testament consisted mainly
in suppressing many of Rogers' notes, in correcting his Eng
lish by the Vulgate, and in endeavoring to give a clear sense
(though not always) to the text. His improvements in the Old
Testament are therefore, with few exceptions, ofa very doubt
ful character. The change of "a curtesye bawlme'' (Gen.
xliii. 11) into "a quantitie of bawlme," of "by and by" into
"forthwith," of "like as" into "like," of "but and if" into
"but if," of " neverthelater " into "nevertheless," and of
"remnant" into "residue" (Numb. xxiv. 19), may be given
as samples of his clearing up the text. In the New Testa
ment, where his knowledge of Greek stood him in good
stead, the changes introduced are at once more numerous,
and often also felicitous, though sometimes from a desire tc
adhere closely to the original, he grows obscure, and through

Taverner's Bible. 199
haste he has left uncorrected errors which could not have es
caped him, if he had paid greater attention to his work. In
Sl Matth. i. at Jechonias, Taverner notes: "This Jechonias
is otherwise called Jehoiakim, and is the son to Jechonias be
fore mentioned. ' Ver. 18 he renders "espoused"; and v.
25, "tyll at last she had brought forth her fyrst borne sonne,"
against Matthew's, "Till she had brought forth her fyrst
Sonne." In St. Matthew xxi. xxii., Moulton counted forty
variations of vvhich one third are retained in the Authorized
Version. In ch. xxii. 12, he changed "he was even speech
less," into "had never a word to say"; "intreated them un
godly" (v. 6), into "intreated them foully," and "put the
Sadducees to silence" (v. 34), into "stopped the Sadducees'
mouths." Westcott notes in St. John i. his reading "this,"
for "the same" (vv. 2, 7), "witness," for "to bear witness"
(vv. 7, 15); he renders Tyndale's "verity," by "truth" (v. 14),
and "confessed, and denied not, and said plainly," by "con
fessed, and denied not, and confessed " (v. 20). In his stu
dious endeavor to find Saxon terms, he gave us i John ii. i,
"spokesman" for "advocate," and v. 2, coined "mercy-
stock" as the equivalent of iXa6uoi, in place of Tyndales
and Coverdale's: "he it is that obtain«th grace for our sins. '
Another example of the same kind occurs, St. Luke xii. 29.
where he changed Tyndale's "neither climb ye up on high."
into "and be not carried in the clouds." St. John iii. 8.
Taverner reads: "the spirit breatheth" and says in a note that
"spirit is here taken for wind. " Among the errors that he
failed to correct are Acts xxvii. 9, which reads in his version
as in Tyndale i.. ' ' because that he had overlong fasted, " and
xii. 19: "anH commanded the keepers to depart"; and among
the obscuK- places may be mentioned John i. 2, "all were
made by it '; v. 12, "to be made the sons of God believing on
his name''; v. 11, "i«/(!i his own "; and v. 15, " he was ^r.ri
ere I-'uas.'' ' To his regard for the Greek article are due the

2DO

The English Versions.

renderings, St John i. 9: "that was the true light which
.... coming into ...."; v. 23, " I am a voice of one
crying . . . ."; and v. 25, "Art thou the Prophet?" Gal.
V. 27, " Hath the husband, "
Quite a number of his words and phrases are retained in
the Authorized Version; e. g., St. Matth. xiii. 58, "because
of their unbelief"; xviii. 12, "ninety and nine",- xxi. 17,
"lodged"; xxiii. 23, "throne"; xxiv. 12, "of many shall
wax cold"; xxv. 35, "a stranger"; xxvi. 17, "passover";
66, " guilty of death "; xxvii. 65, "ye have a watch"; Gal.
vi. 16, "the Israel of God"; iv. 20, "I stand in doubt of
you. "
From Professor Moulton's collation of fourteen chapters of
St Matthew, given in Westcott, History of the English Bible,
2d ed. 1872, the following changes have been selected:

Tyndale, 1S34.

Taverner, iJ3g.

xiii. 35

similitudes.

parables.

-45

good.

fair.

xiv. 5

counted.

held.
XV. 2
transgress.
break.
— 18
proceed out ot.
come forth of.
— 22
piteously.
sore.
xvi. 3
fashion.
countenance.
xviii. I
the greatest.
greater.
— 12, 13 ninety and nine.
the fourscore and nineteen.
xix. 9
fornication.
adultery.
 f(
breaketh wedlock.
coramittelh adultery.
xxii. 12
was even speechless.
had never a word to say.
xxiii. 33
damnation.
judgment.
.xxiv. 12
and because iniquity shall have
and because of the abundance
the upper hand the
love of
of wickedness the charity of
many shall abate.
many shall wax cold.
XXV. 35
harbourless.
a stranger (vv. 38, 45).
xxvi. 8
had indignation.
disdained.
- 17
paschal lamb.
passover.
- 66
worthy to die.
guilty of death.
The Great Bible. 201
xxvii. 62 foUoweth Good Friday. followed the day of preparing
the Sabbath.
— 65 Take watchmen. Ye have a watch.
xxviii. 2 the angel. an angel.
These examples abundantly illustrate the nature of Taver
ner's work, and show that though, on the whole, scholarly,
it is nevertheless unequal. *
Several extracts from this Version are given in the con
spectus of passages at the end of the Volume.

CHAPTER VIII.
the great bible.
Neither Coverdale's Bible nor Matthew's were, for reasons
already sufficiently explained, altogether satisfactory to Crom
well, at whose instance and charge Coverdale undertook the
production of a new edition of the Bible on more critical
principles, and repaired, accompanied by Grafton, about
Lent, 1538, to Paris to superintend as editor that undertak
ing, for the execution of which Paris was chosen on account
of its superior paper and typography. Through Cromwell's
influence a license was obtained from Francis I., authorizing
(^loverdale and Grafton to print and export to England the
Latin and the English Bible with the important proviso that
they should not print private or unlawful opinions (Dum-
modo quod sic imprimetis el excudetis sincere et pie, quantum in
vobis erit, citra ullds privalas aut ilkgiiimas opiniones impressum
et excusum fuerit\), which the ecclesiastical authorities would

? The Order of the Books in Taverner's version: Genesis .... The Balet of bal-
ettes. — The Prophets: Isaiah .... Malachiah. — The Apocrypha: 3 Esdras . . . . s
Maccabees. — ^The New Testament: Four Gospels. Acts. — ^The Epistles: 13 of St. Paul
I, 2 St. Peter, i, 2, 3 St. John, Hebrews, St. James, St. Jude, Revelation.
t The license may be seen in Stripe's Cranmer, Appendix XXX.

202 The English Versions.
not be slow in discovering. However, matters ran smoothly
enough for seven or eight months, and Coverdale, who knew
the tender mercies of the Romish fraternity, informed Crom
well in the same letter in which he apprized him of the satisfac
tory progress of the work (in which Regnault the French
printer was associated with them) that "we be daily threat
ened, and look ever to be spoken withal."* Three months
later he, Grafton, and Grey wrote:
Your work going forward, we thought it our most bounden duly to send
unto your lordship certain leaves thereof, specially seeing we had so good
occasion, by the returning of your beloved servant Sebastian [Cromwell's
cook] . And as they are done, so will we send your lordship the residue
from time to time.
As touching the manner and order that we keep in the sarae work,
pleaseth your good lordship to be advertised, that the raark jp^" in the
text signifieth, that upon the sarae, in the latter end of the book, there is
some notable annotation, which we have written without any private opin
ion, only after the best interpreters of the Hebrews, for the more clearness of
the text. Tliis Q betokeneth, that upon the same text there is a diversity
of reading among the Hebrews, Chaldees, and Greelcs, and Latinists; as
in a table at the end of the book shall Ije declared. This raark * shew
eth that the sentence written in sraall letters is not in the Hebrew or Chal
dee, but in the Latin, and seldom in the Greek ; and that we nevertheless
would not have it extinct, but highly accept it, for the more explanation
of the text. This token f in the Old Testament, giveth to understand,
that the sarae text which foUoweth it, is also alleged of Christ, or of some
Apostle in the New Testament. This, among other our necessary la
bours, is the way that we take in this work; trusting verily, that as God
Almighty moved your lordship to set us unto it, so shall it be to his
glory, and right welcome to all them that love to serve Hira and their
prince in true faithful obedience: as is only known to the Lord of heaven,
to whom we raost heartily pray for your lordship's preservation. At Paris,
the gth day of August. 1538. by your faithful orators.
On the 1 2th of September they state that the work of the
Bible "goeth well forward, and within few months will draw
to an end, by the grace of Almighty God."
'•' State Papers, Cromwell Corr.. vol. i.. No. 108.

The Great Bible. 203
Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, had been replaced at this
time by Bonner, when still archdeacon of Leicester, as am
bassador to France, and as he seems to have been promoted
to the episcopate through the influence of Cromwell, it is not
difficult to understand why he befriended Coverdale and Graf
ton, inviting them to dinner and supper, and visiting the "im
printers' house " to partake of ' ' such dinners as the English
had, and that to his cost, which, as it seems, he little weighed "
(Foxe, ii. 434).
When in December (1538) Coverdale and his associates
heard it muttered that an inimical movement was preparing
against them, they availed themselves of Bonner's aid to send
another portion of the printed sheets to Cromwell ' ' to the
intent that if- these men proceed in their cruelness against us,
and confiscate the rest, yet this at least may be safe by the
means of your lordship'' (Letters iii., iv., v., vi., vii. to Crom
well, printed in Parker's Society's ed. of Coverdale s Remains,
pp. 492-97). The dreaded thunderbolt was launched four
days later (Dec. 17th) in the shape of an edict of the inquisi
tor general, issued through Le Tellier, the scribe of the Holy
Office, stopping the progress of the work, ordering the printed
sheets on hand to be seized, and requiring the printers to ap
pear before his court Coverdale and his associates thereupon
sought safety in flight, and left behind them the printed cop
ies, presses, type, etc. The former were condemned to be
"burned in the place Maubert," but as the oflBcers of the
inquisition were not loath to condone the offence, for a pe
cuniary consideration, a convenient haberdasher was found
who purchased them as waste paper ' ' to lay caps in, " and in
that way "four great dry- vats full " were bought up and saved,
and along with the presses, types, and workmen removed to
England, where the work was speedily resumed and com
pleted; and in April, 1539, this Bible, on account of its large
size called the Great Bible, was published. A copy of this

204 The English Versions.
first edition, a large folio, printed in black letter, on vel
lum, is now in the library of St John's College, Cambridge.
It bears this title: The Byble in Englyshe, that is te saye the con
tent of all the helv Scripture bothe of ye olde and newe testament,
truly translated after the veryte of the Hebrue and Greke textes, by
ye dylygent studye ef dyuerse exceiknt learned men, expert in tht
forsayde tongues. — Prynted by Rychard Grafton & Edward
Whitchurch — Cum prinlegw ad imprimendum solum. — 1539.
A very elaborate border, alleged to have been designed by
Hans Holbein, encloses this title. From a fuUsize copper
plate engraving made in i8i8, and two fac-simile cuts re
duced, before me, is furnished this description: Its actual
dimensions of engraved space are i3-J"X9" I^ the highest
central space appears in clouds the Saviour with outstretched
arms and hands pointing to ecclesiastical groups of descend
ing tableaux on his right, and to a similar series of secular
groups on his left; two .labels proceed from his mouth, that
on his right inscribed with: Verbum qued egredietur de me
non reverleiur ad me vacuum, sed faciet qtuecumque volui, Esa.
lv. ;' and that on his left, with: Inverd virum juxta cor meum
q id faciet omnes voluntatis meas. Acts xiii.* This label ex
tends to the king kneeling, bareheaded, his crown on the
ground, and his hands extended, with a label proceeding
fiom his mouth inscribed: Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tu
um, Psal. cxviij.* In the centre, immediately under the
Saviour, the king appears again, on his throne, crowned, and
the insignia of the garter at his feet On his right are six
clerics, two of them bishops (Cranmer being one of them),
their mitres on the ground; on his left six laics (Cromwell

I Is. lv. t8, "My word that goeth forth from my moutk, shall not return unto me
void, but shall accomplish thtat which I pkase."
2 Acts xiii. 22, *' I have found a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all
my will."
3 Ps. cix. TOS, " Thy word is a lamp unto my feet."

The Great Bible. 205
being one of them), several lords temporal; the king hands
to the front personage in each group a clasped volume, in
scribed Verbum Dei, which is received by both with bended
knee. Three scrolls proceed from his mouth, the largest in
scribed: A me constitutum est decretum, ut in univer so imperio
et regne meo homines tremiscant et paveant Deum viventem,
Danie. vi. ; « the one going to the clerics: Hcbc prcccipe et
doce, Tim. iiij. ; » and that to the laics: Quod justum est ju-
dicate. — Ita parvum audietis ut magnum, Deut. i." Under
neath the receiving group of clerics, stands Cranmer, attended
by a chaplain, in pontificals, with his coat of arms at his feet,
handing the clasped volume inscribed Verbum Dei, to a
cleric kneeling, the scroll proceeding from the archbishop
reading: Pascite, qui in vobis est, gregem Christi. Prima Pe.
v. ; ' while in the corresponding compartment on the secular
side, appears Cromwell in state attire, with his cap on and his
coat of arms at his feet, holding in his right hand a roll of
paper, and delivering with his left the clasped volume, in
scribed Verbum Dei, to a nobleman, while a scroll over his
head has the legend: Diuerte a malo et fax bonum, inquire
pacem et pjrsequere eam, Psalmo. xxxiij.s The lowest tableau,
filling the entire breadth of the page, is occupied by a preacher
in his pulpit at the left end of the page, addressing a large
congregation of both sexes, and all estates, ages, and condi
tions of men extending to the right side, exhibiting prisoners
looking through the grated windows, all depicted with ges
tures of grateful joy. The scroll, issuing from the preacher's
mouth, is inscribed: Obsecro igitur primum omnium jkri ob-

4 Dan. vi. 26, " I have made a decree that throughout my realm and kingdom men
tremble and fear before the living God."
6 I Tim. iv. II, "These things enjoin and teach.''
e Deut. i. i6, 17, "Judge righteous judgment. — Ye shall hear the small as well as
the great."
7 I Pet. V. 2, " Feed the flock of Christ which is among you."
¦ Psalm xxxiv. 14, " Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and ensue it.*'

2o6 The English Versions.
secrationes, orationes, postulatienes, gratiarum actiones, pro om
nibus hominibus, pro regibus, etc., i Timo. ii. ,' while from
every part of the audience proceed labels inscribed: Vivai
rex, with a group of children in the lower right hand part
of the plate, who as well as a group of women near the preach
er, shou in English, ' ' God save the King. "
The titie and frontispiece are followed by: — The names of
all the bookes of the Byble, and the content of the chapter of
every booke, with the nombre of the leaffe where the bookes
begynne. — The Kalendar. — ^An Almanach for xix yeares. —
.\n exhortacion to the studye of the holy scripture gathered
out of the Byble. — The summe and content of all the holy
scripture both of the old and newe testament. — A prologue
expressynge what is meant by certayn sygnes and tokens that
we have set in the Byble. — A descriptyon and successe ofthe
k}nges of Juda and Jerusalem, declarynge whan and under
what kynges euery prophet lyued. And what notable thynges
happened in their tymes, translated out of Hebrue. — Wyth
what i udgement the bokes of the Old Testament are to be
red. —
[The following passage is characteristic of Coverdale:
The books of the Old Testament are much lo be regarded, because
they be as it were a manner of foundation, whereunto the New Testament
doth cleave and lean, out of the which certain arguments of the New Tes,
tament raay be taken. For there is ribthing shewed m the New Testa-
lament the which was not shadowed before in the figures of Moses' Law,
and forespoken in the revelations of the Prophets, some things even evi
dently expressed . . . .]
The first boke of Moses, called in the hebrue Bereschith
and in the latyn Genesis, etc.
Like Matthew's Bible the Great Bible is divided into five
tomes; the fourth, containing the Apocrypha, has the title:
9 I Tim. ii. 1, 2, " I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intei-
cessions, and giving of thanks, be m.idc for all men, for king"!," etc.

The Great Bible. 207
The Bookes of Hagiographa. — The titie ofthe New Testament
reads: The newe Testament in Englyshe translated after the Greke,
conteyning these bokes, etc. (In the vellum copy in St. John's
College Library, Cambridge, the Titles are shorter). —
At the end of the New Testament stands: — A Table to
fynde the Epistles and Gospels usually red in the Church after
Salisbury use, whereof the first lyne is the Epistie and the
other the Gospel le; whose bygynning thou shalt finde in the
boke marked with a crosse -|-, and the end with half a
crosse |-, conteyned within the letters A. B. C. D., etc. —
Here foUoweth the Table of the Epistles and Gospels,
whych are to be red on diuerse sainctes' days in the yeare.
They include the following Romish holy days with collects
for some ofthem; St. Nicholas' Day, The Conception of our
Lady, St. George's Day, The Invencion of the Crosse, Sl.
Peter and St. Paul's Day, The Commemoracion of St. Paul, The
Visitacion of our Lady, Relique Sondaie, St. Margaret's Day,
St. Anne's Day, St. Peter's Day ad vincula. The Transfigura-
cion. The Feast of the Name of Jesus, St. Lawrence' Day,
The Assumption of our Lady, The Decollation of St. John,
The Nativitie of our Ladie, The Exaltation of the Crosse, The
Translacion of St. Edwarde's Day, the King and Confessour,
The iiooo Virgins' Day, All Souls' Day, St. Martyn's Day,
and St Katherine's Day.
The ende of the new Testament and of the whole Byble,
fynished in Apryll, Anno 1539.
A dm factum est istud. (This is the Lord's doing).
The liberty celebrated in the engraving, was not fulsome
adulation, but warranted by the facts of the case. Through
Cromwell's influence injunctions were prepared and issued tc
the Clergy, most probably in September, 1538, of which the
second and third are here given verbatim.
Item, that ye shall provyde on this side the feast of  next com-
myng, one boke of the whole Bible of the larjjest volume in Englyshe,

2o8 . The English Versions.
and Ihe same sett up in summe convenient place within the said churche
that ye have the cure of, whereat your parishners may most commodi
ously resort to the same and rede yt; the charges of whiche boke shal be
ralablie born between you the parson, and the parishners aforsaid, that
ys to say, the one half by yowe, and the other half by them.
Item, that ye shall discorage no raan pryvely or apertely from the
readinge or hearinge of the same Bible, but shall expresslye provoke,
slere, and exhorte every parsone to rede the same, as that whyche ys the
verye lively worde of God, that every Christen man ys bowhde to em
brace, beleve, and folowe, yf he loke to be saued, admonyshinge them
neverthelesse, to avoid all contention and altercation therein, and to use
an honest sobretye in the inquisition of the true sense of the same, and
referre the explication of obscure places to men of higher judgment in
scripture.* The king, moreover, in a declaration appointed "to be
read by all curates upon the publishing of the Bible in Eng
lish," urged the parochial clergy to study it, and charged
them to say unto, their people: "You shall have always in
your remembrance and memories that all things contained in
this book is the undoubted will, law, and commandment of
Almighty God, the only and straight mean to know the
goodness and benefits of God towards us, and the true duty
of every Christian man to serve him accordingly. . . . And
if at any time by reading any doubt shall come to any of you,
touching the sense and meaning of any part thereof, that then
(not giving too much to your own minds, fancies and opin
ions, nor having thereof any open reasoning in your open
taverns or alehouses) ye shall have recourse to such learned
men as be, or shall be authorised to preach and declare the
same. So that avoiding all contentions and disputations in
such alehouses and other places .... you use this most high
benefit quietly and charitably every one of you to the edifying
of himself, his wife, and family  " f

* The injunctions may be read in Bumet ii. p. 260.
^^ Strype, Crainiier, ii. 735-6.

The Great Bible. 209
It is well known that Bonner set up six Bibles in St. Paul's,
and that the free Bible completely revolutionized theyhabits
of the people, as is clear from the following passages: "Eng
lishmen have now in hand in every church and place and
almost every man the Holy Bible and New Testament in their
mother tongue instead ofthe old fabulous and fantastical books
of the Table Round, Launcelet du Lac, etc., and such other,
whose impure filth and fabulosity the light of God has abol
ished utterly. " *
" It was wonderful to see with what joy this book of God
was received not only among the learneder sort and those
that were noted for lovers of the reformation, but generally all
England over among all the vulgar and common people;
and with what greediness God's word was read and what re
sort to places where the reading of it was. Everybody that
could bought the book or busily read it or got others to read
it to them if they could not themselves, and divers more
elderly people learned to read on purpose. And even little
boys flocked among the rest to hear portions of the holy
^'cripture read. " f
Turning to the nature of the work itself, and recalling the
account of its progress given by Coverdale himself in his let
ter to Cromwell (given above), it is clear that the Great Bible
is a revision of Tyndale, Matthew, and Coverdale, by the
original, with the help of Luther's version, the Ziirich version,
as well as the Latin translations of Sanctes Pagninus (1528)
and Sebastian Miinster (1534-5) in the Old Testament, and
the Latin version of Erasmus (1535) in the New; the text
of the Great Bible of 1539, may be described with sufiScient
accuracy as a Revision of Matthew, that is, of Tyndale, Rogers,
and Coverdale, by Coverdale himself
* A summary Declaration of the Faith, Use, and Observations in England (dated
1539). Collier. Ece. Hist,, ii. Collection qf Records. 47.
t Strype, Life of Cranyner, i. p. 92.

2IO The English Versions.
Here it is proper to state that the first edition of 1539, was
again revised in 1540 (Cranmer), and that there appeared not
less that seven editions of the Great Bible in a comparatively
brief space, viz., April, 1539; April, July, and November, 1540;
May, November, and December, 1541.
¦ The first of these (1539) is properly speaking Cromwell's
Bible for which he received the Royal Patent, dated November
14, 1539, conferring on him the sole and unlimited power
of licensing the printing and publication of English Bibles
for the next five years, as is clear from this extract: "We
have therfore appoynted oure right trusty and wel beloved
counsellour the lorde Cromwell, keeper of our pryvye scale,
to take for us, and in oure name, special care and charge,
that no manner of persone or persones within this our realme
shall enterprise, attempt, or sett in hand, to print any Bible
ill the English tonge of any manner of volume, duiyng the
space of fyve yeres next ensuyng after the date hereof, but
only suche as shall be deputid, assignid, and admitted, by
the said lord Cromwell. Willing and commanding all maire.s,
shirefes, bailiffes, constables, and all other oure officers, miii-
istres, and subjectes, to be ayding to our said' counsailour in
the execution of this oure pleasure, and to be conformable
in the accomplishment ofthe same, as shall apperteigne. " *
From Cranmer's connection with this Bible, which seems
to begin on the same day, Nov. 14, 1539, it is often called
Cranmer's Bible. The edition, in which his Prologue appears
for the first time, is that of 1 540. An extract from the Prologue
will be given below.
The eclectic process in the successive alterations introduced
into Coverdale's translations, with the use of additional helps,
e. g., Miinster in the Old Testament, and Erasmus in the
New may be illustrated by examples, which for convenience
of reference, have been taken from the works of Professors
* Wilkins, Concilia, iii. p. 846. Burnet, Records, i. pt. ii. -"

The Great Bible. 211
Westcott and Eadie. The'arrangement, however, is different,
and made solely for the purpose of enabling the English reader,
even if he should not be familiar with the languages referred
to, to form an independent judgment. The order followed
is the historical, which gives us i. The Hebrew (translated);
2. The Vulgate (with a translation); 3. Luther's version (with
a translation) ; 4. the Ziirich version (with a translation); 5.
Matthew (Tyndale); 6. Coverdale; 7. Munster (with a trans
lation); 8. The Great Bible. The translations, excepting
the Hebrew, are given in italics, and the initials used desig
nate: H., the Hebrew; V., The Vulgate; L., Luther; Z., The
Ziirich version; Ma., Matthew; C, Coverdale; Mu., Miinster;
and G., the Great Bible. JUDGES V. 28-30.
Ver. 28.
H. The mother of Sisera looked down through the window, and wailed
through the lattice.
V. Per fenestram respiciens ululabat mater ejus, et de coenaculo loque-
batur.
(His mother, looking back through the window, howled, and spoke
from the upper room.)
L. Die Mutter .Sissera sahe zum fenster aus, und heulete durchs gitler.
(The mother of Sisera looked out at the window, and howled through
the lattice.)
Z. Seyn mutter sach zum fenster ausz, vund schrey mit kiag durchs
gaiter.
(His mother looked out at the window, and shouted with plaint
through the lattice.)
Ma. Through a window looked Sisera's mother, and howled through
a lattice.
C. His mother looked out at the window, and cried piteously through
the trellis.
Mu. Per fenestram prospexit et vociferala est mater Siserae, per cancellos
inquam.
{ The mother of Sisera looked out through the windoiu, and screamed,
through the lattice, I say.)
G. The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through
the lattice.

212 The English Versions.
H. Why delayeth his chariot in coming ? Why linger the paces of hij
chariots ?
V. Cur moratur regredi currus ejus ? Quare tai-daverunt pedes quadri-
garum ejus?
{ Why delayeth his chariot to come back ? wherefore have been re
tarded the feet of his four-horse chariots ?)
L. Warum verriehet sem Wagen dass er * nicht komrat ? Wie bleiben
die Rader seiner Wa^eii so dahmten ?
(Why delayeth his chariot that he doth not come? How do the
wheels of his chariots stay so behind?)
Z. Warumb bleibet sein wagen so lang aussen das er* nit kompt? Wa-
rurab verziehend die reder seines wagens ?
( Why slayeth his chariot out so long, that he cometh not ? Why
delay the wheels of his chariot ?)
Ma. Why abideth his chariot so long that it cometh not? Why tany
the wheels of his waggons ?
C. Why tarrielh his chariot out so long that he cometh not ? Where
fore do the wheels of his chariot make so loi^ tarrying ?
Mu. Quare moratur currus ejus venire? ut quid morantur vestigia quadri-
garum ejus ?
( Why delayeth his chariot in coming? why are the steps of his four-
horse chariots delaying ?)
G. Why is his chariot so long a coming ? Why tairy the wheels of his
carts ? Ver. 29.
H. The wise of her noble ladies answered her: yea she made answer to
herself:
V. Una sapienlior cseteris uxoribus ejus hsc socrui verba respondit. .
(One wiser than his other wives answered these words to her moth
er-in-law.
L. Die weisesten unter seinen fraueii antworteten, da sie ihre klage-
worle immer wiederholte:
( The wisest among his wives answered, while she was ever repeat
ing her -djords of complaint:)
Z. Die weysest vnder seinen frawen anlwurtel vnnd sprach zu jn :
( The wisest among his wives answered, and said to her [himW.)
Ma. The wisest of her ladies answered her, yea and slie answered her
own words herself:
* Er may relate to cliariot or to Sisera, Wagen being masculine.
t Jn is clearly .a mistake.

The Great Bible. 213
C. The wisest among its ladies answered and said unto her:
Mu. Sapientes quseque dominae respondebant illi, quin et ipsa sibi ipsi
reddebat verb;i.
(All the wise ladles answered her, yea she answered the words to
herself. )
G. All the wise ladies answered her, yea and her own words answered
herself: Ver. 30.
H. Shall they not find and divide the spoil ? A maiden, two maidens
to the head of a warrior; the spoil of dyed garments for Sisera, the
spoil of dyed garments of embroidery, dyed garments of double
embroidery for the neck of the captured (maidens).
V. Forsitan nunc dividit spolia, et pulcherrima feminarum ehgitur ei;
vestes diversorum colorum Siserae tradunlur in praedam, et supel-
lex varia ad ornanda colla congerilur.
(Perhaps he now divideth the spoil, and the fairest of the women is
chosen for him; garments of divers colors are delivered unto Sis
era for booty, and variegated stujffor neck ornament is collected,)
L. Sollen sie denn nicht finden und austheilen den Raub, einera jeglich-
eii Mann eine Metze oder zwo zur Ausbeute, und Sissera bunte ge-
slickte Kleider zur Ausbeute, gestickte bunte Kleider, um den Hals
zur Ausbeute ?
(Shall they then tiot find and divide tlie prey, to each man a maiden
or tvjo for spoil, and to Sisera variegated embroidered garments
for spoil, embroidered variegated garments round the neck for
spoil?)
Z. SoUend sy nit finden vnd auszteilen den raub, eyn yegliclieii maiui
eyn schOne maizen oder zwo zur auszbeilt, vnd Sissera bundle ge
stickte kleyder zur auszbeilt, gestickte bundle kleyder vmb den
halsz zur auszbeUt ?
( Verbatim, in the Swiss dialect, like Luther's version, which it is.)
Ma. Haply they have found and divide the spoil: a maid, yea two raaids,
for a piece: a spoil of diverse colours for Sisera, a spoil of divers
colours with brodered works for the neck of a prey.
C. Should they not find and divide the spoil, unto every man a fair
maid or two for a prey, and party coloured garments of needle
work to Sisera for a .spoil, party coloured garments of needle-work
about the neck for a prey ?
Mu. Certe invenerunt, dividunl spolia: esl puella vel duae puellse cuilibet
viro: liabet Sisera predam vesliura coloralarura, praedam inquara

214 The English Versions.
veslium vario tinctarura colore et quae acu pictse sunt: veslem dis-
colorem et acu pictam, quae priori competit in spoliorum distri-
bu tione.
(Surely they have found, they divide the spoils; a maid, or two maids
to every man; Sisera hath the booty of dyed garments, the booty
I say of garments dyed with various colours and embroidered: a
variegated embroidered garment, which is fit for a superior in the
distribution of the spoils.)
G. Surely they have found, they divide the spoils. Every man hatli a
damsel or two. Sisera hath a prey of divers coloured garments,
even of a prey dyed with sundry colors, and that are made of
needle work, raiment of divers colours and of needlework, which
IS meet for him that is chief in distributing of the spoils.
This collation shows exactly where the different translators
found their renderings, and proves, I think, that wJiile Cover-
dale consulted the Hebrew, the influence of Luther deter
mined his rendering in his first version, and that of Miinster
in the text of the Great Bible. It likewise shows the superi
ority of Miinster's version to the Vulgate, and his failure to
catch the sense of the very difficult last clause of verse 30,
where Luther was on the right track, and Miinster made a
blunder, which Coverdale adopted.
The second example is Eadie's collation of Psalm xxiii., in
everything except the translation of the Hebrew placed at the
head of each separate verse; the references and italics are Ea
die's, but the arrangement differs from his. The bracketed
miU'.'r is added. The Hebrew is in small capitals.
V, 1. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Coverdale. Great Bible (iS39),
The Lorde is my shepherde,' I The Lorde is my shepherde,
can want nothinge. therefore'' I can want nothing.
V. 2. He shall cause me to lie down in green pastures, he
SHALL lead me TO (or BY) WATERS OF QUIETNESS.

1 Coverdale has not translated the "danimb" of the Ztirlch Bible, but follows
the Vulgate and Luther. [They use the third person of the verb ] 2 Ideo, Miinster.

The Great Bible. 215
Wefedeth 3 me in a greene pas- He shall'' fede iiie in a grene pas
ture & ledeth rae to a yr^j-/; i£/a<^?-.'' ture, & leade me/(7r<,4(^ besyde'' \X\e
waters of comforte.^
V. 3. He SHALL REFRESH MY SOUL, HE SHALL LEAD ME IN THE PATHS
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE.
He quickeneth my soule^ and He shall cotrverte ''« my soule &
bringeth rae forth in the waye of bryng me forth in the pathes ' ' of
rightuousnes for his names sake. ryghteousnes for hys naraes sake.
V. 4. Even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, 1
SHALL NOT FEAR EVIL, FOR THOU ART WITH ME, THY STAFF AND THY
PKOl', THEY WILL COMFORT ME.
Tliough I shulde walke now 12 Yee '^ though I walke tliorow '
in '•* the valley of the shadowe of ye valley of the shadow of death, I
death, yet " I feare no euell, for will fear no teuetl,>^ for thou art
thou art with rae; thy staffe & thy witli me, thy rodde & thy staffe
shepe-hoke comfort '* me. comforte pie.
V. 5. Thou wilt spread before me a taule in the presence -qf
MINE adversaries, THOU WILT ANOINT MY HEAD WITH OIL, MY CUP is
ABUNDANCE. Thou preparest a lable before TJiou shalt prepare ^^ 3. luHe he
me agaynst mine enemies','^^ thou fore me agaynst them thai trouble
aiioyntest my heade with oyle, and m^,'i^x!a.oii hasf^ anoynted my head
fy liest my cuppe 2° full. with oyle, & my cuppe shalbe full.-*
V. 6. Only goodness (=happiness) and mercy .will foji-low me all
THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, AND I SHALL REMAIN IN (or perhaps RETURN TO)
THE HOUSE OF THE LORD AS LONG AS I LIVE (literally LENGTH QF DAYS).
Oh let thy louying kyndness & Bui^^ (thy) louynge kyndnes &
mercy folowe me all the dayes off mercy shall'-'' folowe me all the
my life that I maye dwell''^ in the dayes of my lyfe, Iwill dwell '^ in
house off the Lorde for euer. the house of the Lord for ever.
3 Er weidet mich, Luther and the Ziirich. 4 After Luther, u Acciibare faciet,
Miinster. 6 Deducet. 7 JuNta, Mttnster. 8 Aquas refrigerii, Miinster. » Er-
quiclcet, Ziirich and Luther [denotes in German, to refresh.] 10 Converter, Pagni
nus. II In semitis, Mii.ister. 12 Schon, Luther, Ziirich. 13 In, Vulgate and Zu
rich 14 Doch, Ziirich. 15 Future in Hebrew. 16 Etiam, Pagninus, MUiister. 17 Per,
tlies.ime. 16 Malum, the same [against mala, Vulgate. But that proves nothing, as
the two English versions agree except in the tense of the verb]. 19 contra, Pag
ninus. 20 fiillest, Ziirich. 21 prseparabis, Miinster and Pagninus. 22 Adversus eos,
Rjlinster. 23 Miinster and Pagninus. 24 Saturus, the same. 25 Vulgate and Zii
rich. 2C Veriintamen, Miinster and Pagninus. 27 Sequentur, the same. 23 Morabor,
the same. "And I will dwell," being in the edition of 1540.

2x6 The English Versions.
The influence of Miinster is undeniable not only in these
passages, but in the others produced by Westcott and Eadie.
The manner in which Coverdale successively corrected his
own work, is strikingly brought out in the former's collation
of Isaiah liii., where the text of Coverdale (Matthew) is com
pared with Cromwell's edition of 1539, and Cranmer's of 1540,
with the Ziirich version and Miinster's translation. A single
clause may suffice to bring this out very clearly.
V. 5. Coverdale (iMatthew): a. For the pain of our punishment b. shall
be laid upon him, c. and with his stripes shall we be healed.
a. (1539): — ^pain of our punishment (die busz unserer straaf. Zurich).
(1540): — chastiseraent of our peace (casligatio pacis nostrse. M.).
b. (1539): — shall be laid (wirt jm auffgelegt. Z.).
(1540): — was laid (fiiit . . . super. M.).
c. (1539): — shall we be healed (werdeut wir gesund. Z.).
(1540): — are we healed (medicalum est nobis. M.).
Two or three more examples, collated by Eadie, lead to
the same result: PROVERBS XVII. i .
1539. Whoso hath pleasure to sowe dyscorde, pyckelh a quarrell in
every thynge (after the Zurich).
1540. He accompanieth hym selfe with all steadfast and helthsome doc
tryne, that hath a fervent desyre to it, and is sequestrate from
companye.
(Miinster: Qui in votis est et quaerit sequestrari, hic immiscet se
omni solidae et sanae) [doctrinae] .
ECCLES. XI. 5.
1539. As thou knowest not the waye of the wynde, nor how the bones
are fylled in a mother's wombe.
1540 As thou knowest not the waye of the spirit howe he entred into
the body beinge yet in a mother's wombe.
(Miinster: Sicut tu nescis qua via (ingrediatur) spiritus in corpus-
culuni cum adhuc est in utero pregnantis).
ZECHARIA IX. 16.
1539. For the siones ofhis sanctuary shal be set vp in liis lande.
1540. Ffor as precious siones of a dyademe they shall be sett vp ouer
liis lande.
(Miinster: f,)uia ut lapides corona; elevabuntur super terram ejus.)

The Great Bible. 217
And the following from the New Testament. In the first
set the influence of Erasmus is very pronounced. The ex
amples are those taken by Canon Westcott, and Professor
Eadie from the list of variations in Mr. Francis Fry's A De
scription of the Great Bible, etc., London, 1865, which ex
hausts the subject, and is a marvel for minute and scrupulous
accuracy. ROM. I. 25. ;
1539. which is blessed forever.
1540. which is to be praised forever.
(E. : qui est laudandus in secula).
ROM. V. 15.
1539. which . . . was given by one man . . .
1540. which . . . was of one man . . .
(Erasmus: quae fuit unius hominis).
PHIL. I. 23.
1539. is much better.
1540. is much and far better.
(E.: multo longeque melius est.)
REV. XVI. 9.
1539. repented not.
1540. repented not of their evil deeds.
(E. : neque egerunt scelerum poenitentiam.)
REV. XXII. 6.
1539. The Lord God of saints and prophets.
1540. The Lord God of the holy prophets.
(E.: Dominus Deus sanctorum prophetarum.)
ST. JAMES I. 13.
1539. For God cannot tempt with evil, because he tempteth no raan.
1540. For as God cannot be tempted with evil, so neither he himself
tempteth any raan.
(E.: Nam Deus ut malis tentari non potest, ita nec ipse quem-
quam tentat.
There is a complete theological somersault in the render
ing of 1539, answering to the Vulgate's: "Deus intentator
malorum est," to the Erasmian rendering of 1540, which

2i8 The English Versions.
tokes a^cijiadros xattwv passively (retained in A. V.. i6ii,
and in the Wesminster, with the marginal note, "Gr., ev^
things ").
In the next set the revision returns with Erasmus to the
Vulgate, ROM. IV. 2$.
1539. For to justify us.
1540. For our justification.
(Vulgate: Propter justificatlonem nostram.)
GAL. I. ID.
1539. Do I now speak unto men or unto God ? either go I about to
please ...
1540. Do I now persuade men or God ? either do I seek to please ....
(Vulgate: Modo enira howjnijpas suadeo, an Deo? an quaero ho
minibus placere ?) I TIM. III. 16.
1539  was beleued on erth ....
1540. .... was beleued on in the worlde.
(Vulgate: creditum est in mundo).
In addition to the influence of Erasmus, that of the Com
plutensian Polyglot was very gre^t. In Revelation alone
ninety textual changes were made on its authority; e. g.,
X. 6. 1539 omits the entire clause, which in that of
1540 reads (and the earth and the things that therein are).
xxi. 16. 1539. measured the city with the reed.
1540. measured the city with the (golden) reed.
xxii. 9. 1539. the sayings ofthis book.
1540. the sayings of (the prophecy of) this book.
In addition to these, the following changes are very re
markable, and to be explained on the same principle:
IS39 (Cromwell) . 1S4°^ April (Cranmer).
Joshua xiv. A. gaue them their enherit- distributed to them. By
aunce by lotte, as the Lord lot-te they receaued their
commaunded. possessions as the Lorde
commaunded.

The Great Bible.

219

Psalm icxviii. B. For they regarde not the
worckes of the Lorde.

Prov. xviii. A.

Who so hath pleasure to
sowe dyscorde, pyckelh a
quarell in euery thynge.

Ecclesiastes xi. A.
Isaiah ii. B.
 iii. D.
— . — xxxviii. B.
Jeremiah xi. D.
Joel i. D.
Nahum ii. A.
Romans i. A.
 C.
 xvi. B.
Ephesians iii. C.
James i. B.

Sende thy vitayles ouer
the waters, and so shalt
thou fynde them after
many dayes.
they gO farre beyonde
theyr fathers.
brusshes, and headbandes.
glasses and smockes.
in my beast age.
I am (as a meke lambe).
O what a syghynge make
the euell ?
His archers are well deck
le and trimmed.
that are called of Jesu
Christ.
which is blessed for euer.
whych wemen labour in
the Lorde.
all generacyons from tyme
to tyme.
for God cannot temple vn
to euyll, because he tempt
eth no raan.

2 Peter ii. C. exercysed With couetous-

For they regarde not in
ther mynde the worckes
of the Lorde.
He accompanieth hym
selfe with all steadfast &
helthsorae doctryne, that
hath a feruent desyre to it
and is sequestrate from
companye.Lay thy brede vpon weate
faces, & so shalt thou finde
after many dayes.
they go farre beyorid the
east countries.
brooches and headbandes.
glasses and cypresses.
when myne age was short
ened. I am (as a meke lambe an
oxe).O what a syghynge make
the kyne ?
and his spere shaftes are
soked in venim.
the electe of Jesu Chryst.
which is to be praysed for
euer.whych labour in the Lorde.
all ages Worlde without
ende.
for as God can not be
tempted with euill, so ne
ther he hymselfe tempt
the eny raan.
exercysed with robrie.*

* Francis Fry, A /description of the Great Bible, etc., London, 1865.

220 The English Versions.
Coverdale was doubtless also the editor of the Great Bible
of 1540 (Cranmer's), for Fulke in his Defence ofthe Transla-
sions of the Bibk (Parker Soc. ed. p. 68) distinctly calls the
Bible of 1562, which was a reprint of 1540, "Master Cover-
dale's Bible."
The prologue written by Cranmer, is marked by great
sagacity and earnestness. It begins: "Concerning two sun
dry sorts of people, it seemeth necessary that something be
said in the entry of this book, by way of a preface or prologues'
whereby hereafter it may be both the better accepted of them
which hitherto could not well bear it, and also the better used
of them which heretofore have misused it. For truly some
there be which be too slow, and need the spur; some other
seem too quick, and need more of the bridle. Some lose
their game by short shooting, some by overshooting. Some
walk too much on the left hand; some too much on the right.
In the former sort be all they that refuse to read, or to hear
read, the Scripture in the vulgar tongue; much worse they
that let also, or discourage the other from the reading or
hearing thereof In the latter sort be they which, by their
inordinate reading, indiscrete speaking, contentious disput
ing, or otherwise by their licentious living, slander and hin
der the word of God most of all other, whereof they would
seem to be the greatest furtherers. These two sorts, albeit
they be most far unlike the one to the other, yet they both
deserve in eifect like reproach. Neither can I well tell,
whether of them I may judge the more offender, him that
doth obstinately refuse so godly and goodly knowledge, or
him that so ungodly, and so ungoodly abuseth the same."
After a defence of the English translations; and a long ex
tract from Chrysostom favoring the reading of the Bible,
Cranmer resumes thus: "Therefore, in few words, to com
prehend the largeness and utility of the Scripture, how it
containeth fruitful instruction and erudition for every man.

The Great Bible. 221
if anything be necessary to be learned, of the Holy Scripture
we may learn it. If falsehood shall be reproved, thereof we
may gather wherewithal. If anything is to De corrected and
amended; if there need any exhortation or consolation, ofthe
Scripture we may well learn. In the Scriptures be the fat pas
tures of the soul; therein is no venomous meat, no unwhole
some thing: they be the very dainty and pure feeding. He
that is ignorant shall find there what he should learn. He that
is a perverse sinner shall there find his damnation to make him
to tremble for fear. He that laboureth to serve God shall
there find his glory, and the promise of eternal life, exhorting
him more diligently to labour  Wherefore I would
advise you all, that come to the reading or hearing of this
Book, which is the Word of God, the most precious jewel,
and most holy relic that remaineth upon earth, that ye bring
with you the fear of God, and that ye do it with all reverence,
and use your knowledge thereof not to vain glory of frivolous
disputation, but to the honor of God, increase of virtue, and
edification both of yourselves and others  " After a
long extract from Gregory Nazianzen on those who do not
considerately read and study the word of God, he concludes
thus: "Every man that cometh to the reading of this Holy
Book ought to bring with him first and foremost this fear .
of Almighty God; and then, next, a firm and stable purpose
to reform his own self according thereunto; and so to con
tinue, proceed, and prosper from time to time; showing him
self to be a sober and fruitful hearer and learner. Which if
he do, he shall prove at length well able to teach, though
not 'with his mouth, yet with his living and good example;
which is sure the most lively and effectuous form and manner
of teaching. He that otherwise intermeddleth with this Book,
let him be assured that once he shall make account therefore,
when he shall have said to him, as it is written in the prophet
David, 'Peccatore dicit Deus,'" etc.

222 The English Versions.
This edition of the Great Bible, which is properly Cran
mer's Bible, is a further revision of Coverdale of the edition
of 1539, and has the following title:
" The Byble in Englyshe, that is to saye the content of
al the holy scrypture, both of the olde, and newe testament,
with a prologe therinto, made by the reverende father in
God, Thomas, archbysshep of Canterbury. This is the Byble
apqynted to the use of the churches. Prynted by Richard
Grafton. * Cum privilegio ad imprimendum soljim, M. D. XL. "
The colophon reads: "The Ende of the newe Testa
ment, and of the whole !^ble, fynisshed in Apryll, anno
M. CCCCC. XL. A Domino factum est istud."
Although a revision, the changes introduced by Coverdale
chiefly irom Munster in the Old Testament, and from Erasmus
in the New, are not always improvements, as may be seen
by reference to the examples already given above.
This seems to be the proper place for stating that this
Bible, of which six editions were published between April,
1 540, and December, 154 1 (see above), was the Authorized
Version for twenty-eight years, — and, according to Eadie,
"in the strict sense it is the only Authorized Version still,
for the Bishops' Bible and the present" [161 1] "never had
the formal sanction of royal authority. "
It is unquestionably inferior to Matthew's Bible as to trans
lation, and objectionable, on account of Kumerous paraphrastic
and supplementary clauses drawn from the Vulgate, of which
the following are specimens:
Gen. iv. 8, Cain spake with Abel hys brother [let us go furth] .
Josh. ii. II, As we hearde these thynges [we were sore afraied, &]
our heartes dyd fainle.
Judg. ix. 49, so that [virith sraoke and fyre] all the men of the tower
of Sichera were slayne.

* Another edition (April, 1540,) with ihe same title has the name of Edward Whit-
chtirche as the printer.

The Great Bible. 223
Psalm xxix. i, Syng unto the Lorde, O ye mightie [brynge younge
r.^mmes unto the Lorde] aserybe unto the Lorde wor
shippe and strengthe.
This is a most remarkable rendering, as the reader will
perceive by perusing the following translations:
The Hebrew original reads: "Give unto the Lord, ye sons
of the gods [i e. ye angels], give unto the Lord glory and
Inight," translated by the LXX: "Bring unto the Lord, ye
sons of God, bring unto the Lord the sons of rams, bring
unto the Lord glory and honor," and in the Vulgate: "Bring
unto the Lord, ye sons of God, bring unto the Lord the sons
of rarris, bring unto the Lord glory and honor. "
Psalm cxxxii. 4, nor mine eye lyddes to slomber [nether the temples of
ray heade to take anye rest] .
Acls V. 15, That the shadow of Peter myght shadowe some of them
[and that they myght all be delyuered from their in-
firmytyes] .
Romans v. 2, The glory [of the chyldren] of God.
Galatians v. 13, but by loue [of the sprete] serue one another.
The whole of the Book teems with these curious and ob
jectionable additions, showing very plainly the indecision and
dependence, that is to say, the want of independent scholar
ship on the part of Coverdale. Sometimes whole verses, e. g.
two long ones at the end of Prov.* v. are added; here is one
added to. Prov. x. 4 [whoso regardeth leasynges fedeth the
Wynde, and doth but foUowe byrdes that have taken their
flyght] ; and another to Acts xiv. 7 [& all the multitude was
moued at their doctryne, but Paul and Barnabas taryed styll
at Lystra], after a gloss which crept into the Vulgate, where
it continues in tbe Sixtine edition of 1590.
The Great Bible (Cranmer's) has given to the Book of
Commoii Prayer its Psalter, which in some respects is better
adapted to liturgical uses than that in the Authorized Version.
The latter follows more closely the Hebrew, while the formfer,

' 224 The English Ver.sions.
from the eclectic character of its composition, and the free
dom of its arrangement was considered "to be more smooth
and fit for song.' Proctor (Hist, of Commen Prayer, p. 215),
from whom the last citation is taken, commits three errors in
one sentence, alleging that the version used in the Psalter is
the old translation of the Bible, that of Tyndale and Cover-
dale (1535) and Rogers (1537) which was revised by Cran
mer (1539), there being no such Bible in 1535, and the re
vision being made not by Cranmer but by Coverdale, and that
not in 1539 but in 1540. A note added to "the order how
the Psalter is appointed to be read " in the English Book of
Common Prayer says that ' ' the Psalter foUoweth the Division
of the Hebrews, and the Translation of the Great English Bi
ble, set forth and used in the time of king Henry the Eighth,
and Edward the Sixth. " This selfsame translation is referred
to in the first Prayer Book of Edward the Sixth (1549), and
it has never been changed. When at the last revision of the
Prayer Book in 1662 the Epistles and Gospels were taken
from the New Version, the hold which Coverdale's version of
the Psalter had upon the public mind was found to be too
strong to venture upon the innovation. "It was found,"
says Westcott (History, p. 294), "it is said, smoother to sing;
but this is not a full account of the matter, and it cannot be
mere familiarity v/hich giveS to the Prayer Book Psalter, with
all its errors and imperfections, an incomparable tenderness
and sweetness. Rather we may believe that in it we can yet
find the spirit of him whose work it mainly is, full of humil
ity and love, not heroic or creative, but patient to accomplish
by God's help the task which had been set him to do,- and
therefore best in harmony with the tenour of our own daily
lives." As in the Prayer Book Version the Titles of the Psalms and
other matters are omitted, a few curiosities of that Version in
Cranmer's Bible may here be supplied: Mich tham (Ps. xvi.

The Great Bible.

22-

and elsewhere) is rendered "the badge of armes of David,"
Maschil, ' ' instructyon in the chauntes or melodyes. ' The
chief musician is called The Chaunter; or the psalm is in
scribed to him as " to him that excelleth in songs of musick,
or on Gittith," etc., or "to him that excelleth among the lyl
ies," Ps. xlv. The inscription of Ps. xxvi. reads: "A Psalm of
David [afore he was embalmed] "; and the title of Ps. xxix:
"A Psalm of David at the perfourmynge ofthe Tabernacle." :
A synoptical presentation of a few passages from the Prayer
Book Version and that of the Authorized Version will be
found interesting and suggestive.
Prayer Book.
Ps. xix. 2. One day telleth another; and
one night certifieth another.

4, Their sound is gone forth into
all lands:
and their words into the ends
of the world.
7. the testimony of the Lord is
sure, and giveth wisdom un
to the simple.
12. Who can tell how oft he of
fendeth:
13. so shall I be undefiled and in
nocent from the great offence.
II. Serve the Lord in fear: and re
joice unto him with rever
ence.
5. Now for the comfortless troub
les' sake of the needy :
and because of the deep sigh
ing of the poor,
6. I will up, saith the Lord:
and I will help every one
from him that swelleth against
him, and will set him at rest.

Authorized Version.
Day unto day uttereth speech;
and night unto night sheweth
knowledge. Their line is gone out through
all the earth:
and their words to the ends of
the world.
the testimony of the Lord is
sure, making wise the simple.
Who can understand his er
rors? Then shall I be upright, and
I shall be uinocent from the
great transgression.
Serve the Lord with fear: and
rejoice with trembling.
For the oppression of the
poor, for the sighing of the needy,
now will I arise, saith tlie Lord ;
I will set him in safety from'
him that puffeth at him.

226

The English Versions.

xxvii. 4. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, which I will require:
even that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days
of my life,
to behold the fair beauty of
the Lord, and to visit his tem
ple.
xlv. 5. Good luck have thou with
thine honour:
• ride on, because of tlie word
of truth, of meekness, and
righteousness;
and thy right hand shall leach
thee terrible things.
lxii. 9. As for the children of men,
they are but' vanity :
the children of men are de
ceitful upon the weights,
they are altogether lighter
than vanity itself.
lxxviii. 17. He brought water out of the
stony rock:
so that it gushed out like the
rivers.
cxxvii. 2. It is but lost labour that ye
haste to rise up early, and so
late take rest, and eat the
bread of carefulness:
for so he giveth his beloved
sleep.
cxlvii. 8. Who covereth the heavens
with clouds, and prepareth
rain for the earth :
and maketh the grass to grow
upon the mountains, and herb
for the use of men ;
I- 9. who giveth fodder unto the
cattle: and feedeth the young ravens
that call upon him.

One thing have I desired ofthe
Lord, that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of
my life,
to behold the beauty of the
Lord, and to enquire in his
temple.
And in thy majesty ride pros
perously because of truth and
meekness and righteousness;

and thy right hand shall teach
thee terrible things.
Surely men of low degree are
vanity, and men of high de
gree are a lie:
to be laid in the balance, they
are altogether lighter than
vanity. He brought streams also out
of the rock :
and caused waters to run down
like rivers.
It is vain for you to rise up
early, to sit up late to eat the
bread of sorrows :
for so he giveth his beloved
sleep. Who covereth the heavens
with clouds, who prepareth
rain for the earth,
who maketh grass to grow
upon the mountains.
He giveth to the beast his
food, and to the young raveas
which cry.

The Great Bible. 227
¦  10. He hath no pleasure in the He delighteth not in the
strength of an liorse: strength of the horse:
neither delighteth he in any he taketh not pleasure in the
man's legs. legs of a raan.
During the eventful years of the closing reign of the most
disgraceful monarch that ever sat on the British throne, the
fortune of the Bible trembled in the balance, for the dean
of Chichester truly says* that "when Henry wished to in
timidate the clergy, he threatened them with an authorized
version," and "when he would ruin their favour he pre
scribed it."
The four last editions of the Great Bible, namely those of
November 1 540, and of May, November and December 1 54 1,
exhibit in the frontispiece, fully described above, the space
occupied with the heraldic shield of Cromwell in the first three
editions, as a blank, and state in the title-page (of those of
November 1540, May and November 1541) "oversene and
perused at the commaundemente of the Kynges Hyghnes, by
the ryght reverende fathers in God, Cuthbert bysShop of
Duresme, and Nicolas bisshop of Rochester. Printed by Ed
ward, Whitchurch "; and on that of the last edition of De
cember 1 54 1, "The Byble .... with a prologe thereinto,
made by the reverende father in God, Thomas archebisshop
of Canterbury. — This is the Byble appoynted to the use of the
Churches. — Printed by Richard Grafton : Cum privilegio ad
imprimendum solum An. do. MDXL." The colophon is — •
"The ende ofthe Newe Testamente, and ofthe whole Bible,
Finysshed in December MCCCCCXLI. -{-. A domino fac
tum est istud. This is the Lordes Doynge."
The omissions and changes are highly significant. The
disappearance of Cromwell's arms denotes his fall and behead
ing which took place batween the publication of the third and
* Z,i7/es of ike Archbishops of Canterbury, Second Series, I. p. 334, sqq.

228 The English Versions.
fourth editions of the Great Bible. The editions of 1 540 and
1 54 1 with the official reference to a strictly nominal revision
by the two bishops, Tonstal and Heath, indicate that they
were published agreeably to the provisions of the Act of 1538
commanding that all published books should have the sanc
tion ofthe king, a privy councillor, or a bishop. They were
compelled to give their names to the work; and the title-page
of those editions of the Bible is simply an imposture, for there
is no evidence whatever that they had revised the version, and
is a curious illustration of the mutations of human affairs, for
this Tonstal is the self-same man who burned so many of
Tyndale's Bibles, and was constrained finally to &ther a ver
sion, of which so great a portion was Tyndale's work.
It is instructive to supplement the preceding paragraph
by a passage from The Supplication of the Poor Commons
to the' King, published not later than 1546, in which the
bishops are referred to thus: "When your Majesty appointed
two of them (Tonstal and Heath) to overlook the translation
of the Bible, they said they had done your Highness' com
mandment therein: yea, they set their names thereunto: but
when they saw the world somewhat like to wring on the other
side, they denied it, and said they never meddled therewith,
causing the printer to take out their names, which were erst
set before the Bible, to certify to all men that they had diligently
perused it, according as your Highness had commanded. " *
This would seem to account for their names being dropped
from the title-page of the last edition of this series, printed
by Grafton.
He had risked ;^5oo, in the first edition of 1539, and the
capital invested in the subsequent editions must have been
very considerable, it being remembered that a pound sterling
at that rime had the value of about fifteen pounds now; in
* Strype, vol. i. pt. i. p. 612.

The Great Bible. 229
other words, the purchasing power of money then was fifteen
times greater than of money now. A penny a day (i, e., fif
teen pence, or thirty cents) was a farm laborer's daily wages;
and ten pounds a year (i, e., ;^I50, or I750) was the salary
of Udal, the head-master at Eton. The extent to which
Grafton was pecuniarily interested in these editions cannot be
accurately determined, for it appears that Anthony Marler,
a London haberdasher, had supplied a large amount of money,
and it was, with a view to reimburse him that the Privy Coun
cil ' ' agreed that Anthony Marler of London, merchant, might
sell the Bibles of the Great Bible unbound for x. s. steriing,
and bound, being trimmed with bullyons, for xii. s. sterling,"
and that royal proclamations were issued on May 7, 1540,
ordering all churches to provide themselves with a Bible of the
largest volume, and on May 6, 1541, which latter after com
menting upon the failure of many towns and parishes to pro
vide Bibles, declared that "the curats and parishioners of
every town and parish within this realm of England, not
having already Bibles provided within their parish churches,
shall on this side the Feast of All Saints next coming, buy
and provide Bibles of the largest and greatest volume, and
cause the same to be set and fixed in every one of the said
parish churches; there to be used as is aforesaid, according to
the said former injunctions, upon pain that the curat and
inhabitants of the parishes and towns, shall lose and forfeit
to the King's Majesty, for every month that they shall lack and
want the said Bible, after the same feast of All Saints, 40 s.,
the one half of the same forfeit to be to the King's Majesty,
and the other half to him or them which shall first find and
present the same to the King's Majesties Council. And finally,
the King's Royal Majesty doth declare and signify to all and
singular his loving subjects, that to the intent they may have
the said Bibles of the greatest volume, at equal and reason
able prices, his Highness, by the advice of his Council, hath

230 The English Versions.
ordained and taxed that the sellers thereof shall not take foi
any of the said Bibles unbouijd, above the price of ten shil
lings; and for apy of the saitj Bibles well and sufficiently bounds
trimmed and clasped, not above twelve shillings, upon pain
the seller to lose, for any Bible sold contrary to his High
ness's proclamation, four shillings; the one moiety thereof
to the King's Majesty, and the other moiety to the finder and
presenter of the defaulter, as is aforesaid. . . .
God save the King. "

CHAPTER IX.
THE ENGLISH BIBLE DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS
OF HENRY VIII. AND UNDER THE REIGNS
OF EDWARD VI. , AND MARY.
The period indicated in the title is one of retrogression
rather than of advance. At a meeting of Convocation in
15.42, at the instance of Gardyner, a motion prevailed that
the Great Bible should be revised ' ' according fo that Bible
which is usually read in the English churqh. " That Bible
was the Vulgate, and the work of revision was assigned to the
bishops as far as the New Testament was concerned, while
that of the Old was left in the hands of members of the Lower
House. After sundry meetings, and the appointment of Joint
Committees, Gardyner presented a list of about a hundred
Latin words which he wished either retained in their original
form "for their genuine and native meaning, and for the ma
jesty of the matter in them contained," or "fitly Englished
with the least alteration." It is very curious and significant;
tho words are these: "Ecclesia, pcenitentia, ponrifex, ancilla,
contritus, holocausta, justitia, justificare, idiota, elementa,

From Henry VIII. to Mary. 231
baptizare, martyr, adorare, dignus, sandalium, simplex, te-
trarcha, sacramentum, siinulacrum, gloria, conflictationes,
ceremonia, mysterium, religio, spiritus sanctus, spiritus, mer-
ces, confiteor tibi pater, panis propositionis, communio, per-
severare, dilectus, sapientia, pietas, presbyter, lites, servus,
opera, sacrificium, benedictio, humilis, humilitas, scientia.
gentilis, synagoga, ejicere, raisericordia, complacui, incre-
pare, distribueretur orbis, inculpatus, senior, apocalypsis,
satisfactio, contentio, conscientia, peccatum, peccator, ido-
lum, prudentia, parabola, magnifico, ojjens, subditus, di-
drachma, hospitalitas, episcopus, giatia, charitas, tyrannus,
concupiscentia, cisera, apostolus, apostolatus, egenus, stater,
societas, zizania, christus, conversari, profiteor, impositio ma-
nuum, idolatria, inenarrabilis, infidelis, paganus, commilito,
virtutes, dominationes, throni, potestates, hostia."* What
sort of an English version that would have been which gave
these words either unchanged or englished, the reader may
determine. The proposition was simply preposterous, and
Cranmer killed it by influencing the king to refer the matter
to the universities, which did nothing.
The reaction, however, continued, for Parliament in- 1543
passed an Act for the "Advancement of true religion," f from
which the following are extracts: " That all manner of books
of the Old and New Testament of (Tyndale's) translation
should by authority of this Act clearly and ptterly be abol
ished and extinguished, and forbidden to be kept and used
in this realm or elsewhere, iu any of the king's dominions."
" That no manner of persons .... should take upon ihem
to read openly to others in any church or open assembly,
within any of the king's dominions, the Bible or any part of
tbe Scripture in English, unless he was so appointed thereunto

* Fuller, Cliurch History, ii. p. 108.
t 34 and 35, Henry VIII. i.

232 The English Versions.
by the king, or by any ordinary, on pain of suffering one
hundred months' imprisonment." .... "every nobleman
and gentlewoman, being a householder, may read or cause
to be read, by any of his family, servants in his house, or
chard, or garden, to his own family, any text of the Bible;
and also every merchantman, being a householder, and ariy
other persons, other than women, apprentices, etc., might
read to themselves privately the Bible."
Three years- later (in 1546), doubtless in consequence of
numerous evasions of that ridiculous act, it was renewed in
more relentless terms, and extended to the works of Cover-
dale,- Frith, Wyclif, Joye, Roye, Turner, Tracy, etc., which
were to be surrendered and burned. To this period belongs
the destruction of the earlier bibles and testaments, and the
rigorous enforcement of the last named act accounts for the
few copies that have been preserved, and the mutilated form
in which they are met with, for the removal of the obnoxious
. title page was the simplest way to save the book from the flames.
Thus stood the case when Henry died (Jan. 28, 1547).
The story of the Bible, given by Strype (on the authority of
Bal. de viris illustr. ) in connection with the coronation of Ed
ward VI. deserves repetition: "When three swords were
brought, signs of his being king of three kingdoms, he said,
there was one yet wanting. And when the nobles about him
asked him what that was, he answered, the Bible ....
That book is the Sword of the Spirit, and to be preferred be
fore these swords .... and he commanded the Bible with
the greatest reverence to be brought and carried before him. " *
One of the earliest acts of Edward VI. was the repeal of the
obnoxious measures against the English Bible, and the order
for a royal visitation with injunctions, by which " the parsons,
vicars, and curates were required to provide, within three
* Eccles. Mem., ii. 35.

From Henry VIII. to Mary. 233
moneths next after this visitation, one book of the whole Bi
ble of the largest volume in English, " and ' ' within one
twelve-monethe next after the said visitation the paraphrasis
of Erasmus also in English, upon the Gospels and the same
set up in some convenient place within the said church,
etc. " . . . . The parsons were likewise required ' ' to dis
courage no man, authorized and licensed thereto, from the
reading of any part of the Bible, so set up in churches, either
in Latin or English, but rather to comfort and exhort every
person to read the same as the very lively word of God, and
the special food of man's soul that all chrisrian persons are
bound to embrace, believe and follow, if they look to be
saved  " The injunctions further required the bish
ops to examine whether parsons, vicars, curates, chauntery
priests, and stipendiaries, under the degree of a bachelor of
divinity, had of their own the New Testament both in Latin
and English, with the paraphrase of Erasmus upon it, and
how far they had profited in the Holy Scripture; also that the
Epistle and Gospel were read in English in the time of high-
mass, and a chapter of the New Testament in English at mat-
tins, and one of the Old Testament at evening, and that when
the priest read the Scripture, no manner of persons, without
a just and urgent cause, should depart out ofthe church.*
There was published in 1547 an edidon of the New Testa
ment in English and Latin "of Mayster Erasmus Translacion,
with the Pystles taken out of the Old Testament; '' there ap
pear to have been published in this reign altogether thirty-five
editions of the New Testament and thirteen of the whole Bi
ble, distributed as follows: 3 of Coverdale (2 in 1550, i in
1553); 7 of Cranmer's Bible, and 8 of his Testament, 5 of
Matthew's Bible; z of Taverner (1549, 1551); 24 editions of
Tyndale's or Matthew's New Testament; there was also an edi-
* Cardwell, Doc. Annals, i. 8. Lewis, History, etc., pp. 157, 158.

234 The English Versions.
tion of the New Testament at Worcester (1550) sold by niyal
order at 22d; and besides the Latin-English Testament of
1547, two others with the paraphrase of Erasmus, translated
by Nicholas Udall (1548, 1549). The edition of 1548 con
cludes with the Epistle to the Hebrews, and Udall states in
fulsome language in the Preface to St. John that the Princess
Mary did part of the translation thus: "It male never bee
halfe enough to praise and magnifie hir Grace for takyng suche
greate studie, peine and travaill in translatyng this paraphrase
of Erasmus upon the ghospell of Jhon, at your Highnesse
special contemplacion, as a noumbre of right well learned
men would both have made courtesie at, and also would have
brought to wurse frame in the dooyng" .... and further
on, after adverting to the fact that owing to her sickness Dr.
Malet (her confessor) had finished it, he proceeds to say that
if she had put the finishing touch to it, ' ' have put her fyle to
the polishing thereof, where it is nowe alreadie veraye abso
lute and perfect, it would then, emong the rude and homelye
dooynges of myself, and such as I am, none otherwise have
glittered then clothe of gold empowdered emong patches of
canvesse, or perles and diamonds among pebblestones. " The
edition of 1549 which brought the Revelation in a translation
of Leo Judse's Paraphrase on the Revelation, has this curious
colophon ; ' ' The ende of the Revelacion of St. John, thus
brefely expounded by the seruaunt of Christ, Leo Jude, a
minister in the church of Tigury, and translated of the High
Duche by Edmond Allen." Tigury means Zurich, and High
Duche the Swiss dialect of German.
The fragment of an original translation from the Greek,
which until 1843* remained in Manuscript, by Sir John

• The Gospel /iccording io Saint Matthevj und part of the first chapter of tht
Gospel according io St. Mark, translated into Englisli front ihe Greek, ivith orig
inal notes. By Sir John Chelce, Kt-, etc. Edited by James Godwin, B.D., Cam
bridge, 1843.

From Henry VIII. to Mary. 235
Cheke, at one time professor of Greek at Cambridge, and tu
tor to Edward VI., belongs to this period (1550). It con
tains St. Matthew's gospel, all but the last ten verses of the
last chapter, and the first twenty verses of the first chapter of
St. Mark's gospel. It is divided into chapters, but not into
verses. His object seems to have been to saxonize the Eng
lish version and to expel from it every vestige of Latin, for
which purpose he used a number of words, either obsolete or
coined, e. g., wizards (wise men); toller (publican); tabkr
(money-changer) ;yr(3j'««/ (apostle); biword (parable); gainbirth
(regeneration); uprising and gainrising (resurrection); yz-M^-
men (proselytes); hundr eder (cerrtnrion); ^ 'beggars be gospelled"
(Matth. xi. 5), and " brood gards and large welts" (xxiii. 5)
are specimens of his curious phrases, and crossed (crucified),
devild (viii. 25), mooned (ivca.'i.tjic), dctid groundwrought (ioMnded)
samples of his participles. A few examples giving several con
secutive verses and his antiquated spelling follow.
M.Al'THEW I.*
17. Therefor from Aliraham unto David, there wer fourteen degrees; and
frora David unto tlie out-peopling to Babylon, fourteen degrees;
and frora the out-peopling to Babylon unto Christ, fourteen degrees.

* Strype, Life of Sir John Cheke, pp. 163, 164.
Sir John Cheke studiously careful to reduce English writing and spell
ing to fixed principles, recommended the omission of e at the end of
words, a's needless and unexpressive, where it is mute, and proposed to
wrile: excus, giv, deceiv, prais, comniun; and to double the letter where
sounded, e, g., necessitee; d lon^j, he proposed to mark by doubling the
letter, thus: maad, straat, daar; i long, likewise to be writ with a double
letter, thus: desiir, liif; y to be thrown out of the alphabet as useless,
and to be supplied with i, as mi, sai, awai; u long he wrote with a long
stroke over it, as in presOm; the other vowels to be written with double
letters, as weer, theer, noo, noon, adoo, thoos, Ioav; letters without sound
to be thrown out, as frutes, wold, faut, dout, again for against, hole,
meen for mean; he also wrote: ^a?, britil, praisabil, sufferabil. — He like
wise favored what is now called the Continental method of pronoimcing^
Greek ; and there is a good story, which Richard Cheny told Sir William
Cecil in connection with it. Cheny took part at Oxford in a conversation
on the subject in favor of the Continental against the then prevalent Eng-

236 The English Versions.
18. And Jesus Christs birth was after this sort. After his mother Mari
was ensured lo Joseph, before thei weer cupled together, she was
preived to be with child; and it was indeed by the Holi Ghoost.
19. But Joseph her husband, being a just man, and loth to use exlremi-
tee toward her, enteiided privili to divorse himself from her.
20. And being in this raind, lo the angel of the Lord appeired bi dream,
etc. MATTHEW II.
16. Then Herod seeing that he was plaid withal by the wise-heards, etc.
ST. MATTHEW VII. I4-22:
And Jesus cam in to Peters hous, and saw his moother in law laid down
and sick of ye a^ess, and he touched her bi y» hand and ye a;|;es
left her, and sche roos and served them .
And late in ye evening yei brought him mani yt was devilled, and with
his word he cast out ye sprits, and healed al yt weer il at ease, yt
Jsaie ye popheets wordes which he spaak might be fulfilled. He
hath taken our weaknes on hira, and hath born our sickness.
And Jesus seeing much resort about him cdmandem yem to go to y fur
side of yc water. And on of y' scribes cam and said vnto him.
Master J wil folow ye whij'ersoever you goost. and Jesus said vnto
him. Foxes hath dens, and y« birds of y'aier hath nests, but y" son
of man hath not wheer he mai Iai his hed.
And an oyer of his disciples said vnto him. Sir suffer me first to depart,
and buri nii iayer. And Jesus said vnto him folow me and let y'
deed buri /eer deed.
YE GOSPEL Bl SAINT MARK.*
The first chapter, ver. g-13.
And it happend at that time Jesus cam from Nazareth of Galilai, and
was wasched of Joann in Jordaan. And as soon as he cam vp from y«

lish method, saying: "Beware my masters that whilst you wilfully go
about to defend an untruth in this raatter, you fall into such an inconven
ience as I once knew a bishop do." That bishop, he said, upheld as you
do the untrue pronunciation of the letters rjcot [that is as e in the word
Oti?], and being desired to read a few words frora Matth. xxviii., read
mong others these [pronouncing them as marked] " e-lie, e-lie " ; where
upon Cheny said: " Making false Greek, but true English, pronouncing
plainly, I ly, Ily." Strype's Cheke, p. i6i.
* A fragment, closing abruptly: "and thei cam into Capernaum, and
 " (I- 21).

From Henry VIII. to Mary. 237
water, he saw y" heavens departed," and y' ghoost to come down lijk a
doov on him. And theer cam a voice frora y" heavens, thou art rai wel
beloved son, bi wlioom I am wel contented. And bi and bi y' ghoost
threw him in to y" wildernes, and he was theer in y« wildernes foorti daies
tempted of y' devil, and he was araong wild beestes, and gods mefsen-
gers ministerd vnto him.
kyevETO. thoos thinges, which god doth bi his povidence, who ruleth and order.
eth al thinges, and ye cause theerof is vnseen and vnknowen vnto vs, we cal hap and
chans, although in deed theer be nothing doon without his councel, no not ye falling
down of a Htil bird or a heer of oons hed, who worketh al thinges in al men.
Under the reign of that "most vertuous, most wittie and
most studious Ladie Marie," as the sycophantic Udall called
her, or of that "bloody Mary" as she lives and is execrated
in the memory of the people, no edition of the Bible was
printed in England, but Rogers and Cranmer were martyred,
and Coverdale, as has been narrated before, escaped to the
Continent. What she did for the Bible may be gathered from
the tenor of the following mandate issued by Bonner, bearing
date Oct. 25, 1554  " Because sorae children of in
iquity, given up to carnal desires and novelties, have by many
ways enterprised to banish the ancient manner and order of
the church, and to bring in and establish sects and heresies;
taking from thence the picture of Christ, and many things be
sides instituted and observed of ancient time laudably in the
same; placing in the room thereof such things, as in such a place
it behoved them not to do; and also have procured, as a stay
to their heresies (as they thought), certain Scriptures wrongly
applied to be painted upon the church-walls; all which per
sons tend chiefly to this end — that they might uphold the lib
erty of the flesh, and marriage of priests, and destroy, as
much as lay in them, the reverent sacrament of the altar, and
might extinguish and enervate holy-days, fasting-days, and
other laudable discipline of the Catholic Church; opening a
* For a sinjilar use of depart see tlie Liturgies of 1549, 1552, 1559, and the Scotch
Liturgy. Keeling, Liiurgitp Briiannictp, Form of Solemnization of Matrimony.

23& The English Versions.
window to all vices, and utteriy closing up the waj* unto vir-
ttie: wherefore we, being moved with a Christian zeal, judg
ing that the premises are not to be longer suffered, do, foi
discharge of our duty; commit Unto you jointiy and severally,
and by the tenor hereof do straitiy charge aiid command yOu,
that at the receipt hereof, with all speed convenient, you do
warn, or cause to be warned, first, second and third time,
and peremptorily, all and singular churchwardens and parish
ioners whosoever, within our aforesaid diocese of London
(wheresoever any such Scriptures or paintings have been at
tempted), that they abolish and extinguish Such manner of
ScriptureSj so that by no means they be either read or seen;
and therein to proceed, moreover, as they shall see good and
laudable in this behalf. And if, after the said monition, the
said churchwardens and parishioners shall be found remiss and
negligent, or culpable, then you, jointly and severally, shall
see the foresaid Scriptures to be razed, abolished, and extin-
qu .shed forthwith. " This was of course directed against the
very ancient usage (it was observed in the days of Ambrose,
see Bingham, Orig. Eccl, vol iii. ), introduced in the preced
ing reign, of writing texts of Scripture on the church walls,
and as one of the fevorite texts used is said to have been
I John V. 21, in the version of Tyndale and the Great Bible:
"Babes, kepe youre selues from ymages,'' it would seem that
the sentences thosen bore more especially on Romish super
stitions, and that may account for the savage mandate of Bon
ner. The public or open reading of the Scriptures had been
prohibited already by a proclamation, dated Aug. i8>, 1553;
a second issued, June 13, 1555J prohibited the importation
of the works of twenty-five authors, such as Tyndale, Cover-
dale, Cranmer, Latimer, etc. : and a third, published only five
months before the happy death of Mary, ordered wicked and
seditious books to be given up without delay, on pain of
death by rnartial law. But though there is no record of an

The Genevan Bible. 239
edict against the Bible by name, there is no doubt that with
Arundel's Constitution in full force, whereby any one was to
be punished as a feutor of heresy who read any of the Scrip
tures of Wiclif's translation, or of the translation of any one
after his time, no special edict was needed, and the spirit of
the period may be gathered from an address of" the Lower
House of Convocation to the Upper that all suspect transla
tions of the Old and New Testament, the authors whereof are
recited in a statute made the xxxiv. Henry VIII. , might be
destroyed and burnt throughout the realme (Burnet, Hist, of
the Reformation, vol. ii. ).
But though Mary and her instigators and minions sought
to stamp out the Word of God in the English tongue in Eng
land, and to destroy its lovers with fire and sword, it had free
course abroad, and presentiy arose in a new translation, of
which we shall now give the history.

CHAPTER X.
the GENEVAN BIBLE.
Probably not less than eight hundred persons, including;
five bishojjs, five deans, fifty distinguished divines, and several
persons of high rank sought refuge on the continent fixjm the
impending Storm of persecution. Quite a number of them
had repaired to Geneva, where, mainly through the influence
of Calvin, they met with hospitable reception, were accorded
the privileges of citizenship, and allowed to worship God ac
cording to their religious convictions in a church specially
granted them for that purpose.
Conspicuous among the English exiles at Geneva were
William Whittingham, Thomas S;impson, Anthony Gilby,

240 The English Versions.
Thomas Bodleigh, Miles Coverdale, John Knox, Christopher
. Goodman, Thomas Cole, and John Pullain, who are repre
sented by different writers as engaged in the production of
the Genevan version of the Bible. They may all have had
some share in it, but it seems established that the great bulk
of the work was done by three of their number, Whittingham,
Gilby, and Sampson, and that the lion's share of it devolved
on the first of these, William Whittingham. He had been
educated at Oxford, had travelled in France, been chosen minis
ter of the English congregation at Geneva, and had married
the sister of John Calvin's wife. *
It is important to distinguish the New Testament of this
version published in 1557, from that which appeared in the
whole Bible, published in 1560.
The former is a duodecimo volume, entitied: The Newe
Testament of ovr Lord Jesus Christ. Conferred dihgently with
the Greke, aud best approued translations. With the arguments,
as wel before the Chapters, as for euery Boke &f Epistle, also di
ner sities ef readings, and moste proffitable annotations of all harde
places: wherunto is added a copious Table. • At Geneva, Printea
by Conrad Badius. M. D. LVII. In the colophon the same
words are repeated with the addition, "this X day of June."
A singularly quaint woodcut of Time with wings, scythe, and
hour-glass, engaged in helping Truth out of the grave, appears
likewise on the title-page accompanied by the motto: "God
by Tyme restoreth Trvth, and maketh her victoriovs. "
After the Table of Contents follows ' ' The Epistle, declaring
that Christ is the end of the law, by John Calvin"; which is
succeeded by an Address to the Reader, in which the reviser.

* The notice found in many books that he married Calvin's sister is false, although
it was inscribed on a tombstone in Durham Cathedral, The official entry in the ar
chives of the English exiles at Geneva reads: " William Whittingham of Chester ia
England, and Catherine Jaquemaine of Orleans in France, were married Nov. 15,
1556: presented :i son for baptism .\ug"st 17, 1557."

The Genevan Bible. 241
without giving his name, speaks in the first person singular,
and claims the authorship, and says concerning the revision,
"As touching the perusing of the text it was diligently revised
by the most approved Greek examples, and conference of
translations in other tongues, as the learned may easily judge
both by the faithful rendering of the sentence, and also by the
propriety of the words and perspicuity of the phrase. Further
more that the reader might be by all means profited, I have
divided the text into verses* and sections according to the
best editions in other languages." The use of supplemental
words necessary to bring out the sense of the original in the
ICnglish idiom is indicated "in such letters as may easily be
discerned from the common text. " Concerning the marginal
notes he says: "To my knowledge I have omitted nothing
unexpounded whereby he that is anything exercised in the
Scriptures of God might justly complain of hardness: and also
.... I have explicate all such places by the best learned in
terpreters as either were falsely expounded by some or else
absurdly applied by others. . . . Some time, where the place
is not greatly hard, I have noted with this mark (") that which
may serve to the edification of the reader. Moreover, the
diverse readings, according to diverse Greek copies, which
stand but in one word, may be known by this note ("), and
if the books do alter iu the sentence, then is it noted with
this star (*), as the quotations are."
Before giving a few extracts from this the first Genevan
New Testament of 1557, I cannot but deplore the mistaken
judgment of the reproduction of the text of that edition in
Bagster's Hexapla in lieu of that of 1560, first because the
latter, on account of its intrinsic superiority possesses a critical
value in which the first is deficient, and secondly, because the
critical importance which the version of 1557 does possess is
• First introduced in Robert Stephens* edition (of 1551) ofthe Greek Testament

242 The English Versions.
derived from the annotations, which in Bagster's reprint are
omitted. The Genevan New Testament of 1557 is Tyndale's version,
collated with the Great Bible, which in the New Testament
is likewise based on that version, and a strong leaning on
Beza, with the result of a substantial agreement with Tyn
dale, a less frequent difference from him and agreement with
the Great Bible, and an occasional difference from both and
agreement with Beza.
The two examples which follow are taken from this version:
ST. LUKE I. 1-4.
I . For asmueh as many haue taken in hand to write the historie of
those thynges, whereof we are fully certified, 2. Euen as they declared
them vnto us, which from the begynnyng saw them their selues, and
were ministers AT the doyng (margin: or, of the thing); 3. It seemed
good also to me (moste nooble Theophilus) as sone as I had learned per
fectly all thynges frora the beginnyng, to wryte vnto thee thereof from
poynt to poynt; 4. That thou raightest achnowlage the trueth of those
thinges where in thou hast bene broght vp.
The words in italics are new renderings, with the exception
of "the trueth" (verse 4), which had been used by Wiclif
(1380); the words printed in small capitals agree with Tyn
dale's version of 1534, the rest with the Great Bible of 1539.
After noting these agreements, , the differences between the
version of the Genevan New Testament and the Great Bible
of 1539 will be found very instructive. These are: verse i,
to set forth the declaracion .... which are most surely to be
beleued amonge us; verse 2, . . . delyuered . . . them (selves);
verse 3, I determined . . . good (Theophilus) . . . searched
out dyligently; verse 4, knowe the certente .... whereof
thou hast bene informed. — Of these again, ' ' I determined,
searched out dyligently, and, knowe the certente," agree liter
ally, as well as, ' ' whereof thou hast bene informed " (for which
Tyndale reads, whereof thou ar/ informed), with the latter.

The Genevan Bible. 243
GALATIANS I. I-IO.
I. Paul an Apostle (not of men, nether by man, but
BV Jesus Christe, and by God the Father which raysed
HIM FROM death) 2. AND ALL THE BRETHREN WHICH ARE
WITH ME, VNTO THE Churches OF Galatia: 3. Grace (be)
to YOU and peace from God the Father, and from our
Lord Iesus Christ. 4. Which gaue him selfe for our
SYNNES, to DELIUER VS FROM THIS PRESENT EUIL WORLD ac
cording to THE WYL OF God our Father. 5. to whom (be)
PRAYSE FOR EUER AND EUER, AMEN. 6. I MARUEYLE THAT
YE ARE SO SONE TOURNED VNTO ANOTHER G0SPEL,/(7rja*-
ing hi7n that called you vnto the grace of christ. 7. 5^-
ing there is no nother: BUT that there BE SOME which
trouble you, and INTEND TO PERUERT THE GOSPEL OF
Christ. 8. But thogh that we, or an Angel from heuen,
PREACHE vnto YOU, otherwaies, then that which WE haue
PREACHED VNTO YOU, HOLDE HIM AS ACCURSED. 9. AS we SAYD
BEFORE, SO SAY I NOW AGAYNE, YF ANY MAN PREACHE VNTO
YOU otherwaies, THEN THAT YE HAUE RECEAUED, HOLDE HIM
ACCURSED. 10. For now preache I mans (doctrine) OR
God's ? other go I about to please men ? for if I studied
yet TO please men, I WERE NOT THE SERUANT OF CHRISTE.
Here again the words in italics are new renderings, those in
small capitals agree with Tyndale of 1534, the rest with tiie
Great Bible. Ofthe new renderings the first, "churches," is
evidently influenced by Beza (ecclesiis) ; the rest are in so far
original that they had never before appeared in English, but
Luther has in verse 7, "so doch kein anderes ist,'" and in verse
8, ''aber so auch wir," and "anders," and in verse 10, "denn
itzt. " The differences between the Genevan Bible and the
Great Bible of 1539 are: verse i, (raysed him) vp; verse 2,
congregacyons of Galacia; verse 3, with (}'0u) ; verse 6, .(turned)
from Christ which called you by grace (vnto another gospell);
verse 7, which is nothynge els ... ; verse 8, Neuerthelesse
though we oure selues . . . eny other gospell vnto you . . .

244 The English Versions.
let hym be (acursed) ; verse 9, . . . (preache) eny other gos
pell vnto you ... let him be accursed; verse 10, Do I now
speake vnto men or unto God ? . . . . (yf) I had hitherto
studyed. These two examples show very clearly, what any one may
verify by examination of other passages, that the Genevan ver
sion of 1557 is substantially a revision of Tyndale. Among
some of its peculiar readings are the following: St. Matth.
ix. 16, "No man peceth an olde garment with a pece of nevv
clothe and vndressed. For that same piece taketh away some
thing from the garment, and the cutte is made worse; " xi.
17, "we haut songe mourning songes vnto you; " xviii. 8, 9,
"cause thee to offend;" 17, "if he will not vouchsafe to
hear;" 18, "and if he refuse to hear." St. Mark xii. 14,
"for thou cohsiderest not the personne of men." St. Luke
xviii. 3, " do me iustice against myne adversarie." St. John
vi. 9, "there is a littie boy here;" viii. 33, "ye shalbe re
stored to libertie .? " xxvii. 9, ' ' because also the tyme of the
Fast was passed" (compare Wiclif: "for that fastynge was
passid"); 13, "lowsed nearer" (compare "Asson"in Wic
lif, Tyndale, and Great Bible); etc. Most of the passages
cited display not only independent judgment, but advanced
scholarship, and the general execution of the work, as well
as the notes to be considered at some length below, account
for the great popularity of the diflFerent editions of the Gen
evan version.
Copies ofthe first edition of the Genevan New Testament
had found their way into England before the death of Mary,
as is evident from the declaration of John Living, a priest
under arrest, that he had been robbed in the jailor's house in
Paternoster Row of his purse, his girdle, his psalter, and a
New Testament of Geneva.
The acces^on of Elizabeth in November, 1558, enabled
the exiles to return to England, and when, in their own

The Genevan Bible. 245
language, "the Lord had showed mercy unto England by
the removal of Queen Mary by deathe, and placing the
Queen's Majesty that now is, in the seate," the more im
portant work of the revision of the whole Bible, on which
several were engaged "for the space of two years and more
day and night," had already progressed to a certain extent,
but "Whittingham with one or two more did tarry at Ge
neva an year and a half after Q. Elizabeth came to the crown,
being resolved to go through with the work. " * These two
were in all probability Anthony Gilby, and Thomas Sampson.
Some account has already been given of Whittingham; of Gilby,
it is known that he was educated at Christ's College, Cam
bridge, and received on his return to England the vicarage
of Ashby-de la Zouch. In a recommendation on his behalf,
occurs the statement, ' ' that it is doubtful whether he is a greater
linguist, or a more competent scholar, and profound divine. "
Sampson was an Oxford man, and on his return from exile,
was made dean of Christ's Church, Oxford, in 156 1. As he
was an intimate friend of Tremellius, the great oriental scholar,
who published in 1569 a Latin version of the Syriac New
Testament, with a Chaldee and Syriac grammar, and in 1579.
a Latin Bible translated from the Hebrew, we can hardly err
in pronouncing him a Hebrew scholar
The Genevan Bible was finished and published in April,
1560, and bears the title: The Bible and Holy Scriptures con
teyned in the Olde and Newe Testament, translated according to the
Ebrue and Greeke, and conferred with the best translations in
diuers languages. With most prrofitable annotations vpon all the
harde places, and other thinges of great importance, as may ap
peare in the Epistle to the Reader. At Geneva, printed by Roul-
and Hall.-f MDLX.
Beneath is a woodcut of the Israelites passing through the
* Wood, Atliente, Oxon., s. v. Whittingham. t Hc also was a refugee.

246 The English Versions.
Red Sea, with a double motto, the one above and below the
cut bemg: "The Lord shall fighte for you, therefore hold you
your peace," Exodus xiv. 14; and that on th^ sides: "Feare
ye not, stand still, and beholde the salvation of the Lorde
which he will shew to you this day. Great are the troubles
of the righteous, but the Lord deliuereth them out of all,"
. Psalm xxxiv. 19.*
Then follow, A dedication to the Queen; And an Epistle
to the Reader. In the title to the Newe Testament the same
woodcut and mottoes are repeated. After the Book of Reve
lation is:~A Brief Table of the interpretation of the proper
names which are chiefly founde in the Old Testament, etc. —
The order of the yeres etc. — ^The end. Joshua i. 8; "Let
not the boke of the Law depart out of thy mouth, but med
itate therein daye and night "
The expense of this first edition of the Genevan Bible was
borne by the English congregation at Geneva, of which John
Bodleigh or Bodley, the father of Sir Thomas Bodley, the
founder of the Bodleian Library at Oxford, was a generous
member; and to him was granted, on his return to England,
the patent of printing that edition for seven years; the exten
sion of the same for twelve years longer, alleged by some,
appears to be a mistake.
The original edition of the Genevan Bible was a quarto
volume, and is often called the "Breeches Bible" from its
rendering of Gen. iii. 7: "They sewed fig-leaves together and
made themselves breeches. " f
The Dedication to the Queen is free from flattery, and
singularly outspoken. It runs: "The eyes of all that fear

• Probably an allusion to the deliverance from exile by the acces-sion of Elizabeth.
t The same term is used in the Wiclifite versions for " perizomata," and in the Gold
en Lcgende. printed by Caxton in 1503, the passage Ls rendered: " And thenne ihcy
toke fygge levys, & sewed them togyder for to cover their membres in the mannei
of breches." It is therefore not an original rendering of tlie Genevese translators.

The Genevan Bible. 247
God in all places behold your countries, as an example to
all that believe, and the prayers of all the godly at all times
are directed to God for the preservation of your majesty. For,
considering God's wonderful mercies towards you at all sea
sons, who hath pulled you out of the mouth of lions, and
how that from your youth you have been brought up in the
Hoi)- Scriptures, the hope of all men is so increased that they
cannot but look that God should bring to pass some wonder
ful work by your Grace to the universal comfort of his Church.
This Lord of Lords, and King of Kings who hath ever de
fended his, strengthen, comfort, and preserve your majesty,
that you may be able to build up the ruins of God's house
to His glory, the discharge of your conscience, and to the
comfort of all them that love the coming of Christ Jesus our
Lord. ..." Inan Epistie, addressed "To our Beloued in
the Lord the Brethren of England, Scotland, Ireland," etc.,
they say, ". . . we thought we could bestow our labours and
study in nothing which could be more acceptable to God,
and comfortable to His church, than in the translating of the
Scriptures into our native tongue; the which thing, albeit that
others heretofore have endeavored to achieve; yet, considering
the infancy of those times, and imperfect knowledge of the
tongues, in respect of this ripe age and clear light which God
hath now revealed, the translations required greatly to be
perused and reformed. "
And then in an address ' ' To the Christian Reader " they
describe the nature of the work, and explain its distinctive
features: ". . . Yet lest either the simple should be dis
couraged, or the malicious have any occasion of iust cauilla-
tion, seeing some translations reade after one sort, and some
after another, whereby all may serue to good purpose and
edification, we haue in the margent noted that diuersitie of
speech or reading which may also seeme agreeable to the minde
ofthe Holy Ghost, & proper for our language with this marke ||.

248 The English Versions.
Againe, whereas the Ebrewe speech seemed hardly to agree
with ours, we haue noted it in the margent after this sort J,
vsing that which was ihore intelligible. And albeit that many
of the Ebrew naines be altered frorii the old text, & restored
to the true writing & first originall, whereof they haue their
signification yet in the vsuall names, little is changed for feare
of troubling the si m'^le readers. Moreotier, whereas the ne-
cessitie of the sehtehce required any thing to be added (for
such is the grace "& proprietie ofthe Ebrewe & Greeke torigues
that it cannot but either by circumlocution or by adding the
verbe or soine word, be vhderstood of them that are hot well
practised thereih) we haue ptit it in the text with another kinde
of letter, that it may easily bee discerned from the common
letter. As touching the diuision of the verses we haue folowed
the Ebrew examples which haue so euen- from the beginning
distinguished them. Which thing as it is most profitable for
memorie, so doth it agree with the best translations, & is
most easie to finde oiit both by the best Concordances, &
also by the qtiotations which we haiie diligently herein pe
rused & set forth by this *. Besides this, the principall ihat-
ters are noted and distirigiiished by this riiarke ^ 
we haue also indeavoured both by the .diligent reading of the
best commentaries, & also by the conference with the godly
& learned brethren, to gather briefe annotations vpon all the
hard places, as well for the vnderstandihg of such words as
are obscure, & for the declaration of the text, as for the
application of the same, as may most appertaine to God's
glory, & the edification of his Church, etc. "
Of this Genevan version of the Bible more than a hundred
and thirty editions were published, and such was its popularity,
that it continued to be printed as late as 1644, and the Auth
orized Version of 1 6 1 1 with the Genevan notes, as late as 1 7 1 5.
The helps at the command of the Genevan revisers were
the following.

The Genevan Bible. 249
For the Old Testament they had the Hebrew Bibles pub
lished at Soncino in 1488, and at Brescia in 1494; Bomberg's,
1 5 1 8, and the same author's Rabbinical Bible 1 5 1 9, and 1 525 ;
Pellican 's Hebrew Grammar, 1503; Reuchlin's Dictionary,
1506; Miinster's Grammar, 1525. The Latin version of
Pagninus, 1528, and his Thesaurus, 1529. The Complu
tensian Polyglott, 1517-20. They had hkewise Leo Judae's
Latin Versioh, 1 542, and Cholin's translatidn ofthe Apocrypha,
with Gual ther's revision of Erasmiis' Latin New Testarneht,
1544, the version of Castalio, 1551; Sebastian Miinster's
Hebrew Bible with Latin translation, 1534-6. Although
Beza's Greek New Testament did not appear until 1565, they
had nevertheless the benefit of his Counsel and revision, as
is evident from a passage ih the History of the Troubles of
which Whittingham was probably the author : ' ' There is
nothinge more requisite to attairie thie right and absolute
knowledge off thfe doctrine of saluation, whereby to resist all
herisie and felshod, then to haue the texte oflf the Scriptures
faithfully and truly translated, the., consideration whereofF
moued them ¦with one assent to requeste 2 off their brethern,
to witt, Caluin and Beza, efsonnes to peruse the same not-
withstandinge their former trauells; " they had likewise the
Greek Testament of Stephens, 1550 and 1551. Theywere
moreover surrounded by men engaged in similar work, one
body correcting the French version of Olivetan (1558), and
another preparing a Revised Italian Version (Geneva 1562);
the French version, the version of Luther and the Ziirich,
were also used by them. Their critical apparatus, and fa
cilities for the execution of their work, were accordingly the
very best of the age, and the version they produced ranks in
point of scholarship, and for critical purposes, only second
to the Authorized Version of 161 1.
The following two collations, taken from Professor Eadie's
work, convey a faithful picture of the labors of the Genevan
Revisers.

250

The English Versions.

NUMBERS XX. I-3.

Great Bible.
And the children of Israeli came
with the wliole multitude ' vnto
the deserte of Sin, in the first
moneth, & the people abode al
Cades; and there dyed Mir lam,
and was buried there."
But there was no water for the
multitude,* & they gathered^
themselues together againste
Moyses & Aaron."
And the people chode with
Moyses and spake, saying:
woulde God that we hadde per
ished, where our bretliren dyed '
before the Lord.

Genevan."

Then the children of Israel came I
with the whole congregacion^ to
the desert of Zin in the firsl
moneth, & the people abode at
Kadesh, where Miriam dyed,
and was buryed there.
But there was no water for the 2
congregacion,'' & they assembled
themselves against Moses and
against Aaron. 8
And the people chode with Mo.ses 3
& spake saying. Woide God we
had perished when our brethren
dyed i" before ye Lord.

I "Cum universi multitudine," MUnster, 2 " Ibi," repeated in Pagn. and Cov., after
Luther, and the " daselbst," ZUrich. 8 " Omnis congregatio," Pagninus [after Luther].
" Universus scilicet ccetus," Leo Judae. 4 " Multitudini," MUnster. 6 Preserved in
the Bishops' and A. V. 6 Second " againste " not repeated in Coverdale [after Lu
ther] and the Ziirich [do]. 1 " Congregationi," Pagninas. i "Contra .... contra,"
Pagninus; " adversus  adversus," Leo Judse, & according to the Hebrew.
s Tyndale (Matthew}, Pagninus, Leo Judae, Luther, and the ZUrlch [after Luther]
repeat the same verb; so Coverdale. 10 " In morte fratrum nostrorum," Miinster.
S^ The matter in [ ] is not in Eadie.

MALACHI VI. 1-3.

Great Bible.
For mark ' the daye commeth
that shall burne as an oven: 1 *
& all the proude, yea, and all
such as do wyckednesse, shal be
strawe ^ Sc. the daye that 'a for to
come,'' shall burne theym vp
saith the Lorde of hostes, so
that * it shall leave them nether
rote nor braunche.

Genevan.^

For beholde s the day cometh that
shall bume as an oven, and all
the proude yea & all that do wick
edly, shall be stubble,^ & the day
that cometh ' shal burne them up
saith the Lord of hostes & shall
leave them neither roote nor
branche.

• The passages having this mark agree with the edition of 1560, though the spelling
has been modernized.

The Genevan Bible.

251

But unto you that feare my name
shall the sonne of ryghteous-
ness aryse, and health shal be
vnder hys wynges; ye shal go
forth and multiplied as the fat
calves.9Ye shal treade downe the un
godly, for they shalbe lyke the
asshes >' under the soles of youre
fete in the day '^ that I shall make,
sayeth the Lorde of hoostes.

But unto you that feare my name 2
shall the Sunne of righteousnes
arise, & health shal 'be under his
wings, and ye shal go forthe, &
growe '0 up as fat calves.
And ye shal treade downe the 3
wicked, for they shal be dust'^
under the soles of youre fete in
the day that I shall " do this saith
the Lord of hostes.

1 Coverdale. [I • (yew, Luther]. 2 [SroA, Luther], "strouw," Zttrich. s"Dies
venturus," Pagninus \kunftige Tag, Luther]. 4 Coverdale, " Adeo ut," Leo Judse.
I " Ecce enim," Pagninus; " Quoniam ecce," Miinster (Denn siche, Luther], 6 " Sti- ¦
pula," Pagninus and Vulgate. 1 " Dies veniens," Vulgate. 8 " Multiplicabimini,"
Pagninus {Zunehmen, Luther]. 9 Masthdlber, Luther, lo Pinguescetis. But the
meaning is, "shall leap in wanton joy." See Hab. i, 8, "And" in the last clause
omitted in Luther and Ziirich, and after them by Coverdale, 11 " Cinis," Vulgate
[Asche, Luther]. 12 Des Tages den ich machen will, Luther. IS "Pulvis," Miinster.
li "Die quo ego agam," Leo Judae.
The next example from the Apocrypha is taken from Pro
fessor Westcott, who shows how the French translation, through
the influence of Beza, affected the Genevan version of 1560,
and how conversely the French version of 1588 (Geneva) was
influenced by the English.

Great Bible (tSS°)-
God hath granted
me to talk wisely and
conveniently to handle
the tilings that he hath
graciously lent me; for
it is he that leadeth
unto wisdom, and
teacheth to use wisdom
aright.

WISDOM VII. 15.
Genevan (i^bo).*
God halh granted
me to speak accordirig
to my mind and to
judge worthily of the
things that are given
me : for he is the lead-
er unto wisdom and
the director of the

Lyons (iSS6).
Et Dieu m'ha donn^
de parler ma volunti,
et de presumer chases
dignes de celles qui me
sont donnees: car ces
tui est le conducteur de
sapience et le correct-
eur des sages.

252 The English Versions.
WISDOM VIIL 19, 20.
Lyons (iSS^J- Genevan (ij6o).* Geneve (ij88).
I'esloye aussi vn en- For I was a witty Or esloy-ie aussi vn
faut ingenieux et«;/<y^ child, and was of a enfant ingenieux, et
d' auenture trovuue good spirit. m'estoit escheute vne
pne bonne ame. bonne ame:
Mais estant vn peu Yea, rather bei}ig Ou plutost, estant
meilleur ie vins a vn gaod^ I came to an un- bon, i'esloye venu en vn
corps sans souilliire. defiled body. corps sans souillure.
These brief examples, which may be multiplied indefinitely,
afford abundant evidence of the nature of the Geaeyan ver
sion in the Old Testament. It is based on the Great Bible,
revised by the helps enumerated, and a comparison of the
diflFerent versions with the original.
Examples frorn the New Testament of 1557 having already
been furnished, it remains to state here that while that of 1 560
is altogether distinct from the former, the greatest changes in
troduced into the text, and mostly from Beza, occur in the
revised edition of 1576, executed by Lawrence Tomson, sec
retary to Sir. Francis Walsingham, and one 0/ the best linguists
of the day. In a general way it may be said that the New
Testament of the Genevan version of 1560 and 1576 is that
of Tyndale revised by Beza.
Professor Westcott says that in the First Epistie of St. John
two thirds of the new renderings in the revision of 1560 are
derived from Beza, and two thirds of these then for the first
time; that the rest are mainly due to the revisers themselves,
and that only two of their number occurred in the edition of
1557, and that Tomson adds only five or six closer approxi
mations to Beza, of which one is important (v. 4, "hath over
come "); and once he definitely goes against him (iv. 9, "herein
was that love of God made manifest amongst us "). Tomson
has the characteristic of rendering the emphatic character of
the Greek article consistently by "that" or "this" with an

The Genevan Bible. 253
eflfect by no means conducive to edification; e. g., "He that
hath that Son hath that life: and he that hath not that Son of
God hath not that life'' (i John v. 12).
The subjoined collation of Rev. ii. 8-1 1, transcribed from
Westcott, marks with great precision all the peculiarities cf
the different revisions of the Geneva version. The text is
Tyndale's (1534); 1557 indicates the first revision; G., that of
1560; and T, , Tomson's; B, denotes Beza's renderings.
REVEL. II. 8-1 1.
8. And unto the angel of the congregation of Symrna write: These
things saith he that is first and the last, which was dead and is alive,
9, I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich;
and I know the blasphemy of them which call themselves Jews and are
not, but are the congregation of Satan,
10, Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold the devi.
shall cast of you into prison to tempt you, and ye shall have tribulation
ten days. Be faithful unto the death and I will give thee a crown of life.
1 1 . Let him that hath ears hear what the spirit saith to the congrega
tions; he that overcometh shall not be hurl of the second death,
v. 8. Smyrna: the Sinymians 1557. G, T, (Smyrnseorum B,) (i). — •
the: omits 1537. G, T. (2).
V. 9. call themselves 1557: say they are G. T. (se dicunt . . . esse B.)
(3), — congregation: synagogue 1557, G, T, (synagoga B,) (4),
V. 10. the devil: it shall come to pass that the d, 1557. G. T, (futurum
est ut , , , B,) (S),—of: some of (so Great Bible) 1557. G. T, (6),— to . . .
you: that ye may be tried 1557 G. T. (ut exploremini B,) (7), — be 1557:
be thou G, T, (i),—a: the 1557. G. T. (9).
V. II, ears: an ear 1557. G. T, (auretn B.) (lO), — congregations:
churches 1557. G. T, (ecclesiis B.) (II).
Comparison shows that Tomson's text agrees with 1560;
1557 differs from it twice (3, 8) while in both 1560 agrees
with Beza. The remaining nine cases answer to Beza, and
5 is due to him.
The influence of Beza on the Genevan versions is further
apparent from their adoption of false readings, as pointed out
by Westcott:

254 The English Versions.
I . Matth. i. 1 1 , Josias begat Jakim, and Jakim begat Jechonias.
2. Luke ii. 22. When the time of Mary's purification .... was come.
3.  iii. 36. (Sala) which was the son of Arphaxad 
4. Rev, xi. I. Tliere was given me a reed like unto a rod, and the
angel stood by saying 
5, Hebr. x. 38. But 'li any withdraw himself. ....
6. Mark xvi. 2. Whence the Sun was yet rising.
Of these, 2, 4 and 5 stand in the Authorized Version; i,
was dropped by Beza in his third edition, 6 was suggested by
his note that "not" may have been dropped by accident.
From this false reading, or rather bold conjecture of Beza,
the Geneva has the rendering 6, and after it, the A. V. " at
the rising of the sun," corrected in the Westminster Version
into ' ' when the sun was risen. "
The Genevan version, like the Great Bible, introduces
many supplementary clauses with the margin, printed in
italics; e. g.. Acts xi. 17: "who was I that I could let God t "
]| Net te give them the Hely Ghost; xiv, 7 : "and there was preach ¦
ing the gospel," || insomuch that all the peopk were moved at the
doctrine; 19: " which when they had persuaded the people,"
II and disputing boldly persuaded the people to forsake them, for, said
they, they say nothing true, but lie in all things. These clauses
are all suggested by Beza.
Beza's text was, of course, incomparably inferior to that
now available to scholars, but his version far better than that
of his predecessors, and the Genevan revisions made by it,
are likewise superior to the previous English versions.
Many of the felicitous renderings of the Authorized Version
are directly drawn from the Genevan, which has very largely
influenced it. Its language, though on the whole intelligible
to modern readers, is nevertheless marked by antiquated forms
and expressions, and terms of a Latin signification. Of the
first may be instanced : "stale" (stole) 2 Kings xi. 2; "pight"
(pitched) Heb, viii. 2, and ' ' wanne " (past of win) i Mace.

The Genevan Bible. 255
I. 20; ofthe second: "garde"' (girdle) Ex. xxviii. 8; to "dis
ease" (to trouble) Mark v. 35; "grieces" (steps) Acts xxi. 35;
"harberous" (hospitable) Titus i. 8*; and ofthe third: "more
bright a.nd puissant" Ps. lxxvi. 4; " commoditie '' (well-doing)
Rom. xiv. 16; "pastour" Eph. iv, 11. and "prevent" i
Thess. iv. 15.
Per contra there are also expressions that look quite
modern, e. g. excommunicate, amity, hurly-burly, surgeon and
empire. Much of the spelling is obsolete and inconsistent, as will
have been noted in the extracts, to which are added: brast
(burst), y^/ (fetch), roume (room), perjite (perfect), kowe (cowe),
gheste (guest); yere, yeere, yeei', and year; eie and eye; thei
and they; shal and shall; anie and any; mice and mise.
Of the famous marginal notes, which constitute a sort of
running commentary and account, in part, for the great pop
ularity of the Genevan Version, a few specimens from both
Testaments are added to indicate their drift and character.
Exod. iv. 14. Though we provoke God justly to anger, yet he will
never reject his.
Ruth i. 9. Hereby il appeareth that Naomi by dwelling among
idolaters was waxen cold in the true zeal of God,
which rather hath respect lo the ease of the body
than to the comfort of the soul.
Psalm lxxxix. I2. Tabor is a mountain westward from Jerusalem, and
Hermon eastward; so the prophet signifieth that all
parts and places of the world .shall obey God's pow
er for the deliverance of his Church.
Jerem. xxi. 34, If the sun moon and stars cannot but give light ac
cording to mine ordinance, so long as this world
lasteth, so shall my church never fjiil, neither shall
anything hinder it : and as sure as I will have a peo
ple so certain is it that I will leave them my wo-d
for ever to govern Ihem with,
* la English Retraced, tic Caiiiljiid^ii:, i .. 5. ui.i, b- se,rii iii.uij more examples.

2s6 The English Versions.
Romans yi. 5. The Greek word meaneth, thstt we grow up together
with Christ, as we see moss, ivy, inistletoe oj: such
like grow up by a tree, and are nourished with the
juice thereof.
 ix. 15. As the only will and purpose of God is the chief cause
of election and reprobation, so his free mercy in
Christ is an inferior cause of salvation and the hard-
ening of the heart an inferior cause of damnation.
Revelation ix. 3. Locusts are false teachers, heretics and worldly subtil
prelates, with monks, friars, cardinals, patriarchs,
archbishops, bishops, doctors, bachelors and masters
which forsake Christ to maintain false doctrine.
Eadie (/. c, ii. p. 29) says, that the Apocrypha, are distin
guished from the Canonical Scriptures by the significant
omission of the names of the books, and headings, the
word "Apocrypha" alone occurring on the top of the right
hand page. However much the distinction noted may ap
ply to later editions, it does not apply to the edition of 1560,
which has the name of the book on the left top margin,
throughout the volume. A peculiar heading is that of a
page in St. Mark, giving the story of Herodias, which reads:
' ' The inconvenience of dancing. "
"The first Bible printed in Scotland in 1579 entitled: The
Bible and Holy Scripture centeined in the olde &f Newe Testa
ment, translated according te the Ebru &f Greeke, tSr* conferred
with the beste translations in divers languages. With most profi-
tible annotations upon all the hard places of the Holy Scriptures
&f other things ef great importance, mete for the godly reader.
Printed in Edinburgh, Be Alexander Arbuthnot, Printer to
the Kingis Majestie, dwelling at ye Kirk of Field, 1579.
Cum gratia Of privilegio regicB majestatis; was an exact reprint
of the Genevan edition of 1561, with all the notes and fac
similes of the cuts and maps, and the French terms attached
to them, as Aquilon, midi, orient, Occident " (Eadie).
In addition to the examples given, tho.se which follow are

The Genevan Bible.

257

designed to exhibit the versions as they stand. The first in
parallel columns, shows the differences between the New Tes
tament of 1557 (from Bagster), and that of 1560 in the Bible
(from the original). The others, which follow, present the
text of 1560 with the annotations. The small capitals show
the changes, the italics supplied matter
I.

1357-
X2 Wherforef, as by one man sinne
entred into the world, and death
by THE MEANES OF synne: and
so death went ouer all men, in
so much as all men haue sinned.
13 For EUEN vnto the tyme of the
Lawe was synne in the worlde,
but synne is not imputed, as long
as there is no law,
14 Neuertheles death raigned frora
Adam to Moses, euen ouer tliem
also that sinned not with like
tiansgression as did Adam.
which IS the similitude of him
that was to come.
15 But the gyft is not lvke as the
offence, for if through the sinne
of HIM ALONE, many be dead:
much more plenteous vpon
many w.ts the grace of God and
gift by grace: which grace was
geuen by one man Jesus Christ.

V. 12-15. 1360..
Wherfore as by one man sinne 12
entred into the world, and death
by sinne, and so death went ouer
all men, for asmuche as all
men haue sinned.
For vnto the time ' of the Law 13
was sinne in the worlde, but
sinne is not imputed while there
is no Law.
But death reigned from Adam to 14
Moses, euen ouer them also that
sinned not afters the like
maner of the transgression of
Adam,3 which was tlie figure
of him ¦• that was to come.
But yet the gift is not so, as IS 15
the offence: for if through the
offence of one, many be dead,
muche more the grace of Go4,
and the gift by grace, which is
by one man Jesus Christ, hathe
ABUNDED vnto many.

I From Adam to Moses. 2 He meaneth young babes, which nether had tha
knowledge of the Law of nature, nor any motion of concupiscence, much lesse com
mitted any actual sinne: & this may also comprehend the Gentiles. 8 Yet all man-
kinde, as it were sinned when thei were as yet inclosed in Adames loynes. i Which
was Christ.

258 The English Versions.
II. (1560)-
GEN. III. 1-7.*
I. Now the serpent was more subtil ' then anie beast of the field, which
ye Lord God had made: and he said' to the woman, Yea, hathe God in
dede said, Ye shall not eat of euerie tre of the garden ?
2. And the woman said vnto the serpent, We eat of the frute of the
trees of the garden,
3. But of the frute of the tre, which is in the middes of the garden,
God hathe said. Ye shal not eat of it, nether shal ye touch it, lest' ye dye.
4. Then the serpent said to the woman, Ye shal not dye < at all,
5 . But God doeth knowe, that when ye shal eat thereof, your eyes shal
be opened, & ye shallie as gods, knowing good and euil.*
6. So the woman (seing that the tre was good for meat, and that it was
pleasant to the eyes, & a Ire to be desired to get knowledge) toke of the
frute thereof, and did eal, and gaue also to her housband with her, and he
did eat.*
7. Then the eyes of them bothe were opened, & they knewe ' that they
were naked, and they sewed figtre leaues together, and made them selues
"breeches. 1 As Satan can change him selfe into an Angel of light, so did he abuse the wisdome
of the serpent to deceaue man. 2 God suffered Satan to make the serpent his instru
ment and to speake in him, 8 In doming of Gods threatning she yelded to Satan.
4 This is Satans chiefest subtiltie. to cause vs not to feare Gods threatenings o As
thogh he shulde say, God doeth not forbid you to eat of the frute, saue that he know
eth that if you shulde eat thereof, you shoulde be like to him. 6 Not so muche to please
his wife, as moued' by ambicion at her persuasion. 7 They began to fele their mis-
erie, but they sought not to God for remedie.
"Ebr, thinges to girde about them to hide their priuities.
JOB XIX, 25-27.
25. For I am sure, that my Redemer" liueth, and he shall stand the
last on the earth.
26. And thogh after my skin wormes destroy this bodie, yet shal I se
God in my flesh.'

• Among the curiosities of this volume are the cuts; e, g., the one on page 2 is en
titled "The Sitvacion ofthe garden of Eden," aud displays a number of French words,
with marginal renderings in English: cut, La grand Armenie. margin, " Or, Armenia
the great"; Terre de Havilah, " Or, land of Hauilah "; La cliute d^ Euphrates. "Or,
the fall of Euphrates " etc.

The Genevan Bible. 259
27, Whom I my self shal se, and mine eies shal beholde, and nonothei
for me, thogh my reines are consumed within me.
1 I do not so iustilie my selfe before the world, but I knowe that I shal come before
the great iudge, who shalbe my deliuerer & Sauiour. 2 Herein Job declareth plainely
that hc had a ful hope, that bothe the soule and body shulde enioye the presence of
God in the last resurrection, ISAIAH XXVI. 19-21.
19. Thy dead men' shal Hue: euen with my bodie shal thei rise.
Awake, & sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dewe ' is as the dewe of
herbes, & the earth shal cast out the dead.
20. Come, my people: entre 3 thou into thy chaml^ers, and shutte thy
dores after the : hide thy self for a very litle while, vntil the indignacion
passe ouer.
2 1 . For lo, the Lord cometh out of his place, to visile the iniquitie of
the inhabitants of the earth vpon them : and the earth shal disclose her
blood,'' and shall no more hide her slayne,
1 He comforteth the faithful in their afflictions, shewing them that euen in death
they shall haue life: and that they shulde moste certeinly rise to glorie: the contrarie
shulde come to the wicked, as v. 14, 3 As herbes, dead in winter, flourish againe by
the raine in the spring time: so they that lie in the dust, shal rise vp to ioye when
they fele the dewe of Gods grace, 8 He exhorteth the faithful to be pacient in their
afflictions, and to waite vpon Gods worke, i The earth shal vomit and cast out the
innocent blood, which it hath drunke, that it may crye for vengeance against the
wicked. The Apocrypha in this version, with the exception of ver
bal explanations, and summaries, have very few notes, but
those that occur, are excellent. The following passage re
tains the original spelling: ECCLESIASTICUS XIX. 1-6.
I . A laboring man that is giuen to drunkenness, shal not be riche : &
he that contemneth smale things, shall fall by litle and litle.
2, Wine and women leade wise men out of the way, and put men of
vnderstanding to reprofe.
3, And he that companieth adulterers, shal become impudent: rot
tenness and wormes shal haue him to heritage, and he that is to bolde,
shalbe taken away, and be made a publicke example.
4. He that is hastie to giue credit, is light minded, and he that erreth,
sinneth against his owne soule,
5, Whoso rejoyceth in wickednes, shal be punished: [lie Ihat hatelli

26o The English Versions.
to be reformed, his life shal be shortened, and he that abhorreth babling
of wordes, quenchelh wickednes:] but he that resisteth pleasures, crown
eth his own soule.
6. He that refraineth his tongue, may Uue with a troublesome man,
and he that hateth babbling shal haue lesse euil.
2 MACCABEES XII. 44, 45.
44. For if he had not hoped, that thei which were slaine, shiilde rise
againe, it had bene stiperfluoiis, and vaine, to piray for the dead.i
45. And therefore he perceiued, that there was great fauour laid vp for
those that dyed godly. (It was ah holie, & a goOd thoght.) Sb he made
a reconciliation for the dead that they raight be deliuered from sinne.
1 From this veise to the end of this chapter the Greke text is corrupt, so that no
good sense, muche lesse certeine doctrine can be gathered thereby: also it is euident
that this place was not written by tlie holie Gost, bothe because it dissetiteth fi-om the
rest of the holie scriptures, and also the autor of irhis bdke ackflowledgifig his owne
infirmitie, desireth pardon, if he haue not attained to that he shulde. And it semeth
that Jason the Cyrenean, out of whome he toke his abbridgement, is Joseph Ben Gor-
ion, who hathe written in Ebrewe fine bookes of these matters, and in treating this
place, maketh no mencion of this prayer for the dead, lib. iii. ch. 19, for it is contrary
to the custome of the Iewes, euen to this day, to pray for the dead. And thogh lu
das had so done, yet this particular example is not sufficient to establish a doctrine, no
more than Zipporahs was to proue that women might minister the sacraments, Ex. iv.
25, or the example of Razis that Que might kil him selfe, whome this autor so muche
commendeth, 2 Mace. xiv. 41. JOHN X. 14-16.
14. I am the good shepherd, and knowe ' mine, and am knowen of
mine, 15. As the Father 2 knoweth' me, so knovre I the Father: and I lay
¦ downe my life for my shepe.
16. Other'' shepe I haue also, which are not of this folde: them also
must I bring, and they shal heare my voyce: and there shall be one
shepefolde, and one shepherd.
1 Christ knoweth his because he loueth them, careth and prouideth for them. 2 As
the Father can not forget him, no more can he forget vs. 3 In that he loueth and ap-
proueth me. i To wit, among the Gentiles, which then were strangers from the Church
of God. 2 COR. V. II-I5,
II, Knowing therefore the terror' of the L6rd, we persuade' men, &
we are made manifest ' vnto God, & I trust also that we are made mani
fest in your consciences,

The Genevan Bible. 261
12 For we praisfe not our selues againe vnto yon, but giue you an oc
casion to reioyce of us, that ye may haue to answere against them, which
reioyce in the face,-" and not in the heart.
13. For whether we be out of our wil,^ we are it to God: ^ or whether
we be in our right minde, we are it vnto you.
14. For the loue of Christ constraineth vs: because we thus iudge, that
if one be dead for all, then were all ' dead,
15. And he dyed for all, that they which liue,8 shulde not hence forthe
line vnto them selues, but vnto him which dyed for them, and rose againe.
1 Hi^feareful iudgement, 2 He proueth the dignitie ofhis ministerie by the frute
and effect thereof, which is to bring men to Christ, 5 By imbracing the same faith
which we preache to others. 4 As they who more estemed the outwarde shewe of
wisdome and eloquence, then true godlines. & As the aduersaries said, who colde not
abide to heare them praised. 6 Our folie serueth to Gods glorie. 1 Therefore who-
soeuer giueth place to ambition or vaine glorie, is yet dead, and liueth not in Christ.
8 As the onely faithful do in Christ. I PETER III. 1-7.
I. Likewise let the wiaes be subject to their housbands that euen thei
which obey not the worde, may without the worde be wonne by the con-
uersacion ofthe wines,
2. While they beholde your pure conuersacion, which is with feare.
3. Whose apparelling let il not be outwarde, as with twoyded heere,
and golde put about, or in putting on of apparel.
4. But let the hid riian of the heart be vncorrupt, with a liieke and
quiet spirit, which is before God a thing muche set by.
5. For euen after this maner in time past did the holie women, which
trusted in God, tier them seines, and were subject to their housbands.
6. As Sarra obeied Abraham, and called him "Syr: whose daughters
ye are, whiles ye do wel, not being afraid ' of anie terror.
7. Likewise ye housbands, dwel with them as men of knowledge,^
giuing honour ' vnto the woman, as vnto the weaker vessel, euen as they
which are heires * together of the grace of life, that your prayers * be not
interrupted. " Or, master.
1 But willingly do your duetie: for your condition is not the worse for your obedience.
8 By nether keping them to streite, nor in giuing them to much libertie. 3 Taking
care and proufding for her. i Man oght to loue his wife, because they lead their life
together, also for that she is the weaker vessel, but chiefly because that God hathe
made them as it were felowe heires together of life euerlasting. 5 For they cannot
pray when they are at dissention

262

The English Versions.

This Bible contains likewise, after the New Testament,
I. A brief table of the interpretation of the proper names which are chiefly
found in the Old Testament, etc.
II. A table of the principal things that are conteined in the Bible, after
the order of the alphabet.
III. A perfile supputation of the yeares and times firom Adam unto Christ,
proued by the Scriptures, afler the collection of diuers autors.
Specimens of each are here supplied.

I. Abel, mourning, the name of a
citie, but Hab4l, the name of a
man, doeth signifie vanitie, Gen.
iv. 2.
Bacchides, one that holdeth of
Bacchus, or a dronkard, I Mace.
vii. 8.
Clemens, meke, Phil. iv. 3.
Cleopatra, the glorie of the coun
trie, I Mace, x, 57.
Ely mas, a corrupter, or sorcerer.
Acts xiii, 8.
lob, sorowful or hated. Job i. I,
Shamgdr, desolation of the stran
ger, Judg, iii, 31,
Shimshon, there the second time,
because the Angel appeared the
second time at the prayer of his
father, Judg. xiii. 24.

II. F. Olde wiues Fables, i tim.
iv. 7.
euerie one oght to proue his
Faith, 2 Cor. xiii. 5.
continuance in the Faith,
Col. i, 23.
the shield of Faith, Eph, vi.
16.Christ prayeth for Peters
Faith, Luke xxii. 32.
the definition of Failh, i Ebr.
xi. I.
faith cometh by hearing,
rom. X. 17. ^
the apostles praye to haue
their Faith increased, luk.
xvii. 5.
... IT the Feareful must absent
them selues from warre,
deut. XX. 8.
H paul neuer vsed Flatlerie, I
thess. ii. 5.
IT by the Folde is vnderstand
the Church, ioh, x, 16.
our Forerunner, Christ, ebr.
vi. 20.
Christ deliuered by the deter-
minat counsel & Foreknowl
edge of God, acts ii. 23.
we are elect according to the

The Genevan Bible. 263
Foreknowledge of god, i
pet. I, 3.
euerlasting Fyre prepared
for the deuil, mat, xxv, 41.
III. From the reedifying of the citie vnto the commiing of Christ, are 483
yeres, after this supputation or nombring. It is mentioned in the 9
of Daniel that Ierusalem shulde be buylt vp againe, and that from
that time vnto the comming of Christ are 67 weekes, & euerie weeke
is reckoned for seuen yeres. So 67 weeltes amount to 483 yeres. For
from the 32 yere of Darius vnto the 42 yere of Augustus, in the which
yere our Sauiour Christ was bome, are iust and complet so many
yeres, whereupon we recken, that from Adam vnto Christ are 3974
yeres, six moneth and ten dayes, and from the byrlh of Christ vnto
this present yere, is 1560.
Then the whole summe and nomber of yeres from the loeginning
of the worlde vnto this present yere of our Lord God 1560 are iust
5534, 6 moneths, and the said odde ten dayes,
THE END.
Joshua, chap, i, vers, 8,
L..t not this boke of the Law departe out of thy mouth, but medi-
date therein daye and night, that tliou mayest obserue and
do according to all that is written therein: so shalt
thoit make thy way prosperous, and tlien
shalt thou haue good successe.
The subjoined extracts are also very instructive:
THE FIRST BOKE OF MOSES, CALLED GENESIS.*
The Argument.
Moses in effect declareth the things, which are here chiefly to be con
sidered: First, that the worlde & all things therein were created by God,
& that man being placed in this great tabernacle of the worlde to beholde
God's wonderful workes, & to praise his name for the infinite graces,
Avlierewith he had endued him, fel willingly from God through disobe
dience: who yet for his owne mercies sake restored him to life, & con
firmed him iu tiie same by his promes of Christ to come, by whome he
shulde ouercome Satan, death and hei. Secondely, that the wicked, vn-
* This worde .significtli tlie beginning and generacion of the crcaliircs.

264 The English Versions.
mindful of Gods moste excellent benefites, remained stil in their wicked
nes, & so falling moste horribly from sinne lo sinne, prouoked God (who
by his preachers called them continually to repentance) at length to de
stroye the whole worlde. Thirdly, he assureth us by the example of
Abraham, Izhdk, laakSb, & the rest of the Patriarkes, that his mercies
neuer faile them, whom he chuseth to be his Church, and to professe his
Name in earth, but in all their afflictions and persecutions he euer assist-
elh them, sendeth comforte and deliuereth them. And because the be
ginning, increase, preseruation and successe thereof might be onely attri
buted to God, Moses sheweth by the examples of Kain, Ishmafil, EsaiS
and others, which were noble in mans iudgement, that this Church de
pendeth not on the estimacion and nobilitie of the worlde : and also by
the fewenes of them, which haue at all times worshiped him purely ac
cording to his worde, that it standeth not in the multitude, but in the
poore and despised, in the smal flocke and litle nomber, that man in his
wisdome might be confounded, & the Name of God euer more praised.
THE REVELATION OF lOHN * THE DIVINE.
77/1? Argument.
Il is manifest that the holie Gost woide as it were gather ijito this most
excellent booke a summe of those prophecies, which were writen before,
but shulde be fulfilled after the comming of Christ, adding also suche
things, as shulde be expedient, as wel to forewarne vs of the dangers to
come, as to admonish vs to l;)eware some, and encourage vs against oth
ers. Herein therefore is liuely set forthe the Diuinitie of Christ, & the
testimonies of our Redemption: vvhat things the Spirit of God alloweth in
the ministers, and what things he reprouelh: the prouidence of God for
his elect, and of their glorie and consolation in the day of vengeance:
how that the hypocrites which sting like scorpions the members of Christ,
shalbe destroyed, but the Lambe Christ shal defende them, which beare
witnes to the trueth, who in despite of the beast and Satan wil reigne
ouer all. The liuelie description of Antichrist is set forthe, whose time and
power notwithstanding is limited, and albeit that he is permitted- to rage
against the elect, yet his power stretcheth no further then to the hurl of
their bodies; and at length he shal be destroyed by the wrath of God,
when as the elect shal giue praise to God for the victorie: neuerthelet, for
a ceason God wil permit this Antichrist, and strompet vnder colour of
faire speche and pleasant doctrine to deceiue the world: wherefore he ad-
* Or. declared to John.

The Bishops' Bible. 265
wertiseth the godlie (which are but a smale portion) to auoide this harlots
flateries, and bragges, whose ruine without mercie they shal se, and with
the heauenlie companies sing continual praises: for the Lambe is maried:
the worde of God hathe gotten the victorie : Satan that a long lime was vn-
lied, is now cast with his ministers into the pit of fyre to be tormented
foreuer, where as contrariwise the faithful (which are tlie holie citie of Ie
rusalem, & wife of tlie Lambe) shal enioye perpetual glorie. Read dili
gently ; iudge soberly, and call earnestly to God for the true vnderstand
ing hereof, *

CHAPTER XI.
THE BISHOPS' BIBLE.
Fob some time after the accession of Elizabeth the Bibles
in circulation were chiefly the Great Bible and the Genevan.
The latter being decidedly superior to the former, and partly
on account of its intrinsic excellence, partly on account ofthe
interest connected with its production, it was unquestionably
popular, and while its size was more handy, and its cost mod
erate, the Great Bible fell into neglect. But the annotations
of the Genevan version with their 'onesided theological bias
and general tendency rendered its adoption as an Authorized
Version an impossibility. The general concession of its su
periority to any English version extant at the time, and the
equally general dissatisfaction with the Great Bible, impera
tively demanded action in the direction of a new translation
or revision.
The initiative in the matter seems to have been taken by
Matthew Parker, archbishop of Canterbury. ' ' The arch
bishop took upon himself the labour to contrive and set the
whole work agoing, in a proper method, by sorting out the

* In all these passages the spelling conforms to the original edition, Geneva, Printed
by Rouland Hall, 1560.

266 The English Versions.
whole Bible into parcels, as was sai,d, and distributing those
parcels to able bishops, and other learned men, to peruse and
collate each of the book or books allotted them, sending
withal his instructions for the method they should observe;
and they were to add some short marginal notes for the illus
tration or correction of the text. And all these portions be
ing finished, and sent back to the archbishop, he was to add
the last hand to them, and so to take care for printing and
publishing the whole."*
Concerning these instructions all that I have been able to
learn is embodied in the subjoined memorandum, sent by the
archbishop to Cecil, on Oct. 5, 1568, entitled: "Observations
respected of the Translators. ''
First — To follow the common English translation used in the churches;
and not to recede from il, but where it varieth manifestly from the
Hebrew or Greek original.
Item — To use sections and divisions in the text as Pagnine in his transla
tion useth, and for the verity of the Hebrew to follow the said
Pagnine and MUnster especially, and generally others learned in
the tongues.
Item^— To make no bitter notes upon any text, or yel to set down any
determination in places "of controversy.
Item — To note such chapters and places as contain matter of genealogies,
or other such places not edifying with some strike or note, that the
reader may eschew them in his public reading.
Item — That all such words as sound in the old translation, to any offense
of lightness or obscenity, be expressed with more convenient terms
and phrases.
It does not appear that these observations were issued with
the first invitations to co-operation; if they were, they were
strangely misunderstood by at least one of the bishops invited;
to wit, the following passage from a letter of bp. Guest to
whom the book of Psalms had been sent for revision:
* Strype, Parker. I. 414,

The Bishops' Bible. 267
I have not altered the translation but where it gave occasion to an er
ror. As at the first Psalm at the beginning I turn the prseter-perfect
tense into the present tense, because the sense is too harsh in the prseter-
perfect tense. Where in the New Testament one piece of a Psalm is re
ported, I translate it in the Psalms, according to the translation thereof in
the New Testament, for the avoiding of the offence that may arise to the
people upon divers translations  *
As the Book of Psalms in the Bishops' Bible bears the in
itials T. B. (probably Thomas Becon, prebendary of Canter
bury) the archbishop seems to have disapproved of the "extra
ordinary notions of the episcopal reviser.
Another of the revisers, bp. Sandys, who had charge of 3.,
4 Regum and i; 2 Paraliporaenon, wrote:
In mine opinion your grace shall do well to make the whole Bible to
be diligently surveyed by some well learned before it be put to print
.... which thing will require a time. Sed sat cito si sat bene. The
setters forth of this our common translation followed MUnster too much,
who doubtless was a very negligent man in his doings and often swerved
very much from the Hebrew, , . .f
Sandys's views of Miinster clearly did not harmonize with
the archbishops', or he would not hav3 singled out his ver
sion as a standard of reference; he knew, what every scholar
knows, that Miinster's fault is diametrically opposite to that
charged by Sandys: his translation is extremely literal, though
his Latin is not over-elegant; it is also perspicuous, though his
renderings are more influenced by Rabbinical than by patris
tic interpreters. The high estimate of his version in Eng
land, in spite of Sandys, is evident from the circumstance that
the version of the Psalter in the Latin Book of Common
Prayer (editions 1572, 1574, Svo) was with the exception of
Psalm xiv. (supplied from the Vulgate) Miinster's.
Bp. Cox, of Ely, also recommended: "The translation of
* Strype, /. c. 416, t Strype, I. c, 415, 416.

268

The English Versions.

the verbs in the Psalms to be used uniformly in one tense.'
The archbishop accordingly gave him Acts and Romans.
The following list of the revisers of the different books of
the Bible is enclosed in a letter to Cecil, dated Oct. 5, 1 568,
preserved in the State Paper Office:

M. Cant. [,abp. Parker.]

R, Meneven. fbp, Davies,]

The Sum of the Scripture.
The Table of Christ's line.
The Argument of the Scriptures.
Xhe first Preface to the whole Bible.
The Preface into the Psalter,
The Preface into the New Testament.
^ , ¦ f M. Cant. [abp. Parker.]
Exodus. )
' (¦ Cantuarise. [Andrew Pierson, prebend ?]
Deuteronium, W. Exon, [bp. Alley.]
Josuse. ^ ,
Judicum. Ruth, Regum, I, 2.
Regum, 3, 4. I jy •^v; [bp. Sandys.]
Paralipomeaon, i, 2, ) ¦¦ "^ ' '
p ' , [ Cantuarias, [Andrew PierSon, prebend ?]
' \ Cantabrigi*, [Andrew Perne, canon of Ely.]
Ecclesiasficus, v
Susamia.Bacuc.Maccabeorum, Esdras. ^
Judith. Tobias. Sapientia.
Esaias. Hieremias.Lamenlationes,Ezechiei. ) ., ^ . ,
_ . , M . Lich.
Daniel, j ¦'

Uth. i
bias. I
Dientia. >

J. Norvic. [bp. Parkhurst.]

W. Cioestasen. [bp. Barlow.]

i R. Wil

Winton. [bp. Home.]
and Covent. [bp. Bentham.]

M. Cant. [abp. Parker.]

The Bishops' Bible. 269
Prophetse mitiores. Ed. London, [bp, Grindal.]
Matthseus. i ,, „
Marcus. [ M- Cant. [abp. Parker.]
Johannes. I ^- ^''''^' [bp- Scambler.]
Act a Apostolorum. 1
AdRomanos, } R- Eliensis. [bp. Cox.]
I Epistola Corin. D, Weslmon, [Gabriel Goodman, dean.]
2 Epistola Corin. i
Ad Galalas,
Ad Ephesios,
Ad Phillippenses,
Ad CoUossenses.
Ad Thessalon,
Ad Timotheum,
Ad Titum.
Ad Philemon,
Ad Hebraeos.
Epistola; Canonicse, ) -, , . , ., „ „. ,
. ,. , [• N, Lincoln, [bp. BuUmgham.]
Apocalipsis, ) L r o J
The initials, which at the archbishop's suggestion, were
placed at the end of the books, that the revisers "might be
the more diligent as answerable for their doings," do not
agree with this list. The initals occur as follows: At the
end of —
The Pentileuch, W. E, VV. Exon, William Alley, bp. of Exeter.
z Samuel, R. M, R, Meneven Richard Davies, bp. of St. Divid's.
2 Chronicles, E. W, E. Wigomen. Edwyn Sandys, bp. of Worcester.
Job, A, P, C, Andrew Pearson, canon of Canterbury.
Psalms, T. B. Thomas Becon [?].
Proverbs, A. P. C. Andrew Pearson, canon of Canterbury.
The Song of Solombn, A. P. F. Andrew Feme, canon of Ely.
Laraentations, R. W. R. Winton. Robert Home, bp. of Winchester.
Daniel, T. C. L. Thomas Cole, bp. of Lichfield and Coventry.
Malachi, E, L, E. Londin. Edmund Grindal, bp. of London.
2 Maccabees, J. H. J. Norvic. John Parkhurst, bp. of Norwich.
Acts, R. E. R. Elien. Richard Cox, bp. of Ely.
Romans, R. E. R. Elien. Richard Cox, bp. of Ely.
I Corinthians, G. G. Gabriel Goodman, dean of Westminster.

270 The English Versions.
The list is doubtless defective, for it is known that Law
rence, whose initials do not occur anywhere, took a large
share in the revision. According to Lewis, he and other
critics were employed by tbe archbishop to peruse the old
translation and diligently to compare it with the original text.
The revision, which occupied about four years, was fin
ished in 1568, and because the greater number ofthe revisers
were bishops, it became known as the Bishops' Bible. In a
letter to the queen, bearing date Oct. 5, 1568, the archbishop
says: Among divers observations which have been regarded in this recogni
tion, one was, not to make it vary much from the translation which was
commonly used by the public order, except where either the verity of the
Hebrew and Greek moved alteration, or -where the text was, by some
negligence mutilated from the original. So that I trust your loving sub
jects shall see good cause in your majesty's days to thank God and lo
rejoice, to see this high treasure of His holy word to set out as may be
proved (so far forth as man's mortal knowledge can attain unto, or as far
forth as God halh hitherto revealed) to be faithfully handled in the vul
gar tongue, beseeching your highness that it may have your gracious
favour, license, and protection, to be communicated abroad, as well for
that in many churches they want their books, and have long lime looked
for this, as for that in certain places be publicly used some translations
which have not been laboured in your realm, having inspersed diverse
prejudicial notes, which might have been also well spared. I have been
bold in the fiirniture with few words to express the incomparable value
of this treasure.
It is vain to speculate on the reasons for which the royat
authority was not accorded to the Bishops' Bible, which not
until 1577 was "set forth by authoritie "; i e., by episcopal
authority. Convocation however, whose action Westcott ob
serves, could hardly have been ' ' in opposition to the royal
will," took the matter up. In the Constitutions and Canons
Ecclesiastical oi 1571 it was ordered:
That every archbishop and bishop shjuld have at his house a copy of
Ihe Holy Bible of the largest volume, as lately printed at London ....

The Bishops' Bible. 271
and that il should be placed in the hall or large dining room, that it
might tie useful to their servants or to strangers. The order was likewise
extended to cathedrals, and to all churches as far as it could be conve
niently done (si commode fieri possit). (Cardwell, Synodalia, i. 115,
123)- The injunctions of Convocation appear to have been more
or less disregarded, for abp. Whitgift, writing under date
July 16, 1587, to the bishop of Lincoln, says:
Whereas I am credibly informed that divers as well parish churches as
chapels of ease are not sufficiently furnished with Bibles, but some have
either none at all, or such as be tom and defaced, and yet not of the
translation authorized by the synods of bishops, these are therefore to re
quire you strictly in your visitations or otherwise to see that all and every
the said churches and chapels in your diocese be provided of one Bible or
more, at your discretion, of the translation allowed as aforesaid 
And for the performance thereof I have caused her highness' printer to
imprint two volumes of the said translation of the Bible aforesaid, a big
ger and a less .... both which are now extant and ready.*
The first edition of the Bishops' Bible was published in
1568 in foho, the second in 1569 in 4to, the third of the Bible,
and an edition of the New Testament in 1570, 1571. A re
vision of the New Testament, and a double version of the
Psalms, the one being that from the Great Bible, and the
other that belonging to the version itself, appeared in the
edition of 1572. The last edition of the Bible was printed
in 1606.
An imperfect folio copy in the Astor Library, New York,
has in the colophon at the end of the Epistles and Gospels
that it was "Imprinted at London by Newgate Market, next
unto Christes Churche, by Richard lugge. Printer to the
Queens Maiestie. The fifth of July, Anno 1574. Cum priui
legio RegicB Maiestatis." The New Testament contains the
corrections ofthe revised edition of 1572, but the Old Testa-
-* Cardwell, Docianeutary AimaU, ii 31. sq.

272 The English Versions.
ment and the Apocrypha appear to have been printed in 1 570,
that date being plainly given in the initial letter I of Gen
esis. The cuts are different from those mentioned by Cotton
and others; and the absence of the double version of the
Psalms (which is in the edition of 1572) points to the follow
ing conclusions: That this copy contains the text of the ver
sion of 1568 in the Old Testamelit and the Apocrypha, and
the text of 1572 in the New Testament. John Marbecke's
The lyues of holy Sainctes, Prophets, Patriarchs, etc. , edition
of 1574, is bound up with this copy ofthe Bishops' Bible.
Turning now to the book itself, a large folio, printed in
noble type on superb paper, displays the simple title:
The Helie Bible, containing the Old Testament and the New:
The New Testament of eur Saviour Jesus Christ, 1568. Rich
ard Jugge. Cum Privikgio Regies Majestatis.
On the top of the page appears in an oval an eiigravirig of
Elizabeth, seated in a royal pavilion, with the emblems of re
ligion and charity in the margins; above her are the arms of
France and England quartered within the garter, the helmet
and crest above, At the bottom of the page, guarded by the
lion and the dragon, is a scroll with the legend: "Non me
pudet Evangelii Christi. Virtus enim Dei est ad salutem
omni credenti." Rom. i.
Then follows on another leaf:
I . The summe of the whole Scripture of the bookes of the Old and
New Testament. 2. Christ's Line,* five leaves and a half. The initial
letter T. contains the archbishop's paternal arms impaled with those of
Christ ChWch, Canterbury. 3. A Table of the books of the Old Testa
ment. 4. Proper Lessons; etc. 5. Lessons proper for Holidays. 6.
Proper Psalms for certayne days. 7. The order how the rest of the holy
Scripture, beside the Psalter is appointed to be read. 8. A brief declara-

* Professor Plumptre states that the genealogical tables were prepared by Hugh
Broughton, but ostensibly by Speed the antiquary, and cites Strype, Parker, iv ao,
Lightfoot, Life of Brongliton.

The Bishops' Bible. 273
lion when every tenn begins and ends. 9. An Almanack for xxix
years, beginning 1561. 10. To find Easter foreuer. 11. What days to
be obserued for Holidays, and none other. 12. A Table of the order of
the Psalms, to be said at Morning and Evening Praier. 13, The Kalen
dar. 14. A Preface into the Byble folowyng, by the archbishop, printed
in Roman type. The initial letter O contains the archbishop's paternal
coat of arms, With his initial, and motto, 15, A Prologue by Cranmer,
printed in Gothic letters, with his arms in the initial letter C, 16, The
order of the Book of the Old and Newe Testament, At Leviticus xviii.
10, are two tables entitled : I. Degrees of kinrede which let matrimonie as
it is set forth in the xviii. of Leviticus, II. Degrees of affinitie or alliance
which let matrimonie as it is set forth, etc. After Deuteronomy, on a
spare leaf; The secona part of the Byble, conteyning these bookes. The
book of Joshua, etc. The booke of Job. The third part of the Byble,
conteyning these bookes. The Psalter, etc. Malachi. At the beginning
of Joshua is an engraving of the Earl of Leicester, and at the beginning
of the firsl Psalm, an engraving of Cecil. After Malachi, bn a spare leaf:
The volume of the bookes called Apocrypha, conteyning these bookes
following, The thirde booke of Esdras, etc. At the end of this volume
is a description of the Holy Laude, with letter press giving tlie geograph
ical situation of the places by degrees of longitude and latitude. Then
follows the New Testament, as above, etc. On the reverse of the Title
Page is a Preface irito the Newe Testament, by the archbishop, with his coat
of arms in the initial letter T, The gospels have cuts of the Evangelists.
Before St. P.iul's Epi.stles is a Cart or Cosmographie of the perigrinatioii
or journey of St, Paul, wiih the distance of the myles; and underneath,
'I'he order of tymes. Cuts of St, Paul are placed before the Epistles to
the Romans and to Titus, Revelation contains twenty wood cuts. After
Revelation stands: Finis, and then, A Table to find the Epistles and Cios-
pels read ifi the Churche of England on Sundays, and another of Epistles,
etc, which are used to be read on divers Saints days in the yere. After
which comes: Imprinted at London in Powle's Church-yarde, by Richard
Jugge, Printer to the Queeri's Majesfid. Cum privilegio Regice majestatis.
This is followed by the Printer's mark : A Pelican feeding her young with
her own blood, with 'the Latin eouplet: Matris ut hcec proprio stirps est
satiata cruore Pascis item propria, Christe, cruore tuos.
In the second edition, of which more hereafter, of 1572,
the typographical outfit is as sumptuous as in the first, but it
is disfigured not only by the introduction of portraits of states-

274 The English Versions.
men, etc., but by ornamental initial letters of reprehensible
taste, e. g. , those of Jonah, Micah, and Nahum contain wood
cuts of Neptune, and that of the Epistle to the Hebrews one
of Leda and the Swan.
The classification of the Books of Scripture in the Bishops'
Bible is peculiar, though not very felicitous, for the terms "le
gal, historical, sapiential and prophetic " may pass as far as
the Old Testament is concerned, but it is certainly phantastic
to designate the Gospels, the Catholic Epistles, and those to
Titus, Philemon, and the Hebrews as "legal," the remaining
Pauline Epistles as "sapiential," while "Acts" is the only
historical book, and Revelation the only prophetic one.*
The division into verses is preserved uniformly in all edi
tions of the Bishops' Bible,
An edition printed in 1574, has at the end of the summe
of the whole scripture this note: "Suche parts and chapters
which be marked and noted with semi-circles C at the head
of tho verse or lyne, with such other Textes, may be left un
read in the publick reading to the people, that thereby other
chapters and places of the scripture making more to their ed
ification and capacitie may come in their roomes, etc.," e. g..
Gen. X. and xi, 10-30; xxxviii. i-i i ; Lev. xii. -xxiv, ; i Chron,
i.-ix. and Neh, viii, and x, i Sam, xxv. 22, 34, was not
marked.

• The order of the Books is as follows:
Part I. containing the Pentateuch.
" II. " Josuah, Judges, Ruth, i, 2 Samuel, 3, 4 Kings, i, 2 Chronicles, i, a
Esdras, Esther, Job,
" III. " The Psalter, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Cantica Canticorum, Esai, Jere
mie, Ezechiei, Daniel, Osee, loel, Amos, A€di, Jonas, Micheas, Na
hum, Habacuc, Sophoni, Aggeus, Zachari, Malachi.
The volume of the bookes called Apocrypha, containing: 3, 4 Esdras, Tobia, ludith,
the rest of Esther, Wysedome, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, Three Chyldren, Susanna, Bel
and the Dragon, Prayer of Manasse, i, 2 Machabees.
The four Gospels, Acts, Romans, i, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colosians,
I, 2 Thessalonians, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, James, i, 2 Peter, t, 2, 3 John.
Jude, Revelation.

The Bishops' Bible. 275
The archbishop's Preface displays far more scholarly views
than those entertained by some of his coadjutors, he advises
the reader not to be offended with the diversitie of translatois,
nor with the ambiguity of translations.
Since of congruence, no offence can justly be taken for this new labour,
nothing prejudicing any other man's judgment by this doing; nor yet
hereby professing this to be so absolute a translation as that hereafter
might follow no other that might see that which as yet was not under
stood. He cites Fisher who wrote that " many things have been more dil
igently discussed, and more clearly understanded by the wits of these lat
ter dayes, as wel concerning the gospels, as other scriptures, than in
old time they were. . . . For there be yet in the gospels very many
darck places, which without all doubt to posterity shall be made much
more open. For why should we despair herein, seeing the gospel was
deliuered to this intent, that it might be utterly understanded by us, yea
to ihe very inch. Wherefore , . . who can doubt but that such things
as remain yet unknown in the gospel shall be hereafter made known to
the latter wits of our posterity to their clear understanding."
Notwithstanding the expressed purpose of this translation
to weed from the older versions erroneous renderings by stricter
conformity to the original, and to produce a popular version,
the execution of the work fell far short of the intention. It
is a work of unequal merit from first to last; there being in
the edition of 1568 a very marked difference qualitatively be
tween the different books, and a very great improvement in
the edition of 1572 over that of 1568. Perhaps the peculiar
plan adopted in the preparation, the want of concert and dis
cussion of the diflferent parts of the work by all the collabora
tors, and the impossibility of the archbishop, with such aid as
he could command, to stamp upon the whole the consistent
and harmonious unity of spirit, style, and expression which
characterizes, e. g,, Luther's version and that of the Genevan
revisers, are sufficient to account for all the faults of the Bish
ops' Bible, The edition of 1572 is a very important one, even
at this day, for it is the immediate basis ofthe Authorized Version

276 The English Versions.
The critical apparatus available to the Genevan translators,
their version, and the Latin version of Castalio were, of course,
the only helps used by the translators or revisers of the Bish
ops' Bible. The influence of the Genevan version was very
pronounced, although it is only just to say, that evidence of
direct and independent use of the original is not by any
means wanting.
In the Old Testament the Great Bible was not only the
basis ofthe Bishops', but to a considerable extent remained un
changed. Professor Westcott, who has carefully examined
Isaiah liii. , reaches the result that of twenty-one corrections,
five are due to the Genevan version, five agree with Pagninus,
three with Leo Judse, three with Castalio and one with Miin
ster; one is simply linguistic, and three are apparently origi
nal. These last are:
Great Bible, v. 3: " . . . . yea he was despised and therefore we re
garded him not," omitted in the Bishops'. 4: "... . taken on him our
infirmities , , , ." "infirmity,'' Bishops'. ". . . . cast down of God and
punished," omitted 'm the Bishops'.
Professor Eadie notices twelve changes in the first twenty
verses of Genesis xxxvii. , and they contain only two places,
which possibly may be called original in a restricted sense;
they are:
Great Bible, V, 19: " this dreamer " ; Bishops': "this «<7^ato dreamer '';
marginal note: Hebrew, maister of dreams, 20: "a wicked beast";
Bishops': "some naughtiebeaste.'' (Bestia mala, ^lUnster; bBses Thier,
Luther.) Among the seven changes in Ezekiel xxxvii. , I cannot find
a single original one. Among twenty-five changes, found in
Psalm xix.. Professor Westcott notices five original ones, viz. :
Great Bible, v. 2: "One day telleth another, and one night certifieth
another"; Bishops': "A day occasioneth talk thereof unto a day, and a
night te.acheth knowledge unto a night," (Compare Genevan, Pagninus

The Bishops' Bible. 277
and Mtlnster, which have certainly suggested the latter clause.) 5; " , . .
the heaven . . . ."; Bishops' omitted. 8: "and righteous altogether";
Bishops': " and .... altogether: they be just iri all points." (justifica-
tapariter, Pagninus, Miinster, Judse.) 12: ". . . . sins"; Bishops': put
in brackets. 13: " O Lord ' ' ; Bishops' : " O Lord, God. ' '
Professor Moulton, History of the English Bible, has examined Num
bers xxiv, 15-24, and finds " eyes " for " eye " in v. 15, " falleth and his
eyes are opened" for "falleth with open eyes" in v. 16, and "Italy"
for "Chittim " in v. 24. In 2 Samuel xxiii. 1-7, he notices eighteen va
riations from the Great Bible, of which fifteen are taken from the Gene
van version. In Job xix, 25, 26, he notices a remarkable change. It
reads in the Great Bible : " For I am sure that my Redeemer liveth, and that
I shall rise out of the earth in the latter day ; that I shall be clothed again
with this skin, and see God in my flesh." The Bishops' of 1568 reads:
"For I am sure that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall raise up at
the latter day them that lie in the dust; and though afler my skin worms
destroy this body, yet shall I see God in my flesh." The words in ital
ics are a new rendering; verse 26 is a correction from the Genevan Bible.*
The conclusion to be drawn from these and other exam
ples is one that does not redound to the praise of those revis
ers who had in hand the Old Testament and the Apocrypha.
Most of the changes introduced are derived from other ver
sions, and they are not by any means uniformly improve
ments, with this further aggravation, that many unquestion
able improvements in those very versions were neglected by
them, while their original renderings are not, as a rule, very
meritorious. Westcott says of these last: "As a general rule
they appear to be arbitrary and at variance with the exact
sense of the Hebrew text. "
In dealing with the New Testam-ent of the Bishops' Bible,
it is hardly worth while to consider the first edition of 1568,
except by way of comparison, but to examine for the purpose
of determining its critical value the revised edition of 1572.
Lawrence, to whom reference has already been made, and
who was ' ' a man in those times of great fame for his knowl-
* But see this passage in another collation below.

278 The English Versions.
edge in the Greek, " =•= drew up a body of ' ' notes of errors in
the translation of the New Testament "f on twenty-nine pas
sages which stood in their uncorrected form in the Bishops'
Bible of 1568; and with one exception his corrections were
adopted in the revised edition of 1572. As they are very in
teresting they are here reproduced, and the italicized portions
denote not only their reception into the Bishops' Bible of
1572, but into the text ofthe present Authorized Version,
I, " Wordes not aptly translated in the New Testament ": — Matth. xvii
25, " Of whome dooe the kynges of the earth take tribute or toUe, of tlieii
children or of strangers?" Correction, ^^ of their owne children.''
27, "goo thou to the sea and cast an angle." Correction, "cast an
haoke." xxi. 33, "Ther was a certain man an housholder which made
avineyard." Correction, ". . . -which, planted a vineyard," 38, "Come
let us Icyll hym, and let us enjoye his inheritance." Correction: " let us
take possession or seisen upon his inheritance,'' adopted virtually in 1572
and A, V,, '¦^ let vs sease on his inlieritance," xxii, 7, " He was wroth
and sent forth his men of war," Correction, "when he had sent his
armies," xxv. 20, " I haue gayned with them fyue taleuts moo," Cor-
reclion, "fyue talents besides," xxvi, 38, "My sovleisheuy euen vnlo the
deelli." Correction, "exceedinge heauie," — in reality, A. V. 42, " He
went awaye once agayne and prayed," Correction, "He went away
the second time." xxviii. 14, "We will . . . saue you harmless," His
note here iu fiill reads, " dfiEpinyoi, that is careless: d^Xafirii or
dZi/MioS is harmless: d/js/jijuvoi, careless. I may he harmle.ss in Ijody
and goods and yet not careless. This is not considered in the Genevan
Bible," Adopted in A, V., for " secure you" ^msike you secure, free
from care. Mark i. 24: "Alas, begone." Correction, "Let be," or
" let us alone." 45, "to tel many thinges." Correction, "opeiilie to
declare or preach." Adopted virtually in A. V. x. 19, "Thou shalt
not cominit adullerie, thou sliall not kyll, thou shall not steale." Cor
rection, "Do not commit adullerie. Do not kill. Do not steale." xii.
15, "But lie seynge their hypocrisie, seide vnto tliem." Correction,
"knowing iheir hypocrisie," Luke i. 3, 4, "I determyned also (assone
as 1 had searched out diligently all thinges from the begynnyng) that then
I woide wryte unto the." Correction, "// seemed good to me, Iiaving
* Strype, Partier, ii. 223, t /. c., App. lxxxv.

The Bishops' Bible. 279
perfect vnderstandinge of all thinges from the beginning, to write to
thee in order." vi. 44, ". . . . nor of bushes gather they grapes," Cor
rection, ", , . . of a bramble."
11, " Wordes and pieces of sentences omytted; " — Matth, xv, 16, "Are
ye also [>'«/] without vnderstandinge? " Correction, Insert the word in
brackets, xxii. 13, " Bynde him hand and foot and cast him into vtter
darkness.'' Correction, Insert "take." xxvi. 13, "Preached in the
worlde." Correction, Insert "all or whole." Mark xv. 3, "Insert,
' but he answered nothing.' " Spurious residing, taken from Matth.
xxvii, 12 or Luke xxiii, 19, Luke viii. 23, "There came down a storm."
Correction, Insert "wind." x. 23, Insert " And he turnynge to his dis
ciples, and said secietly ." Adopted with the transposition of "he " and
"said " in the margin of A. V. xxii. 12 " He shall shewe you an vpper
chambre." Correction, Insert "great." xxiv. 27, "He interpreted vnlo
them in all Scriptures which wer written of him." Correction, Insert
" those things "; accepted in more compact form in A. V.
III. "Wordes superfluous: " — Mark xiii. 26, "Let hym that is in the fielde
not turne backe agayne vnto the thinges which he left behynde him,"
Correction, " Strike out the words in italics," Luke xii. 24, " Howe much
are ye better than fethered fowls? " Correction, Strike out " felhered."
IV, "Sentences changed and error in doctrine": — Luke ix. 45, "It
was hidde from them that they vnderstode it not." Correction, "that
they should not understand it." A, V. renders, " that they perceiued it
nol"; 1572 adopts Lawrences' correction, Coloss, ii. 13, "Dead to
synne, and to the vncircumcision of your fleshe hath he quyckened with
him,'' Correction, "z« synne,''
V. "Modes and tenses changed, and places' not well considered by
Theodorus Beza and Erasmus, as I thynke " : — Matth, xxi, 3 : " say ye "
should be rendered "ye shall say." Luke xvii, 8, "eate thou and drynke
thou " should be rendered "thou shalt eate and drynke."
Lawrence, who was certainly up to the scholarship of the
period, modestly concludes a long argument on points of
grammar against the editors of the Greek Testaments: "It is
more lyke that I should be deceived than either Erasmus or
Beza, I woide gladlye they were defended that-I might see
myne own error. I take them to be deceyved, because I see
reason and aucthoritie for me, and as yet none for them, but
because they saye so, and yet bring no proofe for them. "

28o The English Versions.
A brief example bf consecutive verses may suffice to illus
trate the dictioh and style of this version.
St. MATTH. III. 4-12.
4. This John had his rdykient of camels heare, drd a letlierne girdle '
about his loines, his meate was locustes and wild honey.
5 . Then went dut to him Hierusalem, and all Jurie, dnd al the regioii
rounde_ about Jorddne.
6. And were baptised of him in Jbrdane, confessing their sinnes.
7. Bilt when he smile itidny of the Pharisees and Siidkcees comme ta
his baptisme, he said vnto them-, O gineTatioA of vipers, who hath
warned^ yOu io flee from the ak%eito comme.
8, Bring fOorth therefore friiites meete^for repentance.
9. And be nOt of Such minde, that ye would say within your selues.
We haue Abraham to (Our) father; For I Say vnto yott, that God is able
of these stones to rayse vp children vnto Abraham..
10. Euen now is the axe also put into the rO'ote of the trees: Where
fore, every tree which bringeth not foorth good fruite is hewen downe
and cast into the fire.
11, / baptize you in water vnto repentance: but he that cometh after
me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not WBorJhy to beare, he shall
baptize you with the holye ghost and with fyre.
12. Whose fann is in his hand, and he will throughly purge* his
fioore, and gather his wheate into (his) garfier: but wil burne vp the
chaffe with vnquencheable fire.
J8SF* Note: I'he words in italics show what has been retained in the Authorized
Version, edition of 1611.
As compared with former versions, the Great Bible is the basis, the Genevan version
the main corrector, though 1 is derived from Luther and the Zurich, 2 suggested by
"forewarned " in the Genevan, 3 by " gui deceani po^niteniiatn " of Erasmus, and 4 by
*' perpurgabii " of Beza.
Professor Westcott in his collation of Ephesians iv. 7-16 in
the Great Bible of 1550 with the Bishops', verified among
twenty-six changes not less than seventeen new ones, of which
nine are due to the Genevan version, while the original cor
rections made denote very close and thoughtful reference to
the Greek. He notices also the independence of the revision,
which in only four places of the new changes agrees with
Beza, while in nine it goes definitely against him.

The Bishops' Bible. 28 r
The comparison ofthe edition of 1568 with the revision of
1572, 1578, leads to the same result, as is evident from
Eadie's collation of Galatians, and Westcott's of Ephesians.
The subjoined list gives the corrections in these two episdes
adopted in the Authorized Version of 161 1.
GALATIANS.
i- I. from the dead; 9, that ye haue received; 10, ifit yet pleased men;
13, how that; 15, called mee; 17, went I vp; which were; 18, I went
vp; 23, in times past.
ii. 2, I went vp; 12, which were; 14, why compellest thou; 16, we haue
beleeued; 21, come.
iii. 19, should eome.
iv. 12, I am as ye are.
V. 8, This perswasion commeth not of thai; 9, leaueneth; 20, emula
tions; 25, let us also walke in the Spirit.
vi. 13, glory in your flesh; 14, that I should gtory but [A. V., saue].
EPHESIANS,
i. 2, grace be . . . xadfrom; 5, predestinated; heauen (1568), margin,
heauens (1572); not onely in this world (IS?^)-
ii. I, and he quickened you [A. V., and yam. hath hee quickenedl', 5, by
\Whose\ grace ye are saued; 7, nxhis kindenesse; lo, before ordeined;
14, middle wall; 19, fellow citizens.
iii. 7, I was made; 8, unto mee which [who. A, 'V.] am lesse then the
least; 12, confidence by; 21, be glory.
iv. 15, euen Christ.
v. 15, that ye walke; 24, vnto Christ; 27, that he might present it unto
[to, A. V.].
vi. I, your parents. 12, spirituall wickednesse; 14, your loynes; hau-
ing on; 15, and your feete; 24, grace be.
j8®" Note: AU these corrections are not by any means original, but simply those ap
pearing in the last recension of the Bishops' Bible as the basis of the Authorized Ver
sion. Among the expressions for which A. Vfis indebted to the Bishops' Bible, besides
those already mentioued, may be named "through the flesh," Rom. viii. 3; "joynt-
heires," V, 17, and "earnest expectation," v, ig.
Quaint literalness in some places, and the introduction of
explanatory words and clauses characterize this version; these
contradictories are however accounted for from the want of

282 The English Versions.
unity, as the necessary result of so many different workers,
not all equally gifted and learned. A few specimens of both
are added:
I. Literalness. Matth. ii. 13, "young child"; xv, 26, 27, "little
dogges." Luke xv. 12, "the portion of the substance." John xiv. 2,
"In my father's hou.se are many dwelling places." Acts xiii, 34, "the
holy thynges of David which are faythful." i Cor. xiii, 3, "though I
geue my body that I sholde be burned." I Tim. iii. 6, " not a young
scoUer," Heb. xi. 28, "the seconde time shalbe seene without sinne oi
them whiche way te for him." James i. II, " For the sunne hath rysen
with heat, and the grasse hath wythered, and his floure hath fallen away."
II. Expansions a. harmless but unnecessary: i Kings i. 23, "Beholde
(here cometh) Nathan the Prophet," Isaiah x, 10, " (As who say) I am
able to winne the kingdomes." Matth. iv. 25, "and from (the regions
that laye) beyond Jordane." xxvi. 71, "another (wenche) sawe him."
Heb. xii. 4, "ye haue not resisted vnto (the sheddyng of) blood." Ex
pansions b. unwarranted and misleading: Isaiah xl. I, "Comfort my
people (o yee prophets)." xliv. 7, "what shall come to passe (in tyme
long to come)." lxv. 18, "(but the Lord sayth) be glad." Luke xvi.
21, "to be refreshed with the crummes which fel from the rich man's
horde (and no man gaue vnto him)." Rom xii. 17, " Providing afore-
hande thinges honest (not onely before God, but also) in the sight of raen."
Hebr. xiii. 3, " in the body (subject to adversitie)." Rev. ix. ii, " Apol-
lyon (that is to say destroyer)." *
The marginal notes in the Bishops' Bible are very numer
ous, quite a number of them are original, z! e., not taken
from another version, and very many are borrowed, notably
from the Genevan Bible; Eadie says that out of more than
fifty notes on i Corinthians only seven are not reprinted from
the Genevan, f Many of the notes are simply alternative read
ings, but quite a nuraber are exegetical and practical, and
occasionally doctrinal.
The alternative notes are introduced with "some read" or

• These examples are selected from those given by professor Eadie.
t '^)\ix per contra Moulton alleges that "a few, perhaps a dozen, of the Genevan
annotations are retained,"

The Bishops' Bible. 283
simply "or." Other notes say: "Beza readeth it," or "the
Greek readeth."
Gen ii. 19, "Man shewed himself lord of the beasts by giving them
names." 1. 10, " That is, he would liot turn that to their shame which
God had disposed to their wealth." 23, "born," or "brought up and
nourished." Psalm lxviii, 4, "his name everlasting. Jah, a name of
God that signifieth him to be always and other things be of him." Isaiah
lxvi. 3, "He that killeth a sheep for me knetchelh a dog." — Margin:
"that is, cutteth off a dogge's neck." Gen. i. 26, "one God and three
persons." Deut. vii. 12, "This covenant is grounded on his free grace,
therefore in recompensing their obedience he hath respect unto his mercy,
and not to their merits."
The next two are suggested by, and intended to correct, the
Genevan version ;
Rom. viii, 6, " <ppovoiJ6i, and <pp6vrjlxa, Greek words, do not so
much signify wisdome and prudence, as affection, carefulness, and mind
ing of any thing." 18, " Xoyi^^ofiai, signifieth to weigh or to consider;
but because the matter was certain, and St. Paul nothing doubted there
of, it is thus made, I am persuaded." ix. II, "The will and purpose
of God is the cause of the election and reprobation ; for his mercy and call
ing through Christ are the means of salvation; and the withdrawing of
his mercy is the cause of damnation."
The last note is, with the exception of the words in italics
added in the Bishops' Bible, taken from the Genevan which
reads at v. 19:
" As the onelie wil and purpose of God is the chief cause of election
and reprobacion: so his fre mercie in Christ is an inferior cause of salua-
cion and the hardening of the heart, an inferior cause of damnacion."
Philip ii. 12, "Our health hangeth not on our works, and yet are thSy
said to work out their health who do run in the race of justice. For al
though we be saved freely in Christ by faith, yet must we walk by the
w.ay of justice unto our health," iii, 2, Note on "dogs":— " bark against
the trae doctrine " ; on " concision " : — " they who craked thereof," He
brews xiii, 10, " They that 'stick to the ceremonies of the law cannot eat,
that is cannot be partakers of our altar, which is thanksgiving and liber
ality, which two sacrifices or offerings are now only left to the Christians."

2S4 The English Versions.
Thus far very little has been said of the Revision of the
Apocrypha in the Bishops' Bible for the good reason that
practically they were not revised at all, but mostly taken from
the Great Bible which is based not on the Greek text but on
the Latin, The Prayer of Manasses, dropped from the Gen
evan version, occupies its old place between the Story of Bel
and the Dragon, and the first book of Maccabees.
The Bishops' Bible contains before the Title of the New Testament,
" A Table to make playtie the difficultie that is found in S. Matthewe and
S. Luke, touching the generation of Jesus Christ the sonne of Dauid, and
his ryght successour in the kyngdome: whiche discriplion begynneth at
Dauid, and no hygher, because the difficultie is only in his posleritie."
Professor Plumptre (in Smith, Diet, of the Bible, iii, p. 1674) states:
"A most elaborate series of genealogical tables, prepared by Hugh
Broughton, the great Rabbi of the age (of whom more hereafter), but os
tensibly by Speed the antiquary (Broughtmi's name being in disfavor
with the bishops), was prefixed (Strype, Parker, iv. 20; Lightfoot, Life
of Broughton) , ' '
The whole of this paragraph appears to be wrong. The Bishops'
Bible was set forth in 1568 (1570) and 1572. Strype, in the chapter
referred to, distinctly states that his account related to the edition of
1572, which he describes with considerable minuteness, and that the Ge
nealogical Table, bearing the title: "This Table sets out to th.e eye the
Genealogy of Adam ; so passing by the Patriarchs, Judges, Kings, Proph
ets, and Priests, and the Fathers of their time, continuing in lineal descent
to Christ our Saviour," he conjectures to be the archbishop's own
doing, Hugh Broughton did not publish his Concent of Scripture until 1588.
Lightfoot, Life of Broughton, says in the preface that these tables were
published at the last under the name of Speed, " in the form we have
them before our Bibles." These Bibles are not the Bishops', but certain
folio and quarto editions of the Authorized Version. As to Broughton's
estimate of the Genealogical Table prefixed to the New Testament a few
sentences may suffice. He produces the entire Table, and adds:
' ' Of the faults contained in this Table,
" The cockles of the Seashores, and the leaves of a Forest, and the
graijes oi the Popy may its well be numliered as the grosse errours pf this
Table, disgracing the grsurid af oar own Jjape . . ." (p. 591).

The Bishops' Bible. 285
" Of Acls xiii. 20, perverted to ruinate many books,
"our Translation thus speaketh: He gave unto them Judges about
the space of 450 yeares. Here Beza said the text was corrapted : to deny
that we had a New Testament: and the Pope's Translation turneth back
from Joshua, lo Isaiks birth, without all reason. S. Paul meant, after a
sort 450 years. Properly 339 from Joshuahs death to Elies. Within
which times Judges of punishment oppresse an hundred and eleven
years: so arise 450. And 19 texts belong to that text of Saint Paul.
Which anon shall be laid down. Our Bishops absurditie thus appeareth:
Years are from the coming from Egypt unto the building of Salomon's
Temple, l K. vi., 480. Now if the Judges had 450. Thirty of the Wil-
dernesse would make up the number: that the stories of Joshua, Samuel,
Saul and David should be all fables: and no time for David to be in the
world. So our Bishops' Bible might well give place to the alkoran,
pestred with lyes " (p. 597).
"Thus shamefiil king Joas lyeth in the holy scripture; and yet our
right reverend Fathers would make him Father after the flesh to the
King of glory ; who was to make his true Fathers the Patrons of vertue
in their ages: and the Scripture well understood, shewed that in all places.
But weak is the heart of our teachers: to make him father to our Lord,
who was a Cain lo the Prophet that taught of our Lord his kingdom ' '
(p. 592, Life of Broughton).
Comparison of the subjoined passages with the same pas
sages in the Genevan version will show the influence of the
latter; the words in small capitals indicate the changes made
on the Great Bible of 1539. JOHN x. 14-16,
14, I am the good shephearde, and knowe my sheepe, and am knowen
of myne. 15, As YE father knoweth me, euen so knowe I also the fa
ther; and I geue my lyfe for the sheepe, 16, And other' sheep I haue,
which are not of this folde: them also I MUST' bryng, and they shal
heare my voyce, and there shalbe one folde, (and)o'ae sheaphearde,
I Transposition.
2 COR, V. II-I5.
II. KnOWYNG THERFORE THE FEARE OF THE LORD, we PERSUADE
men, for we are knowen f wel yenoughvnto God: I trust also that we are
* To wit, they among the Gentile^, where they were strangers from God's churc)le,
t By imbracing the same fayth whiche we preache to others.

286 The English Versions.
knowen in your consciences. 12, For we commende not our selues
agayne vnto you, but geue you an occasion to GLORY ON OUR behalfe,
that ye may haue somewhat agaynst them whiche GLORY in the face,
and not in the hart. 13. For yf* we be to feruent, to God are we (to
feruent:) Or yfwe keepe measure, for your cause \keepewe measure.)
14. For the loue of Christe constrayneth vs, because we thus iudge, that
yf one dyed for al, then were al dead. 15. And he dyed for al, that
they which liue, shoulde not hencefoorlh liue vnto them selues, but vnto
him which dyed for them, and rose agayne. f
I peter III. 1-7.
I. Lykewyse ye wyues be in subiection to youre husbandes, that euen
they which obey not the word, may without the word be wonne, by the
conuersalion of the wyues: 2. After that they haue beholden
your chaste conversation, (coupled) with feare. 3. Whose apparel LET IT
not be that which is outwarde, with brayded heare, and hangyng on
- of golde, eyther in pultyng on of (gorgeous) apparel : 4, But let the hyd
man (which is) in the hart be without al corruption, OF A meeke and
QUIET spirite; whiche (spirite) is before God a thyng muche set by.
5, For after this manner in the olde tyme dyd the holy women AI.SO,
which trusted in God, tyre them selues, beyng obedient VNto theyr hus
bandes. 6. Euen as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling hym Lorde, whose
daughters ye are as long as YE do wel, and are not afrayde for any ter-
rour. 7. Like wise ye husbandes, dwel with them accordyng to knowl
edge, geuyng honour vnto the wife, as unto the weaker vefsel, and as
vnto them that are heyres also of the grace of lyfe, that your prayers be
not hyndered.
The subjoined examples are designed to illustrate the
conservative character of the Bishops' Bible, the first four
from the Old Testament having been collated with Matthew's
Bible, the differences being indicated in small capitals. Psalm
ex, and Ecclus, xxiv, 14-18 with Matthew's and the Vulgate,
the words in small capitals, indicating the differences in Mat
thew's and the Bishops' and those in italics representing what
has been taken from the Vulgate, while Luke xii, 49-52 gives

* The greke soundeth thus: Whether we be out of wit, to God we be out of wit:
whether we be wyse, to you we be wyse.
t No account is taken of the difference in spelling.

The Bishops' Bible. 287
the text of the Bishops' compared with the Great Bible and
the Genevan version. The text in all the extracts is that
of the Bishops' Bible of 1570 and 1572, described on pages
272-274. 2 SAM. XXIII. 3, 4.
3, The God of Israel spake to > me, euen the moste myghtie of
Israel « sayde, A RULER 3 ouer men, beyng iust, ruling ¦" in the feare
of God, 4. And as ^ the mornyng lyght, when the sunne IS VP,' a ' morn-
yng in whiche are no cloudes (so shal my house be, but not «) as the grasse
of the earth is by brightnesse and rayne.s
1 unto; 2 AND THE STRENGTH; S HE THAT BEARETH RULE; 4 HE THAT RULETH JUST
LY; 5 AND HE shalbe; 6SHYNETH; 7 inSCrt [N; STO LETTE THE BRYGHTNESSE, AND;
9 BY THE VERTUE OF THE RAYGN, JOB XIX. 25-27.
25. For I ara sure* that my redeemer lyueth, and he shal rayse vp at
the latter day them that lye in the dust: 26. And though after my skin
the (wormes) destroy this body, yet shal I see God in my fleshe: 27.
Whom I mee selfe shal see, and mine eyes shall beholde, and none other
for me, though my reynes are consumed within me.
— AND THAT I SHAL RYSE OUT QF THE EARTH IN — DAY, THAT 1 SHAL BE CLOTHED
AGAINE WYTH THYS SKYNNE, AND SE — FLESHE, YEA I MY SELFE SHAL BEHOLDE HYM,
NOT WYTH OTHER, BUT WYTH THESE SAME EYES. MY REYNES ARE — .
ISAIAH XXVI. 19-21.
19. Thy dead men shal lyue, euen as my body shal they ryse agayne:
Awake and syng ye that dwel in dust i for thy deawe is euen as the deaw
of hearbes," and the earth shall cast out them that be vnder her.' 20.
Come* my people, enter thou into thy chaumbers, and shut thy
DOORES ABOUT THEE,5 HYDE THEE SELFE FOR A LITLE WHYLE, VNTYLL
the indignation* be ouerpast. 21. For beholde the Lorde is COM-
MYNG out of his PLACE,' TO visiTE^ the wickednesse of suche' as
dwel vpon earth: the earth also shal disclose her bloods, 'o and
SHALL NO MORE " hyde them that ARE slayne in her. 12
1 The whole first clause reads; But as for .... and oures that be departed,
THEY ARE IN LYFE AND RESURRECCION. ThEY LYE IN THE EARTHE, THEY WAKE, AND
HAUE ioy: ... 2 is A DEW OF LYFE AND LIGHT, 3 BUT THE PLACE OF THE MALYCYOUS
TyHAUNTES is fallen AWAY. •* So GO NOW .... INTO — CHAMBRE; 5 THE DORE TO
THEE; 6 AND SUFFRE NOW THE TWINCKLVNGE OF AN EYE TYLL THE WRATHE. 1 WYLL
GO OUT OF HIS HABITACYON: 8 AND VPSET; 9 THEM THAT; 10 HE WYL DYSCOUER THB
BLOUD THAT SHE HATH DEUOURED; 11 SHE SHAL NEUER; 12 SHE HATH MURTHERED.
* Here is an euident confessing^ of Jobs fayth, with the assured hope of resurrcctioiL

388 The English Versions.
ISAIAH LII. 1-3.
I. Vp Sion, vp, take thy strengtlj vnto thee, put on thine honest ray
ment, O Hierusalem, thou holy citie >: for from this tymje foorth there
shal no vncircumcised nor vncleane person come in thee. 2. Shake thee
from the dust, arise and stand vp, o Hierusalem: Plucke out thy necke
from the bonde, o thou captiue daughter Sion. 3, For thus sayth the
Lorde, Ye are sold for nought, therefore shall ye be redeemed also with
out any money. 1 Thou citie of the holve one.
PSALM ex.
1 . The Lorde sayde vnto my Lord: sit thou on my right hand vntyl I
make thyne enemies thy footstool. 2. The Lorde shal send the rodde of
thy power out of Sion: be thou ruler euen in the middes among thyne
enimies. 3. In the day of thy power shall the' people offer thee 2
freewyl offerings with an holy worship; a tlie deawe of thy birth b is the 3
wombe of the morning. 4. The Lorde sware, and wyll not repent: thou
art a priest for euer after the order of Melchisedech. 5 . The Lorde vpon
¦thy right hande: shal wounde^c euen kings in the day of his wrafh.
6. He shalbe iudge among the Heathen,^ he shall fill the places witli
the dead bodies.e and smite in sunder the heades ouer diuers countries.!
7. He shall drinke of the brooke in the way: therefore shal he lyft vp
his head,
1 thy; 2 the; 3 of thee; 4 smite; 5 them (IMatthew, Day and Seres, 1549). ^•
sphndoribus sanciiiaiis, b. ros naiiuiiaiis tuce. c, vulnerabii, d, judicabit in
gentibus. c. implepit loca cadaveribus, i, percutiet caput super terram mvliam,
Pagiiinus. The numerical references in this Psalm show the differences
between the Bishops' and Matthew, the alphabetical refer
ences the inflnence of Pagninus, and the italicized portions
what has been taken from the Vulgate. The rest may be re
garded as independent scholarship; e. g., the rendering_/?-«-
zvyl offerings (v, 3), appears in the famous version of Tremel
lius (1579) as oblat tones voluntaries.
ECCLUS, XXIV, 14-18.
14. / looke roote in an honorable people, euen in the portion of the
Lorde, and in his heritage, and kept me in the fulnesse of the saintes.
15. I am set vp an hygh, lyk.- a Cedar vpon Libanus, and as a cipers
tree vpon the mount Hermon. 16, I am exalted lyke a Palme tree in

The Bishops' Bible. 289
Cades, and as a Rose plant in Jericho, as a fayre Oliue tree in the f eelde,
and am exalted like ' a Plantane tree by the water syde, 17./ haue giuen
a smell in the streetes, as the Cynamon and Balme that halh so good a
sauour, yea a sweete odour haue I geuen, as it were myrre of the best. I
haue made my dwellynges to smell as it were of Rosin, Galbanum, of
¦Clones,* Insense, and as Libanus when it is not hewen downe, and myne
odour is as tlu pure Balme. 18. As thf Terebint* haue I stretched out
my branches, and my branches are the branches of honour and huyng
fauour. Collated with Matthew, Day and Seres, 1549, with the result that excepting two ad
ditions (1 insert as; a insert and;} the Bishops' is in literal agreement with i^.
The italicized portions of this extract show what has been
taken from the Vulgate. ST. LUKE XU, 49-52.
49. 1 am come to send' fyref on the earth, and what is my desyre,
yf j: it be alieady kindled ? 50. Notwithstanding I must be baptised with
a baptisme, § and howe am I payned'^ till it be ended? 51. Suppose ye
that I am come to send 3 peace on earth ? I tel you, nay, but rather ||
diuision. < 52. For from hencefoorlh there shalbe fine in one house di-
uided, three agaynst two, and two agaynst three.
The two words in italics are the only changes (and in the latter only a change of
tense) from the text of the Great Bible of 1539. The numerical references show the
changes in the Geneva version of 1557: 1 to put; 2 grieved; 3 to give; 4 debate.
The following is an extract taken from the edition of 1572,
which contains a double version of the Psalms, that of the
Great Bible in black letter, and the new version in Roman
letter.

* Terebint, is a harde tree, spreade abrood with long boughes, where out of com- "
meth the gumme, called a pure turpentine, whiche cleanseth the stomacke of pucrifi?d
homors, and purifieth the eares: so the wysedome of God declared in his Scriptures,
spreadeth abrode her manifold branches of knowledge and vnderstanding, to purge
the inwarde eares and corruption of the soule.
t That is the Gospel, whiche is as a vehement fyre, and maketh a change of thynges,
thorow al the worlde.
% That is, but that it be.
g He compareth affliction and his death to baptisme. Matt. 10, d.
II Christ is not the cause that there is destruction for- the Gospel, but the wycked
nesse of worldlynges, whiche by malice contemnyng the Gospel, be at variance with
all that professe it. Matt. 16, a.

290

The English Versions.

psalm cxxx.

Great Bible Version.

The New Version.

I . Out of the deepe haue I called
vnto thee, o Lorde: Lorde heare my
voyce. 2. Oh let thine eares con-
syder wel: the voice of my com-
playnt. 3. If thou Lord, wilt be
extreme to marke what is donne
amisse: oh Lorde who may abyde
it? 4. For there is mercy with
thee; therefore shalt thou be feared.
5. I looke for the Lorde, my soule
dooth wayte for him: in his woorde
is my trust, 6, My soule fleeth vn
to 'the Lorde; before the mornyng
watche (I say) before the morning
watche. 7. O Israel trust in the
Lorde, for with the Lorde there is
mercie: and with him is plenteous
redemption. 8. And he shal re-
deeme Israel : from al his sinnes.

I . Out of the deepe 1 haue called
vnto thee, O God: O IjOrde heare
my voyce. .l. Let thine eares be
attentiue: vnto the voyce of my pe
tition for grace. 3. If thou, o God,
wilt marke what is donne amisse: o
Lorde who can abide it? 4. For
there is pardon of sinne with thee:
that thou mayest be feared. 5. I
haue wayted for God, my soule
haue wayted for him: and I haue
reposed my trust in his woorde.
6. My soule listeth more after God,
then watchmen doo after the morn
ing, I say more then watchraen doo
after the morning. 7, Israel ought
to trust in God, for there is mer
cy with God: and there is plen-
teousness of redemption with him.
8, And he wyl redeeme Israel: from
all his sinnes.

About ten years after the publication ofthe Revised edition
ofthe Bishops' Bible, Gregory Martin in a work entitled:
A Discoverie of the Manifold Corruptions of the Holy Scriptures by
the Heretikes of our daies, specially the . English Sectaries, and of their
foule dealing therein, by partial ^ false translations to the advantage
of their heresies, in their English Bibles vsed and authorised since the
time of tlie Schisme, etc., Rliemes, 'John Fogny, 1^82, made an indiscrim
inate onslaught on all the English vereions and adverting to their num
ber exclaims "he must learn what English translation is read in their
church (which were hard to know, it changeth so ofi) before we may be
held to accuse them of false translation, how shall we be sure that they
will stand to any of their translations? From the first read in their
Church, they flee to that which is now read and from that again to the
later Genevan Bibles, neither read in their churches nor of greater au
thority among them, and we doubt nol that Ihey will as fast flee from

The Bishops' Bible. 291
this to the former again. " * The three translations referred to are, of
course, the Great Bible, the Genevan and the Bishops'. Fulke an
swered him in A Defence of the sincere and true Translations of the
holie Scriptures into the English tong, against the maiufolde cauils,
fr'iuolous quarels, and impudent slaunders of Gregorie Martin, one of
the readers of Popish diuinitie in the trayterous Seminarie of Rhemes
etc., London etc., i^Sj. There is much ability displayed by both,
though ill most instances Fulke gets the better of his adversary; the two
books (which may be read substantially in one, in the Parker's Society
edition) shed much light on a large number of passages, as they were un
derstood and interpreted at the time, and are very useful. His defence
of the translators of the English is very noble, to wit these passages: " We
never go from that text and ancient reading which all the fathers used
and expounded; but we translate that most usual text, which was first
printed out of the most ancient copies that could be found ; and if any be
since found, or if any of the ancient fathers did read otherwise than the
usual copies, in any word that is in any way material, in annotation,
commentaries, readings, and sermons, we spare not lo declare it as occa
sion serveth  We never flee from the Hebrew and Greek in any
place, much less in places of controversy: but we always hold, as near as
we can, that which the Greek and Hebrew signifieth. But if in places
of controversy we take witness of the Greek or vulgar Latin, where the
Hebrew or Greek may be thought ambiguous; I trust no wise man will
count this a flight from the Hebrew and Greek, which we always trans
late aright, whether it agree with the Seventy or vulgar Latin, or no."f
The spirit and manner in which controversies were con
ducted towards the close of the sixteenth century may be il
lustrated by a passage which has a direct connection with an
alleged interpolation in the Bishops' Bible, and therefore is
not out of place here.
Martin says: "Again, Saul confounded the Jews, proving (by confer
ring one scripture with another), that this is very Christ." These words
"by conferring one scripture with another," are added more than is in
the Greek text; in favor of their presumptuous opinion, that conference
of scriptures is enough for any man to understand them, and so to reject
both the commentaries of the doctors, and exposition of holy councils,
and catholic church: it is so much more, I say, than is in the Greek text,
* /. c. pp. 9-11. t pp. 99, loo.

292 The English Versions.
and a notorious corruption in their bible, read daily iii their churches as
most autheiitical.
[The only edition of the Bishops' Bible known to have the obnoxious clause is that
of 1584, which Martin could not have used, because he wrote iri 1582. There are two
editions of the Bible of the year 1577, Jngge's quarto of the Bishops', and Barker's
fdlio ofthe Genevan. The Genevan has the clause in the margin.]
Fulke's answer to the charge is this: " Either you make a loud lie, or
else some one print which you have of the Bishops' bible, which you call
Bib, i^TJ, hath put thait into the line, that should be the note in the mar
gin. For, of four translations that I have, never a one hath that addition.
The Bishops' bible hath that, Chapt. ix. 22, thus: " But Saul increased
tlie more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus,
affirming that this was very Christ." The Geneva bible thus: " But Saul
increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews that dwelt at
Damascus, Confirming that this was the Christ," wbere the note in the
margin upon the word, "confirming," is this: "proving by the confer
ence of the Scriptures." Thomas Matthew's Bible translateth that verse
thus: " But Saul increased iii strengths *"<! confounded the Jews which
dwelt at Damascus, aSirrtling that this was very Christ." Master Cov
erdale's bible, 1562, hath it thus: "But Saul incresised the more in
strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Danlascus, affirming
that this was very Christ. " Thus are all our tratlslations without that
addition, which, although it is hot to be borne in the text, yet is no heret
ical addition, except you count it heresy to prove a thing by conference
of Scripture .
The conclusion of the controversy may likewise conclude
this chapter on the Bishops' Bible:
Martin: "To conclude: are not your scholars, think you, much bound
unto you, for giving them, instead of God's blessed word and his holy
Scriptures, such translations heretical, judaical, profane, false, negligent,
fantastical, new, naught, monstrous? God open their eyes to see, and
mollify your hearts to repent of all your falsehood and treachery, both
that which is manifestly convinced against you and cannot be denied, as
also that which may by some shew of answer be shifted in the sight of the
ignorant, but in your consciences is as manifest as the other ! ' '
Fulke: " Happy and thrice happy hath our English nation been, since
God hath given learned translators, to express in our mother tongue the
heavenly mysteries of his holy word, delivered to his church in the He
brew and Greek languages. Who, although they have in some matters
of no importance unto salvation, as men, been deceived ; yet have they

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 293
faithfully delivered the whole substance of Ihe heavenly doctrine, con
tained in the holy scriptures, without any heretical translations or wilful
corruptions; and in the whole bible, among them all, have committed as
few oversights for anything that you can bring, and of less importancej
thail you have done only in the New Testament; where, beside so mariy
omissions, even out of your own vulgar Latin translaticirt, yoU have tsikeii
upon you to alter that you fciund in your text, and translate that which
is only in the itiargin, and is read but ih few written copies: as for Italia
you say Attalia, noted before Heb. xiii., for placuerunt you translate
latuerunt, 2 Pet. II. , for coinquinationis, which is in the text, you trans
late coinquinationes, which was found but in one only copy by Henle-
nius, as the other but one or two of thirty diveirs copies, most written." *

CHAPTER XII.
THE RHEMES TESTAMENT ./^ND DOUAY BIBLE.
This is the Roman Catholic Version of the Scriptures exe
cuted by English refugees of the Roman Catholic persuasion
in the reign of Elizabeth. The three chief pronsioters of this
translation, referred to in the advertisement to the Douay Bi
ble as Ires diversi ejus nationis eruditissimi theologi, are said to
have been, on the atithority of Possevin,f Williarn Allen,
Gregory Martin arid Richard Bristow.
William Allen who had been canon of York, and principal
of St. Mary's Hall, Oxford, in the reign of Queen Mary, fled
to Louvain, vvas made successively doctor of divinity, a canon
of Cambray and of Rhemes, and bore a prominent part in
the establishment of the Romish Seminary for English stu
dents at the last place. Bp. Andrewe's says of him: "His
forehead was surely flint, and his tongue a razor. " |

* Defense, etc. p. 591.
t Ant. Vos&cv'mi Apparatus Sacerl. 225. Cologne, 1608, fol.
X Tortura Torti, p. 143.

294 The English Versions.
Gregory Martin, already referred to in the chapter on the
Bishops' Bible (ad finem), was a native of Maxfield in Sussex,
one of the original scholars of St. John's College, Oxford,
where he took his M.A. in 1564, and reputed the best
Hebrew and Greek scholar of his college. Becoming a
pervert to Popery, he went to Douay in 1570, and became
a divinity reader in the Seminary at Rhemes. He was the
chief translator of the entire Bible, an able controversial
writer, and died in 1584, his death, it is said, having been
hastened by his incessant toil.
Richard Bristow, a native of Worcester, successively M.A.
of Christ Church, and Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, ab
jured Protestantism in 1569, and became a reader of divinity,
first at Douay, and then at Rhemes. The notes in the New
Testament are said to have been prepared by him, while,
Thomas Worthington, also an Oxford man, and afterwards
president of the Seminary at Rhemes, is reported to have pre
pared the annotations and tables for the Old Testament.
The New Testament appeared in 1582, in quarto, and its
title page reads thus: THE
NEW TESTAMENT
OF JESUS CHRIST, TRANSLATED FAITHFULLY INTO ENGLISH
out of the authentical Latin, according to the best corrected copies of the
same, diligently conferred vvith the Greeke and other editions in diuers
languages: With Arguments of bookes and chapters. Annotations, and
other necessarie helpes,for the better vnderstanding of the text, and spe
cially for the discouerie of the corrvptions of diuers late translations,
and for cleering the controversies in religion, of these daies:
IN THE ENGLISH COLLEGE OF RHEMES.
Psalm 118.
Da mihi intellectuni, Sf scrutabor legem tuam, Sf custodiam illam in toto
corde meo. That is,
Giue me vnderstanding, and I will search thy law, and will keepe il
vvith my vvhole hart.

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 295
St. Aug. tract, 2, in Epist, Joan.
Omnia, qtue leguntur in Scripturis Sanctis, ad instructionem &• salutem
nostram intenti oportet audire: maxime tamen memories commendanda
sunt, quce aduersus Htereticos valent plurimiim: quorum insidiic, iii-
firmiores quosque dr* negligcntiores circumuenire non cessant.
That is,
Al things that are readde in holy Scriptures, we must hear with great at
tention, to our instruction and saluation: but those things specially must
be commended to memorie, which make most against Heretilces: whose
deceites cease not to circumuent and beguile al the weaker sort and
the more negligent persons.
PRINTED AT RHEMES, HY lOHN I-OGNY.
1582.
Cum Privilegio,
The Preface, which is quite lengthy, is a document of con
summate skill and ingenious special pleading. It makes no
reference to the use of the earlier English translations, and
contemporary versions, to which the translators of this version
were under very great obligations, as will be shown hereafter.
This preface treats of three points: i. OF the translation of
Holy Scriptures into the vulgar tongues, and namely into
English, 2. Of the causes why this New Testament is trans
lated according to the ancient vulgar Latin text. 3. Of the
manner of translating the same.
" Now since Luther's revolt also," they say, "diuers learned Catho-
lilies for the more speedy abolishing of a number pf false and impious
translations put forth by sundry sectes, and for the better preseruation or
reclaiine of many good soules endangered thereby, haue published tlie
Bible in the several languages of almost al the principal prouinces of the
Latin church: no other bookes in the world being so pernicious as heret
ical translations of the Scriptures, poisoning the people vnder colour of
diuine authoritie, and not many other remedies being more soueraine
against the same (if it be v.sed in order, discretion, and humilitie) then
the true, faithfiil, and sincere interpretation opposed therevnto;
" Which causeth the Holy Church not to forbid vtterly any Catholi(
translation, though she allow not the publishing or reading of any abso.

296 The English Versions.
lutely and without exception, or limitation : knowing by her diuine and
most sincere wisedom, how, where, when, and to whome these her Mais-
ters and Spouses giftes are to be bestowed to the most good of the faith
ful; and therefore neither generally permittelh that which musle needs
doe hurt to the vnworthy, nor absolutely condemneth that which maye
do much good to the worthy. Where vpon, the order which many a
iust man wished before, was taken by the Deputies of the late famous
councel of Trent in this behalfe, and confirmed by supreme authoritie,
that the lioly Scriptures, though truly and calholikely translated into vul
gar tonges, yet may not be indifferently readde of al men, nor of any
other then such as haue expresse licence therevnto of their lawful ordi
naries, with good testimonie from their curates aud confessors, that they
be humble, discrete and deuout persons, and like to lake much good, and
no harm thereby 
.... " we must not imagin that in tlie primitiue church either euery
one that vnderstoode the learned tonges wherein the Scriptures were writ
ten or other languages into which they were translated, might without
reprehension, read, reason, dispute, turne and tosse the scriptures; or that
our forefathers suffred euery .scholemaister, scholar, or grammarian that
had a little Greeke or Latin, straight to take in hand the holy Testament:
or that the translated Bibles into the vulgar tonges were in the hands of
euery husbandman, artificer, prentice, boles, girles, mistresse, maide, man;
that they vvere sung, plaied, alleaged, of euery tinker, tauerner, rimer,
minstrel: that they were for table taike, for alebenches, for boales and
barges, and for euery prophane person and companie. No, in those bet
ter times men were neither so il, nor so curious of them selues, so to abuse
the blessed booke of Christ: neither was there any such easy meanes be
fore printing was iiiuented, lo disperse the copies into the handes of euery
man, as now there is.
"They were then in libraries, monasteries, colleges, churches, in bish
ops', priests, and some deuout principal laymens houses and handes; who
vsed them with feare and reuerence, and specially such partes as pertained
to good life and maners, not inedling, but in pulpit and schooles (and that
moderately to) with the hard and high mysteries and places of greater dif
ficultie. The poore ploughman could then, in labouring the ground, .sing
the hymnes and psalmes either in knowen or vnknowen languages, as
they heard them in the holy church, though they could neither reade nor
knowe the sense, meaning, and mysteries ofthe same."
After dwelling on the past glories of that golden age of blissful ignor
ance, and the false and corrupt translations of the Protestants, and stating

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 297
that compassion moved them to supply their beloued countrymen with
the unadulterated truth in their translation in which they profess to haue
kept "as neere as is possible to our text, and to the very words and
phrases which by long vse are made venerable, " as well as annotations
designed " to shew the studious reader in most places perteiniug to the
coiitrouersies of this time, both the heretical corruptions and false deduc
tions, and also the Apostolike tradition, the exposition of the holy fathers,
the decrees ofthe Catholike Church and most ancient Councels,"
they give the following reasons for their preference of the Old
Vulgar Latin text to the common Greek text:
1. It is so ancient that it was used in the church above 1300 yeai-s
ago 
2. Il is that .... by all probability, which St. Jerome afterward cor
rected according to the Greek 
3. It is the same which St. Augustine so commendeth 
4. Which for the most part ever since hath been used in the Church's
service, and used and expounded by the Fathers 
5. Which the Holy Council of Trent .... hath declared and defined
only of all other Latin translations to be authentical 
6. It is the.grauest, sincerest, of greatest majestie, and the least parlial-
itie 
7. It is so exact and precise according to the Greeke, both the phrase
and the word, that delicate heretics therefore reprehend it of rudeness. . . .
8. The aduersaries themselues, namely Beza, prefer it before all the
rest 
9. In the rest there is such diuersitie and discussion, and no end of
reprehending one another, and translating every man according to his
fancy 
10. It is not only better than all other Latin * translations .but than the
Greek text itself in those places where they disagree 
As to their manner of translating they say:
"In this our translation, because we wish it to be most sincerely as be
commeth a Catholike translation, and haue endeauored so to make it: we
are very Precise and religious in folowing our copie, the old vulgar ap
proued Latin: not only iu sense, which we hope we alwaies doe, but
• Eadie says that a certain cardinal confessed that he had gone over the Vulgate
once, but vowed never to read it again, lest his Latinlty should be spoiled.

298 The English VER'SiOT«s..
sometimes in the very words also and phraae-s, which rnay seeme lo the
vulgar reader and to common English eares .tiot yet acqujtinted iherewith,
ri.idene.sse or ignorance; but lo the discrete reader .that Ueeplj' weigheih and
considereth the importance of sacred words and speeches .... we doubt
not but our consideta<tion and doing therein, shal seeme reasonable and
necessarie  "
Tiie following they call " traiislatioiis." Atiifn, Jiin^n I say unto you,
and argue if the Enj;lish retain Alleluia in Ihsir v.ersiqns (though they
translate it " Praise ye the Lord " in the Book of Common Prayer), as well
ts Hosanna, tiaca and Belial, why should they not retain Corbana and
Parascue. "Moreover," they continue, '¦'we presume .not in bard places
to nioUifie the speaches and phrases, but religiously keepe them word for
word, and point for point, for fear of missing, or restraining the sense of
the Holy Ghost to our phantssie, .as IJph. vi., 'Against the spiritiials of
wickedness in the celestials, ' and ' what to me and Ihee woman ? ' sind
I Pet. ii., 'As infant euen now borne, rea-sonable, milke without guile de-
sireye.' We do so place, 'reasonable,' of purpose, that it may be indif
ferent both to infants going' before, as in our Latin text: o^ to millce th^t
foUoweth after, as in other Latin copies and in the Greeke. Iq. iii., we
translate, ' The spirit breatheth where he w.U, etc. ' leaning it indifferent
to signifie either the holy Ghost, or winde : which the Protestants tr^s-
laling, 'minde,' take away the other sense more common and vsual in
the ancient fathers. . . , ."
" We adde the Greeke in the margent for diuers causes. Sometime
when the sense is hard, that .the learned reader .may poosider of it and see
if he can helpe himselfe better then by our translation. Item we adde
the Latin word sometime in the margent, when either we can not fully
expresse it (as Act. viii., ' They looke order for Stevens funeral,' and, ' Al
take not his word ') or when the reader might thinke, it can not be as we
translate, as, Luc. viii., 'A storme of winde descended in to the lake, and
they were filled,' and Io. v., ' when lesus knew that he had now a long
time,' meaning, in his infirmitie."
" This precise folowing of our Latin text, in neither adding nor dimin
ishing, is Ihe cause why we say not in the title of the gospels in the first
page, S. Matthew, S. Mar., S. John: because it is so neither in Greeke
nor Latin, though in the toppes of the leaues folowing, where we may
be bolder, we adde S. Matthew etc. to satisfie the reader 
" Item we giue the Reader in the places of some importance, another
reading in the margent, specially when the Greeke is agreeable to the
same, e. g. as lohn iv., transiet de morte ad vitam, where other copies
have tranijt, as in the Greeke.

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 299
"We binde not our selues to the pointes of any one copie, print, or
¦ edition of the vulgar Latin, in places of no conliouersie, but folow the
pointing most agreeable to the Greeke and to the fathers commentaries,
e. g. Coll. i. 10, Ambulantes digne Deo, per omnia placentes, walking
worthy of God, in all things pleasing, Eph. i. 17, they pointed: Deus
Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Pater gloria, as in the Greeke, and St.
Chr'yseostome and St. Hieorome.
' ' We translate sometime the word that is in the Latin margent, and
not that in the text, where by the Greeke or the fathers we see it is a
manifest fault of the writers heretofore, that mistook one word for an
other. As in fine not infide, I Pet. iii. "i; presentiam aot press cientiam,
2 Pet. V. 16; latuerunt tiot placuerunt, Heb. xiii."
Their way of proving on critical grounds the superiority of
the Latin translation to the Greek original is certainly very
unique. As a rule, they say, the Latin agrees with the
Greek; if it differs from the common Greek text, it agrees
with some Copy,
"As may be seen in Stephens' margin," and that the adversaries fre
quently concede the superiority of the marginal readings; that where the
Greek goes against the Latin, quotations from the Greek fathers are sure
to sustain il; and where these fail, conjecture may come in to adapt the
Greek to the Latin; that where conjecture and the Greek fathers fail, the
Latin fathers are almost sure to sustain the Vulgate, and if they should
have a different reading the cause is to be sought in " the great diuersitie
and multitude " of the Latin copies. Admit the validity of these critical
principles, and the superiority of the text of the Vulgate to the Greek text
is established. The notes are simply furious, and ifi the words of a Roman Catholic
writer, " the translation is accompanied with virulent annotations against
the Protestant religion, and manifestly calculated to support a sysferfi,
not of genuhje Catholicity, but of tratealpine popery.''
I am undecided whether the actual translation of the Rhem
ish New Testament is inconsistent with the express declaration
of the translators, or in agreement with it, for as a matter of
fact, their text agrees in some particulars, and especially in
the use of the definite article, with the Greek, and in spite of

300 The English Versions.
their professed deification of the Vulgate, even as authorized
by the Council of Trent, and their perpetual fulminations
against heretics and adversaries, especially in the notes, they
are under great obligations to the Genevan mouse (Beza), the
Genevan version, the Bishops' Bible, and to Wiclif
Most of the characteristics of this translation will appear
from a consecutive passage, taken from the edition of 1582,
with the text of the Vulgate (taken from Carriere's Commen
tary, 1 740) placed over it in Italics.
MATTHEW III. I-I2.
I . In diebus illis, venit Joannes Baptista prcedicans in deserto Judcece,
And in tljose dnyes comelh • lohn the Baptist preaching in the desert
of levvrie,^
2. Et dicens: Panitentiam agile: appropinquavit enim Regnum Ca
lor um, & saying, Do penance : for the Kingdom of Heauen 3 is < at hand.
3. Hic est enim qui diet us est per Isaiam Prophetam, dicentem. Vox
For this is he that was spoken of s-by Esay the Prophet, saying: a
clamantis in deserto: Parate viam Domini: rectas facite semitas ejus.
voyce of one crying in the desert, jurepare ye the way of our i^ Lord, make
straight his pathes.
4. Ipse autem loannes habebat vestimentum de pilis camelorum, <§r^
And ' the sayd lohn had his s garment of camels heare, & a girdle
zonam p.lliceam circa lumbos suos: esca autem ejus erat locusia, &= mel
silvestre.of a skinne about his loynes: and his meat was locustes and vvilde honie.
5. Tu>u exibat ad eum Jerosolyma Qf omnisjudcea, &' omnis regio
Then went forth ' to him Hierusalem & al levvrie, & al the couu-
circa Jordanem:
trey '» about Iordan:
6. Et baptizabantur ab eo in Jordane, confitentes peccata sua. '
& vvere baptized of him in Iordan, confessing their sinnes.
7. Videns autem multos Pharisteorum. &' Sadduccsorum, venientes act
And seeing many of the Pharisees & Sadducees coming to his bap-
baptismum suum, dixit eis: Progenies viperarum, quis demonstravit
tism, he sayd to them: Ye vipers brood," who hath shewed '* you to flee
vobis fugere a ventura ira ?
from the wrath to come ?

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 301
8. Facite ergo fructum, dignum pcenitentia.
Y'eld " therfore finite worthie ¦¦' of penance.
9. Et ne velitis dicere intra vos: Patrem habemus Abraham: dico
And delite '* not to say within your selues, we haue Abraham to our
enim vobis quoniam potens est Deus de lapidibus istis suscitare filios
father, for I tel '^ you that God is able of these stones to raise vp children
AbrahcE. to .\braham.
10. Jam, enim securis ad radicem arborum posita est. Omnis ergo
For now the axe is put to the roote of the trees. Euery tree ther-
arbor, quce non facit fructum bonum, excidetur, dr« in ignem mittetur.
fore that doth not yeld good fraite, shal be cut downe, & cast into the
fyre. 1 1 . Ego quidem baptizo vos in aqua in ptenitentiam: qui autem post
1 in deede baptize you in water vnto " penance, but he that shal
me venturus est, fortior me est, cujus non sum dignus calceamenta por-
come after me, , is stronger than I, whose shoes I am not worthie to
tare: ipse vos baptizab'it in Spiritu Sancto, et igni,
beare, " he shal baptize you in the Holy Ghost & fire. "
12. Cujus ventilabrum in manu sua: &= permundabit aream suam: &*
Whose faniie^o is in his hand, and he shal cleane purged" his
congregabit tr'iticum suum in horreum, paleas autem comburet igni in-
floore: and he wil gather his wheate into the 22 barne, but the chaffe he
extinguibili ,
wil burne with vnquencheable fire.
1 Conieih, influenced by the Greek, for the Latin may be the present or the per
fect, a lewrie, influenced by tlie English versions, Tyndale, Great Bible, Bishops',
and Geneva. 3 heaven, departure from the Latin and conforming to the English
idiom. 4 is, conforms to the English idiom in all the versions from Tyndale. 6 was
spoken of, the past tense in the Great Bible, Genevan (1557) and the Bishops', 6 of
our Lord, a departure from the Vulgate to the place in Isaiah xl. 3, where that ren
dering is given. 1 And, the rendering of autem fluctuates: here it is and, in ver. 1 1
but. where the Greek 8e requires it. In ver. i, where 8b is not adversative, they
translate and. * his garment, influenced by the English versions after Tyndale and
the Greek, but not required by the Latin, fl wentforth, original. 10 " Al the cuntre
aboute iordan," Wiclif, in opposition to region. 11 Brood, original. 12 shewed you.
Wiclif 13 yeld, original. 14 worthie, Wiclif 15 delite, original. 16 tel, original.
n vnto, Great Bible, Bishops', Wiclif, "in to." 18 "I am not worthi to bere,"
Wiclif 19 " in the holi goost and fier," Wiclif 20 whose fanne, Tyndale, Great Bible.
Bishops*. Ventilabrum does not necessarily signify fan, it may mean any implement
for winnowing grain, 21 cleane purge, after Wiclifs " fulli clense," or the Bishops'
" throughly purge," 22 into ihe barne, eH Trjv dTtoQrJHTfV, Great Bible,

302

The English Versions.

The dependence of this version on Wiclifs may be illustrated
separately by the presentation of both in parallel columns, the
choice of the passage is made at random.
MARK XIV. 17-26,

Wiclif, 1380.
1 7 and whanne euenlide was come,
he cam With the XII.
18 arid whanne thei satert at the
mete and eten ihesus seide, triili
I seye to yhou that oon of yhbu
that etelh with me schal bitraie
me/
19 and' thei bigiinen to be iitty, &
to seye to hym ech bi hem silf,
where I?
20 which seide to hem, oon of the
twelue, that puttith the hond
with me in the plater,
21 and sothli ¦ mannes sone goith as
it is writun of him, but wo to
that man bi whom ftianneS sone
schal lie bitrayede, il were good
to hym, if thilke' man hadde
not be borun,
22 and while thei etun, ihesus took
breed and blessid and brak and
ghaf it to hem and seide, take
yhe, this is my bodi,
23 a;nd whanne he hadde take the
cuppe he dede thankyngis and
ghaf to hem, and alle drunken
therof,
24 and he seide lo hem, this is my
blood bf the newe testamente,
Whiche schal be schedde for
Many,
25 truli I seye to yhou, for nowe I
schal not drynke of this fruyt of
vyne in to' that day, whanne I

Rhemes, Ij8z.
And when euen vvas Corrie, he 17
commeth with the Twelue.
And when they vvere sitting at 18
the table and eating, lesvs said.
Amen I say to you, that one of
you shal betray me, he ' that
eateth vvith me.
But they begati to be Sad, and to 19
say lo hitn seueraily,2 Is it I ?
VVho said to them. One of the 20
Twelue, he that dippeth ' vvith
riie his hand in the dish.
and the Sonne of man in deede 21
goeth as it is written of him, but
vvo to that man by whom the
Sonne of man .shal be belraye<3,
it were good for him, if that
man had nol been borne.
And whiles they were eating, 22
lesvs tooke bread: and blessing*
brake, and gaue to them, and
sjiid. Take, Tliis is ray Body.
And taking the chalice, * giuing 23
thankes he gaue to them, and
they al dranke of it.
and he Said to them. This is my 24
blovd of the nevv testament, that
shal be shed for many.
Amen I say to you, that now I 25
wil not drinke of the fruite of
the vine vntil ^ that day when I

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 303
sclial drinke it new in Ihe rewm'' shal drinke il nevv in the king-
ofgod, dom of God.
26 and whanne the ympne* was And an hymne being said,* they 26
seid they wenten oul in to the went forth into Mount-oliuet.
hill of olyues.
I soilili, truly, a ihilke, that 3 in io:= I o SdQiaoy, 2 Singulaiipn. 3 dtp-
until. ¦) rewm, realm, fi ympne, hymn, peth, the English idiom in all the subse
quent versiohs. 4 benedicens, fi acceptt
calice, 6 Until, in all the English versions.
7 dearly Intended t6 express past action.
The following passages giving the characteristics of this
version require no comment:
a. The use of the definite article in — r Thess. i. 3, the charity, the en
during of hope. Matth. iv. 5, the piiinacle; xxvui. 16, the mount. Eph.
ii. 3, as also the rest. Rev. ii. I3, clothed in the White robes.
Its omission, in Luke ii. 9, an angel of our Lord. Matth. ii. 13, an
angel. John iv. 27, talked with a woman.
b. Literal renderings: Rom. viii. 21, liberty ofthe glory. 2 Cor. iv. 4,
go'spel of the glory. Eph. iv. 24, desires of error; 24, holiness of the
truth. Phil. iii. 21, body of our humility; body ofhis glory. 2 Thess.
i. 7, angels of his power. Col. i. 13, Son ofhis love.
c. Translations requiring translation. Matth. i, 17, transmigration of
Babylon; Vi, II, siipersubstantial bresid ; xvi, 26, what permutation; xxvii.
62, day which is afler the parascelie. Mark iii, 6, made a consultation;
V, 35, they come to the archsyriagogrie ; xv, 46, wrapped him in the sili-
don. Luke i. 6, walking in all the commaundements and jnistifications
of our Lord ; ix. 46, there entered a cogitation into them ; xxii , 7, the day
of the Azymes .... the pasche should be killed; 12, He will shew you
a great refectory adorned; 18, I Will not drink 6f the generation of the
vine. John ii. ir. What to me and thee Woman? v. 2, aiid there is at
Hierusalem upon Probatica a pond; vi. 45, And al shall be docible of
God; vii. 5, Seenopfigia- was it hand; Acts i. 2, he was assumpted; xxiii.
14, by execratioti we haue vowed. Rotti. i. 30, odible to God; ii. 25, if
thou be a preuaricator of the law, thy circulncision is become prepuce.
I Cor. V. 7, purge the old leaven, that ye may be a new paste as you are
Azymes; x. 11, written lo our correption; xi. 4, dishonesteth his head.
2 Cor. vii. I, from all inquination of the flesh and spirit; xi. 2, for I haue
despoused you; xiii. I, seek you an experiment of him that speaketh in
me. Gal. v. 11, the scandal ofthe crosse evacuated; 21, ebrieties, com-
messations. Eph. ii. 6, sit with him in the celestials; iii. 6, coricorporat

3P4 The English Versions.
and comparticipanl; 14, of whom all palernitie in the heavens; iv. 30,
and contristate not the holy Spirit of God; vi. 12, against the rectors of
the world of this darkenes, against the spirituals of wickednes in the ce
lestials. Philipp. ii. 7, exinanifed himself; iii. 10, the vertue ofhis resur
rection, and the society of his passions, configured to his death; iv. 18,
an acceptable host. Coloss. iii. 16, spiritual canticles, in grace singing
in your hartes to God. 2 Thess. ii. 8, eaten bread of any man gratis.
I Tim. ii. 6, not a neophyte; v. 6, For she that is in deliciousenes, liuing
is dead. 2 Tim. i. 1 1, an Apostle and Maister of the Gentiles; 14, keep
the good depositum; iv. 4, from the truth certes they will auert. Titus
u. 3, old women, in like maner, in holy atthre. Philem. 6, evident in
the agnitioii of al good; 24, coadiutors. Heb. ii. 17, that he might re-
propitiate the sinnes of the people; iii. 13, obdurate with the fallacie of
sinne; 15, obdurate your hartes as in that exacerbation; iv. 4, left a sab-
batisme for the people of God; v. 9, and being consummate; vi. 7, grasse
commodious for them by whom it is tilled; vii. 19, introduction of a bet
ter hope; viii. 5, according to the exanipler which was shewed thee; ix. i,
a secular sanctuarie ; 3, Sancta Sanctorum ; 23, examplers of the coeles-
tials; 28, to exhaust the sinnes of many; x. 16, in their mindes vvill I
superscribe them; xii. 2, the consummator lesus, vvho, ioy being pro
posed vnlo him, sustained the crosse, contemning confusion; xiii. 7, Re
member your prelates ; 16, For with such hostes God is promerited. James
i. 15, sinne when it is consummate, ingendreth death; 17, no transmuta
tion, nor shadowing of alteration; 23, countenance of his natiuity; iii. 4,
turned about with a lifle Sterne whither the violence of the director wil ;
6, inflameth the wheele of our natiuity. I Peler i. 13, not configurated
to the former desires; 17, in feare conuerse ye the time of your peregrina
tion: 22, in the sincere loue of the fraternilie from the hart; ii. 13, be
subject therfore lo euery humane creature for God; iii. 7, as vnto the
weaker feminine vessel imparting honovr; iv. 12, strange ui the feruoui
which is to you for a tentation; 13, but communicating with the passions
of Christ; v. 5, insinuate hu.militie one to another; 2 Pet. ii. 13, coinquina-
tions and spottes, flowing in delicacies; iii. 13, in which iustice inhabiteth.
I John i. 3, our societie may be with the Father, and with his Sonne ; ii.
14, 1 write unto you infantes; iii. i. See what maner of charitie the Falhei
hath giuen vs; * iv. 3, euery spirit that dissolueth lesvs. 2 John 9,
Euery one that reuolteth, and persisteth not in the doctrine of Christ.
? They render ayOllCI] uniformly " charity " which lord Bacon thought a mark
of " discretion an.! lenJenie^" ofthis version.

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 305
3 John 9, but he that loueth lo beare primacie among them. Jude 4, pre
scribed vnto this iudgement .... transferring the grace of God into riot-
ousnes, and denying the onely Dominator; 19, which segregate them
selues. Rev. i. 10, on the Dominical day; 15, and his feete like to
latten (Wiclif); ii. 14, to cast a scandal before the children of Israel; iii.
17, a miser, and miserable; ix. 11, in Latin hauing the name Exterminans;
A. 7, shal be consummate, as he hath euangelized; xiv. 11, take the char
acter ofhis name; xix. 18, the flesh of tribunes (Wiclif); xxi. 6, the foun
tain of the water of life, gratis, also xxii. 17; xxii. 2, tree for the curing
of the Gentiles; 14, blessed are they that wash their stoles. ___^
The last passage shows that the Rhemish translators stopped
short at no absurdity however great, as long as it was in the
\''iilgate; it is impossible to tell what edition they used, but it
must have been one of the very worst, for quite a number of
copies read Beali qui lavant stolas suas in sanguine Agni.
There are nevertheless redeeming features, and it is only fair
to point to some renderings less narrow, and even felicitous in
spite of the absurdities which often mar otherwise good transla
tions. Moreover it should be remembered that the Latin ofthe
New Testament is of very ancient date, and that many of its
readings, being derived from early documents, are of critical
v.ilue, and the renderings in the Rhemish New Testament occa
sionally, in perfect argreement with the most authentic Man-
urjcripts. Opening the Rhemish version at Mark viii, 22, they
render, "and they come to Bethsaida," after Wiclif, and
against all the other English versions, the Authorized in
cluded. That reading is fully sustained by the best MSS.
and the most ancient versions. But in the very next clause
' ' rogabant eum " of the Vulgate, perpetuated in all the Eng
lish versions is in defiance of the Greek napoLKaXov6iv . In
Acts .Kvi. 7, the Rhemish rendering: "and the spirit of Jesus
permitted them not " is supported by the best MSS. against
all the English versions except Wiclif and the Westminster.
In John xi. 41, the Rhemish "they tooke therfore the stone
away" (Wiclif) is right, and all the other English versions

3o6 The English Versions.
except the Westminster have given an interpolation in the
clause "from the place where the dead was layd," A. V.
The same holds good in Rom. xv. 29, i Pet. iii. 15, i John
iii, 14, and a number of other places,
Ofthe freer renderings the following are instances:
Matth. viii. 29, What is between us? (quid nobis et tibi); ix. 8, haue
a good heart (confide); xxi. 41, he will bring to naught (male perdet).
John xii. 2, them that sat at the table, (discumbentibus); 6, not because
he cared for the poor (non quia de egenis pertinebat ad eum). Acts xvii.
5, of the rascal sort (de ihttgs):
As exainpfes of felicitoti'S renderings of a genuine Saxon
ring these six fftay suffice:
Mark v. 39, why make you this a doe ? Luke xi. 25, swept with a
besom and trimWied; xviii. 2, fearfed not God arid of man made no ac
count. Acts xvii. 1-8, what is it that this V^'Ord-soWer would say ? I Cor.
viii, r, it is a foul thing for a woman to speak in the church.- Rev. ii.
17, a white counter.
The following liist of words in the Authorized Version de
rived from the Rhemish has been prepared by Dr. Eadie:
iVIatlh, xivi, 26, blessed; 30, hymn, Luke ix, 31, decease. Rom, i.
28, reprobate; ii, 5,. impenitent; v, 8, coftiinendeth. James i, 5, up-
braidelh not; 2t, the engrafted word, i John- ii. 20, iinclioii from the
holy one. In addition to "confess" for "knowledge"; "propitiation,"
"seduce," "have confidence," "stumbling," and "understanding," all
in the same Epislle,
Of whole clauses transferred from the Rhemish, I have
noted, merely by turning over the leaves here and there, the
following: 2 Tim. iii. 6, lead captive silly women laden with sinnes; 8, reprobate
concerning the faith, i Cor. xv. 34, Evil communications corrupt good
manners. Acts xii. 6, the same night Peter was Sleeping between. John
xvi. 16, because I go to the Father.
Their want of accurate scholarship, on the principle of lit
eral adherence to the text of the Vulgate, appears, e. g., in
I Cor xiii. 12, where they render j/«f«/K»«, "glasse."

Rhemes Testament a,nd Douay Bible. 307
But there is one feature of this version which deserves tbe
nighest commendation, namely, the uniformity of their ren
derings. To amen, rabbi, charity, already noted, may be
added, by way of example, multitude, werk, and many more
will be supplied when we come to consider the Authorized
Version, which is frequently marred by unnecessary and in
consistent diversity of renderirigs of the same word in the
original. While the Latin element, and the general opposition to the
current idiom combine to make this version probably the
least intelligible of all the English versions to the ordinary
reader, it will always possess great value for critical purposes,
and on all points connected with the theological differences
between tbe Latin Church and Protestant Communions. It
is, however, not so much in the text as in the notes accom
panying it, where th:e odium theologicum is expressed.
Some idea ofthe animus may be had from the following:
A Table of certaine places of the New Testanient, corruptly translated
in favour of heresies of these dayes in the English editions: especially of
the yeares 1562-77-79 and 80, by order of the bookes, chapters, and
verses of the same. Wherein we do not charge our aduersaries for dis
agreeing from the authentical Latin text (whereof much is saide in the
Preface), but for corrupting the Greek it selfe, which they pretende to
translate. St. Matth. chap, i, 19, For " a iust man," they translate "a righteous
man," because this word "iust" importeth that a man is iust in deede
and not only so reputed. And so generally where " iust " or " iustice "
is ioyned with good workes, they say "righteous " and " righteousnes ":
yet being joined with faith, they keepe the olde termes "iust" and
"iustice," Chap, ii, 6, For "rule" or "gouerne," they translate
"feede," to diminishe ecclesiastical authoritie, which the Greeke woid
signifieth; as also the Hebrewe, Mich, v., whence this is cited. Chap.
ii, 2, 8, For "do penance" and "fruite worthie of penance" (which
signify painful satisfaction for sinne), they translate "repent" and "re
pentance," or " amendment of life," Chap, xvi, 18, For " church " they
translate "congregation," and that so continually euery where in Tyn-
dals Bible, printed againe anno 1562. that the worde " church " is not once

3o8 The English Versions.
there to be founde. Which the other editions correcting in other places,
yet in this place it remayneth corrupted, reading slill, " upon this rocke
I wil build my congregation," so loath they are it should appeare how
firmly the Church of Christ is founded. ... S. Mark, chap x. 52, For
"thy faith hath made thee safe," speaking of corporal sight geuen to the
blind, they translate "thy faith had saved thee," to make it seeme that
iustification and saluation is only by faith. S. Luke viii. 48, For "thy
faith halh made thee safe " (to wit, from corporal infirmitie), they translate
"thy faith hath saued thee." viii. 50, For "beleeue only and she shal be
safe," they saye " beleeue only and she shal be saued," in fauour of the
forsaid heresie of only faith: neither marking that this safetie pertaineth to
the bodie, nor that it is attributed to the failh- of an other, and not of the
partie restored. . . . Chap, xxii. 20, Beza (whom the English Protes-
tantes herein defend) condemneth the Greeke text (which he confesseth to
be the same in al copies) because by it the relatiue, "which," must needes
be referred to the Chalice, and so proueth the real presence of Christs
bloude in the Chalice. ... S. John, chap, i, 12, For "he gaue them
powre to be made the sonnes of God," Beza aud his folowers translate
"he gaue them the dignitie " (others say, " the prerogatiue ") to be the
sonnes "of God": against free-wil. Chap. ix. 22 and 35, For "put out
of the synagogue," they translate "excommunicate": as though the
Catholike Churches excommunication of heretikes, from the societie and
participation of the faithful, were like to that exteriour putting out of the
synagogue, of such as confessed Christ.
Gregory Martin who went so far as to say that the English
Bible was ' ' not indeed God's book, worde, or scripture, but
the devil's worde," delivers himself thus:
Now then to come to our purpose, such are the absurd translations of
the English bibles, and altogether like unto these: namely, when they
translate "congregation" for "church," "elder" for "priest," "image "
for " idol," " dissension " for " schism, " " general " for " catholic," " se
cret," for "sacrament," "overseer" for "bishop," "messenger" for
"angel," "ambassador" for "apostle," "mini.sler" for"deacon," and
such like, to what other end be these deceitful traaslations, but to con
ceal and obscure the name of the church and dignities thereof, mentioned
in the holy scriptures: to dissemble the word " schism " (as they do also
"heresy " and "heretic ") for fear of disgracing their schisms and heresies;
to say of " matrimony ," neither "sacrament," which is the Latin, nor

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 309
'' mystery, ' ' which is the Greek, but to go as far as they can possibly
from the common, usual, and ecclesiastical words, saying, " This is a great
secrel," in favour of their heresy that matrimony is no sacrament? *
On the other hand, Fulke, in the Dedication prefixed to
his Defence, etc, , expresses his opinion of the Rhemish trans
lation thus:
In which, that I speak nothing of their insincere purpose, in leaving
the pure fountain of the original verity, to follow the crooked stream of
tlieir barbarous vulgar Latin translation, which (beside all other manifest
corruptions) is found defective in more than an hundred places, as your
majesty, according to the exceUent knowledge in both the tongues where
with God hath blessed you, is very well able to judge; and to omit even
the same book of their translation, pestered with so many annotations,
both false and undutiful, by which, under colour of the authority of holy
scriptures, they seek to infect the minds of the credulous readers with
heretical and superstitious opinions, and to alienate their hearts from
yielding due obedience to your majesty, and your most Christian lavvs
concerning true religion established; and that I may pass over the very
text of their translation, obscured without any necessary or just cause
with such a multitude of so strange and unusual terms, as to the ignor
ant are no less difficult to understand, than the Latin or Greek itself: yet
it is not meet to be concealed, that they which neither truly nor precisely
have translated their own vulgar Latin and only authentical text, have
nevertheless been so bold to set forth a several treatise, etc  f
Of the subsequent editions of this version particulars will
be given below.
The Old Testament was not published until 1609-10, al
though the translation had been prepared many years pre
viously, even before the appearance of the New Testament,
the delay being occasioned "for lack of good meanes" and
"our poor estate in banishment." It appeared in quarto,
the first volume in 1609, the second in i6iowith the title:
The Holie Bible, Faithfully Translated into English out of the Av-
thentical Latin. Diligently conferred with the Hebrew, Greeke, and
other Editions in diuers languages. With Arguments of the Bookes and
* Fulke, pp. 218, 2ig, t Fulke, p. 5.

3IO The English Versions.
Cliapters: Annotations: Tables: and other helps, for better vnderstgfid.
ing of the text; for discouerie of Corruptions in some latter trans
lations: and for clearing coiitrouersies in Religion. By the English
College of Doway. Spiritu Sancto inspirati, locuti sunt sancti Dei
homines, 2 Pet, j: The holie men of God spake, inspired with the
Holy Ghost, Printed at Doway by Lawrence Kellam, at the signe of
the holie Lambe, M.D. CX.
A brief address on the last page states:
We haue already found some faults escaped, but fearing there be more,
and the whole volume being ere long to be examined again, we pray the
courteous reader to pardon all and amend Ihem as they occur.
From the Preface addressed: To the right wel beloued English
reader grace atid glory in lesvs Christ Euerlasting, a few para
graphs are here given.
, . But here another question may be proposed : why we translate
the Latin text, rather than the Hebrew, or Greeke, which Protestants
preferre as the fotinlaine tongs, wherin holie Scriptures were first writ
ten ? To this we answer that if indeed those first pure Editions were now
extant, or if such as be extant were more pure then the Latin, we would
also preferre such fountaine? before the riuers, in wliatsoeuer they should
be found to disagree. But the ancient best learned Fathers and Doctours
of the Church, doe much compl&ine, and testify to vs, that both the He
brew and Greeke Editions are fouly corrupted by Iewes and Heretikes,
since the Latin was truly translated ont of them, whiles they were more
pure; and that the same Latin hath been farre belter coiiserued from cor
ruptions. So that the old Vulgate Latin Edition hath been preferred and
vsed for most authentical aboue a thousand and three hundred yeares. . . .
How wel this is done the learned may iudge, when by mature confer
ence they shal haue made trial thereof. And if any thing be mistaken,
we will (as stil we promise) gladly correct it. Those that translated it
about thirty yeares since, were wel knowen to the world, lo haue been
excellent in the tongs, sincere men, and great Diuiiies, Only one thing
we haue done tovching the text, whereof we are especially to giue no
tice: That whereas heretofore in the best Latin editions there remained
many places differing in words, some also in sense, as in long process of
time the writers erred in their copies, now lately by the same care and ilili-
gence of the Church, those diuers readings were maturely and iudiciously
examined and conferred with sundry the best written and printed books.

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 311
and so resolued vpon, that al which before were left in the margent, are
either resstored into the text, or els omitted, so that now none such remain
in the margent. For which cause we haue againe conferred this English
translation, and conformed it to the most perfect Latin Edition, Where
yet by the Way we must giue the vulgar reader to vnderstand, that very
few or none of the former varieties touched controuersies of this time. So
that this recognition is no way suspicious of partiality, but is meerly
done for the more secure conseruation of the true text, and more ease and
satisfaction of such, as otherwise should haue remained more doubtful.
Now for the strictness obserued in translating some words, or rather the
not translating of some, which is in more danger to be disliked, we dorfbt
not bul the discrete learned reader, deeply weighing and considering the
importance of sacred words, and how easily the translator may misse the
sense of tlie Holy Ghost, wil hold that which is here done for reasonable
and necessary. We have also the example of the Latin and Greeke,
where some words are not translated, but left in Hebrew, as they were
first spoken and written; which seeing they could not, or were not con-
uenient to be translated into Latin or Greeke, how much lesse couid they
or was it reason to turne them into English ? S. Augustin also yieldelh
to a reason, exemplifying in the words "amen" and "alleluia for the
more sacred authoritie thereof," which doubtless is the cause why some
"names of solemne feasts, sacrifices," and other holie things are "re-
serued in sacred tongs," Hebrew, Greeke, or Latin. Againe for neces-
sitie, English not hauing a name or sufficient terme, we either keep the
word as we find it, or only tum it to our English termination, because it
would otherwise require mani words in English to signifie one word of
another tongue. In which cases, we commonly put the explication in
the margent. Briefly our Apologie is easie against English Protestants;
because they also reserue some words in the original tongues, not trans
lated into English, as "Sabbath, Ephod, Pentecost, Proselyte," and some
others 
.... It more importeth, that nothing be wittingly and falsely trans
Iated for aduantage of doctrine in matter of faith. Wherein as we dare
boldly auouch the sinceritie of this translation, and that nothing is here
either vntruly or obscurely done of purpose, in fauour of Catholike Ro
man Religion, so we can not but complaine, and challenge English Prot
estants fur corrupting the text, contrarie to the Hebrew and Grqpke, which
Ihey profess to translate for the more shew and maintening of their peculiar
opinions against Catholikes; as is proued in the "Discouerie of manifold
Corruptions." , . , ,
With this then wc wil conclude most deare (we speake to you al, that

312

The English Versions.

vnderstand our tongue, whether you be of contrarie opinions in faith, or
of mundane fear participate with an other Congregation, or professe with
vs the same Catholike Religion) to you al we present this worke: daily
beseeching God Almightie, the Diuine Wisedom, Eternal Goodnes, to
create, illuminate, and replenish your spirits, with his Grace, that you
may altaine eternal Glorie, euery one in his measure, in those many man-
.sions, prepared and promised by our Sauiour in his Fathers house. Not
only to those which first receiued and folowed his Diuine doctrine, but to
al that should afterwards belieue in him, and keep the same precepts. . . .
. , , , From the English College in Doway, the Octanes of AI Saints,
1609, " The God of patience and comfort giue you to be of one mind,
one towards an other in lesvs Christ; that of one mind, with one mouth
you may glorifie God."
The conformity of the English text "to the most perfect
Latin edition '' refers to the Clementine edition of the Vulgate
set forth in 1592, which not only differed from but actually
contradicted the Sixtine edition of 1590, of which two infalli
ble versions the subjoined list of a few passages may not be
out of place.

SIXTINE.

CLEMENTINE

SIXTINE.

(XEUENTINE.

isgo-

IS92.

IS90.
TS92.
Ex. xvi. 2.
induxistis.
eduxistis.
I Esd. ix. 7.
averteremur
. convertere-
-^— xxiii. 19.
tUK.
meae.
mur.
Lev. xxvii. 17.
suam.
tuam.
2 " iii. 21.
ad portam.
d porta.
Deut. xvii. 6.
non lepram.
lepram.
vobis.
nobis.
 xxiv. 4.
apposuit.
opposuit.
Judith i. 2.
alticudinetn.
latitudincm.
Josh. ii. 14.
non fuerit.
fuerit.
Psal. cxxxvi. 9.
suos.
tuos.
 iv. 13-
nostro.
vestro.
— — cxxxviii. ig. suas.
tuas.
non traderet. traderet.
Sap. ii. 9.
injustitiae
justi tiae.
Judg. xiv. z..
tuo.
meo.
Ecclus. viii. 7.
volumus.
noluniuus.
I Reg. iv. 10.
nobis.
vobis.
insipientia.
sapientia.
¦ XX. 9.
me.
te.
Is. lix. 8.
vobis.
nobis.
 xxviii. 20.
tiia.
mea.
Ezech. xxxii. 8.
suae.
tuae.
2 Reg. ix. 12.
tuam.
meam.
Hab. i. 13.
non respicis.
respicis,
 xxii. 37.
mea.
tua.
Soph. iii. 17.
tua.
sua.
3 Reg. ii. 2.
meas.
tuas.
Joan vi. 55.
credentes.
noncredenites
 vii. 8.
intrinsecus.
extrinsecus.
Heb. V. 6.
interpretabi-
¦ ininterpreta-
2 Piiral. vi. 8.
mea.-!.
suas.
lis.
bilis.
 xxiv. 5. -
nostri.
vestri.
2 Pet. i. II.
indoctas
doc tas.
After the Preface follows:
— The summe and partition of the Holie Bible, with a briefe note of
the Canonical and Apocryphal bookes. (After the second book of Mac.
Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 313
cabees is read: " The prayer of Manasses, with the second and third books
of Esdras, extant in most Latin and Vulgare Bibles, are here placed after
al the Canonical books of the Old Testament: because they are not re
ceiued into the canon of Diuine Scriptures by the Catholique Church").
- -The summe of the Old Testament, as it is distinguished from the New.
— f)f Moyses the author of the first fine bookes. — The argument of the
Bnoke of Genesis.
.\t the end is,
—A Table of the Epistles taken forth of the Old Testament vpon cer
tayne festival dayes, — An Historical Table of the Times, special persons,
most notable things, and canonical bookes of the Old Testament. —A
particular Table of the most principal thinges conteyned as wel in the
holie Text as in the Annotations of both the Tomes of the Old Testament.
— Censuria trium Theologonim Anglorum extra collegium commorantium.
The rather lofty pretensions of the Douay revisers as to the
sincerity, purity and fidelity of their version, cannot stand
the test of comparison with the best, that is the purest Latin
text made by Jerome from the Hebrew direct, for the Psalter
is made from his revision of the faulty Latin translation made
from the Septuagint; it is therefore in reality a faithful trans
lation of the revision of a bad Latin version, made from the
Greek translation of the Hebrew original. The best Latin
text did not form part of the Vulgate from which the Douay
Bible is translated. This is quite sufiicient to explain the
positively unintelligible English of the unintelligible Latin
version, of a very uncertain Greek translation of the Hebrew.
Jn the following examples, the juxtaposition of the Vulgate,
and the Douay version will be all that is necessary to charac
terize the quality of the latter.
NUMBERS XX. 26.
Vulgate. Douay.
Cumque nudaveris patrem veste And when thou hast unvested
Candida, indues ea Eleazarum the father of his vesture, thou
filium ejus. shalt revest therewith Eleazar
his son.

3 14 The English Versions.
DEUT XVI. 2.
Immolabisque Phase Domino thou shalt immolate the Phase to
Deo tuo. our Lord fliy God.
JOB IX. 13.
. . . sub quo curvantur qui por- under whom they stoop that car-
tant orbem. ry the world.
JOB XXI. 33.
Dulcis foil glareis Cocyti ... he hath been sweet to the gravel
of Cocytus.
JOB XXVI. 13.
Spiritus ejus omavit coelos, et ob- his spirit hath adorned the heav-
stetricante manu ejus . . . ens, and his hand being the mid
wife . . .
JOB XXXIV. 18.
Apostata ! qui vocat duces im- Apostate, that caUeth dukes im-
pio&. pious.
PSALM XIX. 8, 9, 13.
8 Lex Domini immacnlata; con- The Law of our Lord is immac- 8
vertens animas; testimonium ulate, converting souls: the testi-
Domini fidele, sapientiam prae- mony of our Lord is faithful, giv-
stans parvulis. ing wisdom to little ones.
9 Justitiae Domini rectae, laetifi- The justices of our Lord be right, 9
cantes corda; praeceptum Domini making hearts joyful; the pre-
lucidum, illuminans oculos . . . cept of our Lord lightsome, il
luminating the eyes.
13 Delicta quis intelligit? Ab oc- Sin who understandeth ? From 13
cultis meis munda me, et ab my secret sins cleanse me: and
alienis parce servo tuo . . . from other men's spare thy ser
vant. (
PSALM LVII. 9-12.
9 Sicut cera, quae fluit, auferentur; As wax that melteth shall they 9
supercecidit ignis, et non vide- be taken away ; fire hath fallen
runt solem. on them, and they have not seen
the sun.
10 Priusquam intelligerent spinae Before your thorns did under- 10
vestrae rhamnum, sicut viventes stand the old briar: as living so
sic in ira absorbet eos. in wrath he swalloweth them.

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 315
II Laetabitur Justus, cum viderit The just shall rejoice when he il
vindictam; manus suas lavabit shall see revenge: he shall wash
in sanguine peccatoris. his hands in the blood of a sin
ner.
12 Et dicet homo: si utique est fruc- And man shall say: If certes 12
tus justo, utique est Deus judi- there be fruit to the just: there
cans eos in terra. is a God certes judging them on
the earth.
PSALM XCI. 6.
(Non timabis . . .) a negotio pe- (thou shalt not be afraid . . .) of
rambulante in tenebris, ab in- business walking in darkness, of
cursu et dsemonio meridiano . . . invasion and the midday devil.
The following additional specimens may do without the
Latin :
Psalm xvi. 3, he hath made all my willes mevelous in them; xxxix.
12, I have fainted in reprehensions; lxv. II, inebriate her rivers, in her
dropps she shall rejoice springing; lxviii. 16, a mountane cnidded as
cheese, a fatte mountane; lxxii. 16, there shall be a firmament in the
earth, in the tops of the mountanes. Isaiah xiii. 22, and the Syrach owls
shall answer, and mermaids in the temples of pleasure.
The Literal Commentary of Csurrihre (which Bossuet is said
to have recommended as preferable to other and fuller works,
and which professes to give the mind of Jerome, Estius, Cor
neille de la Pierre, Maldonatus, Menochius, Pererius, and
others) explains this startling passage in these words: Les
hibeux hurleront h lenvie Tun de I'aulre dans ses maisons su-
perbes; et les cruelles Syrenes habileront dans ces Palais de de
lices. Tel sera bientot le sett de Baby lone.
The next two examples are of Professor Westcott's selection,
to the second I have added the Latin,
DAN. IX. 18, 24, 26.
Vulgate. Douay.
18 Inclii.a Deus meua aurem tuam Incline my God thine ear and 18
et audi ; aperi oculos tuos et vide hear; open thine eyes and see
desolationem nostram et civila- our desolation and the city upon
tem super quam in vocatum est which thy name is invocated;

3i6

The English Versions.

nomen tuum; neque enim in jus-
tificationibus nostris prosternimus
preces ante faciem tuam, sed in
miseralionibus tuis multis 
24 Sepluaginta hebdomades abbre-
viatae sunt super populum tuum,
et super urbem sanctam tuam,
ut consummetur praevaricatio et
finem accipiat peccatum et dele-
atur iniquitas, et adducatur jus
titia sempitema et impleatur vi-
sio et prophetia et ungatur sanc
tus sanctorum 
26 Et post hebdomades sexaginta
duas occidetur Christus et non
erit ejus populus qui eum nega-
turus est. Et civitatem et sanc
tuarium dissipabit populus cum
duce venturo, et finis ejus vasti-
tas el post finem belli statuta
desolatio.

for nether in our justifications do
we prostrate prayers before thy
face, but m thy many commis
erations 
Seventy weeks are abridged upon 24
thy people, and upon thy holy
city, that prevarication may be
consummate and sin take an end
and iniquity be abolished and
everlasting justice be brought;
and vision be accomplished and
prophecy; and the Holy one of
Holies be anointed 
And after sixty two weeks Christ 26
shall be slain, and it shall not be
his people that shall deny him.
And the city and the sanctuary
shall the people dissipate with
the prince to come: and the end
thereof waste and after tlie end
of the battle the appointed deso
lation.

ISAIAH IX, 5.
5 Parvulus enim natus est nobis, For a little child is bom to us J

et filius datus est nobis, et fac
tus est principatus super hume-
rum ejus: et vocabitur nomen
ejus, admirabilis, consiliarius,
Deus, fortis, pater futuri saeculi,
princeps pads.

and a son is given to us and
principality is made upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be
called Marvellous, Counsellor,
Strong, p'ather of the world to
come, the Prince of Peace.

The difference between the last passage, which is Jerome's,
and the former ones, is apparent in the Latin as in the Eng
lish, which in spite of the latinizing proclivities of the trans
lators could not veil the sense ofthe original.
A few specimens ofthe notes suffice to show their character
and spirit.
Luke xii, 2 1 , By goods bestowed upon the poor, he hath store of merit,
many alms-men's prayers procuring mercy for him at the day of liis death;

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 317
xvi. 28, If the damned had care of their friends .... much more have
the saints and saved persons. And if those in hell have means to express
their cogitations and desures, and be understood by Abraham, much rather
may the living pray to the saints, and be heard of them. Rev. vi.,
Saints be present at their tombs and reliques; xvii., putting heretics to
death is nol to shed the blood ofthe saints.
As connected with the Literature relating to this version,
which is quite extensive, among the most interesting publica
tions are the following:
The text of the New Testament of Jesus Christ, translated out of the
Vulgar Latine by the Papists of the traiterous Seminarie at Rhemes
.... whereunto is added the translation out of the original Greeke,
commonly used in the Church of England, with a confutation of all such
Arguments, glosses and annotations, as contein manifest impietie or her
esie, treason and slander against the Catholike Church of God, and the
true teachers thereof, on the translations used in the Church of England.
Both by the aucthoritie of the holy Scriptures, and by the testimonie of
ancient fathers. By William Fulke, D.D., London, 1580, 1589, 1601,
1617, 1633, fol.
A view of the marginal notes of the Popish Testament, translated into
English by the English fugitive papists resident at Rhemes in France.
By George Withers, Printed at London, by Edm. BoUifant for Tho.
Woodcocke, 1588.
A confutation of the Rhemists' Translation, Glosses, and Annota
tions of the New Testament. By Thomas Carlwright, London, 1618, fol.
The New Testament was printed in a second edition in 1600, in a third
in 1621 al Douay, and in a fourth in 1633, probably at Rouen, There
are also editions of it printed at Antwerp, 1600, and 1630 in i2mo, and
at Paris iu 410, 1633,
The Old Testament appeared in a second edition in 1635,
Dr. Eadie on the authority of Za Mort de la Reyne d'Escosse,
Deuairiere de France, reprinted in Jebb's Collection, ii, p, 616,
relates that Mary on the evening before her execution in
Fotheringay Castle laying her hand solemnly on a copy of
the Rhemish Testament took an oath of innocence, and that
the earl of Kent interposing that as the book on which she
had sworn was false her oath was of no value, she promptly

3i8 The English Versions.
answered: " Does your lordship suppose that my oath would
be better, if I swore on your translation in which I do not
believe ? "
The actual relation of the text of different Roman Catholic
editions of the Holy Scriptures to that of the Authorized Ver
sion may be gleaned from the subjoined specimens. *
L
OLD TESTAMENT.
Gen. iv. 7, If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And
if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be
his desire, and thou shalt rule oyer him. Authorized Version, i . If
thou do well, shalt thou not receive again: bul if thou doest ill, shall nol
thy sin forthwith be present at the door ? but the lust thereof shall be
under thee, and thou shalt have dominion over it, Edd. 1609, 1635.
2, omit: again, thou doest, thy — Edd, 1750, 1763, 1791, 1796, 1805,
1813, 1816, 1825, 1834, 3. Doth nol one, if he have done well, look
up, but look down if he halh not done well ? Hast thou sinned ? Be
quiet ? He (thy brother) is still subordinate lo thee, and Ihou hast do
minion over him, Dr. Geddes.
Job xxvi. 13. By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens: his hand
hath formed the crooked serpent, Authorized Version, i. His spirit
hath adorned the heavens, and his' hand being the midwife, the winding
serpent is brought forth, 1609, 1635. 2. And his artful hand hath brought
forth the winding serpent, 1750, 1764, 1796, 1805, 1813, 1S16 (Liver
pool). 3. And his obstetric hand brought forth .... 1791, 1816 (Dub
lin), 1825, 1834, Glasgow.
Psalm Ixvii. 16 [lxviii. 15]. The liill of God is as the hill of Bashan;
an high hill as the hill of Bashan, Why leap ye, ye high hills? .4uthor-
ized Version, i. The mountane of (iod: a fat mountane, A moun
tane crudded as cheese, a fat mountane. Why suppose you crudded
mountanes? 1609, 1635,1- 2. The mountain of God is a fat moimlain:
a curdled mountain, a fat mountain. Why suspect ye curdled moun
tains? 1750, 1791, 1796, 1813 (Haydock) 1813 (Syers) l8t6. 3. Why
• From Cotton, Rhemes and Doway, pp, 183-196, Oxford, 1855.
t The Douay editors say: " Ye that are not of this church do in vaine and errone
ously imagine, that anie other mountaines are united." Challoner: ** Why do you
suppose or imagine there may be any other such curdled mountains ? You ate mis
taken: the mountain thus favored by God is but one."

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 319
suspect, ye curdled mountains? 1825, 1834, Glasgow edit, 4. The moun-
t^n of God is a fertile mountain. A mountain that flows with milk; a
rich mountain. Why have you a suspicion of mountains that flow with
milk? Caryl, ijoo. 5, Ye lofty hills, ye hills of Bashan ! Ye swelling
hills, ye hills of Bashan ! Why are ye jealous, ye swelling hills, of the
hills where God is pleased to reside ! Dr. Geddes, 1807.
Mal, ii, 15, And did not he make one? and yet had he the residue
of the spirit, Authorized Version. 1 . Did not one make and the residue
of the spirit is his ? 1609, 1635. 2, Did not one make her, and she is the
residue ofhis spirit? 1750, 1791, 1796, 1805, 1813, 1816, 1825, 1834,
Glasgow edit. n.
NEW TESTAMENT.
Matth. xii. 4. The shewbread. Authorized Version. 1. The loaves
placed there, Witham, 1730. 2. The shew-breads, Nary, 1718, 3, The
loaves of the presence, Lingard, 1836, 4. The loaves of presence, Ken-
rick. 5. The loaves of proposition. All other editions (examined by
Cotton, M.),
John ii, 4,* Woman, what have I to do vi'iih thee? Authorized Ver
sion, I.- What is to me and thee. Woman? 1582-1633, 1738, 1788.
2, Woman, what is to me and to Ihee? 1749, 1750, 1752, 1772, 1813,
(Syers), 1815, 1818, 1825 (Bible), 1826, 1834 (Bible), 1838, 1839, 1846,
Glasgow edit, 1 85 1. 3. What is it to me and to ihee ? 1797, 1804, New
castle, J 8t2, 1814, 1816 (Bible), 1825. 4. What is that to me and to thee ?
1783, 1791 (Bible) 1803, 1810, Haydock, Richardson's 8vo. 5. What is
that to me and to thee ? Nary. 6, What hast thou to do with me ?
Witham, Lingard, Kenrick. 7. Woman, what business have you with
me? Quesnel, 1709.

* Cardinal Wiseman [Dublin Review, April, 1837, pp, 475-492; reprinted in his
Essays, I,, London, 1853) upholds the original rendering of the Rhemists as given
above, and goes out of his way to denounce the alterations introduced by Dr. Chal
loner as being " so far as simplicity and energy of style are concerned, ... in general
for the worse." In this particular instance, as the collation shows, Challoner follows
the Rhemists. Here are some of the cardinars criticisms: he censures the rendering
Heb. .\iii. 9, "and do not forget to do good and to impart," and 2 Tim. ii. 16: "But
shim profane and vain babblings, for they grow much towards ungodliness." This, he
says is taken verbatim from the A. V. except " grow towards," and censures vain bab
blings as an absurd tautology, since babbling covers the whole oi vaniloguium. He
likewise faults Chglloner for rendering Tlie Lord '\r)S,l&3,d, of Our Lord, which latter
according to him is a correct rendering of Dominus, and supported by the Syriac
Moran importing Our Lord,

320

The English Versions.

Hebr. xiii. l6. But to do good and to communicate forget not; for
with such sacrifices God is well pleased, Authorized Version. I. Benefi
cence and communication do not forget; for with such hostes God is pro-
merited, 1582 to 1738. z. Do not forget to do good and to impart: foi
by such sacrifices God is promerited, 1788, 1816 (Bible). 3. Forget not
the works of charity, and the communion; for by such sacrifices God is
appeased. Nary. 4. Forget not the doing of good, and communication
to others: for with such sacrifices God is promerited, Witham. 5. Do
not forget to do good and to impart, for by such sacrifices God's favour
is obtained, 1749, 1752, 1772, 1791 (Bible), 1803, 1810, 1813, 1814,
1825 (Bible), 1834 (Bible), etc, 6. Do not forget beneficence and fel
lowship: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased, Kenrick.
The subjoined tables exhibit in two longer passages the
differences in some of the leading Roman Catholic versions
made from the Vulgate; in that from the New Testament I
have added the remarkable translation of Dr Lingard,
L

Douay.
(1535)-
I A Psalme of Dauid.
Our Lord sayd to my
Lord : Sit on my right
hand, til I make thine
enemies, the foot
stole of thy feete.
2 Our Lord wil send
forth the rod of thy
strength from Sion;
rule thou in the
middes of thine en
emies,
3 With thee the begin
ning in the day of
thy strength: in the
brightnes of holie
things: from the

PSALM CIX.
Challoner.
(1750) 1840.
A psalm of David,
The Lord said to my
Lord: Sit thou at my
right hand:
£7«til I make thy en
emies thy footstool.
The Lord will send
forth the sceptre of
thy pomer out of
Sion: rule thou in
the midst of thy en
emies.With thee is the prin
cipality in the day of
thy strength; in the
brightness of the
saints: from the

Haydock. (1848).
A psalm for David, i
The Lord said to my
Lord : Sit thou at my
right hand:
Until I make thy en
emies thy footstool.
The Lord will send 2
forth the sceptre of
thy power out of
Sion: rule thou in
the midst of thy en
emies.With thee is the 1
principality in the
day of thy strength;
in the brightness of
the saints: from the

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible, 321

wombe before the
day starre I begat
thee. /
4 Our Lord sware, and
it did not repent him ;
Thou art a Priest
foreuer according to
the order of Mel
chisedech,
5 Our Lord on thy right
hand hath broken
kings in the day of
his wrath,
6 He shal iudge in na
tions, he shal fil
mines, he shal crush
the heads in the land
of manie,
7 Of the torrent in the
way he shal drinke:
therefore shal he ex
alt the head.

womb before the day-
star I begot thee.
The Lord hath
sworn, and he will
not repent: thou art
a priest for ever ac
cording to the order
of Melchizedech.
The Lord at thy
right hand hath bro
ken kings ill the day
of his wrath.
He shall j vA^eamong
nations: he shall fill
ruins: he shall crush
the heads in the land
of many.
He shall drink of the
torrent in the way:
therefore shall he lift
up the head.

womb before the day-
star I begot thee.
The Lord hath 4
sworn, and he will
not repent. Thou art
a priest for ever, ac
cording to the order
of Melchisedech.
The Lord at thy S
right hand hath bro
ken kings in the day
of his wrath.
He shall judge among 6
nations, he shall fill
ruins: he shall crush
the heads in the land
of many.
He shall drink ofthe 7
torrent in the way:
therefore shall he lift
up the head.

322

The English Versions.

II.

Rhemish. (1SS2.)
26 And in the
sixt moneth,
the Angel Ga
briel vvas sent
of God into a
citie of Gali
lee, called Na
zareth,
27 to a virgin de
spoused to a

ST. LUKE
Challoner.* (nso.)
And in the
sixth month,
the angel Ga
briel was sent
from God into
a city of Gali
lee called Na
zareth,To a virgin es
poused to a

I. 26-35. Haydock.\ (1812.)
And in the
sixth month,
the angel Ga
briel was sent
from God in
to a city of
Galilee, called
Nazareth, To a virgin es
poused to a

man vvhoes man whose man whose

Lingard. X
(jS3b.)
But in the 26
sixth month
the angel Ga
briel was sent
of God into
that city of
Galilee which
is called Na
zareth, To a virgin be
trothed to a
man called Jo-

27

* Title, 1st edition, 1749, i2mo., in blade only; The NewTesta^nzeni (f our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. Translated out <f the Latin Vulgat: diligently com
pared with the original Greek: and first published by the English College <f Rhemes^
Anno 1382. Neivly reftised, and corrected according to the Cle)nentin Edition qf
ihe Scriptures. With Annotations for clearing up modern Controversies in Re
ligion, and other difficulties if Holy Writ .... 2d ed., 1750, izmo, precisely like
title of the first, but in black and red letters. 3d ed., 1752. same as 1750.
Title of the editions of 1750 {/irsi) and 1763-4 [second) in black and red letters,
5 vols., i2mo: The Holy Bible, Translated from the Latin Vulgat: Diligently com
pared luiih the Hebreiu, Greek, and other editions in divers Languages, And first
published by the English College at Do-way, Anno 160Q. Newly revised, and cor
rected according to the Clei7ienti7t Edition of the Scriptures, ivith Annotations for
clearing up the principal dijfficuities of Holy Writ .... Printed in the year ly so
{Noplace named).
t Title: The Holy Bible, etc. With useful Notes, critical, historical, cofitrcrver-
sial, and explanatory, selected fvom ihe 7iiost eijuiieiit commentators, and the niost
able and judicious critics. By the Rev, George Lfto Haydock, ajtd other divines [Hau
rietis aquas, etc.), enriched with superb engravings. Manchester, printed and pub
lished by Thomas Haydock, at his original Catholic publication warehouse. No. q
Cumberlund Street; and at his shop. No. ig Anglesea Street, Dublin, r 8 is, folio.—
Glasgovj, 184^-^8, .1. ; and often, by various puLlishers, in Great Britain and the
United States.
% Title: A New Version ef the Four Gospels; with notes, critical and explana
tory, by a Catholic, London, yoseph Booker, bi New Bond Street, 1836, Svo. A
reissue with a new title page appeared in 1851. See more on this version, further on.

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 323

name vvas Jo
seph, of the
house of Dauid:
and the virgins
name vvas
Marie.
z8 And the An
gel being en
tred in, said
vntoher,Haile, fill of grace,
our Lord is
vvith thee:
blessed art thou
among wo
men,
29 VVho hauing
heard, vvas
troubled at his
saying, and
thought vvhat
maner of sal-
u t a t i o n this
should be,
30 And the Angel
said to her,
Feare not Ma
rie, for thou
hast found
grace vvith
God.
31 Behold thou
shalt conceiue
in thy wombe,
and shalt beare
a Sonne: and
thou shalt call
his name Jesus.

name was Jo
seph, of the
house of Da vid:
and the name of
the virgin was
Mary. And the angel
being come in,
said lo her:
Had, full of
grace, the Lord
is with thee.
Blessed art
thou among
women. And when she
had heard, she
was troubled
at his saying,
and thought
with herself
what manner
of salutation
this should be.
And the angel
said to her:
Fear not, Ma
ry ; for Ihou
hast found
grace with
God:
Behold, thou
shalt conceive
in thy womb,
and shalt bring
forth a son:
and thou shalt
call his name
Jesus,

name was Jo
seph, of the
house of David:
2ca.6.fa.enameof
the virgin was
Mary.
And the angel
being come in,
said to her:
Hail, full of
grace, the Lord
is with thee.
Blessed art
thou among
women. And when she
had heard, she
was troubled at
his saying, and
thought witk
herself what
manner of sal
utation this
should be.
And the angel
said to her,
Fear not, Ma
ry, for thou
hast found
grace with
God.
Behold thou
shalt conceive
in thy womb,
and shalt bring
forth a Son,
aud thou shalt
call his name,
Jesus.

seph, of the
house of David;
scaAthenameof
the virgin was
Mary.
And the angel 28
going in to
her, said:
"Hail, thou
favoured (of
God'), the L,ord
is with thee :
blessed art thou
among wo
men."
But she was 29
troubled at his
presence and
his words, and
debated with
herself, what
would be tlie
meaning of
this salutation.
And the angel 30
said to her;
" Fear not,
Mary. For
thou hast
found favour
with God ;
For, lo ! thou 3 1
wilt conceive
in thy womb,
and wilt bear
a son, and wilt
call him by the
name o/ Jesus.

324 The English Versions.
32 He shal be He shall be He shall be He will be 32
great, and shal great, and shall great, and shall great, and will
be called the be called the be called the be called the
Sonne of the Son ofthe most Son ofthe most son of the Most
most High and High: and the High, and the High, and the
our Lord God Lord God shall Lord God shall Lord God will
shal giue him give unto him give unto him give to him the
the seate of the thrgne of the throne of throne of his
Dauid his fa- David his fa- David, his fa- father David.
ther: ther: and he ther: and he
shall reign in shall reign in
the house of Ja- the house of Ja
cob for ever. cob for ever,
33 And he shal And of his And of his And he will 33
reigne in the kingdom there kingdom there reign over the
house of Jacob shall be no shall be no house of David
foreuer, and of end. end. for the ages to
his kingdom come, and of
there shal be his reign there
no end. will be no
end."
34 And Marie said Knd Mary ¦sa.id And Mary sa.id Mary said to 34
to the Angel, to the angel: to the angel: the angel:
How shal this How shall this How shall this "Howcanthat
be done? be- be done, be- be done, be- he,sincelhave
cause I knovv cause I know cause I know no knowledge
not man? not man? not man? o/man?"
35 And the an- And the angel And the angel But the angel 31:
gel answer- answering, said answering, said made answer;
ing, said to to her: The to her; The " The Holy
her, The Holy Holy Ghost Holy Ghost G\iost will de-
Ghost shal shall come shall come scend upon
come vpon upon thee: and upon thee, and thee, and the
thee, and the the power of the power of power of the
povver of the the most High the most High Most High
most High shall overshad- shall overshad- a/«7/ overshad-
shal ouershad- ow thee. And ow thee. And ow thee, and
owthee. And therefore also therefore also therefore the
therfore also the Holy which the Holy which holy one bom
that vvhich of shall be born shall be born (of thee) will

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 325
thee shal be of thee shall be of thee, shall be called the
bome Holy, called the Son be called the Son of God. . .
shall be called of God. Son of God.
the Sonne of
God.
Note: The italicized portions of the preceding synoptical tables show the changes
introduced into the present text of the Rhemish New Testament and the Douay Bible
with these results: i. That Challoner's text is substantially that of the original ver
sions, the changes relating chiefly to syntax and spelling, and only rarely to the
meaning. 2. That Haydock's text agrees almost verbatim with Challoner's. 3. That
the grand difference between the current editions of the Rhemes-Douay versions and
the original editions is the suppression of many of the savage, fanatical notes, although
quite a number of these remain,
1 (v, 28) favoured of God, — KexOipiTOOHSV?/,— gratia plena. These words are
explained by the angel himself, v._ 30: thou hast found favour (X^Ptv , gratiam)
with God,
A fuller account of the principal Roman Catholic English
versions is now in place. For general purposes they may be
considered under two heads; zitz. :
I. Those set forth by authority; II, Those made by indi
viduals without authoritative approbation, or approved only
as to particular editions. * I.
The Rhemish Testament: 1582, 1600, 1621, 1633; spelluig changed,
1738; Liverpool, 1788, 1789; New York, 1834. The Douay Bible:
1609-10, 1635. Challoner's Revised Old Testament: 4 vols., 1750,
1763-4; Edinburgh, 1796, 1805 (=Dublin, l8n); fo. Liverpool, l8l6-
17. Challoner' s Revised New Testament: 1749, 1750, 1752, 1764, 1772.!
Carpenter's New Testament: 1783, 1803, 1810. Troy's Bible: 410,
1791, reprinted fol. 1794; 4to, with the Rhemish notes on the N. T.,
Dublin, 1816, Cork, 1818. Haydock' s Bible: fol, Manchester 1811-12-
13-14; Edinburgh, 4to, 1845-8; New York, 1852; London, 1853. The

* See the whole subject fully discussed ia Cotton's Rhemes and Doway, Oxford,
1855, p. 168 sq.
t The Bible and New Testament, issued in various sizes by Sadlier, New York,
profess to be reprints of the edition of 1750. The differences between 1749 and 175a
are trifling, but those between these two and 1752 very considerable, while the edi
tions of 1764 and 1772 are exact copies of 1752.

326 The English Versions.
Newcastle New Testament: 1812, differs from every other known edition
in the Gospels and Acts. Murray's Bible: Dublin, 1825, Svo (reissued
1829, 1833, 1840, 1844, 1847). IL
Caryl's Psalms: 1700 (limited approbation). Nary' s New Testament:
1718, 1719 (limited approbation). Witham's New Testament: 1730,
1733 (limited approbation). Geddes' Old Testament: 1792-97; Psalms,
1807. Lingard's Four Gospels: 1836, 1851. Kenrick's Gospels: 1849;
Acts, Epistles, Apocalypse, 1851.
The following notices of some of the most important ver
sions, not yet treated of, will be found useftil.
CARYL'S PSALMS, l2mo, St. Germain, 1700.
The Psalmes of David, translated from the Vulgate. This is a prose
version, resting on Bellarmine for the interpretation of the more diffi
cult passages. Geddes says that " he has often expressed the meaning
of the Vulgate much better than the Douay translators." Caryl was a
layman, the author of several dramatic works, and secretary to the
queen of James II. SPECIMEN,
Camp Psalm Ixvii, 16 [lxxviii, 15]. The mountain of God is a fertile mountain. A
mountain that flows with milk; a rich mountain. Why have you a suspicion of moun-
tains that flow with milk ?
nary's new testament, 8vo, 1718.
The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour jlesus Christ. Newly
translated out of the Latin Vulgat. And with the Original Greek, and
divers Translations in vulgar languages diligently compared and re
vised. Together with Annotations upon the most remarkable passages
in the gospels, and Marginal Notes upon other difficult Texts of the
same, and upon the rest of the books of the New Testament, for the bet
ter understanding of the literal sense. By C. N. C. F. P. D. \i, e.
Cornelius Nary, Consultissimas Faciiltatis Parisiensis Doctor] . Printed
in the year if 18. SPECIMENS.
1 Cor. i. 25, For the folly of God is wiser than men. And the weakness of God is
stronger than men. Phil. ii. 6, Have the same thought in yourselves, which was £dso
in Christ jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it noi robbery to be equal tmik
God. But demeaned himself, taking upon him the form of a slave, being made after
the likeness of men, and 'm/ashion found as a man.
The words in italics show that Nary's version was not uninfluenced
by the Authorized Version.

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 327

DR. witham's new TESTAMENT, 2 vols, 8vo, 173O.
Title: Annotations on the New Testament of Jesus Christ in which
I . The literal sense is explained according to the Expositions of the an
tient Fathers. 2. The false interpretations, both of the ancient and
modern writers, which are contrary to the received doctrine of the Cath
olic-Church, are briefly examined and disproved. 3. With an account
of the chief differences betwixt the Text of the ancient Latin- Version,
and the Greek in the printed editions, and MSS. By R. W., D.D.
With permission and Approbations, anno 1730.
Tiie work bears no name or place, but was printed at Douay, where
the author, Robert Witham, D.D., as president of the College, lived from
1714-1738, the year ofhis death. SPECIMENS.
IMatth. xii. 4, The loaves placed there. Luke xi. 41, But of what you have giva
alms. I Cor. i. 25, Because what in God appeareth foolish is above the wisdom of
men; and what in God appearetJt weakness, is above the strength of men. 2 Pet. i.
16, For we have not by following artificial fables made known to you  Apoc
xiv. 3, Whosoever did receive the character of his name 
TROY'S BIBLE, I79I, 4tO.
The Holy Bible, etc. with Annotations, etc. Th.- fifth edition, newly
revised and corrected according to the Clementin edition of the Scrip
tures. Dublin, printed by Hugh Fitzpatrick, for Richard Cross, No.
s8 Bridge Street, MDCCXCL
The text of the New Testament in this edition differs from Challoner
in at least seven or eight hundred places, and some of the variations are
considerable; e. g.,
Matth. ix. 25, when the crowd was turned out. Mark xv. 8, they began to desire
what he always done to them. Luke ix, 15, when the days of his assumption; xiv. .,
a certain Prince of the Pharisees. John viii. 16, but I and he that sent me, the Father.
Acts xiii. 34, Barnabas had a mind to take along with him. i Cor, iv. 8, You are sa
tiated; XV. 44, It is sown an animal body. 2 Tim. i, 10, and hath enlightened life and
incorruption. James ii, 3, and you cast your eyes upon him that is clothed. Apoc.
VI. ir, and white stoles were given to each 
This Bible derives its name from Dr, Troy, titular archbishop of Dub
lin, who gave it the following approbation; the Rev. Bernard Mac-
Mahou, named in it as editor, edited Carpenter's Bible in 1783, and two
other editions in 1803 and 1810; also Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints,
from MS. papers left by the author; he died in 1816. — Approbation: No-
vam hanc Biblias Sacrse Anglicam Editionem, typis Richardi Cross licen-

328 The English Versions.
tia nostra impressam, et cum Vulgata Clementina, necnon Duacena Vet-
eris Testamenti anni 1609, Noyi Testamenti Rhemensi anni 1582; et
Londinensi Veteris et Novi Testamenti Rmi. Dni. Chalienor, Episcopi
Deborensis, anni 1752; Anglicis jam approbatis vei-sionibus, a Rdo. Uno.
Bernardo Mac-Mahon diligenter jussu nostro coUalam, auctoritate nostra
approbamus: eamdemque, debitis servatis conditionibus, a Fidelibus cum
fructu legi posse declaramus. Datum Dublinii, die 21 Septembis, 1791.
K. Joh. Thomas Troy. A. I>. H. P.*
Carpenter's New Testament of 1783, and Troy's Bible, 1791, were the first to bniij;
the following Admonition prefixed to a Letter from pope Pius VI. to Antonio Martini
(afterward.s archbishop of Florence), dated Rome, calends of April. 1778.
" The Scriptures, in which are contained the revealed Mysteries of Divine Faith, are
undoubtedly the most excellent of all writings; they were written by meo divinely in
spired, and are not the words of men, but the Word of God, which can save our
souls, 1 Thess. ii. 13, and James \. 21; but then they ought to be read, even by the
learned, with the spirit of humility, and with a fear of mistaking the true sense, as
many have done. This we learn from the Scripture itself: where St. Peter says, that
in the Epistles of St. Paul there are some things hard to be understood, which the
unlearned and unstable ivrest, as they do also the oilier Scriptures, to iheir own
Perdition, 2 Pet. iii, 16.
To prevent and remedy this abuse, and to guard against error, it was judged ne> -
essary to forbid the reading of the Scriptures in the vulgar languages, without the ad
vice and permission of the Pastors and Spiritual Guides, whom God has appointed to
govern his Church, Acts xx. 28, Christ himself declaring: He thai will noi hear ihe
church, let him be to ihee as the heathen and the publican, Matth. xviii. 16, Nor is
this due submission to the Catholic Church {fhe pillar and ground of truths i Tim.
iii. 15) to be understood of the ignorant and unlearned only, but also of men accom
pUshed in all kinds of learning. The ignorant fall into errors for want of knowledge.
and the learned through pride and self sufficiency.
Therefore let every reader ofthe Sacred Writings, who pretends to be a competent
judge of the sense, and of the truths revealed in them, reflect on the words which he
finds in Isaias, chap. iv. 8, 9. My thoughts are not as your thoughts, neither art
your ways my ways, saith ihe Lord: for as tlie heavens are exalted above ihe earthy
even so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts ,
How then shall any one, by his private reason, pretend to judge, to know, to demon
strate, the incomprehensible and unsearchable ways of God ! **
DR. GEDDES' BIBLE, 2 vols. 4tO, 1792-1797.
Title: The Holy Bible, or the Books accounted Sacred by yews and
Christians; otherwise called the Books ofthe Old and New Coverumfs:
faithfully translated from corrected texts of the original. With va
rious Readings J Explanatory Notes., and Critical Remarks. By the

* /. e., Archiepiscopus Dubliniensis, Hibernise Primas. The last sentence from earn-
demque — declaramus, is acuriosum.

Rhemes Testament and Douav Bible. 329
Rev. Alexander Geddes^ LL.D. London, ^7 92. — Alexander Geddes
(for so he wrote and pronounced it, but not on the title-pages of the
two volumes, containing Genesis to the end of the Prayer of Manasseh),
born in 1737 at Ruthven, Banffshire, Scotland, was educated fii-st at the
R. C. Seminary at Scalan, and afterwards at the Scotch College, Paris.
After his ordination, for having occasionally attended service in the churcli
of his friend Buchanan, of the Scotch Church, he was suspended from ec
clesiastical functions in 1779, and quitted Scotland in disgust.
The subjoined extracts from the original Preface to his Critical Re
marks etc., London, 1800, will in my judgment prove the very best ac
count of the spirit of this very remarkable man, and introduce his re
markable translation, unfortunately unfinished, for besides the portions
of Holy Scripture mentioned in the Title, he translated the Psalms to
Psalm cxviii. in 1 80 1, but they were not published until five years after
his death, in 1807.
The gospel of Jesus is my religious code: his doctrines are my dearest delight: " his
yoke (to me) is easy, and his burden is light": but this yoke I would not put on; these
doctrines I could not ad'mire; that gospel I would not make my law, if Reason, pure
Reason, were not my prompter and preceptress. I willingly profess myself a sincere,
though unworthy disciple of Christ: Christian is my name, and Catholic my surname.
Rather than renounce these glorious titles, I would shed my blood: but I would not
shed a drop of it for what is neither Catholic nor Christian. Catholic Christianity I
revere wherever I find it, and in whatsoever sect it dwells; but I cannot revere the
loads of hay and stubble which have been blended with its precious gems 
In the Hebrew Scriptures are many beauties, many excellent precepts, much sound
morality: and they deserve the attentive perusal of every scholar, every person of cu
riosity, and taste. All those good things I admit, and admire, and would equally ad
mire them in the writings of Plato, Tully, or Marcus Antoninus: but there are othtr
things, in great abundance, which I can neither admire nor admit, without renounc
ing common sense, and superseding reason: a sacrifice which I am not disponed tj
make, for any writing in the world.
This language will, I doubt not, seem strange to the systematic Christian, who h:is
founded his creed, not upon reason or common sense, but on the prejudices of educ.i-
tion; who is a Papist at Rome, a Lutheran at Leipsic, and a Calvinist at Qeneva; a
Prelatist in England, and a Presbyterian in Scotland; a Nestorian in Syria, in Ar-
meniaan Eutychian — for such local nominal Christians my remarks were not intended:
they would spurn them with zealous indignation. But if there be, as I trust there are,
in each of those communions, men who have learned to think for themselves, in mat
ters of faith as well as in matters of philosophy, and who are not Christians merely
, because they were born of Christian parents, and bred up in Christian principles; but
because, on the mo.st serious and mature examination, they find Christianity, a ra
tional, a most rational religion — to such I address myself with confidence; and by such
I expect to be listened to with patient candour. To such I would say : It is time, it is
full time, that Christianity should learn to walk alone, without Jewish leading-strings
or Gentile go-carts 

330 The English Versions.
And on the subject of his translation he says:
I have not set up for an Interpreter of Scripture: my humble walk is that ofa mere
Explainer  My primary motive was, to give a tolerable, and ifi could, a cred"
itable version ofthe Holy Bible for the use ofthe English Catholics  Precluded
thus from the use of the common version, they had no alternative, for more than a
century, but to put up with a barbarous translation, made at Rhemes and Douay,
from an uncorrected copy of the Latin Vulgate, accompanied with virulent Annota
tions against the Protestant Religion, and manifestly calculated to support a system
not of genuine Christianity, but of transalpine Popery. About the middle ofthe pres
ent century it was indeed remodelled on the Clementine edition of the Vulgate, and
modernized into somewhat better English, by the late Dr. Challoner: who put it into
a more convenient form, and stript it of almost all Its most odious notes: yet still, in
tho.se which he retained or altered, the spirit of Theologic system is but too visible;
and as to the Translation itself, the changes in it are chiefly from that same Com
mon Version which has been so much vilified and burlesqued by our rhimers * and
divines  It was my first intention to translate from the Vulgate, and even to
make the Douay version with Challoner's amendments, in some respects, the basis of
mine .... but I soon found that this was an absurd Idea: and that by patching and
piecing what had already been pieced and patched, I should make a strange compo
sition indeed.
An entirely New Translation from the Vulgate, but with such corrections as were
manifestly warranted, was next in my contemplation and partly executed. But a
very short trial convinced me that neither would this method ever produce a tolera
ble version.
Grieved to observe among the English Catholics an almost total want of taste for
Biblical studies, and wishing to remove a reproach, which in Protestant literary com
panies I had often heard made on that account; a reproach too well founded to be
repelled; I thought I could not better serve the cause of Christianity in general, nor
b.;tter consult the particular interest of that body to which I more immediately be
longed, than by employing that, whatsoever portion of talents which had fallen to my
share, in attempting a new and faithful translation of the Bible from corrected texts
of the originals, unaccompanid with any glose commentary, or annotations, but sucl>
as were necessary to ascertain the literal meaning of my Text; and free of every sort
of interpretation calculated to establish or defend any particular system of religious
credence. A few specimens of this version, rarely met with, are here
subjoined: GENESIS XLV. IO-I4, 25.
" 10. God hath made me the lord of all Egypt: come down to me, de
lay not. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen (that thou mayest
* Geddes means the Authorized Version, and alludes to Gregory Martin's Discov
erie oftJie Manifest Corruptions, etc., 1582, to Ward's England^s Reformation, and
Errata of the Protestant Bible. The last named publication, though refuted times
without number, is still bound up with the Challoner Bibles published by Sadlier, New
York. A specimen ofit is given at the close ofthis chapter.

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 331
be near to me), thou and thy children and thy flocks and thy herds,
and all that belongeth to thee. 1 1 . There will I support thee (for there
are yet to be five years of famine), lest thou and thy household, and all
that belong imto thee, be reduced to poverty. 12. For, lo ! {said Joseph)
Your own eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my
mouth which speaketh to you. 13. Ye shall therefore relate to my fa
ther all my glory in Egypt, and all that ye have seen ; and haste ye and
bring my father down hither. ' ' He then fell upon the neck of his brother
Benjamin, and wept: while Benjamin wept also upon his neck 
25. So they went up out of Egypt and came into theland of Chanaan
to their father Jacob. And when they told him saying: "Joseph is still
alive, and the ruler of all the land of Egypt;" his heart palpitated;
though he believed them not. But when they told him all the words
of Joseph, which he had said to them; and when he saw the waggons
which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob re
vived. And Israel said: "It is enough. My son Joseph is yet alive.
I will go and see him before I die."
The critical remarks on this passage illustrate the translator's scholar
ship: "v. 10. That thou mayest be near to me, etc. Whether Memphis,
or Tanis, or, as I once thought, Heliopolis, were then the capital and
royal city of Egypt, the land of Goshen might well be said to be nigh
to it, as in all probability the pasturage ground reached, or very nearly
reached, to the most eastern branch of the Nile on the north, and per
haps to On, or Heliopolis, on the south. Comp. Ex. i. 22. Besides
the word near, which might be rendered, nearer, may be understood
comparatively, with respect to the far greater distance of Chanaan. . . .
y . ¦i.d. His heart palpitated, [vajjaphag libbo] . The common render
ing is 'his heart fainted.' — Onk., Saad., and Pers. have terms that de
note hesitation; no improper idea of Jacob's case. — Michaelis: Sein
Herz blieb aber kalt, friguit cor ejus, a meaning adopted by Dathe and
Ro;enmtiller; supported by the Syr. version; and from a meaning which
phug has in the Syr. and Arabic dialects. But I cannot think that the
new^ of Joseph's being alive would chill the heart of Jacob. He might
doubt, he raight hesitate: but he could not be cold. I am persuaded,
then, that the signification oi jjaphag is to be sought in the Arabic
naphag, which gives the very meaning wanted; namely that of sudden
motion, palpitation. Not badly, therefore, the Vulgate: ' quasi de
gravi somno evigilatus; tamen non credebat eis.' "

332 The English Versions.
2 SAM. XXIII. I^.
I. The following, also, though posterior, are the words of David,
"Thus saith David, the son of Ishai;
Saith the man who was exalted to be
The anointed of the God of Jacob:
Who harmonized the psalmody of Israel.
2. The Spirit of the Lord speaketh by me.
And his word is on my tongue.
3. To me, the God of Israel hath said.
The rock of Israel hath promised;
A just ruler over mankind;
Who will rule in the fear of God.
4. Not like the grass of the earth, (which.
When the morning sun riseth clear and cloudless,
Glistereth from the previous rain)
Shall be my house before God .
For with me he hath made a perpetual covenant.
In every point regular and sure.
For every sort of welfare is mine;
And mine every wish he hath accomplished.
Whereas lawless men, all of them.
Are like briars, to be thrust out,
(For with the hand they may not be taken.
But the man, who would meddle with them.
Must be provided with an axe and spear-shaft)
And to 1>e burned on the spot with fire."
Note. V. 4. /Ijt t'ke the grass, etc. There is great beauty in this metaphor.—.
That grass, which from the dews and showers of the night appears so glossy and
glistering, at the rismg of the sun, shall soon decay and wither before his meridian
rays; but not so the house of David, etc., vv. 6, 7. The parenthesis must be read a"*
such, and the last line joined to the second.
The Psalms have this title: A new Translation of tlie Book of Psalms
from the Original Hebrew; with various readings and notes. By the
late Alexander Geddes, LL.D. London, printed for R. Johnson in St.
Paul's Churchyard, 1807. The work is extremely rare, and on that
account, the following specimen is here subjoined:
PSALM XIX.
The subject of this Psalm is general; and its tenor is readily per
ceived. A finer argument against atheism was never urged, nor better
expressed.

Rhemes Testament and Douav Bible. 333
The heavens proclaim the glory of God !
the works of his hands the expanse declareth !
day after day emitteth speech:
night after night announceth knowledge 1
not a speech and language that are not heard:
through the whole earth their voice is spread !
their eloquence to the limits of the world !
In them he hath pitched a tent for the sun:
who like a bridegroom issueth from his nuptial-bower:
and like a giant, exulteth in his rapid course !
from one end of the heavens is his setting out,
and to the other end his revolution down !
so that no one is deprived of his heat.
MURRAY'S BIBLE, Svo, 1825.
It derives its name from Daniel Murray, titular archbishop of Dublin,
who in 1825 directed Richard Coyne, bookseller and publisher to the
College of Maynooth, to prepare stereotype plates for an Svo Bible,
which has been used as a sort of standard. In the Old Testament the
text appears to be formed upon that of Troy, 1S16; in the New that of
Challoner, 1749 and 1750, is followed. The Notes through both Testa
ments are different in many instances from Challoner's; the Titles of the
books of the Old Testament agree with those of the Bible of 179 1.
DR. lingard's four GOSPELS, 8v0., 1836.*
Title: A new Version of the Four Gospels; with notes critical and
explanatory, by a Catholic. London, Joseph Booker, 6l New Bond
Street, 1836.
The translation is for the most part made from the Greek, although
occasionally the rendering is that of the Vulgate. The drift of his notes
is thus expressed:
It may be proper to inform the reader that the notes, which are appended to the
text in the following pages, are not of a controversial character. Their object is the
elucidation of obscure passages, or the explication of allusions to national customs, or
the statement of the reasons which have induced the translator to differ occasionally
from preceding interpreters. Many of these he has co^ulted, though he has not
thought proper to load his pages with references to their works.
Instead of "penance," and "do penance," he renders, in the most
important places, "repentance," and "repent." His note on Luke
xvii. 3, 4, reads: * For a specimen see synoptical table, p, 322.

334 The English Versions.
Repent, The use of the word metanoein in these two verses shows; first, tbat it
ought not to be translated, as some will have it, to re/orni: secondly, that in the Vul
gate /^ew/Vw^ s.nd poenitentiam agere bear the same signification.
Among his peculiar renderings are; DOULOS, a slave, or a bondman,
never a servant; Messiah in place of Christ; good tidings for gospel;
taxgatherer iox publican; fiends for devils; figures iox proverbs; to an
nounce for preach, verily for amen; causes of offence instead of scandals;
DIKAIOSUNE he translates righteousness; and apokritheis, taking oc
casion to speak, in places where no question has been mentioned.
The late Cardinal Wiseman, in a review of the translation, says:
To call it any longer the Douay or Rhemish version is an abuse of terms. It has
been altered and modified till scarcely any verse remains as it was originally pub-
lished; and as far as simplicity and energy of style are concerned, the changes are in
general for the woi^e. . . . The impression on the reader's mind, after having perused
this edition, must be, that Christianity never depended, for its code or evidences, upon
the compilation of these documents, and that they never could have been intended
for a rule of faith. * BISHOP KENRICK'S VERSION.
(The Gospels, 1849. — The Acts, Epistles, and Apocalypse, 1851.)
Titles: The Four Gospels, translated from the Latin Vulgate, and
diligently compared with the Original Greek Text, being a revision
of the Rhemish translation, with notes critical and explanatory. By
Francis Patrick Kenrick, bishop of Philadelphia, 8vo., New York, 1849.
The Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of St. Paul, the Catholic Epis
tles, and the Apocalypse. Translated from the Latin Vulgate, and dil
igently coinptired with the Greek Text, being (i revision of the Rhemish
translation, with notes critical and explanatory. By Francis Patrick
Kenrick, bishop of Philadelphia. 8vo., New York, 185 1.
In lieu of the customary ecclesiastical Approbation, the former of these
volumes contains the following dedication, defining the author's position,
and to a certain extent the scope and animus of his work. The reader
may judge, however, how far the verdict of history sustains the statement
of the last sentence.
To THE Hierarchy of the United States assembled in the sev-
F.NTii Provincial Council of Baltimore.
Most Reverend aftd Right Reverend Colleagues: — I venture to
offer to the public a. revised translation of the Four Gospels with notes
directed to remove the chief difficulties that may occur in their perusal.
My object is not to substitute it in public acts for the received version, but
* Dublin Review, April, 1837. Reprinted in Cardinal Wiseman's Essays, vol. i.
pp. 73-75. Lond., 1853. Cotton, Rhemes and Doway, pp. 136, 137.

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 335
to submit it to your mature judgment and correction, and in the mean
time to facilitate the study of the life of our Divine Redeemer in its only
authentic records. The annotations which I have added are for the most
part selected from the holy Fatliers, although occasionally I have availed
myself of the researches of modern writers, unhappily estranged frora
Catholic communion. I cannot hope that a work, which demands so
much erudition and such exercise of judgment, is in every respect fault
less; but I offer it as an earnest of my zeal for the correct understanding
and devout study of the sacred Scriptures. These have at all times been
the subject of the meditation of the prelates of the Church, and of the
Clergy generally, whose duty and constant endeavor il has been to re
fresh the faithful with the living waters drawn from these fountains of
salvation. With profound veneration and sincere attachment,
I have the honor to remain.
Your devoted brother in Christ,
Francis Patrick Kenrick,
Bishop of Philadelphia.
examples of the translation and the notes.
Matth. viii. 33, And the swineherds fled. The Greek may be ren
dered literally M^ /^^i/iTj-, which the Vulgate xenAtx^ pastores. Matth.
x. I, And having called his twelve disciples together. He gave them
pp-.ver ouer unclean spirits, to cast them out, aud to heal all manner of
diseases, and'all tnanner of infirmities. These miraculous powers were
given specially to the Apostles for their first mission, and were enjoyed
by them through the whole course of their ministry, although only exer
cised on extraordinary occasions. They are not inherent in the sacred
ministry, which is directed to the instruction and sanctification of men.
They were the seals of the original commission. Mark iii. 6, Took coun
sel. I have adopted the Protestant translation, after the example of " a
Catholic." The Rhemish version expresses the same meaning but less
forcibly. 'Us.xVv'x. 11, They preached that men should do penance. It is
with no view to doctrinal controversy that I have here retained the Rhemish
translation, but as more expressive of the entire conversion of the sinner.
Jolm ii. 4, And Jesus saith to her. Woman, what hast thou to do witk
me? I have adopted the Protestant translation, for the sake of unifor
mity in the various places in which the phrase occurs, although the mean
ing is manifestly modified by the circumstances. Here it can only be;
why dost th JU ask this of me ?

336

The English Versions.

Ill the General Introduction to the Acts, etc., he says on the same
subject: Some have been offended at my adoption of the term repent instead o^ do penajtce
in several passages of the gospels. Had I been the first to hmovate in this regard, I
should feel that I had acted rashly; but T only followed up what others had begun.
The truth is, that the Latin phrase agere poenitentiam was employed for the Greek
term metanoeo, many ages before the doctrinal controversies about penitential works
originated, and was occasionally replaced by paenitemini: the interpreter regarding
both terms as equivalent. Doubtless penitential works were always inculcated; but
no one ever thought of proving their necessity by the mere force of the Latin term.s,
and no one acquainted with the Greek could question that it expressed more directly
the change of mind or compunction, although it was used to signify in general penitential
exercises .... An anonymous writer, believed to be Dr. Lingard, adopted it [repent]
universally. I chose to retain the other phrase wherever reference was had expressly
to penitential works. The responsibility of the change should rest with those who
first made it; but as it has been admitted into all the modem editions, there is no rea
son why it should not be adopted in the other passages. It implies no concession: but
it merely supposes that certain phrases have by long usage acquired a popular mean
ing different from that in which they were first employed. The doctrinal proofs re
main unshaken. Penitential works are necessary, not because the Vulgate interpreter
has pcenitcittiam agite, or the Rhemish interpreter says do penance: but because such
works have been inculcated under the Old and New Dispensations, in the Scriptures
and by the Fathers, as evidences and fruits of compunction.*
And towards the close ofthis Introduction, the bishop says:
In adopting occasionally the words and phrases of the Protestant version, I have
followed the example of others who have from time to time revised the Rhemish
translation. It is not to be regretted that, whilst we point to errors which need cor
rection, we acknowledge excellencies which we are free to imitate, thus diminishing
the asperity of censure by the tribute which we willingly render to literary merit.
The freedom with which I have quoted Protestant and Rationalistic authors raay
seem scarcely consistent with the Rules of the Index, which require that the annota
tions should be taken from the fathers, or from Catholic divines. The attentive reader
will, however, observe, that in all matters of doctrine and moral instruction I draw
from the purest fountains of orthodox faith, and that I avail myself of the testimonies
of those who are outside the pale ofthe Church, only by way of acknowledgment on
their part, or in matters purely critical, in which they ha^ve brought their stores of eru
dition and their natural acuteness of mind to the vindication of the sacred text. I
have felt the more free to make such references, because in this work I have chiefly
had in view the instruction of students in theology; cherishing the hope of bemg ena
bled hereafter to publish the whole New Testament in a more popular form for the
general edification ofthe faithful.
It is painful to tum from such enlightened liberality to the almost sav
age fanaticism of the work of which a brief extract concludes this chapter.

* Cotton, Rhemes and Do7vay, pp. 153-165.

Rhemes Testament and Douay Bible. 337
S" ^ t^ a „ .S T3 o .a

^^-

^ §

^J

¦^ .

^ "2
c/5
0
^
>,
.s
.-S^
rt ^n'
•^=3
^¦«- I ^iri-si-'su III
.4 tC
.9 w"
fe^ P^W
In illustration of the spirit of this bigoted book, I produce
note </ appended to this passage:
Here again they make St. Paul say, that God made us "accepted"
or "freely accepted in his beloved Son," (their last translation leaves
out Son very boldly; changing the word his into the "accepted in the
Beloved,") as if they had a mind to say, that "In, or among all the be
loved in the world, God has only accepted us," as they make the angel
in St. Luke say tj our blessed Lady, "Hail! freely beloved," to take
338 The English Versions.
away all grace inherent and resident in the blessed virgin, or in lis:
whereas the Apostle's word signifies that we are truly made grateful,
or gracious and acceptable; that is to say, that our soul is inwardly en
dued and beautified with grace, and the virtues proceeding from it; and
consequently, is holy indeed before the sight of God, and not only so
accepted or reputed as they imagine. Which St. Chrysostom suffi
ciently testifies in these words, " He said not, which he freely gave us,
butj wherein he made us grateful; that is, not only delivered us from
sins, but also made us beloved and amiable, made our soul beautiful and
grateful, such as the angels and archangels desire to see, and such as
himself is in love withal, according to that in the psalm, the king shall
desire or be in love with thy beauty."* St. Hierom speaking of bap
tism, says, "Now thou art made clean in the laver: and of thee it is
sairT, who is she that ascends white ? and let her be washed, yet she can
not keep her purity, unless she be strengthened from our Lord;"t
whence it is plain, that by baptism original sin being expelled, inherent
justice takes place in the soul, rendermg it clean, white, and pure; which
purity the soul, strengthened by God's grace, may keep and conserve.
Ward's Errata was answered by Rev. R. Ryan, Rev. Dr.
Kipling, and Rev. Rd. Grier. As the book continues to be
published in the United States, it is proper to add that many
of the alleged heretical corruptions are embodied in the Bibles
authorized, and approved by Archbishop Murray in 1825, and
that the censures of Ward's Errata apply as much to Mur
ray's Bibles as to the Protestant Bible. For matter bearing
on this subject see Cotton, Rhemes and Doway, pp. 27-30.

CHAPTER XIII.
THE AUTHORIZED VERSION.
At the conference held at Hampton Court between the
Conformists and the Puritans, January 14th, i6th, and i8th,
1604, presided over by that curious compound of worldliness
and theology, king James I. , Dr. John Reynolds, leader of
* St. Chrys. ad toe. \ St. Hierom, lib. iii, contra Pelagianos.

The Authorized Version. 339
•
the Puritans, suggested to the king the desirableness ofa new
translation of the Bible, on the ground that the versions al
lowed in the reigns of Henry VHI. and Edward VI. were
untrue to the original, and instanced, that Psalm cv. 28, ren
dered ''they were not obedient,'' read in the original, "they
were not disobedient"; Psalm evi. 30, rendered, "then stood
vp Phinees and prayed" ought to be "executed judgment";
and that Gal. iv, 25, the word <3v6roixei was incorrectly trans
lated ' ' bordereth " as neither expressing the force of the
word, nor the Apostle's sense, nor the situation of the place.
So Barlow reports the matter, but the account given in the
Preface to the Authorized Version is somewhat different, for
there it is stated that the Puritans as a last shift submitted,
' ' That they could not with good conscience subscribe to the Commun
ion Hook, since it maintained the Bible as then translated, which was,
as tbey said, a most corrupted translation. And although this was
judged' to be but a very poor and empty shift, yet even hereupon did
his Majesty begin to bethink himself of the good that might ensue by a
new translation, and presently after gave order for this translation which
is now presented unto thee." Barlow adds:
" My Lord of London well added; that if every man's humour should
be followed there would be no end of translating. Whereupon his
Highness wished some special pains should be taken in that behalf for
one uniform translation — professing that he could never yet see a Bible
well translated in English; but the worst of all his Majesty thought the
Geneva to be — and this to be done by the best learned in both the Uni-
versities; after them to be reviewed by the bishops and the chief learned
of the Church; from them to be presented to the Privy Council; and
lastly to be ratified by his royal authority ; and so this whole Church to.
be bound unto it and none other. Marry withal he gave • this caveat,
upon a word cast out by my lord of London, that no marginal notes
should be added, having found in them which are annexed to the Ge
neva translation, which he saw in a Bible given him by an English lady,
some notes very partial, untrue, seditious, and savoring too much of
dangerous and traiterous deceits {e. g. those on Exod. i. 19; 2 Chron.
XV. 16 ").*
* Barlow, Sum and Substance, in Cardwell's History of (inferences, p. 167.

340 The English Versions.
«
, Dr. Eadie very strongly animadverts on the last passage,
and holds that the king was either misunderstood, or if his
speech is correctly reported, that then he uttered ' ' a bold un
blushing falsehood, a clumsy attempt to sever himself from
his earlier Scottish beliefs and usages that he might win fa
vour with his English churchmen."*
Although nothing further was done at the Conference, and
Convocation, holden a few months later, took no action in
the matter, the king clearly favored it, and the scheme was
fast maturing, for by June 30th, a list of the translators was
submitted to the king, who approved of the choice. Ban
croft wrote that day to Cambridge on the subject and said,
' ' I am persuaded his royal mind rejoiceth more in the good
hppe which he hath for the happy success of that work, than
of his peace concluded with Spain. "
In a letter from the king to Bancroft, who was then repre
senting the vacant see of Canterbury, dated July 22, 1604, he
announces the appointment of fifty-four learned men for the
translating of the Bible, and requiring him
" To move all our bishops to inform themselves of all such learned men
within their several dioceses, as having special skill in the Hebrew and
Greek tongues, have taken pains in their private studies of the Scrip.
tures, for the clearing of any obscurities either m the Hebrew or in the
Greek, or touching any difficulties or mistaking in the former English
translations, which we have now commanded to be thoroughly viewed
and amended; and thereupon to write unto them, earnestly charging
them, and signifying our pleasure therein, that they send such their ob
servations either to Mr. Lively, our Hebrew reader in Oxford, or Dr.
Andrews, dean of Westminster, to be imparted to the rest of their sev
eral companies; that so our said intended translation may have the help
.\nd furtherance of all our principal learned men within this our kingdom . ' '
In the matter of remuneration of their labor, the transla
tors were to be provided for by Church preferment.
* Tlte English Bible, ii. pp. 177-S.

The Authorized Version. 341
On this last subject Bancroft wrote to the bishop of Norwich;
'¦ There are many .... who are to be employed in this translation of
the Bible, and sundry of them must of necessity have their chargis-
borne; which his majesty was very ready, of his most princely disposi
tion, to have borne, but some of my lords, as things now go, did hold
it inconvenient. Wherefore it was left to me, to move all my brethren,
the bishops, and likewise every dean and chapter, to contribute to thi.«
work.'' In the discharge of that duty he requested such contributions,
asking for speedy action and adding, by way of stimulus: "for I am to
acquaint his majesty with every man's liberality towards this most godly
work." Nothing seems to have been done in the way of subscription,
and free entertainment in the Colleges, until some of them met in Lon
don for the final revision of the work, appears to have been all that was
done for them in the way of bearing their charges. In the matter of
preferment however, Bancroft commimicates a letter from the king to
this effect: "Right trusty and beloved, we greet you well, whereas we
have appointed certain learned men, to the number of four and fifty,
for the translating of the Bible, and that in this number divers of them
have either no ecclesiastical preferment at all, or else so very small, as
the same is far unmeet for men of their deserts, and yet, we of ourself
in any convenient time cannot well remedy it: therefore we do hereby
require you, that presently you write, in our name, as well to the arch
bishop of York, as to the rest of the bishops of the province of Canter
bury, signifying unto them that we do will, and straitiy charge every
one of them, as also the other bishops of the province of York, as they
tender ou- good favour towards them, that (all excuses set apart) when
any prebend or parsonage being rated in our book of taxations, the
prebend to twenty pounds at least, and the parsonage to the like sum
and upwards, shall next upon any occasion happen to be void, and to
be either of their patronage, or of the patronage and gift of any person
whatever, they do make stay thereof, and admit none unto it, until cer
tifying us of the avoidance of it, and of the name of the patron, if it be
not of their own gift, that we may commend for the same some such of
the learned men, as we shall think fit to be preferred unto it; not doubt
ing of the bishops' readiness to satisfy us herein, or that of any of the
laity, when we shall in time move them to so good and religious .in act,
wil! be unwilling to give us the like due contentment and satisfaction;
we ourselves having taken the same order for such prebends, and bene
fices as shall be void in our gift. " *
? Wilkins, Concil. iv, pp. 407-8,

342 The English Versions.
Of the original translators seven were elevated to the Epis
copate and seventeen or eighteen preferred to lower dignities,
or livings. Notwithstanding all this earnestness on the part of
the king, possibly the want of funds, and the death of Lively
and of others, prevented all * the companies to begin their
work before 1607.
Although the king mentions fifty-four translators, their
names are not given, and the lists that have been preserved
contain only forty-seven. It seems impossible to explain the
discrepancy satisfactorily. The original number was dimin
ished by the death of Mr. Lively in 1605, but his place was
filled by Dr, Spalding; Dr. Eades died in 1604, and Dr.
Aglionby appointed in his place, died in 1610, and Mr.
Dakins died in February 1607. Dr. Reynolds died in the
same year, and Dr. Ravis in 1609. Resignations may have oc
curred, and substitutions been made; and it is not impossible
that the number of fifty-four included a supervisory body, en
trusted with a revision of the translation. The lists appear to
have been prepared from the beginning, for they contain the
names of some who died before the companies met for work,
if they did not meet before 1607.
The subjoined " Order agreed upon for the translating the
Bible " is taken from Lewis, who says that it had been compared
with a copy one time belonging to Dr. Jegon, bishop of Nor
wich. Burnet's list (from which Cardwell's is taken) I had
not at hand, but it has been compared with, and the notes
prepared from similar lists given in the works of Anderson,
Westcott, Eadie and Moulton, and the Brief Account, etc. , pre
fixed to Bagster's Hexapla. They were divided into six com
panies, two of which met at Oxford, two at Cambridge, and
two at Westminster. * See what is stated below.

The Authorized Version.

343

Pentateuch: The Storie from
Josua to the first Book of the
Chronicles, exclusive.

Westminster.
Mr. Dean of Westminster, i.
Mr. Dean of Paules. 2.
Mr. Dr. Saravia. 3.
Mr. Dr. Clarke, Cantuar. 4.
Mr. Dr. Layfield. 5.
Mr. Dr. Teigh. 6.
Mr. Burleigh, StreTford. 7.
Mr. Kinge, Sussex. 8.
Mr. Thomson, Clare. 9.
Mr. Bedwell, io.

I . Dr. Launcelot Andrews, successively promoted bishop of Chiches
ter, Ely, and Winchester, was president of this company. His learning
is said to have been prodigious. " The world wanted learning to know
how learhed he was'."
i. Dr. John Overall, successively promoted bishop of Lichfield and
Coventry, and Norwich. "Vir longe doctissimus," Casaubon.
3. Dr. Hadrian Saravia, prebendary of Canterbury. Famed as a
Hebraist. 4. Dr. Richard Clarke, one of the six preachers at Canterbury.
5. Dr. John Layfield, renowned for his knowledge of architecture, was
specially consulted concerning the tabernacle and the temple.
6. Dr. Richard Teigh (Lewis says "Leigh," but that seems to be in
correct), archdeacon of Middlesex, " an excellent textuary, and profound
linguist," Wood.
7. Mr. (?) Henry Burleigh, said in a Lambeth MS. to have been B.D.
in 1594, and D.D. in 1607.
8. Mr. Geoffry King, Regius Professor of Hebrew, Cambridge.
9. Mr. Richard Thomson, of Clare Hall, Cambridge, familiarly called
" Dutch Thomson," having been bom in Holland, reported to have been
a fine philologer.
10. Mr. William Bedwell, of St. John's College, Cambridge, was the
great Arabic scholar of the period.

344

The English Versions.

The places and persons agreed tipon for the Hebrew, with the particula*
books by them undertaken.

Cambridge.
Mr. Livelye. i.
Dr. Richardson. 2.
Mr. Chaderton. 3.
Mr. Dillingham. 4.
Mr. Harrison. 5.
Mr. Andrews. 6.
Mr. Spaldinge. 7.
Mr. Binge. 8.

From the first of Chronicles,
with the rest of the Story, and
the Hagiographa, viz.. Job,
Psalmes, Proverbs, Cantica,
Ecclesiastes.

I. Edward Lively, Regius Professor of Hebrew, at Cambridge; next
to Pococke, "the greatest of Hebraists," was president of this corapany.
He died in 1605.
2. Dr. John Richardson, Professor of Divinity, "a most excellent
linguist." 3. Dr. Lawrence Chaderton, the first master of Emanuel College, was
famed for his att<iinments in the languages, especially the Rabbinical
writings. 4. Mr. Francis Dillingham, Fellow of Christ's College, " a great
Grecian." 5. Mr. Thomas Harrison, Vice Chancellor of Trinity, noted for "his
exquisite skill in Hebrew and Greek idioms."
6. Dr. Roger Andrews, the bishop's brother, afterwards master of
Jesus College.
7. Dr. Robert Spaldinge, Lively 's successor as professor of Hebrew.
8. Dr. Andrew Bynge, who succeeded King in the same ixaition.

Oxford.
Dr. Hardinge. i.
Dr. Reikolds. 2.
Dr. Holland. 3.
Dr. Kilby. 4.
Mr. Smith, Hereford. 5.
Mr. Brett. 6.
Mr. Fareclow. 7.

1

The fouer greater Prophets,
with the Lamentation, and
the twelue lesser prophets.

J

I. Dr. John Hardinge, the president of this company, vvas Regius
Professor of Hebrew, and president of Magdalen Col'ege.

The Authorized Version. 345
2. Dr. John Reinolds, was president of Corpus Christi College, and
bp. Hall says that " his memory and reading were near to a miracle."
3. Dr. Thomas Holland, Regius Professor of Divinity, " another Apol-
los, a most learned divine," Wood.
4. Dr. Richard Kilby, Professor of Hebrew and a great rabbinist.
Isaac Walton tells a good story of hira, the gist of which is that he
went to church, where a young preacher gave three reasons why a
certain word in the recent translation should have been rendered -dif-
ferently. Meeting him afterwards Kilby told him, that he and others
of the translators had considered all the reasons, and found thirteen
more considerable reasons why it was translated as printed.
5. Dr. Miles Smith, at the time canon of Hereford, and subsequently
bishop of Gloucester, " had Hebrew at his fingers' ends "; he was one of
the supervisors, final examiner, and editor along with Bilson, and wrote
the Preface.
6. Dr. Richard Brett, then fellow of Lincoln College, " skilled and
versed to a criticism in the Latin, Greek, Chaldee, Arabic and Ethiopic
tongues." 7. Mr. (?) Richard Fareclow (or, Fairclough), fellow of New College.
Westminster.
Mr. Dean of Chester, i.
Dr. Hutchinson. 2.
Dr. Spencer. 3.
Mr. Fenton. 4.
Mr. Rabbett. 5.
Mr. Sanderson. 6.
Mr. Dakins. 7.
I . Dr. William Barlow, dean of Chester, afterwards bishop of Lincoln.
2. Dr. Ralph Hutchinson, president of St. John's College.
3. Dr. John Spencer, afterwards president of Corpus Christi College,
the intimate friend of Hooker.
4. Dr. Roger Fenton, fellow of Pembroke Hall ; ' ' never a more learned
man hath Pembroke Hall, with but one exception." Bp, Felton.
5. Mr. Michael Rabbett, B.D., Rector of St. Vedast, Foster Lane,
London. 6. Dr. Thomas Sanderson, archdeacon of Rochester (?).
7. Mr. William Dakins, B.D., Greek lecturer at Cambridge, "had
great skill in the original languages."

The Epistles of St. Paule,
and the Canonical Epistles.

346

The English Versions.

The Four Gospels, Acts of
the Apostles, Apocalips.

Oxford.
Mr, Dean OF CHRIST Church. I.'
Mr. Dean of Winchester. 2.
Mr. Dean of Worcester. 3.*
Mr. Dean of Windsor. 4,
Mr. SaVile. 5.
De. Perin. 6,
Dr. Ravens. 7.*
Mr, John HarmeK. 8.
I. Dr. Thomas Ravis, afterwards bishop of Gloucester, and London.
2. Dr. George Abbot, afterwards archbishop of Cantefbury.
3. Dr. Richard Eades, died in 1604.
4. Dr. Giles Thompson, afterwards bishop of Gloucester, "took a
great deal of pains at translating."
5. Sir Henry Savile, tutor in Greek to Queen Elizabeth, provOst of
Eton, and editor of the works of Chrysostom.
6. Dr. John Perifl, professor of Greek.
7. Dr, Ravens, subdean of Wells (?).
8. Dr. John Harmer, Picife.sSor of Greek, " a most noted Latinist, Gre
cian and divine.'' Cambridge.
Dr. Duport. I.
Dr. Branthwaite. 2.
Dr. Radcliffe. 3.
Mr. Ward, Eman. 4,
Mr. Downes. 5,
Mr, Boyse. 6.
Mr, Warde, Reg. 7.
I. Dr. John Duport, afterwards master of Jesus College, Cambridge.
2. Dr. William Branthwaite, afterwards master of Gonvilie and Caius
College. 3. Dr. Jeremiah Radcliffe, fellow of Trinity College.
4. Dr. Samuel Ward, afterwards master of Sidney College, and Lady
Margaret Professor of Divinity; "skilled in tongues, though slow of
speech. "

The Prayer of Mariasses, and
the rest of the Apocrypha.

• Some of the lists give in place of Dr, Eades and Dr. Ravens the names of Dr. J.
Aglionby. principal of St. Edmnnd's HaU, and Dr. L, Hntton, " an excellent Grecian,
and well read in the Fathers and Schoolnien." Dr. Montagne, afterwards bishop of
Winchester, is albo mentioned.

The Authorized Verptov. 347
5. Mr. Andrew Downes, Greek Professor, one ofthe revisors, and de
scribed as "one composed of Greek and industry," Selden. He cor
responded with Casaubon in Greek.
6. Mr. John Boyse (Bois), fellow of St. John's College, was " a pre
cocious Greek and Hebrew scholar."
7. Mr. Warde, fellow of King's College, appears as one of the divines
sent to Synod at Dort.
Dr. Thoraas Bilson, afterwards bishop of Winchester, and reputed to
be " well skilled in languages," although not one of the original transla
tors, had charge with Miles Sraith of the final revision, and prepared the
summary of contents at the head of each chapter.
The nature of the work to be done by the translators is
clearly defined in a set of instructions, which read as follows:
I. The ordinary Bible read in the Church, commonly called the Bi
shops' Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the truth of the
origin3,l will permit.
2. The names of the prophets, and the holy writers, with the other
names of the text to be retained as near as may be, accordingly as they
are vulgarly used.
3. The old ecclesiastical words to be kept, via., ss the word church not
to be translated congregation.
4. When any word hath divers significations, that to be kept which
hath been raost commonly used by the most eminent fathers, being agree
able to the propriety of the place, and the analogic of faith.
5. The division of the chapters to be altered either not at all, or as
Uttle as may be, if necessity so require.
6. No marginal notes at all to be affixed, but only for the explanation
of the Hebrew or Greek words, which cannot, without some circumlocu
tion, so briefly and fitly be expressed in the text.
7. Such quotations of places to be marginally set down, as shall serve
for the fit references of one scripture to another.
8. Every particular raan of each company to take the same chapter
o: chapters; and having translated or amended them severally by him
self where he thinks good, all to meet together, to conferre what they
have done, and agree for their part, what shall stand.
9, As any one company hath dispatched any one book in this man
ner, they shall send it to the rest, to be considered of seriously and judi.
ciously ; for his majesty is very careful on this pomt,
10. If any company upon the review of the book so sent, shall doubt

348 The English Versions.
or differ upon any places, to send them word thereof, to note thp places,
and therewithal to send their reasons; to which, if they consent uot, 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.
1 1 . Where any place of special obscurity is doubted of, letters to be
directed by authority to send to any learned in the land, for his judgment
in such a place.
12. Letters to be sent from every bishop to the rest of his clergie, ad
monishing them of this translation m hand, and move and charge as many
as, being skilful in the tongues, have taken pains in that kind, to send
their particular observations, to the company either at Westminster,
Cambridge, or Oxford, according as it was directed before in the king's
letter to the archbishop.
13. The directors in each company to be the deans of Westminster
and Chester, for Westminster, and the king's professors in Hebrew and
Greek in the two universities.
14. These translations to be used when they agree better with the
text than the Bishops' Bible: Tyndale's, Coverdale's, Matthew's, Whit
church's, Geneva.*
Copies of these orders were sent to Cambridge, and pre
sumably to Oxford, but upon doubts arising on the third
and fourth rules, the vice-chancellor, Dr. Cowell having referred
them to the bishop of London, received the reply that —
"To be suer, if he had not signified unto them already, it was his ma
jesty's pleasiure, that, besides the learned persons imployed with them
for the Hebrewe and Greeke, there should be three or fower of the most
eminent and grave divines of their university, assigned by the vice-chan-
cellour uppon conference with the rest of the heads, to be overseers of
the translations, as well Hebrew as Greek, for the better observation of
th.e rules appointed by his Highness, and especially concerning the third
and forth rule: and that when they had agreed uppon the persons for
that purpose, he prayed them to send him word thereof."
In a postscript the bishop added that —
" Att the verie wri tinge thereof a learned epistle was delivered unto him
of Mr. Broughton'-s, which, though it was of an old date, yet he thought
good to send it unto them, that Mr, Lively and the rest might have the
perusal of it, if before they had not seen it, " f
? Lewis, from Fuller's Cliurch History, bk, x. pp, 46-47. t Lewis, pu 319.

The Authorized Version. 349
This was probably Broughton's Epistle to the learned nobilitie
0/ England, touching translating the Bible, 1597.
The tenor of the last letter seems to have become a by-law,
or additional rule, for the text of the instructions given in
Burnet, Ex. MS. D. Borlase, adds:
15. Besides the said directors before mentioned, three or four of the
most ancient and grave divines in either of the universities, not employed
in translating, to be assigned by the vice-chancellour upon conference
with the rest of the Heads to be overseers of the translations, as well
Hebrew as Greek, for the better observation of the fourth rule above
specified. The notices of their mode of procedure, beyond what is
stated in the Preface, are very scant. As that Preface, written
by Dr. Miles Smith, is exceedingly valuable, it is much to be
deplored that it is not prefixed to the modern editions of the
Bible, while the Dedication, which can hardly be regarded in
that light by the unprejudiced, might conveniently disappear.
Those parts of the Preface which have a direct bearing on the
subject in hand, are here supplied. Some of the marginal
notes from the Bible of 16 11 are given in footnotes; those in
brackets [ ] are taken from the Cambridge Paragraph Bible.
Of their work the translators speak thus:
But it is high time to leave them, and to shew in brief what we pro
posed to ourselves, and what course we held, in this our perusal and sur
vey of the Bible.
Truly, good Christian reader, we never thought from the beginning
that we should need to make a new translation, nor yet to make of a
bad one a good one; (for then the iraputation of Sixtus had been true
in some sort, that our people had been fed with gall of dragons instead
of wine, with whey instead of milk, ) but to make a good one better, or
out of many good ones one principal good one, not justly to be excepted
a;;ainst; that hath been our endeavour, that our mark.
To that purpose were many chosen, that were greater in other men's
eyes than in their own, and that sought the truth rather than their own
praise. .Kgain, they came, or were thought to come, to the work, not
e.cercendi causa (as one saith,) but exercitati, 'that is, learned, not tc

350 The English Versions.
leam: for the chief overseer and ipyoStooHTiji under his Majesty, to
whom not only we, but also our whole Church was much bound,* knew
by his wisdom,, which thing also Nazianzen taught so long ago, that it is
a preposterous order to teach first and to learn after ....
As to the manner of their coming together for work, we
read: And ip whivt sort did these -assemble ? In the trust of their own knowl
edge, or of their shftrpness of wit, or deepness of judgraent, as it were
an arra of flesh ? At no hand. They trusted in hira tii£rt hath the key
ol David, opening, and no man shutting; they prayed to the Lord, the
Father of our Lord, to the effect that St. Augustine did ; O let thy Scrip
tures be my pure delight; let me not be deceived in them, neither let me
deceive by them. In this confidence, and with this devotion, did they
assemble together; not too many, lest one should trouble another; and
yet many, lest many things haply might escape them.
If yoii ask what they had before them, truly it was the Hebrew text of
the Old Testament, the Greek of the Nev/. These are the two golden
pipes, or ratlier conduits,t wherethrough the ohvebranches empty them
selves into the gold' .... If truth be to be tried by these tongues, then
whence should a translation be made, but out of them ? These tongues
therefore (the Scriptures, we say, in those tongues) we set before u.s to
translate, being the tongues wherein God was pleased to speak to his
Church by his Prophets and Apostles.
Neither did we run over the work with that posting haste that the
Septuagint did, if that be true which is reported of them,| that they fin
ished it in seventy-two days; neither were we barred or hindered from
going over it again, having once dpne it, hke 5. Hierome,^ if that be true
which himself reporteth, that he could no sooner write any thing, but
presently it was caught frora him and published, and he could not have
leave to mend it: neither, to be short, were we the first that fell in hand
with translating the Scripture into English, and consequently destitute
of former helps, as it is written of Origen, that he was the first in a man
ner, that put his hand to write Comraentaries upon the Scriptures, and
therefore no marvel if he overshot himself many times. None of these
things: the work hath not been huddled up in seventy-two days, but hath

* [Richard Bancroft, archbishop of Canterbury, died Nov. 2, 1610.]
t [Zech. iv. 14] X Joseph. Antiq, xii. 2, 13.
§ Ad Pantmac, pro lib. advers, ycruinian.

The Authorized Version. 351
cost the workmen, as light as it seemetli, the pains of twice seven times
seventy-two days, and raore. Matters of such weight and consequence
are to be speeded with maturity: for in a business of moment man fear
eth not the blame of convenient slackness.
Neither did we think much lo consult the translator or coramentators,
Chaldee, Hebrew, Syrian, Greek, or Latin: no, nor the Spanish, French,
Italian, or Dutch; * neither did we disdain to revise that which we had
done, and to bring back to the anvil that which we had 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.
The captious objections of those opposed to the translation
they meet as follows.
Many men's mouths have been opened a good while (and yet are not
stopped) with speeches about the translation so long in hand, or rather
peru.sals of translations made before: and ask what may be the reason,
what the necessity of the employment. Hath the Church been deceived,
say ihsy, all this while? Hath her sweet bread been mingled with
leaven, her silver with dross, her wine with water, her milk with lime?
{facte gypsum mali mescetur, saith St. Ireney.) We hoped that we had
been in the right way, that we had had the oracles of God delivered unto
us, and that though all the world had cause to be offended, and to com
plain, yet that we had none. Hath the nurse holden out the breast, and
nothing but wind in it ? Hath the bread been delivered by the Fathers
of the Church, and the same proved to be lapidosus, as Seneca speaketh ?
What is it to handle the word of God deceitfully, if this be not ? Thus
certain brethren. Also the adversaries of Judah and Hierusalem, like
Sanballat in Nehemiah, mock, as we hear, both at the work and work
men, saying. What do those weak Jews, etc., will they make the stones
¦whole again out of the heaps of dust whith are burnt ? although they
build, yet if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stony wall.
Was their translation good before ? Why do they now raend it ? Was
it not good ? Why then was it obtruded to the people ? Yea, why did
the Catholicks (meaning Popish Romanists') always go in jeopardy for
refusing to go to hear it ? Nay, if it must be translated into English,
Catholicks are fittest to do it. They have learning, and they know when
? This is doubtless Luther's German version. M.

352 The English Versions.
a thing is well, they can manum de tabula. We will answer them both
briefly: and the former, being Irethren, thus with St. Hierome, Damna-
mus veteres ? M'lnime, sed post priorum studia in domo Domini quod
possumus laboramus . T\i3.tis,, Do we condemn the ancient ? In no case;
but after the endeavours of them that were before us; we take the best
pains we can in the house of God. As if he said, Being provoked by
the example of the learned that lived before ray time, I have thought it
my duty to assay, whether my talent in the knowledge of the tongues
may be profitable in any measure to God's Church, lest I should seem
to have laboured in them in vain, and lest I should be thought to glory
in raen (although ancient) above that which was in them. Thus St.
Hierome may be thought to speak.
And to the same effect say we, that we are so far off' from condemning
any of their labours that travelled before us in this kind, either in this
land, or beyond sea, either in King Henry's time, or King Edward'' s (if
there were any translation, or correction of a translation, in his tirae), or
Queen Elizabeth's of ever renowned memory, that we acknowledge them
to have been raised up of God for the building and furnishing of his
Church, and that they deserve to be had of us and of posterity in ever
lasting remembrance. The judgment of Aristotle is worthy and well
known : If Timotheus had not been, we had not had much sweet musick:
But if Phrynis ( Timotheus his master) had not been, we had not had
Timotheus . Therefore blessed be they, and most honoured be their
n.ime, that break the ice, and give the onset upon that which helpeth
forward to the saving of souls. Now what can be more available there
to, than to deliver God's book unto God's people in a tongue which they
understand ? Since of an hidden treasure, and of a fountain that is sealed,
there is no profit, as Ptolemy Philadelph wrote to the Rabbins or mas
ters of the Jews, as witnesseth Epiphanius: and as St. Augustine saith,
A man had rather be with his dog than with a stranger * (whose tongue
is strange unto him). Yet for all that, as nothing is begun and perfected
at the same time, and the latter thoughts are thought to be the wiser: so,
if we building upon their foundation that went before us, and being holpen
by their labours, do endeavour to make that better which they left so
good; no man, we are sure, hath cause to mislike us; they, we persuade
ourselves, if they were alive, would "thank us 
The Roman Catholic cavil of frequent change they meet as
follows: • S. Aug. lib. 19, de civit. Dei, c, 7.

The Authorized Version. 353
Yet before we end, we must answer a third cavil and objection of
their's against us, for altering and amending our translations so oft;
wherever truly they deal hardly and strangely with us. For to whora
ever was it imputed for » fault (by such as were wise) to go over that
which he had done, and to amend it where he saw cau.se ? St, Augus
tine was not afraid to exhort St. Hierome to a Palinodia or recantation.
The same .5"/. Augustine was not asharaed to retractate, we might say,
revoke, many things that had passed him, and doth even glory that he
seeth his infirmities. If we will be sons of the truth, we must consider
what it speaketh, and trample upon our own credit, yea, and upon other
men's too, if either be any way an hindrance to it. This to the cause.
Then to the persons we say, that of all men they ought to be most silent
in this case. For what varieties have they, and what alterations have
they made, not only of their service books, portesses," and breviaries, but
also of their Latin translation ? . . . .
They that are less sound themselves ought not to object infirmities to
others  Nay, doth not Sixtus Quintus confess, that certain Cath
olicks (he meaneth certain of his own side) were in such a humour of
translating the Scriptures into Latin, that Satan taking occasion by them,
though they thought of no such matter, did strive what he could, out of
so uncertain and manifold a variety of translations, so to mingle all things,
that nothing might seem to be left certain and film in them, etc. ? Nay
further, did not the same Sixtus ordain by an inviolable decree, and that
with the counsel and consent of his Cardinals, that the Latin edition of
the Old and New Testament, which the Council of Trent would have to
be authentick, is the same without controversy which he then set forth,
being diligently corrected and printed in the printing house of Vatican ?
Thus Sixtus in his preface before his Bible. And yet Clement the Eighth,
his immediate successor published another edition of the Bible, contain
ing in it infinite differences from that of Sixtus, and many of them
weighty and material; and yet this must be authentick by all means.
What is to have the faith of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with yea
and nay, if this be not ? Again, what is sweet harmony and consent, if
this be ? Therefore, as Demaratus of Corinth advised a great King, be
fore he talked of the dissensions among the Grecians, to compose his do-
mestick broils (for at that time his Queen and his son and heir were at
deadly feud with him); so all the while that our adversaries do make so
many and so various editions themselves, and do jai so much about the
worth and authority of them, they can with no shew of equity challenge
us for changing and correcting. * \i, e. manuals of devotion.!

354 The English Versions.
The use they made ofthe margin is thus referred to:
Some peradventure would have no variety of senses to be set in the
margin, lest the authority of the Scriptures for deciding of controversies
by that shew of uncertainty should somewhat be shaken. But we hold
their judgraent not to be so sound in this point, .... There be raany
words in the Scriptures, which be never found there but onpe (having
neither brother nor neighbour, as the Hebrew^ speak), so that we cannot
be holpen by conference of places. Again, there be raany rare names
of certain birds, beasts and precious stones, etc., concerning which the
Hebrews themselves are so divided among themselves for judgment, that
they may seem to have defined this pr that, rather beca.use they would
say something, than because they were sure of that which they said, as
St. Hierome somewhere saith of the Septuagint. Now in such a case
doth not a margin do well to admonish the Reader to seek further, and
not to conclude or dogmatize upon this or that peremptorily ? For as it
is a fault of incredulity, to doubt of those things that are evident; so to
determine of such things as the Spirit of God hath laft (even in the judg
ment of the judicious) questionable, can be no less than presumption.
Therefore, as St. Augustine saith, that variety of translations is profitable
for the finding out of the sense ofthe Scriptures: so diversity of significa
tion and sense in the margin, where the text is not so clear, must needs
do good; yea, is necessary, as we are persuaded 
And for their variety of rendering the same word in the
original they give these reasons: ,
Another thing we think gobd to admonish thee of, gentle Reader, that
we have not tied ourselves to an uniformity of phiasing, or to an identity
of words, as sorae peradventure would wish that we had done, because
they observe, that some learned men somewhere have been as exact as
they could that way. Truly, that we might not vary from the setise of
that which we had translated before, if the word signified the same
thing in both places (for there be sorae 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 particular word, as for example, if we translate the Hebreiv
or Greek word once by purpose, never to call it intent; if one where
journeying, never travelling; if one where think, never suppose; if one
where pain, never ache: if one where /(jy, never gladness, etc., thus to
mince the matter, we thought to savour more of curiosity than wisdom,
and that rather it would breed scorn in the atheist, than bring profit to

The Authorized Version. 355
the godly reader. For is the kingdom of God become words or sylla
bles ? Why should we be in bondage to them, if we may be free ? use
one precisely, when we may use another no less fit as commodiously ?
A godly Father in the primitive time shewed himself greatly moved, that
one of newfangleness called HpafipaTov, 6Kil.titovi,* though the
difference be little or none; and another reporteth, that he was much
abused for turning cucurbita (to which reading the people had been used)
into kedera. Now if this happen in better times, and upon so small oc
casions, we might justly fear hard censure, if generally we should make
verbal and unnecessary changings. We might also be charged (by scof
fers) with some unequal dealing towards a great number of good English
words. For as it is written of a certain great Philosopher, that he should
say, that those logs were happy that were made images to be worshipped;
for their fellows, as good as they, lay for blocks behind the fire : so if we
should say, as it were, unto certain words, Stand up higher, have a place
in the Bible always; and to others of like quality. Get you hence, be
banished forever; we might be taxed peradventure with St. James, his
words, namely. To be partial in ourselves, and judges of evil thoughts .
Add hereunto, that niceness in words was always counted the next step
to trifling; and so was to be curious about names too: also that we can
not follow a better pattern for elocution than God himself; therefore he
using divers words in his holy writ, and indifferently for one thing in na
ture; we, if we will not be superstitious, may use the same liberty in our
EngUsh versions out of Hebrew and Greek, for that copy or store that
he hath given us. Lastly, we have on the one side avoided the scrupu
losity of the Puritans, who leave the old Ecclesiastical words, and betake
them to otlier, as where Ihey put washing for baptism, and congregation
instead of church: as also on the other side we have shunned the obscurity
of the Papists, in their azymes, tunike, rational, holocausts, prcepuce,
pasche, and a number of such like, whereof their late translation is full,
and that of purpose to darken the sense, that since they must needs trans
late the Bible, yet by the language thereof it may be kept from being un
derstood. But we desire that the Scripture may speak like itself, as in the
language of Canaan, that it may be understood even of the very vulgar,
* The Shepherd Bishop Spyridion of Cyprus is said, about the time of the Council
of Nicaea, to have rebuked a celebrated preacher at Cyprus for substituting the more
fashionable term 6Hitt1tOV^, couches, for the homely word KfiCX fifioCTOV, bed,
" What ! " he interrupted him, " are you better than He who said ' bed,' that you are
ashamfed to use his words? " Sozom. I. ii, quoted by Stanley, History of ttie Eastern
Churcli, p. Tg8, Am. edit.

356 The English Versions.
The account given by Selden, agrees substantially with that
furnished in the Preface; he says:
" The English translation of the Bible is the best Translation in the
world, and renders the sense of the original best, taking in for the Eng
lish Translation the Bishops' Bible as well as King James's. The trans
lation in King Jaraes's time took an excellent way. That part of the
Bible was given to him who was most excellent in such a tongue (as the
Apocrypha to Andrew Downs) and then they met together, and one read
the Translation, the rest holding in their hands some Bible, either of the
learned Tongues, or French, Spanish, Italian, etc.: if they found any
fault they spake, if not he read on  There is no book so translated •
as the Bible for the purpose. If I translate a French book into English,
I turn it into English phrase, not into French-English. II fait f raid; I
say. His cold, nol snakes cold. But the Bible is rather translated mto
English words than into Englfsh phrases. The Hebraisms are kept and
the phrase of that language is kept.* "
This not improbably refers to the raeetings of the several companies,
the several members of which had previously prepared a certain portion
by themselves; after such portion had been passed upon by the whole
company in concert, it was sent for examination to the other companies,
who returned it with their opinion approbatory or otherwise to that com
pany with whom it had originated; in case of approval thus obtained, it
was adopted, in case of non-approval it was n^ferred to the committee of
final revisers.
On the supposition thai actual work did not begin until 1607, fully three
years (the life of John Bois says four) were spent upon it; but there seems
no doubt to remain that one company at leasl had finished their portion
early in 1607. " Their great work being finished soon afler, divers grave
divines in the university, not employed in translating, were assigned by
the vice-chancellor, upon a conference had with the heads of houses, to
be overseers of the translators, as well Hebrew as Greek. The said
translators had recourse once a week to Dr. Reinold's lodgings, in Corpus
Christi College, and there, as 'tis said, perfected the work; notwithstand
ing the same doctor who had the chief hand in it, was all the while sorely

* Selden, Table Ta^k. Works, III, 2009. — The Hebrew phrase hr.s bten naturalized
in; God 0/ peace, God qf ail grace, h'atlier qf liglits. Sun qf j ig/Ueousness, Son qf
peace, man qfsin, ro'e of rigk'eousness, song qf songs, tuays qf p'eusa'itness, oilqf
gladness, trees qf fehmtali, Man qf Sorrows, Son qf man, Rosk I'f Ages, etc. See
Eadie, ii. p 228.

The Authorized Version. 357
afflicted with gout." * As Reinolds died May 2 ist, 1607, the Oxford
company, on the Prophets at least, must have corapleted their work be
fore that period, if this notice can be relied upon.
The Life of Bois f contains the notice that upon the completion of the
whole work by the different companies, three copies of the whole Bible
were sent to London, one frora Cambridge, one from Oxford and one
from Westminster, and that six persons, two from each place, were chosen
to review the whole and prepare a copy for the press. Mr. Bois and Mr.
Andrew Downs were the Cambridge members who met with the others
daily at "Stationers Hall, and in three quarters of a year fulfilled their
task." This does not however seem to be correct, or necessarily lo
conflict with the account given by the English divines to the Synod of
Dort, of whom Mr. Ward one of the translators was one, and who dis
tinctly staled there that the board of final revisers numbered twelve per
sons, if the first notice be restricted to delegates of actual translators, and
the second be made to cover six additional scholars appointed for the
' purpose. t
The MS. Life of Bois says in addition, that
" Last of all Bilson, bishop of Winchester, and Dr. Miles Sraith who
from the beginning had been very active in this affair, again reviewed
the whole work, and prefixed arguments to the several books; and Dr.
Smith, who, for his indefatigable pains taken in this work, was soon after
the printing of it deservedly made bishop of Gloucester, was ordered to
write a preface to it, the same which is now printed in the folio editions
ofthe Bible. "§
It seems proper to add in this connection that the delegates
from Great Britain to the Synod of Dort, held in 1 6 1 8, were
* Wood, cited by Todd, Vindication qfthe English Translations,
t Life g/" John Bois, by Dr. Walker, Harleian MSS., printed in Peck, Desiderata
Curiosa. X The only volume, supposed to have been used for the revision, is a copy of the
Bishops' Bible, Barker, 1602, exhibiting the text corrected through some books to
King James's version, concerning which Professor Westcott gives the following ac
count. Certain letters— ,§•,/, t — apparently indicating the sources from which the cor
rections were derived, are attached to the following portions: Gen i.-xxv. has^.y, i,
and perhaps another letter: Gen. xxvi. to Joshua inclusive has g (y re-appearing from
Deut. xxxii. to end); the rest of the books are without letters: there are also two notes
on Eph. iv. 8; 2 Thess. ii. 13. The letter^, he says, is certain to refer to the Genevan.
May noty and /, confined to the Pentateuch and Joshua, indicate references fn the
Sitttia Sacra, etc., of Imm. Tremeltius and Fr. Junius, 1579, ^"^ often ?
S Lewis, p. 323.

353 The English Versions.
George Charlton, bishop of Llandaff, Dr. Joseph Hall, deaa
of Worcester, Dr. John Davenant, professor and president of
King's College, Cambridge, and Dr. Samuel Ward of Sidney
College, Cambridge, the last of whom was a member of the
Company charged with the translation of the Apocrypha.
They presented an account of the making and finishing of
the translation in a paper dated Nov, i6, 1618, in response to
an invitation for their advice in respect to a new translation
of the Scriptures for the use of the Belgian Churches, As it
differs in many respects from the Rules, it is here produced
as it stands on the Minutes:
Modtis quem Theologi Angli in versione Bibliorum sunt secuti.
Theologi magnse Britanniae, quibus non est visum tantje qusestioni su-
bitani & inopinatam responsiouem adhibere, officii sui esse judicarunt,
praematura deliberatione habita, quandoquidem facta esset honorifica ac-
curatissimce translationis Anglicanse mentio, a Serenissirao Rege Jacobo
magna, cum cura, magnisque sumptibus nuper editae, iiotum facere huic
celeberrimje Synodo, quo consilio, quaque ratione sacrum hoc negotium
a Serenissima ejus Majestate prsestitum fuerit.
Primo, in opere distribuendo hanc rationem observari voluit; totum
corpus Bibliorum in sex partes fuit disitributum; cuilibet parti transferendae
destinati sunt septem vel octo viri primarii, Linguanim peritissimi.
Dnae partes assignatae fuerunt Theologis, quibusdam Londinensibus;
quatuor vero partes reliquae divisae fuerunt asqualiter inter utriusque Aca-
demise Theologos.
Post peraotum a singulis pensum, ex hisce omnibus duodecim selecti viri
in unum locum convocati, integrum opus recognoverunt, ac recensuerunt,
Postremo, Reverendissimus Episcopus Wintoniensis, Bilsonus, una cum
Doctore Smitho, nunc Episcopo Glocestriensi, viro eximio, & ab initio in
toto hoc opere versatissimo, omnibus mature pensitatis & examinalis, ex-
tremam manura huic versioni imposuerunt.
[Leges Interpretibus prjescriptse fuerunt hujusmodi:]
Primo, cautum est, ut simpliciter nova versio non adomaretur, sed
vetus, & ab Ecclesia diu recepta ab omnibus nsevis & vitiis purgaretur;
idque hunc in finem, ne recederetur ab antiqua traiislatione, nisi originalis
lextus Veritas, vel emphasis postularel.
Secundo, ut nullfe anmtationes raargini apponerentuV: sed tantuni loca
parallela notarentur.

The Authorized Version. 359
Tertio, ut ubi vox Hebraea vel Graeca geminmn idoneum sensura ad-
miltit; alter in ipso contextu, alter in margine exprimeretur. Quod
itidem factum, ubi varia lectio in exemplaribus probatis reperta est.
Quarto, Hebraisnii & Graecismi difficiliores in margine repositi sunt.
Quinto, in translatione Tobit & Judithse, quandoquidem magna discre-
paivtia inter Graecura contexlum & veterem vulgatam Latinam ed.lio.iem
reperiatur, Grsecum potius contextum secuti sunt.
Sexto, ut quae ad sensum supplendum ubivis necessario fuerunt, con-
textui interferenda, alio, scilicet minusculo, charactere, distinguerentur.
Septimo, ut nova argumenta singulis libris, and novee periochae singulis
capitibus praefigerentur.
[Denique, ^bsoilutissima Genealogia & descriptio Terrae sanctoe, huic
operi cjnjungeretur.] *
"Never," says Dr. Scrivener, "was a great enterprise like
the production of our Authorized Version carried out with
less knowledge handed down to posterity of the laborers, their
method and order of working." "|"
The expense of the final revision, according to one account
was borne by the company of stationers, aad according to an
other by Barker, and amounted to a weekly stipend of thirty
shillings (not thirty pounds, as Lewis reports) allowed to each
ofthe revisers, as appears from this statement made in 1651 :
Forasmuch as propriety rightly considered is a legal relation of any
one to a temporal good, I conceive the sole printing of the Bible and Te.s-
timent, with power of restraint in others, to be of right the properly of
one Matthew Barker, citizen and stationer of London, in regard that his
father paid for the amended or corrected translation of the Bible ;^3.50o,
by reason whereof the translated copy did of right belong to himself and
hi.s assigns.
The New Bible was published in 1611 under the title: The
Holy Bible, conteyning the Old Testament and the New. Ntwlv
tran.tlated out of the Originall tongues: and with the former
Translations, diligently compared and revised by His Majestv s
? Biblioth. Sacra, 1859, vol. xvi., p. 59, quoted from Acta Sjnodi Naiionalis D,»'d-
re.hti liabitee, ann^ l^iS. Lugdiini Bat, 1620.
t tntro-iuction tj tlie L'ainhrid.^,: P.i^>i^i:i'li B;Me

360 The English Versions.
Speciall Commandement Appointed to be read in Churchts. Im
printed at London by Robert Barker, Printer to the King's most
excellent Majesty. Anno Dom. 161 1.
There were in the same year two issues in folio, one with
a frontispiece engraved on copper, by C. Boel of Richmont,
for both of which is claimed priority of appearance; the com
mon opinion is in favor of the one with Boel's engraving. *
How the words Nevoly Translated, etc., are to be taken is
clear from the language of the Preface, and will be further il
lustrated in the sequel. Concerning the words Appointed to
be read in Churches, Professor Westcott f says;
" No evidence has yet been produced to show that the version was ever
publicly sanctioned by Convocation, or by Pariiaraent, or by the Privy
Council, or by the king. It gained its currency, partly, it may have
been, by the weight of the king's name, partly by the personal authority
of the prelates and scholars who had been engaged upon it, but still more
by its own intrinsic superiority over its rivals. . . . The printing of the
Bishops' Bible was at once stayed when the new version was definitely
undertaken. No edition is given in the lists later than 1606, though the
New Testament from it was reprinted as late as 1618 [or 1619]. So far
ecclesiastical influence naturally reached. But it was otherwise with the
Genevan version, which was chiefly confined to private use. This com
peted with the King's Bible for many years, and it was not till about the
middle ofthe century that it was finaUy displaced."
The fulsome Dedication needs no comment here, nor
need more be said about the Preface, all the salient features
of which, bearing directly on the Translation, have already
been given in full above.
The other preliminary matter consists of:
A Kalendar; An Almanack for xxxix. years, beginning 1603; Ofthe
Golden Number, The Epact, The use of the Epact, To finde Easter for
* Those desirous to pursue the inquiry wili find both sides of the queslions dL'^cus.sed
in the fol'owing works: A Description of the Great Bible, etc., and of the Authorize.i
Version, etc , by Francis Fry, F.S.A,, London, 1865; Early Editions qf tCing yj7n,-.K's
BibU in folio (by Mr. Lenox), New York, i86i; Introduction io the Canzltridge I'.tra-
graph B.'ble (by Dr. Scrivener). 1S73. .
t History of the English Bible, p. 123.

The Authorized Version. 361
ever. The Table and Kalendar, expressing the order of the Psalmes
and Lessons to be said at Moming and Evening Prayer throughout the
Yeere, except certeine proper Feasts, as the rules following more plainly
declare. — The order how the Psalter is appointed to be read. — The order
how the rest of the Holy Scripture (beside the Psalter) is appointed to be
read. — Proper Lessons to be read for the first Lessons, both at Morning
and Evening Prayer, on the Sundays throughout the Yeere, and for some
also the second Lesson. — Lessons proper for Holy-daies. — Proper Psalms
on certaine daies. — The Table for the order of the Psalms to be said at
Morning and Evening Prayer. — These to be observed for Holy-daies, and
none other. — The names and order of all the Bookes of the Olde and
Newe Testament, with the number of their Chapters. — The Genealogies
recorded in the sacred Scriptures according lo every Famille and Tribe,
With the Line of our Saviour Jesus Christ observed from Adam to the
Blessed Virgin Marie. By J. S.*— Also an engraved Map of Canaan,
together with an alphabetical list of the places mentioned in the Scriptures.
The Abstract and Epitome of the Bibk, occasionally bound
up with the early editions of this translation, was written by
Richard Bernard, rector of Batecombe, in Somersetshire.
The scope of this volume does not admit more than a gen
eral account f of the most important editions of the Author
ized Version, of which not less than fifty had been issued be
fore 1640 by Barker and his successors. It is difficult to de
termine which is the first edition, for not only were two dif
ferent issues published in 161 1, with numerous variations, but
some of these issues contain the preliminary matter from the
folio of 1617. The edition of 1613 contains 412 variations;
that of 16 16 may be regarded as the first revision; those of
1629 and 1638 are the first Cambridge editions, revised, and
* These letters designate John Speed, the historian and antiquary, who rose to
great distinction from an obscure beginning on a tailor's bench. The king gave him
a patent securing the property of this work to himself and his heirs. He died in 1629,
and his epitaph styles him, Terrarum nostrarum Geographus accuratus,fidus An-
tzguitatisBritanniccB Hisioriographus et genealogioe sacree elegantissintus delineator.
t Valuable information may be found in an article on early editions of the Au
thorized Version of the Bible by Rev. E. W. Gilman, in Bibliotheca Sacra, Jan. 1859,
and in The early editions qf King Jame^s Bible in Folio, by James Lenox, a quarto
pamphlet of 12 pages, New York, 1861.

362 The English Versions.
a number of their errata have been transmitted to modem
times; the edition af 163 1, in which the word notis left out
in the seventh commandment, for which omission the king's
printers, Robert Barker and Martin Lucas were fined jCs^o,
may be seen in the British Museum, the Bodleian, in Glas
gow, and in the Lenox Library; that .of 1660, by Hills and
Field, a small Svo, introduced additional marginal notes, im
proved upon in John Hayes's Cambridge 4to of 1677; 1666,
the 4to New Testament (John Field), and 1683, the 4to Old
Testament (J. Hayes) known as the Preaching Bible; that of
1 70 1, 3 vols, folio, brought the dates and index by bishop
William Lloyd; that of 1762, printed by Joseph Bentham,
Cambridge, in 2 vols, quarto and folio, is the famous edition
of Dr. Paris. A superb copy of this edition, which I have
collated, is in the Library of the American Bible Society. In
1769 appeared the edition of Dr. Blayney, which has long
been regarded as a standard; ipany of the changes in italics,
marginal notes, references, dates, punctuation and spelling
generally credited to him, were really the work of his prede
cessor, Dr. Paris, as pointed out by Dr. Scrivener, in the
Cambridge Paragraph Bible. It is curious to note that Blay
ney not only transferred to his edition all the excellencies Of
that of Paris, tut likewise most of his errors and inaccuracies.
The persistency with which errata are perpetuated will be il
lustrated in a table I have prepared for the purpose.
I shall now furnish, in chronological order, specimens of
errata. ibii. In the list of books I and 2 Chronicles are printed l and 2
Corinthians. Exod. ix. 13, . . . that they may serve thee; Jerem. xxii.
3, deliver the spoiler; Ezek. vi. 8, . . .. that he may have; Hos. vi. 5 . . .
shewed them, for hewed thera; 1 Cor. xiv. 23, . . . into some place, for one
place, tbi3. Lev. vii. 25, . . . the /aj/ for the beast, for, the/o^ . . .; Job
xxix. 3, . . . shined through darkness, for walked through . . .; Eaek.
xxiii. 7, . . . she delighted herself, for she defiled herself; I Cor, xi. 17,

The Authorized Version. 363
I praise you, for, I praise you not; 2 Cor. ii. 8, . . . continue your love,
for confirm your love. Several clauses and verses are left out, e. g,,
Matth. xiii. 8, and some sixtyfold; John xx. 25,. put my finger into the
prints of the nails. Eccles. xvi. 13, 14 are omitted. The variations
number upwards of three hundred. In one of the issues of 161 1, Ruth
iii. 15, reads, . . . and he went into the city, in the othei-, . . , she
went . . .; and so it stands in the folio and smaller editions of 1613.
ib2g. . . . take heed to thy doctrine, for, . . . the doctrine.
1638. (Barker), Gen. xxxvii. 2, Belial, for, Bilhah; Numb. xxv. 18,
wives, for, wiles. 2 Chron. xxxvi. r4, . . , had polluted, for, had hal-
lowed; Is. i. 6, . . purifying sores, for, putrifying . . ; Luke xix, 29,
. . ten of his disciples . . , for, two, . . ; l Cor. vii. 34, . . praise her
husband, for, please . . etc.
1(138. (Buck and Daniel, the "authentique corrected Bible"), Acts
vi. 3, . . . whom ye may appoint . . ., for, . . . we . . . The error was
wrongfully charged to the Independents, as an intentional corruption.
76.ji(y. (John Field, London, ^to), flesh iox fish, and in the metrical
psalms (Ps. Ixvii. 2), worldly wealth, for godly wealth.
16^ J. Field's Pearl Bible (London, 24mo), is notorious for its omis
sions and faults. Araong the former are all the dedications and titles "
of the Psalms, John a. 21, Or who — know not; Rom. vi. 13, Neither
yield — righteousness, and among the latter occurs I Cor. vi, 9, shall in
herit . . ., for, shall not inherit.
i6ss- (John Field, small l2lno)i gl faults; 2 Cor. xiii. 6 omitted.
1636, (John Field, l2nio), has Isa. xxviii. 17, ovtxthrow, for, ovexfiow,
ib^b. (Hills and Field, London), corrected by one Mr. Robinson,
"a Scotch Rabbi," is said to have 2000 faults, such as Cod iox God, ad
vanced for adventured, loves for loaves, ram for lamb, oul for soul, and
I Pet. ii. 21, . . . leaving us as an example. . . .
ibSa. (Bill, Newcombe & Hills), is disgraced by flagrant omissions
and errors, among the latter, Deat. xxiv. 3, ate her, for hate her; Jerem.
xiii. 27, adversaries, for adulteries; xviii. 21, swine, iox famine.
Bibles printed in Holland (1638 [?], 1642, 1645, 1683), abounded in
blunders, and those in Scotland, according to Dr. Eadie, were as bad.
The New Testament was published in 1628, and printed in Edinburgh

* The titles of the Psalms are firequently omitted in the Prayer Book version of
that Book, and in quite a number of instances eonfounded with the text of the Psalms
in the Authorized Version: e.g., in Psalms cxi., cxii., cxiii., cxxxv., where the titles
should be expressed by Hallelujah, fn Psalms cxiv., cxvi., the omitted titles are dis
guised in the " Praise ye the Lord " with which the Psalms preceding them conclude.

364 The English Versions.
in 1642 — the entire Bible in 1633, He also mentions editions ol the New
Testament printed in 1670 and 1691 at Glasgow, and gives a long list of
errata in the editions printed by the widow Anderson, which are simply
fearful, e. g., he killed, for he is killed; enticed in every thing, for en
riched in. ... In one of her editions the italic a is used 700 times in
five columns for the Roman letter exhausted in her fount. An octavo of
1694, accepted by Principal Lee as genuine, has such errors as brackers,
for brothers; and, for ask; his eyes, for his ears; longed, for lodged; pub
lished, for punished; covereth the sinner, for converteth; preached, for
reached, etc. Some of the errors in Scotch editions of a much later date
are as preposterous as any mentioned thus far; e. g., an Edinburgh edi
tion of 1760 renders Heb. ii. 16, . . . he took on hira the nature of an.
gels . . ., and one of 18 16, has Luke vi. 29, . . . forbid to take thy coat
also, not being omitted in both places, while one of 176 1 inserts the neg
ative in, make rae not to go the way of thy coraraandraents. The fol
lowing basketful of blunders occurs in Baskett's edition of 1742: Matth.
m. 22, thy faith hath made me whole; xvui. 29, . . . pay they all; xxvi.
50, . . . wherefore (7/ thou come; Mark ii. 21, . . . the rent is »ja»y worse;
John xvi. 8, . . reprove the word; xvi. 24, . . . ask and we shall re
ceive; xvii. 2, as to many; Rom. xi. 26, . . . shall the- deliver come; ii.
28, . . . sake; Phil, iii, 12, Now as though I had; i Pet. iv. 11, . . . tc
whom he praise; Job xviii. ?>, , , , be walketh; xx. 3, . . . causeth me no
answer; Is. i. g, . . . let us a small remnant; iii. 9, . . . then soul; xii. 3,
. . . therefore with joy shall he draw water; xiii. 15, . . . it found. . . .
An Edinbur,;h (Kerr) edition of 1791 renders i Kings xxii. 38, . . , the
dogs liked\ii'i blo;id; editions of ;8il and 1814 give Is. xxv. 4, . . . store
a_.;aiabt the wall; Acts xii. 4, . . . Esther; Matth. iii. 16, . . .fighting
upon hira, and Luke ii. 36, . , . seventy years from her virginity. All
these errata have been noted by Professor Eadie (/. 4. ii. p. 320), and
many more raay be seen there.
It must be evident to all who will thoughtfully peruse the
numerous instances given, and consult the long tables fur
nished by Dr. Scrivener in the Introduction and Appendices,
prefixed to the Cambridge Paragraph Bible (1873), that
strictly speaking, there is really no standard edition ofthe Au
thorized Version, and that all editions are widely different from
the text of the original editions. The extent to which these
variations go may be learned from the fact that Dr. Scrivener's
noble quarto furnishes a Catalogue of sixteen closely printed

The Authorized Version. 365
pages in which that edition in common with all modern edi
tions departs from the text of 1 6 1 1 ; another Catalogue of about
three pages gives the departures firom that text peculiar to the
Cambridge Paragraph Bible; upwards of four pages are filled
with variations in the two issues of the Bible of 161 1; and
lastly, some seven pages are filled with a list of passages in
which the readings ofthe edition of 161 1 have been restored
in the Cambridge Paragraph Bible. These lists contain alto
gether the most minutely accurate information concerning the
text of the Authorized Version extant in English, and are
with the rest of the highly instructive Introduction, and the
admirable execution of the whole volume, a standing monu
ment to the indefatigable carefulness, zeal, and erudition of
that judicious and thoughtful divine.
The earliest editions of the Authorized Version, published
in America, being mostly reprints of indifferently correct or
very incorrect English originals, the Protestant Episcopal
Church recommended and adopted Eyre and Strahan's edi
tions of 1806 and 18 12 as the standard in 1823, and their
editions of 1 8 1 1 and 1813 (disfigured by <a5o«/ for above in 2
Cor. xii. 2, and holy body for whole body in Eph. iv. 6) as the
standard in 1832, and in 1835 authorized the Faculty ofthe
General Theological Seminary to prepare a Bible and to have
it set forth as the standard. Since then no action has been
taken on the subject.* The complaints in England of exten
sive changes introduced into the text of the A. V. were
speedily set aside and led to the publication in 1833, by the
Clarendon Press, of an exact copy ofthe edition of 16 11 col
lated with that of i6i3.f In 1847 the American Bible Sp-
* See the ycurnals of ihe GeTieral Convention of the years mentioned i|^ fhe text.
t Thomas Curtis, On the Existing Monoply, etc., London, 1833., answered by Dr.
Edward Cardwell, Mr, Curtis's Misrepresentations Exposed, Oxford, 1833, and Tur-
ton. Text qf the English Bible, Cambridge, 1843. Compare also: Report from the
Select Committee qf the House of Commons on the <2ueen's Printer's Patent, Lon.
don, 1S59. ^

366 The English VersioiSfs.
ciety instructed their Committee on Versions to collate the
text of their editions with that ofthe latest British editions for
the sake of preparing a standard copy. The collation of five
copies, published in London, Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh,
and New York, with an edition of i6i i resulted in the publi
cation, in 1 85 1-2, of a new edition in which the numerous
variations in the text, punctuation, etc., of the editions col
lated were reduced fo one uniform standard. Some of the
changes made having given dissatisfaction in some quarters,
the Society concluded to modify their itew standard so fer as
to omit every alteration without the sanction of previous edi
tions: The volumes now published by them are deemed to
be remarkably free from errors of the press and are claimed to
contain the version in common use in the form in which it
has been read for centuries without addition or omission.
The present standard of the American Bible Society's editions
of the Bible does not profess to be identical with atiy known
standard as to orthography, punctuation, and other similar
details. *
Certain characteristics belonging to the edition of 161 1,
more or less departed from in all subsequent editions, appear
to be now in place.
The use of the italic type in the text of the A. V. is gener
ally supposed to import that the words thus printed have none
corresponding to them in the original text, that they are how
ever implied, and are added in the English to complete, or
make clearer, the sense of the original. That this supposition
is not borne out by fact, may be seen from a few specimens :
2 Sam. i. i§, the use of the bow; Job xix. 26, and thdUgh after my
skin worms destroy this body; i Cor. xiv. 2, .... an unknown tongue ;
I John ih. 16  hereby perceive we the love of God, because he. ^
* Report on the History and Recent Collation of the English Version qfthe Bible,
Mc, New York, 1857.

The Authorized Version. 367
Without opening any of the numerous questions connected
with the subject of the italic type, it may suffice to record here
the following facts: r. That the edition of 161 1, and its nu
merous reprints down to 1762, contains glaring faults; 2. That
many of them were corrected, and others added, by Dr. Paris,
in 1662; 3. That most ofhis corrections and alterations, with
sundry additions, were adopted by Dr. Blayney, in 1769, and
have been transmitted to the present time. A long list of
these may be seen in the Introduction to the Cambridge Par
agraph Bible, p. xxii., and in the Appendices; the table here
unto appended, with only a few specimens, it is hoped, will
call more general attention to this very important matter.
Concerning the table, I desire to premise that the text in the
column marked 161 1 is not only that in the copies collated
by Dr. Scrivener, but also in two others in New York, col
lated by me, and ofthe copies ofthe Oxford reprint of 1833,
and of Bagster's Hexapla. The table, moreover, shows the
extent to which the original readings are disregarded in mod
em editions of the A. V.

368

The English Versions.

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1 . s it: rt in c .is
I . ><5 . M aJ B M.rt
i-agSbrtHo^j-g-q
ills
M M-vo t~- •"-: ^2" .
• ' ¦ ¦ :s . o
•p 13 :a -
oi ^¦" >
:a:a.j >< >
sl I I I
POh I I I
The Authorized Version. 369
Besides the text, most editions of the A. V. contain a vast
amount of matter, not contained in the edition of 161 1.
Mant's editions of the Bible profess to give an exact copy of
the Chapter Summaries, Marginal Readings and Parallel Ref
erences, sanctioned by the Translators, which may be called
authorized as distinguished from subsequent additions made
without authority. Of such authorized matter the Old Testa
ment contains 6,637, the New Testament 765, and the Apoc
rypha 1,016 marginal notes, which may be classified as
follows: In the Old Testament, 4,111 are more literal renderings of
the original Hebrew and Chaldee (77), 2,156 give alternative
renderings, introduced by " || Or," 63 explain the meaning
of proper names, 240 seek to harmonize the text with other
passages of the Scriptures, and 67 refer to various readings of
the original text. In the Apocrypha 1 54 give various read
ings, 138 express the exact meaning of the Greek, and 3 of
the Latin, 505 are various renderings from different sources,
174 furnish alternative forms of proper names, and 42 supply
miscellaneous information. In the New Testament, 35 relate
to various readings, 112 are more literal, 582 alternative ren
derings, and 35 are explanatory. For many interesting de
tails as to the origin of these, and the subsequent addition of
other marginal notes, the reader may consult the Cambridge
Paragraph Bible, Introd. Sect. II., from which this summary
has been prepared.
A few examples, taken at random, may suflSce:
OLD TESTAMENT.

Ex.

Text.

Margin.

ii. 22,

Gershom.

i. e. a stranger here.

-iii. 19,

no, not by a mighty hand.

or, but by a strong hand.

- xvi. 4,

a certam rate every day.

the portion of a day in his
day.

- xxxiv. 22,

at the year's end.

revolution of the year.

- xxxv. 2,

an holy day.

holiness.

370

The English Versions.

Lev. iv. 4, caul above the liver, with
the kidneys.
 xvi. 8, scapegoat.
 xxiii. IO, sheaf.
Numb, xxi, II, Ije-abarim.
Deut. xix. 4, not in tirae past.
 xxxiii. 5;i, Meribah Kade,h.
Judg,. iv. l8, a mantle.
 v. 6, by-ways.
I Sam. xii. 3, bribe, to blind mine eyes.
 xvi. I, Ephfis-daitimin.

2 Sam. viii. 16, recorder.
2 Chron. xviii. 24, an inner chanrber.
Job xxxi. 39, the owners thereof to lose
their life.
Psalm iv. Title, chief.
 xxii. Title, Aijeleth Shahar,

¦ CIV. 4,

Is, viii. 8,

Jer. ii. 7,
 xxvi. 19,
E^ek. iii. 5,
 xlviii. 35,
Dan. viii. 13,

They go up by the moun
tains;. Ihey go down by the
valleys.
the stretching out of his
wings shall fill the breadth
of thy land.
a plentiful country.
and besought the Lord.
of strange' speech, and of
an hard language.
The Lord is there.
That certain saint.

or, midriff over the liver,
and over the kidneys.
Azazel.
omer, or, handful.
or, heaps of Abarim.
from yesterday the third
day.or, strife at Kadesh.
or, rug, or, a blanket.
crooked ways.
ransom (or), that I should
hide mine eyes at him.
or, the coast of Dammim,
called Pasdaramim, I Chr.
xi. 13.
or, remembrancer, or, wri
ter of chronicles.
a chamber in a chamber.
or, the soul of the owners
thereof to expire, or, breathe
out.or, overseer.
or, the hind of the morning.
or. The mountains ascend,
the valleys descend .
fulness of the breadth of
thy land shall be the stretch
ings out of his wings.
or, the land of Carmel .
face of the Lotd.
deep of lip, and heavy of
tongue.
Jehovah-Shammah .
Palmoni, or, the numberer
of secrets, or, the wonderfiil
numberer.

The Authorized Version.

371

NEW TESTAMENT.

Matth. i. 29,

farthing.

It is in value half- penny
farthing in the original, as
being the tenth part of the
Roman penny.

John X. 24,

make us to doubt ?

or, hold us in suspense ?

Acts XV. 31,

consolation.

or, exhortation.

 xix. 35,

a worshipper.

Gr. the temple keeper.

¦  38.

the law is open.

or, Ihe court days are kept.

Rom. viii. 7,

the carnal mind.

Gr. the minding of the flesh.

Heb. vii. 3,

without descent.

Gr. without pedigree.

James ii. 11,

he that said.

or, that law which said .

r Pet. ii. 9,

a peculiar people.

or, a purchased people.

praises.

f^r v^Y*^np^;

vJi) V li Liica.

Rev. vi. 6,

a measure, etc.

The word choenix signifi-
eth a measure containing
one wine quart, and the
twelfth part of a quart.

 xviii. 12,

thyine.

or, sweet.

 13.

slaves.

or, bodies.

I Esdr. ii. 12,
 13.
 30,

APOCRYPHA.
Sanabassar.
censers.
a multitude of people.

 ix. 51, them that have nothing.
2 Esdr. xiv. 47, the stream of knowledge.
Tobit vii. 8, a ram of Jhe flock.

¦ ''iv. 5,

for ever.

Wisdom xiv. 21, the incommunicable name.
Ecclus. vi. 30, purple lace.
 xxxviii. 25, whose talk is of bullocks?
Three Childr. 23, rosin.

Shash bazzar, Ezra i. 8.
Heb. knives.
Or, a great number of sol
diers.
Or, the poor.
Or, the light of inowledge.
a sucking ram, or, larab.,
Junius, comp. Ex. xii. 3,
marg. 5.
for ever is not in the Ro
man copy.
That is, of God.
Or, a ribband of blue silk.
Gr. of the breed of bul
locks ?
Or, naptha, which is a cer
tain kind of fat and chalky
clay. Plin. lib. 2, t. 105.

372 The English Versions.
I Mace. ii. 30, afflictions increased sore. Gr. evils were multiplied
upon them.
 xiv. 28, at Saramel. Or, Jerusalem, peradven
ture by corruption and
transposition of letters; or,
as some think, the common
hall where they met to con
sult of matters of estate.
2 Mace. ii. 27, for the pleasuring of many. Or, todeserve well of many.
Note. For much valuable and very instructive information on the import of the
marginal notes, and especially on various readings, consult Dr. Scrivener's Introd. to
the Camb. Par. Bible, Section II.
The Parallel References in the edition of 1611 amounted
to about 9,000, viz., in the Old Testament 6,588, in the
Apocrypha 885^ and in the New Testament 1,517, more than
half of which were taken from the Latin Vulgate. Not a few
of them are of doubtful propriety, and some positively wrong,
e. g., ch, xxvi. 15 in the margin of 2 Sam, xix. 19; Eccles.
v. 12 in that of Job xx. 19; Judg. xiii. 12 in that of Ps. evi.
2, and Judg. vii. 19 in that of Ps. evi. 9. According to Home
{Introd. II. 2, p. 81, 1834) Blayney's additions to the original
number are 30,495, and those found in modern editions of
the A. V. amount to from 60,000 to 70,000.*
* The parallel references in the edition of 1611 number 8,990; in that of Hayes,
Cambridge, 1677, 23,895; in that of Scattergood, Cambridge, 1678, 33,145; in that of
Lloyd, 1701, 39,466; in that of Blayney, 1769, 64,983: in that of Crutwell (Wilson),
1785, 66,955. 't'he editor of Bagster's Miniature 410 Bible, 1846, admitted -without e.v-
amination the references of Blayney, Scott, Clarke, Bagster's Polyglot, " from their
acknowledged (?) accuracy," but professed to have verified those of Canne, Brown,
and Wilson, and produced an aggregate of nearly half a million (see his Preface, p. i).
Dealing with numbers, I append (from Notes and Queries, 2d Series, vii. p. 481) as a
curiosuin an arithmetical statement of the contents of the Authorized Version:

Old Testament,

New

Testament,

Total.

Books:

39

27

66

Chapters:

929

260

1,189

Veksbs:

23.= 14

7.959
31.173
Words;
592.439
181,258
773.697
Letters:
2,728,100
868,388
3,566,480
The Apocrypha contain 183 chapters, 6,o8t verses, 152,185 words.
The middle chapter, and the shortest in the Bible is Ps. cxvii. In the Old Testa-
The Authorized Version. 373
The multiplication of parallel references, however, is of
very doubtful utility and often obscures rather than clears the
meaning. The most judicious and logical, with which I am
familiar, are those in the Cambridge Paragraph Bible, Bag
ster's Polyglot, English Version, and in the Religious Tract
Society's Annotated Paragraph Bible. Those in the two last
named publications need weeding; e. g., the editor ofthe for
mer cites, in the Preface, the parallel references to Ezek.
xxiii. 49, as a model, but unfortunately refers the reader in
the very first to a wrong passage, Numb. xix. 34, instead of
xiv. 34; the latter is not a parallel, while xviii. 23, Is. hii. 11,
and I Pet. ii. 24, are rather theological inferences than par
allels, and furnish a questionable body of divinity; Dr. Scriv
ener, however, on the same passage (Ezek. xxiii. 49) refers
back to the reference at v. 35, and then to .xvi. 58, and ex
amination shows that the parallelism is justified.
The difference in \h^ punctuation ofthe edition of 16 11 and
subsequent, especially modern, issues of the A. V. is a mat
ter of considerable moment, for "the question of punctuation
has two parts: one, respecting the general carrying it out for
purposes of rhythm and distinction of sentences, independent
of any question as to the meaning ofthe words; the other re
specting the particular cases where different punctuation in
volves difference of meaning, "*
Subjoined are a few passages, taken from the long list in the
Camb, P. B., in which the punctuation of 1611 is preferable
to that in modern issues. ibll. Modern editions.
Gen. xxxi. 40, Thus I was in Ihe day, Ihe Thus I was; hi the day the >
drought consumed me, . . . drought consumed me, . . .
ment Proverbs is the middle book. Job xxix. the middle chapter, and the middle verse
occurs in 2 Chron. x.\. between v. 17 and v. 18. In the New Testament 2 I'liessalo-
nians is the middle book, the middle chapter falls between Rom xiii and xiv.. Acts
xvii. 17 is the middle verse, and John xi. 35 the shortest verse — Ezra vii, 21 has aL
the letters of the alphabet.
* Professor Grote, cited by Dr. Scrivener in Int. to Camb. Par. Bible, p. xL

374 The En-glish Versions.
^ I Kings xii. 32, ... a;id he offered upou . . . and 'he offered upon
the altar, (so did he in the altar. So did he in
Beth-el,) sacrificing. . . . Bethel, sacrificing. . . .
^ Psalm lxxxix. 46, How long. Lord? wilt thou How long. Lord? wilt thou
hide thyself, for ever ? hide thyself for ever ?
^ Hos. vii, II, ... a silly dove, without ... a silly dove without
heart. heart.
¦^^ "^ohn ii. 15, . . . and the sheep and the . . . and the sheep, and the
oxen ; oxen ;
"^ 2 Cor. xiii. 2, . ., as if I were present . . ., as if 'I were present,
the second time, the second time;
"^ I Thess. iii- 7, . . . inall our affliction and . . , in all our affliction and
distress, by your faith: distress by your faith:
^^Tit. li. 8, ... sound speech that can- . . . sound speech, that can
not. . . . not. . . .
^ Jude 7, ... the cities about them, . . . the cities about them
in like manner. ... in like manner, . . .
Professor Grote, in the MS. used by Dr. Scrivener, con
cludes that "with respect to the punctuation in general, in
dependently of its affecting the meaning of particular pas
sages, it is, in the editions before 1638, comparatively little
graduated, colons and semicolons being much fewer in num
ber than commas, and full stops. . . . That edition made
the punctuation much more graduated, and introduced one
practice not common in the earlier ones, that of a full stop
in the middle ofa verse." . . . "The graduation of the punc
tuation, i. e. , the placing of colons and semicolons, is not
materially diflferent in Blayney's edition (1769) from what it
was in that of 1683. The latter (which is pointed, as print
ers say, very low) improved greatly in this respect upon 1638,
as 1638 had improved upon the earlier ones."
The headings of the chapters in the Authorized Version of
161 T differ both from those in the Great and Bishops' Bibles
and also from those in the Genevan, and with only twelve va
riations (not corrections of the press) continue in modern is
sues, the heading of Psalm cxlix. being the only one of im
portance, the original reading of which, The Prophet exhorteth

The Authorized Version. 375
to praise God for his love to the Church, and for that power which
he hath given to the Church lo rule the consciences of men, has been
shortened in the second clause by dropping all after Church
(in 1762), and changing (in 1769) the Church into his saints.
The chronological dates, found in the margin of many mod
ern Bibles, were introduced in 1701 by bishop Lloyd in the
Bible mentioned on p. 362, and taken substantially from arch
bishop Usher's Annales V. et N. Testamenti (1650-4), They
are not very satisfactory; e. g., the date of Zechariah ix.,
B. c. 587 {6j years earlier than chapter i. ), that of the eclipse,
B. c. 791, in Amos viii. 9, that ofthe prophecy of Jonah, b. c.
862, and others more, are known to be incorrect.
A comparison ofthe orthography, grammatical peculiarities,
and capital letters in the edition of 161 1 with modern editions
may be the more readily dispensed with here, as these topics
will come up under the head of Revision.
Turning now to the version itself, concerning which a num
ber of independent criticisms may be read at a subsequertt page,
it is important to recall the peculiar circumstances under which
it was made (see pages 349-351) to account for the inequality
of the work. In the Old Testament, the sections embracing
Genesis to the end of 2 Kings (first Westminster company),
and the Prophets from Isaiah to Malachi inclusive (first Ox
ford company) rank first; the remainder of the canonical
books (first Cambridge company), and especially Job and the
Psalms are decidedly inferior. In the New Testament, the
Acts, the Gospels and the Apocalypse (second Oxford com
pany), rank in the order named for the ability vvith which
they were executed, while the Epistles (second Westminster
company) are considered the worst among the canonical books,
while the Apocrypha (second Cambridge company) are un
questionably the worst ofthe entire Bible.*
* The names of the translators in the different companies, and brief biographical
notices ofthem are given on pp. 343-346. The estimate of Dr. Robert Gell (An Essay

37^ The English Versions.
Some ofthe renderings, exhibiting great versatility of resource,,
and singular skill and taste in tiie adaptation of the- Hebrew,
idiom to the genius ofthe English language, are the following;*
Gen. ii. i6. Thou, mayest. freely, eat ... . (Heb., eating thou shalt.
eat); iii. 4, Ye shall not surely die (Hpb., not die the deot/i); d, pleasant
to the eyes (Heb., a desire); xxvi. 13, and went forward (Heb., ¦w^w/
going). 2 Kings ii. lo. Thou hast asked a hard thing (Heb., thou hast
done hard in asking); II, . . . they still went on and talked (Heb., they
went on goiftg). Isaiah xxiv. 20, the earth shall reel to- and- fro ....
(Heb., reeling shall reel). Jerem. xxiii. 17, . . . tjiey. say still (J^eb.,
saying they say). Ezek. xviL 5, . . . planted it in a fiTiitftiJ field (Heb.,.i*«'
it ina field of seed; Tremellius, " posuit ipsum in agro sativo").
And in a longer passage: MIC VI. 2, 6-8.
2. Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord's controversy,'
And ye strong foundations of the earth: 2
For the Lord hath a controversy with his people.
And he will plead 3 with Israel.
6. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord,
. And bow myself before the high God ?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings.
With calves of a year old ?
7. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams.
Or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ?
Shall I give my firstborn /iw my transgression,^
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ?
8. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good ;
And what doth the Lord require of thee.
But to do justly, and to love mercy.
And to walk humbly with thy God ? »
1 Tremellius: Contentionem Jehova. 2,et robustissima fundamenta lerrae. 3 dis.
ceptaturus est. 4 defectiohe mea. 5 Indicavit tibi, o homo, quid sit bonum; ecquid
lehova requisivit abs te, nisi ut exerceas jus, & ames benignitatem, & modeste am-
bules cum Deo teo.
toward tlu amendment qf the last English Translation tf the Bible, 1659, Preface,
pp. 38. 39) on the merits, or rather on the demerits of the version, is to this effect:
"The further, -we proceed in the survey of the Scripture, the translation is the more
faulty, as the Hagiographa more than the Historical Scripture, and the Prophets
more than the Hagiographa, and the Apocrypha most of all; and generally the New
more than the Old Testament,"
* The order followed in these extracts is that ofthe companies a>. i^iven above.

The Authorized Version. yjj
Although the influence of Tremellius is clearly paramount,
throughout this chapter, as well as in verses 2, 7, 8, and "calves
ofa year old" (v. 6), literally, sons of a year, comes from the
Vulgate, vitulos anniculos, and "the fruit of my body," liter
ally, fruit of my womb, or, my belly, and rendered fructum
venlru meih-y the- Vulgate, is a happy adaptation of Luther's
ambiguous Leibes Frttcht. it is impossible to deny that the
rendering of the A. V, is stronger and more musical than the
Vulgate, Tremellius, and Luther, and runs in the majestic
rhythm of the original.
There is hardly room for doubt that the versions of Trem
ellius and LuthCT influenced the translation, of the Hagiogra
pha, but the general flow of the- subjoined passages is superior
to all the versions consulted by the first Cambridge company.
The letters L, , T. , V, ,. in the aotes stand for Luther, Tremellius,
and Vulgate.. JOB III.
3. Let the day perish wherein- 1 was bom,'
And the night in'.wMch. it was said.
There is a man child conceived.
4, Let that day be darkness;
Let not God regard it from above-.
Neither let the light shine upon it . . .
1 1 . Why died I not from the womb ?
Why did I notgive up the ghost when I came out ofthe belly?'
1 2. Why did the knees prevent me ?
Or why the breasts that I should suck ?
17. There the wicked cease frem troubling;
And there the weary be at rest.s
18. There the prisoners rest together;
They hear not the voice of the oppressor.
The small and great are there-; ¦•
And the servant is free from his master.
1 Periisset dies quo nasciturus eram, et nox . . . conceptus est mas, — T. Und die
Nacht da man sprach: Es ist ein Mannlein empfangen, — L. a Cur non inde a vulva
fui moriturus ? et utero exiens non exspiravi ?— T. Warum bin ich nicht gestorben von
Mutterleibe an ? ... da ich aus dem Leibe kam ? — L. 8 Illic improbi desistunt a com*
motione, ac ibi quiescunt defessi viribus, — T. . . . daselbst ruhen doch die viele IMUhc
gehabt haben, — L, 4 parvus et magnus ibi sunt, — Vulgate. So Luther.

378 The English Versions.
In taking the supplied matter in v. 3 from the Vulgate [in
qua dictum est~\, and the meaning from Tremellius and Lu
ther, they rendered as well as they were able, missing, how
ever, the poetic conception of night speaking: a man-child is
conceived. In the second member of v, 11 the rendering
' ' Why did I not give up the ghost } " probably suggested by
expiravi, is rather weak (for it might have been rendered "and
breathe my last"), but the ambiguity in v. 12 is well pre
served, and V. 17 is very felicitous, although "oppressor" is
not as good as ' ' task-master. "
PSALM LXXXIV. 1-3.
I. How amiable ' are thy tabernacles, 2 O Lord of hosts !
2, My soul longeth,3 yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord:
My heart and my flesh crieth out ¦* for the living God.
3. Yea, the sparrow hath found a house.
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young.
Even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
1 amabilia, — T. 2 tabernacula, — V., T. 8 Desiderio afficitur . , — ^T. Meine Seele
verlanget und sehnet sich, — ^L. 4 exclamunt, — ^T.
Here also the influence of Tremellius is very marked, and
that of Luther in the first member of v. 2 unmistakable. The
passage is fully as good and musical as the Prayer Book ver
sion, and the following collation will show that it is more close
and correct. Prayer Book. Auth. Version.
I dwellings. tabernacles. I
2 My soul hath a desire and long- My soul longeth, yea, even faint- 2
ing to enter into the courts .... eth for the courts of ... .
rejoice in ... . crieth out for.
"Tabernacles" in v. i, is almost as ambiguous as the cor
responding Hebrew word, and decidedly better than "dwell
ings "and "Wohnungen"; the verbal construction in v. 2,
as well as the emphatic "yea" and the admirable "fainteth
for" are masterly; while "crieth out for" is a felicitous adap
tation ofthe {I.:;brew idiom

The ,\uthorized Version.

379

The Apocrypha, though not uniformly bad, are pronounced
by general consent, a very poor production, marred by coarse
expressions such as: he sticks not, i Esd. iv. 21; cocker thy
child, Ecclus. xxx. 9; he is not for our turn, Wisd. ii. 12, and
sour behaviour, 2 Mace. xiv. 30. It is diflfieult to understand
what John Selden means by the remark : ' ' That part of the
Bible was given to him who was most excellent in such a
tongue — as the Apocrypha to Andrew Downes " {Table Talk,
p. 356), for if he and Bois (see p. 357) did the Apocrypha, their
work does not come up to the reputation for proficiency in
Hebrew and Greek, and industry, which they enjoyed. They
made but indifferent use of the Roman Septuagint of 1586,
and, according to Dr. Scrivener, "they are contented to leave
many a rendering of the Bishops' Bible as they found it, when
nearly any change must have been for the better" (Camb.
Par. Bible, p. lxv. comp. also p. xxvii.).
The character of the Apocrypha in the A. V. may be seen
from the -subjoined passage from 2 Esdras, which is extant
only in Latin, and affords therefore an excellent opportunity
for examination. The Latin texts used are the Vulgate (from
Melanchthon's copy, ed. Nicolaus Bry ling, Basel, 1557) and
that of Tremellius and Junius, Amsterdam, 1628.

Vulgate.
19 . . . Initium verbo-
rum Esdrse prius
quam assumeretur
el dixi
20 Domine, qui inhabi-
tas seculum, cuius
oculi eleuati in su-
perna et aere,

2 ESDRAS VIII. 19-31.
Tremellius.
. . . eloquar coram te
praecipium verborum
Hezrte antequam as-
sumatur, Diceus, Domine qui
permanesin jetemum
cujus oculi elati in
.supremo sunt atque

Auth. Version.
. . . This is the be- 19
ginning of the words
of Esdras, before he
was taken up: and
I said,
O Lord thou that 20
dwellest in everlast-
ingness; which be
holdest from above
things in the heaven
and in the air;

¦38©

TtHE English Versions.

21 et cuius thronus :in-
estimabilis, & gloria
i n com prehensibilis:
CUI adstat exercitus
angelornra cum tre-
raore,
22 quorum seruatio in
uenlo et igni conuer-
tifur: ctiius uerbum
uerum, et dicta per-
.seuerantia;: cuius iits
sio fortis, .& dispo-
sitio terribilis:
23 cuius aspectus are-
facit abyssos, et in
dignatio tabescere
facit montes, et ueri-
tas testificalur;
24exaudi orationem
serui ttti, et auribus
percipe precationem
.figmenti lui.
25 Dum enim uiuo lo-
^quar, et dum sapio,
respondebo.

cujus thronus sesti-
mari non potest, nec
comprehendi gloria;
cui adstat exercitus
An'gelorum tremens.

¦2'6 Nec respicias populi
tui flelitta, sed qui
tibi in ueritate serui-
ant.
27 Nec intendas impia
gentiitm stuffia, sefl
qui tua tebti-mania
cum doloribtts cu:«o-
diertrnt.

Quorum observatio
vento & igni com-
miltitur; cujus ver
bum verum, & dicta
perstantia, cujus for-
'tiajussa, & dispositio
terribilis;
Cujus aspectus are-
facit abyssoB, & in
dignatio tabefacit
monies, ut testlBca-
tur Veritas;
Exaudi orationem
servi tui, et auribus
;percipe preces fig-
menti tui;
Dum enim vivo lo-
quuturus .sum ; & dum
sen sum habeo, affa-
turus te.
Ne respicias ad de
licta pOpuE 'ttti, sed
ad eroB iqtii tibi ser-
viunt fideliter:
Ne attendas ad impia
'gentium studia, sed
-ad 'eos qu'i custodi-
Verunt an-xie testi-
-monia ttra:

Whose throne is in- 21
estimable; whose
glory may not be
comprehended ; be
fore whom the hosts
of angels stand with
trembling.Whose service is con- 22
versant in wind and
fire; whose word is
true, andsayings con
stant;' whose com-
mandment-jj strong,
and ordinance fear-
ful;
"Whose look drieth 23
up the depths, and
indignation maketh
the mountains to
melt away; which
the truth witnesseth:
O hear the prayer 24
of thy servant, and
give ear to the pe
tition of thycreature.
For while I live, I 25
will speak, and so
long as I have un
derstanding I will
answer. O look not upon the i6
sins of thy people;
but on them which
serve thee in truth.
Regardnot thewick- 27
ed inventions of the
heathen, but the de
sire of those that keep
thy testimonies in af
flictions.

The Authorized Version.

381

28 Nec cogites qui in
conspectu tuo false
conuersati, sed me-
morare qui ex volun-
tate tua timorem cog-
nouerunl.
29 Neque uolueris per
dere, qui pecudum
mores habuerunt: sed
respicias eos qui
legem tuam splen-
dide docuerunl.
30 Nec indigneris eis
qui bestijs peiores in-
dicati sunt: sed dili-
gas eos qui semper
in tua iustitia confi-
dunt, & gldria.
31 Quoniam nos & pa-
tres nostri talibus
morbis languemus:
tu autem propter nos
peccatores misericors
uocaberis.

Thinli not upon those 28
that have walked
feignedly before thee :
but remember them,
which according to
thy will have known
thy fear.
Let it not be thy will 25
to destroy //4«« which
have lived likebeasts:
but to look upon
theni which have
clearly taught thy
law.
Take thou no indigna- 30
tion at them which are
deehied worse than
beasts; but love them
that alway put their
trust in thy right
eousness and glory.
For we and and our 31
fathers do II languish
of such diseases: but
because of us sinners
thou shalt be called
merciful .
II are sick. Margin.
It is only necessary to call attention to the renderings of
verses 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 to justify the unfavora
ble criticism of the execution of the Apocryphal books.
I'he foMowing are instances of felicitous rendering in the
New Testa;ment: *

Neque reputeseosqui
conversati sunt falso
in conspectu tuo, sed
eorum recordare qui
ex voluntate tua cum
reverentia tui agiio-
verunt te:
Neque veils perdere
eos qui pecudum
mores habuerunt, sed
respice ad eos qui
Legem tuam lucu-
lente docuerunl;
Nec indigneris eis
qui bestiis pejores ju-
dicati sunt, sed eos
diligas qui semper
in tua juslilia & glo
ria fidudiam habue
runt. Nos eniin & majores
nostri ex morbis tali
bus languemus: tu
autem propter nos
peccatores misericors
appellaberis.

* l^ese examples are chosen with special reference to the use made by the second
0.vford company df the 'Greek Text and the then recent Snglish versions, viz., tho
Genevati and tk& -Rhemish, -and designed to illustrate their mastery of thelaitguage,
and their-singukr ttlste and judgmeht in the choice of telling, in some instances pa-
haps, the most -felling words in the language. 1 do not wish to have it understood
that 1 approve alt the renderings, which are, however, superior to anything before

382 The English Versions.
Matth. xi. 16, . . . It is like vnto children, sitlmg in the markets, and
calling -vnlo their fellowes . . . ; 1 7, And saying, . . . and ye haue not la
mented . . . ; 19, Behold a man gluttonous, and a wine bibber . . . ; 28,
. . . and are heauie laden, and I will giue you rest. Mark iv. 40, . . .
What manner of man is this, that euen the winde and the sea obey him ?
vi. 34, . . . and was moved with compassion toward them . . . ; xii. 15,
Shall we giue, or shall we not giue? But he knowing their hypocri-
ae . . .; 27, yee therefore doe greatly erre; xiv. 65, And the . . . did
strike him with the palmes of their hands. Luke v. 4, . . . Launch out
into the deepe, and let down your nets for a draught ...; v. 22,...
What reason ye in your hearts ? . . . ; vi. 35, for he is kinde vnto the
vnthankfuU, and to the euill; xv. 17, . . . haue bread ynough and to
spaie . . .; xxiv. 4, ... as they were much perplexed thereabout . . .
John iv. S, . . . neere to the parcell of ground . . .; viii. 26, . . . and I
speake to the world . . .; x. 14, . . . lay downe my life . . ., also vv. 17,
18; xix. 17, . . . the place of a skull . . . Acts v. 14, And beleeuers
were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women;
vii. 6, . . . bring Ihem into bondage . . .; 20, . . . and was exceeding
fair; xi. 29, . . . to send reliefe . .; xii. 7, ... in the prison . . .; 20,
. . . having made Blastus the kings chamberlaine their friend . Rev.
ii. 13, . . . boldest fast . . .; 16, Repent . . .; 19, . . . and Ihe last to be
more than the first; 22, . . . them that commit adultery wiih her into
great tribulation . . .; 27, euen as I receiued of my Father; 28, And I
will giue him . . .; iii. 16, So then because thou art lukewarme, and
neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee . . .
From the work of the secpnd Westminster company, charged with the
Epistles, I select the following specimens: Rom. xiv. 16, Let not then
your good be euill spoken of; xv. 4, . . were written aforetime, were
v/ritten . . .; i Cor. ii. i, . . . came not with excellencie of speach . .:
iii. 19, . . . He taketh the wise in their own craflinesse . . . ; xiii. 25, . .
but that the members should haue the same care one for another; xiii.
II, . . . but when I became a man, I put away childish tilings; 2 Cor.
iv. 17, For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for
vs a far more exceeding and etemall weight of glory . . . ; Gal. iii. 6, . . .
and it was accounted to him fbr righteousnesse . . . Ephes. iv. 32, And
bee ye kinde one to another, tender-hearted . . . Heb. iv. 12, . . .
them at the time, and some of which seem destined to be perpetuated in the common
version. All the examples given may be profitably compared with the corresponding
places in the older, and subsequent versions; they are not always original, but each
has some peculiar excellence.

The Authorized Version. 383
pearcing euen to the diuiding asunder of soule and spirit . . . James v.
16, . . . the effectuall fervent prayer of a . . . 2 Pet. iii, 17, . . . lest yee
also being led away ... i John i. 5, This then is the message . . .
Jude 4, . . . turning the grace of our God into lasciuiousnesse.
Their principle of rendering the same Greek word by differ
ent English words may be seen in the following instances
The Greek verb with the general signification to seek they translate
in John vii. 19, 20, Acts xxi. 31, go about to, and in xxvii. 30, were about
to. The Greek verb to abide is rendered to abide, remain, continue, tarry,
dwell, endure, be present, and in I John ii. 24, the words in italics repre
sent the same Greek word: "Let that therefore abide 'xxi you, which ye
have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the
beginning shall remain in you, ye shall also continue in the Son, and in
the Father. ' ' The Greek verb signifying to bear witness, Ihey translate
in lurn to witness, bear witness, bear record, testify, and in the passive
have good report. The Greek adverb with the general meaning straight
way they translate in turn straightway, immediately, anon, forthwith, as
soon as, by and by, and shortly. The same practice they observe in the
translation of tlie particles, and instances may be seen on every page: e. g,,
Phil ii., we have the particle &i rendered even, v. 8, but, v. 24, yet,
V. 25, and, v. 27, while in v. 18 it is not translated at all; nai furnishes
and, even, also, but, then, so, yet, when, therefore, if. A similar flexi
bility marks their treatment of the participle, e. g,, "Jesus seeing theii
faith," Matth. ix. 2, and " when he saw their faith," Luke v. 20.
Another striking feature of the version is the predominance
of Saxon, as will be seen by the following comparison. Gib
bon uses about seventy, Johnson about seventy-five. Swift
eighty-nine, Shakespeare about eighty-live, and the Author
ized Version more than ninety Saxon words in ever}' hundred
employed. The Lord's Prayer in St. Matthew contains, be
sides Amen, sixty-five words, of which fifty-nine are Saxon,
and six Latin, and the first thirty-five are altogether Saxon.
The superior scholarship, excellent judgment, and exqui
site taste of the translators is apparent throughout the volume;
but it seems to me proper to express the estimate of the version
in the language of others. That of John Selden, the contem-

384 The English Versions.
porary of the translators (he died in 1654, eel. 70), has been
given, p. 356; but others are now in order.
"And now after long expectation and great desire, came forth the hew
translation of the Bible (most beautifully printed), by a select and com
petent number of divines appointed for that purpose ; not being too many
lest one should trouble another, and yet many lest any things might
escape them; who neither coveting praise nor expedition, nor fearing re
proach for slackness (seeing, in a business of moment, none deserve blame
for convenient slowness), had expended almost three years in the work,
not only examining the channels by the fountain, translations with the
original, which vvas absolutely necessary; but also comparing channels
with channels, which was abundantly useful, in the Spanish, Italian,
French, and Dutch languages. So that their industry, skilfulness, piety,
and discretion, have therein bound the Church unto them in a debt of
special remembrance and thankfulness. These, with Jacob, "rolled away
the stone from the mouth of the well " of life. Gen. xxix. 10; so that even
Rachels, weak women, may freely come, both to drink themselves, and
water the flocks of their families at the same." '
" The last Enghsh translation made by divers learned men at the com
mand of King James . . . may justly contend with any now extant in any
other language in Europe." ^
" The vulgar translation of the Bible .... is the best standard of our
language." 3
" Whfin the translators in James the First's time began their work, they
prescribed to ihemselves some rules, which it may not be amiss for all
translators to follow. Their reverence for the sacred Scriptures induced
them to be as literal as they could, to avoid obscurity ; and it must be ac
knowledged that they were extremely happy in the simplicity and dignity
of their expressions. Their adherence to the Hebrew idiom is supposed
at once to have enriched and adorned our language." *
" The style of our present version is incomparably superior lo anything
which might be expected from the finical and perverted taste of our own
age. It is simple, it is liarmonious, it is energetic; aiid, which is of I'o
small importance, use has made it familiar, and time has rendered it
sacred." * 1 duller. Church 'History of 'Britain, iii. p. '245.
3 Walton, 'CoH^iderat&r Considered, Ldnd.. rSsg, p. 5.
:f fjowtli. Introduction to English Grammar, Lond., 1765.
* British Critic, July, 1794, p. 7.
:¦ M.J;lleton, On lice Griik Article, p. <^'i.

. The Authorized Version. 385
" The English language acquired new dignity by it, and has hardly ac
quired additional purity since; it is still considered as a standard of our
tongue. The national churches of Europe will have abundant reason to
be satisfied, when their versions of Scripture shall approach in point of
accuracy, purity, and sublimity to the acknowledged excellence of our
English translation." «
" It may be compared with any translation in the world, without fear of
inferiority; it has not shrunk from the most rigorous examination; it chal
lenges investigation, and, in spite of numerous attempts to supersede it,*
has hitherto remained unrivalled in the affections of the country." '
" On a diligent comparison of our translation with the original we find
that of the New Testament, and I might also add, that of the Old, in the
main faithful and judicious." «
" But you may rest fully satisfied, that as our English translation is, in
itself, by far the most excellent book in our language, so it is a pure and .
plentiful fountain of divine knowledge, giving a true, clear, and full ac
count of the divine dispensations, and of the gospel of our salvation : in
somuch that whoever studies the Bible, the English Bible, is sure of
gaining that knowledge and faith, which, if duly applied to the heart
and conversation, will infallibly guide him to eternal life." s
' ' The highest eulogiums have been made on the translation of James the
First, both by our own writers and by foreigners. And indeed, if accu
racy, fidelity, and the strictest attention to the letter of the text, be sup
posed to constitute the qualities of an excellent version, this, of all ver
sions, must, in general, be accounted the most excellent. Every sentence,
every word, every syllable, every letter and point, seem to have been
weighed with the nicest exactitude, and expressed either in the text, or
margin, with the greatest precision. Pagninus himself is hardly more
literal; and it was well remarked by Robertson, above a hundred years
ago, that it may serve for a lexicon of the Hebrew languege as well as
for a translation." i"
" It is a striking beauty in our English Bible that though the language

* A long and, on the whole, a rather humiliating Ust of such attempts, with illiNtra-
tive extracts will conclude this chapter.
6 Dr. White, Sermon, Oxford, 1779.
7 Whittaker, Hist, and Crit. Enq., p. 92.
I "Doddridge, Works, X.eeds edition, ii., p. 329.
9 "Dr. John Taylor, Scheme, etc., ch. xl. in bp. Watson's iColleciion of Theol. Tracts,
i. p. 188.
10 Geddes, -Prospectus ofa 'New Translation, 'Ctt:., p. 92.

386 The English Versions.
IS always elegant and nervous, and for the most part very harmonious,
the words are all plain and common, no affectation of learned terms, or
of words of Greek or Latin etymplogy." "
" Those who have compared most of the European translations with the
original, have not scnipled to say, that the English translation of the
Bible, made under the direction of King James the First, is the most ac
curate and faithful of the whole  Nor is this its only praise: the
translators have seized the very spirit and soul of the original, and ex
pressed this almost everywhere with pathos and energy. Besides, our
translators have not only made a standard translation, but they have
made their translation the standard of our language." >«
" Now I am far indeed from undervaluing that mere knowledge of the
Scripture which is imparted to the population thus promiscuously. At
least, in England, it has to a certain point made up for great and griev
ous losses in Christianity. The reiteration again and again, in fixed
course in the public service, of the words of the inspired teachers under
both covenants, and that in grave, majestic Enghsh, has in matter of
fact been to our people a vast benefit. It has attuned their minds to re
ligious thought; it has given them a high moral standard; it has served
them in associating religion with composition?, which, even humanly
considered, are among the most sublime and beautiful ever written; es
pecially it has impressed upon them the series of Divine Providences in
behalf of man from his creation lo his end, and, above all, the words,
deeds, and several sufferings of Him in whom all the Providences of God
centre." '3
This long array of weighty testimony concerning the merits
of the Authorized Version suggests at least the propriety of
great caution in expressing an adverse opinion on any part
of that noble work. But as the Revision of it has made
considerable progress, and the Revised New Testament has
been before the world since May, 1881, what remains to
be examined will be presented in a form which, it is hoped,
will enable the reader to reach his own conclusions both
on the actual merits or demerits of the Authorized Ver
sion, and of the Revision. With that end in view the inquiry
11 Dr. James Beattie, in Forbes's Ufe of Dr. Beattie, ii. p. 198.
12 Dr. A, Clarke, Preface to Commentary on the Bible, i. p. ai.
u Dr, Newman cited by Dr. Eadie, ii. p. 480.

The Authorized Version. 387
turns upon these heads: i. The critical apparatus used by the
translators of the Authorized Version. 2. The nature and ori
gin of the improvements made upon former versions. 3. The
alleged blemishes, imperfections, infelicities, and archaisms re
maining in the version, and necessitating revision.
I. The Critical Apparatus at their command embraced not
only the editions of the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New
Testament, already enumerated in the chapters relating to the
earlier versions, but also the interlinear Latin translation of
the Hebrew text, based on that of Pagninus, added to the
Antwerp Polyglot by Arius Montanus, 1 569-1 572, and the
celebrated original Latin translation of the Old Testament by
Immanuel Tremellius, 1 575-1 579, revised and extended to
the Apocrypha by Francis Junius, his son-in-law, with a trans
lation of the Syriac New Testament by the former, and a
Latin translation of the Greek Testament by Theodore Beza,
1590; two editions of the latter, in folio, were printed in
London in 1593 and 1597. There is abundant evidence
a, . that King James's translators were not independent of these
works, and b, that they were not free from caprice in their
adoption of various readings, e. g.. Is. ix. 3, where the clause
' ' not increased the joy, " contradicts the remainder of the verse,
from their disregard of the Masoretic notation to him in place
of not, the not belonging to the margin, and the reading lo him
being required to complete the sense of the text; they prob
ably followed Tremellius who renders with the Vulgate non
magnificasti Iceliliam; in Judg. xviii. 30, they overlooked the
presence of the suspended n in the proper name which they
render Manasseh, instead of Moses, probably again misled by
Tremellius who gives the former rendering, against the Vul
gate which rightly translates Moyst. Their philological helps
in the Old Testament terminated with Buxtorfs Lexicon,
1607, and his Hebrew grammar, 1609; they had the bare
Hebrew text without more light shed on it by the ancient

388 The English Versions.
versions except that derived from such editions of the .Septua
gint and the Vulgate, as were then circulating, the Sixtine
edition of 1587, being the latest of the former, and the Six
tine (1590) and Clementine (1592-3) editions the latest ofthe
latter version. The Ghaldee Paraphrase of Onkelos (1482,
1546, and 1590) was also available to them, but the Samar
itan Pentateuch, the Syriac and Arabic versions, and the
fragmentary Ethiopic and Persian translations were unknown
to them.
For the Greek text of the New Testament they had the
various editions of Beza from 1560 to 1598, and the fifth
edition of Beza, 1598, is probably that which they used, as
well as the third edition of Stephens, 1550-51; they likewise
consulted the Complutensian Polyglot, 15 14, the diflFerent edi
tions of Erasmus, 1516-1535, Aldus, 1518, Colinaeus, 1534,
Plantin, 1 572, the Vulgate and Beza's Latin version of 1556.
The common statement is that the Greek text of the
Authorized Version of 161 1 agrees in eighty-one places with
Beza against Stephens, in about twenty-one with Stephens
against Beza, and that in twenty-nine places the translators fol
low the Complutensian, Erasmus, or the Vulgate.
To state this somewhat differently, the Greek text used by
King James's translators was that found in the editions of
Erasmus (five, 1516-35), of Stephens (four, 1546-51); Beza
(four in folio, 1565-98, five in smaller form, 1565-1604), and
the Complutensian Polyglot (1514, published 1522). Eras
mus had for his text one valuable MS. of the Gospels;
Stephens two (D. and L. ) ; Beza had also D. of the Gospels
and Acts, and D. (the Clermont MS. ) of the Pauline Epistles;
but they hardly used them. As already stated, the text of
the A. V. agrees more nearly with the later editions of Beza
than with any other; but Beza followed Stephens (1550) very
closely, and Stephens is hardly more than a reprint of the
fourth edition of Erasmus (i 527). Erasmus had for the basis

The Authorized Version. 389
of his text in the Gospels an inferior MS. of the fifteenth
century, and'in Acts and the Epistles one ofthe thirteenth or
fourteenth century. In Revelation he had only the inaccu
rate transcript of a mutilated MS. (wanting the last six verses)
of little value, the real and supposed defects of which he sup
plied \fy translating from the I^atin Vulgate into Greek. For
his later editions he had altogether three MSS. of the Gospels,,
four of the Acts and' Catholic Epistles, and five ofthe Paiiline
Epistles, together with the text ofthe Aldine edition, of 1518,
and of the Complutensian Polyglot, neither of much critical
value. In select passages he had also collations of some other
MSS. The result of the whple is that in a considerable num
ber of cases — not of great importance — the reading of the A. V.
is supported by no known Greek manuscript whatever, but rests
on an error of Erasmus or Beza; (& g.. Acts ix. 5, 6; Rom.
vii. 6; I Pet. iii. 20; Rev. i. 9, ii; ii. 3, 20, 24; iii. 2; v
ID, 14; XV. 3; xyi. 5.; x.vii. 8, 16; xviii, 2, etc.) and it is safe
to say that in more than a thousand instances the text used
by the translators of thg A. V. requires to be corrected by
what is now known to be the true text (condensed from Pro
fessor Abbott's Paper on the New Testament Text in Anglo-
American Bible Remsum, Nfiw York, 1879).*
* Dr. Scrivener's The New Testament in the Original Greek according to the
texifoUowed in the Authorized Version together with the vanatioTis adopted in ihe
Revised Version, Cambridge. 1881, is a timely, judicious, and very valuable volume,
deserving to be in the hands of all interested in the textual basis of the versions in
question. Tremellius' and Beza's Latin versions being often referred to, I subjoin a pa.ssage from
each in parallel columns with the 'Vulgate and Authorized Versions:
MALACHI I. 10. II.
Vulgate. Tremellius.'^ Authorized Version.
^o Quis est in vobis, qui Quis etiam inter vos «^ Who iJMir?-*? even among 10
claudat ostia et incendat qui claudat hvQ^ gratis ? you that would shut the
altare meum gratuito ? aut num illustratis altare Aaor^for nought? Nei-
Non est mihi voluntas in meum gratis? nulla est ther do ye Icindle^/^-f ^n
vobis, dicit Dominus ex- mihi delectatio in vobis, mine altar for nought. I
'* See also, p. 379.

390

The English Versions.

As to modern versions of the period, they had besides those
previously enumerated, the Genevan French Bible (1587-8),
chiefly rendered .by Bertram, who had the assistance of Beza,

ercituum, et munus non
susf ipi.im de manu vestra.

II Ab ortu enim solis usque
ad occasum magnum est
nomen meum in gentibus,
et in omni loco sacrifica-
tur et ofFertur nomini meo
oblatio munda; quia mag
num est nomen meum in
gentibus, dicit Dominus
exercituum.

Vulgate.
17 Quod si aliqui ex ramis
fracti sunt, tu autem, cum
oleaster esses, insertus es
in illls, et socius radicis et
pinguedinis olivas factus

18 noli gloriari adversus ra-
mos; quod si gloriaris:
non 'tu radicem portas,
sed radix te.
19 Dices ergo: Fracti sunt
rami, ut ego inserar.

20 Bene ! propter increduH-
tatem fracti sunt, tu au
tem fide stas: noli altum
sapere, sed time.
»i Si enim Deus naturalibus
ramis non pepercit, ne for
te nec tibi parcat.

ait Jehova exercituum,
& munus acceptum non
habeo 6 manu vestra: "
Nam ab ortu Solis usque
ad occasum ejus magnum
erit nomen meum in gen
tibus, & in omni loco
suffimentum afferetur
nomine meo, & munus
purum: quia magnum no
men meum erit in genti
bus, ait Jehova exerci
tuum. ROMANS XI. 17-21.
•Beza.
Quod si nonnuUi rami de-
fracti sunt, in vero quum
esses oleaster, insitus es
pro ipsis, & particeps ra
dicis et pinguedinis oleas
factus es;

Ne gloriare adversus ra-
mos: quod si gloriaris, non
tu radicem portas, sed ra
dix te.
Dices igitur, Defracti sunt
rami ut ego insererer.

Bene: per incredulitatem
defracti sunt, tu vero per
fidem stas; nejelTertor ani
mo, sed metue.
Nam si Deus naturalibus
ramis non pepercit, vide
ne tibi quoque non parcat.

have no pleasure in you,
saith the Lord of hosts,
neither will I accept an
offering at your hand.
For from the rising of the \ i
sun even unto the go
ing down of the same
my name sJiall be great
among the Gentiles; and
m every place incense
shall be o^^r^A unto my
name, and a pure offer
ing: for my name shall be
great among the heathen,
saith the Lord of hosts.
Authorized Version.
And if some ofthe bran- 17
ches be broken off, and
thou being a wild olive
tree, were graffed in
11 amongst them , and with
them partalcest of the root
and fatness of the olive
tree; boastnotagainst the bran- 18
ches; but if thou boast,
thou bearest not the root,
but the root thee.
Thou wilt say then. The 19
branches were broken off,
that I might be graffed
in. Well, because of unbelief 20
they were broken off, and
thou standest by faith.
Be not high-minded, but
fear:
for if God spared not the 21
natural branches, take
heed lest he also spare not
thee. lOt Northern.

The Authorized Version. 391
Gonlart, and others; the Italian version of Diodati (Geneva,
1607); both capital in their way. Tliere were also three
Spanish versions, that of C. Reyna (Bas§l, 1569), and C. de
Valera's based on Reyna's (Amsterdam, 1602), and Usque's
(Ferrara, 1553). As all these versions, as well as Luther's and
parts of the Ziirich, not taken from Luther, are independent
translations from the original tongues, they possess of course,
within proper limits, (imposed by the condition ofthe text of
the originals available to the respective translators), critical value.
2. The nature and origin of the improvements made upon
forraer versions.
Professor Westcott gives as the result of his collation of
Isaiah liii. in the Authorized Version with the Bishops' Bible
these data: that about seven-eighths ofthe changes are due to
the Genevan version, either alone, or in agreement with one
or both of the Latin versions, that two renderings, viz. , tender
plant, V. 6. and because — done no violence, v. 9, are due to Tre
mellius, two others, viz. , a man of sorrows, v. 3, bruise — hath put
him to grief, v. 10, to Pagninus, that the Genevan version is aban
doned in three places, viz., vv. 9. 10, bis, and that one render
ing, when thou shalt make, v. 10, appears to be independent.
To this account I would add as the result of my exami
nation of the chapter, that shall, v. 2, is a return from the
Bishops' to Coverdale (Matthew), when we shall see, v. 2, a
return to the Great Bible; that acquainted with grief, v. 3.
comelinetts, v. z, and griefs, v. 4, may be regarded as original;
and that the influence of Luther directly, or indirectly through
the German-Latin versions, may be traced in the renderings
believed, and, revealed, v. i, tender plant {^tis), out of , form, v.
2, surely, smitten of God, v. 4, but, v. 5, of us all, v. 6, brought
. dumb, V. 7, many, v. 11, and bare the sin of many (v. 12).*
• Professor Moulton [.History qf the Bible. ^^. 202-205, Bible Educator, iv. p. 380)
calculates that in one luiiidred and eighty two words of six verses, Isaiah liv. 11-17,
eighty rem.iin uncn.niijcJ from the previous versions, sixty are from the Genevan, and

392 The English 'Versions.
In Wisdom vii. 15-21, 27-30, the saine scholar has verified
out of twenty-five changes, three as due to Junius, two or four
to the Genevan version, that five are linguistic, and nine closer
renderings, of the Greek. According to his analysis of the
sixteen marginal renderings in Malachi, four occur in Tre
mellius, four in Miinster, and Leo Judae, or Tremellius, or
both, two in Pagninus, one in Castalio, oneeach in the Genevan,
the Rhemish and Leo Judae's versions, while two he was un
able to refer with certainty to any of the authorities cited.
In the New Testament the results of his irivestigation are
that the Epistle to the Romans contains seventeen phrases
common to the Rhemish and Authorized Versions alone, in
Hebrews xiii. i— 16, ofthe twenty-three changes made in the
text of the Bishops' Bible seveil appear to him due to Beza,
or the Genevan, and about the same number to the Rhemish,
two suggested by the Syriac version of Tremellius, and seven
original or linguistic. Of the thirty-seven alternative render
ings in Mark, he found one half to agree with the Genevan or
Beza, six with the Rhemish, three with the French, six with
the earlier English versions and one each with Castalio and
the Vulgate.
I am inclined to think that the versions of Cassiodoro and
Diodati also have influenced the Authorized Version. As an
instance of the influence of the former, I call attention to
Luke xii. 50, where accomplished appears to have been sug
gested by cumplido, and of that ofthe latter, to Rom. xii. 2,
where the antithesis conformed — transformed, seems due to vi

only twelve are from the Bishops*. The influence ascrihed to Luther's version is
mostly indirect, either through the older English versions, or through the German, the
German-Latin, and the Genevan versions, e. g., the rendering of the A. V., as I w.is
commanded, Ez. .\xxvii. 7, may he s.iid to be taken frora the Bishops', or the Gene
van, — ^hut as both follow Luther (who translates wie mir befohlen war, departs from
the Vulgate's sicut prieceperat mihi, "as he commanded me," Great Bible,— and
doubtless influenced the rendering of Pagninus and ^\.'an^lzr,jussusfui) it ii more
correct to say that the turn is due to Luther.

The Authorized Version.

393

conformiale — trasformateui. Diodati's version, I believe, is
the first giving this peculiar turn, although Beza had rendered
before: configurate — transformate. The advance on fashioned
¦ — changed in your shape (Tynd. , Coverd. , Genev. , Bish. ) was
very great; the Rhemists give, conformed — reformed.
A few passages exhibiting the variations in the text of the
Authorized Version fi-om that of the Bishops' Bible are now
in place; these variations are indicated by the Italic type,
which is also employed, but in parentheses, to mark the sup
plementary words in the former, which is here presented in
the modernized spelling, with the punctuation etc. adopted
in the Cambridge Paragraph Bible. The origin of the changes
made is traced in the notes.

The Bishops' .
I The Lorde sayde vnto my Lord:
sit thou on my right haud vutyl
I make thyne enimies thy foot-
stooli.
2 The Lorde shal send the rodde
of thy pouer out of Sion: be thou
ruler euer in the middes among
thyne enimies.
3 In the day of thy power shall the
people offer thee freewyl offer
ings with an holy worship: the
dewe of thy birth is the wombe
ofthe morning.
4 The Lord sware, and wyll not
repent: thou art a priest for euer
after the order of Melchisedek.
5 The Lorde vpon thy right hande:
shal woiinde euen kings in the day
of his wrath.

Authorized Version.
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit i
thou at my right hand, until I
make thine enemies thy foot
stool.
Tlie Lord shall seiid the rod of 2
thy strength out of Zion: Rule
thou in the midst of thine ene
mies.
Thy people (shall be) willing in 3
the day of thy power in the beau
ties of holiness. || From the
womb of the moming; thou hast
the dew oiiki'j youth.
The Lord hath sworn, and will 4
not repent, thou (art) a priest for
ever after the order of Melchiz-
edek. The Lord at thy right hand shall 5
strike through kings in the day
of his wrath.
V. 3. II Or, More than the womb qf tht
morning; thou shalt have, etc.

394

The English Versions.

6 He shall iudge among the Hea
then, he shall fill the places with
the dead bodies, and smite in
sunder the heades ouer diuers
countries.
7 He shall drinke of the brooke in
the way: therefore shal he lyft
vp his head.

He shall judge among the hea- 6
then, he shall fill (the places with)
the dead bodies; He shall wound
the heads over || many countries.
He shall drink of the brook in 7
the way: Therefore shall he lift
up the head.
V. 6. II Or, great.
V. I. at, so Geneva, purely linguistic. — v. 2. strength, so Pagninus, fortitudints. —
rule thou in the midst, etc., returns to, dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum, Vulg.
Pagn. Trem. — v. 3. (shall be) wilting, abandons Tremell. for, williglich (Luther) tuae
copiae voluntarise erunt ^Castalio), tu pueblo sera voluntario (Cassiod.); in the beau
ties qf holiness, follows, splendoribus sanctitatis (Pagn.), en hermosura de sanctitades
[C^s&ioA.y, from the womb qf the morning: tkou hast the dew qf thy youth, follows,
quasi de vulva orietur tibi ros adolescentiae tuae (Jerome), ex utero aurorae habebis
rorem tutse inuentutis (Castalio); thou hast, answers to, ist aus (Ziirich). — v. 5. at, Ge
neva: strike through, apparently suggested by, percutiet, the rendering of the same
word by Pagninus in v. 6 who inconsistently translates vulnerabit, in v. 5, and, per
cutiet, in V. 6, while A. V. reverses the inconsistency by rendering it strike through
in V. 5, and W(7M«rfinv. 6. — v. 6 {the places •with) the dead bodies, ''&c\^^x\ysa%%es.leA\yy
implebic loca cadaueribuE (Pagninus); over many countries, follows, sopra molti paesi
(Diodati). — V. 7. ihe head, suggested by, caput attoUat (Castalio), and, ilcapo (Diodati).
The result of this collation shows that of all the changes
introduced into the A. V. not one can be said to be original;
the perplexity of the translators is evident from the alternative
renderings in vv. 3, 6.

ISAIAH xxvi. 19-21.

The Bishops'.
19 Thy dead men shal lyue, euen
as my body shal they ryse
agayne: Awake and syng ye
that dwel in dust, for thy deawe
is euen as the deaw of hearbes,
and the earth shall cast out
them that be under her.
20 Come my people, enter thou
into thy chambers, and shut thy
doores about thee, hyde thee .selfe

Authorized Version.
Thy dead (men) shall live, (To- 19
gether with) my dead body shall
they arise. Awake and sing, ye
that dwell in dust: For thy dew
(is as) the dew of herbs. And
the earth shall cast out the dead.
Come, my people, enter thou into 20
thy chambers. And shut thy
doors about thee: Hide thyself

The Authorized Version.

395

as it were for a little moment.
Until the indignation be over
past. For behold the Lord cometh out 21
of his place 'To punish the in
habitants of the eaxlb for their
iniquity: The earth also shall
disclose her blood, and shall no
more coTjer her slain.

for a little whyle, vntyll the in
dignation be ouerpast.
21 For beholde, the Lorde is com-
myng out of his place to visile
the wickednesse of such as dwel
upon earth: the earth also shal
disclose her bloods and shall no
more hyde them that are slayne
in her.
V. 19. (Together with) my dead hody shall they arise, suggested by, cum cadauero
meo resurgent (Pagninus), euen with my body .shall they rise (Geneva), i junto con
mi cuerpo resuscitarin (Cassiod.) ; {is as) the dew, likewise follows, quia ut ros (Pagni
nus), and so does cast out the dead, mortuos proiiciet (Pagn.), echara los muertos (Cas
siod.), lettera hors les morts (Calvin). — v. 20. as it werefor a tittle moment, is appar
ently suggested by, paululum ad momentum (Pagn.), quasi exiguo momento (Trem.),
vn poquito, por vn momento (Cassiod.), come per un piociol momento di tempo (Diod.).
V. 21. To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, is in almost verbal
agreement with, ad animadvertendum iniquitatem habitatoris terrs in eum (Trem.),
and, per far punizioue dell' iniquita degli abitanti della terra contro a lui (Diod.), and
for the plural, habitantium terras (Castalio); her blood, so (Geneva), son s.ing (Calvin),
il suo sangue (Diod.), suum sanguinem (Castalio), sanguines suos (Pagninus); cover hey
slain, follows the renderings, obteget ultra interfectos suos (Trem.), suos amplius cae-
sos operiet (Castal.), y mas no encubrira sus muertos (Cassiod.), et ne couurira plus ses
occis (Calvin), e non coprir& piii i suoi uccisi.
The influence of Cassiodorus and Diodati is very marked,
and in this passage there is not a single original rendering.

The Bishops'.
I Vp Sion, vp, take thy strength
vnto thee, put on thine honest
rayment, o Hierusalem, thou
holy citie: for from this tyme
foorth there shal no vncircum
cised nor vncleane person come
in thee.
2 Shake thee from the dust, arise
and stand vp, o Hierusalem:
Plucke out thy necke from the
bonde, o theu captiue daughter
Sion.

ISAIAH LII. 1-3. ^
Authorized Version.
Awake, awake; put on thy I
strength, o Zion; Put on thy
beautiful garments, O Jerusa
lem, the holy city: For hence
forth there shall no more come
irtto thee the imcircumcised and
the unclean.
Shake thyself from the dust: 2
arise, (and) sit down, O Jerusa
lem: Loose thyself from the
bands of thy neck, O captive
daughter of Zion.

396

The English Versions.

3 For thus sayth ike Lorde, Ye For tiiMS saith tiie hard. Ye haxie 3
are sold for nought, therefore sold yourselves for nought ; And
shall ye be redeemed also with- ye shall be redeemed without
out any money. money.
V. I. Awake, awake, suggested 'by, suscita te, suscita te (Pagn.), 'and, ew'igflia, evi-
gilia (Trem.): put on thy strength, by, indue te fortitudLne tua (Pagn ), and, indue
robur tuiim (Trem ); .thy beautiful garments, vestimentis ^lorife tuae (Pagn ), vested
ornatus tui ( Trem ), the garments of thy beautie {GQne:va);for henceforth there shall
no more come into tliee, compare, nam non perget invadere te amplius ( I'lem.). — •
V. 2. arise {and) sit down, the supplied and answers to vnnd (Ziirich), e (Diod.), and
(Geneva), while sit down follows sede (Pagn., Trem ), setz dich (Ziirich), assieiitate
(Cassiod.), assettati (iDiod.). te sieds (Calv.,). sit downe (G«ne.va) — Z.ooje thy^ ffrom
the ban.'ts if thy T.rak; as the old rendering in the Bishops' answers to ibe .clumsy ren
dering, Zeuch deinen hals auss den banden .(Ziirich), the more elegant version of A. V.
appears to conform in part to, loose the bands of thy necke (Geneva^), and literally to,
soIue te a uincuUs colli tui (Pag-n.), and, explica te (Trem.), just as in v. 3, Ye hcKit
told yourselves for nought; and . . ., is the literal reproduction -of, gratis vendidistis
vns, et . . . ;(Trcm ).
The result af the collation of these three verses is that of all
the changes made not one is original
ECCLUS. xxrv. 14-118.
The Bishops'. Authorized Version.

14 I tooke roote in an honourable
people, euen in the ;portion of
the Lorde, and in his heritage,
and kept me in the fulnesse of
the saintes.
15 f am set -T^, on hygh, lyke a Ce
dar vpon Libanus, and as a ci
pers tree ypon the mount Her
man.
16 I am exalted lyke a Palme tree
in Cades, and as a Rose plant
in Jericho, as a fayre Oliue tree
in the feelde, and am exalted like
.a. JPlanta-ne tree by the water
syde.
17 I Aaue giuen a smell m the
streetes, as tlie Cynamon and

And 1 tooTc root in an honorable 12
peojple, (Even) in the portion of
the Lord's inheritance.

Iwasexalted^k£a.ceAa.xin'Lih- 13
anus. And as a cjfpress tree upon
the m-ountains of Hermon.
I was exalted like a palm tree in 14
IIEngaddi, and as a rose plant m
Jericho, As a fair oUve tree in a
pleasant field, and grezo up as a
plane tree ||by the water.
I gave a sweet smell like cinna- 15
mon and aspalathus.. And I
II Or, Cades. || Or, in ihe water.

iHE AUTHORIZED VERSION.

397

yielded & pleasant odour like the
best myrrh. As galbanum, and
onyx, and sweet storax. And as
the fume of frankincense in the
tabernacle.

Balme that hath so good a sci-
uour.yea fi sweete odoux haue I
geuen, as it were myrre of the
best. T haue made my dwell
ynges to smell as it were of
Rosin, Galbanum, of Cloues, In-
sence, and as Libanus when it is
not hewen downe, and myne
odour is as the pure Balme.
i8 As the Terebint haue I stretched As the turpentine /'r^i? I stretched 16
out my branches, and my bran- out my branches. And my bran
ches are the branches of hon- ches (q,re) the branches of hon
our and louyng fauour . our and grace.
V. 12. in — inheritance, seemingly suggested by Tremellius, who renders: in parte
domini, hEBreditatis ipsius, and omits the claoise, and — saintes (Bishops'), y en la parte
del Senor y en su heredad (Cassiod.). — v. 13, 1 was exalted, exaltata (Vulg., Trem.l;
mountains of Hermon, in montihus Chermonis ,(Trem.) — v. 14. Engaddi, Hengedi,
(Trem.); a pleasant field, in campo amceno (Pagn.), en campo deleytoso (Cassiod.),
en" une campagn£ delectable (Calvm), in specioso campo (Trem.); ^rew up, apparently
a linguistic variation.— v. 15. / gave a s^ei smell, aromatizans odorem dedi,^dedi
suauitatem odoris (Vulg.), emisi odorem bonum (Trem..);C7.a/^<E»M?«, onyx, and sweet
storax, seems to be a mixed rendering of the Vulgate and Trem.; the first they have
in common, the second belongs to Trem., and the last is the rosin of the Bishops'. —
The text conforms as to the omitted parts to that of Tremellius against the Vulgate,
while the rendering: And as the fume jf frankincense in the tabernacle, seems a lit
eral translation of, et tanquam thuris vapor in tabernaculo (Trem.), which latter had
however the versions, thurisque vapor sparsus in tabernaculo (Pagn.), and, y el per
fume de encienso esparzido por el tabernaculo (Ca.ssiod.). — v. xi, grace, returns to the
Vulgate: et rami mei honoris et gratisB.

ST. LUKE
The Bishops' .
49 I ara come to send fyre on the
earth, and what is my desyre,
vf it be already kindled ?
50 Notwithstanding I must be bap
tized with a baptisme, and howe
am 1 payned till it be ended?
51 Suppose ye that I am come to
send peace on earth ? I tel you,
nay, but rather diuision.

XII. 49-52. Authorized Version.
I am come to send fire on the 49
earth, and what will /if it be al
ready kindled.
But Ihave a baptism to be bap- 50
tized (with); and how am I
\\ straitened till it is accom
plished? Suppose ye that I am come to 51
give peace on earth ? I tell you.
Nay; but rather division :
II Or, pained.

398 The English Versions.
52 For from hencefoorlh there shalbe for from henceforth there shall 52
fine in one house diuided, three be five in one house divided,
agaynst two, and two agaynst three against two, and two
three. against three.
V. 49. what •will I, so Rhemish, after Beza, who translates, quid volo ? — v. 50. The
whole verse, with a slight transposition in the first member and a hnguistic change in
the second, conforms to, I have to be baptised with a baptisme: and how am I strait
ened vntil it be dispatched ? (Rhemish), which should however be compared with,
. . . et quomodo constringor usquequo {hoc) perficiatur t (Beza). Accomplished, is de
cidedly better than, ended (Bishops'), and, dispatched (Rhemish), but it can hardly
be regarded as an original rendering, since the version of Cassiodorus (1569) must
have been known to King James's translators, y como me angustio basta que sea cum
plido. The influence of that elegant translation, which deserves to be better known
than it is, on the Authorized Version is very pronounced, and very often explains
turns, and suggests readings; the rendering of Calvin (1562) is also interesting: & com
ment suis-ie pressS iusqu'a ce qu'il soit parfaict? — y. %i. give peaee, so Cassiod. ' (dar
paz), Beza (pacem daturum), and Geneva.
ROM. VIII. 15-17.
The Bishops'. Authorized Version. (C. P. B.) ¦
15 For yee haue not receyued the For ye have not received the 15
spirite of bondage agayne to spirit of bondage again to fear;
feare; but ye haue receyued the but ye have received the Spirit
spirite of adoption, whereby we of adoption, virhereby we cry,
crye, Abba, Father. Abba, Father.
16 The spirite it selfe beareth wit- The Spirit itself beareth witness 16
nesse to our spirite, that we are with our spirit, that we are the
the sonnes of God. children oi God :
17 If we be sonnes, then are we And 'li children, then heirs; heirs 17
also heires, the heyres of God, of God, and joint-heirs with
and ioint heyres wyth Christ; so Christ; z/ so be that we suffer
that we suffer togeather, that wee with (him), that we may be also
may be also glorify ed togeather. glorified together.
v. 16. with, an improvement of the tautological rendering of, together ¦with (Gen
eva); children, so Luther, Ziirich (Kinder), Calvin, 1562 (enfans): una cum (Beza).—
V. 17. and f children then heirs, an apparently original and happy reproduction o»
the Greek; if so he (Geneva); suffer with (him), so Rhemish, and the whole clause
stands in Diodati thus: se pur sofferiamo con lui, acciocche ancora con lui siamo
glorificati. III. The alleged blemishes, imperfections, infelicities
and archaisms remaining in the version, and necessitating
revision.

The Authorized Version.

399

IN THE OLD TESTAME.NT.'

a. Examples of Errors in Geography.
The Text ofthe Authorized Proposed Correction.
Version.

Gen. xii. 9,
Numb, .\xxiv. 5,
Deut. xxi. 4,
Josh. xi. 16,
 • xxiv. 33,
I Sam. i. I,
Is. xiv. 29, 31,
 xviii. 2,
Ezek. xxix. 10, j
— '- — xxx. 6, )

toward the south.

toward the South (a defi.
nite district).
the brook of Egypt (not
the Nile).
a valley with an everflow-
ing stream.
the lowland.
the hill country of Ephraim.
an Ephraimite (resident of
Ephraim). Philistia.the rivers divide.
from Migdol unto Syene
even .... Ethiopia (Syene
was on tbe border).
Examples of Errors in Proper Names.

the river of Egypt.
a rough valley.
the valley.
mount Ephraim.
an Ephrathite.
Palestina. Soalsojoeliii.4.
the rivers have spoiled.
from the tower of Syene
even .... Ethiopia.

Numb. xxi. 14,

what he did.

Vaheb in Suphah (a proper
name).

 xxiv. 17,

Sheth.

tumult (not a proper name).

Judjes XV. 19,

an hollow place that was in

the hollow place that is in

the jaw.

Lehi.

 XX. 26,

the house of God.

Bethel.

(I Sam. ii. 12,

Belial.) (and often.)

(worthless or base.)

2 Sam. i. 18,

the book of Jasher.

the book of the upright.

 viii. I,

Metheg-ammah.

(the bridle of the metro
polis, i. e., their metropolis,
there being no such place
as Metheg-ammah.)

Is. XV. 2,

Bajith.

the house, or, idol temple.

f

an heifeirof three years' old.

Eglath Shelithijah.)

5>

Jerem. xxxix. 3,

Rab-saris.

(chief of the eunuchs.)

Rab-mag.

(chief of the Magi.)

* Some of these lists have been prepared from papers, contributed by the scholars
named, to Anglo-American Bible Revision, publi.shed by the A merican Revision Com
mittee, New York, 1879. For all niiuier in parenthc-ie.-. I am rcspuu^iolo.

400

The English Versions.

Ezek. xxvii. ii, Gammadims.

warriors.

 17, Pannag.
Nahum ii. 7, Huzzab.

(sweet paste.)
it is decided.
 iii. 8, populous No.
No-Ammon.
Prof,
}V. H. Green, D.D. LL.D
c. Examples of
Inconsistencies in Names.
Places.
Two or more forms of a
nayne, to be
expressed by one name.
Gaza, Azzah.
Gaza, or Azzah.
Zidon, Sidon.
Zidon or Sidon.
Persons.
Abiah, Abijah.
Enos, Enosh.
Abiah or Abijah.
Enos or Enosh.
Seth, Sheth.
Seth or Sheth.
Pua, Puah, Phuvah.
By one ofthe thr^.
Enoch, Henoch, Hanoch.
By one ofthe three.
Jared, Jered.
Gazer, Gezer.
By eit
a (
her.
Pallu, Phallu.
tc (
Perez, Pharez.
.-1 I
Zarah, Zerah.
Salah, Shelah. •
Jonathan, Jehonathan.
Jehoram, Joram.
Cainan, Kenan.
Ai, Hai.
Uz, Huz.
Ishmeelite, Ishmaelite.
Zebulonhe, Zebulunite
Professor Charles A. Aiken, D.D.
d. Mxamples of Mistakes of the Meaning.
The text -of ihe Authorized
Proposed Correct^.
Version.
Lev. xvi. 8,
scape-goat.
(Azazel?)
Hos. iv. 18,
her rulers with shame do
her rulers are in love with
love, Give ye.
shame.
Hab. ii. 6,
thick clay.
pledges (one word).
 16,
shameful spewing.
ignominy.
The Authorized Version.

401

Gen. xii. 6,
— — • xxxvi. 24,
— xxxvii. 3,
Ex. xi. 2,
 .ixxiv. 13,
Numb, xxiii. 22, unicorn.
Judg. v. 2, avenging.
 XV. 8, top of the rock.
Ruth iii. 15, veU.
2 Kgs. x.'(ii. 14, college.

plain of Moreh.
mules.
coat of many colors,
borrow. groves.

Job xxvi. 13,
Ps. lxxi. 22,
Cant. vii. 5,
Is. iii. 20,
 Lx. I,

crooked.
I will sing.
galleries.
headbands, and tablets and

(afterward did more griev
ously afflict her.)
 xiii. 21, 22, owls, satyrs, wild beasts
of the islands, dragons.
 xvi. 13, since that time.
 xix. 10, all that make sluices and
ponds ,for fish.
 xxvii. I, piercing.
Ez. xiii. 10, untempered mortar.
 18, pillows to all armholes.
 20, to make them fly.
 xxiii. 15, dyed attire.
Dan. iii. 21, coats, hosen, hats.
Hos. iii. I, flagons of wine.
Nah. ii. 3, flaming torches.
 fir trees.

I Kings X. .28.,
Job xxxix. 3^,
 Xl. 19,

Prof. W.
ligen yam.
neither believeth he.
he that made him can make
his sword to approach unto
him.

oak of Moreh.
warm springs.
a long tunic with sleeves,
asked.
pillars.wild ox.
leaders.
cleft of the rock.
mantle.
second ward (or, division,
district). fleet.
I will play.
curls, or, locks of hair.
sashes, and perfume boxes,
and amulets.
(afterward will cause her
to be honored.)
ostriches, goats, wolves,
jackals.of old.
all that work for hire are
sad at heart.
fleet. whitewash.
cushions for the knuckles.
as birds.
flowing turbans.
trowsers, tunics, mantles.
cakes of pressed grapes.
flashing steel.
cypress lances (i. e. made
of tha:t wood).
H. Green, D.D., LL.D.
drove (of horses).
neither can he stand still at.
His maker giveth him his
sword (i. e. , his tusk).

402

The English Versions.

Job xl. 23, behold he drinketh up a
river,' and hasteth not; he
trusteth that he can draw
up Jordan into his mouth.

Is. vi. 12, But yet in if shall be a
tenth, and it shall return,
and shall be eaten; as a
teil-tree and as an oak,
who.se substance is in them
when they cast their leaves,
so the holy seed shall be
the substance thereof.
Dan. ii. 5, the thing is gone from me.

lo, a river swells, he is not
afraid; fearless, though
Jordan rushes to his mouth.
(The hippopotamus lives
not in Jordan; Jordan
therefore is used poetical
ly, and the rendering a Jor
dan would bring that out. )
And though there be left in
it a tenth, it shall again be.
consumed; as a terebinth,
and as an oak, whose,
trunk remauieth, when
they are felled, so its
trunk shall be a holy seed.
the word hath gone from
me.
Prof. J. Packard, D.D.

e. Examples of grammatical Errors.
Tenses.
Ps. iii. 4, cried, heard, sustained. will cry, will hear, will
sustain.
 xxxvii. 40, shall. hath.
 xl. II, withhold not thou. thou wilt not withhold.
Obad. 12, 14, thou shouldest not have look not, rejoice not.
looked, rejoiced.
Hab. iii. 3, came. will come. i
Article.

passim.
Judg. xxi. 19,
Num. xxiii. 23,

an angel of the Lord.
a feast. Construction.
Surely there is no enchant
ment against Jacob, nei
ther is there any divination
against Israel; according to
the time that it shall be
said of Jacob and of Israel,
What hath God wrought.

the angel of the Lord.
the feast
There is no enchantment
in Jacob, nor divination in
Israel; at the time it shall
be told to Jacob and Israel
what God hath wrought.

The Authorized Version.

403

. r, God of my righteousness.
Is. xiii. 3, them that rejoice in my
highness.
Ps. lv. 19, God shall hear and afflict
them. Because they have
no changes they fear not
God.
Ps. .\. 4, God is not in all his
thoughts.
Ezek. xxxiv. 31, Ye my flock are men. Prof. W. H. Green, D.D., LL.D.
Per Contra, felicitous retentioti of the Hebrew Idiom.
Sun of righteousness, ways of pleasantness, oil of gladness, rock of
ages (Is. xxvi. 4). f. Examples of the wrong Use of Italics.
Pi. xix. 3, There is no speech nor No speech, no language;

My righteous God.
My proud exulters.
God shall hear and answer
them, who have no changes
and who fear not God.
All his thoughts are. There
is no God.
Ye men are my flock.

language where their voice
is not heard.
¦ cxxxvii. 5, let my right hand forget
her cunning.

Job xix. 26, and though after my skin
worms destroy this body.

Deut. xxxiii. 6. let not his men be few.

their voice is not heard.
let my right hand fail (the
verb being taken reflective
ly, and the idea left gen
eral, fail in any way, for
get its function).
and after they shaU have
destroyed my skin, this (the
last word may point back
to V. 25, or to the second
clause of v. 26, or be sim
ply taken as an emphatic
term).let his men be few.

(Compare the paragraphs on the italic type, pp. 366-368).
g. Examples of Archaisms, Terms obsolete and obsolescent.
(Af., added to a word, indicates thai ii occurs in ihe margin: C in the contents
ai the beginning qfthe chapter.^ *
Gen. i. 30, meat. food.

30,
; iv. 22,

whetter. M.

forger.

* Some of the words included in this list, in the preparation of which I have fol
lowed a nuniber of different authorities, but chiefly Bokcr, Scripture and Prayer Bo<^

404

The English Versions.

Gen. xi. 3,

goto.

 xxii. I,

tempt.

 xxviii. 12,

ladder.

 xxxvi. 29,

duke..

 1.,

chested.

Ex. ii. 3,

ark.

 V.8,

tale.

 ix. 9,

blains.

boUed.
ouches.

 xxviii. II,

 xxxiv. 21,

earing.

 xxxviii. 19,

, chapiters.

occupied.

¦^4»

Lev. xiii. 51, 52,

, fret.

SS.

Num. XV. 4,

deal.

Deut. xiii. 16,

heap.

 xxii. 19,

amerce.

¦ xxviii. 27, botch.
• xxix. 17, dimgy. M.

Judges v. 17,
— =^ viii. II,
 ¦¦ ix. 52,
 53.
 xii. 6,
 xvi. 7,
Ruth ii. 3,

breaches. secure.
hard.
all-to. he could not frame to pro
nounce it.
seven green withs.
her hap was.

come, or, well.
try, or, prove.
staircase.
leader, or, prince.
put in a coffin.
basket, or, chest.
appointed number, or giv
en number.
pustules. swollen, or, podded.
sockets.ploughing. capitals. used, or, employed.
consume, corrode, or, eat
away. part, or, portion.
ruin. fine (in money or, other
wise.) ulcer. (used in the sense of being
full of dung, idol-gods).
bays.
vmguarded. '
near.
entirely. he was not able lo pro
nounce it.
seven green twigs.
and she happened to.

Glossary, Dublin, 1856, are neither obsolete nor obsolescent in the United States, al
though they have ceased to be current in Great Britain and Ireland. Such Words zstofk,
whit, siu^.fret, beeves, haft, -with, maul (noun), summer (verb), etc., are, according
to Marsh {Lectures on ihe English Language, p. 630), as familiarly understood here,
in their Scriptural senses, a.=i any words in the language. According to the same au
thority, hardly two hundred words ofthe six thousand contained in the Bible, are now
in any sense obsolete, and he ascribes the continued use in curi^ent speech and litera
ture here of words and phrases fallen into desuetude in England to the universal habit
of reading, and especially to'the familiarity ofthe Puritans with the English Scriptures

The Authorized Version.

405

I Satti. V. 6,
 ix. 26,
 xviii. 30,
 ¦ XX. 40,
 xxvii. 10,
2 Sam. xiv. 26,
I Kings v. 6,
 XX. n,
2 Kings ix. 30,
 XV. S,
1 Chron. x. 13,
2 Chron. xxi. 20,
Job ix. 33,
Ps. xxxviii. 6,
Prov. xxvii. 22,
Is. i. 13,
 iii. 18,
 viii. 19,
 xviii. 6,
 .xxii. 8,
 li. 9, lo,
Jer. xvii. 8,
cf. Judg. xviii. 7,
Ez. xxx. 2,
Dan. vi. 24,
Hos. XIV. 2,

emerods. spring of the day.
.set by.
artillery.
road.
to poll (three times in one
verse).to skill, V. n.
harness.
tired her head.
several.familiar spirit.
desired.daysman. wried.bray a fool.
away with.
bravery. peep (ixoxa. pipio, Latin).
the fowls shall summer.
discovered. it.
careful. careless.Woe worth the day.
or ever (often).
render the calves of our
lips.

hemorrhoids. the rising of dawn, or, at
early dawn.
esteemed.
bow and arrows.
raid. to cut the hair.
to understand.
armor.
dressed her head.
separate.sorceress? witch?
regretted.umpire. crooked.pound a fool.
endure.
splendor, or finery.
chatter.
shall pass, or, spend the
summer. uncovered. he.
anxious.
without care.
Woe be to the day .
before.
render the sacrifice of our
lips ?

(cf. however Ps. cxix. 108, Heb. xiu. 15; the Lxx.
render HapiCov, fruit).
Joel ii. 24, fats. vats.
Micah i. 7, hires. hire.
Nahum ii. 7, labouring upon their beating upon their breasts.
breasts (from French tabour, a small drum).
In addition to the words of Latin origin in the foregoing
list, the following, as examples of words used in a sense
either wholly obsolete or ambiguous, are here in place.

4o6 The English Versions.
Accept, unjustly partial. Job xxxii. 21; prevent, anticipate, Ps. xxi. 3;
eminent, projecting, Ezek. xvii. 22; occurrent, coming against, I Kings
v. 4; vagabond, wanderer. Gen. iv. 12; advisement, deliberation, I
Chron. xii. 19; affinity, relation by marriage, I Kings iii. i; etc.
Also a number of obsolete alternative words from the mar
gin; the words in italics give the marginal renderings, those
in Roman letters the text.
Twinned, coupled, Ex. xxvi. 24; doth his easement, covereth his feet.
Judges iii. 24; and he circuited, went in circuit, I Sam. vii. 16; the eye
lids of the morning, the dawning of the day. Job iii. 9; dredge, corn.
Job xxiv. d; fallings, flakes. Job xli. 23; righten, relieve. Is. i. 17;
through-aired, large (chambers), Jer. xxii. 14; convent (verb), appoint,
xlix. 19; fit gretly, get you far off, ver. 30; concision or threshing, de
cision, Joel iii. 14; palmcrist, gourd, Jon. iv. 6; flue-net, drag, Hab. i.
15; with one shoulder, with one consent, Zeph. iii. 9; him that waketh
and him that answereth, master and scholar, Mal. ii. 12; observation,
ordinance, iii. 14.
To the same order belong the phrases following, from the
contents prefixed to the chapters.
Gen. xix., the incestuous original of Moab; Lev. xxvi., religiousness,
I Sara, xiv., mrwitting to his father; 2 Sam. ix., he maketh Ziba his
farmer; 2 Chron. xxviii., Judah being captivated by the Israelites; Ps.
lxxxvi., by the consciousness ofhis religion; Prov. vii., a young wanton;
Is. xiv., insultation over Babel; etc.
II. IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
a. Want of Uniformity in the Treatment of proper Names.
Places.
The same places designated hy different naTnes.
Sina (Acts) and 5'z«<ra. (Galat.), Miletus (Acts) and Miletum (2 Tim.);
Judcea (generally) and Jewry (Luke xxiii. 5; John vii. i); Areopagus
and Mars' Hill (Acts xvii. 19, 22); Golgotha (Matth. xxvii 33) and
Calvary (Luke xxxiii. 33). Persons.
The same persons designated hy different names.
Judah, Juda (Heb. vii. 14, viii. 8), and Judas (Matth. i. 2, 3; Luke
lii. 33) The same name is rendered Jude, as that of the Apostle (Jude

The Authorized Version.

407

i. 1). Noah (Heb. i. and 2 Pet.) and Noe (Matth., Luke); Marcus
(Col. iv. 14, etc.) and Mark (Acts; 2 Tim. iv. 11); Jona (John i. 42)
and Jonas (xxi. 15); Apollos (Acts) and Apollo (i Cor. iii. 4-6, 1611);
Jeremy and Jeremias (Matth.); Silas (Acts) and Silvanus (Epistles);
Timotheus and Timothy (in 2 Cor. i.); Priscilla (Acts, Rom., etc.) and
Prisca (2 Tim. iv. 19); Luke (Col. iv. 14, etc.) and Lucas (Philem. 24).

Matth. X. 4,
 xiv. 8,
 xxvi. 15,
Luke ix. 32,
Luke xxii. 56,
Acts ii. 3,
I Cor. iv. 4,
2 Cor. ii. 14,
1 Tim. vi. 5,
Heb. xi. 13,
I Pet. iii. 21,

Matth. ii. 4,
Heb. xi. 10,

Gal. iv. 31,
Phil. iii. 5,

b. Examples of Mistakes of the Meaning.
Authorized Version.
Siraon the Canaanite.
being before instructed.

Westminster Revision.
Siraon the Canan^an.

and they covenanted with
hira. when they were awake.

by the fire.
cloven tongues.
I know nothing by myself.
causeth us to triumph in
Christ.supposing that gain' is god
liness.having seen them afar off.
the answer of a good con
science.

being put forward by her
mother.
And they weighed unto
him. when they were fully
awake (Margin: Or, hav
ing remained' awake).
in the light of the fire.
tongues parting asunder.
I know nothing against
myself.leadeth us in triumph in
Christ. supposing that godliness
is a way of gain.
having seen them and
greeted thera frora afar.
the interrogation of a good
conscience.

c. Examples of grammatical Errors.
The Article omitted.
Christ. The Christ.
a city. the city.
The Article wrongly inserted.
of the bondwoman. of a handmaid.
an Hebrew of the He- a Hebrew of Hebrews.
brews.

I Tim. vi. 10, the root of all evil.

a root of all evil.

408

The English Versions.

The A rticle converted into a demonstrative Pronoun.
John i. 21, that prophet? the prophet?
2 Cor. iii. 17, that Spirit. the Spirit.
Rev. i. 3, this prophecy. the prophecy.
Confounding the Greek Aorist and Perfect and other Tenses.
Matth. ii. z, for we have seen. for we saw.
Luke xiii. 2, they suffered.
Acts xix. 2, have ye received — since ye
believed ?
2 Pet. i. 14, hath shewed me.
I Cor. XV. 4, that he rose again the third
day.
Heb. iv. 2, For unto us was the gospel
preached.

Acts xxi. II,

V. 30,

• XIX. 2,

• XXl. 3,

S.6,

they have suffered.
did ye receive — when ye
believed ?
signified unto me.
that he hath been raised
on the third day.
for indeed we have had
good tidings preached un
to us.
hath been shed abroad.
I have been crucified.

us,
taking Paul's girdle.

and

Rom. v. 5, is shed abroad (pres.).
Gal. ii. 20, I am crucified, (pres.).
Construction of participial Clauses.
And when he was come And coming to
unto us he took Paul's
girdle.whom ye slew and hanged
on a tree.
have ye received the Holy
Ghost since ye believed ?
Now when, we had dis
covered Cyprus, we left
it on the left hand, and
sailed.
and we kneeled down on
the shore, and prayed.
And when we had taken
our leave one of another,
we took ship.
Mistranslation of Prepositions.
when thou comest into thy when thou comest in thy
kingdom. kingdom.
Matth. xxviii. 19, baptizing them in the baptising them into the
name, name.

whom ye slew, hanging
him on a tree.
did ye receive the Holy
Ghost when ye believed.
and when we had come in
sight of Cyprus, leaving
it on the left hand, we
sailed.
and kneeling down on the
beach we prayed, and bade
each other farewell; and
we went on board the ship.

Luke xxiii. 42,

The Authorized Version.

409

John vi. 57,

Rom. vii. 7,

Gal. vi. 10,

Rom. viii. 7.

and I live by the Father,
so he .... by me.

and I live because of the
Father: so he  be
cause of me.

Mistranslation of Particles.
Nay, I had not known sin, Howbeit I had not known
but by the law. sin, except through the
law.
As we have therefore op- So then, as we have op
portunity, portunity (Margin: Or,
since).

Disregard of the Genitive.

I Tim. i. 1 1

For to be carnally minded
is death; but lo be spirit
ually minded is life and
peace. Because the car
nal mind ....
the glorious liberty of the
children of God.
according lo the glorious
gospel.

For the mind of the flesh
is death; but the mind of
the Spirit is life and peace:
because the mind of the
flesh ....
into the liberty of the glory
of the children of God.
according to the gospel
of the glory.

Inadequate Renderings.
Matth. xxi. 41, He will miserably destroy He will miserably destroy
those wicked men. these miserable men.
 xxvii. 44. cast the same in his teeth, cast upon him the same
reproach.
I Cor. iv. 8, and I would to God that. yea and I would that.
Disregard of Dissimilars.

Matth. xvi. 18, the gates of hell.
 xxii. 3, 4,6,8, servants.

Archaisms .

— 13, servants.
- xiii. 20, anon.
- xviii. 6, 8, 9, offend .
— 17, publican.

- xxiv. 43, goodman of the house.
- xxv. 27, exchangers . . with usury.

the gates of Hades.
bondservants (Margin).
ministers (Margin).
straightway.
cause to stumble.
tax-gatherer, collector («»-
corrected).
master of the house.
bankers . . with interest.

4IO.

The English Versions.

Matth. xxvi. 66, guilty of death.

Mark iv. 2,
 vi. 8,
Luke vii. i,
 ix. 28,
 xiii. 1 8,
 xiv. 8,
 xix. 13,

in his doctrine.
no scrip.
audience of the people.
an eight days.
resemble it.
highest room.
occupy till I come.

worthy of death (margin;
Or, liable to death).
in his teaching.
no wallet.
ears of the people.
eight days.
liken it.
chief seat.
trade ye herewith till I
corae. convicteth.vile fellows of the rabble.

John viii. 46, convinceth.
Acts xvii. 5, lewd fellows of the baser
sort.
 xix. 37, robbers of churches. robbers of temples.
 xxi. 15, took up our carriages. took up our baggage.
I Cor. ix. 3, mine answer. my defence.
Gal. i. 14. profited. ' advanced.
 iv. 17, affect you. seek you.
Eph. V.4, convenient. befitting.
Heb. xi. 23, proper child. goodly child.
For much longer and fuller lists, compare, e. g., Booker,
Obsolete Scripture Words, the works on The Revision of the
English Version of the New Testament, by Professor Lightfoot,
the archbishop of Dublin, and the bishop bf Gloucester and
Bristol, with Dr. Schaff's Introduction, NewYork, 1873, and
Eadie, The English Bible, London, 1876.
Among the archaisms found in the "Contents ofthe Chap
ters," may be mentioned: misdeeming, unrepentance, poseth,
particularly (individually), dehorteth, pretation; and in the
margin: persitasible, gallings (acts of teasing), makebate (a
fomenler of quarrels).
More examples and fuller illustrations on these and similar
topics are given in the chapter on the Anglo-American Re
vision of the New Testament.
An account, not by any means exhaustive, of what has
been done in the way of revision and emendation, is now in
place; it is, on the whole, humiliating, and furnishes a strong

The Authorized Version. 411
argument in favor of conserving what we have. The perusal
of the. examples furnished cannot fail to convince the un
prejudiced reader that not a few of those so-called translators
of the Bible, whose pretensions to fidelity and accuracy are
loudest, might be more truly described as executioners, and
that the best scholarship is arrayed on the side of conservatism.
Perhaps the most violent assailant ot King James's version
was Hugh Broughton, whom Lightfoot, his biographer, de
scribes on the title page of the folio volume of his works, as
"the great Albionian Divine, renowned in many nations for
his skill in 'Salem's and Athens' tongues.'' As he had un
sparingly denounced the Bishops' version in coarse and per
sonal invective, and was hurt at not being chosen one of the
translators of the new version, he emptied the vials of his
wrath on it and wrote, ' ' Tell his majesty that I had rather
be rent in pieces with wild horses than any such translation,
by my consent, should be urged on poor churches " ( WorAs,
London, 1662). He translated parts ofthe Bible, which are
preserved in the folio just referred to; his Daniel appeared in
1597, Jeremiah in 1608, Koheleth in 1609, Job in 1610,
etc. He was, by general consent, the first Hebraist of his
age, and yet the subjoined specimens of his translation appear
to vindicate the judgment which excluded him from the num
.ber of the translators. PSALM LXXXIX.
I. An Instruction of Acchan, of Zara. The mercy of the Etemall
will I smg for ever ; I will make known thy truth by my mouth from
age to age.
2. For I have said, mercy shall be built for ever, thou hast setled the
Heavens, thy truth is in them.
3. I have made a Covenant with my chosen, I have sworn to David
my servant.
4. 1 will ' settle thy seed for ever, and I will build thy throne from
age to age.
5. The heavens shall praise th) wonders, O eternall, and truth in the
congregation of the ' holy.

412 The English Versions.
6. Foi who among the clouds will compare with the Eternal; will be
like the eternal among the sons of the ' mighty.
7. The strong God is very glorious in the councell of the holy, and to
be feared over all that be about him.
8. O Eternal God of Hosts, who is like unto thee, the strong <Jah,
and thy truth is ' round about thee, etc.
1 Achim in Hebrew is (I will settle), hence Achim, Matth. i., hath his name, in mem
ory of this place. 2 Angels, s The stars, as Job. 4 Abiud and Eliakim, have their
name here, i The Father hath no change, nor shadow of change, and the Almighty
will stablish. KOHELETH I. 6.
The wind whirleth, whirleth, walketh, and into his circuits returneth
the wind. LAMENTATIONS I. 4.
The ways of Sion mourn, because none come to the feasts, all her
gates be desolate, her sacrificers sigh, her virgins sorrow, and she feeleth
bitternesse. DANIEL III. 3-5.
Then assembled the Princes, Dukes, Lords, Judges, Receivers, Coun-
sellours. Sheriffs, and all the officers of the Province unto the dedication
of the image which .... And an heralde cryed aloud: To you it is
spoken, O people, nations, and tongues. At wbat time ye hear the sound
of the cornet, trumpet, harpe, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all instru
ments of musick, fall down and worship the image of gold that Nebu
chadnezzar the king set up.
Some of the titles, and most of the naraes of the musical instruraents
were adopted in the Authorized Version.

The five Books of Moses, the Psalms, and the Canticles, translated by
Henry Ainsworth, D.D., London, 1639, folio. The author, a Brownist,
and fine Hebrew scholar, whose Annotations on the Psalms are thus
eulogized by Walch: Monstrant istce eruditionem non mediocrum ac me-
rito laudantur, held unfortunately the absurd notion that the Scriptures
should be translated, as much as possible, word for word. The speci
men here given is taken from Lewis, /. c, p. 353.
PSALM xcv.
Come let us shout joyfully to Jehovah, let us shout triumphantly to
the Rocke of our Salvation. Let us prevent his Face with confession,
with Psalmes let us shout triuraphantly to him. For Jehovah is a great
God, and a great King above all gods. In whose hands are the deep
places of the earth, and the strong heights of the mountains are his.

IHE AUTHORIZED VERSION. 413
Whose the sea is, for he made it, and the dry land his hands have
formed. Come let us bow downe ourselves and bend: let us kneele be
fore Jehovah our maker. For he is our God, and we are the people of
his pasture, and sheep of his hand, to-day if ye will heare his voice:
Harden not your heart, as in Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the
wildernesse. Where your fathers tempted me, proved me, also saw ray
worke. Fortie yeares I was irked with that generation, and said they
are a people erring in heart, and they know not ray waies. So that I
sware in raine anger, if they shall enter into my rest.

The Holy Bible, etc. With Marginal Notes, shewing Scripture to
be the best interpreter of Scripture. By John Canne, Amsterdam,
1664, 8vo. He was a leader of the English Brownists at Amsterdam,
and held that the original text of Scripture be rightly translated, and, as
much as possible, even word for word, without departing from the letter
of Scripture in the least, it being necessary to preserve the letter entire,
how inconvenient, yea, how absurd soever and harsh it raay seem to
men's carnal reason. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men,
etc. The text of this Bible is that ofthe Authorized Version. "The
marginal notes of Canne are generally very judicious. They still retain
a considerable reputation," Orme.

The New Testament, with References, set under the text in words at
length; so that the parallel texts may be seen at one view. By Francis
P'ox, M. A., London, 1722. They are taken from the Authorized Ver
sion, Scattergood, Lloyd, and others; the copious notes are mostly con
troversial and anti-Calvinistic.

The Gospel of St. Matthew, translated according to the French ver
sion of Beausobre and L'Enfant, London, 1727, 4to. The French version
ofthe New Testament, Amsterdam, 1708, 2 vols., 4to., was made from
the Original.
The New Testament in Greek and English, etc., 2 vols., Svo, Lon
don, 1729. The author was Williara Mace, and the version marks his
arrogance and profanity. Lewis calls it "a doughty translation."
Matth. xii. 34, 'tis the overflowing of the heart that the mouth dis-
chargeth.
Mark xiv. 65, and the'domestics slapt him on the cheeks. It would
liave been better English, gave him a slap on the chaps.

414 The English Versions.
John i. 14, we contemplated his Glory, such Glory as the Mono-
genes derived from the Father.
I Thes. V. 5, You inherit the advantages of meridian light: we are not
involved in the obscurity of night.
James iii., 5, 6, The tongue is but a small part of the body, yet how
grand are its pretensions ! A spark of fire ! what quan
tities of timber will it blow into a flame ! The tongue
is a brand that sets the world in a combustion: it is but
one of the numerous organs of the body, yet it can
blast whole assemblies: tipp'd with infernal sulphur, it
sets the whole train of life in a blaze.
Acts xxvii. is given in a double version, the one in ordinary langnage,
the other in proper sea terms.
14 Soon after it blew a storm from  we had a hard gale at 14
northeast. northeast.
15 Which bore so upon the ship, we ... that we could not bear up 15
could not go upon the wind, but against the wind, but were forced
were forced to let her drive ... to lye a-try, i. e., lo drive under
a rief mainsail . . .
40 Accordingly having heaved in And when they had weighed, or 40
their anchors, they drove with purchased their anchors, they
the sea, then loosed the helm, committed themselves unto the
hois'd the mainsail to wind, and sea, and cast off' their rudder
made to shore. lopes, and set the mainsail, and
made towards the shore.
41 . . . they ran the ship aground, . . . they ran the ship aground, 41
where the forecastle stuck fast where her head struck, and
and would not give, but her would not give way, but her after
stem was shattered by the waves, part was staved in pieces by the
force t>f the sea.

The New Testament of our Saviour Jesus Christ according te the
ancient Latin Edition; with critical remarks upon tlie literal meaning
in difficult Places. From the French of Father Simon. By William
Webster, London, 1730, 4to. The translation is made from the Vulgate
(Sixtine and Clementine editions), with the variations from the Greek given
in the margm. Prefaces to the several books, as well as copious foot
notes containiiig the collations of ancient MSS5., versions, and the Fathers,
are said by the au'hors of the Acts of the Learned, Leipzig, 1704, to be

The Authorized Version. 415
exceedingly valuable. I have not been able to examine a copy of the '
original French and the English translation.

Mr. Whiston's Primitive New Testament, Stamford and London,
1745, Svo. In four parts, Matthew — Revelation. In this curious edi
tion the four Gospels and Acts are translated from the (Greek) Codex
BezEe in the Public Library of the University of Cambridge, the imper
fections of that MS. being supplied from the Vulgar Latin ; the Epp. of
St. Paul, from the Clermont (Greek) MS. in the Royal Library at Paris,
the Latin portion of said MS. being the Old Italic version; the Catholic
Epistles and Revelation, from the Codex Alexandrinus. The order of
the Gospels is: Matthew, John, Luke, Mark; and that of the Epistles:
Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, etc. An interesting account of the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ, exhibiting a synoptical arrangement, in
cluding passages from the Apostolical Constitutions, is followed by prophet
ical passages, and observations. A separate title page preceding that
before the xiv epistles of St. Paul, runs: Mr. Whiston's Primitive Ne^o
Testament, Part V. Containing the Epistle of the Corinthians to
Paul, and kis Answer; preserved by the Armenians . The Epistle of
Timothy to Diognetus, and the Homily, with the two Epistl 'S of Clement
to the Corinthians. Part VI. Containing the Constitmions of the Apos
tles, in VIII. Books. Part VII. Containing the Catholic Epistle of
Barnabas, with the Shepherd of Her mas in Hi. Books, Part VIII.
Containing tile X. fipistles of Ignatius, the Epistle of I'olycarp to the
Philippians, Josephus's Homily concerning Hades, with tlie Martyr
dom of Polycarp. These ancient documents, however, are not in the
copy I have used, and I have not seen them in Mr. Whiston's translation.
The following are illustrative renderings.
Matth. vi. 9, who art in the. heavens; lo, as in heaven so on earth,
II, the bread necessary for our sustenance; 13, from the evil one. John
ii. 4, Woman, what is that to me and thee? Luke viii. 25, What a man
is this? 27, And they went forth to land. And a man met him out of
Ihe city, who had demons a long time. Mark viii. 33, for thou per-
ceivest not the things that be of God . . . Acts xvii. 27, Especially that
they should seek what the deity is, if haply they might feel after it, or
find it, though it be not far . . . I Cor. xv. 29, Else what shall they do
who are baptized for them; 49, let us also bear . . .; 51, we shall all
arise again, but we shall not all be changed ... i John v. 6, This is
he that came by water and blood, and the Spirit, Jesus Christ; not by
water only, but by water and blood, and the Spirit ... 7, for 'here

4i6 The English Versions.
' are three that bear record. 8. The spurit, and the water, and the blood:
and these three agree in one.

A New and Literal Translation of all the Books of the Old and New
Testaments, with notes critical and explanatory . By Antony Purver,
London, 1764, 2 vols, folio. The author was a member of the Society
of Friends; his scholarship was poor, and his judgment even more so,
and liis translation " has never been highly valued, and is much less lit
eral and much less simple than the habits of the man, and those of the
religious community to which he belonged, might authorize one to ex
pect" (Dr. A. Clarke). GEN. XLIII. II-I4.
II. Whereupon Israel their father says to them, if it be so now, do
this; take of the applauded things of the country in your vehicles, and
have down a present to the man; a little Balsam, and a little Honey,
Spice and Myrrh, Nuts and Almonds.
12. Take also double money with you, even that which was brought
back in the mouths of your bags, carry again with you: perhaps it was
a mistake. 13. As likewise take your brother; and getting ready, return to the
man. 14. And God Almighty give you compassion before him, that he may
send with you your other brother, and Benjamin: and according as I am
deprived of my children, I must be.
MARK XIV. 1-3.
I. Now there was the Passover, and unleavened bread, two days after:
and the chief Priests and Scribes sought how they might take hold of him
by deceit, and kill.
2. However they said, not at the Feast, lest at any time there should
be a tumult of the people.
3. And he being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he
sate down, there came a woman who had an Alabaster-box of ointment,
of costly liquid spikenard: which box she broke open, and poured that
on his head.
Among his peculiar renderings may be instanced: Gen. i. 2, The spirit
of God hovered a top of the waters; 3, Let there be light, which then
was accordingly.
The New Testament: carefully collated with the Greek, and corrected,
divided and pointed according to the various subjects treated of by the

The Authorized Version. 417
inspired writers, etc., by Richard Wynne, A. M., London, 1764,
2 vols., Svo. SPECIMENS TAKEN AT RA.><DOM.
Matth. V. 22, . . . obnoxious to the judgment, . . . obnoxious to the
council; . . . obnoxious to hell-fire; 28, But I say to you that whosoever
looketh upon a wife so as to lust after her; xxii. 36, Thou Teacher,
which is the great. . . . Mark xii. 34, And no man after that presumed
to ask . . . Luke v. 10, . . . from henceforth thou shalt captivate men.
John ix. 5, . . . works of God might be displayed in him; xiv. 16, ... I
will entreat the Father; 26, . . . the Comforter — the Holy Spirit, . . . ;
He will . . . and remind you of all that . . . Rom. viii. 33, who shall
lodge any accusation against ... i Cor. xiii. 13, For now we see in an
ambiguous manner, as by means of a mirror . . . ; xvi. 15, 16, . . . and
to have addicted themselves to the ministery . . and to every one who
co-operateth with us, as a fellow-laborer.
The version bears evidence of careful scholarship on every page, and
the author states in the Preface that he had endeavoured "to steer in a
just medium between a servile literal translation, and a paraphrastic
loose version; between low, obsolete, and obscure language, and a mod
ern enervated stile." The Notes are well taken, many being drawn
from Doddridge's Family Expositor.

A New Translation of the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. Extracted from the Paraphrase of the late Philip Dod
dridge, D.D., etc., London, 1765, 2 vols., i2mo. This edition is on the
paragraph plan, and follows generally the arrangeraent of Bengel. A
mark in the margin denotes the beginning of a new chapter, and every
fifth verse is numbered for the sake of reference. Supplied matter is
placed between two inverted commas.— A few specimens of the transla
tion, taken at random, are here presented.
Matth. i. 25, . . brought forth her son, the first born; ii. 10, they re
joiced with a joy ' which was ' exceeding great. Mark xii. 14, 15, Is it
lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, or not ? Shall we give or shall we not
give ? I Cor. iv. 1-4, Let a man so account of us, as of the servants of
Christ, ... As for what remains, it is demanded in slewards. that a
man be found faithful. For it is with me the smallest thing that can be,
that I should be judged by you, or by any man's judgment. Nor do I
judge myself, for I am not conscious to myself of anything, yet I am not
hereby justified, but he that . . . Rev. xi. 3-5, And I will give to my
two witnesses 'commission,' and they shall prophesy a thousand, two

4i8 The English Versions.
hundred, ' and ' sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two
olive trees, and the lamps, who stand before the God of the earth. And
if any one will injure them, fire shall corae out of their mouth, and devour
their enemies, and if one will injure them so must he be put to death.

A Liberal Translation of the New Testament; Being an attempt to
translate the Sacred Writings with the same freedom, spirit, and ele
gance, with which other English Translations from the Greek Classics
halve lately been executed. By Edward Harwood, D.D., London, 1768,
2 vols., Svo. It is a verbose and inflated production, utterly tasteless,
rather a paraphrase than a translation, and " more the New Testament of
Dr. Harwood than of the Apostles," Orme, Bibl. Bib. The examples
are taken from Condit, Hist, of the English Bible, pp. 395, 396.
Mark v. 39, 40, When he came into the room he said to them — Why
do you indulge all these excesses of sorrow and mourning ? — the young
lady is not dead — she is only sunk into -.^ profound sleep. For these
» words, the mourners could not forbear expressing by their looks, the
contemptible opinion they had of him as a prophet. — xii. 32, The cler
gyman said — You have given him the only right and proper answer.
Luke xi. 40, Absurd and preposterous conduct ! Did not the great Be
ing, who made the external, create the internal intellectual powers — and
will he not be more solicitous for the purity of the mind, than for the
showy elegance of the body ? xii. 19, ... I will then say to my soul —
Happy soul ! Distinguished is thy felicity !  Come indulge thy
soft envied repose — feast on the most delicious viands — taste the most ex
quisite liquors — and traverse a. circle of every amusement and joy.
I Cor. XV. SI, . . . We shall not pay the common debt of nature, but by
a soft transition.
Of Bibles designed to evade the patent may be instanced the editions
of J. W. Pasham, London, 1776, and Parson's Diamond Bible, Bristol,
1803, both in 32mo. with notes. The space between the text and the
notes is sufficiently great to admit of the latter being cut off in binding
without destroying the symmetry of the page.

New Translation of Isaiah, etc., by Robert Lowth, D.D., I^ndon,
1778, Svo. "Bp. Lowth not only corrected in many places the common
Hebrew text on the authority of manuscripts, but sometimes introduced
emendations from mere conjecture. Yet even Lowth has been supposed tc
have taken this lil^erty too often, especially by Professor KOcher, of Bem."
Bp. Marsh, Div. Lects., Camb.. 1810, Lect. xii. 130, 131, and note.

The Authorized Version. 419
ISAIAH LIII. 1-5.
I. Who hath believed our report; And to whora hath the arra of Je-
hovah been manifested ?
2. For he groweth up in their sight like a tender sucker; And like a
root frora a thirsty Sbil; He hath no form, nor any beauty, that we
should regard him; Nor is his countenance such that we should desire him.
3. Despised, nor accounted in the nuraber of men; A man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief; As one that hideth his face from us; He was
despised, and we esteemed him not.
4. Smely our infirmities he hath borne; and our sorrows, he hath car
ried them: Yet we thought him judicially stricken; smitten of God and
afilicted. 5. But he was wounded for our transgressions; Was smitten for our
iniquities: The chastisement, by which our peace is effected, was laid
upon him: And by his bruises we are healed.
ISAIAH LXII. 8, 9.
8. For he said; Surely they are my people, children that will not*
prove false: And he became their saviour in all their distress.
9. It was not an envoy, nor an angel of his presence, that saved thera:
Through his love and his indulgence, he himself redeeraed them; And
he took them up, and he bare them all the days of old.

The title of ihe first edition of the Bible printed in America is as fol
lows : The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments: Newly
translated out of the Original Tongues; at^d with the former Transla
tions Diligently compared and revised, Philadelphia: Printed and Sold
by R. Aitken, at Pope's Head, Three Doors above the Coffee House, in
Market Street, MDCCLXXXII., i2mo.
For full, though not complete particulars relating to this subject, con
sult: E. B. O'Callaghan, A list of editions of the Holy Scriptures and
Parts thereof, printed in America previous to i860; with introduction
and bibliographical notes, Albany, l86l, 4to. Isaiah Thomas, LL.D.,
The History of Printing in America, etc., Albany, 1874, 2 vols., Svo.

Jeremiah and Lamentations, A new Translation, etc., by Benjamin
Blayney, B.D., Oxford, 1784, 4to. ; 3d ed., London, 1S36, Svo. This
is an able translation, as is evident from the subjoined brief specimens
with the original spelling and punctuation, etc.

420 The English Versions.
JEREMIAH V.
I, Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And see now and know, and seek in her broad places;
If ye can find a single man.
If there be one that doeth justice.
That seeketh truth; that I may pardon her.
2. But though they say. As Jehovah liveth.
Surely they will swear falsely ....
8. They were libidinous as stallion horses, ....
26. For among my people are found wicked men.
Who lie on the watch like the covering of fowlers; . . .
30. An astonishing and horrible thing hath been wrought in the land.
31. The prophets have prophesied falsely;
And the priests have concurred with them;
And my people have liked it should be so;
And what will ye do in regard to the consequences thereof?

The Four Gospels, Translated from the Greek, etc., by George
Campbell, D.D., London, 1790, 2 vols., 4to.

Translation of the New Testament, by Gilbert Wakefield, London,
1791, improved, 1795, 2 vols., Svo. " This translation generally preserves
the vernacular idiom of the language, but is never to be depended on
where the peculiar doctrines or Christianity are concerned," Orme,
Bibl. Bib., 455. " He wzis as violent against Greek accents as he was
against the Trinity, and anathematized the final V as strongly as Epis
copacy," Brit. Crit., xxvi. "Stiff in opinion, always in the wrong,''
Dryden. Zimri. Frora Am. reprint of 2d London ed., Cambridge,
1820, Svo. : JOHN I. 1-5.
I. In the beginning was Wisdom, and Wisdom was with God, and
Wisdom was God.
2. The same was m the begiiming with God.
3. All things were made by it, and without it was nothing made.
4. What was made had life in it; and this light was the light of men:
5. And this light shineth in darkness, and the darkness hindered it not.
ROM. IX. J.
.... whose were the fathers, and of whom was Christ according to
the flesh; who is, as God, over all, blessed for evermore ! Amen.

The Authorized Version. 421
I TIM. III. 16.
And confessedly great is this mystery of godliness, which was manifestec"
in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by messengers, proclaimed
among Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up with glory.

An Attempt toward revising our English Translation of the Greek
Scriptures, or the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, etc. By archbishop
Newcome, Dublin, printed 1796, though not published until 1809, 2
vols., Svo. MATTH. VI. 9-13.
Our Father, that art in heaven, sanctified be thy name. Thy king
dom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us
this day the food sufficient for us. And forgive us our trespasses,' as we
also forgive those who trespass against us.* And bring us not into
temptation, but preserve us from evil.''
1 Gr. detits. 2 Gr, our debtors. 3 Or, the Evil one.
JOHN I. 1-5.
I . The Word was in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.
2. This Word was in the beginnmg with God.
3. All things were made by ' him, and. without him was not any thing
made that was made.
4. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5. And the light shone'' in darkness; and the darkness overspread it
not.' 1 Or, through. 2 Gr, shineth. 3 Or, came not upon it. jo, 35, Or, admitted
it not. I TIM. III. 16.
And, without controversy, the mystery of godliness is gieat. ' God
was manifested in the flesh, justified by the Spirit,^ seen by angels,
preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up into' glory.
I Or. And the mystery qf ihe true worship is confessedly great, z Or, He whi
was manifested in the flesh, was justified, etc. See MSS. 3 Or, with.

A Translation of the New Testament, attempted by Nathaniel Scar
lett, assisted by Men of Piety and Literature, with Notes, London,
179S, Svo. "Executed in conformity with the tenets of the Universal
ists," Home. "Neither literal nor a, free version,'' Orme, Bibl,
Bib., 384.

423 The English Versions.
MARK VI. 14-25.
14. Historian. — And King Herod after hearing of him, (for his name
was spread abroad:) said,
Herod.— lo'xixi the Immerser is risen from the dead, and there
fore these mighty powers operate in him.
15. Hist. — Others said,
A Person. — It is Elijah.
Hist. — But others said,
A Person. — It is a prophet, or hke one of the prophets.
16. Hist. — But Herod hearing it, said,
Herod. — This is Jolm, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
17. Hist— For Herod himself having sent out, had apprehended John.
22. Hist. — The king said to the young woman,
Herod. — Ask me whatever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.
23. Hist. — And he sware to her, saying,
Herod. — Whatever thou wilt ask of me, I will give it thee, even to
the half of my kingdom.
24. Hist. — And she going out, said to her mother.
Young Woman. — What shall I ask ?
Mother. — The head of John the Immerser.
2'^. Hist. — And returning in immediately in haste to the king, she
asked, saying,
Young Woman. — I desire that thou wouldst give me presently in
a bowl the head of John the Immerser.
REV. XIX. 1-5.
I. John. — And after these things, I heard a loud voice ofa great mul
titude in heaven saying,
2. Great Multitude. — Hallelujah! Let restoration and glory, and
honour, and power be ascribed to our God. Because his judgments
are just and right; for he hath judged the great harlot, who cor
rupted the earth with her whoredom, and hath avenged the blood
of his servants at her hand.
3. John. — And they said a second time.
Great Multitude. — Hallelujah !
4. John. — And her sraoke ascendeth up to the ages of ages. And the
four and twenty elders, and the four animate beings fell down and
worshipped God who sat on the thrsne, saying,
Elders and Animate Beings. — Amen; hallelujah !

The Authorized Version. 423
5. John. — ^And a voice proceeded from the throne, saying.
Voice. — ^Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him
both small and great, etc. ROM. VI. 23.
For death is the wages of sin: but aeonian life is the free gift of God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. I COR. XV. 36, 37.
Unthinking mani What thou sowest, thou sowest not the body
which shall be produced, but a naked grain, perhaps of wheat, or of any
other com: but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to each
of the seeds its proper body. HEB. X. 19.
Therefore, brethren, having free admission into the interior part of the
holy places by the blood of Jesus. GALAT. m. 27.
For as many of you as have been immersed into Christ have put on
Christ. ROM. Vl. 3, 4.
Are ye ignorant, that so many of us as have been immersed into Jesus
Christ have been immersed into his death? Therefore we are buried
with him through immersion into death; . . .
HEB. I. 9.
. . . hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy associates.
I COR. XIII. 12.
For hitherto we see obscurely as through a mirror.

A Revised Translation and Interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures
after the Eastern manner, etc. By David Macrae, Glasgow, 1799, Svo.
" This is a curious rather than a valuable book. The author's zeal for a
new translation was greater than his capacity and his learning. His in
terpretation is mixed up with his version, and both together sometimes
make a very curious medley," Orme, Bibl. Bib.
Eccles. xii. 6, Before the silver cord (the marrow of the backbone with
its roots and branches) be contracted: or the golden vial (the brain's mem
branes) be cracked; or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, (the cavi
ties and conveyers of the blood from the heart), or the wheel be broken
at the cistern, (the returners of it from the lungs, liver, head, hands,
and feet); the double, yea, quadruple circulation (galgal and ruts) being
'¦.pea.'cJ, be interrupted and cease (3 Kings iv. 35).

424 The English Versions.
John xiii. 31, Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said. Now is the
Son of man glorified, (destroying the works of the devil), and God is
(thereby) glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God will also
gloiify him with himself, (by making him sit at his right hand), and
shall . . . .* 
A New Testament; or. The New Covenant according to Luke, Paul,
and John. Published in conformity to the plan of the late Rev. Edward
Evanson, A.M., London, 1807, Svo. [The Authentic portions of the
New Testament are according to this author: Luke i. 1-4; iii. 1-20; iv.
14-44; V. to end.] In his opinion the Gospels ascribed to Matthew,
Mark, and John; the Epistles addressed to the Romans, Eph., Col., and
the Heb., those said to have been written by James, Peter, John, and
Jude, and in the Book of Rev., the epp. to the seven churches of Asia, are
all raanifest forgeries, possessing no claim whatever to the title of gen
uine writings. From what remains he further excludes Luke i. 5— ii.
52; the account ofthe baptism, temptation, and transfiguration of Jesus;
the story ofthe herd of swine, the conversation respecting paradise, with
the thief on the cross, and some pass^es in the Lord's prayer, also the
passage in Acts recording the miracles of diseases and lunacies being cured
by the handkerchiefs or apron's brought from Paul's body, etc. " He was
a clergyman of the Church of England, who held also peculiar views on
the resurrection, the Trinity, the Incarnation, the binding force of Sab
bath observance, etc., all conflicting with the standards of his Church,
but does not seem to have abandoned her communion. He was an able
controversialist and is said to have been a firm believer in the divine mis
sion of Christ," Monthly Mag., xx. pp. 477-483. The greater part of
the text and notes in this curious volume are taken from abp. Newcome's
version. The text of the Lord's prayer reads thus: " Our Father, sancti
fied be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us day by day the food
sufficient for us.. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one
who trespasseth against us. And bring us not into temptation."

The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Covenant, commonly
called the Old and New Testaments: Translated from the Greek. By
Charles Thomson, f Late Secretary to the Congress ofthe United States.
Philadelphia, 180S, 4 vols., Svo.
* The first example is taken from Home, ii. app. p. 112; the second from Eadie,
ii. p. 359-
t Home {Bibl. Bib., 135) says that the version is " very respectably executed," and
Orme {BihL Bib. 1824, 429) considers it " creditable to America, and to the learned

The Authorized Version. 425
DEUT. XXXII. 2.
Let my doctrine be expected like rain, and my works distil as the dew;
Like gentle rain on the tender herb, and like a heavy shower upon the
grass. JOB XIX. 25-27.
For I know that he is eternal, who is about to dissolve me on eaith, to
raise again this skin of mine which draweth up these things. For from
the Lord those things have been done to me, of which I alone am con
scious — which mine eyes have seen and no other; and which have all
been done to me in my bosom. ISAIAH xir. I, 2.
And on that day thou wilt say, I bless thee, O Lord ; because, though
thou wast angry with me, thou hast turned away thy wrath and pitied
me. Behold ! my God is my Saviour, I will trust in him, and not be
afraid. Because the Lord is my glory and my praise ; and has become
unto me salvation; therefore draw ye water with gladness from the wells
of thanksgiving. JOHN I. 6-;I2.
There was a man sent from God: his name was John. This man
came as a witness to bear witness concerning this light, that by means of
him all might believe. He was not the light but was to bear witness
concerning the light. The light (the true light which enlighteneth every

author." From what I have seen, I am inclined to regard it rather interpretative than
faithful, as the foregoing examples will show. Job xix. is absolutely startling, espe
cially the clause " this skin of mine which draweth up these things," which may be
compared with Jager's rendering (Paris ed., 1844, 4to), " cuiem meam qua perpeti-
tur hac." Thomson was a Friend, and the copy of the Septuagint referred to in the
note, is preserved in the Philadelphia Library. " He told me that he was first in
duced to study Greek from having bought a part of the Septuagint at an auction in
this city (Philadelphia). He had bought it for a mere trifle, and without knowing
what it was, save that the crier said it was outlandish letters. When he had ma-stered
it enough to understand it, his anxiety became great to see the whole; but he could
find no copy. Strange to tell, in the interval of two years, passing the same store,
and chancing to look in, he then saw the remainder actually crying off for a few pence,
and he bought it. I used to tell him that the translation which he afterwards made
should have had these facts set at the front of the work as a preface; for that great
work, the first of the kind in the English language, strangely enough, was ushered
into the world without any preface," Watson's Annals of Philadelphia, 1850, i. 568.
I understand that part of Thomson's Manuscript is in the Library of the American
Bible Society. Neither Watson nor O'Callaghan seera to have known that the Septu
agint from the Vatican version had been translated into English by Sir L. C. Brenton,
Bt., Lond., 1844, 2 vols., 8vo.

426 The English Versions.
man) coraing mto the world, was in the world, and the world was made
by him, and the world knew him not. He came to his own peculiar
territories, and his own peculiar people did not receive him. But to as
many as received him he granted the privilege of becoming children oi
God, even to them who believe in his name.

The New Testament, in an Improved Version, upon the basis of arch
bishop Newcome's New Translation with a Corrected Text, and Notes
Critical and Explanatory, etc., London, 1808. Boston, reprint, 1809,
Svo. "This version is avowedly made to support the modern Socinian
scheme: for though archbishop Newcome's name is specified in the title
page, as a kind of model, his authority is disregarded whenever it mili
tates against the creed of the anonymous editors," Home. The Intro
duction and most of the notes were written by Rev. Thomas Belsham.
JOHN 1. 1-5.
I . The Word was in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and
the word was a god.
z. This Word was in the begitming with God.
3. All things were done byhim; and without him was not anything
done that hath been done.
4. By him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5. And the light shone in darkness and the darkness overspread it not.
ROM. IX. 5,
.... whose are the fathers, and of whom, by natural descent Christ
came. God, who is over all, be blessed for ever.
I TIM. III. 16.
And, without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: He who
was manifested in the flesh was justified by the Spirit, seen by messengers,
preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received in glory.

The New Testament, translated from the Greek; and the Four Gos
pels arranged in Harmony, where the parts of each are introduced ac
cording to the natural Order of the Narrative, and the exact Order of
Time. With some preliminary Observations, and Notes critical ana
explanatory . By William Thompson, A.M., Kilmarnock, 1S16, 3 vols.
Svo. " In this version, ' studiously made as literal as possible,' the En
glish idiom is continually sacrificed to the Greek, and grammatical pro
priety is often violated; and the desire to render the translation very faith-

The Authorized Version. 427
fill and very clear, has often made it obscure and incorrect. He never
departs from the received text in a single instance; so that for him. Mill,
and Wetstein, and Griesbach have all laboured in vain," Orme.

The Holy Bible, newly translated from the original Hebrew, with
Azotes critical and explanatory , by John Bellamy, London, 1818-21, 410.
[The arrogant claims of the author, and his extravagancies of interpreta
tion have been exposed in the Quarterly Revieiv, vols. xix. and xxiii.]
GEN. II. 21-24.
" Then he brought one to his side, whqse flesh he had enclosed in her
place. Then Jehovah God built the substance of the other, which he
took for the man, even a woman: and he brought her to the man.
And the man said: Thus this time, bone after my bone; also flesh after
my flesh; for this he shall call woman, because she was received by the
man. Therefore a man will leave, even his father and his mother, for
he will unite with his wife; and they shall be for one fiesh."
The person who truly executed this version had the audacity to state
in an address on the cover: "It may be necessary to inform the public
that no translation has been made from the original Hebrew, since the
128th year of Christ. In the fourth century, Jerome made his Latin ver
sion from this Greek translation: from which came the Latin Vulgate,
and from the Latin Vulgate all the European translations have been
raade, thereby perpetuating all the errors ofthe first translators."

The New Testament, translated from tlie Original Greek, by G.
Campbell, D.D., P. Doddridge, D.D., and J. MacKnight, D.D., Aber
deen, 1827, i2mo. In this translation the Gospels are by the first. Acts
and Revelation by the second, and the Epistles by the last of those
authors. MATTK. XXVIII. 57-60 \Dr. Campbeir\.
In the evening, a rich Arimathean named Joseph, who was himself u
disciple of Jesus, went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. Pilate
having given orders to deliver it to Joseph; he took the body, wrapped
it in clean linen, and deposited it in his own monument, which he had
newly caused to be hewn in the rock ; and having rolled a great stone
to the entrance, he went aw.ay.
I COR. IV. 1-4 \L>r. MacKnight, compare with Doddridge's
version, p. 417].
So then let a man consider us as servants only of Christ and stewards
of the mysteries of God. Now, it is required in stewards, that every one

428 The English Versions.
be found faithful. Therefore, to me it is a very small matter that I be
condemned by you, or by human judgment, because I do not condemn
myself. For I am conscious to myself of no fault. However, I am not
by this justified in your eyes, but he who condemneth me is the Lord.

The Sacred Writings ofthe Apostles and Evangelists of Jesus Chr 'ist,
commonly styled the New Testament. Translated from the Original
Greek, by George Campbell, James MacKnight, and Philip Doddridge,
Doctors of the Church of Scotland. With Prefaces, etc. Bethany, Va.,
1S28. The editor or publisher of this volume, Alexander Campbell, was
originally a Presbyterian, united with the Baptists in 1S12, but having
been excluded from the fellowship of that communion on account of his
peculiar views on baptismal regeneration, founded a religious sect called
" Disciples of Christ," known as Campbellites. Dr. Doddridge was an
Independent. In the Appendix to the fourth edition, 1S60, Campbell
says: "This edition . . . exhibits as we humbly conceive, a correct and
perspicuous translation of the Sacred Writings of the New Institution, in
a style so modernized, and yet so simple, exact, and faithful to the origi
nal, as to render it more intelligible than any version in our language."
This is evident from the following samples (taken from Condit, I.e., p. 413):
Matth. iii. 3, . . . The voice of one proclaiming in the wilderness, pre
pare a way for the Lord, make for him a straight passage . . ; 7, . . com
ing to him to receive immersion, said to them. Offspring of vipers, who
has prompted you to flee from the impending vengeance ? Produce
then, the proper fruit of reformation . . . ; 1 1, I, indeed, immerse you
in watei, info reformation . . . whose shoes I am not worthy to carry.
He will immerse you in the Holy Spirit, and in fire. v. 3, Happv the
poor who repine not . . . ; 14, . . . A city situate -on a mountain mu.st
be conspicuous ... 21, You have heard that it was said to the ancients,
" You shall not commit murder; for whosoever commits murder shall be
obnoxious to the judges." But I say to you. Whosoever is angry with
his brother unjustly, shall be obnoxious to the judges; whosoever shall
call Mm fool, shall be obnoxious to the council, but whosoever shall call
him miscreant, shall be obnoxious to hell-fire.

The New Testament with the text of the common translation ar
ranged in paragraphs, such as the sense requires; the divisions of chap
ters and verses being noted in the margin, with various tables, etc.
By James Nourse, New York, 1827, Svo.; Boston and Philadelphia,

1 he AUTHORIZED VERSION. 429
1836. The paragraphs mostly follow those in Knapp's Greek Testa
ment (Halle, 1797; 4th. ed., 1S29), but occasionally those of Bengel
(Tubingen, 1763). 
The New Testament, etc., Boston, 1831, Svo. An edition in sections
(from Reeve's edition of lSo2) with only the book, chapter, and verse to
which the first line belongs, at the top of each page; the punctuation fol
lows Knapp.
The Holy Bible, etc., arranged in paragraphs and parallelisms, with
philological and explanatory annotations. By T. W. Coit, D.D., Cam
bridge and Boston, 1834.

A New and corrected Version of the New Testament; or, a minute
revision, and prof essed translation of the Original Histories, Memoirs,
Letters, Prophecies, and other productions of the Evangelists and Apos
tles; to which are subjoined, a few, generally brief, critical, explanatory,
and practical notes. By Rodolphus Dickinson, a Presbyter of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States; and Rector of St.
Paul's Parish, District of Pendleton, South Carolina. Boston, 1S33, Svo.
A single sentence from the Preface of this painfully ludicrous perform
ance is sufficient: "I have also disdained the obsequious and servile
predicament, of floating at random, in the wake of others. The original
has been my compass, the commentaries my explanatory chart; and the
principles of the highest authorities, my general guide." These are
fearfully miscellaneous, but the original notes and reflections of the
author are worse. The volume discards any and every division of
chapter and verse, and the head line of the left page reads in succession;
"Apostolic Productions." "The History by Matthew,'' "Apostolical
and Ecclesiastical Transactions," "The Letter of John to an eminent
Christian Woman," "The Letter of John to a distinguished Christian
Man "; these are samples of the tides of the several books, and the fol
lowing specimens of the translation :
Luke i. 31, And behold, you shall be in a state of gestation; 41, When
Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the embryo was joyfully agi
tated . . . ; 42, Blessed are you among women ! and blessed is your in
cipient offspring ! Acts i. 18, . . . falling prostrate, a violent internal
spasm ensued, and all his viscera were eraitted; xxvi. 24, Festus de-
clared with a loud voice: Paul, you are insane ! Multiplied research
drives you to distraction.

430 The English Versions.
The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments in the com
mon version with amendments of the Language, by Noah Webster,
LL.D., New Haven, 1S33. The principal alterations introduced are:
"I. The substitution of words and phrases now in good use, for such
as are wholly obsolete, or deemed below the dignity and solemnity of
the subject, ^. The correction of errors in grammar. 3 . The insertion
. <i' euphemisms, words and phrases which are not very ofiensive to deli
cacy, in the place of such as cannot, with propriety, be uttered in a pro
miscuous audience." The following are specimens:
Deut. xxxii. 36, and repent for his servants. Judg. a. 8, they harassed
and oppressed. Psalm lxxi. 20, Thou, who hast shown me great and
severe troubles, wilt revive me again. John x. 20, He hath a demon,
and is insane. Matth. ii. 15, which was spoken from the Lord. Gen.
XX. 18, For the Lord had made barren all the feraales of the house.
John xi. 39, by this time his body is oifensive. Eph. v. 3, lewdness and
all uncleanness; 5, no lewd, nor unclean person. I Sam. ix. 14, Samuel
came out raeeting them. Luke xv. 27, Because he hath received him in
health. The Book of the New Covenant of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ: being a critical revision of the text and translation of the Eng
lish Version of the New Testament, with the aid of the most ancient
manuscripts, unknown to the age in which that version was last put
forth liy a'lthority. By Granville Penn. London, 1836, 3 vols., Svo.
(vols. 2 anil 3 contain annotations. See Ilorne, Pt. ii. chap. v. sect. iii.
§ 5, No. 53). The following are specimens of his ver-sion:
St. Matt. V. 6, Blessed are the beggars in spirit; vi. i, Take heed lut
to do your works for justification before men . . . ; xxi. 24, . . . John
came to you in the way of justification . . . ; 25, and dug a wine-vat . . ;
xxvii. 63, . . . the last deceit. Rom. i. 17, . . . the justification of God
by faith, is revealed for faith. Heb. v. 2, who is able to bear gently
with the ignorant and erring . . . ; ix. 16, 17, for, where a covenant is
made, the death of the interposed sacrifice must of necessity be endured:
for, a covenant is confirmed only over lifeless bodies; since it hath no
force while the interposed sacrifice is living.

The Book of the Patriarch Job, translated from the Original He
brew, as nearly as possible in the terms and style of the Authorized Eng
lish Version, etc., by Samuel Lee, D.D. London, 1837. This ver
sion, though able and scholarly, falls short of the strength and simplicity

The Authorized Version. 431
of the Authorized Version, and while the renderings are sometimes un
commonly telling, the presence of too much italicized matter will prevent
their adoption. The subjoined examples are adduced in support of this
criticism. Ch. iii. I, reviled his day . . ; 5, let the blackest terrors of day aff'right
it; 17-19, There the wicked ceas,efrom troubling; and there the wearied
niijhty rest. The prisoners sweetly repose together: they hear not the
voice of the exactor. Small and great is there, and the slave is free from
his lord ; xix. 25, But I know .... stand hereafter upon . . . ; 26, and
that after this my skin shall have been pierced through, still . . ; 27, that
1 shall .see . . . behold Him, and not a stranger, when my reins shall
have been . . . ; xx. 26, The aggregate of darkness is reserved for his
ti-ea.sures; an unblown fire shall devour him: in his tent shall his survi
vor be broken; xxiv. 14, with the light the murderer ariseth, he slayeth
the poor ... he is therefore as a thief; 15, . . observeth the twilight . . :
so he layeth a covering over men's faces; 16, . . . he diggelb into . . had
sealed; 17, For to them is the dawn altogether as .... as when one
beholdeth the terrors . . . ; 18, Swift is he upon the face of the waters,
. . . portion ofthem who are in the land worthless: no one turneth his
face towards his vineyards; 19, . . . unsparing as the grave do they sin;
20, So shall mercy disregard him: Ms solaces shall be the worm.

A Translation of the Gospels, with Notes. By Andrews Norton. Bos
ton, 1855, 2 vols., Svo. MATTH. VI. 22, 23.
The eye is the lamp of the body: so that if your eye be clear, your
whole body v/ill be enlightened; but if your eye be disordered, your
whole body will be in darkness. JOHN I. 14-16.
And the Logos became a man, and dwelt among us, full of favor and
truth; and we beheld Ms glory, such as an only son receives from a
father. John bore testimony concerning him, and proclaimed. This is
he of whom I said. He who was to come after me has gone before me,
for he was ray superior. ... Of his inexhaustible store we all have re
ceived, even favor upon favor.

The New Testament, etc., by Leicester Ambrose Sawyer. Boston,
1858,* i2mo. The author says in the Preface that his version is "a
• Vol. i. ofthe translation of the Old Te.'itament (Propliel-) was published in i860,
Daniel, with apocr. additions, 1864.

432 ¦ The English Versions.
strict literal rendering. It neither adds nor takes away; but aims to ex-
pve.ss the original with the utmost clearness, and force, and with the ut
most precision. It adopts, however, except in the prayers, a thoroughly
modem style, and makes freely whatever changes are necessary for this
purpose." He also has a new division of chapters and verses which he
believes "to be great improvements on those in common use." This
superiority may be illustrated by the following examples:
Matth. vi. II, Give us to-day our essential bread. Luke xv. 16, And
he desired to fill his stomach with the carol pods wMch the swine eat;
21, Father, I have sinned to Heaven, and before you. John i. 13, who are
born not of superior blood, nor of a will of the flesh, nor ofa will of man,
but of God. 2 Tim. i. 14, Guard the good trust, through the Holy Spirit
which dwells in us. I Pet. iii. 15, and sanctify the anointed Lord in
your hearts. Heb. a. 34, For you sympathized with those in bonds, and
received with joy the plunder of your property . . .

The Holy Scriptures of the Old Covenant in a Revised Translation,
by the late Rev. Charles Wellbeloved, Rev. George Vance Smith, B.A.,
Rev. John Scott Porter. London, 1859, 3 vols., Svo.
GEN. VI. 3.
And Jehovah said. My spirit shall not be always judging men on ac
count of their tran.sgressions: they are flesh, and their days shall be a
hundred years. PS. CX. 3, 4.
Thy people shall be most willing in the day of thine army, in the holy
mountain; || More than the dew from the woirib of the morning shall be
the dew of thy youth. {| Jehovah hath sworn, and he will not repent, ||
Thou shalt be a priest for ever {| according to the order of Melchizedek.
ISA. LIII. 2, 3.
He had no form nor comeliness, that we should look at him. And no
beauty of visage that we should delight in him ; Despised and forsaken
of raen, . . . And as one who hideth his face from us ... .
The editors do not employ italics when in their judgment they are
unnecessary; e. g.. Gen. iv. 8, Let us go into the field. Ex. xx. 2-6, I
am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee . . . not have other gods before
me . . . for thyself a graven . . . nor any likeness of what is in heaven
above, or what is ... or what is . . . nor shalt thou . . . ; for I Jeho
vah thy God am ... to the third or ... , and showing mercy to the thou
sandth . . . ; 1.,.l iise lbe:n, where Ihe tenn used in Ihe original in theii

THE AUTHORIZED VERSION. 433
judgment renders theui necessary; c. g.. Josh. xi. 2, and in the plain of
Jordan south of Chinneroth; as against " and ofthe plains south of Chin-
neroth " of the A. V. ; the Hebrew word to be expressed in English being
Arabali. The application of this principle to Job xix. 25-27, gives us
the foUowing rendering: For I know that my Avenger liveth, y And that
at length he will rise up over the dust. || And after my skin hath been
thus torn, || And without my flesh, I shall see God; || Whom I shall be
hold on my side, || And mine eyes shall see, but not estranged yi^om me.

The Gospel according to St. John, London, 1857. The Epistle of
St. Paul to the Romans, lb., 185S. . . . to the Corinthians, lb., 1858,
by Five * Clergymen. The Epistles of St. Paul to the Galatians, Ephe
sians, Philippians, and Colossians, etc., by Four* Clergymen, lb.,
1861., Svo.
John xi. II, . . . our friend Lazarus is fallen asleep . . . ; 13, . . . if he
is fallen asleep he will recover . . . ; 33, . . . was greatly moved in his
spirit, and troubled himself; xiii. 10, . . . He that hath been bathed hath
no need save to wash . . . ; xv. 5, . . . the same beareth much fruit; be
cause apart from me ye can do nothing; xix. II, Thou wouldest have
no power against me except it were given thee from above; Gal. v. I, In
Uberty Christ hath made us free. Stand fast, therefore, and be not en
tangled again in a yoke of bondage . . . ; Eph. iv. 12, 13, . . . for the
building up ofthe body of Christ: till we all attain unto the unity ofthe
faith . . . unto the fuUgrown man . . . ; Col. ii. 8, Beware lest there shall
be any man that despoileth you through his philosophy and vain deceit,
according to the tradition of men, according to the principles of the v\orid,
and not according to Christ.

A literal Translation of the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, on definite rules of translation, from the text of the Vat
ican Manuscript. By Hermann Heinfelter, London, 1863, 4to.
A passage taken at random is just as good as any other to show the read
er the peculiarities of this translation, which professes uniformly to follow
the received text, Donnegan's Lexicon, and Valpy's Greek and English
Grammar. JOHN XIX. 8-12.
8, Then when the Pilate heard thk the saying more i e added to the
others, he was afraid, 9, so he went into the judgment hall again, and
* See Westminster Revision, Literature on Revision, Nos. 26-28. Dr. Barrow took
no part in the last named volume.

434 The English Versions.
says to the human form of Jesus, whence art thou. But the Jesus gave
not an answer to him. lo. Then the Pilate says unto him, speakest thou
not to me, hast thou not known, that 1 have power to have released thee,
and I have power to have crucified thee, ii, Jesus answered him, thou
wast not having power, against me, at all, except it was existing having
been given to thee anew, on account of this, he that delivered me to thee,
has greater sin, 12, on account of this, the Pilate was seeking to have
released him. But the Jews cried out, saying, probably shouldst thou
have released this man, thou a friend of the Cesar's referred to art not,
every one, the king making i e claiming himself to be, speaketh again.it
the Cesar.
This translation seems to be the prototype of that executed by Miss
Julia E. Smith.
A Critical English New Testament, presenting at one view the Au
thorized Version and the results of the criticism of the Original Text.
Svo., London, Bagsters', 1871. ST. JOHN XIV. 4, 5.
4, And whither I go [ye know, and] the way ye know. 5, Thomas
saith unto him. Lord, we know not wMther thou goest: and how |can:
do I we know the way ?
Notes: 4, AtuI, Rec. ; omitted by Tisch., T. S. Green, Alford, Tre^.—ye know, Rec. ;
omitted by the same, — 5, Can we know ihe way, Rec; know the way, Lach., Tisch.,
T. S. Green, Alford. Treg., B. C. a. I COR. III. 4.
3, . . . for whereas there is among you envying and strife, [and
divisions] are ye not camal and walk as men? 4, For while one
saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not
I carnal : men | ?
Notes: 3, And divisions, Rec; om. by Lach., Tisch., Green, Alf , Tregell.: Sin, A.
B. C, etc., Vulg., Copt., jEth., Armen. — 4, carnal, Rec. men, Lachm , TLsch., Gn-^-ii.
Alf., Treg.; .Sin, A. B. C. D. E. F. G., etc.. Vulg., Copt., i«th., Armen.
[The English text although professing to be that of the A. V. does
not conform to it in punctuation and the use of italics; in that version
I Cor. iii. 4, lam, before Apollos, is in italics].

The New Testament, etc. The Common Version, corrected by thi
final Committee of the American Bible Union, New York, 1864; Sec.
ond Revision, New York and London, 1873.

The Authorized Version. 435
The translation, like almost all raodern versions, follows an uncer
tain Greek text, and reflects scholarship ofthe highest order; its leading
characteristic of uniformly rendering the Greek verb fSaTitiZeii', to im
merse, is fatal to its general introduction. The only exception is their
rendei ng of:
Mark x. 38, 39, Are ye able to drink the cup that I drink, or to endure
the immersion which I endure ? . . . Ye shall indeed drink, . . . and
endure the immersion wliich I endure ?
.Matth. iii. I, In those days comes John the Imraerser . . . ; x. 9, 10,
Provide not gold, nor silver, nor brass in your girdles; nor bag for the
journey, nor two coats, nor sandals, nor staff'; for the laborer is worthy
ofhis living; xi. 23, And thou Capernaum, that was exalted to heaven,
shalt go down to the underworld. Luke viii. 29, . . For of a long
tirae it had seized him, and he was bound, being secured with chains and
fetters; and bursting tlie bands, he was driven by the devil into the des
erts. Acts xiii. 43, And when the congregation was broken up, many
of the Jews and of the proselyte worshippers followed Paul . ; i Cor.
viii. I, 2, Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. If any one thinks that
he knows anything, he has known nothing yet as he ought to know.
lleb. vii. 2, .... to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth of
all; 3, . . . without table of descent, . . . but likened to the Son
of God, remains a priest contuiually. Rev. xvi. i. And I heard a
loud voice . . . : Go, aud pour out the seven cups of the wrath of
God into the earth.
The Revision of the Old Testament has not yet been completed, but
revised versions of the following books have been published; Genesis,
1868; Psalms, 1869: Proverbs, 1S72; Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, 1878.
Subjoined is an exaraple : PROVERBS III.
I. My son, forget not my law, || and let thy heart keep my com
mands. 2. For length of days, and years of life, || and peace, shall they add to
thee. 3. Kindness and truth let them not leave thee: {| bind them on thy
neck; || write them on the tablet of thy heart.
4. So shalt thou find favor, and good understanding, || in the eyes ol
God and raan.
13. Happy the man who finds wisdom, || and the man who obtain.?
understanding.

436 The English Versions.
14. For her gain is better than the gain of silver || and her increase than
gold. 15. More precious is she than pearls; * || and all thy delights can not
compare with her.
19. Jehovah by wisdora founded the earth; || established the heavens
by understanding.
20. By his knowledge the deeps were broken open;t |i and vapors
distil the dew.
34. Though he mocks at those who mock || yet gives he favor to the
lowly. 35. The wise shall inherit honor; || but fools he exalts to shame.t

The New Testament, etc.. Newly compared with the original Greek,
and revised. By Henry Alford, D.D. London, 1869. This work is
to a certain extent the continuation of the labors of the "Five Clergy
men," he having been one of their number, and an attempt to present
a version more nearly approaching the original text than the Authorized
Version. MATTH. XV. 5-9.
5. But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father or his mother. That
from which thou mightest have been profited by me is an offering to God ;
he shall be exempted from honouring his father or his mother.
6. And ye have made the law of God of none effect for the sake of
your tradition.
7. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophecy of you, saying,
8. This people honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far dis
tant from me.
9. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the com
mandments of men. LUKE XI. 42-46.
42. But woe unto unto you Pharisees ! because ye tithe mint and rue
and every herb, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these
ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
43. Woe unto you, Pharisees! because ye love the uppermost seats
in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
44. Woe unto you, because ye are as graves which appear not, and
the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

• Corals. t The deeps broke forth.
X But fools bear away shame, or, but shame Hfls fools on high.

.The Authorized Version. 437
45. But one of the lawyers answered, and saith unto him. Master,
thus saying thou reproachest us also.
46. But he said. Woe unto you also, ye lawyers I because ye lade men
with burdens grievous to be bome, and ye yourselves touch not the bur
dens with one of your fingers. HEB. XI. 3.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word
of God, so that that which is seen was not made of tMngs which do
appear. I PET. II. 5.
Be ye also, as living stones, built up a spiritual house, for an holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, through Je
sus Christ. REV. IV. 6.
. . . And in the raidst of the throne, and round about the throne, four
beings full of eyes before and behind . . .

The New Testament, translated from the Greek of Tischendorf by
George R. Noyes, D.D. Boston, 1S69. It cannot be regarded a suc
cessful version, being too free and paraphrastic, and marred by want of
Greek scholarship; e. g..
Col. iii. 15, over all these things put on the robe of love. Phil. iii.
20, The country of which we are citizens in heaven. John xiv. 19, But
ye will behold me, because I live, and ye will live.

The New Testanient: the Authorized English Version; with Intro
duction, and various readings from the three most celebrated manuscripts
of the original Greek Text. By Constantine Tischendorf, Tauchnitz
Edition, volume 1000. Leipzig, 1869, i6mo. The Introduction does
not state from which edition of the Authorized Version this is a reprint;
the mss. referred to in the title are the Codex Sinaiticus, marked in the
foot-notes S., the Codex Vaticanus, marked V., and the Codex Alex
andrinus, marked A.; these letters accompanied by a * denote reail-
ings of the respective codices altered by a later hand, although the
original readings are given; where the numeral '^ is placed after the let
ters, the reading is an altered one. This edition is rather handy than
valuable, and decidedly inferior to later editions of the New Testament
noted below.

438 The English Versions.
S. MATTHEW XIV. 22-25.
22 IT And Straightway Jesus con- 24 But the ship was now in the
strained his disciples to get into a midst of the sea, tossed with waves:
ship, and to go before him unto the for the wind was contrary.
other side, while he sent the multi- 25 And in the.fourth watch ofthe
lude away. night Jesus went unto them, walk
23 And when he had sent the ing on the sea.
multitudes away, he went up into a 26 And when the disciples saw.
mountain apart to pray: and when 
the evening was come, he was there
alone. 2-2 S. And lie constrained the disciples, V. And straightway he constr. his dLsciples;
S. into the ship. 23 S.* om.. when he had sent the multitudes away. 24 V. was now
many furlongs distant from the land. 25 S. V. he came. 26 S.* but when they saw
him, S.2 V. but when the disciples .saw him.

The New Testament, translated from the Critical Text of von Tis
chendorf, etc., by Samuel Davidson, D.D. London, 1875. This is a
very able translation of the Sth critical edition of Tischendorf s New Tes
tament. RANDOM SPECIMENS.
Matth vi. 13, . . . but deliver us from the evil one; 19, Treasure not
up for yourselves trea.sures on the earth, where moth and rust consume;
22, The lamp of the body is the eye: if thine eye be sound, thy whole
l)ody will be full of light. Mark xi. 20, And passing by in the morn
ing they saw the fig-tree withered frora the roots. Luke xiv. 34, how
often did I desire to gather thy cMldren as a hen gathers her chickens
under the wings, and ye desired not. John xiv. 26, . '. . but the advo
cate, the Holy Spirit, whom . . . Rom. vi. 23, what fruit then had ye
at that time ? Things whereof ye are now asharaed ; for the end of them
is death . .

The New Testament, etc., a New Translation, on the basis of the
Authorized Version, from a critically revised Greek Text, newly ar-
ranged in paragraphs, with analyses, copious references and illus 'ra
tions from original authorities, new chronological and analytical har
mony of the four Gospels, notes and dissertations. A contribution to
Chfistian evidence. By John Brown McClellan, M.A. Vol. i.. The
four Gospels, with the Chronological and analytical harmony, London,
1875, Svo. The merits and demerits of this very able and scholarly

The Authorized Version. 439
work may be seen in the subjoined extract. The notes and references
are exdellent, and display great judgment and erudition. The author
very strenuously opposes the authority of the Sinaitic and Vatican MSS.
ST. MATTH. XVI. I3-2O.
13. And when Jesus was come to the parts of Csesarea Philippi, he
asked his disciples saying. Whom do men say that the Son of Man is ?
14. And they said. Some say John the Baptist; and some, Elijah, others,
Jeremiah, or one of the Prophets. 15. He saith unto them. But whom
say ye that I am? 16. Simon Peter answered and said. Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the Living God. 17. And Jesus answered and said
unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah: for flesh and blood hath
not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18. And
I also say unto thee. Thou art a boulder of rock, and upon this rock
will I build ray Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdora of heaven;
and whatsoever thou shalt bind * on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and
whatsoever thou shalt loose * on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. 20.
Then warned he his disciples, that they should tell no one that he hira
self was Christ.
The Holy Bible: containing the Old and New Testaments ; translated
literally from the original Tongues, Hartford, Conn., 1876. The trans
lator is a lady. Miss Julia E. Smith (now, I believe, Mrs. Parker), who
says in the Preface; "It may be thought by the public in general, that
I have great confidence in myself, in not conferring with the learned in
so great a work; but as there is but one book in the Hebrew tongue,
and I have defined it word for wprd, I do not see how any one can know
more about it than I do. It being a dead language no improvements can
be made upon it. As for the Latin and Greek, I have no doubt many
hav. searched deeper into the standard works than I have, but I think
no one has given more time and attention to .the literal meaning of the
Bible text in these languages." How far this account ofher labors com
ports with fact, may be seen from the examples taken at random.

* The notes on bind and loose are; Bind, Heb. and Chald., of restraining and
c.ff'Jining bonds and yokes, as of vows of abstinence, prohibitions, interdicts, decrees
of government forbidding any act, and so on; xviii. 8: Numb. xxx. 2-15; Dan. vi.
7-13, of the royal decree of prohibition. — Loose, Heb. and Chald., oi freeing from
bonds, yokes, and restraints, as of permissive decrees, liberties, releases, absolutions,
pardons; xviii. 18; Is. xl. 20, A. '^ . pardon: Dan. iii. 25; v, 16: Lk. xiii. 16: Sir. xxviii
2, A. V. forgive.

440 The English Versions.
Gen. xxvih. Ii, And he will light upon a place and he will remain
there, for the sun was gone down: and he will take from the stones of
the place and put at Ms head and will lie down in that place. Is. xl.
31, And they waiting for Jehovah shall change power; they shall go up
on the wing as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall go
and not faint. Ps. xc. 1-3, Grayer to Moses the man of God. O Jeho
vah, thou wert a refuge to us in generation to generation. Before the
mountains were bom, and the earth shall be begun, and the habitable
globe, and from forever even lo forever, thou art God . Thou wilt turn
man even to crushing and thou wilt say. Turn back ye sons of man.
Matth. V. 18, For verily 1 say to you. Till heaven pass away and earth,
one iota, or one mark, should not pass away from the law, till all should
be. John vi. 56, He chewing my flesh, and drinking my blood, has
eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. Phil. i. 23, For I
am pressed together from two, having one eager desire to be loosed, and
be with Christ: (rather much better:). Rev. xxi. 18, And the interior
construction ofher wall was a jasper.

The Holy Bible,* etc., edited with various renderings and readings
from the best authorities, by Rev. T. K. Cheyne, M.A., R. .S. Driver,
M.A., and Rev. R. L. Clarke, M.A., and Alfred Goodwin, M.A., Lon
don, 1876. It is really a critical edition for English readers as well as
scholars. The text is that of the Authorized Version. The notes are
very valuable, as is evident from the subjoined specimens, which fulfil
everything claimed for the work in the preface.
NUMBERS XXIV.
Various Renderings; v. 3 [open). So Sept., Targ., Pesh., most Jews: Gesenius,
Ewald, Knobel; closed, Vulg., Hengstenberg, Hupfeld, RSdiger, Keil, Oort. — v.
4 [heard] heareth; [saw] seeth; [falling into a trance) fallen doVn (/. e., prostrated by
the prophetic impulse), Hengstenberg, Ewald, Keil, Oort. Comp. 1 Sam. xix. 24.
Various Readings: v. 8 {pierce them through wiih his arrows'], break in pieces
their loins. Gesenius (doubtfully), Ocrt. — v. 17 [destroy], the crown of the head of,
Ewald, Oort., Knobel, Bdttcher (as Jer. xlviii. 45). — v. 19 [out qf. . . dominion'], Jacob
shall have dominion over them. Knobel (dlflFerentdivision of words).
ROMANS V. 17, l8.
Various Renderings: v. 17 [one man's], the one; [by one], by means ofthe one man.
Alford.— V. 18 [by ihe offence qf one], by means of one offence. Alford, Ellicott, Jo
wett, Meyer; [by the righteousness of one], by means of one declaration of righteous
ness, Meyer; by means of one righteous act, Alford, EIHcott, Jowett, Tholuck; [.^life],
i. e., conferring, leading to, Alford.
Various Readings: Rom. v. 8 [yet], for, all good MSS. and all critical editors.
* This edition is also known as The Variorum. The New Testament, reissued in
June, 1880, was edited by the Revs. R. L. Clarke, M.A., Alfred Goodwin, M.A., and
W. Sanday, D.D.

The Authorized Version. 441
Revised English Bible. London, 1877; Min., Svo., Par. Ref. This
edition claims to give, I. a revision of the Authorized Version, 2. an im
proved arrangement of the text. The Pentateuch was revised by Rev.
F. W. Golch, M.A., LL.D., and the remainder of the Old Testament by
Rev. Benjamin Davies, Ph.D., LL.D., the New Testament by Rev. G.
A. Jacob, D.D., and Rev. Samuel G. Green, D.D.
Gen. i. 3, And there was evening, and there was morning, the first
day. Ps. ex. 3, Thy people are willing * in the day of thy power.
In the beauties of holiness;
From the womb of the morning.
Thou hast the dew of thy young men.
Is. liii. 8, He is taken off by oppression and by judgment.
And who considereth his generation ? . . .
Jer. xxi. 15, A voice is heard in Ramah,
The wail of bitter weeping,
Rachel, weeping for her children,
Refuseth to be comforted for her children.
Because they are not.
Matlh. v. 21,  whosoever is angry with his brother without a
cause I shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to
liis brother, Raca ! ^ shall be in danger of the Council : rbut whosoever
shall say mito him, Moreh ! ^ shall be in danger of hell-fire. <
1 Many good •authorities omit without a cause. 2 /, e.. Worthless fellow. 3 i. e.,
Rebel I or Fool ! 4 Or., the Gehenna of fire.
The renderings exhibiting excellent judgment and advanced scholar
ship mark this edition.
Among the various attempts to make the Bible disclose hts meaning
and sense by typographical devices in what are called emphatic New Tes
taments, there is one published in 1854,! giving the text of the Authorized
Version with the various readings of the Vatican Manuscript, and another
published in 1878,! professing to be a new translation from the text of
Tregelles; the principles are radically different as exhibited by an ex
ample in both versions, showing the emphatic rendering of the authors.
* Heb., are free-will offerings.
t The Emphatic New Testament, according io the Authorized Version, with ihe
various Readings in English qf ihe Vatican Manuscript. By John Taylor. Lon>
doii, 1854, Svo.
X The New Testanient: -newly translated (from the Greek Text of Tregelles) and
critically emphasized, with an introduction and occasional notes. By Joseph B.
Rotherham. London, 1878, Svo.

44-2 The English Versions.
I COR. XII. 13.
1834, Taylor. 1S78, Rotherham.
For by One Spirit are xKit ^ For, in one Spirit also, xvt ^
baptized into One Body, whether intoonebodywereimmersed, wheth-
we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we ex Jews or Greeks, whether bond 01
be bond or free; and haye been all free; and all one Spirit were made
made to drink [into] One Spirit. to drink.
[The single — under a word marks slight, the double ^ stronger, em
phasis. Black letter is used for eraphatic pronouns.]
These emphatic editions, being generally raarked by very strong indi-
viduahsm in the interpretation, cannot get into general circulation.

CHAPTER XIV.
the ANGLO-AMERICAN REVISION OF THE NEW
testament; or, the WESTMINSTER
VERSION.
In addition to the long list of titles bearing on revision
given at the close of the preceding chapter the following
notes, and titles of other works, may be consulted as tracing
its history.
Lightfoot, in a sermon preached before the House of
Commons in 1645, recommended it "to think of a review
and survey of the translation of the Bible, " that ' ' the three
nations might come to understand the proper and genuine
study of the Scriptures, by an exact, vigorous, and lively
translation. " *
In 1653 a bill was brought in to the Long Parliament,
which, after a long preamble, recommended that,
" For the reforming, rectifying, and repairmg of the former injury to the
new translation, and for preventing of so great inconveniences of such
dangerous consequence, and for the furtherance (what in us lieth) and
* Works, L, XV. Ed., Pitman, London, 1825.

Anglo-American Revision. 443
the lienefit and edification of many, be it enacted, that no person or per
sons whatsoever within the dominions of England, Scotland, and Ire
land, without the approbation of persons hereafter named or to be named
by authority, shall presume to print or publish any such translation of
the Bible or of the New Testament;
And that these persons, viz.: Dr. John Owen, Dr. Ralph Cudworth,
Mr. Jenkins, Mr. William Greenhill, Mr. Samuel Slater, Mr. William
Cowper, Mr. Henry Jessey, Mr. Ralph Venninge, and Mr. John Row,
Hebrew professor in Aberdeen, in Scotland, shall be and hereby are
constituted, appointed, and authorized, in and about all these particulars
following to be performed by them in the fear of the Lord, for the good
of His people, namely: —
That these or any three or more of them may search and observe
wherein that last translation appears to be wronged by the Prelates, or
printers, or others; that in all such places, as far as in them is, it may be
rectified and amended therein, and the evident and most material failings
Ihat do in a special manner call for reformation (some particulars whereof
to us have been presented for consideration), and that tMs may be per
formed with all speed before there be any further printing of the
Bible: And further, because it is our duty to endeavour to have the Bible
translated in all places as accurately and as perfectly agreeing with the
original Hebrew and Greek as we can attain unto, to remove (whatever
in us lieth) the stumbling-blocks and offence of the weak, or the cavils of
others when they hear in sermons preached or printed, or in other trea
tises, that the original bears it better thus and thus. Be it [enacted]
that the persons beforesaid may seriously consider the translation of Mr.
H. Ainsworth, and of any other translations, annotations, or observations
made or that may be made by any of themselves, or of any others that
they know of, or may confer withal (who are desired to add unto them
their best assistance for the general good of all) and consider of the mar
ginal readings in Bibles, whether any of them should rather be in the
line. And what they, after seriously looking up to the Lord for His
gracious assistance in so weighty a work, and advising together amongst
themselves, shall judge to be nearest to the text, and to the mind of the
Lord, they may give thereunto their approbation, and this with all speed
that conveniently they are able:
And be it fuither enacted, that Dr. Thomas Goodwin, Dr. Tuckney,
and Mr. Joseph Caryl, are hereby appointed and authorized to be super
visors of vyhat is so approved, and that what those persons shall so approve
of, shall accordingly be printed and published for the general edification

444 The English, Versions.
and benefit of the whole nation, to be read both privately and in the
public congregations."
The project, fbr all practical purposes, remained a dead
letter and became fruitless by the parliament's dissolution. *
The proposal for a revision (in 1655), emanating from a
member of the committee appointed by the Long Parliament,
ran as follows: —
For ye bettering of ye Inglish translation of ye Bible (1st printed A.D.
161Z) by Mr. Jno. Row, 'tis offered. That these five things are to be en-
deavoured: I. That evil and unmeet divisions of Chaptrs, verses, and sentences be
rectify'd, and made more proper, rationall, and dexterous, wch will much
clear ye scope.
II. That needles transpositions of words, or stories, prtending to Hypall
or Synchyses, be waryLy amended; or noted if they cannot.
III. That all vseles additions be lop't off, yt debase the wisdom of
ye spirit; — to instance
I. All ye Apocryphall writings; being meerly humane.
2. All popish and superstitious prints, plates, and pictures.
3. Apotheosing and canonizing of some (not othrs) as Sts., St. Luke;
not St. Job . . .
4. Spurious additions or subscriptions (to Epistles), words and sentences.
IV. That allsinfull and needles detractions be supply 'd; and y' lies in
6 things — viz.,
I. Let all sentences, or words detracted, be added in ye text
2. Epitomize ye contents and chaptrs better at ye topps of ye leafe.
3. The parenthesis ought not to be omitted where 'tis.
4. Exhaust not the emphasis of a word (as Idols, thirteen wayes exprest).
S . Nor the superlative, left only as a positive.
6. Notifaetum, not noticed at all.
V. As respecting mutation, or change, 4 things are needful, namely—
I. That nothing be changed buLconvinc't apparently, to be better.
2. Yet a change not hurting truth, piety, or ye text, may be just and
needfull. 3. Many evi'. changes are to be amended, as these 9 in particular.
( I ) When words, or sentences, are mistaken.
• Eadie, /. c, ii. 344-347.

Anglo-American Revision. 445
(2) When ye margin is righter than ye line, as in Soo places (and more)
it is. (3) When particles are confounded.
(4) When a word plurall is translated as singular.
(5) When the active is rendered as ifa passive.
(6) When the genders are confounded: as mostly ye cantic bee.
(7) When Hebrismes are oraited, in silence, or araisse.
(8) When participium paUl, is rendered as if it were nyphall.
(9) When co;ijugatio pyfil is Inglish'd as if kal.
4. (On the other hand) 9 good changes are to be warily endeavour'd,
viz.; ( I ) Put the titles of y = true God (aU ouer) liters capitali.
(2) Let majistrates correct misprinting of Bibles.
(3) Put more in Inglish (evexi propria nomina:) less in Heb., Gr., and
Latin terms.
(4) That Ingl. words (not understood in Scotland) be idiomatiz'd.
(5) That all be analogical to Scripture termes, not toucht w'h our
opinion, or error.
(6) Something equivocal to Keri, and Kethib, be noticed.
(7) That letters, poynts, and stopps, be distinctly notified.
(8) The paralel places ought to be well noted, in the margin.
(9) Things not araiss, raay be endeavored to be bettered. The hke ig
(as to ye N. T.) to be endeavored, many words wanting their owne
native idiom and import, and sometimes ye translation overflowes in
ye Inglish; or els is defective: and some words confounded: (Ex., gr.
Svvaitii, power, and E^ovdiot, in 70 or near 80 places translated ^i;avr
\vc\\ is properly authority, etc.).
AU this has been essayed by divers able Hebritians: as Mr. H: J: Mr.
J'l. C, &c., whose notes and pains are yet conceal'd in private hands,
but may come to light, and publick use, in due time.*
An Essay to-ward the Amendment of the last English Translation of
the Bible. By Robert Gell, D.D., folio, London, 1659. He charges
the translators with Calvini.^tic leanings, and favors cabbalistical inter
pretation. An Essay for a New Translation of the Bible. By H. R. [Hugh
Ross], a Minister ofthe Church of Englaii.1, 1702.
Reasons for revising by Authority our present Version of the Bible,
Svo. Cambridge, 1788. * Eadie, /. c, i., pp. 322-324,

446 The English Versions.
Observations on the Expediency of revising the present English Ver-
sion ofthe Four Go.'ipels and the Acts ofthe Apostles. By John Symonds,
Professor of Modern History in the University of Cambridge, 4to., Cam-
bridge, i-]'&X).— Observations, etc., of the Epistles, by the same, 4to.,
Cambridge, 1794.
Letter to the Bishop of Ely on the Subject of a New and Authorita
tive Translation of the Holy Scriptures. By George Burges, 8vo., Pe
terborough, 1796. A feeble opponent to revision. '
Remarks upon the Critical Principles adopted by Writers of the
Bible, as expedient and necessary. By archbishop Lawrence, Svo.,
Oxford, 1 820. Considered to be the ablest production, up to the period,
against revision, chiefly on the ground of the seeming impossibility ot
restoring the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, and of reaching a satis
factory establishment of the Greek text of the New.
Reasons why a New Translation of the Bible should not be publishea
without a previous Examination of all the material Passages which may
be supposed to be misinterpreted, Svo., Durham, 1816.
Biblical Gleanings, by Thomas Wemyss, 8vo., York, 1816.
Reasons in favour of a New Translation of the Holy Scriptures. By
Sir J. B. Burgess, 8vo., London, 1819. This author (as well as Bel
lamy) stood comraitted to the assertion that the A. V. was made almost
wholly from the Septuagint and the Vulgate. The temerity of his allle-
gation is severely exposed in the Quarterly Review (Nos. 37, 38).
A Vindication of our Authorized Translation of the Bible. By the
Rev. Henry John Todd, Svo., London, 1819. The best historical ac
count of the Authorized Version up to the time. Part of it has been
issued as a Tract by the S. P. C. K.
A Supplement to the Authorized English Version of the- New Testa
ment. By the Rev. F. H. Scrivener, London, 1845.
Hints for an improved translation of the New Testament. By the
Rev. James Scholefield, 3d ed., London, 1S50.
A Vindication of the Authorized Version of the English Bible. By
the Rev. 8. C. Malan, London, 1856.
The State of the English Bible. By the Rev. W. Harness, Lon
don, 1856.
Biblical Revision: Considerations in favour of a Revised Tran ila
tion of Holy Scripture. By Edward Slater, London, 1856.

Anglo-American Revision. 447
Notes on the Proposed Amendment of the Authorized Version of the
Holy Scriptures. By William Selwyn, Svo., Cambridge, 1856.
Bible Revision and Translation; An Argument for holding fast what
we have. By the Rev. John Cumming, Svo.. London, 1856.
A Plea for the Revisal of the Translation of the Bible of 1611. By
F. Iliff, Svo., Sunderiand, 1857.
On the Authorized Version of the New Testament. By Richard
Chevenix Trench, D.D., London, 185S. A most important and valu
able contribution; it is ostensibly in favor of postponing revision, but
really one of the ablest pleas for the necessity of it.
A Revised English Bible, the Want of the Church, and the Demana
of the Age. By John Beard, D.D. Sraall Svo. London, 1857.
Revision of the Authorized Version of the Bible, Christian Remem
brancer, 1856, pp. 451-499.
The New Testament, revised from the Authorized Version vjith the
aid of other translations. By Edgar Taylor. Small 8vo., London.
No date.
A Plea for an Edition of the Authorized Version of Holy Scripture
with explanatory aud emendatorv marginal Notes. By the Rev. G. E
Biber, Svo., London, 1857.
Reasons for holding fast the Authorized English Version of the
Bible. By Alexander McCaul, D.D., London, 1857.
Revision of the Holy Scriptures; an Argument against Objectors.
By the Rev. H. Burgess, Svo., 1857.
The English Bible and our Duty with regard to it. By Philalethes,
8vo., Dublin, 1S5S.
Most of the works here enumerated are taken from arch
bishop Trench's list, which with that given in the chapter on
the Authorized Version and a few others which follow may
be regarded as furnishing the most important literature on
the subject, which includes, of course, the recent critical edi
tions of the New Testament with English translations by
Alford, McClellan, Ellicott, Ligh.tfoot, Scrivener, Tregelles,
etc. , the critical commentaries on the Old and New Testa
ments, or detached portions of either, among which that of

448 The English Versions.
Lange supplies also a revised English text, but the titles are
too numerous to be given here.
Archbishop Trench, On the Authorized Version of the New Testa
ment, London, 185S; bishop Ellicott, Considerations on the Revision
of the English Version, London, 1870; and bishop Lightfoot, On a
Fresh Revision of the English New Testament, London, 1871, have
been reprinted in one volume, edited by Dr. Schaff, New York, 1873.
Anglo-American Bible Revision. By members of the American Re
vision Committee, New York, 1879.
Reference should also be made to the Histories of the En
glish Bible by Professors Westcott, Eadie, and Moulton, Mrs.
Conant, and the Rev. Blackford Condit, as furnishing most
valuable material, which applies likewise to articles on the
versions, etc., in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible; the. articles
in Herzog, however, are very unsatisfactory, and the same
may be said of what is found in the early volumes of the
Encyclopadia Brilannica.
Among the numerous contributions bearing on the history
of the present revision, the following by American writers are
here put on record: — Articles in the Indtpendent : March 23,
and April, 1871, bythe Rt. Rev. A. C. Coxe; May, 25, 1871,
by Prof Bartlett; Feb. i, 1872, by ex-president Woolsey.
The Theological Eclectic: April, 1870, by Prof Day. The
Nation :QcX. 13, 20, 27, by Hon. G. P. Marsh. 'Y\it Prince
ton Review : I'i.u. and April, 1859; Jan, 1871. Th^ New En-
glander: Feb. 1859, by Rev. Edward W. Gilman; May, 1859,
by Professor Gibbs. h.T\A ^^ Baptist Quarter^ : h'pn\, 1871,
by Prof. Kendrick.
The controversy as to the merits and demerits of the Re
vised New Testament, in numerous pamphlets and articles
in periodicals and newspapers both in Great Britain and the
United States, requires neither criticism nor examination in
these pages, beyond the general remark that the discussion,
if conducted on principles of objective impartiality will prove

Anglo-American Revision. 449
most salutory, and that animadversion marked by blind
prejudice and daring assertion is unworthy of the noble ends
contemplated by the indefatigable labors of a noble body of
distinguished scholars.
As the question of the necessity of revision belongs to the
past, the history of the present revision will now be briefly
traced. The Preface states:
II. The present Revision had its origin in action taken b)i the Convo
cation of the Province of Canterbury in February, 1870, and it has been
conducted throughout on the plan laid down in Resolutions of both
Houses of the Province, and, more particularly, in accordance with
Principles and Rules, drawn up by a Special Committee of Convocation
in the following May. Two Companies, the one for the revision ofthe
Authorized Version of the Old Testament and the other for the revision
of the same Version of the New Testament, were formed in the manner
specified in the Resolutions, and the work was commenced on the twenty-
second day of June 1870. Shortly afterwards, steps were taken, under
a resolution passed by both Houses of Convocation, for inviting the co
operation of American scholars; and eventually two Committees were
fornied in America, for the purpose of acting with the two English Com
panies, on the basis of the Principles and Rules drawn up by the Com
mittee of Convocation.
The fundamental Resolutions adopted by the Convocation of Canter
bury on the third and fifth days of .May 1870 were as follows: —
I . That it is desirable that a revision of the Authorized Version of the
Holy Scriptures be undertaken.
2. That the "revision be so conducted as to comprise both marginal ren
derings and such emendations as it may be found necessary to insert in
tlie text of the Authorized Version.
3. That in the above resolutions we do not contemplate any new trans
lation of the Bible, or any alteration of the language, except where in
the judgment of the most competent scholars such change is necessary.
4. That in such necessary changes, the style of the language employed
in the existing version be closely followed.
5. That it is desirable that Convocation should nominate a body of its
own memters to undertake the work of revision, who shall be at liberty
to invite the co-operation of any eminent for scholarship, to whatever na
tion or religious body they may belong.

450 The English Versions.
The text ofthe Resolutions and Rules is as follows:
Resolved, — I. That the Committee, appointed by the Convocation of
Canterbuiy at its last session, separate itself into two companies, the one
for the revision of the Authorized Version of the Old Testament, the
other for the revision of the Authorized Version of the New Testament.
II. That the company for the revision of the Authorized Version of the
Old Testament consist of the Bishops of St. Davids, Llandaff, Ely, and
Bath and Wells, and of the following members from the Lower House
— Archdeacon Rose, Canon Selwyn, Dr. Jebb, and Dr. Kay.
III. That the company for the Revision of the Authorized Version of
the New Testament consist of the Bishops of Winchester, Gloucester and
Bristol, and Salisbury, and of the following members from the Lower
House, the Prolocutor, the Deans of Canterbury and Westminster, and
Canon Blakesley.
IV. That the first portion of the work to be undertaken by the Old
Testament Company be the revision of the Authorized Version of the
Pentateuch. V. That the first portion of the work to be undertaken by the New
Testament Company be the revision of the Authorized Version of the
Synoptical Gospels.
VI. That the following scholars and divines be invited to join the Old
Testament Company:
Alexander, Dr. W. L. Harrison, Archdeacon.
Chenery, Professor. Leathes, Professor.
Cook, Canon. McGill, Professor.
Davidson, Professor A. B. Payne Smith, Canon.
Davies, Dr. B. Perowne, Professor J. J. S.
Fairbairn, Professor. Plumptre, Profe"s.soi-.
Field, Rev. F. Pusey, Canon.
Ginsburg, Dr. Wright, Dr. (British Museum).
GoTCH, Dr. Wright, W. A. (Cambridge).'
VII. That the following scholars and divines be invited to join the New
Testament Company:
Angus, Dr. New.nlvn, Dr. J. H.
Brown, Dr. David. Newth, Professor.
Dublin, Archbishop of. Rohf.r rs, Dr. A.
Eadie, Dr. Smith, Rev. G. Vance.
• Dr. D.niglas and Dr. Weir. Glasgow, and J. D. Geden were added subsequently
to the Old Teslament Company.

Anglo-American Revision. 451
HoRT, Rev. K. J. a. Scott, Dr. (Balliol Coll.).
Humphry, Rev. W. G. Scrivener, Rev. F. H.
Kennedy, Canon. St. Andrews, Bishop of.
Lee, Archdeacon. Tregelles, Dr.
Lightfoot, Dr. Vaughan, Dr.
MiLLiGAN, Professor. Westcott, Canon.
Moulton, Professor.
Vlll. That the General Principles to be followed by both Corapanies
bt as follows: —
I. To introduce as few alterations as possible into the Text of the Au
thorized Version consistently with faithfulness.
2. To limit, as far as possible, the expression of such alterations to the
language of the Authorized and Earlier English Versions.
3. Each Company to go twice over the portion to be revised, once pro
visionally, the second time finally, and on principles of voting as here
after is provided,
4. That the Text to be adopted be that for which the evidence is de
cidedly preponderating ; and that when the Text so adopted differs frora
that from which the Authorized Version was made, the alteration be
indicated in the margin.
5. To raake or retain no change in the Text on the second 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.
6. 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.
7. To revise the headings of chapters, pages, paragraphs, italics, and
punctuation. S. To refer, on the part of each Company, when considered desirable,
to Divines, Scholars, and Literal}' Men, whether at home or abroad, for
their opinions.
IX. That the work of each Company be comraunicated to the other
as it is completed, in order that there may be as little deviation from
uniformity in language as possible.
X. That the Special or Bye-rules for each Company be as follows;—
I . To make all corrections in writing previous to the Meeting.
2. To place all the corrections due to textual considerations on the
left hand margin, and all other corrections on the right hand margin.
3. To transmit to the Chairman, in case of being unable to attend, the
corrections proposed in the portion agreed upon for consideration.

452 The English Versions.
The co-operation of American scholars provided for was
brought about as follows:
"In August, 1870, Dr. Joseph Angus, President of Regent's Park
College, London, and one of the British revisers, arrived in New York.
with a letter fi-om Bishop Ellicott, chairman ofthe NewTestament Com
pany, authorizing Mm to open negotiations for the formation of an Amer
ican Committee of Revision. At his request, I prepared a draft of rules
for co-operation, and a list of names of Biblical scholars who would
probably best represent the different denominations and literary institu
tions in this movement. The suggestions were submitted to the British
Committee and substantially approved. Then followed an interesting
official correspondence, conducted, on behalf of the British Cominittte,
by the Bishop of Winchester, the Dean of Westminsterf the Bishop of
Gloucester and Bristol, and Dr. Angus. I was empowered by the
British Committee to select and invite scholars from non-episcopal
Churches; the nomination of members from the American Episcopal
Church was, for obvious reasons, placed in the hojids of some of its
Bishops; but, as they declined to take action, I ^yas requested to fill out
the list." •
At a meeting, held on the 7th of December, 1871, for the
purpose of effecting a temporary organization and adopting a
Constitution, composed of ten gentlemen, of whom one was
Dr. Howson, Dean of Chester, Professor H-enry B. Smith
being appointed ChairmaTi, and Professor George E. Da)',
Secretary, the following business of public interest was
transacted. THE ADOPTION OF A "CONSTITUTION."
I. The American Committee, invited by the British Committee en
gaged in the revision of the Authorized English Version of the Holy
Scriptures, to co-operate with them, shall be composed of Biblical schol
ars and divines in the United States.
II. This Coramittee shall have power to elect its oflicers, to add to its
number, and to fill its own vacancies.
TII. The officers shall consist of a President, a Correspondmg Secretary,
and a Treasurer. The President shall conduct the official correspondence
* The Rev. Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., in Introduction on ike Revision qfthe Eit
glish Bible, pp. xv.-xx.

Anglo-American Revision. 453
with the British revisers. The Secretary shall conduct the home cor.
respondence. IV. New members of the Committee, and corresponding members,
raust be nominated at a previous meeting, and elected unanimously by
ballot. V. The American Committee shall co-operate with the British Com
panies on the basis of the principles and rules of revision adopted by the
British Committee.
VI. The American Committee shall consist of two Companies, the one
for the revision of the Authorized Version of the Old Testament, the
other for the revision of the Authorized Vei-sion of the New Te.statnent.
VII. Each Company shall elect its own Chairman and Recording
Secretary. VIII. The British Committee will submit to the American Com-
panie.s, from time to time, such portions of their work as have passed
the first revision, and the American Companies will transmit their criti
cisms and suggestions to the British Companies before the second revision.
IX. A joint meeting of the American and British Companies shall be
held, if possible, in London, before final action. ^
X. The American Comimittee to pay their own expenses, and to have
the ownership and control of the copyr^ht of the Revised Version in the
United States of America.
The organization of the American Committee having been
duly reported, and certain difficulties removed by letter and
personal conference of the Rev. Dr. Schaff with the British
Revisers, the British Committee at its meeting on the 1 7th day
of July, 1872, took the following action :
Dr. Schaff having communicated to the Bishop of Gloucester and
Bristol the following as the names of the American revisers, .... it was
resolved that so many copies of the revised version of the first three gos
pels be intrusted to Dr. Schaff for the use of the above named, with the
request that they be regarded as private and confidential, and with the
intimation that the work itself is provisional and tentative, and likely to
undergo considerable modification.
The American Committee began its work on the 4th of
October, 1872.
The provision of a joint meeting of the American and

454 The English Versions.
British Revisers to be held before final action, if possible, in
London, contained in Article IX. of the foregoing Constitu
tion having been found impracticable, an agreement was
reached on the third day of August, 1877, of which the sub
stance is as follows:
• " The English Revisers promise to send confidentially their revision in
its various stages to the American Revisers, to take all the American
suggestions into special consideration before the conclusion of their la
bors, to furnish them before publication with copies of the revision in its
final form, and to allow them to present, in an Appendix to the Revised
Scriptures, all the remaining differences of reading and rendering of
importance, which the English Committee should decline to adopt;
while, on the other hand, the Araerican Revisers pledge themselves to
give their moral support to the Authorized Editions of the University
Presses, with a view to their freest circulation within the United States,
and not to issue a rival edition for a term of fourteen years. ' ' *
The English Revisers began their work a year before the
^American Revisers entered upon theirs, but the work is
nevertheless the joint product of both Committees. And
this is distinctly brought out in the Preface:
Our communications with the American Coraraittee have been of the
following nature. We transmitted to them from time to time each sev
eral portion of our First Revision, and received from them in return
their criticisms and suggestions. These we considered with much care
and attention during the time we were engaged on our Second Revi
sion. We then sent over to them the various portions of the Second
Revision as they were completed, and received further suggestions,
which, like the former, were closely and carefully considered. Last of
all, we forwarded to them the Revised Version in its final form; and a
list of those passages in which they desire to place on record their prefer
ence of other readings and renderings will be found at the end of the
volume. We gratefully acknowledge their care, vigilance, and accuracy;
and we humbly pray that their labours and our own, thus happily united,
may be permitted to bear a blessing to both countries, and to all English-
speaking people throughout the world.
* Comlanlot to the Revised Version ofthe Eng'ish New Testament, p. 96.

Anglo-American Revision. 455
The whble time devoted fo the Work has been ten Jftars and a hdlf.
The Fiist Revision occupied about six years; the second about two
years and a half. The remaining time has been spent in the considera
tion of the suggestions from America on the Second Revision, and of
miiny details and reserved questitJns arising Out of our owri labotirs. As
a rule, a session of four days has been held every month (with tlie ex-
ceptioil of August and SeptembSr) in eich yeat from the commencement
of the work m June 1870. The average attendance for the whole time has
been sixteen each day; the whole Conipany consisting at first of twenty-
seven, hut for the greater part of the time of twenty-four members, many
of them residing at great distances froin London. Of the ori;.;inal num
ber loiir have been removed from us by death.
The .American Company, in like manner, met every month
(e.Kcept in July and August) in the Bible House at New
York. The Revision of the New Testament was finished in
Oetober, 1880. LIST Of- REVISERS.*
I. ENGLISH REVISION COMMITTEE.
(I) Old Testament Conipany.
The Right Rev. Ed\vard Harold Browne, D.D., Bishop of Win
chester (Chairraan), Fainham Castle, Surrey.
The Right Rev. Lord Arthur Charles HeRvey, D.D., Bisliojj ot
Bath and Wells,- Palace, Wells, Somerset.
The Right Rev. Alfred Ollivant, D.D., Bishop of Llandaff, Bishop'.s
Court, Llandaff.
The Very Rev. RoBERt Payne SrilTH, D.D., Dean of Cintei-btiry,
Deanery, Canterbury.
The Ven. BENJAHiiN Harrison, M.A., Archdeacon of Maidstone, Canon
of Canterbury, Canterbury. *
The Rev. William Lindsay Alexander, D.D., Professor of The
ology, Congregational Church Hall, Edinburgh.
Robert L. BENSLY, Esq., FeildW dtid Hebrew Lecturer, Gonvilie and
Caius Cbllege, Cambridge
The kev. John Birrell, Professor of Oriental Languages, St. Andrew's,
Scotland.

• The" following lists, taken from Anglo-American Bible Revision by members of the
American Revision Conimittee, New York, 1879, were prepared l»y Dr Schaff. Uk-
names of the reviser-s decea.sed bince irs prepar.uion h.iv iiig been ^.upplied in the n..teA.

456 The, English Versions.
Frank Chance, Esq., M.D., Burleigh House, Sydenham Hill, London.
Thomas Chenery, Esq., Reform Club, London, S. W.
The Rev. T. K. Cheyne, Fellow and Hebrew Lecturer, Balliol College,
Oxford.
The Rev. A. B. Davidson, D.D., Professor of Hebrew, Free Churcl"
CoUege, Edinburgh.
The Rev. George Douglas, D.D., Professor of Hebrew and Principal
of Free Church College, Glasgow.
S. R. Driver, Esq., Tutor of New College, Oxford.
The Rev. C. J. Eliott, Winkfield Vicarage, Windsor.
The Rev. Frederick Field, D.D., Carlton Terrace, Heigham, Norwich.
The Rev. John Dury Geden, Professor of Hebrew, Wesleyan College,
Didsbury, Manchester.
The Rev. Christian D. Ginsburg, LL.D., Wokingham, Berks.
The Rev. Frederick William Gotch, D.D., Principal of the Baptist
College, Bristol.
The Rev. William Kay, D.D., Great Leghs' Rectory, Chelmsford.
The Rev. Stanley Leathes, B.D., Professor of Hebrew, King's Col
lege, London.
The Rev. John Rawson Lumby, B.D., Fellow of St. Catharine's Col-
lege, Cambridge.
The Rev. John James Stewart Perowne, D.D., Dean of Peter
borough.
The Rev. A. H. Sayce, Fellow and Tutor of Queen's College, Oxford.
The Rev. William Robertson Smith, Professor of Hebrew, Free
Church College, Aberdeen.
William Wright, Professor of Arabic, Cambridge.
William Aldis Wright, Esq. (Secretary), Bursar of Trinity College,
Cambridge. O. T. Company, 2f.
Note.— The English Old Testament Company nas lost, by death, the Right Rev.
Dr. CoNNOP Thirlwall, Bishop of St. David's, d. 27 July, 1875; the Ven. HenevJohn
Rose, Archdeacon of Bedford, d. 31 January, 1873; the Rev. William Selwyn, D.D.,
Canon of Ely, d. 24 April, 1873; the Rev. Dr. Patrick Fairbairn, Principal of the
Free Church College, Glasgow, d. 6 .August, 1874; Professors McGill, d. 16 March,
i87t; Weir, 27 July, )876; and Davies, 19 July, 1875; and by resignation, the Right
Rev. Dr. Christopher VS^ordswoeth, Bishop of Lincoln; the Rey. John Jebb, Canon
of Hereford, and the Rev. Edward Haves Plumptre, D.D., Professor of N. T. Ex
egesis, King's College, London (resigned 17 March, 1874).
NoTK— The order of the naines is as it stood originally before the promotion of some
of their owners.

Anglo-American Revision. 457
(2) New Testament Company.
The Right liev. Charles John Ellicott, D.D., Bishop of Gloucester
and Bristol (Chairman), Palace, Gloucester.
The Right Rev. George Moberly, D.C.L., Bishop of Salisbury, Pal.
ace, Salisbury.
The Very Rev. Edward Henry Bickersteth, D.D., Prolocutor, Dean
of Lichfield, Deanery, Lichfield.
The Very Rev. Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, D.D., Dean of West-
minster. Deanery, Westminster.
The Very Rev. Robert Scott, D.D., Dean of Rochester, Deanery,
Rochester.
The Very Rev. Joseph Williams Blakesley, B.D., Dean of Lincoln,
Deanery, Lincoln.
The Most Rev. Richard Chenevix Trench, D.D., Archbishop of
Dublin, Palace, Dublin.
The Right Rev. Charles Wordsworth, D.C.L., Bishop of St. An
drew's, Bishopshall, St. Andrew's.
The Rev. Joseph Angus, D.D., President of the Baptist College, Re
gent's Park, London.
The Rev. David Brown, D.D., Principal of the Free Church College,
Aberdeen.
The Rev. Fenton John Anthony Hort, D.D., Fellow of Emmanuel
CoUege, Cambridge.
The Rev. William Gibson Humphry, Vicarage, St. Martin's-in-the-
Fields, London, W. C.
The Rev. Benjamin Hall Kennedy, D.D., Canon of Ely and Regius
Professor of Greek, The Elms, Cambridge.
The Ven. William Lee, D.D., Archdeacon of Dublin, Dublin.
The Ri,'lit Rev. Joseph Barber Lightfoot, D.D., Bishop of Durham.
I'he Rev. William Milligan, D.D., Professor of Divinity and Biblical
Criticism, Aberdeen.
The Rev. William F. Moulton, D.D;, Master of The Leys School,
Cambridge.
The- Rev. Samuel Newth, D.D., Principal of New College, Hamp-
stead, London.
The Ven. Edwin Palmer, D.D., Archdeacon of Oxford, Christ Church,
Oxford.
The Rev. Alexander Roberts, D.D., Professor of Humanity, St.
Andrew's.
The Rev. Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener, LL.D., Prebend
ary, Hendon Vicarage, London, N. W.

458 The English Versions.
The Rev. George Vance Smith, D.D., Parade, Carmarthen.
The Rev. Charles John Vaughan, D.D., Master of the .Temple, The
Temple, London, E. C.
The Rev. Brooke Foss Westcott, D.D.,, Canon of Peterborough and
Regius Professor of Divinity, Trinity College, Cambridge.
The Rev. J. Troutbeck (Secretary), Dean's Yard, Westminster.
N. T. Company, 2j.
Active members in both Companies, ^2 .
Note — ^I'he English New Testament Company has lost, by death, the Right Rev.
Dr. Samuel WilBerboScb, Bishop of Winchester, d. I873J the Very Rev. Dr. He'.ry
Alford, Dean of Canterbury, d. 1871; the Rev. Dr. John Eadie, Professor of Bibli
cal Literature in the United Presbyterian Church, Glasgow, d. 1876; Mr. Samuel
Prideaux Tregelles, LL.D. (who was prevented by ill health from taking any
part in the work), d. 1875: and the Very Rev. Dr. Arthur PfiNRHVN Stanley, Dean
of Westminster, d. July, 1881; and by resignation, the Rev. Dr. Charles MERivALfi,
Dean of Ely.
(The Rev. F. C. Cook, Canon of Exeter, the Rev. Dr. E. B. Pusey, who were
asked to join the O. T. Company, and the Rev. Dr. J. H. Newman, who was asked
to join the N. T. Company, declined to serve.)
II. AMERICAN REVISION COMMITTEE.
General Officers of the Committee.
Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., President.
George E. Day, D.D., Secretary.
(l) Old Testament Company.
Prof. Wm. Henry Green, D.D., LL.D. (Chaurman), Theological Sem
inary, Princeton, N. J.
Prof. Georce E. Day, D.D. (Secretary), Divinity School of Yale Col
lege, New Haven, Conn.
Prof. Charles A. Aiken, D.D., Theological Sem., Princeton, N. J.
The Rev. T. W. Chambers, D.D., Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church,
N. Y.
Prof. Thomas J. Conant, D.D., Brooklyn, N. Y.
Prof. John De Witt, D.D., Theological Sem., New Brunswick, N. J.
Prof. George Emlen Hare, D.D., LL.D., Divinity School, Phila.
Prof. Charles P. Krauth, D.D., LL.D., Vice-Provost of the Univer
sity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Prof. Charles M. Mead, D.D., Theological Seminary, Andover, Mass.
Prof. Howard Osgood, D.D., Theological Sem., Rochester, N. Y.
Prof. Joseph Packard, D.D., Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Va
Prof. Calvin'E. Stowe, D.D., Hartford, Conn.

Anglo-American Revision. 459
Prof. James Strong, S.T.D,, Theological Seminary, Madison, N. J.
Prof. C. V. A. Van Dvck, D.D., M.D., Beirat, Syria (Advisory Mem
ber on questions of Arabic). 0. T. Company, 14.
Note — The American Old Testament Company has lost, by death, Tavler Lewis,
LL.D., Profesjior Emeritus of Greek and Hebrew, Union College, Schenectady, N.
v., d. 1877. (2) New Testament Company,
Ex-President T. D. Woolsey, D.D., LL.D. (Chairman), New Haven,
Conn.
Prof. J. Henry Thayer, D.D. (Secretary), Theo. Sem., Andover, Mass.
Prof. Ezra Abbot, D.D., LL.D,, Divinity School, Harvard University,
Cambridge, Mass.
The Rev. J. K. Burr, D-D,, Trenton, New Jersey.
President Thomas Chase, LL.D., Haverford College, Pa.
Chancellor Howard Crosby, D.D., LL.D., New York University,
New York.
Prof, Timothy Dwight, D.D., Divmity School of Yale College, New
Haven, Conn.
Prof. A. C, Kendrick, D.D., LL-D., University of Rochester, Roches
ter, N. Y.
The Right Rev. Alfred Lee, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Delaware.
Prof. Matthew B. Riddle, D.D., Theological Sem., Hartford, Conn.
Prof. Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., Union Theological Sem., N. Y.
Prof. Charles Short, LL.D., Columbia College, N. Y.
The Rev. E. A. Washburn, D.D., Calvary Church, N. Y.
N. T. Company, 13.
In both Companies, z'/.
Note.— The American New Testament Company has lost, hy death, James Had
ley, LL.D , Professor of Greek, Yale College. Conn, (who attended the first session),
d. 1872: Professor Hejs'RY BoyntoN Smith, D.D., LL.D., Union Theological Semi
nary, New York (who attended one session, and resignecl, from ill health), d. 1877;
Professor Horatio B. Hackett, D D., LL.D., Theological Seminary, Rochester, N.
v., d. 1876; and Professor Charles Hodge, D.D., LL.D., Theological Seminary,
Princeton, N. J. (who never attended the meetings, but corresponded with the Com
mittee), d. 1878; the Rev. Dr. E. A. Washburn, Calvary Church, New York, d. Feb.,
1881; Prof. Chaslbs p. Kraitth, D.D., LL.D., d, Jan. 2, 1883; and by resignation,
Rev. G. R. Crooks, D.D., New York, and Rev. W. F. Warren, D.D., Boston (who
accepted the original appointment but found it impossible to attend).
The New Testament was published on the seventeenth day
of May, 1 88 1, and the demand for it was unparalleled in the
bistory ofthe bo.j': trade. It bears this title:

460 The English Versions.
The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Trans
lated out of the Greek: Being the Version set forth A.D. sbii com
pared with the most Ancient Authorities and Revised A.D. 188 1.
Printed for the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Oxf'ird at the
University Press. 188 1.
After the Preface, to be noticed in full presently, follows:
the names and order of all the books of the
new testament.
S. Matthew, S. Mark, S. Luke, S. John, The Acts, To the Romans,
I Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, To the Galatians, To the Ephesians, To
the Philippians, To the Colossians, I Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians,
I Timothy, 2 Timothy, To Titus, To Philemon, To the Hebrews,
James, I Peter, 2 Peter, I John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation.
After Revelation comes the Appendix.
After these preliminary and external matters we now pass
to the examination ofthe Version itself in the order adopted
in the Preface, which adverts to it under the four heads of
Text, Translation, Language, and Marginal Notes. It states:
I. A revision of the Greek text was the necessary foundation of our
work; but it did not fall within our province to construct a continuous
and complete Greek text. In many places the English rendering was
considered to represent correctly either of two competing readings in the
Greek, and then the question of the text was usually not raised. A suf
ficiently laborious task remained in deciding between the rival claims
of various readings which might properly affect the translation. When
these were adjusted, our deviations from the text presumed to underlie
the Authorized Version had next to be indicated, in accordance with the
fourth rule; but it proved inconvenient to record them in the margin ....
In regard of the readings thus approved, it may be observed that the
fourth rule, by requiring that " the text to be adopted " should be " that
for which the evidence is decidedly preponderating," was in effect an
instruction to follow the authority of documentary evidence without def
erence to any printed text of raodern times, and therefore to employ the
bfest resources of criticism for estimating the value of evidence. Textual
criticism, as applied to the Greek New Testament, forms a special study
of much intricacy and difficulty, and even now leaves roora for consider
able variety of opinion among competent critics. Different schools of
criticism haye been represented among us, and have together contributed

Anglo-American Revision. 461
to the final result . . . Many places still remain in which, for the present,
it would not be safe to accept one reading to the absolute exclusion of
others. In these cases we have given alternative readings in the mar-
gui, wherever they seem to be of sufficient importance or interest to de
serve notice. In the introductory formula, the phrases "many ancient
authorities," "some ancient authorities," are used with some latitude to
denote a greater or lesser proportion of those authorities which have a
distinctive right to be called ancient. These ancient authorities com
prise not only Greek manuscripts, some of which were written in the
fourth or fifth centuries, but versions of a still earlier date in different
languages, and also quotations by Christian writers of the second and
f jllowing centuries.
In order to explain and illustrate the preceding weighty
pa.ssage to those not familiar with its subject matter, two ex
amples, one from the Gospels and one from the Epistles, are
here given. The first is Matth. vi. 13, which reads in the Au
thorized Version: " For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, forever. Amen," but is omitted from the text
of the New Version, and transferred to the margin with the
introductory formula: " Many authorities, some ancient, but
with variations, add For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and Ihe glory, forever. Amen."
Whatever text underlay the Authorized Version in this
place, it was not one in any way entitled tb respect, for it de
viates from the most ancient manuscripts. The omitted
clause is wanting in Codex Sinaiticus {Aleph, 4th century)
Codex Vaticanus (B,, 4th cent). Codex Bezae (D., 6th cent),
and Codex Pal. Dublin (Z., 6th cent); likewise in the cur
sive MSS., Nos. I, 17, 118, 130, and 209. The Codex
Alexandrinus (A., 5th cent), and Codex Ephrsemi Rescr.
(C. , 5th cent. ), being mutilated in this place are, of course,
useless for the purpose of our inquiry. On the other hand,
many of the MSS. , which contain the clause, supply it in red
ink to distinguish it from the text, while others give it in the
margin. It is also in the newly-discovered Codex Rossa-
nensis, ascribed to the close ofthe sixth century or the begin-

46? The English Versions.
ning ofthe seventh, the text of which, however, is considered
to be inferior in purity to that of the MSS. before mentioned,
Turning from the Greek MSS. to t^ie ancient versions, the
clause is wanting in the Old Latin, Vulgate, and Memphitic,
but found in the .lEthiopic, Armenian, Gothic, and Syriac
versions; but as there is considerable doubt as to the genuine
ness of the last-named version, the presence of the clause in
it is not as decisive, as it woulfi be without such doubt. The
clause is likev^igp unnpticed it? the ancient expositions of the
Lord's Prayer by Origen (died 254), Tertullian (200-220),
and Cyprian (248-258), although it is found in Chrysostom
(397-407). It has bgen traced back to i Chron. xxix. 11,
and 2 Tini. iv. 1 8 is considered to be the gerrp of this litur
gical addition tq the text, which crept into it probably about
the beginning of the fourth century. These textual consid
erations left the Reyisers tio choice, and compelled them to
deny it a place in the sacred text, while their marginal anno
tation is a marvel of coinprehensive accuracy.
Our second excimplfe is given in parallel columns with the
changes in italics in both versions.
I TIM. HI. 16.
idii. 18S1.
And without controuer-sie, great is And without controversy great is
the raysterie of godlinesse : Godv;^ the mystery pf godliness; "He who
jnanifest in the flesh, iustified in the was manifested in the flesh, justified
Spirit, seene of Angels, preached vn- in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached
lo the Gentiles, beleeued on in the among the nations, believed on in
world, receiued vp into glory. the world ; received up in glory.
This very important passage unfolds very clearly the per
plexities of textual criticism. Let the reader understand that
the difference between the reading God, represented in Greek
characters by @C, and the reading He ivho, represented in
• Margin; The word (^od in place of He who, reste on no sufficient ancient evi-
dence. Some ancient authorities read which.

Anglo-American Revision. 463
Greek by OC, turns upon the presence of the horizontal bat
over the two Greek letters, and the genuineness of the line in
the centre of®; the difference between iivho', Greek OC, and
ivhich, Greek 0, on the presence or absence of the C.
Now in the famous Cod. Sin. we have the reading who
corrected by a hand of the twelfth century into God, and in
the Cod. Alex, critics are undecided, in the present worn con
dition of the respective leaf, whether it be OC or QC. Those
who saw the MS. soon after it came to England (1628) pro
nounce almost unanimously in favor of @C. On the other
hand, the Codd. Sin. and Ephr. , the Memphitic and Thebaic
versions, Origen, and the critical editions of the New Testa
ment by Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Ellicott, and
Westcott and Hort, pronounce in favor of OC; the weight
of evidence, therefore, as well as the fact that it is the more
difficult reading, compelled the Revisers to adopt it.
The reading which against who, is supported by the Codex
Claromontanus, the Old Latin, Vulgate and Peshito versions,
and this explains the marginal note.
So careful a scholar as bishop Ellicott decides "indisputably
after minute personal inspection " * for the reading adopted
in tlie New Version.
And concerning the whole passage, Winer, Wiesinger, De
Wette, Ellicott, Westcott and Hort, and other competent
scholars hold that it formed part of a well known ancient
hymn or confession of faith in praise pf ' ' The Living God, "
or "The mystery of godliness, '' arranged thus:
Who was manifested in the fleih.
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen of Angels,
Preached among the nations.
Believed on in the world.
Received up in glory.
* See Com"'.;ntary 0:1 th(r p i-^^;! Je.

464 The English Versions.
The other changes in this passage, not textual, need not
be discussed here.
On the all-important subject ofthe text, impartial criticism
must pronounce it the purest text of any version extant, con
forming as far as scrupulous, laborious, and conscientious
scholarship of the most competent textualists now living
could make it conform, to the purest text of the most au
thentic and weighty ancient manuscripts, supported by the
earliest and truest versions, and the testimony of the earliest
and most learned Christian writers.
The Preface continues:
2. We pass now from the Text to the Translation. The character of
the Revision was determined for us from the outset by the first rule, " to
introduce as few alterations as possible, consistently with faithfulness."
Our task was revision, not re-translation.'
In the application however of this principle to the many and intricate
details of our work, we have found ourselves constrained by faithfulness
to introduce changes which might not at first sight appear to be included
under the rule.
The alterations which we have made in the Authorized Version may
be roughly grouped in five principal classes.
First, alterations positively required by change of reading in the Greek
Text. Secondly, alterations made where the Authorized Version appeared
either to be incorrect, or to have chosen the less probable of two possible
renderings. Thirdly, alterations of obscure or ambiguous renderings, into such as
are clear and express in their import ....
Fourthly, alterations of the Authorized Version in cases where it was
inconsistent with itself in the rendering of two or more passages con
fessedly alike or parallel.

* The term " revision " seems to have been construed very liberally; for strictly
speaking the Revised Version is a new translation on the basis ofthe Authorized Ver
sion. The Revision is a new translation from the original with reference to the old;
whatever in the old was found to be faithfully rendered was allowed to stand, buc
wherever in the judg:ment of the Revisers a change was necessary it was made, so
that as a matter o.*" f.ict the Revision is really a new transl.ition.

Anglo-American Revision. 465
Fifthly, alterations rendered necessary by consequence, that is, arising
out of changes already made, though not in themselves required by the
general rule of faithfulness. •
These different classes of alterations will now be examined
and illustrated.
I. Alterations positively required by change of reading in the Greek
Text. In addition to the two examples already given, a few others
are supplied without note or comment, the juxtaposition of
the two versions being deemed sufficient
MATTH. V. 22.
ibii. i88i.-
Whosoeuer is angry with his broth- Whosoever is angry with his
er without a cause. brother.
MATTH. XIX. 17.
Why callest thou me good ? there Why askest thou me concerning
is none good but one, that is God; that which is good? One there is
but if thou wilt enter into life, keep who is good: but if thcu wouldest
the comraandements. enter into life, keep the command
ments.
JOHN XX. 16.
She turned her selfe, and saith She taxaeth herself, and saith lui-
vnto him, Rabboni, which is to say, to him in Hebreiv, Rabboni; which
Master. is to say. Master.
I PET. II. 21.
Christ also suffered for vs, leaning Christ also suffered for you, leav-
I'j an example, that yee should fol- ixig you an example, that ye should
low his steps. follow his steps.
2 PET. III. 2.
That ye may be mindfull of the That ye should remember the
words which weie spoken before by words which were spoken before
the holy Prophets, and of the com- by the holy prophets, and the com
mandement ofvs the Aposths of the mandment of the Lord and Saviour
Lord and Sauiour. through your Apostles.
REV. xxn. 14.
Blessed are they that do his com- Plessed are they that wash their
mandements that they may haue robes, that they may have the right
light to the tree of life. to come to the tree of life.

466

The English Versions.

II. Alterations made where the Authorized Version appeared ritlief
ta be incorrect, or to have chosen the less probable of two renderings.
• 1 COR. XIV. 20.
Brethren, be not children 'ixivn- Brethren, be'not children in ;;«JW(^.'
derstanding; howbeit in malice be howbeit in mafice be ye babes, but
yee children, but in vnderstanding in mind be raen. '
be raen.' I Gr. perfect, or, of a ripe age. 1 Cir. of full age.
This passage in the New Version is a vast improvement
upon the Old, which is clearly incorrect in that it fails to
bring out the distinction between TtatSitx and vrjicioi, which
is all important, for the Apostle requires the Corinthians not
only not to be children in malice, but to grace the maturity
of mind by the guileless innocence of infants.
I COR. XI. 28-^34,
28 But let a man examine him- But let a man prgve himself, 28
selfe, and so let him eate of tha( and so let him eat of the bread,
bread and drink of that cup. and drink of the cup.
29 For hee that eateth and drinketh For he that eateth and drink- 29
vnwarthily, eateth and drinketh eth, eateth and drinketh judge-
'damnation to himselfe, not dis- ment «Kto himself, if he ^discern
cerning the Lord's body. not the body.
30 For fbr this cause many are weake For this cause many among you 30
and sickly among you, and many are weak and sickly, and not a
sleep. few sleep.
31 Fox iiyie would iudge ovcx sAues, But if we '^discerned ourselves, 31
we should not he iudged, we should not he judged.
32 But when we are iudged, we are But ^when we are judged, we 32
chastened of the Lord, that all are chastened of the Lord, that
should not be condemned with we may not be condemned with
the world. the world.
33 Wherefore, my brethren, when Wherefore, my brethren, when 33
ye come together to eate, tary ye come together to eat, wait
one for another. one for another.
34 And if any raan hunger, let him If any man is hungry, let hun 34
eate at home, that ye come not eat at home; that your coming
together vnto ' condemn, Uion. together be not unto judgement.
1 Or.'j'udgemeni. 1 Gr. discriminate.
3 Gr. disci-iminated.
3 Or, when -.ue are fudged qf the Lord,
-tve are chastened.

Anglo-American Revision. 467
Although this passage does not in all respects come
under this head, it does so in some, and is given to show
the discrimination between Siaxpiveiv, upivsii', and uara-
¦ KiiivEiif; the first word importing discernment (vv. 29, 31)
before and in communicating; the second, expressing the
immediate consequences of its non-exercise (vv. 31, 32);
and the last, final condemnation (v. 34). The avoidance of
rendering upiixa. by two separate words (as in the A, V. by
damnation and condemnation) is likewise a great gain.
In addition to quite a number of passages given in the
chapter on the Authorized Version, the following seem to
come under this head, and exhibit decided improvements in
the changes made. I COR. vtii. 7.
For some with conscience of the But some, being used until now
idole vnto this houre, eaie it as a to the idol, eat as (of) A thifig sac-
thing offered vnto an idole. rificed to an idol.
I JOHN v. 13.
These things haue I written vnto These things have I written unto
you that beleeue on the Name of the you, that ye may know that ye have
Son of God, that yee may know, eternal life, (even) unto you that be-
that yee haue etemall life, and that lieve on the name of the Son of God.
yee may beleeue on the Name of the
Sonne of God.
HI. Alterations of obscure or ambiguous renderings into such as are
ch ar and express in their import ....
MATTH. V. 16.
Let your light so shine befote Even so let your light shine be-
men, that they may see your good fore men, that they may see your
workes, and glorifie your father good works, and glorify your Fa-
which is in heauen. ther which is in heaven.
The old rendering, by making so emphatic by position, ob
scures the sense which, as in the Revision, connects this verse
with V. 15, and imports that as a lamp shines unto all that
are in the house, even so let your light shine.

468 The English Versions.
MATTH. XVI. 23.
Get thee behinde me, Satan, thou Get thee behind rae, Satan, thou
art an offence vnto me. art a stumblingblock unto me.
Offence, here and in many other places, as well as offend,
does not signify to giye offence, but to cause to stumble.
LUKE III. 23.
And lesus himselfe began to be And Jesus himself when he began
about thirty yeeres of age. (to teach) was about thirty years of
age.
The utterly unmeaning rendering of the A. V. is singularly
improved by the translation in the Revision, and tbe intro
duction of the supplementary words, put in parentheses here,
is very happy. JOHN IX. 17.
What sayest thou of him, that he What sayest thou of him, in that
hath opened thine eyes ? he opened thine eyes ?
In that signifies because, and removes the ambiguity.
ACTS IV. 4.
And the number of the men was And the number ofthe men came
about fine thousand. to be about five thousand.
The obscurity of the A. V. is removed by a more adequate
rendering of sysvyBr;. ACTS XXVII. 40. •
And when they had 'taken vp And casting off the anchors, they
the ankers, they committed (thera- left them in the sea.
selues) vnto the sea.
1 Or, cut the ankers, they left thein in the sea.
The translation of the A. V. illustrates not only the selec
tion of the worse and less probable of two possible renderings,
but the introduction ofa ludicrous ambiguity, if not a posi
tively false statement, all of which is cleared in the concise
rendering of the Revision.
The passage X. i, ofthis same book, I perceive, introduces
in the Revision the marginal reading: "Or, cohort" in place

Anglo-American Revision. 469
of band. It would, possibly, have been better to have adopted
it in the text, although it is to be hoped that the original re
flection of the temporary English occupant of a Scotch pres
byterian pulpit, mentioned by Dr. Eadie (II. p. 367) may
not find any imitators. The said exegete enlarging on the
power of divine grace in the conversion of Cornelius, startled
his hearers with the statement, that he was not only a soldier,
but also the leader of a band or company of foreign musicians,
many of whom were still coming from Italy.
IV. Alterations of the Authorized Version in cases where it was in
consistent with itself in the rendering of two or more passages confessedly
alike or parallel.
This class of changes is very numerous, and comprises not
only words, but clauses and entire sentences; we will consider
a few of each. Words.
The word Ttpaicoopiov is rendered in the A. V., Matth. xxvii. 27,
"common-hall" (xxi3.xgin, governor's house); Markxv. 16, " prsetorium, "
John xviii. 28, xix. g, "hall of judgment" (margin, Pilate's house);
xviii. 33, "judgment-hall"; so likewise in Acts xxiii. 35, and Phil. i.
13, "palace" (margin Ccesar's court). In the Revision the word is
rendered in the first place "palace" (margin, Gr. prietorium); in the
second "prietorium" (margin. Ox, palace); while the passages in John
give "palace" (margin, Gx. prcetorium) and Phil. i. 13, "praetorian
guard" (xaaxghi, prcetorium). Why the variation remains in Mark is
difficult to say; there is every reason why it should be rendered as in the
other places, except the last, where the context and sense require the
variation. /.ivrjIXEiov in the A. V. is rendered in the same verse, Matth. xxvii.
60, "tomb" and " sepulchre." The Revision avoids the inconsistency.
Tho unquestionable parallelism of ixocKapioi, l Pet. iii. 14, and the
same word in Matth. v. 10, rendered in the A. V., "happy " in the first
place, and " blessed " in the second has been recognized in the Revision
by a consistent rendering.
The parallelism, if not identity, of the subjoined two passages exhibit!,
an unjustifiable inconsistency in the A. V.; the words in italics show
the verbal a Treement in the Greek.

479

The English Versions.

MARK XII.

8-40.

LUKE XX. 46, 47.-

ibu .

Beware of the Scribes, which de.
sire to walke in long robes, and loue
greetings in the inarliets, ahd the
highest seats ih the SyHagogues; and
the chiefe roumes at feasts: which
deuoure widowes houses, and for a
shew make long prayers.

Beware of the Scribes which loue
to go in long clothing, and (loue)
satutations in th^ market places.
And the chiefe seites in the Syna
gogues, and the vppermost roumes
at feasts: Which deuoure widowes
houses, and for a preterue make
lon.5 prayers.
The extent to which this inconsistency has been reraoved in the Re
vision, is ippafelit from ths re-appfearance of the same pitssageis iri their
amended foriil.

MARK XII. 38-40.

I.UKE XX. 46, 47.

I88I.

Beware of the scribes, which de
sire to walk in long robes, and to
^az/^salutationsinthemarketplaceSjand chief seats in the synagogues,
and chief places at feasts: they which
devour widows' houses, 'and for a
pretence make long prayers.

Beware of the scribes, which de
sire to walk in long robes, and love
salutations in the marketplaces, and
chief seats in the synagogues^ and
chief places at feasts; which devoui
widows' houses, and for a pretence
make long prayers.
I Or, even while for ti pretence they make.
The diffferfences remaining are faithfiil renderuigs of the Greek text.
The glaring incorisistency of rendering, and its successful Correction in
I Cor. XV. 27, 28, which fdlloivs neSds ho comment beyorid stitihg that
the words itt italics ate parts of th<* saftie Greek verb.

ibi I.
For lie hath put all things vnder
his feet; but when hee saith all
i\iings,are put vnder him, it is man
ifest that hee is excepted which
did put all things vnder him. And
when all things shall bee subdued
vnto him, then shal the Sonne also
himselfe bee subiect vnto him that
put all tilings vnder him, that God
may be all in all.

x88i.
For, He put all things in subjec
tion under his feet. But when he
saith. All things are put in subjec
tion, it is evident that he is excepted
who did subject all things unto him.
And when all things have been sub
jected unto him, then shall \\ie Son
also himself i^ subjected to him that
did subject all things unto him,
that God may be all in all.

Anglo-American Revision. 471
The Revisers ofthe New Version had in the Genevan and Rhemish
versions examples of greater consistency of rendering, but they excel
both in raaking one verb bring out by raore correct inflection all the va
riations of thought, with the result that this passage is perhaps the most
faithful transcript of the Greek idiom in the English that could be fur
nished. One such example is the most eloquent monuraent of the mas
terly skill of the Revisers. Clauses and Sentencis,
Among the inconsistencies referred to under this head may be instanced
several quotations from the Old Testament, e. g., Deut. xxxii. 35, quoted
the same words in the Greek, appears in the A. V. thus:
ROM. XII. 19. HEB. X. 30.
Vengeance is mine, I will repay. Vengeance belongeth vnto me, I
saith the Lord. wil recompense, saith the Lord.
The rendering in Hebrews is that adopted in both places in the Re
vision, except "saith the Lord" in Hebrews, as not belonging to the
text. Gen. XV. 6 (lxx.) is quoted in the two versions thus:
ROM. IV. 3.
ibti. i88t.
It was counted vnto him for right- It was reckoned unto him for
eousnes. righteousness.
ROM. IV. 22.
It was imputed to him for right- (Same as above.)
eousnesse. GAL. III. 6.
It was 'accounted to him for right- (Same as above.)
eousnesse. 1 Or, imputed. JAMES II. 23.
It was imputed vnto him for right- (Same as above.)
eousnesse. and Rom. iv. 9 in connection with the first two:
Faith was reckoned to Abraham To Abraham his faith was reclp-
for righteousnesse. oned for righteousness.
Psalm xcv. 11 is quoted in the same context thus:

472- The English Versions.
he's. ill. II.
fbii. 1881.
So I sware in my wrath: 'They As I sware in my wrath, 'The!y
shall not enter into my rest. shall not enter into my fest.
1 Or, if ihey shall enter. 1 Gr, if they shall enter.
heb. IV. 3.
As I haue sworne in my wrath, (Same as above.)
if they shall enter into my rest.
These exarnples, illustrative of what has been done on a
large scale, indicate a step in the right direCtidh, whidh ian
hardly be overestimated as to the benefit to be derived there
from by every -feader of the Holy Scriptures.
V. Alterations rendered necessary by consequence.
What is meant by these had best be given in the language
ofthe Preface, which says:
This maybe made plain by an example. When a particular word is
found to recur with characteristic frequency in any one of the Sacred
Writers, it is obviously desirable to adopt for it some uniform rendering.
Again, where, as in the case of the'first three Evangelists, precisely the
same clauses or sentences are found in more than one of the Gospels, it
is no less necessary to translate them in every place in the same way.
These two principles may be illustrated by reference to a word that per
petually recurs in St. Mark's Gospel, and that may be translated either
"straightway," "forthwith,'' or "immediately." Let it be supposed
that the first rendering is chosen, and fhat the word, in accordance with
the first of the above principles, is in that Gospel uniformly trahslaffed
" straightway." Let it be further supposed that one of the passages of
St. Mark, in which it is so translated isfound, word for word, in one of
the other Gospels, but that there the rendering of the Authorized Version
happens to be "forthwith" or "immediately." That rendering must
be changed on the second of the above principles; and yet such a change
would not have been made but for this concurrence of two sound prin
ciples, and the consequent necessity of making a change on grounds ex
traneous to the passage itself.
This is but one of raany instances of consequential alterations which
raight at first sight appear unnecessary, but which nevertheless have been
deliberately made, and are not at variance with the rule of introducing
as few changes in the Authorized Version as faithfulness would allow.

Anglo-American Revision. 473
The Preface then dwells upon grammatical changes, which
require no discussion or illustration here, as they have been
fully presented before in the chapter on the Authorized Ver
sion. It proceeds:
3. We now come to the subject of Language.
The second of the rules by which the work has been governed pre
scribed that the alterations to be introduced should be expressed as far
as possible, in the language of the Authorized Version or of the Versions
that preceded it.
To this rule we have faithftdly adhered. We have habitually con
sulted the earlier Versions; and in our sparing introduction of words not
found in them or in the Authorized Version we have usually satisfied
ourselves that such words were employed by standard writers of nearly
the sarae date, and had also that general hue which justified their rriti-o-
duction into a Version which has held the highest .place in the classical
literature of our language. We have never removed any archaisms,
whether in structure or in words, except where we wereipersuaded either
that the meaning df the words was not generally understood, or that the
nature of the expression led to some misconception of the true sense of
the passage. The 'frequent inversions of the strict order of the words,
which add much to the strength and variety of the Authorized Version,
and give an archaic colour to many felicities of diction, have been seldom
modified. Indeed, we have often adopted the same arrangement in our
own alterations; aud in this, as in other particulars, we have sought to
assimilate the new work to the old.
In a few exceptional cases we have failed to find any word in the older
stratum of our language that appeared to convey the precise meaning of
the original. There, and there only, we have used words of a later date ;
but not without having first assured ourselves that they ai-e to be found
in the writings of the best authors of the period to which they belong.
The gravamina against the Authorized Version under this
head having been fully considered in the chapter relating to
it require no further discussion here. On the general subject
it may be added that to the " innocent archaisms" which the
conservative spirit of the Revisers has retained belong halh,
whiles, throughly, holpen, and which for who.
The American Revisers desired to go further in this matter.

474 The English Versions.
as appears from VII. in the Classes of Passages enumerated
in the Appendix, which reads:
Substitute modern forms of speech for the following archaisms, viz.,
who or that for which when used of persons; are for be in the. present
indicative ; know, knew, for wot, wist; drag or drag away for hale.
In the treatment of proper names the Revisers, not bound
by any special rule, followed generally the rule laid down for
their predecessors, without the capricious violations of which
they were guilty. That rule, it will be remembered, was to
this effect:
The names of the prophets and the holy writers, with the other names
of the text, to be retained as nigh as may be, accordingly as they were
vulgarly used.
The Preface adds:
Some difficulty has been felt in dealing with names less familiarly
known. Here our general practice has been to follow the Greek form
of names, except in the case of persons and places raentioned in the Old
Testaraent, in this case we have followed the Hebrew.
For ample illustrations of the inconsistencies of the A. V. ,
under this head, the reader may consult the chapter relating
to it They have been corrected in the New Version, where,
e. g.. Acts vii. 45 now reads: "Which also our fathers, on
their turn, brought in with Joshua when they entered on the
possession of the nations"; and Heb. iv. 8: "For il Joshua
had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of
another day."
The marginal notes in the New Version are singularly val
uable, and exhibit in a striking manner the masterly hand
ling of the well-nigh inexhaustible material, of which these
notes embody the result. In the language of the Preface:
These Notes fall into four main groups: first, notes specifying such
differences of reading as were judged to be of sufficient importance to
require a particular notice; secondly, notes indicating the exact rendering
of words to which, for the sake of English idiom, we were obliged to

Anglo-American Revision. 475
give a less exact rendering in the text; thirdly, notes, very few in num.
ber, affording some explanation which the original appeared to require;
fourthly, alternative renderings in difficult or debateable passages. The
notes of this last group are numerous, and largely in excess of those
which were admitted by our predecessors. In the 270 years which have
passed away since their labours were concluded, the Sacred Text has
been minutely examined, discussed in every detail, and analyzed with a
grammatical precision unknown in the days of the last Revision. There
has thus been accumulated a large amount of materials that have pre
pared the way for different renderings, which necessarily came under dis
cussion. We have therefore placed before the reader in the margin
other renderings than those which were adopted in the text, wherever
such renderings seeraed to deserve consideration. The rendering in the
text, where it agrees with the Authorized Version, was supported by at
least one third, and, where it differs from the Authorized Version, by
at least two thirds of those who were present at the second revision of the
passage in question.
Notes of the first group are generaUy introduced by the formulse:
"Some ancient authorities," "many ancient authorities," "sorae au
thorities," etc.; c, g., at Matth. xxiii. 38: "Some ancient authorities
omit desolate." John v. iii., "Many ancient authorities insert wholly
or in part, waiting for the moving of the water: 4. for an angel of the
Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and troubled the water:
whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in, was
?nade whole, with whatsoezier disease he was holden.'' Matth. xviii. 10,
"Many authorities, some ancient, insert ver. 11, For the Son of man
came to save that which was lost. See Luke xix. 10 "; and other vari
tions of the formula.
Notes of the second group are generally introduced by "Gr," i. e.,
Greek;* e.g.: Matth. vi. I, "Gr. a millstone turned by an ass." Luke
XV. 16, " Gr. the pods of the carob-tree." Acts xxvii. 12, "Gr. dow7i
the southwest wind and down the northwest wind." Heb. xiii. 5, " Gr.
\^el.your turn of mind 'aefree."
Of notes of the third group the following are instances: Matth. xviii.
24, " This talent was probably worth about ^^240"; v. 28, "The word
in the Greek denotes a coin worth about eight pence half-penny "; xxvii.
6, "Gr. corbanas, that is, sacred treasury. Compare Mark vii. 11."
Mark xiv. 3, "Gr. pistic nard, pistic being perhaps a local name.
Others take it to xx\e2ca genuine, ottiexs liquid." Luke xxiii. 33, "Ac
cording to the Latin, Calvary, which has the same meaning.'' John

476 The English Versions.
xxi. 15-17, " Lave in these places represents two different Greek words."
Acts ix. 36, "That is. Gazelle." I Pet. v. 13, "That is. The church,
or, the sister."
Notes of the fourth group are simply introduced by "Or"; e. g.:
Matth. iii. 17, "Or, This is my Son; my beloved, in whom I am welt
pleased.. See ch. xii. 18." Luke ii. 49, " Or, about my Father's busi
ness. Qt. in the things of my Father." John xviii. 12, "Ox, military
tribune. Gr. chiliarch." ' Rom. vi. 5, "Or, united with the likeness
.... with the likeness." Heb. xii. 18, "Or, a palpable and kindled
fire"; 22, "Or, and to innumerable hosts, the general assembly of
angels, and the church Sr'c." James iv. 5, "Or, The spirit which he
made to dwell in us he yearneth for even unto jealous envy. Or, That
spirit which he made to dwell in us yearneth, for us even unto jealctus
envy." Rev. xii. lo, "Or, Now is the salvation.^ and the power, and
tlie kingdom become our God's, and the authority is become his Christ's.''
There are still some particulars to which the Preface refers.
(a) The use of italics has been " on the general principle of pruiting in
italics words which did not appear to be necessarily involved m the
(jreek. Our tendency has been to diminish rather than to increase the
amount of italic printing; though, in the case of difference of readings,
we have usually raarked the absence of any words in the original which
the sense might nevertheless require to be present in the Version; and
again, in the case of inserted pronouns, where the reference did not ap
pear to be perfectly certain, we have similarly had recourse to italics.
Some of these cases, especially when there are slight differences of read
ing, are of singular intricacy, and raake it irapossible to raaintain rigid
uniforraity." (b) The arrangeraent in paragraphs, preserving " the due raean be
tween a systera of long portions which must often include several sepa
rate topics, and a system of frequent breaks " adopted in the New Version
is a decided and marked iraproveraent, for while the continuity of the
thought is not interrupted by arbitrary qr injudicious breaks, the reten
tion of the traditional plan ot a division by chapter and verse, as indicated
on the margin, affords unimpaired facilities for reference. There are,
however, certain defects which will be noted below.
(c) The metrical arrangement of quotations firom the Poetical Books of
the Old Testaraent, and of the hymns in Luke i., ii., not only arrests at
tention by contrast, but affords material aid to the right understanding
of the Scriptures of the New Testament.

Anglo-American Revision.

477

(d) The inatter of punctuation is not only free from caprice in the New
Version, but peculiar care has been taken to make it an important auxiliary
to the right understanding of the Scriptures, and to their proper reading,
e. g., on occasions for public worship. Much of what has been said
under the last few heads, may be illustrated by the juxtaposition of the
two versions. As the Bibles now circulated differ considerably in punc
tuation, etc., from the edition of 1611, the quotation is from an ordinary
Bible.

ROMANS XV.

Authorized Version.

The New Version.

18 For I will not dare to speak of
any of those things which Christ
hath not wrought by me, to make
the Gentiles obedient, by word and
deed-, 19 Thi-ough mighty signs and
wonders, by the power of the Spirit
of (.iod ; so that from Jerusalem, and
round about unto lUyricum, I have
fully preached the gospel of Christ.
20 Yea, so have I strived to preach
tl)e gospel, not where Christ was
named, lest I should build uppn an
other man's foundation:
21 B.ut as. it is written. To whom
he was not spoken of, they shall
see: and they that have not heard
shall understand.
22 For which cause also I have
been 'much hindered from coraing
lo you.
23 But now having no raore place
in these parts, and having a great
desire these many years to come
unto you;
24 Whensoever I take my journey
into Spain, I will come to you: for
1 trust to see you in ray journey,
and to be brought on my way thith-

For I will not dare to speak of 18
'any things save those whichChrist
wrought through me, for the obe
dience of the Gentiles, by word
and deed, in the power of signs 19
and wonders, in the power of athe
Holy Ghost; so that from Jerusa
lem, and round about even unto
Illyricum, I have ^fully preached
the gospel of Christ; yea, <mak- 20
ing it my aim so to preach the
gospel, not where Christ was al
ready named, that I might not
build upon another man's foun
dation; but, as it is written, 21
They shall see, to whom no
tidings of him came.
And they who have not heard
shall understand.
Wherefore also 1 was hindered 22
these many times from coming
to you: but now, having no more 23
any place in these regions, and
having these many years a long
ing to come unto you, whenso- 24
ever I go unto Spain, (for I hope
to see you in my journey, and to
be brought on my way thither
ward by you, if first in sorae

478 The English Versions.
erward by you, if first X be some- measure I shall have been .''atis-
what filled 'with your company. fied with your .company) — but 25
25 But now I go unto Jerusalem now, I say, I go unto Jerusalem,
to minister unto the saints. ministering unto the saints.
1 Or, many ways, or, qfteniitnes. 1 Gr. oftjiose things ivhich Christ
t Gr. with you, v. 32. wrought noi through me.
3 Many ancient authorities read ike
Spirit of God. One reads the ^irit.
s Gr. fulfilled.
4 Gr. being ambitious.
It is impossible for any unprejudiced critic to hesitate as to
which version of the above passage is superior in every respect.
The clearness of the new version, the epistolary style, the cor
diality of the expression, and the ease of the division, all in
strict accordance with the Greek, are worthy of all commen
dation, and entitled to the grateful recognition of every lover
of the Word of God.
The Preface continues:
(e) We may in the last place notice one particular to which we were
not expressly directed to extend our revision, namely, the Titles of the
Books of the New Testament. These titles are no part of the original
text; and the titles found in the most ancient manuscripts are of too short
a form to be convenient for use. Under these circumstances, we have
deemed it best lo leave unchanged the titles which are given in the Au
thorized Version as printed in 1 611.
The edition of 16 11 contains Summaries of the Contents
of each chapter, and marginal references, both supplied by
the Authorized Translators, which do not appear in the Re
vised Version. The adoption of the paragraph system is of
course inconsistent with the summaries of the contents of each
chapter, but as those summaries are excellent, though suscep
tible of improvement, they might with great advantage be
adapted to the paragraph svstem, by the contents of each
greater paragraph appearing in the margin. This would cer
tainly enhance the facilities for reference, and break the some
what heavy appearance of the page. The seventh of the prin-

Anglo-American Revision. 479
ciples and rules under which the Revision was made reads:
"To revise the headings of chapters and pages, paragraphs,
italics, and punctuation." As "to revise" does not mean
"to discard," and as "the headings of chapters and pages"
must include the summaries, it seems to follow, that these,
duly revised, should be adapted to the paragraph system; and
they may be so adapted without difficulty, for the summaries
are subdivided; e. g., that of Matth. i. runs: " i The gene
alogy from Abraham to Joseph. 18 He was conceived by
the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary when she was
espoused to Joseph. 19 The angel satisfieth the misdeeming
thoughts of Joseph, and interpreteth the names of Christ."
The last requires correction, but there is no reason why
these subdivisions of contents should not be placed against
the appropriate verses in the margin. The marginal refer
ences too, though not forming part of the original text, are
an integral portion of the Authorized Version, and after thor
ough revision, should be restored in the New, for the Fun
damental Rules, as well as the Principles and Rules, do not
authorize the Revisers to discard important and valuable parts
ofthe Authorized Version, but simply impose upon them the
duty of revision. In the citations, numbering 263, and the
references 376, together 639,* the places in the Old Testa
ment from which they are taken, as well as those to which
they refer, should certainly be indicated in the margin. The
Ofliission is a serious and very inconvenient defect, which
more than counterbalances the metrical arrangement The
Preface sheds no light upon these important omissions. A
limited number of references to other places of the inspired
volume can not fail to conduce to the proper understanding
of its contents.

'•' See Angus, Bible Hatid Book, pp. 332-40, Engl, ed., for very valuable informa
tion on the subject of quotations.

480 The English Versions.
There is probably not a passage in the Preface which has
b;en more abundantly verified than the following:
We know full well that defects must have their place in a work so
long and so arduous as this which hgis now corae to an end. Blemishes
and imperfections tliere are in the noble Translation which we have been
called upon to revise; blemishes and imperfections will assuredly be found
in our own Revision.
It is not exaggeration to affirm that the Revisers have been
vastly more faulted than praised, and that their noble work
has been condemned in terms of unsparing severity of cen
sure, but it is only just and fair to say that no criticism is en
titled to respect, which draws a general conc\us]ori a,ffecting
the entire Version from a real or imaginary blemish, defect,
or error in isolated passages. The time for a just criticism of
the entire Version has been altogether too short since the date
of its publication. It is now put on trial, and that the trial
wili be severe and take note of every part of the work is. just
what is to be expected; there cannot be a doubt that the
present revision of the New Testament is not final, and that
the changes introduced will be subjected to renewed examina
tion; the detailed discussion of those resting on various read
ings ofthe Greek codices is out of the question in this volume,
but of those presenting renderings less felicitous than those of
the Authorized Version the following are instances:
Matth. xiii. 37-39, the uniform rendering of de by and, weakens the
passage, and " the good seed are the children of the kingdom " (A. V.)
is decidedly better than " and the good seed, these are the sons of the
kingdom" (R. V.); see also i Cor. xii. 8-10. Matth. xxvii. 56 should
be rendered agreeably to the parallel passage in Mark xv. 40: " Among
whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the raother of James and Joses,
and the raother of the sons of Zebedee," instead of was. It is true that
the Greek idiom requires the singular of the verb, but the English idiom
demands the plural. John xi. 42, "Because of the multitude which
standeth around I said it, that they may lielieve " should have the verb
in the plural. Acts iii. 26 should not read, " turning away every one of
you from his iniquities," but "from your." The confounding of shall

'Anglo-American Revision. 481
and wilf'ixi Matth. xxvi. 21, 34, needs correcting, — the first place should
be rendered will, the second wilt, — as does the confounding of the verb
to will and the future auxiliary in Matth. xiii. 28; xv. 28; xvii. 4; xxvi.
17, 39; Mark x. 51; xiv. 12, 36; Luke ix. 54; xviii. 41, The subjunc
tive be also should be changed into the indicative is in John vii. 16, 17
and Acts iv. 19; the conjunction if in Mark xv. 44 should be changed into
whether, and in i Cor. xiii. i, 2, 3, into though; Matth. xiv. 29 and
Rom. i. 13, to come should be to go. The tautological forms, out — out.
Matth. vii. 5, from^^rom, Luke xix. 26, andyir ever and ever, the latter
in many places, as the rendering of sti roiiS aiwvai tSv aloovoov,
should be avoided; the same upplies.to footstool of his feet, Matth. v.
3.5, agreed together. Acts v. 9, and the unpleasant repetition of that,
I Thess. iv. 15, and Heb. xii. I2, 13: the possible suggestion of puns in
the tautophonous rendering son — sun, Matth. v. 45, and fall asleep -the
rest, I Thess. iv. 13, might easily be corrected by a return to the raore
fehcitous renderings of the Authorized Version. Nought should be spelt
naught in quite a number of places."
This version, like every other version, has its shortcomings
and excellencies, but it should be remembered that while the
widest difference of opinion exists not only among scholars in
general, but presumably among the Revisers in particular, on
all the points mentioned in the Preface, every change in the
text has the vote of a two-thirds majority of those present at
the second revision in its favor; every member of the differ
ent companies must have, at some time or another, for the
sake ofthe general good, surrendered his individual judgment
Ofthis several instances may be given by reference to the able
work on the EngUsh Bible by the late lamented Dn Eadie,
who (ii. p. 368, sq.) suggests that Matth. viii. 20 should be
rendered, "The birds ofthe air have 'roosting places," but it
was not adopted, for the Company of which he was a member
retains ' 'nests, " and supplies the alternative rendering ' ' lodging-
places" in the margin. Bishop Lightfoot, another member,
suggests {Eresh Revision, p. 77, Am, ed. ) that James i. 15
* For many mor© of similar examples, see Q. Washington Moon, T/ie Reviset^
English, London and New York, 188a.

482 The English Versions.
might run, "Lust when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin,
and sin, when it is perfected (or ' ' grown ") gendereth death ";
but the New Version gives: " Lust when it hath conceived,
beareth sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, bringeth forth
death." Archbishop Trench, another member, recommends
{On the Auth. Version, p. 142, Am. ed. ) that Col. ii. 23, "a
r^/a/aAi^ra of wisdom," should take the place of "a show of
wisdom," but the old rendering was retained. And lastly,
the Chairman, bishop Ellicott (Revision, p. 139, Am. ed. ),
proposed that Rom. vii. 5, 6 should read, "For when we
were in the flesh, the stirrings of sins, which were by the law,
did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
But now we have been loosed from the law, having died ttnto
that wherein we were held," but the Company adopted: " For
when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which , were
through the law, wrought in our members to bring forth fruit
unto death. But now we have been discharged from the law,
having died t(> that wherein we were holden. ''
Among the shortcomings of the version, which have been
noticed by me are: the concluding clause of Mark ix. 49,
"and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt," which has
been dropped from the text, and placed in the margin with
the remark that "many ancient authorities add" it. This
is misleading, for most ancient authorities have it, namely,
Codd. A, C, D., the Old Italic, Vulgate, Peshito and de
pendent versions, as well as the critical editions of Lachmann-,
Alford, and Weiss, — wiiile Tregelles and Westcott and Hort
hesitate, and per contra, the Cod. Sin., B., L., and A., with
Tischendorf and McClellan reject it; but as L. and A. be
long respectively to the eighth and ninth centuries, . and L.
moreover, is thought to be dependent on B. , the weight of
evidence appears to be in favor of its retention in the text,
especially as the worst that Tischendorf can say against it, is
that "the clause seems to have been borrowed from Lev. ii.

Anglo-American Revision. 483
13,'' to which place the marginal note in the New Version
refers. The second passage is Matth. xv. 26, 27, and is a case of
defective translation. It reads in the two versions:
ibii. 1881.
But he answered, and said. It is And he answered and said. It is
not meete to take the childrens not meet to take the children's
bread, and to cast it to dogs. And bread and cast it to the dogs. But
she said, Trueth'LoxA: yet Viie Aogi she said, 'Vea, hoxd: for even the
eat of the crumbes which fall from dogs eat of the crumbs which fall
their masters table. from their master's table.
The italics show the alterations, and no one can deny that
they are decided improvements, as completely changing the
drift of the woman's plea, and accentuating the maternal in
tensity of her stupendous faith. But would it not have been
better to have translated xwapioii in v. 26, and HvrdipioL in
v. 27, by an appropriate diminutive.? It would have been
justified by the Vulgate which has in v. 26 canibus, and in
v. 27 catelli, rendered after it by Wiclif, houndis and whelpis,
and the Rhemists dogges and whelpes, by Tyndale and the
Genevan whelpes in both verses. Little dogs, or pet dogs,
answering to Luther's Hiindlein, and Martin's petits chiens,
appears required, if for no other reason, for that of removing
the harshness ofthe offensive words dogs. Perhaps iliixioav like
wise might have been rendered better than crumbs, which con
veys no idea that crumbs were the soft part of the bread used
by the ancients instead of a napkin, and having served that
purpose, given to pet dogs.
The third passage relates to grammar. It is John x. 35,
the first part of which stands in the New Version as in the
Authorized: "li he called them gods." The subject of eiict
to be supplied seems to be either 6 vofioi or 77 ypaiptj, and
the clause might be rendered, "If it call them gods."
Many if not most ofthe alleged shortcomings of the Ver-.

484 The English Versions.
sion are indicafefl in the Appendix. In Amferica, e. g., forms
such as "are being saved," though strictly grammatical, are
deemed pedantic, and Jn England "counted not the being
on an equality wifh God "a thing to be grasped" is probably
regarded as stHSe'd.
The grammatical preciseliess of the New Version appears to
be one ofthe tilings chiefly complained of The writer does
not pretend to pass an opinion on that head, but as the Au
thorized Version is notorious for grammatical inaccuracy, the
removal of that class of imperfections is an unquestionable
gain. For illustrations the reader is referred to the chapter
on that version.
Something remains to be said about the Appendix, setting
forth the points of variation between fhe British and American
Companies of Revisers; it was originally much larger and
' ' the best part of the American labor is incorporated in the
book, " as is stated by -Dr. Schaff in Companion to the Revised
Version of the English New Testament," p. 107. The state
ment of Bishop Lee, in the same work, shows that in the four
Gospels not less than 318 American suggestions, not including
returns to the Atithorized Version, the substitution of who foi
which, and metrical arrangements, were adopted by fhe Eng
lish Company. As these suggestions were really variations,
their adoption shows how hearty, liberal and honorable
have been the concessions of both parties. The Appendix
has the title:
List of readings and renderings preferred by the American
' Committee, recorded at their desire. \
CLASSES OF PASSAGES.
I. Strike out " S." (i. e. Saint) from the title of the Gospels and from
the heading of the pages.
11. Strike out "the Apostle" from the title of the Pauline Epistles,
and " of Paul the Apostle " from the title of the Epistle to the
Hebrews: strike out the word "General " from the title ofthe

Anglo-American Revision. 485
Epistles of James, Peter, i John, and Jude; and let the title of
the Revelation run "The Revelation of John."
In. 'For "Holy Ghost " adopt uniformly the rendering "Holy Spirit.''
IV. At the word "worship" in Matth. ii. 2, etc., add the marginal
note "The Greek word denotes an act of reverence, whether
paid to man (see chap, xviii. 26) or to God (see chap.'iv. 10)."
V. Put into the text uniformly the marginal rendering " through " in
place of "by " when it relates to prophecy, viz., in Matt. ii. 5,
•7. 23; "'• 3; iv. 14, viii. 17; xii. 17; xiii. 35; xxi. 4; xxiv. 15;
xxvii. 9; Luke xviii. 31; Acts ii. 16; xxviii. 25.
VI. For "tempt" ("temptation") stibstitute "try" or "make trial
of" (" trial ") wherever enticement to what is wrOng is not evi
dently spoken of; viz., in the following instances: Matt. iv. 7;
xvi. i; xix. 3; xxii. 18, 35; Mark viii. 11; x. 2; xii. 15; Luke
iv. 12; X. 25; xi. 16; xxii. 28; John viii. 6; Acts v. 9; xv. 10;
I Cor. x. 9; Heb. iii. 8, 9; i Pet. i. 6.
VII. Substitute modern forms of speech for the following archaisms,
viz., "who" or "that" for "which" when used of persons;
" are " for "be " in the present indicative; " know " " knew "
for "wot" "wist"; "drag"or "drag away" for "hale."
VIII. Substitute for "devil" ("devils") the word "demon" ("de
mons") wherever the latter word is given in the margin (or
represents the Greek words Saitiaov, Saifio-rior); and for
" possessed with a devil " (or "devils") substitute either "de
moniac " or "possessed with a demon " (or " demons ").
IX. After "baptize" let the marg. "Or, in" ahd the text "with"
exchange. places.
X. Let the word "testament" be everywhere changed to "cove
nant" (without an alternate in the margin), except in Heb.
ix. 15-17.
XI. Wherever "patience" occurs as the rendering of vjio/liortf add
"stedfastness" as an alternate in the margin, except in 2 Cor.
i. 6; James v. 11; Luke viii. 15; Heb. xii. i.
XII. Let d(}datpiov (Matt. x. 29; Luke xii. 6) be translated "penny,"
and drjvdpiov "shilling," except jn Matt. xxii. 19; Mark xii.
15; Luke XX. 24, where the name of the coin, "a denarius,"
should be given.
XIII. Against the expression "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ" add the marginal rendering, "Or, God and the Father "
etc.; viz., in Rom. xv. 6; 2 Cor. i. 3; xi. 31; Eph. i. 3; Col. i.
3; I Pet. i. 3. And against the expression "our God and Fa

486 The English Versions.
ther" add the marg. "Or, God and our Father " ; viz., in Gal.
i. 4; Phil. iv. 20; i Thess. i. 3; iii. 11, 13; Jas. i. 27. And
against the expression "his God and Father" add the marg.
"Or, God and his Father," viz., in Rev. i. 6.
XIV. Let the use of "fulfill " be confined to those cases in which it de
notes " accomplish," " bring to pass,'' or the like.
Then follows a large number of passages, containing very
valuable readings, and renderings, well worth the thoughtful
attention and careful study of every student of the Word of
God; a few examples are here given:
Matth. xii. 23, For "Is this the son of David?" read "Can this be
the son of David? " (Comp. John iv. 29). Mark ii. 4, 9, 11, 12, "bed"
add marg. ^^Ox, pallet." So in vi. 55; John v. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; Acts
v. 15; ix. 33. Luke xxii. 70, For "Ye say that I am" read "Ye say it,
for I am," and substitute the text for the margin. John xvi. 25, 29, For
"proverbs " read "dark sayings." Acts xiii. 18, For "suffered he their
manners " read " as a nursing-father bare he them," and in the marg.
read " Many ancient authorities read suffered he their manners." Rom.
xii. I, For "reasonable" read "spiritual" with marg. "Gr. belonging
to the reason." I Cor. ii. 13, For "Comparmg spiritual things with
spiritual" read "Combining spiritual things with spiritual K/fl?'flJr " and
omit marg. 3; 14, "natural" add raarg. "Or, unspiritual. ^jx. psychi
cal." 2 Cor. ii. 15, For " are bemg saved . . . are perishing " read "are
saved . . . perish," and put the present text into the raargin; iv. 3, For
"are perishing " read "perish" and put the present text into the mar
gin. Gal. V. 12, For "cut themselves off" read "go beyond circum
cision." Eph. iii. 13, For " ye faint not " read " I may not faint " (with
marg. '¦'¦Ox, ye"). Phil. ii. 6, For "being " read ."existing " and omit
raarg. '<• Let the text run " counted not the being on an equality with
God a thing to be grasped " and orait raarg. 'i. Col. iii. 5, For "mor
tify ' ' read ' ' put to death ' ' and omit marg. •'. i Thess. iv. 12, For ' ' hon
estly " read " becomingly." 2 Thess. ii. 2, For " is now present " read
"is just at hand." i Tim. v. 12, For "faith" read "pledge" (with
marg. '¦^Gx. faith"). 2 Tim. ii. 26, Read "having been taken cap
tive by him imto his will," and let marg. n run "Or, by him, unto the
will of God. Gr. by him, etc." Titus iii. 10, For "A man . . . hereti-
cal " read "a factious man." Heb. x. 25, For "the assembling of our
selves together" read "our own assembling together." Jaraes iv. 4,
"adulteresses " add raarg. " That is, who ireak your marriage vow It
God." I Pet. ii. 2, In raarg. » for "reasonable" read "belonging to

Anglo-American Revision. 487
the reason." 2 Pet. i. I, Let marg. ¦• and the text exchange places.
I John V. 18, Substitute marg. 'forthe text, and add raarg. s "Some
ancient raanuscripts read him." 2 John I (and 5), "Lady" add raarg.
"Or, Cyria." 3 John 8, For "with the truth" read "for the truth."
Jude 4, For "set forth " read " written of beforehand " putting the pres
ent text into the raargin. Rev. vi. 6, "A measure" etc., add marg.
(instead of marg. ^ and *) "Or, A climnix (i. e. about a quart) of wheal
for a shilling — implying great scarcity."
On this whole subject of the Appendix I add the words of
Dr. Schaff, Companion, etc. , p. 113:
But whatever raay be the ultimate fate of the American Appendix, it
is of very little account as compared with the substantial agreement. It
is a matter of wonder and congratulation that the Committees, divided
by the ocean and representing two independent and high minded nations
sensitive of their honor, should, after several years of unbroken and con
scientious labor, have arrived at such a stfbstantial harmony in the trans
lation of their most .sacred book, which is recognized by both as their
infallible guide in all matters of Christian faith and duty.
The Anglo-American Revision is the noblest monument of Christian
union and co-operation in this nineteenth century.
And herein is the finger of Providence, and the best guarantee of
success. Several consecutive passages, in parallel columns, with the
variations marked in both versions and brief notes, are now
produced to convey some idea, however inadequate, of the
magnitude of the work, and the manner of its execution.
The italics call attention to the changes; supplied matter,
printed in both versions in italics, is here given in parentheses.
MATTHEW VI. 5-15.
ibit. 1881.
5 And when thou pray est, thou And when ye pray, ye shall not 5
shalt not be as the hypocrites be as the hypocrites: for they
are: for they loue to pray stand- love to stand and pray in the
ing in the Synagogues, and in synagogues, and in the corners
the corners of the streets, that of the streets, that they may be
they may be seene of men. seen of men. Verily I say unto
Uerily I say vnto you, they you. They have received their
haue their reward. reward.

488

The English Versions.

6 But thou when thou prayest, en
ter into thy closet, and, wheft
thou hast shut thy doore, pray
to thy father which is in secret,
and thy father which seeth in
secret, shall reward thee .openly.
7 But whenyeepray, vse not vaine
repetitions, as the heathen doe.
For they thinke that they shall
be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not yee therefore like vnto
them : For your father knoweth
what things ye haue neede of,
before yee aske Mm.
9 After this manner therefore pray
yee. Our father which art in
heauen, hallowed be thy Name.
10 Thy kingdome come. Thy will
be done, in earth, as it is in
heauen.
1 1 Giue vs this day our dayly bread.
12 And forgiue vs our debts, as we
forgiue our debters.
13 And leade vs not into tempta
tion, but deliuer vs from euill:
For thine is the kingdome, and one.^
the power, and the glory, for
euer. Amen.
14 For, if ye forgiue men their tres
passes, your heauenly Father
will also forgiue you.

But thou, when thou prayest en- 6
ter into thine inner chamber,
and having shut thy door, pray
to thy Father which is in secrel,
and thy Father which seeth in
secret, shall recompense thee.
And in praying use not vain 7
repetitions, as the Gentiles do:
for they think that they shall be
heard for their much speaking.
Be not therefore like unto them: 8
for lyour Father knoweth what
things ye have need of, before
ye ask him.
After this manner therefore pray 9
ye: Our Father which art in
heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will 10
be done, as in heaven so on
earth.
Give us this day 'our daily bread. 1 1
And forgive us our debts, as we 12
also have forgiven our debtore.
And bring us not into tempta- 13
tion, but deliver us from Hhe evil

For if ye forgive men I heir tres
passes, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you.

1 5 But, if yee forgiue not men their But if ye forgive not men their 1 5
trespasses, neither will your Fa- trespasses, neither will your Fa
ther forgiue your trespasses. ther forgive your trespasses.
American addition in Appendix: ^. 11. Let the margin read Gr. our bread for the
coming day, or our needful bread. So in Luke xi. 3.
1 Some ancient authorities read God your Father.
2 Gr. our bread for the coming day.
8 Or, evil.
i Many authorities, some ancient, but with variations, add For thine is the kingdom
andthepoiver, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Anglo-American Revision. 489

NOTES ON THB VARIATIONS.
V. 5. The reading "ye pray, ye shall not be" is sustained by the Ccrd: Sin., B. Z.,
and all the critical editions except those of Alford anU Scrivener; io stand and pray,
restores the translation of Tyndale, 1534; they have received, they have it in full, have
received it already, viz., the applause they sought, v. 6. thine inner chamber, prefer
able to closet, which is too ambiguous, and chamber without inner, used by Tyndale
and the later versions; it must be regarded as a felicitous rendering of t(XJilEl6vj
having shut, the participial rendering conforms to the Greek and English idiom-;
op niy, omitted in Sin. B. D. Z., and most of the critical editions; recotn^ense, without
openly, appears more suitable than reward vi'hxc^i is somewhat.ambiguous. v. 7. And
in praying, better than. But when ye pray: the 8e simply connects the thought, and
the participial construction is both idiomatic, and more precise. Gentiles, to secure
uniformity, v. 10. As in heaven so on earth, is an alteration required by the paral
lelism of the clause yEvr}%rjTGO TO BeX.7Jf.t(X dou with the two clauses preceding
it, as well as by its logical position. See for the discussion of the subject the able ar
ticle of Hanne in Jahrlmcker /vir DeutscJte Theohgie, ifl66, p. 507, jy. v. 11. also
have/orgiven, is the reading sustained by the Cod. Sin., B. Z., and the best critical
editions. The thouglit, moreover, is ethically more true and beautiful than the old
rendering, v. 13. bring, in this difficult passage, is theologically preferable to lead,
c«mp James i. 13; the evii one, construed as a masculine by Origen, Chrysostom,
Erasmus, Beza, Meyer, Fritzsche, Wordsworth, and Ellicott; The dsxology omitted,
see above pp. 461, 462. ACTS XVII. 22-31.
ibii. 1881.
22 Then Paul stood in the midst of And Paul stood in the midst of 22
^Mars-hill^ and said, Yee men thie Areopagus, and said, Ye men
of Athens, I perceiue that in all of Athens, I perceive that ye are
things yee are too superstitious, somewhat 'superstitious.*
23 For as I pasaed by, and beheld For as I passed along^, and ob- 2t,
your ^deuotions, I found an Altar served the objects of your wor-
with this inscription, To the UN- skip, I found also an altar with
KNOWEN God. Whom therefore this inscription, ^I'o AN UN-
yee ignorantly worship, him, de- KNOWN GoD. What therefore
clare I vnto you. ye worship in ignorance, this set
\ forth unto you.
24 God that made the world, and The God that made the world 24
all things therein, seeing that hee and all things therein, he, being
is Lord of heauen and earth, Lord of heaven and earth, dwell-
dwelleth not in temples made eth not in ^temples made with
with hands: hands;
2^1>iQ\xhQ\-\S'worshippedwithTsi<exis neither is he served by men's 25
* App.: For "somewhat superatitious" read "very religious" and put the present
text in the margin.

490

The English Versions.

hands as though he needed any
thing, seeing he giueth to all,
life and breath, and all things,
26 And hath made of one blood all
nations of men, for lo dwell on
all the face of the earth, and
hath determined the times before
appointed, and the bounds of
their habitation :
27 That they should seeke the Lord,
if haply they might feele after
him, and finde him, though he
bexiol. farre from every one ofvs.
28 For in him we liue, and mooue,
and haue our being, as certaine
also of your owne Poets haue
said. For we are also his off
spring.
29 Forasmuch then as wee are the
offspring of God, wee ought not
to thinke that the Godhead is
like vnto golde, or siluer, or
stone grauen by arte, and mans
deuice.
30 And the times of this ignorance
God winked at, but now com-
mandeth all men euery where to
repent:
31 Because he hath appointed a day
in the which he will iudge the
world in righteousnesse, by that
man whom hee hath ordeined,
whereof he ^hath giuen assur
ance vnto all men, in that he
hath raised him from the dead.
1 Or, Court ofthe Areopagites.
2 Or, gods thai you worship.
» Or, offered faith.

hands, as though he needed any
thing, seeing he himself giveth
to all life, and breath, and all
things;
and he made of one every nation 2.(.
of men for to dwell on all the
the face of the earth, having de
termined (their) appointed sea
sons, and the bounds of their
habitation ;
that they should seek God, if 27
haply they might feel after him,
and find him, though he is not
far from each one of us:
for in him we live, and move, 28
and have our being; as certain
even of your own poets have
said. For we are also his off
spring.
Being then the offspring of God, 29
we ought not to think <that the
Godhead is like unto gold, or
silver, or stone, graven by art
and device of man.
The times of ignorance therefore 30
God overlooked: but now he
'commandeth men that they
should all everywhere repent:
inasmuch as he hath appointed 31
a day, in the which he will judge
fthe world in righteousness 'by
Hhe man whom he hath ordained ;
whereof he hath given assurance
unto all men, in that he hath
raised him from the dead .
1 Or, religious. 2 Or, to the untinoTun
God. 8 Or, sanctuaries, i Or, thai
which is divine. 5 Some ancient au
thorities read, declareth to tnen. 6 Gr.
ihe inhabited earth. 1 Gr. in. B Or.
a man.

Anglo-American Revision. 491
NOTES ON THE VARIATIONS.
?. 22. It is to be deplored that the American rendering has not been adopted, for
although Hooker rfenders someway religious, of which the text with the alternative
rendering is a sort of compromise, there is no doubt that d£l6l8oc\flOV£6TefiOVi
is a much stronger term, importing something like leplus religieux de peu pies (Renan),
or very devout (Lardner), or unusually religious (Farrar). v. 23. along., considerably
better than by, for the Apostle had with an observant look (CK^ttSfOOpoS'*') wan
dered through the city {8lEfiXOfXBVO%), hence the propriety of observed which
brings out the graphic (XVOL\ To an unknown God, adopted by Bengel, De Wette,
Meyer,. Davidson, etc., is more correct than the in A. V., but that rendering de
serves a place in the raargin on account of the well-known practice of the Atheni ins
to erect altars to the unknown gods. See Pausanias. What . . . in ignorance, this
reading, o . . . , TOVTO^ is sustained by Cod. Sin. A. B. D., Origen, Jerome, and
the best critical editions; its real form amounts to unconscious adoration (Farrar),
or though ye know him not (Conyb. and Howson). v. 24. he, being is stronger than
the rendering in A. V., the force of VTtOCpX^^ indicating original lordship, v. 25.
served by, a vast improvement on worshipped with, the reference being not to acts of
spiritual worship, but to offerings carried to the altar. Himself, emphatic, v. 26. the
addition blood, OU^IOLT 0'^^ is wanting in the Cod. Sin. A. B., the Coptic, Sahidic, etc.
V 27 God, deoVj the better reading, supported by Sin. A. B. L., and the best criti
cal editions, v. 28. even, a felicitous rendering of HCtl in this place, v. 29. The mar
ginal alternative that which is divine, i. e., the Divine, or Deity, answering to TO
QsiOVf shows the more accurate scholarship of tlie Revisers as compared with the
rendering of the A. V. v. 30. Therefore, a decided improvement, as well as over
looked, in place o{ winked at, a singularly infebcitous metaphor of the A. V.
ROMANS V. 12-21.
lb 1 1. 188 1,
12 Wherefore, as by one man sinne Therefore, as through one man 12
entred into the world, and death sin entered into the world, and
by sinne: and so death passed death through sin; and so death
vpon all men, ^for that all haue passed vnto all men, for that all
sinned. sinned:
13 For vntill the Law sinne was in — for until the law sin was in the 13
the world: but sinne is not im- world: but sin is not imputed
puted where there i i no Law, when there is no law.
14 Neuerthelesse, death reigned Nevertheless death reigned from 14
from Adam to Moses, euen ouer Adam until Moses, even over
them that had not sinned after them that had not sinned after
the similitude of Adams trans- the /z^<?«^jj of Adam's transgres-
gression, who is the figure of him sion; who is a figure of him that
that was to come: was to come.
15 But not as the offence, so also is But not as the trespass, so also 15
the free gift, for if through the [is) the free gift. For if by the

492

The English Versions.

offence of one, many be dead:
much more the grace of God,
and the gift by grace, {which is)
by one man lesus Clirist, hath
abounded vnto many.
J 6 And not as (it was) by one that
sinned (so is) the gift, for the
iudgement was by one to con
demnation: but the free gift is
of many offences vnto iustifica
tion.
1 7 For if -fliiy one mans offence, death
raigned by one, much more they
K';48'c4receiue abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousnes,
shall reigne in life by one, lesus
Christ.
lii Therefore as ^by the .offence of
one., (iudgment) came i/pon .all
men to ccmdemnation.: euen .so
by the righteousnes of one, (the
free gift) came vpon all men vn
to iustification of life.
19 For as by one mans disobedience
many were made sinners; so ^i
the obedience of one, shall many
be made nighteons.
20 Moreouer, the Law entred, fhat
the effence might abound: but
where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound.
21 That as sinne hath reigned vn-
ta death; euen so might grace
reigne thorow righteousnes vnto
etemall life, by lesus Christ our
Lord. 1 Or, in whom.
a Or, by one offence.
• 0,r, ont righteousnes.

trespass of the one the many
died, much more did the grace
of God, and the gift by /Af grace
af the one man, Jesus Christ,
abound unto the many.
And not as through one that 16
sinned (so) is the gift: for the
judgement (came) of one vnto
condemnation, but the free gift
(came) of many trespasses linto
i^justificatiou.
For if, by the trespass ofthe one, 1 7
death reigned through the one;
much more shall they that re
ceive the alxmdance of grace and
2of the gift of righteousness reign
in life through the one (even) Je
sus Christ.
So then as through one trespass 18
(the judgement came) unto all
men to condemnation: even so
through one act cf righteousness
(the free gift came) unto all men
te justification of life.
For as through the one man's 19
disobedience/^^ many were raade
sinners, even so through the obe
dience of the one shall the many
be made righteous.
And 3the law came in beside, 20
that the trespass might abound;
but where sin abounded, grace
did abound more exceedingly:
tliat as sin reigned in death, even 21
so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Gr. an act ^righteousness.
I Some ancient authorities omit of
thtgift. « Or, law.

An(;lo-Amkrican Revision. 493

NOTES ON THE VARIATIONS.
This is confessedly a very difficult passage of a very difficult epistle, and-the manner
in which with comparatively few changes, simply by strict attention to the force of
prepositions, the Greek and English idioms, in inflections of the verb, and the use of
the article, the obscurity and vagueness of the A. V. have been removed, entitles the
Revisers to well-merited praise. The Apostle's reasoning in the New Version is as
clear as a bell, and the felicities ofthe rendering are singularly marked in the supple-
nientnl parts. It is simply a masterly translation.
V. 12. Therefore, not so strong as v}herefore, which is the proper rendering of CCpOt
OT (Xf)(X OWf Ellicott recommends fof- this cause, SlCX. TOVTOy through, as the
ui>.form rendermg ofStOLy adds much to the force of the passage, and clears many
d faculties; unto f/5, a great improvement on tipon; siniied, though theologically
not without difficulty (see Theodoret in loc.), is preferable to have sinned. \. 14 like-
ness, a restoration ofa good word used by Wiclif. v. 15. trespass, TiOLpdLltTCaifxCCy
a much better word than offence, chosen by the Genevan and Rhemish translators as
preferable to Tyndale's synne, and Wiclifs ^jft^, (compare v. 19); the one, ihe ?nany,
here and throughout this passage, shows how much help to the right understanding of
the sense has been derived from the proper treatment of the article, ihe majiy, of
course, denote all -mankind: died, an important correction of the old rendering,
v. i6. The proper translation oi through one (Si kvd%) in place of ^_j' one, and ofik^)
in place ofthe inconsistent by and qf in the same verse of the A. V,, with the consis
tent introduction of the supplemental words, has done much to clear this very difficult
verse, v. 18. The retention of the common supplement TO Kfn^iOC hyivBTO,
and ro X^P'^^f-^^ hyeVETOj is interpretation (Ellicott) and not translation, but
that scholar's recommendation of Winer's suggestion to supply the neutral OCTtijil]^
res cessit, abiit in, etc., and to render "it came unto all men to justification, even so
through one righteous act it came, etc.," did not prevail (cf. Winer, Ed. Masson,
p. 609; Ellicott on Revision, p. 134); one act qf righteousness, a slfght Hebraistic
change of the one righteous act recommended by Alford, Ellicott, Jowett, Davidson,
Tholuck, Riickert, De Wette, and others, is a vast gain. v. 20. And . . . came in be'
side. Si TtO^pSldi^XBsv y an admirable rendering, recommended by the best com
mentators, such as Alford, De Wette, Meyer, Riickert, Van Hengel. It was doubtless
strong conservatism that retained abound, abound more exceedingly, and failed to
mark the difference between hltKB OV (X.6 B.V y increased or multiplied, and vitEp-
TtSpidijEvdEV y superabundavit sjipra ¦m.odum (Schleussner), abounded more ex
ceedingly. V. 21. in death, kV y a decided gain over unto.
The examination of these three representative passages, es
tablishes in the judgment of the writer the great superiority
ofthe New Version over the Authorized Vers'ion, and justifies
the praise he is constrained to accord to it. Adverse criticism
is easy, especially when it deals in vague generalities, or in
dulges in sweeping assertions. If the faulters of the New
Version will undertake to furnish one that is better, they will
find it the hardest task they ever took in hand.

494 The English Versions.
This translation, on the sole grounds of its great fidelity to
the original, its purity, its noble and classical language, and
its wonderful skill (with the exceptions stated) in presenting
very frequently the finer shades of the Greek thought in idi
omatic English, is sure to win its way into the hearts and
minds of those for whose benefit it has been made.
The Revisers conclude their Preface in these words:
Thus, in the review of the work which we have been permitted to com
plete, our closing words must be words of mingled thanksgiving, humility,
and prayer. Of thanksgiving, for the many blessings vouchsafed to us
throughout the unbroken progress of our corporate labours; of humility,
for our failings and imperfections in the fulfilment of our task; and
of prayer to Almighty God, that the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ may be more clearly and raore freshly shewn forth to all
who shall be readers of this Book.
Jerusalem Chamber,
Westminster Abbey,
M ith November. 1880.

KoTE—The Rev. Dr. Krauth. whose death is noticed fage 4S9. was a member
pfthe 0!d Testament Company if ike American Revision Committee.

THF. KND.

GENERAL INDEX.

Abbott, Prof., in American Bible
Revision, 389.
iElfric, I, II, 15, 17, 18.
Aiken, Prof., in American Bible
Revision, 400.
Ainsworth, The Five Books of Mo
ses, etc., 412.
Aldhelm, abbot. Liber Psalmorum,
9-
Aleander, Lexicon Grtsco-Latinum,
Alford, H., The Mew Testament,
etc., 436.
Alfred, bishop. Lord's Prayer in
Anglo-Saxon, 7.
Alfred, king, a translator of the Bi-
ble. S.
Allen, Williain, a translator of the
Rhemish New Testament, 293.
American Bibles, List of, 365.
American Bible Society, 366.
American Bible Union. The Com
mon Version, etc., 434.
American Literature on Revision,
448.
Anderson, Annals of the English
Bible, passim.
Andrewe, bp., Tortura Torti, 293.
Anglo-American Revision of the
Authorized Version, 442.
More authorities, 442.
Parliamentary action, 442.
Lightfoot's Sermon, 442.
Row's proposal, 444.
Separate works : Gell, 445 ; Ross,
445; Reasons, etc., /[Hi,;S}yxxi-
onds, 446; Burges, 446; abp.
Lawrence, 446; Reasons why,
etc., 446; Wemyss, 446; J. B.

Burgess, 446; Todd, 446; Scriv
ener, 446; Scholefield, 446; Ma.
lan, 446; Harness, 446; Slater,
446; Selwyn, 447; Cumming,
447; llifif, 447; Trench, 447;
Beard, 447; Christian Remem
brancer, 447; Taylor, 447; Bi
ber, 447; McCaul, 447; H. Bur-
gess, 447; Philalethes, 447;
Ellicott, 448; Lightfoot, 448.
Anglo-Am. Bibl. Rev., 448.
American Literature on Revision,
448.
Controversy on merits of the N.
T., 448.
History of the Revision, 449.
Official documents, 449.
Co-operation of American schol
ars, 452.
Official action in America, 452.
Lists of the Revisers, 455.
Date of Publication, 459.
Title of the volume, 460.
Contents, 460.
The Preface, 460.
The Greek Text, 460.
Textual status of Matth. vi. 13
and I Tim. iii. 16 illustrated,
461.
Changes introduced: i. Required
by a change of reading in the
Greek text, 465; 2. Required
to remove inaccurate render
ings, 466; 3. Required to clear
obscure and ambiguous render
ings, 467; 4. Required to es
tablish consistency, 469; 5. Re
quired by consequence, 472.
Language, 473.
More changes desired by the
American revisers, 473.

496

General Index.

Treatment of proper names, 474.
The marginal notes, 474.
Italics, 476.
Paragraphs, 476.
Metrical arrangement, etc., 476.
Punctuation, 477.
Collation of Rom. xv. 18—25 '" "^'^
A. V. and the Revision, 477.
Omission of summaries, chapter-
headings, and parallel refer
ences, 478.
Nature of adverse criticisms, 480.
Renderings less felicitous than
those of the Authorized Ver
sion, 480.
Compromise and concession, 481 .
Examples of shortcomings, 482.
Grammar, 483.
The Appendix, 484.
Classes of passages preferred by
the American Committee, 484.
Specimens, 486.
Collation, with notes, ou Matth.
vi. 5-15, 487; Acts xvii. 22-31,
489; Rom. V. 12-21, 491.
Estimate, 493.
Conclusion, 494.
Anglo-Saxon Versions, I.
Ruthwell Cross, 2.
Csedmon, Origin of Things, 3.
Aldhelm's and Guthlac's Psal
ter, 5.
Bede's, Ven., translations, 4, 5,
II.
Cuthbert's description of death of
Bede, ii.
King Alfred's translations, 6.
Versions of the Lord's Prayer,
7,8.
Semi-Saxon do., 8.
Gregory, Latin Gospels sent by
him to Augustine, 10.
Speciraens, Itala- Vulgate-Anglo-
Saxon, 10.
MSS. described, 11.
Specimen frora Heptateuch, 16.
Extracts frora /Elfric, 17.
Mutilated Decalogue, 19.
Printed Scriptures, 19.
Anglo-Saxon compared with oth
er tongues, 25.

Collation of versions, 2 1 .
Anglo-Saxon and Old English
compared, 23.
Anglo-Saxon helps, 26.
Anselm, Gloss Interlineary, 68.
Authorized Version, 338.
Historical notice of origin of the
Version, 338.
Account given in the Preface,
339-
Correspondence on the subject,
340.
Order agreed upon for translat
ing the Bible, and biographi
cal notices of the translators,
342, sqq.
Set of instructions, 347 .
Instruction No. 15, 349.
Particulars from the Preface, 349,
sqq.
Selden's account of the transla
tors' method, 356;
The sarae examined, 356.
Text of the account of the Eng
lish delegates to Synod ol
Dort, 358.
Expense of the translation, 359.
Title of edition of 1611, 359.
No evidence of its being tiuthor-
ized, 360.
Pi-elirainary matter,, 360.
Iraportant editions, 361, sqq.
Errata, 362.
The Cambridge Paragraph Bi
ble, '364.
Araerican editions, 365.
Italic type, 366.
Collation relating thereto, 368.
Authorized and unauthorized mat
ter, 369.
Examples of alternative render
ings, 369, sqq.
Parallel References, 372.
Their number, and arithmetical
statement of the contents of
the A. v., 372.
Punctuation, 373.
Chapter headings, 374.
The work of the several <:ompa-
nies examined, 375.
Illustrations, 376.

General Index.

497

Example analyzed, 376.
Influence of the Vulgate, Luther,
and Tremellius, 377.
Several examples with analyses
and notes, 378.
Critical Estimate of the Apocry
pha, 379.
Collation, Vulgate-Tremellius-A.
v., 379-
Felicitous renderings, 382.
The sarae Greek word translated
by different English words,
383-
The predominance of Saxon, 383.
Estimate of the Version by Sel
den, Table Talk, 356; Fuller,
Church History; Walton, Con
sider ator, etc. ; Lowth, Introd.
to English Grammar; British
Critic; Middleton, On the Gr.
Article, 384; White, Sermon;
Whittaker, Hist, and Crit.
Enq.; Doddridge, Works;
Taylor, Scheme, etc. ; Geddes,
Prospectus, 385; Beattie, in
Forbes, Life of Beattie ;<Z\i.x\e,
Preface to Commentary ; New
man, Dr., cited by Dr. Eadie,
386.
Critical apparatus used by the
translators, 387.
Their Greek text, 388.
Collation, Vulgate-Tremellius-A.
v., 389-
The use of modern vereions, 390.
Nature and origin of improve
ments on fornier versions, 391.
The Bishops' Bible and K. V.,
variants illustrated and anal
yzed, 393, sqq.
Examples of alleged blemishes,
398-
In the Old Testament, 399, sqq.
In the New Testaraent, 406, sqq.
Attempted revision and emenda
tion of the version by Brough
ton, 411; Ainsworth, 412^
Canne; Fox; Beausobre and
L'Enfant; Mace, 413; Father
Simon, 414; Whiston, 415;
Purver, 4x6; Wynne, 417;

Doddridge, 417; Harwood,
418; Lowth, 418; Blayney,
419; Campbell, 420; Wake
field, 420; Newcome, 421;
Scarlett, 421; Macrae, 423;
Evanson, 424; Thomson 424;
Socinian version, 426; Thomp
son, 426; Bellamy, 427; G.
Campbell - Doddridge - Mac
Knight, 427; A.Campbell, 428;
Nourse, 428; Coit, Dickinson,
429; N. Webster, Penn, Lee,
430; Norton, Sawyer, 431;
Wellbeloved, 432; Five, and
Four Clergymen, Heinfelter,
433 ; Bagster, Ara. Bible Union,
434; Alford,436; Noyes, Tisch
endorf, 437; Davidson, McClel
lan, 438; JuUa E. Smith, 439;
Cheyne, etc., 440; Gotch, etc..
Revised English Bible,Ta.ylox,
Rotherham, 441.

B.
Baber, Historical Account, 39, 42,
75-
Bagster, Critical New Testament,
etc., 434.
Bale, Script, ill. maj. Brit., 162,
197.
Barrows, M., Wiclifs Place, 42.
Beard, ] ., ^ revised English Bible,
447-
Beattie's estiraate of A. V., 386.
Beausobre and L'Enfant's Gospel
of St. Matthew, 413.
Bede, Ven., Hist., 3; account of
hira, 10.
Bellamy, John, The Holy Bible,
etc., 427.
Benson, Vocabulary, 26.
Biber, G. E., A Plea, etc., 447.
Biblical notes and Queries, 90.
Bibliotheca Sacra, 359.
Bingham's Orig. Eccl., 238.
Bishops' Bible, 265.
Why the version was made, 265.
Abp. Parker takes the initiative,
265.

498

General Index.

"Observations respected of the
translators," 266.
Strange views of some of their
number, 267.
Initials and naraes of the revis
ers, 268, sqq.
Lawrence's name omitted, 270.
The Revision completed, 270.
Parker's letter to the queen, 270.
Injunctions, 270.
Tlie same disregarded, 271.
Editions, 271.
The first edition described, 272.
The second edition, 273.
Singular classification ofthe bks.,
274.
Order of the books, 274.
Parker's preface, 275.
Merits of the version, 275 .
Collations, 276.
Critical value of the version, 277.
'Ls.vixexice's Notes of Errors, 278.
Collation with former versions,
280.
Correctionsin Galatians and Ephe
sians, 281.
Specimens of renderings, 282.
Marginal notes, 282.
The Apocrypha, 284.
Broughton's criticisms, 284.
Collations with the Geneva ver
sion and the Great Bible, 285.
Collations with other versions,
287.
Collation of Ps. cxxx. in Great
Bible and Bishops' Bible, 290.
Gregory Martin's Discovery, 290.
Controversy between Martin and
Fulke, 290.
Blayney, Jeremiah and Lamenta
tions, 419.
Boker, Glossary, 403, 410.
Bosworth, B., several works on
Anglo-Saxon, 26.
Bosworth and Waring, Gothic and
Anglo-Saxon Gospels, 20, 25,
76.
Breeches' Bible, origin of the name,
246.
Bristow, Richard, account of, 294.
British Critic, 384.

Broughton, Hugh, faults the Bi
shops' Bible, 484.
Specimen of his version, 411.
Budseus, Instil. Grammat., 85.
Burges, G., Letter to bp. of Ely,
etc., 446.
Burgess, H., Revision, etc., 447.
Burgess, J. B., Reasons in favour,
etc., 446.
Burnet, Records, 210; Reforma.
tion, 239.

Csedmon, account of, 3, 4.
Csesar, J., Prof., Correspondence
with. III, 114.
Cambridge Paragraph Bible, 364.
Campbell, A., Sacred Writings,
428.
Campbell, G., The Four Gospels,
420.
Campbell, G., The New Testament,
427.
Canne, The Holy Bible, 413.
Carpenter, Ne%v Testament, 325.
Carridre, Literal Commentary, 300,
^ 315-
Caryl, Psalms, 326.
Cavendish, Lif e of Wolsey, 122.
Caxton, Polychronicon, 38.
Challoner, Revised New Testament,
322, 325-
Cheke, Sir John, account of, 234;
his translation, 234.
Christian Annotator, 70.
Christian Remembrancer, Revis
ion, 447.
Cochlfeus, account of, 83, 85.
Coit, T. W., The Holy Bible, etc.,
429.
Comparative Tables, xiv., sqq.
Complutensian Polyglot, 118.
Condit, History of the English Bi
ble, 16, 148.
Controversy on the merits of the
Revised New Testament, 448.
Corson, H., Handbook, 26.
Cotton, Rhemes and Doway, 318
and passim.

General Indi^x

499

Coverdale's Bible, etc., 149.
Biographical notice, 149.
Cromwell's interest, 150.
Edition of 1535, 150.
Where printed ? 152.
Anne and Jane, 153.
Nicolson editions, 154.
Diglot New Testaments, 156.
Collations, 157, sqq.
Merits of Coverdale's Version.
^ »59-
Subsequent labors, 159.
Tanner's Latin account, 161.
Bale's, 162.
Analyses, 162.
Collation of Pagninus, Ziirich,
Cov., 164.
Extract from fragment (1535),
167.
Collation with German Bibles,
167.
The Combination Bibles, 167.
How far a secondhand version,
167.
I'he eclectic principle, l58.
Specimens ofhis notes, 169.
The excellence of the version,
170.
Idiosyncrasies, 170.
The Psalter in the Book of Cora
mon Prayer, Coverdale's ver
sion, 171.
Specimen of a ghostly psalm,
171.
Literal transcripts frora Tyndale,
171.
Tyndale and Coverdale, 172.
Differences in the editions of 1535
and 1537, 173.
Prayers introduced, 173.
See also Great BiUe.
Craik, English Literature, 29.
Cranmer's Bible, see Great Bible.
Craston, Greek Dictionary, 85 .
Cromwell, see Tyndale, Coverdale,
and Great Bible.
Cumming, J., Bible Revision and
Trains lation, etc., 447.
Curtis, T., On the existing Monop
oly, etc., 365.

D.
Davidson, S., The New Testament^
etc., 438.
Decalogue, Anglo-Saxon, 6, 16, 18;
Mutilated Latin, 79.
Dickinson, R., A new and corrected
Version, etc., 429.
Doddridge, Phil., estimate of A.V.,
385.
A New Translation, 417.
The New Testament, 427 .
Douay Bible, see Rhemes New Tes
tament.
Durham Book, account of, 13.
E.
Eadfride, an Anglo-Saxon writer,
7. H-
Eadie, Dr. John, The English Bi
ble, passim.
Earliest English Versions, 27.
The Ormulum, 28.
The Sowlehele, 32.
Metrical Psalms, 33.
WiUiam de Schorham, 34.
Richard Rolle (Hampole) 34.
Prose versions of the Psalms, 35 .
Sundry specimens, 36.
Purport of these translations, 37.
John de Trevisa, 38.
Literature, 38.
Ellicott, bp., Considerations, etc.,
448.
Elstob, A. S. Grammar, 26.
EngUsh Bible during the last five
years of Henry VIII., and un
der the reigns of Edward VI.
and Mary, 230.
Meeting of Convocation, 230.
Gardiner's proposals, 230.
Reaction, 231.
Anecdote of Edward VI., 232.
Injunctions, 232.
Editions of the Scriptures, 233.
Sir John Cheke's translations,
234-
Account of him, 235.
Specimens, 236.
Bonner's mandate, 237.

500

General Index.

English Hexapla, 39, 75.
English Retraced, 255.
Epistle to the Laodiceans, 73.
Erasmus, Epist., 77; EncMrid.
Milit., "jcj, passim.
Evanson, E.. A New Testament,
424. F.
P'armen and Owen, Rushworth
Gloss, 14.
Forshall and Madden, Wicliffite
Versions, 34, passira.
First American edition of the Au
thorized Version, 419.
Five Clergymen, The Gospel ace.
to St. John, etc. 433.
Four Clergymen, Galatians, etc.,
433-
Fox, F., The New Testament, 413.
Foxe, Monuments, see Tyndale,
passim.
Freherus, Paul, Thealrum, 84.
Frith, see Tyndale.
Fry, F. Tyndale's Version, 100,
and passira,
Fulke, Defence, etc., 154, and pas
sim.

Geddes, A., on Tyndale's version,
41.
The Holy Bible, 328.
Prospectus, 385.
Gell, R., Essay towards amend
ment, etc., 376, 445.
Genevan version, 239,
The English Exiles, 239.
Difference between the New Tes
taments of 1557 and 1560, 240.
Calvin's epistle, 340.
Examples with notes, 242.
A revision of Tyndale's version,
244.
The Bible of 1560, 245.
Helps used by the translators,
249.
Co'.lations, 250.
Great Bible —Genevan, 251.
Great Bible— Genevan — Lyons,
251-

Lawrence Thomson, 252.
Collation, 253.
Beza, 254.
Genevan renderings in A.V., 254
Peculiarities, 255.
The notes, 235.
Edinburgh Reprint, 256.
Examples with collations and
notes, 257, sqq.
Contents other than the text, ta
bles, etc., 262.
Specimens of The Arguments,
263.
Gilman, E. W. , in Bibliotheca Sa
cra, 361.
Gilpin, Life of Wiclif,. 42.
Glossa Ordinaria, 68.
Goodwin, James, edition of Sir John
Cheke's version, 234.
Gotch, F. W., and others. Revised
English Bible, etc. , 441 .
Great Bible, 201.
Account of the undertaking, 201.
First edition of 1539, 204.
Holbein's title-page, 204.
Contents, 206.
Division of the volume, and cu
riosa, 206.
Comment on the engraving, 207.
Helps and sources, 209.
The different editions, 210.
Cromwell's and Cranmer's Bi
bles, 210.
Collations illustrating the eclectic
character of the version; He
brew — Vulgate — Luther — Zfl-
rich — Matthew — Coverdale —
Monster — Great Bible, 211,
sqq.
Second example, 214.
Influence of other versions, 217,
sqq.
Coverdale's revision of his own
work, 218.
Cranmer's prologue, 220.
Cranmer's Bible, account of, 222.
Prayer Book version of the Psal
ter, 223.
Collation of passages from both
versions, 225.
Tlie last editions, 227.

General Index.

501

Supplication of the Poor Com
mons, 228.
The royal proclamations, 229.
Green, Dr., in Anglo-American Re
vision, 400, 401, 403.
Gregory's Gospels, 10.
Grote, Professor, MS., 373,.4.
Guthlac, A. S. Psalter,, 5, 8!
Gwilt, Rudiments, 26.
H.
Halle, Chronicle, loi.
Hampole, see Rolle.
Hardwicke, Ch., St. Matthew in A.
S., IS, 21.
Harness, W., The State of the En
glish Bible, 446.
Harwood, E., A Liberal Transla
tion, 418.
Haydock. Bible, 325.
Heinfelter,!!., A Literal Transla
tion, etc., 433.
Helfenstein, Compar. Grammar, 26.
Henley, Orator, Grammar, 26.
Henshall, Samuel, Durham Book,
14-
Heptateuch, 15, 19.
Hereford, Nicolas de, version, 44,
49> 56-
Hexapla, English, 241.
Hickes, Linguarum, etc., 26.
Hilles, Rd., his letter to BuUinger,
159-
Hody7 De Bibl. Text., 40, 77.
Home, Introduction, passim.
I.
Iliff, F., A Plea, etc., 447.
Ingram, Short Grammar, 26.
J-
Jerome, S., cited, 338, 350.
Tohnson, Historical Account, 38.
Josephus, cited, 350.
Joye, Apology, 100.
Account of him, 127, sqq.
His writings, 132.
JuJeb, Leo, Paraphrase on Rev.,
234-

K.
Keeling, Lit. Brit., 237.
Kemble, John, on Runic inscrip.
tion, 2.
Four Anglo-Saxon Versions, 15.
Kenrick, bp.. The Four Gospels,
etc., 334.
Knyghton, on Wiclif, 43.
L.
Lascaris, Creek Grammar, 85.
Lawrence, abp.. Remarks, etc., 446.
Lawrence, Notes of Errors, etc.,
277.
Le Bas, on Wiclif, 42.
Lechler, Johannes von Wiclif, 42.
Lee, S., The Book of the Patriarch
Job, etc., 430.
Le Long's erroneous description ol
Tyndale's version, 88.
I^enox, J., Early Editions, otc,
360, I.
Leonard, H. C, Translation, etc.,
22.
Lewis, Translations, etc.. passim.
Lightfoot. Life of Broughton, 272,
284, s.
Lightfoot, Sermon on Revision,
442.
Lightfoot, \}f.. On u Fresh Revis-
ion, etc., 448.
Lingard, Dr., A New Version,
etc., 333.
Literature. Anglo-Saxon versions, 7.
MSS, II.
Printed editions, 19.
Helps, 26.
Early English versions, 38.
Wiclifite versions, 66.
MSS., 66.
Printed editions, 75.
Tyndale, 98.
Earliest editions, 98.
Antwerp, " 126.
Latest " 134.
Collations, 147.
Coverdale, 161.
Tanner's list ofhis works, 161,
Matthew's Bible, 174.

502

General Index.

Taverner's Bible, 194.
Great Bible, 203.
Cromwell's, 203.
Cranmer's, 210, 222.
Last editions, 227.
Period from last five years of
Henry VIII. to Mary, 233.
Editions published, 233.
Sir John Cheke's translations,
234-
Genevan version, 240.
New Testament of 1557, 240.
Bible of 1560, 245.
First Bible printed in Scotland,
1561, 256.
Bishops' Bible, editions of, 271.
Rhemes New Testaraent and
Douay Bible, 295.
New Testament of 1582, 295.
Bible of 1610, 309.
Works relating to it, 317.
Editions raade from it, 318.
Authorized Version, 359.
First editions, 359.
Chief later editions, 363.
American editions, 365.
Works on revision and emen
dation, 410.
Anglo-American Revision, 442.
Works bearing on Revision,
411, sqq., 445, sqq.
Official documents referred to,
449> 452, sqq.
Loth, Etym. A. -S. -Engl. Gram
matik, 26,
Lowth, bji.. Int. to Engl. Gram
mar, 384.
New 'Translation of Isaiah, 418.
Luther, M., Prof, ad Rom., 193.
Lye, Dictionarium, etc., 26.
M.
Mace, The New Testament, etc.,
413-
Macknight New Translation, etc.,
90, 427.
Macrae, Revised Translation, etc.,
423-
McCaul, A. , Reasons for holding
fast, etc., 447.

McClellan, J. B., The New Testa
ment, etc., 438.
Malan, C. S., A Vindication, etc.,
¦+46.
Manning, A. S. Grammar, 26.
Manuscripts: Anglo-.Saxon, 11.
Early English, 27-38.
Wiclifite, 66.
Tyndale, see Tyndale, passim.
Pepys, 73.
Grote, Professor, 373, 4.
English State Papers, etc., passim.
Marbecke, J., Lyues, etc., 272.
Mareschall and Junius, The Gos
pels, etc., 7, 20.
Marsh, G. P., Lectures, etc., pas
sim.
Martin, 0.,A Discoverie, 290, 294,
308.
Matthew's Bible, 174.
Collation of edition of 1537, 174.
Notice of John Rogers, 176.
John Rogers and Thomas Mat
thewe, 177.
The initials R. G. and E. W.,
178.
Cost of the work, 178.
Its publication, 178.
Its composite nature, 179.
Tyndale's share in it, 180.
The labors of Rogers, 181.
Tyndale's Jonah, 182.
Collation of Tyndale's and Cov
erdale's Jonah, 182.
Collation, Luther — Ziirich — He
brew — Coverdale, 183.
Close agreement of Matthewe and
Tyndale, 184.
Collations, Tyndale — Matthew —
Coverdale, 185.
Minor collations, 186.
Specimens of the notes, 186.
Antipapal notes, 191.
Agreement of New Testament in
Matthew's Bible and Tyndale's
N. T. of 1535, 192.
Introduction of Luther's Pro.
logue to the Romans, 192.
Meteren, van, connected with Cov
erdale, 152.

General Index.

503

Michel, F., edition of old French
version, 53.
Middleton, Estimate of A. V., 384.
More, sir Thomas, 27, 83, 104, 124.
Moulton, Prof., History of the Bi
ble, passim.
Munster, Seb., Hebrew Grammar,
118.
His version, 209.
Murray, D., Bible, etc., 333, 338.
N.
Nary, C, The New Testament,
etc., 104, 326.
Newcome, 'View, etc., 39.
An Attempt, etc., 421.
Newman, estimate of A. V., 386.
Norton, A., A Translation, etc.,
431-
Nourse, J., The New Testament,
etc., 4^8.
Noyes, G. R., The New Testa
ment, etc., 437.
o.
O'Callaghan, List of Editions, etc.,
419.
Orm, account of, 28.
Ormulum, 28.
Origin of Things, 3, 4-

Packard, Prof-, 'ixi Anglo-American
Bible Revision, 402.
Pagninus, S., version, 118, 209.
Parker, Constitut., 81.
Parliamentary action concerning re
vision, 442.
Pearson, see Coverdale, passim.
Peck, Desiderata Curiosa, 357.
PeUican, Hebrew Grammar, 118.
Penn., CJ., The Book of the New
Covenant, etc., 430.
reliy» MS., 73.
Philalethes, The English Bible, etc.,
447-
Plumptre, in D'lct. of the Bible,
passim.

Possevin, A., Apparatus Sacr., 293.
Procter, Common Prayer, 215.
Purnay, A. S. version in MS., 66.
Purver, New and Literal Transla
tion, etc., 416.
Purvey, Prologue, 45.
Examples of his revision, 55, 6, 7.
R.
Rabbinical Bible, 117.
Raske, Grammar, etc., 2, 26.
Reasons for revising, etc., 445.
Reasons why u new translation,
etc., 446.
Reliquce Antiques, 8.
Report of Select Comm. House of
Commons, 365.
Report on Hist, and Rec. Collation
of English Bibles, N. Y., 366.
Reuchlin, Hebrew Dictionary, it8.
Revisers, Lists of, 455.
Revision of the Authorized Version,
see Anglo-American Revision.
Rhemes New Testament and Dou.iy
Bible, 293.
Account ofthe translators, 293.
New Testament of 1582, 294.
The preface, 295.
Reasons for preference of the Vul
gate tothe Greek text, 297.
Modes of rendering, 297.
Critical reasons for their prefer
ence, 299.
Examples of characteristic render
ings, 300.
Examples of dependence on Wic
lif. 302.
Examples of general rendei in g.s,
303-
Redeeming features, 305.
Further illustrations, 306.
Animus of the notes, 307.
The English Bible "the devil's
worde," 308.
Interchange of compliments by
Martin and Fulke, 308.
The Old Testament, 309.
The title, 309.
The preface, 310.
Collation of two infallible edi
tions of the Vulgate, 312.

S04

General Index.

Origin of the text of the Douay
Bible, 313.
Examples, 313.
Specimens of the notes, 316.
Literature, 317.
Anecdote of Mary Queen of Scots,
317- , .
Collation, showing the relation
of different R. C. versions to
the A. v., 318.
Collation of different R. C. edi
tions, 320.
Account of R. C. versions, 325.
Caryl's Psalms, 326.
Nary's New Testament, 326.
Witham's New Testament, 327.
Troy's Bible, 327.
Geddes' Bible, 328.
Murray's Bible, 333.
Lingard's Gospels, 333.
Kenrick's Version, 354.
Ward's Errata, 337.
Rolle, Richard (Hampole), Psalter,
34-
Ross, H., All Essay, etc., 445.
Rotherham, J. B-, The New Tes
tament, etc., 441.
Row, John, Proposal, 444.
Rupertus Tuitensis, account of,
85-
Rushworth Gloss, 14.
s.
Sawyer, L. A., The Neiv Testa
ment, etc., 431.
Scarlett, A Translation, 421.
Scholefield, ]., Hints for an im
proved translation, etc., 446.
Schorham, William de, his transla
tion, 34.
Scrivener, Dr., Int. to Camb. Par.
Bible, 359, 360.
Greek New Testament, 389.
A Supplemtiit, etc., 446.
Seidell, John, Table 'Talk. 356, 379.
Selwyn, VV., Notes on the Proposed
Amendment, etc., 447.
Semi-Saxon, spiicimcns of, 8.
Simon, Father, The Nciv Testa
ment, etc., 414.

Skeat, W. W., An|lo-Saxon Gos
pels, 21.
Slater, E., Biblical Revision, eic,
446.
Smith, Julia E., The Holy Bible,
etc., 439.
Socinian version, 426.
Somner, Vocabulary, 26.
Sowlehele, 32.
Spalatin, Diary, 106, 7.
Speed, John, Genealogies, etc., 361.
Stanley, Eastern Church, 325.
Stevens, Henry, TAf Bibles in the
Caxton Exhibition, 152.
Stevenson, Jos., Anglo-Saxon Gos
pels, 15.
Stow, History, 161.
Strabo, Walafrid, Glossa Ordina
ria, 68.
Stratmann, D'lft. ofOldEnglish, zo.
Sti-ype, ^orks, passim.
Surtees Psalter, 49.
Symonds, John, Observatioits, etc.,
446. T.
Tanner's List, 150, 161.
Taverner's Bible, 194.
Biograpliical notice, 194.
Account of the Bible, 196.
Dedication, 196.
Nature of the version, 197.
Inflnence of the Vulgate, I98.
Improvements in the Old Testa
ment, 198'.
Changes in the New Testament
retained in A. V., 199.
Collation, Tyndale — Taverner,
200.
Taylor, E., The New Testament,
etc., 447.
Taylor, John, Dr., Scheme, etc.,
385-
Taylor, John, The Emphatic New
Tes tament, 'ele, 441.
Thomas, Is., History of Printing
in America, 419.
Thompson, The New Testament,
etc., 436.
Thomson, Ch., The Holy Bible.
etc., 424.

General Index.

505

Thorpe, B., Works on Anglo-Saxon
Literature, 9, 16, 20.
Thwaites, Ti., Heptateuch, I, 16, 19.
'Tischendorf, C, The New Testa
ment, etc., 437.
Todd, Vindication, etc., 357.
Toller, T. N., Anglo-Saxon Dic
tionary, 26.
Townley, Bibl. Literature, passim.
Trench, R. C, On the Authorized
Version, etc., 447, 448.
Trevisa, John de, 38.
Troy, Dr., The Holy Bible, etc.,
327-
Turton, Test of the English Bible,
365-
Tyndale's version, 77.
Historical notice, 77.
Ignorance of the monks, 77.
Reception of Erasmus' New Tes
tament in England, 77.
Early hfe of Tyndale, 78.
Inaccuracy of the inscription on
his picture, 78.
Was he with Luther? 83.
Hamburg — Roye, 84.
His helps, 84.
His departure for the Continent,
82.
Cologne, 85.
CochlEeus, 86.
Arber's Fragment, 86.
Worms, 87.
Prologue to the New Testament,
87.
Character of the version, 88.
Influence of Luther, 89.
Not dependent on the Vulgate,
90.
Tyndale's knowledge of Greek,
92.
His English, 93.
Collation, Vulgate— Wiclif— Lu
ther — Tyndale, 93.
Hacket, 99.
Different editions, 100.
Joye, 100.
Tonstal's visit to Antwerp, loi.
Controversy with sur T. More,
102.
Movements on the Continent, lOJ.

The pseudonyme Hutchins, 105.
Entry in Spalatin's Diary, 106.
Hermann von dem Busche, 107.
Marlborowe in the lande of Hesse,
107.
Absurd account of Foxe, 108.
He never was at Marburg, 107.
Correspondence on the subject,
no.
His knowledge of Hebrew, 115.
The Pentateuch, 121.
The Pamphlets, 122.
Anne Boleyn and Mrs. Gains-
ford, 122;
.Stephen Vaughan, 122.
Answer to Sir 'P. More's Dia
logue, 123.
The Prophet Jonah, 125.
Account of Frith, 126.
Later editions ofthe N. T., 126.
Tyndale and Joye, 128.
Joye's Works, 132.
Tyndale's corrections, 132.
His betrayal and martyrdom,
134-
PecuUar spelling m edition oi
'S35. 136.
Erasmus on the Brabant gov
ernraent, 137.
The New "Testaraent of 1536, 140.
Estimate ofhis character, 141.
Examples of his version, 142.
Collation of different editions, 146.
Idiosyncrasies, 147.
u.
UdaU, Nicholas. 234.
Usher, Hist. Dogmat., 18, 38.
V.
Variorum, The Holy Bible, etc.,
440.
Vaughan, on Wiclif, 42. .
Vaughan, Stephen, 122, sqq.
W.
Wakefield, G., Translation, etc.;
420.
Walker, Life of John Bois, 357.

5o6

General Index.

V/alter, Prof., see Tyndale, passim.
Walton, Considerator Considered,
384-
Wanley, Catalogue, etc., 12.
Ward's Errata, 330, 337.
Waring, G.. St. John, in Anglo-
Saxon, 15.
Warton, Hist, of English Poetry,
32-
Watson, bishop. Collect, of Theol.
Tracts, 39.
Watson, Annals of Philadelphia,
425.
Webster, N., The Holy Bible, etc.,
43°-
Webster, W., Translation of Fa
ther Simon's New Testament,
414.
Wellbeloved, C, and others. The
Holy Scriptures, etc., 432.
Wemyss, T., Biblical Gleanings,
etc., 446.
Westcott, ]?rof.. General View,
etc., passim.
Whiston, I^imitive New Testa
ment, 415.
Whittaker, Ilist. and Crit. En
quiry, 385.
Whitaker, Hist, of Richmond, 149.
White, Dr., Sermon, 385.
Wiclifite versions, 40.
Biographical notice of John Wic
lif, 40.
His version the first English vex-
%ioxi published, 42.
Knyghton quoted, 43.

The version made from the Vul
gate, 44.
Order of the books, 44.
Nicholas de Hereford, 44.
Purvey's revision, 45.
Principles of translation, 45.
Wiclif's style, 48.
Collations and examples, 49.
Latin — Hereford — A. V., 49.
Old French— Old English, 53.
Wiclif, 54.
Purvey's revision, 55.
Hereford — Purvey, 57.
Purvey with notes, 57.
Anglo-Saxon — Latin — Wiclif—
Purvey — A. V., 59.
Wiclif— Vulgate, 64.
Wiclif and sundry MSS., 67.
Characteristics, 69.
Influence on the Authorized Ver.
sion, 71.
Epistle to the Laodiceans, 73.
Editions of Wiclif, 75.
Wilkins, English Councils, 125,
210, 341.
Wiseman, cardinal, in Dublin Re
view, 319.
Witham, Dr., Annotations, etc.,
327-
Wood, Athenie, 194, 196, 245.
Worthington, Thomas, reputed au
thor of notes in Douay Bible,
294.
Wyatt, Memoir, 122.
Wynne, R., The New Testament,
etc. 417.

INDEX TO LONGER PASSAGES, COL
LATED, ILLUSTRATED, OR
EXPLAINED.

GENESIS.
ii. 18-23 (iii.)  18
" 21-24  427
iii. 1-7  258
xxxvii. 31-36  64
xliii. 11-14  416
xlv. 1&-14, 25  330
xlv. 26-28 (Comp. Table)  xiv
EXODUS.
XV. 1-22  54
XX. 3 sqq.  ; . . .6, 16, 18, 19
NUMBERS.
xvi. 28-30  .^ . . . . 142
XX. 1-3  250
xxiv. 15-17  164
" 15-19  184
DEUTERONOMY.
V. 7-9  68
vi. 6-9  IIS
xxxii. 2  425
JUDGES.
V. 2S-30  211
2 SAMUEL.
xxiii. 1-4  332
" 3.4  287
I KINGS.
xix. 5-7  180
JOB.
21.3'??  377
six. 25-27  258
" •«  287
«• "  425

PSALMS.
ii- «  35
xix  332
" 8.9. >3  3«4
xxiu  3^
"  214
xlvi  ;  57
lvii. 9-12  314
lxvi. (Ixvii.)  171
lxxxiv. 1-3  378
lxxxix  35
" 1-8  411
xcv  412
c  33
ciii. 1-12  9
" "  49
" •'  S3
" "  SS
cix. (ex.)  320
ex  288
"  393
cxxx  290
PROVERBS.
^i-lsqq  435
xvii, 1  216
ECCLESIASTES.
xi. 5  216
aij-S  57
" 6  23
ISAIAH.
ix.5  316
xii. 1,2  425
" 1-6  .... 165
xxvi. 19-21  259
" "  287
"  394
li. 6  186

5o8

Index to Longer Passages.

lii. 1-3  288
" "  395
liii. 1-5  419
" 5  ii6
lx. 1-3  186
lxii. 8, 9  419
JEREMIAH.
V. I sqq  420
LAMENTATIONS.
1.4  412
DANIEL.
iii. 3-5  412
ix. 18 f;;  316
JONAH.
ii  182
iv. 6  166
•• "  183
MICAH.
vi.2,6-8  376
ZECHAiRIAH.
ix, 16  216
MALACHI.
i. 10, II  389
iv  167
vi. 1-3  250
2 ESDRAS.
viii. 19-31  379
WISDOM.
viL IS  ,  251
ECCLESIASTICUS.
xix. 1-6  259
xidv. 14-18  288
«' " ,,,,  396
2 MACCABEES.
xii. 45,45  260

ST. MATTHEW.
i.i  66
17 J??  23s
ii. 16..  236
iii. 1-12  300
" 3-J7  86
" 4-12  280
V. 16  467
" 22  465
" 29, 30  21
vi  132
"5-15  487
"9-13  421
"13  ¥>\
vii. 14-22  236
¦viii. 1-13  59
" 1-13  142
" 23-^7  6s
Xlii. 31,32  23
xiii.— xxviii  200
xiv. 22-26  438
XV. 5-9  436
" 26,27  :  483
xvi. 13-20  439
" 23  468
xix. 17  465
xxiv. 41  ,  10
xxvii. 32  10
xxviii. 57~6o  427
ST. MARK.
i. 9-13  236
vi. 14-25  422
ix. 42-44  172
xii. 13-17  23
" 3S-40 Us.....  , . ' 470
xiv. 1-7-3  416
" 17-26  302
ST. LUKE.
i. l^  242
"5  66
i. 26-35  322
iii. 23  468
vi. 20-26  72
X. 30  67
xi. 42-46  436
xii. 49-52  289
<• "  397
xiii. 34. 35  ^4

Index to Longer Passages.

509

XV. 7, 10  172
" 8  10
" 11-24  93
XX. 46, 47 to  470
ST. JOHN.
i. 6-12 (Comp. Table)  xviii
i. i-S  420
" " ,  421
" "  426
" 6-12  426
" 19-28  36
ix. 17  468
X. 14-16  260
" "  285
xix. 8-12  433
XX. 16  465
ACTS.
iv. 4  468
XV. 36-41  143
xvii. 14 sqq  414
" 22-31  489
" 22-34  72
xxiii. 3-5  144
xxvii. 40  468
ROMANS.
i. 25  217
ii. 1-8  144
iv. 25  218
V. 12-15  257
" 12-21  '.  491
" IS  ¦•• 217
viii. 5-8  65
" 15-17  398
ix. 5  420
" "  426
xi. 17-21  390
xii. I, 2  172
" 1-3  97
XV. 18-24  477
I CORINTHIANS.
iv. 1-4  427
viii. I, 2  67
" 7  467.
xi. 28-34  466

xiv. 20  466
XV. 27, 28  ;  470
" 51-53  144
2 'CORINTHIANS.
V. 11-15  285
GALATLVNS.
1. 10  218
" I-IO  243
Corrections in the epistle  281
EPHESIANS.
Corrections in the epistle  281
PHILIPPIANS.
i. 23  217
I TIMOTHY.
iii. 16  217
" " bis  421
" "  426
" "  462
ST. JAMES.
i- 13  217
I ST. PETER.
ii. 21  465
iii. 1-7  261
" "  286
" 7-12  144
z ST. PETER.
iii. 2  465
I ST. JOHN.
i. I-IO  14s
iii. I-IO  157
V. 13  467
V. i6-2i  158
REVELATION.
ii. 8-11  253
" 12-17  "46
xix. 1-5  422
xxii. 14  465

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