,transcribed from the #aija ,society for
 ,promoting ,christian ,knowledge       
edition by ,david ,price1 email         
ccx#jgdpglaf4org            ,addresses  
on the ,revised  ,version of ,holy      
,scripture4                             
,,by                            ,c4 ,j4 
,,ellicott1 ,d4,d41                     
,,bishop ,,of ,,gloucester1             
,,and ,,hon4 ,,fellow ,,of ,,st4        
,,john',s ,,college1 ,,cambridge4       
,,published ,,under ,,the ,,direction   
,,of ,,the ,,tract ,,committee4         
,,london3                  ,,society    
,,for ,,promoting ,,christian           
,,knowledge1         ,,northumberland   
,,avenue1 ,w4,c42 #dc ,,queen ,,victoria
 ,,street1 ,e4,c4                       
,,brighton3 #abi ,,north ,,street4      
,,new ,,york3 ,e4  ,j4 ,b4 ,,young      
,,co4                                   
#aija4          ,,prefatory ,,note4     
,the following ,addresses form the      
,charge to the ,archdeaconry of         
,cirencester at the ,visitation held at 

the close of ,october in the present    
year4  ,the object of the ,charge1 as   
the opening words and the tenor of  the 
whole will abundantly indicate1 is      
seriously to suggest the question1      
whether the time has not now arrived for
 the more general use of the  ,revised  
,version at the lectern in the public   
service of the ,church4                 
,c4 ,j4 ,,gloucester4    ,october1      
#aija4          ,,contents4             
,,page              ,,address ,i4       
,,early ,,history ,,of ,,revision       
#e                  11 ,,ii4  ,,later   
,,history ,,of ,,revision               
#ag                 11 ,,iii4  ,,hebrew 
,,and ,,greek ,,text                    
#dh                  11 ,,iv4  ,,nature 
,,of ,,the ,,renderings                 
#ha                   11 ,v4  ,,public  
,,use ,,of ,,the ,,version              
#aag            ,,address ,i4  ,,early  
,,history ,,of ,,revision4      ,as     
there now seem to be sufficient grounds 
for thinking that ere long the  ,revised

 ,version of ,holy ,scripture will      
obtain a wider circulation and  more    
general use than has hitherto been      
accorded to it1 it seems  desirable that
 the whole subject of the ,revised      
,version1 and its use in  the public    
services of the ,church1 should at last 
be brought formally  before the clergy  
and laity1 not only of this province1   
but of the whole  ,english ,church4     
,twenty years have passed away since the
 appearance of the ,revised ,version  of
 the ,new ,testament1 and the           
presentation of it by the writer of     
these  pages to the ,convocation of     
,canterbury on ,may #ag1 #ahha4  ,just  
four more  years afterwards1 viz4 on    
,april #cj1 #ahhe1 the ,revised ,version
 of the ,old  ,testament was laid before
 the same venerable body by the then    
,bishop of  ,winchester 7,bp4 ,harold   
,browne71 and1 similarly to the ,revised
 ,version of  the ,new ,testament1 was  
published simultaneously in this country
 and  ,america4  ,it was followed1 after

 a somewhat long interval1 by the       
,revised  ,version of the ,apocrypha1   
which was laid before ,convocation by   
the writer  of these pages on ,february 
#ab1 #ahif4    ,the revision of the     
,authorised ,version has thus been in   
the hands of the  ,english-speaking     
reader sixteen years1 in the case of the
 ,canonical  ,scriptures1 and five years
 in the case of the ,apocrypha--periods 
of time  that can hardly be considered  
insufficient for deciding generally1    
whether1 and to what extent1 the        
,revised ,version should be used in the 
public services of the ,church4    ,i   
have thus thought it well1 especially   
after the unanimous resolution of  the  
,upper ,house of the ,convocation of    
,canterbury1 three years ago #f1  and   
the very recent resolution of the ,house
 of ,laymen1 to place before  you the   
question of the use of the ,revised     
,version in the public services  of the 
,church1 as the ultimate subject of this
 charge4  ,i repeat1 as the  ultimate   

subject1 for no sound opinion on the    
public use of this version  can possibly
 be formed unless some general knowledge
 be acquired1 not  only of the          
circumstances which paved the way for   
the revision of the  time-honoured      
version of #afaa1 but also of the manner
 in which the  revision was finally     
carried out4  ,we cannot properly deal  
with a  question so momentous as that of
 introducing a revised version of ,god's
  ,holy ,word into the services of the  
,church1 without knowing1 at least in   
outline1 the whole history of the       
version which we are proposing to       
introduce4  ,this history then ,i must  
now place before you from its very      
commencement1 so far as memory and a    
nearly life-long connexion with the     
subject enable me to speak4    ,the     
true1 though remote fountain-head of    
revision1 and1 more  particularly1 of   
the revision of the ,new ,testament1    
must be regarded as  the grammar written
 by a young academic teacher1 ,george   

,benedict ,winer1  as far back as #ahbb1
 bearing the title of a ,grammar of the 
,language of  the ,new ,testament4  ,it 
was a vigorous protest against the      
arbitrary1 and  indeed monstrous licence
 of interpretation which prevailed in   
commentaries on ,holy ,scripture of the 
eighteenth and nineteenth  centuries4   
,it met with at first the fate of all   
assaults on prevailing  unscientific    
procedures1 but its value and its truth 
were soon  recognized4  ,the volume     
passed through several successively     
improved  editions1 until in #ahee the  
sixth edition was reached1 and issued   
with a  new and interesting preface by  
the then distinguished and veteran      
writer4  ,this edition formed the basis 
of the admirable and admirably          
supplemented  translation of my lamented
 and highly esteemed friend ,dr4        
,moulton1 which  was published in #ahgj1
 passed through a second edition six    
years  afterwards1 and has1 since that  
time1 continued to be a standard        

grammar1  in an ,english dress1 of the  
,greek ,testament down to this day4     
,the claim that ,i have put forward for 
this remarkable book as the             
fountain-head of revision can easily be 
justified when we call to memory  how   
very patently the volume1 in one or     
another of its earlier editions1  formed
 the grammatical basis of the           
commentaries of ,de ,wette and ,meyer1  
and1 here in ,england1 of the commentary
 of ,alford1 and of critical and        
grammatical commentaries on some of ,st4
 ,paul's ,epistles with which my own    
name was connected4  ,it was to ,winer  
that we were all indebted for that      
greater accuracy of interpretation of   
the ,greek ,testament which was         
recognized and welcomed by readers of   
the ,new ,testament at the time ,i      
mention1 and produced effects which had 
a considerable share in the  gradual    
bringing about of important movements   
that almost naturally  followed4        
,what came home to a large and          

increasing number of earnest and        
truth-seeking readers of the ,new       
,testament was this--that there were    
inaccuracies and errors in the current  
version of the ,holy ,scriptures1  and  
especially of the ,new ,testament1 which
 plainly called for  consideration and  
correction1 and further brought home to 
very many of us  that this could never  
be brought about except by an           
authoritative  revision4    ,this       
general impression spread somewhat      
rapidly2 and soon after the  middle of  
the last century it began to take       
definite shape4  ,the subject  of the   
revision of the ,authorised ,version of 
the ,new ,testament found a  place in   
the religious and other periodicals of  
the day #aj;a1 and as the  time went on 
was the subject of numerous pamphlets1  
and was alluded to  even in ,convocation
 #aj;b and ,parliament #aj;c4  ,as yet  
however there had  been no indication of
 the sort of revision that was desired  
by its  numerous advocates1 and fears   

were not unnaturally entertained as to  
the  form that a revision might         
ultimately take4  ,it was feared by many
 that  any authoritative revision might 
seriously impair the acceptance and     
influence of the existing and deeply    
reverenced version of ,holy  ,scripture1
 and1 to use language which expressed   
apprehensions that were  prevailing at  
the time1 might seriously endanger the  
cause of sound  religion in our ,church 
and in our nation4    ,there was thus a 
real danger1 unless some forward step   
was quickly and  prudently taken1 that  
the excitement might gradually          
evaporate1 and the  movement for        
revision might die out1 as has often    
been the case in regard  of the ,prayer 
,book1 into the old and wonted          
acquiescence of the past4    ,it was    
just at this critical time that an      
honoured and influential  churchman1 who
 was then the popular and successful    
secretary of the  ,society for the      
,propagation of the ,gospel1 ,rev4      

,ernest ,hawkins1  afterwards ,canon of 
,westminster1 came forward and persuaded
 a few of us1  who had the happiness of 
being his friends1 to combine and       
publish a  version of one of the books  
of the ,new ,testament which might      
practically  demonstrate to friends and 
to opponents what sort of a revision    
seemed  desirable under existing        
circumstances4  ,after it had been      
completed we  described it as a         
tentamen1 a careful endeavour1 claiming 
no finality1  inviting1 rather than     
desiring to exclude1 other attempts of  
the same  kind1 calling the attention of
 the ,church to the many and anxious    
questions involved in rendering the     
,holy ,scriptures into the vernacular   
language1 and offering some help towards
 the settlement of those  questions #ab4
    ,the portion of ,scripture selected 
was the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,john4
  ,those who undertook the revision were
 five in number3--,dr4 ,barrow1 the     
then ,principal of ,st4 ,edmund's ,hall1

 ,oxford2 ,dr4 ,moberly1 afterwards     
,bishop of ,salisbury2 ,rev4 ,henry     
,alford1 afterwards ,dean of            
,canterbury2  ,rev4 ,w4 ,g4 ,humphry1   
,vicar of ,st4 ,martin's in the ,fields2
 and lastly1 the  writer of this charge4
  ,mr4 ,ernest ,hawkins1 busy as he was1
 acted to a  great extent as our        
secretary1 superintended arrangements1  
and encouraged  and assisted us in every
 possible manner4  ,our place of meeting
 was the  library of our hospitable     
colleague ,mr4 ,humphry4  ,we worked in 
the  greatest possible harmony1 and     
happily and hopefully concluded our     
,revision of the ,authorised ,version of
 the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john in the month 
of ,march1 #aheg4    ,our labours were  
introduced by a wise and attractive     
preface1 written  mainly by ,dr4        
,moberly1 in the lucid1 reverent1 and   
dignified language  that marked         
everything that came from the pen of the
 late ,bishop of  ,salisbury4    ,the   
effect produced by this tentamen was    

indisputably great4  ,the work  itself  
was of course widely criticized1 but for
 the most part favourably  #ac4  ,the   
principles laid down in the preface were
 generally considered  reasonable1 and  
the possibilities of an authoritative   
revision distinctly  increased4  ,the   
work in fact became a kind of object    
lesson4    ,it showed plainly that there
 were errors in the ,authorised ,version
 that  needed correction4  ,it further  
showed that their removal and the       
introduction of improvements in regard  
of accuracy did not involve1  either in 
quantity or quality1 the changes that   
were generally  apprehended4  ,and      
lastly1 it showed in its results that   
scholars of  different habits of thought
 could combine in the execution of such 
a work  without friction or difficulty4 
,in regard of the ,greek text but little
 change was introduced4  ,the basis  of 
our translation was the third edition of
 ,stephens1 from which we only  departed
 when the amount of external evidence in

 favour of a different  reading was     
plainly overwhelming4  ,as we ourselves 
state in the preface1  our object was to
 revise a version1 not to frame a text4 
,we should  have obscured this one      
purpose if we had entered into textual  
criticism4    ,such was the tentative   
version which prepared the way for      
authoritative  revision4    ,more need  
not be said on this early effort4  ,the 
version of the ,gospel of  ,st4 ,john   
passed through three editions4  ,the    
,epistles to the ,romans and            
,corinthians appeared in #aheh1 and the 
first three of the remaining  ,epistles 
7,galatians1 ,ephesians1 and            
,philippians7 in #ahfa4  ,the third     
edition of the ,revision of the         
,authorised ,version of ,st4 ,john was  
issued  in #ahfc1 with a preface in     
which the general estimate of the       
revision was  discussed1 and the        
probability indicated of some           
authoritative procedure  in reference to
 the whole question4  ,as our little    

band had now been  reduced to four1 and 
its general aim and object had been     
realized1 we did  not deem it necessary 
to proceed with a work which had        
certainly helped  to remove most of the 
serious objections to authoritative     
revision4  ,our  efforts were helped by 
many treatises on the subject which were
 then  appearing from time to time1 and1
 to a considerable extent1 by the       
important work of ,professor1 afterwards
 ,archbishop1 ,trench1 entitled ,on  the
 ,authorised ,version of the ,new       
,testament in connexion with some recent
  proposals for its revision4  ,this    
appeared in #aheh4  ,after the close of 
our tentative revision in #ahfc1 the    
active friends 7as they may be  termed7 
of the movement did but little except1  
from time to time1 confer  with one     
another on the now yearly improving     
prospects of authoritative  revision4   
,in #ahfi ,dean ,alford published a     
small handy revised version of  the     
whole of the ,greek ,testament1 and1 a  

short time afterwards1 ,i  published a  
small volume on the ,revision of the    
,english ,version1 in  which ,i sought  
to show how large an amount of the fresh
 and vigorous  translation of ,tyndale  
was present in the ,authorised ,version1
 and how  little of this would ever be  
likely to disappear in any              
authoritatively  revised version of the 
future4  ,some estimate also was made of
 the amount  of changes likely to be    
introduced in a sample portion of the   
,gospels4  ,a  few months later1 a very 
valuable volume 7,on a ,fresh ,revision 
of the ,new  ,testament7 was published  
by ,professor1 afterwards ,bishop1      
,lightfoot1  which appeared most        
seasonably1 just as the long-looked-for 
hope of a  revision of the ,authorised  
,version of ,god's ,holy ,word was about
 to be  realized4    ,all now was ready 
for a definite and authoritative        
commencement4  ,of  this1 and of the    
later history of ,revision1 a brief     
account will be given  in the succeeding

 ,address4          ,,address ,,ii4     
,,later ,,history ,,of ,,revision4      
,we are now arrived at the time when    
what was simple tentative and           
preparatory passed into definite and    
authoritative realization4    ,the      
initial step was taken on ,february #aj1
 #ahgj1 in the ,upper ,house of  the    
,convocation of ,canterbury4  ,the      
,bishop of ,oxford1 seconded by the     
,bishop of ,gloucester1 proposed the    
subjoined resolution1 which it may be   
desirable to give in the exact words in 
which it was presented to the  ,house1  
as indicating the caution with which it 
was framed1 and also the  indirectly    
expressed hope 7unfortunately not       
realized7 of the concurrence  of the    
,northern ,convocation4  ,the resolution
 was as follows3        ,that a         
committee of both ,houses be appointed1 
with power to confer      with any      
committee that may be appointed by the  
,convocation of the      ,northern      
,province1 to report upon the           

desirableness of a revision of      the 
,authorised ,version of the ,new        
,testament1 whether by marginal         
notes or otherwise1 in those passages   
where plain and clear errors1           
whether in the ,hebrew or ,greek text   
originally adopted by the               
translators1 or in the translations made
 from the same1 shall on due            
investigation be found to exist4    ,in 
the course of the debate that followed  
the resolution was amended by  the      
insertion of the words ,old and1 so as  
to include both ,testaments1  and1 so   
amended1 was unanimously accepted by the
 ,upper ,house1 and at once  sent down  
to the ,lower ,house4  ,after debate it 
was accepted by them1 and1  having been 
thus accepted by both ,houses1 formed   
the basis of all the  arrangements1     
rules1 and regulations which speedily   
followed4    ,into all of these it is   
not necessary for me to enter except so 
far as  plainly to demonstrate that the 
,convocation of ,canterbury1 on thus    

undertaking one of the greatest works   
ever attempted by ,convocation  during  
its long and eventful history1 followed 
every course1 adopted  every expedient1 
and carefully took every precaution to  
bring the great  work it was preparing  
to undertake to a worthy and a          
successful issue4    ,it may be well1   
then1 here briefly to notice1 that in   
accordance with the  primary resolution 
which ,i have specified1 a committee was
 appointed of  eight members of the     
,upper ,house1 and1 in accordance with  
the regular  rule1 sixteen members of   
the ,lower ,house1 with power1 as       
specified1 to  confer with the          
,convocation of ,york4  ,the members of 
the ,upper ,house were  as follows3 the 
,bishops of ,winchester 7,wilberforce71 
,st4 ,davids  7,thirlwall71 ,llandaff   
7,ollivant71 ,salisbury 7,moberly71 ,ely
 7,harold  ,browne1 afterwards of       
,winchester71 ,lincoln 7,wordsworth2 who
 soon after  withdrew71 ,bath and ,wells
 7,lord ,arthur ,hervey71 and myself4   

,the members of the ,lower ,house were  
the ,prolocutor 7,dr4 ,bickersteth1     
,dean  of ,lichfield71 the ,deans of    
,canterbury 7,alford71 ,westminster     
7,stanley71  and ,lincoln 7,jeremie72   
the ,archdeacons of ,bedford 7,rose71   
,exeter  7,freeman71 and ,rochester     
7,grant72 ,chancellor ,massingberd2     
,canons  ,blakesley1 ,how1 ,selwyn1     
,swainson1 ,woodgate2 ,dr4 ,jebb1 ,dr4  
,kay1 and ,mr4 ,de  ,winton4    ,before1
 however1 this committee reported1 at   
the next meeting of  ,convocation in    
,may1 and on ,may #c and ,may #e1 the   
following five  resolutions1 which have 
the whole authority of ,convocation     
behind them1  were accepted unanimously 
by the ,upper ,house1 and by large      
majorities in  the ,lower ,house3       
#a4  ,that it is desirable that a       
revision of the ,authorised ,version    
of the ,holy ,scriptures be undertaken4 
#b4  ,that the revision be so conducted 
as to comprise both marginal            
renderings and such emendations as it   

may be found necessary to      insert in
 the text of the ,authorised ,version4  
#c4  ,that in the above resolutions we  
do not contemplate any new              
translation of the ,bible1 nor any      
alteration of the language1 except      
where1 in the judgement of the most     
competent scholars1 such change      is 
necessary4        #d4  ,that in such    
necessary changes1 the style of the     
language      employed in the existing  
version be closely followed4        #e4 
,that it is desirable that ,convocation 
should nominate a body of      its own  
members to undertake the work of        
revision1 who shall be at      liberty  
to invite the co-operation of any       
eminent for scholarship1 to             
whatever nation or religious body they  
may belong4    ,these are the           
fundamental rules of ,convocation1 as   
formally expressed by  the ,upper and   
,lower ,houses of this venerable body4  
,the second and third  rules deserve our
 especial attention in reference to the 

amount of the  emendations and          
alterations which have been introduced  
during the work of  revision4  ,this    
amount1 it is now constantly said1 is   
not only excessive1  but in distinct    
contravention of the rules which were   
laid down by  ,convocation4  ,a         
responsible and deeply respected writer1
 the late ,bishop  of ,wakefield1 only a
 few years ago plainly stated in a      
well-known  periodical #ba that the     
revisers largely exceeded their         
instructions1  and did not adhere to the
 principles they were commissioned to   
follow4  ,this is a very grave charge1  
but can it be substantiated8  ,the      
second and  third rules1 taken together1
 refer change to consciously felt       
necessity  on the part of the most      
competent scholars1 and these           
last-mentioned  must surely be          
understood to be those who were         
deliberately chosen for  the work4  ,in 
the subsequently adopted rule of the    
committee of  ,convocation the criterion

 of this consciously felt necessity was 
to be  faithfulness to the original4    
,all then that can justly be said in    
reference to the ,revisers is this1--not
 that they exceeded their  instructions 
7a very serious charge71 but that their 
estimate of what  constituted           
faithfulness1 and involved the necessity
 of change1 was1 from  time to time1 in 
the judgement of their critic1 mistaken 
or exaggerated4  ,such language however 
as that used in reference to the changes
 made by  the ,revisers as unnecessary  
and uninstructive alterations1 and      
irritating trivialities1 was a somewhat 
harsh form of expressing the  judgement 
arrived at4    ,but to proceed4  ,on the
 presentation of the ,report it was     
stated that the  committee had not been 
able to confer with the ,northern       
,convocation1 as  no committee had been 
appointed by them4  ,it was commonly    
supposed that  the ,northern ,president 
7,abp4 of ,york7 was favourable to      
revision1 but the  two ,houses1 who at  

that time sat together1 had taken a very
 different  view #bb1 as our ,president 
informed us that he had received a      
communication from the ,convocation of  
,york to the effect that--,the          
,authorised ,version of the ,english    
,bible is accepted1 not only by the     
,established ,church1 but also by the   
,dissenters and by the whole of the     
,english-speaking people of the world1  
as their standard of faith2 and  that   
although blemishes existed in its text  
such as had1 from time to  time1 been   
pointed out1 yet they would deplore any 
recasting of its text4  ,that           
,convocation accordingly did not think  
it necessary to appoint a  committee to 
co-operate with the committee appointed 
by the ,convocation  of ,canterbury1    
though favourable to the errors being   
rectified4    ,this obviously closed the
 question of co-operation with the      
,northern  ,convocation4  ,we sincerely 
regretted the decision1 as there were   
many  able and learned men in the ,york 

,convocation whose co-operation we      
should  have heartily welcomed4  ,delay1
 however1 was now out of the question4  
,the working out of the scheme therefore
 had now become the duty of the         
,convocation that had adopted1 and in   
part formulated1 the proposed  revision4
    ,the course of our proceedings was  
then as follows3    ,after the ,report  
of the committee had been accepted by   
the ,upper ,house1  and communicated to 
the ,lower ,house1 the following        
resolution was  unanimously adopted by  
the ,upper ,house 7,may #c1 #ahgj71 and 
in due course  sent down to the ,lower  
,house3        ,that a committee be now 
appointed to consider and report to     
,convocation a scheme of revision on the
 principles laid down in the            
,report now adopted4  ,that the ,bishops
 of ,winchester1 ,st4 ,davids1          
,llandaff1 ,gloucester and ,bristol1    
,ely1 ,salisbury1 ,lincoln1 ,bath and   
,wells1 be members of the committee4    
,that the committee be empowered      to

 invite the co-operation of those whom  
they may judge fit from      their      
biblical scholarship to aid them in     
their work4    ,this resolution was     
followed by a request from the          
,archbishop that as  this was a         
committee of an exceptional character1  
being in fact an  executive committee1  
the ,lower ,house would not appoint1 as 
in ordinary  committees1 twice the      
number of the members appointed by the  
,upper ,house1  but simply an equal     
number4  ,this request1 though obviously
 a very  reasonable request under the   
particular circumstances1 was not       
acceded to  without some debate and even
 remonstrance4  ,this1 however1 was     
overcome  and quieted by the            
conciliatory good sense and firmness of 
the  ,prolocutor2 and1 on the following 
day1 the resolution was accepted by the 
,lower ,house1 and the ,prolocutor      
7,bickersteth7 with the ,deans of       
,canterbury 7,alford7 and ,westminster  
7,stanley71 the ,archdeacon of ,bedford 

7,rose71 ,canons ,blakesley and ,selwyn1
 ,dr4 ,jebb and ,dr4 ,kay1 were         
appointed  as members of what now may be
 called the ,permanent ,committee4      
,this ,committee had to undertake the   
responsible duty of choosing experts1   
and1 out of them and their own members1 
forming two ,companies1 the one  for the
 revision of the ,authorised ,version of
 the ,old ,testament1 the  other for the
 revision of the ,authorised ,version of
 the ,new ,testament4  ,rules had to be 
drawn up1 and a general scheme formed   
for the carrying  out in detail of the  
whole of the proposed work4  ,in this   
work it may be  supposed that           
considerable difficulty would have been 
found in the choice  of biblical        
scholars in addition to those already   
appointed by  ,convocation4  ,this1     
however1 did not prove to be the case4  
,i was at that  time acting as a kind of
 informal secretary1 and by the friendly
 help of  ,dr4 ,moulton and ,dr4 ,gotch 
of ,bristol had secured the names of    

distinguished biblical scholars from the
 leading ,christian bodies in  ,england 
and in ,scotland from whom choice would 
naturally have to be made4  ,when we met
 together finally to choose1 there was  
thus no lack of  suitable names4    ,in 
regard of the many rules that had to be 
made for the orderly carrying  out of   
the work ,i prepared1 after careful     
conference with the ,bishop of          
,winchester1 a draft scheme which1 so   
far as ,i remember1 was in the sequel   
substantially adopted by what ,i have   
termed the ,permanent ,committee of     
,convocation4  ,when1 then1 this        
,committee formally met on ,may #be1    
#ahgj1  the names of those to whom we   
were empowered to apply were agreed     
upon1  and invitations at once sent out4
  ,the members of the ,committee had    
already been assigned to their special  
companies2 viz4 to the ,old  ,testament 
,company1 the ,bishops of ,st4 ,davids1 
,llandaff1 ,ely1 ,lincoln 7who  soon    
after resigned71 and ,bath and ,wells2  

and from the ,lower ,house1  ,archdeacon
 ,rose1 ,canon ,selwyn1 ,dr4 ,jebb1 and 
,dr4 ,kay3 to the ,new  ,testament      
,company1 the ,bishops of ,winchester1  
,gloucester and ,bristol1 and           
,salisbury2 and from the ,lower ,house1 
the ,prolocutor1 the ,deans of          
,canterbury and ,westminster1 and ,canon
 ,blakesley4    ,those invited to join  
the ,old ,testament were as             
follows3--,dr4 ,w4 ,l4  ,alexander1     
,professor ,chenery1 ,canon ,cook1      
,professor ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson1 ,dr4  ,b4 
,davies1 ,professor ,fairbairn1 ,rev4   
,f4 ,field1 ,dr4 ,gensburg1 ,dr4 ,gotch1
  ,archdeacon ,harrison1 ,professor     
,leathes1 ,professor ,mc,gill1 ,canon   
,payne  ,smith1 ,professor ,j4 ,j4 ,s4  
,perowne1 ,professor ,plumptre1 ,canon  
,pusey1 ,dr4  ,wright 7,british         
,museum71 ,mr4 ,w4 ,a4 ,wright of       
,cambridge1 the active and  valuable    
secretary of the ,company4    ,of these 
,dr4 ,pusey and ,canon ,cook declined   
the invitation4    ,those invited to    

join the ,new ,testament ,company were  
as follows3--,dr4  ,angus1 ,dr4 ,david  
,brown1 the ,archbishop of ,dublin      
7,trench71 ,dr4 ,eadie1  ,rev4 ,f4 ,j4  
,a4 ,hort1 ,rev4 ,w4 ,g4 ,humphry1      
,canon ,kennedy1 ,archdeacon ,lee1  ,dr4
 ,lightfoot1 ,professor ,milligan1      
,professor ,moulton1 ,dr4 ,j4 ,h4       
,newman1  ,professor ,newth1 ,dr4 ,a4   
,roberts1 ,rev4 ,g4 ,vance ,smith1 ,dr4 
,scott 7,balliol  ,college71 ,rev4 ,f4  
,h4 ,scrivener1 the ,bishop of ,st4     
,andrews 7,wordsworth71  ,dr4           
,tregelles1 ,dr4 ,vaughan1 ,canon       
,westcott4    ,of these ,dr4 ,j4 ,h4    
,newman declined1 and ,dr4 ,tregelles1  
from feeble health  and preoccupation on
 his great work1 the critical edition of
 the ,new  ,testament1 was unable to    
attend4  ,it should be here mentioned   
that soon  after the formation of the   
company1 ,rev4 ,john ,troutbeck1 ,minor 
,canon of  ,westminster1 afterwards     
,doctor of ,divinity1 was appointed by  
the ,company  as their secretary4  ,a   

more accurate1 punctual1 and            
indefatigable  secretary it would have  
been impossible for us to have selected 
for the  great and responsible work4    
,on the same day 7,may #be1 #ahgj17 the 
rules for the carrying out of the       
revision1 which1 as ,i have mentioned1  
had been drawn up in draft were all     
duly considered by the committee and    
carried1 and the way left clear and     
open for the commencement of the work4  
,these rules 7copies of which will  be  
found in nearly all the prefaces to the 
,revised ,version hitherto  issued by   
the ,universities7 were only the        
necessary amplifications of the         
fundamental rules passed by the two     
,houses of ,convocation which have been 
already specified4    ,the first of     
these subsidiary rules was as           
follows3--,to introduce as few          
alterations as possible in the text of  
the ,authorised ,version  consistently  
with faithfulness4  ,this rule must be  
read in connexion  with the first and   

third fundamental rules and the comments
 ,i have  already made on those rules4  
,the second of the rules of the         
committee was as follows3--,to limit1 as
  far as possible1 the expression of    
such alterations to the language of  the
 ,authorised and earlier ,english       
versions4  ,this rule was carefully     
attended to in its reference to the     
,authorised ,version4  ,i do not however
  remember1 in the revision of the      
version of the ,new ,testament1 that we 
often fell back on the renderings of the
 earlier ,english versions4  ,they  were
 always before us3 but1 in reference to 
other versions where there  were        
differences of rendering1 we frequently 
considered the renderings of  the       
ancient versions1 especially of the     
,vulgate1 ,syriac1 and ,coptic1 and     
occasionally of the ,gothic and         
,armenian4  ,to these1 however1 the rule
  makes no allusion4    ,the third rule 
speaks for itself3--,each ,company to go
 twice over the  portion to be revised1 

once provisionally1 the second time     
finally1 and  on principles of voting as
 hereinafter is provided4    ,the fourth
 rule refers to the very important      
subject of the text1 and is  an         
amplification of the last part of the   
third fundamental rule4  ,the  rule of  
the committee is as follows3--,that the 
text to be adopted be  that for which   
the evidence is decidedly               
preponderating2 and that when  the text 
so adopted differs from that from which 
the ,authorised ,version  was made1 the 
alteration be indicated in the margin4  
,the subject of the  text is continued  
in the fifth rule1 which is as          
follows3--,to make or  retain no change 
in the text on the second final revision
 by the ,company  except two-thirds of  
those present approve of the same1 but  
on the  first revision to decide by     
simple majorities4    ,the sixth rule is
 of importance1 but in the ,new         
,testament ,company 7,i do  not know how
 it may have been in the ,old ,testament

 ,company7 was very  rarely acted       
upon3--,in every case of proposed       
alteration that may have  given rise to 
discussion1 to defer the voting         
thereupon till the next  meeting1       
whensoever the same shall be required by
 one-third of those  present at the     
meeting1 such intended vote to be       
announced in the notice  for the next   
meeting4  ,the only occasion on which ,i
 can remember this  rule being called   
into action was a comparatively         
unimportant one4  ,at  the close of a   
long day's work we found ourselves      
differing on the  renderings of tomb or 
sepulchre in one of the narratives of   
the  ,resurrection4  ,this was easily   
and speedily settled the following      
morning4    ,the seventh rule was as    
follows3--,to revise the headings of    
chapters and  pages1 paragraphs1        
italics1 and punctuation4  ,this rule   
was very  carefully attended to except  
as regards headings of chapters and     
pages4  ,these were soon found to       

involve so much of indirect1 if not even
 of  direct interpretation1 that both   
,companies agreed to leave this portion 
of the work to some committee of the two
 ,university ,presses that they  might  
afterwards think fit to appoint4  ,small
 as the work might seem to  be if only  
confined to the simple revision of the  
existing headings1 the  time it would   
have taken up1 if undertaken by the     
,companies1 would  certainly have been  
considerable4  ,i revised1 on my own    
account1 the  headings of the chapters  
in ,st4 ,matthew1 and was surprised to  
find how  much time was required to do  
accurately and consistently what might  
have  seemed a very easy and            
inconsiderable work4    ,the eighth rule
 was of some importance1 though1 ,i     
think1 very rarely  acted upon3 ,to     
refer1 on the part of each ,company1    
when considered  desirable1 to divines1 
scholars1 and literary men1 whether at  
home or  abroad1 for their opinions4    
,how far this was acted on by the ,old  

,testament ,company ,i do not know4  ,in
 regard of the ,new ,testament ,company 
the only instance ,i can remember1 when 
we availed ourselves of the rule1  was  
in reference to our renderings of       
portions of the twenty-seventh  chapter 
of the ,acts of the ,apostles4  ,in this
 particular case we sent our  sheets to 
the ,admiralty1 and asked the ,first    
,sea ,lord 7whom some of us  knew7      
kindly to tell us if the expressions we 
had adopted were nautically  correct4   
,i believe this friendly and competent  
authority did not find  anything amiss4 
,it has sometimes been said that it     
would have been  better1 especially in  
reference to the ,new ,testament1 if    
this rule had  been more frequently     
acted on1 and if matters connected with 
,english and  alterations of rhythm had 
been brought before a few of our more   
distinguished literary men4  ,it may be 
so2 though ,i much doubt whether in     
matters of ,english the ,greek would not
 always have proved the dominant        

arbiter4  ,in matters of rhythm it is   
equally doubtful whether much could     
have been effected by appealing to the  
ears of others4  ,at any rate we        
preferred trusting to our own1 and      
adopted1 as ,i shall afterwards         
mention1 a mode of testing rhythmical   
cadence that could hardly have been     
improved upon4    ,the concluding rule  
was one of convenience and common sense3
 ,that the  work of each ,company be    
communicated to the other1 as it is     
completed1 in  order that there may be  
as little deviation from uniformity in  
language  as possible4    ,all          
preliminaries were now settled4  ,the   
invitations were issued1 and1  with the 
exceptions of ,canon ,cook1 ,dr4 ,pusey1
 and ,dr4 ,newman1 were  readily        
accepted4  ,three or four names         
7,principal ,douglas1 ,professor        
,geden1 ,dr4 ,weir1 and1 ,i think1 ,mr4 
,bensley71 were shortly added to those  
already mentioned as invited to join the
 ,old ,testament ,company1 and1 in  less

 than a month after the meeting of the  
committee on ,may #be1 both  ,companies 
had entered upon their responsible work4
  ,on ,june #bb1 #ahgj1  both           
,companies1 after a celebration of the  
,holy ,communion1 previously  announced 
by ,dean ,stanley as intended to be     
administered by him in  ,westminster    
,abbey1 in the ,chapel of ,henry ,,vii1 
commenced the  long-looked-for revision 
of the ,authorised ,version of ,god's   
,holy ,word4  ,the ,old ,testament      
,company commenced their work in the    
,chapter ,library2  the ,new ,testament 
,company in the ,jerusalem ,chamber4    
,the number of the members in each      
,company was very nearly the same1 viz4 
twenty-seven in the ,old ,testament     
,company1 and1 in nominal attendance1   
twenty-six in the ,new ,testament       
,company4  ,in the former ,company1     
owing to  the longer time found         
necessary for the work 7fourteen years71
 there were  more changes in the        
composition of the ,company than in the 

case of the  latter ,company1 which     
completed its work three years and a    
half before  its sister ,company4  ,at  
the close of the work on the ,new       
,testament  7#ahhj71 the numbers in each
 ,company were twenty-six and           
twenty-five2 but  owing to various      
reasons1 and especially the distance of 
many of the  members from ,london1 the  
number in actual and regular attendance 
was  somewhat reduced as the years went 
onward4  ,how it fared with the ,old    
,testament ,company ,i cannot precisely 
state4  ,bishop ,harold ,browne1 after  
his accession to the ,see of            
,winchester1 was only able to attend    
twice or  three times after the year    
#ahge4  ,in that year ,bishop ,thirlwall
 died1 and  ,bishop ,ollivant ceased to 
attend1 but remained a corresponding    
member  till his death in #ahhb4        
,vacancies1 ,i am informed1 were filled 
up till  ,october #ahge1 after which    
date no new members were added4  ,the   
,company1  however1 worked to the very  

end with great devotion and assiduity4  
,the  revision occupied #gid days1 and  
was completed in eighty-five sessions1  
the greater part of which were for ten  
days each1 at about six hours a  day4   
,i can speak a little more exactly in   
reference to the ,new ,testament        
,company4  ,the time was shorter1 and   
the changes in the composition of the   
,company were fewer4  ,at the end of the
 work a record was made out of the      
attendances of the individual members   
#ce1 from which it was easy to  arrive  
at the average attendance1 which for the
 whole time was found to  be as much as 
sixteen each day4  ,the number of       
sessions was #aja of four  days each1   
and one of three days1 making a total of
 #djg days in all4  ,more than #a1bjj   
days were thus devoted to the work of   
the revision of the  ,authorised        
,versions of both ,testaments4  ,the    
first revision1 in the case  of the ,new
 ,testament lasted about six years2 the 
second1 two years and a  half4  ,the    

remaining two years were spent in the   
consideration of various  details and   
reserved questions1 and especially the  
consideration of the  suggestions1 on   
our second revision1 of the ,american   
,revisers1 of whose  work and connexion 
with the ,english ,revisers it will now 
be convenient to  speak4                
99 99 99 99 99    ,the idea of a        
connexion with ,america in the great    
work of revision was  nearly as early as
 the movements in ,convocation of which 
an account has  been given4  ,it appears
 that1 in the session of ,convocation in
 ,july1  #ahgj1 it was moved in the     
,lower ,house by ,lord ,alwyne ,compton 
7afterwards  and now ,bishop of ,ely7   
that the committee of ,convocation      
should be  instructed to invite the     
co-operation of some ,american divines4 
,this was  at once agreed to by both    
,houses1 and measures were taken to open
  communications with ,america4  ,the   
correspondence was opened by the acting 
,chairman of the ,new ,testament        

,company 7the present writer7 in a      
letter to  ,dr4 ,angus 7dated ,july #bj1
 #ahgj #cf7 who was about to visit the  
,united  ,states1 empowering him to     
prepare the way for definite action on  
the part  of ,american scholars and     
divines4  ,this he did in a letter      
7,historical  ,account1 p4 #ca7 sent    
round to ,american scholars1 and        
especially by  communication with ,dr4  
,philip ,schaff of the ,bible ,house at 
,new ,york1 who1  from the first1 had   
taken the deepest interest in the       
movement4  ,this  active and            
enterprising scholar at once took up the
 matter1 and operated  so successfully  
that1 as he himself tells us in his     
valuable and accurate  ,companion to the
 ,greek ,testament and the ,english     
,version 7,new ,york1  #ahhc71 a        
committee of about thirty members was   
formally organized ,dec4 #g1  #ahga1 and
 entered upon active work on ,oct4 #d1  
#ahgb1 after the first  revision of the 
,synoptical ,gospels had been forwarded 

by the ,new  ,testament ,company4       
,our ,old ,testament ,company was no    
less active and co-operative4  ,as they 
tell us in the ,preface prefixed to     
their revision1 the first revision of   
the several books of the ,old ,testament
 was submitted to the consideration  of 
the ,american ,revisers1 and1 except in 
the case of the ,pentateuch  7which had 
been twice gone through prior to        
co-operation7 the ,english  ,company had
 the benefit of their criticisms and    
suggestions before they  proceeded to   
the second revision4  ,the second       
revision was in like manner  forwarded  
to ,america1 and the latest thoughts of 
the ,american ,revisers  were in the    
hands of the ,english ,company at their 
final review4  ,both  our ,english      
,companies bear hearty testimony to the 
value derived from the  co-operation4   
,in the case of the ,new ,testament     
,company1 the care1  vigilance1 and     
accuracy which marked the work of their 
,american brethren  is distinctly       

specified4    ,but little more need be  
said of the ,american ,companies4  ,they
 were soon  fully organized1 and1 so far
 as can be judged by the results of     
their  work1 carefully and judiciously  
chosen4  ,the ,old ,testament ,company  
consisted of fifteen members1 ,dr4      
,green1 ,professor in ,princeton1 being 
,chairman3 the ,new ,testament          
,committee consisted of sixteen members1
 three  of those who had at first       
accepted having been obliged1 from      
ill-health  and stress of local duties1 
to resign4  ,dr4 ,woolsey1              
,ex-,president of ,yale  ,college1 was  
,chairman1 and ,bishop ,lee1 of the     
,diocese of ,delaware1 one of  the most 
faithful and valuable participators in  
the work1 a member of the  ,company4    
,dr4 ,philip ,schaff1 ,professor of     
,sacred ,literature in the ,union       
,theological ,seminary1 ,new ,york1 was 
also a member1 and was ,president of    
the whole undertaking1 ,dr4 ,george ,day
 of ,yale ,college1 a member of the     

,old ,testament ,company1 being the     
general secretary4  ,the two ,companies 
met every month 7except ,july and       
,august7 in two rooms in the ,bible     
,house1  ,new ,york1 but without any    
connexion with the ,bible ,society1     
which1 as in  ,england1 could only      
circulate the ,authorised ,version4     
,the ,american ,committee1 ,dr4 ,schaff 
tells us1 included representatives of   
nine different denominations1 viz4      
,episcopalians1 ,presbyterians1         
,congregationalists1 ,baptists1         
,methodists and1 to the extent of one   
member1 ,lutherans1 ,unitarians1 and    
,society of ,friends4  ,the ,episcopal  
,church of ,america was applied to by   
,bishop ,wilberforce with the request   
that they would take part in the        
revision3 this was declined4  ,the      
,american ,church however1 as we have   
already shown1 was not wholly           
unrepresented in the work4  ,the whole  
,committee was obviously much more      
mixed than the ,english ,committee2 but 

it must not be forgotten that  though   
the ,english ,companies were chosen by  
,episcopalians1 and  ,episcopalians1 as 
was natural1 greatly preponderated1     
nearly one-third of  the two ,companies 
were not members of the ,church of      
,england4  ,if we  assume that each     
,company consisted at any given time of 
twenty-five  members1 which1 as we have 
seen1 would be approximately correct1   
the  non-,episcopal members will be     
found to have been not less than        
sixteen1  viz4 seven ,presbyterians1    
four ,independents or                   
,congregationalists1 two  ,baptists1 two
 ,wesleyans1 and one ,unitarian4  ,be   
this however as it may1  it is certain  
that by the great blessing1 we may      
humbly say1 of ,god the  ,holy ,ghost1  
the greatest possible harmony prevailed 
in the work both here  and in ,america4 
,here1 as is well known1 this was the   
case2 and in  ,america1 to quote one    
only out of many similar witnesses1 one 
who was  himself a reviser1 and the only

 pastor in the ,company 7the ,old       
,testament  ,company71 thus gives his   
experience1 ,never1 even once1 did the  
odium  theologicum appear4  ,nothing was
 said at any time that required         
retraction or apology #da4    ,this     
brief notice of our ,american brethren  
may close with one further  comment4    
,their work began1 like ours1 with      
reliance on financial aid  from the many
 who would be sure to be interested in  
such an important and  long-desired     
work4  ,help in our case was at once    
readily proffered1 but  very soon was   
found not to be necessary1 owing to our 
disposal of  copyright to the ,presses  
of the two ,universities4  ,with the    
,american  ,revisers it was otherwise4  
,during the whole twelve years all the  
necessary expenses of travelling1       
printing1 room-rent1 and other          
accessories were1 as ,dr4 ,schaff       
mentions1 cheerfully contributed by     
liberal donors from among the friends of
 biblical revision4  ,there  remained1  

however1 a grave difficulty4  ,it was   
plainly impossible that  such           
distinguished men as those who formed   
the two ,american ,companies  could     
simply act the part of friendly critics 
of what was sent over to  them without  
being recognized as fellow revisers in  
the full sense of the  words4  ,how1    
however1 formally to establish this     
parity of position was  found to be very
 difficult1 owing to our connexion with 
the ,presses1 who  had trade rights     
which had properly to be guarded4  ,the 
result was much  friendly negotiation   
for several months1 but without any     
definite  adjustment #db;a4  ,at last1  
by the wise and conciliatory action of  
the  ,presses an agreement was arrived  
at in ,august1 #ahgg #db;b1 by which we 
on  this side of the ,atlantic were     
bound not only to send over the various 
stages of our work to our ,american     
brethren and carefully to consider all  
their suggestions1 but also to sanction 
the publication in every copy of  the   

revision of a list of all the important 
passages1 in regard of text  and        
renderings1 upon which the ,english and 
,american ,revisers could not  finally  
agree4  ,the ,american ,revisers on     
their part undertook not to  publish any
 edition of their own for fourteen      
years4    ,the fourteen years have now  
passed away1 but prior to the expiration
 of  the time the long-needed marginal  
references were completed1 and in       
,september1 #ahih1 were attached to the 
pages of all the larger ,english  copies
 of the ,revised ,version of the ,holy  
,scripture1 with a short account  of the
 sources from which they were derived1  
and of the circumstances of  their      
delayed publication4  ,as they were     
somewhat closely connected with  the    
labours of two of the members of the    
,new ,testament ,company1 and had       
received the general approval of that   
,company1 ,i had real pleasure in       
presenting to both ,houses of           
,convocation on ,feb4 #aj1 #ahii1 the   

completed  body of references1 and1 in  
them1 the very last portion of every    
part of  the work of the ,company with  
which ,i had so long been connected4    
,the appearance of the references was   
very seasonable1 as it enabled the      
,universities to acquire copyright for  
any of the editions with these          
references which they might publish1 or 
cause to be published in  ,america4     
,the ,university ,press of ,oxford has1 
,i know1 acted on this  right1 but      
whether in conjunction with the         
,cambridge ,university ,press or        
independently ,i am not able to say4    
,the right at any rate remains1 and  in 
the sequel may be of greater importance 
in ,america than we may now  suppose1 as
 it may tend to discourage the spread of
 altered editions of  the revision1     
which from time to time might be brought
 forward by  irresponsible publishers   
#dd4    ,one subject still remains to be
 noticed in this portion of my address  
which cannot be passed over--the        

revision of the ,apocrypha4  ,this the  
,english revisers were pledged to the   
,university ,presses to complete1       
before our connexion with them could be 
rightfully concluded4  ,this  revision1 
as we know1 has been completed1 though  
perhaps not in a manner  that can be    
considered as completely satisfactory1  
owing to the want of a  co-ordinating   
authority4  ,the arrangement1 of which a
 full and clear  account will be found  
in the preface to the published volume1 
was briefly  as follows4  ,on ,march    
#ba1 #ahgi1 as the ,new ,testament      
,company was fast  approaching the      
completion of its labours1 it was agreed
 that the ,company  should be divided   
into three portions1 each consisting of 
eight members1  to which the names of   
the ,london1 ,westminster1 and          
,cambridge ,companies  were to be       
respectively assigned4  ,the portion of 
the work that each of  the three        
,companies was to take was settled by   
lot4  ,to the ,london  ,company1 of     

which ,i was a member1 the book of      
,ecclesiasticus was  assigned2 to the   
,westminster ,company1 the first book of
 ,maccabees1 and  subsequently the books
 ,tobit and ,judith2 and to the         
,cambridge ,company1  the second book of
 ,maccabees and the ,wisdom of ,solomon4
    ,on the completion of their work1   
the ,old ,testament ,company assigned to
 a  special committee chosen out of     
their number the remaining books of the 
,apocrypha1 viz4 #a and #b ,esdras1 the 
remainder of ,esther1 ,baruch1 ,song of 
the ,three ,children1 ,susanna1 ,bel and
 the ,dragon1 and the ,prayer of        
,manasses4    ,it was agreed that each  
,company and the above-named committee  
should go  through their work twice1 but
 without the two-thirds condition1 and  
that  each body should send its work    
when completed round to the rest4  ,the 
times1 however1 at which the portions   
were completed were by no means1  even  
approximately1 the same4  ,the ,london  
,company completed its work in  ,may1   

#ahhc4  ,the ,westminster ,company      
finished the first book of ,maccabees   
in ,november1 #ahha1 and the books of   
,tobit and ,judith in ,october1 #ahhb4  
,the ,cambridge ,company completed its  
revision of the second book of          
,maccabees in ,december1 #ahhi1 and of  
the ,book of ,wisdom1 which underwent   
three revisions1 in ,november1 #ahia4   
,the revision of the remaining books1   
undertaken by the ,old ,testament       
,company1 does not seem to have been    
completed till even two or three years  
later4  ,this interval of ten or  twelve
 years involved in some of the books1   
especially in reference to              
,ecclesiasticus1 the clear necessity for
 further revision4  ,this compelled  me1
 with the help of my valued friend ,dr4 
,moulton1 to go over the work of  my    
former ,company on my own               
responsibility1 my coadjutors in the    
work  having been either called away by 
death or too seriously ill to help me4  
,it was thus with some sense of relief  

that1 on the request of those  connected
 with the publication of the volume1 ,i 
presented the ,revised  ,version of the 
,apocrypha to the two ,houses of        
,convocation on ,february #ab1  #ahif4  
,the rise and progress of the desire for
 a revision of the ,authorised  ,version
 of ,holy ,scripture has now been set   
forth as fully as the limits  of these  
,addresses permit4  ,what now remains to
 be specified is what may  be called the
 internal history of this ,revision1 or1
 in other words1 the  nature and        
procedure of the work1 with such        
concluding comments as the              
circumstances of the present may appear 
to suggest4          ,,address ,,iii4   
,,hebrew ,,and ,,greek ,,text4      ,we 
now pass from what may be called the    
outward history of the ,revision  to the
 inward nature and character of the work
 of the ,revisers1 and may  naturally   
divide that work into two               
portions--their labours as regards  the 
original text1 and their labours in     

regard of rendering and  translation4   
,i4  ,first1 then1 as regards the       
original text of the ,old ,testament4   
,here the work of the ,old ,testament   
,company was very slight as compared    
with that of the ,new ,testament        
,company4  ,the latter ,company had1    
almost  in every other verse1 to settle 
upon a text--often involving much that  
was doubtful and debatable--before they 
proceeded to the further work of        
translating4  ,the ,old ,testament      
,company1 on the contrary1 had ready to 
hand a textus receptus which really     
deserved the title1 and on which1  in   
their preface1 they write as follows3   
,the received1 or1 as it is  commonly   
called1 the ,massoretic text of the ,old
 ,testament ,scriptures has  come down  
to us in manuscripts which are of no    
very great antiquity1 and  which all    
belong to the same family or recension4 
,that other recensions  were at one time
 in existence is probable from the      
variations in the  ,ancient ,versions1  

the oldest of which1 namely1 the ,greek 
or ,septuagint1  was made1 at least in  
part1 some two centuries before the     
,christian era4  ,but as the date of    
knowledge on the subject is not at      
present such as to  justify any attempt 
at an entire reconstruction of the text 
on the  authority of the ,versions1 the 
,revisers have thought it most prudent  
to  adopt the ,massoretic text as the   
basis of their work1 and to depart from 
it1 as the ,authorised ,translators had 
done1 only in exceptional cases4        
,that in this decision the ,revisers had
 exercised the sound judgement  which   
marks every part of their work cannot   
possibly be doubted by any  competent   
reader4  ,the ,massoretic text has a    
long and interesting  history4  ,its    
name is derived from a word1 ,massora   
7tradition71 that  reminds us of the    
accumulated traditions and criticisms   
relating to  numerous passages of the   
text1 and of the manner in which it was 
to be  read1 all which were finally     

committed to writing1 and the ultimate  
result of which is the text of which we 
have been speaking4  ,that the          
formation of the written ,massora was a 
work of time seems a probable and       
reasonable supposition4  ,a very        
competent writer #ej tells us that this 
formation may have extended from the    
sixth or seventh to the tenth or        
eleventh century4  ,from the end of this
 ,massoretic period onward the same     
writer tells us that the ,massora became
 the great authority by which the  text 
given in all the ,jewish manuscripts was
 settled4  ,all our  manuscripts1 in a  
word1 are ,massoretic4  ,any that were  
not so were not  used1 and allowed to   
perish1 or1 as it has been thought1 were
 destroyed  as not being in strict      
accordance with the recognized          
standards4  ,whether  we have sustained 
any real critical loss by the           
disappearance of the  rejected          
manuscripts it is impossible to say4    
,the fact only remains that  we have no 

manuscript of any portion of the ,old   
,testament certainly known  to be of a  
date prior to ,a4,d4 #iaf4  ,the        
,massora1 it may be mentioned1  appears 
in two forms--the ,massora parva and the
 ,massora magna4  ,the  former contains 
the really valuable portion of the great
 work1 viz41 the  variation technically 
named ,k'ri 7read71 and placed in the   
margin of  the ,hebrew ,bibles4  ,this  
was to be substituted for the           
corresponding  portion in the text      
technically named ,c'thib 7written71 and
 was  regarded by the ,massoretes       
themselves as the true reading4  ,the   
,massora  magna contained the above1 and
 other matter deemed to be of importance
  in reference to the interpretation of 
the text4    ,the ,revisers inform us   
that they have generally1 though not    
uniformly1  rendered the ,c'thib in the 
text1 and left the ,k'ri in the margin1 
with  the introductory note1 ,or1       
according to another reading1 or1       
,another  reading is4  ,when they       

adopted the ,k'ri in the text of their  
rendering1  they placed the ,c'thib in  
the margin if it represented a variation
 of  importance4    ,these things1 and  
others specified in the preface1 should 
be carefully  attended to by the reader 
as enabling him to distinguish between  
the  different characters of the        
alternative renderings as specified in  
the  margin4  ,those due to the         
,massoretes1 or1 in other words1 the    
,k'ris1 will  naturally deserve         
attention from their antiquity4  ,they  
are not1 however1  when estimated with  
reference to the whole of the sacred    
volume1 very  numerous4  ,in the        
earliest printed bible they were #a1aga 
in number1 but  this is generally       
considered erroneous in excess1 #ijj    
being probably much  nearer the true    
estimate4    ,we cannot leave the       
subject of the ,hebrew text without some
 reference to  the emendation of it     
suggested by the ,ancient ,versions4    
,but little1 ,i  believe1 of a          

systematic character has1 as yet1 been  
accomplished4  ,the  ,revisers mention  
that they have been obliged1 in some few
 cases of  extreme difficulty1 to depart
 from the ,massoretic text and adopt a  
reading from the ,ancient ,versions4  ,i
 regret to observe that it is stated  by
 one of those connected with the        
forthcoming ,american revision of the   
,old ,testament version that in nearly  
one hundred cases the marginal          
references to the ,ancient ,versions    
will be omitted4  ,reasons are given1   
but these could hardly have escaped the 
knowledge and observation of the        
learned men by whom the references were 
inserted4  ,the ,revisers also  mention 
that where the ,versions appeared to    
supply a very probable1  though not so  
absolutely necessary1 correction as     
displacement of the  ,massoretic text1  
they have still felt it proper to place 
the reading in  the margin4    ,this    
recognition of the critical importance  
of the ,ancient ,versions by  the       

,revisers1 though obviously in only a   
limited number of cases1 seems  to      
indicate the great good that may be     
expected from a more complete and       
systematic use of these ancient         
authorities in reference to the current 
text of the ,old ,testament4  ,at       
present the texts implied in them have1 
,i  believe1 never yet been so closely  
analysed as to enable us to form any    
just estimate of their real critical    
value4  ,they have been used by         
editors1 as in the case of ,houbigant1  
but only in a limited and partial       
manner4  ,lists1 ,i believe1 are        
accessible of all the more important    
readings suggested or implied by the    
,versions2 but what is needed is far    
more than this4  ,in the first place we 
require much more trustworthy  texts of 
the ,versions themselves than are at    
present at our disposal4  ,in  the case 
of the ,septuagint we may very shortly  
look forward to a  thoroughly revised   
text2 and a similar remark may probably 

be made in  reference to the ,vulgate1  
but ,i am not aware that much has been  
done in  the case of the ,syriac #ec1   
and of other versions to which reference
  would have to be made in any great    
critical attempt1 such as a revision  of
 the textus receptus of the ,old        
,testament4    ,if1 however1 a first    
need is trustworthy editions of the     
,versions1 a  second need appears to be 
a fuller knowledge of the ,hebrew       
material1 late  in regard of antiquity  
though it may be1 than was1 at any rate1
 available  till very recently4  ,the   
new edition of the text of the ,hebrew  
,bible by  ,dr4 ,ginsburg1 with its     
learned and voluminous introduction1    
may1 and  probably does1 supply this    
fuller knowledge2 but as in regard of   
these  matters ,i can speak only as a   
novice1 ,i can only reproduce the       
statement  commonly made by those who   
have a right to speak on such subjects1 
that  the collation of the ,hebrew      
manuscripts that we already possess has 

been  far from complete4  ,there appears
 to have been the feeling that they all 
lead up to the ,massoretic text1 and    
that any particular variations from  it 
need not be treated over-seriously2 and 
yet surely we must regard it  as        
possible that some of these negligible  
variations might concur with1  and by   
their concurrence add weight to1        
readings already rendered  probable by  
the suggestive testimony of the ,ancient
 ,versions4  ,it may be  right for me to
 add that the whole question was raised 
in #ahhf by ,dr4  ,green and ,dr4       
,schaff in a circular letter addressed  
to distinguished  ,hebrews in ,germany  
and elsewhere4  ,the answers are        
returned in ,german  #ee1 and are       
translated4  ,they are most of them     
interesting1 though not  very           
encouraging4  ,the best of them seems to
 be the answer of ,professor  ,strack1  
of ,berlin4    ,but here ,i must pause4 
,the use made by the ,revisers of these 
ancient  documents has called out the   

foregoing comments1 and has awakened the
  hope1 which ,i now venture to express1
 that the critical use of the  ,versions
 may be expanded1 and form a part of    
that systematic revision of  the text of
 the ,old ,testament which will not     
improbably form part of the  critical   
labours of the present century4    ,,ii4
  ,we may now turn to the ,new          
,testament1 and to the revision of the  
textus receptus of the ,new ,testament  
which our rules necessitated1 and  which
 formed a very important and1 it may be 
added1 a very anxious part  of our      
revision4    ,and here1 at the very     
outset1 one general observation is      
absolutely  necessary4    ,it is very   
commonly said1 and ,i fear believed by  
many to be true1 that  the text adopted 
by the ,revisers and afterwards         
published 7in different  forms7 by the  
two ,university ,presses1 hardly differs
 at all from the  afterwards published  
text of the two distinguished scholars  
and critics1  one of whom was called    

from us a few years ago1 and the other  
of whom  has1 to our great sorrow1 only 
recently left us4  ,i allude1 of course1
 to  the ,greek ,testament1 now of      
world-wide reputation1 of ,westcott and 
,hort4  ,what has been often asserted1  
and is still repeated1 is this1 that the
  text had been in print for some time  
before it was finally published1 and    
was in the hands of the ,revisers       
almost1 if not quite1 from the very     
first4  ,it was this1 so the statement  
runs1 that they really worked upon1  and
 this that they assimilated4    ,now    
this ,i unhesitatingly declare1 as ,i   
shall subsequently be able to  prove1 is
 contrary to the facts of the case4  ,it
 is perfectly true that  our two eminent
 colleagues gave1 ,i believe1 to each   
one of us1 from time  to time1 little   
booklets of their text as it then stood 
in print1 but  which we were always     
warned were not considered by the       
editors themselves  as final4  ,these   
portions of their text were given to us1

 not to win us  over to adopt it1 but to
 enable us to see each proposed reading 
in its  continuity4  ,how these booklets
 were used by the members of the        
,company  generally1 ,i know not4  ,i   
can only speak for myself2 but ,i cannot
  suppress the conviction that ,i was   
acting unconsciously in the same  manner
 as the great majority of the ,company4 
,i only used the booklets  for          
occasional reference4  ,in preparing the
 portion of the sacred volume  on which 
we were to be engaged in the next       
session of the ,company1 ,i took  due   
note of the readings as well as of the  
renderings1 but ,i formed my  judgement 
independently on the evidence supplied  
to me by the notes of  the critical     
edition1 whether that of ,tischendorf or
 ,tregelles1 which ,i  then was in the  
habit of using4  ,this evidence was     
always fully stated to  the ,company1   
nearly always by ,dr4 ,scrivener1 and it
 was upon the  discussion of this       
evidence1 and not on the reading of any 

particular  editor1 on which the        
decision of the ,company was ultimately 
formed4  ,we  paid in all cases great   
attention to the arguments of our two   
eminent  colleagues and our experienced 
colleague1 ,dr4 ,scrivener2 but each    
question of reading1 as it arose1 was   
settled by the votes of the  ,company4  
,the resulting text1 as afterwards      
published by the ,oxford  ,university   
,press1 and edited by ,archdeacon       
,palmer1 was thus the direct  work of   
the ,company1 and may be rightly        
designated1 as it will be in  these     
pages1 as the ,revisers' text4    ,it is
 of considerable importance that this   
should be borne in mind2 for1  in the   
angry vituperation which was directed   
against the ,revisers' text1  it was    
tacitly assumed that this text was      
practically identical with that  of     
,westcott and ,hort1 and that the       
difficulties which are to be found in   
this latter text 7and some there        
certainly are7 are all to be found in   

the text of the ,revisers4  ,how very   
far such an assumption is from the  true
 state of the case can easily be shown  
by a simple comparison of one  text with
 the other4  ,let us take an example4   
,i suppose there are very  few who can  
entertain the slightest doubt that in   
,acts xii4 #ce1 ,st4 ,luke  tells us    
that ,barnabas and ,saul returned from  
,jerusalem after their  mission was     
over1 and took with them 7from          
,jerusalem7 ,st4 ,mark4  ,now what  is  
the reading of ,westcott and ,hort8--to 
,jerusalem with the ,vatican            
,manuscript1 and a fair amount of       
external support4  ,we then turn at once
  to the ,revisers' text and find that  
from 7,greek text7 is maintained1  in   
spite of the clever arguments which1 in 
this case1 can be urged for an          
intrinsically improbable reading1 and1  
most likely1 were urged at the  time1 as
 ,i observe that the ,revisers have     
allowed the to to appear in a  margin4  
,i regret that ,i have never gone       

through the somewhat laborious process  
of  minutely comparing the ,revisers'   
text with the text of ,westcott and     
,hort1  but ,i cannot help thinking that
 the example ,i have chosen is a typical
  one1 and does show the sort of        
relations between the two texts1 when   
what  a recent and competent writer     
7,dr4 ,salmon1 of ,trinity ,college1    
,dublin7  considers to be the           
difficulties and anomalies and apparent 
perversities  in the text of ,westcott  
and ,hort are compared with the         
decisions of the  ,revisers #ei4  ,there
 are1 ,i believe1 only sixty-four       
passages in the  whole revision1 in     
which the text of the ,revisers1 when   
agreeing with the  text of ,westcott and
 ,hort1 has not also the support of     
,lachmann1 or  ,tischendorf1 or         
,tregelles4    ,i observe that the      
above-named writer expresses his        
satisfaction that the  ,revised ,version
 has not superseded the ,authorised     
,version in our ,churches  #fj;a1 and   

that things which were read at ,rome in 
the second century may  still be read in
 our own ,churches in the nineteenth    
century4  ,this1  perhaps1 is a strong  
way of expressing his aversion to the   
text of  ,westcott and ,hort1 but it is 
not perfectly clear that the ,revisers' 
text  has so closely followed the       
authority of these two eminent critics  
as  to be open1 on ,dr4 ,salmon's part1 
to the same measure of aversion4  ,until
  more accurate evidence is forthcoming 
that the ,revisers have shown in  their 
text the same sort of studied disregard 
of ,western variations as is  plainly to
 be recognized in the text of ,westcott 
and ,hort1 ,i can only  fall back on my 
persuasion1 as one who has put to the   
vote these critical  questions very many
 times1 that systematic neglect of      
,western authority  cannot fairly be    
brought home to the ,revisers4  ,it is  
much to be  regretted then1 that in the 
very opening chapter of his interesting 
volume1 ,dr4 ,salmon roundly states that

 ,westcott and ,hort exercised a        
predominating influence on their        
colleagues in the revision on the       
question of various readings #fj;b1 and 
that more than half of their  brother   
members of the ,committee had given no  
special attention to the  subject4      
,now1 assuming that the word ,committee 
has been here  accidentally used for the
 more usual term ,company1 ,i am forced 
to say  that both statements are really 
incorrect4  ,i was permitted by ,god's  
mercy to be present at every meeting of 
the ,company except two1 and ,i can     
distinctly say that ,i never observed   
any indication of this predominating    
influence4  ,we knew well that our two  
eminent colleagues had devoted many     
years of their lives to the great work  
on which they were engaged2 and we  paid
 full deference to what they urged on   
each reading as it came before  us1 but 
in the end we decided for ourselves4    
,for it must not be  forgotten that we  
had an eminent colleague 7absent only   

eight times from  our #djg meetings7 who
 took a very different view of the      
critical evidence  to that of ,westcott 
and ,hort1 and never failed very fully1 
and often very  persuasively1 to express
 it4  ,i am of course alluding to my old
 friend  ,dr4 ,scrivener4  ,it was often
 a kind of critical duel between ,dr4   
,hort and  ,dr4 ,scrivener1 in which    
everything that could be urged on either
 side was  placed before the ,company1  
and the ,company enabled to decide on a 
full  knowledge of the critical facts   
and reasonings in reference to the      
reading under consideration4    ,now it 
is also not correct to say of the       
,company that finally decided the       
question1 that more than half had given 
no special attention to the  subject4   
,if this refers to the matter           
subsequently put forward by ,dr4  ,hort 
in the introductory volume to ,westcott 
and ,hort's ,greek ,testament1  to the  
clever and instructive genealogical     
method1 and to the numberless           

applications of it that have given their
 ,greek ,testament the pre-eminence  it 
deservedly holds--if this be the meaning
 of the ,provost's estimate of  the     
critical knowledge of the ,company1 ,i  
should not have taken any  exception to 
the words4  ,but if the subject refers  
to the general  critical knowledge at   
the time when the ,company came         
together1 then ,i  must gently protest  
against an estimate of the general      
critical  capabilities of the ,company  
that is1 really and truly1 incorrect4   
,all  but three or four are now resting 
with ,god1 and among these twenty they  
were not few who had a good and full    
knowledge of the ,new ,testament        
textual criticism of the generation that
 had just passed away4  ,among  them    
were not only the three experts whom ,i 
have mentioned1 but editors  of portions
 of the ,new ,testament such as ,bishop 
,lightfoot and others1  principals of   
large educational colleges both in      
,england and ,scotland1  and scholars   

like ,dean ,scott1 who were known to    
take great interest in  questions of    
textual criticism4  ,a few of these     
might almost be  considered as          
definitely experts1 but all taken       
together certainly made a  very         
competent body to whose independent     
judgement the settlement of  difficult  
critical questions could be safely      
committed4    ,and1 as ,i venture to    
think1 the text which has been          
constructed from  their decisions1 their
 resultant text as it might be called1  
will show  that the ,revisers' text is  
an independent text on which great      
reliance  can be placed4  ,it is the    
text which ,i always use myself in my   
general  reading of the ,new ,testament1
 and ,i deliberately regard it as one of
 the  two best texts of the ,new        
,testament at present extant2 the other 
being  the cheap and convenient edition 
of ,professor ,nestle1 bearing the title
  ,novum ,testamentum ,graece1 cum      
apparatu critico ex editionibus et      

libris  manu scriptis collecto4         
,stuttgart1 #ahih4  ,this edition is    
issued by the  ,wurtemberg ,bible       
,society1 and will1 as ,i hear1 not     
improbably be adopted  by our own ,bible
 ,society as their ,greek ,testament of 
the future4    ,the reason why ,i prefer
 these two texts for the general reading
 of the  sacred volume is this1 that    
they both have much in common with the  
text  of ,westcott and ,hort1 but are   
free from those peculiarities and1 ,i   
fear ,i  must add1 perversities1 which  
do here and there mark the text of that 
justly celebrated edition4  ,to ,doctors
 ,westcott and ,hort all faithful       
students of the ,new ,testament owe a   
debt of lasting gratitude which it is   
impossible to overestimate4  ,still1 in 
the introductory volume by ,dr4  ,hort1 
assumptions have been made1 and         
principles laid down1 which in  several 
places have plainly affected the text1  
and led to the maintenance  of readings 
which1 to many minds1 it will seem      

really impossible to  accept4  ,an      
instance has been given above on page   
#eh1 and this is by no  means a solitary
 instance4    ,having now shown fairly1 
,i hope1 and clearly the thoroughly     
independent  character of the text which
 ,i have called the ,revisers' text1 ,i 
will pass  onward1 and show the careful 
manner in which it was constructed1 and 
the  circumstances under which we have  
it in the continuous form in which it   
has been published by the ,press of the 
,university of ,oxford4    ,to do this1 
it will be necessary to refer to the    
rule under which we were  directed to   
carry out this portion of our           
responsible work4  ,we had two  things  
to do--to revise the ,authorised        
,version1 and also to revise under      
certain specified limitations the ,greek
 text from which the ,authorised        
,version was made2 or1 in other words1  
the fifth edition of ,beza's ,greek     
,testament1 published in the year #afih4
  ,the rule under which this second     

portion of our work was to be performed 
was as follows3 ,that the text to  be   
adopted be that for which the evidence  
is decidedly preponderating2  and let   
this be noted that when the text so     
adopted differs from that  from which   
the ,authorised ,version was made1 the  
alteration be indicated  in the margin4 
,such was the rule in regard of the     
text1 and such was  the instruction as  
to the mode of notifying any alterations
 that it might  have been found         
necessary to make4    ,let us deal first
 with the direction as to notifying the 
alterations4  ,now as it was soon found 
practically impossible to place all the 
alterations in a margin which would     
certainly be needed for alternative     
renderings1 and for such matters as     
usually appear in a margin1 we left  the
 ,university ,presses to publish1 in    
such manner as they might think  most   
convenient1 the deviations from the     
,greek text presumed to underlie  the   
,authorised ,version4  ,the ,cambridge  

,university ,press entrusted to ,dr4    
,scrivener the publication of the       
,received ,text with the alterations of 
the ,revisers placed at the foot of the 
page4  ,the ,oxford ,university ,press  
adopted the more convenient method of   
letting the alterations form part  of   
the continuous text 7the readings they  
displaced being at the foot of  the     
page71 and entrusted the editing of the 
volume to ,archdeacon ,palmer  7one of  
our ,company7 who1 as we know1 performed
 the duty with great care  and accuracy4
  ,hence the existence of what ,i term  
throughout this address  as the         
,revisers' text4    ,we can now turn to 
the first part of the rule and describe 
in general  terms the mode of our       
procedure4  ,it differs very slightly   
from the mode  described in the preface 
of the ,revisers of the ,old ,testament4
  ,the verse  on which we were engaged  
was read by the ,chairman4  ,the first  
question  asked was1 whether there was  
any difference of reading in the ,greek 

text  which required our consideration4 
,if there was none1 we proceeded with   
the second part of our work1 the        
consideration of the rendering4  ,if    
there was a reading in the ,greek text  
that demanded our consideration it  was 
at once discussed1 and commonly in the  
following manner4  ,dr4  ,scrivener     
stated briefly the authorities1 whether 
manuscripts1 ancient  versions1 or      
patristic citations1 of which details   
most of us were  already aware4  ,if the
 alteration was one for which the       
evidence was  patently and decidedly    
preponderating1 it was at once adopted1 
and the  work went onward4  ,if1        
however1 it was a case where it was     
doubtful  whether the evidence for the  
alteration was thus decidedly           
preponderating1 then a discussion1 often
 long1 interesting1 and  instructive1   
followed4  ,dr4 ,hort1 if present 7and  
he was seldom absent2  only forty-five  
times out of the #djg meetings7 always  
took part1 and  finally the vote was    

taken1 and the suggested alteration     
either adopted  or rejected4  ,if       
adopted1 due note was taken by the      
secretary1 and1 if it  was thought a    
case for a margin1 the competing reading
 was therein  specified4  ,if there was 
a plain difficulty at coming to a       
decision1 and  the passage was one of   
real importance1 the decision was not   
uncommonly  postponed to a subsequent   
meeting1 and notice duly given to all   
the  members of the ,company4  ,and so  
the great work went on to the end of the
  first revision2 the members of the    
,company acquiring more and more        
knowledge and experience1 and their     
decisions becoming more and more        
judicial and trustworthy4    ,few1 ,i   
think1 on reading this simple and       
truthful description1 could fail  to    
place some confidence in results thus   
patiently and laboriously  arrived at4  
,few1 ,i think1 could forbear a smile   
when they call to mind  the passionate  
vituperation which at first was lavished

 on the critical  efforts of the        
,revisers of the text that bears the    
scarcely correct name  of the textus ab 
omnibus receptus4    ,but what ,i have  
specified was only the first part of our
 responsible  work4  ,by the memoranda  
of agreement between the ,english       
,companies and  the ,american           
,committee1 it had to be communicated to
 the ,american ,company  of the         
,revisers of the ,authorised ,version of
 the ,new ,testament1 among  whom were  
some whose names were well and honorably
 known in connexion  with textual       
criticism4  ,our work1 with the         
,american criticisms and  suggestions1  
had then to undergo the second revision4
  ,the greater part  of the decisions   
relating to the text that were arrived  
at in the first  revision were accepted 
as final2 but many were reopened at the 
second  revision1 and the critical      
experience of the ,company1 necessarily 
improved as it had been by the first    
revision1 finally tested by the         

two-thirds majority the reopened        
decisions which at the first revision   
had been carried by simple majorities4  
,the results of this second  revision   
were then1 in accordance with the       
agreement1 communicated to the          
,american ,company2 but1 in the sequel1 
as will be seen in the lists of the     
final differences between ourselves and 
the ,american ,company1 the  critical   
differences were but few1 and1 so far as
 ,i can remember1 of no  serious        
importance4    ,the critical labours of 
the ,revisers did not however terminate 
with the  second revision4  ,the cases  
were many where the evidence for the    
readings  either adopted or retained in 
the text was only slightly stronger than
  that of readings which were in        
competition with it4  ,of this it was   
obviously necessary that some final     
intimation should be given to the       
reader1 as the subsequent discovery of  
additional evidence might be held  by a 
competent critic to invalidate the right

 of the adopted reading to  hold its    
place in the text4  ,this intimation    
could only be given by a  final marginal
 note1 for which1 as we know1 by the    
arrangement of the  ,university ,presses
 7see p4 #ff71 our page was now         
available4    ,these notes were objected
 to by one of our critics as quite      
unprecedented  additions2 but it will be
 remembered that there are such notes in
 the  margin of the ,authorised         
,version1 though of course few in number
  7thirty-five1 according to ,dr4       
,scrivener71 textual criticism in #afaa 
being only in its infancy4    ,the      
necessity for the insertion of such     
notes was clearly shown in a  pamphlet  
that appeared shortly after the         
publication of the ,revised  ,version1  
and was written by two members of the   
,company4  ,the three cases  in which   
these notes appeared certainly to be    
required were thus stated  by the two   
writers3 ,first1 when the text which    
seemed to underlie the  ,authorised     

,version was condemned by a decided     
preponderance of evidence1  but yet was 
ancient in its character1 and belonged  
to an early line of  transmission4      
,secondly1 when there were such clear   
tokens of corruption  in the reading on 
which the ,authorised ,version was      
based1 or such a  consent of authority  
against it1 that no one could seriously 
argue for  its retention1 but it was not
 equally clear which of the other       
competing  readings had the best claim  
to occupy the vacant place4  ,in such a 
case  there was not1 in truth1 decidedly
 preponderant evidence1 except against  
the text of ,beza1 and some notice of   
this fact seemed to be required by      
critical equity4  ,the third and last   
case was when the text which1 as        
represented in the ,authorised ,version1
 was retained because the competing     
reading had not decidedly preponderant  
evidence 7though the balance of         
evidence was in its favour71 and so     
could not under the rule be admitted4   

,in such a case again critical equity   
required a notice of the facts in  the  
margin4    ,this quotation1 ,i may      
remark in passing1 is not only useful in
 explaining  when and where marginal    
notes were demonstrably needed1 but also
 in  showing how carefully such         
questions were considered1 and how      
conscientiously the rules were observed 
under which our work was to be  carried 
out4    ,such were the textual labours  
of the ,company4  ,they were based on1  
and  were the results of1 the critical  
knowledge that had been slowly acquired 
during the #aae years that separated the
 early suggestions of ,bentley from  the
 pioneer text of ,lachmann in #ahca2    
and1 in another generation1 had  become 
expanded and matured in the later texts 
of ,tischendorf1 and still  more so in  
the trustworthy and consistent text of  
our countryman  ,tregelles4  ,the       
labours of these three editors were well
 known to the  greater part of the      
,revisers and generally known to all2   

and it was on  these labours1 and on the
 critical methods adopted by these great
  editors1 that our own text was        
principally formed4  ,we of course owed 
much to the long labours of our two     
eminent colleagues1 ,dr4 ,westcott and  
,dr4 ,hort4  ,some of us know generally 
the principles on which they had  based 
their yet unpublished text1 and were to 
some extent aware of the  manner in     
which they had grouped their critical   
authorities1 and of the  genealogical   
method1 which1 under their expansion of 
it1 has secured for  their text the     
widespread acceptance it has met with   
both at home and  abroad4    ,of these  
things some of us had a competent       
knowledge1 but the majority  had no     
special knowledge of the genealogical   
method4  ,they did know the  facts on   
which it was based--the ascertained     
trustworthiness of the  ancient         
authorities as compared with the later  
uncial1 and the cursive  manuscripts1   
the general characteristics of these    

ancient authorities1  the alliances that
 were to be traced between some of them1
 and the  countries with which they were
 particularly connected4  ,this the     
majority  knew generally as a part of   
the largely increased knowledge which   
the  preceding forty or fifty years1 and
 the labours of ,lachmann1 ,tischendorf1
  and 7so far as he had then published7 
,tregelles1 had placed at the  disposal 
of students of the ,greek ,testament4   
,it was on this general  knowledge1 and 
not on any portions of a partly printed 
text1 that the  decisions of the        
,company were based2 these decisions1   
however1 by the  very nature of the case
 and the use of common authorities1 were
  constantly in accordance with the     
texts of ,lachmann1 ,tischendorf1 and   
,tregelles1 and so with the subsequently
 printed text of ,westcott and  ,hort4  
,such a text1 thus independently formed1
 and yet thus in harmony with the       
results of the most tested critical     
researches of our times1 has surely     

great claims on our unreserved          
acceptance1 and does justify us in      
strongly pleading that a version of such
 a text1 if faithfully executed1        
should1 for the very truth's sake1 be   
publicly read in our ,churches4    ,that
 the ,revised ,version has been         
faithfully executed1 will ,i hope be    
shown fully and clearly in the          
succeeding chapter4  ,for the present my
  care has been to show that the text of
 which it is a version1 and which ,i    
have called the ,revisers' ,text because
 it underlies their revision1 and1  as  
such1 has been published by the ,oxford 
,university ,press1 is in my  judgement 
the best balanced text that has appeared
 in this country4  ,i  have mentioned   
with it 7p4 #fc7 the closely similar    
text of the well-known  ,professor      
,nestle1 but as ,i have not gone through
 the laborious task of  comparing the   
text1 verse by verse1 with that of the  
,revisers1 ,i speak  only in reference  
to our own country4  ,i have compared   

the two texts in  several crucial and   
important passages--such for example as 
,st4 ,john i4  #ah--;and have found them
 identical4  ,bishop ,westcott1 ,i know1
 a short time  before his lamented      
death1 expressed to the ,committee of   
the ,bible  ,society his distinct       
approval of their adopting for future   
copies of the  ,society's ,greek        
,testament ,professor ,nestle's text1 as
 published by the  ,wurtemberg ,bible   
,society4    ,i have now1 ,i trust1     
fairly shown the independence of the    
,revisers' ,text1  and have1 not without
 reason1 complained of my friend        
,provost ,salmon's  estimate of its     
dependence on the text and earnestly    
exerted influence of  ,dr4 ,hort and    
,dr4 ,westcott4  ,of course1 as ,i have 
shown1 there is1 and  must be1 much that
 is identical in the two texts2 but1 to 
fall back on  statistics1 there are1 ,i 
believe1 more than two hundred places in
 which  the two texts differ1 and in    
nearly all of them--if ,i may venture to

  express my own personal opinion--the  
reading of the ,revisers' ,text is      
critically to be preferred4  ,most of   
these two hundred places seem to be     
precisely places in which the principles
 adopted by ,westcott and ,hort  need   
some corrective modifications4  ,greatly
 as ,i reverence the unwearied          
patience1 the exhaustive research1 and  
the critical sagacity of these two      
eminent1 and now lamented1 members of   
our former ,company1 ,i yet cannot      
resist the conviction that ,dr4 ,salmon 
in his interesting ,criticism of the    
,text of the ,new ,testament has        
successfully indicated three or more    
particulars which must cause some arrest
 in our final judgement on the  text of 
,westcott and ,hort4    ,in the first   
case it cannot be denied that1 in the   
introductory volume1  ,dr4 ,hort has    
shown too distinct a tendency to elevate
 probable hypotheses  into the realm of 
established facts4  ,dr4 ,salmon        
specifies one1 and that  a very         

far-reaching instance1 in which1 in the 
debatable question whether  there really
 was an authoritative revision of the   
so-called ,syrian text  at about ,a4,d4 
#cej1 ,dr4 ,hort speaks of this ,syrian 
revision as a vera  causa1 as opposed to
 a hypothetical possibility4  ,this     
tendency in a  subject so complicated as
 that of textual criticism must be taken
 note of  by the student1 and must      
introduce some element of hesitation in 
the  acceptance of confidently expressed
 decisions when the subject-matter may  
still be very plainly debatable4    ,in 
the second place1 in the really         
important matter of the nomenclature  of
 the ancient types of text which1 since 
the days of ,griesbach1 and to  some    
extent before him1 have been recognized 
by all critical scholars1 it  does not  
seem possible to accept the titles of   
the fourfold division of  these families
 of manuscripts which have been adopted 
by ,westcott and  ,hort4  ,griesbach1 as
 is well known1 adopted the terms       

,western1  ,alexandrian1 and            
,constantinopolitan1 for which there is 
much to be said4  ,westcott and ,hort   
recognize four groups4  ,to the first   
and considerably  the largest they give 
the title of ,syrian1 answering to some 
extent to  the ,constantinopolitan of   
,griesbach2 to the second they continue 
the  title of ,western2 to the third    
they give the title of ,alexandrian1    
though  of a numerically more restricted
 character than the ,alexandrian of     
,griesbach2 to the fourth1 an           
exceedingly small group1 apparently     
consisting of practically not more than 
two members1 they give the title  of    
,neutral1 as being free alike from      
,syrian1 ,western1 and ,alexandrian     
characteristics4  ,on this ,neutral     
family or group ,westcott and ,hort lay 
the greatest critical stress1 and in it 
they place the greatest reliance4  ,such
 is their distribution1 and such the    
names they give to the families  into   
which manuscripts are to be divided and 

grouped4    ,the objections to this     
arrangement and to this nomenclature    
are1 as ,dr4  ,salmon very clearly      
shows1 both reasonable and serious4  ,in
 the first  place1 the title ,syrian1   
though ,dr4 ,salmon allows it to pass1  
is very  misleading1 especially to the  
student4  ,it is liable to be confounded
  with the term ,syriac1 with which it  
has not and is not intended to have  any
 special connexion1 and it fails to     
convey the amplitude of the family  it  
designates4  ,if it is to be retained at
 all1 it must be with the  prefix       
suggested by ,dr4 ,schaff--the group    
being styled as the  ,graeco-,syrian4   
,but this is of slight moment when      
compared with the  serious objections to
 the term ,neutral1 as this term        
certainly tends in  practice to give to 
two manuscripts or even1 in some cases1 
to one of  them 7the ,codex ,vaticanus71
 a preponderating supremacy which cannot
 be  properly conceded when authorities 
of a high character are found to be     

ranged on the other side4  ,there are   
also other grave objections which  are  
convincingly put forward by ,dr4 ,salmon
 in the chapter he has devoted  to the  
subject of the nomenclature of the two  
editors4    ,we shall be wise therefore 
if we cancel the term ,neutral and use  
the term  ,older ,alexandrian1 as       
distinguished from the later            
,alexandrian1 and so  fall back on the  
threefold division of ,alexandrian      
7earlier and later71  ,graeco-,syrian1  
and ,western1 though for this           
last-mentioned term a more  expressive  
designation may perhaps hereafter be    
found4    ,the third drawback to the    
unqualified acceptance of the text of   
,westcott  and ,hort is their continuous
 and studied disregard of ,western      
authorities2 and this1 notwithstanding  
that among these authorities are        
included the singular and not           
unfrequently suggestive ,codex          
,bezae--of  which ,dr4 ,blass has lately
 made so remarkable a use--the ,old     

,latin  ,version1 the ,graeco-,latin    
manuscripts1 and1 to some extent1 the   
,old  ,syriac ,version1 all of them     
authorities to which the designation of 
,western is commonly applied4  ,to this 
grave drawback ,dr4 ,salmon has  devoted
 a chapter to which the attention of the
 student may very  profitably be        
directed4  ,here ,i cannot enter into   
details1 but of this ,i  am persuaded1  
that if there should be any fresh       
discovery of textual  authorities1 it is
 by no means unlikely that they may be  
of a ,western  character1 and if so1    
that many decisions in the text of      
,westcott and  ,hort will have to be    
modified by some editor of the future4  
,at any rate1  taking the critical      
evidence as now we find it1 we cannot   
but feel that  ,dr4 ,salmon has made out
 his case1 and that in the edition of   
which now we  are speaking there has    
been an undue1 and even a contemptuous1 
disregard  of ,western authorities4     
,here ,i must close this address1 yet   

not without expressing the hope that  ,i
 may have induced some of you1 my       
,reverend ,brethren1 to look into these 
things for yourselves4  ,do not be      
deterred by the thought that to do so   
you must read widely and consult many   
authorities4  ,this is really not       
necessary for the acquiring of an       
intelligent interest in the text of the 
,greek ,testament4  ,with a good edition
 7with appended critical  authorities71 
whether that of ,tischendorf or of      
,tregelles1 and with  guidance such as  
that which you will find in the         
compendious ,companion  to the ,greek   
,testament of ,dr4 ,schaff1 you will be 
able to begin1 and  when you have       
seriously begun1 you will not be1 ,i am 
persuaded1 very  likely to leave off4   
,,address ,,iv  ,,nature ,,of ,,the     
,,renderings      ,from the text we now 
turn to the renderings1 and to the      
general  principles that were followed1 
both in the ,old and in the ,new        
,testament4  ,the revision of the       

,english text was in each case subject  
to the same  general rule1 viz4 ,to     
introduce as few alterations as possible
 into the  ,text of the ,authorised     
,version consistently with faithfulness2
 but1  owing to the great difference    
between the two languages1 the ,hebrew  
and  the ,greek1 the application of the 
rule was necessarily different1 and the 
results not easily comparable the one   
with the other4    ,it will be best then
 to consider the renderings in the two  
,testaments  separately1 and to form the
 best estimate we can of their character
 and  of their subordination to the     
general rule1 with due regard to the    
widely  different nature of the         
structure and grammatical principles of 
the two  languages through which ,god   
has been pleased to reveal ,his truth to
 the  children of men4    ,i4  ,we begin
 then with the ,revised ,version of the 
,old ,testament1 and  naturally turn for
 general guidance to the ,preface of    
those who were  engaged in the long1    

diversified1 and responsible work4      
,their general  principles as to        
departures from the ,authorised ,version
 would appear to  be included in the    
following clearly-specified particulars4
  ,they  departed from the ,authorised  
,version 7a7 where they did not agree   
with  it as to the meaning or           
construction of a word or sentence2 7b7 
where  it was necessary1 for the sake of
 uniformity1 to render such parallel    
passages as were identical in ,hebrew by
 the same ,english words2 7c7  where the
 ,english of the ,authorised ,version   
was liable to be  misunderstood by      
reason of its being archaic or obscure2 
7d7 where the  rendering of an earlier  
,english version seemed preferable2 and 
7e7  where1 by an apparently slight     
change1 it was possible to bring out    
more  fully the meaning of a passage of 
which the translation was substantially 
accurate4    ,these principles1 which ,i
 have been careful to specify in the    
exact words  of the ,revisers1 will     

appear to every impartial reader to be  
fully in  harmony with the principle of 
faithfulness2 and will be found--if an  
outsider may presume to make a passing  
comment--to have been carried out  with 
pervasive consistency and uniformity4   
,the ,revisers further notice certain   
particulars of which the general  reader
 should take full note1 so much of the  
random criticisms of the  revised text  
7especially in the ,new ,testament7     
having been due to a  complete disregard
 in each case of the ,preface1 and of   
the reasons given  for changes which    
long experience had shown to be both    
reasonable and  necessary4    ,the first
 particular is the important question of
 the rendering of the  word ,,jehovah4  
,here the ,revisers have thought it     
advisable to follow  the usage of the   
,authorised ,version1 and not to insert 
the word uniformly  in place of ,,lord  
or ,,god1 which words when printed in   
small capitals  represent the words     
substituted by ,jewish custom for the   

ineffable ,name  according to the vowel 
points by which it is distinguished4    
,to this  usage the ,revisers have      
steadily adhered with the exception of a
 very few  passages in which the        
introduction of a proper name seemed to 
be  required4  ,in this grave matter1 as
 we all probably know1 the ,american    
,company has expressed its dissent from 
the decision of the ,english  ,company1 
and has adopted the proper name wherever
 it occurs in the ,hebrew  text for the 
,,lord and ,,god4  ,most ,english       
readers will agree with our  ,revisers4 
,it may indeed be said1 now that we can 
read the ,american text  continuously1  
that there certainly are many passages  
in which the proper  name seems to come 
upon eye or ear with a serious and      
appropriate force2  still the reverence 
with which we are accustomed to treat   
what the  ,revisers speak of as the     
ineffable ,name will lead most of us to 
sacrifice the passages1 where the       
blessed name may have an impressive     

force1 to the reverential uniformity of 
our ,authorised ,version1 and to  the   
latent fear that frequent iteration     
might derogate from the solemnity  with 
which we instinctively clothe the       
ever-blessed name of ,almighty ,god4    
,the next particular relates to terms of
 natural history4  ,here changes  have  
only been made where it was certain that
 the ,authorised ,version was           
incorrect1 and highly probable that the 
word substituted was right4  ,where     
doubt existed1 the text was left        
unchanged1 but the alternative  word was
 placed in the margin4  ,in regard of   
other terms1 of which the  old rendering
 was certainly wrong1 as in the case of 
the ,hebrew term  ,asherah 7probably the
 wooden symbol of a goddess71 the       
,revisers have  used the word1 whether  
in the singular or plural1 as a proper  
name4  ,in  the case of the ,hebrew term
 ,sheol 7corresponding to the ,greek    
term  ,hades71 variously rendered in the
 ,authorised ,version by the words      

grave1 pit1 and hell1 the ,revisers have
 adopted in the historical  books the   
first or second words with a marginal   
note1 ,heb4 ,sheol1 but  in the poetical
 books they have reversed this          
arrangement4  ,the ,american  ,revisers1
 on the contrary1 specify that in all   
cases where the word  occurs in the     
,hebrew text they place it unchanged in 
the ,english text1  and without any     
margin4  ,the case is a difficult one1  
but the ,english  arrangement is to be  
preferred1 as the reader would not so   
plainly need a  preliminary explanation4
    ,the last case that it here seems   
necessary to allude to is the change    
everywhere of the words the tabernacle  
of the congregation into the  tent of   
meeting1 as the former words convey an  
entirely wrong sense4  ,these and the   
use of several other terms are carefully
 noted and  explained by the ,revisers1 
and will1 ,i hope1 induce every careful 
reader  of their revision to make it his
 duty to study their prefatory words4   

,the almost unavoidable differences     
between them and the ,american          
,revisers1 as to our own language1 are  
alluded to by them in terms both        
friendly and wise1 and may be considered
 fully to express the sentiments  of the
 ,new ,testament ,company1 by whom the  
subject is less precisely  alluded to4  
,in passing from the ,preface to the    
great work which it introduces1 ,i feel 
the greatest difficulty1 as a member of 
a different ,company1 in making  more   
than a few very general comments4  ,in  
fact1 ,i should scarcely have  ventured 
to do even this1 had ,i not met with a  
small but very instructive  volume on   
the revision of the ,authorised ,version
 of the ,old ,testament  written by one 
of the ,american ,revisers1 and         
published at ,new ,york some  fifteen or
 sixteen years ago4  ,the volume is     
entitled--perhaps with  excusable       
brevity--,a ,companion to the ,revised  
,old ,testament4  ,the  writer was ,rev4
 ,dr4 ,talbot ,w4 ,chambers1 of the     

,collegiate ,reformed ,dutch  ,church of
 ,new ,york1 from whose preface ,i learn
 that he was the only  pastor in the    
,company1 the others being professors in
 theological  seminaries1 and           
representing seven different            
denominations and nine  different       
institutions4  ,the book is written with
 great modesty1 and as  far as ,i can   
judge1 with a good working knowledge of 
,hebrew4  ,the writer  disclaims in it  
the position of speaking in any degree  
for the ,company of  which he was a     
member1 but mentions that his           
undertaking was approved of  by his     
colleagues1 and received the assistance1
 more or less1 of all of  them4  ,he was
 a member of the ,company during the    
last ten years of its  labours4    ,i   
can recommend this useful volume to any 
student of the ,old ,testament  who is  
desirous to see a selected list of the  
changes made by the  ,revisers in the   
,pentateuch1 ,historical ,books1        
,poetical ,books1 and  ,prophetical     

,books4  ,these changes are given in    
four chapters1 and in most  cases are   
accompanied by explanatory comments1    
which from their tenor  often seem to be
 reminiscences of corporate discussion4 
,i mention these  particulars as ,i am  
not aware of any similar book on the    
,old ,testament  written by any one of  
the ,english ,company4  ,if there is    
such a book1 ,i do  sincerely hope the  
writer will forgive me for not having   
been so  fortunate as to meet with it4  
,the remaining comments ,i shall venture
 to make on the rendering of the  ,old  
,testament will rest on the general     
knowledge ,i have acquired of this      
carefully-executed and conservative     
revision1 and on some consideration  of 
the many illustrations which ,dr4       
,chambers has selected in his           
interesting manual4  ,the impression    
that has long been left on my mind by   
the serious reading of the ,old         
,testament in the ,revised ,version is  
that  not nearly enough has been said of

 the value of the changes that have     
been made1 and of the strong argument   
they furnish for the reading of the     
,revision in the public services of the 
,church4  ,let any serious person  read 
the ,book of ,job with the two ,english 
versions in parallel columns1  and form 
a sober opinion on the comparison--his  
judgement ,i am confident  will be1 that
 if the ,revision of this ,book be a    
fair sample of the  ,revision generally1
 our congregations have a just right to 
claim that the  ,revised ,version of the
 ,old ,testament should be publicly read
 in their  churches4  ,ours is a        
,bible-loving country1 and the ,english 
,bible in its  most correct form can    
never be rightly withheld from our      
public  ministrations4    ,i shall now  
close this portion of the present       
,address with a few comments  on the    
four parts of the ,revision to which ,i 
have already alluded--the  ,pentateuch1 
and the ,historical1 ,poetical1 and     
,prophetical ,books of the  ,old        

,testament4    ,what the careful reader 
of ,genesis will not fail to observe is 
the number  of passages in which        
comparatively small alterations give a  
new light to  details of the sacred     
narrative which1 in general reading1 are
 commonly  completely overlooked4  ,a   
new colouring1 so to speak1 is given to 
the  whole1 and rectifications of       
prevailing conceptions not unfrequently 
introduced1 either in the text or1 as   
often happens1 by means of the  margin1 
where they could hardly have been       
anticipated4  ,the prophecy of  ,jacob  
as to the future of his children 7chap4 
xlix7 will supply an  instance4  ,in the
 character of ,reuben few of us would   
understand more  than general           
unsteadiness and changefulness in       
purpose and in act1 but a  glance at the
 margin will show that impulse and      
excitability were plainly  elements in  
his nature which led him into the       
grievous and hateful sin  for which his 
father deposed him from the excellency  

of a first-born4    ,what has been said 
of the ,book of ,genesis is equally     
applicable to the  remainder of the     
,pentateuch4  ,the object throughout is 
elucidation1 not  simply correction of  
errors but removal of obscurity1 if not 
by changes  introduced into the printed 
text1 yet certainly always by the aid of
 the  margin2 as1 for example1 in the   
somewhat difficult passage of ,exodus   
xvii4 #af1 where really1 it would seem1 
that the margin might rightly have  had 
its place in the text4  ,sometimes the  
correction of what might seem  trivial  
error1 as in ,exodus xxxiv4 #cc1 gives  
an intelligible view of the  whole      
details of the circumstance specified4  
,moses put on the veil after  he had    
ceased speaking with them4  ,while he   
was speaking to them he was  speaking as
 ,god's representative4  ,in ,numbers   
xi4 #be the correction of a             
mistranslation removes what might       
otherwise lead to a very grave          
misconception1 viz4 that the gift of    

prophecy was continuous in the case  of 
the whole elderhood4  ,in the chapters  
relating to ,balaam1  independently of  
the alterations that are made in the    
language of his  remarkable utterances1 
the mere fact of their being arranged   
rhythmically  could not fail to cause   
the public reader1 almost unconsciously1
 to  change his tone of voice1 and to   
make the reading of the prophecy more   
distinct and impressive4  ,among many   
useful changes in ,deuteronomy one  may 
certainly be noticed 7chap4 xx4 #ai71 in
 which the obscure and  difficult clause
 in regard of the tree in the           
neighbourhood of the  besieged city is  
made at any rate intelligible4    ,in   
the historical books attention may be   
particularly called to the ,song  of    
,deborah and ,barak1 in which there are 
several important and  elucidatory      
corrections1 and in which the rhythmic  
arrangement will be  felt to bear force 
and impressiveness both to reader and to
 hearer4  ,in  the remaining ,books     

changes will be found fewer in number   
and less  striking2 but occasionally1 as
 for example in #a ,kings xx4 #bg1 we   
come  across changes that startle us by 
their unlooked-for character1 but       
which1 if correct1 add a deeper         
degradation to the outpoured blood of   
,ahab in the pool of ,samaria4    ,of   
the poetical ,books1 ,i have already    
alluded to the ,book of ,job and to  the
 high character of the ,revision4  ,the 
changes in this noble poem are  many1   
and were especially needed1 for the     
rendering of the ,book of ,job  has     
always been felt to be one of the       
weakest portions of the great work  of  
the ,revisers of #afaa4  ,illustrations 
,i am unable to give1 in a cursory      
notice like the present1 but ,i may     
again press the ,revisers' version of   
this deeply interesting ,book on the    
serious attention of every earnest      
student of the ,old ,testament4    ,it  
is difficult to say much on the ,revised
 ,version of the ,book of ,psalms1  as  

,coverdale's ,version1 as we have it in 
our ,prayer ,book1 so completely        
occupies the foreground of memory and   
devotional interest1 that ,i fear       
comparatively few study the ,bible      
,version or the careful and conservative
  work of the ,revisers4  ,this         
,revision1 however1 of the version of   
the ,book  of ,psalms deserves more     
attention than it appears to have       
received4  ,not  only will the faithful 
reader find in it the necessary         
corrections of the  version of #afaa1   
but clear guidance as to the meaning of 
the sometimes  utterly unintelligible   
renderings of the version of the ,great 
,bible which  still holds its place in  
our ,prayer ,books4  ,to take two       
examples3 let the  reader look at the   
,authorised ,version and ,prayer ,book  
,version of ,psalm  lxviii4 #af1 and of 
lxxxiv4 #e1 #f1 and contrast with both  
the rendering of  the ,revised ,version4
  ,this last-mentioned rendering will be
 found1 as ,i  have said1 to correct the

 ,authorised ,version1 and 7especially  
in the  second passage7 to remove what  
is unintelligible in the ,prayer ,book  
version4  ,it may thus be used by the   
,prayer ,book reader of the ,psalms as  
a ready and easily accessible means of  
arriving at the real meaning of  the    
many ambiguities and obscurities which  
long familiarity with the  ,prayer ,book
 ,version has led him to pass over      
without any particular  notice4  ,the   
revision of the ,prayer ,book ,version  
has been long felt to be  a very real   
necessity4  ,to read and to hear read in
 the daily services of  the ,church     
what1 in parts1 cannot be understood can
 never be spiritually  good for reader  
or hearer4  ,and yet1 such is the really
 devout  conservatism of the bulk of our
 congregations1 that though a careful   
revision1 sympathetically executed1 has 
been strongly urged by some of  our most
 earnest scholars and divines1 it is    
more than doubtful whether  such a      
revision ever will be carried out4  ,if 

this be so1 it only remains  for us so  
to encourage1 in our schools and in our 
,bible classes1 the  efficient          
explanatory help of the ,revised        
,version4  ,if this is steadily  done1  
nearly all that is at present obscure or
 unintelligible in the  ,prayer ,book   
,version will no longer remain so to the
 greater part of our  worshippers4      
,of the remaining ,poetical ,books the  
revision of the ,authorised ,version of 
the ,song of ,solomon must be specially 
noticed4  ,in the common version the    
dramatic element is almost entirely     
lost1 the paragraphs are imperfectly    
noted1 and obscurities not a few the    
inevitable consequence4  ,in a large    
degree these serious imperfections are  
removed1 and the whole tenor of  this   
exquisite poem made clear to the general
 reader4  ,the margin will  show the    
great care bestowed on the poem by the  
,revisers2 and the fewness  and trifling
 nature of the changes maintained by the
 ,american ,company  will also show1 in 

a confessedly difficult ,book1 the      
somewhat remarkable  amount of the      
agreement between the two ,companies4   
,on the ,prophetical  ,books ,i do not  
feel qualified to speak except in very  
general terms2 and  for illustrations   
must refer the reader to the large list 
of the  corrected renderings1 especially
 of the prophecy of ,isaiah1 in the     
useful  work of ,dr4 ,chambers1 who has 
devoted at least eleven pages to the    
details of the ,revisers' work on the   
,evangelist of the ,old ,covenant4  ,the
  impression which the consideration of 
these details leaves on the mind of  the
 reader will be1 ,i am confident1 the   
same as that which is ,i believe  felt  
by all professed ,hebrew scholars who   
have examined the version1 viz4  that it
 is not only faithful and thorough1 but 
often rises to a very high  level of    
poetic utterance4  ,let any one read    
aloud in the ,revised ,version  the     
well-known passage1 chap4 xiv4 #ab-bc1  
already nobly rendered in the  ,old     

,version1 and ask himself if the        
seemingly slight and trivial changes    
have not maintained this splendid       
utterance at a uniform height of        
sustained and eloquent vigour4    ,in   
the prophecies of ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel
 the changes are less striking  and     
noticeable1 not however from any        
diminished care in the work of          
revision1 but from the tenor of the     
prophecies being less familiar to the   
general reader4  ,four pages of         
instructive illustrations are supplied  
by  ,dr4 ,chambers in the case of each  
of the two prophecies4  ,the more       
noticeable changes in ,daniel and ,hosea
 are also specified by ,dr4  ,chambers1 
but the remainder of the minor prophets1
 with perhaps the  exception of         
,habakkuk1 are passed over with but     
little illustrative  notice4  ,a very   
slight inspection however of these      
difficult prophecies  will certainly    
show two things--first1 that the        
,revisers of #afaa did  their work in   

this portion of ,holy ,scripture less   
successfully than  elsewhere2 secondly1 
that the ,english and ,american         
,revisers--between whom  the differences
 are here noticeably very few--laboured 
unitedly and  successfully in keeping   
their revision of the preceding version 
of these  prophecies fully up to the    
high level of the rest of their work4   
,,ii4  ,i now pass onward to the        
consideration of the renderings in the  
,revised ,version of the ,new           
,testament4    ,the object and purpose  
of the consideration will be exactly the
 same1 as  in the foregoing pages1 to   
show the faithful thoroughness of the   
,revision1 but the manner of showing    
this will be somewhat different to  the 
method ,i have adopted in the foregoing 
portion of this ,address4  ,i  shall not
 now bring before you examples of the   
faithful and suggestive  accuracy of the
 revision1 for to do this adequately    
would far exceed the  limits of these   
,addresses2 and further1 if done would  

far fall short of  the instructive      
volume of varied and admirably arranged 
illustrations  written only four years  
ago by a member of the ,company #if1    
now1 alas1  no longer with us1 of which 
,i shall speak fully in my next         
,address4    ,what ,i shall now do will 
be to show that the principles on which 
the  version of the ,new ,testament was 
based have been in no degree affected by
  the copious literature connected with 
the language of the ,greek ,testament   
and its historical position which has   
appeared since the ,revision was        
completed4  ,it is only quite lately    
that the ,revisers have been            
represented as being insufficiently     
acquainted1 in several particulars1     
with the ,greek of the ,new ,testament1 
and in a word1 being twenty years       
behind what is now known on the subject 
#ig4  ,such charges are easily  made1   
and may at first sight seem very        
plausible1 as the last fifteen or       
twenty years have brought with them an  

amount of research in the language  of  
the ,greek ,testament which might be    
thought to antiquate some results  of   
the ,revision1 and to affect to some    
extent the long labours of those  who   
took part in it4  ,the whole subject    
then must be fairly considered1         
especially in such an ,address as the   
present1 in which the object is to  set 
forth the desirableness and rightfulness
 of using the version in the  public    
services of the ,church4    ,but first a
 few preliminary comments must be made  
on the manner and  principles in which  
the changes of rendering have been      
introduced into  the venerable ,version 
which was intrusted to us to be revised4
    ,the foremost principle to be       
alluded to is the one to which we       
adhered  steadily and persistently      
during the whole ten years of our       
labour--the  principle of faithfulness  
to the original language in which it    
pleased  ,almighty ,god that ,his saving
 truth should be revealed to the        

children of  men4  ,as the lamented     
,bishop of ,durham says most truly and  
forcibly in  his instructive ,lessons on
 the ,revised ,version of the ,new      
,testament  #ih;a2 ,faithfulness1 the   
most candid and the most scrupulous1 was
 the  central aim of the ,revisers      
#ih;b4  ,faithfulness1 but to what8     
,certainly not to the sense and spirit  
of the original #ih;b1 as our  critics  
contended must have been meant by the   
rule1--but to the original  in its plain
 grammatical meaning as elicited by     
accurate interpretation4  ,this ,i can  
confidently state was the intended      
meaning of the word when it  appeared in
 the draft rule that was submitted to   
the ,committee of  ,convocation4  ,so it
 was understood by them2 and so1 ,i may 
add1 it was  understood by the ,company1
 because ,i can clearly remember a very 
full  discussion on the true meaning of 
the word at one of the early meetings   
of the ,company4  ,some alteration had  
been proposed in the rendering of  the  

,greek to which objection was made that 
it did not come under the rule  and     
principle of faithfulness4  ,this led to
 a general1 and1 as it proved1  a final 
discussion4  ,bishop ,lightfoot1 ,i     
remember1 took an earnest part  in it4  
,he contended that our revision must be 
a true and thorough one2  that such a   
meeting as ours could not be assembled  
for many years to  come1 and that if the
 rendering was plainly more accurate and
 more true  to the original1 it ought   
not to be put aside as incompatible with
 some  supposed aspect of the rule of   
faithfulness4  ,proposals were often set
  aside without the vote being taken1 on
 the ground that it was not worth  while
 to make them1 and in a trivial matter  
to disturb recollection of a  familiar  
text2 but the non-voting resulted from  
the proposal being  withdrawn owing to  
the mind of the ,company being plainly  
against it1 and  not from any direct    
appeal to the principle of faithfulness4
  ,if the  proposal was pressed1 the    

vote of the ,company was always taken1  
and the  matter authoritatively settled4
    ,the contention1 often very         
recklessly urged1 that the ,revisers    
deliberately violated the principles    
under which the work was committed  to  
them is thus1 to use the kindest form of
 expression1 entirely  erroneous4  ,i   
have dwelt upon this matter because when
 properly  understood it clears away    
more than half of the objections that   
have been  urged against our ,revision4 
,of the remainder ,i cannot but agree   
with  good ,bishop ,westcott that no    
criticism of the ,revision--and the     
criticisms were of every form and kind  
pedantry1 spiritless literality1        
irritating triviality1 destroyed rhythm1
 and so forth--no criticism ever  came  
upon us by surprise4  ,the ,revisers1 as
 the ,bishop truly says1 heard  in the  
,jerusalem ,chamber all the arguments   
against their conclusions they  have    
heard since2 and he goes on to say that 
no restatement of old  arguments had in 

the least degree shaken his confidence  
in the general  results4  ,such words   
from one now1 alas1 no longer with us1  
but whose  memory we cherish as one of  
the most wide-minded as well as         
truth-seeking  of the biblical scholars 
of our own times1 may well serve to     
reassure the  partially hesitating      
reader of the ,revised ,version of its  
real  trustworthiness and fidelity4     
,but we must not confine our attention  
simply to the renderings that hold a    
place in the text of the ,revised       
,version4  ,we must take into our       
consideration a very instructive portion
  of the work of the ,revisers which is1
 ,i fear1 utterly neglected by the      
general reader--the alternative readings
 and renderings that hold a place  in   
the margin1 and form an integral portion
 of the ,revision4  ,though we  are now 
more particularly considering the       
renderings1 ,i include here the         
marginal readings1 as the relation of   
the margins to the ,version could       

hardly be fully specified without taking
 into consideration the margin in  its  
entirety4  ,as readers of the ,preface  
to the ,new ,testament 7very few1  ,i   
fear1 to judge by current criticisms7   
will possibly remember1  alternative    
readings and renderings were prohibited 
in the case of the  ,authorised         
,version1 but1 as we know1 the          
prohibition was completely  disregarded1
 some thirty-five notes referring to    
readings1 and probably  more than five  
hundred to alternative renderings4  ,in 
the fundamental  rules of ,convocation  
for the ,revision just the opposite     
course was  prescribed1 and1 as we know1
 freely acted on4    ,these alternative 
readings and renderings must be         
carefully considered1  as in the case of
 renderings much light is often thrown  
on the true  interpretation of the      
passage1 especially in the more         
difficult portions  of the ,new         
,testament4  ,their relation however to 
the actually accepted  ,version must not

 be exaggerated1 either in reference to 
readings or  renderings4  ,i will make  
plain what ,i mean by an example4  ,dr4 
,westcott  specifies a reading of       
importance in ,john i4 #ah where he     
states that the  reading in the margin  
7,god only begotten7 did in point of    
fact express  the opinion of the        
majority of the ,company1 but did not   
appear in the  text of the ,version     
because it failed to secure the         
two-thirds majority  of those present at
 the final revision4  ,this1 perhaps1   
makes a little  too much of an          
acceptance at a somewhat early period of
 the labours of  the ,company4  ,so far 
as ,i remember the case1 the somewhat   
startling  alteration was accepted at   
the first revision 7when the decision   
was to  be by simple majorities71 but a 
margin was granted1 which of course     
continued up to the second revision4    
,at that revision the then text and  the
 then margin changed places4  ,dr4      
,hort1 ,i am well aware1 published an   

important pamphlet on the subject1 but  
,i have no remembrance that the  first  
decision on the reading was alluded to1 
either at the second  revision or       
afterwards1 in any exceptional manner4  
,it did but share the  fate of          
numberless alterations at the first     
revision that were not  finally         
confirmed4    ,the ,american ,revisers1 
it will be observed1 agree as to the    
reading in  question with their ,english
 brethren2 and the same too is the      
judgement  of ,professor ,nestle in his 
carefully edited ,greek ,testament to   
which ,i  have already referred4    ,i  
have dwelt upon this particular case1   
because though ,i am especially         
desirous to encourage a far greater     
attention to the margin than it has     
hitherto received1 ,i am equally        
desirous that the margin should not be  
elevated above its real position4  ,that
 position is one of subordination  to   
the version actually adopted1 whether   
when maintaining the older form  or     

changing it4  ,it expresses the         
judgement of a legal1 if not also of a  
numerical1 minority1 and1 in the case of
 difficult passages 7as in ,rom4  ix4   
#d71 the judgement of groups which the  
,company1 as a whole1 deemed  worthy of 
being recorded4  ,but1 not only should  
the margin thus be  considered1 but the 
readings and renderings preferred by the
 ,american  ,committee1 which will often
 be found suggestive and helpful4       
,these1 as  we know1 are now            
incorporated in the ,american ,standard 
,edition of the  ,revised ,bible2 and   
the result1 ,i fear1 will be that the   
hitherto familiar  ,appendix will       
disappear from the smaller ,english     
editions of the ,revised  ,version of   
the ,old and ,new ,testament4  ,it is   
perhaps inevitable1 but it  will be a   
real loss4  ,all ,i can hope is that in 
some specified ,english  editions of the
 ,old and ,new ,testament each ,appendix
 will regularly be  maintained1 and that
 this token of the happy union of       

,england and ,america  in the blessed   
work of revising their common version of
 ,god's holy ,word  will thus be        
preserved to the end4    ,but we must   
now pass onward to considerations very  
closely affecting the  renderings of the
 ,revised ,version of the ,greek        
,testament4    ,i have already said that
 very recently a new and unexpected     
charge has  been brought against the    
,revisers of the ,authorised ,version4  
,and the  charge is no less than this1  
that the ,revisers were ignorant in     
several  important particulars of the   
language from which the version was     
originally made that they were appointed
 to revise4    ,now in meeting a charge 
of this nature1 in which we may         
certainly notice  that want of          
considerate intelligence which marks    
much of the criticism  that has been    
directed against our revision1 it seems 
always best when  dealing with a        
competent scholar who does not give in  
detail examples on  which the criticism 

rests1 to try and understand his point  
of view and  the general reasons for his
 unfavourable pronouncement4  ,and in   
this case  ,i do not think it difficult 
to perceive that the imputation of      
ignorance  on the part of the ,revisers 
has arisen from an exaggerated estimate 
of  the additions to our knowledge of   
,new ,testament ,greek which have       
accumulated during the twenty years that
 have passed away since the  ,revision  
was completed4  ,if this be a correct1  
as it is certainly a  charitable1       
estimate of the circumstances under     
which ignorance has been  imputed to us 
in respect of several matters relating  
to the ,greek on  which we were engaged1
 let us now leave our critics1 and deal 
with these  reasonable questions4       
,first1 what was the general knowledge1 
on the part  of the ,revisers1 of the   
character and peculiarities of ,new     
,testament  ,greek8  ,secondly1 what is 
the amount of the knowledge relative to 
,new  ,testament ,greek that has been   

acquired since the publication of the   
revision8 and thirdly1 to what extent   
does this recently acquired  knowledge  
affect the correctness and fidelity of  
the renderings that have  been adopted  
by the ,revisers8  ,if these three      
questions are plainly  answered we shall
 have dealt fully and fairly with the   
doubts that have  been expressed or     
implied as to the correctness of the    
revision4    ,first1 then1 as to the    
general knowledge which the revisers had
 of the  character and peculiarities of 
the ,greek of the ,new ,testament4      
,this question could not perhaps be more
 fairly and correctly dealt with  than  
by ,bishop ,westcott in the opening     
words of his chapter on ,exactness  in  
,grammatical ,detail1 in the valuable   
work to which ,i have already  referred4
  ,what he states probably expresses    
very exactly the general  view taken by 
the great majority1 if not by all1 of   
the ,revisers in  regard of the ,greek  
of the ,new ,testament4  ,what the      

,bishop says of the  language is this3  
that it is marked by unique             
characteristics4  ,it is  separated very
 clearly1 both in general vocabulary and
 in construction1  from the language of 
the ,,lxx1 the ,greek ,version of the   
,old ,testament1  which was its         
preparation1 and from the ,greek of the 
,fathers which was  its development     
#ajf4    ,if we accept this as a correct
 statement of the general knowledge of  
the  ,revisers as to the language of the
 ,greek ,testament1 we naturally ask    
further1 on what did they rely for the  
correct interpretation of it4  ,the     
answer can readily be given1 and it is  
this3 ,besides their general  knowledge 
of ,greek which1 in the case of the     
large majority1 was very  great1 their  
knowledge of ,new ,testament ,greek was 
distinctly influenced  by the           
grammatical views of ,professor ,winer1 
of whose valuable grammar of  the ,greek
 ,testament one of our ,company1 as ,i  
have mentioned in my first  ,address1   

had been a well-known and successful    
translator4  ,though his  name was not  
very frequently brought up in our       
discussions1 the influence  his grammar 
exerted among us1 directly and          
indirectly1 was certainly  great2 but it
 went no further than grammatical       
details4  ,his obvious  gravitation to  
the idea of ,new ,testament ,greek      
forming a sort of separate  department  
of its own probably never was shared1 to
 any perceptible  extent1 by any one of 
us4  ,we did not enter very far into    
these matters4  ,we knew by every day's 
working experience that ,new ,testament 
,greek  differed to some extent from the
 ,greek to which we had been accustomed1
  and from the ,septuagint ,greek to    
which from time to time we referred4    
,but further than this we did not go1   
nor care to go4  ,we had quite enough   
on our hands4  ,we had a very difficult 
task to perform1 we had to revise  under
 prescribed conditions a version which  
needed revision almost in  every verse1 

and we had no time to enter into        
questions that did not then  appear to  
bear directly on our engrossing and     
responsible work4    ,but now it must be
 distinctly admitted that recent        
investigation and1 to  a certain extent1
 recent discoveries have cast so much   
new light on ,new  ,testament ,greek    
that it becomes a positive duty to take 
into  consideration what has been       
disclosed to us by the labours of the   
last  fifteen years as to ,new          
,testament ,greek1 and then fairly to   
face the  question whether the          
particular labours of the ,revisers have
 been  seriously affected by it4  ,let  
us bear in mind1 however1 that it may be
  quite possible that a largely         
increased knowledge of the position     
which  what used to be called ,biblical 
,greek now occupies may be clearly      
recognized1 and yet only comparatively  
few changes necessitated by it in       
syntactic details and renderings4  ,but 
let us not anticipate4  ,what we  have  

now to do is to ascertain the nature and
 amount of the disclosures  and new     
knowledge to which ,i have alluded4     
,this may be briefly stated as emanating
 from a very large amount of  recent    
literature on post-classical ,greek1 and
 from a careful and  scientific         
investigation of the transition from the
 earlier  post-classical to the later1  
and thence to the modern ,greek of the  
present time4  ,such an investigation1  
illustrated as it has been by the       
voluminous collection of the            
,inscriptions1 and the already large and
  growing collection of the ,papyri1 has
 thrown indirectly considerable  light  
on ,new ,testament ,greek1 and has also 
called out three works1 each  of a very 
important character1 and posterior to   
the completion of the  ,revision1 which 
deal directly with the ,greek of the    
,new ,testament4  ,these  three works ,i
 will now specify4    ,the first1 which 
is still in progress1 and has not1 ,i   
think1 yet received  a translator1 is   

the singularly accurate1 and in parts   
corrective1  edition of ,winer's        
,grammar by ,prof4 ,schmiedel4  ,the    
portion on the  article is generally    
recognized as of great value and        
importance4    ,the second work is the  
now well-translated ,bible ,studies of  
,dr4  ,deissmann of ,heidelberg #aji4   
,this remarkable work1 of which the full
  title is ,contributions1 chiefly from 
,papyri and ,inscriptions1 to the       
,history of the ,language1 the          
,literature1 and the ,religion of       
,hellenistic  ,judaism1 and ,primitive  
,christianity1 contains not only a clear
 estimate  of the nature of ,new        
,testament ,greek1 but also a large and 
instructive  vocabulary of about #afj   
words and expressions in the ,new       
,testament1 most  of which receive in   
varying degrees illustration from the   
,papyri1 and  other approximately       
contemporary sources4  ,it must be      
noted1 however1  that the writer himself
 specifies that his investigations have 

been1 in  part1 arranged on a plan which
 is polemical #aaj;a4  ,this avowal     
must1  to some extent1 affect our full  
acceptance of all the results arrived at
  in this striking and laborious work4  
,the third work is a ,grammar of ,new   
,testament ,greek by the well-known  and
 distinguished scholar1 ,dr4 ,blass1 and
 is deserving of the fullest  attention 
from every earnest student of the ,greek
 ,testament4  ,it has been  excellently 
translated by ,mr4 ,st4 ,john           
,thackeray1 of the ,education           
,department #aaj;b4  ,it is really      
hardly possible to speak too highly of  
this helpful and valuable work4  ,its   
value consists in this--that it has     
been written1 on the one hand1 by an    
accomplished classical scholar1 and1  on
 the other hand1 by one who is          
thoroughly acquainted with the          
investigations of the last fifteen      
years4  ,as his ,introduction clearly   
shows1 he fully accepts the estimate    
that is now generally entertained of    

the ,greek of the ,new ,testament1 viz4 
that it is no isolated production1  as  
regards language1 that had no historic  
relation to the ,greek of the  past or  
of the future4  ,it was not1 to any     
great extent1 derived from the  ,greek  
translations of the ,old                
,testament--often1 as ,dr4 ,blass says1 
slavishly literal--nor from the literary
 language of the time1 but was  the     
spoken ,greek of the age to which it    
belonged1 modified by the  position and 
education of the speaker1 and also to   
some extent1 though by  no means to any 
large extent1 by the ,semitic element   
which1 from time to  time1 discloses    
itself in the language of the inspired  
writers4  ,this  last-written epithet1  
which ,i wittingly introduce1 must not  
be lost sight  of by the ,christian     
student4    ,dr4 ,blass quite admits    
that the language of the ,greek         
,testament may be  rightly treated in   
connexion with the discoveries in ,egypt
 furnished by  the ,papyri2 but he has  

also properly maintained elsewhere #aaa 
that the  books of the ,new ,testament  
form a special group to be primarily    
explained by itself4  ,greatly as we are
 indebted to ,dr4 ,deissmann for  his   
illustrations1 especially in regard of  
vocabulary1 we must read with  serious  
caution1 and watch all attempts to make 
,inscriptions or ,papyri do  the work of
 an interpretation of the inner meaning 
of ,god's ,holy ,word  which belongs to 
another realm1 and to the               
self-explanations which are  vouchsafed 
to us in the reverent study of the      
,book--not of ,humanity 7as  ,deissmann 
speaks of the ,new ,testament7 #aab but 
of--,life4    ,i have now probably dealt
 sufficiently with the second of the    
three  questions which ,i have put      
forward for our consideration4  ,i have 
stated  the general substance of the    
knowledge which has been permitted to   
come  to us since the revision was      
completed4  ,i now pass onward to the   
third  and most difficult question      

equitably to answer1 ,to what extent    
does  this newly-acquired knowledge     
affect the correctness and fidelity of  
the  revision of the ,authorised        
,version of the ,new ,testament8  ,it is
 easy  enough to speak of ignorance on  
the part of the ,revisers1 especially   
after what ,i have specified in the     
answer to the question on which we  have
 just been meditating2 but the real and 
practical question is this1  ,if the    
,revisers had all this knowledge when   
they were engaged on their  work1 would 
it have materially affected their       
revision8    ,to this more limited form 
of the question ,i feel no difficulty in
  replying1 that ,i am fully and firmly 
persuaded that it would not have        
materially affected the revision2 and my
 grounds for returning this  answer     
depend on these two considerations3     
first1 that the full knowledge  which   
some of us had of ,winer's ,grammar1 and
 the general knowledge that  was        
possessed of it by the majority1        

certainly enabled us to realize that    
the ,greek on which we were engaged1    
while retaining very many elements of   
what was classical1 had in it also not  
only many signs of post-classical       
,greek1 but even of usages which we now 
know belong to later developments4      
,these later developments1 all of which 
are1 to some extent1 to be  recognized  
in the ,greek ,testament1 such as the   
disappearance of the  optative1 the use 
of ,greek text with the subjunctive in  
the place of  the infinitive1 the       
displacement of ,greek text1 the        
interchange of  ,greek text and ,greek  
text1 of ,greek text and ,greek text1   
the use  of compound forms without any  
corresponding increase of meaning1 the  
extended usage of the aorist1 the wider 
sphere of the accusative1 and  many     
similar indications of later ,greek--all
 these were so far known to  us as to   
exercise a cautionary influence on our  
revision1 and to prevent  us            
overpressing the meaning of words and   

forms that had lost their  original     
definiteness4    ,my second reason for  
the answer ,i have given to the question
 is based on  the accumulating          
experience we were acquiring in our ten 
years of labour1  and our instinctive   
avoidance of renderings which in        
appearance might be  precise1 but did in
 reality exaggerate the plain meaning   
intended by the  ,greek that we were    
rendering4  ,sometimes1 but only rarely1
 we fell into  this excusable form of   
over-rendering4  ,perhaps the concluding
 words of  ,mark xiv4 #fe will supply an
 example4  ,at any rate1 the view taken 
by  ,blass #aad would seem to suggest a 
less literal form of translation4       
,when ,i leave the limited form of      
answer1 and face the broad and general  
question of the extent to which our     
recently-acquired knowledge affects  the
 correctness and fidelity of the        
revision1 ,i can only give an answer    
founded on an examination of numerous   
passages in which ,i have compared  the 

comments of ,dr4 ,blass in his ,grammar1
 and of ,dr4 ,deissmann in his  ,bible  
,studies with the renderings of the     
,revisers4  ,and the answer is  this1   
that the number of cases in which any   
change could reasonably be  required has
 been so small1 so very small1 that the 
charge of any real  ignorance1 on the   
part of the ,revisers1 of the ,greek on 
which they were  engaged1 must be       
dismissed as utterly and entirely       
exaggerated4  ,we have  now acquired an 
increased knowledge of the character of 
the ,greek of the  ,new ,testament1 and 
of the place it holds in the historical 
transition of  the language from the    
earlier post-classical to the later     
developments of  the language1 but this 
knowledge1 interesting and instructive  
as it may  be1 leaves the principles of 
correctly translating it practically    
intact4  ,in this latter process we must
 deal with the language of the ,greek   
,testament as we would deal with the    
language of any other ,greek book1 and  

make the book1 as far as we have the    
means of doing so1 its own  interpreter4
    ,having thus shown in broad and     
general terms1 as far as ,i have been   
able  to do so1 that we may still1      
notwithstanding the twenty years that   
have  passed away1 regard the ,revised  
,version of the ,greek ,testament as a  
faithfully executed revision1 and its   
renderings such as may be accepted  with
 full ,christian confidence1 ,i now turn
 to the easier1 but not less  necessary1
 duty of bringing before you some       
considerations why this  ,version and1  
with it1 the ,revised ,version of the   
,old ,testament1 should be  regularly   
used in the public services of our      
,mother ,church4          ,,address ,v4 
,,public ,,use ,,of ,,the ,,version4    
,we have now traced the external1 and to
 some extent the internal history  of   
,revision from the time1 some fifty     
years ago1 when it began to occupy  the 
thoughts of scholars and divines1 down  
to the present day4    ,we have seen the

 steady advance in ,church opinion as to
 its necessity2  its earliest           
manifestations1 and the silent progress 
from what was  tentative and provisional
 to authoritative recognition1 and to   
carefully  formulated procedures under  
the high and venerable sanction of the  
two  ,houses of the ,convocation of     
,canterbury4  ,we have further seen how 
the  movement extended to ,america1 and 
how some of the best scholars and       
divines of that ,christian country      
co-operated with those of our own       
country in the arduous and responsible  
work of revising their common  heritage1
 the ,version of ,god's most ,holy      
,word1 as set forth by authority  #bij  
years ago4  ,we have noted too1 that in 
this work not less than one  hundred    
scholars and divines were engaged--for  
fourteen years in the case  of the ,old 
,testament1 and for ten years in the    
case of the ,new  ,testament--and that  
this long period of labour and study was
 marked by  regularly appointed and     

faithfully kept times of meeting1 and by
 the  interchange with the ,revisers on 
the other side of the ,atlantic of      
successive portions of the work1 until  
the whole was completed4    ,and this   
,revision1 as we have seen1 has included
 a full consideration of  the text of   
the original languages as well as of the
 renderings4  ,in the  ,old ,testament1 
adherence to the ,massorite ,text has   
left only a very  limited number of     
passages in which consideration of the  
ancient ,version  was deemed to be      
necessary2 but1 in the ,new ,testament1 
as we well know1  questions of textual  
criticism occupied a large portion of   
the time and  attention of the          
,revisers1 both here and in ,america4   
,in regard of the  renderings1 we have  
seen the care and thoroughness with     
which the  ,revision was carried out1   
the marginal notes in both ,testaments  
showing  convincingly1 especially on the
 more difficult passages1 how every     
rendering that could be regarded as in  

any degree probable received its  full  
share of consideration4  ,finally1 it   
must not be forgotten that1 in  the case
 of the ,new ,testament1 the serious    
question whether the research  in ,new  
,testament ,greek since the ,revision   
was completed has1 to any  appreciable  
extent1 affected the suggestive light   
and truth of really  innumerable        
corrections and changes--this too has   
been faced1 and the  charge fairly met1 
that just conclusions drawn from the    
true nature of  the ,greek1 gravely     
affecting interpretation1 have been     
ignored by the  ,revisers4    ,so much  
of the latter part of the last ,address 
has been taken up with  this necessary  
duty of showing that the changes in     
renderings cannot be  invalidated by a  
priori considerations founded on the    
alleged  insufficient knowledge1 on the 
part of the ,revisers1 of the nature of 
the  ,greek they were translating1 that 
,i have not cited examples of the       
light-giving and often serious nature of

 the changes made in the  ,authorised   
,version4  ,this ,i regretted at the    
time2 but a little  consideration showed
 me that it was much better for the     
cause in which ,i  am engaged that ,i   
should refer you for illustrations of   
the nature and  value of the renderings 
in the ,revised ,version of the ,new    
,testament to a  singularly fruitful and
 helpful volume1 published only four    
years ago1  and so subsequently to the  
researches in ,new ,testament ,greek of 
which ,i  have spoken4  ,this volume was
 written by a member of our             
,company--now1  alas1 no longer with    
us--whose knowledge of the ,greek       
language1 whether  of earlier or of     
later date1 no one could possibly doubt4
  ,i allude to  the ,lessons of the     
,revised ,version of the ,new           
,testament1 by ,dr4  ,westcott1 a volume
 that has not yet received the full     
attention which its  remarkable merits  
abundantly claim1 for it4    ,of this   
volume ,i shall speak more fully later  

on in this ,address1 my  object now     
being to set forth the desirableness1 ,i
 might even say the  duty1 of using the 
,revised ,version in the ,public        
,services of the ,church4    ,after the 
summary ,i have just given of the       
external history of this great          
movement1 does not the question come    
home to us1 ,why has all this been      
done8  ,for what have the hundred       
labourers in the great work freely given
  their time and their energies during  
the four and twenty years 7speaking     
collectively7 that were spent on the    
work8  ,for what did the venerable      
,convocation of our ,province give the  
weight of its sanction and authority    
when it drew up the fundamental rules in
 accordance with which all has  been    
done8  ,can there be any other answer   
than this8  ,all has been done  to bring
 the truth of ,god's most ,holy ,word   
more faithfully and more  freshly home  
to the hearts and consciences of our    
,english-speaking  people4  ,and if this

 be so1 how are ministers of this ,holy 
,word to answer  the further question1  
,when we are met together in the ,house 
of ,god to  hear ,his word and ,his     
message of salvation to mankind1 how    
hear we it8  ,in the traditional form in
 which it has been heard for wellnigh   
three  hundred years1 or in a form on   
which1 to ensure faithfulness and       
accuracy1 such labour has been bestowed 
as that which we are now  considering8  
,it seems impossible to hesitate as to  
our answer4  ,and yet  numbers do       
hesitate2 and partly from indifference1 
partly from a vague  fear of disquieting
 a congregation1 partly1 and probably   
chiefly1 from a  sense of difficulty as 
to the rightful mode of introducing the 
change1  the old ,version is still read1
 albeit with an uneasy feeling on the   
part  of the public reader2 the uneasy  
feeling being this1 that errors in      
regard of ,holy ,scripture ought not to 
remain uncorrected nor obscurities  left
 to cloud the meaning of ,god's ,word   

when there is a current ,version  from  
which errors are removed1 and in which  
obscurities are dissipated4  ,why should
 not such a ,version be read in the ears
 of our people8    ,this is the question
 which ,i am confident many a one of    
you1 my dear  friends1 when you have    
been reading in your church--say the    
,epistles--have often felt very         
distinctly come home to you4  ,why      
should  such a ,version not be read in  
the ears of our people8  ,has it been   
forbidden8  ,no1 thank ,god2 full       
liberty1 on the contrary1 has been left 
to us by the living voice of the synod  
of this ,province that it may be  read1 
subject to one reasonable limitation4   
,was it not the unanimous  judgement of 
the ,upper ,house of the ,convocation of
 our ,province1  confirmed by the voice 
of the ,lower ,house #abb--,that the use
 of the  ,revised ,version of the ,bible
 at the lectern in the public services  
of the  ,church1 where this is desired  
by clergy and people1 is not open to any

  well-founded objection1 and will tend 
to promote a more intelligent  knowledge
 of ,holy ,scripture8  ,and further1 was
 not this adopted by the  ,lay ,house of
 our ,province1 even when a few doubting
 voices were heard  #abc1 and an        
interpretation given to the word use1 in
 the form of a  rider1 which1 ,i can    
confidently say1 never entered into the 
minds or  thoughts of the members of the
 ,upper ,house8  ,indeed1 though ,i do  
not wish  to criticise the decision of  
the ,house of ,laymen1 their appended   
words of  interpretation fall to the    
ground4  ,if use is to mean occasional  
employment of ,lessons from the ,revised
 ,version1 where1 in the interest of    
more accurate translation1 it is        
desirable1 can any ,lessons be found    
where the interest of more accurate     
translation is not patently  concerned8 
,if this be so1 what meaning can we     
assign to occasional  employment8    ,we
 see then plainly1 if we are to be      
guided by the judgement of the          

venerable body to whom the authoritative
 inception of ,revision is alone  to be 
assigned1 that the way to its use in the
 ,public ,services of the  ,church is   
open to us all--where such use is       
desired by clergy and  people4  ,now let
 us take these words seriously into our 
consideration4  ,they clearly mean1     
however good the ,version may be1 that  
there is to be  no sudden and           
precipitate use of the ,revised ,version
 in the appointed  ,lessons for the day 
on the part of the minister of any of   
our parishes4  ,if introduced1 its      
introduction must not be simply when it 
is desired by  the clergyman1 but when  
it is also desired by his people4  ,so  
great a  change as the displacement of  
the old and familiar ,authorised        
,version--for it amounts to this--in the
 public reading of ,holy ,scripture  in 
the ,services of the ,church1 in favour 
of an altered form of the old  ,version 
7though confessedly so altered that the 
general hearer would  hardly ever       

recognize the displacement7--so great a 
change ought not to  be made without the
 knowledge1 and further1 the desire of  
the  congregation4    ,but how is the   
desire for the change to be ascertained8
  ,so far as ,i can  see1 there can be  
only one real and rightful way of       
bringing about the  desire and the      
manifestation of it1 and that is by     
first of all showing  simply and plainly
 how1 especially in the ,new ,testament1
 the alterations  give life1 colouring  
and reality to the narratives of        
,evangelists1 force  and lucidity to the
 reasonings of ,apostles1 and1 what is  
of still more  vital importance1 deeper 
insight into our relations to our saving
 ,lord1  clearer knowledge of ,his      
blessed life and work here on earth1 and
  quickened perceptions of our present  
and our future1 and1 to a very real     
extent1 of the holy mysteries of the    
life of the world to come4  ,when       
changes of text and of renderings are   
shown1 and they can be shown1 to  bear  

with them these fuller revelations of   
,god's ,holy ,word1 there will be  no   
lack of desire1 and of the manifestation
 of it1 in any congregation1  for the   
public use of a ,version through which  
such disclosures as ,i have  specified  
can be brought home to the truth-seeking
 believer4    ,my fixed opinion         
therefore is this1 that though1 after a 
long and careful  consideration of the  
subject1 ,i do sincerely desire that the
 ,revised  ,version should be introduced
 into the churches of this diocese1 ,i  
do also  sincerely desire that it should
 not be introduced without a due        
preparation of the congregation for the 
change1 and some manifestation of  their
 desire for the change4  ,there will    
probably be a few churches in  our      
diocese in which the ,revised ,version  
is used already1 and in regard  of them 
nothing more will be necessary than1    
from time to time1 in  occasional       
addresses1 to allude to any important   
changes that may have  appeared in the  

,lessons and recent readings of ,holy   
,scripture1 and thus  to keep alive the 
thoughtful study of that which will be  
more and more  felt to be1 in the truest
 sense of the words1 the ,book of ,life4
  ,but1 in  the great majority of our   
churches--though in many cases there may
 have  been passing desires to read and 
to hear ,god's ,word in its most        
truthful  form--no forward steps will   
have been taken4  ,it is in reference   
then to  this great majority of cases   
that ,i have broken my long silence1    
and1  before my ministry closes1 have   
resolved to bring before you the whole  
history of the greatest spiritual       
movement that has taken place since the 
,reformation2 and also to indicate the  
untold blessings the ,revision will     
bear to those who avail themselves of it
 in all reverent earnestness and        
devotion4    ,thus far ,i hope ,i have  
made it plain that any forward steps    
that may be  taken can only hopefully be
 taken when1 both in the case of pastor 

and  people1 due preparation shall have 
been made for what1 in the sequel1  will
 be found to be an enduring spiritual   
change in the relation of the  soul of  
the devout hearer or reader to the ,book
 of ,life4  ,he will learn  not only    
faithfully to read the inspired ,word1  
but inwardly to love it4    ,but what   
shall we regard as due preparation in   
the case of pastor and  people8  ,this  
question1 ,i can well believe1 has      
already risen in the  hearts of many who
 are now hearing these words1 and to the
 best answer to  it that ,i am able to  
give you ,i will gladly devote the      
remainder of this  present ,address4    
,let us first consider how any one of   
you really and  truly desirous to       
prepare his congregation for the hearing
 of ,god's ,word  in the form known as  
the ,revised ,version--how such a one   
should prepare  himself for the         
responsible duty4  ,prayer for himself  
and his  congregation in this great     
spiritual matter should ever be his     

first  preparation4  ,after this his    
next care should be to provide himself  
with  such books as will be             
indispensable for faithful preparation4 
,first and  foremost1 let him provide   
himself with a copy of what is called   
the  ,parallel ,bible1 the ,authorised  
,version being on the left-hand side of 
the  page1 and the ,revised ,version on 
the right4  ,next let it be his duty to 
read closely and carefully the ,preface 
to the ,old ,testament and the  ,preface
 to the ,new ,testament4  ,had this been
 done years ago1 how much of  unfair    
criticism should we all have been       
spared8  ,the next step will be  to     
obtain some competent guide-book to     
explain the meaning of the  different   
changes of rendering1 the alterations   
due to readings having  been separately 
noted4  ,the guide-book1 whether in the 
case of the ,old or  of the ,new        
,testament1 should1 in my judgement1 be 
a volume written by a  ,reviser1 as he  
would have a knowledge1 far beyond what 

could be obtained  by an outsider1 of   
the reasons for many of the departures  
from the  ,authorised ,version4    ,in  
regard of the ,old ,testament ,i have   
said in my last ,address that ,i do  not
 myself know of any guide-book1 written 
by a ,reviser1 save the  interesting    
volume by ,dr4 ,talbot ,chambers1 to    
which ,i have been indebted  for much   
that1 being a member of another         
,company1 ,i could not have  brought    
forward without his assistance4  ,in    
regard of the ,new ,testament1  however1
 it is otherwise4  ,there is a useful   
volume by my old friend and  former     
colleague the late ,prebendary ,humphry2
 but the volume which ,i most  earnestly
 desire to name is the volume already   
mentioned1 and entitled  ,some ,lessons 
of the ,revised ,version of the ,new    
,testament1 by the late  ,bishop of     
,durham4  ,this book is simply          
indispensable for any one desirous  of  
preparing himself for the duty of       
introducing the ,revised ,version of    

the ,new ,testament into the ,public    
,services of his parish4  ,it is one of 
those rare and remarkable books that not
 only give the needed  explanation1 but 
also cast a light on the whole spiritual
 results of the  change1 and constantly 
awaken in the reader some portion of the
  enthusiasm with which the ,bishop     
records changes that many an earnest and
  devout reader might think belonged    
only to the details of grammatical      
accuracy4  ,i thus cannot forbear       
quoting a few lines in which the        
,bishop1  after alluding to the change  
in ,matt4 xxviii4 #ai1 into 7not in7 the
  name of the ,father and of the ,holy  
,ghost1 and the change in ,rom4 vi4 #bc1
  eternal life in 7not through7 ,christ 
,jesus our ,lord1 thus speaks  from his 
inmost soul3 ,am ,i wrong in saying that
 he who has mastered the  meaning of    
those two prepositions now truly        
rendered--'into the name1'  'in         
,christ'--has found the central truth of
 ,christianity8  ,certainly ,i  would   

gladly have given the ten years of my   
life spent on the ,revision to  bring   
only these two phrases of the ,new      
,testament to the heart of  ,englishmen4
  ,is it too much to say that a volume  
written by a guide such  as this is     
simply indispensable for any one who    
prepares himself for  introducing to his
 people--the government of whose souls  
has been  committed to him--the ,revised
 ,version of the ,new ,testament of our 
,lord  and ,master ,jesus ,christ4      
,with the help that ,i have specified   
any one of you1 my dear friends1  might 
adequately prepare himself for the duty 
and responsibility of  taking the next  
step1 the preparation of his            
congregation for hearing the  ,word of  
,god in the form that most nearly       
approaches in our own language  what    
prophets1 evangelists1 and apostles have
 written for our learning  under the    
inspiration of ,god4  ,this preparation 
may be carried on in many  forms1 by    
pastoral visitations1 through our ,bible

 classes1 through the  efforts of our   
mission preachers in the holy seasons1  
but obviously most  hopefully and       
persuasively by the living voice of the 
faithful pastor in  his public          
ministrations in the pulpit of his      
church4  ,parishes differ so  much in   
spiritual culture that probably no      
method of preparation could be          
specified that would be equally         
applicable to all4  ,still in the case  
of  our country parishes ,i am persuaded
 our preparation must come from the     
pulpit and in a manner carefully thought
 out and prearranged4  ,let me  give    
some indication of a mode of bringing   
the subject forward in a  country parish
 that would call out the desire for the 
regular use of the  ,revised ,version in
 the reading of the ,lessons for the    
day4    ,let us suppose a month set     
apart for the preparation4  ,on the     
first  ,sunday let an account be given  
of the circumstances1 and especially the
  authority under which the ,revision   

came into existence4  ,on the second    
,sunday let illustrations be given of   
the nature of the ,revision from  those 
parts in ,bishop ,westcott's ,lessons of
 the ,revised ,version of the  ,new     
,testament which made the deepest       
impression during the study of that     
suggestive and spiritual volume4  ,on   
the third ,sunday let comments be  made 
on the most striking of the changes in  
the two appointed ,lessons for  the day 
from the ,old ,testament4  ,here the    
preacher may find some  difficulty1 as  
want of knowledge of ,hebrew or of the  
right interpretation  of the passage in 
which the alteration is made might      
prevent his clearly  stating the reasons
 for it4  ,in such cases a good modern  
,commentary on  the ,old ,testament     
would probably supply the needed        
assistance4  ,the most  available       
,commentary ,i know of for the purpose  
is the one published by  ,messrs4       
,cassells1 and now sold at the low      
price--for both ,testaments--of         

thirty-five shillings4  ,on the fourth  
,sunday1 the preacher's subject  should 
be the most striking of the changes in  
the two appointed ,lessons  from the    
,new ,testament4  ,for this there would 
be abundant help supplied  by the volume
 of ,bishop ,westcott1 and1 if needed1  
by the ,commentary on  the ,new         
,testament to which ,i have alluded4    
,now ,i sincerely believe that if this  
very simple and feasible plan were      
carried out in any parish1 two results  
would certainly follow3 first1  that the
 ,revised ,version would be desired and 
welcomed2 secondly1 that an  interest in
 ,god's ,holy ,word would be called out 
in the parish and its  ,bible classes   
that would make a lasting impression on 
the whole spiritual  life of the place4 
,we have many faults1 but we are a      
,bible-loving  nation1 and we have shown
 it in many crises of our history2 and  
thus1 ,i  am persuaded1 in a change such
 as ,i have suggested1 the old love     
would be  called out afresh1 and would  

display itself in a manner we might     
never  have expected4    ,i feel now    
that ,i have said all that it may be    
well for me to have laid  before you4   
,i have used no tone of authority2 ,i   
have not urged in any  way the          
introduction of the ,revised ,version1  
or that the plan of  introducing it     
should be adopted by any one among you4 
,i have contented  myself with having   
shown that it is feasible2 and ,i have  
definitely  stated my opinion that1 if  
it were to be adopted1 it is in a high  
degree  probable that a fresh interest  
in the ,holy ,scriptures would be       
awakened1  and the love of ,god's ,holy 
,word again found to be a living        
reality4    ,perhaps the present time   
may be of greater moment in regard of   
the study  of ,holy ,scripture1 and     
especially of the language of the ,greek
 ,testament1  than we may now be able   
distinctly to foresee4  ,i mentioned in 
my last  ,address the large amount of   
research1 during the last fifteen years1

 in  reference to the ,greek of the ,new
 ,testament and the position which the  
sacred volume1 considered simply        
historically and as a collection of     
writings in the ,greek language of the  
first century after ,christ1 really     
does hold in the general history of a   
language which1 in its latest form1  is 
widely spoken to this very day4  ,i     
mentioned also what seemed to be  the   
most reasonable opinion1 viz4 that the  
,greek of the ,new ,testament was  the  
spoken ,greek of the time1 neither      
literary ,greek nor the ,greek of the   
lower class1 but ,greek such as men     
would use at that time when they had  to
 place in the definiteness of writing   
the language which passed from  their   
lips in their converse with their       
fellow-men4  ,now1 that advantage  will 
be taken of this1 and that it will be   
used to show that the  spiritual        
deductions that we draw from the written
 words cannot be fully  relied on1      
because old distinctions have been      

obscured or obliterated1 is  what ,i    
fear1 in days such as these1 will often 
be used against the  faithful reading1  
marking1 and learning of the ,written   
,word4  ,but we  shall hear them1 ,i    
hope1 with the two true conclusive      
answers ever  present in the soul1 the  
answer of plain human reasoning1 and the
 deeper  answer which revelation brings 
seriously home to us4  ,in regard of the
  first answer1 does not plain common   
sense justify us in maintaining that    
the writers meant what they wrote1 and  
that when they used certain  ,greek     
words in the mighty message they were   
delivering to their  fellow-men and to  
all who should hereafter receive it1    
they did mean that  those words were to 
be understood in the plain and simple   
meaning that  every plain reader would  
assign to them4  ,they were not         
speaking2 they  were writing2 and they  
were writing what they knew was to be   
for all  time4  ,thus to take an example
 from the passages above referred to of 

which ,bishop ,westcott makes such      
impressive use1 who can doubt1 with any 
fair show of reason--however frequent   
may be the interchange of the           
particular prepositions in the first    
century--that1 in those passages1  when 
,st4 ,matthew wrote ,greek text he did  
mean into2 and that when ,st4  ,paul    
used ,greek text1 he did mean in1 in the
 simplest sense of the  word8    ,but to
 the devout ,christian we have a far    
deeper answer than the answer  we have  
just considered4    ,in the first place1
 does not the manifold wisdom of ,god   
reveal itself to  our poor human        
thoughts in ,his choice of a widespread 
spoken language1  just by its very      
diffusion readily lending itself to the 
reception of new  words and new thoughts
 as the medium by which the ,gospel     
message was  communicated to the        
children of men8  ,just as the          
particular period of  ,christ's         
manifestation has ever been reverently  
regarded as a revelation  of the        

manifold nature of the eternal wisdom1  
so may we not see the same  in the      
choice of a language1 at a particular   
period of its development1  as the      
bearer of the message of salvation to   
mankind8  ,surely this is a             
manifestation of the ,divine wisdom     
which must ever be seen and felt        
whenever the outward character of the   
,greek of the ,new ,testament is dwelt  
upon by the truth-seeking spirit of the 
reverent believer4    ,and is there not 
a second thought1 far too much lost     
sight of in our  investigation of the   
written word of the ,new                
,testament--that just as the  writers   
had their human powers quickened and    
strengthened by the ,holy  ,ghost for   
the full setting forth of the ,gospel   
message by their spoken  words1 so in   
regard of their written words would the 
same blessed  guidance be vouchsafed to 
them8  ,and if so1 is it not right for  
us1 not  only to draw from their words  
all that by the plain laws of language  

they  can be understood to convey to us1
 but also to do what has been done in   
the ,revised ,version1 and to find the  
nearest equivalent our language         
supplies for the words in the original8 
,these thoughts might be carried much   
further1 but enough has been said to    
justify the minute care that has been   
taken in the renderings of the  written 
word of the ,new ,testament by the      
,revisers1 and further1 the  validity of
 the deductions that may be drawn from  
their use of one word  rather than      
another1 especially in the case of words
 that might seem to  be practically     
synonymous4  ,it may be quite true that1
 in the current  ,greek of the time1    
many of the distinctions that were valid
 in an earlier  period of the language  
were no longer observed2 and of this we 
find many  indications in the ,greek    
,testament4  ,but it must be remembered 
that we  also find in the ,greek        
,testament a vastly preponderating      
portion of what  is grammatically       

correct according to the earlier        
standard1 and often  clear indications  
that what was so written must have been 
definitely  meant by the writer4  ,is it
 not then our clearest duty1 remembering
  always that what we are translating is
 the ,gospel message1 to do what the    
,revisers did1 to render each passage in
 accordance with the recognized  meaning
 of the words1 and in harmony with the  
plain tenor of the context8    ,i now   
close these words and these ,addresses  
with the solemn prayer to  ,almighty    
,god that in this great matter1 and in  
the use of that which the  living voice 
of our synod permits us to use1 we may  
be guided by ,god the  ,holy ,ghost1    
through ,jesus ,christ1 our ever-blessed
 and redeeming ,lord and  ,god4         
99 99 99 99 99    ,as the use at the    
lectern of the ,revised ,version in the 
,public ,service  of the ,church may be 
thought likely to involve expense1 ,i   
may mention  that the small pica edition
 of the ,bible1 at #ajs4 #f;d4 net1 and 

of the  ,apocrypha separately1 at #gs4  
#f;d41 will be found sufficient in most 
churches4  ,the folio edition in buckram
 of the ,bible with ,apocrypha will1  ,i
 understand1 be two guineas1 net4       
,application however should be made to  
the ,university ,press of ,oxford or of 
,cambridge1 or to the ,christian        
,knowledge ,society4                    
,,oxford3 ,,horace ,,hart               
,,printer ,,to ,,the ,,university       
,works by the same ,author4      ,,are  
,,we ,,to ,,modify ,,fundamental        
,,doctrine8  ,small post #hvo1 cloth    
boards1  #as4    ,,christus             
,,comprobator2 or1 ,the ,testimony of   
,christ to the ,old ,testament4  ,small 
post #hvo1 cloth boards1 #bs4           
,,foundations ,,of ,,sacred ,,study4    
,part ,i4  ,small post #hvo1 cloth      
boards1  #bs42 ,part ,,ii1 #bs4 #f;d4   
,,modern ,,unbelief3 its ,principles and
 ,characteristics4  ,small post #hvo1   
cloth boards1 #as4 #f;d4    ,,our       
,,reformed ,,church ,,and ,,its         

,,present ,,troubles4  ,small post #hvo1
 cloth  boards1 #f;d4    ,,salutary     
,,doctrine4  ,small post #hvo1 cloth    
boards1 #as4 #f;d4    ,,spiritual       
,,needs ,,in ,,country ,,parishes4      
,small post #hvo1 cloth boards1 #as4    
,,the ,,being ,,of ,,god 7,six          
,addresses on74  ,small post #hvo1 cloth
 boards1 #as4  #f;d4                    
,,society ,,for ,,promoting ,,christian 
,,knowledge4                            
,,london3 ,,northumberland ,,avenue1    
,w4,c4          ,footnotes3      #f     
,the following ,resolution was passed   
unanimously by the ,upper ,house  of the
 ,convocation of ,canterbury on ,feb4   
#aj1 #ahii1 after the presentation  of  
the ,report of the ,committee 7well     
worthy of being read7 by the ,bishop  of
 ,rochester4  ,the ,report is numbered  
#cbi1 and1 with other ,reports of       
,convocation1 is sold by the ,national  
,society3--        ,that in the opinion 
of this ,house the use of the ,revised  
,version at      the lectern in the     

public service of the ,church1 where    
this is      desired by clergy and      
people1 is not open to any well-founded 
objection1 and will tend to promote a   
more intelligent knowledge of      ,holy
 ,scripture4    #aj;a  ,among others may
 be named the ,edinburgh ,review for    
#ahee on  ,paragraph ,bibles1 in which  
it was said that it was now high time   
for  another revision 7p4 #dbi72 the    
,christian ,remembrancer for #ahef on   
the  ,revision of the ,authorised       
,version 7an interesting article72 the  
,quarterly ,review for #ahfc1 intimating
 that as yet we were not ripe for  any  
authorised text or translation2 the     
,edinburgh ,review for #ahfe2 and  the  
,contemporary ,review for #ahfh1 a      
careful and elaborate article1          
contending that the work must be done by
 a ,commission4    #aj;b  ,in ,february1
 #ahef1 when ,canon ,selwyn gave notice 
of proposing a  petition on the subject 
to the ,upper ,house4  ,the proposal in 
a somewhat  different form a year       

afterwards was disposed of by a         
characteristic  amendment of ,archdeacon
 ,denison4    #aj;c  ,on ,july #bb1     
#ahef1 ,mr4 ,heywood1 one of the        
members1 ,i think1 for  ,north          
,lancashire1 in rather an interesting   
speech1 moved for an ,address  to the   
,crown to issue a ,royal ,commission on 
the subject4  ,the motion was  rejected1
 ,sir ,george ,grey expressing his      
conviction that the feeling of  the     
country was not in accordance with the  
motion4    #ab  ,preface to the         
,revision of the ,authorised ,version of
 the ,gospel  according to ,st4 ,john by
 ,five ,clergymen1 p4 xii4  ,as ,i      
remark afterwards1  this preface proved 
to be very attractive1 and by its       
moderation greatly  helped the cause4   
,the book has long since gone out of    
print1 but if any  reader of this note  
should come across it1 this preface will
 be found  well worth reading1 as it    
will show what was in the minds of many 
beside  the ,five ,clergymen five and   

forty years ago4    #ac  ,see ,schaff1  
,companion to ,greek ,testament and     
,english version1 p4  #cfg1 note 7,new  
,york1 #ahhc74    #ba  ,the ,expositor  
for ,october1 #ahib1 pp4 #bda-bee4  ,the
 article was  answered by me in the same
 periodical two months later4    #bb    
,the account of the discussion in the   
,convocation of ,york 7,feb4 #bc1       
#ahgj7 will be found in ,the ,guardian  
of ,march #b1 #ahgj4  ,in the comments  
of this paper on the action or rather   
inaction of the ,northern  ,convocation 
a very unfavourable opinion was         
expressed1 in reference to  the manner  
in which the ,southern ,convocation had 
been treated4  ,but these  things have  
long since been forgotten4    #ce  ,it  
may be interesting to give this list1 as
 it slightly affects  matter that will  
be alluded to afterwards in reference to
 the ,greek text4  ,the attendances were
 as follows3 ,the ,chairman1 #dje2 ,dr4 
,scrivener1 #cii2  ,prebendary ,humphry1
 #che2 ,principal ,newth1 #cgc2 ,prof4  

,hort1 #cfb2 ,dean  ,bickersteth        
7,prolocutor71 #ceb2 ,dean ,scott1 #ccg2
 ,prof4 ,westcott1 #cjd2 ,dean          
,vaughan1 #cjb2 ,dean ,blakesley1 #big2 
,bishop ,lightfoot1 #bij2 ,archdeacon   
,lee1  #bhc2 ,dr4 ,moulton1 #bge2       
,archdeacon ,palmer1 #bee2 ,dean        
,stanley1 #bec2 ,dr4  ,vance ,smith1    
#bde2 ,principal ,brown1 #bji2          
,principal ,angus1 #aii2 ,prof4         
,milligan1 #ahb2 ,prof4 ,kennedy1 #afe2 
,dr4 ,eadie1 #ace2 ,bishop ,moberly1    
#aba2  ,bishop ,wordsworth 7,st4        
,andrews71 #aji2 ,dr4 ,roberts1 #id2    
,archbishop ,trench1  #fc2 ,dean        
,merivale 7resigned early71 #ai2 ,dean  
,alford 7died soon after  commencement71
 #af2 ,bishop ,wilberforce1 #a4    #cf  
,this letter will be found in a very    
valuable ,historical ,account of  the   
,work of the ,american ,committee of    
,revision 7,new ,york1 #ahhe71 p4 #cj4  
,this ,historical ,account was prepared 
by a special ,committee appointed  for  
the purpose in ,may1 #ahhd1 and was     

based on documents and papers  arranged 
with great care by ,dr4 ,philip ,schaff1
 the ,president of the  ,american       
,committee1 and printed privately4      
,these two volumes1 the  ,historical    
,account and the ,documentary ,history1 
contain the fullest  details of the     
whole transactions between the ,american
 ,committee and the  ,english ,companies
 and also the ,university ,presses4     
#da  ,talbot ,w4 ,chambers1 ,companion  
to the ,revised ,old ,testament 7,funk  
and ,wagnalls1 ,new ,york and ,london1  
#ahhe71 ,preface1 p4 ix4    #db;a  ,a   
full account of the negotiation and     
copies of the letters which  passed     
between the ,american ,revisers and our 
own ,revisers will be found  in ,part   
#b1 p4 #ha sqq4 of the ,documentary     
,history1 above referred to in  the note
 at p4 #cf4    #db;b  ,a full account of
 this agreement and copies of the       
correspondence  with the ,universities  
of ,oxford and ,cambridge will be found 
in ,part #c1 p4  #ia sqq4 of the        

,documentary ,history4    #dd  ,since   
the above was written1 information      
reaches me that an  ,american ,standard 
,revision of the ,bible either just has 
been1 or  shortly will be1 published1   
which though not simply an incorporation
 of  the recorded ,american preferences1
 as long specified in our copies of the 
,revision1 is a publication resting on  
authority1 and likely to put a stop  to 
what is unauthorised4  ,as the reader   
may like to know a little about  this   
,american ,standard ,revision of the    
,bible1 ,i will1 at the risk of a  long 
note1 mention what ,i have ascertained  
up to the present time4  ,the  survivors
 of the ,old ,testament ,company 7,dr4  
,osgood and others7 with the  three     
surviving members of the ,new ,testament
 ,company 7,dr4 ,dwight1 ,dr4  ,riddle1 
and ,dr4 ,thayer--very powerful helpers7
 have co-operated in  bringing out a new
 edition of the ,revision as it has been
 hitherto  current in ,america4  ,it    
will contain about twice as many        

deviations  from the ,english ,revised  
,version as appear in the original      
,appendices2  but1 in regard of them1   
the survivors give this important       
assurance1 that  the survivors have not 
felt at liberty to make new changes of  
moment  which were not favourably passed
 upon 7sic7 by their associates1 at one 
stage or another of the original        
preparation of the work4  ,they specify 
that the original ,appendix was prepared
 in haste and did not1 in a             
satisfactory manner1 express the real   
views of the ,committee4  ,they claim   
to have drawn up a body of improved     
marginal references1 to have wholly     
removed archaisms1 to have supplied     
running headings1 to have modified  what
 they consider unwieldy paragraphs1 to  
have lightened what they  regard as     
clumsy punctuation1 and by typographical
 arrangements1 such as  by leaving a    
line blank1 to have indicated the main  
transitions of  thought in the ,epistles
 and ,apocalypse4  ,these and other     

characteristics  will be found specified
 in the ,american ,sunday ,school ,times
 for ,august  #aa1 #aija1 in an article 
apparently derived from those           
interested4  ,till  we see the book we  
must suspend our judgement4    #ej  ,see
 an article by ,rev4 ,j4 ,f4 ,thrupp in 
,smith's ,dictionary of the  ,bible1    
vol4 ii4 art4 ,old ,testament4    #ec   
,since the above was written a critical 
edition of the four ,peshitto  ,gospels 
has been published by the ,oxford       
,university ,press1 based on the        
labours of the late ,philip ,edward     
,pusey1 and ,rev4 ,g4 ,h4 ,gwilliam1 of 
,hertford ,college4    #ee  ,the title  
of the pamphlet1 which contains twelve  
letters from  distinguished ,german     
,professors1 with translations1 is ,the 
,revision of  the ,old ,testament 7,new 
,york1 ,scribner's ,sons1 #ahhf74    #ei
  ,the title of ,dr4 ,salmon's          
interesting volume is ,some ,thoughts on
  the ,textual ,criticism of the ,new   
,testament 7,murray1 ,london1 #ahig74   

#fj;a  ,salmon1 p4 #aeg4    #fj;b       
,ibid41 p4 #ab4    #if  ,see below1 pp4 
#ih1 #abj4    #ig  ,see the ,preface to 
,dr4 ,rutherford's ,translation of the  
,epistle to  the ,romans1 p4 xi sq4     
7,lond4 #aijj74    #ih;a  ,hodder       
,stoughton 7,lond4 #ahig74    #ih;b     
,page #ah4    #ajf  ,see page #cb4      
#aji  ,bible ,studies1 by ,dr4 ,g4      
,adolf ,deissmann1 ,authorised          
,translation  7,clark1 ,edinburgh1      
#aija74    #aaj;a  ,page #age4    #aaj;b
  ,london1 ,macmillan1 #ahih4    #aaa   
,theologische ,literaturzeitung1 xix    
7vol4 for #ahid71 p4 #cch4    #aab      
,bible ,studies1 p4 #hd ,transl4  ,see1 
however1 the translator's  note1 p4     
#agc1 where the use of the term is      
explained4    #aad  ,grammar of ,new    
,testament ,greek1 section #ch4 #e1 p4  
#aah 7,transl474    #abb  ,see          
,chronicle of ,convocation for ,february
 #aj1 #ahii1 p4 #ga sqq4    #abc  ,at   
the ,may ,meeting of the present year4