Curious Versions of the Bible By John Wright 1894

 

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THE crank has invaded every department of literature, and has even tried his hand at the biblical. Men of strong prejudices, narrow or broad-gage views, and possessed with a hobby, have sought to color Scripture according to their own opinions, and with little deference to the original sense of the languages of Holy Writ. Some scholars who have been strong in other directions have exhibited their weakness when dealing with the words of Inspiration. As a result, they have brought upon themselves confusion and ridicule. Franklin was in many ways a great man, but he published his own foolishness when he attempted to improve the meaning of the Bible. Among his "Bagatelles," which Mr. William Temple Franklin says "were chiefly written by Dr. Franklin for the amusement of his intimate society in London and Paris, and were actually collected in a small portfolio endorsed as above," appears the following letter:

Proposed New Version Of The Bible.

To the Printer of-----------

Sir: It is now more than one hundred and seventy years since the translation of our common English Bible. The language in that time is much changed, and the style, being obsolete, and thence less agreeable, is perhaps one reason why the reading of that excellent book is of late so much neglected. I have therefore thought it would be well to procure a new version, in which, preserving the sense, the turn of phrase and manner of expression should be modern. I do not pretend to have the necessary abilities for such a work myself: I throw out the hint for the consideration of the learned; and only venture to send you a few verses of the first chapter of Job, which may serve as the sample of the kind of version I would recommend.
A. B. 

Here is a sample from Benjamin Franklin's version:

Old Text.
Verse 6. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.
7. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
8. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and eseheweth evil?
9. Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
10. Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
11. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Franklin's New Version.
Verse 6. And it being levee day in Heaven, all God's nobility came to court to present themselves before him: and Satan also appeared in the circle as one of the ministry.
7. And God said unto Satan, You have been some time absent: where were you? And Satan answered, I have been at my country seat, and in different places visiting my friends.
8. And God said. Well, what think you of Lord Job? You see he is my best friend, a perfectly honest man, full of respect for me, and avoiding everything that might offend me.
9. And Satan answered, Does your majesty imagine that his good conduct is the effect of personal attachment and affection?
10. Have you not protected him and heaped your benefits upon him, till he is grown enormously rich?
11. Try him;—only withdraw your favor, turn him out of his places, and withhold his pensions, and you will soon find him in the opposition.

Mr. McMaster, in his recent life of Franklin as a man of letters [McMaster, "Benjamin Franklin," "American Men of Letters Series," pp. 87, 88.], says:

In no book, it is safe to say, are the force and beauty of the English tongue so finely shown as in King James's Bible. But on Franklin that force and beauty were wholly lost. The language he pronounced obsolete. The style he thought not agreeable, and he was for a new rendering, in which the turn of phrase and manner of expression should be modern. That there might be no mistake as to his meaning, he gave a sample of how the work should be done; took some verses from the first chapter of Job, stripped them of every particle of grace, beauty, imagery, terseness, and strength, and wrote a paraphrase, which of all paraphrases of the Bible is surely the worst.

The plan is beneath criticism. Were such a piece of folly ever begun there would remain but one other depth of folly to which it would be possible to go down. Franklin proposed to fit out the Kingdom of Heaven with lords, nobles, a ministry, and levee days. It would, on the same principle, be proper to make another version suitable for republics; a version from which every term and expression peculiar to a monarchy should be carefully kept out, and only such as are applicable to a republic be put in.

In 1766 Kneeland & Adams of Boston printed a translation of the Gospel of St. Matthew, made by the Rev. Samuel Mather, in which the Lord's Prayer has this curious rendering:

Our Father, who art in the Heavens; sanctified be thy Name; Thy Kingdom come; Thy Will be done, as in Heaven, so upon the Earth. Give us to-Day that our Bread, the supersubstantial; And forgive us our Debts, as we forgive them who are our Debtors; And introduce us not into afflictive Trial; but deliver us from the wicked One; Because thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory for the Ages; Amen.

In 1795 a little 12mo book of fifteen sheets, not paged, appeared, bearing this imprint: "New London: Printed by Thomas C. Green on the parade 1795." The book consists of the Psalter, with the order for Morning and Evening Prayer. The chief feature of the publication is the Psalter, which is an independent translation, by Rt. Rev. Samuel Seabury, then Bishop of Connecticut and Rhode Island. The changes were made for the purpose of softening down the imprecatory or damnatory passages in the Psalms. This was attempted by substituting the future tense for the imperative mood. Here is an example of this treatment:

Psalm V. 11. Thou wilt destroy them, O God: they shall perish through their own imaginations: thou wilt cast them out in the multitude of their ungodliness; for they have rebelled against thee.

In addition to these amendments, the Bishop in the preface says: "A few old words are changed for those which are more modern, and two or three expressions hard to be understood are altered, still retaining the spirit and meaning of the Psalm. By these means, it is hoped, the Psalms will be freed from all objections, and used with more devotion as a part of divine service."

Among the changes thus referred to, aside from those in the imprecatory passages, are the following:

Psalm xxix. 8. The voice of the Lord maketh the oaks to tremble, and layeth open the thick forests.
Psalm xciv. 20. Wilt thou have anything to do with the throne of wickedness; which establisheth iniquity by a law?

It is not known that this version was ever used. The book is a very rare one, and it is quite likely that not a half-dozen copies have survived.

Lilly, Wait, Colman & Holden of Boston printed in 1833 what claimed to be "A New and Corrected Version of the New Testament." It was edited by Rev. Rodolphus Dickinson, "Rector of St. Paul's parish, District of Pendleton, South Carolina." The American Monthly Review for March, 1833, says: "Apart from its literary execution, this professed translation has no distinctive character; and as the author — in his preface — places his chief reliance on the rhetorical embellishments with which he has adorned the sacred text, we are constrained to award a verdict of unqualified condemnation."

The reckless and freehanded nature of the translation may be judged by the quotations that follow:

St. Matthew xviii. 10. Beware that you do not disdain one of the least of these; for I tell you, that their attendant messengers in the heavens incessantly survey the face of my heavenly Father.
St. Luke xvi. 13. No domestic can serve two masters; for he will either hate one and love the other; or at least will attend one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and an idol.
John iii. 3. Except a man be reproduced, he cannot realize the reign of God.
4. Nicodemus says to him, How can a man be produced when he is mature? Can he again pass into a state of embryo, and be produced?
Acts i. 18. And (Judas) falling prostrate, a violent internal spasm ensued, and all his viscera were emitted.
xxvi. 24. Festus declared with a loud voice: Paul, you are insane! Multiplied research drives you to distraction.

In 1848 S. H. Colesworthy of Portland, Me., published a translation of the New Testament made by Jonathan Morgan, a lawyer of the same city. In the preface the translator says: "I have two objects in view in this translation: one, to give the true reading of the Greek text in English, without any reference to creed or sect; the other, to have the translation in pure English, unadulterated by the dogmas, traditions, and errors as now taught in all the universities and schools in America and England." As might be expected from this language, the translation is both unusual and curious. Here are some passages selected at random:

St. Luke ii. 10. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for, behold, I gospelize unto you great joy, which shall be unto all people.
v. 26. And an ecstasy came upon all, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen paradoxies to-day.
viii. 24. And approaching, they awoke him, saying, Governor, governor, we are perishing.
2 Cor. ii. 6. This franchise is sufficient for any one, which is from the majority.
2 Cor. v. 13. For, if we are deranged, it is for God, if temperate, for you.
1 Tim. iv. 2. Having their consciences cauterized.
Rev. iv. 6. In the presence of the throne, was a vitriolic sea like crystal.

The orthography of the book is as singular as the translation. Here are samples: "tung," "thru," "synagog," "lik," "brot," etc.

In 1852 Henry Oliphant, of Auburn, N. Y., printed a portion of the New Testament for Hezekiah Woodruff, who desired to render the words of Scripture after the language of our day. Here are a few examples of his efforts, with the original spelling:

St. Matt. iii. 4. His food was small animals and vegitable honey.
v. 6. Happy are they who hunger and thirst for correctness.
20. Unless your correctness should exceed the correctness of the clergy.
xxvi. 24. The Son-of-man maketh his exit.
49. Immediately he [Judas] came to the Saviour and said, Your most obedient, Preceptor.

It is a relief to know that this book ended with the Gospel of St. Matthew.

At various times editions of the New Testament have appeared which were translated in the interests of certain sectarian bodies. In 1849 Joshua V. Himes of Boston published a "Millerite" New Testament.

Judge Egbert Benson, who presided over the Supreme Court of New York from 1794 to 1812, translated and had published the Apostolic Epistles, in which he substituted the word "love" for "charity," and the word "overseer" for "bishop."

The American Publishing Company of Hartford, Conn., issued in 1876 an octavo edition of the Bible which is a translation by Miss Julia E. Smith of Glastonbury, in the same State. In the preface she says: "I continued my labors and wrote out the Bible five times, twice from the Greek, twice from the Hebrew, and once from the Latin—the Vulgate. These three languages were written over the head of our Saviour. They are now dead languages and cannot be altered. The whole construction is so complete that it does not seem to be the work of inspiration, and the only communication from God to man, for all time. The work is given in types, in figures, in parables, and in dark sayings, a knowledge of which is gained, as all other knowledge is gained, by the desire of the heart to learn it. It may be thought by the public in general that I have great confidence in myself, in not conferring with the learned in so great a work; but as there is but one book in the Hebrew tongue, and I have defined it, word for word, I do not see how anybody can know more about it than I do." A few quotations will show the singular drift of this translation:

Psalm xvii. 8. Watch me as the pupil of the daughter of the eye: thou wilt hide me in the shadow of thy wings.
Prov. xv. 17. Good a ration of herbs and love there, above an ox of th» stall and hatred with it.
St. Matt. v. 15. Neither do they burn a light, and set it under a basket, but upon a chandelier: and it shines to all in the house.
xiii. 45. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like to a man, a wholesale merchant, seeking beautiful pearls.
xvi. 2-3. And he having answered, said to them, It being evening, ye say, Calm weather: for the heaven is fiery red.
And in the morning, To-day, wintry weather: for heaven being sad, is fiery red. Hypocrites, truly ye know to decide the face of heaven, but the signs of the times ye cannot.
xxvi. 33. And Peter having answered, said to him, And if all men shall be scandalized in thee, I will never be scandalized.
St. Luke vi. 41. And why beholdest thou the dried straw in thy brother's eye, and perceivest not the beam in thine own eye?
St. James i. 27. Religion pure and unpolluted before God and the Father is this, To take a view of the orphans and widows in their pressure, to keep himself free from stain from the world.

A most absurd case of prudery is exhibited in the publication of the Book of Proverbs by Peter Stewart of Philadelphia, in 1788, in which all verses of a sexual nature are omitted, and their places supplied with asterisks.

It may be said in passing that curious versions of the Bible are not confined to early issues, for as late as 1884 a book with both a New York and London imprint was given to the reading public, by Ferrar Fenton, entitled "St. Paul's Epistles in Modern English." A few of these modernized passages are given:

I Cor. x. 14. My darlings, fly from the idol feasts.
xi. 14. Does not the nature itself teach you, that if a man should have long curls it is a dishonor to him?
15. But if a woman has long curls it is an honor to her, because the curls are given to her for a vesture.
xiv. 4. The linguist instructs himself, but the preacher instructs the assembly.
xvi. 10. But if Timothy comes, see that you take care that he is not bullied by you.
2 Cor. V. 2. And, indeed, we groan in this, longing to be endowed with our little cottage from heaven.
x. 12. However, we don't dare to compete or compare ourselves with some of those self-laudators, for they, measuring themselves with themselves, and comparing themselves to themselves, are themselves rather irreflective.
2 Tim. i. 13. Take a draught of health giving ideas.
ii. 4. A campaigner never involves himself with the affairs of life, so that he may please his commander.
6. The working farmer ought to eat first of his crops.
Titus iii. 15. Regards to all who love us in faith.

Serious errors in the printing of American Bibles are not very numerous, considering the large editions of the Scriptures that have been issued. There is a curious mistake in Eliot's Indian Bible in the account of the ten virgins. Dr. Trumbull says: "Among the Indians chastity was a masculine virtue, and Eliot's Natick interpreter did not understand that the noun wanted was feminine. Subsequent instruction doubtless made the matter clear, but in the Indian Bible the parable in Matthew xxv. 1-i2 is of 'the ten chaste young men' ('piukqussuogpenompaog'—the syllable 'omp' marking the masculine gender), and so in every place in which 'virgin' occurs in the English version, though in most cases the context clearly establishes the true gender. The right word was 'keegsquau,' which is to be found (though seldom used) in every Algonquian language."

In the edition of the New Testament published by A. Morse in New Haven, Conn., in 1790, the substitution of an "s" for an "f" makes Philippians ii. 8, read, "And being sound in fashion."

An edition of the New Testament published at Utica, N. Y., in 1829, rendered James v. 17, "Elias was a man possible like unto us."

The Version Committee of the American Bible Society, in their report, on page 15, state—though they do not give the date and imprint—that a Bible printed in this country renders Galatians iv. 27 thus: "For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an hundred," instead of "husband."

A Paragraph Testament published in Boston in 1834 has this blunder in Romans iv. 5: "His faith is counted for unrighteousness."

A Bible published at Hartford in 1837 printed 2 Timothy iii. 16 in this way: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for destruction in righteousness."

An edition of the Bible printed by the American Bible Society in 1855 has this reading of St. Mark v. 3: " Who had his dwelling among the lambs," in place of "tombs."

In one of the early editions of the Bible printed by Harding of Philadelphia, a singular mistake was made in 1 Kings i. 21, where the words "the king shall "+" sleep with his fathers" was rendered in print, "the king shall dagger sleep with his fathers." This is certainly the most literal following of "copy" on record.

See also: 100 Rare American Bible Versions & Translations on DVDrom (PDF)