640 



NEW TESTAMENT, REVISION OF THE. 



by the translators or in the translation made 

 from the same, shall on due investigation be 

 found to exist." The Convocation of York 

 declined to participate in the work. 



The Convocation of Canterbury, on the re- 

 port of its committee, approved the following 

 resolutions: "1. That it is desirable that a 

 iv\ ision of the authorized version of the Script- 

 ures be undertaken; 2. That the revision be 

 so conducted as to comprise both marginal ren- 

 derings and such emendations as it may be 

 found necessary to insert in the text of the 

 authorized version ; 3. That in the above reso- 

 lutions we do not contemplate any new trans- 

 lation of the Bible or any alteration of the 

 language, except where, in the judgment of the 

 most competent scholars, such change is neces- 

 sary; 4. That in such necessary changes the 

 style of the language employed in the existing 

 version be closely followed ; 5. That it is desir- 

 able that Convocation should nominate a body 

 of its own members to undertake the work of 

 revision, who shall be at liberty to invite the 

 co-operation of any eminent for scholarship, 

 to whatever nation or religious body they may 

 belong." A joint committee of the two houses 

 was appointed to report a scheme of revision 

 on the principles thus laid down, and was 

 empowered " to invite the co-operation of 

 those whom they may judge fit, from their 

 biblical scholarship, to aid them in their work." 

 This committee invited about forty scholars 

 and divines of different denominations to assist 

 it, and organized the body into two commit- 

 tees, one for the Old Testament and the other 

 for the New Testament. The Convocation 

 afterward instructed its committee to invite 

 the co-operation of some American divines, 

 and two American committees were also con- 

 stituted. The British committee for the New 

 Testament was composed of Bishops Ellicott, 

 of Gloucester and Bristol, and Moberly, of 

 Salisbury; the Prolocutor (Dr. Bickersteth, 

 now Dean of Lichfield) ; Deans Alford (of 

 Canterbury) and Stanley (of "Westminster), 

 representing the Convocation of Canterbury ; 

 Archbishop Trench, of Dublin, of the Irish 

 Episcopal Church ; the Rev. Dr. Angus (Bap- 

 tist), the Rev. Dr. Eadie (United Presbyterian 

 Church of Scotland), the Rev. Dr. Hort (of 

 Cambridge), the Rev. W. G. Humphry, Pro- 

 fessor Kennedy (of Cambridge), Archdeacon 

 Lee, Dr. Lightfoot (now Bishop of Durham), 

 Professor Milligan (Church of Scotland), Pro- 

 fessor Moulton (Wesleyan Methodist), Dr. J. 

 II. Newman (now Cardinal Newman), Profess- 

 or Newth (Congregationalist), Dr. A. Roberts 

 (Church of Scotland, and author of "The 

 Companion to the Revised Version," which 

 was published simultaneously with the work, 

 for the purpose of making the nature and 

 object of the changes more clear to general 

 readers), the Rev. Dr. Vance Smith (Unitarian), 

 Dean Scott (of Rochester), Dr. Scrivener, Dr. 

 Tregelles (Congregationalist), Dr. C. J. Vaughn 

 (now Dean of Llandaff), Professor Westcott. 



Bishop Wordsworth (of St. Andrews), Dr. D. 

 Brown (of the Free Church of Scotland), 

 and Dean Merivale were afterward added. 

 Dr. Newman declined the invitation to serve- 

 Dean Alford, Bishop Wilberforce, Dr. Tre- 

 gelles, and Dr. Eadie died previous to 1876, 

 and the place of Bishop Wilberforce was sup- 

 plied by Professor (now Archdeacon) Palmer. 

 The number of members throughout was about 

 twenty-four, and the average attendance about 

 sixteen. 



The following persons constituted the Amer- 

 ican New Testament Committee: Theodore D. 

 Woolsey, D. D., LL. D., ex -President of Yale 

 College, President of the Committee ; Profess- 

 or J. Henry Thayer, D. D., of Andover Theo- 

 logical Seminary, Secretary ; Professor Ezra 

 Abbott, D. D., of Harvard Divinity School ; 

 Rev. J. K. Burr, D. D., of Trenton, N. J. ; Presi- 

 dent Thomas Chase, LL. D., of Ilaverford Col- 

 lege ; Chancellor Howard Crosby, D. D., LL.D., 

 of New York University ; Professor Timothy 

 Dwight, D. D., of Yale Divinity School ; Pro- 

 fessor A. C. Kendrick, D. D., LL. D., of the 

 University of Rochester ; the "Right Reverend 

 Alfred Lee, D. D., Protestant Episcopal Bishop 

 of Delaware ; Professor Matthew B. Riddle, 

 D. D., of the Theological Seminary at Hartford, 

 Connecticut ; Professor Philip Schaff, D. D., 

 LL. D., of Union Theological Seminary ; Pro- 

 fessor Charles Short, D. D., of New York, Sec- 

 retary ; Rev. E. A. Washburn, D.D., of Cal- 

 vary Church, New York. Of others who 

 were appointed on the committee, Professor 

 James Hadley, LL. D., of Yale College, attended 

 one session, but died in 1872 ; Professor H. B. 

 Smith, D. D., LL. D., attended one session, but 

 resigned on account of ill health, and died in 

 1877 ; Professor H. B. Hackett, D. D., LL. D., 

 of Rochester Theological Seminary, died in 

 1876; Professor Charles Hodge, D.D., LL.D., 

 of Princeton Theological Seminary, never at- 

 tended any of the meetings, but corresponded 

 with the committee, and died in 1878. Pro- 

 fessor G. R. Crooks, D. D., of New York, and 

 President W. F. Warren, D.D., of Boston Uni- 

 versity, accepted appointments on the commit- 

 tee, but were not able to attend its meetings. 



The Bishop of Winchester, the Rev. Samuel 

 Wilberforce, D. D., was titular president of the 

 British. New Testament Committee, but he at- 

 tended only one of the meetings, and the Bishop 

 of Gloucester and Bristol, the Rev. C. J. Elli- 

 cott, D. D., actually performed the duties of 

 president. The expenses of the committee 

 were mainly paid by the presses of the Uni- 

 versities of Oxford and Cambridge, which be- 

 came owners of the copyright of the completed 

 work. 



The following rules were laid down for the 

 government of all the committees : 1. To in- 

 troduce as few alterations as possible in the 

 text of the authorized version consistent with 

 faithfulness. 2. To limit, as far as possible, 

 the expression of such alterations to the lan- 

 guage of the authorized and earlier English 



