NEW TESTAMENT, REVISION OF THE. 



NEW YORK. 



643 



recommend the incorporation of a few notes 

 relative to different readings in the Greek 

 manuscripts. 



The report of the committee, embodying its 

 completed work, was made to Convocation by 

 its chairman, the Bishop of Gloucester and 

 Bristol, May 17th. After the report was 

 nude, the thanks of the House were accorded 

 to the members of the Revision Commit- 

 tee who had not been appointed by Convo- 

 cation. The Bishop of London then made a 

 statement of the position in which the revised 

 work stood. It had been spoken of as if it 

 would at once take the place of the author- 

 ized version. This was not the case, for no 

 one at present (in the Church of England) 

 could use the revised version. When the 

 whole work was completed, it would go out to 

 the public, and would be before the Church 

 for consideration ; it might be years before the 

 proposed alterations from the authorized ver- 

 sion had so approved themselves to the Church 

 both clergy and laity that steps could bo 

 taken to give authority for the use of the re- 

 vised version. The bishop further suggested 

 that it would be well to avoid hasty criticism, 

 and await the results of careful study before 

 pronouncing too decidedly upon the merits 

 ami defects of the work. The real purpose 

 and value of the revision were that it laid be- 

 fore the Church and the laity alike the opin- 

 ions of ripe scholars and of the ancient Church, 

 and the result was an exceedingly valuable one, 

 upon which, however, no opinion could be 

 given until after full study, and with adequate 

 knowledge. 



The work was at first less favorably re- 

 ceived in England than in America, but com- 

 manded general attention from scholars and 

 the public in both countries. It has since 

 been subjected to a searching criticism in tho 

 literary reviews, and in various semi-ecclesias- 

 tical assemblies for discussion, particularly in 

 the English diocesan synods and the Church 

 Congress. It is admitted to have many excel- 

 lent features, to present a considerable number 

 of improvements over the authorized version, 

 and to make many passages clearer than they 

 appear in that work. On the other hand, some 

 of the critics complain of the extent to which 

 the revisers have carried their desire to secure 

 accuracy and uniformity in translation ; that, 

 in many instances, they have paid more atten- 

 tion to transplanting the form of the Greek ex- 

 pression than to giving it an appropriate rep- 

 resentation in equivalents of idiomatic English, 

 so that the beauty and strength of passages of 

 peculiar force in the authorized version are 

 destroyed, without making them really more 

 exact or more plain. At the same time the 

 value of the work as an auxiliary to the au- 

 thorized version and to biblical study in gen- 

 eral is recognized by most even of the un- 

 friendly critics ; and a high place among works 

 of that kind is freely accorded to it. On this 

 point the Dean of Peterborough has remarked 



that "English students of the New Testament 

 will be sure that they have here, in the judg- 

 ment of the best scholars of the age, a text 

 framed on the most ancient authorities, and a 

 version as accurate as they can make it " ; and 

 Dean Howson, of Chester, that '-they have 

 now in this small compact volume that which 

 they indeed possessed before, but which is now 

 digested, completed, and arranged." 



No ecclesiastical body has definitely recom- 

 mended the revised version for adoption in the 

 services of the churches. Most of the general 

 assemblies and conferences which have met 

 since it was published have, however, ex- 

 pressed an appreciation of the value of the Serv- 

 ices of the revisers, and have recommended 

 the work to the careful, candid study and con- 

 sideration of their ministers and people. 



The new version was published simultane- 

 ously in England and the United States on the 

 20th of May. The orders for the first day's 

 sales in the two countries amounted to 2,250,- 

 000 copies. An immense public demand was 

 manifested for the work, which was sold freely 

 at all the book-stores and stalls, and even by 

 street-peddlers in the cities for several weeks, 

 till nearly every person possessed a copy. Nu- 

 merous rival editions to the authorized one 

 were published, some of which contained the 

 authorized and the revised texts in parallel 

 columns ; some incorporated the suggestions of 

 the American Committee in the body of the 

 text ; and the revision was even published in a 

 daily paper. Finally, the extraordinary de- 

 mand seemed supplied, and the sales fell off. 



NEW YORK. The annual session of the 

 New York Legislature began on the 4th of 

 January. The regular presiding officer of the 

 Senate is the Lieutenant-Governor of the State, 

 but W. H. Robertson, of Westchester County, 

 was chosen President pro tern., to occupy the 

 chair in his absence. George II. Sharpe, of 

 Ulster County, was chosen Speaker of the As- 

 sembly, over Erasttis Brooks, the Democratic 

 candidate. The first days of the session were 

 largely occupied with awaiting the appoint- 

 ment of standing committees and caucusing 

 on nominations for United States Senator to 

 succeed Francis Kernan, whose term was to 

 expire March 3d. There were some differ- 

 ences among Republicans in regard to the se- 

 lection of a candidate for Senator, arising out 

 of an antagonism between what were known 

 as the Conkling and ariti-Conkling, or "Ma- 

 chine" and " Anti-machine" wines of the par- 

 ty. At a caucus held January 13th, 105 votes 

 were cast, 54 of which were for Thomas C. 

 Platt, 26 for Richard Crowley, 10 for Sher- 

 man S. Rogers, 10 for William A. Wheeler, 4 

 for Elbridpro G. Lapham, and 1 for Levi P. 

 Morton. Mr. Platt, who was identified with 

 the Conkling wing, having received a majority 

 of the votes, was declared the candidate. The 

 Democrats, in a caucus on the 17th of January, 

 unanimously nominated Francis Kernan. The 

 election took place on the 18th, and resulted 



