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THE NAMES AND ORDER OF ALL THE BOOKS

OF THE

NEW TESTAMENT,

WITH THE NUMBERS OF THEIR CHAPTERS.

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THE order of the books in the Greek edition is that of ancient MSS., viz., Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Epistles of James, Peter, John, Jude, to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Hebrews, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and the Revelation. Instead of this the usual order has been followed, for the convenience of readers; as it is in the small "Academic" edition, where the text of the eighth is repeated, published in 1873 by Mendelssohn at Leipzig.

INTRODUCTION.

THE primary object of a translation is to express the exact meaning of the original in corresponding words, so far as they can be found in English, with the least obscurity. It should be literal rather than paraphrastic, giving the sense intended by the author or authors simply and fully, in the best terms which the English language supplies. A translation of the New Testament should be in effect a revision of the received one; and the departures from the latter ought to be as few as the necessities of the case require. King James's version should be corrected and improved in such instances only as appear to call for change. The main purpose of a translation of the Bible is not that it may be read with pleasure, but rather that it may clearly express

the true sense.

The present version is founded upon the received one; the deviations being caused by another Greek text and the desire of greater accuracy. Besides adhering to a critical text, the translator had to correct the mistakes of the common English Testament, as well as to improve it by bringing it closer to the original. Various considerations prompted his departures from the venerable version; but none was dictated by mere love of change. A desire to express the original sense better lay at the root of all. A

paraphrastic or elegant version was not the translator's object. It is well said in the "Guesses at Truth" of the brothers Hare, "a literal translation is better than a loose one, just as a cast from a fine statue is better than an imitation of it. For copies, whether of words or things, must be valuable in proportion to their exactness. In idioms alone, as a friend remarks to me, the literal rendering cannot be the right one." The translator has endeavoured to present the English reader with a more correct text and translation. He gives a much better text than the usual one, and a revision of the received version. Such are the two things he professes to have accomplished. They are worthy of labour in proportion to the importance attaching to writings which guide and strengthen man's spiritual life.

It is a great advantage to a translator to have one text only before him and to reproduce it as well as he can in another language. He can pursue one object without distraction. If the text he has selected be that of a competent scholar who has spent many years in collating ancient manuscripts and comparing their readings, his responsibility is lessened; he has but to follow his chosen guide. Little faith can be put in a diplomatic text. A man who has not studied the best manuscripts with care; who takes their readings merely from the collations of others, and whose chief business has not been textual criticism, may construct a text for himself; but it will not inspire confidence nor commend itself to the scholar.

The making up of a text during any revision of the received English version can result in nothing else than a mixed production having no distinctive character. Some readings will be eastern, others western; some very old, others comparatively modern, after a judgment which, however good generally, will show traces of distraction or haste when directed to textual criticism and translation at the same time. This will happen the more frequently in proportion to the number of persons employed on one version, especially if the majority of them have been chosen, among other things, because they hold the creed belonging to most

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