BIBLE CELEBRATION

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 860, 5 July 1910, Page 5

BIBLE CELEBRATION

TERCENTENARY OF AUTHORISED VERSION. By Telcerapli—Presa Association—OoDyrlitW (Rcc. July 1, 11,40 p.m.) London, July 4. Tho "Daily Telegraph'' advocates a public celebration of the tercentenary of the publication of tho Authorised Version of the Biblo.

THE STORY OF THE AUTHORISED VERSION. The Authorised Version of tho Bible came into being almost by accident. It nro.se out of the Hampton Court Conference held by .lames 1 in Kill.!, with the object of arriving at a settlement between tho Puritan and Anglican elements in the Church;-but it was not ono of tho prime or original subjects of tho conference. In the cuurso of discussion, Dr. Reynolds, president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, tho loader of tho moderate Puritan party, referred to the imperfections and disagreements of the existing translations, and tiie suggestion of a new version to bo prepaied by the best scholars in tho country was warmly taken up by the King. The conference as n whole was a failure, but James did not allow the idea of the revision to drop, lie took an aclivo part in tlio preparation iif instructions for the work, and to him appears to bo duo tho credit of two features which went far to secure its ouccess. lie suggested that the translation should bo committed in the first instance to tho universities, and thereby secured tho services of tho best scholars in tho country, working in cooperation; and, on the suggestion of the Bishop of Lundon, lif, laid down that no marginal notes should bo added, which preserved tho new torsion from being tho organ of any ono party in tho Church. Ultimately it was arranged that six companies of translators should bo formed, hvo ut Westminster, two at Oxford, and two ut Cambridge. Tho companies varied in strength from seven to ten members, tho total (though there is somo little doubt with regard to a few names) being 17. The several companies appear to have begun their labours about tho end of 1007, and to have taken two years in completing their several shares. A filial revision, occupying nino months, was then made by a smaller body, consisting of two representatives from each company, after which it was seen through tho press by Dr. Miles Smith and Bishop Bilson; and in IGII (he new version, printed by R. Baker, tho King's printer, was given to the world in a largt. folio volume (tho largest of all tho series of English Bibles), of blank-letter type.—"Hastings' Dictionary of tho Bible."