BISHOP RYLE ON THE CHANGES

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 109, 9 May 1923, Page 15

BISHOP RYLE ON THE CHANGES

Bishop Ryle, Dean of Westminster, who was chairman of the Psalter Revision Committee, discussed with "a representative of "The Times" some of the changes in the Psalms proposed in the Revised Psalter (Permissive Use) Measure, 1923.

There are a^number of people, he said, who are naturally prejudiced against "any change at all. That is especially the case with the well-educated, whose taste is naturally fastidious. But we have had to bear in mind that nine-tenths of the worshippers are of a very different type, and that, in consequence, most wild and absurd misapprehensions prevail as to the meaning of, words which are said or sung in the Psalter. ' There are some people who feel that' the Psalter should, as far as possible, give a translation of the original reading of the Hebrew psalmists. That seems to be a fundamental pirnciple, but the existing Psalter very often departs widely from that ideal.

As a matter of fact our revision is very conservative; there is no change in about forty psalms, and a change in only one verse in about thirty more. A number of the changes refer to the, use of the words "peoples" and "nations." In these days we understand the position of the people of Israel better than they did when the translation was made in the sixteenth century. Israel was surrounded by nations, and the relation of Israel to the surrounding nations was one of the most important things in the eyes of the prophets of Israel. In their religious hopes .for the Messianic future, they looked forward to the time when Israel and the religion of Jehovah would dominate the world.

We have changed the word "hell" occasionally, because the word now gives quite a different .connotation from that of the writer, who simply meant the place of departed spirits. DIFFICULT PASSAGES. We are so accustomed to, and familiar with, the language of the Psalter that we do not always realise we are saying almost nonsense- "0 my God, make them like unto a wheel" really conveys nothing to the reader, but "0 my God, make them as the driven c'ust" gives an idea which at any rate is intelligible, especially to people who have been in the East and seen the dust driven by a kind of whirlwind. We bad: the utmost hesitation in making any sort of change in Psalm li., which is very sacred and very precious, but changes have been introduced where the words are clearly those of prayer. "Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: thou shalt wash me and I shall be whiter than snow" is altered to "Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I sfiall be whiter than snow." That is very much more impressive. The old words, " Why hop ye so, ye high bills?" we have replaced by Why mock ye so, ye high hills?" The meaning is that the high hills all around have, to show proper respect to the hill of God where the temple is, and hopping would not convey anything intelligible. ror "When tlie company of the sfpearmen and multitude of the mighty are scattered abroad among the beasts of _ the people, bo that they humbly bring.pieces of silver; and when he hath scattered the people.that delight in war" we have substituted " Eebuke the fierceness of the enemy, the gathering of the captains with the multitude of the peoples, so that they humbly bring pieces of silver" : scatter thou the peoples that delight in war." That is one of the most famous difficulties of the Psalms, and it is possible that the difficulty is so grea,t because the text has not been preserved accurately. The more interested people were in the Psalms the more they thumbed their manuscripts, and the text was not always well preserved. In the great funeral Psalm there are two alterations in words that are very familiar. In place of "But who regardeth the power of thy wrath : for even thereafter as a man feareth, so is thy displeasure," we have " But \yho regardeth the power of thy wrath: or feareth aright thy indignation." That, I think, gives the sen.se, but it is very difficult in the original. Then in the next verse, "Comfort us again now after the time that thou hast plagued us," is very difficult to understand, and we say, "Comfort us again now according to the time that thou hast plagued us." The word "after" as it now stands does not convey any meaning. WORDS MISUNDERSTOOD. We have very often introduced the word "throne " instead of " seat." In Psalm xciv. 20—" Wilt thou have anything to do with the stool of wickedness: which imagineth mischief as a law?"— the language is extraordinarily difficult for the Euglish reader to understand, > and we say: "Wilt thou have anything to do with the throne of wickedness : which fashioneth mischief as a law?" Even that is very difficult, but the idea is that the man who is sitting in' judgment is occupying the throne of power. In a leading article in " The Times " objection is taken to the substitution of throne for seat, but when you have "Of the fruit of thy body: shall I set upon thy seat," unless you have some suggestion that it is a royal family or king sitting upon a throne I do not think the uneducated reader would gather what was the meaning. Objection also is taken to the use of "alive" for "quick," but " They have swallowed us up quick" to the ordinary working man conveys the impression of rapid consumption, while the whole point is that " They have swallowed us up alive." Then, again, in " Let death come hastily upon them, and let them go down quick into hell," the, word " quick " suggests speed, but the* meaning is '-'• let them go down aliva into the pit." One kind of mistake which occurs in the Psalter is illustrated by the use of the word " ceremonies" in "I will keep thy ceremonies: 0 forsake me not utterly." There is no reason whatever for using the word " ceremonies," which suggests to the ordinary English Church-' man going in a. procession, having banners, Or an elaborate vilual, when the wsfluicg pj; ika hUw m&h •• I sill kssp.,

thy statutes." In Psalm xlv. there is an important change. In verse 12, "So shall. the King have pleasure in thy beauty: for he is thy Lord God and worship thou him," I cannot make out how the words " Lord God " got into the Psalter, when it is evident that " Lord and Master" is meant, for it refers to the royal husband of ths princess.

The leading article of " The Time* " approved the excision of certain passages expressive of stronger and more violent feeling of condemnation than is now regarded as consonant with the Christian spirit or even with humanity. I think my friend Lord Hugh Cecil would like to keep them all, but there is, at any rate among the poorer classes, a sense of distress that such denunciations are employed in Christian worship.

It haß been a great privilege to take part in this revision. When things are so familiar, and you want to go into the full meaning, the danger is that you may put in too much in revision when you see what the real meaning is. On the one hand, you have those who hold that very many changes should be made, while others are anxious that a notable piece of English literature should be preserved: The two things are strictly irreconcilable, and we have aimed at a compromise,. to make as little change in the 16th century English as is compatible with intelligibility and reason- 1 able accuracy in the translation of tfie original. That is what we have aimed at, and I am afraid we have pleased nobody.