College in the University of Oxford, were formerly communicated to me by my late pious, benevolent, and learned friend, with his permission to transcribe any part of them. The Legatee of the late Doctor Wheeler, Canon of Christchurch, and Regias Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford, in whose premature death the learned world sustained a great loss, furnished me with his translations of Hosea to c. x. 5; of all Micah, with a rough copy of it to c. ii. 10; of all Nahum, with an improved transcript to c. ii. 2; Zephaniah c. i. to v. 14; and of all Habakkuk, with a less correct duplicate. The lines are metrically divided, and very rarely differ in their pauses from those which follow: but the death of this very superior scholar and orientalist has deprived us of his remarks. The present Archbishop of Canterbury has favoured me in the most friendly manner with the use of Archbishop Secker's notes on the books which I have attempted to illustrate: and I am much indebted to the learned Mr. Woide of the British Museum, not only for copying these notes, but for furnishing me with some of Professor Michaelis's observations from his Bibliotheca Hebræa, and with collations of a Coptic version made in the second century, and of MS. Pachom, as far as my subject required them. The public has also the benefit of a curious communication on Haggai ii. 6-9 from Doctor Heberden; who is no less eminent for his literary than for his medical abilities, and no less a patron than a judge of learning. One design of engaging in the present arduous province was to recommend, and, in a small degree, to facilitate, an improved English version of the scriptures; than which nothing could be more beneficial to the cause of religion, or more honourable to the reign and See Bishop Lowth's preface to Isaiah p. lxvii, age in which it was patronised and executed. The reasons for its expediency are, the mistakes, imperfections and many invincible obscurities of our present version; the accession of various helps since the execution of that work; the advanced state of learning; and our emancipation from slavery to the Masoretic points, and to the Hebrew text as absolutely uncorrupt, I shall subjoin some rules for the conduct of such a work; which are submitted to the learned with much deference, and that the wisdom of many may correct the imperfect ideas of an individual. It is expedient that in the first place, a previous plan for an uniform translation should be deliberately adjusted. A committee of learned men should then be appointed by proper authority; who should invite every scholar to contribute his remarks; who should have their respective parts assigned them; and, after the performance of their allotted tasks, should amicably § unite in advancing the whole to its proper degree of perfection. RULE I. The translator should express every word in the original by a literal rendering, where the English idiom admits of it; and where not only purity, but perspicuity, and dignity, of expression can be preserved. For thus the translator shews how he reads the original text: and not only the matter of the scriptures, but the peculiar turn of language in them, will be faithfully represented. The Translators in King James's time took an excellent way. That part of the bible was given to him who was most excellent in such a tongue,-and then they met together, and one read the translation, the rest holding in their hands some bible, either of the learned tongues, or French, Spanish, Italian, &c. If they found any fault, they spoke, if not, he read on. Selden iii. 2009, Isaiah lxiii. 13. we read: -of which the com מוליכם בתהמות כסוס במדבר לא יכשלו mon English version is; "That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble:" And Bishop | Lowth's; Leading them through the abyss, like a courser As there is a participle, in the Hebrew; leading is preferable to that led: but w, ut ne impingant,' is not so well rendered by without obstacle. So in the three following passages I prefer the literal rendering: "For the Lord Jehovah is my helper:" Bp. Lowth. Isai. 1. 7. "helpeth me,' Bp. Lowth. Isai. xliv. 25, "Who reverseth the devices of the sages:' literally, literally, "Who turneth wise men backward." Engl. vers. literally, Bp. Lowth. Isai. xxxix. 2. "because of them," by. עליהם For this rule excludes, 1. Unnecessary paraphrase. As, "I Jehovah am the author of all these things:" Bp. Lowth. Isai. xlv. 7. This truly learned and ingenious Prelate has contributed more than any writer of the age towards enabling us to understand the sense of the Hebrew scriptures, to taste His expositheir beauties, and to resto e their integrity by the rules of sou: d criticism His tion of Isaiah is the best commentary ex ant on any part of the Old Testament. translation represents the meaning of the original with great judgment and learning. My objections lie, not against his interpretations, but only against the mode of rendering which he has occasionally adopted: and I have freely stated them, because I consider the subject as an important one, and because I feel the weight which a name of such eminence carries with it. for, for, "do" Engl. vers. Hebr. my 4 MSS. faciens sum. "A God, that uttereth truth, and granteth salvaBp. Lowth. Isai. xlv. 21: tion :" "A righteous God, and a Saviour." "And mine arm shall dispense judgment to the Bp. Lowth. Isai. li. 5. peoples.' "shall judge" Engl. vers. "Then shall we be struck at once with admiration and terror:" Isai. xli. 23. "That we may wonder and may fear together." In like manner the learned Mr. Blayney has, "A seed of a genuine quality." Jer. ii. 21. "a right seed." Engl. vers. "who puttest the righteous to trial." Jer. xx. 12. "that triest the righteous." Engl. vers. "in an evil, and not in a friendly manner." Jer. xxi. 10. Engl. vers. "for evil, and not for good." Jer, xxix. 11. "thoughts of peace, and not of evil." Engl. vers. 2. The rule excludes defective translations. The xxxvith chapter of Isaiah begins in Bishop Lowth's version, "In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah," &c. "Now it came to pass" being omitted. The Bishop also leaves "saying" untranslated, C. xxxvi. 21. * See his elaborate and useful comment on Jeremiah. Quarto. Oxford. MDCCLXXXIV. 3. The rule excludes ungrammatical forms of expression. The English version is in general very accurate: but, Isai. xliv. 24, we find, "I am the Lord that "maketh all things, that stretcheth forth the heavens "alone, that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself:' for, make, stretch, spread. See Bp. Louth's grammar. London. 2d. ed. p. 149. And, Matth. v. 23, we read, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there "rememberest that thy brother hath ought against "thee;" &c. for, remember. 4. The rule excludes obscure renderings. I speak rather of obscurities into which translators are apt to fall, than of those unpardonable ones which are owing to a departure from the rules of good writing. "Let Retaining mere Hebraisms would be one source of obscurity. Thus Ainsworth renders Ps. xcv. 2, "us prevent his face with thanksgiving:" but we find in our English version, "Let us come before his pre"sence," &c. Of this kind there are some instances in Mr. Blayney's translation. As Jer. xl. 4. "If it seem good unto thee to come with me to Babylon, . come; and I will set mine eyes upon thee." "will look well unto thee," Engl. vers. " and I "Give thyself no rest, let not the daughter of "let not the apple of thine eye cease." Engl. vers. Another source of obscurity is, the use of such obsolete, foreign and learned words or phrases as are for the most part unintelligible. An authorised translation of the bible should be adapted to the capacity of common |