Here, the occasion of the address-the influence of the expression, "separate thyself," upon what follows-and the structure of the sentence-clearly point out the nature of the words to be supplied, to accommodate the passage to the English reader. "Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will take the right; or if thou wilt take the right hand, then I will take the left." Or, according to the Authorized Version-as it appears in the edition of 1638 and the modern editions— 66 Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." It may be observed that the Text of 1611 gives the Italics only in part as follows: 66 Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." In Gen. xviii. 28. Abraham, pleading with God, asks, according to the literal rendering, "Wilt thou destroy all the city for five?" Now, in the former part of the verse, we find, "Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous;" who, then, does not feel that the question asked really was "Wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five?"* as it appears in the edition of 1638 and the modern editions ? In the Text of 1611, the Italics are again imperfectly marked, as follows: "Wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five?” * "An perdes propter quinque totam civitatem: propter quinque, scilicet, deficientes ex quinquaginta." GLASS. In Exod. xiii. 8, we find, literally, the following command: "And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, Because of that the LORD did unto me, when I came forth out of Egypt." It is a command to the Israelites, to teach their children the reason for observing the feast of the Passover: which was-—— -Because of that which the LORD did unto them, when they came forth out of Egypt: the meaning being-This feast is kept-or, These ceremonies are observed or, This is done-because of that, &c. All this our Translators rendered clear to the English reader-marking at the same time the supplementary words by printing their version as follows: "And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me, when I came forth out of Egypt." And thus also the verse is printed in the edition of 1638, and in the modern editions. In Exod. xiv. 20. Ainsworth, in his literal manner, thus translates the account of the effect of the pillar of cloud and of fire. "And it was a cloud and darkness, and it made light the night." His note however informs us that "the cloud was thick and dark to the Egyptians and made light (or illuminated) the night to the Israelites."—" And so," he goes "the Chaldee Paraphrase and Jerusalem Targum explaineth it: The cloud was half light, and half darkness; the light gave light unto Israel and the darkness gave darkness unto the Egyptians." This indeed is on, to be collected from what precedes, and what follows this clause, in the same verse: "And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and of Israel- -so that the one came not near the other the camp Our Translators have given the full meaning of the clause; and have also most properly marked the supplementary words that were required for that purpose: "And it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these." In Levit. xiii. 13, we find, according to Ainsworth's Version: 'Behold, if the leprosy hath covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce the plague clean." In the note on the place, we are admonished of the real meaning of the pasage; viz. "pronounce him clean that hath the plague." This signification our Translators have assigned to the passage-marking at the same time the words wanted to express it: "Behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague." We read (Numb. xxiii. 15), again adopting Ainsworth's Version : “And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, and I will meet yonder." This is exceedingly obscure; but in the note we find the following explanation: "I will meet yonder; to wit, with Jehovah; and so the Greek explaineth it, I will go to enquire of God." This also was the signification assigned to the expression by our Translators; in whose Version the passage thus appears : "And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder." But in what manner is it ascertained that words so important ought to be introduced? In the following manner. The first sacrifice of Balak was on "the high places of Baal;" on which occasion we are informed (verse 3) that "Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to meet me.” The second sacrifice was on "the top of Pisgah;" and on this occasion, Balaam (according to our Authorized Version) "said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering while I meet the LORD yonder." Moreover we are immediately informed that "the LORD met Balaam." Nothing more can be required in vindication of the supplementary words, or of the character in which our Translators directed them to be printed. Our Translators, anxious to give the full meaning of Numb. xxxv. 30, thus render the passage: "One witness shall not testify against any person, to cause him to die." Ainsworth, anxious to be literal, translates thus: "One witness shall not answer against a soul, to die." In this version, to say nothing of the obscurity in the former part of the sentence-arising from his extreme zeal for the strictness of the letter-the latter part is, to an English reader, quite unintelligible. The note indeed informs us that instead of "to die" the real meaning is "to cause him to die." Our Translators wisely resolved to convey that meaning;-and they not less wisely distinguished, by a peculiar character, the words that enabled them to do so. Ainsworth translates Deut. iv. 12. in the following manner: “And Jehovah spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: you heard a voice of words, but saw no similitude, save a voice." To us the concluding part of the sentence sounds oddly. Our Translators have, in their margin, informed us that the final clause, in Hebrew, literally signifies "save a voice;" but they have accommodated the passage to English readers in the following manner : "And the LORD spake unto you, out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.” In this way our Translators happily avoided the appearance of leaving the word "saw" to be applied to "voice," as well as to "similitude." It is remarkable, however, that in rendering the corresponding passage, Exod. xx. 18, they have apparently suffered the same word to be applied to that which does not belong to it : "And all the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.” In the same point of view Job iv. 10, is worthy of observation : "The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken.” But the effect of these passages is not at all like that produced by Ainsworth's translation of Deut. iv. 12........ For the purpose of still further illustrating the methods, adopted by our Translators, of treating the cases in which, according to the usage of our language, a word seems in the Original to be applied to a subject to which it is not related, the following passages may be adduced: |