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VOL. IV. v*gftr _
THE
(An address delivered by Rev. Louis Voss, Che
Wome
i The Bible is one of the most effective agencies
in all missionary work at home and
abroad. The work of translating and disseminating
the Bible begins where missionary work
begins. All evangelical churches accept the
principle laid down by the Reformation, that
the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments
arc the only infallible and sufficient rule of
faith and practice. It is the glory of evangelical
Christendom, divided as it is into many
denominations, that it is unanimous on this
point, and it is a matter for congratulation
that all (the different denominations of the same
country or language, use the same translation
of the* Scriptures. Luther's masterly translation,
which fixed the German language and established
Protestantism in Germany, is still the
only version used by all Germans the world
over, and is regarded as a model of classic
German. The "King James Version" of the
English Bible, commonly known as the "Authorized
version," though there is no evidence
that it was ever sanctioned by any "authority,"
is still in general use among all the Eng
lish speaking churches. It has not been displaced
by any of the many revisions, such as
the "Revised" and the "American" version.
While it is true that many words used in the
"Authorized" Version are now obsolete and
there are minor inaccuracies of translation,
which are usually noted in the margin of modem
editions, the general accuracy of its translation
and the beauty and force of its language
which is regarded as a model of simple, vigorous
and elegant English, are such that it will
not easily be displaced by any other.
The first work of any missionary in a new
territory is to give to the people among whom
he is to labor, the Word of God in their own
language. Without this he is utterly helpless.
Hut ~ j? "
hub is a ias& ui siupt'uuuus aiineuity. 111
the case of barbarous people he is compelled
first to reduce their language to writing. lie
roust catch their sounds and words and construct
a primitive grammar and dictionary,
harwin describes the language of the people
in Terra del Fuego as "grunts, squeaks and
hiccoughs." They have a word which sounds
as if spelled "thlg." Their word for "fever"
sounds like "nxwx." Curious mistakes are
sometimes made in learning the language of
the najtives. Tt is related that when white
People first came to Australia they saw there a
flew animal famous for its tremendous spring
Sfld when they asked: "What is that?" received
the answer: "Kang garro!" which
flfl'ans: "We do not understand you." Thus
the animal received that name. The Bible is
the most translatable hook, because Hebrew in
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.?. NEW ORLEANS. ATLANTA JULY
BIBLE Cj
lirman of the Permanent Committee on the {Bible <
n's Home Mission Union, and Published at its ret,
its construction and syntax is a very simple
language. Such stories as that of the Prodigal
Son are easily translated into any language.
But from this it must not be inferred that its
translation is without difficulty. It is said that
Luther during his work of translating it, exclaimed:
"Good God, how hard it is to make
these Hebrew writers speak German!" IIow
much harder must it be to make them speak
the tongues of savage or half-civilized people!
These have names for things material, but not
for spiritual ideas like siu, pardon, holiness,
angels, the Holy Spirit. They have no names
?: i~ : a- n
t-vun hji uiaiiv ui tin- miuiiuia, insects, liuwers,
tress, weights and measures and other things
UlatcfjcS <0ber Israel
He watches over Israel?and sweeps
The fullness of His mercy into one
Great ocean of eternal deeps;
No helm need I, no guide,
When at my side
Is the Maker of a hundred suns.
He watches over Israel, nor sleeps^
Lest I should stumble in the closing dark,
Like some poor leper as he creeps,
By rugged rut or notch.
Without His watch, x
My faltering feet would never reach the
mark.
IIe watches over Israel?and keeps
The greatness of His mercy to thVclose;
lie slumbers not, nor sleeps.
In all my little flight,
By noon or night,
I know that He will lead me to repose.
?Pall Mall Magazine.
used in daily life in Palestine. Fig trees and
camels are unknown in the North, frost snow
and ice in the tropics. The inhabitants pf
some of the South Sea Islands had never seen
a quadruped larger than a rat. What word,
4" nil nAiil/1 l\/i IIOAII 4- A iMnnolnf A
taicu, cuuiu L/u nocu iu uauomic irtiuu x
At first only parts of the Bible are translated,
such as the Gospel stories. Later the
Epistles are added, until gradually the whole
New Testament is finished. To translate the
whole Bible is a tremendous undertaking. It
usually fell to the first missionaries sent out
to any foreign people, to do at least the preparatory
work. The first Protestant missionary
who gave the Bible to the heathen, was a German,
Ziegenbalg. He went to India seventy
years before William Carey went .there, and
died at the age of 36, but he left a complete
* ,
WESTERN PRESBYTERIAN
al Presbyter/an c
''HERN PRESBYTER!Ah'
17. 1912. NO. 29.
\USE
Cause, of ZNjcu) Orleans, before the Presbvterial
juest.)
translation of the New Testament in the Tamil
language, which is still used by all the native
churches in South India.
One hundred years ago there were only f>0
or 60 translations of the Bible. By 1860 the
number had increased to 220 and in 1890 to
331. Now there are over 400 such translations.
Till* wnrk WHS ulinnut alwnm il?no Kir mic.
sioiiarics or under their supervision, though often
the initiative was taken by the Bible Societies
who paid for the translation or at least
assumed the expenses of publishing it.
Here is a department of missionary effort
requiring much toil, patience and wisdom and
on the skill and thoroughness bestowed upon
it depends success in the field. It forms the
foundation for all subsequent work and is absolutely
indispensible, especially for evangelical
churches to whom the Bible is everything.
The Bible is distinctly a Protestant weapon.
The contrast between the Church of Koine and
Protestantism in their attitude towards the Bible
is very striking. "Whenever in recent years
the Pope has authorized a translation of the Bible
into the vernacular cf the common people,
it was always due to Protestant example. Some
years ago, Prance was so filled with Bibles
that the Roman clergy petitioned the Pope to
make a French translation and a very good one
it was, but its use by the people was soon es
topped. Rome fears the Bible and knows it
cannot afford to place it in the hands of the
people. In the Philippine Islands, where Roman
priests had undisputed sway for 200
years, they made grammars and dictionaries in
the Philippine languages, but gave the people
no Bible. Not a single gospel or chapter was
translated until Protestant missionaries came.
Now the population is very eager to read the
Bible. Rome is still discouraging the reading
of the Scriptures, even in Protestant countries.
It requires a special permit for a Catholic to
read it. The editor of the "Morning Star," a
Roman paper published in New Orleans, recently
advised the burning of "Protestant" Bibles!
As if the "Protestant" Bible were so
radically different from the "Catholic" Bible!
This is a mere subterfuge behind which the Romanists
hide their fear of the Word of God.
This method of suppressing the divine message
to the world has not always been the policy
of the Roman Church. At an early period
translations were made by Roman Catholics
into Latin from the Septuagint. At the end of
the fourth century, Jerome made a new version
from the Hebrew and Greek, the Vulgate,
which the Council of Trent in 1546 declared
to be the authentic rule of faith. The work of