THE HOLY BIBLE, CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL TONGUES; AND WITH THE FORMER TRANSLATIONS, DILIGENTLY COMPARED AND REVISED. PHILADELPHIA: FRINTED BY AND FOR WILLIAM W. WOODWARD, 1810. TH TO THE READER. THE Providence of God is particularly manifefted in the prefervation of the Holy Scriptures. To the Jews were committed the Oracles of God, and fo faithful have they been to this facred truft, that when copies of the law or the prophets were tranfcribed, they not only diligently compared the one with the other, but even counted the number of letters in each book, and compared the numbers. No fooner did the gospel spread through the nations, than it was found neceffary to tranflate the Bible for each into its proper language. Some affirm that the five books of Mofes and that of Joshua were tranflated into Greek before the days of Alexander the Great. But the moft remarkable tranflation of the Old Testament is called the Septuagint, which, if the opinion of fome emiment writers is to be credited, was made in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 280 years before the Chriftian era. At any rate, it is undoubtedly the moft ancient that is now extant, and on many accounts deserving notice, though not to be put on a level with the Hebrew text, as has been fometimes done. Other tranflations of the Old Testament into Greek were made, from A. D. 128 to 200. It is generally believed that the church of Antioch was favoured with a Syrian verfton of the Bible, in the year 100. The Ethiopians, of Abyffinia, have a verfion of the Bible, which they afcribe to Frumentius, of the fourth century. Chryfoftom, who lived in the end of the fourth, and Theodoret who lived in the middle of the fifth century, both inform us, that they had the Syrian, Indian, Perfian, Armenian, Ethiopic, Scythian, and Samari tan verions. The ancient Egyptians had the Scriptures tranflated into their language. The Georgians have a verfion in their ancient language. The Old Teftament of all thefe verfions, except the Syrian, is taken from the Septuagint. The famous Latin tranflation of the Bible called the Vulgate, which is now, and has been for many ages, of authority in the church of Rome, is of great antiquity. It is by fome faid to have been written, or at leaft copied and im proved, by st. Jerom in the fourth century; probably the laft was the cafe, for there exifted before his time a Latin verfion, which Auguftine calls the Italian, Jerome th: Vilgate, and Gregory Nazeazen, the ancient verion. In the year 1290 Peter de Vaux tranflated the Bible into French; and about the dame time the Spanish tranflation was made. There have been many tranflations both into French and Spanish fince that time. The Polish verfion was published A. B. 1390; and the first Italian verfion A. D. 1471. Luther compofed his verfion of the Bible, in the German language, between the years 1521 and 1532; and what is remarkable, not only the Popish tranflations, but thofe of the Proteftants, for a confiderable time after the reformation, were made, not from the Hebrew of the Old, and Greek of the New Tefta ment, but from the Latin of the Vulgate. We are told that early in the fixteenth century the Bohemians took their firft verfion from the Vulgate; but that towards the clofe of that century eight divines were employed to compofe another from the original text. We will now give fome account of the tranflations of the Bible into the English language. There have been fome who have affirmed that Adelme, Bifhop of Sherborn, who lived in the beginning of the eighth century, tranflated the Pfalms into the Saxon tongue. That however is uncertain, as fome of the beft hiftorians make no mention of it; yet it is poffible, as he was a man of great parts, and of great learning for thofe times, and faid to be the first En glithman who wrote in the Latin language. About the fame time, or a little after, Bede, commonly called the Venerable Bede, tranflated fome parts of the New Testament, fome fay the whole Bible, but that is not probable. Near two hundred years later king Alfred tranflated the Pfalms into the fame language. In 1382, Wickliff finifhed his tranflation of the Bible, which is yet extant that is to far, there are copies of it in fome public and private libraries. All thefe tranflations were made from the Vulgate. In the reign of Henry the 8th feveral editions of the Old and New Teftaments were publifhed in English; one of the moft remarkable is that of William Tyndal in 1530. The tranfla tion of the New Teftamment was made from the original Greek, but probably the Old Testament either from the Latin of the Vulgate, or the Greek of the. Septuagint. This was foon followed by the improvements of Coverdale and Mathews. By order of the king, Tontal Bishop of Durham, and Heath Bi hp of Rochefter, made a new tranflation, which was published in 1541; but not plealing Henry, was fuppreffed by authority. In the reign of king Edward the 6th, another tranflation was made, two editions of which were publish ed, one in 1549, and the other in 1551. In the reign of queen Elizabeth another tranflation was made, which, being revifed by fome of the moft learn ed of the Bishops, went by the name of the Bishops' Bible. This profeffed to be tranflated from the Hebrew of the Old Teftainent, and the Greek of the New, though in fome inftances, when there was a difference, it preferred the Septuagint to the Hebrew. TO THE READER. This last circumftance, with fome others, induced king James the it to felect fifty-four perfons, eminent in learning, and particularly well acquainted with the original languages in which the Old and New Teftaments were written, to make a new tranflation of the whole Bible. In the year 1607, forty-feven of thofe perfons, the other feven probably having died, affembled together, and arranged theinfelves into committees, to each of which a por. tion was given to tranflate. They were favoured not only with the beft tranflations, but with the most accurate copies, and the various readings of the original text. After about three years affiduous labour, they feverally com. pleted the parts affigned them. They then met together, and while one read the tranflation newly formed, the reft had each a copy of the original text in his hand, or fome one of the ancient verfions, and when any difficulty occurred they ftopt, till by common confultation it was determined what was moft agreeable to the infpired Original. This tranflation was first published A. D. 1610, and is the one that has been, ever fince that time, printed by public au. thority, and generally ufed in the British dominions. THE NAMES & ORDER OF THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, with the Number of their Chapters. GENESIS Chap. So II. Chronicles Exodus 40 Ezra 27 Nehemiah 36 Efther 34 Job 24 Pfalms 21 Proverbs 31 Song of Solomon 24 Ifaiah 22 Jeremiah 25 Lamentations 29 Ezekiel 361 Daniel 10 Hofea 13 Joel 12 Nahum 8 Habakkuk 66 Zephaniah 52 Haggai 5 Zechariah 48 Malachi 12 14 THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. MATTHEW Chap. 28 Ephefians Luke John The Acts 16 Philippians 21 I. Theffalonians 281. Theffalonians Epifle to the Romans 16 1. Timothy 1. Corinthians 16. Timothy 13 Titus 6 Hebrews 4 Epistle of James 4 III. John II. Corinthians Galatians 6|Phile:non il Revelation N the beginning God created the ment of the heaven, to give light upon heaven earth. I began and the car this without the carted to rule over the day, and 2 And the earth was 18 And form, and void; and darknefswar over the night, and to divide the light upan the face of the deep. And the from the darkness: and God faw that Spirit of God moved upon the face of it was good. the waters. 19 And the evening and the morn 3 And God faid, Let there being were the fourth day. light and there was light. 4 And God faw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the dark nefs. 20 And God faid, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And] 21 And God created great whales, the evening and the morning were the and every living creature that moveth, frit day. which the waters brought forth abun6 And God faid, Let there be a fir-dantly, after their kind, and every mament in the midst of the waters, winged fowl after his kind; and God and let it divide the waters from the faw that it was good. waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was fo. 8 And God called the firmamenti Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the fecond day. 9 And God faid, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together anto one place, and let the dry land appear and it was fo. 22 And God bleffed them, faying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the feas, and let fowl mul tiply in the earth." 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24 And God faid, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beaft of the earth after his kind: and it was fo. 25 And God made the beaft of the earth after his kind, and cattle after 10 And God called the dry land their kind, and every thing that Earth; and the gathering together of creepeth upon the earth after his the waters called he Seas: and God kind; and God faw that it was good. faw that it was good. 26 And God faid, Let us make II And God faid, Let the earth man in our image, after our likebring forth grafs, the herb yielding nefs: and let them have dominion fe 1, and the fruit tree yielding fruit over the fish of the fea, and over the aster his kind, whofe feed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was fo. 12 And the earth brought forth gifs, and herb yielding feed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whofe feed has in itfelf, after his kind: and God faw that it was good, fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he 13 And the evening and the morn-them. ing were the third day. 28 And God bleffed them, and God 14 And God faid, Let there be faid unto them, Be fruitful, and mulBeile the firmament of the heaven, tidivide the day from the night; and let them be for figns, and for feafons, and for days, and years: 15. And let them be for lights in the fra ament of the heaven, to give light By the earth: and it was fo. 15 And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and her tht to rule the night: be the fars alto. tiply, and replenish the earth, and fubdue it: and have dominion over the fifh of the fea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God faid, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing feed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit or a tree yielding feed; to youst Ifhall be for meat, |