ing that there is nothing contained in the criticisms upon the Text of the Society's Edition of the Turkish New Testament, printed at Paris, of sufficient importance to prevent the copies from being circulated.' This resolution, together with others almost equally obnoxious, produced such an effect upon our minds, that we felt ourselves compelled to abandon the prosecution of our journey, and resign our situations as agents of the Society. "This step has by some been censured as rash and inconsiderate; and I frankly admit, that to such as are unacquainted with a variety of circumstances, involving at once our personal comfort and our public usefulness, which were more or less connected with the resolutions in question, it may not unnaturally appear in this point of view. But I will cheerfully bear the blame attaching to the imputation, rather than enter upon the discussion of points that would prove as ungrateful to the feelings of the reader, as they are painful to my own. No man of an unprejudiced mind will suppose us capable of renouncing the bright hopes wè entertained in regard to our journey into Persia, and dissolving a connection so honourable in itself, and on which depended the whole of our temporal support, with out rationally adequate ground to justify so very important a measure. For my own part I am willing to rest the question relative to the propriety of my resignation of the Society's agency, solely upon the point at issue the resolution to give circulation to the Paris edition of the Turkish New Testament. I did then, and still do consider a decision to this effect, as forming of itself an imperious ground of separation on the part of every one who trembleth at the word of God, or is desirous of maintaining a conscience void of offence to ward God and men." P. 52. Our readers will now be anxious to learn the circumstances that could operate so forcibly on Mr. Henderson's mind, and lead to so decisive a step: we shall therefore again have recourse to his own words. And first for the history of the Version and its Author: "The version in question, is that of the New Testament in the Turkish language, published at Paris, in octavo, in the year 1819. This version, so far from being of recent fabrication, is upwards of a century and a half old, and was made at the desire of Levin Warner, Dutch am- when thou art converted!' In regard to "The MSS. containing his version of the entire Bible, were forwarded by Baron Warner to Holland, and eventually deposited in the valuable collection of Oriental Manuscripts belonging to the library of the University of Leyden, from the printknown to the learned, and are expressly ed Catalogue of which they have long been quoted by Le Long, in the original edition "Dr. Hyde's Preface to Bobovins's Treatise concerning the Turkish Liturgy, London, 1712. 8vo." "In the Prooemium to his The saurus Linguarum Orientalium, Viennæ, 1680." of his Bibliotheca Sacra, published in 1725. Besides, these MSS. containing two complete copies, Dr. Hyde possessed a copy of the Psalms of David in Ali Bey's own hand-writing, which MS. I believe, is still to be found in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Part of the translation appears also to have come into the hands of N. G. Schroeder, who published the four first chapters of Genesis in Turkish and Latin, at Leipsic, in the year 1739. Another part of the Pentateuch was sent to the celebrated Professor Tychsen, of Rostock, about the year 1770, consisting of sixty leaves of silken paper, in large octavo, the text beautifully written, partly with and partly without points. Of this fragment there exists a review by the Professor, in the 49th Stuck of the Gelehrte Beytrage zu den Mecklenburg-Schwerinschen Nach richten, of which I have kindly been furnished with a copy by my learned friend, Professor Frehn, of St. Petersburgh. That no steps were taken for printing the work by the States General of Holland, at whose expence there is every reason to believe it was executed, must have been owing to the opinion given on the merits, or rather demerits of the version by the ambassador, who was well qualified to decide on such subjects. That it was designed to be printed is evident, from the history of one of the MSS. according to which it was prepared for the press, before it was sent to Leyden*. Here it remained till the summer of 1814, when it was examined by Dr. Pinkerton, on his journey through Holland, and recommended on account of its freeness, and in deed in every point of view, as a most valuable treasure for the promotion of the British and Foreign Bible Society +. "With a liberality scarcely ever equalled in the literary world, the Curators of the University of Leyden granted one of the manuscripts as a loan to the Society, and forwarded it to Berlin, where the printing of the Old Testament was commenced under the care of Baron von Diez, a gentleman of no mean acquirements in Turkish literature, but whose advanced age, and infirm state of health, were such as to afford no very sanguine hopes, either as to the accuracy of the revision, or the certainty of its termination. Accordingly the work was interrupted by his death in 1817,' when, in consequence of a fresh See No. IV. of the Appendix to the Eleventh Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society. + Ibid. arrangement with the Leyden Curators, whose liberality continued unabated, the MS. was transported to Paris, to be printed under the care of Mr. Kieffer, Professor of the Oriental Languages, with the counsel and assistance of Baron Silvestre de Sacy. "It is not my object here to enter into an examination of the manner in which Baron von Diez executed his task, so far as he went, nor to inquire what were the reasons, on account of which that portion of the work edited by him was suppressed :" but, I cannot help remarking, that, after expending so considerable a sum from the Society's funds to no adequate purpose, the members of the Committee were imperiously called upon to proceed to the adoption of new measures with the utmost caution, in order at once to secure the purity and correctness of the edition, and judiciously to employ the pecuniary resources entrusted to their care." P. 8. How far the Bible Society adopted this proper and obvious course we have next to see. A copy of the New Testament had fortunately reached Mr. Henderson, when engaged in the study of the Turkish, and other oriental languages, and was hailed by him as "an important addition to his stock of linguis tical materials" "But what was my surprise, (says Mr. Henderson,) after perusing a few verses, to detect liberties which I found it totally impossible to reconcile with the acknowledged principles of Sacred Taste, or the common rules of Biblical Interpretation? I examined, and re-examined the passages, and was often induced to impute the apparent inconsistencies to my own rather than suppose for a moment that any partial acquaintance with the language, renderings so grossly obnoxious could der the high sanction of the Bible Society. have been issued forth into the world unIn proportion, however, as my knowledge of the Turkish advanced, the more evident did these errors appear; and so powerful were my convictions of the impro priety of giving circulation to such a version of the sacred Scriptures, that in the beginning of the year 1820, it formed one of my objections against accepting the appointment of the Society's agency at Constantinople; an appointment which was otherwise, in many respects, highly congenial with my feelings and habits of study. "The critical examination of the work now became a matter of indispensable obligation; but as copies had already been forwarded to different parts of the East for distribution, I conceived it would occasion too long a delay to go through the whole, and I accordingly selected the Gospel of Matthew, the Epistle to the Romans, and the Book of Revelation, as the basis of the remarks I intended to submit to the consideration of the Committee. Of these remarks, with the ex'ception of one or two verbal alterations, in nowise affecting the subject, the following is a copy, accompanied by notes of additional matter, subsequently gather ed from the meretricious pages of this desecrated volume." P. 14. We regret that our limits will not allow the insertion of the whole of this document; but a few extracts will convey a notion to our readers of its deep importance, and of the effect which it ought to have produced on the Committee of the Bible Society. "Though I have only had time, (re. marks Mr. Henderson,) to go through a small portion of Ali Bey's translation of the New Testament, yet such parts of it as I have perused, convince me that if the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society had been previously made acquainted with its character, they would never have published it without subjecting it to the strictest scrutiny, according to the acknowledged rules of biblical criticism. It is not only of a totally different stamp, in point of freedom, from all the versions printed by the Society that I have any knowledge of, but exhibits passages with which even the overstrained nicety and bold liberties of a Castalio would sink in the comparison; and, as will appear from the sequel, renderings are to be met with completely subversive of the Christian Faith, and which seem to have been purposely introduced, with a view to meet the prejudices of Mohammedans. Tell it not in Gath; publish it not in the streets of Askelon, lest the enemy should rejoice, that the British and Foreign Bible Society has given its high sanction to a version in which the worship of the Lamb who sitteth in the midst of the throne, is not only prohibited, but prohibited by the Lamb himself!!! I sincerely hope this is au anomaly in the history of biblical translations, and have no manner of doubt, that, as soon as the Committee are made acquainted with it, they will immediately pass a resolution for calling in all the copies that have been issued for circulation, and put a stop in the mean time to the printing of the Old Testament, in the prophetical parts of which, especially, there is every reason to fear greater faults will be found, than any I have met with in the New Testament *. "That the Committee may be able, the more easily to judge of the force of my objections, I beg leave to arrange them under the following heads: the mistranslation of proper names; the unnecessary use of synonymes; the want of consistency and uniformity; false renderings; omissious and additions." P. 17. We give a few instances under these different heads. 1. The Mistranslation of Proper Names. Through an affected dignity of language, the simple word God is indifferently rendered, according to the taste of the translator; at one time the Supreme God, at another the glorious Majesty, or the divine Majesty, or the true Majesty, or the supreme Divinity, &c. Thus Rev. xxi. 8, 4. is translated— "Behold the tabernacle of the Supreme God is among men, and he will dwell with them they also shall be his people; and Tengri; and the Glorious Majesty," &c. the Divine Majesty himself shall be their P. 21. For the Lord God omnipotent, the modes of expression are equally various and numerous; and, the rest, "Effendi, God Almighty." among On which Mr. Henderson makes the following remark, which was subsequently substantiated by an inquiry on the spot; "Of the propriety of applying Effendi to the Deity, I entertain very strong doubts t. It is not so much a title of au "The subsequent detection of numerous egregious errors in the New Testament, renders it now doubtful whether any greater exist in the Old Testament." "Since writing the above, I had an opportunity of consulting a Persian on this subject, who is well acquainted with Turkish customs. Ou my proposing the uestion he held up both his hands to his Effendi is the chancellor, or secretary of state, and Jithe judge of Constantinople. In common conyersation it is used when addressing a learned individual, where we would use Sir: thus in the Gospels, when the Jews address our Lord in the capacity of a teacher, Ali Bey very properly employs it." P. 23. The names God and Lord, and Jesus and Christ, are frequently interchanged, without any thing like a scrupulous adherence to the order of the original. "It is easy, (adds Mr. Henderson) to be perceived how much influence this must have on the doctrine of the divinity of Christ." P. 25.. The last instance relates to the manner in which Jerusalem is rendered; we give it in Mr. Henderson's words. i saw the blessed city, and the city of the temple. Of the impropriety of the two last epithets no one can doubt, who reflects that there exists no divinely recognized temple at Jerusalem, and that, instead of its being a blessed city, it is lying under the curse of the Most High. The Kaaba of Christians is not any worldly sanctuary, but heaven itself, into which their great High Priest bath entered, in the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Nor can Jerusalem any longer be called a holy city. In fact, it possesses no greater degree of sanctity than any other place on earth the glory having departed from it when Christ passed its gate on his way to Calvary, and the hour having come when neither at Jerusalem, nor in any other particular spot exclusively, were the true worshippers to assemble to worship the Father, but in every place incense and a pure offering is offered to his name from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, Jolin iv. 21-24. Malachi i. 11. But what shews the glaring inconsistency of this appropriation of the terms in a translation of the Christian Scriptures, is the circumstance of the Mohammedans calling Mecca and Medina حرمین the two noble sanctuaries.' In a Mohammedan book, now before me, I the قدس مباركه find Mecca called blessed holy place. Now an illiterate follower of the false prophet will necessarily be at a loss to know whether Mecca, Medina, or Jerusalem, be the city referred to in the New Testament, though it will be natural for him to draw a conclusion in favour of one of the former. It may be proper, however, to state that Ali Bey has adopted Matthew xxiii. 37. Rev. xxi. 2." P. 27. 2. The useless employment of synonymes, where one word would sufficiently express the force of the original. Thus δικαιοσύνη, (Matt. v. 6. 10.) is rendered righteousness and piety; apyes, (Matt. xx. 3.) unoccupied, unemployed, &c. 3. Want of uniformity and consistency, and a solicitude to vary as much as possible the mode of expression. Under this head Mr. Henderson remarks: words which are used in different senses, "While it is granted that there are and where words of equal latitude cannot ly in different places, according as the sense be found, require to be translated differentis determined by the context, it is a fixed maxim in Biblical interpretation, that where no such diversity exists, or where the same sense obtains, the words of the sacred original are to be rendered uniform throughout the translation. The contrary practice not only manifests the absence of a conviction that the writers were directcd to the choice of the most suitable P words, but is a daring attempt to improve on the language of the Holy Spirit. It also tends, as observed above, to destroy the diversity of style which we find in the sacred writings. It necessarily breaks the connexion; obscures, and not unfrequently alters the sense; and precludes the possibility of the reader's deriving that edification from the collation of parallel passages, which is enjoyed by those who are able to read the original, or who possess a translation in which every unnecessary deviation from uniformity of expression has been conscientiously avoided." P. 29. So little, however, was the translator in question actuated by these considerations, that the word Μεριμναω, "I am anxious," Matt. vi. is rendered by four different phrases; μalnrns by three, in the course of a few verses; dikaιoσvvn by eight; nay, this unconquerable propensity to vary the mode of expression descends even to the most common words, such as day, night, &c. "It is also deserving of notice," continues Mr. Henderson," that where the same identical words are quoted in different places from the Old Testament, scarcely two of them are found to be alike. Take as an example: Rom. iv. 3. the concurrent testimony of all orthodox divines, that, in these passages, the word righteousness' is not descriptive of any inherent or implanted righteousness, or any works of righteousness done by.man, but of the meritorious righteousness of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in virtue of which alone any sinner can be justified in the sight of God. On this view of the subject turns the whole of the Apostle's reasoning respecting grace and works, in his epistles to the Romans and Galatians. But according to Ali Bey's version, we are accepted of God, and entitled to eternal life, on the footing of our own works !!!" P. 33. Rev. i. 10. τη κυριακη ἡμέρᾳ, on the Lord's day, is rendered on a market day. Rev. xix. 9. is translated "the words of God are true." "An assertion (says Mr. Henderson) tó which no Mohammedan will refuse his con sent, being in daily use in reference to the Koran; but οὗτοι οἱ λόγοι αληθινοί εισι Tou Oto these are the true sayings of God,' as applied to the Christian Scriptures, is a declaration which even Ali Bey would not pollute his pen to write." P. 38. John i. 38. Lord is interpreted as signifying Teacher. "Now it is a fact that in the Ara رب ابراهيم الله تعالى یه ایمان کتوردی ده Abraham ties Teacher than our English word Lord و ایمانی بر یرینه مایلدی believed in the Supreme God, and that faith he counted instead of righteousness; and compared with Gal, iii. 6. all bic and Turkish languages no more signi does, and the passage must sound as strange does in our own. With the key to his version, which Ali Bey has here given to his in the ear of a Turk, as its literal translation readers, where they read our Lord Jesus Christ,' they are to understand our Teacher Jesus Christan admirable im تعالی به ایمان کتوردی و بو اکا برو تقوی nian Testament!" P. 39. Rom. x. 12. ὁ αὐτὸς Κύριος πάντων the same Lord of all appears completely in a Mohammedan dress— "the Lord of all is one." sub Abraham believed in the Su-provement for a new edition of the Socipreme God, and this he counted to him for righteousness and piety. It is easy to be perceived that the rendering in both passages at once sets aside the important doctrine of justification by faith in the righteousness of Christ, and substitutes faith as a principle which God will accept in lieu of obedience, than which nothing can be more contrary to the whole scheme of revealed mercy. P. 32. 4. False renderings. Aikaloσúvn, righteousness, Rom. iv. 13. v. 17. x. iii. Gal. ii. 24. iii. 6. 21. is translated righteousness and piety. "Could this version of the words possibly have heen made with any other view than that of opposing the doctrine of the Divine Trinity? We have only to add to it: And Mohammed is his prophet,' to render the confession entire." P.40. "The passage, however, (we give Mr. Henderson's words,) which seals the deathwarrant of this translation is, Rev. xxii. 8, "Now (Mr. H. justly remarks,) it is 9. where the Lamb of God himself is in |