TWENTIETH  CENTURY .ENGLISH .BIBLES

for AVID. COLLECTORS


ALL reviews are the copyrighted property of

Mr. Gary S. Dykes © 2006, 2023

Value suggestions - by Mr. Dykes
collecting Bibles Bible version rare  collection

                                                                                                                       CLICK ON EACH TITLE. .[link] .TO READ THAT REVIEW

or simply scroll down. Very large reviews are in a separate PDF file.

This is a work in progress. I have about 135 Bible editions yet to review, I will upload, regularly new reviews.
Send comments, corrections et cetera to:  galeandgary2000ATgmail.com
I designed these pages on a 20" monitor, using Blue Griffon, Sea Monkey, Kompozer as well as Dreamweaver.
I did not design these pages for small hand-held monitors.(smart phones et al)


 

BOOK TITLE, or Editions

  B_button click to return to HOMEPAGE

1881-----------1881(ERV) English Revised Version 

1901-----------(ASV) American Standard Version

1901-----------Modern American Bible - Frank Schell Ballentine (Revised in 1909)

1902-----------W. B. Godbey’s translation

1902-----------The Emphasized New Testament - Joseph Bryant Rotherham 

1902-----------Twentieth Century New Testament


1902-----------Reference Passage Bible - I. N. Johns

1903-----------The New Testament in Modern Speech - R. F. Weymouth

1904-----------Worrell's New Testament - A. S. Worrel

1904------------Twenty-Four Books of the Holy Scripture  - Leeser

1905------------The Corrected English New Testament - Lloyd

1906------------Holy Bible in Modern English - Ferrar Fenton

1907-----------Moulton's Modern Reader's Bible - Richard C. Moulton

1908-----------Genders - Holy Bible for Daily Reading

1909-----------Weaver's New Testament - S. Townsend Weaver

1909------------Scofield Reference Bible

1910------------Monser's Cross Reference Bible

1912------------Bible Union, Improved Edition

1914-----------Numeric New Testament - Ivan Panin

1914-----------Cunnington's New Testament - E. E. Cunnington

1916-----------Twenty-Four Books of the Old Testament - Harkavy

1917-----------The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text - Jewish Publication Society Bible

1918-----------New Testament from the Sinaitic Manuscript - H. T. Anderson

1922-----------A New Translation - James Moffatt (including 1913 edition)
                                                                                                                                                         
1923-----------Simplified New Testament - D.A. Sommer

1923-----------The Riverside New Testament - William G. Ballentine

1924-----------The Everyday Bible - Charles Sheldon

1924-----------The New Testament in Modern English - Helen Barrett Montgomery

1924-----------Czarnomska - The Authentic Literature of Israel

1926-----------Concordant Version - Adolph Ernst Knoch

1929-----------The Christian's Bible - George LeFevre

1933-----------Lamsa Bible - George Lamsa

1935-----------An American Translation - J.M. Smith and Goodspeed

1913-----------Westminster Version of the Sacred Scriptures (NT finished in 1935)

1937-----------Greber's New Testament - Johannes Greber

1937-----------Spencer's New Testament - Francis Spencer

1938-----------Clementson's New Testament - Edgar Lewis Clementson

1941-----------New Testament...Translated from The Latin Vulgate - Confraternity Version

1945-----------Stringfellow's New Testament - Erwin Edward Stringfellow

1946-----------Revised Standard Version - NT - also 1952 RSV Bible

1947-----------Swann's New Testament - George Swann

1949-----------The Basic Bible in Basic English - S. H. Hooke, Editor

1950-----------The Sacred Name New Testament - Angelo Traina

1950-----------New World Translation (NWT)

1950-----------The Dartmouth Bible

1952-----------(RSV) Revised Standard Version Bible

1952-----------The New Testament, A Translation in the Language of the People - Charles Bray Williams

1952-----------The New Testament in Plain English - Charles Kingsley Williams

1953-----------The Good News - New Testament with over 500 Illustrations and Maps - American Bible Society

1956-----------Kleist-Lilly New Testament

1957----------- Young's Literal Translation (revised edition, reprint of a 1887 edition)

1957-----------The Lamsa Translation - Translated from the Peshitta - George M. Lamsa

1957----------- The Holy Bible Clarified Edition - large KJV, with ASV and RSV Readings

1958-----------The Amplified New Testament and Bible

1958-----------Tomanek New Testament - James L. Tomanek

1958-----------Phillips New Testament in Modern English - J. B. Phillips

1961-----------One Way, Jesus People New Testament - Olaf Norie editor

1961-----------Wuest Expanded New Testament - Kenneth Wuest

1962-----------Modem King James Version - Jay Green

1963-----------Beck's New Testament - William F. Beck

1963-----------New American Standard NT (and Bible) - NASB

1963-----------Holy Name Bible - A. B. Traina

1963-----------The New Testament: A New Translation in Plain English - Charles Williams

1966-----------Today's English Version (Good News for Modern Man) - Robert Bratcher

1966-----------Jerusalem Bible - Alexander Jones (and 1985 edition)

1966-----------The Living Scriptures - Jay Green

1967-----------The Living New Testament - Paraphrased (also The Living Bible)

1968-----------The Cotton Patch Version, Paul’s Epistles - Clarence Jordan

1969-----------Barclay's New Testament - William Barclay

1969-----------The New Life Testament (a.k.a. Children's New Testament) - Gleason H. Ledyard

1970-----------King James II New Testament by Jay Green

1972-----------J. B. Phillips Translation

1972-----------The Bible in Living English - Steven Byington

1973-----------(NIV) New International Version New Testament (and NIV Bible)

1973-----------The Better Version of the New Testament by Chester Estes

1974-----------Klingensmith New Testament - Don J. Klingensmith

1976-----------The Holy Bible in the Language of Today - William F. Beck

1976-----------Good News Bible - both OT and NT - Robert Bratcher

1978-----------The New Testament for the Deaf

1978-----------Holy Name Bible - Scripture Research Association

1978-----------(NIV) New International Version Bible

1978-----------Simple English Bible (NT)

1979-----------(NKJV) New King James Version NT and OT

1979-----------The New Testament in Everyday English - Jay Adams

1980-----------The Distilled Bible: New Testament - Roy Greenhill

1981----------- Simple English Bible (New Testament - International Bible Publishing Co.

1981------------Ernest Campbell's Pauline Epistles (11 Volumes, 1981 - 1999)

1982-----------The New Testament - Richard Lattimore

1983-----------New Century Version (NT)

1984-----------The New Accurate Translation (NT) - Julian Anderson

1985-----------Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (OT)

1985-----------Original New Testament - Hugh Schonfield.

1987-----------English Version for Deaf

1988-----------McCord's New Testament Translation of the Everlasting Gospel

1988-----------God's Word to the Nations - Geissler

1989-----------(NRSV) New Revised Standard Version

1989-----------Jewish New Testament - David H. Stern

1989-----------God's New Covenant (NT) - Heinz Cassirer

1991-----------21st Century King James Version (NT) - Deuel Enterprises

1994-----------The Clear Word Bible (Jack J. Blanco)

1995 ----------New American Standard Version Update

1995-----------Contemporary English Version

1995-----------International Standard Version NT - editor Dr. George Giacumakis

1996-----------The New Testament - Richard Lattimore

1996-----------New Living Translation

1996-----------New English Translation (NET Bible, New Testament)

1999-----------Recovery Version

1999-----------(HCSB) Holman Christian Standard Bible (NT)

2000-----------King James 2000 Version - Robert A. Couric

2001-----------English Standard Version


EXTRAS


2004-----------Holman Christian Standard Bible (OT and NT)

2005-----------The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform - Maurice Robinson

2007-----------New English Translation of the Septuagint

2007-----------Orthodox Study Bible

2011-----------Mounce Reverse Interlinear

2012-----------The Voice

2015-----------The Greek New Testament: According to Family 35 - Wilbur Pickering

 


--- CLICK TO RETURN TO HOME/MAIN PAGE

Grading scales of the English Bibles reviewed below are as follows: 1 through 10, with 10 being the best or

most accurate, that is how accurately does it render its BASE TEXT. The "base text" are that/those

which the editor/translator claim(s) to follow.

Value "to Christian faith", for delivering truth and Spiritual nourishment, is also 1 through 10, 10 being most accurate.

Value as a collectible book: also 1 -10, with 10 being very valuable or RARE.

(Certain values also estimated in US dollars.)
   Sizes in MM are of the printed pages.
If spine measurements are given, they will be indicated as such.

coffee_gif ENJOY


ERV - English Revised Version 1881

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Westcott/Hort (WH)

Accuracy of translation  - - - - 7

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 4

Value as a collectible book - - 8 (first British editions)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - mostly Reformed

The 1881 English Revised Version though created just prior to the 20th century, nevertheless left its impact on future versions. According to Hills, about 3 million NT's were printed in America and England by a variety of publishers. The volume examined herein is that as published by Dodd, Mead & Company of New York. Beginning on page 485 (at end of its text) are the readings preferred by the American committee. The preface by the English revisers fills 22 pages.  Page size is 186mm x 127mm.. The paper shows no bleed-through (as it is .0041 inches thick, too thick for the binding!), it is a nice off-white color.  Note in the Dodd edition, that no note is connected to 1 Corinthians 14:34,35, which I  believe, the text belongs here as it is in 99% of Greek MSS !

In the thumbnails to the right, an edition by Hoyt [Hills - #1957] is included, which has a very nice cover, in this condition it is estimated to be priced at $60.00 or more! it is also illustrated.

The Oxford signed copy by Hort to members of the ERV committee, is/was on EBAY for $3,495, it is a rare Oxford press copy. [Click on each thumb to see full size].

The ERV NT was not too popular, as the variations from the noble KJV alarmed many readers; which is to be expected from a NEW version, one which attempts to supplant the 300 year old KJV. Yet it did open the door to recognizing that the underlying Greek text(s) are important. As is well known the Greek text followed by this version is that of Westcott and Hort's edition; and as is well known the WH text clung to two primary Greek manuscripts: codex Vaticanus (03) and codex Sinaiticus (01).  Both Egyptian MSS vary from the received Greek text of the TR (Stephen's 1550 edition preferably). The Westcott and Hort Greek NT was stealthily provided to each of the translators, as they began their work. The public was not informed of this until years later! W & H's Greek NT was based entirely upon Egyptian manuscripts, without notes and explanations. A companion volume offered some explanations for their devotion to the Egyptian MSS.

One minor reading example (from hundreds which could be illustrated), is seen at I Corinthians 1:2,


Geneva (1560) - - - "...in Christ Jesus, Saintes by calling"

ERV - - - "...in Christ Jesus, called to be saints"

ASV - - - "...in Christ Jesus, called to be saints"

KJV - - - "...in Christ Jesus, called to be saints"

RSV - - - "...in Christ Jesus, called to be saints" (first and second editions)

NRSV -   "...in Christ Jesus, called to be saints"

ESV - - - "...in Christ Jesus, called to be saints"


The words in italics, "to be" were apparently introduced by the KJV creators. They are not in any Greek MSS.. The Geneva, Tyndale and the NASB renditions have the phrase correctly as:

NASB - - "...in Christ Jesus, saints by calling"  ("calling" is not here a verb, it is an adjective in the Greek)

The Greek words involved (called/elect and holy/saints) are in the dative case, thus generating the "by". In other words the Corinthians are already holy/saints [Greek (h)agiois - "holy"], no need to try to be holy or to become holy at some future point; as they (and all believers today) are already holy because we were called (i.e. elected) before the foundation of the earth, viz. Ephesians 1.  Note that the modern editions - RSV, NRSV, and the ESV all remove the italics, suggesting that the words are not added. This can lead to false or vain hopes. The ERV of 1881 continued the error of the KJV, and later versions omitted the italics entirely (except the NASB, and the prior venerable Geneva). At heart of this minor alteration lies various religious beliefs, notably those of a Reformed nature, which the majority of the ERV editors ascribed to. Hence the implied (from a Reformed point of view) suggestion is that a believer must work or do something else as part of a process to become holy. Just a simple easily overlooked alteration. A minor change but with theological ramifications!

It is to be noted that about 30 editions were published in 1881 in America alone; today it is very difficult to estimate the rarity of most of these 30 editions! hence the condition of each is a major factor. Interestingly, shortly after the 1901 American  version (ASV) was printed, it became more popular in England than the ERV. Also in 1881 several parallel editions were published here in America and in England (parallel KJV and ERV texts). [Thomas Nelson launched the new ERV with 20 different styles on May 20, 1881. On its first day of sales - in 12 hours - 250,000 were sold; with prices ranging from $.25 to $16.00. Data via Thuesen: In Discordance with the Scriptures, 1999, page 52] In 1885 the entire Bible was printed (OT & NT).

Per prior arrangements the American edition was not to be published until 20 years after the English 1881 edition.

In 1885 the entire OT was first published in America in four parts, by Harper and Brothers. s.v. Hills #2019. The two lower thumbs are of a leather 1881 Cambridge edition!


VALUE SUGGESTIONS : 

            


 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 1881 Cambridge leather
 $30.00
 $100.00
 1881 NT only
 $30.00 Oxford/Camb
 $40.00 - $60.00
 1885  Bible
 $35.00
 $55.00 - $70.00
 1881 American reprints
 $25.00
 $45.00









 



Table below, per the Dodd, Mead edition: New Testament

BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER INFO

hard cover , smyth sewn 496 total
186 mm x 127 mm, single column
no ANSI info, no acidity statement, .0041" thick.

NOTE: the letters ERV are used in the post 2012 era for the new "Easy to Read Version".



back_top


 ASV_Hills_1972 Hills  #1972

 MY_ESV_Eph Eph. 1 Dodd, Mead

MY_ERV_ICOR ICor 14, Dodd Mead

Hoyt_cover Hoyt_Hills  #1957

Hoyt_title Hoyt_title

Hort_Title Signed Hort to ERV committee - in an Oxford publication


1881Thumb1 Cambridge, 1881


1881thumb2 title page for above, Cambridge


ASV American Standard Version 1901

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - basically WH, with Tischendorf and Tregelles

Accuracy of translation - - - -  8

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 7

Value as a collectible book - - 9 (first edition)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - mostly Reformed


Small changes accomplished by the American Revisers greatly improved the ERV above. These changes were incorporated into the American Standard Version of 1901, and hence it became the American Standard Version. Hailed by many as the most accurate translation in the English language. Thomas Nelson copyrighted it to maintain its accuracy, due primarily to the fact that the ERV, above, was copied by all sorts of publishers, some apparently making numerous mistakes and some altering the text! Hence begins the era of copyrighted Bibles.  In 1928 the copyright was sold to The International Council of Religious Education. When this copyright expired several new copies/editions appeared on the market. Logos International held a copyright in 1972, an image of which is also seen at right. The Jehovah's Witnesses, also reprinted this venerable Bible.  Star publications a worldwide publishing company since 1963 and currently (2021) is lately, the primary publisher for the coveted 1901 ASV Bible. Star publications offers several new reprints/editions.

First editions of 1901 are  difficult to ascertain, as the copyright pages and the address of Thomas Nelson are the only hints. The address when shown would be: ( for all "first" editions)

Thomas Nelson & Sons
37 East 18th Street

The early NT copyright pages appear as per the thumbnail to the right, labelled "Early edition"; this indicates that that copy was printed anywhere from 1901 -1910 per Hills*.  From 1910 to 1930 it was Fourth Avenue or the Fourth Avenue Building, 27th street 381 Fourth Avenue. In 1951 it is 19 East 47th Street. The older editions prior to 1910 are quite collectible, and when in fine condition are expensive. This "early edition" sample is a two column format, with notes but no references.

Several editions stand out: -- as the 1929  "Teacher's Edition" a very nice leather Bible, with color images, a dictionary, concordance, questions and answers, maps and many cross references; it tops out at over 1400 pages, and has a full yap, and of course smyth-sewn. The paper is thick enough at .0021 so that no bleed/ghosting is apparent. 

Below it is a nice small size 1912 ASV, "Teacher's Testament - Notes and Helps". A smyth-sewn hardcover, having at the foot of each page nice helpful notes. Each book has an introduction. it also is of a two column format. Printed on off-white paper, .0028" thick! A handy volume.

The fourth thumbnail down, is the cover of the Logos Paperback edition, copyright 1972, with a two column format.

Mention needs to be made of the Gideon's editions, most were copies of the standard format, with center column references.  Each was smyth-sewn, hardcover. The thumb shows a pile (5000 copies!) of new Gideon's  ASV's  about to be distributed to hotels in Washington DC. This image is copyrighted by Almy. Below the thumb are images of the 1881 Cambridge edition.

Though said to be very literal and accurate, (and it is) it is not a perfect English translation. I would like to have seen "...the faith OF Jesus Christ" rather than the "...faith in Jesus Christ" at Galatians 2:16 and elsewhere. But such is a rendering issue, not a translation issue. Yes an argument can be made for various renditions of the genitive phrases herein. But even the venerable NASB follows the ERV and ASV here; the Geneva Bible has the correct phrase, IMHO.   A footnote would have been proper at Galatians 2:16. Of course, faith IN Jesus Christ is true in many passages where salvation is mentioned, but the imputation passages all should have "faith OF" - not "in". It is the faith of Jesus Christ which is imputed into each Christian. He is the Author!

copies of the ASV and ERV are available for viewing and downloading at: www.archive.org


VALUE SUGGESTIONS : 


 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1901 NT
 $15.00
 $40.00 - $70.00 leather
 1901  Bible Nelson
 $25.00
 $55.00
 small Teachers
 Edition
 $15.00
 $35.00
 1929 + reprints
 $25.00
 $45.00
 Logos paperback
 $10.00
 $20.00
 1929 large Teachers
 $40.00
 $120.00

        
                                              Jehovah's Witnesses editions, circa 1950s - 1960s:  $8.00 good - $12.00 very fine



Table below is per a small first edition, leather bound, s.v. New Testament, thumbnail - "Early edition"

BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER INFO

leather cover , smyth sewn 516 total,  a 1910 signature on green paper is added, via YMCA,  at end.
111 mm x 85 mm, 2 columns
no ANSI info, no acidity statement, .0021" thick. white


BU



my_small Early_edition 1901-1910 (111 x 85 mm) 2 columns

big_teach standard format, Teachers Edition 1929+ w/references

small_teach Small "Teacher's Testament" with helps


paper_logos Logos paperback

Alamy ASV Gideon's to be distributed to Washington DC hotels
© Almy

 

Translation of the New Testament: From the Original Greek
William Baxter Godbey - circa 1902

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Tischendorf's transcription of Codex 01

Accuracy of translation - - - -  6

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 4

Value as a collectible book - - 7

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Holiness/charismatic associations

William B. Godbey (1833-1920) was one of the most significant evangelists in the early stages of the Wesleyan-holiness movement. He was born in Pulaski, Kentucky, and raised in the Methodist Church. In 1868, he experienced "entire sanctification", a doctrine he fervently espoused in his pastoral and evangelistic career. He also taught in public schools and assumed the presidency of Harmonia College in Perryville, Kentucky for a time. He was a prodigious author publishing more than 200 books and pamphlets on topics including doctrine, new religious movements, the Second Coming, and divine healing. (in a thumbnail on the right is a cover of one his pamphlets -"Immersionism"!, he is against most water baptisms as a means of salvation, a rather rare pamphlet!). He traveled extensively across the country and the world preaching the holiness message. He appeared to be quite a successful debater, especially against the Campbellites. He taught at God's Bible School in Cincinnati. In his prologue, he claims this effort (his NT translation) as the the summit of his labors.

His New Testament is translated entirely from Codex Sinaiticus (01). This early codex (circa A.D. 350) was a sensational discovery at the time (1859), by the famed scholar, Tischendorf.  Naturally it attracted folks like Godbey, who really believed it to be totally inspired! Godbey in many respects was a diehard Holiness or Pentacostalist. He did not believe in eternal security, nor in any water immersion/baptism. Hence, this NT may be tainted via his strong beliefs. We shall briefly examine several passages of his and see if he inserted any of his doctrinal beliefs.

John 10:27,28  (per Godbey's translation, page 84)
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall pluck them out of my hand."

Sinaiticus_1


In the above snippet of codex 01, we note that Godbey does a fine job of translating this passage, which is one of many which suggest eternal security; which is contrary to Godbey's beliefs (he believed that a second experience was needed after admission of faith!). He did not corrupt the English rendering of this passage.  Hence it also suggests that Godbey was not prone to altering the manuscript's message. He appears to be quite objective as a translator.  (Modified image courtesy of:  www.sinaiticus.org).

However, he does alter in some instances: for example he adds the words "the (or your) love" which is NOT in the original text of codex 01. A "corrector" later added it a the bottom of the leaf. Godbey also adds it in his work, without notice.


Godbey_ehpesians

Below, is Godbey's rendition:  (pages 261f.)

"Therefore I also, having heard of the faith among you in the Lord Jesus, and YOUR LOVE which is toward all the saints,"

Again thanks to www.Sinaiticus.org - for the sample of 01. The red dot marks where he added the words. But note that a later hand added a mark linking it to a footnote (in a later hand) a the bottom of the page - "agaphn thn".  The words are also omitted in most Latin and Bohairic MSS as well as 03 (Vaticanus) and the ancient Papyrus P46. It is not part of the original 01 text.

At Colossians 1:12, Codex 01 has "...the Father God" or ..."God the Father",  Godbey omits "God". Apparently most of his "errors" are those which revolve around how the translation is made into clear English, hence Godbey simply has ..."to the Father". s.v. page 274.

At Mark 7:4, Sinaiticus omits "couches" Godbey wrongly inserts it. At I Corinthians 2:2, Godbey prints "testimony" whereas the original hand of 01 has "mystery". In light of these samples, Godbey's translation is not an accurate translation of codex 01 (Sinaiticus), nevertheless it is a nice readable translation, just not an accurate copy of 01.

In his original (1902?) hardcover (bottom thumbnail), he has a 3 page prologue, followed by his "Synopsis of the Harmony". This is followed by his Harmony of the Four Gospels, written in parallel paragraphs. Hence his gospels portion is in a harmony format, which is useful.

Beginning with Acts, on page 149, he presents us with a single column format. In the many footers he has added references and some translation notes. Each chapter has a brief heading. Lastly he ends with a 2 page apologue. The volume is nicely printed on an off-white paper, the paper is either highly calendared--as it is smooth, somewhat glossy--or it has some fillers; it slightly fluoresces at 380nm.. This original edition is well made, is smyth-sewn. I have seen NO publication dates in any of the original printings, 1902 suggested by Hills #2142. On some title pages of the original editions, the publishers name (M. W. Knapp) is omitted (are these the earliest copies?). All in all he does a pretty good job of rendering this manuscript (Codex Sinaiticus) into English. A very collectible volume! Also shown at right is one of his many pamphlets, this one quite rare, it is an anti-immersion tract.

M.W. Knapp was an ardent holiness advocate also, and was a friend of Godbey's. Knapp also owned a publishing firm, which published many of Godbey's works as well as other Holiness authors. Per Wikipedia:


Martin Wells Knapp (1853-1901) was an American Methodist minister who founded several institutions including the magazine God’s Revivalist in 1888, the International Holiness Union and Prayer League (which became the Pilgrim Holiness Church) in 1897, and God's Bible School, later known as God's Bible School and College. He was a central figure of the more radical wing of the Holiness movement."  Full of zeal and energy, he died young at 48.

[end quote]

The "new reprint" (see thumbnail) was printed by Schmul of Salem, Ohio. Recent reprints are available today.

One notable rendering is at Galatians 2:16, wherein Godbey has "...the faith OF Jesus Christ", well done!

The volume was popular with Holiness folks and had been reprinted a number of times, as seen in the thumbnails. In 1861,  H.T. Anderson also made an English translation of Codex Sinaiticus:

Henry T. Anderson (1812 - 1872), studied the New Testament in the original Greek as well as in the English. He became as familiar with the Greek text of the New Testament as he was with the English text. He never ceased to study the New Testament in Greek. Many scholars have pronounced this translation the best in the English language. He was about three and a half years making this translation. It was based solely upon Codex 01 (Sinaiticus). A revision of his NT is currently available today. A review of Andersons' work is seen below (1918).


The following (modern) harmonies - - W. G. Rushbrooke's 1880 Synopticon, Broadus' Harmony (1894)  and the Huck/Finney Synopsis (1892); these all follow basically the same layout. Minor differences can be seen, but generally they agree. Certainly Godbey utilized one or more of these for the layout of his gospels. Weaver makes much ado about his harmony, but he too relied upon those preceding him.  (see Socrates Townsend Weaver below).


The NT and other works by Godbey are available for viewing or downloading at:  www.archive.org





VALUE SUGGESTIONS:

 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1902 God's Revivalist
 first ed.
 $20.00
 $50.00
 1973 paperback
 $15.00
 $30.00
 reprints
 $15.00
 $20.00












 

Table below is per first edition


BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER INFO

hard cover , smyth sewn 373 which includes a 2 page apologue
190 mm x 130 mm, mixed columns
no ANSI info, no acidity statement, .0031" thick. (slightly off-white)  somewhat glossy; slight UV effect at 380 nm



BU


Icor14_15 First ed. (1902?)
I Cor 14/15


Galatians_2_godbey First ed.(1902?)
Galatians2/3


third_cover Third ed. dust jacket



paper_73 cover 1973 paperback


title_paper title page, paperback - 1973


new_godbey new reprint, title page


anti_immersion rare anti-immersion pamphlet - Godbey



Godbey_orig 1902? Title page, this one showing publisher
The Reference Passage Bible - New Testament
I.N. Johns - 1902


Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  KJV

Accuracy of translation - - - -  NA

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 10

Value as a collectible book - - 7

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - unknown


Little information (so far) is known about the editor of this useful work. He did publish several other works as well. In 1896 he produced a volume of Reference Passages of the Gospels in a gospel-harmony format, see thumbnail. Which work he later expanded into the full New Testament in 1902.

He did not produce a new translation, he used the ASV.  However his additions and tools made the work useful, and hence I examined it. I also will review several other "reference" editions which do not present another translation, but rather so enhance an existing one that it itself becomes quite valuable for its additions.

The Reference Passage NT, by Johns, in fact adds a few references seen in no other work! Hence this is another asset. For example at Acts 20:28 a reference is made to Psalms 74:2, a rather important reference; but NOT seen in Scofield, Monser, Bullinger, Berry, NIV or any other reference Bible to my knowledge.

The work has been reprinted by Moody (1953), Logos and Baker Books (1959), thus it is not rare. It is a useful study tool, as one does not need to flip through various books to look up the reference, as it is printed in full, parallel to the lemma text, see thumbnails. It is listed in Hills as #'s 2214 and 2188. In which one can see the change of address for the publisher. Alpha Publishing. [From Sunbury Pennsylvania to Lincoln Nebraska]. The 1902 first edition is not easy to locate, but can be found. My copy is thumb-indexed.

The text is printed in four columns, and usually encompasses the entire folio view (both sides of the open page). Very little ghosting is present, and the text is cleanly printed. Some interesting and useful maps are at the end of the work. There seems to be no doctrinal assertions made or injected,  - for example at Romans 6, none of the references contain the word "water", which is correct.

Overall I really enjoyed using this work, with the relevant references printed "right there" on the same or facing page, is really a useful asset. Thus I give it a 10 rating for "Value to Christian faith". Several editions of the Reference Passage Bible (NT) are freely available at www.archive.org

Of the early pre-1930 editions, the 1913 copyright page states that it is of 95,000 in print.



 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1902  first ed. (full NT)
 $25.00
 $60.00
 1903-1930 reprints
 hardcover
 $25.00
 $40.00
 Logos, Baker, Moody
 hardcover reprints
 
 $40 - $50.00
 Parallel Gospels only - 1896
 $35.00
 $45.00









Data below refers to a 1912 edition, of Lincoln Nebraska, Alpha Publishing Company.

BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER INFO

hard cover , smyth sewn 1450 - thumb indexed
145 mm x 207 mm
.0023", no ghosting. off white, two columns. Various sizes of type, each  cleanly printed.





BTT









Johns_sample
note full page use -  1907 edition





Johns_romans
1912, full page, showing a marked "c" reference in Ro. 2:28




Johns_logos cover of 1998
Logos edition




Johns_Moody cover of 1953
Moody press edition




1896_johns
earlier 1896 edition - title page




The New Testament in Modern Speech (1903, 1943)
Richard Francis Weymouth

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  a "consensus" of prior editions (see below)

Accuracy of translation - - - -  8

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 5

Value as a collectible book - - 6

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Baptist


Richard Francis Weymouth (1822 - 1902), was a very capable classical scholar. Educated at the University of London, from which he received that institution's first Doctor of Literature degree (1868). Church-wise, he was a Baptist. He assisted with the Twentieth Century New Testament, but more importantly he produced a/his Greek NT (1862), and an English translation of this Greek New Testament. His Greek NT was titled, The Resultant Greek Testament as it reflects the "consensus" or the agreement of the  majority of the Greek texts he utilized. The Greek texts he examined are: Erasmus, Alford, Westcott-Hort, Tregelles, Ellicott (Paul's epistles), Weiss (Matthew), Stephanus (1550), Lachmann, Tischendorf, Lightfoot (Paul's epistles), The Bale Edition (1880),  the Complutensian Polyglott, Elzevir, Scrivener and the English Revision of 1881. Weymouth specialized in Greek verb tenses, and made many improvements over the KJV. The result is a valuable and handy work, whose accuracy appears quite impressive (I've used it for years). One may observe that the minority texts utilized consists of the Egyptian-based texts, and the majority of texts used are of the TR! Hence it is a nice contrast to the current Nestle/Aland editions. 

Eberhard Nestle used Weymouth's Greek NT for his first two editions of his Greek NT, but in  his third of 1901, be switched to Weiss's edition, hence no Byzantine influences are noted. Sadly. Eberhard's son however, produced a nice apparatus for many subsequent editions up until 1955 or so, when Aland invaded the team.

It is from his Resultant Greek Testament, that Weymouth's English translation was made (as mentioned).  It was published in England for a number of decades, and was first printed in America in 1943 by Pilgrim Press of Boston [s.v. Hills #2418]. Hill states that the early editions (see first thumbnail at right) which seem to be printed in America, i.e. The Baker and Taylor Company 1903, are actually printed in England. [s.v. Hills, page 394].  Weymouth died in 1902, and his friend Ernest Hampden-Cook - per a prior arrangement with Weymouth - saw the work published in 1903. Hampden-Cook added a few more notes,  and added the paragraph titles. Hampden-Cook was also a translator for the Twentieth Century New Testament.

Weymouth though working on his own translation, did not seem to "borrow" from the the efforts of those working on the Twentieth Century NT. Occasionally one will see an interesting coincidence - such as both reading "mass" for "lump" at Romans 11:16!

Many publishers later produced various editions some bound in leather (Pilgrim's Press 1943, also James Clarke produced a red Morocco leather edition in 1924!) , many in softcover (print on demand), and various hardcover editions. Some of the publishers are/were:
 
Lutterworth Press (England)
Kenneth Copeland publications
Harrison House
Hodder and Stoughton (England 1938)
Wentworth Press
Kregel (softcover)

Here is an EBAY ad for a Lutterworth publication! Lutterworth Press, makes very fine volumes, so the high price may be justified.

Lutterworth_1

The original publication, by James Clarke and Company was in 1903, in England. The first printing can be identified by noting in Philemon verse 2, the spelling of "Appia" which was later corrected to "Apphia".

An interesting publication note seen on the title page of a 1903, second edition; read 21,000 number printed, and indicated the publishers as jointly Baker and Taylor (New York) and James Clarke,  it was actually printed in England, and also issued (sold) in America by Baker and Taylor. In a book review on Amazon's website Kohtaro Hayashi provided the following comparisons as concerning the differences in I Timothy 3:16, amongst the various editions of Weymouth's NT:

I Timothy 3:16,

1st (1903) and 2nd ed. (1908) ed. by E. Hampden-Cook
"He who appeared in human form, and had His claims justified by the Spirit, was seen by angels and was
proclaimed among the nations, was believed on in the world, and was received up into glory."

3rd ed. (1909) ed. by E. Hampden-Cook
"--- that Christ appeared in human form, had His claims justified by the Spirit, was seen by angels and
proclaimed among Gentile nations, was believed on in the world, and received up again into glory."

4th ed. (1924) ed. by S.W. Green & others
"--- He who appeared in flesh, proved Himself righteous in Spirit, was seen by angels and proclaimed
among Gentile nations, was believed on in the world, and received up into glory."

5th ed. (1929) ed. by J.A. Robertson
"He who appeared in the flesh, was proved righteous by the Spirit, was seen by angels and proclaimed
among Gentile nations, was believed on in the world, and received up into glory."


 As one can see much of Weymouth's original wording is eventually lost. So in order to evaluate his work, it is suggested that students access the First Edition of 1903, in which the NT text itself is rarely corrected or altered by Hampden-Cook; however Hampden-Cook did alter or "improve" some readings in the third edition, but to what extent we may never know. Various free downloads are available at: www.archive.org.

Intentional changes in the latter appearing editions reflect a poor knowledge of the underlying Greek. Compare Weymouth's work in 1903 with the work of Robertson: (click to enlarge)

The Greek verb (exomen) is clearly "we have", first-person plural, and there is no variation within the Greek manuscripts here. Again, try to use the first or second editions of Weymouth's work in order to correctly view Weymouth's work! 


Major revisions followed the initial publication. In 1924 the text was revised by Rev. S. W. Green, Rev. Prof. A.J.D. Farrer, and Rev. H.T. Andrews. It was revised again in 1929 by Rev. Prof. James Alexander Robertson. The first American printed edition of 1943 (Pilgrim's Press) reprints the 5th edition of 1929.
Also, large print editions were published, as well as editions without Weymouth's notes. (s.v. thumbnail at right).

Finally, keep in mind that Weymouth originally designed this effort to be used along side of literal texts, somewhat like a running commentary. In this respect - the work is a real gem, and recommended.

VALUE SUGGESTIONS:


 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 1903 first printing
 $40.00
 $70.00
 1903
 $20.00
 $30.00
 1943 Pilgrim's press  $15.00
 $25.00

 

 reprints
 new market value










The data below is from the 1903 British publication, the first edition.

BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER INFO

hard cover , smyth sewn 674 (add a six page preface)
120 mm x 180.2 mm, single column
no ANSI info, no acidity statement. .0028" page thickness
off-white, minor ghosting; no UV effect


BU


BT_1 Baker Taylor



1903_1 1st  printing, 1903



W_1930 revised by Robertson, 1930



Gal_2 1903 first edition, Galatians 2:16




wey1937 Harper and Brothers, 1937, dust jacket.
Twenty-Four Books of the Holy Scriptures
1904 - Isaac Leeser


Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Hebrew (Masoretic, 2nd Rabbinic, Jacob Ben Chayyim)

Accuracy of translation - - - -  8

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 6

Value as a collectible book - - 7 (for the 1904 publication - an 8)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jewish (Sephardic)




When I began research upon this editor, I was struck by his attitude towards the New Testament, and towards the Christian scriptures in general. In his 1922 Preface, he seems distraught that the "KJV" reflected an "assail" against Israel's hope and faith. He refers to the Christian scriptures as translated in the KJV, as perverted and erroneous. He seems to view with favor the German translators of the Scriptures (Mendelssohn, Herz Wesel, Hartog Wessely and Solomon of Dubno), these are "some of the most eminent minds" he declares! Well what a beginning! He then states that proper Biblical criticism can only be carried out by "a Jew" - (apparently as concerns the OT only).

He seems upset. Similar but toned-down lamentations are also stated in the prefaces of the 1917 Jewish Publication Society's effort (1917) as well as Hugh Schonfield's Authentic New Testament, 1955, and Harkavy's effort The Twenty-Four Books of the Old Testament, 1916. Each of these seek to purge all Christian interpretations from the Old Testament (note Schonfield's omission of Matthew 1:22, 23!, and his obvious corrupt "translation" of Ephesians).

[For a few other comments upon Leeser's translation effort, see Harkavy's section below.]

He translates the Masoretic Hebrew, so we shall inspect this, but briefly a note on the man. Born in Germany in 1806, he died an American in 1868. As to his education, he was first encouraged by the Jewish Rabbi Abraham Sutro, who instilled into young Leeser a dislike for the reform movement amongst American Jewry. Shortly later Isaac Seixas saturated him with the Sephardic rite, which Leeser thoroughly ingested. Lesser was an important figure in American Jewry in the 1800s. He tried to form numerous Jewish societies, synagogues, schools, newspapers, but most of all to unite in one, the various Jewish ideologies. Many of these attempts failed during his lifetime, but eventually such aspirations became a reality in America! He was ahead of his time, and all Jews today in America are deeply indebted to him.

It was Leeser who first preached in his synagogue a "sermon" in English rather than in Hebrew. In 1934 he published his The Jews and the Mosaic Law, later he published a bi-lingual edition of the Pentateuch titled: The Law of God. In 1853 he published his famous OT - The Twenty-Four Books of the Old Testament, Carefully Translated According to the Massoretic Text, After the Best Jewish Authorities. It has been reprinted a number of times, and I now refer to the 1922 publication. I have no hard copy so this is based upon the digital PDF available at www.archive.org.

[as a side note; as a child Leeser and his brother both contracted small-pox, only Isaac survived. Note the scars in the image to the right. He never married.]

First the 1922 edition differs from his earlier 1845 bilingual text. However when the 1853 edition was published the differences betwixt it and the 1922 text were very minor. Below is the RSV text of  Deuteronomy 1:3 compared with Leeser (1922):

 Dt. 1:3 RSV
Dt. 1:3 Leeser 1922
And in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them,

 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day, that Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, according all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them:


Oddly enough many English versions add the words "And it came to pass...", which words are not in the Hebrew, several English versions have it correct such as the ESV, Moffatt, New Berkeley Version, et al. Additionally Moses spoke unto the "sons of Israel" per the Hebrew, whereas most versions have "children" or "people". A small point, I admit. All in all after much reading and comparing, I have found Leeser to be very very accurate to the underlying Hebrew. He is quite literal.

The big fuss about purging "Christian interpretations" from the text, is a vapor lost in the expanse, the air of reality. Interpretations do not belong in the actual text, in notes yes, in the text NO. If the Jewish editors make this an orotund point, or major purpose for their translation efforts (to purge these interpretations) then they are presenting a straw-man. Most Bible scholars and readers, recognize when they are reading/using an annotated Bible, or a reference Bible with copious notes, and when they are reading just the unadorned text. I know of no English Bibles which inject interpretations into the text knowingly. In Leeser's case, I of course, examined many of the passages central to Christian beliefs such as: Isaiah 7:14, Genesis 3:15, Psalms 22 et cetera, and compared them to the passages in the RSV, ASV, KJV and the NASB. There was nothing for Leeser to delete or complain about.

In the end, if someone wants a fine English translation of the Tanakh, then Leeser's effort is worth using, it is quite accurate, and I recommend it regardless of your religion.

Leeser is the editor of numerous works of some value, hard to find today, if in fine condition, very expensive as this EBAY ad of 2022 demonstrates:

LeeserPrice

But he has many other works, like his 6 volume Hebrew/English prayer book for the whole Hebrew calendar!

LeeserPrayer
 

 
 


 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1904
 $50.00
 $150.00
 1922 reprint  $40.00
 $70.00
early pre 1900 editions
 $50.00
 $100.00 +













BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER INFO

hard cover , smyth sewn 1026 (1922 edition)
 NA
 NA





Back_up






















portrait1
note scars via small-pox, still distinguished



1853
nice 1853 - 24 books of the Bible



Leeser_bi
1845 masterpiece Hebrew/English Torah




lawofGod
1845 Law of God complete  set



Leeser1904
1904 - Twenty-Four Books, title page



Leeser53
Leeser's note for Isaiah 53 _suffering Servant text - 1922 edition


THE TWENTIETH CENTURY NEW TESTAMENT (1904)
edition examined 1904 - the final all-in-one volume

BASE text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - basically WH

Accuracy of translation - - - - - 7

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 6

Value as a collectible book - - 8 (first edition)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  mixed, yet mostly Reformed



This is a translation which began in multiple portions, beginning in 1898 (per Kubo and Specht*). The four parts were combined in a final publication in 1904, in which it was somewhat revised. The bottom thumbnail show a cover of part III, circa 1900. The underlying Greek text is that of Westcott and Hort's. The translation was undertaken by about 35 individuals, folks, who did not meet - but rather collaborated entirely via mail! Their names were not made public, that is until a report on the translation/translators was found in the John Ryland's library in 1954 by Kenneth W. Clark. In it we note the names and some biographical information of more than a dozen translators. Clark writes:


After the initial stage of the work, twelve more workers were enlisted but unfortunately their biographies were never requested, perhaps because personal conferences had to some extent replaced correspondence. Altogether, thirty-five persons were associated with the translation, including as advisers three prominent scholars : G. G. Findlay of Headingley College, J. R. Harris of Cambridge, and R. F. Weymouth, retired Headmaster of Mill Hill School.


A few of the translators were:

Henry Bazett, T. Sibley Boulton, W. Tucker Broad, John A. Barrow Clough, W. Copland, E. Bruce Cornford, William M. Crook, Peter William Darnford, George G. Findlay, Edward Deacon Girdlestone, Mary Higgs, J.K. Homer, A. Ingram, Ernest de Merindol Malan, Sarah Elizabeth Mee, and R.O.P. Taylor

K. W. Clark's article (in PDF format) can be read here, 24 pages. Just click on this line.



Those translators which we do know about are a simple cross-section of society in 1890s England. Housewives, as well as 14 clergymen. Among them are many Socialists, some self-styled Radicals, and almost all have engaged in numerous social services toward reform and uplift. They hold in common a sympathy for the mass of workers. A number of them have written articles on social and religious reforms, and some have previously engaged in translating, or at least in re-phrasing, the English New Testament. It was an era of social change, which as Clark declares does not impinge upon the text of this work, only it does sit in the cultural background.  Clark further elaborates:

The Greek used by the New Testament writers was not the Classical Greek of some centuries earlier, but the form of the language spoken in their own day. Today this is a commonplace, but Girdlestone's insight anticipated Adolf Deissmann by many years. Grenfell and Hunt were still young scholars, still digging up papyri in Egypt. It was therefore an "advanced" conception as to the nature of the Greek, which enabled these translators to set a precedent for the treatment of the New Testament text.

This Girdlestone, was a scholar who was adept at classical Greek, his full name being Edward Deacon Girdlestone; he was the oldest member, at 63, (born in 1814, in
Sedgeley, Staffordshire, England) and a stalwart associate. He and his father were Anglican clergymen. After college and teaching, he was ordained at 23 ( Waldham College, Oxford) but two years later decided that this had been a mistake. In a state of indecision he continued intermittently to work and to preach. He was a well-known Fabian. [i.e. persons who advocated socialism, but gradually, not via revolution]. In his mid-thirties he married a woman of means and soon retired. Later as a widower he re-married at 50, and for a while tutored privately. He claims a number of published articles, mostly socialistic.


As mentioned the final edition appeared in 1904, showing substantial revision of the tentative form. In London, it was published by the Sunday School Union at Is. 6d., and the American publisher was Fleming H. Revell.

The passage concerning the Woman Caught in Adultery, is printed at the close of the Gospel of John with a notice. Mark 16, is included with notices, and the Gospel of Mark is printed as the first of the Gospels. First Corinthians 14:34, 35 are in the text but the women are referred to as "married women". At the beginning of the volume, lie 21 pages showing the contents as the names of the paragraph headings, (s.v. thumbnail at right).

Pages are in single column format, adequate margins, text is cleanly printed. Being smyth-sewn it lies open nicely. At the foot of each page lie cross references, and some minor notes; some of the references are to apocryphal literature! It follows WH Greek text, but adds some interpretations not seen in the Greek. For example:

not_greek
 

Additionally some passages are downright awkward, for example Philippians 2:17

And yet, even if, when your faith is offered as a sacrifice to God, my life-blood must be poured out in addition,
still I rejoice and share the joy of you all;


The NASB reads:

But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.


The overall text flow is rather fractured, somewhat halting. Which may be good as it requires the reader to think about what he or she had just read! However, the text could be smoother had it been subjected to an English prose editor. The unevenness may be due to the fact that numerous translators were involved, and that communication betwixt them was slow (via mail). Occasionally British terms are encountered, such as "gaol" for "jail". Despite some of my complaints, the text is enjoyable and interesting to read. It is truly a unique translation!

Numerous editions have been published over the years, one of the rarest is the Boy Scout edition, shown here in an EBAY auction, for over $400.00:

20th_boyscout



In 1962 Moody Press reprinted the book, in paperback and hardcover format (see thumbnail). In 1961 the hardcover sold for $3.50., the softcover was $1.59, it had 449 pages. Technically the Moody edition is a revision: "Tartarus" at II Peter 2:4 is changed to "hell", unfortunately as the 1904 earlier reading  "Tartarus" is the correct Greek.

In a review of this NT, Robert Bratcher pointed out a few other changes:

Bratcher_quote_1


Along with Bratcher, one wonders why the Moody edition made numerous changes?? Perhaps for copyright purposes??



VALUE SUGGESTIONS:

 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 pre 1904 volumes
 $15.00
 $25.00 - $40.00 each
 1904  NT
 $30.00
 $45.00
 Moody  and other
 reprints
 $15.00 or new market
 value
 $20.00
 Boy Scout edition
 $75.00
 $300.00








table below refers to the 1904 edition

 

BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER INFO

hard cover , smyth sewn 523 with a 31 page preface - 554
125 mm x 188 mm
no ANSI info, no acidity statement. .0031 inches thick. slightly off white, minimal ghosting. No UV effect.

 

BU



 20th_cont sample contents page



20th_gala Galatians 2:16


20_Moody 

 Moody, 1961 dust jacket

 


20_Univ University of California reprint





20_part3 cover of earlier part three, 1900

The Modern American Bible (1899-1901, revised 1909)
Frank Schell Ballentine

BASE text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - WH

Accuracy of translation - - - - - 8

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 6

Value as a collectible book - - 9 (first edition 1889 - 1901)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  basically Episcopalian


Frank Ballentine (not to be confused with the Ballentine of the Riverside New Testament of 1923) produced a good translation of the Westcott Hort Greek text. I am unable to evaluate the physical volumes as they are fairly rare, I have yet to find one which I can purchase, so I rely on the texts as provided in the www.archive.org database. The full title of the first editions are: The Modern American Bible, The Books of the Bible in Modern American Form and Phrase with Notes and Introduction. Hills [#2102] gives some information on each volume with pagination.


Frank Schell Ballentine was born in 1859, died in a VA hospital in 1936 (basically due to prostate cancer).  Frank married Emily Swift Ballentine (
née Slocum) in 1882,  in Pennsylvania, they had 5 children (so he was a family man).  When she passed, Frank then married Maria Wurtz Ballentine (née Muir) in 1908, at age 48.

Frank earned a Bachelor of Divinity at the University of Pennsylvania, and he obtained post-graduate degrees there and the University of Boston. He held a BA, MA, B.D., D.D.. An Episcopalian, he served as rector at the Church of the Good Shepherd, and Christ Church in Scranton. His last church [1906-1913] was at historic St. James Church in Perkiomen, now Evansburg, PA. He had some problems there with his bishop and his congregation -  which finally caused him to resign from the St. James Church. It was reported that he did not dress properly when not preaching (et al), he was pictured as wearing denim bib over-alls, which was improper back in those days, and he appears quite obstinate. In  my study of the man, he seems to be nicely stubborn.


It is certain his doctrine did differ from orthodox Episcopalian views especially after he married Muir, as can be gathered from his writings. He did dabble in the beliefs held by Mary Baker Eddy! But none of his radical beliefs are seen in his New Testament - per my investigations and readings.


Only the NT was ever produced. The whole work was issued in five volumes, but in 1909 it was issued in a single 461 page volume - printed by the Perkiomen Press of Perkiomen, Pennsylvania. Supposedly 10,000 copies were printed [Hills #2193], but after 3,000 were sold it was withdrawn. Then in 1922, it was reissued as A Plainer Bible for Plain People in Plain America - by the Plainer Bible Press, Jersey City, New Jersey. [Hills #2258]. Both the 1909 and 1922 editions were poorly printed, Hills states that some pages were printed upside down, some missing page numbers, et al.. Both the 1909 and 1922 editions are quite rare, especially the 1922 edition, yet being so poorly printed the real value lies with the 1899-1901 first edition.

In his introduction to one of his gospel texts he states:

We have used our every effort to leave off everything peculiarly English and to put in its place what is distinctively American. For this version of the Gospel Story is addressed to Americans, not Englishmen. It is addressed to Americans of this year of grace, not to those of the 16th century. It is addressed to Americans in their every day walk and conversation, not to them as scholars and churchmen alone. It is addressed to all Americans of whatever cast or class who do not find themselves entirely at home in reading the present versions of the Gospels. It is addressed to you, interested reader, if you are ready to welcome a rendering of the Gospel Story talking to you in your own distinctively American words and phrases,—the words in common use on the street and in the mill, the phrases ordinarily heard on the road, in the store, and at the desk.

Well one could argue that the gospels were addressed to Israelites and Gentiles in the first century AD, in Greek. He means to imply that this ENGLISH rendition is to be seen distinctively as "American" English. It is addressed to those who can read (or read to others), yet no class distinctions are to be recognized. Ballentine makes his point, and one wonders if he is an illusory socialist? Elsewhere he also stated:


In the introduction to the edition of 1897, Ballentine states that his work was inspired by Henri Lasserre’s modern French paraphrase of the Gospels, Les Saints Évangiles (Paris, 1887), whose suppression by the Vatican was a cause célèbre of the time. This inspiration involved the literary form of the text, displaying poetry as such, and generating a text which was free of verse divisions.


Ballentine's first edition was printed in a single column, with no verse numbers (at the top of each page was listed the  beginning verse). (See thumbnail at right). Following each book was a nice assortment of notes concerning the text, especially of a theological nature. (see thumbnail at right). These notes are fairly orthodox, and lead the reader on a healthy path of understanding. One rendition which caused some notice was Luke 5:27-30, he renders it as:


After this he went out and saw a saloon-keeper
named Levi sitting in his saloon, and said to him :
" Follow me."
He left everything, got up, and began to follow
him.
Levi gave him a great reception in his house
and there was a great crowd of saloon-keepers and
others who were with them at table. And the
Pharisees and their Scribes kept complaining to his
disciples and saying
" Why do you eat and drink with saloon-keepers
and prostitutes ?


He explains the above text thusly in his introduction (Luke, page 7):

 LUKE 5 : 30.
"Saloon-keepers and prostitutes."

The word here translated " saloon-keepers," is translated "publicans" in King James' Version and in the Revised
Version. In the Revised Version the marginal note to S. Matt.5 : 46 says " collectors or renters of Roman taxes." The latter is
the literal meaning of the original word, but in itself it only gives a faint idea of the thought which it conveyed to our Lord's hearers. The Jewish collectors of Roman taxes in our Lord's time were looked down on as a despised and disreputable class of people by those in authority in the Jewish Church, and all those who were strict followers of their theories and practices. We have no class of people among us to-day which is exactly analogous to that of the Jewish Roman tax collector, nor is there and which is hated and despised with the same intensity and abandon. The saloon-keeper of to-day comes nearest to being thought of and treated by at least certain great bodies of Christian people just as the old Jewish Roman tax collector was. This is our reason for adopting this translation. It was first suggested by our reviewer in the Sunday-school Times.

We have adopted the word " prostitutes" instead of sinners for a like reason. To the Jewish mind of our Saviour's
time, in fact, ages before his time, to sin against God was likened to that which the prostitute does. Cf. Hosea 4 : 10
5:3; Ezekiel 6:9; 23 : 3 ; Isaiah 57 : 3. Then again the modern use of the word "prostitute" as one who degrades
and misuses his God-given gifts is thoroughly in accord with the idea which the original conveyed to our Lord's hearers.
Compare S. Matt. 21 : 31, 32, a thoroughly parallel passage.
--end quote--

Was prohibition in effect in 1900? His arguments are rather "far fetched" in my opinion. However, the majority of his text is well rendered in English. He does have difficulty with some of the aorist participles and verbs; for example in Ephesians chapter one, (see thumbnail), words are underlined in red which are poor renditions. "In heaven in Christ" - "heaven" should be [and is a] plural; perhaps "heavenly spheres". "In Christ" as a dative could be "within Christ" - producing "in the heavenly-spheres within [or "in] Christ", this suggestion stems from a note in the Scofield Reference Bibles. The words underlined in red in the Galatians sample, simply indicate how he translated this, I would translate it as "the faith of Christ", but it is ambiguous.

The Modern American Bible, is pleasant to read, it is laid out nicely. It also presents us with many nice renditions, but over-all I do not recommend it for critical study or food for growth. Besides it is hard to find! When I can afford to secure a copy I will add the paper data below. Until then....

the five volumes are available at: www.archive.org



 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1889-1901 volumes
 $30.00 each
 $150.00 - $300.00 all 5
 1909 
 $60.00
 $135.00
 













BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER INFO

hard cover issued in 5 vol.. For example; Paul - 360 pages,  Mark 138, etc..
160 mm spine x ?
N/A




Back_up















G2_16 Galatians 2:16






Bal_Eph Ephesians 1






B_Paul_cover Front cover ~1900 Paul





B_1900_title Advertisement of Ballentine's NT volumes




Bal_1909 rare 1909 title page thanks to Wikidot which is source for this image




Bal_notes_sample sample of "notes" from the Mark edition




The Emphasized New Testament
Joseph Bryant Rotherham (1897, reprint 1959)

BASE text  - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Westcott and Hort (Greek New Testament)

Accuracy of translation  - - - - 5

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 3

Value as a collectible book - - 6

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Churches of Christ




The full title is: The Emphasized New Testament: A Translation Designed to Set Forth the Exact Meaning, the Proper Terminology, and the Graphic Style of the Sacred Original. The first complete Bible was published in 1902 by the Fleming H. Revell Company, in 3 volumes: vol. I - Genesis-Ruth: vol. II  I Samuel -Psalms: vol, III Proverbs-Malachi. New Testament was first published in 1872, and rewritten in 1878. The Gospel of Matthew first appeared in 1868. In 1916, all four volumes were published in one volume. The text utilized in this review is a 1959 (Kregel) copy of the 1916 NT edition. 

Margaret Hills list 8 editions of his NT/Bible - #1930, #2073, #2078, #2083, #2097, #2133, #2139, #2227. Her #2227 is the Kregel edition, though she lists it as printed in the year of 1961, my copy is 1959.  Of course the multi-part OT (1902) is very collectible, as well as the early 1878 NT. For current daily use and study the 1916 edition(s) are valuable. The Kregel reprints are very good of the 1916 edition, hence it has some value. The works prior to 1916 are fairly rare, and costly when in pristine condition.

Via my research Rotherham was a layman without any college education. He spent much time on his translation efforts, and it shows. I assume he was self taught in Greek and Hebrew. This is typically the case with the many Church of Christ translators; they often just dive in and try to translate with lexicons in hand. Even today (November 2021) several Church of Christ translations are underway by private individuals. None are or have been taught by experts the Koine Greek language. Often it is claimed that they are under guidance of the Holy Spirit. The first such efforts began by the Campbell's circa 1828.
 

Joseph Rotherham was thoroughly versed in Hebrew and Greek [not verified]. Using Tregelles' New Testament Greek text, Rotherham began his work in 1868. Later in his final edition of the complete Bible in 1902 he switched to Westcott and Hort's Greek New Testament. In both his Old Testament and New Testament translations, his well executed intent was to render each word as literally as possible, while still showing the shades of meaning by various markings and footnotes. He was one of the first to use Yahweh as representing the Divine name of YHWH.

Below is basically per Wikipedia, with additions:

Rotherham - (1828–1910), was a British biblical scholar and minister of the Churches of Christ, He was a prolific writer whose best-known work was the Emphasized Bible, a new translation that used "emphatic inversion" and a set of diacritical marks to bring out shades of meaning in the original text. Though British, his work was very popular in America, notably with the Christian Scientists.  He was born at New Buckenham, Norfolk in the United Kingdom (1928). His father was a Methodist preacher, and Rotherham followed in his footsteps, pastoring churches in Woolwich, Charlton and Stockton-on-Tees. However he soon developed differences with Methodism regarding infant baptism and, at the same time, became interested in the writings of the American preacher Alexander Campbell, one of the early leaders of the Restoration Movement. Rotherham eventually joined the movement in 1854 and became a well known evangelist and biblical scholar with the Churches of Christ.  He based his Old Testament translation on the comprehensive Hebrew text of Dr. C. D Ginsburg, which anticipated readings now widely accepted. (Which was a good move!).


Rotherham became an editor with James Sangster and Co., London in 1868, and then a Press Corrector for 31 years beginning in 1874, principally working with religious books. Although this effectively ended his Evangelistic work, he continued preaching and publishing articles in such magazines as Christian Commonwealth and Public Opinion. Rotherham enjoyed good health virtually to the end of his life, giving his last sermon on December 19, 1909. However on New Year's Day 1910 he caught a severe cold and experienced a rapid decline, dying only a few days later at the age of 81. His body was laid to rest in Hither Green Cemetery on January 10.
[end Wikipedia material].

As a press corrector, he must have been keen to note the smallest of details, a talent useful for translation! Today numerous scholars applaud his work, especially as concerns the Hebrew (the late John R. Kohlenberger III). As to his Greek, he struggled. After years of labor and three editions of the New Testament, his final result is very good -  that is,  his translation of the WH Greek text. He did utilize Donaldson's Greek grammar, Meyer's commentaries, the Liddell and Scott Greek dictionary, and works by others (Saphir, Farrar et al). Nearly all refer to the classical form of Greek, rather than the NT Koine.

An for example note one of his labors with the prepositions,  John 1:51:

 "...messengers of God ascending and descending unto the Son of Man"

Note the preposition "unto" [i.e. to], the Greek reads epi and is usually translated as "upon". Here is his footnote:


epi_note


He refers to the usual translation "upon" as "grotesque". Odd. He must be viewing these angels as physical beings, as opposed to spiritual beings. Spiritual beings who may alight upon the shoulder of the good Lord to whisper a message in His ear. Is this not more reasonable? They moved up and down upon Him. [UNTO is an archaic expression for the preposition "to"]

At I Peter 2:24 he translates epi as:

Peter2_24




Here again epi with an accusative, Christ bore our sins UPON the tree [i.e. cross]. Donaldson's definition as, "Motion with a view to superposition"; is vague, but this is a grammar for classical Greek, and in the Attic dialect epi can indicate movement more so than in the Koine. For example at Luke 1:17, we find " to turn the hearts of the fathers TO the children".  The above quote of John 1:51 shows some non-physical movement. Were our sins moved or bore TO the tree? Certainly the typical meaning of "upon" as in "upon the tree" is more realistic and accurate. Was His body "to" the tree, or "upon" the tree? My question is why make this complicated?

In Rotherham's day, the Koine was just being grasped, and freed from its classical shackles, consequently Rotherham is simply an innocent grammarian of his times. Yes, in some scenarios "to" is accurate, but "upon" shows the result, at times a place of rest, a location upon which something or someone was positioned. His body was attached TO a tree, but the sins were UPON Him, not the tree. The tree was/is not our sin-bearer. Being poetical I might state: The tree did not die for me.

Certainly the phrase"...from our sins getting away" (in the above quote), is confusing, to say the least. We are "dead to sin" that is simple and clear and accurate, again why did Rotherham conjure up this mishmash?

As for the Hebrew, he exhibits the same ineptness with a similar preposition (b-) he is stuck upon using it as "in-", which it often means, but not always... for example he has "in a (certain) day", as opposed to "on a certain day"; s.v. Isaiah 10:20, 11;11, et al. Or "IN Mount Horeb" as opposed to "ON Mount Horeb", I Kings 8:9. etc. etc.. It appears quite that probable that he relied upon reference works which were a bit outdated.

He is guilty of simply moving phrases around and alternating with a variety of synonyms. Lots of work, but indicating a poor knowledge of the Greek. The same goes for his effort on the Hebrew OT. His translation is substandard despite some other reviewers.

After reading considerable chunks of Rotherham's OT and NT translation, I am left with the reality that the effort is not worth the time to try to make sense of it. Why try to put the word order of the Greek into English dress, this completely hampers the reader's ability to understand God's Word? His early work may be collectible, but I cannot recommend it as a good representation of God's Word, in the Greek or Hebrew. For more detailed information on his life and work - a book about life and  his reminiscences, is available for download - copy and paste this link into your browser.

http://www.teleiosministries.com/rotherhambible.html



VALUE  SUGGESTIONS

 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 pre 1916 volumes
 $20.00
 $30.00 - $50.00 each
 1916  (4 in 1)
 $25.00
 $45.00
 Kregel  and other
 reprints
 $15.00
 $20.00











data below is from a 1959 Kregel reprint of his New Testament-

BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER INFO

hard cover, smyth sewn
276 pages which includes 1 page preface, 5 page appendix
165 mm x 240 mm
nice off-white, .0034" thick. text in 2 columns, no ghosting, adequate margins





BU


Rot_1878 1878 sample





R_1959 1959 sample






rot_1828 The old fellow



The New Testament Revised and Translated...
A. S. Worrell
  (1904, reprinted in 1980)

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  a modified Westcott/Hort (WH)

Accuracy of translation - - - - - 6

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 4

Value as a collectible book - - 7 (1904 edition)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Assemblies of God/Charismatic


Adolphus Spalding Worrell's New Testament was first published in Louisville, Kentucky in 1904, by the American Baptist Publication Society (now known as the Judson Press). It was nicely reprinted by the Gospel Publication House in 1957. An edition known as the "revised edition" was published in 1980, by the Gospel Publication House, but it appears to be the same text as its earlier reprint of 1957, it too includes the Study Notes. The full title of the original publication is: The New Testament Revised and Translated by A. S. Worrell, with Notes and Instructions designed to aid the earnest Reader  in obtaining a clear Understanding of the Doctrine, Ordinances, and primitive Assemblies, as revealed in these Scriptures. whew!

Some of his biography can be seen at:
www.biblecollectors.org/biographies/a_s_worrell.htm
 

(via Wilfrid Lofft). Worrell did earn several degrees

In September 1844 Adolphus was converted and in 1850 he felt called to preach. He graduated from Mercer University, Macon, Georgia, with an honors A.B. in 1855 and with an A.M. in 1858. Later, he is termed “Dr.”, but where and when he attained his degree is not known. 

He was born in 1831 and died (via stomach cancer) in 1908. He was a professor of Greek and Hebrew as well as the editor of several journals and was a college president, of at least half-a-dozen colleges!

The first edition (1904) of this NT, is rather hard to find, it was published by a Baptist press, probably because it uses the word "immersion" for baptism. However, it is currently available via Gospel House Publishers, an Assemblies of God publishing concern. Rightly so. [s.v. Hills # 2161]. It is strongly charismatic, or rather Worrell himself was. In his introduction he claims that the Holy Spirit guided him in making this "revision". He also claims that during his effort to produce this NT:     

"...that during all the labor of translation and preparation of the notes, he has never realized any fatigue, in body or mind, worth noticing. On the contrary his very spirit, soul, and body have glowed, much of the time, with an exhilaration that he could but credit to Him Whom he has undertaken to serve, please and glorify in the execution of this work."...this work has been done as to the Lord; and it is His..."

He does not claim that the work is perfect, discounting human error, what does he claim? "The writer has dealt with the tenses [Greek] as themselves inspired, and he has not dared to translate them otherwise..." . Hence, he claims especial attention to the rendering of the tenses, and to the syntax and word order of the original Greek. He claims to have made many improvements over the Revised Versions. His text is basically the 1901 ASV. Which he modifies to suit his whims. A few samples follow:


Luke 18:42  And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight; thy faith hath made thee whole.  ASV
Luke 18:42  And Jesus said to him, "Receive sight; your faith has made you whole."         Worrell

Interestingly both versions can be corrected to the Greek. "whole" is actually a Greek verb meaning "save, heal, rescue". A better rendering would be: "your faith has healed you".

The NASB (1971) correctly reads:
Luke 18:42 ...your faith has made you well


He is adamant in stating that Sabbath" does not mean "week" or "weeks". For example: I Corinthians 16:2;

On the first day of the sabbaths  Worrell
Upon the first day of the week     ASV

On the first day of every week     NASB (1971)

The Greek has "according  (to) first sabbatwns" - (plural, sabbath) per literal English we would see "per the first of each week..."

At each location wherein "week" would be required, he consistently wrote "sabbath". In a footnote to to Matthew 28:1, he mentions that "week" may be meant, and at John 20:19 in a footnote, he correctly renders as "on the first day of the week".

As to following the venerable 1901 ASV, note this comparison: Luke 6:1

ASV
Now it came to pass on a sabbath, that he was going through the grainfields; and his disciples plucked the ears, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.

Now Worrell:
And it came to pass on a sabbath, that He was going through grainfields; and His disciples were plucking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing them with their hands.

now NASB: (1971)
Now it came about that on a certain Sabbath He was passing through some grainfields; and His disciples were picking and eating the heads of wheat, rubbing them in their hands. 

The issue herein is that in verse one, the Greek has "the second-first sabbath", that is why the NASB utilized "certain". This is a difficult verse, but a note would have been proper. Rendered as "the second sabbath after the first", per the KJV, makes the best sense and honors the underlying Greek. One may note that later on in verse 2, (see thumbnail) Worrell retains the archaic "ye", following the ASV. In which case he flip/flops back and forth with "you" and "ye". - indicated in the thumbnail in red.

(i.e. His "plucking"  in 6:1, is an improvement over the ASV's "plucked" as it is a present active participle).

In many more instances one can demonstrate that the Holy Spirit erred quite often - BUT this is not the case, Worrell was definitely NOT led by the Holy Spirit to translate thusly, a sad indictment. His omission of text in Matthew 20:22 is a clear bo bo (in my opinion),  here he follows the ASV, but does the Holy Spirit follow the ASV here? Worrell omits the last part of the verse -

"...and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?...

The omission occurs primarily in the Egyptian manuscripts, it is in the Majority of manuscripts.  Worrell claims to follow the Westcott/Hort Greek NT, and the WH text does omit the above portion of verse 22. Worrell also states that he also consults Scrivener and others, so the Holy Spirit made a decision to omit as per the WH text, but who really made the decision to omit the above, him or the HS? Was the HS his guide or was the 1901 ASV his guide? Or was Westcott and Hort?? One is left to ponder. Many other examples are not so dense. (I chose this one as because I may be dense -- do you note the humor?).

A few final points regarding the format of his NT; the margins a too narrow (see thumbnails), the page paragraphs seem crammed together. Finding certain passages is not simplified with addresses printed at the tops of the pages. Otherwise the  Gospel Publication House editions are nicely printed and bound, worth their asking price.

As with many of the new translations appearing during the 20th century, one must ask WHY each was produced. Worrell obviously thought that the others were not produced under guidance of the HS. He has clarified the text in numerous places, but some of his simplifications are not an improvement. If his translation never appeared, the world would probably not miss it. Otherwise the 1901 ASV lives on.

Worrell also had several other works of his published, still in print (reprints) are The First and Seventh Day Controversy,  a volume titled: Full Gospel Teachings, and a text on English grammar.


VALUE SUGGESTIONS

 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1904 edition
 $35.00
 $50.00 - $80.00
 1957
 $20.00
 $35.00
 1980 "edition"
 $15.00
 $25.00












the data below is based upon the GPH edition of 1980:


BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER AND PAGE  INFO 

hard cover smyth-sewn
424 pages which includes the 4 appendices 234 mm x 170 mm a fairly bright white, 2 columns, .0040" thick, lays flat, no ghosting, the printing is even and clean


BU
























worrell Luke 6



WorGal  Galatians 2



WorMark Mark 16 and note





  worrell_title1904 title page

The Corrected English New Testament
Samuel Lloyd
(1905)

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Nestle's 4th Greek text

Accuracy of translation - - - -  7

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 6

Value as a collectible book - - 8 (first 1905 editions)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Quaker and Anglican





After spending some time, I came to the conclusion that this effort by Lloyd was and is indeed a genuine correction and improvement of the ERV and the ASV as well as the KJV. Page after page of this text clearly presents to the reader laborious efforts to improve upon the prior mentioned versions. When the 1885 ERV was published, Lloyd and others noted to their dismay many failings - antiquated language, numerous errors when translating various verbs, poor phrasing and word order, and a reliance upon the KJV to such a degree that the results of the revisers was just the dusting off of the fossilized text. Indeed a Corrected edition was required. A daring prospect, and daunting. When Lloyd presented his suggestion before the British Foreign Bible Society, they did not accept his proposal (this being 1901). However, lack of support did not stop this man - Samuel Lloyd.

Samuel Lloyd (1827 -  1918) a Quaker, was a member of the Friends Historical Society, Chairman of and owner of
Lloyd's Ironstone Company, and heir within the Lloyd family of Birmingham; iron-founders and bankers, their banking business went on to found Lloyd's Bank, (i.e. Lloyd's of London) today one of the largest banks in the United Kingdom. A very wealthy man. Yet he writes:


Writing about oneself is not a congenial task; yet, lest it be thought that I am over much given to business, I should like to mention the time I have given not only to the study but also to the distribution of the Bible even to smuggling, under the influence of George Borrow's book, copies of the Scriptures into Spain by hiding them in the hollow balance-weights of the machinery we sent out to Barcelona when we supplied the rolling-mills there, the dissemination of the literature being under taken by a zealous Welsh foreman. I have long been an active member of the Bible Society, and recently I myself published The Corrected New Testament, in the preparation of which I had the valuable assistance of the Rev. G. C. Cunnington and many famous theological scholars. I consider that my life-work. -end quote--



Note the last sentence, note too that he authorized the smuggling of Bibles, via his business with companies, into Spain - jeopardizing his business. A stern man, this Samuel Lloyd! I know little of his education, but this work and his writing of some of his family's history suggest he was quite intelligent. Without the support of the BFBS he went ahead and recruited some very able scholars, principally the learned Rev. E. E. Cunnington MA, the Rev. Canon Girdlestone, Dr. J. Rendel Harris, Mr. W. H. Garbutt. Additionally he utilized the services of:  Mr.  E. Hampden-Cook (of the Twentieth Century New Testament fame), Mr. J. Pollard, Rev. E. W. Bullinger and others.

The Corrected English New Testament, was published in 1905, first by Samuel Bagster and Sons, then also by G. P. Putnam and Sons (of New York), also The London Bible Warehouse, Knickerbocker and Ruskin Presses. All in 1905. The most desirable edition is the leather covered boards of the Samuel Bagster edition. It is beautifully made, with rounded corners and abundant gold-gilded edges. It is in a single column format (see thumbnails), with ample margins. It utilizes the Fourth edition of Novum Testamentum Graece cum Apparatu Critico, Eberhard Nestle, 1904.  

Upon close examination, the text is closely based upon the Nestle Greek NT. Which effort is the first New Testament, in English, based upon Nestle's Greek NT! Daring, as most flocked to the Westcott-Hort text; there exists not a lot of differences, but still this innovation is typical of Mr. Samuel Lloyd.
Being a multi-millionaire one suspects that the publication was financed by the Lloyd's folks as well.

E. E. Cunnington, (the
Anglican) next to Lloyd, was responsible for the final product. His expertise with the Greek is apparent. More information on this Cunnington is seen below with the 1914 NT he produced! Yet I believe he has room for improvement (as all translations do), note second thumbnail to the right, concerning Galatians 2.

Lloyd's NT needs to be republished, back in 1905, the publication was snubbed by the ecclesiastical society of Britain, as they did not approve of the use of the term "authorised" in its full title (The Corrected English New Testament - A revision of the "Authorised" Version).   Even though Mr. Lloyd was a life governor of the BFBS, they did not endorse this work. Too bad, in my mind it surpasses the ASV, the ERV and the KJV. A remarkable effort!! As one reads this text, one will note the retention of many KJV terms and idioms, this was intentional as Lloyd had great respect for the KJV (and the ASV) and did not want to meddle with its (their) beauty.

It is enjoyable to read, and copies are available for downloading at: www.archive.org. Modern reprints are also available both paperback and hardcover (Kessinger Publishing, Wentworth  et al). Prices range for $29.00 (paperback)  to $50.00 for the hardcover. The new print-on-demand copies are terrible as far as quality is concerned; pages missing some text, pages too light, binding tight glue. Try to find one who publishes with smyth-sewn bindings, this will help.





 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1905 (any pub.)
 $25.00
 $50.00
 1905  leather boards
 $35.00
 $65.00
 

 

















data below is via the Samuel Bagster and Sons, leather edition (see thumbs)

BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER INFO

hard cover, leather boards, smyth-sewn
470, 495 with intro and preface
195 mm x 145
slightly off-white, rounded corners, gold-gilt edges all around: .0033", no ghosting. Not acid free.








BU





Put_ll Putnam




Gala_16_lloyd Galatians 2 +
notes added





LL_Plus 3 publishers



LL_knick Knickerbocker




LL_Bagster Bagster



LL_portrait Samuel Lloyd



lll 1905 leather




me_lloyds the leather from
above


lloyd_title_leather leather title page
BAGSTER  1905





The Modern Reader's Bible
Richard G. Moulton
(1907)

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  1881 English Revised Version

Accuracy of translation - - - -  7 (he does modify the ERV)

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 6

Value as a collectible book - - 6

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Methodist




Perhaps its in the genes, but Richard Moulton's family was remarkable. He was the youngest brother of 4 brothers (with 2 younger sisters). All were brilliant. Students of NT Greek need no introduction to his brother - W. F. Moulton. Our Richard Moulton was also the uncle of the celebrated J. H. Moulton (who died after his ship was torpedoed during WW I, in 1917; i.e.  in the same lifeboat was James Rendel Harris, who did survive.)  Richard Green Moulton died at his home in Tunbridge Wells, England.

He received degrees from: the  University of LondonUniversity of Cambridge, and University of Pennsylvania. After teaching at Cambridge, the American Society Extension University, and the London Society for the Extension of University Education, he became a professor of English literature at the University of Chicago in 1892.


Here is a snapshot of his siblings and parents:


  1. William Moulton1835 - 1898

  2. James Egan Moulton 1841 - 1909

  3. Mr John Moulton1844 - 1921

  4. Richard Moulton 1849 - 1924

  5. Sarah Ann Moulton

  6. Elizabeth Green Moulton


Our Richard Moulton (1849 - 1924) was an expert with Shakespeare, and a renowned literary critic. Using his gifts he arranged the 1885 ERV Bible into a format which exemplifies the literary aspects. He presented the text in various forms differing for: poetic, dramatic scenes, prophecy, wisdom and straight history.

In the volume examined, we find all of his earlier 21 volumes gathered into one chunky volume. This was first published as one volume in 1907. It contains 1734 pages, on an interesting paper. Published by the Macmillan Company (via the Norwood Press) the paper is very limp cotton-based, an off-white color, and some minor foxing. The paper is fragile, and quite soft. Viewing its fibers at 100x we note to looseness of the pulp fibers, possibly an ample amount of rag (cotton).

Moulton paper
 thin at .0019" we will note some ghosting



It is similar to today's paper towels. Despite this, with care it is a pleasure to read and hold.

Moulton's reorganizing of the textual formats, produces a variety of responses, some appear to promote and easier to read format, hence easier to understand. Thus is these cases he provides a worthy improvement! But in other cases, one wonders if his arrangement is an improvement. Note this page of John 1:1-18, I added the red marks:



John_Moulton

I myself do not perceive the result as an improvement, others may declare that the author's intent is clearer. When I read the Psalms in Moulton's work, I do notice an improvement in comprehension. But especially so in Ecclesiasticus. In addition to the standard 66 books of the Bible, he includes: Tobit, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus. All of the work is in a single column format.

Richard Moulton spent an immense amount of effort on this work yet the beauty of it would have been improved had he used the KJV as his base text. The melody and nobility of the KJV fits his type of arrangement much better (I noted this comment in an Amazon review of this book by anonymous). The ERV and the ASV are not gems of eloquence, both though accurate, are rather flat in their warmth. Richard considered this work as his "life's work",
which is quite revealing as he had these publishing statistics: not counting the individual 21 volumes!!

52 editions published between 1907 and 1994 in English, this just for his Bible (all in 1 edition)

33 editions  of  "Shakespeare as a dramatic thinker"

16 editions of his "Bible Stories Old Testament"

113 editions of: "The literary study of the Bible : an account of the leading forms of literature represented in the sacred writings, intended for English readers"

23 editions of: "Bible Idyls"

25 editions of:  "World literature and its place in general culture"

17 editions of:  'The moral system of Shakespeare : a popular illustration of fiction as the experimental side of philosophy'

 
He also had numerous other books published dealing with literature, Shakespeare, and the Bible, the above statistics are provided by www.Worldcat.org. Even more impressive is the fact that the above statistics relate only to the English language publications! He was a busy man. 




 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 pre 1907 volumes
 $10.00
 $20.00 each
 1907 single volume
 $20.00
 $35.00 - $45.00
 modern
 reprints
 $10.00
 $15.00
 1924 Macmillan edition
 $25.00
 $35 - $50.00
 1926 Hubbed leather
 $30.00
 $40 - $50.00



The editions are not rare, the single volume edition was reprinted a number of times, I do highlight two volumes for exceptional value — the 1924 and 1926 reprints. (thumbnails at the right). Some of the earlier 24 volumes may be difficult to locate, in which case their value increases. 

Table below is via the all-in-one volume of 1907


BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER AND PAGE  INFO 

hard cover smyth-sewn
1734 pages  200 mm x 135 mm off-white, 1 column, .0019" thick, lays flat, some ghosting, the printing is even and clean. Top edge gold gilded, fore edge rough trimmed. No fluorescence.


BU



M_24 24 vols. Modern Reader's Bible +




M_how_to a 1923 publication




Moulton_himself R. G. Moulton





Moulton_nice the 1924 edition




M_school for schools 1928





M_hubbed hard to find leather hubbed!!






M_Isaiah Isaiah sample





















Holy Bible in Modern English
Ferrar M. Fenton
(1903)

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Westcott/Hort (WH)

Accuracy of translation - - - -  6

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 4

Value as a collectible book - - 7 (1903 NT, and Bible)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - British - Israelism



The late 19th century scholar, Ferrar Merricmac Fenton, (1832 - 1920) began in 1853, a half-century of earnest labor on his translation of the Scriptures, finally publishing the NT in 1903 (also 1895 a first edition), as well as the complete Bible. This review is based upon his 1906 Bible. He had prior published his Bible in various parts, beginning with Romans in 1882, the NT in 1895, the Five books of Moses, 1901, and the whole Bible in 1903.

Fenton was a child prodigy who (it is claimed) from the age of seven read the Bible only in its original languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. This he claims helped him to eliminate any translator bias toward other popular English versions, so that his resulting work was not impinged.


At the age of 20, he felt that the difficult-to-understand language of the AV and its revision, promoted the obsolescence of the Holy Scriptures, and that our society would therefore be doomed without a modern revision preserving the actual elements of the original languages. With such a daunting task, he set out to preserve the Holy Scriptures in English. This he worked at for 50 years. Actually believing that he was saving the Scriptures for mankind (in English).

He was a businessman practicing "commerce" in London and an autodidactic as concerns Koine Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic (or, Chaldee). He was also a student of philology and linguistics and religion.  In the title page of his various editions he lists the following "titles" - MCAA (Member of the Cambrian Archeological Association) and MRAS (Member of the Royal Asiatic Society). 

An example of the beautifully printed work of his is seen in the 1895 edition of the Five Books of Moses: the actual text is much sharper than this reduced sample, and  has wider margins.....

Fenton_1  


....but, from the above one can see that it is well laid out, in 2 columns with adequate margins and does not transliterate the non-English languages; the publisher being - S. W. Partridge and Co., London. The font is cleanly printed and a perfect size for comfortable reading.

At least 10 editions of Fenton's translation were published in his own lifetime. He also continued to add extra notes to these editions up to 1910. An abridged version was published in 1935 and reprinted in 1951 by Covenant Publishing under the title The Command of the Ever-Living.


Fenton was a member of a group known as "British-Israelism", or, "Anglo-Israelism"; which believe that the 10 "lost" tribes of Israel are the ancestors of modern Britons (more precisely) all Anglo-Saxons. [which includes many North Americans!]. Far fetched as it sounds several cult-like groups embrace the concept (such as: the H. G. Armstrong Worldwide Church of God, and it impacts some of the Mormon theories). Modern adherents include the late Mary Baker Eddy,
Nelson McCausland a Democratic Unionist politician, Pastor Dr. Gene Scott et al, and several thousand believers in the U.S. and the British Commonwealth. Note this brief quote:


 

partial quote from: Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church,  page 241.



  A quote from Bible Blessings Christian Resources, reveals some interesting facts:

Many unique and interesting features of this Bible translation are not to be found in any other Christian Bible of which we are aware. I will briefly list just a few fascinating aspects.

The order of books is set out in the proper Hebrew arrangement:

1st. The books of Moses or Torah,

2nd. The “early reciters” or historians, called in Hebrew, “Nebiim Rishonim,”

3rd. The major prophets, or “Nebiim Akheronim”

4th. The sacred writings, or “Kithobim,” being the Psalms, Solomon and Sacred Writers.

           As Jews and Messianic Christians are well aware, these early divisions give us the Hebrew name of the Old Testament, called the TaNaKh, an abbreviation for Torah, Nebiim, and Kithobim. Fenton stated that he decided to follow this order of the books rather than that of the wild muddle in which the European translators of the Dark Ages had mixed them in the Latin and Greek versions.”

           In the New Testament the usual standard order found in our Christian Bibles is preserved, except that the Gospel of John has been moved to the first position in the Gospels. The reason for this is that Fenton’s own research into the text led him to the conclusion that it was the first Gospel to be written, and is to be dated as one of the earliest books of the New Testament. Today scholars are still divided on that subject,[ ! ] but it is at least interesting that Fenton’s conclusion would explain the subtle differences in Greek word usage between John’s Gospel and his Apocalypse.

-end quote-



Another nice feature, is that he will often translate/give the Hebrew meaning of various Hebrew words such as

Masah and Meribah” by its English equivalent, “Trial and Strife.” (Numbers 17:7)

 
One needs to recall that Fenton was a prodigy, he had a command of over 25 languages, classical and oriental; he also studied philology, history and had access to numerous Biblical manuscripts, which he utilized (during his years of trading/commerce). Armed as such he was able, for example,  to render the Psalms in poetical form, which was one of his strong features, see thumbnail.





 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 5 vol set 1895
 $70.00 (all 5 vol.)
 $100.00  (all 5 vol.)
 pre 1903 volumes
 $20.00 each
 $30.00 each
 1903 NT
 $20.00
 $35.00
 1903 Bible
 $25.00
 $40.00
 post 1903 editions
 $20.00
 $30.00 +









Data below per the 1925 edition


BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER AND PAGE  INFO 

hard cover smyth-sewn
1332 pages which includes all the prefaces N/A
 



BU



gal_Fen
Galatians 2, Fenton 1925 - via Google Books




Fenton_open_bible a 1938 edition, showing order of books





Fenton_Psalms Fenton, 1913, edition,
Psalms sample



Genders - Holy Bible for Daily Reading
John William Genders - 1908

Base text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Westcott/Hort (WH)

Accuracy of translation - - - - -NA

Value to Christian faith - - - - - NA

Value as a collectible book - - 9 (first 1908 edition)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - mostly Baptist



Genders1

Information concerning Rev. Genders is scarce, but it is noted that his children suffered some type of health problems as seen in this snippet:

Gen_child


Apparently he had at least 4 children, and he actively supported Baptist missionary endeavors. He was also talented in growing congregations, he often began with a small group and deftly expanded it over the years. Arguably due to his ministry, he must have been very capable. Besides these attributes, he seemed to be a man devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ. Quite devout!
 

Below, from an EBAY posting /2022


Genders2


This translation is not very common, and until I find a copy, I cannot supply more information. It was published and distributed in Great Britain, which makes it somewhat scarce in America.



 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1908
 $40.00
 $80.00
 
 

 
 
 













BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER AND PAGE  INFO 



 N/A
 



UP_sign



























Genders3

 1908 via EBAY

The University New Testament
Socrates Townsend Weaver
(1909, reprint 1911)

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  ERV, ASV, KJV

Accuracy of translation - - - - - (1909 edition, follows 1881 ERV quite well)

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 6

Value as a collectible book - - 8

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Methodist/Freemason


Upon this earth from 1864 to 1938, dwelt the ambitious Socrates Townsend Weaver. He produced 3 books of the New Testament. His first from 1909 titled:

The University New Testament in modern historical and literary form, for the church, the school, and the home, embracing the life of Jesus Christ in the words of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John, and the church of the apostles according to Acts, the Epistles and Revelation historically harmonized.


It utilizes as text the 1881 English Revised Version. It is a complete NT, laid out like unto a harmony. See thumbnail. Beware that modern print-on-demand copies may be in a multi-volume set.



His next published work is titled: The Biblical Life of Jesus Christ, A Standard Biography of our Lord in the Words of the Gospels

it utilized a fair number of notable resources by, Zahn, Edersheim, Neander, Burton, Westcott et al. It was not an entire NT, but just the Gospels with historical notes. Its base text was the 1901 American Standard Version. Printed by the John C. Winston Co.. It is full of many interesting notes and comments, for a sample see thumbnail. Most likely it is part one of a two volume New Testament.



His 1915 publication was titled: The Greatest Book Ever Written, the New Testament in Its Inspired Literary Form.

it is basically the KJV printed in paragraph form. It is 734 pages. Printed in Washington D. C., by the University Literature Extension publishers. A smyth-sewn hardcover, with dark cloth boards and gold gilded edges and lettering. Note thumbnail. - Upon close examination, one will note that he will often alter the KJV, modernizing the pronouns or other alterations such as adding "beloved" before "Son" in Hebrews 5:5.


So in each work Weaver utilizes a different English text: ERV, ASV and the KJV. We are not told why he changes his base text. Today his work is also available via print-on-demand, which are usually terrible reproductions, pudgy glue-bound paperbacks. A copy I purchased was printed in Middletown, Maryland, it states no publisher; it is part of a two volume set—its title as it appears on the front cover is: The Church of the Apostles, its text begins on page 235. It does not have within it the gospels, which are in volume one. Despite its binding, it is a good copy. A cheap reproduction, but, purchasing one of the original editions can be costly! They are available, but again costly.

Socrates and his wife Mary (nee Danenhower) had 6 (some sources cite 8 children) children, One John Weaver died in the military in 1919. Another son, Paul R. Weaver was born on 21 November 1893, in Fontanelle, Adair, Iowa, United States, his father, Rev Socrates Townsend Weaver, was 29 and his mother, Mary Moore Danenhower, was 28. He died in 1951, at the age of 58, and was buried in William Penn Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A daughter, Lovisa Danenhower Weaver was born in 1901, in Oakland, Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States, her father, Rev Socrates Townsend Weaver, was 37 and her mother, Mary Moore Danenhower, was 35. She married Fred Francis Berry Sr. on 15 June 1927. They were the parents of at least 1 son. She  died on 6 April 1988, in Wichita, Kansas, at the age of 86. Another daughter, Margaret, died at less than one year of age in 1891. As concerns their other children, little information is available.

Socrates was quite active as an evangelist and speaker wherever he lived—be it in Philadelphia, Washington D.C. or Des Moines, Iowa. He is listed as an "affiliate" in the New Jersey Grand Lodge of Freemasons. To what degree he attained, is not known. Upon examining his work I note nothing directly related to Freemasonry. The priesthood of Melchizedek, is wrapped up in the mysteries of Freemasonry (as well as Mormon mythologies). (s.v. Hebrews 7). At Hebrews 7:21, a variant reading adds..."after the order of Melchizedek", Weaver does not add the variant reading. Weaver adds no allusions to Masonry.

Surviving are letters he wrote to Presidents Wilson, and Roosevelt. In a letter to President Wilson he encouraged the president to continue to maintain a Sabbath day in America. (Which we were already doing), I assume Socrates desired that it be law, which Wilson said it is fine as it is, a voluntary day of rest (Sunday).

Weaver presents us with a nice harmony of the synoptic gospels, one might inquire WHY? The answer is similar to that which explains why make another English NT. Many "harmonies" had already been published. In 1892 Albert Huck produced his German edition of the Synoptic gospels, as a harmony. In 1907 Finney translated Huck into English (even the Greek was translated into English). The following (modern) harmonies - - W. G. Rushbrooke's 1880 Synopticon, Broadus' Harmony (1894)  and the Huck/Finney Synopsis (1892), not to mention Godbey's NT, 1902 above; these all follow basically the same layout. Minor differences can be seen, but generally they agree. Logically Weaver utilized one or more of these (even J. W.Hanson's 1885 harmony) - for the layout of his gospels. Certainly Weaver was aware of these, and if one compares his harmony to Huck, he appears to follow the chronology set forth by Huck (and (Finney). Though in his introduction he mentions a number of sources, he does not mention anything connected to a Huck, Finney, Broadus, Rushbrooke, Godbey, Hanson or Robertson.

Albeit he does improve upon many of them, by inserting apocryphal data, as seen in the thumbnail, and he adjusts the history seen in Acts, he inserts at the proper place letters via the Apostle Paul. This is a nice feature. However it can really disrupt the flow of the Acts narrative. (For an excellent harmony of the Life of the Apostle Paul, see Frank J. Goodwin's A Harmony of the Life of St. Paul, (Baker Book House) is highly recommended. In Goodwin's work, the Epistle to the Galatians receives a proper and expanded treatment.

When comparing Weaver's work with that of Moulton (see above) it is clear that they are identical as both follow the 1881 ERV text. Both vary in the order of their materials, but nothing of a major concern, both are acceptable harmonies.


Finally, not much information is available concerning the education or life of our Socrates Weaver. He appears educated, and talented.

copyright of 1909:

Weaver_copy

All three editions of Weaver's work are freely available as PDF's at the www.archive.org site, with two copies of the 1909 text:


soc_archive

above, via  www.archive.org





 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1909 NT
 $40.00
 $80.00
 1911
 $40.00
 $95.00
 1915
 $35.00
 $90.00












Info below refers to his 1909 NT:


BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER AND PAGE  INFO 

hard cover smyth-sewn
 496 pages   N/A
paper slightly off-white, no ghosting  printing is even and clean





BU



Soc_Jairus sample of 1909 edition



Soc_1911 sample of 1911



Soc_Gal sample 1915, showing Galatians 2




Soc_title title page of 1915 edition




Soc_95.00 1915 for sale, $95.00 at Biblio




Soc_sale_red  1911 for sale





Weaver_beliefs notes from his 1911 text

The Scofield Reference Bible
Cyrus Ingerson Scofield
(1909, reprint 1945, 1967)

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  KJV

Accuracy of translation- - - - - 9

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 8

Value as a collectible book - - 9 (1909 edition, and sealskin edition)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Plymouth Brethren/Dispensationalist


Cyrus Scofield (1843 - 1921) lived an extraordinary life (I mean many folks do, but read on...). While in Tennessee, in 1861 he joined the Confederate Army, he fought for 1 year and was released as he was not born in the south, he was born in Michigan. However some records indicate that Cyrus deserted the Confederate army! He found sanctuary in the North, with family in St. Louis, Missouri. Eventually granted release papers, he married the French lady, Leontine, who was a devout Roman Catholic. This in 1866. They had two girls. 

The quote below is per Glenn R. Goss: - The Scofield Bible, and C. I. Scofield. quote:

In 1869 he and his family moved to Kansas, where he was admitted to the bar to practice law. He was elected twice to the Kansas legislature, in 1871 and in 1872. President Grant appointed him as the United States District Attorney of Kansas June 9, 1873. He affirmed, in the oath of office, that he had never voluntarily born arms against the United States . . . He evidently had no problem with that claim, even though he had fought in the Confederate Army. He resigned December 20, 1873, amid charges and counter-charges of political corruption. That ended Scofield's political career.

After that "career" he began or continued drinking, incurred a divorce, and faced several legal problems. His wife noted that he had abandoned her and his daughters, which was true! He landed in jail several times over unpaid bills, and also incurred some debts. Scofield was living a dreary life, a change was needed, and a change did arrive in the man - Thomas McPheeters, a Christian businessman. In a Y.M.C.A. shelter, in 1879, Cyrus Scofield began trusting the Lord Jesus Christ, he never looked back. He viewed his first marriage (to a Roman Catholic) as a mistake, but it was she who left - or who filed for divorce, he complied. Thus this chapter ends.

He began to study the Bible, he was tutored by Dr. James H. Brookes, a famed limited-dispensationalist. Scofield made good use of his sharp analytical mind and learned fast. Early-on he saw the joys of understanding the Bible in a dispensational manner, noting who was speaking, to whom, when, and why, and about what. (The best method of Bible study!). 

He was licensed to preach by the Congregational Churches of St. Louis. Later he moved to Dallas and began pastoring a small church. In 1882 it had 11 members, in 1896 it had 815 members. During this time he married Hettie Hall and they had one child. He began research on his "project" a reference Bible. He traveled to Europe for research purposes, a number of times; in fact he traveled extensively gathering data, as well as touring, which he enjoyed. With the help of Frowde, Arno C. Gaebelein and R. A. Torrey the 1909 reference Bible was published. Oxford publishers thought well of it. And it paid off. The Scofield Reference Bible was Oxford's BEST selling book, in two weeks over one million copies were sold. From 1915 to 1921, Oxford University Press, paid $76,847.63 in royalties to Scofield. In his will he left it to his 2nd wife Hettie and his one son, Noel Paul. Also to be noted is the fact that sales of the Scofield Bible helped the Oxford University Presses to survive WWI.

According to Goss, we do not know how many copies of the 1909 edition were printed.  Today the original 1909 edition is rather scarce. My copy was owned by E. B. Buckalew, who worked at Moody Bible Institute. It was a well- used volume. Overall, over 6 million copies of the Reference Bible have been printed/sold!

The Scofield Bible was first copyrighted in 1909, then 1917, renewed 1937 and 1945. Early printings also read: New and Improved Edition. Has an indexed Atlas and in later printings a Cyclopedic Concordance. Most early copies do not contain an added dictionary (per Hills #2444). Each of these editions, 1909, 1917, and this 1945[6] are all KJV. The 1945 edition is typeset in Brevier 8vo, Black-faced. Scofield facsimile series No. 2. Bible text occupies 1353 pages, a later added Concordance another 370 pages, followed by 12 pages of maps, preceded by an index to the maps. (pagination per the 1946 edition minus concordance). Text is in a two column format, with a center reference column. In this edition the name of Rev. William L. Pettingill is added to the list of consulting editors. Volume is black, hardcover, with The Scofield Reference Bible intaglio on the front cover. Spine 21 cm., spine reads: HOLY BIBLE: Cyclopedic Concordance: Scofield Reference Edition: Oxford.

My original 1909 edition is a well-used volume is a leather edition, with nice full yaps, paper edges are gold gilded, with rounded corners. The paper is now brittle,  .0017", ghosting is slight. It is in two columns with a center column for references. Footnotes are at bottom of pages, See thumbnail. It has a total of 1388 pages (including the end maps). The printing setup, (via Oxford's Frowde) is excellent. The actual letter press printing was done by Eaton & Mains of New York. Frowde, the printer of Oxford, was a member of the Plymouth Brethren.

In this 1909 edition the consulting editors were:

Rev. Henry G. Weston
Rev. James Gray
Rev. William J. Erdman
Rev. W. G. Moorehead
Rev. Elmore G. Harris
Arno C. Gaebelein
Rev. Arthur T. Pierson

Quite a distinguished group. In the 1945 edition we note that Rev. William L. Pettingill was added.


Scofield became well grounded in the limited-dispensational* theology, he states clearly that the Pauline epistles ALONE are directed to the church of this age. (s.v. note page 1252 et al). His notes in Daniel really assist the reader in its connection to Revelation, Scofield lays it all out in clear rational exposition.  It is a joy to see the magnificent harmony of the Old Testament and the New Testament! His dispensationalism differs somewhat from some of his listed consultants as he still believed that the church of this age began at Acts 2 Pentecost, rather than in Acts 9-13. A.C. Gaebelein also held this misconception (s.v. God's Masterpiece, page 120).

note this quote from his original text of  Rightly Dividing the Word, by C. I. Scofield:

scofield_quote

Failure to recognize when the church of today (this age) began is probably my biggest complaint with all of the Scofield Bibles. But however, his note on page 1252 appears to contradict such a shortcoming seen above. On the Pentecost of Acts 2, no Gentiles were present, just Jews and proselytes, hence no union. The union of Jew and Gentile, into one new man, was revealed by Paul and first demonstrated in the church at Antioch. The church of today, began with Paul's ministry (Acts 13 NOT 2).

In constructing the Reference Bible Scofield desired to present to readers the results of much research. He claims nothing original, he simply shares what other scholars have learned. Besides the consulting editors, Scofield utilized Thayer, Lightfoot, Sayce, Ussher, Hengstenberg, H. A. W. Meyer et cetera. With a massive amount of data available, Scofield and his editors were able to immerse it into the KJV text as notes, with an excellent and unparalleled system of cross references. What a work! It has been stated that the footnotes are largely the work of Scofield himself.

In chapter 38 of Ezekiel he states in a note that "all agree" that a reference in Ezekiel 38:2, refers to Russia. Perhaps back in Scofield's day, all agreed. However, modern research suggests that Gog, Meshech and Tubal actually refer to places in Turkey (north of Jerusalem). Hence, probably Muslims! (s.v. Edwin Yamaguchi; Foes From The Northern Frontier, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1982). 


This reference Bible it truly king of the type. It was not the first reference Bible, in this modern era the Newberry edition holds that title. However the Newberry Bible is hard to use, and cumbersome to read. Scofield's  notes help clarify and guide the reader unlike any other work. The 1945 hardcover includes a cyclopedic concordance and a dictionary, both add about 350 pages to the work. In the 1917 edition, Ussher's dates are placed at the top of each page; which is another path which brings together both testaments.

Though Scofield was long dead, a new edition in 1967 was issued form Oxford. It utilized the following consultants:

Frank E. Gaebelein
William Culbertson
Charles L. Feinberg
Allan A. Mac rae
Clarence E. Mason, Jr.
Alva J. Mc Clain
John F. Walvoord
and E. Schuyler English

Though they updated a few archaic KJV words, their real editing further corrupted the dispensationalism as presented by Scofield. The new notes enforce Scofield's "limited-dispensationalism*" which is popular, even until today (2022). For the sake of popularity they damaged the intent of the notes of the original Scofield Bible. Note for example the note on page 1352 (1945 Scofield):

That the Gentiles were to be saved was no mystery Romans 9:24-33Romans 10:19-21. The mystery "hid in God" was the divine purpose to make of Jew and Gentile a wholly new thing--"the church, which is his Christ's body," formed by the baptism with the Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians 12:121 Corinthians 12:13 and in which the earthly distinction of Jew and Gentile disappears ; Ephesians 2:14Ephesians 2:15Colossians 3:10Colossians 3:11. The revelation of this mystery, which was foretold, but not explained by Christ Matthew 16:18 was committed to Paul. In his writings alone we find the doctrine, position, walk, and destiny of the church.

In the 1967 edition "alone" is omitted, thus leaving open all sorts of assumptions. Such as: perhaps other books of the NT are directed to us (as opposed to being for us); or, one can follow the dictates seen in James for example, In reality Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles (not James or Peter, or Luke, et al). Alone is a meaningful word here.


In the long note to Acts 2:4, section "f" in the 1917 edition states:

(f) After Pentecost, so long as the Gospel was preached to Jews only, the Spirit was imparted to such as believed by the laying on of hands Acts 8:17Acts 9:17.

the 1967 edition says:

(f) After Pentecost the Spirit was imparted to such as believed, in some cases by the laying on of hands Acts 8:17,  9:17

What happened "to Jews only", which is what Acts 11:19 states. Obedience was necessary prior to Paul's gospel of grace without works (note Acts 5:32).

Again the 1917 edition has this note as part of the introduction to Hebrews:

Church truth does not appear, the ground of gathering only being stated (Hebrews 13:13).

In the 1967 edition, this phrase above is omitted. The book of Hebrews is written to "Jews" not the church, which is not a popular truth today, thus its omission.

Finally Scofield was charged (wrongly so) of promoting racism, these deluded critics usually point to the 1909 note at Genesis 9: 1, in the notes we point out item number (5):

(5) A prophetic declaration is made that from Ham will descend an inferior and servile posterity (Gen, 9: 26,27).


The 1967 edition changes it to read:

(5) A prophetic declaration is made that descendants of Canaan, one of Ham's sons, will be servants to their brethren. (Gen. 9:25, 26).

 
Yet the KJV text of 9:25 is (thankfully) unaltered: (Scofield's "inferior" can easily be misunderstood)

Scofield_Gen9

A "servant of servants" may also be rendered as "the lowest of servants", the argument is not against Scofield, but rather the Bible! The Hebrew verb - "shall he be" is a Qal imperfect, suggesting ongoing action, not a settled historical event. Perhaps even today these "descendants" are still under the curse?

Many more examples could be shown, rarely the text of the KJV been occasionally altered, note I Corinthians 9:20, wherein "not being myself under the law" is added in italics in the 1967 edition.



For Scofield purists, the 1917 or 1945 edition, best reflect the efforts of Scofield. In the 1967 edition, the text and especially the notes were greatly altered, as indicated above. The 2003 King James Version III, is not reviewed herein, but it is also highly altered from the original Scofield. The 1920 NT, has notes which show some very slight changes, but true to the original, the changes were most likely corrections added by Scofield himself, shortly before his death.

One final point: the Scofield Bible/notes taught that the nation Israel must FIRST be regathered into her land before the return of the Lord, recall that Scofield and Gaebelein died decades before Israel was recognized as a nation (in 1947). This was a nice prophetic aspect seen in their notes. It greatly assisted with the hopes of the Zionists at the time. Scofield correctly taught that the "rapture" (i.e. translation) of the Church occurs just before the seven year tribulation, it is after the tribulation that Jesus Christ returns to earth to set up His 1,000 year reign. Scofield makes these events and their order clearer. Note for example:  Hosea 3:5 and its note, Ezekiel 39: 7, 8, 25-29,  Romans 11:1 and entire chapter, and notes, especially the note at 11:26. Certainly all students of the Bible and of the history of Israel can only admire Scofield's insights!

___________________
* "limited-dispensationalist"  - is the belief that today's church began in Acts 2, hence also the beginning of the "church age" or "age of grace"; when in fact a true dispensationalist recognizes the birth of today's church (i.e. this age) with the beginning of Paul's ministry (Acts 9 - 13).




 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1909
 $80.00
 $120.00 - $175.00
 1917
 $50.00
 $65.00
 1917 (Alaskan Sealskin)
 $200.00
 $350.00
 1920 (NT and Psalms)
 $40.00 leather
 $25.00 hardcover
 $80.00 leather
 $40.00 hardcover
 1945
 $25.00
 $40.00
 1967 (availability varies)
 $25.00
 $40.00
 2002 (KJV III)
 currently available







Data below per the 1909 edition

BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER AND PAGE  INFO 

leather bound,  smyth-sewn, full yap
 1388 including maps  130 mm x 200 mm
paper slightly off-white, little ghosting, printing is even and clean .0017"





Back_up


sealskin a damaged 1909 survivor, sold for pennies.




s_esv Scofield + ESV




s_hcsb Scofield +
HCSB




sco_time
Oxford publication dates




Sco_Korea
manufactured in Korea - per EBAY




Sco_bio
suggested value $80.00 - $120.00



scofield_sample sample - 1917 edition
The Cross Reference Bible (ASV text)
1910 - Harold W. Monser editor


Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -KJV

Accuracy of translation - - - - - NA

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 8

Value as a collectible book - -  8 (1910)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Baptist, Church of Christ


Included herein is this work edited by Monser, as it is not a translation per se, but it is a very important work. Monser oversaw the publication, but it utilized the following  associate editors:

Monser_eds

Notice "J. W. Monser" who is the editors father. Also note the great Greek grammarian A.T. Robertson. The 1910 edition filled 2,472 pages. Of which there are: 20 pages of maps, over a dozen pages of indexes, and 20 pages for prefaces. The book of Revelation ends on page 2395, which means the reader has a whopping 2,375 pages of text, text loaded with the ASV and resources. This is a reference Bible stuffed with steroids! It should be noted that the senior editor (Monser) was a University of California (Berkeley) graduate, he also spoke SEVEN different languages.
His wife—
Mrs. Monser, was a minister in the Christian Church, serving churches in Urbana, Villa Grove, Vandalia and El Paso—died in 1956.

Monser died a young man at age 50. [died of pneumonia].  In his short life he accomplished much. As a member of the Church of Christ he was joined in the publication with the following editors each C of C members,

Charles Reign Scoville,
J. W. Monser (Monser's father) and
D. R. Dungan


Theologically the work was possibly influenced by the Churches of Christ. Yet some strong Baptists were also editors: Robertson, and Sampey and Terry. On each page of text, major variant readings are noted, comments from several hundred authors are also noted (hence a nice commentary collection), as well as a large number of cross references, all on each page!

Though the Wilmore Reference Bible may be a bit thicker, it is only thicker as it is not just a single book, it has added separate dictionaries, and Cruden's concordance, et al.



Monser was the first called pastor of the Berkeley First Christian Church, 1893-1895. Interestingly, the Berkeley Bible seminary (which Monser helped to establish) morphed into the creation of what became Chapman University in Orange California. Note this snippet:



He (Monser) was also an active evangelist: below from an Indianapolis newspaper:


                                                              Monser_evan

In 1972 Logos International published the Monser Bible with a few alterations:


* Several paragraphs of the Cross-Reference Bible Preface,
* An entire page pertaining to abbrievations indentifying New Testament manuscripts (such as part of the description of
  Codex Alexandrinus, as well as the entire description of Codex Vaticanus, and numerous other Codices),
* A two page section called "Analysis of the Pentateuch",
* Extracts from the "Preface to the American Standard Version",
* Index to "Nelson's Bible Atlas",
* Index to "Littlefield Maps",
* Color maps associated with the two map indexes.

The Logos edition added:

* "The Layman's Commentary on the Holy Spirit",
* A concordance drawn from the King James Version instead of the American Standard Version,
* A different set of color maps.

It is a worthy addition to any Christian library.


Monser_port


One wonders who generated the idea for this 1910 publication? Monser certainly did oversee the entire work (per the preface), we may never know, was it because the Newberry edition was insufficient, or that Scofield's Bible needed a challenge? Certainly Alexander Campbell and B. W. Johnson's wonderful efforts may have stimulated the effort. (Both these prior efforts by C of C members were innovative editions!). And who or what bore the brunt of the cost of such a large work, was it the collective Churches of Christ? The actual first publishers, the New York Cross Reference Bible Company, (also of Champaign, Illinois) failed a few years after publication.

1910 edition available at www.archive.org   In Hills as #2196.




 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1910
 $90.00
 $145.00
 pre 1959
 $50.00
 $75.00
 1972 Logos
 $70.00
 $90.00
 1918 leather w/ full yap
 $100.00
 $150.00
 note thumbnail











BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER AND PAGE  INFO 

hardcover, smyth-sewn
  2472 spine 240 mm
mixed columns (see thumbnails)





Back_up
















Monser_Epf 1910 edition. Ephesians 1:15 - 2:5.



Monser_size
1959 edition size



Mon_ad
early ad - 1918, leather full yap



dust_jak
1959 with dust jacket



Mon_amos
sample Amos 3





mon_John
sample John - 1959


BIBLE UNION, IMPROVED EDITION
1912, 1935

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  TR, but changes over time, toward critical text

Accuracy of translation - - - - - 6

Value to Christian faith - - - - -  4

Value as a collectible book - -  8

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  mostly Baptists, some Anglican



The American Bible Union was formed when members of the American and Foreign Bible Society, left said group and formed the American Bible Union. Basically the departure resulted because folks wanted to alter the KJV in various ways (immerse for baptize et al). This occurred in 1850. The ABU consequently generated numerous "revisions" from 1862 - 1912. Each revision was towards more critical applications of the Greek and Hebrew texts.

In my humble opinion, the work of Lloyd (see above) of 1905, is superior to most of the efforts of the ABU. That said, the ABU folks did produce  nice preparatory volumes, each titled as "Notes...., on various books of the Bible. In these editions lay very instructive notes as to how and why various renditions were generated. These Notes were notable as in the mid-1800s very few works existed which displayed critical evaluations of the Greek texts (and Hebrew). Each were printed in three columns with the KJV, Greek and revised texts in one of the columns. See thumbnails for a sample from Ephesians, 1857 and Mark 1858, and Galatians. Each available as downloads from www.archive.org

The actual revised texts they produced were not always improvements as desired, often they added confusion, for example note this side-by-side comparison of the KJV and the 1912 text of John 1:15:

 

 KJV
 1912 revision
 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying,
 this was he of whom I spake, He that cometh
 after me is preferred before me: for he was
 before me.
 
 John testifies of him; and cries saying, This
 was he of whom I said, He that comes after
 me has come before me, because he was
 before me.


of course John 1:30 clarifies both translations. Many more examples can be demonstrated. In their 1866 text of John 1:15, they retained the KJV wording, but as time passed they eventually altered it to the above. And yes, they do add improvements. Who is "they" well the group of course changed over the years but in 1850 they were:

ABUmemebrs



Later members who contributed to the textual evaluations were: Thomas J. Conant, J. W. Morton, N. N. Whiting, John Lillie, Orrin B. Judd, Dr. A. C. Kendrick and others. (Note Hills #1764). With Alexander Campbell as a member some internal strife occurred with the Baptists, which eventually led to the publication of TWO versions, one translating the Greek "baptizw" as "baptize" and the other showing it as "immerse". Hence some peace ensued.

The full title of the 1912 edition was:
The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments - An Improved Edition (Based in part on the Bible Union Version)  -- published by the American Baptist Publication Society, Philadelphia.

 My digital copy contained 1,406 pages, margins are rather narrow, in 2 columns, with no cross references. A few notes at bottom of pages. (see thumbnail). The printing appears clean with little ghosting. Any Greek or Hebrew terms/words are transliterated in the notes.



 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1912
 $20.00
 $45.00
 pre 1912
 $20.00
 $35.00
 earlier NOTES editions
 $35.00 each
 $45.00 each














Data below is per the digital 1912 edition. Various editions and some of the "Notes.." editions are available from: www.archive.org.

BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER AND PAGE  INFO 

hardcover
  1406 NA
NA






BTT


ABU_notes
1912 - Galatians NOTES compare with below thumb



1866_ABU
 compare with this 1866 edition, Galatians



ABU_Ep_Notes NOTES, sample, Ephesians - 1857 - N.N. Whiting




ABU_notes sample _NOTES -  Mark 1858



1913_ABU title page 1913 edition

Numeric New Testament - Ivan Panin
1914

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Ivan Panin's Greek NT, (close to Westcott/Hort)

Accuracy of translation - - - - -8

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 8

Value as a collectible book - - 8 (original edition 1914)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  generic Christian


The full title of his New Testament is
The New Testament from the Greek as Established by Bible Numerics, New Haven, CT, 1914; this was followed in 1935 by a second revised edition. A "modern" revision was produced by Mark Vedder in 2014. Though Vedder genuinely labored to produce his "Contemporary Version", it is a poor representation of Panin's original work, and is thus not recommended. This review is based upon the 1914 English NT created by Dr. Panin.

Panin was born in Russia in 1855, and died an American citizen in 1942 at age 86. He was a serious looking fellow:

Panin_photo

Besides being serious looking, he was a genius in mathematics!

After graduating from Harvard–wherein he learned Greek and Hebrew–in 1882, with a Master's degree in Literary Criticism, he became well known as a guest speaker. He traveled extensively across the U.S. lecturing upon the classics (such as Tolstoy and Turgenev et al), additionally he was a confirmed agnostic. In 1890 while reading John 1:1, his mind exploded with the truth that the Bible was/is the inspired Word from God. His conversion was actually headline news in some of the newspapers in America. He saw in the Greek text of the New Testament amazing numerical manifestations: he spent the next 50 years of his life revealing these. He labored night and day, and it cost him his health. He produced over 43,000 pages of notes, several Greek word concordances (a 1,000 page one, and a 2,000 page concordance).  A review of some of his work is available at this following link:

Inspiration of Scriptures, by Ivan Panin, provided by Eighth Day Assembly Ministries (archive.org)


I am not about to attempt to validate his research, other than to say it is impressive, and convinces me that is is not a collection of some trivial coincidences. But what I can review is his resultant English New Testament, which I find remarkable. I was hesitant to even review this NT by Panin, as I was skeptical due to exposure to the many crackpot ideas generated from so-called "numerical analyses" of the Bible.

However, when I began to read his 1914 English translation, I was floored! Seriously impressed. First, there was the accuracy of his English renditions, second, was his literalness his following of his Greek New Testament, very very accurate. So I read more.

Grammarians all know that ambiguity can raise its plural heads when translating genitives (objective or subjective), or prepositions (agency or sphere et al). Usually translation committees deviated little from established norms. For example in Galatians 2:16, the preposition "dia"  with the genitive "pistews Iesou Xristou" is there typically rendered as "faith in Jesus Christ". Note:  NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT et cetera.  Whereas the Geneva and KJV render it as "faith of Jesus Christ". There in Galatians 2:16 Panin follows the crowd, he has it as: "through faith in Jesus Christ". All are grammatically possible. But do note that Panin correctly recognized the preposition "dia" here as "through". Personally I take issue with the "IN Jesus Christ" indicating Him as the object of faith. The second "faith IN Christ", utilizes the Greek preposition "ek" and in my mind it should be rendered as "out of", as in "out of faith of Christ" in the second portion of Galatians 2:16, indicated in the thumbs at right. I, as my followers know, would translate as per the Geneva and KJV, as it is His faith which justifies us, not our conjured faith! Nor our works. Hence a subjective genitive. However, Panin will at times, pick the wrong choice in my opinion, as demonstrated at Galatians 2:16.

Mark 11:22 reads per Panin as: "Have God's faith", instead of the typical "have faith in God". Here Panin was right on!  In Galatians 2:7, Panin reads: "gospel of the uncircumcision", for both Paul and for Peter's gospels he has "of the circumcision" in the same verse. Now, behind Panin's renderings, one would notice that these genitives are free to imply:

    the good news of uncircumcison (for Paul) (ASV, KJV)
   
    the [good news] of circumcision (for Peter) (ASV, KJV)  

Whereas the typical renderings for these genitives are: the gospel to the uncircumcised - for Paul (NASB, NIV)
and                                                                                        the [gospel] to the circumcised   - for Peter (NASB, NIV)

each of the renderings are grammatically correct, but the resultant meanings are very different. Evangelicals cannot accept the plain fact that there are different gospels displayed in the NT. Paul's unique gospel is GOOD news about uncircumcision. Imagine convincing a first century Jew of that! Paul had a hard row to hoe, but misrepresenting his gospel, only adds to the confusion. Yes Paul went to the Gentiles, and Peter focused upon his ministry in Jerusalem, yet the content of their GOOD NEWs' differed. Peter prepared Jews for the Kingdom, Paul prepared any hearers for heaven. Read their writings! (Compare I Peter with I Timothy for example.)

Note and compare his rendering of Ephesians 3:11, 12

Jesus our Lord 12 in whom we have :boldness and access in confidence through his :faith. 

Jesus our Lord 12  in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. - NASB

Jesus our Lord 12  in whom we have the bold and confident access through our faith in Him. - Weymouth

Jesus our Lord 12  in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him. - Letchworth.

Jesus our Lord 12  through whom, as we have faith in Him, we enjoy our confidence.... - Moffatt


and so forth. Again the ambiguous genitive constructions; in support of Panin is the venerable KJV, Lamsa, Young and others. Yet Panin normally maintains this (his) view of these types of genitive constructions, which is a rarity amongst translators these days. He is aware of the distinctions, and thus renders them as such, maugre his critics. And I applaud him for his "boldness".

Should anyone wish to view Westcott and Hort's Greek text in English, Panin's translation is head and shoulders above all, it closely reflects Westcott and Hort, the closest I have yet encountered.

Despite my rhapsodic endorsement of Panin's English translation, he is not perfect, he has flaws. In his 1914 English translation, at Matthew 2:11, Panin has "...came into the house and found the little child". For "found",  Westcott and Hort read  "saw", as do most Greek manuscripts. "Found" is seen in the TR and numerous Latin mss, perhaps in his second edition he corrected it (?)....or... does "found" fit his numeric scheme? Critics often claim that Panin selected from the variant readings only those which satisfied his numeric arrangements. However since his work is so close to that of Westcott and Hort, would the critic's claim that WH picked and chose variants per some numeric scheme? Indeed not, Panin's renderings truly reflect his earnest numeric conception.

He keeps the woman caught in adultery, and the long ending of Mark, and the final two verses of Romans 16. He typically omits passages in line with Westcott and Hort (Matthew 1:25 [firstborn], Acts 8:37 et al). For years I have lamented that "men" was omitted at Acts 7:2 (as in the NASB), of course Panin has it. 

He states in his introduction to his 1914 English translation, that every Greek word is rendered by the SAME English word. He does not abide by this. For example at Galatians 6:2 and verse 5,  he wrote "burden" in each verse. They are different words in the Greek, and a "backpack (i.e. load)" is not the same as a true "burden". I have heard entire sermons based upon the faulty KJV rendering of these two Greek words ("burden" and "load"), had the orator utilized the Greek text the whole sermon would have been corrected.

The Mark Vedder editions are not included below. The original 1914 edition is not easy to find!
www.archive.org has nice PDF copies available of the 1914 edition!



 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1914
 $45.00
 $60.00 - $100.00
 1935 (2nd ed.) 
 $30.00
 $55.00 - $75.00
 
 
 













BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER AND PAGE  INFO 

hardcover
  692 (1st ed.) NA
NA






BTT





P_Gal
Galatians 2, 1914 edition





Ved
title page of a modern "reproduction"





Grk_Panin sample of Panin's Greek New Testament, Galatians 2

The Twenty-Four Books of the Old Testament
1916 - Alexander Harkavy


Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hebrew - Masoretic text,  English - KJV

Accuracy of translation - - - - -as accurate as is the KJV

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 6

Value as a collectible book - - 8

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Jewish apparently Ashkenazic


Full title:
The Twenty-Four Books of the Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text;  translated into English. The English is a slightly modified KJV, in fact the text is 95% KJV. Which praises the OT text of the KJV. Harkavy being a noted linguist  did an impressive job in upgrading the KJV text as per its underlying Hebrew. He made many improvements, enough to declare this a new version.

Alexander Harkavy 1863 - 1939, born in Russia, and died an American in New York city. He was  educated privately, and at an early age displayed a talent for philology. In 1879 he went to Vilna, where he worked in the printing-office of the Romm Brothers in 1882 he went to America, then in 1885 to Paris, returning again to America to reside in New York. It is largely due to Harkavy's efforts that Yiddish was recognized as a world language, his Yiddish dictionaries place the language on firm footing. Dictionaries available at www.archive.org

Besides his works on Yiddish, Harkavy as noted, also worked on translating Scripture into English, starting with Genesis (published 1915), then Psalms (1915), then The Twenty-Four Books of the Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text (1916), with reprints following. He had the Hebrew text on pages facing the KJV text, which he carefully modifies. The 1916 edition is in two and or four volumes. The printing is quite fine and clean. Very little is stated as to the source of his Hebrew text, other than it is from the Masoretic. There is no preface other than a single page which states that he maintains the KJV as far as possible. It is unfortunate that he did not provide data upon his source Hebrew text, he assumes that "Masoretic" is sufficient. He does provide some footnotes which explain certain Hebrew textual aspects (see thumbnail for the Isaiah 53 image). 


His modifications of the KJV are usually corrections, for example at Genesis 3:15, he replaces the pronoun "it" with the correct "he";

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."


He omits a phrase which is in the Hebrew original (though slightly redundant): Deuteronomy 30:4

"If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, [and from thence will he fetch thee:]" - underlined text omitted in Harkavy's English and Hebrew.


Mistakes like the above are rather rare, though he may view the omission as appropriate as it is somewhat redundant. (but note that "gather" and "fetch" convey clearly TWO distinct notions).

Let's now compare a sample text from Harkavy, parallel with Leeser and the KJV:

Hark_Leeser

Not much revealed in the above, except to note that each is definitely KJV based! Leeser in his Preface (page iii) really berates and deprecates the English Bible (the KJV), as he considers it "a perverted and hence erroneous rendering" of the Hebrew.  However he is all to quick to adhere to it as evidenced by just the above sample. Further, he boasts of using numerous versions, texts and the works of his highly praised German theologians—one is left wondering why he so closely follows the Christian English Bible?? 

Sure Leeser's OT was quite literal, but it is Harkavy's English translation which is prominent today! He was also a busy author. (Leeser may have solidified the Jewish presence in America, but it was Harkavy who established Yiddish as a proper language, as noted in the publications below) 

From Wikipedia note the following partial list of his publications:

  • Alexander Harkavy, The Jews in Canada, Montreal 1887
  • "Complete English-Jewish Dictionary" (1891);
  • "Dictionary of the Yiddish Language: Yiddish-English" (1898);
  • pocket editions of English-Jewish and Jewish-English dictionaries;
  • "Amerikanischer Briefsteller" (English and Judæo-German, 1899);
  • "Ollendorf's Method of English: in Yiddish" (1893);
  • "Uchebnik Angliskavo Yazyka" (1892);
  • "Torat Leshon Anglit", an English grammar in Hebrew (1894);
  • "Ha-Yesh Mishpa? Lashon li-Sefat Yehudit?" (1896), in which he shows that Yiddish is a valid, living language;
  • "Don Kichot", a Judæo-German translation (1897–98);
  • Yiddish-English (6th edition), English-Yiddish (11th edition) Dictionary (1910);
  • The Holy Scriptures (1916) reprinted 1936 & 1951, and in 2000 as "the Holy Bible".
  • Yiddish-English-Hebrew Dictionary (4th ed 1928) republished 1968.
  • "Students' Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary to the Old Testament" (1914)

He did publish an English version of the Hebrew OT, for English speaking Jews, simply called "The Holy Scriptures": in 2000 it was titled as "The Holy Bible".


The Holy Scriptures [see second thumb]

First published in 1916, revised in 1951, by the Hebrew Publishing Company, revised by Alexander Harkavy, a Hebrew Bible translation in English, which contains the form Jehovah as the Divine Name in Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, and Isaiah 12:2 and three times in compound place names at Genesis 22:14, [see thumb], Exodus 17:15 and Judges 6:24 as well as Jah in Psalm 68:4. The use of the divine name Jehovah was and still is very unusual for a Jewish Bible, although this Bible never gained the popularity of the JPS Tanakh, Alexander Harkavy has been remembered for his contributions to Jewish literature and the development of modern Yiddish. This Bible's translation style is comparable to the 1917 JPS Tanakh.


Isaac Leeser (and later the Jewish Publication society) had already placed into the hands of Christians an extensive literal translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. We also have numerous editions of the the KJV: however Harkavy's  1916 publication is as far as rarities go, quite collectible. And is really quite enjoyable to read, definitely an updated KJV, which is why his English translation(s) are often reprinted!

In 1916 and in 1928 the "24 Books...." was also published in 4 volumes.
in 1916, 1931 and 1934 two volume sets were published.
in 2000, the Hebrew Publishing Company, published his English version as "The Holy Bible". In 1936 and 1951 it was titled "The Holy Scriptures". (see second thumb)


As an aside, Harkavy has been called "the Noah Webster of American Jewry".


 BOOK, or edition
 Good condition $$
 FINE condition $$
 

 1916  (2 vols.)
 $70.00 (for set)
 $100.00 - $300.00
 1916 and 1928 (4 vol. sets)
 $80.00 (for set)
 $150.000+ (for set)
 1930's era reprints (2 vol)
 $50.00 (both vols.)  $85.00 (both vols.)
 
 










Data is based upon a 1931 two volume edition. Apparently no "Twenty Four Books..." is available from archive.org, Haithi trust has a copy (must log in).




BINDING

NUMBER of PAGES

PAGE SIZE

PAPER AND PAGE  INFO 

2 volumes hardcover smyth-sewn
vol. 1 - 660                     vol. 2 - 724  illustrations are grayscale on same paper as text.
140 mm x 210 mm .0027" (the height of a vol. from the 4 vol. set is 240 mm)
single column, Hebrew and English on facing pages. Paper off-white, minimal ghosting.




BU



Hark_Is53 Isaiah 53 2-12 - Harkavy  24 Books...




HAR_3N1 from a 1951, English Bible for Jewish readers




HARK_DT Deut. 6 from 24 Books...



Hark_22 note Jehovah.. Genesis 22:14,  seen in all of his English translations




HARK_Tit 1916 title page 24 Books...



Hark_port our man, middle aged
The New Covenant - 1914
Edward Ernest Cunnington

Base Text - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Nestles Greek text (4th edition)

Accuracy of translation- - - - - 4

Value to Christian faith - - - - - 4

Value as a collectible book - - 9 (1914 and 1919 editions)

Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Anglican


Again my surprise! In 1905 our Mr. Cunnington greatly assisted Mr. Lloyd (above) in the production of his NT, so now here in 1914  - WHY another new translation! Well, either E. E. Cunnington (afterwards EEC)  was not pleased with Lloyd's effort, or he wanted to continue to oppose the KJV and the ERV and the ASV, all of which he was definitely not pleased with. I suspect he wanted to add to the arsenal of those who disliked the sanctioned efforts of the revision committees. Too, he could have sincerely seen the need for another private translation, after all he did provide five editions of his effort. So now I (we) shall proceed to examine it (the digital copy).

His first effort was the 4 inch by 6 inch edition of 1914 (per - bibles.Wikidot.com). Its full title was: The New Covenant Commonly Called the New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, A Revision of the Version of A.D. 1611. It was 497 pages, preceded with a 17 page introduction. It was printed in England by William Brendon and Son, Limited, Plymouth. The publisher was George Routledge and Sons of London. His 1935 edition was completed seven years before he passed away, Cunnington lived from 1852 to 1942.

In his 1914 edition, he has in his introduction, a heading:  "Reasons for This Work". And like Lloyd he states his objections to the ERV and the KJV and the ASV, as for one of his reasons. Another reason is - attractiveness of style, and that the translation should be enjoyable to read.

He seemed to struggle with his English, striving to present a better and clearer text. In his zeal to improve his English, he may have distorted various doctrines. Consider this example:

Titus 2:13  1914 edition:

       
looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus

1935 edition:

       
looking for the blessed hope and manifestation of our great God and Saviour's glory, Christ Jesus

I have read this over and over, but his later 1935 rendition is simply goofy, and it is wrong. In both editions verse 10 ends with "God our Saviour". So he knew who God was/is, but in verse 13, it could imply that Saviour and Christ Jesus were different "persons" or different entities. Of course it is poor English here, that is all. "Glory" should modify or describe "appearing", so that this results:  "the glorious appearance...".  "The Glory" is in the genitive case—in the above, "appearing" is our "epiphany" which is distinct from "manifestation". Manifestation is to make known, whereas, epiphany is to appear, with a focus upon the aspect  of  "sudden visibility" or the like. He may have procured the term "manifestation" from Robert Young's 1862 translation: "manifestation" is also seen in the much later NRSV of 1991, but not in the 1952 RSV. But EEC's 1935 rendition is not as bad as that of the 1560 Geneva edition, nor as poor as W. F. Beck's. (see below, way below!).

The 1914 edition contains all of Mark 16 with a note, John 7:33-8:11 with a note; also all of I Corinthians 14 (about silent women), but no note. II Timothy 3:16 reads:

 "
Every scripture inspired by God....", his footnote reads: "Every scripture is inspired by God...".

He should have made his footnote his main text! Interestingly, at II Timothy 3:15, he has a note indicating that "the" is inserted in "some MSS" [as in "THE sacred writings"]. It is omitted in Codex Sinaiticus and a few others, but it is in MOST manuscripts, hence "THE sacred writings" meaning specific texts. Without the article, Paul could be stating that Timothy was cognizant of sacred writings (meaning all sorts of other texts). Here is a snapshot of his II Timothy 3:15: [the superscript 3 is where his note for the "the" is]:


and that from infancy thou hast known3 sacred writings, those that are able to make thee wise unto
salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus.



Young Timothy may have been schooled in numerous sacred texts, but I believe Paul refers to the materials Timothy's grandmother taught him. (II Timothy 1:5). At any rate at least EEC placed a note therein. He further notes that it appears in "MSS" plural, which Nestle's 4th does not indicate. (It only shows that Weymouth's Greek text has it in brackets). Consequently, we can assume that Mr. Cunnington did some research beyond the common sources. A good indication. He makes clear this extra effort of his in his appendices in his editions of 1926, 1930 and 1935, in which appendices he displays "selected Western readings". (i.e. readings from manuscripts of the Western Empire—that is,  on the Roman Latin-side, as opposed to the Eastern and Egyptian side). In this appendix, he simply copies the translations of various Latin verses via  J. Rendel Harris or other authors of Codex 05.

Note in the bottom thumbnail of I Corinthians 2:10. EEC does show Nestle's variant reading at verse 2, but does not show the addition of "HIS Spirit" in verse 10 (i.e. EEC omits "his"). EEC picks and chooses which variants from Nestles he displays, you the reader(s)  is/are shut out.

Cunnington added an appendix (# 8) in his later editions in which he "defines"Inspiration or his idea of it. I added the whole appendix as a 3 page PDF file here:  CLICK FOR PDF
[i.e. the file is composed of 3 jpg images]


His dependence upon logic, blurs his understanding, which understanding is quite popular today amongst some textual critics. In the original documents, every word (even accidentally misspelled words) was engineered entirely by God through the human scribe. As EEC admits over time later copyists did produce errors in copying, but when one studies and collates hundreds of copies, the errors are easily filtered out. Cunnington, did NOT do this, his translation is generally based upon a single eclectic Greek text. He w