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
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 |
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-----------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 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-----------Orthodox Study Bible 2011-----------Mounce Reverse Interlinear
2012-----------The Voice 2015-----------The Greek New Testament:
According to Family 35 - Wilbur Pickering
|
![]() |
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.
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
Table below, per the Dodd, Mead edition: New Testament
NOTE: the letters ERV are used in the post 2012 era for the new "Easy to Read Version".
![]()
|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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)
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 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 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
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
![]()
|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() © Almy |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Translation
of the New Testament: From the Original Greek 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) ![]() 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. ![]() 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
NT and other works by Godbey are available for
viewing or downloading at: www.archive.org VALUE
SUGGESTIONS:
Table below
is per first edition
|
![]() I Cor 14/15 ![]() Galatians2/3 ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
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.
Data below refers to a 1912 edition, of Lincoln Nebraska, Alpha Publishing Company.
![]() |
![]() note full page use - 1907 edition ![]() 1912, full page, showing a marked "c" reference in Ro. 2:28 ![]() Logos edition ![]() Moody press edition ![]() earlier 1896 edition - title page |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The New Testament in
Modern Speech (1903, 1943) 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
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: Here
is an EBAY ad for a Lutterworth publication!
Lutterworth Press, makes very fine volumes, so
the high price may be justified. ![]() 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:
1st (1903) and 2nd
ed. (1908) ed. by E. Hampden-Cook 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!
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:
![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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):
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:
![]() |
![]() note scars via small-pox, still distinguished ![]() nice 1853 - 24 books of the Bible ![]() 1845 masterpiece Hebrew/English Torah ![]() 1845 Law of God complete set ![]() 1904 - Twenty-Four Books, title page ![]() Leeser's note for Isaiah 53 _suffering Servant text - 1922 edition |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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) 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: ![]() 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: ![]() In a review of this NT, Robert Bratcher pointed out a few other changes: ![]() VALUE SUGGESTIONS:
![]()
|
Moody, 1961 dust jacket
![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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)
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:
After this he
went out and saw a saloon-keeper
LUKE
5 : 30. 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
![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 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:
![]() 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: ![]() 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
data below is from a 1959 Kregel reprint of his New Testament-
![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The New
Testament Revised and Translated... 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
Some
of his biography can be seen at: (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:
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: 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 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 Worrell: now NASB: (1971) 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.
the data below is based upon the GPH edition of 1980:
![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
Corrected English New Testament 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.
data below is via the Samuel Bagster and Sons, leather edition (see thumbs)
![]() |
![]() ![]() notes added ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() above ![]() BAGSTER 1905 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Modern
Reader's Bible 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
London, University
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.
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). ![]() 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:
![]() 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.
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
![]()
|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Holy Bible
in Modern English 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.....
....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-
“Masah and
Meribah” by its English equivalent, “Trial and
Strife.” (Numbers 17:7)
Data below per the 1925 edition
![]() |
![]() Galatians 2, Fenton 1925 - via Google Books ![]() ![]() Psalms sample |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genders - Holy Bible for Daily Reading 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
Information concerning Rev. Genders is scarce, but it is
noted that his children suffered some type of health
problems as seen in this snippet:
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
BINDING
NUMBER
of PAGES
PAGE
SIZE
PAPER
AND PAGE
INFO
|
![]() 1908 via EBAY |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
University New Testament 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.
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: ![]() 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:
above, via
www.archive.org
Info below refers to his 1909 NT:
![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Scofield
Reference Bible 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
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 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: ![]() 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).
Though Scofield was
long dead, a new edition in 1967 was issued form
Oxford. It utilized the following consultants: Frank E. Gaebelein 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 9:24-33; Romans 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 12:12; 1 Corinthians 12:13 and in which the earthly distinction of Jew and Gentile disappears ; Ephesians 2:14; Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 3:10; Colossians 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.
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).
(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) ![]() 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! ___________________
Data below per the 1909 edition
![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() HCSB ![]() Oxford publication dates ![]() manufactured in Korea - per EBAY ![]() suggested value $80.00 - $120.00 ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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) 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: ![]() 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:
In 1972 Logos
International published
the Monser Bible with a few
alterations:
*
Several
paragraphs of the Cross-Reference Bible Preface, The Logos edition added:
*
"The Layman's Commentary on the Holy Spirit", It
is a worthy addition to any Christian library.
![]() 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.
![]() |
![]() ![]() 1959 edition size ![]() early ad - 1918, leather full yap ![]() 1959 with dust jacket ![]() sample Amos 3 ![]() sample John - 1959 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BIBLE UNION,
IMPROVED EDITION 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
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:
![]() 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.
Data below is per the digital 1912 edition. Various editions and some of the "Notes.." editions are available from: www.archive.org.
![]() |
![]() 1912 - Galatians NOTES compare with below thumb ![]() compare with this 1866 edition, Galatians ![]() ![]() ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Numeric
New Testament - Ivan Panin 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
Panin
was born in Russia in 1855, and died an American
citizen in 1942 at age 86. He was a serious
looking fellow:
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:
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) Whereas
the typical renderings for these genitives
are: the gospel to the uncircumcised - for
Paul (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
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!
![]() |
![]() Galatians 2, 1914 edition ![]() title page of a modern "reproduction" ![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The
Twenty-Four Books of the Old Testament
Accuracy of
translation - - - - -as accurate as is the KJV Value to Christian
faith - - - - - 6 Value as a
collectible book - - 8 Affiliation - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - Jewish apparently Ashkenazic
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."
"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.
Let's now compare a sample text from
Harkavy, parallel with Leeser and the KJV: ![]() 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:
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.
|
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.) |
|
|
|
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. |
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)
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.