TWENTIETH CENTURY .ENGLISH
.BIBLES
for AVID.
COLLECTOR'S
ALL reviews are the copyrighted property of
Mr. Gary S. Dykes © 2006, 2022
Value suggestions - by Mr. Dykes
CLICK ON EACH TITLE. .[link]
.TO READ THAT REVIEW
or simply scroll down. Very large reviews are in a separate PDF file.
This is a work in progress. I have about 160 Bible
editions yet to review, I will upload about 10 at a time.
Send comments, corrections et cetera to:
galeandgary2000ATgmail.com
I designed these pages on a 20" monitor, using Blue Griffon,
Sea Monkey as well as Dreamweaver.
I did not design these pages for small hand-held monitors.(smart
phones et al)
BOOK TITLE, or Editions |
|
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
1923-----------The Riverside New Testament - William G. Ballentine 1924-----------The Everyday Bible - Charles Sheldon 1924-----------New
Testament in Modern English - Helen Barrett
Montgomery 1924-----------Czarnomska
- The Authentic Literature of Israel 1926-----------Concordant Version - Adolph Ernst Knoch 1928-----------The Christian's Bible - George LaFever 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 - see 1952 RSV Bible below 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-----------The Concordant Version - Concordant Publishing Concern; 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 (s.v. Amplified Bible
below) 1958-----------Tomanek New Testament - James L. Tomanek 1958-----------Phillips New Testament in Modern English - J. B. Phillips 1959-----------The Berkeley Version in Modern English by Gerrit Verkuyl and other translators 1960-----------(NASB)
New American Standard Bible, NT, 1st
ed. 1961-----------Noli's Greek Orthodox New Testament - Fan Noli 1961-----------One
Way, Jesus People New Testament - Olaf Norie
editor 1961-----------Wuest Expanded New Testament - Kenneth Wuest 1962-----------Modem King James Version - Jay Green 1963-----------Beck's New Testament - William F. Beck 1963-----------Holy Name Bible - A. B. Traina 1963-----------The New Testament: A New Translation in Plain English - Charles Williams 1965-----------The Amplified Bible - Frances Siwert 1966-----------Today's English Version (Good News for Modern Man) - Robert Bratcher 1966-----------Jerusalem Bible - Alexander Jones, Editor 1966-----------The Living Scriptures - Jay Green 1966-----------Knoch Concordant Literal Version by Adolph Ernst Knoch 1967-----------The
Living New Testament - Paraphrased (s.v. The
Living Bible, below) 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 1969-----------Modern Language Bible - Gerrit Verkuyl 1970-----------King James II New Testament by Jay Green 1971-----------The Living Bible - Kenneth Taylor 1972-----------J. B. Phillips Translation 1972-----------The Bible in Living English - Steven Byington 1973-----------(NIV)
New International Version New Testament (s.v.
NIV Bible below) 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-----------New Life Testament - Gleason Ledyard 1976-----------Good News Bible - both Old & New Testament - 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 (s.v. NKJV Bible
below) 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 1982-----------(NKJV)
New King James Version Bible 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 1987-----------New Century Version (OT and NT)) 1988-----------McCord's
New Testament Translation of the Everlasting
Gospel 1988-----------Revised New Testament: New American Bible 1989-----------(NRSV) New Revised Standard Version 1989-----------Jewish New Testament - David H. Stern 1989-----------God's New Covenant (NT) - Heinz Cassirer 1989-----------The
Epistles of St. Paul: In the Authorized Version
(KJV) 1990-----------Modern King James Version - Jay Green 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-----------God's Word - Eugene Bunkowske 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) 2007-----------New English Translation of the Septuagint 2007-----------Orthodox Study Bible 2011-----------Mounce Reverse Interlinear 2012-----------The Voice
|
![]() |
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" is 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. 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 - - -
- - 7 Value to Christian faith - -
- - - 4 Value as a collectible book - - 7 Affiliation - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - Holiness/charismatic
associations
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
is not prone to altering the manuscript's message.
He appears to be quite objective and reliable 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. 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. 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 - - 5 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 two 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". 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 ![]() 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
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]. Hills 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:
![]() |
![]() 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 a 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 being, 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. 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 "Motion with a view to superposition"; 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 the 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 of 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. 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 - -
- - -4 Value to Christian faith -
- - - - 4 Value as a collectible book
- - 7 (1904 edition) Affiliation - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - Assembly 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 in 1908. He was a professor of
Greek and Hebrew as well as the editor
of several journals and was a college
president. 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. 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 thumb 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 GHP editions are nicely printed
and bound. 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 - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - 1885 English Revised Version Accuracy of translation - - -
- 6 (he does modify the ERV) Value to Christian faith - -
- - - 5 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, 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 form 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 - - -
- - N/A 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.
Next his 1911 text
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. 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 uses a different
English text: ERV, ASV and the
KJV. We are not told why he
changes his
base
text. Today his work is
available via print-on-demand,
which are usually terrible
reproductions, pudgy glue-bound
paperbacks. However 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. Socrates was quite
active as an evangelist and
speaker where ever 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). Yet 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).
In his
1911 work, 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. 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 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 or Finney, Broadus,
Rushbrooke or Godbey 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 treatment.
Finally,
not much information is
available concerning the
education or life of our
Socrates Weaver. He appears
educated, and talented. 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.
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 numero |