Specimens of Translations and Peculiar Renderings.
HERE is a specimen of the language in which the Scriptures were read in the eighth and ninth centuries, during the time of the venerable Bede, King Alfred, St. Cuthbert, and probably for a considerable time after the Norman Conquest of England. It is from John’s Gospel, and is scarcely readable in the 19th century. By comparing the specimens of early English, the gradual growth of the language into its present form may be more easily traced:—
“On fruman waes Word and thaet Word waes mid Gode, and Gode waes thaet Word. Thaet waes on fruman mid Gode. Ealle thing waeron geworhte thurh hyne; and nan thing waes geworht buttan him. Thaet waes lif the on him geworht waes, and thaet lif waes manna leoht. And thaet leoht lyht on thystrum; and thystro thaet ne genamon. Man waes fram Gode asend, thaes nama waes Johannes. Thaes com to gewitnesse, thaet he gewitnesse cythde be tham Leohte, thaet ealle men thurh hyne gelyfdon. Naes he Leoht, ac thaet he gewitnesse forth-baere be tham Leohte. Soth Leoht waes, thaet onlyht aelcne cumendne man on thysne middan-eard. He waes on middan-earde, and middan-eard waes geworht thurh hine, and middan-eard hine ne gecneow.”
The English of Wycliffe, 14th century, is more easily read than that just given; we transcribe a passage from Luke’s Gospel in the Wycliffe translation:
“In the dayes of Eroude Kyng of Judee ther was a perst Zacarye by name: of the sort of Abia, and his wyfe was of the doughtris of Aaron: and hir name was Elizabeth: An bothe weren juste bifore God: goynge in alle the maundementis and justifyingis of the Lord withouten playnt. And thei hadden no child for Elizabeth was bareyn and bothe weren of greet age in her dayes. And it befel that whenne Zacarye schould do the office of presthod in the ordir of his course to fore God. Aftir the custom of the presthod he went forth by lot and entride into the temple to encensen.
“And al the multitude of the puple was without forth and preyede in the our of encensying. And an aungel of the Lord apperide to him and stood on the right half of the auter of encense. And Zacharye seynge was afrayed and drede fel upon him. And the aungel sayde to him, Zacarye drede thou not: for thy preier is herd and Elizabeth thi wife schal bere to thee a sone and his name schal be clepid Jon.
“And joye and gladyng schal be to thee and manye schulen have joye in his natyvyte.”
Here is another specimen of early English, from a MS. Bible, about 1350—thirty years before the publication of Wycliffe’s translation:—
In most, if not all versions of the Holy Scriptures issued before the Great Bible, 1539, will be found the following peculiar rendering of Psalm 91 verse 5:—
“So that thou shalt not nede to be afrayed for any bugges by night, nor for the arrowe that flyeth by daye.”
In all the Bibles published before the present authorized version (1611), except the Genevan and Douay Bibles, the word “balm” (Jer. 8:2222Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? (Jeremiah 8:22)) is rendered “treacle.” Thus Matthew’s Bible, 1537, reads:—
“Is not the Lorde in Syon? Is not the kynge in her? Wherefore then haue they greued me (shall the Lorde saye) with theyr ymages and folyshe strange fashyons? The harueste is gone, the sommer hath an ende, and we are not helped. I am sore vexed, because of ye hurte of my people. I am heuye and abashed, for there is no more tryacle at Galaad, and there is no physycyen that can heal the hurte of my people.”
In the exceptions named we read—“Is there noe rosin in Galaad.”
“And when yei knewen yat ya were naked, ya sewiden ye levis of a fige tre, and madin breechis.”
Richard Rolle, a Yorkshire hermit, in the fourteenth century, before the publication of the Wycliffe Bible, translated the Psalms. Here is a specimen of his work from Scotland’s favorite one, the 23rd:—
“Our lord gouerneth me and nothyng to me shall want stede of pasture thar he me sette. In the water of the hetyng forth he me brougte: my soule he turnyde.
“He ladde me on the stretis of rygtwisnesse: for his name.
“For win gif I hadde goo in myddil of the shadewe of deeth: I shal not dreede yueles, for thou art with me.
“Thi geerde and thi staf thei have coumfortid me. Thou hast greythed in my sygt a bord: agens hem that angryn me.
“Thou fattede myn heued in oyle: and my chalys drunkyenyng what is cleer.
“And thi mercy shall folowe me: in alle the dayes of my lyf.
“And that I wone in the hous of oure lord in the lengthe of dayes.”
In one of the reprints of Matthew’s Bible, of 1549, August 17th, twelve years after the publication of the first edition, there is a number of curious woodcuts in the Revelation, each picture being explained by two lines. The cuts were common enough in those days, but the explanatory doggerel is not so familiar to English readers:—
1St Figure.
By the Stars in hys hand we may wel se
What maner of men our preachers should be.
2nd Figure.
In the middest of his church God sytteth in majestie,
To whom al hys faythfull gene honoure, and glorye.
3rd Figure.
Pale hypocrytes, enemies to Goddes Gospel,
Bring death in their doctrine, and dryue us to hell,
4th Figure.
The sainctes that we prayed to, lo, where they lye,
And they that were our spokes men herke low they crye.
6th Figure.
The Lord hath his numbre, whom he doeth preserue;
Their soulles shall not perishe, though theyr bodies sterue.
7th Figure.
The prayers of godly men that do lyue here,
And they that before God so pleasant appere.
8th Figure.
Oute of the darks pytte came locustes fell,
To vexe them that lyueth not after the GospeL
9th Figure.
The doctrine and laws of these beastes cruel
Drawe the thyrde part of men unto hell.
10th Figure.
Goddes words is swete in the mouth of the faythfull,
But bitter in the bealy, to the flest it is painful.
11Th Figure.
The Popes parte is cast out and geuen to the sworde
When the Churche is measured wyth Goddes word.
12Th Figure.
Goddes chosen Churche trauayleth here alwaye,
And bringeth forth Christe both nyght and day.
13th Figure.
The open enemye is moat ougly in syghte,
But the wolfe in the Lambes skyne doeth al the spight
14th Figure.
The electe of God onely can singe the songe
That soundeth on the herte, and not on the tonge.
15th Figure.
At the tyme appointed by Goddes secret wyll,
The Sykle shal cut downe boeth good and yll.
16th Figure.
The seuen trompettes and the seuen scales,
Declare the same thinges that the seuen vialles.
17th Figure.
The Princes of the earth euerye one
Have with this whore wrought fornicacyon.
18th Figure.
The Romyshe marchauntes, the Priestes of Bal
Do wepe, houle, and crye, at Babylon’s fall.
19th Figure.
All flesh is kylled with the ij edged sworde,
Which after the spirit is called Goddes worde.
20th Figure.
For euer lyeth Sathan bounde in chayne,
Though in his membres he be louse agayne.
21St Figure.
A beautyfull cytye, most semelye to se
Are the faythfull followers of Goddes verytye.
In Coverdale’s Bible, 1535, there are many peculiar renderings, thus:—
Gen. 8 and 11, “She bare the olive leaf in her nebb.”
Judges 10 and 53, “Cast a piece of millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and brake his brain pan.”
1 Kings 20 and 34, “And shot the King of Israel between the maw and the lungs.”
1 S. Timothy 6 and 4, “But wasteth his brain about questions and strivings of words.”
In some of the early versions the untranslated Hebrew words in the text of our present Bibles are wisely and correctly translated. It is true that in numerous instances the translation is given in the margin, but the English reader of the Scriptures naturally asks, Is then the margin correct and if so, why is it not in the text? The well of “Beer-lahai roi” (Gen. 16:1414Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. (Genesis 16:14)) is rendered in the old versions the well of Him that “liveth and seeth me.” Again, “El-Elohe-Israel” (Gen. 33:2020And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel. (Genesis 33:20)) “El” it is well known, is the expression of God in His might, hence the old Bibles read, “The mighty God of Israel.” “It is manna” (Ex. 16:1515And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. (Exodus 16:15)) has no meaning to a reader unacquainted with Hebrew, but as translated in the earliest versions “What is this?” the passage is simple enough.
In the following pages we give specimens of the same portions of Holy Scripture (New Testament) from the four editions of 1380, 1537, 1560, 1582. The comparison is simple yet withal instructive. It will be observed that the verses are not numbered in the two earliest editions. The first English Bible distinguished by numbers was the Genevan of 1560. We also give a few illustrations from the Old Testament, confining ourselves to the book of Genesis, the book of Psalms, and the prophet Daniel.