5:29—Causeth thee to stumble." The Greek verb thus translated is derived from the substantive rendered "stumbling-block," in 1 Cor. 1:2323But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; (1 Corinthians 1:23). The word "offend," which we find in the Authorized Version, is too vague to be easily understood.
5:37.-"Whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one." It is impossible to say with certainty whether the word translated "evil" is here to be understood in a masculine or neuter sense. The margin therefore says, " Or, evil." In the 39th verse the same difficulty occurs, and again in the 13th verse of the following Chapter. In each verse the Revisers have preferred to take the word in a masculine sense, and have therefore been accused o: making, without sufficient ground, changes that involve a question of doctrine. But the personality of the "evil one" is so clearly taught in Scripture, that the meaning of these particular passages scarcely affects the question at all.
5:44.-" Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you." The additional clauses, which we find in the Authorized Version are here omitted.
5:47—The Gentiles" is here substituted for "the publicans." The former reading is supported by important manuscripts.
5:48—Ye therefore shall be perfect." There can be no doubt that this rendering is more correct than that of the Authorized Version, "Be ye therefore perfect."
6:1.-" Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men." The Authorized Version has " alms." We may remark that the expression, " righteousness " harmonizes much better than " alms " with the context. The first verse of this Chapter is a general principle, and this principle is then applied to various particular cases, namely, (v. 2), to doing alms, (v. 5), to praying, (v. 16), to fasting.
" With your Father," is without doubt more correct than " of your Father." The reward therefore is limited to the future state.
6:4.-In this verse the word " openly" is omitted. This accords with the judgment of the best authorities.
6:16.-" That they may be seen of men to fast." This is preferable to the rendering of the Authorized Version, " that they may appear unto men to fast," as the latter seems to suggest that the persons in question wished to make it appear that that they were fasting, when they were not doing so. This meaning the original will not bear.
6:22.-" Lamp " is here substituted for "light," possibly in order to show that the word is not the same as that translated " light " in the following verse.
6:25.-" Be not anxious for your life." The expression "Take no thought " is too strong. The Revisers have made the same alteration in Chapter 10:19.
7:13.-" The narrow gate " is perhaps preferable to " the strait gate," as "strait" is apt to be confounded with "straight."
7:22.-" Did we not prophesy by thy name?" That is, using the name of Christ as a kind of formula. See, for an example of this, Acts 19:1313Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. (Acts 19:13). To do a thing in the name of the Lord (Col. 3:1717And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. (Colossians 3:17)) is something quite different, and we accordingly find that, in the original, a different expression is used.
The word translated "devils " in this verse is quite distinct from the word "devil" in Chapter 4:1. The latter word means " false accuser," and is always applied to Satan himself, never being used in the plural, except in speaking of human beings (as in Titus 2:33The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; (Titus 2:3)). In this verse " devils " are properly " demons," as the margin tells us. The term " demon" had originally no evil signification. The expression was borrowed from the Greeks, who imagined that between the gods and men there existed an intermediate order of beings, to which they gave the name of " demons."
7:28.-" Teaching" is substituted in this verse for "doctrine." Besides having the advantage of being a Saxon word, " teaching" is also more suitable in this passage, for "doctrine" refers merely to the things taught, whereas it is evident from what follows, that the people were astonished, not only at the ideas uttered by the Lord, but also at the whole style and manner of His teaching.
8:6.-The word rendered " servant " in this verse, may also, as the margin adds, be rendered "boy." The same word occurs in Acts 4:2727For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, (Acts 4:27), and is there translated " child" in the Authorized Version; the Revised Version has " servant."
8:12.-"The outer darkness-the weeping and gnashing of teeth;" in these expressions the presence of the definite article adds greatly to their force. Why it is omitted in the Authorized Version, we cannot say.
Note.-We are much obliged to G. M. for pointing out an inaccuracy in the Note on p. 23. The object of the Note however, was only just to give a slight description of the Manuscripts referred to in the paper, and not to enter into detail on the subjects, which would indeed be quite beyond the scope of the Magazine.-Ed.
(To be continued.)