John Leland (1754-1841) wrote the following piece on the Bible in 1836. In it he briefly addresses translation, even mentioning that some of
King James’s words were out of use in his day. However, in asking, “should there be a
new translation” – though he does not answer directly, his answer seems to be “no.”
He allows that a new Bible will suffer the same consequences, and that we are
moving further away from, not closer to, understanding the languages of the
Hebrews and the Greeks. He thinks that a new translation will not answer our
questions, or make us “any better in this world.” Further, he seems to question
the integrity of a translation made in the (his) present age, which does not
observe the Bible so carefully in its practice.
The Bible.—1836.
Words, sentences, aphorisms, and customs that
where significant, and well understood in the days of king James, are now out
of use and obscure. Should there be a new translation, according to modern
diction, is it not probable that two or three centuries hence it would be as
obscure? And is there any hope of improving more from the original, when every
century removes both Hebrews and Greeks farther off from understanding their
respective languages as they were spoken in the days of the inspired authors? Would
a new translation of the Bible, according to the modern use of words, taken
from the most ancient copies of the Old and New Testaments, give us certain
information, without doubt, on the question which has perplexed the Christian
world for many centuries, “whether Christ died for only a part, or for every
soul of man?” Or is this a mystery, locked up in the treasures of God, in a
book not to be read in until we go to another state? as the Jews do not allow
their children to read the nine last chapters of Ezekiel, and the book of
Daniel, until they are thirty-nine years old. But stop and ponder. Would a
certain solution of this question make men any better in this world? If not,
would it not be beneath the dignity of Jehovah, to reveal that to men which
would be of no service to them?
Would not a new translation of some passages in
the New Testament, according to our present dialect and customs, be acceptable?
In Matthew, x., 7: And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at
hand. Read thus: And as ye go, preach to the people, your money is essential to
the salvation of sinners, and, therefore, form into societies, and use all
devisable means to collect money for the Lord’s treasury; for the millennium is
at hand. Mark, xvi., 16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. Read: He that has attended Sunday schools, had his mind in formed by tracts,
contributed to support missions, and joined in societies to support benevolent
institutions, shall be saved; the rest shall be damned. Matthew, x., 17: Be ye
therefore, wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Read: Be ye wise as
serpents in your guile to deceive men; keep out of sight that ye have to
receive part that you collect for your mendicancy; show great concern for poor
benighted heathen, but let your neighbors have none of your prayers,
exhortations, or alms; but strive to appear harmless as doves; put on gravity
and holy awe; make others believe that ye are too devotional to labor for a
living, and that they must labor to support you; for if you do not appear
uncommonly holy, you will not deceive the simple and get their money. Acts,
iv., 34-35: And brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them
down at the apostle’s feet, and distribution was made to every man, according
as he had need. This work of receiving and distributing was soon after given to
seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom. Acts, vi. 3:
Would it not be better to read—The convention appointed a board of directors;
any man who would cast into the fund one hundred dollars, should be one of them
for life, to dispose of the money at discretion, and mark out the destination
of the missionaries. Read Acts, xiii., 1,2,3, 4, and translate it thus, if the
Greek will admit of it: Now there was at Antioch, a convention of Christians,
and among them five directors; and as they fasted and prayed, they were moved
to select two of them as missionaries, and when they had supplied them with a
good outfit, and promised them liberal supplies, to make Christianity appear
honorable among the heathen,—they sent them forth with a solemn charge to
devise all means in their power to keep the money market open, and invent
employment for thousands that were longing for agencies. Acts, xx., 33, 34, 35:
I have coveted no man’s silver or gold; ye, yourselves, know that these hands
have ministered to my necessities, and to them that were with me; I have showed
you all things, how that, so laboring, ye ought to support the weak, etc. These
sentences are so little used in this day of great light, that a new translation
is unnecessary.
It reminds me of past events. At the close of the
apostolic age, and the age of miracles, philosophy was resorted to for a
substitute, and every art and science was called into requisition to make
Christianity appear honorable in the eyes of worldly men. Schools and teachers,
of various descriptions, were set on motion to weld cold iron and hot together.
The persecutions against Jews and Christians, for denying the divinity of the
Pagan gods, and the worship of idols, did not stop the gradual and ruinous
assimulation of church and world together. All things being ready, in the
beginning of the fourth century, the union was consummated by Constantine the
Great, who established Christianity for the religion of the empire, and
suffered none but Christians to hold any offices of honor or profit, for whom
he made great donations in salaries, temples, etc. At this change, the young
preachers, and professors of Christianity greatly rejoiced, but the aged
trembled with fear. From that day until this time, with partial exceptions, the
Christian church (so called) has been governed by the laws of men. In all these
Christian establishments, by legal force, there has been a great number of
non-conformists; but they have been overpowered and reduced to oppression,
sometimes to bloody persecutions. To persecute the greatest fanatics, except
for overt acts, is poor policy; it only inflames their zeal, and augments their
numbers; but to persecute harmless, peaceable subjects because they do not
believe what they cannot believe, and are so honest that they will not say they
believe what they do not, is the work of bloody monsters, in the shape of man.
From The Writings of the Late Elder John Leland, Including Some Events in His Life, John Leland, Miss L. F. Greene, New York, NY: G. W. Wood, 1845, pp.
685-687
