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THE

NEW TESTAMENT

OF OUR

LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.

THE COMMON ENGLISH VERSION, CORRECTED BY THE FINAL
COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BIBLE UNION.

NEW YORK :

AMERICAN BIBLE UNION.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by

THE AMERICAN BIBLE UNION,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.

HOLMAN, Printer,

Cor. Centre and White Streets, N. Y.

TO THE READER.

Ir is the object of the following revised version of the Gospels, to give a faithful expression of the meaning of the Sacred Text; and to do this, as far as is possible, in the words of the common English version.

The Committee of Revisers have kept in mind, that their work is intended for the use of the common reader; and that many of the nicer distinctions of idiom and phraseology, which are appropriate in a version for the learned, or for use in the lecture-room, would be out of place here.

In accordance with the object of the Society, for whose use this revision is prepared, to obtain a true and faithful rendering of the inspired text, the words which express the initiatory rite of the Christian Church are rendered by their literal equivalents, as was done by Luther and others, in the versions from the Greek into the vernacular languages of the continent of Europe.

It is proper to say, that there is a difference of opinion among the members of the Committee, in regard to the substitution of the Immerser' for 'the Baptist.' In the view of a part of the Committee, if the verb which expresses the Christian rite is translated, the official title derived from it should be translated also. Others object to this as an inconsistency, in a revision which transfers other official titles (as 'the Christ,' instead of 'the Anointed'), and as leading to confusion and inconvenience, by substituting new and unknown names of historical personages, for those by which they are universally known in English usage. This word, though employed in this edition, is subject to further consideration by the Committee.

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The Committee have aimed to exhibit, in their revision, the characteristic manner of each evangelist; following the true reading in each where they have been assimilated to one another in the later manuscripts, and giving the true rend ering where they have been improperly assimilated, or made to differ, in the common version. The independent testimony of each inspired witness is thus presented to the reader unimpaired.

Owing to the shortness of the time allowed for preparing this revision of the Gospels, and the distance at which the members of the Committee reside from each other, rendering consultation difficult, they have found it necessary to reserve their decision on some questions which are still under consideration. These questions, for the most part, relate to points of expression merely, and not to the meaning of the text.

An Appendix is added to some copies, for those who may desire it, showing the true text from the oldest manuscripts, followed in this revision.

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