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PREFACE.

THE Version of the Apocrypha which is here presented to the Reader forms the last portion of the Revision of the Authorised Version of 1611.

The present work, owing to various circumstances, has been somewhat long delayed. It will be found, however, to have been executed carefully and faithfully, though it was of necessity intrusted to small Committees formed out of the two Companies of Revisers.

The Revision of the Authorised Version of the Apocrypha was included in the arrangement between the Companies and the Representatives of the Presses of Oxford and Cambridge, and was to be proceeded with as soon as the other and greater portions of the work were concluded. No division of labour in regard to the Apocrypha was formally made between the two Companies, but as it appeared clearly desirable that there should be no unnecessary delay in the revision, there was an understanding between the Companies that the New Testament Company should commence the work as soon as the Revision of the Authorised Version of the New Testament was completed and published. For this, preparation was made by the New Testament Company as their work was drawing to its close, and in the following manner..

It was resolved (March 21, 1879) that, after the conclusion of the Revision of the Authorised Version of the New Testament, the Company should be divided into three Committees, to be called the London, Westminster, and Cambridge Committees, for the purpose of beginning the Revision of the Apocrypha.

The London Committee was to consist of the following members:-The Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol (Dr. Ellicott), the Bishop of Salisbury (Dr. Moberly), the Bishop of St. Andrews (Dr. Wordsworth), the Dean of Rochester (Dr. Scott), the Dean of Lichfield (Dr. Bickersteth), the Master of the Temple (Dr. Vaughan), Rev. Principal Angus, and Rev. Prebendary Humphry. This Committee was to take the Book of Ecclesiasticus.

The Westminster Committee was to consist of the following members :-The Archbishop of Dublin (Dr. Trench), the Dean of Westminster (Dr. Stanley), the Archdeacon of Dublin (Dr. Lee), the Archdeacon of Oxford (Dr. Palmer), Rev. Dr. Scrivener, Rev. Principal Brown, Rev. Principal Newth, and Rev. Dr. Vance Smith. This Committee was to take the First Book of Maccabees. The Books of Tobit and Judith were afterwards, by special arrangement with the Old Testament Company, undertaken by this Committee.

The Cambridge Committee was to consist of the following members :-The Bishop of Durham (Dr. Lightfoot), the Dean of Lincoln (Mr. Blakesley), Rev. Professor Hort, Rev. Professor Kennedy, Rev. Professor Westcott, Rev. Dr. Milligan, Rev. Dr. Moulton, and Rev. Dr. Roberts. This Committee was to take

the Book of Wisdom and the Second Book of Maccabees.

In connexion with the foregoing resolution it was resolved at the final meeting of the Company, on Thursday, November 11, 1880:-(1) that the decisions be arrived

at by simple majorities; (2) that the successive portions of the work when printed be forwarded to the members of the other two Committees. A third resolution was passed constituting the Rev. Dr. Troutbeck the General Secretary of the three Committees, and, as such, responsible for the printing of the portions of the work as they were finished; but the latter part of this resolution was modified, and the whole of the printing was carried on at the University Press, Oxford.

The London Committee, to which the Revision of the Authorised Version of the Book of Ecclesiasticus was intrusted, commenced their labours on May 11, 1881, and completed their first revision of the Version on July 20, 1882, and their second and final revision on May 25, 1883. The breaking up of the text of the Version into parallelisms was undertaken at a later period. Of the members of the Committee, two, the Bishops of Salisbury and St. Andrews, found themselves unable through age and distance from London to attend the meetings. The attendance of the remainder was such that there were rarely less than four present. Whenever the number fell below this, all debateable points were reserved for fuller meetings. Considerable attention was paid to the text; but the materials available for correcting it were but scanty. In 1egard to the revision of the Version, especial care was taken to preserve the general tone of the Authorised Version, and to maintain the somewhat greater freedom of rendering which characterizes the translation of the Apocrypha when compared with the translation of the Old or of the New Testament.

The Westminster Committee completed their first revision of the First Book of Maccabees on July 5, their second revision on November 3, 1881. Their first revision of the Books of Judith and Tobit was completed on July 6, their second revision on October 11, 1882. With regard to the Greek text they derived great assistance from Dr. Scrivener, but the number of places in which it was thought right to abandon readings that seemed to be represented in the Authorised Version was not large. The English Version was found to require much care. In the First Book of Maccabees, for example, a well-known peculiarity of the writer had been obliterated by the repeated introduction, with or without the use of italics, of the words 'God' and 'the Lord,' which never occur in the best Greek text. Archbishop Trench worked with the Committee until they were close to the end of the First Book of Maccabees. Dean Stanley also attended up to about the same time: Principal Brown did not take any part in the work.

Of the members of the Cambridge Committee the Bishop of Durham (Dr. Lightfoot), the Dean of Lincoln (Mr. Blakesley), and Professor Kennedy were compelled for various reasons to withdraw from the work of revision. Dr. Roberts supplied notes on various parts of the two books. Dr. Hort, Dr. Moulton and Dr. Westcott conducted the revision with this assistance at weekly meetings during term time from March 3, 1881 to the spring of 1890, when Dr. Westcott was removed to Durham. In the remainder of the work Dr. Westcott took part by correspondence. The first revision of 2 Maccabees was completed on May 20, 1885, and the final revision December 7, 1889. The first revision of Wisdom was completed between May 20, 1885 and June 20, 1888; and the second revision between November 23 1889 and November 21, 1891. The singular difficulty and importance of the Book of Wisdom led the revisers to review the version a third time. The whole revision of the two books was substantially completed before the summer of 1892. A few questions were reserved for later decision. These were considered by Dr. Hort in the summer of that year, and, with the help of his notes, finally determined by Dr. Westcott and Dr Moulton.

After the revision of the Old Testament had been completed the Old Testament Company (July 9, 1884) passed the following resolution:

"That the Dean of Peterborough (Dr. Perowne), Professor Lumby, Professor Robertson Smith, Mr. Bensly, Mr. Cheyne, and the Secretary (Mr. Aldis Wright) be a Committee to translate the remaining books of the Apocrypha, and That Dr. Field be invited to assist in the formation of the text.'

The Dean of Peterborough (Dr. Perowne), now Bishop of Worcester, and Mr. (now Professor) Cheyne, found themselves unable to take part in the work, and the Committee were deprived of the assistance of Dr. Field by his death in April, 1885.

The Books of the Apocrypha which were left for them to revise were I and 2 Esdras, the additions to Esther, Baruch, the Song of the Three Holy Children, the History of Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, and the Prayer of Manasses.

For the text of these portions, with the exception of 2 Esdras, they were entirely dependent upon the inadequate materials already existing, and did not therefore attempt any complete revision. But as the late Professor Bensly had reconstructed the text of the Latin Version of 2 Esdras from a full collation of all the independent MSS. at present known, the Committee fully availed themselves of the results which he generously placed at their disposal. They were thus able to incorporate the missing fragment, vii. 36-105, which was edited by Professor Bensly with elaborate care, and published by the Cambridge University Press (1875), and to make use of many improved readings which he proposed to adopt in his critical edition. It is satisfactory to know that this work has been left in a sufficiently forward state to admit of its being easily completed.

In regard to the language of the Revised Version the Committee followed the general principles which were observed by the Old Testament Revision Company. In the case of Proper Names it has not been found possible to secure uniformity of plan in the work of the four Committees. In some Books these names appear in their familiar Old Testament forms, after the Hebrew: whilst in others, the forms of the Authorised Version are usually retained, or are but slightly altered, in accordance with the Greek. Lists of the Greek readings-or, in 2 Esdras, the Latin readings-adopted by the Committees will shortly be published.

Such is a brief account of the circumstances under which the present work was executed. The Revisers conclude with the hope and the belief that it will be found helpful to the student, and acceptable to the general reader of the Apocrypha.

January, 1895.

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