said unto you." "It is not you that speak; but the Spirit of my Father that speaks in (through) you." The apostle to the Gentiles, asserted that, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by the Spirit. Which things also we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." From these brief and lucid quotations, with scores of others equally pointed, we cannot doubt the inspiration of the Scriptures; and with Job, we exclaim, "There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding."

As previously intimated, we believe the Bible contains all the information, in the least possible form, to make men wise unto salvation. That it is, in form and in fact, perfect in all its parts, and therefore, thoroughly furnishes the man of God, "with all things which pertain to life and godliness.'

II. LANGUAGES IN WHICH THE BIBLE WAS

WRITTEN.

The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, with the exception of parts of the books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Daniel, which were written in Chaldee.

The New Testament was written in the Greek Language, or what is called by the learned, Hellenistic or Hebraizing Greek. It is termed Hebraizing Greek, in consequence of various Hebrew words and forms of speech being incorporated in the composition. These, however, detract not from the strength or simplicity of the volume. The purest Greek of the New Testament, is said to be, the letter to the Hebrews; and the part containing the most Hebrew, is the Revelation.

III. THE TRANSLATION.

The first English version of the entire Scriptures, was by John Wickliff, with the assistance of some friends, and was published about the year 1380 of our era. His

New Testament was published in 1367. Wickliff did not understand Hebrew or Greek, but being a good Latin scholar, he translated from the Vulgate or Latin version. Although there were many inaccuracies in this version, it was the means of shedding a flood of the pure light among the people.

William Tyndal, a Welchman by birth, but educated at Oxford, England, was banished from his native land for attempting to translate the Scriptures into a tongue which his countrymen could read; but was enabled to give to the public his first edition of the New Testament in 1526. When copies were imported into England from Germany, where it was published, the Romish clergy were exceedingly provoked, and declared that, it was impossible to render the Scriptures into English; and still worse, that it was not lawful for the people to have them in their common tongue. They were displeased, likewise, because Tyndal, like Wickliff, had translated some of the sacred words, whose meaning they wished to hide from the people. It is probable, Tyndal

translated mainly from the Latin Bible; as it was thought by many at that time, that, Latin was the most suitable language for the word of God; but he evidently compared it with the Greek, and it has been the basis of all English translations since his day. For the crime of giving the people the word of God, Tyndal was imprisoned in the castle at Antwerp in 1534 and in 1536; he was strangled and burnt as a heretic. Miles Canerdale, while Tyndal was in prison, completed Tyndal's translation of the Old Testament, and gave the world the entire Bible in English in the year 1535.

Great Bible. In the year 1539, Grafton and Whitchurch published the English Bible, translated, as they declared in the title, by divers learned men, from the Hebrew and Greek. This is generally regarded as the first English translation from the originals.

Geneva Bible. On the death of Edward, King of England, Mary was raised to the throne, and her partisans were so severe against Protestants, that many took refuge

in Germany, and at Geneva, some of them employed their time in translating the Scriptures. They published the New Testament in 1557. This is the first version of the New Testament, in which the verses of the chapters are distinguished by Numerical figures and breaks.

The Bishop's Bible. Queen Mary dying in 1558, was succeeded by Elizabeth, who restored the Protestant religion in England. In her reign Archbishop Parker, by the assistance of other Bishops of the English Church, published a revised version of the Bible in 1568. Hence it was called the Bishop's Bible.

King James's Bible. Queen Elizabeth dying in 1602, was succeeded by James VI., King of Scotland, who soon after his arrival at London, was petitioned by the Puritan ministers, to appoint a convention for the purpose of taking steps to prepare and publish a correct edition of the Scriptures; and on the 12th of January, 1603, the Hampton Court conference convened. James appointed forty-seven translators for the work, to act in obedience to the following rules: