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4. But the laft ftanza crowns "the fins, negligences and ignorances" of this traducer, not tranflator, of THE HOLY BIBLE.

For Jeshurun," righteous Ifrael" in the Text, he unwarrantably fubftitutes "If rael; "the finest and most impaffioned apostrophe in the second line-" Thou art waxen fat and grofs and fleek!”—so defcriptive of the wantonness of national profperity, and to be equalled only by the foregoing apoftrophe of the fame Divine Author, "who spake as never man spake,” to Jerufalem, which is its best comment— Geddes metamorphofes into-" Grown fat full and faftidious "-They forfook, &c.— confounding both numbers and perfons in the original!

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"The reader," fays he in the explanatory note—“ is apprized that the original is here in the second perfon fingular: Thou art grown, &c. But thefe frequent transitions from perfon to perfon, and from number to number, are mere HEBREW LICENSES; which, by being liteM 3

rally

rally rendered, gives the text an air of confufion, and fometimes makes it unintelligible. See GEN. PREF."-Quære-Are not these Erfe licenfes, for give and make?

But fuch "tranfitions" furely are not confined to " Hebrew " poetry ;—nor are they "licenfes."-They are indeed the genuine voice of Nature herself, when roufed: Thus, LEAR exclaims, in his phrenfy, on the wild heath, addreffing filial ingratitude,” as if present:

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"No, I'll weep no more :-In fuch a night, To but me out!-Pour on, I will endure :—

In fuch a night as this!!—O REGAN! GONERIL! Your old, kind FATHER-whofe frank heart GAVE YOU ALL!!!

O! that way madness lies.

Even the correct Virgil apoftrophizes Metius Suffetius, the Alban chieftain, who was torn in quarters by Tullus Hoftiliusto punish his perfidious treachery ;-afferting the justice of his dreadful doom:

"Haud procul inde cita Mețium in diversa quadrigæ Diftulerant :-At tu dictis, ALBANE, maneres!”

And

And this awful leffon, even from a heathen poet and philofopher, is furely well worthy of the most serious attention and difmay of a professed "faithful tranflator" of Holy Writ; too often, alas!" befooled" himself, and “ befooling" others, of his

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fimple," credulous readers ;—to borrow the low, vulgar, obfolete diction of his pie-bald verfion or rather travesty (e).

VI. But it was referved for Voltaire, the grand mafter of modern infidelity, to find

(e) The following translation of 1 Sam. vi. 6. by Geddes, is alfo fubmitted to the Public:

"Why would ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? Did they not, after He [the God of Ifrael] had befooled them, let them [the Ifraelites] go; and go they did?" -The authorized tranflation, instead of " befooled them," renders "wrought wonderfully among them;" and Geddes himself, in the parallel paffage, Exod. x. 2. much better renders" How feverely I treated the Egyptians"-" difplaying my wonders among them." -The low and obfolete term, "befool," fignifies to infatuate. How would it found in Balaam's reply to his ass?" Because thou haft befooled me, had I a fword in my hand, I would now kill thee." Numb. M 4

xxii. 29.

find out that "it was impoffible that MOSES could have written the Pentateuch:"---

1. from want of materials to write on;

2. from xxii. 29. There he renders-" infulted me."- What various renderings!

If Geddes, in the Historical Scriptures, be thus " befooled," in the Prophetical, how will he be bewildered and becrazed!-I tremble for his fate-" If thou haft run with footmen, and they have wearied thee, how then canst thou contend with horsemen? Jer. xii. 5.

How finely has Mofes paraphrafed the full import of the verb, fo degraded and traduced by Geddes !— Deut. iv. 34.

"Hath GOD affayed to go and take unto himself a nation from the midst of a nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders; by war, and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors; according to all that the LORD YOUR GOD did for you in Egypt, before your eyes."

But, by adopting the term "befool,”—i. e. infatuate-is not Geddes rather inconfiftent with himself in a prior note? Exod. iv. 21.-"Nothing but a total unacquaintance with the Oriental style, could have hence given rife to the abfurd idea, that GOD really "hardened the heart of Pharaoh," &c.-The abfurdity, alas is his own;-evincing his utter ignorance of the Oriental ftyle:-Pharaoh firft "hardened his own beart;"-and when he became incorrigible, then THE LORD, by judicial infatuation.

2. from want of alphabetical writing; and, 3. from the poverty of the Ifraelites, who, he afferts, had neither gold enough, skill

2. And how deplorably has he overlooked the import of the parenthetical claufe, 2 Sam. vii. 14. in that laft and moft illuftrious limitation of the birth of CHRIST to the boufe and lineage of David," Luke ii. 4.-in that awful warning to his perfecutors!

"I will be to HIM for a father, and he fhall be to ME for a fon :-(Whosoever [fhall be engaged] in perfecuting HIM, I alfo will chaftife him with the rod of men, and with the ftripes of the fons of Adam:)— and my mercy fhall not depart from HIM; as I withdrew it from Saul, whom I withdrew from before thy face."

The application of this auguft prophecy to CHRIST is decided by Paul, Heb. i. 5. And the learned Pierce, in his note on the paffage, has well explained the parenthetical claufe. Our public tranflation, which Geddes here fervilely follows, feems to have applied this prophecy to Solomon, confounding it with another about feven years later, 1 Chron. xxii. 8. delivered by THE ORACLE OF THE LORD himself to David, with a marked reference however to this by Nathan; wherein Solomon is promifed, and appointed by name, to build the Houfe of the Lord.-But furely Solomon, though he did commit iniquity, was not chaftifed with "the rod of men;" for he lived in profperity, and died "in peace,"-as the latter prophecy predicted.

enough,

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