in 1825 speaks on the title-page of the work, liberally supplied with notes, as "A Complete Library of Divinity." Serious errors in the printing of American Bibles are not very numerous, considering the large editions of the Scriptures that have been issued. There is a curious mistake in Eliot's Indian Bible in the account of the ten virgins. Dr. Trumbull says, "Among the Indians chastity was a masculine virtue, and Eliot's Natick interpreter did not understand that the noun wanted was feminine. Subsequent instruction doubtless made the matter clear, but in the Indian Bible the parable in Matthew xxv. 1-12 is of 'the ten chaste young men' (piukqussuogpenompaog, the syllable omp marking the masculine gender), and so in every place in which 'virgin' occurs in the English version, though in most cases the context clearly establishes the true gender. The right word was keegsquau, which is to be found (though seldom used) in every Algonkin language.' An edition of the New Testament published at Utica, N.Y., in 1829, rendered James v. 17, “Elias was a man possible like unto us." A Bible published at Hartford in 1837 printed 2 Timothy iii. 16 in this way, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for destruction in righteousness." An edition of the Bible printed by the American Bible Society in 1855 has this reading of St. Mark v. 3, "Who had his dwelling among the lambs," in place of "tombs." In one of the early editions of the Bible printed by Harding of Philadelphia a singular mistake was made in 1 Kings i. 21, where the words "the king shall † sleep with his fathers," was rendered in print, "the king shall dagger sleep with his fathers." This is certainly the most literal following of "copy" on record. EARLY EDITIONS OF THE GREEK TESTAMENT. THE first edition of the New Testament in Greek, published in the United States, came from the press of Isaiah Thomas, Jr., at Worcester, Mass., in the year 1800. It is in size a 12mo and bound in calf. It contains on the second page a chronological list of the books of the New Testament, and at the end this note: "The above Table has been carefully and faithfully collected from the writings of the famous Rev. Nathaniel Lardner, D.D." This note is followed by the name of "Caleb Alexander" as editor. Although the title-page states that the book follows the reading of Mill, it is apparent that the editor draws freely from other editions, and especially the Elzevir text of 1678. An edition of the New Testament in Greek and Latin arranged in parallel columns appeared 112 |