In 404 CE, St. Jerome (translator of the Latin Vulgate—which was the only Bible of Western Christendom for almost a millennium) wrote a letter to a presbyter named Riparius, regarding the preaching of a certain clergyman:
Now that I have received a letter from you, if I do not answer it I shall be guilty of pride, and if I do I shall be guilty of rashness. For the matters concerning which you ask my opinion are such that they cannot either be spoken of or listened to without profanity.… You tell me that Vigilantius (whose very name Wakeful is a contradiction: he ought rather to be described as Sleepy) has again opened his fetid lips and is pouring forth a torrent of filthy venom … I am surprised that the reverend bishop in whose diocese he is said to be a presbyter acquiesces in this his mad preaching, and that he does not rather with apostolic rod, nay with a rod of iron, shatter this useless vessel and deliver him for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved.… The wretch’s tongue should be cut out, or he should be put under treatment for insanity. As he does not know how to speak, he should learn to be silent.
This was clearly not the sweetest of men. He must have translated the Sermon on the Mount a lot quicker than he did other portions of scripture…
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Luca Brasi, Woody Allen, and the KJB
In terms of subject matter, from Mel Brooks to Monty Python to Harold Ramis, many a Hollywood film director has looked to the Bible and found some really good material. And for one raised on the KJV, I can’t help but hear its cadence in the occasional movie line, as in The Godfather when Sal Tessio says that “Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes,” meaning, he’s dead. Doesn’t that sound a whole lot like the Old Testament: “And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria…” (2 Kings 13:9)?
Or this one:
Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry.
Proverbs 6:30
which reminds me of the scene in Woody Allen’s Radio Days where a husband tries to convince his wife that it’s okay for the maid to steal from them because, if she didn’t, “Who would she steal from, if not us?”
Or this one:
Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry.
Proverbs 6:30
which reminds me of the scene in Woody Allen’s Radio Days where a husband tries to convince his wife that it’s okay for the maid to steal from them because, if she didn’t, “Who would she steal from, if not us?”
Friday, May 13, 2011
Bilingual English -- Everyday and Bible
The English that we speak at work or the dinner table is often the same English we speak at church. It wasn’t always so. The KJV offers a language that is slightly outside of everyday experience, which expands our capacity to contemplate, see, and know God. Before the modern era, when translations became more abundant, Christian English-speakers were basically bilingual—everyday English and KJV English existed side-by-side.
What I am proposing is a rediscovery and reinvigoration of this sort of English bilingualism. Reading a Bible that’s a little bit difficult, and unusual, is good for you.
What I am proposing is a rediscovery and reinvigoration of this sort of English bilingualism. Reading a Bible that’s a little bit difficult, and unusual, is good for you.
See you Sunday at St. Bart's NYC
If you happen to be in NYC this Sunday, May 15, come to the Rector's Forum at St. Bart's Church at 10 am. We will be talking about the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
The Vinegar Bible and The Printer's Bible
Innocent mistakes are common in books of all kinds, but today’s Bible publishers employ so many proofreaders as to make mistakes almost entirely impossible. It wasn’t always so.
The so-called “Vinegar Bible” is one of the more unfortunate early editions of the KJV, in that it was a gorgeous production, one of the most beautiful of its time. Approximately five inches thick, this Bible was 19.5˝ tall by 12.75˝ wide, printed at Oxford University by John Baskett in 1717. But it was full of small typos, none of which were severe enough to condemn the printers, but sufficient to show their carelessness. In the headline above Luke chapter 20, rather than “The Parable of the Vineyard,” it reads, “The Parable of the Vinegar.”
Sometimes these typos were inserted deliberately, as is likely the case in what’s called “The Printer’s Bible,” an edition of the KJV that appeared around 1700. Psalm 119:161 read: “Printers have persecuted me without cause” rather than “Princes have persecuted me without cause.” The theory goes that a typesetter, at the last moment, changed the word as a passive/aggressive recourse against the greedy printers/publishers who had taken advantage of him.
Similar theories have been floated for an edition published in 1716 in which John 8:11 reads, “Go and sin on more” rather than “Go and sin no more.” Could this have been an instance of a playful copyist having some fun?
The so-called “Vinegar Bible” is one of the more unfortunate early editions of the KJV, in that it was a gorgeous production, one of the most beautiful of its time. Approximately five inches thick, this Bible was 19.5˝ tall by 12.75˝ wide, printed at Oxford University by John Baskett in 1717. But it was full of small typos, none of which were severe enough to condemn the printers, but sufficient to show their carelessness. In the headline above Luke chapter 20, rather than “The Parable of the Vineyard,” it reads, “The Parable of the Vinegar.”
Sometimes these typos were inserted deliberately, as is likely the case in what’s called “The Printer’s Bible,” an edition of the KJV that appeared around 1700. Psalm 119:161 read: “Printers have persecuted me without cause” rather than “Princes have persecuted me without cause.” The theory goes that a typesetter, at the last moment, changed the word as a passive/aggressive recourse against the greedy printers/publishers who had taken advantage of him.
Similar theories have been floated for an edition published in 1716 in which John 8:11 reads, “Go and sin on more” rather than “Go and sin no more.” Could this have been an instance of a playful copyist having some fun?
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Adulterous Bible of 1631
The earliest printings of the KJB were often sprinkled with what I would call unintended humor. Most famous, perhaps, is the so-called “Adulterous Bible” of 1631, also known as “The Wicked Bible,” for its printer, Robert Barker, mistakenly omitted an important negative from Exodus 20:14. As a result, the seventh commandment read, “Thou shalt commit adultery.” Oops. If you find one of these Bibles in your attic today, hold onto it, because it’s really valuable. Your ancestors must have been members of the printer’s family. Only eleven copies of this edition of the KJBe are known to exist today, as the English government immediately recalled and destroyed the rest. Robert Barker died in debtor’s prison.
Unusual adverbs in the KJB
thence (adv.)—from that place or time
whensoever or whence (adv.)—similar to thence, meaning “from what place,” but always as part of a question, as when the rabbis in the synagogue said of Jesus, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” (Matthew 13:54)
whensoever or whence (adv.)—similar to thence, meaning “from what place,” but always as part of a question, as when the rabbis in the synagogue said of Jesus, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” (Matthew 13:54)
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