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tations from the Poetical Books of the Old Testament. Wherever the quotation extends to two or more lines, our practice has been to recognise the parallelism of their structure by arranging the lines in a manner that appears to agree with the metrical divisions of the Hebrew original. Such an arrangement will be found helpful to the reader; not only as directing his attention to the poetical character of the quotation, but as also tending to make its force and pertinence more fully felt. We have treated in the same way the hymns in the first two chapters of the Gospel according to St. Luke.

(d) Great care has been bestowed on the punctuation. Our practice has been to maintain what is sometimes called the heavier system of stopping, or, in other words, that system which, especially for convenience in reading aloud, suggests such pauses as will best ensure a clear and intelligent setting forth of the true meaning of the words. This course has rendered necessary, especially in the Epistles, a larger use of colons and semicolons than is customary in modern English printing.

(e) We may in the last place notice one particular to which we were not expressly directed to extend our revision, namely, the titles of the Books of the New Testament. These titles are no part of the original text; and the titles found in the most ancient manuscripts are of too short a form to be convenient for use. Under these circumstances, we have deemed it best to leave unchanged the titles which are given in the Authorised Version as printed in 1611.

We now conclude, humbly commending our labours to Almighty God, and praying that his favour and blessing may be vouchsafed to that which has been done in his name. We recognised from the first the responsibility of the undertaking; and through our manifold experience of its abounding difficulties we have felt more and more, as we went onward, that such a work can never be accomplished by organised efforts of scholarship and criticism, unless assisted by Divine help.

We know full well that defects must have their place in a work so long and so arduous as this which has now come to an end. Blemishes and imperfections there are in the noble Translation which we have been called upon to revise; blemishes and imperfections will assuredly be found in our own Revision. All endea

vours to translate the Holy Scriptures into another tongue must fall short of their aim, when the obligation is imposed of producing a Version that shall be alike literal and idiomatic, faithful to each thought of the original, and yet, in the expression of it, harmonious and free. While we dare to hope that in places not a few of the New Testament the introduction of slight changes has cast a new light upon much that was difficult and obscure, we cannot forget how often we have failed in expressing some finer shade of meaning which we recognised in the original, how often idiom has stood in the way of a perfect rendering, and how often the attempt to preserve a familiar form of words, or even a familiar cadence, has only added another perplexity to those which already beset us.

Thus, in the review of the work which we have been permitted to complete, our closing words must be words of mingled thanksgiving, humility, and prayer. Of thanksgiving, for the many blessings vouchsafed to us throughout the unbroken progress of our corporate labours; of humility, for our failings and imperfections in the fulfilment of our task; and of prayer to Almighty God, that the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may be more clearly and more freshly shewn forth to all who shall be readers of this Book.

JERUSALEM CHAMBER,

WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

11th November 1880.

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THE GOSPEL

ACCORDING TO

S. MATTHEW.

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1THE book of the 2generation of Jesus Christ, the 1 Or, The son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and

genealogy of Jesus Christ

2 Or, birth:

as in ver. 18.

3 Jacob begat Judah and his brethren; and Judah begat Perez and Zerah of Tamar; and Perez begat Hezron; 4 and Hezron begat Ram; and Ram begat Amminadab; 3 Gr. Aram. and Amminadab begat Nahshon; and Nahshon begat

5 Salmon; and Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz 6 begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David the king.

And David begat Solomon of her that had been the 7 wife of Uriah; and Solomon begat Rehoboam; and

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8 Rehoboam begat Abijah; and Abijah begat Asa; and 4 Gr. Asaph. *Asa begat Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begat Joram;

9 and Joram begat Uzziah; and Uzziah begat Jotham; and Jotham begat Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah;

10 and Hezekiah begat Manasseh; and Manasseh begat 115 Amon; and 5 Amon begat Josiah; and Josiah begat 5 Gr. Amos. Jechoniah and his brethren, at the time of the carrying 6 Or, removal away to Babylon.

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to Babylon

Salathiel.

And after the carrying away to Babylon, Jechoniah 13 begat Shealtiel; and 'Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel; and 7 Gr. Zerubbabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; 14 and Eliakim begat Azor; and Azor begat Sadoc; and 15 Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; and

Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and 16 Matthan begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

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17 So all the generations from Abraham unto David are fourteen generations; and from David unto the carrying away to Babylon fourteen generations; and from

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