Various Readings. m, Common Text. 79 52 " 2 79 79, 378. 12-42, 379. 319 77N), 259.7 MSS., 206. SEPTUAGINT. Φύλαξόν με, κύριε, ὅτι ἐπί σοὶ ἤλπισα· τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῖς ἐν τῇ γῇ · αὐτοῦ. 99, 216. 17.-ba, 224. † ἐθαυμάστωσε * πάντα τὰ θελήματα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτοῖς, Various Readings. Ὅτι τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐτάχυναν * 184. ἐθαν μάστωσε + ὁ Κύριος, 72 MSS. Complut. Ald. + Κύριος, 182, 263. + ὁ Θεὸς, 293. θελήματα αὐτοῦ—θελήματά μου, 27. AQUILA, Fragment. Line 8. ̓Αγαθοσύνη μου οὐ μὴ επὶ σὲ 5. ὑπερμεγέθεσί μου πᾶν θέλημα ἐν αὐτοῖς Line 3. ἀγαθὸν μοι οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνευ σου 5. εἰς τοὺς μεγάλους πᾶν τὸ θέλημά μου ἐν αὐτοῖς. 6. ἐπληθύνθησαν τὰ εἴδωλα αὐτῶν, εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω ἐτάχυναν. THEODOTION, Fragment. Line 5. καὶ θαυμαστόν μοι τὰ θελήματά μου ἐν αὐτοῖς. Line 6. πολλαὶ αἱ κακοπάθειαι αὐτῶν, ἀκολουθοῦσαι ταχέως. I. LATIN.† Conserva me, Domine, quoniam in Te speravi: Dixi Domino, Deus meus es Tu. Quoniam bonorum meorum non eges Sanctis qui in terra sunt ejus. * The Vatican MS. attributes this line to Symmachus also. The I. Latin version was made from the Septuagint, in the first or second century. The II. Latin was a revision of the same, made by Jerome, from Origen's correction of the Septuagint. The III. Latin was an entirely new translation, made by Jerome, from the Hebrew text as it existed in his time. We beg the indulgence of our readers while we correct an error, connected with this subject, which appeared in our last Number, in the Latin translation of Ps. vii. The reading there given is the II. Latin. The I. Latin version reads, not "Decidam," but "Decedam merito ab inimicis meis inanis;" a translation which completely confirms the view we have taken of the passage. +Mirificavit omnes voluntates meas inter illos; Multiplicatæ sunt enim infirmitates eorum, postea adceleraverunt. Nec memor ero nominum illorum per labia mea. Corrections introduced, by Jerome, in the II. Latin :-Line 1, speravi in te. 4, Sanctis qui sunt in terra ejus. 5, in eis. 6, enim omitted. 7, de sanguinibus. 8, eorum. III. LATIN. Custodi me, Deus, quoniam speravi in Te. Sanctis qui in terra sunt, Et magnificis, omnis voluntas mea in eis. Multiplicabuntur idola eorum, post tergum sequentium: Neque assumam nomina eorum in labiis meis. Various reading, from the Cistercian MS.:-Lines 6, 7, Multiplicentur dolores eorum, et postea sequentur te: non libabo (another MS. litabo) libamina eorum, quia gravior est quam effusio sanguinis. Arabic, as translated in the London Polyglott:-Lines 4, 5, 6, Manifestavit in sanctis suis miracula sua in terrâ suâ, et operatus est in eis omnem voluntatem suam. Multiplicati sunt dolores eorum, ac proinde festinaverunt. Syriac, ditto:-Line 6, Multiplicentur dolores eorum postremò; cito. From these varieties in the versions, our readers will perceive that this passage is involved in considerable difficulty. We venture to propose the following version and explanation of it. Preserve me, O God, for I have trusted in Thee, I have said unto JEHOVAH, Thou art my Lord. My prosperity is not incumbent upon Thee, Their sorrows are multiplied, they come hastily upon them : "I will not worship their idols, even for my life, JEHOVAH is my allotted portion and my cup, Thou upholdest my lot: &c. The third line appears to us to be well paraphrased in the Septuagint; Thou hast no need of my prosperity For the saints which are on the earth. And the couplet contains a complete refutation of the Jewish notion, that temporal prosperity is an indispensable characteristic of the true Messiah. The four next lines are, as we conceive, a digression suggested by the word "saints," and alluding to the sufferings and constancy of the early Christians; the first couplet relates perhaps to the Apostles themselves, on whom persecution came like an overwhelming torrent, and the latter seems to refer to the Gentile converts, who refused to sacrifice to the heathen gods, even at the hazard of their lives. After this prophetic glimpse of the triumphant consequences of His humiliation, the Saviour returns to speak of Himself; and He, who had not where to lay His head, appears, like His own Apostles, "as having nothing, and yet possessing all things;" as arming Himself to "endure the cross and despise the shame," by the contemplation of the joy that was set before Him, when He should rise triumphant over death, and be set down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. That we are right in every particular of this interpretation we have not the presumption to imagine; but the general view which it opens of the whole Psalm does appear to us more rational, and more worthy of the Holy Spirit by whom it was dictated, than that exhibited by our authors, or by any other modern commentator whom we have seen. But if this interpretation be correct, the present prophecy affords dreadful evidence of the charge which has been brought against the Jews in the first century,-that of perverting, in every possible way, the plainest predictions of the Old Testament, in order to evade the demonstration which they afforded of the claims of Jesus Christ. - For, this view of the Psalm being admitted, the conclusion appears inevitable, that the absurd punctuation of the whole passage, according to the common texts, the various readings and interpretations of the words the canonization of "saints" into "divinities,”— the metamorphosis of "sorrows" into "idols," and "idols" into "drink-offerings,"-and, to complete the climax, the making those "drink-offerings of blood," were partly the wilful perversion of those who would not, and partly the blind guesses of those who, by a righteous sentence of the Almighty, could not see the plain meaning of the prophecy. On the same supposition also, we cannot conceive how any unprejudiced person, that is competent to form an opinion on the subject, can rationally entertain a doubt, that in the line which we have left untranslated, the Hebrew text has been grossly corrupted; and that its meaning must be sought from that version, which existed before there was any temptation to convert sense into nonsense, and truth into falsehood, and to make the language of prophecy bend to the twisting and torturing of "Rabbinical learning." With respect to the Septuagint translation of this passage, it will be observed that the word avrou, in line 4, was marked by Origen as having nothing in the Hebrew to correspond to it, and that the word is not translated: we shall therefore venture a conjecture, that this word was originally not AYTOY, but AYTOI, and that it ought to stand at the beginning of the next line as a nominative absolute; but that some transcriber, knowing nothing of the Hebrew idiom, therefore not comprehending the force of a plural-nominative standing before a singular-verb, ignorantly transferred it to the preceding word. This conjecture, perhaps, may receive some confirmation from the I. Latin version: for it seems improbable that if, when this version was made, the Greek had read év rỹ yỹ avroũ, the translator would have separated the words, terra and ejus in the manner in which this text now stands, and from which Jerome thought it necessary to alter it: but if he read the Greek, év tñ yỹ, his Latin, "Sanctis qui in terrâ sunt," is perfectly correct; and avrou being afterwards added to the Greek, ejus would soon be added to the Latin, and produce the present reading, "Sanctis qui in terrâ sunt ejus." We have no wish to claim for this conjecture more weight than it fairly deserves; but, whatever be its probability, it so far confirms a point, which however needs no confirmation, that the verb ¿0avμáσTwσe, is the original reading of the Septuagint text: and the vacant line filled up from this version, will stand thus: As for them, He has gloriously fulfilled all His pleasure in them; A sentiment, which will possibly call to our readers' remembrance, the celebrated passage of Isaiah, "When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied," &c. What the Hebrew originally read, we have perhaps not yet sufficient data to determine. The con ; המה יאדיר : כל חפציו בם jecture of Houbigant is ingenious perhaps is nearer the truth. Both, however, must be regarded as mere conjectures, calculated to call forth inquiry rather than to settle the question; but neither of them are to be admitted into the text, till confirmed by Hebrew manuscripts more ancient than any which have yet been brought to light. But that the present text requires some correction can scarcely admit of a doubt. (To be concluded in our next.) ART. III.-1. A Sermon on 1 Cor. ii. 12, preached before the University of Oxford, at St. Mary's, on Sunday, Feb. 6, 1831. By the Rev. H. B. BULTEEL, M. A., late Fellow of Exeter College, and Curate of St. Ebbe's, Oxford. Oxford: London: Hatchard, and Nisbet. Cambridge, Deightons. 1831. Pp. 53. 2. Remarks upon a Sermon preached at St. Mary's, on Sunday, Feb. 6, 1831. By the Rev. EDWARD BURTON, D. D. Regius Professor of Divinity. Oxford. 1831. London: Rivingtons. Pp. 29. Our readers need scarcely be told that is the Rabbinical contraction for or Septuagint 3. Strictures on the Rev. Mr. Bulteel's Sermon, and the Rev. Dr. Burton's Remarks. By OXONIENSIS. Oxford: Vincent. 1831. Pp. 24. 4. A Reply to Dr. Burton's Remarks upon a Sermon preached at St. Mary's, on Sunday, Feb. 6, 1831, by the Rev. H. B. BULTEEL, M. A. &c. Oxford. 1831. London: Hatchard, and Nisbet. Cambridge: Deightons. Pp. 56. 5. One Reason for not entering into Controversy with an Anonymous Author of Strictures. By the Rev. EDWARD BURTON, D. D. Oxford. 1831. Pp. 8. 6. Postscript to "Strictures." By OXONIENSIS. P. 1. 7. A Friendly Letter to the Rev. Mr. Bulteel, in Consideration of his late University Sermon. By PHILIPPUS ANTI-OSIANDER, S. T. P. Oxford: Slatter. London: Rivingtons. Cambridge: Deightons, and Stevenson. Pp. 60. 8. The Doctrine of the Church of England at the time of the Reformation, of the Reformation itself, of Scripture, and of the Church of Rome, briefly compared with the Remarks of the Regius Professor of Divinity. By OYAEIZ. Oxford: Wheeler. 1831. Pp. 65. THAT Our Universities should be at times subject to the excitement of theological discussions is matter neither of surprise nor displeasure to us. There are few topics on which men of large research and information are of exactly the same opinion; and as we are proud to say there are many such in both our seats of learning, collision of sentiment must constantly occur, and not unfrequently proceed to public controversy. We do not, however, consider the treatises now before us of any great importance, or as having brought forth an equal stock of learning and knowledge with most other ephemeral discussions, which have excited academic attention. We ourselves remark on them as having attracted some notice in a place for which we shall always entertain respect and affection; and it may be pleasing to those who regard Oxford with the same feelings, to know what are its immediate objects of interest, even though the knowledge should lead to the declaration, so gratifying to advancing age, that the men in their own days were wiser and better. But we will proceed to consider the Sermon of February 6. The Calvinistic scheme of Divine agency has always, since the time of Augustine, had its advocates, though it has never been generally the creed of the Christian Church; and it is now a long time since it has been so directly brought forward in the pulpit of St. Mary's. The sermon of Mr. Bulteel has given rise to divers pamphlets, either for or against it. Dr. Burton, the Regius Professor of Divinity, was induced to write some remarks, lest "the public should suppose that such doctrines were palatable to the modern divines |