THE NINTH COMMANDMENT.
[TO •THE EDITOR Or THE "SPECTATOR:.'] SIR,—Mr. Langton, in your issue of July 4, speaks of thc• " unfortunate " use of the word " against," instead of " towards,"
in our version of the Ninth Commandment. His letter may lead some.of your readers -to suppose that the Authorised Version ,gives,here a rendering palpably and unmistakably incorrect, and that -this inaccuracy has the mischievous effect of "contracting the sense of an important Commandment in the minds of English- -speaking people."
ie by no means certain that the rendering in our Bible is wrong :—(1). The _Hebrew preposition in question has after verbs of speaking and bearing witness a neutral meaning, equal to -" concerning." It is sometimes found with the sense of "for," -" on behalf of,"-but more .usually in the sense of "against," (vide Clesenius, Le.T., in voc.) (2.) The versions of the LXX., the Vulgate, Luther, Ostervald, Diodati, agree here with the Authorised Version.—I, am, Sir, &c., Oxford, July 6. A. L. MAYHEW.
Previous page
