“ Poetic Parallelism is that beautiful, measured reduplication of thought, whereby the same sentiment or fact or promise is doubly expressed, the second time with a difference, still within the general scope of the first; the variation serving not only to cluster together beauties of speech, such as synonyms, contrasts, subservient natural images, and so forth, but to fix the general scope and outlook of the couplet or stanza, the one line hinting the limit to which the other may be assumed to submit, or defining the subject to which it also relates. ”

“ Whenever a point has to be made, a quiet contrast to be rather hinted at than expressed, a sharp and sudden home-thrust to be delivered. Idiom is at hand to accomplish it. From which, when the numberless living interests enshrined in the Bible are considered, it will be expected to follow—and follow it does—that a very large amount of indicated stress underlies almost every page of the Sacred Volume. And—does it need to be repeated?—Emphasis so conveyed is surely "authoritative": which is not the same thing as saying there is no room for misapprehension in this place or in that ”

“ Note here how parallelism and emphasis enhance the effect of each other. There being two synonymous couplets, constituting a duplicate expression for each thought (viz., first the Divine visitation, then the effect on the sufferer) , emphasis steps in at the second line of each couplet, and strongly accentuates the closing word of the preceding line: "dreams—visions"; "strangling—death." Note also how well the sharp expression which the word "death" draws to itself, prepares the way for the lingering and piteous lament over "these my bones." ”

“ Of course the most beautiful refrain in the Book of Jeremiah is the melodious couplet—
The voice of joy、 and the voice of gladness,
The voice of the bridegroom、 and the voice of the bride,—
which occurs in chaps, vii. 34; xvi. 9; xxv. 10; and xxxiii. 11—three times as a lament, as of something that was to cease; but, on the fourth and last occasion, reappearing as a lovely flower in a gay garland of joyful prophetic news. Not for ever, to Israel, is that fourfold voice to be hushed! ”

“ Yet, varied as is the Emphatic Idiom of our Public Versions and numerous as are the examples which meet us in which that indication of stress has been turned to most admirable account, the pity is that it has not been resorted to ten times more frequently than is the case. For, be it observed, the Emphatic Idiom of the English is but a faint and fitful reflex of the Emphatic Idiom of the Hebrew and Greek. [27] This fact is wellknown to scholars, though scarcely dreamt of by the general Bible-reading public. ”

“ There is one especial form of Parallelism to which much interest attaches, if not by reason of any novelty in the attention given to it, yet at least by virtue of its inherently striking character and the help it occasionally renders to right reading and interpretation. ”

“ It is freely granted that context and circumstance, when known and considered, are in many cases alone sufficient to guide to correct emphasis, whether it be in ordinary literature or in the Bible. For example, the bold contrast made by Christ, in the Sermon on the Mount, between other teachers and himself would naturally prompt any reader of taste to lay stress on the pronoun "I" in the recurring formula ”

“ For a child hath been born to us,
A son hath been given to us,— [5]
in which it may be noted that this and not the current rhythm is undoubtedly the true one; since this it is which, closely following the Hebrew, throws the emphasis in the right place—on "child" and "son." There lies our hope—in Him! These samples will suffice to point to the thousands of instances of Parallelism which, in this translation, lie before the reader. The present is not the place for discussing the many varieties of Parallelism to be found in the Bible. ”

“ Let us make man [22] in our image、 after our likeness,—and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea、 and over the bird of the heavens、 and over the tame-beast―and over all the land, [23] and over every creeping thing、 that creepeth on the land. ”

“ Such persons as would have been better pleased with some heavier and more obtrusive style of emphasising will kindly bethink them, that stress is mostly quite effective if laid on one syllable of a word, one word in a clause, and so forth; and that all the guidance the eye requires is to be enabled to take in at a glance the beginning and ending of the word, the phrase, the clause within which the enhanced stress is to take effect. ”

“ Thus saith Yahweh—
is simply to invoke the assistance of the eye to give to that formula the dominating force over the announcement which follows which by the intention of the prophet it should naturally have. And so again there are cases in the Pentateuch and in the Prophets in which the oft-recurring formula, "As Yahweh commanded Moses," [13] or "Declareth Yahweh," [14] can be more becomingly appended, and with better effect, as a line by itself drawn towards the right hand, after the manner of a signature, than in any other way. 3. ”

“ And being in this way "authoritative," it is in all its main indications worthy of unspeakably more diligent heed in exposition than the most brilliant fancies of men who dream they may make what they please of Holy Writ. Sober students are bound by the laws of Grammar: they are equally bound by the laws of Emphasis.
5. It is one of the leading aims of The Emphasised Bible to do justice to the emphatic Idioms of the original tongues, and thereby place all earnest Bible readers, for practical purposes, on the same footing as that occupied by such as are familiar with Hebrew and Greek. ”

“ In reading aloud this citation, some little stress is instinctively laid on the two words "strike" and "hear," thereby assisting the ear to catch the plainly intended contrast. A few years since, the same saying was modified in sense by a change of emphasis. A trade strike was pending, when an illustrated paper, giving an imposing figure representing "Law," put beneath the figure the legend, "Strike, but hear me!" ”

“ It is quite true that the larger number of the inversions here ventured would, as he conceives, adorn any translation, and because of their apt reflection of the Hebrew or Greek he honestly thinks they possess strong claims on general adoption; but not all of them. Speaking approximately, possibly in one case out of ten the Editor of The Emphasised Bible would have himself shrunk back from what he has actually dared, if he had been so presumptuous as to think of producing a competitive translation. ”

“ Now if all this food for thought is presented, in what may be termed a digestible form, by means of four lines of varying indentation, surely the average thoughtful reader can take the hint, and not deem "Logical Analysis" beyond him, but do a little of it for himself, just when he is analytically inclined; and, for the rest, can come to a working confidence in the Translator for having presented Scripture thoughts (which had to be presented somehow) after what appeared to him the most apt and helpful arrangement; about which no one is counselled to trouble himself prematurely or overmuch. ”

“ God made earth and heavens. 5 Now ||no bush of the field|| as yet—was in the earth, and ||no herb of the field|| as yet had sprung up,—because Yahweh God had not sent rain ́ on the earth, and ||man|| was there none ́ to till the ground; 6 but ||a vapour|| went up from the earth,—and watered all the face of the ground. 7 So then Yahweh God formed ́ [31] man, [of the] dust of the ground, and breathed in his nostrils the breath [32] of life [33] —and man became a living soul.
8⁠ And Yahweh God planted ́ a garden in Eden、 on the east,—and put there ́ the man whom he had formed. ”

“ Our Father, who art in the heavens, — Hallowed be thy name, 10 Come may thy kingdom, — Accomplished* be thy will, |as in heaven| also on earth: 11 |Our needful bread| give us, this day; 12 And forgive us our debts, as |we also| have forgiven our debtors ; 13 And bring us not into temptation. But rescue us from the evil one.!" 14 For ||Your Father who is in the heavens|| will forgive |even you| ”

“ That, notwithstanding this risk of overdoing, a very free use of Emphatic Idiom has been made in this Bible will soon appear upon examination. Few sympathetic readers will complain of this. Such readers will perceive and bear in mind that inversions in the language of The Emphasised Bible are always intentional—always according to the original—always expressive. They will go on to observe that an inversion which at first seemed harsh, especially if incautiously read, soon commends itself when tastefully uttered. Finally, the Translator's purpose will be remembered. ”

“ Let the waters swarm ́ [with] an abundance of living soul, [19] and ||birds|| shall fly over the earth, ||over the face of the expanse of the heavens||. 21⁠ And God created ́ the great sea-monsters,—and every living soul that moveth— [with] which the waters swarmed ́ after their kind、 and every winged bird—after its kind. ”

“ Let the land put-forth vegetation—herb ́ yielding seed, fruit-tree、 [16] bearing fruit、 after its kind, whose seed is within it、 on the land. And it was ́ so. 12 And the land brought-forth ́ vegetation—herb ́ yielding seed after its kind、 and tree ́ bearing fruit、 whose seed is within it、 after its kind. And God saw ́ that it was |good|.⁠13 So it was evening—and it was morning、 |a third ́ day|.
14⁠ And God said ́—
Let there be luminaries [17] in the expanse of the heavens, to divide between the day and the night,—and let them be for signs、 and for seasons, [18] and for days and years ”

“ Humorous translations may sometimes do good service in the margin which could never be tolerated in the text. Moreover, a freer rendering may the sooner be allowed in the text, provided a more literal one be placed at the foot of the page. So much for "alternative renderings." "Various readings" are a very different matter. They have sole regard to variations which, in the course of transmission from an earlier age, have crept into different copies of or witnesses to the original. ”

“ That it is of great convenience and of considerable practical utility to be able to see at once what portions from the Jewish Scriptures are quoted in the Christian, will not be denied by anyone who has given a fair amount of attention to the matter ”

“ For |theirs| is the kingdom of the heavens. 11||Happy|| are ye, whensoever they may reproach you and persecute you^ and say every' evil thing against you | falsely^ for my sake] : 12Rejoice and exult, because |your reward| is great in the heavens; for |so| persecuted they the prophets who were before you. 13 |Ye| are the salt [19] of the earth; but wherewith shall it be salted? it is good |for nothing| any more, [20] save, being cast out, to be trampled on by men. ”

“ As |your heavenly Father| is — perfect. 6 [But] take heed, that ye do not |your righteousness] before men, to be gazed at by them, — ||otherwise at least|| |reward| have ye none, with your Father who is in the heavens. 2 alms> do not sound a trumpet before thee, just as |the hypocrites| do, in the synagogues and in the streets — that they may be glorified by men, — |Verily| I say unto you, they are getting back their reward. ”

“ THE SPECIAL FEATURES OF THIS TRANSLATION.
That this purports to be an "Emphasised" Bible is naturally the first thing to be noticed. But as it seems desirable to devote an entire chapter to the subject of Emphasis, further discussion of this prominent characteristic may be conveniently deferred until it falls to be considered in due course. In the meantime there are other features which have grown up around this, which it will be of advantage to set forth in order.
1. The size of the page. It is with design that this has been made large ”

“ And as a sufficient proof that in some cases idiom for idiom would cause the translation to express the very opposite meaning to its original, it is enough to cite one instance.
Elijah calleth this man [31]
is the order of the words in the Greek; yet "this man" is the nominative (that is, the caller) and "Elijah" the objective (that is, the person [supposed to be] called upon) and the true rendering is—
This man calleth Elijah ”

“ Lord I Lord!|| shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens, — But he that doeth the will of my Father who is in the heavens. 22|Many| will say unto me, in |that| day, Lord! Lord! [90] did we not in thy name prophesy, [91] And |in thy name| cast |demons| out, — And |in thy name| ||many works of power|| perform? 23And |then| will I confess unto them, |Never| have I acknowledged [92] you, — Depart from me^ ye workers of lawlessness! [93] 24 [94] Shall be likened to a prudent man, who built his house upon the rock ”

“ Become ye therefore — Prudent, as serpents, and simple、 [69] as doves.
17 But beware of men; — For they will deliver you up into high- councils, And |in their synagogues| will they scourge you, — 18 And I before both governors and kings| shall ye be brought |for my sake| — ||For a witness to them and the nations||. ”