THE LANGUAGE OF THE BIBLE.--There have been numerous criticisms, favorable
and adverse, to the language of King James's Bible. It is said to have
been written in older English than that of its day, and Selden remarks
that "it is rather translated into English words than into English
phrase." The Hebraisms are kept, and the phraseology of that language is
retained. This leads to the opinion of Bishop Horsley, that the adherence
to the Hebrew idiom is supposed to have at once enriched and adorned our
language. Bishop Middleton says "the style is simple, it is harmonious, it
is energetic, and, which is of no small importance, use has made it
familiar, and time has rendered it sacred." That it has lasted two
hundred and fifty years without a rival, is the strongest testimony in
favor of its accuracy and the beauty of its diction. Philologically
considered, it has been of inestimable value as a strong rallying-point
for the language, keeping it from wild progress in any and every
direction. Many of our best words, which would otherwise have been lost,
have been kept in current use because they are in the Bible.
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