must have been an unusual one--a coined
expression. And what did it mean? No one knows. Jose found means to
put the question to his tutor. He was told that it doubtless meant
"super-supernal." But what could "super-supernal" convey to the
world's multitude of hungry suppliants for the bread of life! And so
he rendered the phrase "Give us each day a better understanding of
Thee." Again, going carefully through his Testament the boy crossed
out the words translated "God," and in their places substituted
"divine influence." Many of the best known and most frequently
quoted passages suffered similarly radical changes at his hands. For
the translation "truth," the boy often preferred to substitute
"reality"; and such passages as "speaking the truth in love" were
rendered by him, "lovingly speaking of those things which are real."
"Faith" and "belief" were generally changed to "understanding" and
"real knowing," so that the passage, "O ye of little faith,"
became in his translation, "O ye of slight understanding." The word
"miracle" he consistently changed to "sign" throughout. The command to
ask "in the name of Jesus" caused him hours of deep and perplexing
thought, until he hit upon the, to him, happy rendering, "in his
character." Why not? In the character of the Christ mankind might ask
anything and it would be given them. But to acquire that character
men must repent. And the Greek word "metanoia," so generally
rendered "repentance," would therefore have to be translated "radical
and complete change of thought." Again, why not? Was not a complete
change of thought requisite if one were to become like Jesus? Could
mortals think continually of murder, warfare, disaster, failure,
crime, sickness and death, and of the acquisition of material
riches and power, and still hope to acquire the character of the
meek but mighty Nazarene? Decidedly no! And so he went on delving
and plodding, day after day, night after night, substituting and
changing, but always, even if unconsciously, giving to the Scripture
a more metaphysical and spiritual meaning, which displaced in its
translation much of the material and earthy.

Before the end of his seminary training the translation was complete.
What a new light it seemed to throw upon the mission of Jesus! How
fully he realized now that creeds and confessions had never even begun
to sound the profound depths of the Bible! What a changed message it
seemed to carry for mankind! How he longe