orers will doubtless
make some improvements on the text of Tischendorf, as he has done on
that of Lachman; but they cannot be expected to change it essentially.

I have deviated from Tischendorf in omitting Jesus as the proper name
of Barabbas in two instances in Matt. xxv. 4, and occasionally in
punctuation, and have retained two important interpolations in the
text, duly noted as such, Mark, xvii. and John, x. 8.

The recent work of Trench on the English Bible came to hand after
considerable progress had been made in stereotyping this volume. The
translator was highly gratified to find that nearly all the
improvements and corrections suggested by that eminent scholar were
already made in this work, together with many others.

The arrangement of the books and divisions of the chapters and verses
in this Translation are believed to be great improvements on those in
common use. As such they are commended to the attention of translators
and editors in different languages, and it is hoped will be found
satisfactory.

The chronology of the New Testament is involved in great obscurity. The
Christian Era was first proposed by Dionysius Exiguus, about A.D. 550,
and was gradually adopted in the seventh and eighth centuries. By a
mistake of Dionysius it was made to commence from four to six years too
late. The birth of Christ was from 4 to 6 B.C.; his baptism, in the
fifteenth year of Tiberius, A.D. 24; his death, probably, A.D. 28; and
the events recorded in the first part of Acts prior to the death of
Herod, A.D. 44, occurred considerably earlier than the dates usually
assigned to them.

Matthew and Luke probably wrote their gospels A.D. 62 or 63; Mark and
John, theirs A.D. 65-68. Acts was written A.D. 63. All the books of the
New Testament were probably written before the destruction of
Jerusalem, in the interval of seventeen years from A.D. 53 to 70.

The author of Revelation bears the same name as one of the Evangelists.
But this does not prove that he was the same person, neither is the
church tradition on the subject entitled to undoubted confidence. The
author of Revelation does not claim to be an apostle; and by not making
that claim in a book so extraordinary, virtually teaches that he is not
such. His style also presents points of diversity from that of the
Evangelist, that seem to be incompatible with the supposition that the
same author wrote both works.

With these few explanations I commend this volume to