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speak by dint of torture a different language. It might, perhaps, be enough to say,
respecting this passage, that, according to the order of the original words, the received
translation is the most direct and natural rendering. This, so far as I know, no one has
ventured to deny. All that has been affirmed is that it is capable of bearing a different
sense. And this has accordingly been attempted in no fewer than five different ways:
`Of whom, by natural descent, the Christ came. God, Who is over all, be blessed
for ever.'
`Whose are the fathers, and of whom the Christ came, Who is above them all
(viz., the fathers). God is blessed for ever!"
`Of whom the Christ came, Who is over all things. God be blessed for ever.'
`Of whom the Christ came, Who is as God, over all, blessed for ever.'
`Of whom the Christ came (and) whose, or of whom, is the supreme God, blessed
for ever'."
Sadly enough, the R.V. has brought these untenable views to the notice of all its
readers. The note in the R.V. reads as follows:
"Some modern interpreters place a full stop after flesh and translate, He Who is God
over all be (is) blessed for ever: or He Who is over all is God, blessed for ever. Others
punctuate, flesh, who is over all, God be blessed for ever."
No wonder Dean Burgon wrote of this marginal note:
"Now this is a matter--let it be clearly observed--which (as Dr. Hort is aware)
belongs to interpretation, and not to textual criticism. What business then has it in these
pages at all? Is it then the function of Divines appointed to revise the Authorized
Version, to give information to the 90 millions of English-speaking Christians scattered
throughout the world as to the unfaithfulness of `some modern interpreters'? We refer to
Manuscripts, Versions, Fathers; and what do we find?
(1)
It is demonstrable that the oldest Codices, besides the whole body of the
Cursives, know nothing about the method of `some modern interpreters'.
(2)
There is absolutely not a shadow, not a tittle of evidence in any of the ancient
Versions, to warrant what they do.
(3)
How then about the old Fathers? We find that the expression `Who is over all
(things), God blessed for ever' is expressly acknowledged to refer to our
SAVIOUR by the following 60 illustrious names."
The Dean then gives the sixty names, with chapter and verse, which the interested
reader can find fully set out in his "Revision Revised" (pp. 212, 213).
Long ago it was noted by Bengel that in all classes of doxology Barak in Hebrew and
Eulogetos in Greek precede the name of God. There are thirty places where the LXX,
following the Hebrew order, adheres to this rule, and if Paul had intended a separate
doxology, he would certainly have followed the same practice.
In the earlier part of this same Epistle to the Romans we find a passage which is in
some respects parallel with Rom. 9: 5:
"Who worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, Who is blessed for
ever. Amen" (Rom. 1: 25).