Geneva, and our lattft verfion teat', Ile is the tower offalvationforhis King. In lob s the Geneva faith,Surely now ye are like unto it,tollowing the Hebrew Margine: but our late vet fion,according to the line,rendreth it thus,F NOW ye are nothing (or are not.) IntChron. I r. I I. the Geneva verfion, following the Margine,faith, the cbiefeamong thirtie, as the Gr. al fo of old tranflated it : our latter Bibles refpe&ing the Hebrew in the hne,fay,the chiefe of y the Captains; which may be con firmed by Sam. 23.8. InDan.9.z4.the Genevarranfla- ting the line, faith,and 51i:4leup the fins : our new verlion,according to the Hebr. Margine, giveth it thus,and,to make 4?1 endof ns: yetnoteth in the Margine,Or,toPeale op; and fundry the like. Examples in the fame Tranílatours,are thefe. Tremellius and Junius,who joyntly laboured in fetting over the Hebrew into Latine,andare efteemed among the belt; in their firft Edi:ion,following the Margine,fay,Abi dic ei, &c. Gee, fay unto him,thou mail? certainly 9. recover, z King.8.1 o. but Junius in his latter worke, chufeth rather the line, fay ing, Abi dic nqn, &c. Gee fay,thou fbialt not certainly recover. So in Ezra4.2. their firft verfion hath,& ei- 9 dem facrifcamue; and we facrifrce unto him : the latter thus, non enim (alteri) facrificamuc; for we facrifice not to any other : that,according to the Margine : this,to the line. In r Chron. r r. zo. it was firft rendred, eratque nominatifiïmus,and he had a name among thefe three : in the 5 1áít Edition, Sed non (fuit ei) nomen, but he had no name among there three. In] King.z 2.48. they firft followed the Margine, lehofchaphat parazit claff èm, Iehofimphat made fbips : after- s ward Junius keepeth the line, iehofhaphato decent (fuerunt) nav s, Iehofhaphat had ten flüps; and fundry other of like fort, where the latter verfion differeth from the former, by reafon of the difference between the line and the Margine in the Hebrew Text. Thefe things,not commonly knowne,may caure the Readers to marvell,and be offended at fuch varietie and feeming contrarietie, both in thefe and other common verfions let forth in vulgar tongues : for no tranflation almoft in any language, but followed) fometimes the S ope,and fometimes the other 5 and afterward fometime varieth from it felfe, upon this cc- cafion. Now I,(without prejudice to any of better judgement) letting down bath, as the s Reader may fee, in Exod. zr.8. Levit.u.zt. and ay. 3o. and otherwhere andaccording to the meafure of knowledge which God hath given me, indeavouring in the Annotations to cleare the Scripture of that Teeming contradidtion, am publiquely tax 'd, as fetting downe that which the Hebrew hath not as making God like unto I.vsu Bifrons, the Idol with ttvo faces, to loeke two divers waies at once; with other like hard imputations : and this diverfity of writing and reading, is from the authoritie of Tome late Rabbines, laid to arife from corrup- tion, confufion, doubting and uncertainty of Scriber, &C. I will let davvne the reafon of my contraiy.judgement, vvithout purpofeof further con- tention ; let the difcreet Reader approve of vvhat liketh him belt. If thofe divers Readings,vvhich the Hebrevvs call Keri and Cethib, be corruptions of the Scripture,they have been'many of them done voluntaril an _purpofely, as is apparant to 1 all of underfianding that Tooke upon them. For be e t sat the' Affirmative and thet Ne- gative in this vvord Lo, are not one like another to deceive the eye, to often in Mofes and the Prophets; it could not arife frommiftaking of letters, to vvrite Gnapbolim,forTechorim, the Emends, as in Dent. 28. 27. and r Sam. 5. or shagal for shacab, as in Dent. 28.3o. Efay 13. t 6. and Zilch. 4.z. Chore jonim, for. Dib j ónim,as in z Kings 6. z 5. Chorachem for T foa - tham; and Shenehem, for Meme raglehem, as in 4'136.12- and z King. 18.27. Macharaoth, for Motfeoth, as in z Kings lo. 27. And when Naarah along won an , is-but 22. times ufed , by Mofes, that it (Could 21. times be written with want of the Taft letter, fo that in Copies wanting prickes (as many have done, anddoe) it might be read Naar,a Tong man: that thefe and undry the like fl ould be of negligence or overfighr, cannot with reafon be fuppolcd. s Befides that thofe Words in the line, have there and ufually the prickes or vowels of the words in the Margine, after which they were read, r. It flandeth not with the wifdome,goodneffe and providence ofGod, who preferveth y. all his creatures,and hath magnified his Word above all his name, t fal.t38 2. that he fhould fuffer his Word, in the originali and fountaine thereof, left for a peculiar creature to his Church in all ages, to becorrupted and depraved, and that in many hundred places, to the fcorne of Infidels, and offence of his weake people. The Jewes which hold that God bath v more care of the letters and fydables of the Law, than of the flars of heaven , will loathe them that (hall feekefo to difgrace the holy Scripture. 2. It
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