"ITS."
(Vol. vii., p. 510.)
I was somewhat surprised to find, in No. 186. of "N. & Q.," two instances quoted of the use of the
word "its" in the version of the Bible. It has long been an established opinion that this word did not exist in it; and the fact has been recently referred to by two different authorities, Mr. Keightley in "N. & Q.," Vol. vii., p. 160., and Mr. Watts of the British Museum, in a paper "On some philological peculiarities in the English authorised Version of the Bible," read before the Philological Society on December 10, 1852.
Feeling curious on the subject, I have taken the trouble of referring to several different versions of the Bible in the British Museum, and the following variorum readings of the verses quoted by your correspondent B. H. C. are the result:
1. The Wickliffite version, before 1390 (edit. Forshall and Wadden):
"And he shal ben as a tree, that is plauntid beside the doun rennyngis of watris; that his frut shal ȝive in his time."—Ps. i. 3.
"Duke of the weie thou were in his (sc. the vine) siȝt; and thou plauntidist his rootis, and it fulfilde the erthe."—Ps. lxxx. 10.
2. Coverdale's Bible, 1536:
"Yt brīgeth forth his frute in due season."
"Thou maydest rowme for it, and caused it to take rote, so yt it fylled the lōde."
3. Matthews, 1537:
"That bryngeth forth his frute in due season."
"Thou madest rowme for it, and caused it to take rote, so that it fylled the lande."
4. Cranmer, 1539:
"Yt wyll brynge forth hys frute in due season."
"Thou madest rowme for it, and whan it had taken rote it fylled ye lande."
5. The Bishops' Bible, 1568:
"That bryngeth foorth her fruite in due season."
"Thou madst roome before it, thou causedst it to take roote, and it hath filled the lande."
6. Geneva Bible, 1578. In this there are two translations, one "according to the Ebrewe," the other "used in the Common Prayer":
i. "That wil bring forth her fruite in due season."
ii. "That will bring forth his fruite in due season."
i. "Thou madest roome for it, and when it had taken roote, it filled the lande."
ii. "Thou madest roume for it, and didest cause it to take roote, and it filled the land."
7. The Douay Bible (Roman Catholic version), 1609-10:
"Which shal geue his fruite in his time."
"Thou wast the guide of the way in the sight thereof; thou didst plant the rootes thereof, and it filled the earth."
8. Authorised version, 1611:
"That bringeth forth his fruit in his season."
"Thou preparedst roome before it, and didst cause it to take deepe roote, and it filled the land."
It will thus be perceived that "its" is wanting in all the above passages, and that "his," "her," and "thereof" invariably supply its place. I have been equally unsuccessful in detecting the word in the Common Prayer-Book version of the Psalms, which is well known to be that of the "Great Bible," or Cranmer's edition of 1539, and which has remained in use without alteration ever since. May I therefore ask B. H. C. to be so good as to point out the particular "Old version of the Psalms" from which he has derived his quotation?
W. B. Rye.