Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech, Luke — A Closer Reading

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In Category - Theology

Authors: Weymouth, Richard Francis, 1822-1902 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2005 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Bible. Luke Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 29,450

Reading time 129 min

Text sections 4

For Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech, Luke — A Closer Reading, the stored edition analysis reports 29,450 words, 2 hr 9 min estimated reading time, and 4 detected text sections.

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Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Bible. Luke,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #8830

Richard Francis Weymouth's 1913 modern-speech rendering of Luke, based on his Greek text, uses contemporary phrasing like 'divine Message' and 'connected account' while preserving the narrative's structure and theological vocabulary.

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File: pg8830

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Produced by Martin Ward

Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech, Luke

001:001 Seeing that many have attempted to draw up a narrative of the facts which are received with full assurance among us

001:002 on the authority of those who were from the beginning eye-witnesses and were devoted to the service of the divine Message,

001:003 it has seemed right to me also, after careful investigation of the facts from their commencement, to write for you, most noble Theophilus, a connected account,

001:004 that you may fully know the truth of the things which you have been taught by word of mouth.

001:005 There was in the time of Herod, the king of Judaea, a priest of the name of Zechariah, belonging to the class of Abijah. He had a wife who was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

001:006 They were both of them upright before God, blamelessly obeying all the Lord's precepts and ordinances.

001:007 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren; and both of them were far advanced in life.

001:008 Now while he was doing priestly duty before God in the prescribed course of his class,

001:009 it fell to his lot--according to the custom of the priesthood-- to go into the Sanctuary of the Lord and burn the incense;

001:010 and the whole multitude of the people were outside praying, at the hour of incense.

001:011 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense;

001:012 and Zechariah on seeing him was agitated and terrified.

001:013 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your petition has been heard: and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call his name John.

001:014 Gladness and exultant joy shall be yours, and many will rejoice over his birth.

001:015 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; no wine or fermented drink shall he ever drink; but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the very hour of his birth.

001:016 Many of the descendants of Israel will he turn to the Lord their God;

001:017 and he will be His forerunner in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn fathers' hearts to the children, and cause the rebellious to walk in the wisdom of the upright, to make a people perfectly ready for the lord."

001:018 "By what proof," asked Zechariah, "shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is far advanced in years."

001:019 "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God," answered the angel, "and I have been sent to talk with you and tell you this good news.

001:020 And now you will be dumb and unable to speak until the day when this has taken place; because you did not believe my words-- words which will be fulfilled at their appointed time."

001:021 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were surprised that he stayed so long in the Sanctuary.

001:022 When, however, he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they knew that he must have seen a vision in the Sanctuary; but he kept making signs to them and continued dumb.

001:023 When his days of service were at an end, he went to his home;

001:024 and in course of time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and kept herself secluded five months.

001:025 "Thus has the Lord dealt with me," she said, "now that He has graciously taken away my reproach among men."

001:026 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

001:027 to a maiden betrothed to a man of the name of Joseph, a descendant of David. The maiden's name was Mary.

001:028 So Gabriel went into the house and said to her, "Joy be to you, favoured one! the Lord is with you."

001:029 She was greatly agitated at his words, and wondered what such a greeting meant.

001:030 But the angel said, "Do not be frightened, Mary, for you have found favour with God.

001:031 You will conceive in your womb and bear a son; and you are to call His name JESUS.

001:032 He will be great and He will be called `Son of the Most High.' And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His forefather David;

001:033 and He will be King over the House of Jacob for the Ages, and of His Kingdom there will be no end."

001:034 "How can this be," Mary replied, "seeing that I have no husband?"

001:035 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the

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Richard Francis Weymouth's 1913 translation of the Gospel of Luke, part of his 'New Testament in Modern Speech,' renders the Greek text into idiomatic English while retaining the formal register of a sacred text. The opening verses illustrate his method: 'Seeing that many have attempted to draw up a narrative of the facts which are received with full assurance among us' (Luke 1:1) replaces the King James Version's 'orderly account' with a phrase that emphasizes communal reception. Weymouth's preface to the third edition, included in this digital edition, explains his aim to provide 'a connected account' for 'most noble Theophilus,' a dedication that echoes the original Greek's literary pretensions.

Translating the Angelic Encounters

Weymouth's treatment of the annunciation scenes reveals his balancing act between fidelity and readability. In Luke 1:13, the angel tells Zechariah, 'your petition has been heard: and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call his name John.' The phrasing 'petition has been heard' avoids the more literal 'prayer is heard' (KJV) and instead uses a legalistic term that aligns with the Gospel's emphasis on divine response. When Gabriel identifies himself in 1:19, Weymouth writes, 'I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God,' a slight shift from the KJV's 'I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God'—the removal of 'that' makes the clause more conversational. Yet the angel's rebuke to Zechariah retains its force: 'you will be dumb and unable to speak until the day when this has taken place; because you did not believe my words' (1:20). The word 'dumb' (now archaic) is kept, perhaps for its directness, while 'unable to speak' clarifies the condition.

Parables and Pronouncements in Modern Dress

The translation of Jesus' teaching in chapter 12 shows Weymouth's handling of metaphor and imperative. In 12:49, 'I came to throw fire upon the earth, and what is my desire? Oh that it were even now kindled!'—the exclamatory 'Oh that it were even now kindled!' conveys urgency more vividly than the KJV's 'and what will I, if it be already kindled?' The subsequent verse about baptism (12:50) uses 'pent up' for the Greek synechomai, meaning 'constrained,' a choice that suggests emotional pressure rather than physical confinement. The parable of the fig tree (13:6-9) is rendered with direct speech: 'Cut it down. Why should so much ground be actually wasted?' The gardener's plea, 'Leave it, Sir, this year also, till I have dug round it and manured it,' uses 'manured'—a concrete, agricultural term that the KJV avoids with 'dung it.' Such choices ground the parable in everyday labor.

Narrative Cohesion and Editorial Choices

Weymouth's translation consistently adds connective tissue absent from the Greek. In 13:1, 'Just at that time people came to tell Him about the Galilaeans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices'—the phrase 'Just at that time' links the episode to the preceding discourse, a temporal marker not explicit in the original. Similarly, the healing of the bent woman (13:10-13) is introduced with 'Once He was teaching on the Sabbath in one of the synagogues,' where 'Once' softens the narrative transition. Weymouth also clarifies ambiguous pronouns: in 13:2, 'Do you suppose,' He asked in reply, 'that those Galilaeans were worse sinners...'—the insertion of 'He asked in reply' makes the dialogue attribution explicit. These small additions create a smoother reading experience but occasionally impose an interpretation on the text's original parataxis.

Readers comparing this edition with the King James Version will notice Weymouth's preference for concrete verbs and explanatory phrases, yet his translation remains conservative in theological vocabulary—'Holy Spirit,' 'repent,' and 'sin' are retained. The digital text includes the translator's preface and notes, which clarify his textual basis (the 1881 Greek text of Westcott and Hort). For those interested in the history of English Bible translation, this Luke offers a early 20th-century attempt to balance scholarly accuracy with idiomatic clarity, predating the more radical paraphrases of later decades.

That afternoon, the rain kept time with Weymouth’s Luke, his “connected account” softening familiar parables into something almost spoken. I remember pausing at the storm being stilled, and wondering what that quieting looked like from the shore. Later, idly, I reached for Our Day In the Light of Prophecy — Inside the Classic, and found the same patient calm—restraint, not rhetoric, guiding every page.