In making this selection from Calvin's Biblical Commentaries, our first intention was to use the translations of the Calvin Translation Society. However, it soon became clear that we had to make one of our own. For this there were two very good reasons. The older translation is about a hundred years old, and its style is no longer our own. Calvin's Commentaries were composed by way of either lecture or dictation. Their Latin style, although uneven, has the vividness and directness of the spoken word. It is the style of a master of the language, and it is neither strange nor archaic. Therefore, it seemed to us unjust both to Calvin and to the reader to perpetuate English versions of the Commentaries that are both out of date and to us stilted. We have tried to make a translation which is at once true to the original and in good and vivid present-day English. It is too much to hope that we have succeeded in every passage we have selected. Any translator knows that fidelity in expressing the meaning and feeling of an author in another tongue is a subtle and risky business. We only hope that we have produced a readable translation without doing Calvin undue violence. We wanted the reader to enjoy Calvin as well as understand him. We hope we have met with some, even if uneven, success.
The older translations are from the hands of a number of scholars. Their
English styles are different, and not of the same quality. Besides, the
exegetical and theological predilections of the several translators have
understandably colored their versions of the Latin text. In a selection like
ours we would have had to put together, in immediate succession, passages with
different styles and different adequacy as translations. This would have
produced a book with a garbled and bewildering
We must say a word as to why we offer the reader this particular volume out of
the vast body of Calvin's Commentaries. We had no single principle of
selection. We took what we liked -- rather, a small fraction of what we liked
and would have included if we had had the space. We were intent upon giving the
reader good specimens of Calvin's way of explaining Biblical texts, to bring
out his qualities as an exegete. We wanted to show his concern with literary
and historical questions, his understanding of Scripture both as the Word of
God and as a human document, his constant preoccupation with the upbuilding of
the church. We could not and did not ignore present-day issues in the
interpretation of the Bible in theology and practical church life. We did the
best we could to include material in which Calvin can be of some help to the
church today. We did our selecting with such interests in mind. However, we do
hope that this book has a certain continuity which will convey a proper sense
of the integrity of Calvin's mind.
Our organization of the material is one of many possible. The one we adopted
seemed natural to us. We have not given special chapters to Calvin's teachings
on man, sin, the Holy Spirit, eschatology, politics. We had to choose between
depth and spread, and we chose depth. We have much more material in hand, and
someday we may be able to use it, especially if there is sufficient demand for
it.
I wish to express my gratitude to Prof. Louise P. Smith who collaborated with
me, especially in preparing the Old Testament passages. Her knowledge of
Scripture and Calvin, her patience and good sense, her encouragement, have been
invaluable in this laborious undertaking. I am also grateful to the editors and
the publisher for their help, and to Mrs. George W. Baird who typed the major
part of the manuscript. I wish to thank Rev. Kenneth M. Keeler and the First
Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe, New Mexico, for giving me a study where I
worked happily for seven months. My thanks are due also to Prof. Calvin Schmitt
of the McCormick Theological Seminary Library for the bibliographical help he
gave me, and to Prof. Edward A. Dowey, Jr., for his criticisms and suggestions,
especially with regard to the Introduction.
General Introduction
McCormick Theological Seminary,
Chicago, Illinois