I must admit, I am quite intrigued by a translation of the Gospels by Sarah Ruden, which was published just last month. It appears from her website that Ms. Ruden has published several translations of classic Greek literature: the Aeneid, the Homeric Hymns, and a few others. It seems that she takes a similar approach to translating the Gospels as one would to translating other ancient Greek works. The description of her Gospels translation is copied below:

I just purchased the Kindle edition of the book, and I am finding that the purchase price ($14) is worth it for her excellent Introduction, at the very least. I also find it interesting that she retains Greek spellings of proper names. It promises to be a reading experience quite unlike most English translations of the New Testament. I am looking forward to digging into the translation a bit more deeply over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, this screencap of the opening of Mark's Gospel will give you a glimpse at just  how different her approach is to most translations...

The above YouTube video was one of the promo videos that came out in 2011 to advertise the then-new Common English Bible (CEB). Most of it is exactly what you'd expect from a Bible ad, different people explaining why they think this is a great Bible for their needs. But the part that really gets me starts at the :43 mark, when the guy who is apparently a high school students begins to compare reading the Bible to reading Shakespeare in his English class. He says, "In English class we're reading Shakespeare, and I hate reading that...I do, because nobody talks like that. You don't talk like that, I don't talk like that. So if somebody were to hand me a Bible and I were to open it up and read, '...and thou shalt gather the spoil of it into the midst of the streets thereof, wherein thou shalt this...' And I mean, I understand that's the language of the day, but I don't get it, and I'm not going to read that.'"

I'm sorry, but that's just ignorant. By that I mean that modern English Bible translations have been around for decades before the CEB was published: the New International Version, the Living  Bible, the Good News Bible, the Contemporary English Version, the New Living Translation. Those are just a few off the top of my head that were published before the CEB. So maybe it's possible that the young man in the video (who was probably just an actor) had never read a Bible that wasn't a King James Bible, but it's not likely. If he was in high school in 2011, there had literally been numerous modern English translations available for his entire life. I know the publishers of the CEB weren't claiming that theirs was the first ever English Bible in easily understandable, everyday English, but the video strongly implies it. I just wish Bible publishers would be more responsible and truthful in their marketing.

I know it's old news, but as I indicated in the title of my post, it's been ten years, and this promo still rubs me the wrong way! Maybe someday I'll get over it...

[The following is re-blogged from a Tumblr user with the handle wisdomfish.tumblr.com. It's a nice, concise guide to some of the best Bible search engines on the interwebs.]

If you are looking for access to the Word of God, you will find that there are a number of options for reading the Bible online. You can find full-text Bibles, as well as different versions.

1. E-sword: e-Sword is a fast and effective way to study the Bible. e-Sword is feature rich and user friendly with more capabilities than you would expect in a free software package.
2. Online Parallel Bible: This online Bible helps you compare verses in multiple different versions of the Bible. A great way to learn about what’s in each translation. Includes tools to help with context and cross reference.
3. Oremus Bible Browser: New Revised Standard Version (American and Anglicized versions), and several versions of the Psalms.
4. The Bible Gateway: One of the best ways to look up verses, search various translations and find passages of interest.
5. Bible.Logos.com: Read the Bible online, choosing the translation of your choice. Includes a search feature to help you find what you are looking for.
6. King James Bible: A great place to go to read the King James translation. Divided by law, history and other subjects so it’s easy to find books and verses.
7. Bible.com: As you might expect, this web site is all about the Bible, and reading different translations.
8. Blue Letter Bible: Helps you find verses and phrases quickly and easily. Advanced Bible search, accompanied by great tools and information.
9. Online Bibles: Go to this page to get access to different Bibles in different languages. A great resource for those looking for different translations.
10. The Unbound Bible: Searchable Bibles. Look at different versions, and display different verses, from different versions, side by side.
11. Bibles Online: Different versions of the Bible that can be perused at will.
12. YouVersion: A great Bible that allows you to set up your own study schedule, and decide on the version that you understand best.
13. LifeWay’s Online Bible Library: Access to Bibles, commentary and devotionals. You can read different versions and translations.
14. New Advent Bible: Read different editions of the Bible, and get access to different books. Easy to navigate.
15. Audio Bible Online: If you want to hear the Word of God, you can listen with the help of this online audio Bible.
16. Bible Portal: Access to Bibles, as well as Bible dictionaries and concordance.
17. Audio Treasure: The AudioTreasure site exist to offer audio Bible files for  download in as many languages as legally possible.
18. Biblia: Biblia.com is your place for Bible study online. Part of a family of services from Logos Bible Software, it offers free access to a collection of Bibles and Bible reference works, with an easy user interface and powerful search engine.

There are many more. Add your favorite.

I was going through some of my old blog posts on Corybanter.com, and came across this post I did about King James Onlyism back in 2017. It has a link to the KJV discussion from the John Ankerberg Show, which was recorded in the 1990s. (It also contains a ridiculous anti-RSV meme; I'm not exactly sure where I dug that one up! Enjoy...

[This little article was originally posted on my personal blog, Corybanter.com. I thought the content was actually better suited to the Bible Bookshelf Blog, so I'm reposting it here. Enjoy!]

Yesterday I received (after a long, infuriating hassle with USPS) the hardcover edition of Holman's Ancient Faith Study Bible (CSB). Now, generally speaking, most of the hardcover Bibles I've purchased in the past have not been exceptionally beautiful. Oh, they may have a nice dust jacket design, or sometimes there's a groovy little cross design or something on the cover. But, frankly, hardcover Bibles are, for me, a cheaper alternative to the nicer leather bindings that don't fit into my budget. Not so the Ancient Faith Study Bible!

Right off the bat, if you'd like to get a good look at this Bible, I strongly recommend a YouTube video by R. Grant Jones, wherein he reviews this same hardcover edition very thoroughly. (Indeed, that video was what made me want to get one for myself!) He does a much better job describing it than I will be able to do in this post.

To begin with, the cover of this Bible is beautifully done, a chocolate-brown cover with an ornate golden cross design. It includes two ribbon markers, brown and red. The pages are gild-edged, and the whole effect is aesthetically pleasing to my eye. ​

When you open it up, things get even better! The pages are a lovely cream color that is very easy on the eyes. Chapter numbers are in a deep red color, as are the book headings at the top of each page. Each book of the Bible begins with an ornate capital letter in that same deep red.

As you can see in the picture above, the section headings are in a nice, bold all-caps font. The typeface throughout the book is very legible. Even the inside front and back are beautiful, with an ornate pattern that goes very nicely with the rest of the aesthetics of the book.

So much for the visual effect of the publication. I am really looking forward to digging into this Bible, because all the notes and materials are from the church fathers (thus the "Ancient Faith" of the title). Ancient wisdom from Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, Irenaeus, and many more are found in footnotes and articles. And these articles aren't merely small, half-page sidebars. Many of them are full-page, or even two-page biographies or theological content. In addition, each book Introduction contains information from the church fathers, as well as the usual content one finds in study Bibles, information about context, structure, authorship, etc.

As I hope I've made clear on this blog, I get excited about Bibles. That's why I have the blog, after all. But rarely have I been this excited about a new addition to my Bible bookshelf. Holman Publishers have knocked it out of the park on this one. It's a beautiful piece of work, and I am greatly anticipating reading it more thoroughly over this Lenten season. Do yourself a favor, and check out the video review from R. Grant Jones I shared above. Bible Buying Guide's review of the leather-touch edition of the same Bible is also excellent (as usual). I don't think this study Bible will disappoint.

I was browsing at my local used bookstore today, and stumbled on a copy of David Bentley Hart's translation of the New Testament. The copy was in almost perfect shape, and quite inexpensive, so I decided to pick it up. This translation, which was published back in 2017, is meant to be (according to the dust jacket blurb) etsi doctrina non daretur ("as if doctrine is not given"). As far as I can tell, this means he is attempting to translate without being beholden to any particular religious tradition. Hart, who is an Eastern Orthodox Christian, according to his dust jacket bio, is not pretending that he is completely free of bias. As he writes in his Introduction, "This is not to say that I can pretend to be free of intellectual prejudices; I can only say that I have made every effort not to allow them to interpose themselves between me and the text, even when the result has at some level displeased me."

As I have only just obtained my copy of the book, I have not read the whole work yet. So I shall be jumping around in the text, in order to highlight a few of the unique features of this translation that jump out at me. For one thing, Hart has avoided merely transliterating Greek terms such as Χριστος (Christos) or διαβολος (diabolos), which often appear in Bibles as "Christ" or "devil," choosing instead to render them with descriptive words like "Anointed" or "Slanderer." On the other hand, he has chosen not to assign a particular English word to a theologically rich term like Λογος (Logos), so in his opening one reads, "In the origin, there was the Logos..." An unusual sounding turn of phrase, to be sure, but not entirely without precedent. (James Moffatt's translation of the Bible in 1922 also left "Logos" untranslated.)

In the passage of Matthew's Gospel commonly known as The Beatitudes, the reader may be surprised to find Jesus saying these words: "How blissful the destitute, abject in spirit..." A footnote informs us that the Greek word (makarios) can mean "blessed," "happy," "fortunate," or "prosperous," but says the word originally had "a connotation of divine or heavenly bliss." In the following chapter, the Lord's Prayer is surprisingly familiar.

Certainly not the worst Lord's Prayer translation I've ever read! (For my money, that "honor" would go to Eugene Peterson for his version in The Message. That one is truly awful.)

Hart does not attempt to smooth out shifts in tense in the Greek text, as most modern versions do. A couple examples would be Matt. 3:1, where the chapter opens, "Now in those days comes John the Baptist..." Or in Mark 1:40, "And a leper comes to him..." I don't know about other readers, but I find this kind of style very refreshing. It is quite similar to what Robert Alter has done with his monumental translation of the Hebrew Bible, leaving phrases that sound odd to the English reader's ear as he finds them in the original language, more or less untouched, so the unfamiliar nature of the text draws the reader's attention.

It seem to me that, since Hart is not beholden to a religious community or a committee, he is free to approach gendered language in the text as he sees fit. So in Matt. 5:9 the peacemakers are called "sons of God," rather than "children of God." In Matt. 4:19, we see the phrase "fishers of men" and not "fishers of people" or some such wording. At a casual glance at Paul's epistles and John's first epistle, it looks like he uses "brothers" for the Greek αδελπφοι (adelphoi), rather than the more inclusive "brothers and sisters." That choice may anger some readers, and it may delight others. I find it to be, in general a faithful rendering of the text.

Footnotes throughout the text, while certainly not as extensive as, say, those found in the NET Bible, certainly seem to be quite helpful at explaining some of his translation choices. And there is a rather lengthy section at the end, after The Revelation of John, called "Concluding Scientific Postscript," which seems to describe some of his guiding principles of translation.

Overall, I am pleased with this purchase, and I shall be digging into it a bit more in the future. I may share some more of my thoughts in a later post.

Yes, February 8th is International Septuagint Day! According to the website of the IOSCS, the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, the date is "a day to celebrate the Septuagint and encourage its study." Why this particular date? The IOSCS explains the choice...

In observance of the holiday, I've been digging through a couple English translations of the Septuagint, specifically the Lexham English Septuagint (2019) and A New English Translation of the Septuagint (2007). I've also been looking at my two-volume set, Septuaginta: A Reader's Edition, a Greek Septuagint with helpful vocabulary helps at the bottom of each page.

I also found a book that I am quite enjoying about the importance of the Septuagint in biblical studies: When God Spoke Greek: The Septuagint and the Making of the Christian Bible, by T.M. Law. So far, it seems to be a very accessible guide. Finally, another great Septuagint resource is Invitation to the Septuagint, by scholars Karen H. Jobes and Moisés Silva.

​Have a very happy International Septuagint Day!

I have long been fascinated by the multiplicity of ways a translation can render Genesis 1:1, the very first verse of the Bible. Many years ago, I actually made a useless attempt to argue with a King James Only guy on YouTube, who maintained that almost all modern versions of the Bible "couldn't even get the first verse of the Bible right!" He claimed that the KJV's phrase "the heaven and the earth" was the only possible correct translation. When I tried to point out that the Hebrew word hashamayim was actually a plural noun ("heavens"), he responded with something like, "You are an idiot, who is not worthy to read, let along teach, from the Bible." (I can't find the video, so that is a paraphrase.)

A simple search of Genesis 1: 1 on Bible Gateway will give the reader a pretty good idea of the variations among most of the mainstream translations. This morning I decided to look at a few of those, as well as several versions that are outside the Christian Protestant mainstream, particularly several Jewish versions of the Torah/Tanach.  Here's some of what I found...

KJV: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

JPS (1917): same as KJV

NJPS: When God began to create heaven and earth...

NRSV: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth...

ESV: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Robert Alter: When God began to create heaven and earth... (same as NJPS)

Gutnick Chumash: In the beginning of God's creation of the heavens and the earth (and their contents)…

Stone Edition Tanach: In the beginning of God's creating the heavens and the earth...

URJ Torah: When God was about to create heaven and earth...

Lamsa (Peshitta): GOD created the heavens and the earth in the very beginning.

Richard Elliott Friedman: In the beginning of God's creating the skies and the earth...
​
Everett Fox: At the beginning of God's creating of the heavens and the earth...

So we see that the differences go way beyond whether the heavens are plural or not. That opening phrase, "In the beginning," is rendered in all kinds of ways. Despite the confidence of my YouTube critic's point of view, I don't think one can actually say with any accuracy, "that's not right!" or "this is how it really should read." Really, this is one of those times when I wish my Hebrew was better, so I could really grapple with this verse on its own terms, so to speak. Meanwhile, considering the breadth of options available, I think the only way to approach the passage is the way I try to always approach Scripture...with humility.