Posted on 09/01/2009 7:23:57 PM PDT by Ron C.
Gospels = Greek
Old Testement=Hebrew
Aramic = common language of the day Jesus preached in
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Aramaic not Aramic sorry
Can't resist an opportunity to trash the non-Roman Catholics, hmmm?
I especially love to hear it read by Max McClean at this site.
I have Max McClean reading the ESV NT and Psalms (couldn't afford to spring for the whole bible when I bought it, alas). I like it, but I wish he'd read a bit slower. Seems rushed.
ESV is published by Crossway Books, but they are kinda cheap in material and printing quality.
That's what I hear. Though I hear that some high end editions are coming out.
My Reformation Study Bible (ESV) has a sewn binding -- one reason I got it. The hard cover suffered some initial hard wear from riding around in my backpack, but duct tape arrested that. It should hold up for a while yet.
I thoroughly dislike expensive books cheaply bound.
Is “knowing the original languages” the same thing as knowing the ancient original languages? Are Hebrew and Greek spoken today the same way they were five to two thousand years ago?
yes. no.
Can't resist an opportunity to trash the non-Roman Catholics, hmmm?
Excuse me -- what?
I am not a papist, nor do I play one on "teh Innernet".
I know Greek has changed. Heck, the Greek the NT was written in is different from the literary classical Greek of a few centuries before.
I hear ya, but I must add that they've improved recently. In fact, their high end calfskin Bibles are quite good (But you do have to shell out $$$$ for them).
Maybe I'm being a little too sensitive, but you did seem to impugn the Conservative Evangelical so-called choice of Bible versions.
That I did. But that doesn't make me a papist. There are other categories.
If you haven't noticed lately, broad evangelicalism has problems that have been a long time coming, and a lot of internal critics. I guess I'm one of them.
Re the NIV, I got tired of seeing "sinner" in quotes in the New Testament (as though they, you know, weren't sinners). I got tired of reading "sinful nature" and having to think "flesh". I got tired of seeing what I knew was a long, complex sentence chopped into six or eight simple sentences ('cause you know that's got to muck with the meaning).
Thanks, again, but I am trying to get Ron C.’s answer to the question. I’d like to know how someone goes about reading and understanding ancient languages. I would assume you have to rely on plenty of other scholars, but how do you know which ones are correct? That’s my main query I guess.
The NIV is a pretty decent translation. It is a bit looser than the ESV or NASB, but it is easier to read long passages and get the general drift - particularly if you are reading aloud to an audience.
I like the ESV, but I remember all the evangelicals that HATED the RSV...and the ESV is an update of the RSV.
The NASB is my overall favorite, but is a bit awkward for reading entire books at one time.
I know the feeling well... ~grin~
I sincerely believe that as with any measuring instrument - the instrument of man to put the Lord’s word to paper prevents a pure translation - independent of the language.
Revelations 10-7: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. (KJV)
Didn’t mean to offend! I’m glad we have different versions to use and have the freedom to have as many copies as we can afford, unlike some other countries today.
The NIV is not all that bad, in your example, I understand the term “sinful nature” better than I would have “flesh”. But seeing it both ways enhances study. Using concordances helps as well, where you see the word in the language and its translation. Some commentaries help, too. I appreciate the hard work and years of study people put into just making the Scriptures understandable to the world. Heck, how many languages are there today? Thousands?
There are many examples of extra-Biblical examples of the language of the New Testament, Koine Greek. Establishing a lexicon for this language is not hard. Koine was the common, universal language of the western world, largely due to the aggressive Greek expansion under Alexander the Great. As for the ancient Hebrew, that language has been kept alive by Jewish scribes continuously for thousands of years. Not only that, but we have non-semitic evidence in the form of ancient Greek translations such as the Septuagint. Learning of the ancient languages is a very profitable undertaking with much certainty.
What I want for Christmas:
http://www.bibledesignblog.com/2009/03/r-l-allans-esv1-esv1t-and-esv1-br-in-highland-goatskin.html
For the hardcore.
http://www.amazon.com/Theological-Dictionary-New-Testament-Set/dp/0802823246
Me? I couldn’t learn a foreign language to save my soul - good thing I don’t need to!
That Theological Dictionary you linked from Amazon is $700.00! I'd have to combine several Christmas presents in that one.
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