Matthew 22:34-40 – Which Is the Greatest Commandment?
|| Mark 12:28-31; Luke 10:25-28
MT22:34 Having heard that Jesus had hushed the Sadducees they gathered together as a body. MT22:35 One of them educated in the Law tested Jesus, MT22:36 “Teacher, which kind of commandment is the greatest in the Law?” MT22:37 Now Jesus responded, “‘You shall love YHWH[1] your God with your complete heart, your total person, and your whole mind.’[2] [Deuteronomy 6:5] MT22:38 This is the greatest and premier commandment. MT22:39 A second [commandment] is similar, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[3] [Leviticus 19:18] MT22:40 The entire Law, and the Prophets, hang on these two[4] commandments.”
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[1]You shall love YHWH: The quote is from Deuteronomy 6:5. In the Hebrew Text (as well as the earlier versions of the Jewish Greek Septuagint) the Tetragram YHWH occurred. Whether Jesus actually uttered the Divine Name is a subject of debate. It is likely that he did not but followed the Jewish custom of substituting ADONAI or “Lord.”
[2]Your complete heart, your total person, and your whole mind: Or, KJV: all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind. Mark 12:30 adds, “… and with your whole strength.”
[3]You shall love your neighbor as yourself: The quote is from Leviticus 19:18.
[4]Hang on these two: Or, RHM: all the law is contained; WEY: summed up in these two. Paul virtually quotes the Nazarene at Romans 13:10 and Galatians 5:14.
MT6:5 “And, when you pray, be not as the hypocrites. For they like to pray standing in religious gatherings and in town squares to be viewed by others.[1] I tell you the truth: They have their full reward! MT6:6 But, you, when you pray, enter your private room and shut the door praying to your Father secretly.[2] And, the Father watching secretly will reward you.[3] MT6:7 But, praying, do not babble many words as the Non-Jews. For they think by uttering many words[4] they will be heard. MT6:8 So, you should not be like them. For The God your Father knows[5] what you need[6] before you ask. MT6:9 So, pray:[7]
Our Heavenly Father,[8]
Let your Name be sanctified.[9]
MT6:10 Let your Kingdom come.[10]
Let your Will take place,[11] as in heaven, also on earth.
MT6:11 Give to us our bread today.[12]
MT6:12 Forgive our debts[13] as we forgive those in debt to us.[14]
MT6:13 Bring us not into temptation[15] but rescue us from evil.[16]
[1] To be viewed by others: Compare Matthew 6:16: appearances. Various renderings: BAS: like the false-hearted men; PHI: like the play-actors; RHM: shine before men; WMS: to attract the attention of people.
1581 Psalter with Rose Warm sunlight streams down on this ancient prayer book, bible and psalter, open to the Lord’s Prayer set to music. A rose lies on the open book. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
[2] Praying to your Father secretly: See Luke 6:12: privacy. Various renderings: WEY: into your own room; NEB: into a room by yourself; RHM: and fastening thy door; BECK: who is with you when you are alone; PHI: pray to your Father privately; PHI: who sees all private things. Remember that even Jesus on occasion wandered off some distance from his disciples when praying.
The relationship with ‘love your neighbor’ in private prayers rather than a showy display is the affect such hypocritical prayers have on your neighbor. You give the impression you take yourself too seriously and judge your neighbor to be less “spiritual” than yourself. A private prayer in a cafe or restaurant without show is heard just as easily, or more so, by the Father.
[3] The Father watching secretly will reward you: The Nazarene does not explain what this “reward” is, only that it will occur. This requires “faith,” a word only occurring one time in this sermon (Matthew 6:30) and only in reference to his disciples – “little faith.”
[4] Uttering many words: Either “babbling” or “wordy”. Various renderings: GDSP: do not repeat empty phrases; WMS: repeating set phrases; PHI: don’t rattle off long prayers; NEB: do not go babbling on. For thousands of years religious worshippers have resorted to long prayers filled with a multitude of repetitions. Even the Nazarene’s famous prayer (the Lord’s Prayer, or Our Father, pater nostra) has come in for many repetitions though Jesus counseled against that. Some Asian religions use prayer wheels, beads, and flags to continue their repetitions.
[5] Your Father knows: See Matthew 6:32: needs; and, Luke 12:30: Father knows.
[7] Pray: This most famous prayer outlines what we call Nazarene Principles.
[8] Father: The First Principle. The word “father” occurs 1,180 times in the OT in a family or secular context but less than 15 times in a religious or spiritual relationship. Most of these apply to the Messiah, leaving only a handful with reference to the Saints. The idea is rare in Judaism but “father” occurs 134 times in the Gospel of John. In the Mountain Teachings Jesus uses “your Father” 8 times, “our Father” 1 time, and “my Father” 1 time for a total of 10 occurrences.
Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Volume 1, page 615:
“In the oldest version of this prayer, the invocation reads pater, (dear) Father, and indicates abba as the Aramaic original. This means that when Jesus gave his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, he gave them authority to follow him in addressing God as abba and so gave them a share in his status as Son.”
Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Volume 1, page 617:
“The description of God as Father never refers to any other individual or to mankind in general. To be a child of God is not a natural state or quality.… In Palestinian Judaism of the pre-Christian period the description of God as Father is rare. The Qumran texts provide but a single example.… We have yet to find an example of an individual addressing God as ‘my Father.’… Jesus did not teach the idea that God is the Father of all men.… It must have been nothing short of outrageous that Jesus should make use of the completely unceremonious Aramaic word abba.”
For more information search the words “sons,” “children,” “born,” or “begotten” in a concordance or computer program.
Almost all of Mark’s content is found in Matthew, and much of Mark is similarly found in Luke. Additionally, Matthew and Luke have a large amount of material in common that is not found in Mark.
Let your Name be sanctified: The Second Principle. The Nazarene does not use the opportunity to incorporate the noma sagrada or Divine Name (YHWH = Jehovah; Exodus 3:15) in his model prayer. Jesus uses the words “your name” with reference to the Father rarely in the Synoptic Gospels. In John the Nazarene uses the expression at John 12:28 and John 17:6, 26. However, he never uses or pronounces YHWH in these contexts. Why? In Jesus’ day the Jews refrained from uttering the name YHWH and substituted Elohim (God) or Adonay (Lord). The Jews never removed YHWH from its nearly 7,000 occurrences in the Old Testament. About the year 1,000 AD Jewish copyists began to incorporate vowel points in YHWH to warn to say God or Lord in its place.
Does the Nazarene ever use YHWH? The Gospel evidence would indicate this could only be when he is quoting the Hebrew Bible. It is now thought that the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, known as The Septuagint (LXX), had YHWH untransliterated in the Greek text. There is a good reason for this. The Greek language cannot convert the Hebrew letters for YHWH. Modern Greek dictionaries use dzehoba or Iekhoba for “Jehovah” but original Greek did not have an “h” as it were, other than a breath sound. Modern Greek attempts to capture the sound of the English pronunciation of the name.
Given the attitude of the Jews what would have happened if Jesus used YHWH in quotes or normal speech? Certainly equal to that misguided accusation that he violated the Sabbath! Yet the Gospels are silent on this. What about private meetings with his disciples when the use of YHWH could not cause a public stir? Compare the lengthy closing words in John chapters 13 to 17. Not once does Jesus use YHWH even though he alludes to the “name” four times.
Given the facts that the Jews do not attack him for violating their understanding of one of the Ten Commandments and the absence of his use in private speeches and prayers, it would seem he respected the Jewish tradition of the time.
This does not minimize the importance of the “Name” as Jesus’ words in his prayer shows. The idea of this sanctification occurs scores of times in the Hebrew Bible. Compare Exodus 3:14, 15 and 6:3.
Various renderings are: TCNT: May thy name be held holy; MOF: thy name be revered; PHI: may your name be honored. For more information on this subject see Nazarene Principles.
[10] Let your Kingdom come: The Third Principle. After the subject of the “Name” in the Hebrew Bible with its 7,000 occurrences of YHWH, the next most important topic is the Kingdom. The Messiah and his “kingdom” are inseparable (Note Psalm 2 and 110 as well as Daniel chapters 2 and 7). In the Nazarene’s teachings there are two “kingdoms”: the Son’s and the Father’s (Matthew 13:41, 42). The “kingdom” here in his prayer is the Father’s.
“Kingdom” is a word used often by the Nazarene. The word occurs 55 times in Matthew, 23 times in Mark, 45 times in Luke and 5 times in John.
When does the Nazarene begin to reign? The Second Psalm is quoted by Peter at Acts 4:24, 25 and Paul at Acts 13:33 and applied to the resurrection and ascension of Christ in the year 33 AD. This was in fulfillment of Psalm 110:1 (Note 1 Corinthians 15:24-28). Daniel chapters 2 and 7 would argue this kingdom’s beginning is during the reign of the “fourth kingdom” or Rome (Daniel 2:44; 7:9-14). Upon his ascension the Nazarene took up his Power as described by Paul at Ephesians 1:20-23.
Upon the Return or Arrival (parousia) of the Son of Man, and his gathering to himself his Saints, there will be a milestone in the King’s rule (Matthew 24:3, 30; John 14:2,3; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Revelation 11:18; 12:10).
[11] Let your Will take place: The Fourth Principle. The “kingdom” is the agency by which the “Name” is sanctified and the “eternal purpose” (Ephesians 3:9, 10) or will of the Father is accomplished (Psalm 72; Daniel chapters 2, 7). God’s original purpose was for a global paradise (Genesis chapters 2, 3). His Will has not changed (Isaiah 45:18; 55:11). Messiah and his Saints will rule the earth (Psalms 2, 110; Daniel 7:13, 27; 1 Corinthians 6:2; Revelation 5:10; 20:4, 6). The earth will never be destroyed (Psalms 104:5; Ecclesiastes 1:4; Psalm 72:8). The City of God will one day descend out of heaven to rule the earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4, 6; 21:1-5).
God has a “will” or purpose for “heaven” as Daniel 4:35 shows. This will for “heaven” will be realized by virtue of the Son and the Messiah’s Church (Ephesians 1:10; 3:9, 10 Colossians 1:20).
[12] Give to us our bread today: The Fifth Principle. The first four Principles of the Nazarene’s prayer deal with God, the last three deal with the individual disciple. The first of these, or the Fifth Principle, deals with that necessary bread for each day (Psalm 37:25). This is not “daily bread” but “bread for today.” From the Nazarene’s viewpoint it would be materialistic to pray for tomorrow’s bread (Matthew 6:33, 34).
Various renderings: ALF: our needful bread.
Prayer for “today’s bread” does not guarantee a disciple may not go hungry on occasion. Compare 2 Corinthians 11:27 and Matthew 25:37 (Philippians 4:11-13). Some see the daily offering of loaves at the Temple here.
Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Volume 1, page 251:
“Origen suggested that we should understand it as eip ten ousian (the bread) necessary for existence. It can be supported by reference to Proverbs 30:8 and it reminds us of Exodus 16:4. The Israelites were to gather only so much manna as they needed for ‘the day.’”
[13] Forgive our debts: The Sixth Principle (Luke 11:14). Various renderings: WEY: shortcomings… those who have failed in their duty towards us; PHI: forgive us what we owe to you as we have also forgiven those who owe anything to us. Note there is the tax collector’s tone here as earlier in debits, credits and rewards. Not only are financial debts canceled but moral and emotional debts as well (Romans 13:8: owe only love).
Forgiveness is a kissing cousin to agape or that love which has an unselfish, even selfless, interest out of pure motive for others. The word group “forgive” occurs 48 times in the Gospels (1 Corinthians 13:5: log, or, keep account; LOGIZETAI). Such forgiveness cannot be separated from love of neighbor. Such a quality ought to characterize the Nazarene Saint.
[14] Debt to us: This may be moral or emotional indebtedness but it also may be literal monetary debts (Luke 6:34). One of the clearest ways to judge a man is by his wallet and how he uses it in relation to his dealings with others. When it comes to spirituality, the use of money from the standpoint of God separates the men from the boys.
[15] Bring us not into temptation: The Seventh Principle. Various renderings: BAS: let us not be put to the test. This is a subject the Nazarene knows something about (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1; 22:40; Hebrews 4:15). The word group “tempt” occurs 36 times in the Bible and 14 times in the Synoptics, but not once in John. A related word “test” occurs 113 times in the Bible with 11 in the Gospels. Compare 1 Corinthians 10:13.
1 Corinthians 10:13 and James 1:13 are good commentaries on the Nazarene’s words. God does not tempt or test one with evil, so He does not cause a prostitute pass before a man to test him. The Temptation of Christ had two phases: a beginning and an end. At the beginning he was tempted (tested) by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). These tests or temptations dealt with doubt in the word “if,” as well as greed and pride. The later test was manifest at the end of his life beginning in the Garden of Agony and finally, the Tree (Hebrews 4:15). Test or tempt really find their best definition in the word “endurance.”
[16] Evil: Some render the Greek PONERON as either “evil,” “wicked,” or Wicked One, alluding to the Devil (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1).
In the previous chapter we showed that in the 1980ies and 1990ies publishers looked for way to have some cheap material easily printed and reproduced. For them the Word of God or the Bible looked very handy to use, because when they changed here and there some words they could publish it freely without having to bother about copyrights. In those years lots of economical and political problems started showing up, the Gulf War and beginning pressure from Islamicterrorist groups, making that people went looking for alternatives and solutions for making their life better.
From the time that all sorts of translations were provided for different groups of people, like housewives, prisoners, blue-coloured workman, modern women and modern man – Good News for modern man New Testament in Today’s English Version
Many publishers knocking the ball around presented booklets, pocket editions but also hard-covers with fragments and with full texts of the Bible. Many wanted to bring out a ‘fresh’ or ‘up-to-date’ Bible translations which could draw on a particular group of people or could be favoured by a particular denomination. For some it did not matter so much when the words got twisted a little-bit or when the translation was so loosely done it went very far from the original Holy Writings. The Good News Bible, which also presented a version for the ‘modern man’ is such a Bible translation were too much liberty is taken, but which manage to continue to exist until today.
Though for those thematic bibles, like the Poverty and justice Bible [2009; using the clear Contemporary English Version (CEV) text], the Street bible (2003) or The Word on the Street (2004), which was was one of the bestselling religious books for the next two years, Modern Man Bible, Women’s devotional Bible,the aim may well have been to help people to apply God’s Word to their everyday life, but too many do forget that all those notes are human additions. Lots of readers of such works take those human notes as part of the bible and start thinking that the bible is saying what those theologians say.
The full versions and study Bibles, like the The Full Life Study Bible (revised as the Life in the Spirit Study Bible) could find a long life, whilst the books which had only a selection of Bible texts have disappeared in obscurity.
The Liberator (2006) a retelling of the life of Jesus based on the gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke, could find perhaps a prolonged life because of the Lacey Theatre Company toured shows based on this book in 2007 and 2008, and extracts also being performed in “St David’s Praise” (31 May 2008, St David’s Hall in Cardiff).
Titlepage and dedication from a 1612-1613 King James Bible, printed by Robert Barker. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Coming closer to the 400th birthday of the publication of the Authorised King James version, several companies also started bringing new King James Versions, whilst others found it time to not only update the language but to restore the names and present the words like it would be linguistic right.
Some of the new King James versions around the turn of the century did not alter the language much, like the minor very conservative update of the King James Version, the 21st Century King James Version bible, which stays true to the Textus Receptus and does not delete Bible passages based on Alexandrian Greek manuscripts. Obsolete and certain archaic words are eliminated but further it preserves the traditional Biblical language, making it possible to have all those using a King James Bible to follow easily. The 21st Century King James Version has also been released in an edition with the Apocrypha and without the unusual formatting; this is known as the Third Millennium Bible.
Having taken 7 years to complete the New King James Version (NKJV) already commissioned in 1975, published by HarperCollins (a subsidiary of News Corp), conceived by Arthur Farstad with 130 biblical scholars, pastors, and theologians, alters the language more significantly from the 1611 King James Version, but still trying to retain the purity and stylistic beauty of the original.
The exceptionally rich and accurate translation of the Holy Scripture became first available in 1982 but got more in the picture around the 400th birthday of the original KJV, also receiving some new study edition.
The purpose of the New King James Version was to preserve the authority and accuracy, as well as the rhythm and beauty of the original King James while making it understandable to 21st century readers. The result is an even better King James, scrupulously faithful to the original, yet truly updated to enhance its clarity and readability. There are several other good modern Bible translations available, but none does a better job of presenting the accuracy, beauty, and clarity that Bible readers need than the New King James Version. The Second Edition includes more features according the editors to make it the best all-purpose study Bible which sold to date: more than 1.3 million and more than 60 million copies for the stand alone NKJV.
The NKJV claiming to be “more accurate” because it leaves untranslated words like “Gehenna,” “Hades” and “Sheol” is misleading the people and has the only reason not to bump some church-member’s head. They choose for security not to knock against those who keep insistently wrong teachings of having gehenna/hades/sheol being a place of doom, the hell, where so called sinners would be penalised for their sins, instead of an abode of the dead, the grave/tomb. For that reason also many present bibles are afraid to print the Divine Name of God (יהוה) where it stood in the original writings, because also there people would come clearly to see about whom is been spoken and soon would come to see the difference between Jehovah God and Jehovah God His only begottenbeloved son, יהושׁעJeshua, where all of those KJV’s print Jesus.
But some of the newer versions restored the names. By them avoiding, where most trinitarians loved to see “Lord“, having titles placed instead of the original names, using the names of the people makes it much clearer for the bible reader about whom is been spoken, and as such mistaking one person fro the other is avoided. This way the Restored Name Versions and the New European Version are King James versions which haven taken up the old way of presenting God’s Name like it was in the original King James version, to leave no doubt when is spoken about the God of gods or about the son of God.
For the English Bible translations God’s Divine Name was already in the William Tyndale Bible of 1530 and in the King James Version in 1611. The excuse of avoiding the risk of taking God’s name (יהוה/YHWH) in vain, according to devout Christians was not necessary any more, because Jeshua liberated us from the curse of sin and restored the relationship between God and man. After the sacrifice of God‘s only begotten son, man does not have to be afraid any more to come up to God and speak to Him using His Sacred Name. Being convinced of the restored relationship and feeling that we as children of God not only may use His Name but should spread His Name, several Sacred Name Bibles started seeing the light.
When we look at the original texts and see how frequent that Divine Name appears, and hear how God speaks about His Name, we should comprehend its importance. The Tetragrammaton occurs 6,828 times in the Hebrew text (BHK and BHS). This is confirmed by the Theologisches Handwörterbuch zum Alten Testament, Vol. I, edited by E. Jenni and C. Westermann, 3rd ed., Munich and Zurich, 1978, cols. 703, 704. The New World Translation renders the Tetragrammaton as “Jehovah” in all occurrences.
The knowledge of the correct pronunciation of God’s name was there at the time of Christ, as it was heard at least by the high priest until 70 CE and respectively its utterance was common practice until at least the 1st century CE, but Hebrew speaking people can and do read the name in some groups as well as the majority of Messianic Jews who also accept that the relationship between God and man is restored by the Mashiah or Messiah.
The Jerusalem Bible: Reader’s Edition Hardcover – Abridged, February 15, 2000
Though throughout history there have been several versions which used God’s Name Jehovah or placed Yahweh for the Tetragrammaton, like The Jerusalem Bible (JB or TJB) (translated from the French La Bible de Jérusalem of 1956, revived and updated in 1973), first introduced to the English-speaking public at the time when the fear for the users of God’s Name (the Jehovah Witnesses started growing) in 1966 and published by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a CatholicBible, it includes the traditional 73 books found in most English translations until the mid 19th century: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonical books as the Old Testament, and the 27 books shared by all Christians as the New Testament. It also contains copious footnotes and introductions. It is the basis of the Lectionary for Mass used in Catholic worship throughout England, Wales, and the majority of the English-speaking world outside the United States and Canada, though the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has approved other translations for conditional liturgical use.
The New American Bible (With the Revised Book of Psalms and the Revised New Testament) New American Bible Revised ed. Edition by World Bible Publishing St
The Revised New American Bible (RNAB) had the traditional phraseology — absent from the 1970 edition — restored to the New Testament, and having several non-traditional gender-neutral terms incorporated in its 1986 version. The New Testament was almost completely revised, and bears a much closer resemblance to the 1941 Confraternity version, as opposed to the much more periphrastic 1970 NAB NT. In 1991 the Book of Psalms was amended to introduce the use of extensive gender-neutral language. The last update is from 2011, including the newly revised Old Testament and re-revised Psalms, and the revised New Testament from the second edition.
Several English people did not like it that God’s Name was printed and would have preferred the Name of God be left unpronounced, or substituted with Lord or another title. In 1985, the English translation was completely updated. This new translation — known as the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) — was freshly translated from the original languages and not tied to any French translation any-more (except indirectly, as it maintained many of the stylistic and interpretive choices of the French Jerusalem Bible).
When the the Catholic Truth Society in 2007 published the CTS New Catholic Bible, consisting of the original 1966 Jerusalem Bible text, prepared by the faculty of the Dominican Biblical School in Jerusalem, on the basis of the Hebrew and Greek and revised to match its use in lectionaries throughout most English-speaking countries, in conformity with the directives of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the Pontifical Biblical Commission the name “Yahweh” was replaced by “the LORD” throughout the Old Testament, which frequently departs from the traditional Masoretic text, and the Psalms have been completely replaced by the 1963 Grail Psalter. The revised text is accompanied by new introductions, and textual and liturgical notes, supplemented as needed with material from the notes to the New Jerusalem Bible.
In the 1990s the ex-Jehovah Witness Mark Heber Miller started working at a contemporary American literal version with limited paraphrase translation with non-trinitarian notes. The Nazarene Friends, several Bible Students and the Belgian Christadelphians started using his work in progress. The Nazarene Friends and Belgian Christadelphians from the end of the 1990s started distributing a digital version in the Online BibleBiblical software program, with Larry Pierce, of his bible translation 21st Century Version of the Christian Scripture and of his Nazarene commentary. After several Windows renovations and adaptations in the Online Bible program those modules did not work any more, and no computer technician could be found to rework the material. As such we and many others can not use it digitally, though brother Marcus Ampe is working at it and placing it again in an Online Bible module. The printed copies where offered to the public from 2007 onwards.
Concerning “the scriptures” we can think of any Religious texts (also known as scripture, or scriptures, from the Latinscriptura, meaning “a writing” ) having the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or central to their religious tradition.
Religious texts may be used to evoke a deeper connection with the divine, convey spiritual truths, promote mystical experience, foster communal identity, and to guide individual and communal spiritual practice. {Free encyclopedia Wikipedia on Religious text}
But we, like other Belgian Christadelphians, Messianic Jews and Messianic Christians (sic), use also a literal Bible translation with the name “The Scriptures“, which follows the order of books of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Tanakh, and restored the Name of the Most High, (יהוה) throughout. Where it had become fashion in the 1980ies and 1990ies to replace the tetragrammaton with the title Lord instead of putting the Divine Name where it should belong, in 1998 the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR) published “a literal translation of the Bible in English”. In the 2009 version they made it easier having the Hebrew names of Book Titles placed on the right hand pages with corresponding traditional English names on the left hand pages. They do not only use the divine Name (the tetragrammaton), יהוה, {Jehovah} but also restored original Hebrew personal names of people and places, such as “Yirmeyahu” for Jeremiah, “Yeshayahu”, for Isaiah and “Mosheh” for Moses and in the Messianic Scriptures, or New Testament, יהושׁע { Y’hoshua / Yeshua = Jeshua for Jesus his real name}, “Mattithyahu” for Matthew etc..
(Hebrew names are also used where possible for annual festival days, as well as being used, minimally, for ambiguous words).
Opposite to the Hebraic Roots Version Scriptures (HRV), which contains over 2000 footnotes giving important alternate readings from the Aramaic Peshitta Tanakh, Aramaic Targums, Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek Septuagint, and Samaritan Pentateuch, The Scriptures has no place given for doctrinal comments from footnotes, explanatory notes etc., (including deletion of prophecy hairlines) in favour of more useful notes – thus clearing away obstacles to your unbiased study of Scripture.
For many english people accustomed to the KJV order of books it may demand some adaptation to come used to the original order of the Tanakh (Old Covenant Scriptures) which is restored according to the order of the Hebrew Scriptures, i.e. Torah, Neviim, Kethuvim. In the newer versions the New Covenant Writings (Brit Chadasha / New Testament), its allusions to the Tanakh are printed in Bold, and cross referenced to the Tanakh (Old Covenant Scriptures).
Dr. Chris J. Koster, with the aid and support of other scholars and textual experts from both Jewish and non-Jewish backgrounds in different parts of the world, was the original translator for the South African and English version. He formed the ISR so that it could continue the work, even after his death (+4 May 1995). At the ISR, which also publishes the Hebraic Roots Version Scriptures (HRV), the board of directors is now overseeing the on-going work of translation and revision. It was around the time of his death that brother Marcus Ampe got to know him and his work and asked if he could make a Dutch version of the work. He had requested the version in Afrikaans, but never got it. The text fragments from 1993/1995 he got and 1998 had some little differences with the 2009 and 2010 versions. (At the moment in the ecclesia we use the 1998 and 2010 version, next to the NWT and the Bible Students Reference bible.) Because of his daily work and Marcus Ampe writing for several websites the translation-work got very much slowed down, also by his work on the Christadelphian modules for the Online Bible program.
Don Esposito, Senior Elder of the Congregation of YHWH Jerusalem, for his Hebrew Roots Version used the original names of our Creator, but presented it from the Paleo Hebrew as YAHWEH (יהוה HWHY/YHWH), and for God’s Son, our Saviour he used Yahshua (יהושׁע Yeshua/Jeshua in modern spelling), throughout. Because there was no letter J at that time he kept to the Y. Though than you also could say there did not exist a letter u and still should use the v or also for the w one still should, in that instance use, the vv. We do know also in the Catholic Imprimatur Bibles from the 1950ies there was written Yehowah, but in later prints this became modernised to Jehovah. The “New Testament” portion is titled “The Ketuvim Netzarim” (“Writings of the Nazarenes”) and is also a Messianic Sacred Name Edition and is translated from the original Aramaic and Hebrew. The NT books are also in the original manuscript order (The Gospels; Acts; James, 1&2 Peter; 1,2,3 John, Jude; Pauline Epistles; Revelation) but the titles of the books are their Hebraic names. The HRV also divides the books into two sections The B’sorah (Goodnews) and The Sh’lukhim (Emissaries).
The HRV Complete Bible is by many considered to be the first complete Messianic Study Bible.
It was the 1993 Chris J. Koster version of the Scriptures which was also used for the HalleluYah Scriptures (HS). Designed for the Hebrew Roots of the Faith of the people of Israel with the Messianic restoration of the name of Elohim transliterated as YaHUaH from the tetragrammaton and God as YAH, Daniel W Merrick, PhD searched the Paleo Hebrew phonetic that show the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith which are embedded in many old testament prophesies and translated and transliterated the Hebrew Bible and Messianic writings.
Shalom and Max Weiss also known as Deborah (Debra) and Ken Allen or Deborah and Ken Wessel, from New Zealand, seem to be the sole “voice” of www.halleluyahscriptures.com/ www.halleluyahscripturesproject.com (which is Halleluyah Scriptures in print since 2009) having Alan Horvath (Alan J. Post) as their frontman. The direction of Halleluyah Scriptures has been carried out publicly by Debra and Ken Allen-Wessel. Alan Horvath (the Vice President) has been recently thrust to the forefront as a public voice for H.S. and all funds, mail, etc have been redirected from Fort Wayne to New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Further there where Ted Ramp, President of Halleluyah Scriptures Inc. (Incorporated Dec. 6, 2012) – Fort Wayne, IN, Robin Ramp, Secretary of Halleluyah Scriptures Inc. , Erik Klausner, Marilyn Nave and Nance Whitaker who seem to have broken with Deborah (Debra) and Ken Allen and their the Halleluyhah Scriptures.
The HalleluYah Scriptures wants to be the purest version and the closest to the Hebrew than any other version by far, and wants to take it very seriously the Torah Commands not to mention the names of false mighty ones especially when it pertains to the Father, His Son and His people…
This has taken years of research as it is not always obvious that English words are derived from pagan deities. Much diligent research has been done into assuring that there are no pagan words used to describe our wonderful Father and His Son and as such we also do not find the false name of the Messiah which was given in the 4th century to the rabbi, but which is now the common name, Jesus, coming from Issou or Hail Zeus. In this version all paganism and names of false gods that have traditionally been used in translation when pertaining to the the Father, His Son and His people have been avoided, and in many cases retain a Hebrew transliteration if the word is linked to paganism, though we do find some words which are still presented like a name, like Satan, though in the Name Meaning guidebook they print it right giving the reading the real English word ‘adversary’. The reason they probably did not translate it this way in their translation is perhaps some of their translators do want to believe in a devilish figure, called ‘Satan‘ instead of heaving any adversary being called so.
Although the English language is replete with words derived from pagan deities, this translation has attempted to remove most, if not all of these words when attributed to the Almighty, His Son or His people. Problem for translators is that certain words or Hebrew terms have no comparison in English.
HalleluYah Scriptures chose to retain the Hebrew term “qodesh” for ‘holy’ or ‘set-apart’ (for we are qodesh and not Set apart from Him), and removed all occurrences of the word “set” in obedience to the Word (Exodus 23:13, Josiah 23:7, Psalms 16:4). eg.
Underneath you may find on the left the HalleluYah Scriptures words and on the right the versions other restored Name Scriptures use:
qodesh vs set-apart*
Qadosh One vs Set-apart One*
qodeshi vs set-apart one*
qodeshim vs set-apart ones*
qodeshah vs set apartness*
put vs set*
depart vs set* out
lit vs set* (on fire)
Due to the fact that the term “spirit” in English carries so many confusing possibilities from ghosts to alcohol, HalleluYah Scriptures renders the Spirit of Yah in it’s Hebrew form Ruaḥ or Ruaḥ ha’Qodesh, like you may find Ruach also in “The Scriptures” and mark Heber Miller his 21st Century bible translation and the Nazarene Commentary.
In the HalleluYah Scriptures you may find Ruaḥ ha’Qodesh vs Set-apart Spirit, Ruaḥ vs Spirit and Ruaḥoth vs Spirits.
For the Messiah/Mashiah/Masschiah, to maintain the Hebrew origin of many words borrowed from the Greek texts, HalleluYah Scriptures used the Hebrew words in the following Mashiaḥ vs Messiah, Mashiaḥiyim vs Messianic, talmidim vs taught ones, Gĕy-Hinnom vs Gehenna, Shabbath vs Sabbath and Shabbathoth vs Sabbat.
Because the title Master is linked etymologically with the goddess Maia through the common root word “Meg” the original Hebrew form of Adonai used in the Hebrew scrolls is used as the title for the Almighty. Some people teach that Adon is a pagan word based on the greek false god Adonis. But the Hebrew is the original form where as Adonis is just a copy used for wicked means. It does not mean the word Adonai is pagan.
To retain the Hebrew origin of the qodesh Moedim (Appointed Times/Festivals) HalleluYah Scriptures rendered these Festivals in Hebrew.
HalleluYah Scriptures uses the words on the left.
Pesaḥ vs Passover
Matstsoth vs Unleavened Bread
Shaḇuoth vs Weeks
Yom Teruah vs Trumpets
Yom Kippurim vs Atonement
Sukkoth vs Booths
Yoḇĕl vs Jubilee
LIFE vs. HAI
The translators and publisher’s idea is that adding footnotes etc. is in conflict with the Word of God. According to them nearly all translations (including all Restored Name versions) add italicized words to the text in the attempt to ‘clarify’ certain portions causing much confusion and damage with the addition of these italicized words and in many cases goes against Deuteronomy 4:2 not to add to the Word.
Although there are a few situations where the context or root word may be translated with an ‘added’ word, HalleluYah Scriptures chose to remove as many as physically possible while maintaining a coherent translation. Space does not permit the number of italicized words that were removed and/or reworded, but amounts to well over 80% from the total of added words.
In many cases this required re-writing an entire verse to conform with the original language and this was not an easy job taking many months. The HalleluYah Scriptures translation team are working on the other 20% of added words and will make the changes in following print runs when completed.
For over 2 years a translation team has worked on two special editions, the HalleluYah Scriptures and Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled with the Jews their own language, Hebrew. That special book contains around 300 prophecies of Ha’Mashiach (Jeshua the Messiah) in the first Covenant alongside all their fulfilments recorded in the Renewed Covenant.
This will aid many people who do not believe that our Saviour was the promised Redeemer of Yisrael/Israel. This book will prove without a shadow of a doubt that Jeshua (Jesus Christ) is the Saviour.
***
You may visit the HalleluYah Scriptures web site and read more about this important project that has touched and changed thousands of lives forever. http://www.Halleluyahscriptures.com
***
No Footnotes, No Explanatory References, No Doctrines of Man! Just the Word of YHWH…
HalleluYah Scriptures Paralell Hebrew Bible & Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled New Book
***
An other version using the Paleo Hebrew for the Names of the Creator and The Messiah is the Besora of Yahushua (Besorah being the Hebrew word for “message” or “report” = The message of Jeshua). Sadly, this translation has a number of notes throughout, including 60-odd pages of man’s writings, pictures and poems, with misleading doctrines. They transliterated the Name of the Messiah as Yahusha.
The Christadelphians have also some projects where a restored name version is sent out to those who want to read the word of God, so that it can be as a lamp to man’s feet and a light to our path, Psalms 119:105; 2 Peter 1:19. They have “The Scriptures” with the tetragrammaton and God’s Name Jehovah in it, but also distribute two older King James versions (with Jehovah) and a new King James version with the (transcribed) name Yahweh in it.
New European Version of the Bible with commentary
The New European Version of the Bible is a remediation of the King James Version into modern English, correcting some glaring issues in translation here and there. The NEV Bible is published in hard copy with a brief commentary on a few verses from each chapter, printed at the bottom of each page. At the back of the volume, there is a reduced version of the book Bible Basics. There is also an online version provided which has a dedicated page for each chapter of the Bible. On each page there is the Bible text, basic commentaries and links to other resources relevant to that chapter. There is also a “Deeper commentary” tab on each chapter. This gives some deeper insights on some Old Testament chapters; and in the New Testament, this tab connects to the New European Commentary. This is an in-depth, verse by verse commentary on the entire New Testament.
Duncan Heaster
Duncan Heaster
The NEV is published by CarelinksMinistries who say to pray earnestly that this Bible and the distribution of it will play a part in the spreading of the Gospel worldwide before Christ returns. Though also for this editor we must give a warning.
They say they are Christadelphian, but out of experience we have found that they do not take on a Christian attitude, namely not willing to share brotherly love with each other. We do have the impression it is more a cult organisation around one ex-communicate Christadelphian preacher, Duncan Heaster who has written over 20 books and having edited “Gospel News” magazine for over 20 years, has a team of followers round him, who do a lot of great work, but once people get baptised in their organisation they do not want them to have contact with others. They do not want their members to share with other Christadelphians or Bible students. So please if you order a copy by them and would become interested in what they teach and want to get baptised, never forget those who brought you into contact with them.
We also want to make it clear that the New European Version isn’t a fresh translation. It is more a re-working into modern English of the Old and New Testament as found in the King James and American Standard Versions. In some difficult and controversial areas, the original Greek text has been retranslated in an attempt to provide dynamic equivalence in modern English, seeking to provide a text which is familiar to those who have been used to the traditional Bible versions, and yet which is sensitive to the needs of those for whom English is a second language. During the years 2010 – 2014, the project of sending Bibles to those who need them and supporting them in their Bible reading [or Bible studies] with other books and article, now being funded by Bibles Worldwide Trust has sent out over 50,000 Bibles. The largest numbers are to Russian speaking countries, to Africa and to many English speaking countries.
***
Free Bible Distribution, New European Version Free Bible with commentary
New American Standard Bible NAS on line – 1971, widely regarded as one of the most literally translated of 20th-century English Bible translations next to the New World Translation.
We’ve been duped! {Note: Marcus Ampe also had promoted the HalleluYah Scriptures in 2011 and later and got many complaints. This year he contacted that organisation again an could find a copy in his letterbox this October. We too are willing to give another chance to that organisation, and therefore would like to ask readers who order a copy to let us know how it goes and if they really get a copy for free or at reasonable price and how long after they ordered it.}
Because often those people not knowing enough the other languages and not able to compare them with the original Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew language, they like to place their own language in the first place, not seeing that in many of Bible editions in their language words were not always translated exactly or not seeing that certain words where changed in names in place to taking it for the things they meant in the original language.
In the past some English scholars knew that sometimes the Hebrew and Greek way of saying things could be too complicated for some English speaking people, of which approximately 330 to 360 million have that language as their first language. They did find God His Word so important they wanted all people, young and old, educated and not schooled ones, to be able to come in contact with those precious words. Looking at the level of reading they wanted to adapt the language of the text to such levels.
The translators wanted to keep the Divine Author in view but found it important to bring over His message. They looked at the meaning of what was said in the original text and translated or defined loosely what was meant. The (more or less) free rewording of an expression or text, as an explanation, clarification, or translation gave way to different paraphrasedBible translations.
Outside cover of Revised Version of Bible, bound in leather with a full yapp, Published by Oxford in 1885.
Others looking at such loosely translated versions started to attack those translations and got the wheel going with lots of discussions saying this or that translation was a corrupted one. Also reasons for a new translation gave the impression to others that they should doubt the sincerity of the translation. as such Muslims got food to call the Bible corrupted, looking at sayings in prefaces, like the scholars’ introduction of the RevisedStandard Version of The Bible produced in 1971 as proof of this. {Christian Scholars Admit To Corrupting The Bible} In the Preface are these words:
The King James Version has grave defects…these defects are so many and so serious as to call for revision.
Though this translation was called to be the first and the only officially authorised and recognised revision of the King James Version in Britain, having the Old Testament edited four years later than the New Testament, which saw the light in 1881. The Apocrypha got printed in 1894. Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort, whose texts formed also the basic for the New World Translation (NWT) where the best known of the translation committee members. Their stated aim was
“to adapt King James’ version to the present state of the English language without changing the idiom and vocabulary,”
and
“to adapt it to the present standard of Biblical scholarship.”
To those ends, the Greek text that was used to translate the New Testament was believed by most to be of higher reliability than the Textus Receptus used for the KJV. The readings used were compiled from a different text of the Greek Testament by Edwin Palmer. {Palmer, Edwin, ΚΑΙΝΗ ΔΙΑΘΗΚΗ. The Greek Testament] with the Readings Adopted by the Revisers of the Authorised Version. London: Simon Wallenberg Press, 2007. ISBN 1-84356-023-2}
This version was adapted and revised as the “Revised Version, Standard American Edition” or getting names as American Revised Version, the American Standard Revision, the American Standard Revised Bible, and the American Standard Edition, but at the end of the 20th century commonly known as the American Standard Version (ASV). Here-fore Philip Schaff had recruited scholars from different denominations (Baptist, Congregationalist, Dutch Reformed, Friends, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Protestant Episcopal, and Unitarian) who began work in 1872 to complete it 29 years later.
The Revised Version (both the 1885 and the American Standard Version of 1901) are some of the Bible versions that are authorized to be used in services of the Episcopal Church, the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. For the American version was chosen to bring in again God’s Divine Name and where normally the tetragrammaton stood in the original text, it is consistently rendered Jehovah in 6,823 places of the ASV Old Testament, rather than YHWH or rather than LORD as it appears in the King James Bible.
That choice of omitting God’s Name would become more important in later years, several editors afraid of publishing God’s Holy Name and therefore preferring to print the ‘meaningless’ word ‘Lord’ (in later years even omitting the big capitals) so that people could not see the difference between the Lord Most High, the AdonaiElohimHashemJehovah, and God His son, the other lord between the many lords.
During the mid-20th century again a revision appeared on the market wanting
“to put the message of the Bible in simple, enduring words that are worthy to stand in the great Tyndale-King James tradition.”
A revision in 1973 ordered the books in a way that pleased both Catholics and Protestants, dividing the library into four sections:
The Old Testament (39 Books)
The Catholic Deuterocanonical Books (12 Books)
The additional Eastern Orthodox Deuterocanonical Books (three Books; six Books after 1977)
The New Testament (27 Books)
Four years later that ‘Common Bible’ got the Apocrypha expanded to include 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, and Psalm 151, three additional sections accepted in the Eastern Orthodox canon (4 Maccabees again forming an appendix in that tradition), although it still does not include additional books in the Syriac and Ethiopian canons. This action increased the Common Bible to 84 Books, making it the most comprehensive English Bible translation to date with its inclusion of books not accepted by all denominations. The goal of the Common Bible was to help ecumenical relations among the churches.
Facing all those revisions of revisions this Summer the non-profit publisher Crossway released what they are describing as a “permanent” English biblical translation which has sought to be “as literal as possible” while maintaining clarity of expression and literary excellence, but still shall need some updating. But such updating sometimes can bring wrong texts.
17 years after it was first authorized by Crossway, its publisher, the translation oversight committee changed just 52 words across 29 verses — out of more than 775,000 words across more than 31,000 verses — for what they called the final “permanent text” edition. The board then voted, unanimously, to make the text “unchanged forever, in perpetuity.”
“The text of the ESV Bible will remain unchanged in all future editions printed and published by Crossway—in much the same way that the King James Version (KJV) has remained unchanged ever since the final KJV text was established almost 250 years ago (in 1769),”
One difference: While the ESV copyright is held universally by Crossway, the KJV copyright held by the Crown of England is only valid in the United Kingdom. So modified versions of the KJV have been popping up in the United States and elsewhere for several hundred years. (Christian Today has explored whether copyrights help or hurt Bible translation.)
The publisher’s intended goal was
“to stabilize the [ESV], serving its readership by establishing the ESV as a translation that could be used ‘for generations to come,’”
The editor desires for
“there to be a stable and standard text that would serve the reading, memorizing, preaching, and liturgical needs of Christians worldwide from one generation to another.”
This September they wrote:
“Our goal at Crossway remains as strong as ever to serve future generations with a stable ESV text. But the means to that goal, we now see, is not to establish a permanent text but rather to allow for ongoing periodic updating of the text to reflect the realities of biblical scholarship such as textual discoveries or changes in English over time.”
That way the same will happen to the ESV as to the KJV that people are going to think they have it about the same Bible translation, though might have a totally different version.
What happened in the past is that many people each time a new revision came unto the market, certainly with a different name several Christians reacted strongly against the new text. Lots of church members prefer a text that doesn’t and won’t ever change, not a text that is on the path of continual improvement. This also comes mainly because several denominations stick to only one Bible translation and do not, like several non-trinitarian groups, have a roster of different Bible translations to look at, taking every time an other version as standard for the next year, having their members to think about the essence of the text and not pinpointing to human doctrinal teachings or limiting themselves just to one Bible version.
Tremper Longman III, a member of the New Living Translation (NLT) committee said
But making a translation permanent ignores the need for updates that reflect scholars’ advances in their understanding of the text, as well as the continuing development of English as a living language.
He continued
“Most translators and linguists would say that such an approach to translation is actually less accurate in terms of communicating the thought of the ancient writer to a modern audience.”
A collection of Bibles in Taiwanese. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
People should always remember that language is a living thing and by the years words may change meaning or additional (new) words may be better suited to bring over the meaning of those old writing, of which researchers still get more and new insights. Longman also remarks
“The English language changes, and my guess is that over the years even this particularly type of translation will sound more and more stilted, just as the KJV does to modern readers.”
Bible translations to polish language by Czesław Miłosz. On the left Five Megillot, in center Book of Job, on right Psalms (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Publishers are aware that the copyrights of a publication are limited in time and as such it is more profitable to create a whole new Bible version to keep the money coming into the till. At certain times there are also new preachers of high position who want to have their notes presented in a bible version they feel good with in a language of the time they are living in, what again demands a new Bible translation, under a new name.
The apostle Paul wrote about the dispersion, the dispersed House of Israel. They had been “without covenant“, but Paul was sent out to recover them. So they were “grafted in again“ (Romans 11/23). Or, Grafted back in“. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been […]
Rob Mac wonders when the door to door will return? He wrote this a while back, and went sharing it again. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses hate the door to door ministry, although they won’t readily admit it. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses have developed ‘creative’ ways of counting their time doing this work, and many strategies for avoiding actually […]
Constantine wanted unity in his realm, and his call in 325 C.E. for a council of his bishops at Nicaea, located in the Eastern, Greek-speaking domain of his empire, across the Bosporus from the new city of Constantinople was in a certain way his goal to achieve some agreement by which many could live. Constantine […]
Superstition, misunderstanding and hatred caused the Christians trouble for many generations, and governmental repression they had to suffer occasionally, as a result of popular disturbances. No systematic effort was made by the imperial authorities to put an end to the movement until the reign of the Roman emperor (249–251) who fought the Gothic invasion of […]
Self-enhancing When the apostles had died there came a time when those in charge of teaching and going around telling about the gospel, started coming to see themselves as special people. Some even started to consider themselves as ‘clergy of the highest order’. After a time the organisation of the church was given only to […]
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Jesus once gave a series of seven Kingdom illustrations in close connection with one another. We should remember that the most important reason for his telling such short stories is to persuade people to enter the kingdom of which he speaks.
Klinken onze gebeden als het gebed van Jezus Christus? Hierboven wordt niet gevraagd of u het modelgebed dat Jezus de wereld gaf, bidt. Vermoedelijk bidden heel wat christenen regelmatig het “Onze Vader“. Hierbij kan de vraag gesteld worden of zij wel degelijk de inhoud er van beseffen. Velen denken namelijk dat zij na hun dood […]
Als afsluiting van het modelgebed Het Onze Vader kunnen wij nog eens benadrukken hoe wij Gods Naam, Heerlijkheid of Glorie, Macht en Kracht hoogschatten.
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Christians in politics have been accommodated through a policy of don’t-ask, don’t-tell, but some argue endlessly about which bathrooms trans people should be allowed to use. Cisgender psychologists and sexologists pathologise the transgender experience according to their own biases, cisgender insurance executives arbitrarily what is and isn’t “necessary care” for transgender policyholders, and so on.
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Bible Today
Dedicated to demonstrating that the Bible is God’s Word for our time
Biblestudents – Bijbelstudenten
A Google Site presenting the Biblestudents with articles in English and Dutch – Voorstelling van de Bijbelstudenten met artikelen in het Nederlands en Engels
Bijbelvorsers Webs
Association for Bibleresearchers. Vereniging voor Bijbelvorsers
Christen Focus
Redenen genoeg om ons gericht te houden op de juiste zaken en personen
Dawn Bible Students Association
Showing that the true gospel is not a new theology, but the old theology, the old gospel preached to Abraham
Focus on Charles Taze Russell
This site is an endeavor to weed out the false from the true regarding Charles Taze Russell.
Getuigen voor Christus
Tegenover de Getuigen van Jehovah zijn er ook de Getuigen voor Christus die Getuigenis afleggen voor Christus en zijn God Jehovah.
International Biblestudents Association
The IBSA or cooperative association of Bible Student congregations worldwide, all united by the common beliefs taught in Brother Russell’s Studies in the Scriptures series
Christadelphian Ecclesia
The Church community in Belgium of the Christadelphians. – Kerkgemeenschap van de Broeders in Christus.
Christadelphian World
News and thoughts from the Christadelphian Worldpointview. – Een kijk op het wereldgebeuren vanuit het standpunt van de wereld der Christadelphians.
Exploring the Bible
26-lesson postal/web correspondence course working following the consistent message of the Bible through from Genesis to Revelation
Glad Tidings
Monthly magazine to encourage the study of the Bible as God’s inspired message to mankind
Jeshuaist Focus
Een site die aantoont dat elke gelovige in de Enige Ware God kan deel uitmaken van het Volk dat in Gods Koninkrijk zal mogen vertoeven.
Belgian Biblestudents - Belgische Bijbelstudenten
Guestspeaker
Relating to God
Bijbelvorsers Webs
Belgische Vrije Christadelphians / Belgian Free Christadelphians – Old Google Main Website
Christadelphian Ecclesia
Hoop tot Leven – Redding in Christus
Belgian Biblestudents - Belgische Bijbelstudenten 
Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #9 Restored names and Sacred Name Bibles
In the previous chapter we showed that in the 1980ies and 1990ies publishers looked for way to have some cheap material easily printed and reproduced. For them the Word of God or the Bible looked very handy to use, because when they changed here and there some words they could publish it freely without having to bother about copyrights. In those years lots of economical and political problems started showing up, the Gulf War and beginning pressure from Islamic terrorist groups, making that people went looking for alternatives and solutions for making their life better.
From the time that all sorts of translations were provided for different groups of people, like housewives, prisoners, blue-coloured workman, modern women and modern man – Good News for modern man New Testament in Today’s English Version
Many publishers knocking the ball around presented booklets, pocket editions but also hard-covers with fragments and with full texts of the Bible. Many wanted to bring out a ‘fresh’ or ‘up-to-date’ Bible translations which could draw on a particular group of people or could be favoured by a particular denomination. For some it did not matter so much when the words got twisted a little-bit or when the translation was so loosely done it went very far from the original Holy Writings. The Good News Bible, which also presented a version for the ‘modern man’ is such a Bible translation were too much liberty is taken, but which manage to continue to exist until today.
The Liberator (2006) a retelling of the life of Jesus based on the gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke, could find perhaps a prolonged life because of the Lacey Theatre Company toured shows based on this book in 2007 and 2008, and extracts also being performed in “St David’s Praise” (31 May 2008, St David’s Hall in Cardiff).
Titlepage and dedication from a 1612-1613 King James Bible, printed by Robert Barker. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Coming closer to the 400th birthday of the publication of the Authorised King James version, several companies also started bringing new King James Versions, whilst others found it time to not only update the language but to restore the names and present the words like it would be linguistic right.
Some of the new King James versions around the turn of the century did not alter the language much, like the minor very conservative update of the King James Version, the 21st Century King James Version bible, which stays true to the Textus Receptus and does not delete Bible passages based on Alexandrian Greek manuscripts. Obsolete and certain archaic words are eliminated but further it preserves the traditional Biblical language, making it possible to have all those using a King James Bible to follow easily. The 21st Century King James Version has also been released in an edition with the Apocrypha and without the unusual formatting; this is known as the Third Millennium Bible.
Having taken 7 years to complete the New King James Version (NKJV) already commissioned in 1975, published by HarperCollins (a subsidiary of News Corp), conceived by Arthur Farstad with 130 biblical scholars, pastors, and theologians, alters the language more significantly from the 1611 King James Version, but still trying to retain the purity and stylistic beauty of the original.
The exceptionally rich and accurate translation of the Holy Scripture became first available in 1982 but got more in the picture around the 400th birthday of the original KJV, also receiving some new study edition.
The NKJV claiming to be “more accurate” because it leaves untranslated words like “Gehenna,” “Hades” and “Sheol” is misleading the people and has the only reason not to bump some church-member’s head. They choose for security not to knock against those who keep insistently wrong teachings of having gehenna/hades/sheol being a place of doom, the hell, where so called sinners would be penalised for their sins, instead of an abode of the dead, the grave/tomb. For that reason also many present bibles are afraid to print the Divine Name of God (יהוה) where it stood in the original writings, because also there people would come clearly to see about whom is been spoken and soon would come to see the difference between Jehovah God and Jehovah God His only begotten beloved son, יהושׁע Jeshua, where all of those KJV’s print Jesus.
But some of the newer versions restored the names. By them avoiding, where most trinitarians loved to see “Lord“, having titles placed instead of the original names, using the names of the people makes it much clearer for the bible reader about whom is been spoken, and as such mistaking one person fro the other is avoided. This way the Restored Name Versions and the New European Version are King James versions which haven taken up the old way of presenting God’s Name like it was in the original King James version, to leave no doubt when is spoken about the God of gods or about the son of God.
For the English Bible translations God’s Divine Name was already in the William Tyndale Bible of 1530 and in the King James Version in 1611. The excuse of avoiding the risk of taking God’s name (יהוה/YHWH) in vain, according to devout Christians was not necessary any more, because Jeshua liberated us from the curse of sin and restored the relationship between God and man. After the sacrifice of God‘s only begotten son, man does not have to be afraid any more to come up to God and speak to Him using His Sacred Name. Being convinced of the restored relationship and feeling that we as children of God not only may use His Name but should spread His Name, several Sacred Name Bibles started seeing the light.
When we look at the original texts and see how frequent that Divine Name appears, and hear how God speaks about His Name, we should comprehend its importance. The Tetragrammaton occurs 6,828 times in the Hebrew text (BHK and BHS). This is confirmed by the Theologisches Handwörterbuch zum Alten Testament, Vol. I, edited by E. Jenni and C. Westermann, 3rd ed., Munich and Zurich, 1978, cols. 703, 704. The New World Translation renders the Tetragrammaton as “Jehovah” in all occurrences.
The knowledge of the correct pronunciation of God’s name was there at the time of Christ, as it was heard at least by the high priest until 70 CE and respectively its utterance was common practice until at least the 1st century CE, but Hebrew speaking people can and do read the name in some groups as well as the majority of Messianic Jews who also accept that the relationship between God and man is restored by the Mashiah or Messiah.
The Jerusalem Bible: Reader’s Edition Hardcover – Abridged, February 15, 2000
Though throughout history there have been several versions which used God’s Name Jehovah or placed Yahweh for the Tetragrammaton, like The Jerusalem Bible (JB or TJB) (translated from the French La Bible de Jérusalem of 1956, revived and updated in 1973), first introduced to the English-speaking public at the time when the fear for the users of God’s Name (the Jehovah Witnesses started growing) in 1966 and published by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes the traditional 73 books found in most English translations until the mid 19th century: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonical books as the Old Testament, and the 27 books shared by all Christians as the New Testament. It also contains copious footnotes and introductions. It is the basis of the Lectionary for Mass used in Catholic worship throughout England, Wales, and the majority of the English-speaking world outside the United States and Canada, though the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has approved other translations for conditional liturgical use.
The New American Bible (With the Revised Book of Psalms and the Revised New Testament) New American Bible Revised ed. Edition by World Bible Publishing St
For the dioceses of the United States and the Philippines the New American Bible (NAB) Catholic Bible translation first published in 1970 is used, also being approved by the Episcopal Church in the United States. The spelling of proper names found in this edition departs from the ones found in older Catholic Bible versions, such as the Douay, and instead adopts those commonly found in Protestant Bibles.
The Revised New American Bible (RNAB) had the traditional phraseology — absent from the 1970 edition — restored to the New Testament, and having several non-traditional gender-neutral terms incorporated in its 1986 version. The New Testament was almost completely revised, and bears a much closer resemblance to the 1941 Confraternity version, as opposed to the much more periphrastic 1970 NAB NT. In 1991 the Book of Psalms was amended to introduce the use of extensive gender-neutral language. The last update is from 2011, including the newly revised Old Testament and re-revised Psalms, and the revised New Testament from the second edition.
Several English people did not like it that God’s Name was printed and would have preferred the Name of God be left unpronounced, or substituted with Lord or another title. In 1985, the English translation was completely updated. This new translation — known as the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) — was freshly translated from the original languages and not tied to any French translation any-more (except indirectly, as it maintained many of the stylistic and interpretive choices of the French Jerusalem Bible).
When the the Catholic Truth Society in 2007 published the CTS New Catholic Bible, consisting of the original 1966 Jerusalem Bible text, prepared by the faculty of the Dominican Biblical School in Jerusalem, on the basis of the Hebrew and Greek and revised to match its use in lectionaries throughout most English-speaking countries, in conformity with the directives of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the Pontifical Biblical Commission the name “Yahweh” was replaced by “the LORD” throughout the Old Testament, which frequently departs from the traditional Masoretic text, and the Psalms have been completely replaced by the 1963 Grail Psalter. The revised text is accompanied by new introductions, and textual and liturgical notes, supplemented as needed with material from the notes to the New Jerusalem Bible.
(Hebrew names are also used where possible for annual festival days, as well as being used, minimally, for ambiguous words).
For many english people accustomed to the KJV order of books it may demand some adaptation to come used to the original order of the Tanakh (Old Covenant Scriptures) which is restored according to the order of the Hebrew Scriptures, i.e. Torah, Neviim, Kethuvim. In the newer versions the New Covenant Writings (Brit Chadasha / New Testament), its allusions to the Tanakh are printed in Bold, and cross referenced to the Tanakh (Old Covenant Scriptures).
Dr. Chris J. Koster, with the aid and support of other scholars and textual experts from both Jewish and non-Jewish backgrounds in different parts of the world, was the original translator for the South African and English version. He formed the ISR so that it could continue the work, even after his death (+4 May 1995). At the ISR, which also publishes the Hebraic Roots Version Scriptures (HRV), the board of directors is now overseeing the on-going work of translation and revision. It was around the time of his death that brother Marcus Ampe got to know him and his work and asked if he could make a Dutch version of the work. He had requested the version in Afrikaans, but never got it. The text fragments from 1993/1995 he got and 1998 had some little differences with the 2009 and 2010 versions. (At the moment in the ecclesia we use the 1998 and 2010 version, next to the NWT and the Bible Students Reference bible.) Because of his daily work and Marcus Ampe writing for several websites the translation-work got very much slowed down, also by his work on the Christadelphian modules for the Online Bible program.
Don Esposito, Senior Elder of the Congregation of YHWH Jerusalem, for his Hebrew Roots Version used the original names of our Creator, but presented it from the Paleo Hebrew as YAHWEH (יהוה HWHY/YHWH), and for God’s Son, our Saviour he used Yahshua (יהושׁע Yeshua/Jeshua in modern spelling), throughout. Because there was no letter J at that time he kept to the Y. Though than you also could say there did not exist a letter u and still should use the v or also for the w one still should, in that instance use, the vv. We do know also in the Catholic Imprimatur Bibles from the 1950ies there was written Yehowah, but in later prints this became modernised to Jehovah. The “New Testament” portion is titled “The Ketuvim Netzarim” (“Writings of the Nazarenes”) and is also a Messianic Sacred Name Edition and is translated from the original Aramaic and Hebrew. The NT books are also in the original manuscript order (The Gospels; Acts; James, 1&2 Peter; 1,2,3 John, Jude; Pauline Epistles; Revelation) but the titles of the books are their Hebraic names. The HRV also divides the books into two sections The B’sorah (Goodnews) and The Sh’lukhim (Emissaries).
The HRV Complete Bible is by many considered to be the first complete Messianic Study Bible.
Further there where Ted Ramp, President of Halleluyah Scriptures Inc. (Incorporated Dec. 6, 2012) – Fort Wayne, IN, Robin Ramp, Secretary of Halleluyah Scriptures Inc. , Erik Klausner, Marilyn Nave and Nance Whitaker who seem to have broken with Deborah (Debra) and Ken Allen and their the Halleluyhah Scriptures.
This has taken years of research as it is not always obvious that English words are derived from pagan deities. Much diligent research has been done into assuring that there are no pagan words used to describe our wonderful Father and His Son and as such we also do not find the false name of the Messiah which was given in the 4th century to the rabbi, but which is now the common name, Jesus, coming from Issou or Hail Zeus. In this version all paganism and names of false gods that have traditionally been used in translation when pertaining to the the Father, His Son and His people have been avoided, and in many cases retain a Hebrew transliteration if the word is linked to paganism, though we do find some words which are still presented like a name, like Satan, though in the Name Meaning guidebook they print it right giving the reading the real English word ‘adversary’. The reason they probably did not translate it this way in their translation is perhaps some of their translators do want to believe in a devilish figure, called ‘Satan‘ instead of heaving any adversary being called so.
Although the English language is replete with words derived from pagan deities, this translation has attempted to remove most, if not all of these words when attributed to the Almighty, His Son or His people. Problem for translators is that certain words or Hebrew terms have no comparison in English.
HalleluYah Scriptures chose to retain the Hebrew term “qodesh” for ‘holy’ or ‘set-apart’ (for we are qodesh and not Set apart from Him), and removed all occurrences of the word “set” in obedience to the Word (Exodus 23:13, Josiah 23:7, Psalms 16:4). eg.
qodesh vs set-apart*
Qadosh One vs Set-apart One*
qodeshi vs set-apart one*
qodeshim vs set-apart ones*
qodeshah vs set apartness*
put vs set*
depart vs set* out
lit vs set* (on fire)
In the HalleluYah Scriptures you may find Ruaḥ ha’Qodesh vs Set-apart Spirit, Ruaḥ vs Spirit and Ruaḥoth vs Spirits.
For the Messiah/Mashiah/Masschiah, to maintain the Hebrew origin of many words borrowed from the Greek texts, HalleluYah Scriptures used the Hebrew words in the following Mashiaḥ vs Messiah, Mashiaḥiyim vs Messianic, talmidim vs taught ones, Gĕy-Hinnom vs Gehenna, Shabbath vs Sabbath and Shabbathoth vs Sabbat.
Because the title Master is linked etymologically with the goddess Maia through the common root word “Meg” the original Hebrew form of Adonai used in the Hebrew scrolls is used as the title for the Almighty. Some people teach that Adon is a pagan word based on the greek false god Adonis. But the Hebrew is the original form where as Adonis is just a copy used for wicked means. It does not mean the word Adonai is pagan.
HalleluYah Scriptures uses the words on the left.
Pesaḥ vs Passover
Matstsoth vs Unleavened Bread
Shaḇuoth vs Weeks
Yom Teruah vs Trumpets
Yom Kippurim vs Atonement
Sukkoth vs Booths
Yoḇĕl vs Jubilee
LIFE vs. HAI
Although there are a few situations where the context or root word may be translated with an ‘added’ word, HalleluYah Scriptures chose to remove as many as physically possible while maintaining a coherent translation. Space does not permit the number of italicized words that were removed and/or reworded, but amounts to well over 80% from the total of added words.
In many cases this required re-writing an entire verse to conform with the original language and this was not an easy job taking many months. The HalleluYah Scriptures translation team are working on the other 20% of added words and will make the changes in following print runs when completed.
This will aid many people who do not believe that our Saviour was the promised Redeemer of Yisrael/Israel. This book will prove without a shadow of a doubt that Jeshua (Jesus Christ) is the Saviour.
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You may visit the HalleluYah Scriptures web site and read more about this important project that has touched and changed thousands of lives forever. http://www.Halleluyahscriptures.com
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No Footnotes, No Explanatory References, No Doctrines of Man! Just the Word of YHWH…
HalleluYah Scriptures Paralell Hebrew Bible & Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled New Book
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The Christadelphians have also some projects where a restored name version is sent out to those who want to read the word of God, so that it can be as a lamp to man’s feet and a light to our path, Psalms 119:105; 2 Peter 1:19. They have “The Scriptures” with the tetragrammaton and God’s Name Jehovah in it, but also distribute two older King James versions (with Jehovah) and a new King James version with the (transcribed) name Yahweh in it.
New European Version of the Bible with commentary
The New European Version of the Bible is a remediation of the King James Version into modern English, correcting some glaring issues in translation here and there. The NEV Bible is published in hard copy with a brief commentary on a few verses from each chapter, printed at the bottom of each page. At the back of the volume, there is a reduced version of the book Bible Basics. There is also an online version provided which has a dedicated page for each chapter of the Bible. On each page there is the Bible text, basic commentaries and links to other resources relevant to that chapter. There is also a “Deeper commentary” tab on each chapter. This gives some deeper insights on some Old Testament chapters; and in the New Testament, this tab connects to the New European Commentary. This is an in-depth, verse by verse commentary on the entire New Testament.
Duncan Heaster
Duncan Heaster
The NEV is published by Carelinks Ministries who say to pray earnestly that this Bible and the distribution of it will play a part in the spreading of the Gospel worldwide before Christ returns. Though also for this editor we must give a warning.
They say they are Christadelphian, but out of experience we have found that they do not take on a Christian attitude, namely not willing to share brotherly love with each other. We do have the impression it is more a cult organisation around one ex-communicate Christadelphian preacher, Duncan Heaster who has written over 20 books and having edited “Gospel News” magazine for over 20 years, has a team of followers round him, who do a lot of great work, but once people get baptised in their organisation they do not want them to have contact with others. They do not want their members to share with other Christadelphians or Bible students. So please if you order a copy by them and would become interested in what they teach and want to get baptised, never forget those who brought you into contact with them.
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Free Bible Distribution, New European Version Free Bible with commentary
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Preceding articles:
Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #1 Pre King James Bible
Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #2 King James Bible versions
Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #3 Women and versions
Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #4 Steps to the women’s bibles
Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #5 Further steps to women’s bibles
Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #6 Revisions of revisions
Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #7 Jewish versions
Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #8 Selective Bibles and selective people
Building up the spirit of the soul
A fact of History or just a fancy Story
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Further reading
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