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.
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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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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.
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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.}
The Greek translation of the Old Testament made it accessible in the Hellenistic period (c. 300 bce–c. 300 ce) and provided a language for the New Testament and for the Christian liturgy and theology of the first three centuries. The Bible in Latin shaped the thought and life of Western people for a thousand years. People had no bible in their own vernacular.
Throughout history vocally people recounted the Hebrew myths of creation which have superseded the racial mythologies of Latin, Germanic, Slavonic, and all other Western peoples.
Here and there scribes wrote notes in their own language or provided a word for word translation between the lines of the Latin text.
Already in the 10th century an Old English translation of the Gospels was made in the Lindisfarne Gospels, a manuscript illuminated in the late 7th or 8th century in the Hiberno-Saxon style with a word-for-word gloss inserted between the lines of the Latin text by the scrybe Aldred, Provost of Chester-le-Street. The book was probably made for Eadfrith, the bishop of Lindisfarne from 698 to 721. Attributed to the Northumbrian school, the Lindisfarne Gospels show the fusion of Irish, classical, and Byzantine elements of manuscript illumination and may be considered to be the oldest extant translation of the Gospels into the English language.
The Tower of Babel, from an illustrated manuscript (11th century) containing some Latin excerpts from the Hexateuch. Ælfric was responsible for the preface to Genesis as well as some of its translations. Another copy of the text, without lavish illustrations but including a translation of the Book of Judges, is found in Oxford, Bodleian Library, Laud Misc. 509.
Produced in approximately 990 the Wessex Gospels (also known as the West-Saxon Gospels) are a full translation of the four gospels into a West Saxon dialect of Old English. In 1842 still copies were printed by Richard & John Taylor as the Da Halgan Godspel on Englisc – the Anglo Saxon Version of the Holy gospels. The Cambridge University press brought a version with the Latin text and Lindisfarne Gospels included in 1871-1879.
The Anglo-Saxon prose writer, considered the greatest of his time, Benedictine Abbot Ælfric translated much of the Old Testament into Old English. He was the author of a Latin grammar, hence his nickname Grammaticus, he also wrote Lives of the Saints, Heptateuch (a vernacular language version of the first seven books of the Bible), as well as letters and various treatises.
The book of Genesis up to the story of Abraham and Isaac, along with selections from other books of the first six books of the Hebrew Bible, the Hexateuch, under the directon of Æthelweard were translated in the 11th century, by Ælfric into the vernacular, that is, into Old English.
A page from the Ormulum demonstrating the editing performed over time by Orm (Parkes 1983, pp. 115–16), as well as the insertions of new readings by “Hand B”.
Like its Old English precursor from Ælfric, and Abbot of Eynsham a version in Middle English was reproduced in the 12th century by an Augustinian monk named Orm (or Ormin) at the behest of his brother Brother Walter. It consisted of just under 19,000 lines of early Middle English verse. ‘The Ormulum or Orrmulum)
The motivation was to provide an accessible English text for the benefit of the less educated, which might include some clergy who found it difficult to understand the Latin of the Vulgate, and the parishioners who in most cases would not understand spoken Latin at all (Treharne 2000, p. 273).
We do know that mostly the pastors also gave themselves a paraphrased Gospel reading before going over to their exhortation, because the laity did not understand Latin and there had to be some relation of the sermon to the ‘bible reading’.
At the end of the 13th century a Psalter saw the light in English, which would be a base for Wycliffe version of the English Bible. The theological scholar and advocate of the English reform movement within the Roman Church, Nicholas Of Hereford, who later recanted his unorthodox views and participated in the repression of other reformers, became influenced by Wycliffe, founder of an evangelical Christian group called Lollards. He was entrusted to make a translation of the Old Testament, of which the the major part was completed before a synod in London and his subsequent departure for Rome in 1382.
Long thought to be the work of Wycliffe himself, the Wycliffite translations are now generally believed to be the work of several hands. Nicholas of Hereford is known to have translated a part of the text; John Purvey and perhaps John Trevisa are names that have been mentioned as possible authors.
When the first complete translation of the Bible into English emerged, it became the object of violent controversy because it was inspired by the heretical teachings of John Wycliffe. Intended for the common man, it became the instrument of opposition to ecclesiastical authority.
Archbishop Arundel (1353–1414) initiated against the Lollards (followers of John Wycliffe) a campaign that resulted in the burning of several of them. He summoned a synod of clergy to Oxford in 1408 a synod of clergy summoned to Oxford for discussion of the forbidding of the translation and use of Scripture in the vernacular. The proscription was rigorously enforced, but remained ineffectual.
John Oldcastle being burnt for insurrection and Lollard heresy.
The distinguished soldier and martyred leader of the Lollards, John Oldcastle who gained the friendship of King Henry IV’s son Henry, prince of Wales, was in 1413 indicted by a convocation, presided over by Archbishop Thomas Arundel of Canterbury, for maintaining both Lollard preachers and their opinions. Though he had served as a justice of the peace, and was High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1406–07 and even had an amicable relationship with the prince of Wales, now Henry V, who regarded Sir John as “one of his most trustworthy soldiers”, which earned him special consideration, he failed to honour the king’s appeals to submit and was brought to trial the same year. Oldcastle declared his readiness to submit to the king “all his fortune in this world” but was firm in his religious beliefs and was hanged over a fire that consumed the gallows, on December 14.
In the course of the 15th century the Wycliffite Bible or Wycliffe’s Bible, which had appeared over a period from approximately 1382 to 1395, achieved wide popularity as is evidenced by the nearly 200 manuscripts extant, most of them copied between 1420 and 1450. The first versions where still following the word order in the Latin text which made them difficult to read. Later versions made more concessions to the native grammar of English so that it was easier for laypersons to comprehend.
In 1526 Peter Schoeffer, who had entered the printing business as the partner of Gutenberg’s creditor, Johann Fust, whose daughter he later married, in the German city of Worms came to print the work of an educated english man from Oxford and Cambridge, who was an impressive scholar, fluent in eight languages, and was ordained as a Christian priest in around 1521. That English scholar, William Tyndale, had previously translated a tract by the humanist who was the greatest scholar of the northern Renaissance Desiderius Erasmus, from Rotterdam, whose writings argued for personal faith: a direct relationship between the individual and God, not one mediated and controlled by the Church hierarchy. Erasmus helped lay the groundwork for the historical-critical study of the past, especially in his studies of the Greek New Testament and the Church Fathers. He was the the first editor of the New Testament, and also an important figure in patristics and classical literature.
For William Tyndale it had become clear that people had more to listen to God His Word than to the words of a church-organisation which was telling people things which were not according to the Words of God. Naturally it was very easy for a church to tell people anything that supposedly would be written in the bible, though they knew it was no Biblical teaching, but by presenting it as such, they could keep the people in control and in their hand.
Four centuries later still many preachers just take verses out of contexts and keep repeating them at the service without ever reading the whole chapter or at least the paragraph, where more clarity could be found. In this way still many churches proclaim un-biblical teachings though people are often not aware of it and continue to stay in that denomination often giving it enough money, being asked to do so by their pastors, not to come into hell (for them a place for eternal torture) .
At the time of Tyndale Christians continued to be governed from Rome by the Pope offering church services in Latin throughout the Christian world, and translation of the Latin Bible into the vernacular, in other words the local language anyone could understand, was actively discouraged and even worse in many countries forbidden.
In England under the 1408 Constitutions of Oxford, it was strictly forbidden to translate the Bible into the native tongue, so that those governing could be sure no uneducated people could come to see what was really written in the bible.
Cardinal Wolsey, Lord Chancellor and Sir Thomas More vigorously enforced this ban in an attempt to prevent the rise of English ‘Lutheranism’.
The only authorised version of the Bible was St Jerome’s Latin translation, known as the ‘Vulgate’, made in the fourth century and understood only by highly-educated people.
Aided by money from Sir Humphrey and others, Tyndale in May 1524, set sail for Germany where he hoped his secret work could be continued in greater safety. There he could work without fear basing his translation on a New Testament in Greek that had recently been complied by Erasmus from several manuscripts older and more authoritative than the Latin Vulgate. By re-translating into English a closer version to the original texts could be created for the English speaking community.
Printing began in Cologne in the summer of 1525, but word of the project soon reached the Dean of Frankfurt. He not only arranged a ban on printing in Cologne but also alerted Cardinal Wolsey to Tyndale’s activities. Tyndale fled with his assistant, William Roy, to Worms, where a pocket-sized edition was the first of two to be completed. By April 1526, Tyndale’s New Testament, pronounced heretical in England, so his Bibles were smuggled into the country in bales of cloth, to being read behind closed doors in England.
Though it did not include all of the books we enjoy today his version was used later on as a base for the versions the Church of England used.
The Bible, translated by William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale, 1535 edition.
In 1529 the Yorkshireman and Augustinian friar who was ordained a priest (1514) at Norwich and later became bishop of Exeter, Myles Coverdale, helped William Tyndale translate the Pentateuch in Hamburg and then apparently settled in Antwerp, where he translated the Bible. It was there that he in 1535 compiled and published the first complete (Old Testament and New Testament) Modern English translation of the Bible (cf. Wycliffe’s Bible in manuscript) printed by Merten de Keyser (Martin Lempereur) who also had printed the first complete French Bible translation, in Antwerp. This Coverdale Bible, although allowed to circulate in England, lacked official approval because of its so called heretical tendentiousness and its inadequacy as a translation. A new edition, “overseen and corrected,” was published in England by James Nycholson in Southwark in 1537. Another edition of the same year bore the announcement, “set forth with the king’s most gracious license.” In 1538 a revised edition of Coverdale’s New Testament printed with the Latin Vulgate in parallel columns issued in England was so full of errors that Coverdale promptly arranged for a rival corrected version to appear in Paris. Accordingly, Thomas Cromwell the King’s vice-gerent, or deputy, in spiritual affairs, engaged Coverdale to work in England on a new version, using a revised edition of Tyndale’s work known as Matthew’s Bible. Coverdale’s renewed efforts resulted in the publication in 1539 of the widely accepted Great Bible. The later editions (folio and quarto) published in 1539 were the first complete Bibles printed in England. The 1539 folio edition carried the royal licence and was therefore the first officially approved Bible translation in English. In edited 1540 Coverdale also edited Cranmer’s Bible.
72 years later an other Royal licensed bible would deliver such an important Bible translation it would become reprinted for centuries, becoming a still preferred version by many.
We are redeemed; we are “bought with a price,” even ” the precious blood of Christ.” He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. This being so, eternal torment cannot be the penalty for our sins, because our Redeemer, upon whom they were laid, is not suffering eternal woe. He tasted death for every man, and the evidence that His sacrifice was satisfactory is in that lie was raised from the dead by the power of the Father.* (Eph. 1: 18, 19; Acts 2: 24.) Let those who believe in eternal torment ask themselves the solemn question, ” Has a ransom, a propitiation, a corresponding price, a satisfaction, ever been offered for what is due on account of my sins ?”
Since the Scripture teaching on the Ransom makes clear so much that before was not so, it is not surprising that William Tyndale, the great Reformer, said that the doctrine of the Ransom is the “touchstone to try all teachings.” A few illustrations of the Ransom teaching as a “touchstone” have been given. The student will at discretion apply this “stone” to other religious or so-called Bible teachings. Whatever he finds out of harmony with the Ransom is to be rejected
forthwith; time spent with it is wasted. Although there may be beautiful thoughts expressed by some who openly or covertly deny the Ransom, we are not to go through their error for the sake of a few good things which, by the grace of God, we can get from His Word, without wading through a mass of false teaching.
But some one will say that the Apostle commands us to ” prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thes. 5: 21.) It cannot be that the Apostle means that God’s people are to undertake to acquaint themselves with all the details of all the religious teaching in the world. Life is too short for this. He Himself wrote that there was one foundation, Christ, and other foundation can no man lay. If a teaching be presented for our consideration, we are not to shut our eyes and ears, and, as it were, run away from it without knowing what it is. We are to prove it ; and the first question will be, Does it agree with the one foundation, the fact that Jesus “gave Himself a ransom for all ? ” If it do not agree, even though the words ” r a n s o m ” and ” p r o p i t i a t i o n ” be frequently employed, the task of proving it is finished — perhaps in
one minute — and our obligation toward it is discharged in full. If the teaching presented be found to be harmonious with the Ransom, it will be right for us to examine it more closely, and derive whatever blessing we may from its presentations.
The Ransom as a “touchstone” will not only be a test of all teaching brought to it, but it may also be a test of the student, in that some long cherished beliefs may be found to be inconsistent with the faith in the Ransom. Happy will he be to whom the “touchstone” does not become a “stumbling stone and rock of offence,” as it was to the Jews, and is now to a large number in Christendom. — 1 Cor. 1: 2 3 ; 1 Pet. 2 : 8.
-NCA 1929, April, p. 29
“2 to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:2-3 NAS)
“and, “A Stone Of Stumbling And A Rock Of Offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this [doom] they were also appointed.” (1 Peter 2:8 NAS)
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19 NAS)
*
In I Corinthians 6, the Apostle Paul exhorts the brethren not to practise sin, because (v. 19) “. . . ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price.”
Bought with a Price
Now just how was this transaction fulfilled? Was the Lord Jesus as a sinless spirit being in heaven, and before He came to the earth, so valuable that His life was of sufficient worth to cover the whole human race? or so valuable as to be worth more than all the human race?
Some Christians think along these lines. Yet this is not the way the Scriptures describe the transaction.
The Scriptures say that He “gave himself a ransom for all.” Ransom means “corresponding price,” or “a price to correspond.” When we go into a shop to buy an article we are told the price. We hand over the counter just exactly the price demanded for the purchase of that article. The seller hands over the article, which now belongs to the purchaser. The article has changed hands at a price satisfactory to both parties. If the shopkeeper likes he may quite rightly and justly give you your money back, and you may justly retain the article also, receiving the price as a gift along with the
purchase. Thus, you see, everything is quite in order, and each party to the transaction is still perfectly satisfied.
Just so, along lines somewhat similar, was the ransom or corresponding price paid for the purchase of the human race, and himself, the price paid by Jesus the Purchaser, was returned to Him when He was raised from death by the Father, to whom He had offered himself without spot.
-NCA 1929,May p. 104
The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Jesus was born, got a beginning, after the many years he was been promised to come. After he learned how to behave and what to do, getting the Bible teaching from his earthly parents (Mary and Joseph) and his Jewish teachers in his parents community (the Essenes) he came into the public around the age of thirty and had himself baptised by his cousin John. At the moment he raised from the water the heavens opened and God declared that there the world could see His beloved son.
“16 And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, [and] coming upon Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”” (Matthew 3:16-17 NAS)
It was by that son of man and son of God that we could find salvation because it was God Who did raise an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David His servant. As such the salvation is of the Jews, but Jesus, who only wanted to do the Will of his Father, was not recognised by the majority of the Jews as the Messiah. They rejected him, but Jesus invited all to come to him and to accept him as the Way.
It was for all people that Jesus voluntary gave his body to be brought on the ‘slaughter bank’ by impalement, coming his life to an end. The God of gods Who is the Most High and can not die made Jesus than higher than the angels (though he was lower than them before) and took him to sit at His right hand to become a mediator between God and man.
It is God’s wish that all flesh shall see the salvation of God. And those who want to belong to the Body of Christ do have to take care that many people come to see who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. They have to take care that people come to know what they worship and that they get a “stedfast” belief in the Word, and become of all accepted worthy, that Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners, for the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.
For God did not send His son to the world that he may judge the world, but that the world may be saved through him, and find hope for all of their beloved, a chance to enter the Kingdom of God for free, because the Ransom is paid by Christ Jesus. And there is not salvation in any other, for there is no other name under the heaven that has been given among men, in which it behoved us to be saved.
As followers of Christ, bought free by him, we should present ourselves also to him and his heavenly Father. For it was becoming to Him, because of whom are all things, and through whom are all things, many sons to glory bringing, the author of their salvation through sufferings to make perfect.
“And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant — ” (Luke 1:69 NAS)
“And All Flesh Shall See The Salvation Of God.’”” (Luke 3:6 NAS)
“”You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” (John 4:22 NAS)
“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost [of all.]” (1 Timothy 1:15 NAS)
“”For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”” (Luke 19:10 NAS)
“”For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.” (John 3:17 NAS)
“”And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”” (Acts 4:12 NAS)
“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.” (Hebrews 2:10 NAS)
“Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” (John 14:6 NAS)
The Servant of his Father asks from us also to become servants for God, for Christ and for each-other. To be worthy to come in front of the heavenly Father we do have to Flee from Immorality and have to do our best to stay clean and worthy to enter the gates of the Kingdom. We thereby should always Remember the day that we were running in the darkness and should therefore be patient with others trying to bring them to God. Christians do have the task to tell others why we need a ransom, and to let there eyes be opened to come to see that there is a Ransom for all.
Moving Through Time: Timeline of Religion (pcr.wpengine.com) Since the beginning of time, mankind has formed beliefs of the unexplainable and unknowable. Over thousands of years, these beliefs became traditional, customary, and institutionalized within regional societies. People continue to express an interest in spiritual matters from all corners around the world. Everybody has pondered the meaning of life, what happens after we die, what existed before us, and whether any other life exists in the universe. Mankind may never know concrete answers regarding the spiritual. In fact, humans may destroy the planet before we can discover the remaining life in unexplored regions. Nevertheless, we continue to seek spiritual enlightenment and a connection with our Creator.
God is Love (dailybibleplan.com)
Great freedom comes from understanding the true heart of God. Praise Him today for His great love for us. Be blessed knowing that God’s perfect love for you will never fail.
#LivingthePromise God is preparing me (seanwhitenack.wordpress.com)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Jesus is Matchless (theencouragementexpress.com)
people change people as much as ideas change people. The power of personality is strong. One could find many illustrations to prove that often personality is greater than the idea. Such is the case with Christianity. The secret of the power of Christianity is not in its ethics. It is not in Christian ideas or philosophy, although Christianity has a philosophical set of ideas. The secret of Christianity is found in a Person, and that Person is the Lord Jesus Christ.
What was Abolished in Christ ? (isaiahministries.wordpress.com)
It is said of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, that He “hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 2 Tim. 1:10. Death is the result of sin. “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
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We read that Christ “was manifested to take away our sins.” 1 John 3:5. He is the sin-bearer, “Who His own self carried up our sins in His body to the tree, that we having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness.” 1 Peter 2:24, R.V., margin. Sin is lawlessness, and Christ was manifested to take away, not the law, but lawless-ness.
What does the Bible say about finding a husband? (mmfit1.wordpress.com)
We must enter into the second most-important relationship of our lives (marriage), not under an emotional cloud, but with eyes wide open. Our most important relationship, with our Lord and Savior, has to be the focus of our lives
Thankfulness from A to Z! (pamelastephens.me)
Can you think of hymns, or praise songs that truly express your gratitude for an Awesome God? It is an act of worship to allow your spirit to be transported into the heavenlies with these melodies; but it is more than just a tune, combined with the words it becomes a heart felt prayer as we sing! Consider, meditate and praise Him for His blessings from A to Z! “Count your blessings, name them one by one! Count your many blessings see what God has done!”
November 16th (learning2walkdaily.wordpress.com) Paul is challenging the people to get past the small things that have grown to divide them and focus on Jesus. This has obviously mushroomed over time into many sects, some of which may even be the “official” church of some nations. Now, more than ever, in such an unfriendly time for the church, we should all be heeding Paul’s instruction and simply strive for unity through Jesus Christ.
Broeders en Zusters in Christus door de eeuwen heen.
Vredelievende waarheidzoekers.
De joden, conversos (bekeerlingen) genoemd, en Moren die zich in de 14de eeuw, dikwijls uit de angst voor het antisemitisme en de pogroms van juni 1391, tot het christendom hadden bekeerd bleven dikwijls in het geheim trouw aan het voorvaderlijk geloof. Het waren mensen die wilden vasthouden aan het geloof in één enkele God en niet in de drie godheden waartoe de ‘mainstream’ van het Christendom was naar over gegaan. Maar over geheel Europa zo wel als Azië bleven er broeders en zusters in Christus het geloof in de Ene Ware God verkondigen. Deze gelovigen wensten niet toe te geven aan de Drievuldigheidsgedachte en legden zich er op toe hun geloofsregels uit de Bijbel te halen in plaats van menselijke regels op te volgen.
Ook al mag godsdienst gebaseerd zijn op openbaringen door niet empirisch of ‘zuiver rationeel’ aantoonbare persoonlijkheden of actoren (God, goden, geesten, engelen etc.), is het waarheidsbegrip ook nauw verweven met dergelijke bovennatuurlijke openbaringen. Volgens de navolgers van christus kwam het er op aan Jezus ten volle na te volgen en zich te houden aan de Oude Geschriften, naast de verrijking van de evangeliën en brieven van de apostelen. Inzicht in de waarheid kon volgens hen volkomen verkregen worden door de bestudering van dit Oude Testament en het Nieuwe Testament. Veel dogmatische en bevindelijke theologieën gingen en gaan er nog steeds van uit dat de Bijbel als woord van God onfeilbaar juist is, ook vanuit historisch perspectief.
Spiritueel verlichte personen trachtten anderen het Licht te laten zien door de kennis van het Woord van God te vergroten. Een groot probleem hierbij was wel dat de Rooms Katholieke Kerk zich verzette tegen de kennis van de Heilige Schrift. Volgens hun geestelijke leiders waren de mensen niet opgewassen tegen de inhoud van die geschriften. De kennis van de Heilige Schrift zou echter ook bepaalde onschriftuurlijke regels blootleggen.
De bisschop van Rome was in het westen de “primus inter pares” (=”de eerste onder de gelijken”) geworden. Deze had meer en meer gezag gewonnen als hoofd van de Kerk, hoewel de gelovigen in het Griekstalige Oosten zich meer oriënteerden op de patriarch van Constantinopel en de patriarchen van Antiochië en Alexandrië ook veel invloed bleven houden.
In de loop van de 10e eeuw had de keizer van het Duitse Rijk gaandeweg de verregaande bevoegdheid verworven om bisschoppen te benoemen (dit werd symbolisch tot uitdrukking gebracht bij de ambtsaanvaarding waar de bisschop uit handen van de vorst de investituur (=bekleding) ontving, die bestond uit een ring voor zijn geestelijke taak en een staf voor zijn wereldlijke arbeid). Dit was voor veel geestelijken vanzelfsprekend een buitengewoon onverkwikkelijke zaak: tijdens de 11e eeuw was er daarom een hervormingsbeweging op gang gekomen, de zgn. Gregoriaanse hervorming, onder meer in de abdijen van Gorze en Cluny, die de invloed van de wereldlijke macht op de benoeming van de bisschoppen wilde uitbannen. De Katholieke Kerk wenste haar macht uit te breiden en verlange ontegensprekelijke gehoorzaamheid en volgzaamheid. Met de investituur op straffe van excommunicatie kon paus Gregorius VII (ca. 1020/1025-1085) het kerkelijk gezag aan de wereldlijke macht ontnemen en het primaat van de Kerk verstevigen. er kwam een hele Investituurstrijd op gang. Er waren niet alleen problemen tussen de keizers en koningen; ook in de tweede helft van de dertiende eeuw waren er verscheidene conflicten met invloedrijke Romeinse families die aanleiding gaven voor de pausen om uit te wijken naar verschillende andere Italiaanse steden, onder andere Viterbo, Orvieto, en Perugia. Paus Bonifatius VIII (1294-1303) raakte door zijn bemoeienissen met wereldse zaken en door zijn claim op de hoogste positie binnen Europa in een ernstig conflict met Filips de Schone van Frankrijk. Er ontstond een machtsvacuüm in Italië en de strijd tussen rivaliserende steden en machtige families bedreigde de macht van de paus over de Kerkelijke Staat en de stad Rome zelf. Men had de Franse paus Clemens V (1305-1314) en Robert van Genève (1342–1394), de bisschop van Kamerijk, die tot tegenpaus Clemens VII werd verkozen tegenover de aartsbisschop van Bari, Bartolomeo Prignano (ca. 1318–1389) paus Urbanus VI. De zogenaamde onfeilbare pausen begonnen nu driftig elkaars besluiten nietig te verklaren en elkaars volgelingen te excommuniceren. Om de ontstane impasse te doorbreken en een nieuwe kerkelijke scheuring te voorkomen werden tijdens het Concilie van Pisa (1409) de twee rivaliserende pausen afgezet en werd de aartsbisschop van Milaan Petrus van Candia (1340-1410) tot de nieuwe paus, en bijgevolg het hoofd van de heilige katholieke kerk, gekozen. dit leidde echter niet tot een afdoende oplossing en creëerde zelfs het bestaan van drie regerende pausen. Het Concilie van Konstanz (1414-1418) maakte aan deze delicate situatie echter een einde: de eerste paus trad af, de tweede paus werd gedwongen zijn aanspraak op de zetel van Petrus in te trekken en de derde paus: de voortvluchtige tegenpaus Johannes XXIII (ca. 1370-1419) (niet te verwarren met de latere paus Johannes XXIII), de opvolger van Alexander V (die na een kort pontificaat van slechts tien maanden was overleden), werd opgepakt en gevangengezet en pas na het concilie weer vrijgelaten, zodat er nu tot vreugde van de Kerk een nieuwe paus gekozen kon worden: de kardinaal-diaken van de San Giorgio in Velabro Oddone Colonnapaus Martinus V (1417-1431).
De Bijbelstudent Nicholas Van Hereford of Nicholas of Herford, (stierf c. 1420, Coventry, Warwickshire, Eng.), was een theologische geleerde en voorstander van de Engelse hervormingsbeweging binnen de Romeinse Kerk die later terugkwam op zijn onorthodoxe overzichten en deelnam aan de repressie van andere hervormers.
Nicholas of Hereford en John Wycliffe die de "arme priesters" de Bijbel vertaling meegeven
Nicholas werd in 1370 aangesteld en ontving later een doctoraat van Oxford in theologie (1382) . Terwijl studeerde aan Oxford werd hij door Wycliffe (ca. 1328/1330–1384) , de stichter van een evangelische christelijke groep Lollards, beïnvloed. Hij ontwikkelde de hervormingstheologie van Lollardism verder door in zijn eigen preken. Ook hij gaf de administratieve luxe aan en bevestigde het recht van iedere Christen om zijn persoonlijk geloof door meditatie op de Bijbel te vestigen. Hij en Wycliffe, samen met andere Lollards, werden voor hun zienswijze veroordeeld en werden opgeroepen om te verschijnen voor de Aartsbisschop van Canterbury zijn rechtbank in 1382. Toen zij weigerden te verschijnen, werden zij geëxcommuniceerd.
Nicholas geloofde met de vertaling van het Oude Testament toegerust te zijn. Deze Hebreewse Geschriften in de Engelse vertaling werden door hem in 1382 vervolledigd. Het is goed mogelijk dat de gekende Wycliffe Bijbel eigenlijk meer gebasseerd is op Nicholas’ zijn onderzoekswerk en studie van de oude geschriften. Namelijk uitgaande van Nicholas van Hereford’s vertaling bracht Wycliffe meerdere Engelstalige bijbels in omloop. Al liep deze vertaling zeer veel kerkekelijke tegenstand op vond zij haar weg door het koninkrijk Engeland. In 1408 besloot een synode van klerken bijeengeroepen door de aartsbischop van Arundel te Oxford om een verbod op te leggen op de de vertaling en het gebruik van de Bijbel in de spreektaal. Ook al werden er strenge maatregelen getroffen leek het een maat voor niets want de verbreiding zette zich gestaag door. In de loop van de volgende eeuw zou de overgetekende versie van Wycliffe de enige Engelse Bijbelversie zijn. Hij behaalde een wijdverspreide populariteit en met meer dan 200 overgebleven manuscripten kunnen wij het bewijs zien van deze meest gekopieerde Bijbelvertaling tussen 1420 en 1450.
Bij zijn excommunicatie verzocht Nicholas onmiddellijk paus Urbanus VI zijn geval te bekijken, maar hij werd opnieuw veroordeeld en werd tot gevangenschap voor het leven veroordeeld. Hij ontsnapte tijdens een populaire opstand tegen de Paus in juni 1385, maar werd door de Aartsbisschop van Canterbury gevangen genomen bij zijn terugkeer naar Engeland. Hij werd onderworpen aan een strenge behandeling in het Kasteel van Saltwood, Kent (1388–89), en er werd de hand gelegd op zijn schrijven op bevel van Koning Richard II die de geschriften, tijdens Nicholas gevangenschap in Saltwood Kasteel, liet vernietigen, hoewel documenten van de periode zijn Bekentenis van 1382 bewaren en andere openbare verklaringen van zijn geloof .
Onder druk herriep hij zijn geloof in 1391 en werd koninklijke bescherming gegund. Hij werd als theologische ondervrager van verdachte ketters aangesteld. Kroniekschrijvers van zijn tijd halen aan dat hij krachtig discussieerde met zijn voormalige Lollard collega’s . Hij werd aangesteld als kanselier van Hereford Kathedraal (1391) en in 1395 werd hij kanselier van Sint Paulus te Londen. Van 1397 tot 1417 was hij schatmeester aan Hereford; kort voor zijn dood trad hij van de post af en ging een kartuizer klooster binnen.
John Wycliffe in zijn bureau
John Wycliffe, de Oxfordse doctor in de theologie (1360 Balliol college & later universiteit) en pastoor te Lutterworth, waar hij ook geïnteresseerd geraakte in de politiek, wilde de wijsbegeerte terugbrengen tot de Bijbel en de kerkvaders. Hij was er zich bewust van dat de Kerk een aardse bedoening was, die eigenlijk geen aards bezit mocht hebben. De goederen die zij bezat diende zij terug te geven aan de oorspronkelijke eigenaren, wat Wycliffe veel steun bezorgde van de Engelse adel.
De aardse kerk als instituut had geen invloed op de uitverkiezing van gelovigen en door God uitverkorenen. Hij vocht aan wat er door de eeuwen gegroeid was van scheiding en ontstane hiërarchieën. Wycliffe keerde zich tegen de kerkorganisatie, tegen de pausen, priesters en religieuze orden. Volgens hem mochten zij die het Woord van God wensten verkondigen zich niet hechten aan materie of positie en was er dus geen rangorde in de organisatie van volgelingen van Christus. Zij die Jezus lief hadden zouden ook datgene moeten doen wat Jezus van hen vroeg. De prediking van Jezus moest verder verkondigt worden door mensen met een eenvoud van karakter en zonder winstbejag. De “poor preachers” werden door Wycliffe uitgezonden om het evangelie in de eigen landstaal te verkondigen. Ook al werd hij door de koning en het Engelse parlement graag gezien werd hij door paus Gregorius XI openlijk aangeklaagd. Hij werd gewraakt en in 1377 liep er een arrestatiebevel tegen hem, maar hij werd toen niet in Engeland opgepakt. In 1382 werden zijn werken door de synode van London veroordeeld en werden zijn geschriften te Oxford verbannen.
“The King’s English” had het Frans verdrongen en kon als verstaanbare taal naar de burgers toegebracht worden. Met deze taal en de versie van het volk, wenste hij het Boek der Boeken tot het volk te brengen. Na zijn dood zijn de “Lollards” in de geest van Wyclif verder gegaan met het preken in de volkstaal. De Engelse theoloog, priester en bijbelvertaler William Tyndale (ca. 1494–1536) of William of Tindale reisde in 1525 naar Keulen, Worms en Marburg waar hij het mogelijk zou maken dat de Engelsen de Heilige Schrift ook in hun eigen taal zouden kunnen gaan lezen. Tyndale was de eerste om aanzienlijke delen van de Bijbel in het Engels te vertalen, voor een amateurlezerspubliek (Worms 1526) . In 1529 hielp Miles Coverdale (1488?-1569) hem in Hamburg de Pentateuch te vertalen. Terwijl er reeds enkel gedeeltelijke en volledige vertalingen van de Bijbel waren gemaakt van af de zevende eeuw en in het bijzonder tijdens de 14de eeuw, was de Tyndalevertaling de eerste Engelse vertaling rechtstreeks uit het Hebreeuws en uit de Griekse teksten. In de vertaling werd voor het tetragrammaton YHWH en de klinker van adonai: YaHoWaH gekozen voor het plaatsen en aldus kenbaar maken van de Naam van God: Jehovah. Verdere werden ook andere nieuwe woorden in het Engels gebracht zoals: Passover en Atonement en uitdrukkingen als het zout der aarde: salt of the earth. Ook was het de eerste vertaling die gebruik maakte van het nieuwe communicatiemiddel der drukkunst. Deze nieuwe vermenigvuldigingsvorm gaf de mogelijkheid om voor een wijde distributie te zorgen. Dit werd als een rechtstreeks uitdaging genomen naar de hegemonie van zowel de rooms-katholieke Kerk als de Engelse kerk en staat. Aan zijn wijze van vertalen en ook aan zijn aantekeningen is de invloed van Luthers leer duidelijk te merken. In Engeland verzette de geestelijkheid zich hevig tegen de vertaling van de Bijbel. Uit het vasteland binnengesmokkelde exemplaren werden in beslag genomen en verbrand op bevel van Tunstall.
Portret van William Tyndale
De katholieke geestelijkheid verdroeg niemand die haar positie betwiste en kon het helemaal niet op prijs stellen dat er predikers waren die de mensen lieten horen wat er werkelijk in de Bijbel stond. Op de vlucht voor de kerkelijke achtervolgers ging Tyndale naar het boekdrukcentrum Antwerpen, waar hij bij de uit Frankrijk afkomstig drukker en uitgever Merten de Keyser (Martin Lempereur, Martinus Caesar, Martyne Emperowr)(?-1536), die een volledige Franse druk van de Bijbel maakte, een herziening van zijn Nieuwe Testament (1534), een vertaling van de Pentateuch en verscheidene theologische geschriften het licht liet zien. Merten de Keyser had ook in het Nederlands het Nieuwe Testament uitgegeven in 1525 (Dat nieuwe testament ons heeren Jesu Christi met alder neersticheyt oversien, ende verduytst), psalmboeken, en ander religieus werk. Zijn wapenschild is opgenomen in de tweede complete Nederlandstalige Bijbel van zijn collega Willem Vorsterman in 1528 in Antwerpen; dit wijst op een vorm van samenwerking tussen twee drukkers in dezelfde straat. In 1534 verzorgde hij ook de herziening van de Latijnse Vulgaat door Robert I Estienne (Robert Etienne, Robert Stephens, Robertus Stephanus) (1503 – 1559).
Vanuit Antwerpen kon Tyndale met de Keyzer het vervoer van zijn boeken verzorgen, een onthaaldienst voor Engelse vluchtelingen organiseren en de politieke verwikkelingen in Engeland op de voet volgen via informanten. Voor de Engelse markt drukte Merten de Keyser in 1528 William TyndalesThe obedience of a Christen man, en in 1530 diens The practyse of Prelates alsmede diens vertaling van de Pentateuch. Tyndales Exposition of the fyrste Epistle of seynt Ihon kwam van onder de persen in 1531 waarna George Joyes vertaling van Isaiah, en Tyndales vertaling van Jonah volgden. Reeds in 1534 kon er een tweede herziene druk van Tyndales Bijbel voorzien worden. Ook publiceerde de Keyzer dan Joyes nieuwe uitgave van de Davids Psalmen gebaseerd op de Latijnse versie van Zwingli, en Joyes vertaling van Jeremiah. Volgens een onderzoek van Guido Latré in 1997, was het ook Merten de Keyser die de allereerste complete Engelse Bijbel drukte in 1535, de Coverdale Bible, waarvan de 1539 foliouitgave “the Great Bible” de koninklijke vergunning droeg en daarom de eerste officieel goedgekeurde Bijbel vertaling was in het Engels.
William Tyndale op de brandstapel in Vilvoorde 1536
Maar ook in Antwerpen was Tyndale niet veilig voor de Inquisitie. Men nam hem daar gevangen en bracht hem naar Vilvoorde waar verscheidene mensen gefolterd werden vooraleer zij hun dood vonden op de brandstapel. Ook deze gepassioneerde waarheidszoeker vond de marteldood op 6 september 1536 door wurging en verbranding op het binnenplaats van het kasteel van Vilvoorde. Een gedenksteen in de stad Vilvoorde en een klein museum ‘William Tyndale’ bij de protestantse William Tyndalekerk aldaar (Lange Molensstraat 58, bij de Mechelse steenweg – maar een verhuis naar een andere locatie wordt voorbereid) herinneren aan zijn levenswerk en zijn gewelddadige dood als martelaar. De Tyndale Bijbel, zoals hij gekend werd ging een hoofdrol spelen in het uitspreiden van Reformatie ideeën over Europa. De vierenvijftig onafhankelijke geleerden die de Koning James Versie van de bijbel of King Jamesbijbel in 1611 creëerden tekenden beduidend op de vertalingen van Tyndale. Een schatting stelt voor dat het Nieuwe Testament in de Koning James Versie 83% van Tyndale is en voor het Oude Testament 76%.
Wolfgang Fabricius Capito (1478–1541), Martin Cellarius (1499–1564), Johannes Campanus (ca. 1500–1575) en Thomas Emlyn (1663–ca. 1741) aanvaardden de bijbel als Gods Woord en verwierpen de Drieëenheid. Ook Henry Grew (1781–1862) en George Storrs (1796–1879) aanvaardden de bijbel en verwierpen de Drieëenheid, en tevens brachten zij waardering tot uitdrukking voor het loskoopoffer van Christus.
What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world? In Christendom there are lots of denominations but oh such a few, keep really to the biblical teachings. A lot of churches claim they are the only right church. In case they would follow all the teachings of Christ Jesus, […]
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 […]
Beth Snider on the Odd News Show writes about a mysterious large green stone discovered at the Temple complex in Hattusa, the capital of the ancient Hittite Empire, standing on a raised platform and measures 215 by 140 feet (65 by 42 metres). The Hattusa Green Stone is a roughly cubic block of nephrite standing […]
Did Lamech kill Cain? What happened to Cain in the Bible? In the Book of Genesis, we are told about Cain’s birth, his violent act of fratricide and his subsequent exile. We learn that he married and had descendants, but the Bible is strangely mute about his death. How did Cain die? If he did […]
Read Elie Wiesel’s essay on Cain and Abel in the Bible as it originally appeared in Bible Review, February 1998. First republished in BHD June 1, 2015. Cain and Abel: The first two brothers of the first family in history. The only brothers in the world. The saddest, the most tragic. Why do they hold […]
Op maandag 22 april zal onze broeder, Marcus Ampe ter operatie in het ziekenhuis Gasthuisberg te Leuven verblijven. Hierdoor zal hij in de ecclesiae van Brussel-Leuven, Anderlecht, Mons-Lille de avonddienst voor 14 Nisan niet kunnen voorgaan. Wij hopen dat onze leden in hun kleine kringen het vergaderen niet zullen nalaten en Jezus laatste avondmaal in […]
“In vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commands of men.” (Matthew 15:9) SPECIALS SPECIALS SPECIALS SPECIALS Every 10 You Order You Will Get 5 Extra Free Copies. Greetings Supporters, If you are not aware of the existence of this book, it would do you service, to all those who sense something not […]
Recent Posts on the Lifestyle Magazine: Stepping Toes
The Israeli military has established a new mountaineer unit tasked with carrying out operations across the country’s hostile borders with Lebanon and Syria amid worsening tensions over the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. “We are in a multi-front war—Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria, and Gaza, and also farther away,” IDF Chief of the General […]
The Times, January 24, 2024 Event Two cargo ships sailing close to the Gulf of Aden came under attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday night, the White House said — forcing the US navy to intervene as the Iran-backed militia intensified its maritime assault on commercial shipping. Houthi forces fired three anti-ship ballistic […]
The Independent, January 19, 2024 Event It is hard to escape the impression of a theatre of military conflict that is inexorably growing – to the east and the south, if not yet to the north and the west. And if you look backwards, rather than forwards, the Hamas massacres of Israelis on 7 October, and Israel’s all-out […]
VOA, January 12, 2024 Event Thursday’s retaliatory attacks by U.S. and British forces on Iranian-backed Houthis inside Yemen have prompted support and condemnation from the international community. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani “strongly slammed the military strikes by the U.S. and Britain,” in a statement, calling it “an arbitrary move” that “clearly breached Yemen’s […]
The Times, January 12, 2024 Event Explosions were heard across Yemen late on Thursday night as British and US forces launched strikes on Houthi targets, after the Iranian-backed group ignored warnings to stop attacking ships in the Red Sea. Rishi Sunak, who had authorised the military action hours earlier and briefed ministers in an emergency […]
Recent Posts on the other Lifestyle Magazine and Readers Digest: From guestwriters
BBC, April 9, 2024 Event Climate change could move “into uncharted territory” if temperatures don’t fall by the end of the year, a leading scientist has told the BBC. The warning came as data showed March was the world’s warmest March on record, extending the run of monthly temperature records to 10 in a row. […]
° Remember for the difficult moments that there is nothing wrong with you. In essence, you are just a beautiful person. It’s time to find this in yourself again and really believe it. °
° ”Be willing to try new things! If you don’t, how will you know what you enjoy? There’s so much value in challenging yourself to do something different. You may not stick with an activity, but the point is you tried it!” — Craig Melvin, news anchor of Today, co-host of 3rd Hour of Today, […]
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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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Additional reading
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Further reading
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Bible Students, Bible study, Christadelphian, God Jehovah Yahweh (English), History, Jesus Christ, Jeshua Messiah, Religion, Video, Word of God
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