Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ucf-cs.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!unc!mcnc!duke!ucf-cs!yiri From: yiri@ucf-cs.UUCP (Yirmiyahu BenDavid) Newsgroups: net.religion,net.religion.christian Subject: Re: The best little bible in the world... Message-ID: <1772@ucf-cs.UUCP> Date: Thu, 29-Nov-84 08:31:12 EST Article-I.D.: ucf-cs.1772 Posted: Thu Nov 29 08:31:12 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 30-Nov-84 19:21:30 EST References: <1368@umcp-cs.UUCP> Organization: UCF, Orlando, FL Lines: 35 The only thing which will genuinely do what you ask is to split the quest into two sub-quests: 1.) Regarding the Jewish Bible, use the Masoretic Hebrew, the Septuagint Greek and the Dead Sea Scrolls to establish the best reading of the Hebrew (yes, the Greek sometimes helps to support the Hebrew reading when used along with the Dead Sea Scrolls... read the book on the DSS by Yadin and also by Allegro - both books). If you are not able to do this, don't fool yourself that you are. If you can't penetrate beyond the English then your best bet is to use the Jewish Publication Society version (The Torah, The Prophets, and The Writings, three volumes) AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS NOT(!!) AUTHORITIVE AND DOES NOT(!!) DO WHAT YOU REALLY WANT... IT ONLY APPROXIMATES IT SOMEWHAT. 2.) If you are including the 'New Testament' in your definition, then the best you can do is go to the Novum Testamentum Graeca published by the American Bible Society, replace Vaticanus readings with Sinaiticus readings and consider Peshitta readings and the earlier papyrii readings and translate it yourself with the help of something like the Vine's Expository Dictionary of the New Testament. Be sure to find the best English word for each Greek word, translate it that way literally and then try to understand THAT translation rather than substitue other English words like most translaters have done. That interjects too much bias of Christian translaters into the text - ALWAYS. There is NO substitue for this method and NO English version which will do what you asked. Other aids are available to help most anyone translate for themselves if they have enough concern to learn the Greek alphabet and put in some time... it doesn't go fast if you are a beginner. Nevertheless, you can take the Englishman's Greek Concordance and a Parsing Guide to the Greek New Testament, along with Vine's, and with some determination you can do it. I'm telling you that if you do not do this for yourself, you WILL be deceived!