Useful Adjunct for Bible Study

books:


	• The Orthodox New Testament (The Holy Gospels) Dormition Skete Icons, Holy Apostles Convent Holy Apostles Convent Pubns, 2000 - 640 pages average customer review:based on 10 reviews
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highly recommended

Mr Peabody

I am not Eastern Orthodox and am not biased for or against this translation. Having said that, it is, in my opinion, one of the best translations of the New Testament available. The only other translation that I know of that is comparable is the International Standard Version (ISV). The Eastern Orthodox New Testament uses King James style English, but I find it easy to understand and the Greek is translated much more accurately. The ISV uses modern English and is a similar high accuracy translation. Using both of these translations for New Testament study is the way to go.

Let me also advise using the Septuagint for Old Testament study. This is the Old Testament translation that is quoted in the New Testament. Most Bibles use the Masoretic version of the Old Testament. When you compare the quotes in the New Testament with the corresponding verses in the Old Testament, you have to wonder what they are talking about. That is because they were quoting the Septuagint.

Use the Septuagint, The Orthodox New Testament, and the ISV New Testament and you can hardly go wrong.

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THE Orthodox New Testament!

This is the book I have been looking for! While I appreciate the efforts of the editors of the Orthodox Study Bible, I found this 2-volume New Testament to be MUCH more to my liking. First and foremost, it features a new English translation made by Orthodox scholars primarily from an Orthodox text approved by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Secondly, it features the direct, in-depth references to the Holy Fathers that are so often lacking in the OSB. The decision to print icons with the text was an excellent one, as the reader can readily relate to both the written and visual Word of God thereby. Clearly the editors of this text went to very great lengths to prepare and present a truly ORTHODOX Bible, and for this they are to be greatly commended. A "must-have" for every English-speaking Orthodox Christian, and extremely valuable as well for those non-Orthodox seeking to learn what the Holy Fathers (who were Orthodox, after all!) have to say about the Holy Scriptures!

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A mixed blessing

In many ways I think that this is an excellent study Bible - it is not, however, one I would recommend to those who are simply looking for a Bible to read casually.

The text from which this Bible is translated is the 1912 text authorized by the Ecumenical Patriarch. Similar in many ways to Textus Receptus, there are minor differences. The authors have deliberately chosen to use archaic English, in part because of the usage of "thee" and "thou" as the second person singular and "ye" and "you" for the second person plural -- this is an advantage for those who want to be able to distinguish which "you" the writer is referring to, but makes it somewhat awkward for modern readers. The translators are to be commended for accurately translating the Greek words in the same tenses used by the authors, but this does sacrifice some of the beauty which is found in the Authorized - King James versions.

The notes utilizing quotations from the Early Church Fathers is interesting and unique, but I wish that they had been included on the bottom of the page to which the referance appears instead of at the back of that particular book of the Bible. Also, this book is aimed at those already familiar with the teachings of the Orthodox Church -- it would be nice to have some commentary reflecting the teachings and understanding of particular texts by the Church in order to serve as a better evangelistic and catechetical work.

This Bible is attractively bound, and the type is large enough for these old eyes of mine to read.

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Useful Adjunct for Bible Study

The attention to verb tenses and the proper translation of Greek words is appreciated and makes this Bible useful for a deeper meaning of the text. It has been noted by some that if you read the original Greek with the verb tenses in mind the New Testament is a much more active or "energetic" text than most English translations indicate. I also found the patristic notes very useful, though I agree that they would have been easier to use as footnotes.

With archaic English and some unusual verb constructions, I am not sure that I would recommend this version as a primary Bible text. However, it is always helpful to have more than one translation for comparison and this version definitely deserves to be one of the texts in regular use by Orthodox.

One note on verb tenses: As I do not read Koine Greek myself, it is difficult for me to determine exactly how well these are translated. I have noted, however, that at least one other Protestant translation that claims to do this (the Amplified Bible) sometimes does not agree with the ONT. And there does not appear to be a bias one way or the other: sometimes the ONT has a more active translation and sometimes the Amplified Bible does.

The reviewer who says this is no more than the Authorized Version with minor changes is not quite on the mark. Besides the frequent difference in verb tenses, Greek words are generally translated more accurately. For instance, the well-known fact that the KJV translates both Gehenna and Hades as "Hell" is corrected. And perhaps the patristic notes are merely copied from the Nicene Fathers series, but as most of us don't want to carry around the entire 38 volumes (well, 30 if you throw out the Augustine stuff) of the Nicene and Ante-Nicene Fathers, having some relevant passages bound into the same volume as the Bible text is useful. Combined with some other resources (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Theophylact's commentary, etc), the ONT helps to make Orthodox Bible study a true joy.

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reviews: page 1, 2

Vol. 1 Holy Gospels may be purchased separately. See also, Vol. 2 Acts, Epistles, and Revelation. 6 x 9 -inches, lavishly illustrated.

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