…the New Living Translation (translated from what??)
Introduction to the New Living Translation:
The Texts behind the New Living Translation
The Old Testament translators used the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible as represented in Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1977), with its extensive system of textual notes; this is an update of Rudolf Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica (Stuttgart, 1937). The translators also further compared the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint and other Greek manuscripts, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Syriac Peshitta, the Latin Vulgate, and any other versions or manuscripts that shed light on the meaning of difficult passages.
The New Testament translators used the two standard editions of the Greek New Testament: the Greek New Testament, published by the United Bible Societies (UBS, fourth revised edition, 1993), and Novum Testamentum Graece, edited by Nestle and Aland (NA, twenty-seventh edition, 1993). These two editions, which have the same text but differ in punctuation and textual notes, represent, for the most part, the best in modern textual scholarship. However, in cases where strong textual or other scholarly evidence supported the decision, the translators sometimes chose to differ from the UBS and NA Greek texts and followed variant readings found in other ancient witnesses. Significant textual variants of this sort are always noted in the textual notes of the New Living Translation.
Each book was translated by its own team of ancient language/bible scholars from a variety of Christian backgrounds, including Catholic, then each draft was independently reviewed by another team who made suggestions for renderings of difficult passages, etc. and then the final draft was approved by a team of editors, also made up of well-known and accomplished bible scholars and ancient language linguists.
Translations are made and updated as the target language evolves. Groups that are bound to very old translations (like the KJV) are prone to misinterpret passages because the English we use has changed so much from King James times (@ 500 years ago). And the KJV just plain tedious to read in some places, especially in the OT. Making the bible accessible to modern readers is a good thing, no?
The NLT is a wonderful translation. It’s rendering of the OT is especially enjoyable and useful. They even change the Hebrew calendar date references, which few people comprehend, into modern calendar-style dates that everyone can understand. And the Catholic Reference Edition that I own has extensive footnotes, cross-references, verse-finder and indexes. It is just a great bible for pleasure-reading and for use in comparing to other translations for study.
I don’t know about you, but I own 7 different bible translations, including the KJV (LDS Missionary Edition). I always check several translations when trying to fully understand a passage of scripture. I find it very helpful.
Don’t criticize what you don’t know about.
BoJ, your desperate grasping at any straw to defend Joseph Smith’s immorality sounds just like me about a year before I left the LDS faith. Whether you realize it or not, you are here to find the courage to leave what you have come to know is false.
I can see your house of cards falling down around you. Let it fall and enter into the freedom and joy that is the Catholic faith.
You won’t have to expend so much energy trying to defend the indefensible, and all that cognitive dissonance you are carrying around will melt away. You will feel as if the weight of the world has been lifted from your shoulders. I know - I experienced it for myself.
Paul (formerly LDS, now happily Catholic)
