jc316 jc 316 kjv1611

http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage/?q=acts+8&t=kjv&t2=nkjv

https://www.jesus-is-lord.com/thebible.htm

http://webstersdictionary1828.com


Greek

http://www.apostoliki-diakonia.gr/bible/bible.asp?contents=old_testament/contents.asp&main=OldTes

http://www.goarch.org/chapel/biblegreek

http://www.goarch.org/chapel/liturgical_texts/prayercard.pdf

10/16 gd fri

clear Fluids and greens during the day
Fast during the day
the power of Fasting

the problem with apples is  bulk, acid, carb

recitation, memorization, speak, read aloud, repeat
kjv   niv  cath
focus on the Word
A/O

power verses

ritual washing  Neti

http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage/?q=acts+4&t=kjv&t2=nkjv
kjv rLd   Nkj verse-by-verse
works Good

http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage/?q=john+3&t=kjv&t2=nkjv

http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage/?q=acts+28&t=kjv&t2=nas

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2028&version=KJV;NABRE

http://www.bibleprotector.com/GUIDE_TO_PCE.pdf

http://www.bibleprotector.com

http://www.biblicalscholarship.net/AV.htm

http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/q-arent-older-manuscripts-more-reliable


http://www.AV7.org/av7free.pdf

http://www.creationism.org/BibleUKJV/index.htm


https://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/kjc/kjvc.html

http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Greek_Index.htm

kjv A/O

http://www.lovethetruth.com/king_james_bible.htm

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/niv_exposed.htm

kjv A/O


Focus on Word KJV


http://www.mardel.com/bibleTranslationGuide

KJV   NAB RE   NIV

kjv A/O

http://www.compellingtruth.org/Jesus-word-God.html

Focus on The *Word

Not Academic
Take it to the people
Stay close to JC, The Work, KJV

Socrates engaged in 
Questioning 
in search for truth. 
He sought to get to the foundations of views by asking continual Questions until a Contradiction was exposed, thus proving the fallacy of the initial assumption. 

This is the Socratic Method
Socrates' contribution to philosophy
Socratic Questioner
Questions 

http://www.law.uchicago.edu/prospectives/lifeofthemind/socraticmethod

http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/socratic-teaching/606

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/4994

http://teaching.colostate.edu/tips/tip.cfm?tipid=53

http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/words-of-jesus-15-amazing-bible-quotes/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logos_(Christianity)

Christology
Logos (Greek: Λόγος logos, that is, "word", "discourse" or "reason")
is a name or title of Jesus Christ


The concept derives from the opening of the Gospel of John, which is often simply translated into English as: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In the translations, "word" is used for logos (λόγος), but in theological discourse, this is often left untranslated.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/decemberweb-only/151-42.0.html?start=2

 N.T. Wright 
"Word" (logos) John
Incarnation, of the Word becoming flesh

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/232391-this-most-beautiful-system-of-the-sun-planets-and-comets

“This most beautiful system of the sun, planets and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”


Isaac Newton, The Principia: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy 

SEPTUAGINT

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

http://www.new-moon.org/Septuagint-SirLancelotC.L.Brenton.pdf


http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xlxx.html

http://www.AV7.org/av7free.pdf

http://www.AV7.org/compare

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christians_in_science_and_technology

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/sciencefaith.html

http://www.icr.org/article/bible-believing-scientists-past/

http://www.famousscientists.org/25-famous-scientists-who-believed-in-god/

http://web.media.mit.edu/~picard/personal/great_xians.php


http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/worldview/9-groundbreaking-scientists-who-happened-be-christians

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2c/ae/a8/2caea874ec1da222271618db26310245.jpg

http://image.slidesharecdn.com/hermbibleversions-141115215210-conversion-gate02/95/hermeneutics-bible-versions-why-use-the-king-james-bible-33-638.jpg?cb=1418073152

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/The%20King%20James%20Bible/kjb_chart-large.gif

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/books/earliest-known-draft-of-king-james-bible-is-found-scholar-says.html?_r=0

https://www.facebook.com/KJBRC

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/3a/3f/4f/3a3f4fd364593878722c3c598b2815ea.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2c/ae/a8/2caea874ec1da222271618db26310245.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Relationship_between_synoptic_gospels.png/350px-Relationship_between_synoptic_gospels.png

http://christinprophecy.org/articles/the-king-james-bible/

http://www.britannica.com/topic/King-James-Version

http://www.av1611.org/kjv/kjvhist.html

http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/

https://www.cai.org/bible-studies/why-christians-should-use-king-james-bible

http://www.av1611.org/kjv/fight.html

http://www.bereanresearchinstitute.com/02_Bible_Versions/BV.0003_Antioch_and_Alexandria.html

https://www.chick.com/reading/books/158/158_08.asp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textus_Receptus

http://www.1611kingjamesbible.com/textus_receptus.html/

http://www.bible-researcher.com/kutilek1.html

http://www.chick.com/reading/books/158/158_48.asp

http://www.solagroup.org/articles/faqs/faq_0032.html

http://www.gotquestions.org/Textus-Receptus.html

http://www.theopedia.com/textus-receptus

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/which_bible_can_we_trust.htm

http://localchurchbiblepublishers.com/bibles/

http://www.bpsmilford.org

Bible Study Tools   Prints Very Nice

http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage/?q=acts+28&t=kjv&t2=nas

BibleGateway.com  Prints Very Nice  and has NABRE Catholic

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2028&version=KJV;NABRE

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2028&version=KJV;NABRE&interface=print

https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/King-James-Version-KJV-Bible/#booklist

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2028&version=KJV

http://biblehub.com/genesis/3.htm

http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-versions/

NASB

New American Standard Bible NAS
The NAS is written in a formal style, but is more readable than the King James Version. It is highly respected as the most literal English translation of the Bible.

http://www.mardel.com/bibleTranslationGuide

http://www.ucg.org/files/images/articleimages/types-of-bible-translations.jpg

http://www.getraptureready.com/appendix/img/bibletranslationcomparison_photo_0.gif

http://www.nlt.to/translations/index

https://visualunit.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/trans_comparison.png

http://www.av7.org/compare/images/compare.jpg

http://www.bibleprotector.com

http://www.av7.org/website/html/av7p3.htm

http://www.av7.org/website/share/freepay.htm

http://getreal.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341fd10e53ef0147e17965dc970b-800wi

http://voiceoftruthblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bible-transchrt-js.jpg

http://www.solagroup.org/articles/historyofthebible/hotb_0003.html

http://reasonabletheology.org/why-we-have-different-bible-translations/

http://www.bibleprotector.com

http://www.ccngh.net/NIV%20Holy%20Bible.pdf

http://www.libertybaptistchurch.org.au/books/NIVOmissions.pdf

https://godwordsecret.com/free-ebooks/free-download-niv-bible/

https://godwordsecret.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/the-holy-bible-new-international-version.pdf?55cd85

http://www.turnbacktogod.com/new-international-version-niv-bible-pdf/

http://sunsetcongregational.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/NIV-Bible-PDF.pdf

http://orig06.deviantart.net/bbd5/f/2008/132/2/b/timeline_of_the_roman_empire_by_ryukonotsuki.jpg


http://www.learningthroughhistory.com/Store/images2/Romempfs_Large.jpg

http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2015/10/mark_dantonio_on_improbable_wi.html
QB Connor Cook
God is Good

http://espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400763542

http://espn.go.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=400763542

http://espn.go.com/college-football/video?gameId=400763542

http://cbcflorida.org/?p=254

http://www.bereanresearchinstitute.com/02_Bible_Versions/BV.0003_Antioch_and_Alexandria.html

antioch bible manuscripts

http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/q-arent-older-manuscripts-more-reliable

http://www.kjvtoday.com

http://www.compassdistributors.ca/topics/textchoi.htm

http://www.scatteredchristians.org/BibleChart.pdf

http://www.preservedword.com/content/antioch-or-alexandria/

http://www.fillthevoid.org/Versions/Differences-2.html

https://www.cai.org/bible-studies/why-christians-should-use-king-james-bible

http://www.angelfire.com/planet/therationalchristian/alexantioch.htm

http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/q-arent-older-manuscripts-more-reliable

http://scienceandbelief.org/2010/12/17/172/

Over the main entrance of the Cavendish Laboratory, the home of the Department of Physics in the University of Cambridge, is an inscription:
‘The works of the Lord are great; sought out of all them that have pleasure therein’. This use of a Bible passage in architecture is somewhat unusual for a university physics laboratory that was built in 1973.

https://www.jesus-is-lord.com/thebible.htm

https://www.jesus-is-lord.com/KJB-PCE-PSALMS.htm

PSALM 111
2  The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.


KJV online
https://www.jesus-is-lord.com/thebible.htm

KJV download PDF multiple Font sizes
http://www.biblicalscholarship.net/AV.htm

KJV
http://www.bibleprotector.com

GUIDE TO THE PURE CAMBRIDGE EDITION OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE
Download the sixth draft of the electronic book Guide to the Pure Cambridge Edition of the King James Bible, by Matthew Verschuur. 

http://www.bibleprotector.com/GUIDE_TO_PCE.pdf

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Miscellaneous/ifb.htm

it's like the Science Field, Math,
Start from Nothing, Declare Assumptions, Use Logic, Step by Step, Declare every step.
Geometry proof.
Math.
Logic = Verbal Math = Word Thought Math

Bethel Baptist Church  Torrance California
http://www.bbctorrance.org/about/

THE BIBLE   We believe the Bible to be the revealed Word of God, fully and verbally inspired of God. We believe the Scriptures to be the inerrant, infallible Word of God, as found within the 66 books from Genesis to Revelation. We believe God not only inspired every word, but has preserved them through the ages. We believe the King James Version is the preserved Word of God for the English-speaking people (Psalm 12:6-7; II Timothy 3:15-17; I Peter 1:23-25; II Peter 1:19-21).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

http://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/kjv-dictionary-index.html

http://webstersdictionary1828.com

http://1828.mshaffer.com

http://www.swordsearcher.com/bible-study-library/webster-1828-dictionary.html

Noah Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1828, has enjoyed a renewed interest in American homeschooling and Bible study. The first edition of Webster's dictionary is perhaps the only general dictionary that can also be called a Christian one.

Webster believed that language is a creation of God, and that education is "useless without the Bible."

The 1828 Dictionary is unique in that it consistently references Scripture where applicable and favors Biblical explanations of concepts over secular.

The Webster 1828 Dictionary is extremely helpful in studying the King James Bible where aid is needed in understanding words no longer in common use.

http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Free-Bible-Dictionary-A.php

http://www.thekingsbible.com/BibleDictionary.aspx

http://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/kjd/

http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/king-james-dictionary/

http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/kjvwords.html

http://www.bible-1611.com

http://www.kingjamesbibledictionary.com

http://www.kingjamesbibledictionary.com/Dictionaries

http://www.htmlbible.com/sacrednamebiblecom/kjvstrongs/B01C001.htm

http://www.johnhurt.com

http://www.preservedwords.com/wordlist.htm

http://machaut.uchicago.edu/websters

There is a need for 
KJV
with revised
pronouns  Thee Thou
and definitions
with minimal changes
to everything else.

Maybe parallel format.

Every change transparent and justified.
Maybe parenthesis.
Pronouns is the main thing.
Definitions could be placed on the side.
You (pl)
You (s)

with a legend on every page

the problem with Baseball Prospectus, they waste space on corny jokes, but don't define abbreviations, with computers cut and paste

http://www.1611kingjamesbible.com/textus_receptus.html/

http://www.1611kingjamesbible.com/manuscripts.html/

http://www.bible-researcher.com/kutilek1.html

http://www.solagroup.org/articles/faqs/faq_0032.html

http://www.theopedia.com/textus-receptus

http://textus-receptus.com/wiki/Main_Page

http://www.chick.com/reading/books/158/158_48.asp

http://biblehub.com/tr/matthew/1.htm

http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Greek_Index.htm

http://www.logosapostolic.org/bibles/textus_receptus/greek_textus_receptus_index.htm


http://www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e1890

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles%27_Creed


http://www.reformation.org/conversion-of-saint-paul.html

http://newlife.id.au/church-history/7-things-about-the-king-james-bible/

http://www.equip.org/article/is-your-modern-translation-corrupt/

http://av1611.com/kjbp/faq/since1611.html

http://www.kjvonly.org/robert/joyner_which_bible.html

http://www.chick.com/information/bibleversions/articles/kingjamesbible.asp

http://www.ibri.org/Tracts/trkjvtct.htm

http://www.1611kingjamesbible.com/manuscripts.html/

http://www.westcotthort.com/quotes_scripture.html

greek   orthodox church timeline

http://www.orthodoxresource.co.uk/orthodoxy/history.htm

http://saintseraphim.com/images/about_orthodoxy/gfx_timelineChurchHistory.gif

http://www.orthodoxresource.co.uk/orthodoxy/timeline.jpg

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/13/145170447/catholic-church-corrupt-to-its-core-says-survivor

http://www.discoverrevelation.com/4.html

http://twincitiesgracefellowship.com/about/doctrinal-statement

http://twincitiesgracefellowship.com/bible-study-101

10-19-2014  Gd kjv1  Gd spk mi Ac

KJV  Rd ALd  x3  Memorize
NIV  NAB RE Cthlc  definitions vocabulary aLd  kjv a/o

http://www.bible-researcher.com/versbib10.html

http://www.biblica.com/en-us/the-niv-bible/meet-the-translators/

Shakespeare  1564 - 1616
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare

http://www.usccb.org/bible/liturgy/

kjv  a/o
niv    
NEW kj   
Nab Re Cthlc
*Webster's Dictionary

kjv a/o  recitation real aLoud speak Out Loud  memorize

parallel = great      Vertical  Horizontal

lean right, be right, be reasonable
http://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-malachi-3-1-5.htm

http://jesus8880.com/chapters/mk01-preview/mk01v02-08-john-baptist/malachi-3v1-24.htm

http://jesus8880.com/index.htm


You will see how Jesus performed every sign miracle. You will see how everything the gospel authors wrote was 100% true. 

http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/scripturesinthechurch.htm

What Translation Should I Use?  
The answer is this: the King James Version (KJV) is the most reliable and faithful English translation,  

"Why hasn"t the Greek Orthodox Church sponsored an accurate translation into modern English from the Byzantine texts and extant fragments of Scripture found in the liturgy of the Church?"

Source: Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver Bulletin: March 1995, Volume 3, Number 3., pp. 14-17 


2. Can You Tell Me Which Translation The Eastern Orthodox Church Uses and Why? 
by His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Proikonisou and Presiding Hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver

The actual title of this presentation written by His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah is titled: "Which English Translation Of The Bible Should I Use"? This outstanding article has appeared in the Diocesan Bulletin of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver.

http://www.serfes.org

http://www.serfes.org/about.htm

http://www.denver.goarch.org/metropolitan/writings/monographs/liturgical_mistranslations.html  

http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm

http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php?topic=23117.0

http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7068

The Eastern Orthodox Church officially uses the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament which was translated from the original Hebrew language into Greek in the third century B.C. The Septuagint of the Orthodox Church contains all the Canonical Books and the Anaginoskoinena Books "worthy to be read" (called Apocrypha in the English Versions). For the New Testament, the original Greek text is used by the Greek Church, while the other Orthodox Churches have translated the Bible into their own native languages from the original Greek, with the Slavonic translation the oldest. The Orthodox Church has not, as yet, translated the Bible into English and so has no official English translation. In the meantime, the Orthodox are temporarily using both the King James Version and the Revised Standard Version. 


http://www.monachos.net/conversation/topic/1887-kjv-vs-modern-translations/page-2

quoting verbatim Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver Bulletin: March 1995, Volume 3, Number 3., pp. 14-17, which describes these texts in no uncertain terms as "bogus versions of the Scriptures" and conclude:

Quote

Perhaps the best example of the modern scholars bias is found in the first chapter, first verse of the Gospel of Mark: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" the modernists drop the words the Son of God because they are absent from the Codex Sinaiticus and papyrus miniscules 28 and 255. Yet they appear in all other copies and versions and in many quotations of the fathers!

http://www.hchc.edu/holycross/campus_life/library

http://www.ccel.org/node/5745/34342

http://www.monachos.net/conversation/topic/1887-kjv-vs-modern-translations/page-2

http://www.monachos.net/conversation/topic/1887-kjv-vs-modern-translations/

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Irenikon/conversations/topics/40489

http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=220952

http://www.denver.goarch.org

http://oca.org/questions

http://oca.org/questions/scripture

http://oca.org/questions/scripture/study-of-the-bible

http://oca.org/questions/scripture/bible

http://www.goarch.org/resources/fathers

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/

http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/augustana.html

http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/scripturesinthechurch.htm

http://www.reocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/bible_texts.html

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Irenikon/conversations/topics/40489

http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/scripturesinthechurch.htm


2. Can You Tell Me Which Translation The Eastern Orthodox Church Uses and Why? 
by His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Proikonisou and Presiding Hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver
The actual title of this presentation written by His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah is titled: "Which English Translation Of The Bible Should I Use"? This outstanding article has appeared in the Diocesan Bulletin of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver.
Christianity in America is often characterized as a faith of the "Bible-thumpers." Our cities are indeed filled with "Bible churches" and the Holy Scriptures are widely assumed to be the basis of Christianity itself.
In response to this, either out of sense of "catching up" or to confront the more outlandish claims (sometimes against Orthodoxy) of fundamentalist, Bible based "Christianity" most of our Orthodox parishes hold regular "Bible study" classes.
Faithful Orthodox believers who come to these classes, and even their pastors, are quickly confronted with a vast array of Bible translations, and Bibles themselves come in all colors, sizes, shapes, and with without "study helps".
To some, the very Bible itself seems wrapped in veritable "tower of Babel" with every one we meet seeming to quote Scripture passages just a little bit differently -- and some who denounce one translation while extolling another.
To answer the question posed as the title of this article, however, we must first examine what the Bible is, and then examine its various sources and translations.
Strictly Speaking, there never was a "Bible" in the Orthodox Church. At least not as we commonly think of the Bible as az single volume book we can hold in our hand. Since the beginning of the Church, from the start of our liturgical tradition, there has never been a single book in an Orthodox church we could point to as "the Bible".
Instead the various "Books" of the Bible are found scattered throughout several service books located either on the Holy Altar itself, or at the chanter"s stand. The Gospels (or their pericopes) are complied into a single volume -- usually bound in precious metal and richly decorated -- placed on the Holy Altar.
The Epistles (or, again, their pericopes) are bound together in another book, called the Apostolos, which is normally found at the changer"s stand.  Usually located next to the Apostolos on the chanter"s shelf are the twelve volumes of the Menaion, as well as the books called the Triodion and Pentekostarion, containing various segments of the Old and the New Testaments.
The fact that there is no "Bible" in the church should not surprise us, since our liturgical tradition is a continuation of the practices of the early Church, when the Gospels and the letters from the Apostles (the Epistles) had been freshly written and copied for distribution to the Christian communities.
The "Hebrew Scriptures" (what we now call the "Old Testament", comprising the Law (the first five books) and the Prophets, were likewise written on various scrolls, just as they were found in the Jewish synagogues.
The Church is NOT Based on the Bible. Rather, the Bible is a product of the Church. For the first few centuries of the Christian era, no one could have put his hands on a single volume called "The Bible." In fact, there was no one put his hands on a single volume called "The Bible." In fact, there was no agreement regarding which "books" of Scripture were to be considered accurate and correct, or canonical.
Looking back over history, there were various "lists" of the canonical "books" comprising the Bible:

• The Muratorian Canon (130 AD) cities all the books we considered as parts of the Bible today, except for Hebrews, Jude, 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation/Apocalypse
• Canon 60 of the local Council of Laodicea (364 AD) cited Revelation/Apocalypse
• A festal Epistle by Saint Athanasius (369 AD) lists all of them.

Even so, there was no official, authoritative "canon" listing all the books until the Sixth Ecumenical Council, at Constantinople in 680 AD. Canon II of that Council ratifies the First through the Fifth Ecumenical Councils, as well as the local councils at Carthage (255 AD), Ancyra (315 AD), Neocaesaria (315 AD), Gangra (340 AD), Antioch (341 AD), Laodicea (364 A), Sardica (347 AD), Constantinople (394 AD), and Carthage (419 AD).

When the Council at Laodicea specified the content of the bible as we know it - 39 years after the First Ecumenical Council (325 AD) and 17 years before the second Ecumenical Council (381 AD) - the Liturgy was pretty much well-defined and established and had been "canonized" by common usage the reading from these books.

It was not until the invention of the printing press in Western Europe, coinciding with the period of the Protestant Reformation of Western Christianity that "The Bible" was widely disseminated as a single volume.

The "Protestant" Old Testament in Antithetical to Christian Truth.  When Protestant Western Christians reviewed the canonical books of Scripture, they adopted the "Hebrew Canon" accepted by the Jews since 100 AD.

The so-called Apocrypha, or Deuterocanonical, books (found in "Catholic" and "Orthodox" versions of the Bible) were a problem for Jews living after the time of Christ, since they often very clearly prophesy concerning Our Lord, and indicate His divinity.

Some of the books were also problematic for both the Jews and the Protestants because they make prophetically evident the special role of the Theotokos in the oikonomia of salvation.  In fact, the Orthodox Fathers cite passages quite effectively to discuss the Church"s understanding of the role of the Theotokos.

Also, they only scriptural reference to praying for the dead is found in a Deuterocanonical Book: viz., Maccabees.

Not surprisingly, these Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books were rejected from the "canon" of books indicated in the Jewish Scriptures.  This canon was formally pronounced by a rabbinical council at Jamnia (c. 100 AD), which stated that all canonical Scripture had to have been written: in Palestine, in Hebrew (not Greek), and more then 400 years prior (300 BC) to that time.

In addition, the authorized Hebrew "translation" was at variance with the accepted Septuagint Greek versions, which had been prepared by 72 translators accepted Septuagint Greek version, which had been prepared by 72 translators working in Alexandria Egypt.

This is significant, because the Apostles, who were the authors of the New Testament, as well as the early Church Fathers, frequently cite passages only found in the Septuagint (Greek) Old Testament that have significant differences in meaning from the Hebrew.  Moreover, they frequently cite passages from the "Apocryphal" books of the Old Testament.

The Holy Scriptures Were Produced by the Orthodox Church.  The Church"s holy prophets and Apostles wrote the books contained in the Bible. The Church determined which books were authoritative and belonged in Holy Scripture. The Church preserved and passed on the texts of these Scriptural books.

The seventy-two Jewish rabbis and scholars who gave us the Septuagint Greek Old Testament, produced seventy-two identical Greek translations working independently and in insolation from one another.  Writing in Greek, the Holy Apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, and Jude produced the books of the New Testament.

The Holy Scriptures Were Preserved by the Orthodox Church.  These books and letters were studied, copied, collected, recopied, passed from group of early Christians to another, and read in the services of the Church.

Testimony to the fidelity of reproduction in this milieu is the consistent agreement among the Church Fathers when they cite Scripture, and their common understanding of Scripture in their deliberations at the local and Ecumenical councils.

Over the centuries, alterations crept into some manuscripts.  Sometimes the texts were altered by accident (e.g.., mistakes made in copying these books by hand).  At other times intentional alterations were made, either by misguided but innocent copyists who thought they were correcting errors in the manuscripts they were working from, or by heretics who full intended to change the words of Scripture to suit their purposes.

The Church, however, guided by the Holy Spirit, distinguished between authentic and inauthentic manuscripts, discarding or ignoring the latter, copying and handing on the former.

Even today we see the authentic words of Scripture preserved.  When a young priest or a chanter mispronounces a word in its original Greek, there will be a Bishop, an older priest -- or even a venerable Orthodox "grandmother" -- who will be quick to point out the aberration from the way the text "has always been sung or read"!

The Authentic Greek Text of the Bible is Preserved by the Orthodox Church.  When translating the New Testament into English, there are many Greek manuscripts to choose from.  To ask, "What does the original Greek say?" is to beg the question, which Greek text?

For Orthodox Christians this is a very easy question to answer.  We simply use the Greek text handed down within the Orthodox Church which has been proven consistent by 2000 years of liturgical use and which the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, has given us.

To Scripture scholars there is a huge body of ancient Greek manuscripts, known as the Byzantine text-type, which embodies the Orthodox textual tradition.  These old manuscripts and lectionaries differ very little from each other, and are indeed in overwhelming agreement with each other throughout the whole New Testament.  Furthermore, they are great in number and comprise the vast majority of existing Greek manuscripts.

There is Another, Bogus, Greek Text of the Bible.  Beside the Byzantine text-type family of manusciprts, there is a minor collection of Greek Scripture texts which are very old, and sometimes predate the Byzantine texts by hundreds of years.

In the middle of the last century, "modern" Scripture scholars, or critics, determined that newly-"discovered" ancient texts -- such as the Codex Sinaiticus, the Alexandrian Codex, the Codex Ephraemi rescriptus -- dating from the fourth through the sixth centuries, had determining authority in establishing the original text of the Gospels and the words of the Lord.

Criticism was leveled against these critics by other scholars who maintained that the older manuscripts had been preserved through the ages precisely because they were set aside and unused since they were inferior copies -- obvious from the ineptitude of the hands that wrote them  and the many misspellings.

They argued that it was hardly logical to prefer inferior texts from one text family over the received Byzantine texts were in agreement.  Furthermore, they noted that the received text has even more ancient parallels -- in second century Syriac and Latin versions -- and is widely quoted in the Fathers.

Even papyrus fragments from the first century bear out the veracity of the Byzantine text, and refute the validity of the older texts.

Amazingly - indeed, even unbelievably - most modern translators work from an "eclectic" or "critical text, which draws very heavily from the older Codices. This eclectic text is a patchwork of readings from the various manuscripts which differ from each other and from the Byzantine text.

Any Greek Orthodox Christian can take a copy of the Nestle-Aland critical (eclectic) text into church, and compare the Epistles with those in the Apostolos - they differ, often, radically, in hundreds of places, not only in words and word order, but also in tenses and meanings!

The same comparison can be made between an English translation of the Psalms and the Greek version found in the Orologion - they differ in thousands of places.  The English has often been translated from the Hebrew Masoretic text which was compiled by Jewish scholars during the first ten centuries after Christ.  These scholars used inferior texts or edited them to delete or minimize the messianic prophecies or types which refer to Christ.

Surprisingly, this Hebrew version of the Psalms is used even though the Greek Septuagint is often used to decipher the Masoretic text which is often unintelligible since the vowels are not indicated.

Most Modern English Bible Translations are Based on Bogus Versions of the Scriptures. Unfortunately, no English translation of the Bible has been made using the Byzantine text-type manuscripts of the New Testament since the King James Version (KJV) in 1611.  The others are all based on the eclectic Greek New Testament manuscripts and various Hebrew Old Testament texts.

The bottom line is that manuscripts which the Orthodox Church did not use or copy have been elevated above those texts which the Church has preserved by modern and contemporary Scripture scholars and translators.

Sadly - but perhaps significantly indicative - is the fact that the scholars who put together those eclectic critical texts decisively reject the Byzantine (that is to say, Orthodox) text-type, claiming that the Byzantine text was corrupted by Orthodox copyists eager to conform the text of Scripture to Orthodox theology as it developed over the first several centuries of the Church"s life.

The Orthodox Stand on the Critical Eclectic Texts.  As Orthodox, we cannot believe that the text of Scripture is arbitrary and governed only by human considerations - especially those of modern scholars who decide what is and what is not "authentic."  We see the presence of God and His providence in our daily lives; how can they be denied to exist in the Church and in the canon and text of the Holy Scriptures?  Otherwise everything in our liturgical worship is suspect and unreliable.

The human element cannot be ignored or denied, but neither can the divine.  Yet most biblical scholars and textual critics wish to disregard any form of divine intervention or revelation in order to make their study "scientific."  In fact, present-day biblical scholarship hides its fundamental unbelief from believers and even from itself.  It ultimately results in such ludicrous claims that Jesus Christ never spoke any of the words recorded in the Bible - claims that make the front page of national news magazines and mislead millions of people.

Perhaps the best example of the modern "scholars" bias is found in the first chapter, first verse of the Gospel of Mark: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God"  The modernists drop the words "the Son of God" because they are absent from the Codex Sinaiticus and papyrus miniscules 28 and 255.  Yet they appear in all other copies and versions and in many quotations of the fathers!

Modern Translations Obscure the Divinity of Christ.  In what can only be a return to the ancient heresy of Arius, even the much touted 1952 Revised Standard Version (RSV) translation of Scripture tends to minimize Christ's divine nature.

Forty years ago the King James translation was widely impugned for being based on the Greek Byzantine texts which were called corrupt - an amazing accusation considering the pedigree of the eclectic critical texts.

In the liberal theological milieu of that time, many Protestant theologians denied not only the virgin birth, but also the divinity of Christ and His resurrection.

One curious feature of the RSV translation is its apparent mixture of old and new English; the older traditional second person singular pronoun, thou/thee/thy, is intermixed with the nondescript modern ye/you/you.  While at first glance this seems chaotic, it actually serves as a hidden code.

The traditional "thou" usage is employed when God is addressed, but "you" whenever anyone else is addressed.  Note, for example, that the Our Father in the RSV retains the word "thy" in referring to God"s name, kingdom, and will.

But note that in the RSV translation a leper addresses Jesus in Mark 1:40, Saying "If you will, you can make me clean," and Peter says in Matthew 16:16, "Youare the Christ, the Son of the living God."

The only time in the RSV that Christ is addressed as "Thou" is after He is no longer on earth, but even this is found mainly in Hebrews when Paul quotes from the Old Testament.

The clearly Protestant bias against the Theotokos, and her Orthodox definition as critical to preserving the divinity of Christ is also very evident in the RSV.  Consider Matthew 1:25:

LJK: "(Joseph) knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son; and he called his name Jesus."

RSV: "(Joseph) knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus."

From the Byzantine, Orthodox, texts, the KJV tells us that Mary brought forth not a son, but her firstborn - precluding her having had previous children.

Moreover, He is clearly her son; but not Joseph"s.  Note how the RSV is distinguished from the KJV in Luke 2:33; after Simeon returned Jesus to His mother, the narrative tells us:

KJV: "Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him."

RSV: "And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him."

The RSV infers that Joseph is Jesus" father, presumably his biological father - a clear refutation of the dogma of virgin birth.

Or again, consider the following notable omission in John 3:13 according to the RSV:

KJV: "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven."

RSV: "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of  man."

The Byzantine text is clearly reflected in the KJV; the eclectic text by the RSV.  Yet only a tiny handful of manuscripts omit the expression "which is in heaven." while the vast majority of manuscripts include it, as do the quotations of Church fathers such as Saint Basil the Great, Saint Hilary, Saint John Chrysostom, and Saint Cyril.

This particular Scripture text is the clearest witness to the Orthodox teaching that Christ is fully man while not being circumscribed in any way as God, since it indicates that Christ was simultaneously on earth in the body and in heaven with the Father. It also indicates, contrary to modern liberal theology, that our Lord knew very well just Who He was, where He came from, and what business He was about.

There are many more examples, but let us simply note one more, I Corinthians 15:47, which needs no further comment:

KJV: "The first man is of the earth, earthly: the second man is the Lord from heaven."

RSV: "The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven."

The Corruption of "Paraphrased" Bibles.  There is no need in this article to provide such critical analysis of the various other translations which followed the RSV (e.g, NIV, NAB); all are even more flawed.  A comment should be made, however, of several very dangerous paraphrased "versions" of the Bible, such as "Today"s English Version" and the volume sold as "The Book."

If the Scripture scholars can criticize the Byzantine copyists for corrupting the text to conform to Orthodox theology, what are we to say about the non Orthodox paraphrases who have radically altered not only text, but the whole meaning of various passages?

These "Bibles" are to be totally and completely avoided by the Orthodox; they have no good purpose whatsoever because they are gross distortions of the truth, and serve only to infiltrate a completely corrupted theology into the minds of the faithful.

The Orthodox Witness.  One very interesting question, never asked, is this: "If scholars are willing to assemble an eclectic text out of Scripture fragments from various sources - often of unknown doctrinal origin or authority - why haven"t they ever considered the living archeological evidence of Scripture segments that have been repeated faithfully for ages in the Orthodox Liturgy?"

Why haven"t serious modern scholars considered the incredible coincidence that 72 Hebrew scholars could all translate the Old Testament in exactly the same manner into the Septuagint Greek?

Why haven"t they examined the translation of the Scriptures done a thousand years ago from Greek into Slavonic, which has preserved exactly, accurately, and precisely the meaning of the Greek original?  And, more to the point, if errors have crept in and accumulated as texts were copied over the years, why aren"t the existing copies of these Greek and Slavonic Scriptures divergent?

Non-Orthodox scholars cannot answer these questions because, to do so honestly and truthfully, they would have to admit that in fact the Orthodox Church, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, has preserved intact and correctly the Holy Scriptures.  And, moreover, this preservation is in part assured by the dogma and doctrine of the Church which both draw from the Scripture and provide evidence and support of its truth.

What Translation Should I Use?  The answer is this: the King James Version (KJV) is the most reliable and faithful English translation,  Unfortunately, it is written in an archaic, 500 year old style of English.  Although not as incomprehensible as the 2000 year old Greek of the New Testament and Liturgy is to modern Greek speakers, it is still awkward and difficult for many to understand.

The real question that begs - indeed pleads - for an answer, is this: "Why hasn"t the Greek Orthodox Church sponsored an accurate translation into modern English from the Byzantine texts and extant fragments of Scripture found in the liturgy of the Church?"

(Source: Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver Bulletin: March 1995, Volume 3, Number 3., pp. 14-17).

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7. Where Can I Obtain A Bible, Which Recently Published The New Testament With The Psalms?

The Bible you are asking about is called the "Orthodox Study Bible". This Bible contains explanatory notes by eminent Orthodox New Testament scholars and theologians to lead us to the true Orthodox understanding of the Scriptures. A unique personal study guide. Includes the Psalms from the Old Testament. Dictionary of terms helpful. Also includes meaning of the Holy Orthodox Faith. In addition morning and evening prayers, as well as the meaning of the seven sacraments (mysteries) of the Orthodox Church. Write to Light and Life Publishing Company, 4818 Park Glen Road, Minneapolis, MN. 55416.

Another new publication most recently is "The Orthodox New Testament" in two fully illustrated volumes: Vol. I: The Holy Gospels, and Vol. 2: Acts, Epistles, and Revelation. Write to Dormition Apostles Convent, P.O. Box 3118, Buena Vista, Colorado USA 81211 (Email: apostles@amigo.net).

Also the Holy Apostles Convent has available: "The Life Of The Virgin Mary, The Theotokos", "The Lives Of The Three Hierarchs", and "The Lives Of The Holy Apostles". Also the best book in understanding the book of Revelation is called: "Apocalypse", by Archbishop Averky. Write to: Holy Trinity Monastery Bookstore, Jordanville, N.Y. 13361. 

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8. Where Can I Get The Old Testament Septuagint In Greek And English?

Write to Holy Cross Seminary Bookstore, 50 Goddard Ave. Brookline, Massachusetts 01246 


http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/scripturesinthechurch.htm


______________________________________________________ http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Orthodox-Bible-Lancelot-Brenton/dp/1494913402/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1445384090&sr=8-5&keywords=orthodox+study+bible
If you only read version, read the Orthodox Study Bible, from http://tinyurl.com/orthodox-study-bible

But if you read more, as there is good reason, read the Classic Orthodox Bible.

http://www.antiochian.org/academy
http://www.saaot.edu/aboutus.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Study_Bible
The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World Hardcover – February 26, 2008      by St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Orthodox-Study-Bible-Christianity/dp/0718003594


http://www.goarch.org/chapel/biblegreek

http://www.goarch.org/resources/bible


http://www.orthodoxmarketplace.com/bibles/english-nkjv-/isbn-0718003594-complete-orthodox-study-bible-nkjv-lxx-hardcover.html

http://www.goarch.org/chapel/liturgical_texts/creed


http://people.opposingviews.com/apostles-creed-orthodox-church-3082.html

http://ebible.org/eng-Brenton/

https://www.ccel.org/bible/brenton/

http://ebible.org/eng-Brenton/PSA039.htm

http://studybible.info/Brenton

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ioscs/brenton/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Septuagint_version_of_the_Old_Testament_(Brenton)

http://www.biblestudytools.com/lxx/

http://www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/texts.htm

http://www.qbible.com/brenton-septuagint/

https://archive.org/stream/septuagintversi00brengoog#page/n16/mode/2up

http://christianmedia.us/LXXE/

http://www.bibliahebraica.com/the_texts/septuagint.htm

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xlxx.html

https://cjshayward.com

http://www.new-moon.org/Septuagint-SirLancelotC.L.Brenton.pdf

http://www.septuagint.net/septuagint.htm

http://www.doxa.ws/Messiah/Lxx_mt.html

http://oodegr.co/english/protestantism/masoretic_vs_septuagint.htm

http://www.truthmagazine.com/archives/volume45/V4501040102.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLhtBnwc5bc

Dead Sea Scrolls closer to Septuagint

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Orthodox-Bible-Lancelot-Brenton/dp/1494913402/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1445389907&sr=8-14&keywords=brenton+septuagint

Sir Lancelot Brenton  Greek Old Testament
King James

http://www.debate.org/debates/The-LXX-Septuagint-is-more-reliable-than-the-Masoretic-Text/1/

http://www.doxa.ws/Messiah/Lxx_mt.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Texts_of_the_OT.svg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoretic_Text

http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/reliable-hebrew-text

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13722a.htm

http://www.ecmarsh.com/lxx/

http://ecmarsh.com/news/files/lxx.zip

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Septuagint

http://ecmarsh.com/lxx-kjv/index.html

http://ecmarsh.com/lxx-kjv/lxx_account.htm

http://ecmarsh.com/lxx-kjv/

http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/index.htm

http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/index.htm

https://www.chick.com/ask/articles/septuagint.asp

http://www.allaboutarchaeology.org/Dead-Sea-Scrolls.htm

http://www.allaboutarchaeology.org/dead-sea-scrolls-2.htm

http://www.allaboutarchaeology.org/dead-sea-scrolls-video.htm

https://www.academic-bible.com/en/online-bibles/septuagint-lxx/read-the-bible-text/

http://www.scionofzion.com/septuagint2.htm

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/

http://www.septuagint.net

The scholarship based upon the new information provided in the Dead Sea Scroll thus supports the millennial old tradition on use of the Septuagint by the Orthodox Church.

https://theorthodoxlife.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/masoretic-text-vs-original-hebrew/


https://theorthodoxlife.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/lxx_vs_mt3.jpg

ORTHODOX

https://theorthodoxlife.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/masoretic-text-vs-original-hebrew/


https://theorthodoxlife.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/lxx_vs_mt3.jpg

Masoretic Text vs. Original Hebrew

Posted on March 12, 2012by Fr Joseph Gleason

The Masoretic Text is significantly different from the original Hebrew Scriptures.

I used to believe the Masoretic Text was a perfect copy of the original Old Testament.  I used to believe that the Masoretic Text was how God divinely preserved the Hebrew Scriptures throughout the ages.

I was wrong.

The oldest copies of the Masoretic Text only date back to the 10th century, nearly 1000 years after the time of Christ. And these texts differ from the originals in many specific ways. The Masoretic text is named after theMasoretes, who were scribes and Torah scholars who worked in the middle-east between the 7th and 11th centuries. The texts they received, and the edits they provided, ensured that the modern Jewish texts would manifest a notable departure from the original Hebrew Scriptures.

Historical research reveals five significant ways in which the Masoretic Text is different from the original Old Testament:

1. The Masoretes admitted that they received corrupted texts to begin with.
2. The Masoretic Text is written with a radically different alphabet than the original.
3. The Masoretes added vowel points which did not exist in the original.
4. The Masoretic Text excluded several books from the Old Testament scriptures.
5. The Masoretic Text includes changes to prophecy and doctrine.

We will consider each point in turn:

Receiving Corrupted Texts

Many people believe that the ancient Hebrew text of Scripture was divinely preserved for many centuries, and was ultimately recorded in what we now call the “Masoretic Text”. But what did the Masoretes themselves believe?  Did they believe they were perfectly preserving the ancient text?  Did they even think they had received a perfect text to begin with?

History says “no” . . .

Scribal emendations – Tikkune Soferim

Early rabbinic sources, from around 200 CE, mention several passages of Scripture in which the conclusion is inevitable that the ancient reading must have differed from that of the present text. . . . Rabbi Simon ben Pazzi (3rd century) calls these readings “emendations of the Scribes” (tikkune Soferim; Midrash Genesis Rabbah xlix. 7), assuming that the Scribes actually made the changes. This view was adopted by the later Midrash and by the majority of Masoretes.

In other words, the Masorites themselves felt they had received a partly corrupted text.  

A stream cannot rise higher than its source.  If the texts they started with were corrupted, then even a perfect transmission of those texts would only serve to preserve the mistakes. Even if the Masoretes demonstrated great care when copying the texts, their diligence would not bring about the correction of even one error.

In addition to these intentional changes by Hebrew scribes, there also appear to be a number of accidental changes which they allowed to creep into the Hebrew text.  For example, consider Psalm 145 . . .

Psalm 145 is an acrostic poem. Each line of the Psalm starts with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Yet in the Masoretic Text, one of the lines is completely missing:

Psalm 145 is an acrostic psalm where each verse begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Aleppo Codex the first verse begins with the letter aleph, the second with the beyt, the third with the gimel, and so on. Verse 13 begins with the letter מ (mem-top highlighted letter), the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet; the next verse begins with the letter ס (samech-bottom highlighted letter), the 15th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. There is no verse beginning with the 14th letter נ (nun).

Yet the Septuagint (LXX) Greek translation of the Old Testament does include the missing verse. And when that verse is translated back into Hebrew, it starts with the Hebrew letter נ (nun) which was missing from the Masoretic Text.

In the early 20th century, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in caves near Qumran. They revealed an ancient Hebrew textual tradition which differed from the tradition preserved by the Masoretes. Written in Hebrew, copies of Psalm 145 were found which include the missing verse:

When we examine Psalm 145 from the Dead Sea Scrolls, we find between the verse beginning with the מ (mem-top) and the verse beginning with the ס (samech-bottom), the verse beginning with the letter נ (nun-center). This verse, missing from the Aleppo Codex, and missing from all modern Hebrew Bibles that are copied from this codex, but found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, says נאמן אלוהים בדבריו וחסיד בכול מעשיו (The Lord is faithful in His words and holy in all His works).

The missing verse reads, “The Lord is faithful in His words and holy in all His works.” This verse can be found in the Orthodox Study Bible, which relies on the Septuagint. But this verse is absent from the King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version(NKJV), the Complete Jewish Bible, and every other translation which is based on the Masoretic Text.

In this particular case, it is easy to demonstrate that the Masoretic Text is in error, for it is obvious that Psalm 145 was originally written as an acrostic Psalm. But what are we to make of the thousands of other locations where the Masoretic Text diverges from the Septuagint? If the Masoretic Text could completely erase an entire verse from one of the Psalms, how many other passages of Scripture have been edited? How many other verses have been erased?

God’s name is shown here in Paleo-Hebrew (top) and in modern Hebrew (bottom). Modern Hebrew letters would have been unrecognizable to Abraham, Moses, David, and most of the authors of the Old Testament.

A Radically Different Alphabet

If Moses were to see a copy of the Masoretic Text, he wouldn’t be able to read it.

As discussed in this recent post, the original Old Testament scriptures were written in Paleo-Hebrew, a text closely related to the ancient Phonecian writing system.

The Masoretic Text is written with an alphabet which was borrowed from Assyria (Persia) around the 6th-7th century B.C., and is almost 1000 years newer than the form of writing used by Moses, David, and most of the Old Testament authors.

Adding Vowel Points

For thousands of years, ancient Hebrew was only written with consonants, no vowels. When reading these texts, they had to supply all of the vowels from memory, based on oral tradition.

In Hebrew, just like modern languages, vowels can make a big difference. The change of a single vowel can radically change the meaning of a word. An example in English is the difference between “SLAP” and “SLIP”. These words have very different definitions. Yet if our language was written without vowels, both of these words would be written “SLP”. Thus the vowels are very important.

The most extensive change the Masoretes brought to the Hebrew text was the addition ofvowel points. In an attempt to solidfy for all-time the “correct” readings of all the Hebrew Scriptures, the Masoretes added a series of dots to the text, identifying which vowel to use in any given location.

Adam Clarke, an 18th Century Protestant scholar, demonstrates that the vowel-point system is actually a running commentary which was incorporated into the text itself.
In the General Preface of his biblical commentary published in 1810, Clarke writes:

“The Masorets were the most extensive Jewish commentators which that nation could ever boast. The system of punctuation, probably invented by them, is a continual gloss on the Law and the Prophets; their vowel points, and prosaic and metrical accents, &c., give every word to which they are affixed a peculiar kind of meaning, which in their simple state, multitudes of them can by no means bear. The vowel points alone add whole conjugations to the language. This system is one of the most artificial, particular, and extensive comments ever written on the Word of God; for there is not one word in the Bible that is not the subject of a particular gloss through its influence.”

Another early scholar who investigated this matter was Louis Cappel, who wrote during the early 17th century. An article in the 1948 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica includes the following information regarding his research of the Masoretic Text:

“As a Hebrew scholar, he concluded that the vowel points and accents were not an original part of Hebrew, but were inserted by the Masorete Jews of Tiberias, not earlier then the 5th Century AD, and that the primitive Hebrew characters are Aramaic and were substituted for the more ancient at the time of the captivity. . . The various readings in the Old Testament Text and the differences between the ancient versions and the Masoretic Text convinced him that the integrity of the Hebrew text as held by Protestants, was untenable.”

Many Protestants love the Masoretic Text, believing it to be a trustworthy representation of the original Hebrew text of Scripture. Yet, at the same time, most Protestants reject Orthodox Church Tradition as being untrustworthy. They believe that the Church’s oral tradition could not possibly preserve Truth over a long period of time.

Therefore, the vowel points of the Masoretic Text put Protestants in a precarious position. If they believe that the Masoretic vowels are not trustworthy, then they call the Masoretic Text itself into question. But if they believe that the Masoretic vowels are trustworthy, then they are forced to believe that the Jews successfully preserved the vowels of Scripture for thousands of years, through oral tradition alone, until the Masoretes finally invented the vowel points hundreds of years after Christ. Either conclusion is at odds with mainstream Protestant thought.

Either oral tradition can be trusted, or it can’t. If it can be trusted, then there is no reason to reject the Traditions of the Orthodox Church, which have been preserved for nearly 2000 years. But if traditions are always untrustworthy, then the Masoretic vowel points are also untrustworthy, and should be rejected.

Excluding Books of Scripture from the Old Testament

The Masoretic Text promotes a canon of the Old Testament which is significantly shorter than the canon represented by the Septuagint. Meanwhile, Orthodox Christians and Catholics have Bibles which incorporate the canon of the Septuagint. The books of Scripture found in the Septuagint, but not found in the Masoretic Text, are commonly called either the Deuterocanon or the anagignoskomena. While it is outside the scope of this article to perform an in-depth study of the canon of Scripture, a few points relevant to the Masoretic Text should be made here:

• With the exception of two books, the Deuterocanon was originally written in Hebrew.
• In three places, the Talmud explicitly refers to the book of Sirach as “Scripture”.
• Jesus celebrated Hanukkah, a feast which originates in the book of 1 Maccabees, and nowhere else in the Old Testament.
• The New Testament book of Hebrews recounts the stories of multiple Old Testament saints, including a reference to martyrs in the book of 2 Maccabees.
• The book of Wisdom includes a striking prophecy of Christ, and its fulfillment is recorded in Matthew 27.
• Numerous findings among the Dead Sea Scrolls suggest the existence of 1st century Jewish communities which accepted many of the Deuterocanonical books as authentic Scripture.
• Many thousands of 1st-century Christians were converts from Judaism. The early Church accepted the inspiration of the Deuterocanon, and frequently quoted authoritatively from books such as Wisdom, Sirach, and Tobit. This early Christian practice suggests that many Jews accepted these books, even prior to their conversion to Christianity.
• Ethiopian Jews preserved the ancient Jewish acceptance of the Septuagint, including much of its canon of Scripture. Sirach, Judith, Baruch, and Tobit are among the books included in the canon of the Ethiopian Jews.

These reasons, among others, suggest the existence of a large 1st-century Jewish community which accepted the Deuterocanon as inspired Scripture. 

Changes to Prophecy and Doctrine

When compiling any given passage of Scripture, the Masoretes had to choose among multiple versions of the ancient Hebrew texts. In some cases the textual differences were relatively inconsequential. For example, two texts may differ over the spelling of a person’s name.

However, in other cases they were presented with textual variants which made a considerable impact upon doctrine or prophecy. In cases like these, were the Masoretes completely objective? Or did their anti-Christian biases influence any of their editing decisions?

In the 2nd century A.D., hundreds of years before the time of the Masoretes, Justin Martyr investigated a number of Old Testament texts in various Jewish synagogues.
He ultimately concluded that the Jews who had rejected Christ had also rejected the Septuagint, and were now tampering with the Hebrew Scriptures themselves:

“But I am far from putting reliance in your teachers, who refuse to admit that the interpretation made by the seventy elders who were with Ptolemy [king] of the Egyptians is a correct one; and they attempt to frame another. And I wish you to observe, that they have altogether taken away many Scriptures from the [Septuagint] translations effected by those seventy elders who were with Ptolemy, and by which this very man who was crucified is proved to have been set forth expressly as God, and man, and as being crucified, and as dying” (~150 A.D., Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, Chapter LXXI)

If Justin Martyr’s findings are correct, then it is likely that the Masoretes inherited a Hebrew textual tradition which had already been corrupted with an anti-Christian bias. And if we look at some of the most significant differences between the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text, that is precisely what we see. For example, consider the following comparisons:

These are not random, inconsequential differences between the texts. Rather, these appear to be places where the Masoretes (or their forebears) had a varied selection of texts to consider, and their decisions were influenced by anti-Christian bias. Simply by choosing one Hebrew text over another, they were able to subvert the Incarnation, the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, His healing of the blind, His crucifixion, and His salvation of the Gentiles. The Jewish scribes were able to edit Jesus out of many important passages, simply by rejecting one Hebrew text, and selecting (or editing) another text instead.

Thus, the Masoretic Text has not perfectly preserved the original Hebrew text of Scripture. The Masoretes received corrupted texts to begin with, they used an alphabet which was radically different from the original Hebrew, they added countless vowel points which did not exist in the original, they excluded several books from the Old Testament scriptures, and they included a number of significant changes to prophecy and doctrine.

It would seem that the Septuagint (LXX) translation is not only far more ancient than the Masoretic Text . . . the Septuagint is far more accurate as well. It is a more faithful representation of the original Hebrew Scriptures.

Perhaps that is why Jesus and the apostles frequently quoted from the Septuagint, and accorded it full authority as the inspired Word of God.

_________________

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_English_Translation_of_the_Septuagint

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-new-english-translation-of-the-septuagint-9780195289756?cc=us&lang=en&

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/#re

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ioscs/brenton/

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/intro/general.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot_Charles_Lee_Brenton

http://www.thomasnelson.com/the-orthodox-study-bible

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Study_Bible

http://orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/review_osb2.aspx

http://www.holyapostlesconvent.org/hac-order.shtml

http://www.holyapostlesconvent.org/hac-products.shtml

http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/13767/what-is-the-ecclesiastical-hierarchy-of-the-eastern-orthodox-church

http://www.denver.goarch.org/metropolitan/writings/monographs/liturgical_mistranslations.html

http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8038

http://www.greekorthodox.org.au/general/resources/publications/articledetails.php?page=158&article_id=13

http://www.denver.goarch.org/metropolitan/writings/monographs/theotokos_and_the_church.html

http://orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/review_osb2.aspx

Review of the Orthodox Study Bible

by Priest Seraphim Johnson

The Orthodox Study Bible (Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1993) makes a very good initial impression. The bindings are handsome, the Bible is nicely printed, and it is graced by a number of full-color icons scattered through the book. It uses the increasingly popular New King James Version (NKJV) for the text. On the whole this version is an acceptable modernization of the King James Version (KJV), while retaining some of the literary quality of the latter. An additional advantage of the NKJV is that it indicates the Majority Text readings, since these generally correspond even more fully to the Church's text than do the KJV readings. However, it is disappointing that the Study Bible reproduces the whole textual apparatus of the NKJV, including many of the doubtful decisions of modern non-Orthodox biblical scholarship; it would have been preferable for them to have corrected the text to agree with that of the Church and then to present only that text, since the whole matter of textual criticism is complex and primarily serves to cause doubts and questions in the minds of non-technical readers of the Scriptures. While the NKJV is a generally acceptable text for the New Testament, its use for the Psalter is completely unacceptable. It is very unfortunate that the Study Bible uses a Protestant version of the Psalter in what claims to be a Bible for Orthodox Christians, following even the Protestant numbering of the psalms, rather than that of the Church. Several translations of the psalms from the Orthodox Church's Septuagint version into English have appeared in the last 20 years, and it surely would have been possible for the publishers to have arranged to use one of these if they truly wanted to offer an Orthodox text of the Bible to their readers.

When one actually starts to read the comments and notes attached to the Study Bible one quickly becomes very disappointed to see that a major opportunity has been lost. The comments on the text are on the whole quite simplistic and shallow, often doing nothing more than paraphrasing the verse to which they refer. Only very rarely do they quote from the Fathers to draw out the fuller meaning of the text, although a good collection of such quotations would have been the best possible Orthodox commentary on the Scriptures.*

The early Church understood that the doctrines of the faith (viewed as facts and rational propositions) could not really be grasped until a person had attained some degree of moral purity. This is the reason for the extended catechumenate, during which the candidate had to reform his life and bring it into line with the Church's demands. Only near the end of this period was the content of the Faith presented, when the candidate was sufficiently purified to be able to receive it and make sense of it. To have presented it earlier would have reduced it to only empty factual knowledge with no meaning for one's life. One of the most unfortunate features of the Study Bible is that it confines itself only to this factual knowledge and does not even use those passages of Scripture which have a moral content to inculcate such purity in its readers. It rarely draws any but the most trite moral conclusions from the texts, while the Fathers consistently apply them primarily in a moral way, rather than as historical or factual artifacts.

As one reads the notes to the text, a false, non-Orthodox tone becomes uncomfortably apparent. The editors constantly refer to the way things are done in the "Orthodox Church," the teaching of the "Orthodox Church," etc. By always qualifying "Church" in this way, they distance themselves and write as they are outsiders or as if they are writing for outsiders. When Orthodox people describe the services, readings, practices, and doctrines of the Church, they just call it the "Church." Similarly, if you look at a Roman Catholic Bible (e.g. the Jerusalem Bible), it refers to the "Church's teaching" or says that "the Church reads this passage..." and so on. The only reason to qualify "Church" all the time, as the Study Bible does, is to distinguish it from other religious bodies. But the result of this constant qualification is that the reader does not feel he is reading a Bible prepared by Orthodox Christians for Orthodox Christians. The feeling is rather that this Bible is designed to introduce the non-Orthodox to Orthodoxy, or else that non-Orthodox wrote the notes in it. There is not anything inherently wrong in the idea of writing notes on a Bible to help convince non-Orthodox of the truth of Orthodoxy (assuming the notes accurately reflect the true views and positions of Orthodoxy, which is by no means always the case in the Study Bible), but it would be better to advertise the Bible as such, perhaps calling it the Orthodox Evangelism Bible, rather than to present it as if it is designed to help Orthodox Christians grow deeper in their understanding and practice of the faith.

Another example of the non-Orthodox tone of much of the commentary in the Study Bible is the way the Savior and the Saints are referred to. While there are instances in which Orthodox refer to the Lord as simply "Jesus," they are rare. Especially in the early Church (cf. St. Ignatius of Antioch's letters), the Lord is almost always referred to by His name and one or more titles (e.g., "Jesus Christ," "our Lord Jesus Christ," etc.). Even St. Paul usually refers to Him in this way. The Gospels do not, since they are presenting history, rather than reflections drawn from that history. But Orthodox Christians do not speak of the Lord in this unadorned way, so it strikes a false note to find the Study Bible referring to Him as "Jesus" most of the time. Similarly, in English (although less so in Greek or Russian) it sounds very odd to Orthodox ears to refer to the saints without using their title. Thus, Orthodox Christians usually speak of "St. Paul," not of "Paul." The same may be said about the note concerning the Theotokos on page 135. The editors address her as "Mary." Again, this is a small point, but it does offend Orthodox ears and adds to the feeling the authors of the notes in the Study Bible are not writing from within the Orthodox community, but rather are outsiders trying to interpret an Orthodoxy they only understand theoretically, but which they have not yet learned really to live.

A further example of the editors' viewpoint being from outside the Church is their decision to abbreviate the Morning and Evening Prayers printed in the back of the Study Bible by leaving out any prayers to the Theotokos or the saints. It seems almost inconceivable that Orthodox Christians would not at least include the Prayer "O Theotokos and Virgin, rejoice" and a prayer to their patron saint as part of their daily prayers; but these prayers are missing. While this omission undoubtedly will make the Study Bible more congenial to Protestant readers, it seriously distorts the actual teaching and practice of the Orthodox Church.

Throughout the Study Bible there is a surprising emphasis on the concept of "justification," including a whole article devoted to this topic in Romans 5. A number of notes scattered throughout the Study Bible refer to "justification," usually specifying that it is "by faith" (e.g. Mark 10:28; Acts 10:35; Romans 3:20, 5: 1; Galatians 2:16-4:31, 2:17; etc.). The article and notes are not particularly offensive, but the concept and term "justification" play almost no role in Orthodox theology, where "justification" is commonly not even distinguished from "sanctification," but both are seen as a united and inseparable part of the Christian's process of spiritual development. Certainly, its role is minor compared to the major position it occupies in Protestant thinking. Thus, the index to Timothy [now Bishop Kallistos] Ware's The Orthodox Church does not include the term, nor is it found in a number of Orthodox theological dictionaries (e.g., Polny Pravoslavnyy Bogoslovskiy Entsiklopicheskiy Slovar [Complete Orthodox Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary], reprinted in Russia in 1992 from a pre-Revolutionary edition; Dictionary of Orthodox Theology, George H. Demetrakopoulos, New York, 1964). Once again, while the treatment is not "wrong" from an Orthodox standpoint, the very discussion and term sound strange to Orthodox ears.

There are other notes in which a non-Orthodox viewpoint comes across. Examples are:

a) The note on Acts 3:1 refers to "Advent," which is a term and period which does not exist in Orthodoxy. In the Western liturgical churches (Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran) "Advent" is the name given to the four Sundays preceding Christmas. Orthodoxy does not observe these Sundays, but it does have a six-week fast preceding the feast of the Nativity of Our Lord.

b) Mark 2:20. This note defends fasting, but from a rather Protestant viewpoint. It is written to persuade Protestant readers that fasting is acceptable for a Christian, not to encourage Orthodox to discover the spiritual benefits of fasting.

c) The note on "fasting" in the glossary (p. 798) mis-defines the Apostles Fast, incorrectly saying that it is the two weeks before June 29. This fast is actually of variable length, starting on the Monday after All Saints Sunday and continuing until the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. The fact that the author of the notes does not know how long the fast lasts can only raise doubts about the extent to which the Faith is being lived.

Finally, there are notes which are simply unacceptable to any true Orthodox Christian, since they are omissions or distortions of vital Orthodox teachings.

a) Matthew 14:14-2 1. In discussing the feeding of the five thousand, the editors somewhat grudgingly say that the feeding of the four thousand (reported in Matthew 15:32-39) "...is PROBABLY not a duplicate report of the first miracle." Thereby, the editors are challenging the authenticity and reliability of the Gospels, since the same Gospel reports the two miracles separately and since the Lord Himself refers to both of them as separate events (Matthew 16:9-10). To raise even a question about whether these are separate events is to call into question the Lord's veracity and the reliability of the Gospels—surely not an Orthodox attitude toward either.

b) Mark 9:38-40. The note says, "Sectarianism and triumphalism (the attitude that one creed is superior to all others) are forbidden, for God's working transcends our limited perceptions. One is either for or against (v.40) Christ, but it is not always ours to know who is on which side." Does this mean that the creed of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils (the Symbol of Faith) is no better than any other creed (e.g., the Lutherans' Augsburg Confession)? Any Orthodox Christian who does not think that the Church's creed is superior to all others places himself outside the Church. Furthermore, while we may not always know where a person's heart is, we can see that those who willfully promulgate false creeds are working against our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The attitude in this note is simply foreign to any healthy Orthodox Christian.

c) Mark 10:30. The Lord promises that those who give up family and possessions will receive them back a hundredfold, but the note calls this into question, saying that this is "not an absolute promise: countless saints and martyrs were not so rewarded." Here the authors betray their carnal viewpoint. The Fathers apply this passage to the whole Christian community, saying that those who give up earthly family and possessions receive new fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, homes and lands in the CHURCH, but not in the carnal sense of getting more personal possessions. It is bad enough that the authors' viewpoint is carnal, their error is compounded by the fact that they openly disagree with the Lord and question the accuracy of His promise.

d) Acts 13:3. The note supports multiple ordination. This practice has been forbidden in the Orthodox Church for many centuries, so there is no reason whatsoever to mention it, unless it is to justify the extreme irregularity of performing such ordinations when the so-called "Evangelical Orthodox" were received into the Antiochian Church.

e) I Timothy 2:12. By citing Romans 16:1 to suggest that women have been ordained as deacons and by stating that "women are not ordained to the offices of bishop and presbyter in the Orthodox Church," the note implies that women can be ordained deacons. This is not the case. The order of deaconesses is not currently in use in the Church, and in any case the Church does not treat the order of deaconesses as equivalent to that of deacons, since the former do not perform the deacon's liturgical functions.

f) II Timothy 1:9. The note says, "Our salvation and CALLING are based on His GRACE and love, not on anything we have done to merit God's favor." The Orthodox viewpoint is that our salvation does in fact depend on our response to God's grace and how we use it in our lives. We are co-workers with God in our salvation, as St. Paul says (I Cor. 3:9; II Cor. 6: 1; Phil. 2:12-13). Even our calling as Christians is based on our synergy in responding to God's grace in our lives, since we are all sustained by His grace in every breath we take. Those who respond to this grace receive a calling to participate more fully in it, a calling which is based on their earlier responses.

g) The note on I Peter 3:18 glosses over the Lord's descent into Hades. You may be able to find this doctrine in the note if you know it is supposed to be there, but it certainly is not presented in a clear and unambiguous way. And yet, this is the focus of the primary icons of the feast of the Resurrection, so how can it be skimmed over with no more than a hint in what claims to be an "Orthodox Bible?"

These comments are representative of the non-Orthodox viewpoint which permeates this Study Bible and which makes it unsuited for use by Orthodox Christians. It is truly sad to see so much effort, time, and expense put into producing this Bible with such meager results in the end. It would, however, be far safer for Orthodox Christians to avoid such inaccurate and misleading aids as are provided in this Bible, especially since several more reliable "Orthodox Study" Bible commentaries are available in English for Orthodox readers (e.g. Johanna Manley's "The Bible and the Holy Fathers" her "Grace for Grace: The Psalter and the Holy Fathers" (which has the added advantage of using the Orthodox Psalter as its basic text, rather than the Protestant one); and the ongoing translation of Blessed Theophylact's commentaries on the Gospels.

Endnotes

* Though not a "study Bible," a good alternative or addition to one's library is Joanna Manley's The Bible and the Holy Fathers, which contains the daily readings from Holy Scripture with Patristic commentaries. Also highly recommended is the The Orthodox New Testament published by Holy Apostles Convent and Dormition Skete.

From The Orthodox Christian Witness, Vol. XXVII, No. 18(1273)

http://orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/review_osb2.aspx

http://www.denver.goarch.org/metropolitan/writings/monographs/liturgical_mistranslations.html

Liturgical Mistranslations September 1999

Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:5,6) The more one compares the English translations with the original Greek regarding the Divine Liturgy, as well as the other services and prayers of the Church, the more frightened one becomes with the gross errors, some of which render heretical meanings to particular words and phrases. Aside from clergy and theologians who commit these errors, there are also church musicians who feel qualified to tamper with the deep theological meanings of hymns of the Church and who attempt to use "appropriate words" that will not affect the "traditional" music which they compose, even though those words are incorrect. In regard to the "traditional" church music, that is another matter altogether. Although it is encouraging to see both clergy and laity becoming sensitive to the need for English translations in our sacraments and services, not enough care is taken nor do individual translators consult adequately with experts in both languages so that the translations may truly reflect the original language. A few examples must be cited to prove the point. In the Divine Liturgy we sing, "Tais presbeiais ths Theotokou, Soter, soson imas." Most of the translations use the word "prayers" for "presbeiais." However, if we were to offer a true translation, the word "prayers" would never be used for "presbeiais." The proper theological word is "intercessions." This would be the word used because the Theotokos does not simply pray for us; she intercedes for us. To pray for someone, as we all pray for one another, is self-explanatory. But to intercede for us, the Theotokos goes personally to her Son and our God and she pleads our case, as it were. This is a very significant difference. Some of our clergy in writing their own translations in recent years have changed Scriptural passages that are found in the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. Neither they nor anyone else has the right to change Holy Scripture found in the services when translated into English. Yet they have done so, preferring secular expressions to the Scriptural ones. A good example of this is the phrase, "eis tous aionas ton aionon" - "to the ages of ages." Some clergy translators prefer to translate this entire phrase with the single word "forevermore." Yet we know that in innumerable places of the Holy Bible we read the phrase, "to the ages of ages." Saint Paul writing to the Galatians, for example, says "o i doxa eis tous aionas ton aionon" (1:5), referring to God. To God "be the glory to the ages of ages." In another of many places, from the Book of Revelation, we read "afto i doxa kai to kratos eis tous aionas ton aionon" (1:6). The precise translation would be "to Him be the glory and the dominion to the ages of ages." The frightening thing about a number of these translations is that they have been printed by the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Press, as well as by well-known and highly-respected priests of our Church. If we were to use a liturgy book from the Holy Cross Bookstore we would conclude that Jesus Christ is not our Redeemer because He did not die for our sins. For when we read the words of Institution. "This is My Body which is broken for you, for the forgiveness of sins," what else can we assume? The Greek word in this phrase of the Institution is not "synghorisis" but "afesis." The word "synghorisis" means forgiveness, not remission, as "afesis" does. Christ remitted our sins. He paid for them, in other words, when He died on the Cross. A rule of thumb for these two words is that forgiveness usually refers to a person, whereas remission definitely refers to the sin itself. Christ our Lord redeemed us by paying for our sins with His blood and His death on the Cross. It was this act which abrogated the old covenant and put into effect the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:16-18). Christ our God made reparation for our sins by giving His very life. This is not merely forgiveness of sins; it is atonement. If the two words meant the same thing, it would not be necessary for a petition in several of our services to say, "For the forgiveness and the remission of our sins and transgressions, let us ask the Lord." One could go on and on to indicate how careless and reckless many of our translators seem to be, especially when they consider themselves the sole authority of a "good translation." However, in order to keep this study brief, one last example will suffice to demonstrate the great danger there is in using many of our present-day English translations. In a recently published Book of Psalms, we can see the reality of potential scandal for the faithful and merriment for Satan, who will bring forth the virtually perfect counterfeit of Christ Himself in the oncoming future. This has to do with Psalm 110, or 109 in the Septuagint Greek. The phrase in question is "... ek gastros pro Eosforou egennisa se ..." The King James translation writes, "... from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth ..." A better translation is from the Saint Joseph New Catholic Edition Bible which says, "... before the day star, like the dew, I have begotten you ..." However, in the recently printed Book of Psalms recommended by our Archdiocese we read, "Before the morning star, like the dew, I have begotten you." It is significant that this verse is part of the entrance hymn of the Divine Liturgy of the Nativity of our Lord. In the Orthodox Christian tradition it has always meant: "Even before Lucifer came forth, I had already begotten you." Since Satan, the former Lucifer, had taken control of this world when Adam and Eve gave up their authority to him and death came upon mankind, it was for this very reason that Christ was born as the second Adam to crush the authority and power of Satan and also to become a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. The whole Psalm refers to Christ Who was born from the symbolic divine womb and was therefore ageless and eternal, even before God created His most powerful and magnificent creature who was named, "He who brings forth the morning light," or "Eosforos," because of his dazzling beauty. In this particular phrase it is a mystery why almost all the translators use the word "dew" in place of the Septuagint Greek "gastros" or womb. The fearsome thing with the English translation in the new Book of Psalms is that the name "Eosforos" or Lucifer is replaced by the name, "Morning Star." They who have read the Book of Revelation (22:16) know that the name, Morning Star refers to none other than our Lord Jesus Christ Who calls Himself by this title. The fact is that Lucifer originally brought forth light which was the created light. Jesus Christ, however, is the true Light &8211 the Uncreated Light. Our Lord gives to Himself the title, "Bright and Morning Star," referring to His Second Coming at which time He will place Satan in the eternal darkness. If the translation of this new book were to be considered accurate, then there is someone else before the Morning Star who was begotten by God the Father. Obviously this cannot be and we must conclude that faulty translations can easily creep into our holy teachings and traditions, if we are not absolutely careful in the tedious work of accurate translations. In this particular case, this heretical translation identifies Satan as the Morning Star who, as we know, is he who will one day bring forth the Anti-Christ. Hopefully, a permanent commission of competent translators will soon be brought together to "fine comb" all present English translations, not only of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, but of every Orthodox jurisdiction so that heretical words and phrases will not find room in the works that are to come forth for the preservation of our holy Orthodox faith, as it was handed down to us by our forebearers. For it is our responsibility to pass on this great, Divine Trust to those who are coming after us for their proper edification and sanctification.

http://www.denver.goarch.org/metropolitan/writings/monographs/liturgical_mistranslations.html

http://holycrossbookstore.com 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Septuagint_version_of_the_Old_Testament_(Brenton)

http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/septuagint-hyperlinked.html

http://ebible.org/eng-lxx2012/

http://studybible.info/Brenton

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Septuagint_in_English

https://archive.org/details/septuagintversio1879bren

https://archive.org/details/septuagintversio1900bren

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/brenton/lxx/Page_Index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Vaticanus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textus_Receptus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_text-type

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_/_Greek_Orthodox_Bible

http://www.orthodox-church.info/eob/

http://www.orthodox-church.info/eob/osb.asp

http://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=277837

http://livingorthodoxfaith.blogspot.com/2010/04/eob-easterngreek-orthodox-bible.html

http://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/TBv4i2_Chancey_VersionsandTranslations.pdf

http://www.holy-trinity.org/liturgics/nrsv.html

http://www.kjbresearchcouncil.com/FreeEbooks/The%20Septuagint%20ebook.pdf

http://thetencommandmentsministry.us/ministry/charles_thomson/

https://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/ted_hildebrandt/ntesources/ntarticles/bsac-nt/harrison-lxximportance-pt1-bs.pdf

http://www.apostolicbible.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoretic_Text

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/dead-sea-scrolls/the-masoretic-text-and-the-dead-sea-scrolls/

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/02/septuagint-vs-masoretic-which-is-more.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Study_Bible

http://store.ancientfaith.com/orthodox-study-bible/

http://www.thomasnelson.com/the-orthodox-study-bible

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Orthodox_Study_Bible

http://www.goarch.org/resources/bible

http://www.orthodox-church.info/eob/osb.asp

http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/reliable-hebrew-text

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Bible/which_bible_can_we_trust.htm

http://www.opc.org/new_horizons/9506a.html

http://www.biblefood.com/manuscrp.html

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Septuagint

There are multiple internal variations between the LXX and the MT. The texts read differently in many places, giving a much more Christological tone to the LXX which was deliberately avoided when the Masoretes were putting together their anti-Christian canon. These differences in wording are the evidence that the Apostles were using the LXX. 

http://www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/

http://www.accordancebible.com/store/details/?pid=VAMVAS

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Justin_Martyr

http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/pdf/kjvsept.pdf

http://www.peterpapoutsis.com

http://www.orthodox-church.info/eob/

http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/pdf/kjvsept.pdf

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Septuagint

Old Greek (OG) = Septuagint

Eventually, early Christians adopted the OG as their preferred version of the Hebrew Bible. 

the resulting text used in early Christian liturgy (and still used by Eastern Orthodox Churches) is called the Septuagint.

http://www.bible.ca/b-canon-jesus-favored-old-testament-textual-manuscript.htm

http://www.bible-researcher.com/nicole.html

http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/reliable-hebrew-text/did-jesus-quote-luke-418-19-in-the-septuagint

http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/reliable-hebrew-text/did-jesus-quote-luke-418-19-in-the-septuagint

http://www.kjvtoday.com/home#TOC-The-King-James-Version-is-Demonstra

http://beforeitsnews.com/prophecy/2015/03/the-anti-jesus-masoretic-text-2467916.html

http://www.setterfield.org/Septuagint_History.html

http://www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/NTChart.htm

https://www.logos.com/product/4951/gottingen-septuagint

http://www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/NTChart.htm

New Testament (AV)

LXX (Brenton)

Masoretic (AV)

Table of Old Testament quotes in the New Testament, in English translation
New Testament (NT) quotations of the Old Testament (OT).   The left column carries the NT citations, the middle the Septuagint (LXX) and the last column the Masoretic (MT).   The NT and MT translation is the Authorized Version, the LXX, Brenton's.   Natalio Fernández Marcos, "The Septuagint and the New Testament,"   Marcos's judgment on the matter is "that most of the the Old Testament quotations in the New follow the text of the LXX in one of its known forms."    Brenton's translation is based on a rather eclectic reading of the Greek text of the LXX. The standard LXX text is to be found in the Göttingen edition, and has yet to be translated. Next best is Rahlfs's edition, widely available

http://www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/NTChart.htm

http://www.goarch.org/chapel/liturgical_texts/creed

http://www.goarch.org/chapel/liturgical_texts/prayercard.pdf

http://www.goarch.org/chapel/liturgical_texts
http://www.goarch.org/chapel/
http://www.goarch.org/chapel/calendar/

http://www.bibliahebraica.com/the_texts/septuagint.htm


http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7068

http://forum.davidicke.com/showthread.php?t=32990

https://dustinmartyr.wordpress.com/2014/06/27/when-the-bible-pits-the-masoretic-text-vs-the-lxx/

http://yrm.org/bestbible-version.htm

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Septuagint

http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/septuagint/

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/septuag.htm

http://www.biblewheel.com/forum/showthread.php?2490-Orthodox-Bible-now-available-online-(Old-Testament-Septuagint)

http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Heb-Xn-Bibles.htm

http://www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/texts.htm

http://www.ecmarsh.com/lxx/

http://www.peterpapoutsis.com

http://www.bibliahebraica.com/the_texts/septuagint.htm

http://www.monachos.net/conversation/topic/7184-septuagint-texts/

http://www.biblicalgreek.org/links/lxx.php

https://www.reddit.com/r/OrthodoxChristianity/comments/2x04gz/the_septuagint_in_american_english/

http://acrod.org/readingroom/scripture/septuagint

http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/34178/are-there-any-english-bible-translations-whose-primary-text-for-the-ot-is-the-se

http://www.americanbible.org/orthodox-resources

http://oodegr.co/english/protestantism/masoretic_vs_septuagint.htm

https://www.logos.com/product/45332/the-holy-orthodox-bible

http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php?topic=9768.0

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/47416.htm

http://www.holy-trinity.org/liturgics/nrsv.html

http://www.septuagint.net

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xlxx.html

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/septuag.htm

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xlxx.html

English Translations:
Michael Asser: The Old Testament According to the Septuagint -- A Translation into English of the Greek Text (2009) Probably the best available for Orthodox use. The language may annoy some people -- it is deliberately archaic, an attempt to reproduce what the King James Bible would be like if its translators had worked from the Greek instead of the Hebrew -- but others will consider this a strength. The Greek source is the one endorsed by the Church of Greece for liturgical and other official purposes, rather than that favoured by secular scholars. It is remarkable that one person has done this (one thinks of St. Jerome). --- Orthodox England
endorsed by the Church of Greece for liturgical and other official purposes

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

Michael Asser
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/pdf/ot/2015intro.pdf

http://www.new-moon.org/Septuagint-SirLancelotC.L.Brenton.pdf

http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm

Generally speaking, the King James Version is where all English translations of Scripture should begin… and it remains one of the best options available, even without any revision.  The pronouns and verbal forms that it uses are not hard to learn.  The primary problem with it is the occasional translation that needs to be corrected, and the occasional word that is likely to confuse most contemporary readers.  Most readers could easily remedy the second problem by simply expanding their vocabulary by about 200 or so words.

The complete Orthodox Study Bible has been released. It is a generally accurate (albeit imperfect) translation of the Septuagint.  Criticisms have generally focused on instances in which they left some texts essentially unchanged from the rendering in the New King James Version, when the Septuagint differs. There certainly are some examples of this, however, we can hope that some things will be corrected over time, and in any case, when it comes to a translation of the whole Septuagint, it is a better option than anything else that is available at present in English.  What I like least about the OSB is that the order of the books of the Old Testament is complete rearranged based on the order found in the current Greek Bibles, and also that they have adopted names for certain books that are not the standard names used in the 400+ years history of English Bibles.  I understand why they did it, but I don’t think anything of substance was gained by these moves, and now the users of the Orthodox Study Bible will have to get used to this new arrangement, and will have to learn, for example that if they are looking for a text in the book of Ezra, they will just have to learn that this will be found in 2nd Ezra, rather than 1st Ezra. There are also many criticism of the notes and the study helps in the Orthodox Study Bible, but I do not believe these criticisms weigh heavily enough to argue against recommending this text, in the absence of a better alternative.

the Orthodox Study Bible, is an imperfect but good option for personal study.  It uses the New King James Version of the New Testament, and in the few instances in which one might wish that translation was corrected, they noted the preferable translation in the footnotes.  I suspect the Publisher, who owns the copyright to the NKJV probably had something to do with why they did not simply amend the text.  In the Old Testament, they revised the New King James Version based on the Septuagint, and generally did so accurately.

http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_text-type 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/148191765X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3MLIJU48MFY6B&coliid=I1R1IZK9H2D0J4

https://www.logos.com/product/32420/the-patriarchal-greek-new-testament

The Patriarchal Greek New Testament (PATr)

Patriarchal Press of Constantinople

The Patriarchal Greek New Testament (PATr) was published by the Patriarchal Press of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on February 22, 1904. It was published as The New Testament, Approved by the Great Church of Christ, with a goal to be the most authoritative text of the Greek New Testament available for Orthodox churches.

As more critical or eclectic editions of the NT became the norm by the nineteenth century (replacing the Byzantine Text), the Patriarchate assembled a committee of scholars for studying multiple manuscripts of the NT from both Constantinople and Mount Athos. Their goal was to provide "the best reconstruction of the most ancient text of ecclesiastical tradition and, more specifically, of the Church of Constantinople" (from the preface to the 1904 edition). The manuscripts they selected were from the ninth to the sixteenth centuries, and were largely from lectionaries (that is, from texts that were actually used in the worship of the Church). After the Patriarchal Greek New Testament's initial publication in 1904, Professor Vasileios Antoniades of the Theological School of Chalki made some minor corrections to the text in 1912.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/new-testament-editor-cleenewerck/1113654141

https://voxstefani.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/the-eob-and-the-ecclesiastical-text-of-the-new-testament/

http://www.monachos.net/conversation/topic/2270-new-eastern-orthodox-bible/

http://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/TBv4i2_Chancey_VersionsandTranslations.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_/_Greek_Orthodox_Bible

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecumenical_Patriarchate_of_Constantinople

https://www.logos.com/product/32406/eastern-greek-orthodox-bible-new-testament

http://www.abebooks.com/9781481917650/EOB-Eastern-Greek-Orthodox-New-148191765X/plp

http://www.lulu.com/shop/laurent-cleenewerck-editor/eastern-greek-orthodox-bible-new-testament-6x9-hardcover-editor/hardcover/product-5004685.html

Look inside

http://www.amazon.com/dp/148191765X/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3MLIJU48MFY6B&coliid=I1R1IZK9H2D0J4

http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/pdf/kjvsept.pdf

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zresources.htm


http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/septuag.htm

English-speaking Orthodox have long been so handicapped. It is true that for a long time there have been two English translations of the Septuagint. 

At the end of the eighteenth century Charles Thomson, one of America’s Founding fathers, recognising the vital connection of the Septuagint with the New Testament, produced the first English translation of the Septuagint, made from J Field’s printed Greek text of 1665. 

Then in 1851 Sir Lancelot C L Brenton published his translation of the Septuagint. It is this latter that is generally available and fairly widely known today in bilingual editions in book form or on the internet. However it is a diplomatic text (i.e. one that is based on one codex, in this case Vaticanus), which does not entirely agree with the Greek text of the Orthodox Church. 

The most significant of these are the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS) and The Orthodox Study Bible (OSB). 

the Eastern Orthodox Bible (EOB), a project which is intended eventually to include the Septuagint text in a modern English revision of Brenton’s translation

*the present writer has produced an unpublished version based on the text of the Church of Greece’s Apostoliki Diakonia, with the King James Bible as its English template but changing it where it differs from the Greek, which it does very often.

The New English Translation of the Septuagint is a scholarly eclectic text translated from the Gottingen/Rahlf5 critical edition of the Septuagint. Because it is based on an eclectic Greek text, this version of the Septuagint is unsuitable for use by English-speaking Orthodox.

The second of these translations is of more direct significance to Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Study Bible, New Testament and Psalms (OSB) was originally published in 1993. The New Testament text of the OSB is the New King James Version (NKJV), which is itself based on the Byzantine Received Text, the traditional text of the Greek-speaking churches, indeed of all Christendom until the nineteenth century. In the absence at that time of a suitable English translation of the Septuagint, the Psalms were taken directly from the New King James Version’s translation of the Masoretic Hebrew. This first OSB received much adverse critical comment. Now, under the direction of Fr Jack Sparks, a new Septuagint translation has been published in the USA as part of The Orthodox Study Bible: Septuagint and New Testament.

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/oldtest.htm

http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm

There are at present only limited options available in terms of English translations of the Septuagint.  There is the translation of Sir Lancelot Brenton, which is often awkward and wooden.  There is also a very well done revision of the KJV by Michael Asser, which corrected the KJV based on the Septuagint, but while the complete text is available online, only the Psalter is actually in print.  For the Psalms there is the Psalter According to the Seventy, published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery; A Psalter For Prayer, published by Holy Trinity Monastery; and the Psalter of the Prophet and King David, published by the Center for Traditionalists Orthodox Studies – this text is based on the edition by Michael Asser, but it differs in some respects.  There are also various editions of the Old Testament readings that are used liturgically.  

Michael Asser

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xlxx.html

The best English translation is very likely Michael Asser's, below. Surprisingly, this translation does not seem to be very well-known. The most widely available version is Brenton's, which, apart from any other defects, unaccountable substitutes Masoretic readings of words for the original Greek, sometimes without even a footnote. Holy Transfiguration Monastery has published a very careful translation of the Psalter, but not, apparently, of the Septuagint as a whole. Read any translation with caution, and if possible compare it to the Greek, before drawing any conclusions.

English Translations:
Michael Asser: The Old Testament According to the Septuagint -- A Translation into English of the Greek Text (2009) Probably the best available for Orthodox use. The language may annoy some people -- it is deliberately archaic, an attempt to reproduce what the King James Bible would be like if its translators had worked from the Greek instead of the Hebrew -- but others will consider this a strength. The Greek source is the one endorsed by the Church of Greece for liturgical and other official purposes, rather than that favoured by secular scholars. It is remarkable that one person has done this (one thinks of St. Jerome). --- Orthodox England

http://www.monachos.net/conversation/topic/7184-septuagint-texts/

http://www.christianorthodox.net/orthodox-new-testament/king-james-version-patriarchal-text/

http://www.christianorthodox.net/orthodox-new-testament/

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/81240.htm

https://voxstefani.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/on-englishing-the-bible-of-the-orthodox-church-further-updates-and-reflections/

 I was delighted to find a note from Michael Asser, whose fine KJV-LXX Psalter and Old Testament I have mentioned in the past. He writes:

I’m very glad to inform you that Archbishop Mark of Berlin, Germany and Great Britain (ROCOR) has blessed my ‘King James Septuagint’ (an adaptation of the OT of the King James Bible to the Greek Septuagint), and it is expected that it will be published by September 2013 by the St Innocent Press of Middlebury, Indiana.


This is very good news indeed. As I have noted before, the full text of his excellent KJV-LXX Old Testament is already available online at the Orthodox England website.

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xlxx.html


The best English translation is very likely Michael Asser's, below. Surprisingly, this translation does not seem to be very well-known. The most widely available version is Brenton's, which, apart from any other defects, unaccountable substitutes Masoretic readings of words for the original Greek, sometimes without even a footnote. Holy Transfiguration Monastery has published a very careful translation of the Psalter, but not, apparently, of the Septuagint as a whole. Read any translation with caution, and if possible compare it to the Greek, before drawing any conclusions.

English Translations:

• Michael Asser: The Old Testament According to the Septuagint -- A Translation into English of the Greek Text (2009) Probably the best available for Orthodox use. The language may annoy some people -- it is deliberately archaic, an attempt to reproduce what the King James Bible would be like if its translators had worked from the Greek instead of the Hebrew -- but others will consider this a strength. The Greek source is the one endorsed by the Church of Greece for liturgical and other official purposes, rather than that favoured by secular scholars. It is remarkable that one person has done this (one thinks of St. Jerome). --- Orthodox England

http://bibles.wikidot.com/asser

http://bibles.wikidot.com/asser

LXX Old Testament – 2011

Title: The Old Testament Acording to the Seventy • An English translation of the Greek Septuagint adapted from the King James Bible.
Date: 2011
Publisher: Colchester, Essex, England (U.K.): Orthodox England
Contents: Old Testament acc. to the LXX. Includes 3rd & 4th Maccabees, Epistel of Jeremia, 2 Esdras, Slavonic Appendix. – Preface (1 p), Introduction (2 pp).
Language:
References: 

Images: (to follow)

Location: Collection Bibelarchiv–Birnbaum. Karlsruhe/ Baden. Germany

Comments: Print from pdf–file; 1279 pp in sum (=each Book numbered separately). Scripture text in running form, paragraph–wise. No extras.
Remark in the impressum:
»The English version of the Septuagint is based upon the text of the Authorized Version of the Bible (the King James Version) and the Apocrypha.«

In his preface, the Archpriest of St. John‘s Orthodox Church, Andrew Philipps, writes, dated 8/21 November 2011,

»I would like to emphasize that the present translation is a liturgical translation, in that it uses the received text of the Old Testament, as used by the Church of Greece. In other words, this translation is not designed for theoretical academic study, but for practical use in the Orthodox monastery and parish, as well as for prayerful private reading. This is why it uses liturgical language, with all its poetry, inspiration and constant call to prayer.«

In his Introduction, Michael Asser wrote, dated Shrewsbury, England, 2011,

»Despite its limitation, it is the Apostoliki Diakonia Greek text that has been taken as the starting point for this English version of the Septuagint, because it is an Orthodox text, and because it is readily accessible. The Prayer of Manasseh, which does not appear in primted Greek editions of the Septuagint, and the Slavonic books of Esdras in the order in which they appear in the Elizabeth Bible, have been included as an appendix.
In seeking to be faithful both to the Septuagint and to English culture, the Old Testament of the King James Bible has been taken as a base text and emended where it differs from the Septuagint. The aim has been as far as possible to make a translation such as King James’ translators might have made had they been working from the Greek Septuagint instead of the Masoretic Hebrew text. So the Ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα (“Worthy to be read”), which are known in the West as the Deuterocanonical Books or Apocrypha, are reproduced from the King James Version, with minor revisions to bring them closer to the printed Greek text. No attempt has been made to modernise the text of the King James Version in any significant way, except to remove unnecessary obstacles to understanding and to lighten the punctuation. The format of Apostoliki Diakonia’s edition has been followed for the order of books and verse, paragraph and chapter division.«

The translation of the Psalter here differs from the ones in the 2004 and 2008 editions. – The complete LXX Old Testament 'net translation can be read, downloaded and printed fromhttp://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

liturgical asser septuagint
http://orthodoxwiki.org/Psalter

http://www.newmartyr.info/files/liturgica/The-Liturgical-Books.pdf

http://www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/texts.htm

http://oldenglishchurch.org.uk/intro.pdf

m. 

http://www.ntgreek.org/answers/nt_written_in_greek.htm

http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7068

The Bible: Its Original Languages and English Translations

THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES - THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD

The Prophets and the Apostles have recorded in written form a portion of the oral teaching of the Old Testament in Hebrew and Aramaic as well as the New Testament in Greek. These are the original languages of the Holy Bible 


http://www.biblica.com/en-us/bible/bible-faqs/in-what-language-was-the-bible-first-written/

what language was the Bible first written?

The New Testament   was written in Greek.  

https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2012/06/what-was-the-original-language-of-the-bible/

The New Testament 

by the time the gospels were being written, many Jews didn’t even speak Hebrew anymore. Rome had conquered Greece, and the influence of Greek culture had saturated the empire. 

Biblical Greek
it was written in koine (common Greek), a language that could be understood by almost anyone

http://oldenglishchurch.org.uk/intro.pdf

The Orthodox Church
the New Testament in the edition published in 
1904 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. 

The most authoritative versions of the Old Testament texts are those that are included in the various liturgical books. The Church of Greece’s 
Apostoliki Diakonia has published a text of the Septuagint

traditional Orthodox readings of the Septuagint as they are found in the liturgical readings of 
the Church and throughout the writings of the Fathers. 
Apostoliki Diakonia 

Apostoliki Diakonia’s 
Septuagint
published with the authority of the Church of Greece

___

http://www.gotquestions.org/Masoretic-Text.html

Perhaps the people who prefer Masoretic
The Hebrew text of the Old Testament is called the Masoretic Text
Because it is in Hebrew

And an English transalation
would be a Translation of a manuscript

English - Hebrew

Whereas an English translation of the Septuagint (Greek) would be a Translation of a Translation

English - Greek - Hebrew

This assumes that the reader is an English speaker

What if you are Greek speaker ?

For a Greek speaker,
the Septuagint would a Translation of Hebrew

it is just one level of Translation

But more important than that is :
the source manuscripts
the ages of the manuscripts
the preservation process
and the Bias

All things considered,
I am coming to the conclusion,
for Christians,
the Best and Truest Christian Bible is :

New Testament in Greek
The Orthodox Church
the New Testament in the edition published in 
1904 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. 

Old Testament in Greek
Apostoliki Diakonia’s 
Septuagint
published with the authority of the Church of Greece

traditional Orthodox readings of the Septuagint as they are found in the liturgical readings of 
the Church and throughout the writings of the Fathers

the Greek Orthodox Church
has played an important role in Christian
and human history

the Greek Orthodox Church
has Preserved the Word
Logos
The Librarians 


http://orthodoxwiki.org/Apostoliki_Diakonia

Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece is the official publishing house and missionary arm of the Orthodox Christian Church of Greece

Consider Greece is 98% Orthodox Christian

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xaristeas.html

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01712c.htm

Josephus
http://archive.org/stream/completeworksofl00jose#page/240/mode/2up

The Greek New Testament displayed is the authorized 1904 text of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Patriarchal text has been made available courtesy of the Greek Bible society and was digitized in XML in cooperation with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Internet Ministries, the Greek Bible Society and the American Bible Society IT Department's OSIS project.

http://www.goarch.org/chapel/biblegreek

http://www.ellopos.com/blog/?p=1599

http://www.elpenor.org/books/new-testament/default-en.asp

http://www.orthodoxchristian.info/pages/old_testament.html

http://www.monachos.net/conversation/topic/2418-which-versions-of-the-lxx-are-best/

http://www.apostoliki-diakonia.gr/bible/bible.asp?contents=old_testament/contents.asp&main=OldTes 

 ecclesiastical Septuagint utilized by the Church of Greece and published by Apostoliki Diakonia

http://www.apostolik...op/default.aspx

This edition is also online:

http://www.apostolik...asp&main=OldTes 

http://itools.com/tool/google-translate-web-page-translator


https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=el&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apostoliki-diakonia.gr%2Fbible%2Fbible.asp%3Fcontents%3Dold_testament%2Fcontents.asp%26main%3DOldTes&sandbox=1


http://www.apostoliki-diakonia.gr/bible/bible.asp?contents=old_testament/contents.asp&main=OldTes

http://www.apostoliki-diakonia.gr/bible/bible.asp?contents=old_testament/contents.asp&main=OldTes

http://www.apostoliki-diakonia.gr/bible/bible.asp?contents=old_testament/contents.asp&main=OldTes

http://www.monachos.net/conversation/topic/2418-which-versions-of-the-lxx-are-best/

ecclesiastical Septuagint utilized by the Church of Greece and published by Apostoliki Diakonia

http://www.apostoliki-diakonia.gr/bible/bible.asp?contents=old_testament/contents.asp&main=OldTes

http://www.apostoliki-diakonia.gr/bible/bible.asp?contents=old_testament/contents.asp&main=OldTes

http://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine/the-symbol-of-faith/nicene-creed

http://oca.org/orthodoxy/prayers/symbol-of-faith


http://oca.org/orthodoxy/prayers/symbol-of-faith

SEPTUAGINT

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/pdf/ot/2015intro.pdf

The Septuagint
Orthodox Christians should use and know the Septuagint, either in the original Greek or in their own language. 

The Orthodox Church has a definitive printed Greek text of the New 
Testament in the edition published in 1904 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of 
Constantinople. It has no such definitive edition of the Septuagint.


For the Orthodox Church, 
the most authoritative readings of the Old Testament texts are those that 
are to be found in its liturgical books and in the writings of the Church Fathers. 
The Biblical lectionaries in particular preserve a separate textual witness to the 
Septuagint of great antiquity.

the Church of Greece’s Apostoliki Diakonia and the Zoe Brotherhood have published texts of the Septuagint 
which have been adjusted to some extent to accommodate 
traditional Orthodox readings of the Septuagint. 

The Apostoliki Diakonia Greek text may be consulted on that organization’s website, as well as those of Myriobiblos and 
Elpenor. it is this text that has been taken as the starting 
point for this English version of the Septuagint, because it is an Orthodox text

In seeking to be faithful both to the Septuagint and to English culture, the 
Old Testament of the King James Bible has been taken as a base text and emended 
where it differs from the Septuagint 


http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/scripturesinthechurch.htm 

The Holy Scriptures Were Produced by the Orthodox Church. 

The Holy Scriptures Were Preserved by the Orthodox Church. 

Produced   Preserved

The Authentic Greek Text of the Bible is Preserved by the Orthodox Church. 

English translation of the Bible
using the Byzantine text-type manuscripts of the New Testament
the King James Version (KJV)

What Translation Should I Use?  The answer is this: the King James Version (KJV) is the most reliable and faithful English translation,
King James Version for New Testament

The Authentic Greek Text of the Bible is Preserved by the Orthodox Church.  
For Orthodox Christians
We simply use the Greek text handed down within the Orthodox Church which has been proven consistent by 2000 years of liturgical use and which the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, has given us.

To Scripture scholars there is a huge body of ancient Greek manuscripts, known as the Byzantine text-type, which embodies the Orthodox textual tradition.  These old manuscripts and lectionaries differ very little from each other, and are indeed in overwhelming agreement with each other throughout the whole New Testament.  Furthermore, they are great in number and comprise the vast majority of existing Greek manuscripts.

Byzantine text-type
Byzantine text-type family of manuscripts
Byzantine texts
the Byzantine text
Byzantine text-type manuscripts

The official version of the Old Testament authorized by the Orthodox Church for use in worship and reading is that of the Septuagint. 

The Church from the beginning, used the Septuagint and not the Palestinian version of the Bible

the Septuagint. It was called Septuagint, or Seventy, because there were seventy, (according to tradition 72) scholars who first made the translation into Greek during the reign of Ptolmey II in the third century, B.C. in Alexandria. Our Church recognizes and accepts the Septuagint as the sacred and inspired Word of God. This version of the Bible circulated in the synagogues around the Mediterranean world where Christianity flourished. 


https://sites.google.com/site/saintsconstantinehelenlondon/holy-scripture-in-the-orthodox-church-the-bible


http://www.compassdistributors.ca/topics/textchoi.htm

There are over 5,000 Greek manuscripts of the Bible. These have been divided into four hypothetical “text types.” There are two main text types we need to be concerned with. These are the Byzantine text type, which was prevalent around Antioch, and the Alexandrian text type, which was prevalent around Alexandria, Egypt. There are a couple of other text types, the Caesarean and the Western, which seem to be a combination of these two other text types, but these are not important as we know they are derivatives of the other two types.

The vast majority of manuscripts, perhaps up to 95% of all manuscripts known, are of the Byzantine text type, which is therefore referred to today as the “majority text.” These are all “late manuscripts”, the majority of them having been produced after 600AD. Of the four text types, the Byzantine type is the largest text, meaning it has the most words.

The oldest manuscripts we have are all Alexandrian in nature. Of all known manuscripts, perhaps 5% reflect this text type. The two best examples of Alexandrian manuscripts are Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, two complete copies of the Bible in Greek, which were copied during the fourth century. But there are earlier manuscripts to be found, not complete Bibles but fragments thereof, stretching all the way back into the 200's and earlier. These earlier manuscripts also universally support the Alexandrian text type. The Alexandrian text type stopped appearing in the Greek texts in the 700's after a long period of tapering off.

Christian doctrine   strengthened in the Byzantine text.

http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoretic_Text

https://archive.org/details/The_Second_Rabbinic_Bible_Vol_4

The Second Rabbinic Bible is the Hebrew Masoretic text which is believed to have been used as the source text by the King James Bible translators for the Old Testament. 

http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/septuagint.html

http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/septuagint.html

The Septuagint (from the Latin septuaginta, meaning "seventy," and frequently referred to by the roman numerals LXX) is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The name derives from the tradition that it was made by seventy-two Jewish scholars at Alexandria, Egypt during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-247 B.C.)

The Septuagint version having been current for about three centuries before the time when the books of the New Testament were written

the Apostles should have used it more often than not in making citations from the Old Testament.
In fact, they used it as did their contemporary Jewish writers, Philo and Josephus

The veneration with which the Jews had treated this version [the Septuagint] (as is shown in the case of Philo and Josephus) [because Philo and Josephus quoted the Septuagint]

In the great majority of cases, the scripture thus appealed to is undoubtedly the Septuagint. Seldom, if ever, is it the Hebrew original. We have seen how, even before the Christian era, the Septuagint had acquired for itself the position of an inspired book. Some four centuries after that era, Augustine remarks that the Greek speaking Christians, for the most part, did not even know that there was any other Word of God than the Septuagint. 

when other nations became converted to Christianity and wanted the scriptures in their own languages, it was almost always the Septuagint which formed the basis of the translation.

For those who favor the King James, the King James Bible, printed in 1810, called the "Potters Standard Edition", happens to talk about the Septuagint. 

"The most remarkable translation of the Old Testament into Greek is called the Septuagint, which, if the opinion of some eminent writers is to be credited, was made in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 270 years before the Christian era. At any rate, it is undoubtedly the most ancient that is now extant. The five books of Moses were translated first in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, King of Egypt, and others were added until the whole Old Testament was finished, and the version dates about 270 years before the birth of Christ. The transcendent value of this version may be seen from the extensive usage that it had attained in Jewish synagogues, from the fact that our blessed Lord and the apostles habitually quoted from it, and also from the fact that it helped to determine the state of the Hebrew text at the time when the version was made. Besides, it establishes, beyond all doubt, the point that our Lord and his inspired apostles recognized the duty of rendering the Word into the vulgar tongue of all people so that all men might, in their own speech, hear the wonderful things of the Lord. All the authors of the New Testament appear to have written in the Greek language. That this tongue was already familiar to them as a vehicle to express God's inspired Word is evident from their frequent use of the Greek translation, the Septuagint, in quoting the Old Testament and from the remarkable accordance of their style with the style of that ancient and precious version. 

http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/septuagint.html

http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/ot_manuscripts.html

http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/nt_manuscripts.html

http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/scripture.html

http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/thou.html

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13722a.htm

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-pref.html

http://www.bible-researcher.com/brenton1.html

Josephus
http://archive.org/stream/completeworksofl00jose#page/240/mode/2up

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/index.html


The Antiquities of the Jews — Flavius Josephus

The Antiquities of the Jews — Flavius Josephus

Chapter 2 

http://biblehub.com/library/josephus/the_antiquities_of_the_jews/chapter_2_how_ptolemy_philadelphus.htm

How Ptolemy Philadelphus Procured the Laws of the Jews to be Translated into the Greek Tongue and Set Many Captives Free, and Dedicated Many Gifts To God 

https://books.google.com/books?id=Kk0GAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA313&lpg=PA313&dq=how+ptolemy+philadelphus+laws+jews&source=bl&ots=NmMi87NR7a&sig=yY0FrKAl2ELoWdgfGrk5GWuRNVM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAmoVChMI79edx7zXyAIVyJqACh0h4A7c#v=onepage&q=how%20ptolemy%20philadelphus%20laws%20jews&f=false

http://archive.org/stream/completeworksofl00jose#page/240/mode/2up


Book XII 

Alexander the great


BOOK XII. Containing The Interval Of A Hundred And Seventy Year

Antiquities of the Jews — Book XII

Containing the Interval of a 170 years.
From the Death of Alexander the Great, to the Death of Judas Maccabees.


Antiquities of the Jews — Book XII

Containing the Interval of a 170 years.
From the Death of Alexander the Great, to the Death of Judas Maccabees.


***Chapter 2.

How Ptolemy Philadelphus procured the laws of the Jews to be translated into the Greek tongue; and set many captives free; and dedicated many gifts to God.

Aristeus

 seventy [two] elders 

SEPTUAGINT

Antiquities of the Jews

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/index.html

Book XII

From the Death of Alexander the Great to the Death of Judas Maccabeus

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-12.html

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Josephus.html

The Twelve Apostles

http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7065

http://www.goarch.org/chapel/liturgical_texts/creed

http://oca.org/orthodoxy/prayers/symbol-of-faith

http://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine/the-symbol-of-faith/nicene-creed

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Nicene-Constantinopolitan_Creed


http://www.greekorthodox.org.au/general/orthodoxchristianity/thenicenecreed

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/1990/issue28/2814.html

http://vulgate.org/jerome/

http://vulgate.org/douay-rheims.htm

http://greeknewtestament.org


http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage/?q=isaiah+7&t=kjv&t2=rhe

http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage/?q=isaiah+14&t=kjv&t2=rhe

http://www.latinvulgate.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douay–Rheims_Bible

English *Old Testament  English Vulgate

JC 1
Truth
JC A/O

Truest JC 1



http://www.scrollpublishing.com/store/more-Septuagint.html

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ioscs/brenton/brenton1844.pdf

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ioscs/brenton/


Psalm 145  does Not have second part of Verse 13

http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage/?q=palms+145&t=kjv&t2=rhe

Douay-Rhiems Catholic Bible

13 (144-13) Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages: and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words: and holy in all his works.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+145&version=KJV;NABRE

Psalm 145
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

13

Your reign is a reign for all ages,
    your dominion for all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all his words,
    and loving in all his works.

https://theorthodoxlife.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/masoretic-text-vs-original-hebrew/

http://oodegr.co/english/ag_grafi/pd/Isaiah/Masorete_Septuagint.htm

http://oodegr.co/english/ekklisia/ekklisia.htm

http://oodegr.co/english/ag_grafi/ag_grafi.htm

http://www.reocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/bible_texts.html

http://www.drbo.org
http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/scripturesinthechurch.htm

___________________

New Testament

1. Greek Orthodox CHURCH New Testament in the Greek Language 

http://www.goarch.org/chapel/biblegreek

English New Testament

EOB: The Eastern Greek Orthodox New Testament: Based on the Patriarchal Text of 1904

King James Version 1611

Orthodox Study Bible  2008   

NKJV

___________________

Old Testament 

1. Greek Orthodox CHURCH SEPTUAGINT Old Testament in the Greek Language 

http://www.apostoliki-diakonia.gr/bible/bible.asp?contents=old_testament/contents.asp&main=OldTes

SEPTUAGINT

English Old Testament 

Michael Asser Septuagint
Michael Asser Septuagint
Michael Asser Septuagint
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

Orthodox Study Bible  2008 

Brenton Septuagint


? Douay-Rheims Bible

http://www.peterpapoutsis.com/volume1.htm

___________________

Psalm 9 originally contained 21 verses and there were 2 versions of Psalm 10, numbering 1-18 and 1-8.  This obviously caused a conflict, so it was decided to put the first Psalm 10 in the last part of Psalm 9 and renumber the verses 22-39.  Thus, I retained the same numbering for all the Psalms as all the Douay Rheims Bibles.  Note, in the Protestant Bibles the numbering of Psalms 10 through 146 differs by one.  So if you are looking for Psalm 23, it is actually Psalm 22 in the Douay-Rheims Bible.

Old Testament Tests
Lucifer
Virgin
Key Messianic Verses
14:12  Isaiah
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah+14&version=KJV;NABRE

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah+14&version=KJV;DRA

7:14  Isaiah
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah+7&version=KJV;NABRE

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=isaiah+7&version=KJV;DRA


http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/pdf/ot/2015intro.pdf

Archpriest Andrew Phillips, 
St John’s Orthodox Church, 
Colchester, England

I would like to emphasize that the present translation is a liturgical 
translation, in that it uses the received text of the Old Testament, as used by the Church of Greece. 

it uses the received text of the Old Testament, as used by the 
Church of Greece. 

this translation is  for practical use in the Orthodox monastery and parish, as well as for prayerful private reading. This is why it uses the liturgical language, with all its poetry, inspiration and constant call to prayer. We sincerely hope that this translation will be seen as a contribution to English-language Orthodox culture and that it will indeed inspire many to prayer and repentance.

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/septuag.htm

* the present writer has produced an unpublished version based on the text of the Church of Greece’s Apostoliki Diakonia, with the King James Bible as its English template but changing it where it differs from the Greek, which it does very often.

The New English Translation of the Septuagint   NETS   
Because it is based on an eclectic Greek text, this version of the Septuagint is unsuitable for use by English-speaking Orthodox.

The New Testament text of the OSB is the New King James Version (NKJV), which is itself based on the Byzantine Received Text, the traditional text of the Greek-speaking churches, indeed of all Christendom until the nineteenth century. 

http://www.peterpapoutsis.com


http://www.peterpapoutsis.com/about.htm

http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm
for Liturgical Use

A. The Psalter

For a Liturgical Psalter, there are three options that I would recommend for consideration:

1) "The Psalter According to the Seventy," published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery (also known as "The Boston Psalter"). This is far from a perfect translation, but I have found it to be a generally accurate translation, and it has the advantage of matching many of the most commonly used liturgical texts available in English (it is used in all of the publications of St. John of Kronstadt Press, Holy Transfiguration Monastery, and most of those published by Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville New York. The disadvantage of this text is that the word choice can at times be awkward. It is also available in a pocket sized edition.

2). "A Psalter for Prayer," which is published by Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, New York. The translation is based on the Coverdale Psalter, which is what you would find in an older (traditional) edition of the Book of Common Prayer, but is corrected with the Septuagint. It also contains a great deal of instructional material and additional prayers found in Slavonic editions of the Psalter, but not in the Boston Psalter or most other editions published in English to date. For example, it has prayers at the end of each kathisma, and it has instructions on how to read the Psalter over the dead, with the prayers that are said according to Slavic practice in conjunction with that. The quality of the printing is very high... the paper and binding are of similar quality to the Boston Psalter, but the cover looks better, the size is a bit larger, and it has two marker ribbons sewn into the binding. The translation is well done and beautiful, and I would say that it is worth having just for the additional material that it contains. The biggest disadvantage is that it presently is not used in very many liturgical texts, but that may change. I have found it to be sometimes less precise than the Boston Psalter, when comparing the text to the Greek Septuagint, but I can't say that this is based on a thorough and detailed review of the entire text.

3). "The Psalter of the Prophet and King David with the Nine Biblical Odes," which is published by the Center for Traditionalists Orthodox Studies. This translation is based on the King James Version, but corrected by the Septuagint which is arguably better stylistically than the HTM Psalter, and for many, it will be more familiar to the text that they are familiar with, but like the Jordanville Psalter, it is not used in many liturgical texts... though it is used in texts published by the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies..

B. The Gospel

The best option for a Gospel book that is formatted according to Slavic usage, is from Holoviaks Church Supply.  They publish a very fine edition which uses the King James Version.  They currently offer this text only with a metallic cover.  They have also recently published one that uses the New King James… and for those who prefer the NKJV, obviously this would be an excellent option.

A new option for those seeking a traditional English translation of the Gospels, is the Gospel Lectionary published by the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies.  It is based on the King James Version, but is formatted according to Byzantine usage… again, an advantage for those of that tradition, but a disadvantage to those who of the Slavic tradition.  It does have a scriptural index in the back that will help those following Slavic practice to find the correct reading more easily than most Byzantine style Gospel Books.  This edition is very affordable, and the format of the Byzantine lectionary is actually very well suited for those who would like to have a Gospel Book at home to read the daily readings.

C. The Epistle Lectionary, or Apostolos

The best option available at present for those following Slavic practice is the Apostol, published by St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press. The translation used is neither King James, Douay-Rheims,nor New King James, but a synthesis of the three. It retains the traditional pronouns (for the most part) and verb endings, but eliminates archaic words. At times one might have wished that they had kept more of the King James text than they did, but the text is more easily understandable than the unrevised King James text would have otherwise been.

For those following Byzantine practice the Epistle Lectionary, published by the Center for Traditionalists Orthodox Studies is a good option.  Like the Gospel Lectionary they publish, this too is based on the King James text.  One of its draw back is that it is published only in paper back at present.  This has the advantage, however, of making it inexpensive enough for individuals to purchase a copy for home use.  Another downside to this edition is that some of the “corrections” of the King James text in this edition are debatable.  For example, in the KJV, 1st Corinthians 11:14  reads “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?” The CTOS edition emends this to read “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have flowing hair, it is a shame unto him?”  I understand the point that they are trying to make, and the translations is not completely indefensible; but no other translation translates it this way.  If one wanted to bring out the nuance that they are trying to highlight it would probably have been better to have translated it as “wear long hair” rather than “have long hair” or “have flowing hear”, and also this really gets us beyond translation into the realm of commentary… and that is what commentaries and footnotes are for.  And although emendations are made such as this, many instances in which the text of the King James is no longer easily understood, and could easily be corrected by updating a word or two are  unfortunately left unrevised.  Nevertheless, on the balance, this edition is a good option… again, particular for those wishing to follow the daily readings at home.

http://www.antiochian.org/academy

http://www.antiochian.org/MetropolitanJoseph

http://www.antiochian.org/node/23216

http://www.saaot.edu/aboutus.php

http://www.orthodox-church.info/eob/osb.asp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_/_Greek_Orthodox_Bible

https://www.logos.com/product/32406/eastern-greek-orthodox-bible-new-testament

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_Bible_Polyglot

http://www.apostolicbible.com/reviews.htm

http://www.jewfaq.org/alephbet.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niqqud

https://voxstefani.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/the-eob-and-the-ecclesiastical-text-of-the-new-testament/

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ioscs/brenton/

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/brenton/lxx/Page_iii.html

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/brenton/lxx/Page_Index.html

http://www.ccel.org/index/title/A

http://www.ccel.org/index/title/S

http://www.ccel.org

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ioscs/brenton/brenton1851.pdf

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ioscs/brenton/brenton1844.pdf


Brenton Preface
How are we to reconcile the apparent discrepancies between the Apostolic quotations in the New Testament and the Hebrew original ? 

the degree of sanction given by the Apostles to the Septuagint by the Apostles' quotations from the Septuagint in the the New Testament


especially where those quotations are accompanied with variations from the Hebrew

http://testimony-magazine.org

http://testimonymagazine.com

http://testimonymagazine.com/issues

http://testimonymagazine.com/issues/2011/06

The sources of the KJV - Testimony Magazine
http://testimony-magazine.org/back/jun2011/burke.pdf

“Wholly inspired”: The King James Version translators' faith
http://www.testimony-magazine.org/back/jun2011/nicholls.pdf

Translators
http://testimony-magazine.org/back/jun2011/marshall.pdf

Reliable
http://www.testimony-magazine.org/back/jun2011/perry.pdf

November 2012http://testimonymagazine.com/issues/2012/11

http://testimonymagazine.com/issues/2012/11/view

http://www.jewsforjesus.org/answers/prophecy/in-psalm-2216-is-they-pierced-a-christian-mistranslation

http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/they-pierced-my-hands-and-my-feet-or-like-a-lion-my-hands-and-my-feet-in-psalm-2216

http://oodegr.co/english/protestantism/masoretic_vs_septuagint.htm

There was no controversy about the integrity of the Septuagint from 250 B.C. until 135 A. D.

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/02/septuagint-vs-masoretic-which-is-more.html

KJV
22:16 
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage/?q=psalm+22&t=kjv&t2=rhe


https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+22&version=KJV;NABRE

Brenton LXX

http://biblehub.com/sep/psalms/22.htm
16 For many dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked doers has beset me round: they pierced my hands and my feet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Septuagint_version_of_the_Old_Testament_(Brenton)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Vaticanus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_uncial_codices

https://theorthodoxlife.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/masoretic-text-vs-original-hebrew/

http://www.preteristarchive.com/ChurchHistory/0150_justin_trypho-jew.html

Justin Martyr
Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew

Written in 150

Chapter LXXI.-The Jews Reject the Interpretation of the LXX., from Which, Moreover, They Have Taken Away Some Passages.

"But I am far from putting reliance in your teachers, who refuse to admit that the interpretation made by the seventy elders who were with Ptolemy [king] of the Egyptians is a correct one; and they attempt to frame another. And I wish you to observe, that they have altogether taken away many Scriptures from the translations effected by those seventy elders who were with Ptolemy, and by which this very man who was crucified is proved to have been set forth expressly as God, and man, and as being crucified, and as dying; but since I am aware that this is denied by all of your nation, I do not address myself to these points, but I proceed270 to carry on my discussions by means of those passages which are still admitted by you. For you assent to those which I have brought before your attention, except that you contradict the statement, `Behold, the virgin shall conceive, 'and say it ought to be read, `Behold, the young woman shall conceive.' And I promised to prove that the prophecy referred, not, as you were taught, to Hezekiah, but to this Christ of mine: and now I shall go to the proof."

Here Trypho remarked, "We ask you first of all to tell us some of the Scriptures which you allege have been completely cancelled." 

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.toc.html 

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.iv.lxxi.html

Chapter LXXI.—The Jews reject the interpretation of the LXX., from which, moreover, they have taken away some passages.  

https://theorthodoxlife.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/lxx_vs_mt3.jpg

Orthodox Study Bible
Brenton LXX  

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Justin_Martyr

https://oca.org/saints/lives/2008/06/01/101570-martyr-justin-the-philosopher-and-those-with-him-at-rome

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Martyr

http://www.ocf.net/st-justin-martyr/


http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08580c.htm

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.iv.lxxiii.html

Tell ye among the nations, the Lord hath reigned from the wood

ninety-fifth (ninety-sixth) Psalm 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/clarke/psa096.htm

Psalms 96:10

Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth - Justin Martyr, in his dialogue with Trypho the Jew, quotes this passage thus: Ειπατε εν τοις εθνεσι, ὁ Κυριος εβασιλευσε απο του ξυλου, "Say among the nations, the Lord ruleth by the wood," meaning the cross; and accuses the Jews of having blotted this word out of their Bibles, because of the evidence it gave of the truth of Christianity. It appears that this reading did exist anciently in the Septuagint, or at least in some ancient copies of that work, for the reading has been quoted by Tertullian, Lactantius, Arnobius, Augustine, Cassiodorus, Pope Leo, Gregory of Tours, and others.

The reading is still extant in the ancient Roman Psalter, Dominus regnavit a ligno, and in some others. In an ancient MS. copy of the Psalter before me, while the text exhibits the commonly received reading, the margin has the following gloss: Regnavit a ligno crucis, "The Lord reigns by the wood of the cross." My old Scotico - Latin Psalter has not a ligno in the text, but seems to refer to it in the paraphrase: For Criste regned efter the dede on the crosse. It is necessary, however, to add, that no such words exist in any copy of the Hebrew text now extant, nor in any MS. yet collated, nor in any of the ancient Versions. Neither Eusebius nor Jerome even refer to it, who wrote comments on the Psalms; nor is it mentioned by any Greek writer except Justin Martyr.
The world also shall be established - The word תבל tebel signifies the habitable globe, and may be a metonymy here, the container put for the contained. And many think that by it the Church is intended; as the Lord, who is announced to the heathen as reigning, is understood to be Jesus Christ; and his judging among the people, his establishing the holy Gospel among them, and governing the nations by its laws.

http://biblehub.com/niv/psalms/96-10.htm

http://romanchristendom.blogspot.com/2008/03/passion-week-regnavit-ligno-deus-god.html

Regnavit a ligno Deus - "God has ruled us from a tree"

https://www.logos.com/product/9435/the-major-works-of-justin-martyr-in-greek
Original Greek language texts of Justin Martyr’s works

http://bibleapps.com/commentaries/psalms/96-10.htm



North Carolina
http://www.stluke-nc.org/about_us/clergy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVM0WYW-OoE

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7ZE3WmsL7R3yWlT9u9jp0g/videos

http://www.stluke-nc.org/contact_us

http://www.stluke-nc.org
Welcome to St. Luke Greek Orthodox Church, located in Mooresville, NC just north of the greater Charlotte, NC metropolitan area - near Lake Norman.

Priest Rev. Father Robert Lawrence

North Carolina  Greek  Orthodox  Church 

http://www.stluke-nc.org/about_us/clergy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVM0WYW-OoE

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7ZE3WmsL7R3yWlT9u9jp0g/videos

http://www.stluke-nc.org/contact_us

http://www.stluke-nc.org

Welcome to St. Luke Greek Orthodox Church, located in Mooresville, NC just north of the greater Charlotte, NC metropolitan area - near Lake Norman.

Justin Martyr 

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Justin_Martyr

https://oca.org/saints/lives/2008/06/01/101570-martyr-justin-the-philosopher-and-those-with-him-at-rome

http://www.ocf.net/st-justin-martyr/

http://www.ocf.net/about/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialogue_with_Trypho

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Martyr

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08580c.htm

http://orthodoxchurchquotes.com/category/sayings-from-saints-elders-and-fathers/st-justin-martyr/

http://orthodox-apologetics.blogspot.com/2010/02/st-justin-martyr-sola-sciptura.html

http://earlychurch.org.uk/justin.php

http://www.roca.org/OA/124/124e.htm

Justin Martyr Early Christian Writings

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/justin.html

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-dialoguetrypho.html

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/index.html

Josephus
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/josephus.html

Jesus in Non-Christian Sources

http://www.virtualreligion.net/iho/jesus.html#testimonium


SO, SN
Pryr Bst Md
Old Testament - New Testament
A / O



An Historical Account of the Septuagint Version
by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton (1807-1862)
http://www.bible-researcher.com/brenton1.html

http://www.californiagreek.com/churches.html


http://oca.org/liturgics/outlines/septuagint-numbering-psalms
Septuagint (LXX) numbering of the Psalms

The Orthodox Church uses primarily translations from the Greek version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint rather than translations from the Hebrew editions. The Septuagint (also known as the LXX) is the version of the Old Testament used in the many quotations of the Old Testament found in the New Testament. The numbering of the Psalms in the Septuagint differs from that found in Psalters and Bibles translated from the Hebrew. 

http://oca.org/liturgics/outlines/septuagint-numbering-psalms

http://oca.org/liturgics/service-texts

http://oca.org/orthodoxy/recommended-readings


http://orthodoxwiki.org/Oikonomia

http://oca.org/orthodoxy/recommended-readings

http://oca.org/liturgics/service-texts

http://listverse.com/2011/06/08/top-10-shameful-moments-in-catholic-history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_Catholic_Church

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vatican/esp_vatican29.htm

http://www.truthbeknown.com/victims.htm

http://www.commdiginews.com/life/crimes-and-criminals-of-the-catholic-church-33432/

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/26/crimes-catholic-church-not-our-names

http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/questions/faq/faq19.html

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Theotokos

http://orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/review_osb2.aspx

http://patristicnectar.org

https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/departinghoreb/which-english-translation-of-the-bible-is-best/

http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-versions/

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Bible_translation

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Bible_translation#Peshitta

http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm

http://dce.oca.org/resource/272/

http://www.holy-trinity.org/liturgics/nrsv.html

http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7068

https://www.dyeager.org/2009/01/which-bible-translation-best.html

http://www.roca.org/OA/61/61k.htm

http://opc.org/os.html?article_id=272

http://www.kencollins.com/bible/bible-t2.htm

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xlxx.html

http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/scripturesinthechurch.htm

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/81240.htm

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/81240.htm

Fr. John Whiteford

For the Old Testament, the two textual traditions that the Church has preserved are that of the Greek Septuagint and the Syriac Peshitta. The Latin Vulgate played an important role in the pre-schism western Church, and so it too is a translation worthy of consultation. The Orthodox Church is of course well aware of the fact that most of the Old Testament books were written in Hebrew and Aramaic (the Deuterocanonical books having mostly been written in Greek), however, the Hebrew text that we have today is not the same text that existed during the Old Testament period or at the time of Christ. This is seen in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as in the Septuagint, Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate which were all translated from the Hebrew, and yet reflect a Hebrew original that often differs from that which we have today.

The Hebrew Text that has served as the basis for most translations of the Old Testament into English is based almost entirely on the Leningrad Codex, which dates from 1008 A.D. In comparison to the textual evidence that we have for the New Testament Greek text, this is a very late manuscript. It is an example of the Masoretic recension which is usually dated to have been shaped between the 6th and 10th centuries A.D. This is well after the Septuagint was translated (3rd century before Christ), the Peshitta (1st and 2nd Centuries A.D.), or the Vulgate (4th Century A.D.). According to Christian tradition, the non-Christian Jews began making changes in the Old Testament text to undercut the Christian use of Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming of Christ. In any case, the Hebrew Text that we now have was preserved outside the Church. The Septuagint and Peshitta texts were preserved within the Church, and so the Church believes that the text of the Old Testament was been authoritatively preserved in these textual traditions.

Furthermore, it is clear that the text that Christ and the Apostles used matches the Septuagint rather than the Masoretic text. For example, in Acts 7:43 the Protomartyr Stephen quotes from the book of Amos as follows:

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/81240.htm

http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm


An Orthodox Look at English Translations of the Bible
By Fr. John Whiteford

Fr. John Whiteford

https://www.blogger.com/profile/03455863282054302939

http://fatherjohn.blogspot.com/2006/08/bible-translations-part-2-of-draft.html

http://www.synaxis.info/psalter/5_english/5_english.html

http://dce.oca.org/resource/272/

https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/departinghoreb/which-english-translation-of-the-bible-is-best/

http://www.stmaryofegypt.org/08_15.html

http://orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/tca_solascriptura.aspx

http://orthodoxstudybible.blogspot.com

http://www.spc.rs/eng/septuagint_vs_masoretic_text
http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/81240.htm

http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm
An Orthodox Look at English Translations of the Bible
By Fr. John Whiteford

there are essentially two versions of the Greek New Testament that form the basis of  the various translations we have in English. There is the traditional text, which is variously referred to as the “Received Text,” the “Textus Receptus,” the “Byzantine Text,” and the “Majority Text”.  

Then there is the revised text, which is based on the textual theory of Wescott-Hort, and is currently to be found in either the Nestle-Aland edition, or the United Bible Societies edition. 


The traditional text of the Greek New Testament is the text that the Church has actually used and preserved for the past 2,000 years, and is to be found in the vast majority of Greek manuscripts, and is reflected in the vast majority of ancient translations of the New Testament—which in some cases originate from the time of the Apostles.  The critical editions are based primarily a small number of manuscripts from Egypt, the earliest of which date from the mid 4th and century, as well as some of the papyri that likewise come from Egypt, some of which are dated as early as the 2nd or 3rd century.    

The King James Version
Generally speaking, the King James Version is where all English translations of Scripture should begin   and it remains one of the best options available, even without any revision.  

The most accurate translations available in English are the King James (or Authorized) Version (KJV or AV), the New King James Version (NKJV),

The King James is in fact generally so accurate that one could reconstruct the original text with a high degree of accuracy by translating the text back into Hebrew and Greek, 

though unlike many translations that are so woodenly literal they actually distort the meaning of the text, it is also a beautiful translation.

There are at present only limited options available in terms of English translations of the Septuagint.  There is the translation of Sir Lancelot Brenton, which is often awkward and wooden.  There is also a very well done revision of the KJV by Michael Asser, which corrected the KJV based on the Septuagint, but while the complete text is available online, 

http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/

The complete Orthodox Study Bible has been released. It is a generally accurate (albeit imperfect) translation of the Septuagint.  Criticisms have generally focused on instances in which they left some texts essentially unchanged from the rendering in the New King James Version, when the Septuagint differs.

when it comes to a translation of the whole Septuagint, it is a better option than anything else that is available at present in English. 

I do not believe these criticisms weigh heavily enough to argue against recommending this text, in the absence of a better alternative.

There are also some translations based on the Latin Vulgate that are closer to the Septuagint text than are texts based on the Masoretic Hebrew Text.  The Douay-Rheims version is a translation of the complete text of the Vulgate,

almost all modern translations of the New Testament are based on the critical editions of the Greek New Testament, rather than the traditional text.  The exceptions are of course the King James Version (along with various revised editions of the King James which are not really new translations but simply attempts to update the English of the KJV), the New King James Version (which really is a new Translation, although it makes an attempt to maintain some continuity with the original King James Version, the Douay-Rheims, and a few other minor translations that are not in common use.

The New King James Version uses the contemporary English, which is seen by many as a great advantage,   I believe that traditional English is better suited for liturgical use, and I also believe that ideally we should use the same translation for worship that we do in private study, because this helps us better memorize the text, and allows the words to better take root in our souls.  

the New King James has its advantages.  It generally corrects the translational errors of the King James Version, though is based on the Received Text of the New Testament, and so is entirely consistent with the textual tradition of the Church.  It also has perhaps the best textual footnotes of any translation in English. 

the Orthodox Study Bible, is an imperfect but good option for personal study.  It uses the New King James Version of the New Testament, and in the few instances in which one might wish that translation was corrected, they noted the preferable translation in the footnotes.  I suspect the Publisher, who owns the copyright to the NKJV probably had something to do with why they did not simply amend the text.  In the Old Testament, they revised the New King James Version based on the Septuagint, and generally did so accurately.

The Gospel

The best option for a Gospel book that is formatted according to Slavic usage, is from Holoviaks Church Supply.  They publish a very fine edition which uses the King James Version.  They currently offer this text only with a metallic cover.  They have also recently published one that uses the New King James… and for those who prefer the NKJV, obviously this would be an excellent option.

A new option for those seeking a traditional English translation of the Gospels, is the Gospel Lectionary published by the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies.  It is based on the King James Version, but is formatted according to Byzantine usage 

For those following Byzantine practice the Epistle Lectionary, published by the Center for Traditionalists Orthodox Studies is a good option.  Like the Gospel Lectionary they publish, this too is based on the King James text.  

___________________

" Modern " translators use inconsistent arguments for source materials for the Old Testament and the New Testament.

For the New Testament, they say - Let's use the Oldest Extant materials.
But the Oldest is not the Truest.
But the Oldest is not consistent with other credible sources.

For the Old Testament, they say - Let's use the Original Language.
? But the Original language is not the oldest.

The Modern Bible are corrupted and attempts have been made to weaken the power of the Bible. We know Who They are.

We know Who They are.

We know Who They are.

Phantom Menace

Academia, Gender Neutrality, PC-ness, One World Religion ~ are Tricks design to dilute and attack JC

In the First Century, the Timeline took a Right turn.
Modern Chrstns - no obligation to Zn

Who is your audience.
What is the purpose.

For True Christians - Jesus Christ -

For New Testament
Greek Orthodox Church Byzantine text in the Greek Language

For Old Testament
Septuagint in the Greek Language
contained within the Greek Orthodox Church

overall, for New Testament, King James New Testament

New NKJV in parallel with 1611 King James works well,
with the NKJV as the secondary

For Old Testament,
Michael Asser Septuagint
Orthodox Study Bible  Septuagint / NKJV with Orthodox oversight

Brenton Septuagint 

___________________

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Orthodox_Church_of_Antioch

The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch is most ancient Christian church in the world. 

Luke the Evangelist- himself a Greco-Syrian member of that community:

The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
— Acts 11:26 

St. Peter and St. Paul the Apostle are the cofounders of the Patriarchate of Antioch, the former being its first bishop. 

a sizable proportion of the Hellenized Jewish communities and most gentile Greco-Macedonian settlers in Southern Turkey (Antioch, Alexandretta and neighboring cities) and Syria/Lebanon – the former being called "Hellenistai" in the Acts – converted progressively to the Greco-Roman branch of Christianity that eventually constituted the "Melkite" (or "Imperial") Hellenistic Churches of the MENA area:

As Jewish Christianity originated at Jerusalem, so Gentile Christianity started at Antioch, then the leading center of the Hellenistic East, with Peter and Paul as its apostles. From Antioch it spread to the various cities and provinces of Syria, among the Hellenistic Syrians as well as among the Hellenistic Jews who, as a result of the great rebellions against the Romans in A.D. 70 and 130, were driven out from Jerusalem and Palestine into Syria

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+11&version=NIV

The Church in Antioch

19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 

20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 

21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 

22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 

23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 

24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 


26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.



___________________

New Testament

1. Greek Orthodox CHURCH New Testament in the Greek Language 

http://www.goarch.org/chapel/biblegreek

English New Testament

EOB: The Eastern Greek Orthodox New Testament: Based on the Patriarchal Text of 1904

King James Version 1611

Orthodox Study Bible  2008   

NKJV

___________________

Old Testament 

1. Greek Orthodox CHURCH SEPTUAGINT Old Testament in the Greek Language 

http://www.apostoliki-diakonia.gr/bible/bible.asp?contents=old_testament/contents.asp&main=OldTes

SEPTUAGINT

English Old Testament 

Michael Asser Septuagint
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

Michael Asser Septuagint
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm


Michael Asser Septuagint
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

Orthodox Study Bible  2008 

Brenton Septuagint 

http://www.peterpapoutsis.com/volume1.htm

___________________

At this time ~ Focus on New Testament KJV ~ JC A/O
I still believe that NKJV, NAB-RE Catholic, NIV are helpful for narrative, storyline, vocabulary, specific word clarification. Just know KJV is the primary English translation.  The Greek Orthodox Church Bible in the Greek Language is the Truest Bible available to modern man.

___________________

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xlxx.html

English Translations:

• Michael Asser: The Old Testament According to the Septuagint -- A Translation into English of the Greek Text (2009) Probably the best available for Orthodox use. The language may annoy some people -- it is deliberately archaic, an attempt to reproduce what the King James Bible would be like if its translators had worked from the Greek instead of the Hebrew -- but others will consider this a strength. The Greek source is the one endorsed by the Church of Greece for liturgical and other official purposes, rather than that favoured by secular scholars. It is remarkable that one person has done this (one thinks of St. Jerome). --- Orthodox England

http://www.voskrese.info/spl/Xlxx.html



___________________

http://bibles.wikidot.com/asser

LXX Old Testament – 2011

Title: The Old Testament Acording to the Seventy • An English translation of the Greek Septuagint adapted from the King James Bible.
Date: 2011
Publisher: Colchester, Essex, England (U.K.): Orthodox England
Contents: Old Testament acc. to the LXX. Includes 3rd & 4th Maccabees, Epistel of Jeremia, 2 Esdras, Slavonic Appendix. – Preface (1 p), Introduction (2 pp).
Language:
References: 

Images: (to follow)

Location: Collection Bibelarchiv–Birnbaum. Karlsruhe/ Baden. Germany

Comments: Print from pdf–file; 1279 pp in sum (=each Book numbered separately). Scripture text in running form, paragraph–wise. No extras.
Remark in the impressum:
»The English version of the Septuagint is based upon the text of the Authorized Version of the Bible (the King James Version) and the Apocrypha.«

In his preface, the Archpriest of St. John‘s Orthodox Church, Andrew Philipps, writes, dated 8/21 November 2011,

»I would like to emphasize that the present translation is a liturgical translation, in that it uses the received text of the Old Testament, as used by the Church of Greece. In other words, this translation is not designed for theoretical academic study, but for practical use in the Orthodox monastery and parish, as well as for prayerful private reading. This is why it uses liturgical language, with all its poetry, inspiration and constant call to prayer.«

In his Introduction, Michael Asser wrote, dated Shrewsbury, England, 2011,

»Despite its limitation, it is the Apostoliki Diakonia Greek text that has been taken as the starting point for this English version of the Septuagint, because it is an Orthodox text, and because it is readily accessible. The Prayer of Manasseh, which does not appear in primted Greek editions of the Septuagint, and the Slavonic books of Esdras in the order in which they appear in the Elizabeth Bible, have been included as an appendix.
In seeking to be faithful both to the Septuagint and to English culture, the Old Testament of the King James Bible has been taken as a base text and emended where it differs from the Septuagint. The aim has been as far as possible to make a translation such as King James’ translators might have made had they been working from the Greek Septuagint instead of the Masoretic Hebrew text. So the Ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα (“Worthy to be read”), which are known in the West as the Deuterocanonical Books or Apocrypha, are reproduced from the King James Version, with minor revisions to bring them closer to the printed Greek text. No attempt has been made to modernise the text of the King James Version in any significant way, except to remove unnecessary obstacles to understanding and to lighten the punctuation. The format of Apostoliki Diakonia’s edition has been followed for the order of books and verse, paragraph and chapter division.«

The translation of the Psalter here differs from the ones in the 2004 and 2008 editions. – The complete LXX Old Testament 'net translation can be read, downloaded and printed from http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

http://bibles.wikidot.com/asser

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm
http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm



The Phantom Menace (PM) challenges the historical veracity of every document, of every word.  PM brings up speculative doubt.  It is easier to subvert.  You just have the challenge and question.  How do you prove Gravity ? How do you prove that Gravity will be there tomorrow.  If we use this Devil's Advocate approach, then we cannot accept any human history.  All human history is a myth.  Declare assumptions.  Declare audience.  Declare purpose.  Declare agenda.  Declare methodology.  Demand Consistency.

In the end, it's all Academic.
The People don't care.
The Halls of Academia are Not the battleground.
It's a distraction, a diversion.


Truth. Logic. Math. Science.  Prove God.  Prove JC.

Look at the Greek Orthodox Church Priests ~ Knowledge, Facts, Truth, Logic, Consistency, Confidence

http://readthefathers.org/2012/12/29/an-introduction-to-the-septuagint-the-old-testament-in-greek/

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ioscs/brenton/

https://www.ccel.org/bible/brenton/intro.html

https://www.ccel.org/bible/brenton/intro.html

INTRODUCTION.

AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE SEPTUAGINT VERSION.

The earliest version of the Old Testament Scriptures which is extant, or of which we possess any certain knowledge, is the translation executed at Alexandria in the third century before the Christian era: 

this version has been so habitually known by the name of the SEPTUAGINT, that the attempt of some learned men in modern times to introduce the designation of the Alexandrian version (as more correct) has been far from successful.


If, then, our knowledge of the origin of the Septuagint be meagre, it is at least more extensive than that which we possess of other translations.

After the conquests of Alexander had brought Egypt under Macedonian rule, the newly-founded city of Alexandria became especially a place where the Greek language,
was the medium of written and spoken communication amongst the varied population there brought together. This Alexandrian dialect is the idiom in which the Septuagint version was made.

Amongst other inhabitants of Alexandria the number of Jews was considerable: many appear to have settled there even from the first founding of the city, and it became the residence of many more during the reign of the first Ptolemy. Hence the existence of the sacred books of the Jews would easily become known to the Greek population.

The earliest writer who gives an account of the Septuagint version is Aristobulus, a Jew who lived at the commencement of the second century B.C. He says that the version of the Law into Greek was completed under the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and that Demetrius Phalereus had been employed about it. Now, Demetrius died about the beginning of the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and hence it has been reasonably inferred that Aristobulus is a witness that the work of translation had been commenced under Ptolemy Soter.

prior to the year 285 B.C. the Septuagint version had been commenced, and that in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, either the books in general or at least an important part of them had been completed.

A writer, who calls himself Aristeas, says that when Ptolemy Philadelphus was engaged in the formation of the Alexandrian Library, he was advised by Demetrius Phalereus to procure a translation of the sacred books of the Jews. The king accordingly, as a preliminary, purchased the freedom of more than one hundred thousand Jewish captives, and he then sent a deputation, of which Aristeas himself was one, to Eleazar the high-priest to request a copy of the Jewish Law and seventy-two interpreters, six out of each tribe. To this the priest is represented to have agreed; and after the arrival of the translators and their magnificent reception by the king, they are said to have been conducted to an island by Demetrius, who wrote down the renderings on which they agreed by mutual conference; and thus the work is stated to have been completed in seventy-two days. The translators are then said to have received from the king most abundant rewards; and the Jews are stated to have asked permissions to take copies of the version.

Other additions were subsequently made to this story: some said that each translator was shut into a separate cell, and that all by divine inspiration made their versions word for word alike; others said that there were two in each cell, accompanied by an amanuensis; but at all events miracle and direct inspiration were supposed to be connected with the translation: hence we cannot wonder that the authority attached to this version in the minds of those who believed these stories was almost unbounded.

The basis of truth which appears to be under this story seems to be, that it was an Egyptian king who caused the translation to be made, and that it was from the Royal Library at Alexandria that the Hellenistic Jews received the copies which they used.

In examining the version itself, it bears manifest proof that it was not executed by Jews of Palestine, but by those of Egypt: -- there are words and expressions which plainly denote its Alexandrian origin: 

The most reasonable conclusion is, that the version was executed for the Egyptian king; and that the Hellenistic Jews afterwards used it as they became less and less familiar with the language of the original.

In estimating the general character of the version, it must be remembered that the translators were Jews

they wished to express their Scriptures truly in Greek,

One of the earliest of those writers who mention the Greek translation of the Scriptures
The Prologue of Jesus the son of Sirach (written as many suppose B.C. 130) 

Egypt
the Septuagint version
Egyptian Jews, who had used the translation commonly and habitually for a century and a quarter. 

At Alexandria the Hellenistic Jews used the version, and gradually attached to it the greatest possible authority: from Alexandria it spread amongst the Jews of the dispersion, so that at the time of our Lord's birth it was the common form in which the Old Testament Scriptures had become diffused.


The Septuagint version having been current for about three centuries before the time when the books of the New Testament were written, it is not surprising that the Apostles should have used it more often than not in making citations from the Old Testament. They used it as an honestly-made version in pretty general use at the time when they wrote. They did not on every occasion give an authoritative translation of each passage de novo, but they used what was already familiar to the ears of converted Hellenists, when it was sufficiently accurate to suit the matter in hand. In fact, they used it as did their contemporary Jewish writers, Philo and Josephus, 

In consequence of the fact that the New Testament writers used on many occasions the Septuagint version, some have deduced a new argument for its authority,

the fact that the New Testament writers used this version on many occasions supplies a new proof in opposition to the idea of its authority, 
for in not a few places they do not follow it, but they supply a version of their own which rightly represents the Hebrew text, although contradicting the Septuagint.

The use
which the writers of the New Testament have made of the Septuagint version must always invest it with a peculiar interest; we thus see what honour God may be pleased to put on an honestly-made version, since we find that inspired writers often used such a version, when it was sufficiently near the original to suit the purpose for which it was cited, instead of rendering the Hebrew text de novo on every occasion.

Another important point on which the Septuagint stands in close connection with the New Testament is the general phraseology of the version, -- a phraseology in which the traces of Hebrew elements are most marked, but with regard to which we should mistake greatly if we supposed that it originated with the New Testament writers. Thus we may see that the study of the Septuagint is almost needful to any biblical scholars who wishes to estimate adequately the phraseology and usus loquendi of the New Testament.

Besides the direct citations in the New Testament in which the Septuagint is manifestly used, there are not a few passages in which it is clear that the train of expression has been formed on words and phrases of the Septuagint: thus an intimate acquaintance with this version becomes in a manner necessary on the part of an expositor who wishes to enter accurately into the scope of many parts of the New Testament.

After the diffusion of Christianity, copies of the Septuagint became widely dispersed amongst the new communities that were formed; so that before many years had elapsed this version must have been as much in the hands of Gentiles as of Jews.

The veneration with which the Jews had treated this version (as is shown in the case of Philo and Josephus), gave place to a very contrary feeling when they found how it could be used against them in argument: hence they decried the version, and sought to deprive it of all authority. As the Gentile Christians were generally unacquainted with Hebrew, they were unable to meet the Jews on the ground which they now took; and as the Gentile Christians at this time believed the most extraordinary legends of the origin of the version, so that they fully embraced the opinions of its authority and inspiration, they necessarily regarded the denial on the part of the Jews of its accuracy, as little less than blasphemy, and as a proof of their blindness.

many Christians believed in the inspiration and authority of the Septuagint

From the fourth century and onward, we know of no definite attempt to revise the text of the Septuagint, or to correct the discrepancies of various copies. It is probable, however, that just as the text of the Greek New Testament became in a great measure fixed into the same form as we find it in the modern copies, something of the same kind must have been the case with the Septuagint. As to the Greek New Testament, this seems to have occured about the eleventh century, when the mass of copies were written within the limits of the patriarchate of Constantinople. It is probable that certain copies approved at the metropolis, both politically and religiously, of those who used the Greek tongue, were tacitly taken as a kind of standard.

We find amongst the members of the Eastern Churches who use the Greek language, that the Septuagint has been and is still so thoroughly received as authentic Scripture, that any effort to introduce amongst them versions which accurately represent the Hebrew (as has been attempted in modern times) has been wholly fruitless.

Thus the Septuagint demands our attention, were it only from the fact that the whole circle of religious ideas and thoughts amongst Christians in the East has always been moulded according to this version. Without an acquaintance with the Septuagint, numerous allusions in the writings of the Fathers become wholly unintelligible, and even important doctrinal discussions and difficulties (such even as some connected with the Arian controversy) become wholly unintelligible.

As the Septuagint was held in such honour in the East, it is no cause for surprise that this version was the basis of the other translations which were made in early times into vernacular tongues. There was, however, also another reason; -- the general ignorance of the original Hebrew amongst the early Christians prevented their forming their translations from the fountain itself. The especial exception to this remark is the Syriac version of the Old Testament formed at once from the Hebrew.

The Books of the Apocrypha

The Alexandrian Jews possessed a sacred literature in the Septuagint translation, and where other works of the same national character were either written in Greek or translated from the Hebrew, these also were appended to the sacred books which they before possessed. 

But the New Testament writers never quote these additional writings as Scriptures. 

The writers of the early Church, however, while expressly declaring their preference for the Hebrew Canon, quote the books of the "Apocrypha" as of equal authority with the Old Testament. And in this wise the Church popularly regarded them, and consequently made a free use of them. 

The influence of such writers as Origen, Cyril of Jerusalem, Athanasius, and Augustine, in favour of the "Apocrypha," was very great; and Jerome's view, as quoted in the sixth Article of the Anglican Church ("the other books which the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine") and his strictures on some of the books were apt to be forgotten.

During the Reformation period, the Church of Rome decreed her adherence to the popular view of the Apocrypha held in the main by the early Church, and definitely accepted all the "other books" as canonical, save I. and II. Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh. The Church of England, on the other hand, formally adopted the more critical view of Jerome, and while retaining the Apocrypha in her Bible gave it not canonical but deutero-canonical rank.

the Apocrypha:
it forms a portion of the Bible of Christendom; it supplies the blank leaf between Nehemiah and the New Testament; and it comprises some of the literature of that period, which well illustrates the development and transition of Jewish religious thought generally.


[English translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton (1807-1862) originally published by Samuel Bagster & Sons, Ltd., London, 1851]



http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/scripturesinthechurch.htm

Orthodox Bible

3. 

The Old Testament

The official version of the Old Testament authorized by the Orthodox Church for use in worship and reading is that of the Septuagint. 

The Church from the beginning, used the Septuagint and not the Palestinian version of the Bible

During the time of our Lord, there were two versions of the of the Old Testament in circulation among the Jews. One was called the "Narrow Circle" of Jerusalem or Palestine and the other was called "Wilder Circle" of Alexandria. Our Lord and the Apostles, in the New Testament, used the "Wilder Circle" or the Septuagint. It was called Septuagint, or Seventy, because there were seventy, (according to tradition 72) scholars who first made the translation into Greek during the reign of Ptolmey II in the third century, B.C. in Alexandria. Our Church recognizes and accepts the Septuagint as the sacred and inspired Word of God. This version of the Bible circulated in the synagogues around the Mediterranean world where Christianity flourished.



2.

"Which English Translation Of The Bible Should I Use"? 

His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Proikonisou and Presiding Hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver

Diocesan Bulletin of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver.

In addition, the authorized Hebrew "translation" was at variance with the accepted Septuagint Greek versions, which had been prepared by 72 translators accepted Septuagint Greek version, which had been prepared by 72 translators working in Alexandria Egypt.

This is significant, because the Apostles, who were the authors of the New Testament, as well as the early Church Fathers, frequently cite passages only found in the Septuagint (Greek) Old Testament that have significant differences in meaning from the Hebrew.  Moreover, they frequently cite passages from the "Apocryphal" books of the Old Testament.

The Holy Scriptures Were Produced by the Orthodox Church.  The Church's holy prophets and Apostles wrote the books contained in the Bible. The Church determined which books were authoritative and belonged in Holy Scripture. The Church preserved and passed on the texts of these Scriptural books.

The seventy-two Jewish rabbis and scholars who gave us the Septuagint Greek Old Testament, produced seventy-two identical Greek translations working independently and in insolation from one another.  Writing in Greek, the Holy Apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, and Jude produced the books of the New Testament.

The Holy Scriptures Were Preserved by the Orthodox Church.  These books and letters were studied, copied, collected, recopied, passed from group of early Christians to another, and read in the services of the Church.

Testimony to the fidelity of reproduction in this milieu is the consistent agreement among the Church Fathers when they cite Scripture, and their common understanding of Scripture in their deliberations at the local and Ecumenical councils.

Even today we see the authentic words of Scripture preserved.  

The Authentic Greek Text of the Bible is Preserved by the Orthodox Church.  

When translating the New Testament into English, there are many Greek manuscripts to choose from.  To ask, "What does the original Greek say?" is to beg the question, which Greek text?

For Orthodox Christians this is a very easy question to answer.  We simply use the Greek text handed down within the Orthodox Church which has been proven consistent by 2000 years of liturgical use and which the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, has given us.

To Scripture scholars there is a huge body of ancient Greek manuscripts, known as the Byzantine text-type, which embodies the Orthodox textual tradition.  These old manuscripts and lectionaries differ very little from each other, and are indeed in overwhelming agreement with each other throughout the whole New Testament.  Furthermore, they are great in number and comprise the vast majority of existing Greek manuscripts.



http://www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/

http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm

http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm

An Orthodox Look at English Translations of the Bible
By Fr. John Whiteford 

The Old Testament Text

For the Old Testament, the two textual traditions that the Church has preserved are that of the Greek Septuagint and the Syriac Peshitta.  The Latin Vulgate played an important role in the pre-schism western Church, and so it too is a translation is worthy of consultation.  The Orthodox Church is of course well aware of the fact that most of the Old Testament books were written in Hebrew and Aramaic (the Deuterocanonical books having mostly been written in Greek), however, the Hebrew text that we have today is not the same text that existed during the Old Testament period or at the time of Christ.  This is seen in the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as in the Septuagint, Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate -- which were all translated from the Hebrew, and yet reflect a Hebrew original that often differs from that which we have today. 

The Hebrew Text that has served as the basis for most translations of the Old Testament into English is based almost entirely on the Leningrad Codex, which dates from 1008 A.D.  In comparison to the textual evidence that we have for the New Testament Greek text, this is a very late manuscript.  It is an example of the Masoretic recension, which is usually dated to have been shaped between the 6th and 10th centuries A.D.  This is well after the Septuagint was translated (3rd century before Christ), the Peshitta (1st and 2nd Centuries A.D.), or the Vulgate (4th Century A.D.).  According to Christian tradition, the non-Christian Jews began making changes in the Old Testament text to undercut the Christian use of Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming of Christ.  In any case, the Hebrew Text that we now have was preserved outside the Church.  The Septuagint and Peshitta texts were preserved within the Church, and so the Church believes that the text of the Old Testament was been authoritatively preserved in these textual traditions.  

Furthermore, it is clear that the text that Christ and the Apostles used matches the Septuagint rather than the Masoretic text. 

English translations of the Septuagint
Sir Lancelot Brenton

very well done revision of the KJV by Michael Asser, which corrected the KJV based on the Septuagint,

The New English Translation of the Septuagint is a “scholarly” translation that I think is worth having on hand for reference, but the translation is seriously flawed – both in terms of style and substance. 


The complete Orthodox Study Bible has been released. It is a generally accurate (albeit imperfect) translation of the Septuagint. 

_______________________________________________________________

Greek Old Testament

SEPTUAGINT LXX

Greek Orthodox Church

Old Testament in the Greek Language

http://www.apostoliki-diakonia.gr/bible/bible.asp?contents=old_testament/contents.asp&main=OldTes

_______________________________________________________________

SEPTUAGINT LXX

ENGLISH

Michael Asser Septuagint

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/zot.htm

Orthodox Study Bible 2008

http://www.amazon.com/The-Orthodox-Study-Bible-Christianity/dp/0718003594

Brenton Septuagint

https://www.ccel.org/bible/brenton/

http://www.biblestudytools.com/lxx/

_______________________________________________________________

http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/scripturesinthechurch.htm

Source:

What Is The Holy Bible? by Rev. George C. Papademetriou, Ph.D., Director of the Library and Instructor of Systematic Theology, Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology., Brookline, Massachusetts., 1986., pp.3-4

Orthodox Bible

The Old Testament

The official version of the Old Testament authorized by the Orthodox Church for use in worship and reading is that of the Septuagint.

The Church from the beginning, used the Septuagint and not the Palestinian version of the Bible

During the time of our Lord, there were two versions of the of the Old Testament in circulation among the Jews. One was called the "Narrow Circle" of Jerusalem or Palestine and the other was called "Wilder Circle" of Alexandria.

Our Lord and the Apostles, in the New Testament, used the "Wilder Circle" or the Septuagint. It was called Septuagint, or Seventy, because there were seventy, (according to tradition 72) scholars who first made the translation into Greek during the reign of Ptolmey II in the third century, B.C. in Alexandria.

Our Church recognizes and accepts the Septuagint as the sacred and inspired Word of God. This version of the Bible circulated in the synagogues around the Mediterranean world where Christianity flourished.

_______________________________________________________________

http://www.serfes.org/orthodox/scripturesinthechurch.htm

Source:

Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver Bulletin: March 1995, Volume 3, Number 3., pp. 14-17

"Which English Translation Of The Bible Should I Use"?

His Eminence Metropolitan Isaiah of Proikonisou and Presiding Hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Denver

the Apostles, who were the authors of the New Testament, as well as the early Church Fathers, frequently cite passages only found in the Septuagint (Greek) Old Testament

Moreover, they frequently cite passages from the "Apocryphal" books of the Old Testament.

The Holy Scriptures Were Produced by the Orthodox Church. The Church's holy prophets and Apostles wrote the books contained in the Bible. The Church determined which books were authoritative and belonged in Holy Scripture. The Church preserved and passed on the texts of these Scriptural books.

The seventy-two Jewish rabbis and scholars who gave us the Septuagint Greek Old Testament

Writing in Greek, the Holy Apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, and Jude produced the books of the New Testament.

The Holy Scriptures Were Preserved by the Orthodox Church.

Testimony to the fidelity of reproduction in this milieu is the consistent agreement among the Church Fathers when they cite Scripture, and their common understanding of Scripture in their deliberations at the local and Ecumenical councils.

_______________________________________________________________

http://www.saintjonah.org/articles/translations.htm

An Orthodox Look at English Translations of the Bible

By Fr. John Whiteford

The Old Testament Text

For the Old Testament, the two textual traditions that the Church has preserved are that of the Greek Septuagint and the Syriac Peshitta.

The Hebrew Text that has served as the basis for most translations of the Old Testament into English is based almost entirely on the Leningrad Codex, which dates from 1008 A.D. In comparison to the textual evidence that we have for the New Testament Greek text, this is a very late manuscript. It is an example of the Masoretic recension, which is usually dated to have been shaped between the 6th and 10th centuries A.D.

This is well after the Septuagint was translated (3rd century before Christ), the Peshitta (1st and 2nd Centuries A.D.)

The Septuagint and Peshitta texts were preserved within the Church, and so the Church believes that the text of the Old Testament was been authoritatively preserved in these textual traditions.

Furthermore, it is clear that the text that Christ and the Apostles used matches the Septuagint

_______________________________________________________________

NIV

New International Version

Zondervan Study Bible

http://www.zondervan.com/niv-zondervan-study-bible-2

Preface xxvi

The New Testament authors, writing in Greek, often quote the Old Testament from its ancient Greek version, the Septuagint.

_______________________________________________________________

Septuagint LXX

Biblical literature

Written by: The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica

http://www.britannica.com/topic/Septuagint

http://www.britannica.com/print/article/535154

Septuagint

Septuagint, abbreviation LXX, the earliest extant Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew,

made for the use of the Jewish community in Egypt when Greek was the lingua franca throughout the region.

Analysis of the language has established that the Torah, or Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), was translated near the middle of the 3rd century BC and that the rest of the Old Testament was translated in the 2nd century BC.

The language of much of the early Christian church was Greek, and it was in the Septuagint text that many early Christians located the prophecies

fulfilled by Christ.

Its subsequent history lies within the Christian church.

it was the Septuagint, not the original Hebrew, that was the main basis for the Old Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic, and part of the Arabic translations of the Old Testament.

It has never ceased to be the standard version of the Old Testament in the Greek church

The text of the Septuagint is contained in

early

manuscripts.

The best known of these are the Codex Vaticanus (B) and the Codex Sinaiticus (S), both dating from the 4th century AD, and the Codex Alexandrinus (A) from the 5th century. There are also numerous earlier papyrus fragments and many later manuscripts.

_______________________________________________________________

Catholic Encyclopedia

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13722a.htm

Septuagint

The first translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, made into popular Greek before the Christian era.

(1) The Septuagint is the most ancient translation of the Old Testament and consequently is invaluable

(2) The Septuagint Version accepted first by the Alexandrian Jews, and afterwards by all the Greek-speaking countries, helped to spread among the Gentiles the idea and the expectation of the Messias, and to introduce into Greek the theological terminology that made it a most suitable instrument for the propagation of the Gospel of Christ.

(3) The Jews made use of it long before the Christian Era, and in the time of Christ it was recognised as a legitimate text, and was employed in Palestine even by the rabbis. The Apostles and Evangelists utilised it also and borrowed Old Testament citations from it, especially in regard to the prophecies. The Fathers and the other ecclesiastical writers of the early Church drew upon it, either directly, as in the case of the Greek Fathers, or indirectly, like the Latin Fathers and writers and others who employed Latin, Syriac, Ethiopian, Arabic and Gothic versions. It was held in high esteem by all, some even believed it inspired. Consequently, a knowledge of the Septuagint helps to a perfect understanding of these literatures.

(4) At the present time, the Septuagint is the official text in the Greek Church,

the writers of the New Testament made use of it, borrowing from it most of their citations; it became the Old Testament of the Church and was so highly esteemed by the early Christians that several writers and Fathers declared it to be inspired.

The three most celebrated manuscripts of the Septuagint known are the Vatican, "Codex Vaticanus" (fourth century); the Alexandrian, "Codex Alexandrinus" (fifth century), now in the British Museum,London; and that of Sinai, "Codex Sinaiticus" (fourth century),

The "Codex Vaticanus" is the purest of the three; it generally gives the more ancient text

the Septuagint Version was made in popular Greek, the koine dislektos.

the Septuagint is a Greek translation of Hebrew books.

_______________________________________________________________

Catholic Encyclopedia

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15367a.htm

Versions of the Bible

The Septuagint

The Septuagint, or Alexandrine, Version, the first and foremost translation of the Hebrew Bible, was made in the third and second centuries B.C. An account of its origin, recensions, and its historical importance has been given above (see SEPTUAGINT VERSION). It is still the official text of the Greek Church.

_______________________________________________________________

Catholic Study Bible

2nd Edition

by Donald Senior (Editor), John J. Collins (Editor)

http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Study-Bible-Donald-Senior/dp/0195297768

Septuagint LXX

Page 1801

Septuagint

the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

The Septuagint was translated

in the third century B.C.

it translated a version of the Hebrew text that is older than the currently available Hebrew ( Masoretic ) text

it was the Bible of early Christians and therefore represents what they thought of Scripture

Page 68

the Septuagint LXX

had a major influence on all the writers of the New Testament

Page 5

earliest Christianity used an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament ( called the Septuagint ) as its Bible.

Greek version of the Bible

Since most of early Christians were Greek speaking,

this is the Bible they preferred.

Page 272

The Hellenization of the World

A large colony of Jews lived in Alexandria and accommodated itself to Greek language and culture. This was the group that translated its religious traditions from Hebrew to Greek,

thus producing

the Septuagint LXX

The Alexandrian

Greek version of the Scriptures was

the one in popular use during the first century of the Christian era.

Christians continued to revere the Alexandrian tradition.

In fact, by comparing the Old Testament citations used by New Testament writers, scholars conclude that a good number, if not most of them, come from the Alexandrian rather than from the earlier Palestinian version.

Greek canon

authentic early church tradition

Page 1795

Masoretic text

the text of the Hebrew Bible, established by Jewish Scholars ( called Masoretes ).

Text derived from this effort date from circa A.D. 900 to 1000.

_______________________________________________________________

http://www.armageddonbooks.com/pchar2.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/72/8e/20/728e202895aee8c57c85358fe82e56f0.jpg

https://scottfillmer.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/revelation-199-22-end-times.jpg

http://www.watchmanbiblestudy.com/images/charts/DanielsOutlineofFuture.jpg

http://standeyo.com/News_Files/Trib_Time/Trib_Time_Images/Trib_Timeline_entire.web.jpg

http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/406163/file-2513065477-png/The-Mountain-Peaks-of-Prophecy---Charting-the-End-Times.png

http://www.ltradio.org/charts/End%20Time%20Charts/Chart%20of%20Revelation%20and%20Daniel.gif

http://www.btwol.com/07_Gospel/11-Prophecy-Chart/Prophecy%20Chart.jpg

Let the Bible speak for itself

Let the Word speak for itself

Less is More

sometimes commentary can be used against you, or be seen as undue influence,
less commentary, sometimes looks more truthful and trust worthy,
see, see for yourself

Lay out the Evidence
proper sequence

Let the People's mind go through the Logic process

Let Logos and Logic take over

Use the Dvl's own words and lies against himself brdgfrd

The strict and literal use of the Law

_______________________________________

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-dialoguetrypho.html

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/01286.htm

Chapter 71. The Jews reject the interpretation of the Septuagint, from which, moreover, they have taken away some passages

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.iv.lxxi.html

Chapter LXXI.—The Jews reject the interpretation of the LXX., from which, moreover, they have taken away some passages.

http://www.stmaryscopticorthodox.ca/legacy/content/articles/bible/lxx.pdf

http://www.stmaryscopticorthodox.ca/legacy/

http://www.stmaryscopticorthodox.ca/legacy/content/articles/bible/lxx.pdf

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=4502


https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0011_0_10501.html


Hebrew manuscripts - King James Version
http://testimony-magazine.org/back/jun2011/burke.pdf

Date (A.D.)
1519–1525

The Second Rabbinical Bible
Also known as the Mikraot Gedolot, or the Ben Hayyim edition (after the editor, Yaakov Ben Hayyim), and based on the Masoretic text. Thousands of errors resulted from Ben Hayyim’s editing and his lack of access to the best texts.

http://www.bibliahebraica.com/the_texts/rabbinic_bible.htm

The Mikraot Gedolot of Ben Hayyim
was riddled with thousands of technical errors.


http://www.bethlehemstar.com

http://www1.cbn.com/video/the-star-of-bethlehem


http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jul/27/oliver-stone-apologises-antisemitic-remarks

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jul/27/oliver-stone-apologises-antisemitic-remarks

http://www.bethlehemstar.com

http://www.bethlehemstar.com/starry-dance/the-birth-of-a-king/

http://www.bethlehemstar.com/starry-dance/to-stop-a-star/

On this scale of time, Jupiter did stop.

On December 25 of 2 BC as it entered retrograde, Jupiter reached full stop in its travel through the fixed stars. Magi viewing from Jerusalem would have seen it stopped in the sky above the little town of Bethlehem.

http://www.bethlehemstar.com/starry-dance/westward-leading/

http://www.bethlehemstar.com/starry-dance/the-birth-of-a-king/

http://www.bethlehemstar.com/the-day-of-the-cross/



http://www.bethlehemstar.com/setting-the-stage/why-are-we-hearing-this-now/

But modern scholarship has deepened our understanding of Josephus’ manuscripts. A recent study was made of the earliest manuscripts of Josephus’ writings held by the British Library in London, and the American Library of Congress. It revealed a surprise that allows us to target our mathematical telescopes better than could Kepler (10). It turns out that a copying error was a primary cause of the confusion about the date of Herod’s death. A printer typesetting the manuscript of Josephus’ Antiquities messed up in the year 1544. Every single Josephus manuscript in these libraries dating from before 1544 supports the inference that Herod passed in 1 BC. Strong recent scholarship confirms that date (11). 

Knowing this, and since Herod died shortly after Christ’s birth, our investigation turns to the skies of 3 and 2 BC.

https://biblescienceguy.wordpress.com/2010/12/24/the-star-of-bethlehem/

https://answersingenesis.org/holidays/christmas/an-evaluation-of-the-star-of-bethlehem-dvd/

http://www.4thdayalliance.com/articles/refutations/bethlehemstar/



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