Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #476928 in Books
• Published on: 1974-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1208 pages

Customer Reviews

A MUST for the serious student of the Bible
A masterpiece which renders the Scriptures without doctinal bias thus giving the reader a totally honest and independant resource for understanding the true message God's Word contains.

Why this is the Bible I recommend to my theological college friends.
When I studied Koine Greek in theological college, I realised very quickly that English Bibles are at best, interpretative translations of the original language manuscripts, often based on the beliefs of their translators. Most English Bibles can translate one Greek word into four different English words (e.g.aion) or 3 Greek words into one English word (e.g.love).

English itself is a Germanic language, and many of its words have changed meaning over time. I compared the Greek to the 3rd century Gothic Bible (old Germanic), Wyclif's 14th Century English and Luther's 16th Century German Bible, to more modern translations, and one can see how in places words completely switch places.

As an example, Hell is a Germanic word. Originally, Hell/Hel/Helle was a figure in Norse mythology (daughter of Loki) who ruled the place of the dead. It is similar to the figure of Hades (brother of Zeus and Poseidon), who ruled the place of the dead in Greek mythology.

This is why 'Hell' is used to represent Hades in the Gothic Bible, while Gehenna remained as Gehenna. 1000 years later, Hell represented BOTH Hades AND Gehenna. Another 700 years later, most modern Bibles use Hell to represent Gehenna, while Hades remains as Hades! A complete switch of places over 1700 years!

Thankfully, the Emphasized Bible avoids the English/Germanic mistake, and simply retains both Hades and Gehenna instead of use the ever-evolving word, Hell.

Another example which at first makes it seem 'old', is the usage of ye and thou. Actually, this can make it easier to understand the Bible. Unlike French and German, in modern English there is no plural for the word 'You'. French has tu (singular) and vous (plural), German has du (singular) and sie (plural), while in the past English had thou (singular) and ye (plural).

The Americanism, 'Y'all' would be the modern equivalent of ye, but I think we would all think that the Bible was written in Texas if y'all was used instead of ye, with Jesus saying to his disciples 'I won't leave y'all as orphans'.

Using ye and thou makes it much easier to see if Jesus is speaking to one person or a whole group. Unfortunately, in English we have no replacement as of yet for ye and thou.

Unlike many Bibles today, this is translated by one person, Rotherham, rather than a committee and is not prone to the same mistakes as committees are. For example, modern Bibles may translate one Greek word into four different English words quite inconsistently, depending on what that particular translator believes is the best way to translate it. With one person translating, the Emphasized Bible is consistent in it's translation, the same English word always being used to represent the same Greek word.

Finally, Yahweh is used instead of Jehovah. By now, it should be quite common knowledge that the word Jehovah is a a mistranslation. It is in fact an amalgamation of YHWH and Adonai and was used in English when there was little difference between J and I (which is why Germans pronouce J as a Y.)

Another reviewer thought the ESV or the ASV are more accurate. I certainly doubt it. I used to think the ESV was the most literal too, but after I studied Koine Greek at Bible college, I realised this was not so and in fact the ESV departs from the Greek in a number of places, such as using gender-neutral language to when speaking to 'Sons (and daughters) of God'. While I have no problem with gender-inclusiveness, it certainly isn't what was actually spoken. (Theologically, the point of using sons of God is that in a male-dominated environment like the 1st century, Jesus was saying that women are indeed SONS of God, even if they are not male. Women are to be treated by a patriarchal society as sons rather than just daughters, bringing equality in the treatment of women. Saying that women become daughters of God for the sake of the 21st century's need for it, takes away from the revolutionary message of the claim that there are no male and female, Jew or Gentile, for all are one in Jesus, a male Jew, who preached that Jewish males should treat all females AND Gentiles as they would treat other Jewish males - with equal courtesy.)

This is without a doubt, the most literal English translation of the Bible that you can get.

I have highly recommended it to all my theological college friends, and would recommend it to any Christian wanting a more accurate understanding of the Bible.

A Literal Translation
A truly excellent literal translation. It brings out aspects of the Bible in a thrilling way. Written in the later half of the 19th Century, it is a MUST for every student of the Bible. Highly recommended