Bibles

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: MCT
Year Released: 1989

By diligent study, thorough academic preparation, self-discipline, and heart cultivation, Dr. Hugo McCord has become one of the leading and ripest scholars in the United States. He was an author, lecturer, preacher, and professor. He was a local preacher in nine cities across the United States. His evangelistic work took him to forty-two states and several countries around the world.
His greatest scholarly contribution is his translation of the New Testament. Because of his superior linguistic ability and commitment to the truth, he prepared a translation that can be accepted with confidence by all. He sought diligently to give an accurate translation of the inspired Word of God in an easily understood modern day English.
The basic text (with some exceptions) from which this translation comes is the third edition (corrected 1983) of the Greek New Testament, edited by Kurt Aland, et al. Careful attention was given to the companion volume A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, by Bruce Metzger, in cooperation with the Editorial Committee of the United Bible Societies. Disputed words considered important in this translation are bracketed. Doubly bracketed words indicate textual additions "of evident antiquity and importance."
Some words have been eliminated because they are inaccurate translations of New Testament words. Included are the following: church, baptism, repent, and begotten. In the Appendix is a list of departures from the text, with the reasons why.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: MRB
Year Released: 1923



This translation, presented in modern literary form, was edited by Richard G. Moulton, a professor of literary theory and interpretation at the University of Chicago. It is based on the English Revised Version.
When we look into our ordinary versions, we cannot see the lyrics, epics, dramas, essays, sonnets, and treatises as in other great literatures of the world. Instead, we see a monotonous uniformity of numbered sentences, more suggestive of an itemized legal instrument than literature.
The most ancient manuscripts could not distinguish verse and prose. In prose, they make no distinctions of sentences and paragraphs. In verse, they make no distinctions of meter. In drama, they do not discriminate speeches nor suggest the names of speakers. Many do not make divisions of words. The scribes, rabbis, and medieval doctors who have intervened between the authors and us can be described as commentators. These preserved the words of Scripture, but they did not consider the literary character. The purpose of this translation is to give assistance in meeting this difficulty. The spirit of this work is bounded by the idea of literature. Within the covers of this volume, if it be adequately used, is the material of a liberal education.
The order of the books is not the same as for the King James Version. At the back are two sections, an introduction and a collection of notes, for each book.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: MNT
Year Released: 1922

The aim of the translator, James Moffatt, a doctor of divinity, was to present the Old and New Testaments in effective, intelligible English. No translation of an ancient classic can be quite intelligible unless the reader is sufficiently acquainted with its environment to understand some of its flying allusions and characteristic metaphors. The translator felt that ought to be done at the present day to offer the unlearned a transcript of the Biblical literature as it lies in the light thrown upon it by modern research. A real translation is in the main an interpretation. To the best of his ability he has tried to be exact and idiomatic.
The initial difficulties in making a new version are started by the text used. The traditional or "massoretic" text of the Old Testament, though of primary value, is often desparately corrupt. At points where the text was in such disrepair that no conjecture could heal it, he inserted three dots. A longer line of dots in the poetical books indicated the original text was missing or it was in too much disrepair.
Some Hebrew terms have no English equivalent which corresponds to the original meaning. Something is dropped if they pass from Hebrew to English. The Tetragrammaton is rendered "the Eternal," except in an enigmatic title like "the Lord of Hosts," although the translator would have preferred to use "Yahweh."
The text used for the New Testament was that of H. von Soden, whose critical edition of the Greek New Testament based upon unprecedented researches, appeared during the first decade of the twentieth century. Quotations or direct reminiscences of the Old Testament are printed in italics.

[NSMinistries]

Inner Teachings of the Master

Editor: Yogi Ramacharaka
Publisher: Yogi Publication Society of Chicago, 1907


The lessons which comprise this volume originally appeared in monthly form from October 1907 to September 1908. These lessons met with a hearty and generous response from the public. Thus, this book was published in response to the demand for the lessons to be in a permanent and durable form. Students have stated that they found it necessary to read and study each lesson carefully in order to absorb the information.
The twelve lessons are as follows:

The Coming of the Master
The Mystery of the Virgin Birth
The Mystic Youth of Jesus
The Beginning of the Ministry
The Foundation of the Work
The Work of Organization
The Beginning of the End
The End of the Life Work
The Inner Teachings
The Secret Doctrine
The Ancient Wisdom
The Message of the Master

[NSMinistries]

Translator: Members of the Coptic Gnostic Library Project
Publisher: Harper, 1988


The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of religious texts that vary widely from each other as to when, where, and by whom they were written. The focus of this library has much in common with primitive Christianity, with eastern religion, and with 'holy men and women' of all times, as well as with more secular equivalents of today. The library of fourth century papyrus manuscripts consists of twelve codices plus eight leaves from a thirteenth comprising a complete text and contains fifty-two separate tractates. Because of duplications, there are forty-five separate titles. Most of the tractates derive from the Hellenistic sects now called gnostic but survive in Coptic translations.
Since the original manuscripts are fragmentary in many places, ellipsis dots (. . .) are included to indicate the place, but not the extent of all lacunae. The page and line numbers of the papyrus codex, given in the translations, should indicate the extent of the damage. There is no clean control copy to allow for correction when compared. Thus, there may be many unintentional errors.
The manuscripts were buried about 400 C. E. and were discovered in 1945. They were found not far from a Panchomian monastery at Chenoboskia in Egypt. Two brothers, while fertilizing their crops in the Naj' Hammadi region of Upper Egypt, came across a jar at the base of a boulder. When they broke the jar, the books appeared. The brothers took the books to their home. A long story follows until the manuscripts reached the Department of Antiquities in Cairo. The manuscripts received their final conservation about thirty years later. The library is kept in The Coptic Museum in Cairo.
This library makes an important contribution not only to the history of religion, but also to the history of philosophy. It draws on material not only those of Judeo-Christian heritage, but also of Egyptian lore. However, the collection is of Christian Gnosticism.

I,1: The Prayer of the Apostle Paul
I,2: The Apocryphon of James
I,3: The Gospel of Truth
I,4: The Treatise on the Resurrection
I,5: The Tripartite Tractate
II,1: The Apocryphon of John
II,2: The Gospel of Thomas
II,3: The Gospel of Philip
II,4: The Hypostasis of the Archons
II,5: On the Origin of the World
II,6: The Exegesis on the Soul
II,7: The Book of Thomas the Contender
III,1: The Apocryphon of John
III,2: The Gospel of the Egyptians
III,3: Eugnostos the Blessed
III,4: The Sophia of Jesus Christ
III,5: The Dialogue of the Savior
IV,1: The Apocryphon of John IV,2: The Gospel of the Egyptians
V,1: Eugnostos the Blessed
V,2: The Apocalypse of Peter
V,3: The First Apocalypse of James
V,4: The Second Apocalypse of James
V,5: The Apocalypse of Adam
VI,1: The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles
VI,2: The Thunder: Perfect Mind
VI,3: Authoritative Teaching
VI,4: The Concept of Our Great Power
VI,5: Plato, Republic 588a-589b
VI,6: The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth
VI,7: The Prayer of Thanksgiving
VI,7a: Scribal Note
VI,8: Asclepius 21-29
VII,1: The Paraphrase of Shem
VII,2: The Second Treatise of the Great Seth
VII,3: Apocalypse of Peter
VII,4: The Teachings of Silvanus
VII,5: The Three Steles of Seth
VIII,1: Zostrianos
VIII,2: The Letter of Peter to Philip
IX,1: Melchizedek
IX,2: The Thought of Norea
IX,3: The Testimony of Truth
X: Marsanes
XI,1: The Interpretation of Knowledge
XI,2: A Valentinian Exposition
XI,2a: On the Anointing
XI,2b: On Baptism A
XI,2c: On Baptism B
XI,2d: On the Eucharist A
XI,2e: On the Eucharist B
XI,3: Allogenes
XI,4: Hypsiphrone
XII,1: The Sentences of Sextus
XII,2: The Gospel of Truth
XII,3: Fragments
XIII,1: Trimorphic Protennoia
XIII,2: On the Origin of the World
BG,1: The Gospel of Mary
BG,2: The Apocryphon of John
BG,3: The Sophia of Jesus Christ
BG,4: The Act of Peter

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NAB
Year Released: 1987

In 1944, the Catholic Bible Association of America was requested to produce a completely new translation of the Bible from the original languages and to present the sense of Biblical text as accurately as possible. The Old Testament was first published in a series of four volumes. The New Testament was completed in 1970, resulting in the New American Bible. It has widespread use by American Catholic people in public worship.
Further advances in Biblical scholarship and identification of pastoral needs brought about a revision of the New Testament in 1986. This fulfilled the need for greater consistency of vocabulary, sensitivity to the need of inclusive language in favor of women, greater attention to public proclamation in sacred liturgy, and provision of more abundant and upgraded explanatory material. Scholars from other Christian churches collaborated in preparing this version.
There is an introduction and, usually, an outline at the beginning of each book. It has four imprimaturs.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NAS
Year Released: 1977

The purposes were, first, to adhere as closely as possible to the original languages of the Holy Scripture and, secondly, to make the translation in a fluent and readable style according to current English usage.
The King James Version is the basis for the English Revised Version (New Testament, 1881; Old Testament, 1885). The American Standard Version (1901) is the American counterpart. The American Standard Version is the basis for the New American Standard Version, started in 1959. There was an attempt to preserve the qualities of scholarship and accuracy of the American Standard Version. Decisions about English renderings were made by a team of educators and pastors. A review and an evaluation were made by other Hebrew and Greek scholars.
The aids used were as follows: the latest edition of Biblia Hebraica; recent light from lexicography, cognate languages, and Dead Sea Scrolls; and the twenty-third edition of Novum Testamentum Graece. "Elohim" was translated to God; "Adonai" to Lord; and "YHWH" to Lord usually, but to God when it appears with "Adonai."
Footnotes are used only for clarification. Thou, thee, and thy are used only when addressing Deity. Personal pronouns for Deity are capitalized. In the New Testament, small capitals are used to indicate quotations from the Old Testament or allusions to Old Testament texts.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NCV
Year Released: 1987

This translation of God's Word was made from the original Hebrew and Greek languages. The translation team was composed of the World Bible Translation Center and fifty additional, highly qualified and experienced Bible scholars and translators. Some had translation experience on the New International, the New American Standard, and the New King James Versions. The third edition of the United Bible Societies' Greek text, the latest edition of Biblia Hebraica and the Septuagint were among texts used.
Several guidelines were used to make the language clear for any reader. The Living Word Vocabulary, the standard used by World Book Encyclopedia, was the basis for vocabulary. Concepts were put into natural terms -- modern measurements and geographical locations. Ancient customs were clarified in the text or footnotes. Rhetorical questions were stated according to the implied answers. Figures of speech and idiomatic expressions were translated according to their meanings. Obscure terms were clarified. An attempt was made to choose gender language that would convey the intent of the writers. The Tetragrammaton was indicated by putting LORD and GOD in capital letters. Hebrew parallelism in poetry and word plays were retained. Images of ancient languages were translated into equivalent English images, where possible.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NEB
Year Released: 1970

A presbytery in the Church of Scotland in 1946 recommended to the General Assembly that a translation of the Bible be made in the language of the present day because the language in the Authorized Version was archaic and less generally understood. The General Assembly approached other churches. There was a desire that a completely new translation rather than a revision and for a contemporary idiom rather than a traditional Biblical English be used.
It was planned and directed by representatives of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Congregational Church in England and Wales, the Council of Churches for Wales, the Irish Council of Churches, the London Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends, the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the Presbyterian Church of England, the British and Foreign Bible Society, and the National Bible Society of Scotland. The Roman Catholic Church in England and Scotland sent representatives as observers.
The translating was done by three panels drawn from scholars of British universities to deal, respectively, with the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, and the New Testament. A fourth panel of trusted literary advisers was to scrutinize the translation for English style.
There are introductions to the three sections of this Bible.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NET
Year Released: 1992

The goal of this translation is missionary activity. The language is designed for Christians who have read the Scriptures for many years and for people who may never have read the Bible.
In 1934, Dr. William F. Beck began The Holy Bible: An American Translation. The New Evangelical Translation is the successor of that work. The goal of both works was to produce a Bible which is both faithful to the original languages of the Scriptures and understandable to anyone who can use simple, modern American English. It is a closest natural equivalent translation, meaning the choosing of English expressions which are as close as possible to the meaning of the original languages. Thus, it translates meaning-for-meaning. It strives to be readable by both adults and children. Greek manuscripts, Greek quotations, and translations in various languages were consulted.
Each new book begins on the right-hand page, permitting an edition in notebook form, which allows for individual books to be removed for study. There are large, freestanding numbers at the beginning of chapters, resulting in the only translation able to number the first verse of a chapter with "1." Prose selections are set in larger type than poetic sections. The Book of Revelation is entirely set in poetic form. The emblem of the Greek letters chi and rho superimposed on each other form an abbreviation for Christ. This symbol stands in columns of this version to indicate quotations from the Old Testament that are fulfilled in relation to or through the work of Christ.
The Old Testament translating was in progress at the time of this writing.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NIV
Year Released: 1978

This is a completely new translation of the Holy Bible done by over one hundred scholars. It followed several years of exploratory study by committees from the Christian Reformed Church and the National Association of Evangelicals. There were participants from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in the translating process. The denominations included Anglican, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Brethren, Christian Reformed, Church of Christ, Evangelical Free, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Nazarene, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, and others.
Each book was translated by a team of scholars. An Intermediate Editorial Committee revised their work. A General Editorial Committee checked it in detail and revised again. The Committee on Bible Translation reviewed, revised, then released the translation for publication.
The goals were that the translation would be accurate and have clarity and literary quality so as to be suitable for reading, teaching, preaching, memorizing, and liturgical use. A concern was that the English be idiomatic but not idiosyncratic, contemporary but not dated.
Texts used for the Old Testament included the latest Biblia Hebraica, Dead Sea Scrolls, Samaritan Pentateuch, ancient scribal traditions, Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta, Targums, Juxta Hebraica, and others. For the New Testament, the best current Greek New Testament texts were used.
The Tetragrammaton is rendered as LORD, in capital letters. King James pronouns and verb endings were considered to be archaic. Poetic passages are printed as poetry.

[NSMinistries]

Publisher: The Swedenborg Society of London, 1976 (originally published in 1901)


The text is according to what has been heard from heaven, with an introduction concerning the new heaven and the new earth, from the Latin of Emanuel Swedenborg. This book consists of a brief exposition of the main teachings contained in the theological writings of Swedenborg.
The contents list the following headings:

The New Heaven and the New Earth, and What Is Meant by the New Jerusalem
Introduction to the Doctrine
Good and Truth
The Will and Understanding
The Internal and External Man
Love in General
The Love of Self and the Love of the World
Love Towards the Neighbour, or Charity
Faith
Piety
Conscience
Freedom
Merit
Repentance, and Remission of Sins
Regeneration
Temptation
Baptism
The Holy Supper
The Resurrection
Heaven and Hell
The Church
The Sacred Scriptures, or The Word
Providence
The Lord
Ecclesiastical and Civil Government

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NJB
Year Released: 1985


This translation follows the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. For the Old Testament, the Masoretic Text was used. Only when insuperable difficulties occurred were the Septuagint or other versions used.
In the Old Testament, italics indicate passages found only in the Septuagint. In the New Testament, italics indicate quotations from other books of the Bible. A gap indicates an unintelligible word or an incomplete sentence in the original. Brackets in the Old Testament indicate an addition or an explanation that is later than the original text.
Many devoted scholars who assisted in Bible de Jérusalem (1956), the first English Jerusalem Bible (1966), and Bible de Jérusalem (revised 1973) contributed to the New Jerusalem Bible (1985).
It has the imprimatur of Cardinal George Basil Hume.
There is an introduction and, usually, an outline at the beginning of each book.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NJPS
Year Released: 1988

This was made directly from the traditional Hebrew text into the idiom of modern English. It was translated by academic scholars and rabbis from the three largest branches of organized Jewish religious life in America. It was begun in 1955 and was published in three stages: Torah in 1962, Nevi'im in 1978, and Kethuvim in 1982. These were brought together into a complete English Tanakh.
The aim of the translators was to produce the Hebrew idiomatically; to reflect contemporary scholarship, emphasizing intelligibility and correctness; and to make critical use of early rabbinical and medieval Jewish scholars. Obsolete phrases and words were avoided. Logical units of meaning were followed even when they did not coincide with the conventional chapters and verses. However, the latter are marked and numbered throughout.
In order to provide an intelligent rendering of The Prophets (Nevi'im), the translators made corrections in passages where the meaning was uncertain. Some were made by consulting the Septuagint and the Targums, which had used ancient texts in translating. Where The Writings (Kethuvim) have similar passages to those in Torah and Nevi'im, rendering of those follow wording of the earlier books. Revision of the three sections, especially of Torah, have been done before this one-volume Tanakh was published.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NKJ
Year Released: 1990

The translators, the committees, and the editors sought to maintain the lyrical quality of the King James Version while being sensitive to the late twentieth century English idiom and adhering faithfully to the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Where obsolescence and other reading difficulties existed, present-day vocabulary, punctuation, and grammar were integrated. Words representing ancient objects which have no modern substitutes were retained. A special feature is the conformity to the thought flow of the 1611 Bible. King James spelling of untranslated words was retained, but made uniform throughout. Standard doctrinal and theological terms were retained. Pronouns and verb endings no longer in use were replaced by modern words. Pronouns referring to God were capitalized. Frequent use of "and" was limited., and, where the original language permitted, replaced by other words. The format was designed to enhance vividness and devotional quality of the Scriptures.
The text used for the Old Testament was the 1967/1977 Stuttgart edition of Biblia Hebraica. There was supplementary use of the 1524/1525 Bomberg edition of Biblia Hebraica, Septuagint, Latin Vulgate, and Dead Sea Scrolls.
The New Testament was based on the traditional text of Greek-speaking churches, first published in 1516 and later referred to as the Received Text. It is the fifth revision of the New Testament translated from specific Greek texts.