Recovery Version Bible Introduction Series Special Topic 1 The Accuracy of the Text of the Recovery Version Bible As Seen in Numbers Bible Talks, 2017 1 1

Contents Introduction The Standard of the Accuracy in Translating the Bible A Case Study From Numbers Conclusion 2 2

Introduction What is the “Recovery Version Bible”? “We thank the Lord that His precious Word is so available to us today. It has not always been so. In fact, from the sixth to the fourteenth centuries, the Bible was largely inaccessible to the public. During this period, the bright light contained in the Bible and many of the precious truths revealed in it and enjoyed by the early Christians were not generally available.” (From Recoveryversion.org) 3 3

Introduction What is the “Recovery Version Bible”? “Since the 1500s, beginning with Martin Luther's groundbreaking realization that justification is by faith, the Lord has continued to gradually recover more light and truth from His Word. This recovery in spiritual and scriptural understanding has ushered in a corresponding recovery in both the individual and the corporate aspects of the Christian life. The Recovery Version of the Bible is so named because its text and footnotes crystallize many of these truths and experiences.” (From Recoveryversion.org) 4 4

Introduction From A Brief Explanation, RcV Bible: “Throughout the centuries, translations of the Bible have steadily improved. In general, each new translation inherits from previous ones and opens the way for later ones…The Recovery Version…following the precedent set by the major authoritative English versions and taking these versions as reference, not only incorporates lessons learned from an examination of others’ practices but also attempts to avoid biases and inaccurate judgments. This version, frequently guided by other versions, attempts to provide the best utterance for the revelation in the divine Word, that it may be expressed in the English language with the greatest accuracy.” 5 5

The Standard of the Accuracy in Translating the Bible Understanding the divine revelation in the holy Word Throughout the centuries, the truths in the Bible were lost, misinterpreted, or damaged. Since the Reformation, the truths have been progressively recovered. 6 6

The Standard of the Accuracy in Translating the Bible From A Brief Explanation, RcV Bible: “Translating the Bible depends not only on an adequate comprehension of the original language but also on a proper understanding of the divine revelation in the holy Word. Throughout the centuries the understanding of the divine revelation possessed by the saints has always been based upon the light they received, and this understanding has progressed steadily.” 7 7

The Standard of the Accuracy in Translating the Bible Understanding the meaning of the original text Henry Alford, New Testament in Greek Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, Strong’s Concordance Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Vine, Vincent, Wuest, Darby, etc. 8 8

The Standard of the Accuracy in Translating the Bible Choosing Hebrew & Greek text Textus Receptus (1516): German Luther Bible (1522), W. Tyndale Bible (1526), King James Version (1611) Westcott/Hort (1881): English Revised Version (1885) Eclectic Text (Most Authoritative As of Now): The Greek New Testament (4th Edition, 1994); The Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (27th Edition, 1993): New International Version, Recovery Version, etc. 9 9

10 Early Greek Manuscripts (Mss.) Vulgate (late 4th Century) Douai-Rheims(1593) Knox(1948) Other Medieval Mss. Textus Receptus (1516) KJV (1611) KJII (1971) NKJV (1982) Other Ancient Mss. Westcott/Hort (1881) English Revised Version(1885) American Standard Version(1901) Living Bible (1971) UBS (United Bible Societies) Phillips’s New Testament (1958) Eclectic Revised Standard Version(1952) New American Standard Version (1971) New Revised Standard Version (1989) Jerusalem Bible(1966) New English Bible(1970) New International Version(1978) Revised English Bible(1989) The Message(1993) New Living Translation(1996) Recovery Version (1999) Chinese Union Version(1919) Adapted from Paul Wegner, The Journey From Texts to Translations: The Origin and Development of the Bible, 393. 10 10

Comparison Between KJV, NIV and RcV Ver. Text Translation Techniques Characteristics KJV (1611) OT: Complutensian Polyglot; Antwerp Polyglot NT: Textus Receptus Revision of Bishops’ Bible (1602 edition); Word-for-word translation Archaic English Sense Paragraphs Marginal Notes (most were literal readings of the Hebrew/Greek texts) NIV (1978) OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia NT: eclectic Greek text (Nestle-Aland and UBS) Combination of Literal/dynamic equivalence Modern English Sense paragraphs Poetic structure Few emendations OT quotations enclosed in quotation marks RcV (1999) OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1990) NT: eclectic Greek text (Nestle-Aland 26th Edition) Combination of Literal/dynamic equivalence, inclined to literal Footnotes, cross-references 11 11

Case Study 1：Num. 6:27 Hebrew: וְשָׂמ֥וּ אֶת־שְׁמִ֖י עַל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַאֲנִ֖י אֲבָרֲכֵֽם׃ פ אֲבָרֲכֵֽם : I will bless אֲנִ֖י: I， for emphasis KJV: And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them. NIV: “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” RcV: So shall they put My name upon the children of Israel, that I Myself may bless them.. 12 12

Case Study 2：Num. 8:2 Hebrew דַּבֵּר֙ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֵלָ֑יו בְּהַעֲלֹֽתְךָ֙ אֶת־הַנֵּרֹ֔ת אֶל־מוּל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הַמְּנוֹרָ֔ה יָאִ֖ירוּ שִׁבְעַ֥ת הַנֵּרֽוֹת׃ KJV: Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. NIV: “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you set up the lamps, see that all seven light up the area in front of the lampstand.’” RcV: Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps will give light in front of the lampstand. 13 13

Case Study 2：Num. 8:2 Hebrew Lexicon HALOT says: “with פָּנִים at the front”. This matches the divine fact that God in His revelation is always moving forward.

Conclusion The RcV Bible is based on the most current authoritative Hebrew and Greek text, and is a crystallization of the understanding of the divine revelation which the saints everywhere have attained to in the past two-thousand years. The RcV Bible is focused on faithfulness to the original text in order to reveal the divine revelation. It is an excellent study bible that helps God’s children to “dig into” the “rich mines” of God’s word. 15 15

To Order a Free Copy www.bfa.org 16 16