1. Special Topic 2 The Accuracy of the Translation of the Recovery Version Bible

2. Main Content Introduction The Standard of the Accuracy in Translating the Bible Case Studies Conclusion

3. Introduction How do we know the RcV Bible provides an accurate translation? What do we gain by reading such an accurate translation?

4. The Standard of the Accuracy in Translating the Bible Choosing Hebrew & Greek text –Textus Receptus (1707) –Westcott/Hort (1881) –Eclectic Text (Most Authoritative As of Now) The Greek New Testament(4 th Edition, 1994) The Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (27 th Edition, 1993)

5. Early Greek Manuscripts (Mss.) Vulgate (late 4 th Century) Douai-Rheims(1593) Knox(1948) Other Medieval Mss. Textus Receptus (1707) 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.

6. 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 were progressively recovered.

7. –“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.” (RcV introduction)

8. The Standard of the Accuracy in Translating the Bible Understanding the meaning of the original text –Henry Alford, New Testament Word Study –Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible, Strong’s Concordance –Kittel, Greek Word Study –etc.

9. Comparison Between KJV, NIV and RcV Ver.TextTranslation 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 26 th Edition) Combination of Literal/dynamic equivalence, inclined to literal Modern English Sense paragraphs Poetic structure Few emendations OT quotations enclosed in quotation marks Footnotes, cross-references

10. Case Study 1 ： Gen. 1:2 Hebrew : וְהָאָ ֗ רֶץ הָיְתָ ֥ ה תֹ ֙ הוּ ֙ וָבֹ ֔ הוּ KJV: And the earth was without form, and void… NIV: Now the earth was formless and empty… RcV: But the earth became waste and emptiness… Evaluation: The same verb הָיָה appeared in Gen. 19:26 and was translated to “she became a pillar of salt” (KJV, NIV). God created the earth in good order (Job 38:4-7; Isa. 45:18). “But” and “became” indicate that something happened to cause God’s creation to become “waste and emptiness”.

11. G. H. Pember “The verb translated ‘was’ is occasionally used with a simple accusative in the sense of ‘to be made,’ or ‘to become.’ An instance of this may be found in the history of Lot’s wife, of whom we are told, that ‘she became a pillar of salt.’ (Gen. xix. 26) Such a meaning is by far the best for our context: we may therefore adopt it and render, ‘And the earth became desolate and void..’’” (Pember, Earth’s Earliest Ages, 1876. 32)

12. Case Study 2 ： Matt 10:32 Greek: Π ᾶ ς ο ὖ ν ὅ στις ὁ μολογ ή σει ἐ ν ἐ μο ὶ ἔ μπροσθεν τ ῶ ν ἀ νθρ ώ πων, ὁ μολογ ή σω κ ἀ γ ὼ ἐ ν α ὐ τ ῷ ἔ μπροσθεν το ῦ πατρ ό ς μου το ῦ ἐ ν [το ῖ ς] ο ὐ ρανο ῖ ς· KJV: Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. NIV: Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. RcV: Everyone therefore who will confess in Me before men, I will also confess in him before My Father who is in the heavens. Evaluation: KJV and NIV ignored the Greek preposition ἐ ν. RcV, however, faithfully captures it and also brings out the organic union of believers with the Lord.

13. Case Study 3 ： Phil. 3:11 Greek: ε ἴ πως καταντ ή σω ε ἰ ς τ ὴ ν ἐ ξαν ά στασιν τ ὴ ν ἐ κ νεκρ ῶ ν. KJV: If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. NIV: and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. RcV: If perhaps I may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead. Evaluation: All believers who are dead in Christ will participate in the resurrection from the dead at the Lord’s coming back (1 Thess. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52). But the overcoming saints will enjoy an extra, outstanding portion of that resurrection as a reward.

14. 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.