The Bible, translated by Nicholas King
Рет қаралды 8,542
Күн бұрынA critical review of Nicholas King's translation of the Bible. My copy is a sewn hardback with text formatted in a single column, verse-by-verse in the Old Testament, but broken into paragraphs in the New. The Old Testament features page-bottom notes, while the flow of the New Testament books is interrupted by commentary intermixed with the text. The font is Adobe Garamond, printed too lightly for my taste.
I agree with King's decision to translate the Old Testament from the Septuagint, but I wish the result better represented the text New Testament authors and early Christian writers read and commented on. The translator is a Jesuit priest. The Deuterocanonical books are included, intermixed with the books of the Hebrew canon. It was issued, apparently, without nihil obstat or imprimatur. King's approach to gender inclusiveness relies on frequent use of the singular "they". ISBN: 9781848676671.
Detailed contents:
00:00 Details (dimensions, margins, layout, font …) four charts
00:45 Size compared to the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS)
01:05 Size compared to Brenton’s Septuagint
01:23 Dimensions
01:48 The Bible without dust jacket
02:09 The ISBN and the original sale price in the UK
02:24 Interior layout
07:23 Font in the text - Adobe Garamond
08:20 Font in the Old Testament’s page-bottom notes
08:35 Paper qualities
10:10 Book introductions
13:05 Maps at the end of the Bible
13:45 Title and copyright pages
14:12 Table of contents
14:30 The preface - why translate the Septuagint?
15:08 Maps at the end of the Pentateuch
15:27 The map at the end of the Historical Books section
15:36 The sewn binding and single violet ribbon marker; the Bible lies open and flat
16:07 The text stays out of the gutter
16:15 A close-up of the typeface, plus comparisons to Brenton’s Septuagint and the NETS
17:40 A quick glance back at the Table of Contents to verify it contains the Deuterocanonical books
18:04 Luke 6.12 - “he was spending the whole night in prayer to God”
18:59 Luke 6.20 - the Beatitutudes: “Congratulations to the poor …”
19:39 Ephesians 2.8-9 - “we are his ‘poem’, created in Christ Jesus” to write poetry?
20:28 Revelation 1.8 - “the Is”; but Exodus 3.14 has “The One Who Is”
22:35 Titus 2.16 - “to call Jesus ‘God’ is not an impossibly enormous step forward from Paul’s own Christology”
23:44 Lamentations 4.20 - “the breath of our face”; and Irenaus of Lyons
25:03 Isaiah 7.9 - King translates this well: understanding requires belief
25:50 Joel 2.25 - Locusts and caterpillars as the power of God
27:19 Proverbs 8.35 - “favour from the Lord is made ready” or, with Augustine of Hippo, “the will is prepared from the Lord”?
28:13 Job 14.4-5 - “No one at all. Even if their life is just one day on earth …” “No one at all, even if his life is just one day on earth …”
29:45 1 Maccabees 12.9 - the connection to Romans 15.4 obscured, the comfort of the scriptures
30:50 Revelation 3.20-21 - gender inclusiveness: multiple uses of the singular “they”
31:25 John 10.9 - gender inclusiveness: “through me if anyone enters, they will be saved”
32:13 Romans 4.4 - “his wages are not reckoned as a ‘freebie’”
32:45 Romans 11.1 - “No way!”
32:58 Summary
33:15 A photo of the translator
33:24 An endorsement from Desmond Tutu
@TXJasper 5 жыл бұрын
Dr. Jones, I enjoy your videos and great review as always! I too would love to have a complete Bible with the OT based on the Septuagint that directly corresponded to the NT quotations. Please let us know if you find a good one! Also, I really enjoyed you paper entitled Notes on the Septuagint. Thanks for all you do!
@RGrantJones 5 жыл бұрын
I'll keep looking. The problem is that most people who translate the Septuagint do it as a separate project, disconnected from the NT. Then the exceptions turn out like this -- the translator clearly had a different agenda. But I'll keep my eyes open. Glad you found "Notes on the Septuagint" helpful.
@einarengemoen2486 Жыл бұрын
Entertaining 😊, and also a little educational. Thanks for yet another ‘freebie’ of knowledge 🌹😊 … oh just realized the post was three years ago. You made a comment on the translators use of the word ‘freebie’.
@justinspeicher5748 5 жыл бұрын
I'm a new subscriber, and I wanted to say that I enjoy your bible reviews. I am curious to know if you have ever heard of the ALT3 (Analytical-Literal Translation 3rd edition) of the new testament done by Gary Zeolla? He has also done a translation of the old testament from the septuagint. I don't know if you take video requests, but I'd be very interested in your review of the translation.
@RGrantJones 5 жыл бұрын
No, I don't recall having heard about the ALT3 before, but I'll check into it. Thanks for the suggestion. I had never heard of Nicholas King's translation before a viewer mentioned it in a comment.
@syriacchristianity9007 2 жыл бұрын
Just ordered this on EBay, thanks for the heads up! 📖
@MrBluemanworld Жыл бұрын
What excellent analysis. What are your preferred Bibles and why? Maybe there is already a video on that I have to find on your channel
@RGrantJones Жыл бұрын
Thank you for your encouraging comment! I posted a video listing my 10 favorite Bibles, but that has to do with particular editions, not translations. I use a variety of translations, but I tend to prefer those in the Tyndale family (Geneva, KJV, RV, ASV, RSV, NKJV, ESV). When I’m listening to a sermon, I try to follow along in the speaker’s translation. If I’m studying on my own, I often use a literal translation (e.g., KJV, NKJV, RV, ASV) alongside a more interpretive one, like the New English Bible or the Jerusalem Bible. For devotional reading, I find myself using the KJV or the RSV most often. (When I'm reading the Old Testament, I also often use the New English Translation of the Septuagint alongside whatever Masoretic-based translation I'm reading).
@johnericpamintuan4800 3 жыл бұрын
Seems like you don't like the translation. Do you mind donating this book to our bible group here in the Philippines? It would be a great help for us here.
@HeartSpeaksToHeart 4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for this video; I've met Fr. Nicholas, he's a wonderfully dynamic speaker and very kind pastorally. For all the flaws of his translation (some of which are probably due to King trying to mimic colloquial British English), he's done a lot to excite English Catholics about the Bible again. I was wondering if you had been able to add King's translation to your translation continuum? (and also the EOB New Testament you reviewed recently) I find your continuum chart a massive help, I refer to it quite often. I would certainly appreciate it very much; I doubt Fr. Nicholas' version has had much of an impact (if any) in the USA, but it continues to be read and used quite widely in England (where it is, admittedly, divisive! My lecturer couldn't stand it), so it would be useful to compare it to other translations, especially when teaching or leading small group studies. I appreciate, though, that a great deal of work must go into preparing a translation's position on the chart! God bless
@RGrantJones 4 жыл бұрын
I haven't scored any translations recently, not since I added the Revised English Bible. I may be able to score more in the coming year, time permitting. I hadn't considered King's translation as a candidate, but I didn't realize anyone was using it! Perhaps next time I'll add David Bentley Hart's translation, the Evangelical Heritage Version, the Eastern Orthodox Bible New Testament, and this one.
@HeartSpeaksToHeart 4 жыл бұрын
@@RGrantJones That would be great, I'm keenly looking forward to a review of Bentley Hart, and Knox if you have a copy. Yes, King is (along with Wansbrough) the go to scholar for the Catholic Church in Britain. Most Catholics would have a New Jerusalem or Kings Bible. Most clergy I know use King, alongside usually the 1966 Jerusalem. Thanks, look forward to a continuum update!
@bos567564 5 жыл бұрын
You forgot to mention that King's translation has no Imprimatur or a Nihil Obstat. It has no official sanction by the Church.
@RGrantJones 5 жыл бұрын
Good point. I should have mentioned that in the video when I showed the copyright page. But I did think to put it in the video's description. Thanks for the view and comment!
@someinteresting 3 жыл бұрын
@@RGrantJones Also, it seems Greek isn't his stronger side. Makários, for example, means blessed. I don't know by what logic he decided congratulations to is in any way the preferable rendering. Just on the basis of this clear lack of knowledge the edition lost any credibility.
@snailgeorgie1880 3 жыл бұрын
@@someinteresting this is an interesting take given he’s a fellow in New Testament Greek at the University of Oxford
@someinteresting 3 жыл бұрын
@@snailgeorgie1880 Sadly, I have seen many people who study exclusively Old and New Testament Greek to be lacking in knowledge. Because of their strong religious beliefs they shun all Greek before that and for a language so ancient and rich this is very bad and damaging for any scholarly endevour.
@snailgeorgie1880 3 жыл бұрын
@@someinteresting that doesn’t really make sense as an objection to me tbh. We don’t require English literature experts to also have a deep and thorough versing in Old and Middle English before they are allowed to have opinions. Regardless, he studied Classics at Oxford at undergraduate level, so definitely has a good background in Greek outside of the New Testament.
@peterpapoutsis496 Жыл бұрын
Good morning Grant. Just checking in to see if you heard if Fr. King's translation has been updated to correct some of its inadvertent mistakes (I believe a whole biblical book is missing from the OT). Any updates would be appreciated. Thank you and have a great day.
@RGrantJones Жыл бұрын
Peter - no, sorry, I haven't heard anything about it.
@albertritchot7181 4 жыл бұрын
Is the Letter of Jeremiah (or known as Baruch chp 6 in the NABRE) included or missing in this Bible Translation?
@RGrantJones 4 жыл бұрын
I don't find it, either in Baruch or as a separate book (as it appears in Rahlfs' Septuagint). King placed a note in his introduction to Baruch, at the end of an outline of the book, that reads, '(And in some Bibles, the 'Letter of Jeremiah' is added as chapter 6.)'
@peterpapoutsis496 Жыл бұрын
So is the Letter of Jeremiah included as Ch. 6 in Jeremiah in his translation?
@yvonnegonzales2973 3 жыл бұрын
Sir, is that a paraphrase translation? & Reading grade level?
@RGrantJones 3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the question, Yvonne! It may not be a paraphrase, but it is relatively free and interpretive. I'm not qualified to assign a reading level, but my guess is that it's around the same level as the NIV, which I'm told is written at the 7th grade level.
@None.oooo1 3 жыл бұрын
Do you prefer this or the companion Bible?
@RGrantJones 3 жыл бұрын
If I were being sent to a desert island and could choose to bring only one Bible, either this translation or the Companion Bible, I'd take the Companion Bible. Thanks for the question!
@aioniansage6081 2 жыл бұрын
@@RGrantJones If I was sent to a desert island and could only have one book I'd take the Companion Bible.
@dukemandu 3 жыл бұрын
Your sssibilant S is ssslicing into my brain. Heheh...
@albertogomez2987 3 жыл бұрын
Nice!
@jc6618 5 жыл бұрын
If you pause it just at the right time during the dust jacket review, you can see that R. Grant Jones has a head, most likely with a face on it!! Illuminati confirmed....
@RGrantJones 5 жыл бұрын
I appeared in the Richard Bancroft video too, but no one commented on that. I'll have to be more careful with those reflective covers!
@Rockcroc2000Rm1wE3erWmNfkL 4 жыл бұрын
@Tyler Booska 1:43
@fuddlywink1 3 ай бұрын
This is a very Nice Bible..... Really worth re-reviewing Just a thought
@colonyofcells 3 жыл бұрын
Probably need more translations from eastern orthodox christians.
@hassanmirza2392 3 жыл бұрын
I think RNJB is also a one man translation, no?
@RGrantJones 3 жыл бұрын
I don't think so; but I haven't found a list of translators.
@hassanmirza2392 3 жыл бұрын
@@RGrantJones I can't find any either in the book. I have it. Btw, is the book Jonah in RNJB, is it still the translation by Tolkien? :D
@hassanmirza2392 3 жыл бұрын
@@RGrantJones Another thing, why the Catholics not rely on Sept. and use MT instead? Protestants I understand that they rely on Jewish Bible to get their OT, but Catholics follow Vulgate book order, which itself is from Sept. So, why use MT then?
@RGrantJones 3 жыл бұрын
@@hassanmirza2392 - no, the RNJB's Jonah is definitely a new translation, though it shows signs of being derived from the original Jerusalem Bible. By the way, you may be right about the number of members of the translation committee. The back cover gives credit to Wansbrough and to him alone.
@RGrantJones 3 жыл бұрын
@@hassanmirza2392 - I think it goes back to Jerome, who decided to work from the Hebrew. His reputation and the inertia of tradition have left the Western Church where it is (even though Augustine preferred the traditional Latin translation, which was based on the Septuagint). People will argue that translating a translation (the Septuagint) has to be less accurate than translating the original language (Hebrew), but the Septuagint often reflects a different Hebrew source text than the modern Masoretic Text.
@craigmouldey2339 2 жыл бұрын
I will put this right over there with the New World Translation as 'bibles' I won't be using.
@donaldmartineau8176 2 жыл бұрын
A great review as usual but I probably wouldn't own this bible even if it was a 'freebie'.
@syriacchristianity9007 2 жыл бұрын
Why?
@fredeskridge22 5 жыл бұрын
A baby is innocent no?
@RGrantJones 5 жыл бұрын
That's not the way I read Romans 5. "Death spread to all because all have sinned." "By one man's disobedience the many were made sinners."
@fredeskridge22 5 жыл бұрын
R. Grant Jones so baby’s that are aborted go to hell? I’m still not clear on your stance
@fredeskridge22 5 жыл бұрын
R. Grant Jones 2 Kings 24:3-4 talking about shedding the blood of the innocent. Who is the innocent there then? The babies I would have to say.
@RGrantJones 5 жыл бұрын
@@fredeskridge22 - I think they were innocent in that they hadn't committed any capital crime. 2 Kings 21.16 says he filled Jerusalem from one end to another. Some of his victims may have been youngsters. He did cause his children to pass through the fire, but that was in the valley of the son of Hinnom. I don't think there were enough of them to fill Jerusalem from one end to the other. At any rate, assuming 2 Kings 24.3-4 means that Manasseh killed infants and they were not only innocent of any capital crime, but were also innocent before God. How do you square that with Romans 5? We know that infants die. But "death spread to all because all have sinned."
@fredeskridge22 5 жыл бұрын
R. Grant Jones no I was really just wanting to know what you thought about babies. Because by saying one day it the world you are guilty or whatever it was you said. I wanted to know if that meant you believed God damned them. I didn’t think you would believe that but just asking. I know some may confuse it
@craigmouldey2339 2 жыл бұрын
I'd be willing to bet that besides being Jesuit he is also a Freemason.
@ethanmcclain7570 2 жыл бұрын
If he is, he would be in violation of the Catholic Church's teaching on being a Freemason.
@timmyholland8510 11 ай бұрын
@@ethanmcclain7570That's true. Though Jesuit history is sometimes sketchy on political connections, at times.