Another Misleading Footnote - First Nations Version

           This is not a review of the First Nations Version of the New Testament, the work of translators such as Terry Wildman and Gordon Campbell, Alvin Deer, Antonia Belindo, Bryan Jon Maciewski and others which was released in 2021.  Today I want to simply point out that despite being recommended by scholars such as Matthew Schlimm (University of Dubuque Theological Seminary) and  L. Daniel Hawk (Ashland Theological Seminary), the First Nations Version perpetuates false information in its footnote at the end of Mark 16:8.  

The footnote says, "Most ancient manuscripts end at this verse.  Some others include verses 9-20 as we have in this translation."

            The problem is that only two ancient Greek manuscripts end the text of Mark at the end of 16:8.  And the "some" is over 1,650 Greek manuscripts.  In addition, earlier witnesses such as Tatian's Diatessaron and Irenaeus (in about 180) support the inclusion of verses 9-20; Irenaeus explicitly cited Mark 16:19 in his third book of Against Heresies.

            I don't know why it seems so hard for some people to write an accurate footnote.  The possibility occurs to me that if they were accurate and let readers know how lopsided the external evidence is in favor of including Mark 16:9-20, readers would stop trusting the scholars who want to erase the passage from the Gospel of Mark.  I suspect that some people are rejecting Mark 16:9-20 not because of the evidence but because they don't like what this Scripture says - they don't like the idea that baptism normally is a step into salvation instead of a consequence of salvation; they want Jesus to say "He who believes and is saved shall be baptized" instead of "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved."  Or perhaps they don't like reading an endorsement of glossolalia from the lips of Jesus because they believe that sort of thing isn't for modern-day Christians.  Whatever the reason, the headings and footnotes in a lot of modern versions at Mark 16:9 are pitiful.  A half-truth is a whole lie.  FIX YOUR FOOTNOTES, Bible publishers.  Crossway and Holman and Zondervan, I'm talking to you.  You can do it if you want to.

News: New Translation from Crossway and Holman

The NOT -
deluxe leatherbound edition

            As Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Christ this weekend, two major publishing-houses have announced the end-result of an ongoing co-operative project:  the New Orthodox Translation.  This new Bible version was designed to combine the best features of Crossway’s English Standard Version and Holman’s Christian Standard Bible, while responding to Dan Wallace’s challenge to break free of a “tradition of timidity” in evangelical translation-work.

            In a press release prepared for this occasion, co-editors Wayne Grudem, Dane Ortlund, and Lane T. Dennis announced, “We are delighted to introduce a version designed for the changing needs of modern readers.  The New Orthodox Translation enhances the Bible-reading experience by presenting readers with a full range of textual options.  Over 20,000 translational and textual footnotes in the NOT New Testament maximize readers’ choices, making Bible-reading a deeply subjective and personal experience, like it was for readers in the first century.”

            Here is the publisher’s description of some of the special features of the New Orthodox Translation:

● Each printed copy comes with a code that allows the reader to download a digital file of the Bible to almost any electronic device.  The file will automatically update every time ten members of the NOT’s 100-member translation-team meet to adjust the text.  

● The 29th edition of the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, whatever it turns out to be, will be adhered to in the updates.  Readings that the Nestle-Aland compilers have introduced without any Greek manuscript support are already in the text.  Some readings with only one Greek manuscript in their favor have also be adopted, following the precedent set by the TNIV and 2011 NIV.  In addition, in passages where the Complex Bias Generated Method suggests that all extant variants are not original, non-extant readings may be introduced.    

● Because the practice of giving preference to the shorter reading has been thoroughly validated in recent years, a bold new approach has been taken regarding contested passages such as Matthew 6:13b, Matthew 17:21, Mark 15:28, Luke 22:43-44, Luke 23:34a, and Acts 8:37.  These passages are excluded completely in the New Orthodox Translation, regardless of the high number of manuscripts that include them and the age of the patristic evidence that supports them.  Verse-numbering has been restructured accordingly.           

            ● Perforated pages at the end of Mark and near the beginning of John chapter 8 in the NOT give readers the option of removing two large passages which most of the NOT’s translators (such as Craig Blomberg and Andreas Köstenberger) consider spurious in light of Clement of Alexandria’s non-use of the passage in his commentary on Mark. 

● The NOT, like the ESV, boldly informs its readers that Amos and Asaph were ancestors of Jesus, confirming Bruce Metzger’s assessment that the original text of Matthew 1:7 and 1:10 contains an error.  In addition, as a display of scholarly transparency and non-timidity, errant readings in some passages are mentioned in footnotes (cf. Matthew 13:35 and Mark 6:22 in the CSB). 

● All footnotes that refer to manuscripts simply say “Some manuscripts,” in order to rectify the confusing excess of precision that has plagued footnotes in other versions.

The announcement of the release of the NOT mentioned that the editors, being vigilant against the mixture of authentic Scripture and uninspired material, are opposed to the inclusion of the books of the Apocrypha in future editions, diverging from the approach of the evangelicals in charge of the ESV and NET.  

The New Orthodox Translation’s joint publishers hope that this new translation will serve Bible-readers for years to come alongside other reliable frequently revised versions.  The NOT may also provide Bible publishers with the means to test how far they can take textual alterations without alienating their customers from the ESV and CSB, both of which will continue to be printed for the foreseeable future.    

Complimentary thumb-indexed review copies of the NOT New Testament are expected to be delivered to various preachers and seminary professors around the country this Easter, especially in Dallas, Texas and Wheaton, Illinois.  Online orders for the NOT can be made now.  Options for bindings include calfskin, bonded leather, baby harp sealskin, seared olivewood, brushed titanium-tungsten alloy, and a wide assortment of colors and patterns in Leatherish™ softcover.  More details can be found at the New Orthodox Translation’s website (click here).