What Greek Bible should you buy? (my recommendation)

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[@BiblicalStudiesandReviews]

Thanks so much for the shout out to our new project for a Byzantine Greek New Testament! Really appreciate it. And just to be clear, none of the men who worked on our project are KJV only or TR only. (The RP text varies from the the TR in over 1800 places.) Great video!

[@bma]

Any time! I also updated the link in the description so its clearer. :)

[@BiblicalStudiesandReviews]

@@bma thanks!

[@christopherskipp1525]

What's the RP?

[@BiblicalStudiesandReviews]

@@christopherskipp1525 Robinson-Pierpont Text

[@thomasglass9491]

@@christopherskipp1525 Robinson Pierpoint 2018

[@briteddy9759]

I use the THGNT. I follow the Daily Dose of Greek. They use a different Greek text, and I am amazed at how rare it is for the text to differ. Thanks for this overview. It is helpful. It takes an effort to understand the varios text traditions. Anything helps.

[@rogerloydmccoy]

So very helpful, thanks so much.

[@stevenmccarthy7039]

Thank you for this brief comment on the major options available. My wife gave me the THGNT a few years ago and it is printed beautifully and great to use. I used the UBS GNT for many years on and off but the main problem I now have is focussing on the text! At 65 it has become very difficult to see the smaller marks, especially the breathing ones of course. Just realised this gives a whole new meaning to doing a close reading of the text. I use a magnifying sheet which helps slightly, but nevertheless the THGNT is a wonderful blessing. The brief intro they published which you have mentioned before is an interesting read.

[@christopherskipp1525]

Thgnt stands for what? Thanks.

[@larrykraft2743]

THGNT is Tyndale House Greek New Testament. It’s in the video starting at 8:27. By the way, a version that is only abbreviated in the video is NA 28. I’m pretty sure NA is Nestle Aland, if I’m remembering correctly.

[@GordonA-Jr]

Got my early answer last night but watched this anyway 😆 Thanks Darryl

[@JonJMissions]

I started with the UBS 5 in college. I I like the UBS 5, but after I started taking a Biblical Hebrew class, I got a Bible with the Hebrew Old Testament and the NA 27 New Testament Greek text.

[@juliafalling4069]

Thank you for the very helpful overview. I have been using the Tyndale GNT in Accordance for a couple of years, having the same reservations about the CBGM that you have expressed. I am not a scholar, but a serious student who got a late start (at 56) and have been plugging away at Koine Greek ever since (now 72).

[@markelmore66]

Back in 1989 I was at the University of Georgia majoring in New Testament Textual Criticism and got my first NA 28 Greek NT and have used it ever since. I got to meet one of its editors, Bruce Metzger during a department colloquium in 1990 and hear him speak about his book “Manuscripts of The Greek Bible”. Afterwards, he autographed my copy - which I have till this day. I loved that he embodied the idea of a faithful believer and a world renowned scholar at the same time. I felt like an oddball in such a secular department and thanks to him I felt validated because I know some of my fellow Religion majors and professors laughed at me behind my back - and Bruce Mezger showed you can have faith and be an honest scholar. He was a meek and gentle man and regret his passing. I don’t think he would be happy with where these new text critical trends are going. At any rate, my NA 28 is all marked up with notes and commentary and I will treasure it till the day I die.

[@deenreloaded]

I thought the NA 28 came somewhere in 2012

[@markelmore66]

@@deenreloaded nope. Mine has a copyright date of 1983. 3rd edition. First edition was in 1966. Maybe another addition was released in 2012

[@deenreloaded]

@@markelmore66 : This cannot be, may be yours is NA 26 or something. NA 28 in 1980s, impossible.

[@jasoncampbell1723]

Great as always! Would love to see your channel have more content on Hebrew. Seems to be an area where KZbin is somewhat lacking and since I'm currently learning Hebrew in Grad School, I know I'd greatly appreciate it (as would others), especially if you did this for Hebrew Bibles you'd recommend. Tyndale has a great Hebrew Bible. Really like this video!

[@bretwalker2295]

I have the SBL in Kindle and on OliveTree Bible app, but as a new student of Greek I am currently working through Tyndale's New Greek-English Interlinear NT. It also has the NRSV text in parallel in the margins. Not strictly a Greek NT but very useful for getting in the water. The pages are pretty thin, though, and I will probably look into the Tyndale GNT that you mentioned.

[@GordonA-Jr]

I had printed off the SBL that you gave on your site but am looking to grab a Tyndale

[@kwamedix3264]

THGNT is by far my favorite to read from, although I do like the way the NA28 italicize scripture references indicating the writer is quoting the OT.

[@davidpetersonharvey]

I got the Tyndale Greek NT last week; I've been wanting it since last year. I got the hardback and it's really nice. I absolutely love it and appreciate the recommendation. I was using a BLB app with the Septuagint and love having a hardcopy NT in Greek to practice reading.

[@christopherskipp1525]

What text did Tindayle use? Thanks.

[@SibleySteve]

Great video. My first was 1988's UBS 3, I liked it for its dictionary and tan paper. Then I got caught up with the NA 26 and fell in love with the way that NA lays flat on a table and pocket size. Now I'm ALL IN for the THGNT, I have two of them, a Reader and a soft cover. I noticed in the bookstore, that the hard cover Tyndale has the best number of appendices. I bought the soft imitation leather thinking I would get all those great appendices that I saw in the hard back, and I was a little disappointed that each Tyndale has a different set of appendices, lemma indices, dictionary, etc. I will only buy the Tyndale from Crossway from here on out, but I do appreciate the UBS and NA for their lay-flat ability, the tan paper, and the dictionary in the UBS. But the philosophy of the THGNT is the one for me - oldest is best, I feel the same way about the LXX, I want the oldest text. Great video. Love your content. One day I hope to have a LXX & THGNT bound together.

[@bma]

Good point. The lay-flat-ability of the NA/UBS is a good feature. I think this is a result of the paper combined with the binding. Thanks for your comment!

[@chancylvania]

I’ve been using Tyndales. I like the font and the simple layout. I also like that they go with 5 century or earlier (except for Rev) witnesses.

[@alexandersmith9385]

I have the UBS 1 and 4 and NA 28. The 4th Ed is what I primarily use for morning devotions. The 1st Ed is kept at the church for reference. After completing first year Greek, I purchased the NA 28 as a gift to myself. However, after reading the foreword, I understand your concerns with it going forward. Things are becoming quite interesting. I plan to get the THGT soon.

[@sethtbaguley]

I'm the same as you mate - I use a Tyndale GNT because it's actually a usable and beautiful Bible. As I'm memorizing the GNT, I use the Tyndale when I get chance to sit down, but I use Logos for Tyndale, SBLGNT, NA28 and RP on the go on my phone. This is great fun because I get to pick up subtle differences that I would otherwise miss e.g. Romans 1:3 - Δαυὶδ in SBLGNT lacks the ε that's in the Tyndale. Irrelevant to translation, but still helps me memorize more deeply because it gives me more "hooks" on the page to locate myself to when I'm struggling to recite.

[@christopherskipp1525]

New English Bible, and the Greek majority/Byzantine text. The TR is ok also. No straight Critical text.

[@pattube]

Next question: which Hebrew Old Testament to use? 😊

[@jasoncampbell1723]

I think most Hebrew Bibles use the same basic text. I like the Hebrew Old Testament Readers Edition from Crossway. Really nicely made and easy to read. No critical apparatus but great for personal reading

[@pattube]

​@@jasoncampbell1723Thank you so much for that! I didn't even realize Crossway has a reader's version! I really love the aesthetic quality of most of Crossway's Bibles and books so this might be perfect. I love their Tyndale House NT. Thanks so much again! 😊

[@Skadagisgi]

I need to get back to using hardcopy versions of the Greek NT, but what I have been using is a digital version of the Apostolic Bible Polyglot, a MySword version. I also use the language feature on Logos to find the meaning of words on Logos versions of the BDAG and Thayer's Greek lexicons. I have hard copies, but I'll need to remind myself of what text tradition they are. I have an interlinear Bible done by I think a Jay Green(?), and I have a readers' version of the UBS (I think) and I think the author of my third Greek Bible is another interlinear done by a guy with the last name Reynolds.

[@larrykraft2743]

Delighted to have your video pop up in my feed today! Thank you for making it. About your point at 5:39, can you give an example or two of a passage in NA 28 where they use a translation rather than an early Greek text? Thanks again.

[@bma]

The best known example is 2 Peter 3:10 where οὐχ εὑρεθήσεται (the text rendered) is only found in the Syriac Peshitta. There are several other options (including εὐρεθήσεται without the negation, which the THGNT follows) which are better attested.

[@larrykraft2743]

Interesting, thanks. I wonder what prompted that.

[@annai157]

I use the NA27 UBTS most of the time, when I want a hard copy Bible. WHY? Because I was required to buy it for a class decades ago, and I have it on my shelf. I totally agree with your criticism of it. What I do like about it though, it its convenient size. I *never* color in my Bible - so I'm fine with thin paper and small margins, but I'm not so happy with a 20# Bible ; ) When I use an online text, I go for the version of the the Textus Receptus from the Greek Orthodox Church - because I'm Greek Orthodox (I believe STEP Bible calls it Antoniades 1912).

[@oswaldumeh]

My top two (and I own copies of those) are the TR text (annotated by Scrivener) and THGNT.

[@arcziramm]

NA 28. Thanks

[@kevinobie1]

Have you by chance reviewed the Tyndale House Guided Annotating Edition? Is that too much like a reader's edition than the one you presented here? Thank you as always for your great helps and videos! Blessings!

[@bma]

Not yet, but I do like it!

[@philipkennedy6006]

Good Stuff here… I remember a while back when I was reading R. F. Capon series on the Parables …he spoke of some Greek text that was a harmony of the Gospels …are you familiar with that at all? And what are your thoughts on that?

[@jesuschristbiblebiblestudy]

Anything you could reccomend for Logos? Thanks.

[@tinsaeresurrection1861]

what book did you recommend for Greek Exegesis seminar students?

[@raysalmon6566]

6:00 what we today call the middle east and all the way down into india as well and so greek attic greek particularly spread to all of these areas and bc of alexander's work and bc of the conquests he did attic greek became the language of government and even of culture and it became the language that every single place that he would conquer would end up having to work in often first by reading and writing but later on by speaking the language as well and as that happened the language changed even as far as from one location to another as different languages had different influences on the greek language itself so koine greek is this language this attic language that was spread throughout the world Koine Greek: What is it? Where did it come from? And who should learn it?

[@pierreabbat6157]

I've read the Majority Text, by Hodges and Farstad, for decades. It's a Byzantine edition with double apparatus, laid out to be read and not just to be referred to. There is, however, a typo which has persisted in the second edition: Romans has ΠΡΟΣ ΡΩΜΑΙΟΥΣ at the start of the book, but ΠΡΟΣ ΡΟΜΑΙΟΥΣ at the top of pages thereafter. What does copyright law say about quoting an edition of an ancient text? The MT has a copyright notice, but all the manuscripts used went into the public domain long ago.

[@bma]

I believe the individual volume copyright is the issue. This is exactly why the SBL Greek New Testament exists. Thanks for your comment!

[@---zc4qt]

What is the difference ( with regard to textual variant footnotes) between the Nestle-28 and the UBS-5?

[@bma]

Good question. The NA is designed for those who want a reasonably exhaustive list of major (and not so major) variants. The UBS5 provides a ranking system to suggest the certainty level of the text that has been rendered in the main body. It doesn't provide as many variants as the NA. This is helpful for translators who are considering variants and variant readings in their translation activities.

[@user-zw1il1xx6v]

First, I love your channel. Second, I found your remarks on the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (5:39 to 6:15 - although you did not mention the method by name) a bit misleading, as this method does not rely on ancient versions, as you suggested. You may be referring to 2 Peter 3:10 and the addition of “οὐχ" in the clause "οὐχ εὑρεθήσεται” - “will not be found.” While this emendation of the text is controversial, it is it is the result of the human editorial process after processing the Greek data accumulated and evaluated thru the CBGM. The CBGM itself only analyzes Greek data; the human editors, however, may incorporate other evidence. Since, as Metzger notes, εὑρεθήσεται in 2 Peter 3:10 "seems to be devoid of meaning in the context" (Textual Commentary, 2nd Edition, p. 636), the editors of the NA 28 have decided to make use of an emendation that does boast versional support. This, again, is because the data of the Greek tradition, by the estimation of the editors, appears to be faulty at this point. An excellent resource regarding the CBGM is provided in Peter J. Gurry, A Critical Examination of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method in New Testament Textual Criticism, New Testament Tools, Studies and Documents: Volume 55 (Boston: Brill, 2017). One is certainly free to prefer whatever Greek text and text critical methodology one wishes; yet, as you will no doubt agree, one should always strive to fairly represent other approaches. Thank you for your helpful videos and for always encouraging Christians to learn their Greek NT!

[@bma]

Thanks for your comment. Its been a while since I read up on CBGM, and I started researching TC issues for this video but found I was spending too much time on it and left it for another day. I will be coming back to TC at some point, so I'll cover it then. In the meantime, I'll read more of the works by Gurry, etc. Thanks for your comment!

[@mrtdiver]

While not found in any Gk mss. The reading "will not be found” (οὐχ εὑρεθήσεται): is based on a Sahidic text. The Greek text is not the sole representative of the Greek New Testament (GNT) in Nestle-Aland. However, I think the THGNT is only based on Greek texts. I could be wrong.

[@dag410]

I stay away from any translation of the Codex Alexandrinus. Too much doubt about its authenticity.

[@isomchapelle2956]

How one name a channel Biblical Mastery, when there are no original texts? Sounds more like Biblical Hearsay to me.

[@bma]

I'd love to understand what you're meaning. What were you looking for?

[@isomchapelle2956]

@bma Pardon my snarkiness. I respect you asking me what I meant. I am saying, there are no original texts of any of the scriptures. So how does someone know what was actually written? If you don't know exactlt what was written, how can you say it's inerrant? Which is why I'm asking how something can be mastered if it's not certain you're using the original words. Revelations 22:18 says, "If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book." So it seems like it's a big deal. Personally, I have reason to believe the Bible Christians use today is pretty close.