I don't mean that people disagree withthe results particularly that happens everywhere. this hasbeen among the most controversial. In the list which follows, the versions are listed in alphabetical order.Īn additional note: Of all the articles in this Encyclopedia, apart fromthose which touch on science and theology. Metzger's The Early Versions of the New Testament: TheirOrigin, Transmission, and Limitations (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1977). Those who wish to learn moreabout the history of the versions are advised to consult a reference suchas Bruce M. These points will briefly be touched on, but the emphasisis on the textual nature of the versions. This essay does not attempt to fully spell out the history and limitationsof the versions. Whenproperly used, the versions are one of the best and leading tools of textualcriticism. But such variants usuallyare of a nature peculiar to the version, and so can be gotten around. It is true that the versions often have suffered corruption of theirown in the centuries since their translation. Inmany instances the text-types they represent survive very poorly or not atall in Greek. But others note,correctly, that these versions convey texts from a very early date. The role of the versions in textual criticism has been much debated.Since they are not in the original language, some people discount thembecause there are variants they simply cannot convey. Versions in Armenian andGeorgian followed, and eventually many other languages. Despite the lack of translations in antiquity,it is effectively certain that Latin versions were in existence by thelate second century, and that by the fourth there were also versions inSyriac and several of the Coptic dialects. The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible wasone of the very first. But eventually someone had the idea of translatingthe scriptures into local dialects (we now call these translations 'versions').This was more of an innovation than we realize today translations of ancientliterature were rare. In some areas it was the habit to read the scriptures in Greek whetherpeople understood it or not. And beyond the borders of the RomanEmpire there were peoples who spoke even stranger languages - Armenian,Georgian, Ethiopic, Gothic, Slavonic. In the east, some spoke only the Syriac/Aramaic dialects. In the west, there were many who spokeonly Latin. This was certainly the bestlanguage for it to be written in it was flexible and widely understood.īut not universally understood. Versions of the New Testament Versions of the New TestamentĬontents: Introduction * Anglo-Saxon * Arabic * Armenian * Coptic: Sahidic, Bohairic, Other Coptic versions * Ethiopic * Georgian * Gothic * Latin: Old Latin, Vulgate * Old ChurchSlavonic * Syriac: Diatessaron, Old Syriac, Peshitta, Philoxenian, Harklean, Palestinian, 'Karkaphensian' * Udi (Alban, Alvan) Introduction

Original text of new testament