Bible Translation?

[stephendaniel]

There have been many posts on this subject, but if you'll bear with me, I wish to bring it up again:

Which Bible translation would you recommend to a convert? Some have said the Orthodox Study Bible is fine (my priest has said so as well), yet there seems to be a consensus that the OSB is very flawed and barely Orthodox. It is my own opinion that it is much better than the Protestant study bibles out there.

There are two other translations that have caught my attention and I wanted to see what you all think. One of them is the Eastern/Greek Orthodox Bible. I have read a few critiques about it (I think on another forum) detailing is errors and flaws... And while I know that human error is inevitable, I am often afraid that such error might detract from the truth of the Bible... Or that, in error, the truth might be distorted entirely. I do not know.

The other one is called The Orthodox New Testament, found at Holy Apostles Convent under Gregory of Colorado. Many people have talked about how this translation is wonderful... My concern is the that it comes from Gregory's group in Colorado. He was excommunicated from ROAC years ago and continues to act as a Bishop of the Church. This is why I am concerned, whether one can trust the materials that come out of a convent under his direct supervision. Again, I do not know.

Is it okay to purchase materials from a publisher or a shop under a church that is either excommunicated or in heresy? I have personally tried to avoid doing business directly with any shop obviously connected with World Orthodoxy, but am I going to far? I don't really know better...

I'm trying to find other perspectives in this. Can anyone relate to these concerns?

Thank you so much. Please pray for me, my family, my girlfriend Katia and her family, and my friend Sam and his family. Katia and Sam are close to me and they have been seeking the truth. Please pray that they may come to it.

[Ephrem]

Since you're a ROAC catachumen, you might be interested to know what Bishop Andrew of Pavlovskoye (our ROAC administrator here in America) said to this very question when I asked him about it once:

"The best psalter in English is the one from Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Boston. I like Mother Miriam's work on the lives of the Saints, but I do not think her translations of the Scriptures are readable or usable. ["Mother Miriam's work" refers to the work published by Holy Apostles Convent, and so is referring to their "Orthodox New Testament".]

For the New Testament use the King James version. For the Old Testament use the Bagster edition of the Septuagint.

Those are the best sources we have in English."

If you're interested in commentary, then Blessed Theophylact's commentary on the Gospels is what was commonly used in Russian monasteries before the revolution. It is the best resource in English for Gospel commentary. They have begun publishing his commentary on the Epistles recently as well.

[Mark Templet]

I agree. King James is not bad for the NT. I also like my Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton Septuagint. It is a great if for no other reason than its good transliteration value.

[Revnitel]

I like the KJV as it is based on the Textus Receptus or the Orthodox Bible in use at Constantinople in the sixteenth century. For modern translations I like the ESV.

[Matthew]

I agree with Ephrem: I use the King James for reading, but for interpretation I turn to Blessed Theofilact. For the Psalter I use the HTM version. And I have the Septuagint translated by Sir Lancelot Brenton.
I do not recommend the translations by Mother Myriam. They show a lack of understanding about translating texts. She is too literalist and makes the syntax too Greek, and has given a very unnatural and disturbing flow to the readings. It might be useful if you want to cross-check a passage with other renderings to get a different take on how the passage might be read if you are going deeply into a particular text. But for daily devotional reading, skip it. You are much better off with a professional translation meant for people who want the Bible in a truly English form for English readers, like the King James.

[Maria]

I agree with Ephrem: I use the King James for reading, but for interpretation I turn to Blessed Theofilact. For the Psalter I use the HTM version. And I have the Septuagint translated by Sir Lancelot Brenton.
I do not recommend the translations by Mother Myriam. They show a lack of understanding about translating texts. She is too literalist and makes the syntax too Greek, and has given a very unnatural and disturbing flow to the readings. It might be useful if you want to cross-check a passage with other renderings to get a different take on how the passage might be read if you are going deeply into a particular text. But for daily devotional reading, skip it. You are much better off with a professional translation meant for people who want the Bible in a truly English form for English readers, like the King James.

What translations did Mother Myriam do?

[Matthew]

She did the Orthodox New Testament and Epistles (two Volumes) published by Abp Gregory of Colorado. The big advantage of the texts is not the translation, but the patristic footnotes that interpret areas of difficulty every page.