[B-Greek] Wescott-Hort interlinear or NT
Paul Rembach
prembach at ourmail.ch
Thu Nov 3 11:31:07 EST 2005
Kat
To answer your question on the 'accuracy' of the "Kingdom Interlinear"
published by the Watch Tower Society, i.e. Jehovah's Witnesses, this is what
you will get. Unfortunately I am out of town so I can't cite any examples
from it.
The approach of the English in the interlinear is very literal. By this I
mean that a given Greek word in any given English translation would normally
be translated idiomatically. However the interlinear (in some or in all
instances I can't recall) breaks words down into their constituent parts
e.g. preposition and the word it is prefixed to, and cites the meaning of
each one separately, i.e. it is very literal. But I am going on memory only
and it is quite a while since I last looked at the English in the
interlinear text of the copy I have. Should you want an idiomatic
translation then you can go to the parallel text, the 'side panel' for that.
Now for the good news. What you will find in the "Kingdom Interlinear" is a
consistent translation. E.g. The Greek word PSYCHE will always be rendered
as 'soul' in the English. Contrast that with less literal translations
where you could find words such as life, person, and living being as well as
soul.
'Accuracy' is to a large extent subjective, as it depends on the purpose for
which you choose any translation. Having seen a number of your posts to
B-Greek, and from these getting an idea where you are in the process of
learning Greek, I think that the "Kingdom Interlinear" will suit your
purposes fine, as your current need is to have a WH text to read along with
the audio, and now and then you will need to look at the English. On the
odd occasion that you find a too literal rendering in the interlinear, you
can get a less literal = more idiomatic translation from the side panel.
In a nutshell, you will not learn any bad Greek from this publication.
Rather, for a person with your current needs, I think that the disadvantage
of a too literal translation will be outweighed by the advantage of having a
consistent translation, aside of course, from having the right Greek text
for using along with the audio.
Keep up with your Greek. I am sure that you inspire and motivate many who
subscribe to this list, but who are a little less determined than you.
Shalom
Paul Daniel Rembach
prembach at ourmail.ch
ORIGINAL MESSAGE
Does anyone know where I can purchase a Wescott-Hort NT?
I've heard that the Jehovah Witnesses are the only ones that publish a
Wescott-Hort as the "Kingdom Interlinear".
I'm not interested in getting into a discussion of the Watch Tower Bible
Translation or Jehovah Witness theology. All I want to know is if the
Kingdom
Interlinear has accurate English words under the Greek words, of if I will
be
learning bad GREEK from it. Not the translation in the sidebar! Just the
interlinear itself. Is it a good interlinear as far as an opinion of an
athiest
classical professor?
All I want is a Wescott-Hort to read along in, as I listen to the Phemister
and Tyler recordings of the NT, both of which use the W-H. I don't care if
it's an interlinear, just the Greek, or with a translation in the sidebar.
I
just don't want to accidently learn bad Greek if I see inaccurate English,
under the Greek as I'm reading along.
Kat Doe
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