Category: NLT Word Study

By Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee The words of a Bible text are vitally important, but there are other elements that play a role in how we understand the meaning of any text. Think, for instance, of punctuation. The original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the Bible did not use punctuation. As a […]

by Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee We all know that the King James Version (KJV) uses “thee and thou” language, and we intuitively know that the words thee and thou both mean “you.” But it might surprise you to realize that the KJV also uses the word you in many passages. Why is […]

Hebrew:  עָנָה נֶפֶשׁ (‘anah nephesh), כָּפַר (kaphar)English:   deny yourselves, make right by Jonathan W. Bryant, PhD, Senior Editor, Tyndale Bibles In late September or early October, the Jewish people celebrate Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This holiest day of the Jewish calendar, in which the Jewish people abstain from various practices, including eating, drinking, […]

by Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee If you compare two or more Bible translations, you will occasionally find differences in the breakup of paragraphs or major sections of the text. What’s going on? For starters, we need to recognize that the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts upon which our translations are based did not […]

Greek:      παράκλητος (paraklētos)English:     Advocate, Helper, Counselor by Jonathan W. Bryant, PhD, Senior Editor, Tyndale Bibles Sometimes when a word is being translated from one language to another, it can be difficult to find a direct correspondence in a single word. In such cases, the word in the source language (e.g., ancient Greek) carries a meaning […]

Greek:      διαθήκη (diathēkē)English:     covenant, agreement, will, testament by Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee The Greek word diathēkē (pronounced dee-ah-THAY-kay, with a soft TH, as in “thaw”) appears thirty-three times in the New Testament. In English translations, it is usually rendered as “covenant,” even though that word is not used much in everyday speech. […]

Greek:      Χριστός (Christos) English: Christ, Messiah by Jonathan W. Bryant, Senior Editor, Tyndale Bibles The Greek word Christos appears in the New Testament over five hundred times—not surprising given the association of the term with the New Testament’s central character, Jesus. Upon seeing the English transliteration of the word (Christos), it might seem obvious that […]

Hebrew:  שְאוֺל  (Sheol), אֲבַדּוֺן (Abaddon)English:     the grave, destruction by Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee The New Living Translation is careful to translate the meaning of the original language (Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic) texts rather than simply providing a word-for-word, literal rendering of those texts. This allows the reader to read the text and […]

Greek:      καρδία (kardia), ψυχή (psychē), διάνοια (dianoia), ἰσχύς (ischys)English:     heart, soul, mind/understanding, strength by Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee As recorded in Matthew 22:34-40 and Mark 12:28-31, one of the Pharisees questioned Jesus regarding which commandment in the law of Moses was most important. Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5 in his reply. In […]

Greek:      γραμματεúς (grammateus); plural γραμματεῖς (grammateis)English:     scribe; teacher of the law; teacher of religious law by Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee The Greek noun grammateus (plural grammateis) is used sixty-three times in the New Testament, almost always in reference to members of a group of Jewish religious leaders. The one exception to this […]