NT Wright's Kingdom New Testament

[leiterside]

I've been referring to this particular translation more and more and would LOVE to see this added. 

[Jimmie McCutchen]

The Kingdom New Testament: A Contemporary Translation

By: N.T. Wright

HARPERONE

This is the translation from his “New Testament For Everyone” series .

[Daniel Francis]

Yes it is available in the series but I would bet he is hoping for a more natural access like you would any other  NT Bible.... Is there enough demand for a stand alone version to be developed is something I cannot guess at. For me it is enough having it within the module but we are all different.

 

-dan

[Daniel Francis]

Mike or perhaps anyone else who utilizes this translation,

 

The Amazon page states:

In The Kingdom New Testament, author N.T. Wright, whom Newsweek calls “the world’s leading New Testament scholar” provides a fresh, vivid translation of the New Testament. This is The Message for a new generation. Not for a long time has such a powerful and authoritative new translation of the Scriptures arisen for Christians everywhere, changing the way we read the books of the New Testament. In The Kingdom New Testament, Wright achieves a closer match to the Scripture’s original Greek provides a more natural, readable tone to the readings—even while magnifying the vibrancy and urgency of the original works. For Christians worldwide, this stunning new translation of the New Testament from the author of Simply Christian and Scripture and the Authority of God is a crucial way to re-claim the message of the Bible.

 

 

Now the underlining is my emphasis the rest is as on website.... This got me thinking to his translation of the Beatitudes (see below):

 

 

1When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the hillside, and sat down. His disciples came to him. 2He took a deep breath, and began his teaching:

  3‘Wonderful news for the poor in spirit! The kingdom of heaven is yours.

  4‘Wonderful news for the mourners! You’re going to be comforted.

  5‘Wonderful news for the meek! You’re going to inherit the earth.

  6‘Wonderful news for people who hunger and thirst for God’s justice! You’re going to be satisfied.

  7‘Wonderful news for the merciful! You’ll receive mercy yourselves.

  8‘Wonderful news for the pure in heart! You will see God.

  9‘Wonderful news for the peacemakers! You’ll be called God’s children.

  10‘Wonderful news for people who are persecuted because of God’s way! The kingdom of heaven belongs to you.

  11‘Wonderful news for you, when people slander you and persecute you, and say all kinds of wicked things about you falsely because of me! 12Celebrate and rejoice: there’s a great reward for you in heaven. That’s how they persecuted the prophets who went before you.’

 

N.T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone Part 1 Chapters 1–15, vol. 1 of Accordance electronic ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 34-35.

accord://read/NT_For_Everyone#258

 

I am probably being far too literal, although the "blurb" did talk about a closer match to the greek of the NT, and translating μακάριος as 'Wonderful news' feels odd to me, I guess I am old fashioned as I do tend to like blessed but I am ok with happy, but curious for the logic behind this seemingly arbitrary translational choice, I know Wright says in his comments. " These ‘blessings’, the ‘wonderful news’ that he’s announcing, are not saying ‘try hard to live like this.’ They are saying that people who already are like that are in good shape. They should be happy and celebrate.…The word for ‘wonderful news’ is often translated ‘blessed’, and part of the point is that this is God’s wonderful news. God is acting in and through Jesus to turn the world upside down, to turn Israel upside down, to pour out lavish ‘blessings’ on all who now turn to him and accept the new thing that he is doing. (This list is sometimes called ‘the Beatitudes’, because the Latin word ‘beatus’ means ‘blessed’.) But the point is not to offer a list of what sort of people God normally blesses. The point is to announce God’s new covenant. " still doesn't in my mind justify the choice (I am most certainly no greek scholar). I am not trying to dissuade Accordance from going after this as a standalone resource or anyones usage of it, I am just wondering if anyone has lexical defence for this seemingly theological interpretative rendering?

 

-dan

Edited June 2, 2017 by Daniel Francis