NT Translations and Such

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the

Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.�

In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you.

By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the

Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King. Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Apendroth.

Welcome to No Compromise Radio ministry. My name is Mike Apendroth and today is the third show we�re doing.

I haven�t done a show in quite some time, but I recorded the Eight Temptations, then the

Pope and fake news, and then now, who knows what we�re going to do. My friend

Mark Christopher wrote a book several years ago, Day One published it, it�s worth the read for sure,

Same -Sex Marriage, Is It Really the Same? And Christopher, besides doing all kinds of great impressions, besides being a roadie, he also pastors a church in Cape Town, South Africa.

And I�m not going to talk about same -sex marriage today, but he was talking about words, interpretation, literal interpretation, that is a normal, natural way to interpret,

I don�t mean wooden, literal. And it just caught my eye because he said that there was a 2006 court case and here�s what they were debating.

The court case was about whether a burrito was a sandwich, which when you start talking about, you know, is a man a woman, is a woman a boy, is a dog a cat, you know, all these kind of things.

Okay, is a burrito a sandwich? Now some of the burritos I�ve had in my life kind of tasted like a sandwich.

I just was in Los Angeles and I said to some folks who were going to take me out to lunch,

I�ll go out anywhere really, they were going to buy and take me out, I said, �That�s fine, I�d love to,

I heard Ritz -Carlton has a nice lunch buffet.� No, I didn�t say that. I said, �But

I would prefer Mexican food because we don�t have great Mexican food in New England.�

Maybe there�s a little spot that I don�t know about. And I said, �I would prefer it not to be a chain. I mean, we have

Chipotle here and I guess you�d get something good at Chipotle, Pichotle.

So we went out and had a nice burrito sandwich. I can�t remember the name of the place and actually the meat was so tender, both the carne asada and the steak was so tender.

I mean, you know, sometimes when those chopped up big pieces of steak are in a burrito, it�s hard to chew and it�s hard to digest.

This was, it was tasty. And then they had all kinds of sauces and salsas, some really hot stuff that I really like because I always joke, and it�s not true, but I joke that hot salsa in New England is chopped up tomatoes with a couple onions.

I know it�s not true. Hey, I�ve lived here 22 years. Actually spending time in California recently at the

Shepherds Conference, ShepCon, I realized what a New Englander I am, not with my accent, but my mentality.

All these California people are superficially nice. Nice, although, but superficially nice.

Not the Christians, but other people. And I kind of wonder, what�s their deal here?

And then I went, Steve Pru has put in together a New England, like,

Shepherds Conference fellowship type of thing, and I sat in on that and was encouraged by lots of New England pastors, some pastoring up in Maine, 25 people.

God has His faithful servants in lots of places. Many of them we�ll never know about, but the

Lord knows. And then there was a guy from New England, and he was loud, louder than I am, and very opinionated, maybe more opinionated than I am.

And I thought, that�s my kind of guy. That was total New England. I thought, yes. So, back to burrito sandwiches.

Mark Christopher says, quote, �The judge in the case used the literal method of interpretation to determine his verdict.

The judge cited Webster�s dictionary to define terms, as well as using expert testimony from chefs and culinary historians.�

After defining words, looking at the historical precedent and establishing the context, he ruled that a burrito is not a sandwich.

One culinary witness in the case testified that to, quote, �call a burrito a sandwich, the notion is absurd to any credible chef or culinary historian ,� end quote.

Judge says no. November 10th, 2006, foxnews .com.

Is a burrito a sandwich? Is a gay marriage marriage? That is wild.

That is wild. This is under his section.

Deconstructionism, does the Bible really say that? In other words, what about hermeneutics, and what about deconstructionists hermeneutical principles?

Kind of like as Humpty Dumpty said in Lewis Carroll�s book, �Through the Looking Glass, when

I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean, nothing more nor less ,� as Chris would quote for us.

All right, what�s happening? If you want to write me, info at nocompromiseradio .com. Some people have taken me up on this offer.

If you want to buy some of the sexual fidelity books in bulk, we can work out a deal at about $8 each, if you buy 10 or more, something like that, and I�ll try to help you out.

I think the most that anyone�s ever ordered, somebody had a conference for sexual fidelity type of, you know, breakfast, men�s breakfast type of deal, and they ordered 100 of them.

That was pretty nice. And so then they charged, I charged $80. But I�ve got,

I think I�ve still got about 800 of those books around, sexual fidelity. So if you�d like to order 10 or more, fine, just email me, mike at nocompromiseradio .com.

And things go bump in the church, I�ve also got a lot of those copies. And that�s an excellent book to give out for new membership classes, new believers classes.

People use it, our college ministry here is using that as a textbook. Different chapter a week, grace, homosexuality, election, elders, a variety of different topics.

That, if you want to order 10 or more, I can probably do about the same, $6, $7, something like that, if you want to order 10 or more.

You can�t do that on the website, so you have to email me, mike at nocompromiseradio .com.

I�m still playing around with the idea, do I go to a couple shows per week and not do this 30 -minute format? Not quite sure.

Well, we�re talking about translations again, and there are 7 to 10 to 15, what�s the number here?

It says 7 translations of John 1, 1 to 5. Underneath this article, oh, there it is, by Jost, I made it sound like it was the wrong language,

Jost, I don�t think it�s Jost, J -O -S -T,

I think it�s Jost. Jost, I think that�s right, but I don�t know how to pronounce the last name.

And we were looking at some of these things, you know, the J .B. Phillips translation, �At the beginning

God expressed Himself.� That personal expression, that Word was God and was

God, and He existed with God from the beginning. All creation took place through Him, and none took place without Him.

�In Him appeared life, and this life was the light of mankind. The light still shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.�

It�s probably a good conversation to have, I think that�s a bad translation, by the way. Bible translations in general probably reignited some of the issues behind all this because at the

Shepherds� Conference they gave out the Preacher�s Bible, and it was the New American Standard 95. Remember the 77 had the �thous� and the �these� in there, and a couple of other things they had.

Then the 95 came out, and Lockman Foundation, as far as I�m concerned, just really was bad when it comes to helping promote and distribute the book that is the

New American Standard 95. Update. Therefore, I mean, that�s my favorite

Bible by far, and since ESV is a good translation, some spots better than NES, but overall

I don�t think so, they have just done a great job marketing. We switched over,

I don�t know how many years ago, preaching from the ESV, but I study too late at night, that�s why

I�m tired now. I study from the ESV. Well, the Preacher�s Bible came out, and I sat in a room with about 30 guys, and we had the

Steadfast Bible folks who were putting together the Preacher�s Bible and selling it.

They talked about the New American Standard 2020, and there�s an update to the

New American Standard. I don�t think I�m going to like the update. I mean, maybe I will like it more, but I�d like to know who�s on the committee to update it.

That�s why this is tying everything back together. I don�t want a translation of one person.

When I first started preaching through James, I thought, I�m going to just have my own interpretive translation and I�ll work on that, not to sell, but just if I go back to the passage.

There�s nothing wrong with that. You do that when you do Acts of Jesus. But why

I prefer to have a Bible translation committee, everyone cannot be an expert on everything.

Right? This is Virginia Slims, you can have it all, baby, and that was a lie that we told women 30 years ago, and you�re going to be a great mother and a great corporate exec at the same time.

I know somebody�s going to get mad, but you just can�t do everything. Right? You just cannot do everything and then have a great workout routine and then have a great bunch of books you�re writing and have a great this, that, and the other.

You just cannot do it all well. Some people are good at poetry, some are good at prose, some are good at Hebrew, some are good at Aramaic.

Remember, there�s a few verses in the Old Testament in Aramaic. Some are really good at Greek, some are good in New Testament theology.

I mean, it�s not just hermeneutics, it�s, you know, understanding theological contours of biblical theology, writers� nuances, understanding what the writer of Hebrews was trying to do and was he influenced by Pauline theology.

That�s why if it�s J .B. Phillips or if it�s, what�s the new one with the guy doing it,

Golden Gay, I don�t want just one person doing that. And you say, �Yeah, but what about Tyndale ?�

Okay, if you�re as good as Tyndale, go right ahead. But that argument, you know, the exception proves the rule.

People say, �Well, Spurgeon didn�t go to seminary and neither did Lloyd -Jones.� Okay, and you are implying what?

What are you implying? What about this preacher�s college that Spurgeon, Spurgeon even knew,

I�m sure he knew how gifted he was, and he realized that other people weren�t as gifted and they needed to go to a preacher�s school, a finishing school.

Oh, by the way, speaking of finishing school, hopefully it�ll be out in the next couple months. As many of you know,

I help the Master�s Seminary, and I help critique sermons that the doctoral students send in.

And I also teach a preaching class in Europe and sometimes for Southern Seminary.

So I like preaching classes and I like to help students become better preachers. That�s easier than becoming a better one myself.

Anyway, there are some students that can�t, there are some pastors that want to have their preaching refined but can�t go spend $25 ,000, $30 ,000 in a doctoral program at Southern or Master�s or, so what do they do?

Anyway, I�m going to, for a fee, study a sermon, write up a little critique,

Skype the pastor for an hour, and pretty much do what I do for the Master�s Seminary but for anyone who would like some help.

So maybe you�re at a church and you think, you know, our pastor could use a little critique and help. There�s a very interesting way you�re going to have to go about this by telling him, but for a fee, they can send a video to me.

I�ll watch it. I usually watch them twice. Then I Skype the person, then

I write a follow -up email, and then I have them put those things into practice and I watch it one more time, a new one, and that will be me.

That�ll be Sermon Critique. I actually have the website already, sermoncritique .com. There you go, how about that?

In the beginning, the Word existed, and the Word was face to face with God. Yea, the Word was God Himself.

He is the one who was face to face with God in the beginning. It was through Him that everything came into existence, and apart from Him, not a single thing came into existence.

It was by Him that faith began to exist, and that light was the light of mankind. So the light continues to shine in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it.

Charles Williams, the Williams New Testament. Again, we�ve got one person, even though he was a

Greek professor, you�ve got this one person, and their strengths you get and their weaknesses you get, alright?

What else do we have? Let�s do Tyndale�s, since we like William Tyndale.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. It�s going to sound very familiar, because of course

King James basically came from this. And the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by it, and without it was nothing that was made. And it was life, and the life was light of men.

And the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness comprehended it not. How about Wesley?

In the beginning existed the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.

You can tell he took that from Tyndale. All things were made by him, and without him was not one single thing made that was made.

In him was life, and the life was light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness, but the darkness perceiveth it not.

Well, there you have it. Heinz Kassier, he�s got one here, but I think

I�m going to skip that one. What about the First Nations version?

Hmm. They�re translating

Luke 22. I�m real scared. First Nations version.

Terry Wildman thought of the idea, and he collaborated with Native Americans.

First Nations. See? Twenty -five different tribes. FirstNationVersion .com.

It says, �By tradition, First Nations people are oral storytellers.

The First Nations version is retelling of the Creator�s story, or the Scriptures, in the tradition of the storytellers of these oral cultures.

Many of the First Nations tribes still resonate with the cultural and linguistic thought patterns found in their original tongues.

This way of speaking, with its simple yet profound beauty and rich cultural idioms, still resonates in the hearts of the

First Nations people.� Okay. Now, before I read this,

I have to sit up straight because I�m about ready to fall off my chair.

If you want to pray for me, I�m going to have a blood test. I have them every three months for the prostate cancer update.

Let�s hope that it�s eradicated. First Nations Version, Luke 22, 14 to 19.

I�m telling you where it is because you�ll never know where it was, is, or was to be. I can�t make this up.

You ready? You�re sitting on the edge of your seats. �When it was time for the ceremonial meal to begin,

Creator sets free� that�s all capital �C -S -F.�

Parentheses �Jesus.� So what�s his name? Creator Sets Free. That�s Jesus�s name,

C -S -F. �When it was time for the ceremonial meal to begin,

Creator sets free, and twelve message bearers sat down around a table. Creator sets free, looked in the faces of his followers.

�How I have longed to sit and eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer ,� he said. �He then lifted up a cup of wine, gave thanks for it, and said, �Take this and share it with one another.�

The cup was then passed from Creator Sets Free.� This is like World Be Free.

Lloyd Free of the Seventy -Six just changed his name to World Be Free. Meta -narrative peace.

That would have been it. Meta -narrative world peace. Meta -world peace narrative.

That�s it. Meta -world peace narrative and twelve message bearers were sitting around, reclining at table.

All right. �Creator sets free, said to them, �Listen to me closely. I will not drink from the fruit of this vine again until it finds its full meaning in the land of Creator�s good road.�

The land of the Creator�s� Oh, man.

Who�s trying to text me right now? Let�s find out. Okay.

All right. Well, when

Creator Sets Free, then, �Ain�t that a kick in the head ?�

The land of Creator�s good road. Wow. �During the meal,

Creator Sets Free took some of the bread, lifted it up and gave thanks. He broke it into pieces, gave some to each of his followers and said, �This is my body, my gift to you.

Take it and eat it. Do this to remember me.� They all passed the bread around the table and ate it with wondering hearts because this was something new.

Creator Sets Free was showing his followers that this ancient ceremony was finding its full meaning in him.

�In the same way, after the meal was over, he took a cup of wine, lifted it up and gave thanks. He gave it to his followers and said, �This cup of wine is for the new peace treaty .�

Oh, man.

Oh, it is my lifeblood poured out for you. This is exactly why we need more translators.

You know, it's like the people translating lamb as, you know, field mouse or something because there's no lambs where they live.

Well then, still be faithful to translate. And then when you describe it, if someone has never seen a lamb, then you describe what this four -legged creature looks like.

And it's like a goat except it's fluffy and it's like, you know, it's a quadruped that has, you know, cotton growing on it.

How stupid can we get? Oh, sad.

It's really, it's sad. The new covenant and now it's turned into the new peace treaty?

Oh, well. Richmond Lattimore, the

New Testament, North Point, 1966. He translated the

Iliad and the Odyssey and some of the other things in the New Testament, not like the

Odyssey and the Iliad are part of the New Testament, but here's what it says here. Let's see how this sounds, maybe a little better.

And he said to them, �I greatly desire to eat the Passover dinner with you before my suffering, for I tell you that I shall not eat of it until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of God.�

And he accepted a cup and gave thanks and said, �Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I tell you, I will not drink of the produce of the vine until, sorry, from now until the kingdom of God arrives.�

And he took a loaf and gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying, �This is my body, which is given for your sake.

Do this in remembrance of me.� And so too with the cup after dinner saying, �This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for your sakes.�

Or if you want the David Stern Jewish New Testament, then we could say things like, �And taking a piece of matzah, he made the barakah, broke it, gave it to them and said, �This is my body.�

I have really wanted so much to celebrate this Seder with you before I die.

Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio, New Testament translations that you've never heard of,

First Nations version. I'm going to start calling myself Creature Sets Free, not the

Creator. I want to set you free from false translations is what I want to do.

That's what I want to do. All right, well, we started off talking about burritos and sandwiches.

What if you had a burrito sandwich and you were reading the

First Nations translation and you started to gag and you started to joke, and then

Dean Martin started playing and you realize it was a matzah, a matzer.

Oh, well. Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio. You can write us, info at nocompromiseradio .com.

Or if you want to order some of those books, mike at nocompromiseradio .com. Tell your friends. We're on iTunes.

Give us a rating, a ranking, a numbering. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of God's Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

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