The Texts of unfoldingWord

What are their origins?

Trusted vs. Trustworthy

This is a cardboard chair.

There are people who trust this chair,

and others who don’t.

Is it trustworthy?

How would you know?

The chair either is trustworthy or isn’t.

That is something that is objective, that can be measured.

But do you trust it?

That is something subjective.

How can you convince someone?



Trustworthy Translation

Not Trustworthy Translation



Objective (Reality)

The Hebrew Bible of uW

• The UHB is based on the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (OSHB) version 2.1. (https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb)
• The OSHB project is the Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC) with the addition of Strongs' lexical data and morphological data.
• OSHB is licensed under the Creative Commons 4.0 open license.

Differences between OSHB and UHB

• UHB uses ULT versification (KJV) instead of the Hebrew tradition. This facilitates the integration with the other texts, the tC tools, etc.
• In each instance of Ketiv/Qere, we have chosen one of the forms to put in the text, and we have put the other form in a note.
• In some cases we have chosen alternative readings of manuscripts other than the WLC. These include: Ruth 3:12; 2Sa 23:8; 1 Chr 9:4; Jer 2:21, 6:6, 8:6, 8:10 [x2], 15:10, 18:16; Nah 2:1.

Examples: Ketiv/Qere

• Gen 8:17 הוצא Nota: Q הַיְצֵ֣א “bring outside”
• Gen 27:29 וְיִֽשְׁתַּחֲו֤וּ Nota: K וישתחו “and bow down”
• (Almost all have to do with a change of spelling of the word)
• Rut 3:3 וְיָרַ֣דְתְּ “and you get off” Nota: K וירדתי “and I will go down”
• Rut 3:4 וְשָׁכָ֑בְתְּ “and you lie down” Nota: K ושכבתי “and I will lie down”
• It is not known why the Hebrew is like this. It may be an old spelling.

Examples: Alternative Readings

• Rut 3:12
• WLC: אָמְנָ֔ם כִּ֥י אם גֹאֵ֖ל אָנֹ֑כִי “It is true but rather I am a redeemer”
• UHB: אָמְנָ֔ם כִּ֥י גֹאֵ֖ל אָנֹ֑כִי “It is true that I am redeemer”
• 2 Sam 23:8
• WLC:  ה֚וּא עֲדִינ֣וֹ ^העצנו הָֽעֶצְנִ֔י “He was Adino the Eznite”
• UHB: הֽוּא־עוֹרֵ֧ר אֶת־חֲנִית֛וֹ “He raised his spear”

The New Greek Testament of uW

• The uW Greek New Testament is based on Alan Bunning's BHP: Heuristic Prototype Greek NT: https://www.greekcntr.org. It carries a Creative Commons open license.
• Alan compiled and digitized all NT manuscripts from 400 AD and before. It also included all the NT quotes from the early church fathers
• He wrote a computer program to sort out the differences, giving more weight to 1) age and 2) reliability of the manuscript family.

The New Greek Testament of uW

• The BHP is the prototype of this process - it contains decisions by computer and also by Alan.
• He came out with 500 different words from Nestle-Aland edition 28.
• In every place where there is a difference from Nestle-Aland edition 28, there is another critical modern text that supports it (it has the same difference).
• Very soon, we are going to change it to the text SR (Statistical Restoration; Restoration Statistical), done entirely by computer.

The New Greek Testament of uW

• The computer process has two goals:
• To be objective:
• Minimizes theological bias.
• It does not contain any conjectural amendment.
• Being transparent:
• The computer can compile a complete widget showing all the alternatives from all the manuscripts in each place, with the reason for choosing the reading included in the text.

Differences between BHP and UGNT

• UGNT uses versification of ULT (only difference: Acts 19:41)
• UGNT includes disputed verses and parts of verses (from later manuscripts), but in [brackets].
• The additional verses are: Matthew 16:3; 17:21; 18:11; 23:14; Mark 7:16; 9:44; 9:46; 11:26; 15:28; 16:9-20; Luke 17:36; 22:43-44; 23:17; John 5:4; 7:53; 8:1-11; Acts 8:37; 15:34; 24:7; 28:29; Romans 16:24.

Deficiencies of the UGNT

• We think it is trustworthy. But no one trusts him. It is not trusted.
• Who is Alan Bunning?
• Who is unfoldingWord?
• Should a computer handle the Word of God?
• Where are the scholars?

UGNT

confía en mí

Deficiencies of the UGNT

• We are in the process of creating a NT text that:
• Has a free license
• Benefits from the work of Alan and his computer
• Includes NT scholars
• That can be trusted more quickly between churches.

The Future: The OGNT

• This is called the Open Greek New Testament.
• A team of NT scholars is forming at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, led by Bill Warren, professor, NT text expert, and missionary to Colombia
• Biblica wants to publish it
• It is work of about two years (?)

Which is the best translation of the Bible?

• That depends on the purpose:
• Read aloud in church
• Study together with comments
• Use and give for evangelism
• read with your children
• Translate (Use to inform and give reliability to a translation)

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The Literal Text(ULT)

• The team is translating from Greek and Hebrew literally (word for word)
• It only makes the necessary changes to:
• do not violate the grammar of English
• say nothing wrong or misleading
• The purpose: to enable translators to know what the original Scriptures say

Example ULT: Romans 2:5

κατὰ δὲ τὴν σκληρότητά σου καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν,

and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

θησαυρίζεις σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς

But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart,

you are storing up for yourself wrath on the day of wrath

καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ Θεοῦ,

The Simplified Text (UST)

• Seeing the ULT and the original text, the team translates the meaning in the form:
• with simple grammar
• no figures of speech
• no abstract or verbal nouns
• using vocabulary other than the ULT
• with implicit information necessary for understanding
• Purpose: to enable translators to understand the meaning clearly

Example UST: Romans 2:5

κατὰ δὲ τὴν σκληρότητά σου καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν,

when he shows that he is angry and judges all people fairly.

καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ Θεοῦ,

θησαυρίζεις σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς

But instead, because you are stubborn and refuse to stop sinning,

God will punish you even more severely. He will do that at the time

Comparison: ULT/UST Romans 2:5

• Abstract Noun
• Figure of Speech

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Comparison: TLP/TSP Titus 1:1

I, Paul, {write this letter to you, Titus.} I am a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus the Messiah. God sent me to teach the people that He has chosen as his so that he trusts him more. I work to help his people to know what is true, so that they can live in a way that pleases God,

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness,

Παῦλος, δοῦλος Θεοῦ, ἀπόστολος δὲ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, κατὰ πίστιν

ἐκλεκτῶν Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας, τῆς κατ’ εὐσέβειαν

Ejemplo TLP: Romanos 2:5

κατὰ δὲ τὴν σκληρότητά σου καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν,

y de la revelación del justo juicio de Dios,

καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ Θεοῦ,

θησαυρίζεις σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς

Pero por tu dureza y corazón no arrepentido,

atesoras para ti mismo ira para el día de la ira