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Moffatt, New Translation (MNT) is an abbreviation of the title ''The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments, a New Translation'' by James Moffatt.


Description

In the introduction to his 1926 edition, Moffatt wrote, "The aim I have endeavoured to keep before my mind in making this translation has been to present the books of the Old and the New Testament in effective, intelligible English. No translation of an ancient classic can be quite intelligible, it is true, unless the reader is sufficiently acquainted with its environment to understand some of its flying allusions and characteristic metaphors. But something may be done and I am convinced, ought to be done at the present day to offer the unlearned a transcript of the Biblical literature as it lies in the light thrown upon it by modern research. The Bible is not always what it seems to those who read it in the great prose of the English version or indeed, in any of the conventional versions. What it is may be partly suggested by a new rendering, such as the following pages present, that is, a fresh translation of the original, not a revision of any English version." In beginning his work in 1901, he arranged the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
into what he perceived to be historical order and provided an original translation of the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
, ''The Historical New Testament. Being the Literature of the New Testament Arranged in the Order of Its Literary Growth and According to the Dates of the Documents.'' Moffatt's departed from traditional translations in several areas. Firstly, he held to the
documentary hypothesis The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Book of Genesis, Genesis, Book of Exodus, Exodus, Leviticus, Bo ...
and printed his Bible in different typefaces according to which author he believed had written each particular section. Secondly, he dated most books hundreds of years later than most theologians did at the time, which stemmed from his doubt about the historical accuracy of many of the biblical books (especially in the Old Testament). Finally, he rearranged the biblical texts (usually by switching chapter orders), based on his judgments about the content, authorship, and historicity of the texts. For example,
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
14 comes after John 15 and 16 in the Moffatt Bible. He raised objections from many scholars, but proved very popular and started a trend toward more paraphrased translations. His translation was used as a benchmark for accuracy by
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...
during his research for 'Reflections on the Psalms' (1958), and was utilized by
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
for quotations from Philippians in 'Strength to Love' (1963).


Bibles

* ''The New Testament a New Translation'', 1913 * ''The Old Testament A New Translation'', Vol. I, Genesis-Esther 1924 * ''The Old Testament A New Translation'' Vol. II, Job-Malachi 1925 * ''The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments'', 1926 * ''A New Translation of The Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments'', revised, 1935 * Shorter version, 1941 * Commentary (17 volumes), 1928-1949 * Concordance, 1949 *
2 Maccabees 2 Maccabees, also known as the Second Book of Maccabees, Second Maccabees, and abbreviated as 2 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which recounts the persecution of Jews under King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Maccabean Revolt against him. It ...
, included in Volume 1-Apocrypha of ''The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English'' edited by R. H. Charles 1913.


See also

*
List of English Bible translations The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Aramaic, Greek, and Hebrew. The Latin Vulgate translation was dominant in Western Christianity through the Middle Ages. Since then, the Bible has been translated i ...


References


External links


Innvista's MNT page
{{English Bible translation navbox, , state=collapsed 1922 books 1922 in Christianity Bible translations into English