How to compare Greek text between translations?
Is there a way to compare the Greek texts used by different translations in Logos?
When I look at Matthew 5:44 in the NRSV, the interlinear shows the following Greek text:
δὲ ἐγὼ λέγω ὑμῖν ἀγαπᾶτε ὑμῶν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν διωκόντων ὑμᾶς
However, when I look at the same verse in the KJV, the interlinear shows a slightly different Greek text:
δὲ ἐγὼ λέγω ὑμῖν ἀγαπᾶτε ὑμῶν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς εὐλογειτε τοὺς καταρωμένους ὑμᾶς ποιεῖτε καλῶς τοὺς μισοῦντας ὑμᾶς καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων ὑμᾶς καὶ διωκόντων ὑμᾶς
Is there any feature in Logos that allows to easily compare the Greek texts between the different translations or to see which manuscripts the translations used? Or any other way to learn more about why the translations differ?
Comments
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Welcome to the foorums. The text comparison tool will compare the base Greek texts that are used for the Reverse Interlinears. It has been several years since Faithlife attempted to reproduce the precise text used by the translators i.e. what variants they chose. The Reverse Interlinear section of the Information Panel (open from Panel Menu or in library from the Information icon) will tell you which Greek text is used for that particular translation/reverse interlinear.
If the Text Comparison does not show you the expected difference, use the Textual Variants section of the Passage/Exegetical Guide to find the additional information available in your library.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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Is there a way to compare the Greek texts used by different translations in Logos?
No for actual eclectic Greek texts chosen by different translations. Yes for Reverse Interlinear alignment Greek texts: SBLGNT & Scrivener's TR
+1 [Y] Welcome [:D]
Thread => ESV Interlinear Using What Greek Text? includes Faithlife reply
The ESV is aligned to the SBLGNT text. It does not take into account the ESV translators' choices to use alternate readings.
Thread => Error in search for <Lemma = lbs/el/εἰρήνη> in Bibles with Reverse Interlinears includes Faithlife reply
This is not a bug. The reverse interlinear data (original language information) for most Bibles is based on the SBLGNT for the New Testament, and the LHB for the Old Testament. The lemma in question doesn't appear in that verse in the SBLGNT.
followed by subsequent Faithlife reply that included:
Why are the reverse interlinear bibles not based on the Greek text that actually stands behind them?
I'm not an expert on this, but my understanding is that those Greek texts aren't actually available. Each translation ends up being based on its own eclectic Greek text as the translation committee chooses different readings during the translation process, and only the major differences tend to be documented in translators' footnotes. (Sometimes the underlying Greek text is made available, as with Goodrich & Lukaszewski's A Reader's Greek New Testament, or Scrivener's GNT, but I believe both of those were "reverse engineered" back from the English translation, and not a product of the translation committee.)
We do not have the budget (or omniscience) to reconstruct each conjectural underlying Greek text from the English (or Spanish, German, etc.) translation as part of the reverse interlinear alignment process, so for simplicity we align everything to either the SBLGNT or TR based on the manuscript tradition the translation uses. This is just something to be aware of when performing Greek studies on a reverse interlinear: for the most part, you're studying the SBLGNT.
Searching Logos.com for "with Reverse Interlinear" => https://www.logos.com/search?query=with%20Reverse%20Interlinear&sortBy=Relevance&limit=60&page=1&ownership=all&geographicAvailability=all finds 114 results
The Authorized English Version (1873) with Reverse Interlinear includes: Reverse interlinear aligns the AV 1873 New Testament with Scrivener’s edition of the Textus Receptus
Is there any feature in Logos that allows to easily compare the Greek texts between the different translations or to see which manuscripts the translations used? Or any other way to learn more about why the translations differ?
Logos Blog has SBLGNT article => https://blog.logos.com/pastors-use-different-greek-text/ 10 May 2017, which includes variant insights.
Logos Wiki Logos Resource Reviews includes:
- UBS New Testament Handbook Series Key concepts to translate plus cross cultural comments and textual criticism
Chapter 2 of How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 4th ed. by Fee & Stuart includes several verse translation examples.
Searching Logos.com for Fee => https://www.logos.com/search?query=Fee&sortBy=Relevance&limit=60&page=1&ownership=all&geographicAvailability=all finds a number of Textual Criticism & Exegesis resources.
Searching Logos.com for Metzger => https://www.logos.com/search?query=Metzger&sortBy=Relevance&limit=60&page=1&ownership=all&geographicAvailability=all includes:
- The Bible in Translation: Ancient and English Versions
- A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament
Keep Smiling [:)]
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No for actual eclectic Greek texts chosen by different translations. Yes for Reverse Interlinear alignment Greek texts: SBLGNT & Scrivener's TR
The Reverse Interlinear section of the Information Panel (open from Panel Menu or in library from the Information icon) will tell you which Greek text is used for that particular translation/reverse interlinear.
This is very useful, thank you! I had no idea how the interlinears work, but aligning them to a handful of standard Greek texts makes a lot of sense given how many different translations (and eclectic Greek texts) there are.
If the Text Comparison does not show you the expected difference, use the Textual Variants section of the Passage/Exegetical Guide to find the additional information available in your library.
I hadn't looked at the Exegetical Guide (specifically the Textual Variants section) yet, but this is also very helpful in concisely pointing out textual variants in an easy way to understand.
Furthermore, all the details I could want are available in the various apparatuses, although in a very confusing syntax (which I'll have to study the documentation to understand).
Thank you both again for your help!
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