Novum Testamentum Graece Et Latine - Greek/Latin New Testament

Rating:
Summary: Warning: This Is Not The Vulgate (Rather, the Neo-Vulgate)
Review: Don't let the imprecise terminology of the other reviews fool you--this book does not contain the Vulgate New Testament. The Vulgate is Jerome's standard Latin version of the Bible, the one familiar to literate persons throughout the Middle Ages, until modern vernacular translations took its place in common usage (relatively recently in some Catholic countries).

How nice it would be to have a good critical text of the New Testament in Greek (which this edition offers) opposite the real Vulgate. At one glance, you could take in Paul's original words (according to the most penetrating modern scholarship) and, at the same time, the form in which those words profoundly affected Western Europe for a millennium. In cases where the Vulgate is in disagreement with the critical Greek text, the facing-page format would make this obvious enough to the reader.

The above pipe-dream is NOT what this book offers. The Latin version is the "neo-Vulgate" and has been altered as necessary to obliterate any difference between it and the Nestle-Aland Greek text. Yes, the Latin here usually follows the Vulgate, and the apparatus will help you reconstruct the Vulgate, but it is dangerous, in principle, to regard the actual printed text as more than a crib for understanding the Greek text. (Outside of the New Testament, the neo-Vulgate's changes are particularly violent in the Psalter, where the traditional Vulgate Psalms--the very essence of Western Christian worship for so many centuries--have been done away with entirely because they are based on the Septuagint rather than directly on the Hebrew. A mess is also made of Jerome's work in the Prophets.)

If you want to read the New Testament of Dante, Cervantes, Montaigne, or Chaucer, you'll need to buy the entire Vulgate bible (ISBN 3438053039 is an excellent critical edition of it).

I am disappointed with the editorial decision here. The real Vulgate, with its historical significance (and even its textual authority, given the great antiquity of the manuscripts with which Jerome worked), is far worthier of being kept in print than a version that does not scruple to tamper with the Vulgate's charm and power. This edition does not serve its audience well--if we just wanted a mirror-view of the modern critical text of the Greek NT, why would we bother reading it in Latin?

Rating:
Summary: Novum Testamentum
Review: I am a student of both these languages and I have been wanting a bible in Latin and the original Greek for a long time.This has fully met my expectations. I like that the the diiferant languages are on separate pages instead of in columns: it is easier to keep from looking at the Latin which I know better! What a treasure.

Rating:
Summary: Warning: This Is Not The Vulgate (Rather, the Neo-Vulgate)
Review: If you are interested in both New Testament Greek and Latin this version of the Bible will be very beneficial to you in your studies. The Greek text is the lastest UBS/Nestle critical edition. The Latin version is also a critical edition. This might bother some people who had to learn portions of scripture in latin when they were children because this text is not exactly the same one they are familiar with. This text attempts to restore an older version of the latin than the one that was in use 40 years ago.

The Book itself is very well designed. The font is clear and easy to read, and the critical apparatus is clearly explained. Also it is very nice to have the Greek on one page and the Latin on the facing page. I believe this is far superior to interlinear or double column.

Also let me give you one good reason why you should own this book if you are a pastor. Often if you are wondering how you will be able to explain a particular Greek concept to your church, the latin will help. Reading a word or phrase in Latin can give you one more tool for exegesis.

Rating:
Summary: An Essential Tool for the New Testament Scholar
Review: If you are interested in both New Testament Greek and Latin this version of the Bible will be very beneficial to you in your studies. The Greek text is the lastest UBS/Nestle critical edition. The Latin version is also a critical edition. This might bother some people who had to learn portions of scripture in latin when they were children because this text is not exactly the same one they are familiar with. This text attempts to restore an older version of the latin than the one that was in use 40 years ago.

The Book itself is very well designed. The font is clear and easy to read, and the critical apparatus is clearly explained. Also it is very nice to have the Greek on one page and the Latin on the facing page. I believe this is far superior to interlinear or double column.

Also let me give you one good reason why you should own this book if you are a pastor. Often if you are wondering how you will be able to explain a particular Greek concept to your church, the latin will help. Reading a word or phrase in Latin can give you one more tool for exegesis.

Rating:
Summary: A defense of The Nestle-Land Novum Testamentum.
Review: It is a strange situation to have to defend the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine (NTG&L): it is the premier critical edition of the Greek New testament.

The editorial language of the Nestle-Aland edition is Latin: all footnotes, introductions, etc. are in Latin. This is an old tradition: it is not going to change. The Aland "Greek New Testament" is edited in English: if you hate Latin, you should use this edition, and refrain from commenting on the Nestle-Aland editorial choices.

Most people seem to be confused about what a critical edition is. A critical edition contains multiple texts, derived from many different manuscripts. The main text is what the editors assume to be the most likely original text, but there is always the possibility that they are wrong. In many cases choosing the "best" version is easy: all the most ancient papyri and uncials agree. In other cases the editors use their subjective judgment to choose the text. No assumption of infallibility on the part of the editors is implied! Alternative texts from different manuscripts are given in the footnotes, together with symbols representing the manuscripts that support them. The symbols for the various manuscripts are given in the little green card included in the book.

One needs to understand how to use the critical apparatus of the footnotes in order to get all the information contained in a critical edition. Learning how to use the critical apparatus is difficult enough that entire books have been written on how to do it. For instance the Alands "The Text of The New Testament" (ISBN: 0802840981) is mostly a guide to the use of the modern critical editions (Both the Nestle-Aland NTG and the Aland GNT). This is the most useful part of the book: the introduction to the rules of textual criticism is the weakest part.

Now let's discuss the Latin text of the Nestle-Aland NTG&L. Since the editorial language of the Nestle-Aland edition is Latin, it makes sense to use the best possible Latin translation: this is the neo-Vulgate. In fact, the Neo-Vulgate is the best translation of the GNT in any language.

But the Latin side of the NTG&L is also a critical edition. Besides the Neo-Vulgate, the text of the "Stuttgart" Vulgate (a reconstruction of the original Jerome bible) is included (in the critical apparatus), as is the text of the "Clementine" Vulgate. The Clementine is the bible of Cervantes, etc. The Stuttgart (ISBN 3438053039) is (close to) the bible of St. Jerome and St. Benedict, but it does not represent the Vulgate used in the last 500 years or so. It does, however, represent the text of the oldest Latin manuscripts.

If you are acquainted with the use of a critical edition, you can make a comparison of how these different Latin translations agree with each other and with the critical Greek texts. If you are not, you should learn!

I will give an example: 1 John 5:7,5:8.

NTG: OTI TREIS EISIN OI MARTUROUNTES, TO PNEUMA KAI TO UDOR KAI TO AIMA, KAI OI TREIS EIS TO EN EISIN.

Neo Vulgate: Quia tres sunt qui testificantur: Spiritus et aqua et sanguis; et hi tres in unum sunt.

Stuttgart Vulgate: quia tres sunt qui testimonium dant Spiritus et aqua et sanguis et tres unum sunt

Note that the Stuttgart Vulgate translation is better Latin, but the "in unum" of the Neo-Vulgate is a much better translation of "EIS TO EN" than "unum".

The Revised Standard Version (RSV) gives: There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water and the blood; and these three agree.

Note how much less literal the RSV is: "agree" is very distant from "are into one", which is the literal translation from the Greek. The RSV assumes that one refers to what is witnessed, not to the essence of the witnesses; the Latin translations keep the ambiguity of the Greek text.

Note also that "MARTUROUNTES" is a verbal adjective, not a noun: "witnesses" would be "MARTURES". Again the RSV translation is less literal than the Latin ones.

I have derived both Latin translation from the Nestle-Aland NTG&L, the Stuttgart from the footnotes.

NTG&L also has the Clementine version (again, from footnotes): quoniam tres sunt qui testimonium dant in caelo: Pater, Verbum et Spiritus sanctus et hi tres unum sunt. Et tres sunt, qui testimonium dant in terra: Spiritus, aqua et sanguis; et hi tres unum sunt.

I derived the text from the critical apparatus of the Nestle-Aland NTG&L: it is possible to make comparisons between many different Greek and Latin versions using this single book!

Note the insertions into the Clementine text. The same (corrupt) text is also included in the King James Version:

KJV: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

The Clementine (the Catholic Bible of Trent) agrees with king James, while the best Greek and Latin versions agree with each other and (more or less) with the Revised Standard Version.

In conclusion, the Nestle-Aland NTG&L has the critical Greek text from the best manuscripts of the New Testament and also several Latin texts. It contains not only the new Vulgate, but also the entire text of different versions of the traditional Vulgate.

Rating:
Summary: In defense of The Nestle-Land Novum Testamentum.
Review: It is a strange situation to have to defend the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine (NTG&L): it is the premier critical edition of the Greek New testament.

The editorial language of the Nestle-Aland edition is Latin: all footnotes, introductions, etc. are in Latin. This is an old tradition: it is not going to change. The Aland "Greek New Testament" is edited in English: if you hate Latin, you should use this edition, and refrain from commenting on the Nestle-Aland editorial choices.

Most people seem to be confused about what a critical edition is. A critical edition contains multiple texts, derived from many different manuscripts. The main text is what the editors assume to be the most likely original text, but there is always the possibility that they are wrong. In many cases choosing the "best" version is easy: all the most ancient papyri and uncials agree. In other cases the editors use their subjective judgment to choose the text. No assumption of infallibility on the part of the editors is implied! Alternative texts from different manuscripts are given in the footnotes, together with symbols representing the manuscripts that support them. The symbols for the various manuscripts are given in the little green card included in the book.

One needs to understand how to use the critical apparatus of the footnotes in order to get all the information contained in a critical edition. Learning how to use the critical apparatus is difficult enough that entire books have been written on how to do it. For instance the Alands "The Text of The New Testament" (ISBN: 0802840981) is mostly a guide to the use of the modern critical editions (Both the Nestle-Aland NTG and the Aland GNT). This is the most useful part of the book: the introduction to the rules of textual criticism is the weakest part.

Now let's discuss the Latin text of the Nestle-Aland NTG&L. Since the editorial language of the Nestle-Aland edition is Latin, it makes sense to use the best possible Latin translation: this is the neo-Vulgate. In fact, the Neo-Vulgate is the best translation of the GNT in any language.

But the Latin side of the NTG&L is also a critical edition. Besides the Neo-Vulgate, the text of the "Stuttgart" Vulgate (a reconstruction of the original Jerome bible) is included (in the critical apparatus), as is the text of the "Clementine" Vulgate. The Clementine is the bible of Cervantes, etc. The Stuttgart (ISBN 3438053039) is (close to) the bible of St. Jerome and St. Benedict, but it does not represent the Vulgate used in the last 500 years or so. It does, however, represent the text of the oldest Latin manuscripts.

If you are acquainted with the use of a critical edition, you can make a comparison of how these different Latin translations agree with each other and with the critical Greek texts. If you are not, you should learn!

I will give an example: 1 John 5:7,5:8.

GNT: OTI TREIS EISIN OI MARTUROUNTES, TO PNEUMA KAI TO UDOR KAI TO AIMA, KAI OI TREIS EIS TO EN EISIN.

Neo Vulgate: Quia tres sunt qui testificantur: Spiritus et aqua et sanguis; et hi tres in unum sunt.

Stuttgart Vulgate: quia tres sunt qui testimonium dant Spiritus et aqua et sanguis et tres unum sunt

Note that the Stuttgart Vulgate translation is better Latin, but the "in unum" of the Neo-Vulgate is a much better translation of "EIS TO EN" than "unum".

The Revised Standard Version (RSV) gives: There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water and the blood; and these three agree.

Note how much less literal the RSV is: "agree" is very distant from "are into one", which is the literal translation from the Greek. The RSV assumes that one refers to what is witnessed, not to the essence of the witnesses; the Latin translations keep the ambiguity of the Greek text.

Note also that "MARTUROUNTES" is a verbal adjective, not a noun: "witnesses" would be "MARTURES". Again the RSV translation is less literal than the Latin ones.

I have derived both Latin translation from the Nestle-Aland NTG&L, the Stuttgart from the footnotes.

NTG&L also has the Clementine version (again, from footnotes): quoniam tres sunt qui testimonium dant in caelo: Pater, Verbum et Spiritus sanctus et hi tres unum sunt. Et tres sunt, qui testimonium dant in terra: Spiritus, aqua et sanguis; et hi tres unum sunt.

I don't have a Clementine. I derived the text from the critical apparatus of the Nestle-Aland NTG&L: it is possible to make comparisons between many different Greek and Latin versions using this single book!

Note the insertions into the Clementine text. The same (corrupt) text is also included in the king James version:

KJV: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

In conclusion, the Clementine (the Catholic Bible of Trent) agrees with king James, while the best Greek and Latin versions agree with each other and (more or less) with the Revised Standard Version.

Rating:
Summary: The Scholar's Choice
Review: The N.T.G.L.Q. is the clear choice for biblical scholars. With the latest 27th edition Greek text beside the latest Latin vulgate, clarity abounds. I highly recommend going the extra mile and ordering the text with the Latin as well as the Greek, since one's knowledge of Latin will assist in Greek study. The binding is disappointingly flimsy for such a valuable work, but it is a German book, and the Germans are known for their fine bookbinding skills. Still, one would expect a nice leather, smythe-sewne binding. But overall, an excellent choice.