About this Translation
First, what this version is not. It is not a radical new translation. It rests solidly upon older versions, retaining much of their familiar language and style. Every effort is made to convey the true sense of the original text in good, clear, but not necessarily modern English.
It is essentially a non-scholarly version for the non-scholarly reader, intended primarily for devotional use, rather than analytical study. It is based on the standard Greek and Slavonic Bibles of eastern Orthodox tradition, primarily the Greek, but with two additions from the Slavonic, namely the Prayer of Manasseh and 3 Ezra. The Prayer of Manasseh is appended to the last chapter of 2 Chronicles as it is in the Slavonic; and 3 Ezra is placed at the end of the Old Testament as it is in the Slavonic, but before 4 Maccabees, which is not in the Slavonic but forms an appendix to the Old Testament in the Greek.
The objective is to produce a version in good readable English that will honour the traditional style of older versions, as well as preserving the character and dignity of the ancient text. The Greek text is followed uncritically, just as it stands. Fidelity to the text is maintained as closely as possible, while good English sense is aimed at, avoiding both extremes of pedantic literalism on the one hand, and free interpretation on the other. Style is evolving as the project proceeds, and is frequently reviewed and corrected.
The order of books follows that of the Greek Bible, as do the arrangement and numbering of chapters and verses. Paragraphing follows the Greek, with occasional modifications. Capitalisation follows normal English usage, but is on the whole restrained. Minor textual variants between Septuagint and Masoretic are ignored, but where substantial rearrangement of content has occurred, this will be indicated. Occasionally, in the Greek, a passage will be omitted from the text but supplied, without explanation, as a footnote. Here, for convenience, all such passages are restored to the text, but differentiated by italic type enclosed in square brackets. Other features of the translation, its style, and presentation will be self-apparent to the reader.