Short Comments on the ALT Bible

Short Comments on the ALT:
2001

The following are e-mails I received in 2001 commenting on the Analytical-Literal Translation (ALT). The e-mailers' comments are in black and enclosed in "greater than" and "lesser than" signs. My comments are in red.

>Gary,

Since it's Christmas time, the second chapter of Luke is widely being read at this time. Knowing there are errors in the King James and other translations of the New Testament, I decided to check yours.

You have the same error in your verse where it says; "there was no room in the inn." The word "inn" is incorrect. It should actually be the "guest chamber." I know that traditions are sometimes very hard to let go of. But to be literal is literal isn't it?

That same Greek word is used twice where Christ tells Peter and John to go into the city and follow a man with a water pot into a HOUSE and then ask where the GUEST CHAMBER is. They are shown a large furnished upper room. This is the katalenua where there was no room for Mary and Joseph. It was not a public inn.

Thanks for reading this.
Don
12/24/01<

After some research, I see you're basically correct. I guess I missed this one. I will add the following to the ALT: Errata page:

Luke 2:7 - "inn" - change to "guest room [or, inn]." Note: The same word is used in Mark 14:14 and Luke 22:1 where it is translated as "guest room." And a separate word means "inn" [e.g. Luke 10:34]. However, the word used in Luke 2:7 can mean "inn" as well.

>You forgot to bracket [the] in Eph 1:2.

Greg
6/28/01<

Thanks for pointing this out to me. I, of course, can not make any changes to the hardcopy versions of the ALT or to the Acrobat Reader ALT as the text for them is now under the control of AuthorHouse. But I can correct the ALT text posted on my site and in the MS Reader eBook version I'm selling. So if you see any more typos, please let me know.

>I know its too late, but,.........

ACTS 19:2 he said to them, "Did you* receive [the] Holy Spirit, having [previously (see Acts 8,12-16)] believed?" But they said to him, "_But_ we did not even hear whether there is a Holy Spirit" (ALT).

I believe that the KJV has the meaning down correct here.

Acts 19:2

He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? (KJV)

Greg
5/17/01<

"having ...ed" is the pattern I generally used to translate both the aorist and perfect participles. It is the simpliest and least interpretive way to render it. What the KJV has done is made a decision as to how the participle is being used. This is very legitimate, and they could be correct in their interpretation. But it is just that, interpretive. See the discussion on participles in the section on Grammatical Renderings in the Companion Volume to the ALT Bible for more in this regard.

>Dear Gary,

Thank you, and may God bless you for all your work on providing the Christian community with the ALT! To address your request for comments about producing a simplified version of the ALT, I hope you will be able to publish a simplified version. If the Church only engaged in in-depth study, then the current state of the ALT would be sufficient; however, as you mentioned, a simplified version would be much more effective "for general and devotional reading, public reading, evangelism", not to mention memorization and meditation—activities which generally takes up a majority of the time a person usually spends in the Word, rather than in-depth study.

In any case, thanks again for your efforts, and may God richly reward you for it!

In Christ,
Jon
2/12/02<

Thank you for the kind comments and the "vote" for a simplified ALT. I am waiting until the ALT is published in hardcopy and I find out what kind of reception it before I consider starting a simplified ALT.

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