The Presidents’ Bible by Military Chaplains Available at Bookstores
The Presidents’ Bible is now published and released to the public. The Presidents’ Bible was set for release before the 2016 United States Presidential election since the Bible has become a key topic of discussion by some of the presidential candidates. The Presidents’ Bible is a deluxe, full-color, collector’s red letter edition, honoring the presidents of the United States who took a stand for Jesus Christ, Christianity and the Holy Bible.
It features photos of these presidents and the prayers they prayed. Additional features include the Founding Fathers’ quotes on religious freedom, and articles such as “The National Monument to the Forefathers” and “Leadership and Liberty.” Since the historical role of the President of the United States has been limited to that of Commander in Chief, The Presidents’ Bible has a military focus by including the Military Code of Conduct, Military Core Values, Military Creeds, Military Hymns, Military Oaths, Military Photos, Military Prayers by Military Chaplains, the Pledge of Allegiance, and The Covenant and Code of Ethics for Chaplains of the Armed Forces. Other articles relevant to the Office of the President of the United States and the United States Armed Forces include Church Creeds, Leadership Scriptures, The 7 Principles of Leadership, The Meaning of Marriage, a topical concordance, and maps of the Holy Land. Due to the significance of the military, the publisher, James F. Linzey, D.D., saw fit to use a new translation called The New Tyndale Version, completed by chaplains serving in the United States Armed Forces.
The New Tyndale Version of the Holy Bible was translated by an interdenominational council of Bible translators, comprised of military chaplains and civilian scholars and pastors. Their goal was to update The Tyndale Bible to preserve the legacy of William Tyndale for future generations throughout the English-speaking world. The Greek text used for the New Testament is the Majority Text. The translators are devoted to making a good translation better and ensuring that The New Tyndale Version is an accurate and responsible update of The Tyndale Bible.
The Tyndale Bible refers to the corpus of translation work by William Tyndale. His work was the first English translation from the Hebrew and Greek. Much of his Old Testament work was used in The Matthew Bible.
Tyndale’s New Testament work began in 1522, during the reign of King Henry VIII. He began with a Greek text compiled by Erasmus, which was derived from manuscripts older and more authoritative than the Latin Vulgate of St. Jerome (A.D. c.340-420). Tyndale was not given permission from the Bishop of London, Cuthbert Tunstall, and such a work was considered heretical. Only the Vulgate was sanctioned by Rome. So Tyndale went to the mainland of Europe to do his work in safety.
Tyndale used a variety of texts from which to translate. He used the third edition (1522) of Erasmus’s Greek New Testament (Textus Receptus or Received Text), and Erasmus’ Latin New Testament, and Martin Luther’s German version and The Vulgate. It is believed that Tyndale did not use Wycliffe’s Bible as a source to avoid Renaissance influence. It is also believed that Tyndale used the Hebrew Pentateuch or The Polyglot Bible, or even the Septuagint. It is, however, widely believed that he made much use of Greek and Hebrew grammars.
Many well-known clichés and phrases in modern English were derived from Tyndale’s pen as found in the early English bibles and many modern bibles as well, such as “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). Tyndale used “thou” rather than “you,” rescuing the word from obscurity. It is thought that Tyndale shaped the early modern English and modern English more than any other individual.
In 1535, outside Brussels, William Tyndale was arrested and thrown in jail for more than a year in the castle of Vilvoorde, known today as Filford. In 1536 he was charged with heresy and executed by strangulation. Then his body was burned at a stake. His last request was that God would open the eyes of the King of England, Henry VIII. His prayer was answered two years later when King Henry authorized The Great Bible to be the authorized version of the Church of England. The Great Bible was based largely on Tyndale’s translation, thereby enabling The Tyndale Bible to continue playing a large role in the Reformation, eventually impacting the British Empire. His translation was also used in The Geneva Bible, which was brought to the New World in 1607, brought on the Mayflower in 1620 to the New World, and used as the basis of the King James Version in 1604. The Tyndale New Testament comprises 90 percent of the King James Version New Testament, and 76 percent of the King James Version Old Testament.
For many years, the vision of the chief editor Verna M. Linzey, D.D., has been to update The Tyndale Bible to preserve the legacy of William Tyndale for future generations. The New Tyndale Version benefits the entire English-speaking world. The text used for the New Testament is the Majority Text (Byzantine Textform Greek New Testament by William G. Pierpont, Ph.D., and Maurice A. Robinson, Ph.D. who serves as the Senior Editorial Advisor of the NTV). The text for the Old Testament is the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Members of the translation committee include world-renowned experts such as Eugene C. Ulrich, Ph.D., Chief Editor of the Biblical Text of the Dead Sea Scrolls; Steve Herring, Ph.D., who teaches at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies; Blake Hearson, Ph.D., who served as the editor-in-chief of the Modern English Version Old Testament; and many others.
The dedication has been accepted by Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, to the glory and praise of Almighty God. We believe that the English-speaking world may continue to receive the best possible rendering of the Word of God by means of The New Tyndale Version.
Chaplain David M. Wagner serves on the board of directors of the Military Bible Association.
(Source: Christian Newswire)
