The Orthodox Study Bible is a translation and annotation of the Christian Bible currently in production by clergy and laity within the Orthodox Church. The text of the New Testament & Psalms translation is currently the New King James Version accompanied by Orthodox viewpoint commentary. The Old Testament is being directly translated from the Septuagint[1] using the New King James Version as the template, and will be accompanied by Orthodox viewpoint commentary.
The first version, containing the Psalms and the New Testament, was published in 1993 by Thomas Nelson. It is currently being published by Conciliar Press.
The Old Testament has experienced some production delays. It was originally expected by Pascha (Easter) 2007, but now the Old and New Testaments have been further delayed until spring of 2008. The Old Testament edition will include a new translation of the Psalms by Dr. Donald Sheehan of Dartmouth College.
Criticism
Despite positive endorsements by such prominent bishops as Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America) and Metropolitan Phillip (Antiochian Orthodox Church), some commentators have been critical of the results of the project that have been published so far. Critics tend to be concerned both with the version chosen (NKJV) and with the overall approach of the commentators. One review, printed in the journal Sourozh stated that the commentary "feels far too much like a piece of evangelical propaganda decked out in the trappings of Orthodoxy". It remains to be seen how future publications of the project will address these criticisms.
Alternate Projects
An alternative attempt to provide a traditional Orthodox study bible is The Orthodox New Testament by Holy Apostles Convent in Buena Vista, Colorado (under the "Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece"). This work is currently printed in two volumes (Vol. I: The Gospels, Vol. II: Acts, Epistles, and Revelation). Criticism of this work has tended to object to the stilted and almost too-scholarly rendition of the scriptural text. The same publisher also provides a New Testament study software. Many orthodox Christians have also objected to the fact that this version is being outside the boundaries of the worldwide Orthodox communion.
There is also the on-going work of Mr. Peter A. Papoutsis in his translation called The Holy Orthodox Bible. However, this translation is being released in sections and mostly as electronic books, but will eventually be release in a one volume hardcover edition in the next several years.
The EOB or Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible is a professional, scholarly and collaborative edition confirmed for full release in October 2007. It offer a new translation of the New Testament based on the official ecclesiastical text of the Greek-speaking Orthodox Churches (the Patriarchal Text of 1904) with extensive introductory and appendix material. The Old Testament is a revised and annotated edition of Brenton's Septuagint.
External links
- LXX.ORG: The Official Site of the Orthodox Study Bible Old Testament Project
- The Official Conciliar Press Orthodox Study Bible site
- Review printed in Sourozh
- Review printed in The Orthodox Christian Witness, Vol. XXVII, No. 18(1273)
- Holy Apostles Convent
- Holy Orthodox Bible - Peter Papoutsis
- EOB: The Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible
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