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THE SOVEREIGN CREATOR HAS SPOKEN -- New Testament Translation with Commentary Second Edition
Both the translation and the notes are the responsibility of Wilbur N. Pickering, ThM, PhD, being based on his edition of the Greek New Testament, according to the only significant line of transmission, both ancient and independent, that has a demonstrable archetypal form in all 27 books.
Wilbur N. Pickering is a Christian missionary living near Brasília, Brazil. He has a ThM and a PhD in Linguistics. Of those actively involved in NT textual criticism, no one holds a more radical view in defense of the inerrancy and objective authority of the Sacred Text. This includes the position that the precise original wording has been preserved to our day and that we can know what it is.
Dr. Pickering joined Wycliffe Bible Translators in 1958. After three years of preparation for the field, he arrived in Brazil in 1961, where he and his wife began the translation work with the Apurinã people. In 1996 he resigned from Wycliffe to pursue other interests.
For some time Dr. Pickering has felt that among the many hundreds of Greek manuscripts known to exist today, surely God would have preserved the original wording. After years of searching and comparing Greek NT manuscripts, he has concluded that God used a certain line of transmission to preserve that wording. That line is by far the largest and most cohesive of all manuscript groups, or families. It is distinguished from all other groups by the high level of care with which it was copied (Dr. Pickering holds copies of perfect manuscripts for 22 of the 27 books). It is both ancient and independent, and is the only one that has a demonstrable archetypal form in all 27 books. That archetypal form has been empirically, objectively identified by a wide comparison of family representatives, and it is indeed error free. As he expected, that error-free text is not seriously different from some of the other “good” Greek texts. Nevertheless he has done an English translation based on it.
Wilbur N. Pickering is a Christian missionary living near Brasília, Brazil. He has a ThM and a PhD in Linguistics. Of those actively involved in NT textual criticism, no one holds a more radical view in defense of the inerrancy and objective authority of the Sacred Text. This includes the position that the precise original wording has been preserved to our day and that we can know what it is.
Dr. Pickering joined Wycliffe Bible Translators in 1958. After three years of preparation for the field, he arrived in Brazil in 1961, where he and his wife began the translation work with the Apurinã people. In 1996 he resigned from Wycliffe to pursue other interests.
For some time Dr. Pickering has felt that among the many hundreds of Greek manuscripts known to exist today, surely God would have preserved the original wording. After years of searching and comparing Greek NT manuscripts, he has concluded that God used a certain line of transmission to preserve that wording. That line is by far the largest and most cohesive of all manuscript groups, or families. It is distinguished from all other groups by the high level of care with which it was copied (Dr. Pickering holds copies of perfect manuscripts for 22 of the 27 books). It is both ancient and independent, and is the only one that has a demonstrable archetypal form in all 27 books. That archetypal form has been empirically, objectively identified by a wide comparison of family representatives, and it is indeed error free. As he expected, that error-free text is not seriously different from some of the other “good” Greek texts. Nevertheless he has done an English translation based on it.
1217 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 17, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 20, 2020
Though I was surprised by some of his translational choices (really? "Wow" for Ἴδε?), I found this new translation to be a wonderful read. The bonus is that it is based upon the Majority Text. I used his text exclusively for my series of sermons through the book of Revelation. And I am glad that I did.
February 2, 2019
I have read through more than once and don't see an end to re-reading. His arguments in favor of the exemplars are interesting and consistent with most traditional Biblical positions for preservation. The translation is highly readable without worldly, doubtful, and non-Biblical "eclectic" idiotic selection of errata by wolves in sheep's clothing that they are pretending to be conservatives while obviously not believing in the inerrancy of the autographs and in fact choosing illogically to create or continue obvious errors. Their methodology sounds too much like everyone doing what is right in his own eyes, and so very often hubrisciously and crastly done to sell a product. they are more in love with newness as knowledge than in The Truth, and God help them appear so self-absorbed as to accelerate off the cliff and beckoning us to follow.
Whether you are or become an F35 priority or onlyist, a Byzantine priority or onlyist (holding a Majority Text view), or a TR priority or onlyist this work is informative, and as Dr Pickering states is asserted as possibly the most radical and conservative of views about Scripture and preservation.
Whether you are or become an F35 priority or onlyist, a Byzantine priority or onlyist (holding a Majority Text view), or a TR priority or onlyist this work is informative, and as Dr Pickering states is asserted as possibly the most radical and conservative of views about Scripture and preservation.
November 25, 2022
This is one of the best New Testaments I've read in my 75 years of life. Two personal observations:
1] I wish Dr Pickering had had the time to include the mss evidence quoted by the pre-Nicene writers in the ANF set. It would have been helpful to add that testimony weight to his thesis. I've begun doing this as I get time.
2] I also wish that he had attempted to use a more consistent English vocabulary. I often need to consult other reference books - my Greek Concordance especially - to see whether God was inspiring the same word or a synonym in the text, because Trench and Berry are only helpful at times.
I don't know how to switch this back, but my comments are for the paperback, not the kindle. The format says if I change this, I might have to retype it all, so...
The only other thing is the cheap binding. Not using signature binding shortly leads to pages falling out, and using wood glue on the spine only helps until I need to redo it.
1] I wish Dr Pickering had had the time to include the mss evidence quoted by the pre-Nicene writers in the ANF set. It would have been helpful to add that testimony weight to his thesis. I've begun doing this as I get time.
2] I also wish that he had attempted to use a more consistent English vocabulary. I often need to consult other reference books - my Greek Concordance especially - to see whether God was inspiring the same word or a synonym in the text, because Trench and Berry are only helpful at times.
I don't know how to switch this back, but my comments are for the paperback, not the kindle. The format says if I change this, I might have to retype it all, so...
The only other thing is the cheap binding. Not using signature binding shortly leads to pages falling out, and using wood glue on the spine only helps until I need to redo it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews