The Prophets

The Old Testament #4

by Nicholas King

Nicholas King's translation of The New Testament was published to huge acclaim. Church leaders, critics and readers agreed unanimously with the reviewer who described it as 'dynamite'.'The Prophets, the final volume of Nicholas King's translation of the Old Testament, takes us from the Major Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, through to 'The Twelve', the last set of books in the Old Testament, and sometimes referred to as the Minor Prophets. Also included are the books of Lamentations, and Baruch. Many translations of the Bible opt for a uniform style; they iron out irregularities and try to amplify the text or produce easy-flowing reading or modern English. Nicholas King's fresh rendering of the Old Testament is not only innovative, but also illuminating; it will also strengthen the faith of readers. His translation is of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew text, because that was the Bible that the New Testament authors knew. His aim is to keep as close to the original Greek as possible, frequently incorporating idiomatic or grammatical peculiarities. This results in a translation which is exceptionally stimulating, sometimes startling; readers will find that it shakes off the dust which often settles on passages that have become tired from over familiarity or frequent quotation. Nicholas King's translation is infused with raw power. Readers will gain new insights and find the Bible imbued with renewed meaning and vigour.

432 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 2013

About the author

Nicholas King is a lecturer at Oxford University. He is a well-respected New Testament scholar and has been working on The Old Testament a ground-breaking translation from the original Greek for the past few years and has also completed his New Testament Study Guides.

Nicholas King SJ was born into a strongly Catholic family in Bath, UK, and was educated at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, and St John’s College, Oxford, where he studied Classics. He had always enjoyed the study of Latin and Greek; in those days in the (perhaps rather odd) British educational system, it seemed quite normal that he started Latin and French at the age of 8 and Greek two years later. A series of good teachers made it natural to apply to read the subject at Oxford (as far as he can recall, he never thought of anything else).