Category: New Living Translation

Greek:      δοῦλος (doulos)English:   servant; slave By Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee The word doulos is used 124 times in the New Testament. In the Greek culture of the New Testament era, the term generally referred to someone who was enslaved. English translations have often used the word servant to render doulos. But the […]

Greek:      ἀνάκειμαι (anakeimai)English:     recline (at table), be a dinner guest by Jonathan W. Bryant, PhD; Senior Editor, Tyndale Bibles; Bible Translation Committee When we hear or see the word recline, we might picture someone seated in a large, comfortable chair, pulling a lever, and leaning back as the top of the chair angles back. For […]

Greek:       singular:   ἀδελφός (adelphos) plural:       ἀδελφοί (adelphoi) English:     singular: brother; a person plural: brothers; brothers and sisters by Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee The Greek word adelphos (pronounced ah-del-FOS) appears 343 times in the New Testament—often in the plural adelphoi (pronounced ah-del-FOI). Its most common translation into English is “brother” or “brothers,” […]

by Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee If you compare two or more Bible translations, you will occasionally find differences in the breakup of paragraphs or major sections of the text. What’s going on? For starters, we need to recognize that the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts upon which our translations are based did not […]

Greek:      παράκλητος (paraklētos)English:     Advocate, Helper, Counselor by Jonathan W. Bryant, PhD, Senior Editor, Tyndale Bibles Sometimes when a word is being translated from one language to another, it can be difficult to find a direct correspondence in a single word. In such cases, the word in the source language (e.g., ancient Greek) carries a meaning […]

Greek:      διαθήκη (diathēkē)English:     covenant, agreement, will, testament by Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee The Greek word diathēkē (pronounced dee-ah-THAY-kay, with a soft TH, as in “thaw”) appears thirty-three times in the New Testament. In English translations, it is usually rendered as “covenant,” even though that word is not used much in everyday speech. […]

Greek:      Χριστός (Christos) English: Christ, Messiah by Jonathan W. Bryant, Senior Editor, Tyndale Bibles The Greek word Christos appears in the New Testament over five hundred times—not surprising given the association of the term with the New Testament’s central character, Jesus. Upon seeing the English transliteration of the word (Christos), it might seem obvious that […]

The New Living Translation and Tyndale House Publishers family mourns the loss of Dr. Philip W. Comfort who passed away on December 31, 2022, at the age of 72. Phil (as he was fondly known by all who knew him) was a member of the Bible Translation Committee for the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, […]

Greek:      μάγος (magos)English:    magi, wise man, sorcerer by Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee The New Testament uses the term magos in two different contexts: In Matthew 2, it refers to the magi from the east who came to visit the young Jesus, and in Acts 13, it is used to describe a sorcerer […]

Greek:      σάρξ (sarx)English:     flesh, human body, earthly body, sinful human nature by Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee The New Testament’s use of the Greek word sarx is both straightforward and complicated. The NLT uses a variety of words to translate sarx. In this article, these different English translations of sarx are marked with […]