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Darkness to Light - Vol. III, No.2

Darkness to Light
Volume 3, Number 2
2005

Presented by Darkness to Light Web site
Director: Gary F. Zeolla

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ALT2 Announcement

The second edition of the Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament is now available in Microsoft Reader® eBook format! Click her for details. The paperback and hardback editions should be available by April 2005.

Special upgrade offer! If you purchased any version of the first edition of the ALT, for a limited time, you are eligible for a special "upgrade" price of 1/3 off for the second edition in the Microsoft Reader® eBook version. Click here for details.

The Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Second Edition (ALT) is the ideal Bible version for personal Bible study. Its name reflects its main features.

"Literal" refers to the ALT being a word for word translation. All words in the original Greek text are translated. The original grammar is retained as much as possible. Words added for clarity are bracketed.

"Analytical" refers to the detailed "analysis" done on the grammar of the text, which is then translated in way that brings out "nuances" often missed in other translations. "Analytical" also refers to aids included within the text which enable the reader to "analyze" and understand the text.

The ALT is based on the most up-to-date and accurate Greek Text, the Byzantine Majority Text: Second Edition.

Sample Passages

Abbreviations and Notations

Below are the meanings of abbreviations and notations seen in the following excerpts from the second edition of the Analytical-Literal Translation.

In Brackets:

[the] - Words added for clarity are bracketed.

[Isaiah 7:14] - Reference for the preceding OT quote. The quote itself is in italics.

fig. - Possible figurative meaning or paraphrase of preceding literal translation.

i.e. - Explanatory note ("that is" or "in explanation").

or - Alternative translation of the preceding word or phrase.

see - Cross reference.

Miscellaneous:

but - Indicates the use of the Greek strong adversative (alla) instead of the weak adversative (de, translated as "but" when used in an adversative sense).

you* - Indicates the original is plural (also, your*). With no asterisk the second person pronoun is singular.

you - Indicates the pronoun is emphasized in the Greek text (also, I, he, she, etc.).

Mark 15:1-39

        ¹And immediately, in the early morning, the chief priests having created a plot [or, having held a consultation] with the elders and scribes and the whole High Council [or, Sanhedrin], having bound Jesus, they led [Him] away and handed [Him] over to Pilate. ²And Pilate questioned Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" So answering, He said to him, "You are saying [it]." ³And the chief priests were accusing Him [of] many [things]. ⁴Then Pilate again questioned Him, saying, "You do not answer anything, do You? Look [at] how many [things] they testify against You!" ⁵But Jesus no longer answered anything, with the result that Pilate was amazed.

        ⁶Now at [the] feast he would release to them one prisoner, whomever they would request. ⁷And [there] was the [one] being called Barabbas, having been bound with the fellow insurrections, who had committed murder in the insurrection. ⁸And the crowd having cried out, began to be asking [him to do] just as he would always do for them. ⁹But Pilate answered to them, saying, "Do you* desire [that] I release to you* the King of the Jews?" ¹⁰For he knew that because of envy the chief priests had handed Him over. ¹¹But the chief priests shook up [fig., incited] the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them.

        ¹²So Pilate answering, again said to them, "What then do you* desire [that] I should do to [the One] whom you* call King of the Jews?" ¹³Then they again cried out [or, they shouted back], "Crucify Him!" ¹⁴But Pilate said to them, "But what evil did He do?" But they cried out [or, shouted] all the more, "Crucify Him!"

        ¹⁵So Pilate, because he was wanting to do [what would] satisfy the crowd, released to them Barabbas. And he handed over Jesus--after having [Him] beat with a whip--so that He should be crucified. ¹⁶Then the soldiers led Him away inside the court, which is [called the] Fortified Palace [or, Praetorium], and they call together the entire garrison. ¹⁷And they clothe Him with a purple robe, and having woven a victor's wreath [or, crown] of thorns, they put [it] on Him. ¹⁸Then they began to be saluting Him, "Hail, the King of the Jews!" ¹⁹And they kept beating His head with a reed and kept spitting on Him, and having placed the knee [fig., having knelt down], they began prostrating themselves in [mock] reverence before Him.

        ²⁰And when they [had] ridiculed Him, they stripped the purple robe off Him and clothed Him in His own garments. And they led Him out so that they should crucify Him. ²¹And they forced someone passing by into service--Simon, a Cyrenian, coming from [the] countryside (the father of Alexander and Rufus)--so that he should carry His cross. [see Acts 19:33; Rom 16:13] ²²Then they bring Him to the place [called] Golgotha (which is, having been translated, "Place of a Skull)."

        ²³And they tried giving Him wine having been flavored with myrrh to drink, but He did not take [it]. ²⁴And having crucified Him, they divide His garments, casting a lot on them [to determine] who should take what. ²⁵Now it was the third hour [i.e., 9:00 a.m.] when they crucified Him. ²⁶And the inscription of the accusation against Him had been inscribed--"The King of the Jews."

        ²⁷And they crucify two robbers [or, insurrectionists] with Him, one on [His] right hand, and one on His left. ²⁸And the Scripture was fulfilled, the one saying, "And He was numbered with lawless ones." [Isaiah 53:12]

        ²⁹And the ones passing by were deriding Him, shaking their heads, and saying, "Ha! The One tearing down the temple and in three days building [it]! ³⁰Save Yourself, and come down from the cross!" ³¹And likewise also the chief priests mocking [Him] to one another, along with the scribes, were saying, "Others He saved; Himself He is not able to save! ³²The Christ! The King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross so that we shall see and believe in Him." And the ones being crucified with Him were insulting Him.

        ³³Now the sixth hour [i.e., 12:00 noon] having come, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour [i.e., 3:00 p.m.]. ³⁴And at the ninth hour, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, saying [in Aramaic], "Eloi, Eloi, lima sabachthani?"--which is, having been translated, "My God, My God, why did You abandon Me?" [Psalm 22:1] ³⁵And some of the ones having stood by, having heard, said, "Listen! He is calling Elijah!" ³⁶So one [of them] having ran and having filled a sponge with wine vinegar and having put [it] around a reed, began giving [it] to Him to drink, saying, "Leave [Him] alone! Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down."

        ³⁷But Jesus having released [fig., uttered] a loud cry, breathed His last. ³⁸Then the veil [or, curtain] of the sanctuary was torn in two, from top to bottom! ³⁹And the centurion, the one having stood opposite Him, having seen that, having cried out in such a manner, He breathed His last, said, "Truly this Man was God's Son!"

John 20:1-31

        ¹Now on the first [day] of the week [i.e. Sunday], Mary the Magdalene goes [or, comes] early in the morning ([there] being yet darkness) to the tomb, and she sees the stone having been taken away from the tomb. ²Therefore, she runs and goes to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus was affectionately loving, and she says to them, "They took away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him!"

        ³So Peter went out, and the other disciple, and they began going to the tomb. ⁴Now the two were running together, and the other disciple ran ahead more quickly than Peter and came first to the tomb. ⁵And having stooped down, he sees the linen strips lying, although he did not enter. ⁶Then Simon Peter comes, following him, and he entered into the tomb. And he looks upon the linen strips lying [there], ⁷and the facecloth which was on His head not lying with the linen strips, but apart, having been rolled up in one place.

        ⁸So then the other disciple, the one having come first to the tomb, also entered, and he saw and believed [or, was convinced]. ⁹For they did not yet know the Scripture, that it is necessary [for] Him to rise again from [the] dead. ¹⁰So the disciples went away again to themselves [fig., to their own homes].

      ¹¹Now Mary was standing outside facing the tomb, weeping. Then, as she was weeping, she stooped down into the tomb. ¹²And she looks upon two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been lying. ¹³And they say to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She says to them, "Because they took away my Lord, and I do not know where they put Him."

        ¹⁴And these things having said, she was turned to the [things] behind and sees Jesus having stood [there], but she did not know that it is Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus says to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" That one, supposing that He is the gardener, says to Him, "Lord [or, Sir], if You carried Him away, tell me where You put Him, and I will take Him away."

        ¹⁶Jesus says to her, "Mary!" That one, having been turned, says to Him, "Rabbouni!" (which is saying, "Teacher"). ¹⁷Jesus says to her, "Stop holding [or, clinging to] Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. But be going to My brothers, and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your* Father, and [to] My God and your* God.'" ¹⁸Mary the Magdalene comes reporting to the disciples that she has seen the Lord, and these things He said to her.

        ¹⁹So it being evening on that day, the first [day] of the week, and the doors having been shut [or, locked] where the disciples were assembled, because of the fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle [of them] and says to them, "Peace to you*!" ²⁰And having said this, He showed His hands and side to them. Therefore, the disciples rejoiced, having seen the Lord. ²¹So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you*. Just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you*." ²²And having said this, He breathed on [them] and says to them, "Receive [the] Holy Spirit. ²³If any of you* forgive their sins, they have been forgiven to them; if any of you* retain [their sins], they have been retained."

        ²⁴But Thomas, one of the twelve, the one being called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and I put my finger into the mark of the nails, and I put my hand into His side, by no means shall I believe [or, be convinced]."

        ²⁶And after eight days, His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus comes, the doors having been shut, and He stood in the middle [of them] and said, "Peace to you*!" ²⁷Then He says to Thomas, "Be bringing your finger here and see My hands, and be bringing your hand and put [it] into My side, and become not unbelieving, but believing!" ²⁸And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" ²⁹Jesus says to him, "Because you have seen Me, you have believed [or, have been convinced]; happy [or, blessed] [are] the ones not having seen yet having believed."

        ³⁰Now indeed many other signs Jesus also did in the presence of His disciples which have not been written in this scroll. ³¹But these have been written so that you* shall believe [or, be convinced] that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so that believing you* shall be having life in His name.

Acts 14:8-18

        ⁸And a certain man in Lystra, powerless in the feet, was sitting, lame from [the] womb of his mother, who had never walked. ⁹This [man] heard Paul speaking, who, having looked intently on him and having seen that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰said with a loud voice, "Stand up properly on your feet!" And he began leaping and walking!

        ¹¹So the crowds having seen what Paul did, raised their voice, saying in Lycaonian, "The gods, having become like men, came down to us!" ¹²And they began calling Barnabas Zeus [i.e. the supreme Greek god] and Paul Hermes [i.e. the messenger of the Greek gods], since he was the leader of the word [fig,. the chief speaker]. ¹³Then the priest of Zeus, the one being before their city, having brought oxen and wreaths [of flowers] to the gates, together with the crowds, [was] intending to be sacrificing [them to Paul and Barnabas].

        ¹⁴But the apostles Barnabas and Paul having heard, having torn their robes, rushed into the crowd, crying out ¹⁵and saying, "Men, why are you* doing these [things]? We also are human, like in every way to you*, proclaiming the Gospel [in order for] you* to be turning from these useless [things] to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the [things] in them, ¹⁶who in the past generations allowed all the nations to be going in their own ways; ¹⁷and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, doing good, giving rains to you* from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying our hearts [fig., inner desires] with food and gladness." ¹⁸Even [with] saying these [things], they scarcely restrained the crowds from sacrificing to them.

Ephesians 2:1-10

        ¹And you* being dead in transgressions and sins, ²in which at one time you* walked about [fig., conducted yourselves] according to the age [fig., the practices] of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, of the spirit of the one now supernaturally working in the sons [and daughters] of disobedience; ³among whom also we at one time lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts [fig., senses], and we were by nature children of wrath, as also the others. ⁴But God, being rich [fig., abundant] in mercy, because of His great love [with] which He loved us, ⁵even while we were dead in transgressions, made us to live together with Christ (by grace you* have been saved), ⁶and He raised [us] up together and seated [us] together in the heavenlies [or, heavenly [realms]] in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that He should show in the ages, the ones coming, the surpassing riches [fig., abundance] of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus!

        ⁸For by grace you* have been saved, through faith, and this [is] not from you*; [it is] the gift of God, ⁹not by works, so that no one shall boast. ¹⁰For we are His workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we should walk about [fig., conduct ourselves] in them.

Revelation 1:1-8

        ¹[The] revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him to show to His slaves what [things are] necessary to occur with quickness. And He made [it] known, having sent through His angel to His slave John, ²who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, as many [things] as he also saw.

        ³Happy [or, Blessed] is the one reading [to the assembly] and the ones hearing the words of the prophecy and keeping [or, obeying] the [things] having been written in it, for the time [is] near!

        ⁴John, To the seven assemblies [or, churches], the [ones] in Asia: Grace to you* and peace from God, the One being and the One [who] was and the One [who is] coming, and from the seven spirits which [are] [fig., the seven-fold Spirit who is] before His throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead [ones] and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

        To the One loving us and having bathed us from our sins in His blood. ⁶And He made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--to Him [be] the glory and the power into the ages of the ages [fig., forever and ever]! So be it!

        ⁷"Look! He is coming with the clouds," [Dan 7:13] and "every eye will see Him, even [the ones] who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will beat their breasts [fig., mourn] because of Him." [Zech 12:10] Yes indeed! So be it!

        ⁸"I am the Alpha and the Omega [i.e. the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet]," says [the] Lord God, "The One being and the One [who] was and the One [who is] coming--the Almighty!"

Scripture taken from the Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament of the Holy Bible: Second Edition. Copyright © 2005 by Gary F. Zeolla of Darkness to Light ministry (www.zeolla.org/christian). Previously copyrighted © 1999, 2001 By Gary F. Zeolla.

ALT 2 Update

The second edition of the ALT is now available in Microsoft Reader® eBook format! Click her for details. The paperback and hardback editions should be available by April 2005.

Special upgrade offer! If you purchased any version of the first edition of the ALT, for a limited time, you are eligible for a special "upgrade" price of 1/3 off for the second edition in the Microsoft Reader® eBook version. Click here for details.

All of the ALT pages have been updated to be in accordance with the second edition of the Analytical-Literal Translation.

Also by Gary F. Zeolla:
Fitness for One and All Web site and FitTips for One and All newsletter.
Helping people to attain their health, fitness, and performance goals.

All material in this newsletter is copyrighted © 2005 by Gary F. Zeolla or as indicated otherwise.

2/2/05