(Forgive me if I've overstepped some bounds here, but these personal
comments may be of benefit to other Greek novices on B-Greek and not
just the one to whom it was originally addressed.)
As the responses on what Bible translations "Greek scholars" use should
show you, there is no unanimity and certainly no conclusions that can be
drawn about the "best" translation. I wrote a harmless essay on Bible
Translations which is on my WEB page
(http://home1.gte.net/eweiss/index.htm) BEFORE I had taken two years of
Greek. It's still substantially correct, though very elementary, but if
I ever rewrite it, it will reflect what I've learned since I've studied
Greek.
One of your posts indicated to me that you might not have a working
knowledge of Greek (this isn't meant to be a putdown, just my impression
- some of the scholars on this list might feel that having only 2 years
of Koine with no real exposure to the classics means I lack a working
knowledge of Greek!). Hence, I would guess that the answers on which
translations those on the list read will neither satisfy a desire to
know which is the "best" translation(s) nor give you confidence about
which translation is more correct for a particular verse. Why? Because
without knowing enough Greek to deal with the Greek text itself, you
won't be able to understand very well why a particular translation reads
the way it does. Lacking knowledge of Greek, you'll have to search for
commentaries [that deal with the Greek text!] that explain how the Greek
reads and what the various options are and why some are more preferable
to others. But even then, one has to develop a feel for how Greek
"reads," not just isolate one verse and decide the best option for that
verse. This requires time spent reading the Greek New Testament and
probably other Greek literature, things that are absolutely closed to
one who doesn't have a working knowledge of Greek.
My foray into the B-Greek list during my first year of Greek let me see
rather quickly that a working knowledge of Greek was essential for
understanding the questions being discussed and for asking questions
myself about the Greek text. Keep on reading and keep on asking, but be
prepared to realize that you may not be able to "get in on the
discussion" in a way that is meaningful for yourself until you've had
probably a year of Greek. This is not meant to discourage you, rather to
encourage you - A.T. Robertson's THE MINISTER AND HIS GREEK NEW
TESTAMENT gave me an impetus to read the original, and a desire for
answers to questions like you're asking fueled my desire even more. A
couple(?) years ago Carl Conrad wrote an incredibly inspiring response
to my question on what those of us are missing who only take Koine
without Attic or Homeric (Classical?) Greek. Search for it in the
archives - I think you'll love reading it - it's relevant to studying
Koine Greek, too. (I plan on dipping into the TEACH YOURSELF ANCIENT
GREEK book (the new one, which replaced the Smith/Melluish one, which I
will also read) to get some familiarity with Classical Greek precisely
because those on this list who are "in the know" encouraged me to do
so.)
Grace and Peace
--- Eric S. and Karol Ann Weiss http://home1.gte.net/eweiss/index.htm eweiss@gte.net