Over at Sword in the Fire, Theron Mathis has posts (here and here) regarding a possible February, 2008, release date for the Orthodox Study Bible. The New Testament edition of the OSB has been out for a while, but the Old Testament project is a much bigger deal as it will represent the first complete translation of the Septuagint into English in well over a century and a half. The NT is based on the NKJV as the Eastern Orthodox Church recognizes the Textus Receptus as an authoritative NT text. The final OSB will be the first major complete Bible translation in English for Eastern Orthodox believers. The Bible will also have appeal to other Christians interested in patristic studies.

Theron himself worked on part of the OT project, specifically in translating segments of 1 & 2 Samuel, all the way back in 1999. The interesting twist (to me) is that at the time, Theron was a recent graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (where he learned biblical Greek), but also a new convert to the Orthodox Church. Now that the OSB project is nearing its end Theron says he more excited about its release than the new Harry Potter novel.

I would hope so...

Tags: Translations