Click here for sample verses from the rendering by William J. Morford
Second Edition
Title: The Power New Testament. Revealing Jewish Roots A Translation of the 1993 Fourth Edition United Bible Society Greek Text William J. Morford
Date: 1998
Publisher: William J. Morford
Contents: New Testament
References: Taliaferro-BVE CN00438, Taliaferro-EELBV 8515.110.
Images: Cover, Title page
Third Edition
Title: The Power New Testament. Revealing Jewish Roots / A Translation of the 1993 Fourth Edition United Bible Society Greek Text [by] William J. Morford
Date: ⓒ 2003 by Rev. William J. Morford. Third Edition (2nd Printing August 2004; third printing July 2005)
Publisher: Lexington SC (U.S.A.): Shalom Ministries, Inc.
Contents: New Testament in the traditional order. Acknowledgement (1 p.); Preface (2 pp.); Glossary (69 pp), therein section I ´General`, section II Énglish names with its original Hebrew name`; Appendix (2 pp): Listimg of Apocryphal references and allusions.
References: Taliaferro-BVE CN00438, Taliaferro-EELBV 8515.120.
Images: Cover, Title page
Comments: Paperback octavo, IV, 428 & (10 empty) pp. Scripture text in single column paragraph- wise with paragraph headings. Brief explanations, annotations, cross references and alternate readings in footnotes. Parallel references at headings. Readings found in the Byzantine text family (e. g. from the textus receptus) are not included, for example Mat 17:21, John 7:53 to 8:11, Romans 16:24.
In the »Acknowledgement«, The translator refers to his third edition,
»This, the Third Edition, also the third printing of The Power New Testament, is greatly expanded from the first two printings. The Third Edition has more than 1,700 footnotes and a seventy page Glossary. Although William J. Morford was responsible for the translation of the Greek text, a number of others contributed to the completion and accuracy of the work.« One Rabbi is mentioned, who, through his thorough knowledge, made considerable contributions to this volume: Eliezer Ben–Jehuda of the Beth El – Synagogue in Ponte Vedra FL.
In the very informative Preface, Morford lets the reader know:
»Many Jewish sources were studied. Among those were the Talmud, Mishna, and Zohar, but the full list includes many modern Jewish commentaries that draw upon those four, but also quote numerous ancient and more recent sources. (…) (…) A good companion Tanach (Old Testament) to go with The Power New Testament is the the-stone-edition Tanach, ArtScroll series. It is an excellent translation with limited commentary…..«
Morford, in his Preface, also defends his choice for the 4th, revised, UBS critical Novum Testamentum Graece as his base text against other text groups, e. g. the Byzantine one. This is further explained in the Glossary under "Manuscripts".
Complete Bible
Title: One New Man Bible ＊ Revealing Jewish Roots and Power.
Hebrew Scriptures Edited and Greek text translated by William J. Morford
Date: © 2011
Publisher: Travelers Rest SC (U.S.A.): True Potential Publishing
Contents: Hebrew scriptures [in Hebrew canon] and New Testament: The Story of Y´shua (Jesus). Dedication, Table of Contents, Weekly Torah Readings, Preface (5 pp), Acknowledgements, Glossary (144 pp).
References:
Images: Cover, Title page
Location: Collection Bibelarchiv-Birnbaum. Karlsruhe/ Baden, Germany
Comments: Hardcover octavo, sewn binding, VI & 1820 pp.
Scripture text in single column with direct references within verses; annotations and general cross references in footnotes; some poetic portions in colometry. To link synoptic paragraphs within the Gospels, headings have been inserted with references. Names are rendered in both, the traditional and the Hebrew way, like e. g. “Abel (Hevel)“ in the Tanakh and “Jacob“ rather than “James“ in the NT; inconsistencies are found, for example “Malta“ instead of “Melite“ in Acts 28. For the rendering of Divine names see sample verses.
In the Preface Rev. Morford writes concerning his translation:
»The One New Man Bible also makes the Jewish Roots of Christianity come to life. This translation of the Hebrew scriptures has been editied from a public domain English translation. The English has been brought up to date and many words previously translated according to tradition have been changed to the literal. (…) The New Testament is The Power New Testament, a fresh translation of the Fourth Edition United Bible Society Greek text. An effort has been made to keep the text as free as possible from denominational biasses. and doctrinal interpretations.«
The text of the NT has been updated (compared to the 3rd ed. of 2003/ 2004) mainly with regard to the names.
