IMPORTANT NOTICE: To view the text in Greek, it is necessary to have installed a Greek font. I have used the Windows Symbol font since it is available on a variety of platforms. Doing so, however, has meant that the text contains no breathing marks nor accents. This is in harmony with the original scheme used in preparing these files and it additionally approximates what a reader would have seen if viewing the original text.
Maurice A. Robinson, Ph.D., of the Department of Biblical Studies and Languages at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary has prepared a number of electronic texts of the Greek Scriptures. While material from Dr. Robinson's work has been used, he is not affiliated in any way with Questions-Answers.Org nor with Preguntas-Respuestas.Org.
Dr. Robinson's files contain the following copyright notice:
"The preparer of the Greek New Testament data files [...] (Maurice A. Robinson) has determined that, due to the Bible's special and peculiar nature as the revealed word of Almighty God, NO text of the Bible should ever be copyrighted or its distribution restricted or licensed in any manner whatsoever."It appears certain that (at the very least) NO modern critically- established edition of the original texts of the Bible can ever be legally and legitimately copyrighted, whether the text be that of the Hebrew/Aramaic Old Testament or of the Greek New Testament.
"The facts are simple: over 99% of the text found in current critical editions of the Greek New Testament is identical with what had been published in the Westcott-Hort critical edition over 100 years ago (excluding the tabulation of mere orthographic spelling variations). Similarly, even the present writer's own critically- edited "Byzantine/Majority Textform" edition is 99% identical to the text found in Byzantine-oriented printed editions from over a century ago. Modern printed critical editions of the Hebrew/Aramaic Old Testament exceed even this 99% identity of text when compared to printed Hebrew texts of past centuries.
"No contemporary claim to copyright of the text of critical editions of ancient texts where less than 1% of the text is altered from that which has long been in the public domain will be upheld in a court of law. Even the few changes made in modern critical editions in virtually all instances are readings based upon those long ago known to exist in other ancient manuscripts -- readings which similarly have appeared in print in either the text or apparatus of century-old printed editions of the Greek or Hebrew/Aramaic biblical text, and thus readings which ANYONE in the public domain can freely select and use when constructing a critical edition of the original-language biblical texts.
"The time is long overdue for the Bible Societies and other publishers of mere reproductions of the original Greek and Hebrew/Aramaic texts to openly RENOUNCE copyright on the texts themselves and to claim copyright ONLY for their introductions and compiled apparati. Regardless of their willingness and/or openness on this matter, it is hereby noted that the biblical texts themselves -- notwithstanding the valuable time and labor spent on their construction by various critical editors -- remain wholly and entirely in the PUBLIC DOMAIN; and this is as it should be."
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The following information about the text used and how it is displayed is an abbreviated copy of the notes that were provided by Dr. Robinson.
"All breathings, accents, capitalization, punctuation, and diacritical markings have been omitted. This is in keeping with the general form of ancient Greek manuscripts (though at that time all words would have been written in CAPITALS and without division between words). [...]"Similarly, no capitalization or punctuation marks appear within these files, since intermittent capitalization and punctuation are the prerogative of modern editors and were not originally indicated in early manuscripts. Different exegetical interpretations based upon capitalization and/or punctuation could produce honest disagreement among some users (e.g., the specific interpretation of "pneuma" or "Pneuma" as the human or Holy Spirit). [...]
"It is significant to note that the 1881 Westcott-Hort edition of the Greek New Testament actually reflects the closest approach to a "pure Alexandrian" text edition that has ever been created. The later editions of Nestle and others, including the identical text of the current Nestle-Aland 26th-27th editions and UBS 3rd-4th editions fail to preserve the "pure" Alexandrian character of the text in as sharp a manner as did Westcott and Hort, who relied primarily on the joint testimony of Codex Sinaiticus (Aleph) and Codex Vaticanus (B) in contradistinction to the assimilation of readings from manuscripts of other texttypes which is consistently practiced according to the eclectic principles espoused by the framers of the modern critical editions.
"The current text found in the Nestle-Aland 26-27 and UBS 3-4 editions is actually an "eclectic" text, which reflects editorial choice among variant readings found in ALL known manuscripts and texttypes. Even though the current critical texts stand primarily in alignment with the Alexandrian manuscripts and in opposition to the Textform (Byzantine/Majority) found in most Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the modern critical editions at best represent a "halfway house" between two opposing document-based schools of New Testament Greek textual criticism. They thus present a predominantly Alexandrian text "compromised" with numerous "Byzantine" readings (now shown to be ancient by many early papyri). The resultant text is thus one which NEVER actually existed in any known Greek manuscript or group of manuscripts. [...]
"Certain words within the [...] Greek text are enclosed in square brackets [ ] or double brackets [[ ]]. These reflect those places where the critical text editors considered the inclusion or omission of such words to be in question. The reader should consult the [...] introductions to the UBS 3-4/Nestle-Aland 26-27 editions for more information concerning this aspect of their respective texts.
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