Abbreviations and Other Textual Matters

A helpful guide to Bible versions used and their abbreviations, how verse references are handled, and a few notes on style.

Bible Version Abbreviations

The following is a list of Bible versions used in this book, along with their abbreviations:

BES: Brenton English Septuagint

BYZ: Byzantine Greek New Testament

CTB: Charles Thomson Bible

ESV: English Standard Version

NKJV: New King James Version

KJV: King James Version

LXX: Greek Septuagint (Alexandrian Greek Old Testament)

MT: Masoretic Text

SPE: Samaritan Pentateuch in English

About the Bible Versions

Brief particulars of the Bible versions noted above:

Brenton English Septuagint (BES)

Translation of the LXX Greek text by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, published in 1844.

Byzantine Greek New Testament (BYZ)

Also known as the Majority Text, Traditional Text, Ecclesiastical Text, Constantinopolitan Text, Antiocheian Text, or Syrian Text.

Charles Thomson Bible (CTB)

Translation of the LXX Greek text and the (hard to clarify which) New Testament text, published in 1808.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Translation of the Masoretic Old Testament text and the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament text.

King James Version (KJV)

Translation of the Masoretic Old Testament text and the Textus Receptus Greek New Testament text.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Translation of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (modern critical edition of the Masoretic Old Testament Text) and the Textus Receptus Greek New Testament text.

Greek Septuagint (LXX)

Translation of the Paleo-Hebrew between 250 B.C. and 150 B.C., and 1,200 years older than the Masoretic Text.

Masoretic Text (MT)

The result of the work of a group of Jewish scribe-scholars known as the Masoretes (aka “Masters of the Tradition”), who developed the text (using a combination of manuscripts and oral tradition), between the 7th and 11th century — that is, between 600 and 1,000 years AFTER Jesus walked the earth. Two important points concerning the Masoretic Text:

1. Oral tradition is inherently problematic as it’s not scripture but tradition. Whenever the Masoretes based their “translation” on oral tradition, the resulting manuscript ceases to be a translation.
2. The Masoretes rejected Jesus as the Christ and, therefore, had every reason to obfuscate certain scriptures. Praise God, however, that, despite their corruptions, the key message of the Bible remains intact for the many believers who never learn of the issues with the text that underlies the overwhelming majority of Bible translations from the 15th century onwards.

Samaritan Pentateuch in English

Translation of the first five boos of the Bible from Paleo-Hebrew, circa 122 B.C.

Other Textual Matters

Verse References

For the sake of those not intimately familiar with Bible book abbreviations, all references include the full book name, such as 2 Thessalonians, rather than 2Th.

Non-contiguous verse references are handled in the following way:

• Verses within the same chapter are separated by a comma. For example Genesis1:1 and Genesis 1:3 is written as Genesis 1:1, 3.
• Verses within different chapters of the same book are separated by a semicolon. For example Genesis 1:2 and Genesis 2:1 is written as Genesis 1:1; 2:1.

Bracketed Text in Verses

Brackets are used in the following two cases:

• Any text that has been added by translators. If you use Blue Letter Bible you will be familiar with brackets to denote translator additions. Many Bibles use italics, such as the KJV, while others make no distinction between translated words and those which have been added by the translators, such as the ESV, in which case there are no brackets to denote translator additions.
• Anything inserted by me as a comment or for clarity. This will be denoted by the addition of my initials, such as in Acts 17:11:

These [the Bereans, KM] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11 KJV)

The Holy Spirit

As you might well know, the KJV often translates the Greek work πνεῦμα (G4151 pneuma) as ghost rather than spirit. The word ghost, from the German word geist, can be misleading given the connotations it has today. For this reason, I have replaced the word ghost with spirit in any KJV verses that translate πνεῦμα as ghost rather than spirit.

Capitalisation

As was the style of writing at the time, the original Greek manuscripts were written entirely in capital letters. Thus, every instance of capitalisation in every English Bible is the result of a translational decision and is not reflective of the original text. This practice, referred to as reverential capitalisation, is not employed consistently across different translations. For example, here are three translations of John 14:15-17, each with different capitalisation.

King James Version: Three Nouns
[15] If ye love me, keep my commandments.[16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

New King James Version: Three Nouns and Eight Pronouns
[15] “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
[16] And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— [17] the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

New International Version: Two Nouns
[15] “If you love me, keep my commands. [16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— [17] the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

For the sake of simplicity, I tend towards minimal capitalisation as it’s more aligned with the original texts which didn’t make a distinction. In particular, I don’t capitalise pronouns, nor the adjective holy nor the noun spirt when talking of God’s holy spirit or the holy spirit, as capitalising these two words lends credence to the idea that God’s holy spirit is a separate person from God himself. This subject is discussed fully in “God’s Holy Spirit”