Words Matter

Sometimes people ask, "So, what's the difference between The Revised Geneva Translation and other Bibles?" Good question!

In addition to several completely unique renderings of New Testament passages like Matthew 6:13a, Luke 2:14, Acts 24:27, John 1:15, Acts 17:22, 1Corinthians 9:5, and Philippians 4:13, the RGT also renders several Old Testament verses uniquely.

One example is Exodus 12:31.

"And he (Pharaoh) sent word to Moses and to Aaron by night, saying, 'Rise up! Get out from among my people—both you and the children of Israel—and go serve the LORD as you have said.'"(parenthesis added)

Every other known English translation of Scripture translates the first phrase of that verse as some form of "Then he called for Moses and Aaron..." (many even use the word "summoned"). The implication, then, is that Pharaoh is speaking directly to Moses and Aaron, face to face.

But here's the problem. And it's a big one. In Exodus 10:29, Moses prophesies that he will never see Pharaoh's face again. So, this rendering of Exodus 12:31 actually makes Moses into a false prophet.

The Hebrew root word here, "qârâ", is rather ambiguous in English and is actually most often translated as simply "called" (as in "to name something"). However, it is also translated as "sent word to" in Judges 16:18.

"And when Delilah saw that he (Samson) had told her all his heart, she sent word to (qârâ) the lords of the Philistines, saying, 'Come up once again. For he has shown me all his heart.' Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands." (parentheses added)

 Obviously, Delilah is sending a message to the Philistines, not speaking directly to them.

 Draw closer to God with Exodus: Revised Geneva Translation (audiobook performed by 7-time #1 Amazon Best-Selling Narrator, Steve Cook).

 The RGT is a faithful, 21st Century update of the very first widely-distributed Bible in English, the Geneva Bible of the 1500's. It is one of only a handful of modern translations to be based on the same ancient Greek texts the #Reformers used.

As with all Scripture translated prior to the American Civil War, The Geneva Bible was specifically designed to be SPOKEN and HEARD (because a large percentage of antebellum believers were illiterate).

So, in other words, the RGT is the text of Luther, Tyndale and Calvin, faithfully revised and updated to be heard and spoken by this generation. (Matthew 7:24, Luke 8:21)