3 from twenty years old and over - all fit for the army of Israel. You and Aaron will need to enlist them in military formations. 4-5 To help you will be one person from each tribe, the heads of their families.

Here are their names: Elitsu r, son of Shedeu ra - from the tribe of Reuben;

46 Came out of Egypt" up to six hundred thousand" (Ex 12:37).

53 "Let there be no wrath" - so that they would not be punished (cf. Lev 10:1-3; Deut 29:23-27) those who offend God who dwells in the Dwelling (Tabernacle of revelation).

This describes a time of trial when God is teaching and chastising His sons in preparation for an assembly of the elect. In the first chapters (Num 1-4) Israel is presented as an ordered religious community. The Levites were her soul, for they occupied a special place in the camp - around the ark, performed liturgical functions and represented a large group that replaced all the firstborn born among the people of God. The census itself was a religious act (cf. Sa2 24). The numbers sometimes do not match in different manuscripts and translations.

Titles, divisions and contents

The first five books of the Bible form one whole, which in Hebrew is called the Torah, i.e. Law. The first reliable evidence of the use of the word Law (Greek "νομος") in this sense, we meet in the preface of the book. Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach. At the beginning of the Christian era, the name "Law" was already common, as we see it in the NT (Lk 10:26; cf. Lk 24:44). The Jews who spoke Hebrew also called the first part of the Bible "Five-fifths of the Law", which corresponded in Hellenized Jewish circles η πεντατευχος (Sub. "βιβλος" ., i.e. Five volumes). This division into five books is attested even before our era by the Greek translation of the Bible by the seventy interpreters (LXX). In this Church-accepted translation, each of the five books has been given a title according to its content or the content of its first chapters:

Book. Genesis (prop. - a book about the origin of the world, the human race and the chosen people); Exodus (begins with a story about the departure of the Jews from Egypt); Leviticus (law for priests from the tribe of Levi); Numbers (the book begins with a description of the census of the people: ch. Numbers 1-4); Deuteronomy (the "second law", reproducing in a more lengthy presentation the Law given at Sinai). The Jews still call every book Heb. Bible by its first significant word.

Book. Genesis is divided into two unequal parts: the description of the origin of the world and man (Gen 1-11) and the history of the forefathers of the people of God (Gen 12-50). The first part is, as it were, propylaea, introducing the story about which the whole Bible tells. It describes the creation of the world and man, the fall and its consequences, the gradual corruption of people and the punishment that befell them. The generation that then descended from Noah spreads over the earth. The genealogical tables are narrowing down and, finally, are limited to the family of Abraham, the father of the chosen people. The history of the forefathers (Genesis 12-50) describes events from the life of great ancestors: Abraham, a man of faith, whose obedience is rewarded: God promises him numerous descendants and the Holy Land, which will become their heritage (Genesis 12 1-25:8); Jacob, distinguished by cunning: impersonating his older brother, Esau, he receives the blessing of his father Isaac and then surpasses his uncle Laban in resourcefulness; but his dexterity would have been in vain if God had not preferred him to Esau, and renewed in his favor the promises made to Abraham and the covenant made with him (Gen. 25:19-36:43). God chooses people not only of a high moral level, for he can heal any person who opens himself to Him, no matter how sinful he may be. Compared to Abraham and Jacob, Isaac looks rather pale. His life is mainly spoken of in connection with his father or son. The twelve sons of Jacob are the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. The last part of the book is devoted to one of them. Genesis: Ch. Gen 37-50 is a biography of Joseph. They describe how the virtue of the wise is rewarded and Divine Providence turns evil into good (Genesis 50:20).

The two main themes of the Exodus, the deliverance from Egypt (Ex 1:1-15:21) and the Covenant-Covenant of Sinai (Ex 19:1-40:38) are linked to a lesser theme, the wanderings in the wilderness (Ex 15:22-18: 27). Moses, having received the revelation of the inexpressible name of Yahweh on Mount Horeb of God, leads there the Israelites freed from slavery. In a majestic theophany, God enters into alliance with the people and gives them His Commandments. As soon as the alliance was concluded, the people broke it by bowing to the golden calf, but God forgives the guilty and renews the alliance. A number of precepts govern worship in the wilderness.

Book. Leviticus is almost exclusively legislative, so that the narrative of events can be said to be interrupted. It contains the sacrificial ritual (Lev. 1-7): the ceremony of ordaining Aaron and his sons to the priesthood (Lev. 8-10); injunctions about clean and unclean (Lev. 11-15), ending with a description of the ritual of the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16); "Law of Holiness" (Lev 17-26), containing the liturgical calendar and ending with blessings and curses (Lev 26). In ch. Lev 27 specifies the conditions for the ransom of people, animals and property dedicated to Yahweh.

In book. Numbers again speaks of wandering in the wilderness. The departure from Sinai is preceded by a census of the people (Numbers 1-4) and rich offerings on the occasion of the consecration of the tabernacle (Numbers 7). After celebrating the Passover for the second time, the Jews leave the holy mountain (Numbers 9-10) and reach Kadesh, where they make an unsuccessful attempt to penetrate Canaan from the south (Numbers 11-14). After a long stay in Kadesh, they go to the plains of Moab adjacent to Jericho (Numbers 20-25). The Midianites are defeated, and the tribes of Gad and Reuben settle in Transjordan (Numbers 31-32). In ch. Number 33 lists stops in the desert. Narratives alternate with prescriptions that complement Sinai law or preparing a settlement in Canaan.

Deuteronomy is distinguished by a special structure: it is a code of civil and religious laws (Deut. 12:26-15:1), included in the great speech of Moses (Deut. 1-4); it is followed by the third speech (Deut. 29-30); finally, the assignment of the mission to Jesus Novinus is spoken of, the song and blessings of Moses are given, brief information about the end of his life (Deut. 31-34).

Deuteronomy partly reproduces the commandments given in the wilderness. Moses recalls in his speeches the great events of the Exodus, the revelation at Sinai and the beginning of the conquest of the Promised Land. They reveal the religious meaning of the events, emphasize the significance of the Law, and contain a call for fidelity to God.

literary composition

The compilation of this extensive collection was attributed to Moses, which is attested in the NT (Jn 1:45; Jn 5:45-47; Rom 10:5). But in older sources there is no assertion that the entire Pentateuch was written by Moses. When it says, though very rarely, "Moses wrote," these words refer only to a certain place. Bible scholars have found in these books differences in style, repetition, and some incoherence in the narratives that make it impossible to consider them as the work of a single author. After a long search, biblical scholars, mainly under the influence of C.G. Count and J. Wellhausen, leaned mainly towards the so-called. documentary theory, which can be schematically formulated as follows: The Pentateuch is a compilation of four documents that arose at different times and in different environments. Initially, there were two narratives: in the first, the author, the so-called. Yahvist, conventionally denoted by the letter "J", uses the name Yahweh, which God revealed to Moses, in the story of the creation of the world; another author, so-called. Elogist (E), calls God by the common name of that time Elohim. According to this theory, Jagvist's narrative was recorded in the 11th century in Judea, while the Elohist wrote a little later in Israel. After the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, both documents were brought together (JE). After the reign of Josiah (640-609), Deuteronomy "D" was added to them, and after the Captivity (JED) a priestly code (P) was added, containing mainly laws and a few narratives. This code formed a kind of backbone and formed the framework of this compilation (JEDP). Such a literary-critical approach is associated with the evolutionary concept of the development of religious ideas in Israel.

Already in 1906, the Pontifical Biblical Commission warned exegetes against overestimating this so-called. documentary theory and invited them to consider the authentic authorship of Moses, if we keep in mind the Pentateuch as a whole, and at the same time recognize the possibility of the existence, on the one hand, of oral traditions and written documents that arose before Moses, and on the other hand, changes and additions to a later era. In a letter dated January 16, 1948, addressed to Cardinal Suard, Archbishop of Paris, the Commission acknowledged the existence of sources and gradual additions to the laws of Moses and historical stories, due to the social and religious institutions of later times.

Time has confirmed the correctness of these views of the Biblical Commission, because in our time the classical documentary theory is increasingly being questioned. On the one hand, attempts to systematize it did not give the desired results. On the other hand, experience has shown that focusing on the purely literary problem of dating the final edition of the text is much less important than the historical approach, which puts forward the question of the oral and written sources underlying the “documents” under study. The idea of ​​them has now become less bookish, closer to concrete reality. It turned out that they originated in the distant past. New archeological data and a study of the history of the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean have shown that many of the laws and regulations referred to in the Pentateuch are similar to the laws and regulations of epochs older than those to which the compilation of the Pentateuch was attributed, and that many of its narratives reflect the life of an older environment.

Not being able to trace how the Pentateuch was formed and how several traditions merged in it, we, however, have the right to assert that, despite the diversity of the Yavist and Elogistic texts, they essentially deal with the same thing. Both traditions have a common origin. In addition, these traditions do not correspond to the conditions of the era when they were finally recorded in writing, but to the era when the events described took place. Their origin goes back, therefore, to the era of the formation of the people of Israel. The same can be said to a certain extent about the legislative parts of the Pentateuch: we have before us the civil and religious law of Israel; it evolved along with the community whose life it regulated, but in its origin it goes back to the time of the origin of this people. So, the fundamental principle of the Pentateuch, the main elements of the traditions that merged with it, and the core of its legalizations belong to the period of the formation of the Israelite people. This period is dominated by the image of Moses as an organizer, a religious leader and the first legislator. The traditions that ended with him, and the memories of the events that took place under his leadership, became a national epic. The teaching of Moses left an indelible imprint on the faith and life of the people. The Law of Moses became the norm of his behavior. Interpretations of the Law caused by the move historical development, were imbued with his spirit and relied on his authority. The fact of the written activity of Moses himself and his entourage, attested in the Bible, is beyond doubt, but the question of content is more important than the question of the writing of the text, and therefore it is so important to recognize that the traditions underlying the Pentateuch go back to Moses as the primary source.

Narratives and history

From these traditions, which were the living heritage of the people, breathed into it the consciousness of unity and supported its faith, it is impossible to demand that strictly scientific accuracy, which the modern scientist strives for; however, it cannot be argued that these written monuments do not contain the truth.

The eleven first chapters of Genesis require special consideration. They describe the origin of the human race in the style of a folk tale. They set out simply and picturesquely, in accordance with the mental level of an ancient, uncultured people, the main truths underlying the economy of salvation: the creation of the world by God at the dawn of time, the creation of man that followed him, the unity of the human race, the sin of the forefathers and the ensuing exile and trials. These truths, being the subject of faith, are confirmed by the authority of Holy Scripture; at the same time they are facts, and as certain truths they imply the reality of these facts. In this sense, the first chapters of Genesis are historical. The history of the forefathers is a family history. It contains memories of ancestors: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. She is also a popular story. The narrators dwell on the details of their personal lives, on picturesque episodes, not bothering to connect them with the general story. Finally, this is a religious story. All its turning points are marked by the personal participation of God, and everything in it is presented in a providential plan. Moreover, the facts are given, explained and grouped in order to prove the religious thesis: there is one God who formed one people and gave them one country. This God is Yahweh, this people is Israel, this country is the Holy Land. But at the same time, these stories are historical in the sense that they tell about real facts and give a correct picture of the origin and migration of the ancestors of Israel, their geographical and ethnic roots, their behavior in terms of moral and religious. The skeptical attitude to these stories proved untenable in the face of recent discoveries in the history and archeology of the ancient East.

Omitting a rather long period of history, Exodus and Numbers, and to a certain extent Deuteronomy, set out the events from the birth to the death of Moses: the exodus from Egypt, a stop at Sinai, the way to Kadesh (silence is kept about a long stay there), the passage through Transjordan and temporary settlement in the plains of Moab. If we deny the historical reality of these facts and the personality of Moses, it is impossible to explain the further history of Israel, its loyalty to Yahwism, its attachment to the Law. However, it must be admitted that the significance of these memories for the life of the people and the echo they find in the rites gave these stories the character of victorious songs (for example, about crossing the Red Sea), and sometimes liturgical hymns. It is in this era that Israel becomes a people and enters the arena of world history. And although there is no mention of him in any ancient document (with the exception of a vague indication on the stele of Pharaoh Merneptah), what is said about him in the Bible is consistent in general with what the texts and archeology say about the invasion of Egypt by the Hyksos, who in the majority were of Semitic origin, about the Egyptian administration in the Nile Delta, about the political situation in Transjordan.

The task of the modern historian is to compare these Biblical data with the corresponding events in world history. Despite the insufficiency of biblical indications and the lack of certainty of extra-biblical chronology, there is reason to believe that Abraham lived in Canaan approximately 1850 years BC, that the story of the rise of Joseph in Egypt and the arrival of other sons of Jacob to him dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. BC The date of the Exodus can be determined quite accurately from the decisive indication given in ancient text Ex 1:11: The people of the sons of Israel "built for Pharaoh Pithom and Ramses, cities for stores." Consequently, the Exodus took place under Ramses II, who, as is known, founded the city of Ramses. Grandiose construction work began in the very first years of his reign. Therefore, it is very likely that the departure of the Jews from Egypt under the leadership of Moses took place around the middle of the reign of Ramses (1290-1224), i.e. about 1250 B.C.

Given the biblical tradition that the time of the wandering of the Jews in the desert corresponded to the period of the life of one generation, the settlement in Transjordan can be attributed to 1225 BC. These dates are consistent with historical data about the stay of the pharaohs of the 19th dynasty in the Nile Delta, about the weakening of Egyptian control over Syria and Palestine at the end of the reign of Ramses II, about the unrest that swept the entire Middle East at the end of the 13th century. BC They are also consistent with archaeological data indicating the beginning of the Iron Age during the period of the Israelite invasion of Canaan.

Legislation

In the Hebrew Bible, the Pentateuch is called "Torah", i.e. Law; and indeed here are collected prescriptions that regulated the moral, social and religious life the people of God. What strikes us most about this legislation is its religious character. It is also characteristic of some other codes of the ancient East, but none of them has such an interpenetration of religious and secular elements. In Israel, the Law is given by God Himself, it regulates duties towards Him, its prescriptions are motivated by religious principles. This seems quite normal when it comes to the moral prescriptions of the Decalogue (the Commandments of Sinai) or the cult laws of the book. Leviticus, but it is much more significant that in the same code civil and criminal laws are intertwined with religious instructions and that everything is presented as a Charter of Union-Covenant with Yahweh. It naturally follows from this that the presentation of these laws is connected with the narrative of events in the desert, where this Union was concluded.

As you know, laws are written for practical application and they must be modified over time, taking into account the peculiarities of the environment and the historical situation. This explains that in the totality of the documents under consideration one can find both ancient elements and decrees that testify to the emergence of new problems. On the other hand, Israel was to some extent influenced by its neighbors. Some of the prescriptions of the Book of the Testament and Deuteronomy are remarkably similar to those of the Mesopotamian Codex, the Code of Assyrian Laws, and the Hittite Code. This is not a direct borrowing, but a similarity due to the influence of the legislation of other countries and customary law, which partly became the common property of the entire Middle East in ancient times. In addition, in the period after the Exodus, Canaanite influence strongly affected the formulation of laws and forms of worship.

The Decalogue (10 commandments), inscribed on the Sinai tablets, establishes the basis of moral and religious faith Union-Covenant. It is given in two (Ex. 20:2-17 and Deut. 5:6-21) slightly different versions: these two texts go back to the oldest, shorter form and there is no serious evidence to refute its origin from Moses.

The Elogistic Code of the Union-Covenant (Ex. 20:22-23:19) is the right of a shepherd-agricultural society, corresponding to the real situation of Israel, which was formed as a people and began to lead a settled way of life. It differs from the older Mesopotamian codices with which it has common ground by its great simplicity and archaic features. However, it has survived in a form that indicates some evolution: the special attention that is paid in it to draft animals, work in the field and in the vineyards, as well as houses, suggests that it belongs to the period of settled life. On the other hand, the difference in the wording of the decrees - sometimes imperative, sometimes conditional - indicates the heterogeneity of the composition of the code. In its present form, it probably dates back to the period of the Judges.

The Jahwist Code of the Renewal of the Covenant (Ex 34:14-26) is sometimes referred to, though incorrectly, as the second Decalogue or ceremonial Decalogue. It is a collection of religious precepts in an imperative form and belongs to the same time as the book of the Testament, but under the influence of Deuteronomy it was revised. Although the book Leviticus received its finished form only after the captivity, it also contains very ancient elements. Thus, for example, food prohibitions (Lev. 11) or cleanliness (Lev. 13-15) preserve what was bequeathed by the primitive era. In the ritual of the great Day of Atonement (Lev. 16), the texts of the ancient ritual prescriptions are supplemented with more detailed instructions, indicating the existence of a developed idea of ​​sin. Ch. Leviticus 17-26 constitutes a whole which has come to be called the Law of Holiness, and obviously belongs to the last period of the monarchy. The code of Deuteronomy must be attributed to the same era, which contains many ancient elements, but also reflects the evolution of social and religious customs (for example, laws on the unity of the sanctuary, altar, tithe, slaves) and a change in the spirit of the time (calls to the heart and characteristic of many prescriptions persuasive tone).

religious meaning

The religion of both the Old and the New Testament is a historical religion: it is based on the revelation of God to certain people, in certain places, under certain circumstances, and on the special action of God at certain moments of human evolution. The Pentateuch, which sets forth the history of God's original relationship with the world, is the foundation of the religion of Israel, its canonical book par excellence, its Law.

The Israelite finds in it the explanation of his fate. At the beginning of the book of Genesis, he not only received an answer to the questions that every person poses to himself - about the world and life, about suffering and death - but he also received an answer to his personal question: why is Yahweh, the One God, the God of Israel? Why is Israel His people among all the peoples of the earth?

This is because Israel received the promise. The Pentateuch is a book of promises: after the fall, salvation is proclaimed to Adam and Eve in the future, the so-called. Protoevangelium; Noah, after the flood, is promised a new order in the world. Still more characteristic is the promise given to Abraham, and renewed to Isaac and Jacob; it extends to all the people who will come from them. This promise directly refers to the possession of the land where the forefathers lived, the Promised Land, but in fact it contains more: it means that a special, exclusive relationship exists between Israel and the God of their fathers.

Yahweh called Abraham, and the election of Israel is represented in that call. Yahweh himself made it one people. His people, according to His good pleasure, according to the plan of love, which was destined at the creation of the world and which is being carried out, despite the unfaithfulness of people. This promise and this election are guaranteed by the Union. The Pentateuch is also a book of conjunctions. The first, though not yet explicitly stated, was with Adam; the union with Noah, with Abraham, and, ultimately, with the whole people through the agency of Moses, was already clearly expressed. This is not a union between equals, for God does not need it, although the initiative belongs to Him. However, He enters into an alliance and, in a certain sense, binds Himself to the promises He has made. But He demands in return that His people be faithful to Him: Israel's refusal, their sin, can break the bond created by the love of God. The conditions of this fidelity are determined by God Himself. God gives His Law to His chosen people. This Law determines what his duties are, how he should conduct himself according to the will of God and, preserving the Covenant-Covenant, prepare the fulfillment of the promise.

The themes of promise, election, union, and law run like a red thread through the entire fabric of the Pentateuch, through the entire OT. The Pentateuch itself does not constitute a complete whole: it speaks of the promise, but not of its fulfillment, for the narrative is interrupted before the entry of Israel into the Promised Land. It must remain open to the future both as a hope and as a principle of restraint: a hope of promise, which the conquest of Canaan seemed to fulfill (Is Joshua 23), but long compromised by sins, and remembered by the exiles in Babylon; the restraining principle of the ever exacting Law, which was in Israel as a witness against them, Deut. 31:26. This continued until the coming of Christ, towards whom the whole history of salvation gravitated; in Him she found her whole meaning. Ap. Paul reveals its meaning mainly in Galatians (Gal 3:15-29). Christ concludes a new Union-Covenant, foreshadowed by ancient treaties, and introduces into it Christians, heirs of Abraham by faith. The law was given to keep the promises, being a tutor to Christ, in whom these promises are fulfilled.

The Christian is no longer under the guidance of a schoolmaster, he is freed from observing the ritual Law of Moses, but not freed from the need to follow his moral and religious teachings. After all, Christ did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). The New Testament does not oppose the Old, but continues it. In the great events of the era of the patriarchs and Moses, in the holidays and rites of the wilderness (the sacrifice of Isaac, the crossing of the Red Sea, the celebration of Easter, etc.), the Church not only recognized the prototypes of the NT (the sacrifice of Christ, baptism and Christian Easter), but requires a Christian of the same deep approach to them that the instructions and stories of the Pentateuch prescribed to the Israelites. He should realize how the history of Israel (and in it and through it of all mankind) develops when a person leaves God to guide historical events. Moreover: in its path to God, every soul goes through the same stages of detachment, testing, purification through which the chosen people went, and finds edification in the teachings given to them.

Kulakov's translation (ru)

Kulakov's translation (ru)

Whole Bible

Gospel of Matthew

Verses 18-25

Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 1, verses 18-25

18 And that's how the birth of Jesus Christ happened. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they were married, it turned out that she was wearing under her heart child from the Holy Spirit.

19 Future her husband, Joseph, was human righteous; he did not want to put her to shame, and therefore decided to secretly break off the engagement.20 But as soon as he thought of this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife: the child she is expecting is from the Holy Spirit.21 She will give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus The name "Jesus" (Heb.: Yehosh at A/ Yesh at A) means: "The Lord saves." because He will save His people from their sins."

24 When Joseph awoke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he received Mary, his wife,25 but did not touch her until she gave birth to a son. And Joseph called Him Jesus.

Comments:

Commentary on the book

Section comment

The author of the first Gospel in the New Testament, Matthew, was a collector of taxes and duties in favor of the authorities of the Roman Empire. One day, as he was sitting in his usual tax collection area, he saw Jesus. This meeting completely changed the whole life of Matthew: from that time on he was always with Jesus. He walked with Him through the cities and villages of Palestine and was an eyewitness to most of the events that he tells about in his Gospel, written, as scholars believe, between 58 and 70 years. according to R.H.

In his account, Matthew often quotes Old Testament to show readers that Jesus is the same Savior promised to the world, whose coming was already predicted in the Old Testament. The Evangelist presents Jesus as the Messiah, sent by God to build the Kingdom of Peace already on this earth. As the One who came from the Heavenly Father, Jesus can and does speak like God, with the consciousness of His divine authority. Matthew gives five great sermons, or speeches, of Jesus: 1) the Sermon on the Mount (ch. 5-7); 2) the commission given by Jesus to His disciples (ch. 10); 3) parables about the Kingdom of Heaven (ch. 13); 4) practical advice to students (ch. 18); 5) the judgment of the Pharisees and the prediction of what awaits the world in the future (ch. 23-25).

The third edition of the "New Testament and Psalter in modern Russian translation" was prepared for publication by the Institute for Bible Translation in Zaoksky at the suggestion of the Ukrainian Bible Society. Recognizing their responsibility for the accuracy of the translation and its literary merits, the staff of the Institute used the opportunity of a new edition of this Book to make clarifications and, where necessary, corrections to their previous long-term work. And although in this work it was necessary to keep the deadlines in mind, maximum efforts were made to achieve the task facing the Institute: to convey to the readers the sacred text, as far as possible in translation, carefully verified, without distortion or loss.

Both in previous editions and in the present, our team of translators has strived to preserve and continue the best that has been achieved by the efforts of the Bible Societies of the world in translation Holy Scripture. In an effort to make our translation accessible and understandable, however, we still resisted the temptation to use rude and vulgar words and phrases - the vocabulary that usually appears in times of social upheaval - revolutions and unrest. We tried to convey the Message of the Scriptures in common, settled words and in such expressions that would continue the good traditions of the old (now inaccessible) translations of the Bible into the native language of our compatriots.

In traditional Judaism and Christianity, the Bible is not only a historical document that should be preserved, not only a literary monument that can be admired and admired. This book was and remains a unique message about God's proposed resolution of human problems on earth, about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who opened the way for mankind into an unending life of peace, holiness, goodness and love. The news of this should sound to our contemporaries in words directly addressed to them, in a language that is simple and close to their perception. The translators of this edition of the New Testament and the Psalters have done their work with prayer and the hope that these sacred books in their translation will continue to support the spiritual life of readers of any age, helping them to understand the inspired Word and respond to it by faith.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

Almost two years have passed since the "New Testament in modern Russian translation" was published at the Mozhaisk printing plant by order of the Dialog Educational Foundation. This edition was prepared by the Bible Translation Institute in Zaoksky. It was received warmly and with approval by readers who love the Word of God, readers of various confessions. The translation was met with considerable interest by those who were just getting acquainted with the primary source of Christian doctrine, the most famous part of the Bible, the New Testament. Just a few months after the publication of The New Testament in Modern Russian Translation, the entire circulation was sold out, and orders for publication continued to arrive. Encouraged by this, the Institute for Bible Translation in Zaoksky, whose main goal was and remains to promote the familiarization of compatriots with the Holy Scriptures, began to prepare the second edition of this Book. Of course, at the same time, we could not help but think that the translation of the New Testament prepared by the Institute, like any other translation of the Bible, needed to be checked and discussed with readers, and our preparations for a new edition began with this.

After the first edition, along with numerous positive comments, the Institute received valuable constructive suggestions from attentive readers, including theologians and linguists, who prompted us to make the second edition as popular as possible, naturally, without compromising the accuracy of the translation. At the same time, we tried to solve such problems as: a thorough revision of the translation we had previously made; improvements, where necessary, of the stylistic plan and easy-to-read layout of the text. Therefore, in the new edition, in comparison with the previous one, there are significantly fewer footnotes (footnotes that had not so much practical as theoretical significance were removed). The previous letter designation of footnotes in the text is replaced by an asterisk to the word (expression) to which a note is given at the bottom of the page.

In this edition, in addition to the books of the New Testament, the Institute for Bible Translation publishes its new translation of the Psalms - the very book of the Old Testament that our Lord Jesus Christ so loved to read and often referred to during His life on earth. Over the centuries, thousands and thousands of Christians, as well as Jews, considered the Psalter to be the heart of the Bible, finding for themselves in this Book a source of joy, consolation and spiritual enlightenment.

The translation of the Psalter is taken from the standard scholarly edition Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Stuttgart, 1990). A.V. took part in the preparation of the translation. Bolotnikov, I.V. Lobanov, M.V. Opiyar, O.V. Pavlova, S.A. Romashko, V.V. Sergeev.

The Institute for Bible Translation brings to the attention of the widest circle of readers "The New Testament and the Psalter in a modern Russian translation" with due humility and at the same time with the confidence that God still has new light and truth, ready to illuminate the reader of His holy words. We pray that, with the blessing of the Lord, this translation will serve as a means to that end.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

The meeting with any new translation of the books of Holy Scripture gives rise to any serious reader a natural question about its necessity, justification and an equally natural desire to understand what can be expected from new translators. This circumstance dictates the following introductory lines.

The appearance of Christ in our world marked the beginning of a new era in the life of mankind. God entered history and established a deeply personal relationship with each of us, showing with obvious clarity that He is on our side and is doing everything possible to save us from evil and destruction. All this manifested itself in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The world was given in Him the ultimate possible revelation of God about Himself and about man. This revelation is striking in its grandeur: He who was seen by people as a simple carpenter, who ended his days on a shameful cross, created the whole world. His life did not begin in Bethlehem. No, He is "He Who was, Who is, Who is to come." This is hard to imagine.

Yet all sorts of people steadily came to believe this. They were discovering that Jesus is God who lived among them and for them. Soon the people of the new faith began to realize that He lives in themselves and that He has the answer to all their needs and aspirations. This meant that they acquire a new vision of the world, themselves and their future, a new, previously unknown experience of life.

Those who believed in Jesus were eager to share their faith with others, to tell everyone on earth about Him. These first ascetics, among whom were direct witnesses of the events, clothed the biography and teaching of Christ Jesus in a vivid, well-remembered form. They created the Gospels; in addition, they wrote letters (which became “messages” to us), sang songs, prayed, and recorded the divine revelation bestowed upon them. To a superficial observer it might seem that everything written about Christ by His first disciples and followers was by no means specially organized by anyone: it was all born more or less arbitrarily. For some fifty years, these texts amounted to a whole Book, which later received the name "New Testament".

In the process of creating and reading, collecting and organizing recorded materials, the first Christians, who experienced the great saving power of these sacred manuscripts, came to the clear conclusion that all their efforts were led, guided by Someone Mighty and Omniscient - the Holy Spirit of God Himself. They saw that there was nothing accidental in what they recorded, that all the documents that made up the New Testament are in a deep inner relationship. Boldly and resolutely, the first Christians could call and called the existing code "the Word of God."

A remarkable feature of the New Testament was that the entire text of it was written in a simple, colloquial language. Greek, which at that time spread throughout the Mediterranean and became an international language. However, for the most part, "it was spoken by people who were not accustomed to it from childhood and therefore did not really feel the Greek words." In their practice, "it was a language without soil, a business, commercial, official language." Pointing to this state of affairs, the outstanding Christian thinker and writer of the 20th century K.S. Lewis adds: “Does this shock us?... I hope not; otherwise we should have been shocked by the Incarnation itself. The Lord humbled Himself when He became a baby in the arms of a peasant woman and an arrested preacher, and according to the same Divine plan, the word about Him sounded in the folk, everyday, everyday language. For this very reason, the early followers of Jesus, in their testimony of Him, in their preaching and in their translations of the Holy Scriptures, sought to convey the Good News about Christ in a simple language that was close to the people and understandable to them.

Happy are the peoples who have received the Holy Scripture in a worthy translation from the original languages ​​into their native language that they can understand. They have this Book can be found in every, even the poorest family. Among such peoples, it became not only, in fact, a prayerful and pious, soul-saving reading, but also that family book that illuminated their entire spiritual world. Thus, the stability of society, its moral strength and even material well-being were created.

It pleased Providence that Russia should not be left without the Word of God. With great gratitude we, Russians, honor the memory of Cyril and Methodius, who gave us the Holy Scripture in the Slavic language. We also preserve the reverent memory of the workers who introduced us to the Word of God through the so-called Synodal Translation, which to this day remains our most authoritative and best known. The point here is not so much in his philological or literary characteristics, but in the fact that he remained with Russian Christians in all the difficult times of the 20th century. Largely thanks to him. Christian faith was not completely eradicated in Russia.

Synodal translation, however, with all its undoubted merits, is not considered quite satisfactory today due to its well-known (obvious not only for specialists) shortcomings. The natural changes that have taken place in our language over more than a century, and the long absence of religious enlightenment in our country, have made these shortcomings sharply tangible. The vocabulary and syntax of this translation are no longer accessible to direct, so to speak, "spontaneous" perception. The modern reader in many cases cannot do without dictionaries in his efforts to comprehend the meaning of certain formulas of the translation that was published in 1876. This circumstance responds, of course, to the rationalistic "cooling" of the perception of that text, which, being spiritually uplifting by its nature, must not only be understood, but also experienced by the whole being of a pious reader.

Of course, to make a perfect translation of the Bible "for all times", such a translation that would remain equally understandable and close to readers of an endless succession of generations, is impossible, as they say, by definition. And this is not only because the development of the language we speak is unstoppable, but also because over time, the very penetration into the spiritual treasures of the great Book becomes more and more complicated and enriched as more and more new approaches to them are discovered. This was rightly pointed out by Archpriest Alexander Men, who saw the meaning and even the need for an increase in the number of Bible translations. In particular, he wrote: “Today pluralism dominates the world practice of biblical translations. Recognizing that any translation is, to one degree or another, an interpretation of the original, translators use a variety of techniques and language settings ... This allows readers to experience different dimensions and shades of the text.

In line with this understanding of the problem, the staff of the Institute for Bible Translation, established in 1993 in Zaoksky, found it possible to make their own attempt to make a feasible contribution to the cause of familiarizing the Russian reader with the text of the New Testament. Driven by a high sense of responsibility for the cause to which they have devoted their knowledge and energy, the project participants have completed this translation of the New Testament into Russian from the original language, taking as a basis the widely accepted modern critical text of the original (4th revised edition of the United Bible Societies, Stuttgart , 1994). At the same time, on the one hand, the orientation towards Byzantine sources, characteristic of the Russian tradition, was taken into account, on the other hand, the achievements of modern textual criticism were taken into account.

The employees of the Zaoksky Translation Center, naturally, could not but take into account in their work foreign and domestic experience in translating the Bible. In keeping with the principles that govern Bible Societies around the world, the translation was originally conceived as free from confessional bias. In accordance with the philosophy of modern biblical societies, fidelity to the original and preservation of the form of the biblical message wherever possible, while being ready to sacrifice the letter of the text for the sake of an accurate transmission of the living meaning, were recognized as the main requirements for translation. At the same time, it was impossible, of course, not to go through those torments that are completely inevitable for any responsible translator of the Holy Scriptures. For the inspiration of the original obliged us to treat with reverence the very form of it. At the same time, in the course of their work, translators had to constantly convince themselves of the validity of the thought of the great Russian writers that only that translation can be considered adequate, which, first of all, correctly conveys the meaning and dynamics of the original. The desire of the staff of the Institute in Zaoksky to be as close as possible to the original coincided with what V.G. Belinsky: “Closness to the original does not consist in conveying the letter, but the spirit of creation ... The corresponding image, as well as the corresponding phrase, do not always consist in the apparent correspondence of words.” Looking back at other modern translations that convey the biblical text with severe literalness, forced to recall the well-known saying of A.S. Pushkin: " Interlinear translation can never be true."

The Institute's team of translators at all stages of work was aware that no real translation can equally satisfy all the requirements of different readers, which are diverse in nature. Nevertheless, the translators strove for a result that could, on the one hand, satisfy those who turn to Scripture for the first time, and, on the other hand, satisfy those who, seeing the Word of God in the Bible, are engaged in its in-depth study.

In this translation, addressed to the modern reader, words, phrases and idioms that are in living circulation are mainly used. Obsolete and archaic words and expressions are allowed only to the extent that they are necessary to convey the color of the narrative and to adequately represent the semantic shades of the phrase. At the same time, it was found expedient to refrain from using sharply modern, fleeting vocabulary and the same syntax, so as not to violate that regularity, natural simplicity and organic majesty of presentation that distinguish the metaphysically non-futile text of Scripture.

The Bible message is of decisive importance for the salvation of every person and in general for his entire Christian life. This Message is not a mere report of facts, events, and a straightforward exposition of commandments. It is able to touch the human heart, induce the reader and listener to empathize, arouse in them the need for living and sincere repentance. Zaoksky's translators saw it as their task to convey such power of the biblical narrative.

In cases where the meaning individual words or expressions in the lists of books of the Bible that have come down to us, despite all efforts, a certain reading is not amenable, the reader is offered the most convincing, in the opinion of translators, reading.

In striving for clarity and stylistic beauty of the text, translators introduce into it, when it is dictated by the context, words that are not in the original (they are marked in italics).

The footnotes offer the reader alternative meanings for individual words and phrases in the original.

Help for the reader biblical text are divided into separate semantic passages, which are supplied with subheadings typed in italics. While not part of the translated text, subheadings are not intended for oral reading or interpretation of Scripture.

Having completed their first experience of translating the Bible into modern Russian, the staff of the Institute in Zaoksky intend to continue searching for the best approaches and solutions in translating the original text. Therefore, all those involved in the appearance of the completed translation will be grateful to our highly respected readers for any help they can provide with their comments, advice and suggestions aimed at improving the text now proposed for subsequent reprints.

The employees of the Institute are grateful to those who, during all the years of work on the translation of the New Testament, helped them with their prayers and advice. Especially should be noted here V.G. Vozdvizhensky, S.G. Mikushkina, I.A. Orlovskaya, S.A. Romashko and V.V. Sergeev.

The participation in the now implemented project of a number of Western colleagues and friends of the Institute, in particular, W. Ailes, D.R. Spangler and Dr. K.G. Hawkins.

For me personally, it was a great blessing to work on the published translation together with highly qualified employees who devoted themselves entirely to this matter, such as A.V. Bolotnikov, M.V. Boryabina, I.V. Lobanov and some others.

If the work done by the Institute's team helps someone in knowing our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, this will be the highest reward for everyone who was involved in this translation.

January 30, 2000
Director of the Institute for Bible Translation in Zaoksky Doctor of Theology M. P. Kulakov

EXPLANATIONS, SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

This translation of the New Testament is made from the Greek text, mainly according to the 4th edition of the Greek New Testament (The Greek New Testament. 4th revision edition. Stuttgart, 1994). The translation of the Psalter was taken from the edition of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Stuttgart, 1990).

The Russian text of this translation is divided into semantic passages with subtitles. Subheadings in italics, which are not part of the text, are introduced to make it easier for the reader to find the right place in the proposed translation.

In small capital letters in the Psalms, the word "LORD" is written in those cases when this word conveys the name of God - Yahweh, written in Hebrew with four consonants (tetragrammaton). The word "Lord" in its usual spelling conveys another appeal (Adon or Adonai), used in relation to both God and people in the sense of "Lord", friend. transl.: Vladyka; see Dictionary Lord.

In square brackets words are concluded, the presence of which in the text of modern biblical studies is considered not fully proven.

In double square brackets words are concluded that modern biblical studies consider inserts into the text made in the first centuries.

Bold quotes from the books of the Old Testament are highlighted. At the same time, poetic passages are placed in the text with the necessary indents and breakdown in order to adequately represent the structure of the passage. A note at the bottom of the page indicates the address of the citation.

Words in italics are actually absent in the original text, but the inclusion of which seems justified, since they are implied in the development of the author's thought and help to clarify the meaning of the text.

An asterisk raised above the line after a word (phrase) indicates a note at the bottom of the page.

Individual footnotes are given with the following conventional abbreviations:

Letters.(literally): a formally accurate translation. It is given in those cases when, for the sake of clarity and a more complete disclosure of the meaning in the main text, it is necessary to deviate from a formally accurate transmission. At the same time, the reader is given the opportunity to come closer to the original word or phrase and see conceivable translation options.

In the meaning(in meaning): is given when a word translated literally in the text requires, in the translator's opinion, an indication of its special semantic connotation in this context.

In some manuscripts(in some manuscripts): used when quoting textual variants in Greek manuscripts.

Greek(Greek): used when it is important to show which Greek word is used in the original text. The word is given in Russian transcription.

Ancient per.(ancient translations): used when it is necessary to show how a particular passage of the original was understood by ancient translations, possibly based on a different original text.

Friend. possible per.(another possible translation): is given as another, although possible, but, according to translators, less well-founded translation.

Friend. reading(other reading): is given when, with a different arrangement of signs denoting vowel sounds, or with a different sequence of letters, a reading is possible that is different from the original, but supported by other ancient translations.

Heb.(Hebrew): used when it is important to show which word is used in the original. It is often impossible to convey it adequately, without semantic losses, into Russian, so many modern translations introduce this word in transliteration into their native language.

Or: is used when a note gives a different, well-founded translation.

Some manuscripts are added(some manuscripts add): is given when a number of copies of the New Testament or Psalms, not included in the corpus of the text by modern critical editions, contain an addition to what was written, which, most often, is included in the Synodal translation.

Some manuscripts are omitted(some manuscripts are omitted): it is given when a number of copies of the New Testament or the Psalms, not included in the corpus of the text by modern critical editions, do not contain an addition to what was written, but in some cases this addition is included in the Synodal translation.

Masoretic text: text accepted as the main one for translation; a footnote is given when, for a number of textological reasons: the meaning of the word is unknown, the original text is corrupted - in translation, one has to deviate from the literal transmission.

TR(textus receptus) - an edition of the Greek text of the New Testament, prepared by Erasmus of Rotterdam in 1516, based on lists of the last centuries of the existence of the Byzantine Empire. Until the 19th century this edition served as the basis for a number of well-known translations.

LXX- Septuagint, translation of the Holy Scriptures (Old Testament) into Greek, made in the III-II centuries. BC References to this translation are given according to the 27th edition of Nestle-Aland (Nestle-Aland. Novum Testamentum Graece. 27. revidierte Auflage 1993. Stuttgart).

ABBREVIATIONS USED

OLD TESTAMENT (OT)

Life - Genesis
Exodus - Exodus
Leo - Leviticus
Number - Numbers
Deut - Deuteronomy
Is Nav - Book of Joshua
1 Kings - First Book of Kings
2 Kings - 2 Kings
1 Kings - 1st Book of Kings
2 Kings - Fourth Book of Kings
1 Chron - First Book of Chronicles
2 Chron - Second Book of Chronicles
Job - Book of Job
Ps - Psalter
Proverbs - Book of Proverbs of Solomon
Eccles - The Book of Ecclesiastes, or Preacher (Ecclesiastes)
Isaiah - The Book of the Prophet Isaiah
Jer - The Book of Jeremiah
Lamentations - Book of Lamentations of Jeremiah
Ezek - The Book of Ezekiel
Dan - Book of Daniel
Os - Book of the Prophet Hosea
Joel - The Book of the Prophet Joel
Am - The Book of the Prophet Amos
Jonah - Book of Jonah
Micah - The Book of Micah
Nahum - The Book of the Prophet Nahum
Avv - The book of the prophet Habakkuk
Haggai - The Book of the Prophet Haggai
Zech - The Book of Zechariah
Mal - The Book of the Prophet Malachi

NEW TESTAMENT (NT)

Matthew - Gospel according to Matthew (From Matthew the gospel)
Mk - The gospel according to Mark (From Mark the holy gospel)
Luke - Gospel according to Luke (From Luke the holy gospel)
Jn - Gospel according to John (From John the holy gospel)
Acts - Acts of the Apostles
Rome - Epistle to the Romans
1 Corinthians - First Epistle to the Corinthians
2 Corinthians - Second Epistle to the Corinthians
Galatians - Epistle to the Galatians
Eph - Epistle to the Ephesians
Php - Epistle to the Philippians
Col - Epistle to the Colossians
1 Thess - First Epistle to the Thessalonians
2 Thess - Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
1 Timothy - First Epistle to Timothy
2 Tim - 2 Timothy
Titus - Epistle to Titus
Heb - Epistle to the Hebrews
James - The Epistle of James
1 Peter - First Epistle of Peter
2 Peter - Second Epistle of Peter
1 Jn - First Epistle of John
Revelation - Revelation of John the Evangelist (Apocalypse)

OTHER ABBREVIATIONS

app. - apostle
aram. - Aramaic
V. (centuries) - century (centuries)
g - gram
year(s) - year(s)
ch. - chapter
Greek - Greek language)
others - ancient
heb. - Hebrew (language)
km - kilometer
l - liter
m - meter
note - note
R.H. - Nativity
Rome. - Roman
Syn. per. - Synodal translation
cm - centimeter
see - see
Art. - poem
cf. - compare
those. - that is
t. - so-called
h - hour

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18-19 "Betrothal" was inviolable, like marriage. It could be terminated only in accordance with the charter contained in the Mosaic legislation. Joseph, having learned that Mary was expecting a child not conceived by him, and at the same time knowing about her virtue, did not understand what had happened. "Being righteous," he wanted to "secretly let her go" so that she would not be put to death according to the prescription of the Law of Moses ( Tue 22:20 sll). For "being born of the Holy Spirit" see Lk 1 26 ff.

23 "Virgo" - this verse is borrowed from the book. Is (cm Isaiah 7:14). In the Hebrew text it says " alma", which is usually translated as "young woman". Translators into Greek (LXX) clarified the meaning of the word "alma", rendering it as "parthenos" (virgin), and the evangelist uses it in this sense. " Emmanuel" (Heb) - "God is with us."

24-25 "Joseph ... did not know Her, how at last She gave birth to a Son"- in biblical language, the denial of a fact relating to the past does not mean that it took place later. Holy Tradition and Scripture are imbued with faith in Her virginity.

1. The Evangelist Matthew (which means “gift of God”) was one of the Twelve Apostles (Mt 10:3; Mk 3:18; Lk 6:15; Acts 1:13). Luke (Lk 5:27) calls him Levi, and Mark (Mk 2:14) calls him Levi of Alpheus, i.e. son of Alpheus: it is known that some Jews had two names (for example, Joseph Barnabas or Joseph Caiaphas). Matthew was a tax collector (collector) at the Capernaum customs house, located on the coast of the Sea of ​​Galilee (Mk 2:13-14). Apparently, he was in the service not of the Romans, but of the tetrarch (ruler) of Galilee - Herod Antipas. Matthew's profession required knowledge of the Greek language from him. The future evangelist is depicted in Scripture as a sociable person: many friends gathered in his Capernaum house. This exhausts the data of the New Testament about the person whose name is in the title of the first Gospel. According to legend, after the Ascension of Jesus Christ, he preached the Good News to the Jews in Palestine.

2. Around the year 120, the disciple of the Apostle John Papias of Hierapolis testifies: “Matthew wrote down the sayings of the Lord (Logia Cyriacus) on Hebrew(Hebrew here should be understood as the Aramaic dialect), and who translated them as best he could ”(Eusebius, Church History, III.39). The term Logia (and the corresponding Hebrew dibrei) means not only sayings, but also events. Papias' message repeats ca. 170 St. Irenaeus of Lyons, emphasizing that the evangelist wrote for Jewish Christians (Against Heresies. III.1.1.). The historian Eusebius (4th century) writes that “Matthew, having first preached to the Jews, and then, intending to go to others, expounded in the native language the Gospel, now known by his name” (Church History, III.24). According to most modern scholars, this Aramaic Gospel (Logia) appeared between the 40s and 50s. Probably, Matthew made the first notes when he accompanied the Lord.

The original Aramaic text of the Gospel of Matthew has been lost. We have only the Greek translation, apparently made between the 70s and 80s. Its antiquity is confirmed by the mention in the works of "Apostolic Men" (St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius the God-bearer, St. Polycarp). Historians believe that the Greek Ev. Matthew arose in Antioch, where, along with Jewish Christians, large groups of Gentile Christians first appeared.

3. Text Ev. from Matthew indicates that its author was a Palestinian Jew. He is well acquainted with the OT, with the geography, history and customs of his people. His Ev. is closely related to the OT tradition: in particular, it constantly points to the fulfillment of prophecies in the life of the Lord.

Matthew speaks more often than others about the Church. He devotes considerable attention to the question of the conversion of the Gentiles. Of the prophets, Matthew quotes Isaiah the most (21 times). At the center of Matthew's theology is the concept of the Kingdom of God (which, in accordance with Jewish tradition, he usually calls the Kingdom of Heaven). It resides in heaven, and comes to this world in the person of the Messiah. The gospel of the Lord is the gospel of the mystery of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:11). It means the reign of God among people. In the beginning, the Kingdom is present in the world "in an inconspicuous way", and only at the end of time will its fullness be revealed. The coming of the Kingdom of God was foretold in the OT and realized in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Therefore, Matthew often calls Him the Son of David (one of the messianic titles).

4. Plan MF: 1. Prologue. Birth and childhood of Christ (Mt 1-2); 2. Baptism of the Lord and the beginning of the sermon (Mt 3-4); 3. Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7); 4. Ministry of Christ in Galilee. Miracles. Those who accepted and rejected Him (Mt 8-18); 5. The road to Jerusalem (Mt 19-25); 6. Passion. Resurrection (Mt 26-28).

INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Holy Scriptures of the New Testament were written in Greek, with the exception of the Gospel of Matthew, which is said to have been written in Hebrew or Aramaic. But since this Hebrew text has not survived, the Greek text is considered the original for the Gospel of Matthew. Thus, only the Greek text of the New Testament is the original, and numerous editions in various modern languages all over the world are translations from the Greek original.

The Greek language in which the New Testament was written was no longer the classical Greek language and was not, as previously thought, a special New Testament language. This is the colloquial everyday language of the first century A.D., spread in the Greco-Roman world and known in science under the name "κοινη", i.e. "common speech"; yet the style, and turns of speech, and way of thinking of the sacred writers of the New Testament reveal the Hebrew or Aramaic influence.

The original text of the NT has come down to us in a large number of ancient manuscripts, more or less complete, numbering about 5000 (from the 2nd to the 16th century). Before recent years the most ancient of them did not go back beyond the 4th century no P.X. But lately, many fragments of ancient manuscripts of the NT on papyrus (3rd and even 2nd c) have been discovered. So, for example, Bodmer's manuscripts: Ev from John, Luke, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude - were found and published in the 60s of our century. In addition to Greek manuscripts, we have ancient translations or versions into Latin, Syriac, Coptic and other languages ​​(Vetus Itala, Peshitto, Vulgata, etc.), of which the oldest existed already from the 2nd century AD.

Finally, numerous quotations from the Church Fathers in Greek and other languages ​​have been preserved in such quantity that if the text of the New Testament were lost and all ancient manuscripts were destroyed, then specialists could restore this text from quotations from the works of the Holy Fathers. All this abundant material makes it possible to check and refine the text of the NT and to classify its various forms (the so-called textual criticism). Compared with any ancient author (Homer, Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Cornelius Nepos, Julius Caesar, Horace, Virgil, etc.), our modern - printed - Greek text of the NT is in an exceptionally favorable position. And by the number of manuscripts, and by the brevity of time separating the oldest of them from the original, and by the number of translations, and by their antiquity, and by the seriousness and volume of critical work carried out on the text, it surpasses all other texts (for details, see "The Hidden Treasures and New Life, Archaeological Discoveries and the Gospel, Bruges, 1959, pp. 34 ff.). The text of the NT as a whole is fixed quite irrefutably.

The New Testament consists of 27 books. They are subdivided by the publishers into 260 chapters of unequal length for the purpose of providing references and citations. The original text does not contain this division. The modern division into chapters in the New Testament, as in the whole Bible, has often been ascribed to the Dominican Cardinal Hugh (1263), who elaborated it in his symphony to the Latin Vulgate, but it is now thought with great reason that this division goes back to Stephen the Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton, who died in 1228. As for the division into verses now accepted in all editions of the New Testament, it goes back to the publisher of the Greek New Testament text, Robert Stephen, and was introduced by him into his edition in 1551.

The sacred books of the New Testament are usually divided into statutory (Four Gospels), historical (Acts of the Apostles), teaching (seven conciliar epistles and fourteen epistles of the Apostle Paul) and prophetic: the Apocalypse or Revelation of St. John the Theologian (see the Long Catechism of St. Philaret of Moscow).

However, modern experts consider this distribution outdated: in fact, all the books of the New Testament are law-positive, historical, and instructive, and there is prophecy not only in the Apocalypse. New Testament science pays great attention to the exact establishment of the chronology of the gospel and other New Testament events. Scientific chronology allows the reader to follow the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles and the original Church according to the New Testament with sufficient accuracy (see Appendixes).

The books of the New Testament can be distributed as follows:

1) Three so-called Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and, separately, the fourth: the Gospel of John. New Testament scholarship devotes much attention to the study of the relationship of the first three Gospels and their relation to the Gospel of John (the synoptic problem).

2) The Book of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of the Apostle Paul ("Corpus Paulinum"), which are usually divided into:

a) Early Epistles: 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

b) Greater Epistles: Galatians, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Romans.

c) Messages from bonds, i.e. written from Rome, where ap. Paul was in prison: Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon.

d) Pastoral Epistles: 1st to Timothy, to Titus, 2nd to Timothy.

e) The Epistle to the Hebrews.

3) Catholic Epistles ("Corpus Catholicum").

4) Revelation of John the Theologian. (Sometimes in the NT they single out "Corpus Joannicum", i.e. everything that ap Ying wrote for a comparative study of his Gospel in connection with his epistles and the book of Rev.).

FOUR GOSPEL

1. The word "gospel" (ευανγελιον) in Greek means "good news". This is how our Lord Jesus Christ Himself called His teaching (Mt 24:14; Mt 26:13; Mk 1:15; Mk 13:10; Mk 14:9; Mk 16:15). Therefore, for us, the "gospel" is inextricably linked with Him: it is the "good news" of salvation given to the world through the incarnate Son of God.

Christ and His apostles preached the gospel without writing it down. By the middle of the 1st century, this sermon had been fixed by the Church in a strong oral tradition. The Eastern custom of memorizing sayings, stories, and even large texts by heart helped the Christians of the apostolic age to accurately preserve the unwritten First Gospel. After the 1950s, when eyewitnesses to Christ's earthly ministry began to pass away one by one, the need arose to record the gospel (Luke 1:1). Thus, the “gospel” began to denote the narrative recorded by the apostles about the life and teachings of the Savior. It was read at prayer meetings and in preparing people for baptism.

2. The most important Christian centers of the 1st century (Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Ephesus, etc.) had their own gospels. Of these, only four (Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn) are recognized by the Church as inspired by God, i.e. written under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit. They are called "from Matthew", "from Mark", etc. (Greek “kata” corresponds to Russian “according to Matthew”, “according to Mark”, etc.), for the life and teachings of Christ are set forth in these books by these four priests. Their gospels were not brought together in one book, which made it possible to see gospel story from various points of view. In the 2nd century, St. Irenaeus of Lyon calls the evangelists by name and points to their gospels as the only canonical ones (Against Heresies 2, 28, 2). A contemporary of St. Irenaeus, Tatian, made the first attempt to create a single gospel narrative, composed of various texts of the four gospels, the Diatessaron, i.e. gospel of four.

3. The apostles did not set themselves the goal of creating a historical work in the modern sense of the word. They sought to spread the teachings of Jesus Christ, helped people to believe in Him, correctly understand and fulfill His commandments. The testimonies of the evangelists do not coincide in all details, which proves their independence from each other: the testimonies of eyewitnesses are always individual in color. The Holy Spirit does not certify the accuracy of the details of the facts described in the gospel, but spiritual meaning contained in them.

The minor contradictions encountered in the presentation of the evangelists are explained by the fact that God gave the priests complete freedom in conveying certain specific facts in relation to different categories of listeners, which further emphasizes the unity of meaning and direction of all four gospels (see also General Introduction, pp. 13 and 14) .

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Commentary on the book

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1 Inscription. The Gospel of Matthew in the Russian and Slavic translations is titled the same. But this title is not similar to the title of the Gospel in Greek. There it is not as clear as in Russian and Slavic, and in short: “according to Matthew”; and the words "gospel" or "gospel" are not. The Greek expression "according to Matthew" requires explanation. The best explanation is the following. The gospel is one and indivisible, and belongs to God and not to men. Different people they only expounded the one gospel given to them by God, or the gospel. There were several such people. But actually four persons are called evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They wrote four Gospels, that is, they presented, each from different points of view and in their own way, a single and common gospel about the single and indivisible Personality of the God-man. Therefore, the Greek Gospel says: according to Matthew, according to Mark, according to Luke and according to John, that is, one gospel of God according to the exposition of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Nothing, of course, prevents us, for the sake of clarity, from adding the word gospel or gospel to these Greek expressions, as was already done in the most remote antiquity, especially since the titles of the gospels: according to Matthew, according to Mark and others did not belong to the evangelists themselves. Similar expressions were used by the Greeks about other persons who wrote something. Yes, in Acts 17:28 it says, "as some of your poets have said," but in the literal translation from the Greek, "according to your poets," and then their own words follow. One of the church fathers Epiphanius of Cyprus, speaks of "the first book of the Pentateuch according to Moses." (Panarius, haer. VIII, 4), understanding that the Pentateuch was written by Moses himself. In the Bible, the word gospel means good news (e.g., 2 Samuel 18:20,25- LXX), and in the New Testament the word is used only about the good news or good news about salvation, about the Savior of the world.

1:18 (Luke 2:1,2) At the beginning of this verse, the evangelist uses the same word as at the beginning of verse 1: genesis. In Russian and Slavic, this word is now translated by the word: Christmas. The translation is again inaccurate for lack of a suitable Russian word. In the proper sense, it would be better to translate as follows: "the origin of Jesus Christ (from the virgin Mary) was like this." The betrothal rites of the Jews were somewhat similar to ours, which happen with the blessing of the bride and groom. A contract was drawn up about the betrothal, or a solemn oral promise was given in the presence of witnesses that such and such a person would marry such and such a bride. After the betrothal, the bride was considered the betrothed wife of her groom. Their union could only be destroyed by the right divorce. But between betrothal and marriage, as in our case, whole months sometimes elapsed (cf. Deut 20:7). Mary is a Greek word; in Aramaic - Mariam, and in Heb. - Miriam or Miriam, the word is derived from the Hebrew meri - stubbornness, obstinacy - or otrum, "to be exalted, high." According to Jerome, the name means domina. All productions are questionable.

Before they combined, that is, before the wedding itself took place. Whether Joseph and Mary lived in the same house after their betrothal is unknown. According to Chrysostom, " Maria lived with him(Joseph) in the house." But the expression, "Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife," seems to indicate that Joseph and Mary did not live in the same house. Other interpreters agree with Chrysostom.

It turned out - it became noticeable to strangers.

From the Holy Spirit. All the circumstances that the evangelist speaks of, distinguished by his miraculous character, are incomprehensible to us (cf. Luke 3:22; Acts 1:16; Eph 4:30).

1:19 Her husband - the word man, in the literal translation from the Greek, means literally a husband, not a betrothed. But it is clear that the evangelist uses this word in the sense of a protector, patron, and even, perhaps, betrothed. Otherwise, there would be an obvious contradiction in his own narrative. In the Holy In Scripture, the words husband and wife are sometimes used not in the sense of spouses ( Gen 29:21; Tue 22:24).

Being righteous - Heb. tzaddik. This was the name of the pious people, who always tried to fulfill the decrees of the law. Why Joseph is called so here is clear. Seeing that Mary was pregnant, he thought that she had done wrong, and since the law punished bad deeds, Joseph also set out to punish Mary, although this punishment, due to his kindness, should have been easy. The word righteous, however, does not mean kind or loving. In the Gospel, one can clearly observe the struggle of feelings in the soul of Joseph: on the one hand, he was righteous, and on the other, he treated Mary with pity. According to the law, he had to use power and punish her, but out of love for her, he did not want to publicize her, that is, to slander, tell others about her and then, on the basis of his announcement or story, demand the punishment of Mary. The word righteous by the expression unwilling is not explained; this is the last - an additional and special participle (in Greek participle). Joseph was a strict guardian of the law and, moreover, did not want to publicize Mary. The word to announce is read differently in Greek: 1. One reading to announce (δειγματίσαι ) should be explained as follows: set an example, flaunt for the sake of an example. The word is rare, not common among the Greeks, but in the New Testament found only in Col 2:15. It can be equivalent to the expression: just let go. 2. In many other manuscripts, a stronger word is used - to shame or endanger, to announce then to bring something evil, to put to death as a woman who did not turn out to be faithful ( παραδειγματίσαι ). Wanted - another word is used here in Greek, and not unwilling - means a decision, a desire to put one's intention into action. The Greek word translated to let go means to divorce. Divorce could be secret and explicit. The first was done in the presence of only two witnesses, without explaining the reasons for the divorce. The second solemnly and with an explanation of the reasons for the divorce at the court, Joseph set out to do the first. Secretly can also mean here secret negotiations, without a letter of divorce. It was, of course, illegal. Deut 24:1; but a bill of divorce, even if it were secret, would contradict the word secretly used in the Gospel.

1:20 But when Joseph thought this, in the word "thought" in the Greek. hesitations and doubts and even suffering are implied, behold, the angel of the Lord... "The word behold, in Russian here, is used mainly in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke and gives special power to the speech that follows it. The reader or listener is invited here to special attention. Further, the evangelist narrates how the doubts and hesitations of Joseph were eliminated. The angel of the Lord during the annunciation appeared to the Virgin Mary in reality, because on her part a conscious attitude to the gospel of the angel and consent was required; the gospel of the angel Mary was for the future and was supreme. An angel appears to Joseph in a dream, choosing sleep as a tool or means, and at the same time less perfect than waking vision, for communicating the divine will. The gospel to Joseph was not as important as the gospel to Mary, it was just a warning.

Angel means messenger, messenger; but here, of course, not a simple messenger, but the Lord's. As can be inferred from the Gospel of Luke, this was the angel Gabriel. He told Joseph in a dream (Joseph, son of David - nominatives instead of names in Greek) that he should not be afraid to accept Mary, his wife. Do not be afraid - here in the meaning: do not hesitate to do something. Accept - The interpretation of this word depends on whether Mary was in Joseph's house or outside it. If she was, then "accept" would mean the restoration of her rights as a betrothed; if she was not, then, in addition to this restoration, the word will also mean her acceptance into the house of Joseph from the house of her father or relative. Your wife: not in the sense of "as your wife." The reason why Joseph had to accept Mary is born in her, i.e., a baby not yet born or born into the world, but only conceived, therefore the neuter gender. From the time of the dream, Joseph had to become the guardian and patron of both the mother herself and the Infant.

1:21 To give birth to a son - the same verb (τέξεται ) is used as in v. 25, indicating the very act of birth (cf. Gen 17:19; Luke 1:13). The verb γεννάω is used only when it is necessary to indicate the origin of children from the father. And you will name - (so in Greek; in Slavic and some Russian editions: they will name) instead of a name, name, the future instead of command., We also use it to express softened orders, sometimes not at all different in form from the imperative (write, write, learn look, look, etc.). For He will save His people from their sins. He, it is He, He alone, will save His people (Greek λαòν) His own, that is, a known people belonging to Him, and not to anyone else. First of all, of course, here Jewish people- this is how Joseph could understand these words; then people from every nation, but from the Jewish and from other nations only those persons who are His followers, who believe in Him, belong to Him proper. From their sins (Greek, his, that is, the people) - not from the punishment for sins, but from the sins themselves - a very important remark, indicating the authenticity of the Gospel of Matthew. At the very beginning of the gospel evangelism, even when the subsequent activity of Christ was not clear and determined, it is indicated that Jesus Christ will save His people from their sins, not from worldly submission. secular power but precisely from sins, crimes against the commandments of God. Here we have a clear designation of the nature of the future "spiritual activity of Christ."

1:22 It is not known whose words are given in this verse, the angel or the evangelist. According to Chrysostom, " worthy of a miracle and worthy of himself exclaimed the angel, saying", etc. That is, an angel, according to Chrysostom," sends Joseph to Isaiah, so that, waking up, if he forgets his words, as completely new, being nourished by scripture, he would remember the words of the prophet, and at the same time bring his words to memory". This opinion is also supported by some of the latest interpreters on the grounds that, if we consider these words as belonging to the evangelist, then the speech of the angel would appear unclear and unfinished.

1:23 The words given by the angel (or, in another opinion, by the evangelist himself) are found in Isaiah 7:14. They are given with minor deviations from the LXX translation; were spoken by Isaiah to the Jewish king Ahaz on the occasion of the invasion of Judah by the kings of Syria and Israel. The words of the prophet most closely pointed to the circumstances of his day. Used in the Hebrew original and Greek. transl. the word virgin means literally a virgin who has to give birth to a son naturally and from a husband (cf. Isaiah 8:3), where the same virgin is called a prophetess. But then the prophet's thought expands, he begins to contemplate future events that will come with a complete change in contemporary circumstances - instead of the invasion of the kings of Israel and Syria, the king of Assyria will subdue Judah. He “will go through Judea, flood it and rise high - it will reach the neck; and the spread of her wings will be the whole breadth of your land, Emmanuel!” ( Isaiah 8:8). If in the first prophecy one should understand an ordinary maiden, an ordinary birth, and an ordinary Jewish boy named Immanuel, then in Isaiah 8:8 by this name, as can be seen from the words of the prophet, God Himself is called. Although the prophecy did not refer to the Messiah in the Talmudic writings, it can be clearly seen that it has a higher meaning. The messianic application of prophecy was made for the first time in the Gospel of Matthew. If the words of the 23rd Art. and were the words of an angel, then the expression “what does it mean,” etc., should be attributed to the evangelist himself. This is a common Greek expression showing that a Hebrew word or words are translated or interpreted when translated from Hebrew to Greek. According to some interpreters, "what does it mean" is evidence that the Gospel of Matthew was originally written not in Hebrew, but in Greek. On the other hand, it was said that when the Gospel was translated into Greek, the expression was already inserted either by the translator or by the evangelist himself.

1:24 When Joseph woke up from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded (properly planned, established, determined) for him.

1:25 (Luke 2:7) In this verse, it is necessary to explain first of all the words as finally, literally before, Slavic: until, until. According to ancient and modern interpreters, this word does not have such a meaning: before, therefore after (cf. Gen 8:7,14; Ps 89:2 etc.). The correct explanation of this verse is this: the evangelist speaks only of the time before the birth of the Child, and does not speak or reason about the subsequent time. At all " what happened after birth is up to you to judge"(John Chrysostom). The word "firstborn" is not found in the most important and ancient manuscripts, Xin. and V. But in other manuscripts, less important, but numerous, the word is added. It is found in Luke 2:7 where there are no discrepancies. Means the first - the last, but not always. In some cases, the first son followed by others. He called - the expression refers to Joseph. He named the Child according to the command of the angel and, by virtue of his authority, as a legitimate, though not natural, father (cf. Luke 1:62,63).

Gospel

The word "Gospel" (τὸ εὐαγγέλιον) in classical Greek was used to designate: a) the reward given to the messenger of joy (τῷ εὐαγγέλῳ), b) the sacrifice sacrificed on the occasion of receiving some kind of good news or a holiday made on the same occasion and c) the good news itself. In the New Testament, this expression means:

a) the good news that Christ accomplished the reconciliation of people with God and brought us the greatest blessings - mainly establishing the Kingdom of God on earth ( Matt. 4:23),

b) the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, preached by Himself and His apostles about Him as the King of this Kingdom, the Messiah and the Son of God ( 2 Cor. 4:4),

c) all New Testament or Christian teaching in general, primarily the narrative of events from the life of Christ, the most important ( 1 Cor. 15:1-4), and then an explanation of the meaning of these events ().

For quite a long time, stories about the life of the Lord Jesus Christ were transmitted only orally. The Lord Himself left no record of His words and deeds. In the same way, the 12 apostles were not born writers: they were “unlearned and simple people” ( Acts. 4:13), although they are literate. Among the Christians of the apostolic time there were also very few "wise according to the flesh, strong" and "noble" ( 1 Cor. 1:26), and for the majority of believers, oral stories about Christ were much more important than written ones. Thus the apostles and preachers or evangelists "transmitted" (παραδιδόναι) tales of the deeds and speeches of Christ, while the faithful "received" (παραλαμβάνειν), but, of course, not mechanically, only by memory, as can be said of the students of rabbinic schools, but whole soul, as if something living and giving life. But soon this period of oral tradition was to end. On the one hand, Christians must have felt the need for a written presentation of the Gospel in their disputes with the Jews, who, as you know, denied the reality of the miracles of Christ and even claimed that Christ did not declare Himself the Messiah. It was necessary to show the Jews that Christians have authentic stories about Christ of those persons who were either among His apostles, or who were in close communion with eyewitnesses of Christ's deeds. On the other hand, the need for a written presentation of the history of Christ began to be felt because the generation of the first disciples was gradually dying out and the ranks of direct witnesses of the miracles of Christ were thinning out. Therefore, it was necessary to fix in writing individual sayings of the Lord and His whole speeches, as well as the stories about Him of the apostles. It was then that separate records of what was reported in the oral tradition about Christ began to appear here and there. Most carefully they wrote down the words of Christ, which contained the rules of the Christian life, and were much freer in the transfer of various events from the life of Christ, retaining only their general impression. Thus, one thing in these records, due to its originality, was transmitted everywhere in the same way, while the other was modified. These initial notes did not think about the completeness of the narrative. Even our Gospels, as can be seen from the conclusion of the Gospel of John ( In. 21:25), did not intend to report all the words and deeds of Christ. This is evident, among other things, from what is not included in them, for example, such a saying of Christ: “it is more blessed to give than to receive” ( Acts. 20:35). The Evangelist Luke reports such records, saying that many before him had already begun to compose narratives about the life of Christ, but that they did not have the proper fullness and that therefore they did not give sufficient “confirmation” in the faith ( OK. 1:1-4).

Evidently, our canonical gospels arose from the same motives. The period of their appearance can be determined at about thirty years - from 60 to 90 (the last was the Gospel of John). The first three gospels are usually called synoptic in biblical science, because they depict the life of Christ in such a way that their three narratives can be easily viewed in one and combined into one whole narrative (forecasters - from Greek - looking together). They began to be called gospels each separately, perhaps as early as the end of the 1st century, but from church writing we have information that such a name was given to the entire composition of the gospels only in the second half of the 2nd century. As for the names: “The Gospel of Matthew”, “The Gospel of Mark”, etc., then these very ancient names from Greek should be translated as follows: “The Gospel according to Matthew”, “The Gospel according to Mark” (κατὰ Ματθαῖον, κατὰ Μᾶρκον). By this, the Church wanted to say that in all the Gospels there is a single Christian gospel about Christ the Savior, but according to the images of different writers: one image belongs to Matthew, the other to Mark, etc.

four gospel

Thus, ancient church looked at the depiction of the life of Christ in our four gospels, not as different gospels or narratives, but as one gospel, one book in four forms. That is why in the Church the name of the Four Gospels was established behind our Gospels. Saint Irenaeus called them "the four-fold Gospel" (τετράμορφον τὸ εὐαγγέλιον - see Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus haereses liber 3, ed. A. Rousseau and L. Doutreleaü Irenée Lyon. Contre les hérésies, livre 3 ., vol. 29 11, 11).

The Fathers of the Church dwell on the question: why did the Church accept not one gospel, but four? So St. John Chrysostom says: “Is it really impossible for one evangelist to write everything that is needed. Of course, he could, but when four people wrote, they did not write at the same time, not in the same place, without communicating or conspiring among themselves, and for all that they wrote in such a way that everything seemed to be pronounced by one mouth, then this is the strongest proof of the truth. You will say: "However, the opposite happened, for the four Gospels are often convicted in disagreement." This is the very sign of truth. For if the Gospels were exactly in agreement with each other in everything, even regarding the very words, then none of the enemies would believe that the Gospels were not written by ordinary mutual agreement. Now, a slight disagreement between them frees them from all suspicion. For what they say differently about time or place does not in the least impair the truth of their narration. In the main thing, which is the foundation of our life and the essence of preaching, not one of them disagrees with the other in anything and nowhere - that God became a man, worked miracles, was crucified, resurrected, ascended into heaven. ("Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew", 1).

Saint Irenaeus also finds a special symbolic meaning in the quaternary number of our Gospels. “Since there are four parts of the world in which we live, and since the Church is scattered throughout the earth and has its affirmation in the Gospel, it was necessary for her to have four pillars, from everywhere emanating incorruption and reviving the human race. The all-arranging Word, seated on the Cherubim, gave us the Gospel in four forms, but imbued with one spirit. For David also, praying for His appearance, says: "Seated on the Cherubim, reveal Yourself" ( Ps. 79:2). But the Cherubim (in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel and the Apocalypse) have four faces, and their faces are images of the activity of the Son of God. Saint Irenaeus finds it possible to attach the symbol of a lion to the Gospel of John, since this Gospel depicts Christ as the eternal King, and the lion is the king in the animal world; to the Gospel of Luke - the symbol of the calf, since Luke begins his Gospel with the image of the priestly service of Zechariah, who slaughtered the calves; to the Gospel of Matthew - a symbol of a person, since this Gospel mainly depicts the human birth of Christ, and, finally, to the Gospel of Mark - a symbol of an eagle, because Mark begins his Gospel with a mention of the prophets, to whom the Holy Spirit flew, like an eagle on wings "(Irenaeus Lugdunensis, Adversus haereses, liber 3, 11, 11-22). In other Church Fathers, the symbols of the lion and calf are moved and the first is given to Mark, and the second to John. Starting from the 5th c. in this form, the symbols of the evangelists began to join the images of the four evangelists in church painting.

Mutual relations gospels

Each of the four Gospels has its own characteristics, and most of all - the Gospel of John. But the first three, as already mentioned above, have extremely much in common with each other, and this similarity involuntarily catches the eye even with a cursory reading of them. Let us first of all speak of the similarity of the Synoptic Gospels and the causes of this phenomenon.

Even Eusebius of Caesarea in his "canons" divided the Gospel of Matthew into 355 parts and noted that all three forecasters have 111 of them. IN modern times exegetes worked out an even more precise numerical formula for determining the similarity of the Gospels and calculated that the total number of verses common to all weather forecasters goes up to 350. Matthew then has 350 verses peculiar only to him, Mark has 68 such verses, and Luke has 541. Similarities are mainly seen in the transmission of the sayings of Christ, and differences - in the narrative part. When Matthew and Luke literally converge in their Gospels, Mark always agrees with them. The similarity between Luke and Mark is much closer than between Luke and Matthew (Lopukhin - in the Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia. T. V. C. 173). It is also remarkable that some passages of all three evangelists go in the same sequence, for example, the temptation and speech in Galilee, the calling of Matthew and the conversation about fasting, the plucking of ears and the healing of the withered hand, the calming of the storm and the healing of the demoniac of Gadarene, etc. The similarity sometimes extends even to the construction of sentences and expressions (for example, in the citation of the prophecy Mal. 3:1).

As for the differences observed among weather forecasters, there are quite a few of them. Others are reported only by two evangelists, others even by one. So, only Matthew and Luke cite the conversation on the mount of the Lord Jesus Christ, tell the story of the birth and the first years of Christ's life. One Luke speaks of the birth of John the Baptist. Other things one evangelist conveys in a more abbreviated form than another, or in a different connection than another. The details of the events in each Gospel are different, as well as the expressions.

This phenomenon of similarity and difference in the Synoptic Gospels has long attracted the attention of interpreters of Scripture, and various assumptions have long been put forward to explain this fact. More correct is the opinion that our three evangelists used a common oral source for their narrative of the life of Christ. At that time, evangelists or preachers about Christ went everywhere preaching and repeated in different places in more or less extensive form what it was considered necessary to offer to those who entered the Church. In this way a well-known definite type was formed oral gospel, and this is the type we have in writing in our synoptic gospels. Of course, at the same time, depending on the goal that this or that evangelist had, his gospel took on some special features, only characteristic of his work. At the same time, one cannot rule out the possibility that an older gospel might have been known to the evangelist who wrote later. At the same time, the difference between synoptics should be explained by the different goals that each of them had in mind when writing his Gospel.

As we have already said, the synoptic gospels are very different from the gospel of John the Theologian. Thus they depict almost exclusively the activity of Christ in Galilee, while the apostle John depicts mainly the sojourn of Christ in Judea. In regard to content, the synoptic gospels also differ considerably from the gospel of John. They give, so to speak, a more external image of the life, deeds and teachings of Christ, and from the speeches of Christ they cite only those that were accessible to the understanding of the whole people. John, on the contrary, omits a lot of the activities of Christ, for example, he cites only six miracles of Christ, but those speeches and miracles that he cites have a special deep meaning and extreme importance about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, while the synoptics portray Christ primarily as the founder of the kingdom of God and therefore direct their readers' attention to the kingdom he founded, John draws our attention to the central point of this kingdom, from which life flows along the peripheries of the kingdom, i.e. on the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, whom John depicts as the Only Begotten Son of God and as the Light for all mankind. That is why even the ancient interpreters called the Gospel of John predominantly spiritual (πνευματικόν), in contrast to synoptic ones, as depicting a predominantly human side in the face of Christ (εὐαγγέλιον σωματικόν), i.e. bodily gospel.

However, it must be said that weather forecasters also have passages that indicate that, as weather forecasters, the activity of Christ in Judea was known ( Matt. 23:37, 27:57 ; OK. 10:38-42), so John has indications of the continuous activity of Christ in Galilee. In the same way, weather forecasters convey such sayings of Christ, which testify to His divine dignity ( Matt. 11:27), and John, for his part, also in places depicts Christ as a true man ( In. 2 etc.; John 8 and etc.). Therefore, one cannot speak of any contradiction between the synoptics and John in the depiction of the face and deed of Christ.

Reliability of the Gospels

Although criticism has long been expressed against the reliability of the Gospels, and recently these attacks of criticism have become especially intensified (the theory of myths, especially the theory of Drews, who does not at all recognize the existence of Christ), however, all objections of criticism are so insignificant that they are shattered at the slightest collision with Christian apologetics. Here, however, we will not cite the objections of negative criticism and analyze these objections: this will be done when interpreting the text of the Gospels itself. We will only speak about the main general grounds on which we recognize the Gospels as completely reliable documents. This is, firstly, the existence of the tradition of eyewitnesses, of whom many survived until the era when our Gospels appeared. Why should we refuse to trust these sources of our gospels? Could they have made up everything that is in our gospels? No, all the Gospels are purely historical. Secondly, it is incomprehensible why the Christian consciousness would want - so the mythical theory asserts - to crown the head of a simple rabbi Jesus with the crown of the Messiah and the Son of God? Why, for example, is it not said about the Baptist that he performed miracles? Obviously because he did not create them. And from this it follows that if Christ is said to be the Great Wonderworker, then it means that He really was like that. And why could one deny the authenticity of the miracles of Christ, since the highest miracle - His Resurrection - is witnessed like no other event ancient history(cm. 1 Cor. 15)?

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Schürer, Geschichte - Schürer E., Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi. bd. 1-4. Leipzig, 1901-1911.

Edersheim (1901) - Edersheim A. The life and times of Jesus the Messiah. 2 Vols. London, 1901.

Ellen - Allen W.C. A critical and exegetical commentary of the Gospel according to st. Matthew. Edinburgh, 1907.

Alford - Alford N. The Greek Testament in four volumes, vol. 1. London, 1863.

From the book of the Bible retold to older children the author Destunis Sofia

THE OLD TESTAMENT I. The Creation of the World and Man In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light

From How the Bible Began [with Pictures] author author unknown

Who gave us the Old Testament? In the last chapter, we traced the history of the Bible from ancient times to the beginning of the printing age. We are in in general terms they saw when separate books of the Bible were born, on what material they were written - from clay tablets and papyrus

From the Bible in Pictures author bible

From the book Questions to the Priest the author Shulyak Sergey

Old Testament 1. Is it true that for the Orthodox, the New Testament is primarily sacred, but the Old Testament is far from all? Question: Is it true that for the Orthodox, the New Testament is first of all sacred, but the Old Testament is far from all? Answers the priest Athanasius Gumerov,

From the book Handbook on Theology. SDA Bible Commentary Volume 12 author Seventh Day Adventist Christian Church

A. The Old Testament The Old Testament uses different words to describe the concept of "sin," but four are used more often than others and have a deep meaning.

From the book Bible Topics author Serbian Nikolai Velimirovic

5. The Old Testament The concept of the "old covenant" is explicitly mentioned only in 2 Cor. 3:14, but is implied when Paul speaks of "two covenants" in Gal. 4:24, as well as in his references to the "first covenant" in Hebrews (8:7,13; 9:1,15,18), the "second covenant" (9:7), and the "better covenant" (7 :22; 8:6).

From the book The Illustrated Bible of the author

B. The Old Testament When we realize how inseparably the entire New Testament links the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the resurrection of believers, we are not surprised that the Old Testament is not so explicit about the resurrection. In the New Testament and a specific image of the resurrection of believers, and

From the book of the Bible. Modern Russian translation (SRP, RBO) author bible

1. The Old Testament The Old Testament is first mentioned in Ex. 19, where God tells Moses what He has already done for Israel. He delivered them from Egypt and made them His people (verse 4). Because God had done mighty things for Israel, He expected His people to be (1)

From the book of the Bible. Modern translation(BTI, per. Kulakov) author bible

1. Old Testament God has always sent His grace to the world through individuals and His people Israel. They reveal His grace to the world and, in a sense, become mediators of blessings. Some people in the Bible embody true trust management.a.

From the book of the Bible. New Russian translation (NRT, RSJ, Biblica) author bible

Old Testament

From the book of the Bible. Synodal translation of the author

Old Testament The first day of creation. Genesis 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. And God said: let there be light. And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God separated the darkness. And God called the light

Prologue at the beginning Total was the word

1 and the Word was with God, andSamo It was God # 1:1 Friend. possible trans.: and the Word was Divine, in meaning possessed a divine nature..

2 Word from the beginning already was with God.

3 Through Him everything came into being,

and without Him, nothing that exists came into existence.

4 There was life in the Word# 1:4 Another punctuation, supported by many manuscripts and Church fathers, gives grounds for a friend. possible trans.:and without Him nothing came into existence. What has arisen 4 in Him was life.and this life is the Light of people.

6 The time has come andA man named John appeared. He was sent by God7 and came as a witness to the Light to bear witness, so that everyone who heard him might believein Light. 8 MyselfHe was not the Light, buthe was destinedbear witness to the Light.

9 And the Light itself, the true Light that illuminates every person,

already entered Then V our world # 1:9 Friend. possible trans.: was the true Light, which enlightens every person who comes into the world..

10 He was in the world,

but the world, which owes its existence to Him,

didn't recognize him.

11 To my own # 1:11 Lit.: in their own (possession); or: to your home. He came,

but their own did not want to receive him.

12 Those who accepted Him, who believed in Him# 1:12 Lit.: in His name.,

He has given the right# 1:12 Or: by force/power.to be children of God

13 children, not in the usual wayborn,

not from the attraction of the flesh and not from the will of man# 1:13 Lit.: who are (born) not of the blood, not of the desire of the flesh, not from the desire of her husband.,

but from God they are born.

14 The Word became Man# 1:14 Or: incarnated.and He lived among us# 1:14 Or: pitched a tent among us.,

full of truth and grace# 1:14 See Grace in the Glossary..

We have seen His glory

that glory which from the Father him,

like the only, incomparable# 1:14 Or: like a one of a kind/unique; the same in Art. 18.Son.

publicly spoke of him:

“Here is the One about whom I said:

“The one who follows me is higher than me,

for even before I was born He was already# 1:15 Lit.: he who follows me has become ahead of me, because he was before me; the same in Art. thirty.“».

16 From fullness grace His

we got all blessing after blessing# 1:16 Lit.: grace after grace.;

17 through Moses Law# 1:17 See Dictionary of the Law. was us Dan,

but through Jesus Christ, grace and truth appeared.

18 Nobody has ever seen God.

But the only, incomparableSon,

God # 1:18 In some manuscripts: Son.who is at the very heart of the Father,

opened Him to us.

Testimony of John

19 This is how John testified when the Jewish authorities# 1:19 Here and below, in similar cases, letters: Jews.who were in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites [to him] to ask him who he was.20 John, without deviating from the answer, directly announcedthem, openly declared: "I am not the Messiah# 1:20 Here and below in Greek: Christ.».

21 "Well," they asked him,May be Are you Elijah?

"No!" - he said.

« Then aren't you the one prophet # 1:21 See the Dictionary of the Prophet., who are we waiting for?" - was a question.

And to thishe answered: "No."

22 Who are you? finally?they asked. What answer should we give to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?

23 He answered themthe words of the prophet Isaiah# 1:23 See Isaiah Dictionary.:

„ cook# 1:23 Lit.: make it straight.God's way!“» # 1:23 Isaiah 40:3 (LXX).

24 Others from Pharisees # 1:24 See Dictionary of the Pharisees.who were among those sentto John, 25 they asked him: “Why do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, you are not Elijah and you are not a prophet?”

26 "I am water # 1:26 Or: in the water ; the same in Art. 31 and 33.I baptize,” John answered them. - But here already, next to yousomewhere, The one you don't know.27 He follows me, [I]evennot worthy to untie His sandals.”28 It was in Bethany# 1:28 In some manuscripts: in Vifavar., beyond the Jordan, whereusually John baptized.

Lamb of God

29 The next day, John sees Jesus coming towards him and says, “Behold the Lamb of God! To the sin of the worldthis He puts an end # 1:29 Lit.: takes , in meaning takes away, removes.. 30 This is the One about whom I said: “A Man is coming after me, Who is higher than me, for even before mybirth He was already."31 I myself did not know Him, but I came to baptizeyouwater to guide# 1:31 Lit.: revealed/revealed.He became Israel."

32 “I saw,” John testified, “how the Spirit, like a dove, descended from heaven and remained on Him.33 I didn't know him morebut He who sent me to baptize with water said to me: “On whom you see, the Spirit descends, and on whom the Spirit abides, He will baptize with the Holy Spirit.”34 I have seen it and testify that He is the Son# 1:34 In some manuscripts: Chosen One. God's."

The first disciples of Jesus

35 The next day stood againthere John and with himtwo of his students.36 past themJesus passed. Seeing Him, John said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

37 Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus.38 He looked around, and when he saw that they were following him, he asked them: “What do you want?”

"Rabbi # 1:38 See Rabbi's Dictionary.(it means “teacher”) where do you live# 1:38 Or: where you stopped? The same in Art. 39.? they said.

39 "Go Behind meand you will see,” he replied. They went (it was about four in the afternoon# 1:39 Lit.: it was about ten o'clock. In NC times, the day (as well as the night) was divided into 12 hours, while the length of the hour depended on the length of the day from sunrise to sunset. The end of the 6th hour always fell at 12 o'clock in the afternoon of our time.) and saw where He lives.The entire remainderthey spent that day with Jesus.

40 One of the two who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter.41 He immediately # 1:41 friend. possible trans.: he is the first . In this case, John, who writes about this, probably means that after that he himself also found his brother James. In some manuscripts:the next day, early in the morning.searched for his brother Simon and announced to him:Represent, we met # 1:41 Lit.: found; the same in Art. 43.Messiah?! (In translationfrom Hebrew"Messiah" means "Anointed# 1:41 Greek: Christ.»).

42 Andrew brought his brother to Jesus; He looked at him and said, "You are Simon, son of John# 1:42 In some manuscripts: son of Jonah.from now on your name will be Cephas" (which means "stone# 1:42 Greek: Peter . Both of these words ("Peter" and "Kepha") mean "stone" and are derived respectively from Greek and Aramaic.»).

Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Meeting Philip, He called him: “Come with Me# 1:43 Lit.: follow me.!»

44 (Philip was from Bethsaida, fromonecities with Andrei and Peter.)45 Philip sought out Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the One about whom Moses wrote in the Law andpredictedprophets: Jesus son of Joseph of Nazareth!”

Synodal translation, with all its undoubted merits, is not considered quite satisfactory today because of its well-known (obvious not only for specialists) shortcomings. The natural changes that have taken place in our language over more than a century, and the long absence of religious enlightenment in our country, have made these shortcomings sharply tangible. The vocabulary and syntax of this translation are no longer accessible to direct, so to speak, "spontaneous" perception. The modern reader in many cases cannot do without dictionaries in his efforts to comprehend the meaning of certain formulas of the translation that was published in 1876. This circumstance responds, of course, to a rationalistic “cooling” of the perception of that text, which, being spiritually uplifting by its nature, must not only be understood, but also experienced by the whole being of a pious reader.

In line with this understanding of the problem, we considered it possible to make our attempt to make a feasible contribution to the cause of introducing the Russian reader to the text of the New Testament and the staff of the Adventist Institute for Bible Translation, established in 1993 in Zaoksky. Driven by a high sense of responsibility for the cause to which they have devoted their knowledge and energy, the project participants have completed this translation of the New Testament into Russian from the original language, taking as a basis the widely accepted modern critical text of the original (4th revised edition of the United Bible Societies, Stuttgart , 1994).

The Institute's team of translators at all stages of work was aware that no real translation can equally satisfy all the requirements of different readers, which are diverse in nature. Nevertheless, the translators strove for a result that could, on the one hand, satisfy those who turn to Scripture for the first time, and, on the other hand, satisfy those who, seeing the Word of God in the Bible, are engaged in its in-depth study.

In this translation, addressed to the modern reader, words, phrases and idioms that are in living circulation are mainly used. Obsolete and archaic words and expressions are allowed only to the extent that they are necessary to convey the color of the narrative and to adequately represent the semantic shades of the phrase. At the same time, it was found expedient to refrain from using sharply modern, fleeting vocabulary and the same syntax, so as not to violate that regularity, natural simplicity and organic majesty of presentation that distinguish the metaphysically non-futile text of Scripture.

Having completed their first experience of translating the Bible into modern Russian, the staff of the Institute in Zaoksky intend to continue searching for the best approaches and solutions in translating the original text. Therefore, all those involved in the appearance of the completed translation will be grateful to our highly respected readers for any help they can provide with their comments, advice and suggestions aimed at improving the text now proposed for subsequent reprints.

P.S.: The translation was carried out mainly by representatives of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.