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The Complete Septuagint Version : Relatively few Christians today have heard of the books of the Apocrypha and fewer still are familiar with its contents. Yet, the majority of the Greek manuscripts including the Septuagint Old Testament copies contain the Apocrypha. The Books of the Apocrypha were not included in the final, canonical versions of the Hebrew Bible and for this reason they were called "Apocrypha" the hidden books .
However, the fact remains that most Bible translations up through and including the 1611 King James Version contained all of these now little read books. All English language translations since their beginning in 1382 contained them. Not until the 1800's did the British Bible Society and later the American Bible Society remove them completely .
And yet there is so much contained in the Apocrypha of historical value which compliments other Books of the Bible. For example, the Apocrypha books contain Bible history occurring between the time of the Old Testament and New Testament . To the Bible scholar these books cannot simply be dismissed and are deserving of serious study. Of special interest to students of prophecy is the book of II Esdras which is thought by some scholars to be the companion book to the Old testament book of Ezra.
There are several existent English language translations, but the outstanding translation by Edgar J. Goodspeed is recommended above all others. It is well known for its translation faithfulness from the original Greek text into modern, easy to read English. Goodspeed's Preface to the Apocrypha contains valuable historical information as to the history of the Apocrypha, its translations and use .
[size=+1] The SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS [/size]
from II Esdras 7: 3-12
" Suppose a sea lies in a broad expanse , so that it is wide
4 and vast, but the entrance to it is located in a narrow space,
5 so that it is like a river; if anyone is determined to reach the
sea, to see it or master it, how can he reach the broad water
6 unless he passes through the narrows ? Another illustra-
-tion: Suppose a city is built and located on level ground,
7 and is full of all good things, but the approach to it is narrow
and precipitous so that there is fire on the right hand and
8 deep water on the left, and there is only one path lying be-
-tween them, that is, between the fire and the water, so that
9 the path can support the steps of only one man. Now if that
city is given to a man as an inheritance, if the heir does not
pass through the danger that lies before it, how can he re-
-ceive his inheritance?"
10 And I said
"True, sir."
And he said to me,
11 Israel's destiny is like that. For I made the world for
their sakes, and when Adam transgressed my statutes, what
12 has now happened was decreed; and the ways of entering
this world were made narrow, grievous, and toilsome, and
few and evil, full of dangers and burdened with great hard-..................................... etc.
However, the fact remains that most Bible translations up through and including the 1611 King James Version contained all of these now little read books. All English language translations since their beginning in 1382 contained them. Not until the 1800's did the British Bible Society and later the American Bible Society remove them completely .
And yet there is so much contained in the Apocrypha of historical value which compliments other Books of the Bible. For example, the Apocrypha books contain Bible history occurring between the time of the Old Testament and New Testament . To the Bible scholar these books cannot simply be dismissed and are deserving of serious study. Of special interest to students of prophecy is the book of II Esdras which is thought by some scholars to be the companion book to the Old testament book of Ezra.
There are several existent English language translations, but the outstanding translation by Edgar J. Goodspeed is recommended above all others. It is well known for its translation faithfulness from the original Greek text into modern, easy to read English. Goodspeed's Preface to the Apocrypha contains valuable historical information as to the history of the Apocrypha, its translations and use .
[size=+1] The SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS [/size]
from II Esdras 7: 3-12
" Suppose a sea lies in a broad expanse , so that it is wide
4 and vast, but the entrance to it is located in a narrow space,
5 so that it is like a river; if anyone is determined to reach the
sea, to see it or master it, how can he reach the broad water
6 unless he passes through the narrows ? Another illustra-
-tion: Suppose a city is built and located on level ground,
7 and is full of all good things, but the approach to it is narrow
and precipitous so that there is fire on the right hand and
8 deep water on the left, and there is only one path lying be-
-tween them, that is, between the fire and the water, so that
9 the path can support the steps of only one man. Now if that
city is given to a man as an inheritance, if the heir does not
pass through the danger that lies before it, how can he re-
-ceive his inheritance?"
10 And I said
"True, sir."
And he said to me,
11 Israel's destiny is like that. For I made the world for
their sakes, and when Adam transgressed my statutes, what
12 has now happened was decreed; and the ways of entering
this world were made narrow, grievous, and toilsome, and
few and evil, full of dangers and burdened with great hard-..................................... etc.
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