Variant Exceptions

The UPDV Bible generally follows the recommendations of the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (HOTTP), Critique textuelle de l'Ancien Testament (CTAT), and the United Bible Societies (UBS) apparatus. The following entries document instances where the UPDV has followed a different reading than the primary recommendation of these critical projects. Each entry is organized by book.

Gospel Variant Exceptions

Matthew 1:16 — See footnote at this verse. The Greek followed is based on the textual apparatus mentioned there. However it is styled to NA28 for conjunctions and omits the intervening dialog by the speaker. See The Book of Matthew for full discussion.

Matthew 7:22 — See footnote at this verse. The Critical Text was not certain (Level C) of its choice of the reading "works" instead of "children." The UPDV Bible has chosen "children" due to the similarity of the words in Hebrew and Aramaic. It is easy to see how they would be confused by a translator from one of those languages into Greek. In Greek however, they are quite different and would not likely be mistaken for one another. Compare Luke 7:35 which also has the reading "children."

Mark 14:28 — See the note on Mark 16:7 below. This verse is not included for the reasons which include the following: The Fayyum Fragment does not contain this verse; this verse seems out of context; this verse is probably borrowed from an early error in Mark 16:7.

Mark 16:7 — See also the note on Mark 14:28 above. It seems most likely that Mark 16:7 in our Greek texts was either an early modification or an error in an early translation (compare Luke 24:6). This probably resulted in the insertion of Mark 14:28 as well as the reason for part of the story in John 21.

Luke 3:23 — The phrase "as was supposed" is restored to "known as." The underlying Aramaic has two meanings; the Greek translator chose the wrong one, adding a nuance of doubt ("it was said to be, but wasn't really true") that was not intended. The word "began" (ἀρχόμενος) also appears to be a mistranslation of the Aramaic for "to be." See The Gospel of Luke for full discussion.

Luke 11:13 — The reading "good things" is restored in place of "Holy Spirit," based on the parallel in Matthew. The Greek word for "good" (ἀγαθόν) was likely misread as "holy" (ἅγιον), after which "spirit" was added to complete the phrase. See The Gospel of Luke.

Luke 11:42 — The UPDV reads "dill" instead of "rue," correcting a likely misread of the original Aramaic (שברא for שבתא). Rue was not subject to tithing according to the Mishnah. See Arndt, Danker, and Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 810. See The Gospel of Luke.

John 1:1 — The UPDV translates λόγος as "Speech" rather than "Word," reflecting the Aramaic מלתא (memra). See The Gospel of John and The Speech of God: John 1:1 and the Aramaic Memra.

John 4:14 — Conjecturally reconstructed. The phrase "eternal life" is restored to "living water" based on the Liege Diatessaron, the immediate context (4:10–11), the Old Syriac evidence, and the likelihood of Aramaic confusion. See The Gospel of John.

John 6:27 — Conjecturally reconstructed on similar grounds to John 4:14. See The Gospel of John.

Revelation

Revelation 11:1 — See footnote at this verse. This change was made due to the likelihood of an original Aramaic text being slightly misread. For more information see: Jastrow pages 955–956; Payne Smith p. 361; and C. C. Torrey, The Apocalypse of John (Yale University Press, 1958), p. 120.

Revelation 19:13 — See footnote at this verse. The way the literal reading appears is awkward in style and not consistent with John's other uses of the phrase "the Word of God." Something in the text is likely to have dropped out or something in the syntax is likely to be misunderstood. All things considered, it seems most likely that John's intent was to merely write another name by which the person was known and to indicate that it was found in the Word of God. Accordingly, the structure of the verse has been rearranged and the word "in" has been supplied by conjecture.

Old Testament

Exodus 34:24 — See footnote at this verse. See also the note at Deuteronomy 31:11 for the pattern followed.

Deuteronomy 31:11 — See footnote at Exodus 34:24.

Joshua 19:7 — The UPDV Bible follows CTAT's reconstruction of the original text.

Judges 5:30 — The UPDV Bible follows a conjectural restoration noted in Keil and Delitzsch to read "the neck of the queen" instead of "the neck(s) of the spoil."

2 Samuel 4:6 — CTAT prefers the Masoretic reading with C-level confidence. However, due to similar reading in Ezekiel 23:40 along with witnesses of the Greek, Syriac, and Targum, and only a vocalization change required, the UPDV Bible has followed: "and, look, they."

2 Samuel 12:31 — This verse and the parallel passage at 1 Chronicles 20:3 are sometimes translated as the captured inhabitants being subject to various types of tortures such as being hacked with saws and axes and being burned. It also appears that the difficulty in understanding these verses has led to the original Hebrew undergoing slight modification at an early stage. Accordingly, the UPDV Bible has translated these passages by re-evaluating the original language, context, and use of similar vocabulary elsewhere in the Bible. There are three main parts of this verse which directed the translation:

a) There is a one letter difference between the Hebrew word in 2 Samuel "put [them]" (וישם) and 1 Chronicles "sawed [them]" (וישר). Based on comparing the two readings, it is believed that "put [them]" was the original meaning. The concept is that they were made to work using these tools.

b) There is a one letter difference between the Hebrew word in 2 Samuel "axes" (במגזרה) and 1 Chronicles "saws [of a stone-cutter]" (ובמגרות). Based on the more comprehensive and seemingly more accurate account in 2 Samuel, the reading in 1 Chronicles was assumed to have been slightly modified at an early stage due to difficulty understanding the verse.

c) Only the passage in 2 Samuel contains "made them serve making bricks." This is sometimes translated as "made them pass through the brickkiln." The difference is due to the verb in Hebrew currently reading העביר (passed through, made to pass). However, it most likely originally read, with a very similar one letter difference, העביד (made to serve). This fits the context. It also matches similar wording and vocabulary about being made to serve making bricks at Exodus 1:13. Making captives serve in a particular function is similar to that found at Joshua 9:21.

CTAT and HOTTP did not recommend these readings; however, they were limited in scope by available texts. They did not recommend something as original when there was no text currently found to exist. However, HOTTP does note that the readings followed in (a) and (c) above probably represent the original texts. And with respect to (b), CTAT indicated considerable doubt in their recommendation.

1 Chronicles 4:32 — The UPDV Bible follows CTAT's reconstruction of the original text. The same note as above regarding 2 Samuel 12:31 applies to 1 Chronicles 20:3.

1 Chronicles 20:3 — See note above at 2 Samuel 12:31.

Psalm 2:9 — See footnote at this verse. The UPDV Bible has followed the Hebrew text with different vowel pointing in accordance with the LXX reading.

Psalm 106:20 — See footnote at this verse. Also see Jeremiah 2:11. This verse is on ancient rabbinical lists of euphemisms in the Bible. "Their glory" appears to be a euphemism to avoid directly referencing God in this context. See the discussion in CTAT at Psalm 106:20.

Jeremiah 2:11 — See footnote at this verse. Also see Psalm 106:20. This verse is on ancient rabbinical lists of euphemisms in the Bible. A translation such as "their glory" appears to be a euphemism to avoid directly saying that God could be exchanged for something. "His glory" also seems out of place given the first person surrounding context. See the discussion in CTAT at Psalm 106:20 and the footnote in the text of the Word Biblical Commentary at Jeremiah 2:11.

Jeremiah 22:18 — See footnote at this verse. This reading was followed for reasons which include the following:

a) The Hebrew word for "sister" is similar to one meaning "brotherhood" as in Zechariah 11:14.

b) A lament in this form is nearly always addressed to the person who would be dead. There is no dead woman in the context who would be called "sister."

c) When two phrases are next to each other in a lament, generally the second phrase is either a duplication of the first; a further identification of the first; or an emphasis of the first. In this verse, "my brother" is emphasized as "best brother." And, "lord" is emphasized as "his excellence."

For further reference, see Theodor H. Gaster, Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament, page 604. Also see the historical examples in Mark E. Cohen's The Canonical Lamentations of Ancient Mesopotamia. And also see the Syriac at this verse.

Jeremiah 27:1 — See footnote at this verse. The UPDV Bible has followed an optional recommendation in HOTTP.

Jeremiah 28:1 — CTAT indicates the LXX is nearly certain to have the earlier reading, and that the MT appears to have text inserted in this verse at a later time by a secondary source. CTAT still recommends the MT based on textual criticism. However, based on all factors, the UPDV Bible has followed the LXX. See footnote at this verse. See also CTAT.

Ezekiel 27:19 — The UPDV Bible follows CTAT's conjectural restoration of the original text.