Well, it is Monday and this Manuscript was delivered in the mail today. The first thing that took me by surprise was the size and weight of The Hebraic Roots Version . This version of The Scriptures is a large 8.5″ x 11″ and a hefty 5lbs. The hardbound book with marker ribbon is meant to last and published by ISR. After opening the box, I quickly understood the reason for the shipping and handling costs. The cost for this Bible is more than I would usually spend. (Though I didn’t understand the size and quality of this Bible when I ordered it.) However, I need to replenish the supply of what I deem trustworthy Bibles to be given away through 5twenty8. NASBs are distributed to those new in the Scriptures and currently The Scriptures 1998 for those “well read” and seeking the correct context. After reading the introduction from available PDF on the site, I was convinced I should order two copies for Erik and myself to consider. Our view is that at any point in time, the “best” English translation is second best to the original languages.

The Hebraic Roots Version… has been a ten year project to produce a new and accurate translation of the New Testament taken primarily from old Hebrew and Aramaic sources. –James Trimm (Translator of the HRV Scriptures) from the introduction

This version is loaded with helpful footnotes throughout, a 65 page informative introduction, diagrams of the tabernacle and temples, charts, maps, etc.

This English translation is very well researched and explained more than any of the more common versions. Many people seem to swear by the ESV and its accuracy. In fact, I find the ESV very vague, contextually distorting and less literal than many versions (NASB, KJV, HCSB, LITV etc.). I find the ESV very doctrinally distorted, as with most mainstream versions. The explanations in the HRV, very clear examples and level of accountability for translation is far beyond any “authorized” version I have witnessed.

I could not do this translation justice in this post but of note is the restored order of the Books of Scripture. While I have other translations that restore the order of the Tanakh (OT), this is the only one I possess that restores the order of the Apostolic Scriptures (NT). Please see below for an excerpt of the lengthy explanation and citing for the original order.

This is another important feature which makes the HRV unique when compared to other Messianic editions. Just as the manuscript order of the books of the Tanakh (OT), (followed by Judaism) does not agree with the ordering of the same books in the Christian “Old Testament” as printed today, so also does the manuscript order of the NT differ. The ancient manuscript order of the books of the “New Testament” has first the “Gospels” then “Acts” followed by the Jewish Epistles (Ya’akov (James); 1 & 2 Kefa (Peter); 1, 2 & 3 Yochanan (John) and Y’hudah (Jude)) followed by the Pauline epistles which are followed by Revelation. This order was rearranged by Rome in the Latin Vulgate in which the Pauline epistles were given first place and the Jewish epistles given second place. The original manuscript order had an important significance. It agreed with the precept that the message was to the Jews first and then to the Goyim (Gentiles). It also agrees with the concept that Ya’akov, Kefa and Yochanan were emissaries that come BEFORE Paul (Gal. 1:17) and with the concept that Kefa, Ya’akov and Yochanan served as three pillars which lend authority upon which Paul’s message was built (Gal. 2:9) and not vice-versa. The reader of the NT was intended to read the “Jewish” epistles FIRST and then to read the Pauline epistles already having understood the Jewish epistles. The NT reader was intended to read Ya’akov’s (James’) admonition concerning faith and works (Ya’akov 2) as well as Kefa’s warnings about Paul being difficult to understand and often twisted (2Kefa 3:15-16) etc. before ever attempting to understand the writings of Paul. The HRV follows the ancient manuscript order (which agrees also with the order of the ancient Aramaic manuscripts) in placing the “Jewish epistles” immediately after Acts and placing the Pauline Epistles AFTER them. –James Trimm (Translator of the HRV Scriptures) from the introduction

Overall, I like what I see so far. While this defintely is not pocket-sized, the research and citing is thorough and it puts some real weight behind The Scriptures. Yeah, I said it. Pun intended.