This is a American Scientific English Translation of (arguably) Jesus' most popular teaching. Whether the reader is atheist, agnostic or a committed follower of some religion, this teaching is a guide for a good life. The translator wanted to memorize this teaching, and recognized that the existing translations were so technically accurate that they weren't understandable.
Often scriptures, when read out loud, sound more like Yoda from Star Wars than something identified and named, "the word of God." Several words used in standard English translations have all but lost their meaning - beyond that one book. Some word's meaning, from the day they were spoken, might be best understood today by using the definition of that word or replacing the word with a rephrased explanation of how that same word or concept took place when this monolog was spoken/written. Intent here is to make these words identifiable enough to be recognizable.
When this teaching was given, the "heart" (for example) was defined as the complete center of a person. That would also include today's term, "imagination," but "imagination" is a Latin word which wasn't commonly used until Latin was more commonly spoken. Also, our time's default definition of "heart" is primarily the muscle in the middle of an animal's chest which pumps blood throughout its body. That would include the emotions and other chemicals which pump through our bloodstream. Therefore "heart" has been replaced in this translation with, "heart-pumped feelings and imagination."
Some bible-words have almost no commonly held societal definition, like "evil." Other words, like "hypocrite," only have subjective definitions. This teacher consistently referred to the evil-peddlers of his day as "blind," and that, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing." Therefore, "evil" has been worded below with, "blinding self-glorification." Hypocrite is clarified with more of a cultural perspective than an actual definition because we all know when we recognize one. They're the people who "act out on entitlement's presumption of superiority." It's common for someone like this to be offended, but it is unmistakable when we encounter one. Hypocrites are actors.
A final example of the wording used in compiling this translation of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, humorously, doesn't use any of the existing English translation's words. Today, the Greek word "kosmos" is a better English word than any of the 20+ English "translations" which were viewed and combined in the completion of this project. Maybe it was Carl Sagan's influence, but little is more understandable than the vastness of "the cosmos" - which was the point Jesus was making. In this translation, "cosmos'' is used as a translation of "kosmos," rather than "world."
Grammatically, some parts switch from 1st person speaker to 3rd person telling the story, to the "we" perspective as participants in what is being taught. This is the clearest way to communicate a favorite teaching, as spoken in the language we speak daily.
Considering there were no lower-case letters or sentence punctuation in Greek when this was written, sometimes the punctuation or capitalization used can also confuse meaning. This is necessary to consider with texts this old.
It is likely helpful to mention that many translations add the words, "For yours is the kingdom, the power, and glory forever and ever. Amen" at the end of "The Lord's Prayer" (in chapter 5 of this book & Chapter 6 of Matthew's book). This was not included in the oldest copies of Matthew and was added later. Since this section is not a part of the original book and it was added after the book was written, it is not included in this translation.
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for your time. Cheers.
