This document provides an overview of the resources available on BibleGateway.com for studying the Bible, including parallel Bible versions, commentaries, concordances, and original Greek and Hebrew texts. It explains how to use the parallel version and original language tools to compare translations and Greek manuscripts. The document also discusses translation theory, noting the differences between "word-for-word" and "thought-for-thought" translations, and how to "get behind the translation" by analyzing multiple versions of the same passage.

1. BIBLEGATEWAY.COM FOR
STUDY
A Great Resource for Non-seminary-trained Preachers and
Teachers

2. BEFORE WE START: BASIC TRANSLATION
THEORY
NO TRANSLATION IS PERFECT!
YOUR PERSONAL PREFERENCE DOES NOT MAKE A TRANSLATION GOOD OR
BAD!

3. BEFORE WE START: BASIC TRANSLATION
THEORY
Translation Approaches Differ: “Word-for-word” vs. “thought-for-thought.”

4. BEFORE WE START: BASIC TRANSLATION
THEORY
Translation Approaches Differ: “Word-for word” vs. “Thought-for thought”
• “Word-for-word”: Translation tries to choose one English word or phrase to represent
each original language word in every situation if at all possible, even if the result is
awkward or unclear.
• “Thought-for-thought”: Translation tries to render the original as clearly as possible
into good English according to the context, even if the result may be more heavily
interpreted than some might consider necessary.

5. BEFORE WE START: BASIC TRANSLATION
THEORY
SARX IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
• John 3:6 (ESV): That which is born of the
flesh is flesh, and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit.
• The ESV is a “word-for-word”
translation. Sarx is “flesh” everywhere it
appears in the NT, even if it is not
completely clear what is meant.
• John 3:6 (NCV): Human life comes from
human parents, but spiritual life comes
from the Spirit.
• The NCV is a “thought-for-thought”
translation. Sarx is “human life” and
“human parents” in this verse, and is
many other things throughout the NT
depending on what the NCV translation
committee thought was appropriate for
the context.

6. BEFORE WE START: BASIC TRANSLATION
THEORY
The Goal: “get behind the translation” by comparing and contrasting the two
approaches to the same text.
Back to John 3:6 – what do YOU think sarx means in that verse, taking both
translations into account? It could be either or neither!

7. PARALLEL VERSIONS: TRANSLATION
THEORY APPLIED
You can open up to five versions of the Bible on one screen with the parallel button.
• Recommended “Word-for-word” Translations: NASB, NRSV, LEB
• Recommended “Thought-for-thought” Translations: NIV, HCSB, NCV
• AVOID: YLT, LB, AMP

8. PARALLEL VERSIONS: TRANSLATION
THEORY APPLIED
Ecc 12:13 (HCSB) When all has been
heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear
God and keep His commands, because this
is for all humanity.
Ecc 12:13 (ESV) The end of the matter; all
has been heard. Fear God and keep his
commandments, for this is the whole duty
of man.

9. PARALLEL VERSIONS: TRANSLATION
THEORY APPLIED
• If you wish to compare ALL English translations, click the link “(verse address) in
all English Translations” beneath the copyright information for the version you are
currently viewing. This only works for a single verse at a time.
• This gives you a tremendous amount of data to work through, and it is best for
studying one difficult word or expression, rather than a whole verse.
• This does NOT give you permission to read them all and pick the one you like the
best! That’s missing the point!

10. PARALLEL VERSIONS: TRANSLATION
THEORY APPLIED
You can display other world languages in parallel with English. Choose a language
from the list when you open a parallel column, and they will display together.
This is especially helpful for bilingual congregations!

11. CONCORDANCE: A STEP UP FROM
STRONG’S
Concordances search for a word or a group of words throughout an entire translation
of the Bible.

12. CONCORDANCE: A STEP UP FROM
STRONG’S
Concordances search for a word or a group of words throughout an entire translation
of the Bible.
Concordances work differently for different translations.

13. CONCORDANCE: A STEP UP FROM
STRONG’S
Concordances search for a word or a group of words throughout an entire translation
of the Bible.
Concordances work differently for different translations.
They can search whole words, parts of words, or groups of words.

14. CONCORDANCE PLUS PARALLEL VERSIONS:
NOT YOUR DADDY’S CONCORDANCE
Enter a search term in the box while multiple versions are on the screen, and
biblegateway.com will search all of them at once.

15. CONCORDANCE PLUS PARALLEL VERSIONS:
NOT YOUR DADDY’S CONCORDANCE
Enter a search term in the box while multiple versions are on the screen, and
biblegateway.com will search all of them at once.
Try “love” in the NIV, NCV, and NASB at the same time.

16. CONCORDANCE PLUS PARALLEL VERSIONS:
NOT YOUR DADDY’S CONCORDANCE
Enter a search term in the box while multiple versions are on the screen, and
biblegateway.com will search all of them at once.
Try “love” in the NIV, NCV, and NASB at the same time.
Look at Gen 4:1 in parallel, or engage the “other translations” link for a shotgun
approach.

17. COMMENTARIES: HARNESSING THE HARD
WORK OF OTHERS
Basic Commentary Theory:

18. COMMENTARIES: HARNESSING THE HARD
WORK OF OTHERS
Basic Commentary Theory:
• Commentaries can be WRONG! (gasp)

19. COMMENTARIES: HARNESSING THE HARD
WORK OF OTHERS
Basic Commentary Theory:
• Commentaries can be WRONG! (gasp)
• Commentaries have different audiences

20. COMMENTARIES: HARNESSING THE HARD
WORK OF OTHERS
Basic Commentary Theory:
• Commentaries can be WRONG! (gasp)
• Commentaries have different audiences
• Commentary writers have biases (wow, who knew?!)
The commentaries on biblegateway.com are low- to mid-level in expected audience,
which means most of them will be accessible to most non-seminary-trained people.

21. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
A parallel Bible set up with original language texts along with an English translation
is called an Interlinear Bible.
Interlinear Bibles are great for those who have studied Greek and/or Hebrew, but
don’t feel confident enough to rely on the original language text by itself.
I recommend using the SBLGNT for Greek if you need a Greek-English Interlinear.
What are some uses for an Interlinear?

22. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
There are four Greek NT texts and one Hebrew OT text available on
biblegateway.com.

23. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
There are four Greek and one Hebrew text available on biblegateway.com.
• The Scrivener and Stephanus texts are the basis for the KJV translation.

24. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
There are four Greek and one Hebrew text available on biblegateway.com.
• The Scrivener and Stephanus texts are the basis for the KJV translation.
• The Westcott-Hort text is the forerunner of the modern NA-28/UBS-4 scholarly
texts.

25. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
There are four Greek and one Hebrew text available on biblegateway.com.
• The Scrivener and Stephanus texts are the basis for the KJV translation.
• The Westcott-Hort text is the forerunner of the modern NA-28/UBS-4 scholarly
texts.
• The SBLGNT is an alternative modern scholarly edition.

26. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
There are four Greek and one Hebrew text available on biblegateway.com.
• The Scrivener and Stephanus texts are the basis for the KJV translation.
• The Westcott-Hort text is the forerunner of the modern NA-28/UBS-4 scholarly
texts.
• The SBLGNT is an alternative modern scholarly edition.
• The Westminster Leningrad Codex is an electronic representation of the best
complete Hebrew text of the Old Testament.

27. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
Greek Textual Comparison Function
• We have many Greek manuscripts of the NT to choose from, and they are all slightly
different from each other. This means that we have to compare them to judge which
one is the most accurate in any given place.

28. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
Greek Textual Comparison Function
• We have many Greek manuscripts of the NT to choose from, and they are all slightly
different from each other. This means that we have to compare them to judge which
one is the most accurate in any given place.
• There are several major “families” of Greek manuscripts. W-H and SBLGNT try to
pick and choose the best readings from all of them.

29. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
Greek Textual Comparison Function
• We have many Greek manuscripts of the NT to choose from, and they are all slightly
different from each other. This means that we have to compare them to judge which
one is the most accurate in any given place.
• There are several major “families” of Greek manuscripts. W-H and SBLGNT try to
pick and choose the best readings from all of them.
• Scrivener and Stephanus rely on a single family, the Textus Receptus.

30. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
Greek Textual Comparison Function
• We have many Greek manuscripts of the NT to choose from, and they are all slightly
different from each other. This means that we have to compare them to judge which
one is the most accurate in any given place.
• There are several major “families” of Greek manuscripts. W-H and SBLGNT try to
pick and choose the best readings from all of them.
• Scrivener and Stephanus rely on a single family, the Textus Receptus.
• You can compare the wording of a NT passage in the SBLGNT and the Scrivener, for
example, to judge the best reading.

31. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
Just as you can search one or more English translations with the concordance
function, so can you do it with Greek texts.

32. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
Just as you can search one or more English translations with the concordance
function, so can you do it with Greek texts.
• Set up your screen with a Greek version only (no English or other modern
language.)

33. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
Just as you can search one or more English translations with the concordance
function, so can you do it with Greek texts.
• Set up your screen with a Greek version only (no English or other modern
language.)
• Enter a verse address in English in the search box, and search.

34. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE RESOURCES: FOR
THOSE WHO CAN GO DEEPER
Just as you can search one or more English translations with the concordance
function, so can you do it with Greek texts.
• Set up your screen with a Greek version only (no English or other modern
language.)
• Enter a verse address in English in the search box, and search.
• Copy and paste words, a word, or part of a word into the search box, and it will
search in Greek.