Watch this old video two, maybe three times, to make sure you get it.

Mr. Knoch and some brothers helped put the Concordant Literal New Testament together.

As I know the story, the idea came to him when he discovered that the Greek word AION in the bible was translated into English using 5 or more English terms (Age, Eternal, Forever, Never, World, etc.)… so, he said to himself, “why?”… “Why so many English words to represent ONE Greek word in the Bible?

So, he set about to make a more consistent translation of the bible where each Greek or Hebrew word in the bible had only ONE English word to represent it (as near as possible). Sometimes English idiom or the idiom of the ancient languages presented a problem, but for the most part, a “CONCORDANT” translation was easy enough to produce. And you should get your hands on this translation.

I say “easy enough”… but you should see the work they put into making a Concordant version. They started working on it about 1910, and this was long before computers were around. So, they compiled a 3×5 index card catalog that looked something like this:

Each card had ONE Greek word on it, and every place where that Greek word showed up in the New Testament. (They started first with the New Testament, then eventually did the same kind of research for the Old Testament.)

Once they had jotted down EVERY verse where that one word showed up, then they asked what English word would best fit every occurrence.

The big idea was not to impose your own ideas on God’s word. What did God SAY… be consistent… it might be important.

They also discovered verb tenses were important. We have a “present tense” verb form in English, but in the language of the bible, they have a “timeless tense” as well.

You’ll see it…for example: In John 3:16, the Concordant Literal New Testament says “For thus God loves the world…” more of a “timeless” tense that the KJV’s “God so loved the world”.

(JOHN 3:16 CLNT) For thus God loves the world, so that He gives His only-begotten Son, that everyone who is believing in Him should not be perishing, but may be having life eonian.

Having spent many years translating the bible, Mr. Knoch and his co-workers came to a new appreciation and a new understanding of God’s plan and purpose.

That’s why this video, (above) is so strange and wonderful… it’s a prospective you won’t hear in most churches or from most preachers.

It’s good news actually.

Leave a comment if you like.

Linwood