u/Rent-Free633

I am not a scholar, but I’ve observed a few places where the Recovery Version Bible translation team made decisions that other English Bibles had not, and I wanted to share about some of them. Of course, no Bible translation is perfect or stand-alone—in 1950 Watchman Nee said, “The worst thing [in studying the Word] is for a person to have only one version and to treat it as a foolproof text” (Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 62, pg. 297), but the value and accuracy of the Recovery Version is something to be appreciated and enjoyed by any who would discover it.

One challenging yet rich translation puzzle for Bible translators is that which is found in this word in 2 Corinthians 3:18, κατοπτριζόμενοι (from Strong’s G2734 κατοπτρίζω, or katoptrízō). Believe it or not, this one Greek word is responsible for the entire phrase highlighted (in green and in yellow) in each passage above. Almost every one of these translations gives the feeling here that we “behold” the Lord as if He is in a mirror (which makes you wonder what Paul meant by such a phrase), but the Recovery Version translation team translated the word a little differently. Why?
 
The Greek word used here, a rather unique word, means firstly (according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon) “to show in a mirror, to make to reflect, to mirror”, and it is rooted in the word ὀπτάνομαι (optanomai) (which means “to look at, behold” as well as “to allow one’s self to be seen, to appear”) combined with the proposition κατά (kata) (or “down from, though out”) (thus meaning, roughly, “down from”+”behold/appear”).
 
Further, Strong’s Concordance (traceable through Blue Letter Bible) links this word to the word commonly used for the Greek noun “mirror”, which is ἔσοπτρον (esoptron), which broken down is εἰς (eis) + a derivative of ὀπτάνομαι (optanomai) (seen above), or “into”+”behold/appear”, contrasting it to the word in 2 Corinthians 3:18 which rather means (generally) “down from”+”behold/appear”. Therefore this verb in 2 Corinthians does suggest the concept of a mirror, but in a way differently than we would typically use it—instead of us looking “into” a mirror to behold our own reflection, we ourselves are placed in the position of the mirror itself, to “show”/“reflect”/“mirror” an image (or in this case, the glory of the Lord) “out” from us. Thus, this one Greek verb carries the unique sense of both beholding a Beholder, and reflecting that very One, like a mirror—which absolutely follows the concept of the second half of the verse: “…being transformed into the same image”. We as Christians not only have the privilege of beholding the Lord today, but rather, like a mirror, we may behold Him, gradually be transformed into His own image, and thus reflect Him to those around us more and more. Thank You Lord that we may behold You, and thank You Lord that this beholding is not aimless or in vain!!!
 
[Highlighted above (in blue and in orange) is also the designation of the Spirit in this verse, for those interested in seeing this also.]
 
The Recovery Version Bible translation (as stated in its Introduction) was “frequently guided by other versions”, and “attempts to provide the best utterance for the revelation in the divine Word, that it may be expressed in the English language with the greatest accuracy”, “embod[ying] extensive research into the meaning of the original text and attempt[ing] to express this meaning with English that is to the point, easy to understand, and readable.”

The Recovery Version Bible translation not only fits in verifiably well with other popular word-for-word English Bible translations, but it even, time and time again, brings out something precious from the original languages, along the lines of what Frederick Fyvie Bruce (1910-1990) once wrote, “[The Recovery Version New Testament] seems to me to be an accurate and fairly literal rendering of the Greek. The user of this version will get a precise impression of what the sacred text says” (see link: https://www.recoveryversion.bible/comments.html). In 1 Peter 2:1-2, we find another gem that most other translations had not quite brought out.

Highlighted above in each translation are two phrases: 1) the second item that new believers “put away”, and 2) the description of the “milk” that we are charged to long for. While the noun in the first highlighted phrase and the adjective in the second highlighted phrase are most often translated as “deceit” and “pure” respectively (in 5 of the 7 above examples), the RcV (along with the ASV) takes a different approach. Why?

Looking at the Greek text, we find that those two words are strongly related. The noun highlighted in v. 1 comes from Strong’s G1388, the word δόλος (dólos), while the adjective describing the “milk” in v. 2 comes from Strong’s G97, the word ἄδολος (ádolos), or “non-dólos”, or as an adjective, “without-dólos”.

Seeing this, we can realize that Peter did not present simply a string of negative nouns followed by a disassociated positive adjective, but that rather he intentionally drew a direct contrast between the old things that we “put away” and the milk (of the word) that we (as “newborn babes”) are exhorted to long for! Through this contrast, we can see that not only is this milk of the word “pure”, but rather that it is even void of any of the elements of our former life, and further, that it is qualified to nullify and effectively replace every negative thing that we as Christians desire to put away and leave behind.

Thus, in translating these two related Greek words, I’m so thankful that those translating the Recovery Version not only rendered the two words to be related in English also (in the suitable noun “guile” and the adjective “guileless”), but that in doing so, they also allow the word of God to remind and encourage its readers that to “put away” the things of our former life is ineffective on its own—rather, we need this “guileless milk of the word” to nullify them and take their place!

"Therefore putting away all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envyings and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation," - 1 Peter 2:1-2, RcV

To explore Strong’s Concordance and other helpful translation tools (even at a beginner level), I use and recommend the Blue Letter Bible app. To read more exposition on the precious truth and experience behind these verses, I recommend Life-Study of First Peter chapter 15. :)

The Recovery Version Bible, like the ESV, the NIV, and so forth, is a result of nearly 500 years’ worth of scholars taking the original Greek and Hebrews manuscripts of the Bible, and translating them into something readable for English-speakers like you and me. Yet while these other translations have all rendered salvation, knowledge of the Lord, and so forth to myriads of readers over time, it is only sensible (such as with the further development of technologies such as cars, phones, etc.) that faithful believers would desire to upgrade and fine-tune our translations—not the word of God itself, but rather our understanding and rendering of the original Scriptures in our language.

Ephesians 3:17 is an example of a verse in which the Recovery Version, which translation follows the word-for-word translation philosophy, interestingly makes a decision which no other well-known word-for-word translation has made (matched only, ironically, with the New Living Translation).

Here, where the Recovery Version matches the NKJV, ASV, NASB, ESV, CSB, and even the NIV (which takes a more dynamic translation approach, yet is popular nonetheless) in almost every word (besides those words highlighted pink above), it differs by translating the Greek word κατοικῆσαι (from Strong’s G2730 κατοικέω, or katoikéō) not to “dwell”, but rather to “make…home”. Why would the editors of the Recovery Version go against what every comparable translation work had previously done?

Well, upon review of this Greek word, we find that the first piece of the word is the preposition κατά (or “kata”), in which direction or movement is implied, suggesting that this word means to “settle into” a place rather than to simply “dwell in” or “inhabit” it.

But translating it becomes tricky, because many times that this word is used in the New Testament is in the context of simply “dwelling” (a motionless verb). However, if you look explicitly at Paul’s writings, for stationary dwelling he uses Greek words such as οἰκέω (or oikeō) (Romans 7:17, 18, 20; 8:9, 11a; 1 Cor. 3:16; 7:12-13; 1 Tim. 6:16) and ἐνοικέω (or enoikeō) (Rom. 8:11b; 2 Cor. 6:16; Col. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:5, 14) (which more specifically means to “in-dwell” as pertains to living in and influencing another being). Thus, the only places that Paul uses the word κατοικέω (or katoikéō) is Eph. 3:17; Col. 1:19; 2:9; and Heb. 11:9b, the context of each of which gives us the invitation to translate this word according to its exact meaning, “to settle down”, or “to make home”.

It is clear from the offset that Ephesians was written to those who are already believers. We also know that Christ has already come to dwell in those who’ve believed (Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor. 13:5; Gal. 2:20; Col. 1:27; 2 Cor. 4:7). But any Christian honest with the Lord will realize that in so much of our hearts is still so many things that are incompatible with Christ (Matthew 15:18-19; Mark 7:21-23). However, Paul’s prayers in Ephesians were precious. Not only did he pray that we would see all of Christ’s work and person toward us (1:17-23), but he also prayed that we could apprehend and thoroughly come to know this Christ through His gradual, bit-by-bit, progressive “settling down” into, or “making His home” in, our hearts in a full way (3:16-19).