The New Testament: A Translation

Hart (fellow, Notre Dame Inst. for Advanced Studies; The Experience of God; Atheist Delusions; The Story of Christianity) produces a one-person translation of the New Testament that attempts to capture the immediacy and nuances of the original Greek. The stated intention is to produce a translation unaffected by later church doctrine. Rather than a committee determining a common denominator, the author's singular voice and decisions come through clearly. For instance, Hart has chosen to render a common Greek phrase in its literal form as "the life of the age" rather than eternal or everlasting life. He also captures the choppiness of the narrative rather than smoothing it out as a literary production. His introduction, footnotes, and postscript reveal some of the thinking behind his language decisions, but the majority of the text remains undeclared owing to space constraints. Readers who are familiar with other translations will find a fresh voice in this version.