John 4:24

The ultra literal etymological translation is this, "Placer is Wind: and those who toward-teem the same must toward-teem in wind and truth." Normally translated as "worship", PROSKUNEO has had a long usage in Greek literature.  Its semantic range has varied from cringing like a dog to kissing an idol to the worship of Almighty God.  But, its etymology has not changed: to teem toward something or someone. In this case, since Placer is wind, we must flow and teem toward the same in wind ourselves...and in truth, in reality! Let's keep flowing!

John 3:16b

"...that whosoever is trusting into the same, should not be from-whole-loosed, but have life of unconditional-being."  The Etymological New Testament consistently translates PISTEUO as 'to trust' rather than 'to believe'.  The semantic range of the English word 'believe' is more narrow than the Greek.  This allows some to think only of 'intellectual assent' rather than the full sense of PISTEUO in the NT.  And, the good news for those who trust: not being "from-whole-loosed!"  Often translated as "perish" ("destroyed" in the active sense), the Greek word is a three part word.  It is a total (or whole) loosing, away from the sense of Placer.  But, as we trust, we begin to experience a "life of unconditional-being!"  What a thought provoking challenge and promise: to really live life unconditionally in accord with this truth.

John 3:16a

"For Placer so loved the system, that he gave his uniquely-becoming son..."  The beginning of this favorite verse, in the Etymological New Testament, speaks of Placer loving the system!  This Greek word, KOSMOS, is an organized system, whether of people or culture or even, as in 1 Peter, of clothing.  Most often, the system refers to the organized cultural, religious, political structure that is the background of our lives.  Often, in the New Testament, it is something to be resisted.  But, in this verse it is the system of human beings...who are loved by Placer.  In fact this love is so great that the uniquely becoming son, MONOGENES, is given.  The uniqueness of Jesus and of his becoming are crystal clear in scripture and, here, with this word.  The biblical message is that, yes, there are many sons and daughters of Placer, but Jesus stands uniquely as a gift to the system of all humanity.  More on John 3:16 in the next post.

Romans 12:1

In most literal translations, Paul "beseeches" or "asks" the Romans to "present" their bodies as a living sacrifice. In the Etymological New Testament one can see the connection between these two verbs. Paul literally "beside-calls" them to "beside-stand" their bodies. His encouragement to them is ultra literally beside them. And, their action is to stand their bodies beside the living Placer! The use of beside in both words communicates urgency and intimacy.

John 1:32

In the Etymological New Testament, this verse contains John's exclamation: "I beheld the Wind descending as a dove out of upward-vision". There are a couple of notable differences with conventional literal translations. First, it is the Wind that he sees descending. PNEUMA is usually "Spirit" in most versions. Occasionally, as the KJV in John 3, it is translated ultra literally as "wind". But the ENT always uses "wind" to indicate the literal etymology of the Greek word. Similarly, most New Testaments have "heaven" as the source of the dove-like descent. The Etymological New Testament translates ultra literally as "upward-vision". The hyphen makes it clear that this is one word in Greek, but with two parts. One part is the literal word for "up", while the other means "to see". Thus, some fun insight into the Spirit as well as Heaven! We too can began to feel and see this Wind from Upward Vision...

After being officially published in May of this year, the Etymological New Testament has enjoyed increasing sales each month.  Now available in both Kindle and Nook formats as well as conventional paperback. The purpose of the ENT is clear: to provide insight into the text of the New Testament via literal etymology.  This begins with THEOS translated as Placer. [For the etymology of  THEOS, see the Concordant Publishing Concern's LEXICON AND CONCORDANCE...which is available online.] The verbal forms of this word are also rendered as "placing".  Thus, in Galatians 2:21, one can see Paul's use of both the verb and noun. "I do not un-place the grace of Placer".  Through etymological translation, one can see the interesting connection between verb and noun in Paul's claim. He did not un-god God!  And, if he were to remove grace from his teaching, that's what he would have been doing!