Amplified Bible (AMP) 2015 Foreword

Scriptural Promise

"The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God stands forever."
Isaiah 40:8

The Amplified Bible has been produced with the conviction that the words of Scripture as originally penned in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek were inspired by God. Since they are the eternal Word of God, the Holy Scriptures speak with fresh power to each generation, to give wisdom that leads to salvation, that people may serve Christ to the glory of God.

The Fourfold Aim of The Lockman Foundation

1. These publications shall be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
2. They shall be grammatically correct.
3. They shall be understandable to the people.
4. They shall give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him; therefore, no translation work will ever be personalized.

Preface to the Amplified Bible

In 1958 The Lockman Foundation and Zondervan Publishing House issued the first edition of the Amplified New Testament. In 1962 and 1964 the two-volume Amplified Old Testament was released. In 1965 the complete Amplified Bible was published, and in 1987 the Amplified Bible, Expanded Edition was completed. Over fifty years have passed since the Amplified New Testament was translated and during that time there have been changes in both the style and usage of the English language; therefore, it seemed appropriate for The Lockman Foundation to revisit this well-loved translation of God’s Word.

The Lockman Foundation is now pleased to present the Amplified Bible of 2015. The English has been updated based on contemporary usage, a substantial number of new amplifications have been added to the Old Testament, and original amplifications have been updated, expanded, refined, or clarified where needed. The translation team has also added a significant number of new footnotes and references.

The result is a translation that is contemporary and firmly based on the foundation established by the Amplified Bible of 1965. That original translation project was envisioned and led by Frances Siewert (1881-1967), an amazing and gifted woman who devoted her life to serving the Lord and to making His Word available in an entirely new format. Her contribution to the spread of the Gospel through the Amplified Bible is impossible to quantify and her vision continues to speak to the hearts of people today.

The Amplified Bible of 2015 has been editorially recast so that a verse may be read either with or without amplification. The basic verse is the literal equivalent translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek text. The basic verse is then amplified in a way that permits the reader to have a greater understanding of the relationship between the crispness of contemporary English and the depth of meaning in the biblical languages.

Explanation of General Format

Amplification is indicated within the English text by parentheses, brackets, and italicized conjunctions.

Parentheses in Roman type ( ) supply the definition in context of the preceding name, place, or word. When the Amplified Bible is read aloud the definition in context may be skipped over.

Parentheses in bold type ( ) indicate a parenthetical phrase that is part of the original language and should be included when Scripture is read aloud.

Brackets in Roman type [ ] contain justified words, phrases, or brief commentary not fully expressed in the preceding English text, but which are validated by the meaning of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek, or are validated elsewhere by Scripture. The amplifications within brackets serve many purposes. They may expand the depth of meaning in the underlying Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek word; they may clarify a theological word or concept; they may expand a teaching or principle; they may supply information that helps the reader grasp the context of the passage.

Brackets in bold type [ ] are footnoted and indicate text not found in early mss or found only in some early mss.

Italicized conjunctions: and, or, nor are not in the original text, but are used to connect additional English words indicated by the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek.

Italicized words are not found in the original language, but implied by it.

Proper names of persons, places, or things are often used to replace pronouns. When pronouns are retained in the text they may be followed by a name placed in parentheses.

Pronouns referring to God, the Father; Jesus, the Son; and the Holy Spirit are always capitalized, so that the reader immediately recognizes Deity in the text.

Paragraphs are identified by bold verse numbers or bold letters. This allows paragraphs to be clearly identified without displaying the verses in paragraph format. The text can still be read or studied by paragraphs, but individual verses are much easier to find when each verse begins on a new line.

Small capital letters are used in the New Testament to indicate Old Testament quotations or obvious references to Old Testament texts. Variations of Old Testament wording are found in New Testament citations depending on whether the New Testament writer translated from a Hebrew text, used existing Greek or Aramaic translations, or restated the material. It should be noted that modern rules for the indication of direct quotation were not used in biblical times; therefore, the ancient writer would use exact quotations or references to quotation without specific indication of such.

The proper name of God in the Old Testament is most significant and understandably so. The most common name for the Deity is God, a translation of the Hebrew word, Elohim. One of the titles for God is Lord, a translation of Adonai. There is yet another name which is particularly assigned to God as His special or proper name, that is, the four letters YHWH (Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah 42:8). This name has not been pronounced by the Jews because of reverence for the great sacredness of the divine name. Therefore, it has been consistently translated Lord. The only exception to this translation of YHWH is when it occurs in immediate proximity to the word Lord, that is, Adonai. In that case it is regularly translated God in order to avoid confusion. When the name of God appears within parentheses or brackets, the context of the verse determines which name and type style is used.

Verse reference are placed in brackets at the end of some verses. If a verse contains more than one Scripture reference, the references are listed in biblical order.

Section headings are included in the text, but are not part of the original language.

Abbreviations and Special Markings

• Aram = Aramaic
• c = about
• DSS = Dead Sea Scrolls
• etc. = and so on
• e.g. = for example
• Gr = Greek translation of O.T. (Septuagint or LXX) or Greek text of N.T.
• Heb = Hebrew text, usually Masoretic
• i.e., = that is
• Lat = Latin
• MT = Masoretic text
• Syr = Syriac
• Lit = A literal translation
• Or = An alternate translation justified by the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek
• ch, chs = chapter, chapters
• cf = compare
• f, ff = following verse or verses
• mg = Refers to a marginal reading on another verse
• ms, mss = manuscript, manuscripts
• v, vv = verse, verses