PREFACE TO THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE In 1958 The Lockman Foundation and Zondervan Publishing House issued the first edition of the Amplified New Testament after more than 20,000 hours of research and prayerful study. Some four years later the first of two Old Testament volumes appeared (the Amplified Old Testament, Part TwoJob to Malachi), followed in 1964 by the publication of the Amplified Old Testament, Part One --Genesis to Esther. The next year (1965) the Amplified Bible came out in one volume. Now, twenty-two years later, Zondervan Bible Publishers and The Lockman Foundation are pleased to present the Amplified Bible, Expanded Edition. The purpose of all the characters in the story of the making of the Amplified Bible is still relevant today: to communicate the Word of God to people and to exalt Jesus Christ. This has been the fourfold aim of the Lockman Foundation from the beginning: 1. That it should be true to the original Hebrew and Greek. 2. That it should be grammatically correct. 3. That it should be understandable to the masses. 4. That it should give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him. From the days of John Wycliffe (1329-1384) and the first English Bible to the present, translators have worked diligently on English versions designed to faithfully present the Scriptures in contemporary language. The Amplified Bible is not an attempt to duplicate what has already been achieved, nor is it intended to be a substitute for other translations. Its genius lies in its rigorous attempt to go beyond the traditional "word-for-word" concept of translation to bring out the richness of the Hebrew and Greek languages. Its purpose is to reveal, together with the single English word equivalent to each key Hebrew and Greek word, any other clarifying meanings that may be concealed by the traditional translation method. Perhaps for the first time in an English version of the Bible, the full meaning of the key words in the original text is available for the reader. In a sense, the creative use of the amplification merely helps the reader comprehend what the Hebrew and Greek listener instinctively understood (as a matter of course). Take as an example the Greek word pisteuo, which the vast majority of versions render "believe." That simple translation, however hardly does justice to the many meanings contained in the Greek pisteuo: "to adhere to, cleave to; to trust, to have faith in; to rely on, to depend on." Consequently, the reader gains understanding through the use of amplification, as in John 11:25: "Jesus said to her, I am [Myself] the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on) Me, although he may die, yet he shall live." In the words of the apostle Paul, "And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit. . . [that His glory may be both manifested and recognized]" (1 Cor 2:13; Phil 1:11).