More about the Concordant Method

'Concordant' means 'correspondent' and 'consistent'. The Concordant translation Method was developed to shield a translator against his personal views, his inherited tendencies and traditional errors.

With the exception of occasional idiomatic usages, in a concordant translation each English word does exclusive duty for a single Hebrew or Greek word. By this means the significance and application of a single word can be determined from the inspired contexts.
But how does this Concordant Method work ?

We will cite some relevant paragraphs from the Introduction of the LEXICON AND CONCORDANCE⁽¹⁾ published by the Concordant Publishing Concern. Some of these examples are illustrated by images of ISA's Concordant View which works, actually, like a powerful dynamic lexicon and concordance.

Some comments (in green text) are added for explanation. The CONCORDANT VERSION as it is named in this LEXICON AND CONCORDANCE, we know today as the "Concordant Literal New Testament". In ISA it is called the CLV.

For demo purposes two new sublinears have been added Std_L1 and Std_L2. These are based on the LEXICON AND CONCORDANCE and will be published at a later stage.

LEXICON AND CONCORDANCE
Etymological Analysis and Idiomatic Meanings of Every Greek Word used in Divine Revelation
"A pattern of sound words" (2 Timothy 1:13)

The noble language which has been immortalized as the chosen vehicle of God's highest revelation cannot be clearly understood or appreciated by the English reader unless he becomes acquainted with the ELEMENTS of which the words are composed as well as with the words themselves. For example, the words repentance and regret are greatly clarified when we know that the former is an after-MIND and the latter is an after-CARE. (ConcordantView repentance and regret)

It is also of the utmost interest and value to form the acquaintance of the whole family to which each word belongs. Many Greek words are translated destroy in popular versions. What is the exact significance of each Greek word? Hitherto it has required an extensive knowledge of Greek to enjoy these priceless advantages.
(ConcordantView destroy)

That those who know no Greek may enjoy the advantages of access to the inspired originals, the entire vocabulary of the sacred writings has been analyzed into its ELEMENTS.

Each section of a word has been given an English equivalent, so that the reader receives the same impressions as if he were reading the original. Thus he will gain a THRU-MIND (as the Greek has it) or comprehension of the meaning of expressions used in the Scriptures which cannot be obtained by consulting the ordinary lexicons. The words are grouped in families just as though they were Greek. A suspicion is an UNDER-MIND, forethought is a BEFORE-MIND, good humor is WELL-MIND, and folly is UN-MIND. (ConcordantView MIND)

Furthermore, this LEXICON does not merely list a loose collection of English words which give an indefinite definition of each word, but assigns exclusive English equivalents whose meaning is further defined and guaranteed by consistent usage in inspired contexts in the sacred volume itself.

The usual method of cross-wiring in other translations sets the words at war with each other. Instead of the light of one context illuminating an English word in its other occurrences. It is a false beacon, leading us astray. Without consulting the LEXICON at all, the regular user of a concordant version, by merely reading, invests each word with its proper sense and shade and color. There is no greater or simpler aid to the discovery of God's mind. It is a crime against common sense to use a discordant version.

As every word used in the CONCORDANT VERSION is listed in alphabetical order in this LEXICON, it is of great aid in discovering which is the nearest English equivalent to any given Greek term. By a process of comparison and elimination it is possible, not only to find one that will do, but the closest, and the one that will best distinguish it from its synonyms. In most translations words nearly alike in meaning are not discriminated, and vast fields of truth are befogged.

The LEXICON also enables any scholar to test his own translations. Since the version has been issued, the question has often been asked, Why was not this Greek word translated so-and-so? The answer has always been that the proposed rendering belongs to another Greek word, which it fits more accurately. For many years the vocabulary of the Concordant Version has been under constant scrutiny, until it has become almost impossible to improve it. It must be remembered, however, that the greatest help comes from the combination of the Sublinear (called CGTS in ISA) with the Version.

English usage and idiom in the Version hinder that ideal uniformity and literality which is of untold value. The Sublinear is intended to keep the facts of the LEXICON before the mind of the student constantly. Why not use "dispensation" in 1 Corinthians 9:17; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2; Colossians 1:25, as in the Authorized Version? The word here is oikonomia (English, economy), meaning HOME-LAW, stewardship, administration. It does not really refer to dispensing. Another word, diakonia (English, deacon) denotes not only work done for the welfare of others, that is, service, but also that which is dispensed, a dispensation (Acts 6:1,4; 2 Cor. 3:7,8,9). (ConcordantView HOME-LAW)

With the slight exception of occasional idiomatic usages, each English word in the CONCORDANT VERSION does exclusive duty for a single Greek word. Hence a word absorbs no false nuances, no deceptive coloring from alien contexts, but stores up the evidence of each passage to enrich the thought in all the others.

In order to aid in the process of assimilating a true conception of those words which have more than one English equivalent, the main renderings of any given Greek word will be found grouped together. Each one is given in its alphabetical order, followed by the others, and the whole group is referred to the uniform standard of the sublinear.
To give an extreme example: abolish, abrogate, discard, exempt, be inert, nullify, vanish, waste will be found listed together with each of these words, followed by the elementary standard, DOWN-UN-ACT.
In this way the mind will easily grasp that their basic meaning is the same.
The definitions account for variants in the Concordant Version, giving, by preference, example references where the AV uses the same word. The literal meaning is given first with the element reference.

Greek is not like English, having many words spelled the same, but with totally different meanings. Such homonyms as occur are clearly distinguished in usage and are treated as separate words. Thus, in English, a horse may run fast, may be tied fast, and may fast from lack of food. No such confusion occurs in the Greek.

As English is a highly idiomatic language, it is occasionally necessary to depart from uniformity (though not consistency) in the Version. We have tried to indicate this by the word idiomatically, or its abbreviation id. It is usually supposed that these lawless forms are so numerous that a concordant version is impracticable. The present is an attempt to segregate and control the lawless element in the English language in a translation of the Scriptures. It is now evident that this drawback is of minor importance, and seldom affects the grand controlling expressions of Holy Writ. There is no excuse for confusing atonement with conciliation, redemption with deliverance, soul with life, or world with eon. (ConcordantView aiOn and kosmos)

The Interlinear Scripture Analyzer (ISA) has been designed to create interlinears and translations based on the Concordant Method. ISA has powerful features for comparing and checking interlinears and translations regarding their uniformity and consistency.
The combination of ISA and the Concordant Method is like a double-edged sword. With it anybody can point out discordant renderings in other Bible-translations, and at the same time anyone can also point out possible errors in the databases of ISA, using the same program and the same method. This makes ISA one of the most objective translation tools in the world.

"Have a pattern of sound words"
(2 Timothy 1:13)

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