The translator, Richard Lattimore, was among the most distinguished translatorsof the Greek classics. His aim was to provide a simple, literal rendering in which the syntaxand order of the Greek dictate the character of the English style. He let the words of theApostles and early disciples speak for themselves with an accuracy and fidelity to the originallanguage that is a gift to today's reader. He tried to let all of his texts translate themselveswith as little interference as possible.

Since Mark is, by general if not universal consent, the earliest evangelist,the translator starts with his gospel. There are some terms in this gospel which cannot alwaysbe translated in the same way, or even at all. The rest of the books are in the traditionalorder.

He has followed The New Testament in Greek, by Westcott and Hort, as atext. Rare exceptions have been noted. Words enclosed in square brackets are of doubtfulauthenticity. The translator also regularly consulted The Pelican Gospel Commentaries andA Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2ndEdition. At the back is a section of notes which explain his translations or give alternateinterpretations.

On the front of the dust jacket is a photo by Andres Serrano, "The Morgue(Hacked to Death II)." Some readers may find this distracting, offensive, or inappropriate forthe cover of a book of Scriptures.

It was first published by Farrar, Strauss, Giroux in 1962.

Bryn Mawr Trust Company (1996)

[Tyndale House, Cambridge, UnitedKingdom]