The Modern Standard Version (MSV) is a new analytical translation of the New Testament. It is called Modern because an effort has been made to use modern English language. It is called Standard because it generally follows the word order of the King James, American Standard, Revised Standard tradition.
There is no one-to-one correspondence between Greek words and English words. Depending upon context, a Greek word may best be translated by more than one English word. However, where such correspondence is possible the MSV strives to consistently translate the same Greek word by the same English word rather than striving for variation. An effort has been made to translated Greek synonyms by English synonyms where possible. The second person pronoun you is marked with a dagger when it is plural in the Greek.
Certain word choices are worthy of note. Sometimes a Greek word must be translated by two English words for clarity. For example, the Greek word that has been translated by the English word "fornication" is here translated "sexual immorality" since the Greek word is generic, used in the ancient world not only for fornication, but also adultery, incest, homosexuality, and bestiality. Certain uncommon technical words, such as "betrothed" and "propitiation," have been kept in the text but explained in a footnote. Occasionally, a rarely used traditional English word has been kept in the translation. For example, the word "admonish" has been kept rather than using the more current words "warn" or "instruct," neither of which has the broad range of meaning which "admonish" has. Words that are added to clarify meaning and make smooth English are enclosed in square brackets rather than the traditional italics since in usual English writing brackets indicate added words and italics indicate emphasis or foreign words. Where synonyms give a slightly different meaning, a clarifying word may be added in brackets. As examples, "[sewing]" and "[surgical]" are added in fromt of "needle"; where the word for the entire temple complex or a courtyard in it should be distinquished from the word for the temple sanctuary proper, the words "[complex]" or "[courtyard]" as appropriate are added.
An effort has been made to indicate the sense of the Greek tense of verbs. Verbs that are in the present tense in Greek but translated as past tense for good English are marked with an asterisk. Perfect tenses are usually shown by the use of the auxiliary verbs have, has, and had, but the reader would be well advised that the sense of the perfect verbs in Greek is completed action. Occasionally context calls for Greek aorist verbs to be translated as English perfects. Often Greek imperfect verbs which show continuous past action are translated using the progressive form in English, such as was doing or kept doing. Where the emphasis is on the beginning of the action, the word start is used, as in start doing. Present imperatives are translated with the auxiliary verb keep or, where negative, quit, and an -ing form.
The underlying Greek text for the MSV is the third edition of the UBS Greek Testament with one exception: in Acts 16:12 the MSV follows the minority position of the UBS Text Committee which supported a reading found in most ancient manuscripts rather than the majority position which supported a conjecture based on later Latin manuscripts.
The MSV is unique in that it contains over 1250 textual variants in the footnotes, including all the variants listed in the various editions of the American Standard Version, the Revised Standard Version, the New Revised Standard Version, the English Standard Version, the New American Standard Version/Bible, the New International Version, the New English Bible, the Revised English Bible, the Today's English Version (also known as the Good News Translation), and the Christian Standard Bible. Where the word "ancient" is used in these footnotes, it indicates that the variant appeared in manuscripts of the first six centuries of the Christian age. Further information on these variants can be found in the companion volume The Bible Student's Guide to New Testament Textual Variants.