THIS TOOL AND WHO IT’S FOR
The Translation Insights and Perspectives (TIPs) tool helps to introduce the many translated languages of the Bible so we can all learn from each other, even though the languages might not be directly accessible to us. The tool is aimed at anyone who is interested in languages and the interconnection between them, whether they are Christian or not.
The collected data is recorded in the form of “insights” — descriptions of how one word, concept, verse, or linguistic attribute is handled in one or various languages or how a linguistic feature that exists in some but not all languages leads to an altered view of the biblical text.
All insights are of a temporary nature because data is constantly being added to this tool. If you have information to add to an existing story, please use the “Comment” box at the bottom of any story, or select “Submit” in the top menu (or under the menu button: ☰) to enter data for a new record.
HOW TO ACCESS CONTENT
Freeform search
You can access information in the TIPs database is by entering any term or phrase in the Search text… box in the middle of the search boxes on top of every page.
The results will return text contained in any insight or its heading. Note that you cannot use wildcards in your searches.
Categorical search
It’s also possible to search by categories. You can use the drop-down list in Pick category box on top of every page to see the list of insights under their respective categories. This is particularly helpful if you want to get an overview of what kind of data is available in TIPs.
Verses
The preferred way to search as well as the quickest way to locate a specific verse with its corresponding insights is by entering it (either the name of the biblical books in the most common languages or one of the common abbreviations) in the Find Verse box on top of every page. Once entered, the page with the verse and its data will be displayed.
You can also look for individual verses by selecting “Books / Verses” in the top menu (or under the menu button: ☰) . If you do that, you’ll be presented with a list of all books and verses in the Bible (including all deuterocanonical or apocryphal books used by the Catholic and most Orthodox confessions). Selecting any of the titles of the biblical books will open up a list of available chapters, and selecting a chapter will open up the available verses.
Selecting one of the verses will open the “verse view” with one or several insights.
The heading (1) lists the word, phrase, or attribute in question. By hovering over the heading or tapping it, the original Greek, Latin, Ge’ez, Aramaic and/or Hebrew text of the word or phrase will be displayed (2), if applicable. Underneath the heading, the actual insight is listed (3).
The first occurrence of any language in the insight listed is underlined as a hyperlink (4) to a listing of all insights in which that language is mentioned (see “Language” below).
If there is another story with related content, you will see it listed following the original insight as a hyperlink (5).
Right above the insights you will see the original text for the current verse in Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez or Latin from the following sources:
- The Greek New Testament, 28th ed. © 2014 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
- Septuaginta, © 2007 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
- Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, © 1977/1997 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
- Biblia Sacra Vulgata (Editio quinta), © 1983 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
- The Bible in Ge’ez (ቅዱሳት መጻሕፍት ዘብሉይ ወዘሐዲስ ኪዳን), © 2021 The Bible Society of Ethiopia (6)
The translated English reference text is from: New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition, © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission All rights reserved. (7). (For the English reference translations of the books of the Ethiopian / Eritrean Orthodox church see Sources.)
Right below the English translation you will find links to the preceding and succeeding verses for which stories are recorded (8).
It is possible that the number of insights that are listed per verse might seem overwhelming to you, especially if you already know what kind of data you are looking for. In that case, you can filter the data shown for each individual verse by using the categories in the Pick Category field to include only data that falls under one or more categories.
Language
If you select “Languages” on top or in the footer of each page or under the menu button: (☰), you’ll be presented with an alphabetical listing of all the languages that are presently represented in the TIPs tool.
If you select one of the languages, you will come to a page where all insights associated with that language are listed.
On the top of that page, underneath the language name, you can see the status of the language followed by information about its language family. On the right part of the page you will see a map where the language is spoken, a link to a Wikipedia page with information about the relevant language, and a link to an online version of a translation of the Bible or a portion thereof in that language (if available). Note that the linked version(s) might not be the same as is described in the insight.
Term
If you select “Term / Phrase / Attribute” in the footer of each page, you’ll be presented with an alphabetical listing of all the words, phrases, and linguistic attributes that are presently collected in the TIPs tool. Selecting any of the letters will open up a list of entries.
Selecting one the entries will open the term view:
The “term view” is similar to the “verse view” (see above) with a few exceptions. There is no display of the Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic/Latin/Ge’ez source text or the English reference text, and to the right, you can find more links related to the insight: 1) Under “Languages” you’ll find links to all the relevant Language pages, 2) under “Verse” you’ll find links list of all the verses that contain the relevant word, phrase, or attribute, and 3) under “Source” you’ll find links to the sources for the information that include more biographical information and a listing of all insights related to that source.
Source
If you select “Sources” in the footer of each page, you’ll be presented with an alphabetical list of all the sources that are presently being used for the TIPs tool.
If you select one of the sources, you will come to a page where all insights associated with that source are listed.
On the top of the page you can see the full biographical details of that source. If only a personal name with no date is listed as the source, the information was shared privately or in a source that is not publicly available (such as Paratext).
Text expansion
If quotes from sources are lengthy, you will often find a feature to collapse long-form text:
The little triangle that points to the right shows that you can select this paragraph or line to see expanded text (note that your mouse cursor will NOT change into the typical pointer icon for clicking on links):
Once expanded, the triangle now points downward. To collapse the text, select the paragraph or line again.
Term Cloud Graphics
For insights with a lot of entries of different languages and translations, there will be a link at the beginning of the insight to a graphic that provides a simple overview of the term and its many translations:
Once you click on the link, a graphic will display the translations in a graphical format for a quick overview:
Clicking on the “horizontal” option on the bottom of this page allows you to change to a radial view of the same content:
RSS Feed
If you would like to subscribe to an RSS feed for all newly released stories and news items you can do that by using your favorite RSS reader and opening tips.translation.bible/feed.
O