Lamsa Bible
Categories: Bible versions and translations
Formally titled The Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts (ISBN 0060649232), the "Lamsa Bible" (which it is commonly called, after its editor, George M. Lamsa) first appeared in 1933. It was derived, both Old and New Testaments, from the Aramaic text used by the Assyrian Church of the East and other Syriac Christian traditions, called the Peshitta text.
This is in contrast to the various western Bibles in the English language, both Roman Catholic and Protestant. Most western versions are derived from the various critical Hebrew and Greek texts. The New Testament books of the King James Version (KJV), for instance, comes from the Stephens Greek text.
Some places in the Lamsa Bible differ greatly with other English-language Bibles. The most controversial of the Bible's rendering is in Matthew.
Matthew 27:46 is rendered in the KJV:
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
In contrast, Matthew 27:46 is rendered in the Lamsa Bible:
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, Eli, Eli lemana shabakthan! My God, my God, for this I was spared!
See the discussions in George Lamsa and Words of Jesus on the cross, section "Eli Eli lema sabachthani".