The Life and Teachings
of Jesus
A Restatement of the Gospels

How to Read the Numbers and Reference Notes

        The basic text for this restatement comes from the first four books of the New Testament, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; they are abbreviated as Mt., Mk., Lk., and Jn.
        On each page the chapter and verses that have been quoted are listed at the end of the text. For example, the verses quoted on page 2 are listed as (Jn. 1:1–4, 6–18). This signifies that the text appearing on page 2 is taken from the book of John, Chapter 1, verses 1 through 4 and 6 through 18.
        The superscript numbers that appear at the beginning of various lines (e.g., 1In) and sometimes within sentences (e.g., God, 13born) are the verse numbers as they are listed in Scripture. Italicized superscript letters that appear at the end of sentences and sometimes within sentences (e.g., John.b) are footnote references. They refer the reader to the bottom of the page for an explanation or comment concerning the footnoted material.
        The primary translation used in this work is the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible. However, many other versions have also been consulted and employed, especially the King James Version (KJV). Other translations that are quoted in the text of this restatement are listed on the next page.
        Since the Revised Standard Version has been chosen as the primary reference text, any other translation that has been used, or any other deviation from the Revised Standard Version text, is shown in the small notations at the bottom of each page.
        As an example of how differences from the Revised Standard Version are shown, consider the following notation that appears at the bottom of page 2:

Jn. 1:14 Word was made flesh (KJV) / Word became flesh (RSV).
After the chapter and verse reference (Jn. 1:14) comes any phraseology that differs from the Revised Standard Version (Word was made flesh). The source of this difference is shown in parenthesis (KJV). When there is no reference listed, the source of the change is the author's restating and reworking the Biblical text. To the right of the slash is the text as it appears in the Revised Standard Version (Word became flesh) followed by (RSV). Wherever possible the first and last words on both sides of the slash are the same (Word ... flesh) and the different wording (was made / became) appears between them.
        If there are several changes within a particular verse, these changes are listed in order and separated by a dot ( • ), as may be seen in the verse notes at the bottom of page 40:

Mt. 6:10 Your kingdom (NRSV) / Thy kingdom (RSV) • your will (NRSV) / thy will (RSV)
        Sometimes an entire verse comes from another translation, especially the King James Version. In such a case the change is shown in the verse notes as at the bottom of page 26:

Mk. 3:14 KJV.
If the gospel text contains a quotation or reference from the Old Testament, its Old Testament source is identified in the verse notes, as in

Mt. 2:6 Micah 5:2
which appears at the bottom of page 9. This signifies that Mt. 2:6 is a quotation from Micah, chapter 5, verse 2.
        The major purpose of the verse notes is to show any part of a sentence that has been changed or omitted. If entire sentences are left out, they are not shown; and, if only one half of a compound sentence (divided by a semicolon) is used, the other half is not listed. Numerous minor punctuation changes are not shown.
        The parenthetical note at the end of the verse notes, as in (122:3/1346) on page 4, references the corresponding paper, section, and page(s) in The Urantia Book.
        Following is a list of other translations that were used in preparing this restatement along with their abbreviations:

ABThe Amplified Bible
ASVThe American Standard Version
BasThe New Testament in Basic English
BerThe Berkeley Version of the New Testament (Gerrit Verkuyl)
GspdThe New Testament: An American Translation (Edgar J. Goodspeed)
KnoxThe Holy Bible: A Translation from the Latin Vulgate in the Light of Hebrew and Greek Originals (Monsignor Ronald Knox)
LamThe New Testament According to the Eastern Texts (George M. Lamsa)
MofThe New Testament: A New Translation (James Moffatt)
MonThe Centenary Translation: The New Testament in Modern English (Helen Barrett Montgomery)
NABRevised New Testament of the New American Bible
NASThe New American Standard Bible
NEBThe New English Bible: New Testament
NIVThe New International Version
NorThe New Testament: A New Translation (Olaf M. Norlie)
NRSV  New Revised Standard Version Bible
PhiThe New Testament in Modern English (J. B. Phillips)
RieuThe Four Gospels (E. V. Rieu)
TCNTThe Twentieth Century New Testament
TEVToday’s English Version
WeyThe New Testament in Modern Speech (Richard Francis Weymouth)
WmsThe New Testament: A Translation in the Language of the People (Charles B. Williams)