DWThe Direct WitnessAccount

The evidence beneath the English

Every consequential choice
leaves a record.

The published library was developed through direct Greek analysis, lexical work, and manuscript comparison. Where surviving witnesses materially disagree, the competing Greek readings and their effect on English remain open to the reader.

6,497

chapter-level decision records generated from the live translation registry

1

public provenance schema, designed to remain machine-readable and auditable

SBLGNT

standardized inspectable Greek reference edition

Textual basis

SBL Greek New Testament

Edited by Michael W. Holmes. The project's standardized, publicly inspectable Greek reference edition. It is not presented as retroactive proof that every existing chapter originated from one uniform printed edition.

This is an honest reference claim, not a retroactive claim that all completed work began from one uniform printed edition. Material manuscript forks remain independently documented at the reading they affect.

SBLGNT project · Text and apparatus · License

Translation record

Acts 14

Download complete JSON record

acts.14.ac14WorthlessThings

ἀπὸ τούτων τῶν ματαίων

TRANSLATIONmoderate confidence

From what were the Lystrans called to turn?

Mataios describes what is empty, futile, or powerless; here it refers to the gods and sacrificial practices before them.

Why this default

μάταιος denotes what is futile, empty, or incapable of delivering what worship expects. “Worthless things” preserves Paul’s evaluation while avoiding the added ontological claim that the named gods have literal existence.

Evidence

ExternalNo separate external-evidence note is recorded for this stable-text decision.

InternalThe decision record relies on the stated lexical, grammatical, or translation rationale.

Project defaultthese worthless things

Project default

Alternativethese empty objects of worship

Alternative

Alternativethese powerless deities

Responsible alternative

Reference roleStandardized inspectable reference; manuscript forks are independently reopened.

Revision historyNo decision-level revision has been recorded since the provenance ledger was introduced.

← All Acts 14 records

Record integrity

One registry drives both the reader and this record.

The manifest is regenerated from the translation source before every production build. Its source digest is 7c4cbee907fbc0e84976d6e78a615134e2288f8197ce8abcf67b0452155ddc84.

Decision-level revision history begins with this ledger. Earlier development is not reconstructed into false precision; future material changes can be appended to the relevant record with their reason and date.