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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

Colossians 1

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colossians.1.col1Head

κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος τῆς ἐκκλησίας

TRANSLATIONINTERPRETATIONmoderate confidence

What does it mean that he is the head of the body?

The metaphor joins authority, source, and organic relation: Christ is head and the assembly is his body.

Why this default

Head leads because the living body metaphor can carry authority, source, and organic unity together without selecting only one function; the alternatives unpack source or combine source with rule.

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 defaultthe head

Project default · metaphor retained

Alternativethe governing source

Responsible alternative · functions unpacked

Alternativethe source and ruler of the body

Origin and authority held together

Reference roleStandardized inspectable reference; manuscript forks are independently reopened.

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

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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.