This page received important updates on July 25, 2021
All the new material is in the first section ("Logos Version of Diagrams").
I have retained the original string of accouncements as a second section of this page, for any who may wish to refer back to that information.
Logos Version of Diagrams
Logos Bible Software has new released my diagramming work in two editions: the Nestle-Aland 28th edition and the SBL Greek New Testament edition. Click for a
YouTube video discussing the difference(s)
between these two editions.
The SBLGNT edition
is one that Logos paid me to spin off from my original NA28 diagrams, in order for Logos to be able to include this edition in their base packages (Silver level and above) at zero royalty cost to them. This set of diagrams is not otherwise available in Logos, so I cannot offer you a link to add the SBLGNT edition to your Logos library (a PDF version is for sale on this site).
Each of these editions consists of two separate Logos titles:
one for the diagrams and the other for the notes and ancillary material.
The diagrams are bitmap images
of the diagrams as they appear in the PDF versions for sale at this site. There is no hyperlinking
of the Greek words to their lexical form, parsing information, or lexicon entries. This simplicity of presentation is necessitated by the difficulty and expense that would be involved in developing a database of the Greek words based on their x-y coordinates within the diagram images. It would probably be possible to develop this functionality, but users would not be pleased at the price difference! Such functionality was available for these diagrams within BibleWorks, but that functionality was a matter of proprietary BibleWorks software programming that does not port over to Logos. The only reasonably efficient form in which to port the diagrams from their original BibleWorks setting over to Logos is by bitmap images. This form of conversion is also rather demanding in terms of drive space; each edition is about 300 megabytes in size.
The diagrams are not editable, since they do not open within the Logos diagramming module. And since the diagrams are not text-based resources, the Logos tools for text markup are not available for the diagrams. The notes resource is text-based, so all available markup tools will function for the notes and ancillary matter.
Some important Logos functionality does
apply to the diagrams. A window displaying diagrams can be linked to a Greek text window (or other verse-based) to move along with the text window in synch. (For any verse, the diagrams resource will open to the beginning of the diagram containing that verse). Also, the diagrams appear in the Passage Guides, in "Media Resources" section, and in the "Visualizations" section of the Exegetical Guides.
Some functionality that I was initially led to expect has not yet materialized.
Most significant is that notes do not appear along with diagrams; they "hide" in their own separate resource. Perhaps this weakness can be remedied; I will look into the question.
I suggest that users create a workspace (a Layout, in Logos terminology) for working with the diagrams and notes.
That workspace would contain at least two windows: one window for the Greek text and one for the diagrams. The Notes resource would be a separate tab within one of those windows, or perhaps it would be a third window for those who work with a wide monitor. All these windows would be linked to move together, and those wishing to work with both the SBLGNT and the NA28 versions would just double up on the tabs in each window; one for each edition. The window with Greek texts could also contain a favorite English version or two, or else the screen can be divided into 4 windows: Greek and English text in separate windows on one side of the page, and diagrams and notes in separate windows on the other (or perhaps the screen would be divided top and bottom rather than left and right sides). In this way, the Greek words are ready at hand for hyperlinking from the Greek text window while the diagrams remain visible. Saving the Layout with an appropriate name will enable you to call it up again anytime with just a couple of mouse clicks.
A refund for buyers of the PDF version who also bought NA28 for Logos?
When I announced the first Logos edition (NA28), I was hoping for a significantly faster release than eventually materialized. That hope left me fearing that some who had purchased my PDF version of those diagrams without knowing that a Logos version would be forthcoming (though I did include on the website a notice that other forms of publication were under consideration) may feel cheated by having to purchase the work twice in order to have it in Logos. So my announcement of a Logos version included a note about a possibility of working out some sort of discount arrangement for PDF buyers who wanted to abandon the PDF version and go strictly with Logos. As things unfolded, the SBLGNT diagrams came into Logos 9 at no charge, and the NA28 diagrams did not release until almost 16 months after the initial announcement. So those early buyers have had much earlier access to the work than at first I was envisioning, and many received a very similar set of Logos diagrams at no charge beyond their cost to update. I think it would also be fair for me to limit such a discount to only that portion that I actually earn as a royalty from the Logos sales; Logos deserves its portion of the sale price in order to fund the production of the diagrams. I also owe a royalty to the copyright owner of the NA28 text on each sale of the PDF version, and at this late date I could not expect the copyright owner to refund royalties paid on the sales of those PDF copies. The amount that is left for me to return as a refund, then, without having to give up a substantial portion of my own hard-earned income from the diagrams, is small enough that it hardly seems worth offering on a large scale, and doing so would require considerable further work from me to process the requests that would come in. So I am hoping that a great majority of the buyers of the PDF version will see sufficient value in that purchase to want to keep it: most have had the full 16 months of early access to the work, and the PDF has ongoing value as more readily accessible in some situations where opening Logos would be impractical or time-consuming. I do, however, invite PDF buyers who have also purchased the Logos NA28 edition and who feel in any way wronged by my inability to announce a forthcoming Logos version at the time they bought the PDF to
contact me
to discuss the possibility of a partial refund. I don't want any of my customers to meet me in heaven with an accusation to settle of my having cheated them!
Below is the original string of announcements
that I posted to this site as these Logos editions were under development, for the sake of those who want to refer back to that information.
March 3, 2020
(updated March 6, April 28, May 13, July 31, October 23, December 31, 2020, and February 15, 2021)
Logos Bible Software has posted a
pre-publication page
to gather interest for an upcoming release of the diagrams as a Logos resource.
I would like to have announced the Logos prospect earlier, but discussions developed slowly over more than a year's time and only now have reached a point where I could do so with confidence.
Here are the details of planned Logos functionality as they have been described to me:
- Direct access from a particular word in a Greek NT text to its precise diagram context is not planned due to the cost of such development. (Note on 3/6: An email from Logos that I don't quite understand seems to imply that this direct access may be possible after all. Watch for later updates.)
- Direct access from a particular verse to the diagram within which that verse appears will be provided, with the beginning of the appropriate diagram located at the top of the screen. This will be a significant advantage of the Logos version over the PDF.
- Notes will appear both beneath the diagram to which they apply and also as a separate resource that can be linked to display the same passage as the diagrams. Still undetermined is whether there will be marginal indicators of the presence of a note, or perhaps hotspots that will display a note when the cursor hovers on them.
- Markup capabilities in the notes will differ from those in the diagrams. Logos's standard markup tools will function with the notes resource, but the diagrams themselves will be bitmap images that cannot be marked up. Markability will join portability as the PDF's primary advantages over the Logos version.
- It is not realistic to expect these diagrams to appear as diagram documents within Logos's own diagramming environment anytime in the near future.
As a further note to this announcement, I offer my apology to anyone who may feel harmed by having purchased the PDF in a timing that now appears to have been premature. I did include on this site, from the day I began selling the diagrams, a cautionary statement indicating the prospect of an additional form of publication. (That statement no longer appears, since this announcement renders it moot.) Still, I'll express here a willingness to consider some form of compensation for those who purchased the PDF prior to this announcement and who later purchase the Logos edition and find the PDF no longer worthwhile. I do think that some or many users will end up valuing the diagrams in both forms. I will take up this possibility once the Logos version releases and I get a feel for customer sentiment. I want to serve the Lord with integrity, and I will be sympathetic toward customers who feel any sense of having been wronged. Contact with me on this topic is welcome, using the
contact form on the home page. Project Status Update—April 28, 2020
Here are the current plans for Logos publication of the diagrams. These plans are reasonably firm but not yet set in stone, and this update should not be construed as an official Logos announcement. I am just doing my best to keep those who are following my work apprised of significant developments--especially prospective buyers, who need information to guide their purchase decision.
The primary Greek text within Logos is the SBL edition, which differs in wording from Nestle-Aland 28 (the text used in the BibleWorks diagrams) in something more than 500 places. Logos is naturally interested in having an SBL-based version of the diagrams that can be included in base packages of future Logos versions. Deciding the exact arrangements under which both an NA28 and an SBL version of the diagrams can be published has been a challenging task.
The current plan, just recently formed, is that beginning with Logos 9 the SBL-based diagrams will become available as part of Logos base packages Silver and above. Paid upgrades to these version 9 base packages will include this set of diagrams as part of that upgrade purchase. The SBL version will not immediately be available as a standalone purchase. Whether and when to offer it on a standalone basis will be determined at some later date. [This paragraph updated with the most recent information on 5/13/20.]
The NA28 version will be released as soon as possible as an add-on to existing libraries. Inclusion in base packages is not planned at present. A release date has not yet been set, but it seems reasonable to hope for publication before the end of 2020. [This paragraph updated with the most recent information on 5/13/20.]
I hope this information will help prospective buyers of the diagrams in Logos form know how to plan. If you prefer the SBL version and plan to upgrade to Logos 9, you may wish to cancel any pre-publication order you may have submitted for NA28. [This paragraph updated with the most recent information on 5/13/20.]
Project Status Update—July 31, 2020
I have now completed the conversion of the diagrams from NA28 to SBL and have submitted the files to Logos for production. I am not informed about a likely release date for Logos 9 or whether the diagrams will be ready at that time or will be provided as an update later.
I'm now in a position to comment on the extent of the difference between the NA28 and SBL diagrams. The wording differences between the two texts did not strike me as extensive. The 540-odd differences, spread across the 260 chapters of the NT, amount to about two changes per chapter, and many of them are so slight as to be practically unnoticeable.
Punctuation differences are much more significant than wording differences. While I did not keep exact count, I would guess that punctuation differences produced about six times as many diagramming changes as the wording differences required. If I imagine myself using the SBL diagrams to assist my exegesis of the NA28 text, I would guess that there would be an average of four or five passages per chapter where the SBL diagram would puzzle me to some extent because its structure does not match the grammatical structure of the text as worded and/or punctuated in NA28.
The bottom line regarding these differences is that careful students of the NA28 or SBL Greek texts will definitely want to use the set of diagrams for that text. The exception that I can envision is the advanced exegete who might enjoy using the diagrams as a window into a second opinion about grammatical structure.
My assessment of the editorial quality of the SBL text where it differs from NA28 is mixed. I found myself often appreciating what seemed to me like an improvement over NA28, more often in matters of punctuation than selection among variants (to which I simply did not give much attention). On the other hand, there were also a significant number of instances where SBL left me disappointed or even downright irritated. The selection of Westcott and Hort as the primary model for the text is based on sound considerations, but I was left feeling that the editor too often accepted inferior handling of the text by Westcott and Hort where his other sources are better. This website is not the place to go into specifics; I have registered many comments on such matters in the annotations to the diagrams, especially where my assessment is negative.
For those interested in less significant details, I will add that the total number of differences of every kind, including capitalization (the two editions differ over whether to capitalize the first word of quotations) and meaningless spelling differences like the movable nu, amounts to at least one per verse. If I knew the exact number I would give it. The only definite quantity I can give is the number of changes detected in a Microsoft Word document comparison between the two texts after applying a uniform format to each. That number is 13,601. Many of the differences count as two (one deletion and one insertion), so the true number of differences is somewhat greater than half that number (6,800), compared to the NT verse count of 7,957. Some changes flagged involve more than one kind of difference (e.g., both punctuation and capitalization). I'm confident that the total number of differences between the two texts exceeds the number of verses.
Project Status Update—October 23, 2020
SBL Greek NT Diagrams.
My most recent information from Logos, about a week ago, leads me to hope that the SBLGNT version of the diagrams that will be part of the Logos 9 upgrade at library levels Silver will release before the end of the year. Depending on how soon Logos 9 releases, the diagrams may well not be included in the initial release. In that case, I assume that they will release along with normal program and resource updates.
Nestle-Aland 28 Diagrams.
Logos and I have now executed a contract for the NA28 diagrams. I'm responsible to submit the project within 30 days, and the contract obligates Logos to begin the production process as quickly as possible after submission. If all proceeds as expected, I'd hope to see the NA28 diagrams release within the first half of 2021; perhaps within the first quarter. But this is a hope, not a promise.
One unknown factor is whether Logos will require the prepublication offer to complete 100% of its quota before beginning production; the contract is not explicit on that point. The quota is currently 70% filled. It's possible that the release of the SBLGNT diagrams in Logos 9 will result in some cancellations of NA28 orders, and filling the quota for NA28 could end up taking significantly longer than I'm hoping. It's also possible that the actual cost of producing the SBLGNT diagrams, if it turns out higher than expected, could raise the needed quota, which could then further delay release. On the other hand, it's also possible that the production cost of the SBLGNT diagrams might turn out lower than expected and reduce the quota for NA28. Also, Logos tells me that, now that a contract has been concluded, they're willing to promote the diagrams more aggressively, and this promotion could speed the fulfillment process along.
In the current economic environment, Logos can't be blamed for being careful not to over-extend themselves. For any who are anxious to see the NA28 diagrams released, the best way to expedite the project would be to
purchase the prepublication offer
(if you've not already done so) and to encourage other prospective buyers to do likewise. That offer, by the way, does carry a 20% discount off the expected Logos retail price.
Project Status Update—December 31, 2020
SBL Greek NT Diagrams.
I am still waiting for Logos to deliver the draft version of the diagrams for my review. So it is hard to predict a release date. I am told that the release will in fact happen along with normal program and resource updates.
Nestle-Aland 28 Diagrams.
The status of the pre-publication offer is now "In Production." But work on this set of diagrams will not actually begin until the SBL diagrams are released. I remain hopeful that this set will release within the first half of 2021; perhaps within the first quarter. But this remains only a hope, not a promise.
Project Status Update—February 15, 2021
SBL Greek NT Diagrams.
This update is rather belated. Some weeks ago I received the pre-release draft to review. I was encouraged by what I saw. I reported a few corrections, which I would think should be pretty simple to make. There is a programming issue, though, that might take Logos some time to deal with if they decide to address it: the individual diagrams scale themselves to fit the display column width, so wider diagrams look much smaller than narrower diagrams do; the narrowest ones look annoyingly large. I'm hoping that release is not many weeks away, but I have not asked for an expected release date. I requested an opportunity to review corrections before release, but some publishers limit authors' opportunities for corrections (some authors will diddle away forever!). Logos did not respond to that request either way, so I don't know what to expect on that point. Release could be imminent or it could be some time away yet. I will certainly do my part to expedite it, consistently with being able to release a good-quality product.
Nestle-Aland 28 Diagrams.
Nothing new to report since the December update.
The prepublication offer
remains in effect, at a 20% discount off the expected Logos retail price.
Regarding both sets,
I notice that an earlier comment holds out some hope that Logos might be able to provide click access from an individual word in the Greek text to that exact word in its sentence diagram. From what I can see, no such functionality will be possible at this time. Direct access from text to diagrams will be at the diagram level, not the word level. So, for example, if a diagram spans 3 verses, accessing the diagram from any word within those 3 verses will simply display that diagram, with no highlighting applied to that word within the diagram.
Also, another point of anticipated functionality has not yet materialized and perhaps never will. Earlier I was told that we would be able to display each diagram's notes directly beneath the diagram. I saw no such functionality in the pre-release draft. The notes are in a separate resource that can be linked to the diagrams so that the two resources "travel" together, in separate display panes.