Modern English Bible translations

From Textus Receptus

Many attempts have been made to translate the Bible into modern English, which is defined as the form of English in use after 1800. Since the early nineteenth century, there have been several translational responses to the rapid spread of Christianity throughout the world. Various denominational and organizational goals have produced, and continue to produce, Bibles to address the needs of English speakers from all walks of life. Differing base texts, theological emphasis, style, and translation aims (e.g. readability vs. literality) are just a few of the variables that contribute to the wide range of Bibles available today.

The Development of Modern English Bible Versions

The Authorized King James Version of 1611 was sporadically altered until 1769, but was not thoroughly updated until the creation of the Revised Version in 1885. These formal equivalence or literal translations have been continued with further modifications to the King James and Revised Versions, including the Revised Standard Version (1952), the New Revised Standard Version (1989), and the English Standard Version (2001).

In the late twentieth century, Bibles increasingly appeared that were much less literal in their style. In 1946, the New English Bible was initiated in the United Kingdom, intended to enable readers to better understand the King James Bible. In 1958, J. B. Phillips (1906-1982) produced an edition of the New Testament letters in paraphrase, the Letters to Young Churches, so that members of his youth group could understand what the New Testament authors had written. Others followed suit. The Living Bible, released in in 1971, was published by its author Kenneth N. Taylor, based on the literal American Standard Version of 1901. Taylor had begun because of the trouble his children had in understanding the literal (and sometimes archaic) text of the King James Bible. His work was at first intended for children, but was later positioned for adults wishing to better understand the Bible. Like Phillips' version, a dramatic departure from the King James version.

Despite widespread criticism, the popularity of The Living Bible, itself a paraphrase rather than a translation, created a demand for a new approach to translating the Bible into contemporary English called dynamic equivalence, which attempts to preserve the meaning of the original text in a readable way. Realizing the immense benefits of a Bible which was more easily accessible to the average reader, and responding to the criticisms of the Living Bible, the American Bible Society produced the Good News Bible (1976), a new English Bible translation in this more readable style. This translation has gone on to become one of the best selling in history. In 1996, a new revision of Taylor's Living Bible was published. This New Living Translation is a full translation from the original languages rather than a paraphrase of the Bible.

Another project aimed to create something in between the very literal translation of the King James Bible and the more informal Good News Bible. The goal of this was to create a Bible that would be scholarly yet not overly formal. The result of this project was the New International Version (1978).

The debate between the formal equivalence and dynamic (or 'functional') equivalence translation styles has increased with the introduction of inclusive language versions. Various terms are employed to defend or attack this development, such as feminist, gender neutral, or gender accurate. New editions of some previous translations have been updated to take this change in language into account, including the New Revised Standard Version (1989), the Revised English Bible (1989), and Today's New International Version (2005). Some translations have approached the issue more cautiously, such as the English Standard Version (2001).

A further process that has assisted in increasing the number of English Bible versions exponentially, is the use of the Internet in producing virtual bibles, of which a growing number are beginning to appear in print – especially given the development of "print on demand".

Today, there is a range of translations ranging from the most literal, such as the Young's Literal Translation to the most free such as The Message and The Word on the Street.

18th and 19th century translations

20th and 21st century translations

Dynamic translations and paraphrases

A significant aspect in translations from the latter half of the 20th century was much greater use of the principles of dynamic equivalence.

Internet-based translations

The New English Translation is a project to publish a translation of the Bible using the Internet. It is freely available and accompanied by extensive translator's notes. Another Internet based translation is the The Free Bible. It is a wiki, collaborative project, based on Wikisource.

Jewish translations

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Jewish translations follow the Masoretic Text, and are usually published in bilingual editions with the Hebrew text facing the English translation. The translations often reflect traditional Jewish exegesis of the bible. As translations of the Masoretic bible, Jewish translations contain neither the apocrypha nor the Christian New Testament.

King James Version and derivatives

The King James Version of 1611 still has an immense following, and as such there have been a number of different attempts to update or improve upon it.

Messianic translations

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Some Bible translations find popular use in, or were prepared especially for, the Messianic Judaism movement.

New English Bible and derivatives

The initiative to create the New English Bible began in 1946, in an attempt to make an entirely new translation of the Bible in modern English.

New International Version and derivatives

The popular New International Version has appeared in a number of editions.

Public domain translations

Revised Version and derivatives

The English Revised Version was the first official attempt to update the Authorized (King James) Version. This was adapted in the United States as the American Standard Version. The translations and versions which stem from them are shown in date order:

Roman Catholic translations

¹New Testament only.
²Contains material from the Challoner Revision, as the translation was never completed.
³Second Catholic Edition released 2006.

Divine Name translations

These Sacred Name Bibles were all done with the specific aim of carrying into English the actual Name of God as they were in the originals. Most have been done by people from the Sacred Name Movement. They are distinguished by their policy of transliterating Hebrew-based forms for sacred names, such as "Yahweh", "YHWH", etc.

Septuagint translations

Simplified English Bibles

There have been a number of attempts to produce a Bible which greatly simplifies the English. (Some of these versions are also listed in other categories: for example, the NIrV is also found under the NIV section). These are translations which are not necessarily a very dynamic translation, but go beyond simply everyday English into a restricted vocabulary set, often aimed at non-native speakers of English.

Translations published by Jehovah's Witnesses

Other translations

Partial translations

Old Testament

New Testament

References

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See also

• Jewish English Bible translations
• List of English Bible translations
• Bible translations - for a view of translation into languages other than English.
• Bible errata

External links

• The Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy
• Rating the Translations
• Translations of the Bible Into English
• Online Bible translations links