Modern English Bible translations

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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.

Contents

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

Name Date
Challoner's revision of the Douay-Rheims Bible 1752
Quaker Bible 1764
Thomson's Translation 1808
Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible 1830
Webster's Revision 1833
Young's Literal Translation 1862
Julia E. Smith Parker Translation 1876
Revised Version 1885
Darby Bible 1890

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.

Abbreviation Name Date
TLB The Living Bible 1971
GNB Good News Bible 1976, 1992
CEV Contemporary English Version 1995
GW God's Word 1995
NLT New Living Translation 1996, 2004
MSG The Message 2002

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.

Abbreviation Name Date
NET New English Translation 2005
TFB The Free Bible In Progress

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.

Abbreviation Name Date
JPS Jewish Publication Society of America Version<ref>The Hebrew Bible in English</ref> 1917
Judaica Press<ref>The Judaica Press Complete Tanach with Rashi</ref> 1963
Koren Jerusalem Bible <ref>[http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/scriptures/jbk.htm Jerusalem Bible (Koren)</ref>Based on a translation by Harold Fisch 1962
The Living Torah by Aryeh Kaplan<ref>Available online</ref></br>The Living Nach by Yaakov Elman 1981</br>1996
NJPS New Jewish Publication Society of America Version 1985
Artscroll Stone Edition (Artscroll) 1996

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.

Abbreviation Name Date
CKJV Children's King James Version Jay P. Green 1960
KJ II King James II Version of the Bible Jay P. Green 1971
KJV20 King James Version -- Twentieth Century Edition Jay P. Green
NKJV New King James Version 1982
KJ21 21st Century King James Version 1991
MKJV Modern King James Version 1999
AKJV American King James Version <ref>American King James Version</ref> 1999
KJV2000 King James 2000 Version <ref>King James 2000 Version</ref> 2000
UKJV Updated King James Version <ref>Updated King James Version</ref> 2000
KJVER King James Version Easy Reading <ref>King James Bibles</ref> 2001
HSV Holy Scriptures Version <ref>The Holy Scriptures. Rabon Vincent Jr., translator. Victoria: Trafford, 2001. ISBN 1-55369-199-7</ref> 2001
CKJV Comfort-able King James Version <ref> The Evidence Bible</ref> <ref>Amazon Online Reader : The Evidence Bible</ref> 2003
NCPB New Cambridge Paragraph Bible <ref>New Cambridge Paragraph Bible</ref> 2005
AV7 AV7 (New Authorized Version) 2006

Messianic translations

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

Abbreviation Name Date
TS98 The Scriptures '98 Version 1993, 1998
CJB Complete Jewish Bible (by David H. Stern) 1998
God's New Covenant: A New Testament Translation (by Heinz Cassirer) 1989

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.

Abbreviation Name Date
NEB New English Bible 1970
REB Revised English Bible 1989

New International Version and derivatives

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

Abbreviation Name Date
NIV New International Version 1978
NIrV New International Reader's Version 1996
NIVI New International Version Inclusive Language Edition 1996
TNIV Today's New International Version 2005

Public domain translations

Abbreviation Name Date
WEB World English Bible In Progress
MASV Modern American Standard Version In Progress
CPDV Catholic Public Domain Version 2009
DRP David Robert Palmer Translation<ref>A new translation of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, 1 John, 2 John, and Revelation</ref> In Progress
UKJV Updated King James Version 2000
TFB The Free Bible In Progress

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:

Abbreviation Name Date
RV Revised Version 1885
ASV American Standard Version 1901
RSV Revised Standard Version 1952
NASB New American Standard Bible 1971, 1995
SSBE Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition 1981
NRSV New Revised Standard Version 1989
RcV Recovery Version 1999
ESV English Standard Version 2001
WEB World English Bible In progress

Roman Catholic translations

Abbreviation Name Date
D-R Douay-Rheims Bible Challoner Revision 1752
WVSS Westminster Bible 1936
SCM Spencer New Testament 19411
CFY Confraternity Bible 19412
Knox Knox's Translation of the Vulgate 1955
KLNT Kleist-Lilly New Testament 19561
JB Jerusalem Bible 1966
RSV-CE Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition 1965-663
NAB New American Bible 1970
TLB-CE The Living Bible - Catholic Edition 1971
NJB New Jerusalem Bible 1985
CCB Christian Community Bible 1986
NRSV-CE New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition 1989
CPDV Catholic Public Domain Version In Progress

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.

Abbreviation Name Date
ERB Rotherham's Emphasized Bible 1902
SNB Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible 1976
HNB Holy Name Bible 1963
SSBE Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition 1981
SN-KJ Sacred Name King James Bible 2005
SSFOY Sacred Scriptures, Family of Yah Edition 2000
TWOY The Word of Yahweh 2003
TS98 The Scriptures '98 Version 1993, 1998
RNKJV Restored Name King James Version In progress
HRV Hebraic-Roots Version 2004
TB The Besorah (a plagiarized copy of The Scriptures 1998 <ref>http://besorah.synthasite.com/</ref>) 2008
TBE Transparent English Bible In progress

Septuagint translations

Abbreviation Name Date
Brenton's English Translation of the Septuagint 1851
AB The Apostles' Bible 2004
OSB Orthodox Study Bible 2007
NETS New English Translation of the Septuagint 2007

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.

Abbreviation Name Date
BBE Bible in Basic English 1949
BWE Bible in Worldwide English [New Testament only] 1969
NLV New Life Version (Gleason Ledyard) 1986
SEB Simple English Bible (Dr Stanley Morris) 1980
ERV Easy-to-Read Version (previously English Version for the Deaf) 1989
NCV New Century Version 1991
NIrV New International Reader's Version 1998
EEB EasyEnglish Bible <ref>Simple Translations of the Bible in Easy English</ref> 2001+

Translations published by Jehovah's Witnesses

Abbreviation Name Date
NWT New World Translation 1950
LivEng The Bible in Living English (not to be confused with the Living Bible) 1972

Other translations

Abbreviation Name Date
Fenton The Holy Bible In Modern English (by Ferrar Fenton) 1903
MNT A New Translation (by James Moffatt) 1926
Lamsa Lamsa Bible (by George Lamsa) 1933
AAT An American Translation (by Smith and Goodspeed) 1935
BV Berkeley Version 1958
AMP Amplified Bible 1965
Knoch Concordant Literal Version (by Adolph Ernst Knoch) 1966
MLB The Modern Language Bible (New Berkeley Version) 1969
TSB The Story Bible 1971
BECK An American Translation (by William F. Beck) 1976
LITV Green's Literal Translation (by Jay P. Green) 1985
The Clear Word (Seventh-day Adventist paraphrase) 1994
CJB Complete Jewish Bible 1998
TMB Third Millennium Bible 1998
Recovery Version 1999
VW A Voice In The Wilderness Holy Scriptures <ref>A Voice in the Wilderness</ref> 2003
AB The Apostles' Bible 2004
HCSB Holman Christian Standard Bible 2004
CAB The Complete Apostles' Bible 2005
ACV A Conservative Version (NT only in print OT & NT Internet versions) 2005
ARTB Ancient Roots Translinear Bible (Old Testament Only) 2006
MGB The Manga Bible <ref>The Manga Bible</ref> In progress
TEB Transparent English Bible<ref>Original Bible Project</ref> In progress
ISV International Standard Version In progress
Jubilee2000 English Jubilee 2000 Bible
Murdock James Murdock's Translation of the Syriac Peshitta
Anointed Standard Version 1995

Partial translations

Old Testament

Name Date
Brenton's English Translation of the Septuagint 1851
Four Prophets (Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah), J.B. Phillips 1963
The Five Books of Moses, Everett Fox 1995
Give us a King!, (1,2 Samuel) Everett Fox 1999
The David Story (1,2 Samuel), Robert Alter 2000
The Five Books of Moses, Robert Alter 2004
The Book of Psalms, Robert Alter 2007
The Bible with Sources Revealed, Richard Elliott Friedman 2005
The Book of Job, Genesis, Stephen Mitchell 1992, 1996
The Wisdom Books in Modern Speech (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Song of Songs) John Edgar McFadyen 1917

New Testament

Abbreviation Name Date
Diaglott Emphatic Diaglott <ref>DCL: Emphatic Diaglott - New Testament</ref> by Benjamin Wilson 1864
  Sinai and Comparative New Testament <ref>The Sinai and Comparative New Testament. - 1881</ref> by Edwin Leigh 1881
  The Epistles of Paul in Modern English (includes Hebrews), by George Barker Stevens 1898
  The Twentieth Century New Testament 1902
  Weymouth New Testament (New Testament in Modern Speech) 1903
  Centenary New Testament (by Helen Barrett Montgomery) 1924
  The Four Gospels, by E. V. Rieu, Penguin 1952
  The Authentic New Testament, by Hugh J. Schonfield 1955
Phi / PME Phillips New Testament in Modern English and Four Prophets (by J. B. Phillips) 1958
  The Simplified New Testament, by Olaf M. Norlie 1961
WET Wuest Expanded Translation (by Kenneth Wuest) 1961
  The New Testament: a New Translation, by William Barclay 1968
  TransLine, by Michael Magill 2002
CPG Cotton Patch Gospel <ref>The Cotton Patch Version</ref> by Clarence Jordan 1968-1973 (4 vols)
  The Four Gospels, by Norman Marrow, ISBN 0-9505565-0-5 1977
  The Original New Testament, by Hugh J. Schonfield, ISBN 0-947752-20-X 1985
McCord's New Testament Translation of the Everlasting Gospel by Hugo McCord 1988
A Fresh Parenthetical Version of the New Testament by B. E. Junkins ISBN-10: 0761823972 2002
God's New Covenant: A New Testament Translation by Heinz Cassirer, ISBN 0-8028-3673-9 1989
  Jewish New Testament, by David H. Stern 1989
Gaus The Unvarnished New Testament <ref>[1] [2]</ref> by Andy Gaus 1991
  The New Testament, by Richmond Lattimore, ISBN 0-460 87953 7 1996
TCE The Common Edition New Testament <ref>[3] [4]</ref> 1999
COM The Comprehensive New Testament <ref>http://www.cornerstonepublications.org</ref> 2008
ALT Analytical-Literal Translation 1999?
A New Accurate Translation of the Greek New Testament, by Julian G. Anderson ISBN 0-960-21284-1 1984
The Voice ISBN 1418534390 2008
The Source New Testament With Extensive Notes on Greek Word Meaning, by Dr A. Nyland ISBN 0980443008 2004

References

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External links

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