Modern English Bible translations
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There are many attempts to translate the Bible into modern English which is defined as the form of English in use after 1800. Since the early 19th 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 that fit the needs of English speakers in 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.
[edit] The Evolution of English Bible Versions
There was a long gap between the creation of the King James Version of the Bible and the Revised Standard Version. The formal equivalence or literal translations have now been continued with new versions of the Revised Standard, the American Standard and the King James.
One of the biggest changes in the late 20th century was the appearance of Bibles which were much less literal in their style, and considerably more approachable for modern readers.
This was led by the introduction of paraphrased editions of scripture, for the most part, editions of the New Testament. In 1958, The Reverend Canon John Bertram Phillips (1906-1982) led the way, with "The New Testament in Modern English". Phillips began his work during the Second World War by producing in 1948 an edition of the New Testament letters in paraphrase, Letters to Young Churches so that members of his youth group could understand what the New Testament authors had written. The introduction to the book was given by C. S. Lewis.
Many others followed suit for similar reasons. For example The Living Bible, published by its author, Kenneth Nathanial Taylor in 1971. Taylor had begun quite simply because of the trouble his children had in understanding the literal (and sometimes archaic) text of the King James version of the Bible. His work was at first intended for children, but then he wondered if he could also make it easier for adults to understand the whole Bible. He took as his basis the literal American Standard Version of 1901, and what he produced was like Phillips' version, a dramatic departure from the King James version.
Taylor began, like Phillips, in producing paraphrases of the New Testament epistles, in his "Living Letters" published in 1962. What made the difference was that Billy Graham endorsed the Living Letters in 1963, offering them to those who would receive them, and that in 1971, Taylor went on to be the first to provide a paraphrase of the whole bible. It proved to be a watershed in Bible versions, awaking the world to the advantages of reading the Bible in modern English. However, although The Living Bible is regarded by many as a good version, it has received criticism from various quarters.
In spite of this 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 Christian, and responding to the criticisms of the Living Bible, the main English-speaking Bible societies came together to produce a new English Bible translation in this more readable style: thus was the Good News Bible born; this translation has gone on to become one of the best selling in history. In 1996 a new version of Taylor's work was published. The 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 very informal Good News Bible. The goal was to create a Bible that would be very scholarly, but not too formal. The result of this project was the New International Version.
The debate between the formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence translation styles has increased with the introduction of inclusive language versions, in which various terms are employed to defend or attack this development, such as feminist, or gender neutral, or gender accurate, with new editions of previous versions being printed, alongside new translations, either furthering the number of inclusive versions or reinforcing the availability of conservative versions.
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 running the full gamut from the most literal, such as the New American Standard Bible to the most free such as The Message and The Word on the Street.
[edit] 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 |
| Brenton's English Translation of the Septuagint | 1851 |
| Young's Literal Translation | 1862 |
| Julia E. Smith Parker Translation | 1876 |
| Revised Version | 1885 |
| Darby Bible | 1890 |
| Ferrar Fenton Bible | 1903 |
[edit] 20th and 21st century complete Bible
[edit] 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 |
|---|---|---|
| NWV | Noah Webster Version Noah Webster | 1833 |
| CKJV | Children's King James Version Jay P Green | 1960 |
| NKJV | New King James Version | 1982 |
| KJ21 | 21st Century King James Version | 1991 |
| MKJV | Modern King James Version [1] | 1999 |
| AKJV | American King James Version [Internet Version only] | 1999 |
| KJV2000 | King James 2000 Version [2] | 2000 |
| UKJV | Updated King James Version [3] | 2004 |
| NCPB | New Cambridge Paragraph Bible [4] | 2005 |
| AV7 | AV7 (New Authorized Version) | 2006 |
| RNKJV | Restored Name King James Version In Internet Version Only | ? |
[edit] American Standard Version and derivatives
In America, one of the primary versions has been the American Standard Version and versions which stem from it, shown in date order:
| Abbreviation | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| ASV | American Standard Version | 1901 |
| NWT | New World Translation | 1950 |
| RSV | Revised Standard Version | 1952 |
| RSV-CE | Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition | 1966 |
| NASB | New American Standard Bible | 1971 |
| NRSV | New Revised Standard Version | 1989 |
| RcV | Recovery Version | 1999 |
| ESV | English Standard Version | 2001 |
| WEB | World English Bible | In progress |
[edit] New English Bible and derivatives
| Abbreviation | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| NEB | New English Bible | 1970 |
| REB | Revised English Bible | 1989 |
[edit] New International Version and derivatives
The biggest selling version of the 20th century has been the New International Version, which has appeared in a number of different editions:
| Abbreviation | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| NIV | New International Version | 1978 |
| NIrV | New International Reader's Version | 1996 |
| TNIV | Today's New International Version | 2005 |
| NIVI | New International Version Inclusive Language Edition (NIVI) | 1996 |
[edit] Dynamic translations and paraphrases
One of the most notable aspects of the latter half of the 20th century was the appearance of translations which took a much more dynamic approach to translation.
| Abbreviation | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| TLB | The Living Bible | 1971 |
| GNB | Good News Bible | 1976 |
| CEV | Contemporary English Version | 1995 |
| GW | God's Word | 1995 |
| NLT | New Living Translation | 1996, 2004 |
| MSG | The Message | 2002 |
[edit] 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.
| Abbreviation | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| NET | New English Translation | 2005 |
[edit] 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 |
| EEB | EasyEnglish Bible [this exists only as a virtual bible on the internet] | 2001+ |
| ERV | Easy-to-Read Version (previously English Version for the Deaf) | 1989 |
| SEB | Simple English Bible (Dr. Stanley Morris) [5] [6] | ~1978 |
| NCV | New Century Version | 1991 |
| NIrV | New International Reader's Version | 1998 |
[edit] Catholic translations
| Abbreviation | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| D-R | Douay-Rheims Bible | 1609 |
| WVSS | Westminster Bible | 1936 |
| SCM | Spencer New Testament | 1941 |
| CFY | Confraternity Bible | 1941 |
| Knox | Knox's Translation of the Vulgate | 1955 |
| KLNT | Kleist-Lilly New Testament | 1956 |
| JB | Jerusalem Bible | 1966 |
| RSV-CE | Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition | 1966 |
| NAB | New American Bible | 1970 |
| NJB | New Jerusalem Bible | 1985 |
| CCB | Christian Community Bible | 1986 |
[edit] Jewish translations
- Main article: Jewish English Bible translations
Jewish translations follow the masoretic text, and are usually published in bilingual editions with the masoretic 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 | 1917 |
| JP | Judaica Press | 1963 |
| Artscroll | Artscroll Tanakh | 1996 |
| NJPS | New Jewish Publication Society of America Version | 1985 |
[edit] Translations published by Jehovah's Witnesses
| Abbreviation | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| NWT | New World Translation | 1950 |
| LivEng | The Bible in Living English | 1972 |
[edit] Other translations
| Abbreviation | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| AB | The Apostles' Bible | 2004 |
| CAB | The Complete Apostles' Bible | 2005 |
| ACV | A Conservative Version (NT only in print OT & NT Internet versions) | 2005 |
| ALT | Analytical-Literal Translation [New Testament only] | |
| AMP | Amplified Bible | 1965 |
| ARTB | Ancient Roots Translinear Bible (Old Testament Only) | 2006 |
| The Bible in Living English | 1972 | |
| CJB | Complete Jewish Bible | 1998 |
| The Clear Word (Seventh-day Adventist paraphrase) | 1994 | |
| HCSB | Holman Christian Standard Bible | 2004 |
| ISV | International Standard Version | In progress |
| Jubilee2000 | English Jubilee 2000 Bible | |
| Lamsa | Lamsa Bible | 1933 |
| LITV | Green's Literal Translation | |
| MGB | The Manga Bible | NT 2007, OT in progress |
| MLB | The Modern Language Bible (New Berkeley Version) | 1969 |
| Moffatt | A New Translation of The Bible | 1935 |
| Murdock | James Murdock's Translation of the Syriac Peshitta | |
| NLV | New Life Version | 1986 |
| Orthodox | Orthodox Study Bible | |
| TEB | The Original Bible Project (OBP) [7] -- Transparent English Bible (TEB) [8] | In progress |
| TMB | Third Millennium Bible | |
| TSB | The Story Bible | 1971 |
| Twenty | Twentieth Century New Testament | |
| VW | A Voice In The Wilderness Holy Scriptures [9] | 2003 |
[edit] New Testament only
| Abbreviation | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| TCE | The Common Edition New Testament [10] [11] | 1999 |
| Gaus | The Unvarnished New Testament [12] [13] | 1991 |
| CPG | Cotton Patch Gospel [14] | 1968-1973 (4 vols) |
| WET | Wuest Expanded Translation | 1961 |
| The Four Gospels, by E. V. Rieu, Penguin | 1952 | |
| The Authentic New Testament, by Hugh Schonfield | 1955 | |
| The Four Gospels, by Norman Marrow, ISBN 0-9505565-0-5 | 1977 | |
| The Original New Testament, by Hugh Schonfield, ISBN 0-947752-20-X | 1985 | |
| Phi | Phillips New Testament in Modern English | 1958 |
| God's New Covenant: A New Testament Translation by Heinz Cassirer, ISBN 0-8028-3673-9 | 1989 | |
| McCord's New Testament Translation of the Everlasting Gospel by Hugo McCord | 1988 | |
| Diaglott | Emphatic Diaglott [15] by Benjamn Wilson | 1864 |
[edit] See also
- Comparison of English Bible translations - comparing verses, in the many different Bible versions is often the best way to judge a translation
- Jewish English Bible translations
- Bible translations - for a view of translation into languages other than English.
- Bible errata
