Miscellaneous_English_Bible_translations

Modern English Bible translations

Modern English Bible translations

English Bible translations published since 1800


Modern English Bible translations consists of English Bible translations developed and published throughout the late modern period (c.1800–1945) to the present (c.1945–).

A selection of Bible translations in contemporary English.

A multitude of recent attempts have been made to translate the Bible into English. Most modern translations published since c.1900 are based on recently published critical editions of the original Hebrew and Greek texts. These translations typically rely on the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia / Biblia Hebraica Quinta, counterparted by the Novum Testamentum Graece (and the Greek New Testament, published by the United Bible Societies, which contains the same text).[1][2]

With regard to the use of Bible translations among biblical scholarship, the New Revised Standard Version is used broadly,[3] but the English Standard Version is emerging as a primary text of choice among biblical scholars and theologians inclined toward theological conservatism.[4][5][lower-alpha 1]

Development of Modern English Bible versions

A bookshelf containing many English translations of the Bible

The Wessex Gospels were the first translation of the four Gospels in English without accompanying Latin text.[12] 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; it was not until the Revised Standard Version of 1952 (New Testament in 1946) that a rival to the KJV was composed, nearly 350 years after the KJV was first published. The RSV gained widespread adoption among the mainstream Protestant Churches in America and a Catholic Edition was released in 1962. It was updated as the New Revised Standard Version in 1989.

In the late twentieth century, Bibles increasingly appeared that were much less literal in their approach to translation. 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. In 1966, Good News for Modern Man, a non-literal translation of the New Testament, was released to wide acceptance. Others followed suit. The Living Bible, released 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 marketing to high school and college students, as well as adults wishing to better understand the Bible. Like Phillips' version, the Living Bible was a dramatic departure from the King James Version.

Despite widespread criticism due to being a paraphrase rather than a translation, the popularity of The Living Bible 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 that was more easily accessible to the average reader, and responding to the criticisms of the Living Bible, the American Bible Society extended the Good News for Modern Man to the Good News Bible (1976) by adding the Old Testament, 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). This version became highly popular in Evangelical Protestant circles.

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 Jerusalem Bible (1985), 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 greatly increasing the number of English Bible versions 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

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20th and 21st century translations

King James Version and derivatives

The King James Version of 1611 (in its 1769 amended Oxford edition) still has an immense following, and as such there have been a number of different attempts to update or improve upon it. The English Revised Version and its derivatives also stem from the King James Version.

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English Revised Version and derivatives

The English Revised Version was the first official attempt to update the King James Version of 1769. This was adapted in the United States as the American Standard Version. The translations and versions that stem from them are shown in date order:

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New International Version and derivatives

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

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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.

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Internet-based translations

The New English Translation (or NET Bible) 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 is The Work of God's Children Illustrated Bible, which uses a collaborative MediaWiki website that interlinks the words of the Bible to articles and image galleries about the topic. The Open English Bible aims to create the first modern public domain English translation of the Bible, using an open-source process for corrections and modernizing verses.

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Messianic translations

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

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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 contemporary English.

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Public domain translations

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Catholic translations

In addition to the above Catholic English Bibles, all of which have an imprimatur granted by a Catholic bishop, the authors of the Catholic Public Domain Version[36] of 2009 and the 2013 translation from the Septuagint by Jesuit priest Nicholas King refer to them as Catholic Bibles. These versions have not been granted an imprimatur, but do include the Catholic biblical canon of 73 books.

Sacred 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.

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Masoretic Text / Jewish translations

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 Text, Jewish translations contain neither the apocrypha nor the Christian New Testament.

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Septuagint translations

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Simplified English Bibles

There have been a number of attempts to produce a Bible that 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 that 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.

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Translations exclusively published by Jehovah's Witnesses

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Translations exclusively published by the Latter Day Saints movement

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Adaptive retellings

Some versions have been labelled "adaptive retelling"[50] as they take many liberties with the form of the text.

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Other translations

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Partial translations

New Testament

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Hebrew Bible

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Popularity of translations

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See also

Notes

  1. Academic works published by Crossway typically feature the ESV translation as their primary (or sole) Bible text used for quotation.[6][7][8] Various other evangelical publishers (such as Lexham Press, Ligonier Ministries, and Cruciform Press) frequently release Christian books that use the ESV text.[9][10][11]
  2. Released in parts between 1913–1935 with copious study and textual notes. The New Testament with condensed notes was released in 1936 as one volume.
  3. NT released in 1941. The OT contained material from the Challoner Revision until the entire OT was completed in 1969. This Old Testament went on to be the base for the 1970 NAB
  4. New Testament only; Gospels by James Kleist, rest by Joseph Lilly.
  5. Second Catholic Edition released 2006.
  6. Formerly known as the Today's English Version
  7. That is, the first year of a full translation (irrespective of containing the Apocrypha) having been published.
  8. The King James Version was originally published prior to the late modern period.
  9. The Reina-Valera is a Spanish translation.
  10. The Message Bible is a paraphrase.

References

  1. "Scholarly Editions". academic-bible.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  2. "Current Projects". academic-bible.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  3. "Endorsements". NRSV: The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Archived from the original on June 9, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  4. "Endorsements". ESV.org. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  5. Berding, Kenneth (November 18, 2019). "What Do Christians Mean When They Use the Word "Conservative"?". Biola University. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2022. Theological conservative. During the past one hundred or so years since the fundamentalist-modernist controversy, the word 'conservative' has regularly been applied to Christians who believe that the Bible is true in all that it affirms, including such historical realities as the virgin birth of Christ and the literal resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This label contrasts with 'theological liberal,' which describes someone who challenges the truthfulness of the Bible, including many of the historical claims made in it.
  6. Covenant Theology: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 2020. ISBN 978-1-4335-6003-3. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  7. Trueman, Carl R. (2010). Histories and Fallacies: Problems Faced in the Writing of History. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. ISBN 978-1-58134-923-8. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  8. Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 2022. ISBN 978-1-4335-8513-5. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  9. Ward, Mark (2018). Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. ISBN 978-1-68359-055-2. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  10. Sproul, R. C. (2014). Everyone's a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology. Sanford, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing. ISBN 978-1-56769-365-2. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  11. Challies, Tim (2010). Sexual Detox: A Guide for Guys Who are Sick of Porn. Minneapolis, MN: Cruciform Press. ISBN 978-1-453807-28-6. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  12. G. W. Bromiley, D. M. Beegle, and W. M. Smith, “English Versions,” ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 83.
  13. Wakefield, Gilbert (1820). A Translation of the New Testament
  14. p. 5. Naudé, Jacobus A., and Cynthia L. Miller-Naudé. "Alternative revisions of the American Standard Version (1901) and retranslations within the Tyndale–King James Version tradition." HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 78, no. 1 (2022).
  15. "Home". King James Version 2000. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  16. p. 5. Naudé, Jacobus A., and Cynthia L. Miller-Naudé. "Alternative revisions of the American Standard Version (1901) and retranslations within the Tyndale–King James Version tradition." HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 78, no. 1 (2022).
  17. The Holy Scriptures. Rabon Vincent Jr., translator. Victoria: Trafford, 2001. ISBN 1-55369-199-7
  18. "The Evidence Bible". Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  19. http://www.avupdate.org/ Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine (Broken link)
  20. "King James Version - Corrected Edition". Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  21. "Read The Divine Name King James Bible Online". Dnkjb.net. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  22. MCT Bible, a precise and unabridged translation (a derivative of Webster's Revision of the KJV), with contextual dictionaries and concordances.
  23. Covert, John (19 September 2020). "Walsingham Publishing - King James Bible for Catholics". Walsingham Publishing. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  24. "Home". Simplified KJV. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  25. "About the New International Version". Electronic version available; print version available March 2011. 15 July 2016.
  26. LivingSon Press, MCT Brit Chadashah Interlinear, in print
  27. MCT Bible, a precise and unabridged translation (precisely and contextually denoting the Sacred Name as "Yahweh" in both the Old and New Testaments), with contextual dictionaries and concordances.
  28. Jerusalem Bible (Koren), UK: CAM, archived from the original on 2008-04-16, retrieved 2008-04-28
  29. Mickelson Clarified Interlinear, precise and unabridged, with contextual dictionary and concordance.
  30. Esposito, Paul W., The Apostles Bible, based on Brenton's translation
  31. Mickelson, Jonathan K., MCT Octuagint, a remediated translation of the Septuagint
  32. LivingSon Press, MCT Octuagint Interlinear, in print
  33. Boswell, Freddy. 2006. Classifying "Cotton Patch Version" and similar renderings as adaptive retelling rather than translation (La clasificación de la "cotton patch version" y de otros tipos de versiones más como reescrituras adaptadoras más traducciones)." Hermēneus, Vol. 8: 45–66.
  34. "The Aussie Bible :: Welcome". Archived from the original on 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  35. "Bible Translations Bestsellers, Best of 2022". Christian Book Expo. February 7, 2023. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.

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