See here for history of pre-20th Century
versions and translations.
Wikipedia alphabetical list of translations
Wikipedia chronological listing
- 1902, A smooth-flowing, accurate, easy to read New Testament produced through many years by twenty British men and women, coached by Richard Weymouth using Wescott-Hort.
- 1903, Richard Weymouth. Produced from the author's 1862 Resultant Greek Text and published posthumously.
- 1913, James Moffat, unfortunately based on the defective Hermann von Soden's Greek New Testament
- 1917, First translation of the Tanakh by a Jewish committee of six editors. Taken from Masoretic text, relying heavily on Revised Version and American Standard Version. Isaiah 7:14 has Jewish "young woman" rather than Christian "virgin." No editors from Orthodox.
- 1926, Modern English, restored Greek syntax. A concordance of every form of every Greek word was made and systematized, then turned into English using a standard English equivalent for each Greek element.
- 1926. Moffatt produced his translation of the New Testament while he was serving as Professor of Greek and New Testament Exegesis at Oxford and its reception was so favorable (in the more liberal churches) that he undertook the Old Testament in order to produce a complete Bible. The version is highly colloquial, allowing the reader to quickly follow the progress of thought in many passages (especially in the Epistles) where a more literal rendering makes for difficult going. But his preface put forth skeptical views concerning the truthfulness of the Bible. In the Old Testament he frequently rearranged passages according to his idea of how they might have originally stood.
- 1933, Dr. George M. Lamsa, a native Assyrian, translated the Aramaic Peshitta into English. Lamsa was shocked that Christians would use a Bible translated from Greek.
- 1935, J Edgar Goodspeed. N.T. published in 1923 to embody "the force and freshness of the original Greek."
- 1941, Revision of the 18th C. Challoner Revision of the Rheims New Testament and precursor to the (Catholic) New American Bible (NAB). See also here.
- 1949, The Bible In Basic English was printed also in 1965 by Cambridge Press in England. Published without any copyright notice and distributed in America, this work fell immediatly and irretrievably into the Public Domain in the United States
- 1955, Idiomatic translation by Robert Knox close to Septuigent, more free than the Douay. A Catholic-approved version popular through the 50's to 70's.
- 1958, By Anglican clergyman J.B. Phillips in dynamic-equivalence entirely from Nestle Greek text. Begun as a youth group project for meetings held in WWII bomb shelters. Produced in many parts (1947-1972), a number of editions do not have verse numbers.
- 1958, Modern English, "translated afresh from the original languages." Gerrit Verkuyl, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief and Translator of the New Testament Section. Zondervan
- 1961, Professor Kenneth S. Wuest. A literal New Testament translation that follows the word order in the Nestle-Aland Greek quite strictly. That said, Wuest's Expanded Translation brings out nuances of the Greek text that are often missed in traditional translations. Such expanded renderings can often be eye-openers to the meanings of passages. However, it can also be overly tedious to read.
- 1962, Updated Jay P. Green revision of the KJV. The wording of the unsurpassed King James Version has been adjusted to suit a fourth grader's comprehension. Because it follows the King James Version so closely, The Children's King James Bible should allow a child to transition easily to the King James Version within a few years.
- 1965, Revision of the American Standard Version. This unique English Bible version is designed to reveal, along with the most accurate single word equivalent of a Hebrew or Greek word, the various shades of meaning that a word may have. NOTE: This is an amp for iPhones, iPods, etc.
- 1966, Modern English from original Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, with influence from the French La bible de Jerusalem. Roman Catholic translation for English-speaking to satisfy the encyclical letter of 1943 by Pope Pius XII which encouraged translating from Hebrew and Greek rather than using the Latin Vulgate. Literal form. Book of Jonah was translated by J.R.R. Tolkien. First widely used English Catholic Bible since 17th C. Douay-Rheims
- 1969, The Berkeley Version was a project of a Dutch-born American, Gerrit Verkuyl, who served for many years with the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church. He began translation in 1936, publishing the NT in 1945. Zondervan Publishing House encouraged him to translate the OT as well. Under his supervision, a staff of 20 translators completed the work in 1959, publishing the collected work as the Berkeley Version in Modern English. In 1969 the revised edition, known as the Modern Language Bible was published by Zondervan Publishing House, which had retained the rights of publication to the Berkeley Version.
Everyday Reading Bible (ERV)English Bible-OE-Easy-To-Read
- 2006, The Everyday Reading Bible (ERV) is an updated version of the New Century Version (NCV) first published in 1986 by the World Bible Translation Centre and the base translation for Authentic's bestselling International Children's Bible and Youth Bible. It is based directly on the original languages of scripture and accurately expresses the full meaning of the original text in a clear and easy to understand style. The affordable price makes it ideal for outreach and youth programs or where English is spoken as a second language. Includes frequent notes and a glossary that provides the reader with helpful explanations and essential background information.
- 1970, The NEB is a translation of the Bible into modern English directly from the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts (and Latin for 2 Esdras in the Apocrypha). The New Testament was published in 1961, and the Old Testament, along with the Apocrypha, was published in 1970. It was significantly revised and re-published in 1989 as the Revised English Bible. Read more
- 1970, By Catholic scholars with help from some Protestant team members. Translation took place over the period of 1948 to 1970. Translation was directly from Greek, as opposed to the Latin Vulgate source for previous versions. Spelling of proper nouns was made to conform to Protestant Bibles. Old Testament (except Genesis) came from the Confraternity text.
- 1971, Reuben E. Olson, Foundation Press. Revision of 1901 American Standard Bible as alternative to Revised Standard Version 1952. Strict adherence to idoms renders an awkward text. A limited revision in 1995 was intended to relieve some readability problems. The NASB continues to be most literal version commonly used in churches today. 11th gr reading level.
- 1971, Kenneth N. Taylor. This versions falls somewhat short of the goal of translating the meaning of the original (e.g. 1 Kings 18:27 (KJV) "Cry aloud: for He is a God: either He is talking or He is pursuing," is rendered, "Perhaps he is talking to someone or else is out sitting on the toilet.")
- The Cotton Patch Series (New Testament in idiomatic African-American)
- 1973, Clarence Jordan (July 29, 1912 - October 29, 1969), a farmer and New Testament Greek scholar, founder of Koinonia Farm -- a small but influential religious community in southwest Georgia. He was also instrumental in the founding of Habitat for Humanity.
- 1976, Modern English, Masoretic Text, various Greek texts. This is the work of Dr. William F. Beck, whose cause was to simplify the English Bible for people of all ages. There are almost 5,000 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament all over the earth, plus many thousands of the Latin, Syraic, and other translations. Dr. Beck felt that God wants us to have a passion for the truth; to use all the best evidences from the manuscripts, dictionaries, and grammars as light on the text; and to search with burning hearts for its exact meaning.
- 1976, United Bible Society. Translation (not paraphrase) from Greek text. Formerly known as Today's English Version. Dynamic equivalence after Eugene Nida. Sprang from requests from Africa and Near-East. Published with Apocrypha.
- 1985, A revision of the Jerusalem Bible (1966). Intent: more accuracy, paralleling revision of its French precursor, Bible de Jérusalem. Somewhat more literal, yet less accurate than its predecessor. (1961). The New Jerusalem Bible has become the most widely used Roman Catholic Bible outside of the United States. American Catholics prefer the New American Bible (NAB) published by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Notes tend to question some theology taken for granted by evangelicals.
- 1985, Jay P. Green, Sr., modern English (formal equivalence). Integrated into the 1986 Interlinear Bible
- 1986, Modern English from Hebrew and Greek. The Christian Community Bible is an excellant achievement of scholarship and devotion. Most Catholic Bibles have just technical scholar notes or none at all. None has any Life application or spiritual guidance type of notes. This Bible brings a new quality often missing in Catholic Bibles (except for recent teen Bibles) that is commonplace in Evangelical Bibles.
- 1987 (ERV) is an English translation of the Bible done by the World Bible Translation Center. It was originally published as the English Version for the Deaf (EVD) by BakerBooks.
- 1989, The style is more dignified than the NEB, which had presented some problems for liturgical use. More literal as an extensive revision of the British New English Bible (1970) that eliminates many of the NEB's loose renderings.
- 1990, Bruce Metzger, chairman of revisions committee: need arose from 1) still older mss. acquired, 2) further detail of linguistics, texts, 3) changes in preferred English usage. 10th-11th grade reading level.
- 1990, Jay P. Green, Sr. Amazon reviewer: "Mr. Green encourages readers to submit suggestions for improvement, which he then incorporates, as appropriate, into later editions. This is truly a grassroots, shoestring effort, which may be the best available Bible in modern English today. The only other candidate is Mr. Green's LITV. This version stands on the three pillars of: 1) Bible believing/evangelical translator, 2) Formal equivalence method (translate the words, not the thoughts - necessary for verbal, plenary inspiration), 3) use of the traditional/historical texts of the Old (Masoretic) and New (Byzantine/received text) Testaments.
- 1991, Andy Gaus, a Roman Catholic, attempted a simpler, more straight-forward English translation with chapter divisions but no verse markers. Besides using very simple vocabulary in his text, he added a fifteen-page glossary. The work satisfies the critics of archaic terminology. Andy Gaus has created a snappy, fun-reading translation of the New Testament, that is bold, blunt, direct, sharp, at times rib-tickling and always bright. Anyone thinking that the Bible is difficult to read will have his mind changed after reading this translation.
- 1991, Translation of the Torah by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, published by Moznaim publishers. It was and remains a highly popular translation, and was reissued in a Hebrew-English version with haftarot for synagogue use.
- 1991, Begun as the 1978 English Version for the Deaf, this is perhaps the simplest version (fourth grade reading level) of the Bible in existence. After many revisions (see here) it is now published by Thomas Nelson for older people. The New Century Version of the Bible is a revision of the International Children's Bible. The ICB is aimed at young readers and those with low reading skills/limited vocabulary in English.
- 1994, Minor update of King James Version (KJV), retaining Jacobian wording (thee, thou...). Textus Receptus foundation/ 57% deviation from Nestle-Aland. Also an edition with the Apocrypha, known as Third Millenium Bible.
- 1994, A reviewer says, "The "Adventist Bible" is by far the most blasphemous undertaking I have ever witnessed. The first time I ever looked at the "Book", I opened to Deuteronomy chapter five to find the Ten Commandments. The SDA's NEVER quote the Ten Commandments from Deuteronomy, because of the following verse. Deut. 5:3 The Lord did not make this covenant long ago with our ancestors, but with all of us who are alive today. KJV Adventists teach that the Ten Commandments were not first given at Sinai, but were given to Adam and Eve before the fall of man, before sin began.
- 1995, Modern English, United bible Societies, using simplified. Apocryphal books added in 1979 precursor, the Good News Bible. The Contemporary English Version is a simplified version of the Bible designed for children and uneducated adults (4th-5th gr reading level). It is similar to the Good News Bible previously published by the American Bible Society, though at a lower reading level.
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1995, God's Word to the Nations Bible Mission Society. Natural equivalence from Nestle-Aland and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Rights now held by Baker Publishing
"... represents the best English grammar (syntax) ever put "on the page" of an English Bible - possibly, the most accurate English translation of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts ever produced! A little more natural, with better stylistic flow than that of the ISV. GW is more dynamic and readable than the NIV. The theory of translation is "closest natural equivalence," exceeding "dynamic/function equivalence" translation in accuracy. 4th -5th grade level. - 1996, Masoretic Text. Edited by Rabbi Nosson Scherman in collaboration with an international team of scholars. Also includes: All 24 books of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings are now at your fingertips in one magnificent 2,200 page volume, as interpreted by the classic sages of Talmudic and Rabbinic literature.
- World English Bible (a.k.a. American Standard Version 1997)
- A work in progress by Rainbow Publishers, placed in public domain, intended as a formal equivalence update to 1901 American Standard Version based on Majority Text. Work begun in 1997. Quotation marks are used, as opposed to the ASV, and archaic words are replaced with contemporary language.
- 1998, Claimed to have same foundation as King James. Not authorized by Church of England. Beginning in 2006, was distributed through Dollar Stores. Claimed as literal translation (produced by computer-translation from Greek).
- 1998, Modern English paraphrase of the Jewish Publication Society of America Version (Old Testament) and from the original Greek (New Testament)
- 1999, CrossWire Bible Society's Nestle-Aland to middle school modern English, formal equivalence, iambic rhythm sixth grade level.
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Holy Bible : African American Jubilee Edition : Contemporary English Version
- 1999, American Bible Society, emphasizing African-American history, culture, the biblical jubilee, black tradition of hope through worship.
- 2000, Robert A. Couric's compromise between the modern wording of New King James and the old King James Version, restoring some classical familiarity while removing awkward wording.
- 2001, The English Standard Version (ESV) is a revision of the 1971 edition of the Revised Standard Version. The first edition was published in 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. This edition is more literal than the popular New International Version, but more idiomatic than the New American Standard Bible. J.I. Packer was theological editor. 7th-8th gr reading level. Available in several study editions (e.g. C.I. Schoefield, Macarthur)
- 2001, Modern English developed by Wycliffe Associates, UK - 2800-word vocabulary.
- 2001, World Bible Translation Center. Originally published as English Version for the Deaf. Uses Nestle-Aland (NT) and reading from Dead Sea Scrolls. Gender-inclusive language. Criticised for its liberal theology.
- The Apostles Bible: A Modern English Translation of the Greek Septuagint
- 2004, Paul W. Esposito, a modern translation of Brenton's 1851 Septuagint
- 2002, Eugene Peterson. Bible-researcher.com rightly points out, "Unfortunately, the publisher has advertised it as a "translation from the original languages" that "accurately communicates the original Hebrew and Greek" and brings out "the subtleties and nuances of the Hebrew and Greek languages," being the work of a respected "exegetical scholar," etc., all of which gives an entirely false impression of the work. Instead, it is a free paraphrase of the text, often very eccentric, with many unlikely renderings, lengthy insertions and omissions.
- 2004, By a team of 100+ scholars under aegis of South Baptist Convention. Middle school reading level with balance between dynamic and formal equivalence (dubbed optimal equivalence) from Nestle-Aland, Biblia Hebraicia S. and Septuigent. Holman Bible Publishers hold rights. More readable than the NASB but more literal than the NIV
- 2005, Modern English, Still Small Voices public domain version used in e-Sword
- 2007, Oxford University Press, ostensively to remove biblical wording that is offensive to women, racial minorities and even left-handed people.
- 2008, From Nestle-Aland to modern English for a sixth-grade reading level. Claims 100% accuracy of the Alexandrian text (Nestle-Aland, not autographs) and formal equivalance. A bibliographic study Bible, not a commentary. A Byzantine majority (KJV) text edition is in the works by Cornerstone.
- 2008, By Harper-Collins. A Bible targeted at eco-environmentalists, with "creation-related" verses printed in green. Endorsed by Sierra Club and some mainline denomination churches and Christians identifying with the "Creation Care" movement. Others fear it will detract from the fundamental message of the Gospel.
- The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World
- 2008, New King James Version (NKJV) plus new translation of Septuagint (which predates Masoretic by 1000 yrs) from Thomas-Nelson, formal equivalence, Textus Receptus-faithful for Eastern Orthodox Church (which does not accept the Hebrew O.T., but respects the LXX). Not well-received by critics.
- 2008, "A Scripture project to rediscover the story of the Bible." Emergent church leaders such a Brian McLaren and Chris Seay in conjunction with a pack of poets, songwriters and storytellers have just released a new "translation" of the Bible that they claim is a "fresh expression of the timeless narrative known as the Bible."
- 2009, Robert Conte, Jr, Modern English, Sixtus V and Clement VIII Latin Vulgate. The Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible is a new translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible made using the Challoner revision of the Douay-Rheims version as a guide.
- 2010, From Wescott-Hort 20th Century New Testament, high school level, edited and distributed by Russell Allen. Open source (similar to public domain, but with qualifications); "no particular theological line."
- 2010, By an umbrella group (Christian Resources Development Group) representing several denominations and publishing houses including Chalice Press, Westminster John Knox Press, Church Publishing Inc, Pilgrim Press, and Abingdon Press. Goal: produce accuracy and accessibility at a reading level equivalent to the USA Today newspaper. Balance between dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence, drawn from Masoretic Text and a wide range of other sources, including Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint Apocrypha. 107 translators, 77 reading groups from 22 Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faith sources. Substitutes "son of man" with "human" and Jesus' "I AM" with "the Human One." Scheduled for release in 2011.
- Released on March 9, 2011, the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE) is the culmination of nearly 20 years of work by a group of nearly 100 scholars and theologians, including bishops, revisers and editors. The NABRE includes a newly revised translation of the entire Old Testament (including the Book of Psalms) along with the 1986 edition of the New Testament.
- 2011 To celebrate 400th anniversary of KJV, midway between literal and idiomatic. O.T. Masoretic foundation, N.T. Nestle-Aland. Some Biblical poetry is translated as English rhyming poetry.
New Jerusalem Bible
Christian Community Bible, English version
Verses absent from most modern Bible translations completed after 1881 which are based upon the earliest manuscripts.