First of all, I would like to list the readability index for some of the different translations. It might be handy if a person begins working with different age groups or possibly people with diminished mental capacity.
King James Version — 14.0 years of education American Standard Version — 11.6 years of education New American Standard Bible — 11.3 years of education Revised Standard Version — 10.4 years of education Jerusalem Bible — 10.1 years of education
Phillips Translation — 9.6 years of education New King James Version — 9.1 years of education New English Bible — 8.5 years of education Living Bible — 8.3 years of education
New International Version — 7.8 years of education Today’s English Version — 7.3 years of education International Children’s Version — 3.9 years of education
(Adapted from “Which Bible Translation Is Best For Me?”; Kohlenberger, John, III; Moody Monthly, May 1987)
The following information is gleaned from three sources. Rather than footnote each quotation, I have adapted the information. The three sources are listed at the end of the information.
This is some information on some of the more prominent works of translation and paraphrase through the years since the Bible was originally written.
SEPTUAGINT (LXX)
Date: Work started 250 B.C. Author/translator: Seventy Alexandrian Jews
This was the first translation of the Old Testament into Greek. Most of the Jewish people of the time spoke Greek, and they wanted to read the Old Testament in their own language.
Date: Completed 405 A.D. Author/translator: Jerome
LATIN VULGATE
This translation was done from the original languages. I would like to quote from the introduction of a Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition, “In the Old Testament it has not been thought necessary to make any changes in the text. There is however the very important difference in the number of books. Catholic Bibles include seven extra books and parts of two others. These are known to Catholics as ‘deuterocanonical’ and are regarded as an integral part of the Canon of the Old Testament. They are here printed in the order in which they appear in the Latin Vulgate, with the exception of the extra parts of the Book of Esther.”
We see that the Latin Vulgate contained the apocrypha.
Date: 382 A.D.
WYCLIFFE BIBLE
Author/translator: Wycliffe
This was the first complete English Bible. Wycliffe worked from the Latin Vulgate.
Date: 1456 A.D.
GUTENBERG BIBLE
This was the first Bible to be printed on a printing press, rather than being copied by hand. It was done from the Latin Vulgate also.
TYNDALE BIBLE
Date: New Testament 1525 A.D. Old Testament 1535 A.D.
Author/translator: Tyndale
This Bible was the first to be translated from the original languages into English.
Date: 1539 A.D.
THE GREAT BIBLE
Author/translator: Cranmer and Coverdale This was a revision of the Tyndale Bible.
Date: 1535
COVERDALE BIBLE
Author/translator: Coverdale
This was the first printed in English.
Date: 1550 A.D.
STEPHANUS TEXT
Date: 1560 A.D.
GENEVA BIBLE
Author/translator: Whittingham, et. al.
This Bible was the first to use verse divisions.
RHEIMS-DOUAY
Date: New Testament 1582 A.D. Old Testament 1610 A.D.
This was the first authorized English version for Roman Catholics. The work was done by two committees from the Vulgate.
Date: 1611 A.D.
KING JAMES VERSION
Author/translator: fifty four protestant scholars
This is also called the Authorized Version at times. I would like to list a quotation for your interest from Dr. Miller’s notes. “. . .formally a revision of the 1602 edition of the Bishop’s Bible. This translation was done in 1611 and established itself as the English Bible. Present day translations, however, have several changes. The spelling has been modernized, and other alterations have been introduced. One obvious misprint has persisted in most editions since the first one of 1611 in Matthew 23:24 where ‘strain at a gnat’ should be ‘strain out a gnat.’ Many of the earlier translations were carelessly printed. Thus the ‘Wicked Bible’ of 1641 left out the word ‘not’ in the seventh commandment. As to the Greek text, the Authorized Version is in considerable agreement with the Textus receptus.”
Date: 1782 A.D.
ROBERT AITKEN BIBLE
This was the King James Version, however it was the first King James printed in America.
Date: 1881 A.D.
WESTCOTT HORT GREEK TEXT
Author/translator: Westcott and Hort
This was a Greek text which most of the modern translations are based on. The other text being the Textus Receptus, upon which the King James Version is based.
Date: 1885 A.D.
REVISED VERSION
This was a revision of the King James Version.
Date: 1901 A.D.
AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION
Author/translator: A committee of American scholars
This was a revision of the Revised Version. It was partially based on the modern principles of textual criticism. The Old Testament is based on the Massoretic text. It is felt by most readers to be very stiff, however it is usually held as one of the more accurate translations.
NEW TRANSLATION IN MODERN SPEECH
(Weymouth Translation) Date: 1903 A.D.
Author/translator: Weymouth
This was done from the Greek and gives particular attention to the verb tenses. The author attempted to give the proper idea of the tenses as he set the information into English.
Date: 1904
NESTLE GREEK TEXT
This was based on Tishendorf, Westcott and Hort and the United Bible Society texts.
A NEW TRANSLATION (MOFFATT)
Date: New Testament 1913 Old Testament 1924 Author: Moffatt
This is a paraphrase. He was of liberal doctrine and was not against making changes from time to time. John 1:1 for example mentions that the “logos was divine.” Christ was not divine, He was deity.
Date: 1923
AN AMERICAN TRANSLATION
Author: E.J. Godspeed
This work reportedly shows the eunuch of Acts 8 sitting in his car.
NEW TESTAMENT IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE PEOPLE
Date: 1937
Author: C.B. Williams
This work also did some good work in bringing the tenses over into the English.
REVISED STANDARD VERSION
Date: New Testament 1946 Old Testament 1952
Authors: Done by 32 protestants and Catholics.
This was a liberal revision of the 1901 version. The Catholic Edition of the
R.S.V. mentions, “The Revised Standard Version itself needs no lengthy introduction, being already well known and widely read. It is, as its preface states, ‘an authorized revision of the American Standard Version, Published in 1901, which was a revision of the King James Version, published in 1611.’“
Many have rejected the RSV due to its translation of Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The translation of the Hebrew term, young woman rather than virgin is the problem. This term is a vague term and always refers to a young woman, but not always to a virgin. When the RSV translates Matthew 1:23, a quote from the Isaiah text, it uses the term virgin, because the Greek term clearly speaks to the virginity of the woman.
Date: 1952
NEW TESTAMENT IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Author: C.K. Williams
Williams uses large words and some modern terms such as “police” and “handcuffs.”
Date: 1957
NEW TESTAMENT IN MODERN ENGLISH
Author: Phillips
This is a paraphrase and was revised in 1966. He was a liberal in theology and reportedly did not believe in verbal inspiration.
BERKELEY VERSION
Date: New Testament 1945 Old Testament 1959
Author: Edited by Gerrit Verkuyl of Berkeley, CA
This is an evangelical work and many feel that it is a good work.
EXPANDED TRANSLATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
Date: 1960
Author: Wuest, an instructor in Greek at Moody Bible Institute.
This is a technically accurate work. The accuracy took presidence over style.
Date: 1961
NEW ENGLISH BIBLE NEW TESTAMENT
This is normally accepted as a good work by conservatives.
Date: Completed 1964
AMPLIFIED BIBLE
Author: Mrs. Siewert, et. al.
THE NEW TESTAMENT REVISED STANDARD VERSION CATHOLIC EDITION
Date: 1965
This was done as an ecumenical Bible and is accepted by the Roman Catholic Church.
Date: 1966
GOOD NEWS FOR MODERN MAN
This was done by a man that reportedly denied the deity of Christ and rejected verbal inspiration.
Date: 1966
JERUSALEM BIBLE
This is a Roman Catholic work which includes the Apocrypha.
Date: 1967 Author: Scofield
NEW SCOFIELD REFERENCE BIBLE
This was a revision of Scofield’s original notes of 1909. The revising was done by John Walvoord, Charles Feinberg, Allan MacRae, E. Schyler English, Frank Gaebelein, Alva McClain, Clarence Mason, William Culbertson, Wilbur Smith, and Wilber Ruggles.
WILLIAMS TRANSLATION
This work was based on the Westcott and Hort text.
Date: 1970
NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
Author: Done by fifty Catholic and five Protestant scholars.
Date: 1971
NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE
Author: Fifty four conservative Protestants. Lockman Foundation.
The work is technically good. The Greek tenses were translated so that the English reader could determine the tenses.
Date: Completed in 1971 Author: Kenneth N. Taylor
LIVING BIBLE
The work has some accuracy problems and tends toward personal interpretation rather than translation. It is a paraphrase. It was a work from the ASV.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
Date: Completed 1978
Author: One hundred fifteen evangelical scholars.
It is a work from the critical Greek texts, which is fairly accurate. I personally have noticed however that in many cases it disagrees in content when compared to the King James and the New American Standard.
TODAY’S ENGLISH VERSION/GOOD NEWS BIBLE
Author: Robert G. Bratcher and six other scholars.
Date: 1982
NEW KING JAMES VERSION
Author: Done by one hundred nineteen scholars.
Date: 1985
NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE
This is a redo of the 1966 Jerusalem Bible.
THE NEW WORLD TRANSLATION
This was done by the Jehovah Witnesses. I have been told that Greek scholars took this translation to secular, unsaved, Greek scholars for evaluation. They reported that it was one of the poorest attempts at translation they had seen. It shows Christ as a god in John 1:1.
THE NEW TESTAMENT IN THE LANGUAGE OF TODAY
Author: William F. Beck
Beck was a Lutheran, and his version is well received for its accuracy.
THE COTTON PATCH VERSION
Author: Clarence Jordan
Jordan has a Ph.D. in New Testament Greek from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He sets the New Testament in the modern day south. The Jews and Gentiles are viewed as black and whites. Acts is entitled the Happening, while the book of Romans becomes Washington.
There are many other works that have appeared. I have only listed some of the more prominent ones.
The following charts are hopefully accurate. I have gleaned information from many sources over the years to set these charts to paper.
SOURCES
Miller, Dr. David; Theology Class notes, Western Baptist College; Salem, OR.
Kohlenberger, John III; “Which Bible Translation Is Best For Me?”; Article in Moody Monthly, May 1987
Till, George A.; Class handout, Western Baptist College; Salem, OR.[1]
[1] by Stanley L. Derickson. DERICKSON’S NOTES ON THEOLOGY: A STUDY BOOK IN THEOLOGY.
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