Modern English Bible translations

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.
== 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===
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 VersionThe Hebrew Bible in English 	1917
 	Judaica PressThe Judaica Press Complete Tanach with Rashi 	1963
 	Koren Jerusalem Bible [http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/scriptures/jbk.htm Jerusalem Bible (Koren)Based on a translation by Harold Fisch	1962
 	The Living Torah by Aryeh KaplanAvailable online</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 American King James Version 	1999
KJV2000 	King James 2000 Version King James 2000 Version 	2000
UKJV 	Updated King James Version Updated King James Version 	2000
KJVER 	King James Version Easy Reading King James Bibles 	2001
HSV 	Holy Scriptures Version The Holy Scriptures. Rabon Vincent Jr., translator. Victoria: Trafford, 2001. ISBN 1-55369-199-7	2001
CKJV 	Comfort-able King James Version The Evidence Bible Amazon Online Reader : The Evidence Bible 	2003
NCPB 	New Cambridge Paragraph Bible New Cambridge Paragraph Bible 	2005
AV7 	AV7 (New Authorized Version) 	2006
===Messianic translations===
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 TranslationA new translation of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, 1 John, 2 John, and Revelation	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 http://besorah.synthasite.com/)	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 Simple Translations of the Bible in Easy English	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 A Voice in the Wilderness	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 The Manga Bible 	In progress
TEB 	Transparent English BibleOriginal Bible Project 	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 DCL: Emphatic Diaglott - New Testament by Benjamin Wilson 	1864
  	Sinai and Comparative New Testament The Sinai and Comparative New Testament. - 1881 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 The Cotton Patch Version 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 by Andy Gaus 	1991
  	The New Testament, by Richmond Lattimore, ISBN 0-460 87953 7 	1996
TCE 	The Common Edition New Testament 	1999
COM 	The Comprehensive New Testament http://www.cornerstonepublications.org 	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==
--------
Category:Bible
Bible, modern
English, Modern