English translations of the Bible
From Theopedia
It has been estimated that nearly 500 versions of the English Bible have been published over the last 15 centuries, including major early works by John Wycliffe and William Tyndale. Predescesors to the landmark translation commissioned by King James I include the Great Bible (1539), also known as the Cromwell Bible; the Geneva Bible (1560), the first to be divided into verses; the Bishop's Bible (1568), an attempt by Elisabeth I to create an authorized version; and the Douay-Rheims Bible (1609), a Catholic translation from the Latin Vulgate with extensive commentary.
The following chart represents the most widely distributed and used translations of the Bible into modern (20th and 21st century) English:
| Version name | Initially Published | Major Revisions | Publisher | Principal Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorized ("King James") Version (KJV) | 1611 | |||
| American Standard Version (ASV) | 1901 | Thomas Nelson & Sons | Philip Schaff | |
| Revised Standard Version (RSV) | 1947 | 1952, 1959, 1971 | Thomas Nelson & Sons | Luther Weigle |
| New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) | 1985 | Doubleday | Henry Wansbrough | |
| New English Bible (NEB) | 1970 | 1989 | Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press | C. H. Dodd |
| New American Standard Bible (NASB) | 1971 | 1995 | the Lockman Foundation | Reuben A. Olson |
| Living Bible (LB) | 1971 | Tyndale House Publishers | Kenneth N. Taylor | |
| Good News Bible (GNB) | 1976 | 1992 | American Bible Society | Robert G. Bratcher |
| New International Version (NIV) | 1978 | 1984 | Zondervan | Edwin H. Palmer |
| New King James Version (NKJV) | 1982 | Thomas Nelson | Arthur Farstad | |
| New Century Version (NCV) | 1987 | Worthy Publishing | Ervin Bishop | |
| Contemporary English Version (CEV) | 1995 | American Bible Society | Barclay M. Newman | |
| New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) | 1990 | Oxford University Press | Bruce M. Metzger | |
| New Living Translation (NLT) | 1996 | 2004 | Tyndale House | Mark R. Norton |
| New English Translation Bible (NET) | 2001 | 2005 | Biblical Studies Press | W. Hall Harris |
| English Standard Version (ESV) | 2001 | Crossway Bibles | J. I. Packer | |
| The Message (MSG) | 2002 | NavPress | Eugene H. Peterson | |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) | 2004 | Broadman & Holman | Edwin Blum | |
| Today's New International Version (TNIV) | 2005 | Zondervan | John H. Stek |
See also
- Translation of the Bible -- a timeline of Bible Translation History
- New Testament Textual Criticism
External links
- The History of the English Bible by Dr. Daniel B. Wallace
- English Bible History
- Links to English Bible translations
- Rating English Bible translations
- Translations of the Bible Into English by Ken Collins
- The English Versions of Scripture
- King James Only, Sometimes, Never by Dr. William D. Barrick, The Master's Seminary
