Bibles

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I am going to be ading to list list as much as I can. Please add anything you feel is needed but please use the quote to ref. back to the orginal post so we know what you are adding to.

Thank you,
Adam

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Abbreviations: AB, AM, AMP,TAB

This translation is based on the American Standard Version. It uses a system of synonyms, punctuation, typographical features, and clarifying words or phrases to reveal shades of meaning of the key words in the original text.
The aim of the translation was that it be true to the original languages, be grammatically correct, be understandable to the masses, and give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place which the Word gives Him. It is not an attempt to duplicate what has already been achieved but to progress beyond the point where others have stopped.
The translators were a committee of qualified Hebrew and Greek scholars.
The Amplified New Testament was published in 1958; the Amplified Old Testament, Part 1 (Genesis to Esther), in 1964; and the Amplified Old Testament, Part 2 (Job to Malachi), in 1962.

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Abbreviation: NTJ
Year Released: 1917


Description
Steps leading to the preparation of a new translation into the English language were taken by the Jewish Publication Society of America in 1892. It was intended to secure, through cooperation of scholars in the United States and Great Britain, a new translation of each book, and to place it into the hands of an Editorial Committee, who by correspondence with the translators should harmonize the results of the work of the individual contributors. This method was followed until 1901, when it became apparent that by this procedure the translation of the entire Hebrew Bible would be indefinitely delayed. It was too complex to accomplish the required work.
In 1908, JPSA and the Central Conference of American Rabbis agreed upon a revised plan in which the entire work would be done by a Board of Editors. In preparing the manuscript, the Board took into account the existing English versions, the standard commentaries, the other JPSA translations, the Revised Version prepared for the Jews in England, and other sources. Such ancient versions as the Septuagint and those of Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, the Targums, the Peshitta, the Vulgate, and the Arabic version of Saadya were also consulted. The manuscript was reviewed by the Board of Editors over a period of seven years. Each point was thoroughly discussed before a decision was finalized.
The aims of this translation were to combine the spirit of Jewish tradition with the results of Biblical scholarship. The text follows Jewish tradition of separating the Scriptures into three divisions, namely: Law (Torah), Prophets (Nebi'im), and Writings (Ketubim).

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Abbreviation: AAT, BECK, OE
Year Released: 1976

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.
In recent years, two very important papyri from about A.D. 200 have been published. These now provide us with the finest evidence for several readings, one of which comes from John 1:18 -- "the only Son who is God."
The translator did his utmost to make both the Old Testament and the New Testament the most accurate on the market, in regard to the best text, the most thorough lexiographical, grammatical, and archaeological evidence. His goal was to have God talk to the hearts of people in their language of today and tomorrow.
The main purpose of the Bible is its saving doctrine. The translator felt that the Revised Standard Version undermines the Heilsplan (plan of salvation) by cutting down the prophecies of the coming Savior in the Old Testament and the important truths about Christ in the New Testament. The section "What Does the Text Say?" at the back of this Bible gives examples of these changes in the Revised Standard Version and the New English Bible and how they differ from the renderings in An American Translation.
This translation has been acclaimed as the most significant Lutheran contribution in the span of some 450 years since Martin Luther translated the Bible into German. However, it is a Bible not only for Lutherans but also for every English-speaking person. It is a faithful translation, not a paraphrase.
As no translation is perfect, this third edition took into consideration helpful suggestions, which were evaluated. These created further demand for expertise in the original languages. Numerous changes have been made as a result.
The New Testament in the Language of Today was first published in 1963 by Concordia Publishing House.

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Abbreviation: SGAT, OE, AT, SMITH, GOODSPEED
Contents: Old Testament 1927, New Testament 1923, Apocyrpha 1938


The Old Testament was translated by Alexander R. Gordon (McGill University), Theopile J. Meek (University of Toronto), Leroy Waterman (University of Michigan), and J. M. Powis Smith (University of Chicago). The last person named was also the editor. The New Testament was translated by Edgar J. Goodspeed (University of Chicago).
There were basic reasons for the need of this translation of the Old Testament. The control of the Hebrew vocabulary and syntax available to the scholar at this time was vastly greater than that at the command of the translators of the Authorized Version or of its revisers. The science of textual criticism had made great progress in recent years, and no translation of the Old Testament could afford to ignore its results. There had developed a great interest in the stylistic qualities of Hebrew poetry. The English of King James's day was not wholly natural or clear to the average person at this time.
The official Massoretic text was used as a guide. When it was necessary to check elsewhere, a substitute along generally approved lines was used.
Hebrew poetry was presented in poetic lines. Archaic pronouns (except when used in addressing God), verb forms, and adjectives were made more modern. The Tetragammatron was rendered as LORD or GOD in small capital letters.
The New Testament was written in everyday Greek. It, thus, was translated into everyday English.
The translator used helps made available in recent years, including Greek papyri, grammatical works, lexicons, and lexical studies. He followed the Greek texts of Westcott and Hort, except in a very few verses. In one of these, he followed the suggestion of Rendel Harris that by an error of the eye the name of Enoch has dropped out of the text of 1 Peter 3: 19.

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Abbreviation: AIV
Year Released: 1995


This revolutionary new version, adapted from the New Revised Standard Version and edited by six scholars -- three men and three women -- pushes the English language to new levels of inclusive expression. This work addresses such issues as race, gender, and ethnicity more directly than ever before.
There are two reasons for this new version. The languages into which the Bible is rendered are changing. New manuscripts are discovered that are older and more reliable, and new investigations into the meanings of words reveal that more accurate renderings are possible.
People who have disabilities are not referred to as "the blind" or "the lame," but as "people who are blind" or "those who are lame." Because the church does not assume that God is a male being, in this version God is never referred to by a masculine pronoun, or by any pronoun at all. As the church does not believe that God is literally a father and understands "Father" to be a metaphor, "Father" is rendered in this version by a new metaphor, "Father-Mother." When Jesus is called "Son of God" or "Son of the Blessed One," and the maleness of the historical person Jesus is not relevant, but the "Son's" intimate relation to the "Father" is being spoken about, the formal equivalent "Child" is used for "Son," and gender-specific pronouns referring to the "Child" are avoided. This version uses "the Human One" as a formal equivalent to "the Son of Man." In the genealogy that begins the Gospel of Matthew, women's names, where they are known, have been added, e.g., David and Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, were the parents of Solomon. These are a few examples of changes made in this version.

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Editor: Albert Pietersma and Susan Turner Comstock
Publisher: Scholars Press, 1981


This edition, based on P. Chester Beatty 2018. The document is dated at the end of the fourth century C.E. or the beginning of the fifth century C.E. It is said to constitute a separate, independent work. This particular manuscript provides thirty-four lines of text which previously were unknown. It appears that the original text was carelessly written because the copyist missed a number of errors. Facsimiles of the manuscript are included.

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The term Apocrypha, a Greek word meaning 'hidden things,' was early used in three different senses.
First, it was applied to writings which were regarded as so important and precious that they must be hidden from the general public and reserved for the inner circle of believers.
Second, it came to be a applied to writings which were hidden because they were secondary, questionable, or heretical.
Third, Jerome was familiar with the Scriptures in their Hebrew and Greek forms. To him, apocryphal books were those outside the Hebrew canons. Modern usage is based on Jerome's definition.
The books were accepted as Biblical by the early church and were quoted as Scripture by many early Christian writers since their Bible was the Greek. All but the Second Book of Esdras were in the Septuagint, but none of the books were ever in the Palestinian canon.
In the Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Old Covenant, these books are dispersed throughout that Covenant. The practice of collecting them into a separate unit dates back only to A.D. 1520.
This edition is taken from the New English Bible.

The First Book of Esdras
The Second Book of Esdras
Tobit
Judith
The Rest of the Chapters of the Book of Esther
The Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiasticus (The Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach)
Baruch
A Letter of Jeremiah
The Song of the Three
Daniel and Susanna
Daniel, Bel, and the Snake
The Prayer of Manasseh
The First Book of the Macabees
The Second Book of the Macabees

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Translator: Montague Rhodes James
Editor: Oxford University Press

It contains the apocryphal gospels, acts, epistles, and apocalypses with other narratives and fragments newly translated by Montague Rhodes James. The object of this volume is to give a comprehensive view of all that is meant by the phrase 'the apocryphal literature of the New Testament.' It contains fresh versions of all the really important texts, and full summaries, with extracts, of those which do not need to be translated word for word.
As books of history, they aim at supplementing the scanty data of the Gospels and Acts; and in this they may resemble many of the Jewish Midrashin and Apocrypha. They sometimes bear testimony to the currency of a tradition which has other and better evidence to support it.

Fragments of Early Gospels
Lost Heretical Books
Fragments of Gospels
Agrapha
Infancy Gospels
Passion Gospels
Acts
The Secondary Acts
Notices of Minor Acts
Epistles
Apocalypses

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Translator: J. K. Elliott
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1993


This book describes a collection of Apocryphal Christian literature in an English translation by J. K. Elliott. The writings are divided into four sections. I am giving a general list only.

Apocryphal Gospels:
Lost Gospels
Agrapha
Fragments of Gospels on Papyrus
Birth and Infancy Gospels
The Pilate Cycle

Apocryphal Acts:
Andrew
John
Paul
Peter
Pseudo-Clementine Literature
Thomas
Other

Apocryphal Epistles:
Shorter Epistles
The Letters of Christ
The Letters of Lentulus
The Epistle to the Laodiceans
The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca
The Epistle to the Alexandrians
The Epistle of the Apostles

Apocryphal Apocalypses:
Peter
The Sibylline Oracles
Paul
Thomas
Bartholomew
James
Other
The Assumption of the Virgin

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Translator: F. Leemhuis, A. F. J. Klijn, and G. J. H. Van Gelder Publisher: E. J. Brill, 1986

This edition has a parallel translation of the Syriac text. The discovery of the Arabic text of this Jewish Apocalypse, usually dated at the end of the first century or the beginning of the second century C.E., is of considerable significance because, until now, it was only known from one manuscript with a Syriac text. The Arabic text is a translation of a Syriac version closely related to the existing Syriac text. There are eighty-seven chapters, many of which are very short.

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Abbreviation: ANCJ
Year Released: 1996

Exegete Herb Jahn invested sixteen years of his life toward one quest -- to discover exactly what every word of the Scriptures Manuscripts say. He researched every Word of Scripture -- more than 14,000 words - word by word -- one word at a time. Jahn says that "Jesus" is a mistranslation of Yah Shua, meaning "Eternal Savior." The name "Jesus" is a mistranslation of the Hebrew Yah (Eternal), followed by the willful mistranslation of the Hellene god, Zeus.
This version is claimed to be the first and only literal translation and transliteration of the New Covenant -- translated directly from the language of our Lord Yah Shua and his apostles (Aramaic). Even the idioms are literally translated and transliterated. Among the two most important words (except the words of Deity) are the two verbs of existence: (1) it vv had, has, have, having; and (2) hewa vv be, become, been, being. Following the text are a number of Word Summaries. These are enlightening in defining the many transliterations.
Included with the book is a CDRom. On it are the following: (1) The Aramaic New Covenant CDRom Book; (2) The Aramaic New Covenant CDRom Interlinear; and (3) the Exegeses Parallel Bible. The CDRom is compatible with Macintosh, DOS, Unix, and Windows.

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Translator: Moses Hadas
Editor: Moses Hadas
Publisher: Harper and Brothers, 1951


It is an account, with digressions, of the translation of the Hebrew Pentateuch into Greek under the sponsorship of Ptolomy II Philadelphus, written by a contemporary pagan Greek who was an official in Ptolemy's court.
The document does not state explicitly that the author was Aristeas, but such an inference is clearly intended. It touches upon such topics as Egyptian-Jewish history, details of the structure and ritual of the Temple at Jerusalem. an appreciation of craftmanship in gold and silver under Ptolomy Philadelphus, an account of the origin of the Septuagint, and other topics.

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Translator: Michael E. Stone
Editor: Michael E. Stone
Publisher: E. J. Brill, 1996


These writings relate to Adam and Eve and to the antediluvian generations. They illustrate the extensive development of such themes preserved in Armenian. Each document is prefaced by introductory remarks providing some indication of its character and literary role and giving details of the manuscripts. The texts are accompanied by various readings, where more than one manuscript is utilized, and by comments. Some evident corruptions have been left in the text. The texts are also accompanied by English translations.


On the Fall of Adam
Concerning Adam and Eve and the Incarnation
History of Adam and Eve and Their Grandsons
Dates
Adam Story 1
Adam Story 2
Question
The Eras of the World
Abel and Other Pieces
Lists
The Hours of the Day and Night
Sermon Concerning the Flood
History of the Forefathers, Adam and His Sons and Grandsons
The Sethites and the Cainites

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Editor: R. H. Charles
Publisher: Adam and Charles Black, 1900


This edition is a translation from the Ethiopian version, which together with the New Greek fragment, the Latin versions, and the Latin translation of the Slavonic, is here published in full.
It is a composite work, existing probably not earlier than the latter half of the second century C.E. Three constituents to the writing -- The Martyrdom of Isaiah, the Vision of Isaiah, and the Testament of Hezekiah -- circulated as early as the first century C.E. The importance of The Vision of Isaiah is the knowledge it provides in regard to first century beliefs to such doctrines as the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Resurrection, and the Seven Heavens.
The Testament of Hezekiah is important for the insight that it gives us into the history of the Christian church at the close of the first century C.E. It is the oldest document that testifies to the martyrdom of Peter at Rome. It also provides information for the history of the Antichrist.

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Translator: R. H. Charles
Publisher: Adam and Charles Black, 1897


This edition was translated from the Latin sixth century M5, the unamended text of which is published herewith, together with the text in its restored and critically emended form.
Written in Hebrew shortly after the beginning of the Christian era, this book was designed by its author to protest against the growing secularization of the Pharisaic party through its fusion with political ideals and popular Messianic beliefs. Its author, a Pharasaic Quietist, sought herein to recall his party to the old paths, which they were fast forsaking, of unobtrusive obedience to the Law. He foresaw, perhaps, the doom to which his country was hurrying under such a shortsighted and unspiritual policy. There are twelve chapters, with many footnotes.

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Translator: E. A. Wallis Budge
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1923


This is the Ethiopic version of a Christianized rescension of the Buddhist legend of the Buddha and the Bodhisattva. It is edited from two good, though late, manuscripts. This translation has been made as literal as possible and has been divided up with headings for ease of reading.
Within the text is a definite statement to the effect that Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, preached the gospel in India and converted Indians to Christianity. Other documents also contain this statement.

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Abbreviation: BNT
Year Released: 1969

This version, translated by William Barclay, a professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at Glasgow University, is divided into two volumes: (1) The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles; (2) The Letters and the Revelation. The translator had two aims in making this translation. The first was to try to make the New Testament intelligent to the man who is not a technical scholar. The second was to try to make a translation which did not need a commentary to explain it.
Each book has an introduction. The order of books in each volume is different from that of the King James Version. At the end of Volume 1 is a section entitled "On Translating the New Testament." At the end of Volume 2 are two sections entitled "New Testament Words" and "Notes on Passages."

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This is an open canon of revelations of God to Joseph Smith, other contemporary church leaders, and succeeding leaders. The first attempt to publish the early revelations in book form was begun in 1831. Before the work could be completed, a mob destroyed the press in 1833, and pages of the book reproduced in print up to that point were scattered throughout the streets. The revelations were eventually printed. Additional revelations have been added since then on a somewhat regular basis -- particularly in the RLDS editions.
The LDS (Salt Lake City, Utah) and the RLDS (Independence, Missouri) editions have basically the same revelations up to 1844, but with a few notable exceptions. However, the numbering of the revelations (or sections) varies between them. The RLDS edition being reviewed has 150 sections (revelations and documents), with a few being assigned to the Appendix. Several sections have been added since. The Doctrine and Covenants is considered canon in the churches that use this book.

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Translator: R. H. Charles
Publisher: Kessinger Publishing (originally published in the United Kingdom, 1912)

The Book of Enoch is, for the history of theological development, the most important pseudepigraph of the first two centuries B.C. Nearly all the writers of the New Testament were familiar with it, and were more or less influenced by it in thought and diction. It is quoted as a genuine production of Enoch by Jude, and as Scripture by Barnabas. The authors of The Book of Jubilees, the Apocalypse of Baruch, and 4 Ezra laid it under contribution. With earlier Fathers and Apologists, it had the weight of a canonical book.
The book comes from many writers and almost as many periods. It touches upon every subject that could have arisen in the ancient schools of the prophets, but naturally it deals in an advanced stage of development. Nearly every religious idea appears in a variety of forms. The history of the development of the higher theology during the two centuries before the Christian era could not be written without The Book of Enoch.
The authors of all sections belonged to the Chasida or their successors, the Pharisees. The book was written originally partly in Aramaic and partly in Hebrew. Up until the third century A.D., it was considered to be Scripture. After that time, it fell into discredit and gradually passed out of circulation.

General Introduction
The Book of Enoch (Special Introductions, Translation, Critical and Exegetical Notes)
Section I [chapters 1-36]
Section II: The Parables [chapters 37-71]
Section III: The Book of the Courses of the Heavenly Luminaries [chapters 72-82]
Section IV: The Dream-Visions [chapters 83-90]
Section V [chapters 91-104]
Appendix I (The Gizeh Greek Fragment and the Greek Fragments Preserved in Syncellus' Chronographia)
Appendix II (The Son of Man; Its Meaning in Jewish Apocalyptic and the New Testament)

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The title is literally, 'the upright' or 'correct' record, but because the book was not known, it was, therefore, termed The Book of Jasher. This has caused some persons, who are ignorant of the Hebrew language, to suppose that Jasher was the name of a prophet or one of the judges of Israel.
The important transactions which are narrated with so remarkable a brevity in the Bible, are, in Jasher, more circumstantially detailed. Some examples of this include the following: the murder of Abel by Cain; the conduct of Noah toward the terrified multitude who had assembled about the ark; the offering of Isaac by Abraham and the conduct of Sarah; the meeting of Noah and Abraham; the instruction received by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from Shem and Eber; the account of Joseph and Potiphar's wife; and an account of the Israelites in Egypt.
The translator considers this as being a monument of history rather than a work of inspiration. Like other ancient writings, it has in some respects suffered from the consuming hand of time; and there is reason to believe that some additions have been made to it. The book contains a history of the lives and transactions of Biblical characters from Adam down to the time of the elders who immediately succeeded Joshua.
There are two references to this book in the Old Covenant:
Joshua 10:13 -- Is not this written in the Book of Jasher?
2 Samuel 1:18 -- Behold, it is written in the Book of Jasher.
This is an exact photo lithographic reprint. It was translated into English from the Hebrew in 1840.

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Translator: R. H. Charles


This book is one of the oldest Scriptures from the Old Covenant, found in The Dead Sea Scrolls. It is also found in the Bible of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Much of Genesis comes directly from this book. It goes into far greater detail than Genesis. It was given to Moses by angels atop Mount Sinai. It gives the whole history of the human race from Adam to Moses.
The book shows the division of time into eras known as Jubilees and Sabbaths. One Jubilee is equivalent to forty-nine years, or seven Sabbaths of years. It tells how the earth was divided into three major parts, going to Shem, Ham, and Japheth. These parts were further subdivided among Noah's grandsons.
The groups who used this book were often persecuted by the authorities. The Essenes of the Dead Sea community were persecuted by the Pharisee sect of Judaism, who rejected Jubilees from their version of the Bible. The early Christians used Jubilees, but they were persecuted by the Roman bishops appointed by Constantine, who chose to reject Jubilees as a scriptural book. It is not recognized by any of the Western or European churches. Bible scholars and scribes still reject its authenticity.
The above information is taken from an introduction of the book The Translation by R. H. Charles. It contains fifty chapters, as does Genesis.

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Editor: Vladimir Bonch-Bruevich


The contents were collected and recorded in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1909. This translated version was published in 1978.
The Book of Life, preserved until 1909, orally, was never recorded by the Doukhobors themselves because they treat the oral version with much greater respect than they do a published or a written book. The Doukhobors say: 'Record in heart, proclaim the word.' They add: 'It is nothing unusual to write down on paper but it is important to penetrate one's heart with truth.'
The book is divided into the following sections:

Questions and Answers
Dogmatic Psalms
Psalms Concerning Life After Death, and the Last Judgment
Psalms of Alleviation
Didactic Psalms
Psalms of Supplication
Psalms of Gratitude
Psalms of Eulogy
Psalms Concerning Events of the Gospel
Diverse Psalms
Dreams of the Holy Mother of God
Sayings, Exhortations, Festive Occasions, Remembrances, and So on
Hymns, Greetings

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Editor: Joseph Smith, Jr.
Publisher: Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1954


It is a volume of holy Scriptures comparable to the Bible, originally published in 1830. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel.
The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group was known as the Jaredites.
After Mormon completed his writings, he delivered the account to his son Moroni, who added a few words of his own and hid up the plates in the hill Cumorah. On September 21, 1823, the same Moroni, then a glorified resurrected being, appeared to Joseph Smith and instructed him concerning the ancient record and its destined translation into the English language.
In due course, the plates were delivered to Joseph Smith, who translated them by the gift and power of God. The plates that contained this record were divided into two sections: the sealed books, and 'the words that were not sealed.' Joseph Smith read the latter. Three other persons gave a written testimony of having seen the plates. Then eight others gave a similar written testimony. None of these witnesses ever denied his testimony.
This book is also known as The Record of the Nephites, The Nephite Records, and The Stick of Joseph, depending on which group published it. At least three groups call it The Book of Mormon.

First Nephi
Second Nephi
Jacob
Enos
Jarom
Omni
Words of Mormon
Mosiah
Alma
Helaman
Third Nephi
Fourth Nephi
Mormon
Ether
Moroni

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Abbreviation: CNT
Year Released: 1989

It was translated by Heinz W. Cassirer, a Jewish philosopher who had not read any part of the Bible before he was forty-nine years old. The experience of discovering these texts was so great that he spent the next twenty-one years studying them. This translation is the result of the need for personal clarity and the meaning of the New Testament texts.
He started work on the letters of Paul in 1957. Not until 1972 did he feel prepared to translate the New Testament in its entirety. He aimed for clarity that would be sensitive to every inflection of the original Greek. His style is probing rather than a watering down. Although he did not want his work to be a paraphrase, he did draw out a meaning with greater spiritual accuracy, if warranted.
The Gospel of John -- in particular chapters 7 and 8 -- was a stumbling-block for a long time. The decision to translate the New Testament came only when he was satisfied that the passages that had long fueled anti-Semitic reactions had been disastrously distorted and misinterpreted over the centuries and were not in themselves anti-Semitic. He later advocated its essentially Jewish character.
Old Testament quotations are in bolder typeface. References are at the bottom of pages. Many of these were found in the Greek New Testament texts and Old Testament texts that he used.
He did not care to have his translation published in his lifetime. His widow provided much assistance to the work before and after his death.

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and The Mystical Theology
Publisher: Shrine of Wisdom, 1949

These two writings of Dionysius were first published separately, but since have been placed in a single edition.
Mystic Theologies has had far-reaching influence, but it is comparatively little known. There were few English versions available when this edition was published.
Its five chapters deal with such topics as the necessity to be united and to praise God, the affirmations and negations concerning God, and the Cause of all things not being any of them.
The Celestial Hierarchies is based on passages from the Old and New Testaments, yet embodies the essential principles of the Neoplatonic teachings.
Its fifteen chapters deal with such topics as Divine and Celestial Matters, Angel Hierarchies, and Angelic Powers.

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Abbreviation: CTNT
Year Released: 1924

This version, translated by Helen Barrett Montgomery, was published to signalize the completion of the first hundred years of work of the American Baptist Publication Society. Two of the seven aims of the translator were to offer a translation in the language of everyday life and to make a translation chiefly designed for the ordinary reader. She offers her work in deep humility, recognizing shortcomings in her translation.
At the beginning of each of the gospels is a page which briefly gives such information as: probable date, writer, characteristics, key verses, symbol, and to whom addressed. Each chapter has a title. There are also subject headings throughout the chapters.

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Old Testament

Job Unknown Date of Writing Anonymous
Genesis 1445-1405 B.C. Moses
Exodus 1445-1405 B.C Moses
Leviticus 1445-1405 B.C. Moses
Numbers 1445-1405 B.C. Moses
Deuteronomy 1445-1405 B.C. Moses
Psalms 1410-450 B.C. Multiple Authors
Joshua 1405-1385 B.C. Joshua
Judges about 1043 B.C. Samuel
Ruth about 1030-1010 B.C. Samuel (?)
Song of Solomon 971-965 B.C. Solomon
Proverbs 971-686 B.C. Solomon primarily
Ecclesiastes 940-931 B.C. Solomon
1 Samuel 931-722 B.C. Anonymous
2 Samuel 931-722 B.C. Anonymous
Obadiah 850-840 B.C. Obadiah
Joel 835-796 B.C. Joel
Jonah about 775 B.C. Jonah
Amos about 750 B.C. Amos
Micah 735-710 B.C. Micah
Hosea 750-710 B.C. Hosea
Isaiah 700-681 B.C. Isaiah
Nahum about 650 B.C. Nahum
Zephaniah 635-625 B.C. Zephaniah
Habakkuk 615-605 B.C. Habakkuk
Ezekiel 590-570 B.C. Ezekiel
Lamentations 586 B.C. Jeremiah
Jeremiah 586-570 B.C. Jeremiah
1 Kings 561-538 B.C. Anonymous
2 Kings 561-538 B.C. Anonymous
Daniel 536-530 B.C. Daniel
Haggai about 520 B.C. Haggai
Zechariah 480-470 B.C. Zechariah
Ezra 457-444 B.C. Ezra
1 Chronicles 450-430 B.C. Ezra (?)
2 Chronicles 450-430 B.C. Exra (?)
Esther 450-331 B.C. Malachi
Malachi 433-424 B.C. Malachi
Nehemiah 424-400 B.C. Ezra

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James A.D. 44-49 James
Galatians A.D. 49-50 Paul
Matthew A.D. 50-60 Matthew
Mark A.D. 50-60 Mark
1 Thessalonians A.D. 51 Paul
2 Thessalonians A.D. 51-52 Paul
1 Corinthians A.D. 55 Paul
2 Corinthians A.D. 55-56 Paul
Romans A.D. 56 Paul
Luke A.D. 60-61 Luke
Ephesians A.D. 60-62 Paul
Philippians A.D. 60-62 Paul
Colossians A.D. 60-62 Paul
Philemon A.D. 60-62 Paul
Acts A.D. 62 Luke
1 Timothy A.D. 62-64 Paul
Titus A.D. 62-64 Paul
1 Peter A.D. 64-65 Peter
2 Timothy A.D. 66-67 Paul
2 Peter A.D. 67-68 Peter
Hebrews A.D. 67-69 Unknown
Jude A.D. 68-70 Jude
John A.D. 80-90 John
1 John A.D. 90-95 John
2 John A.D. 90-95 John
3 John A.D. 90-95 John
Revelation A.D. 94-96 John

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Abbreviation: CENT
Year Released: 1865

This Revised Testament was prepared under the auspices of the American Bible Union by the most competent scholars of the day. No expense was spared to obtain the oldest translations of the Bible, copies of the ancient manuscripts, and other facilities to make the revision as perfect as possible.
The paragraph form was adopted in preference to the division by verse, a mode never used in the ancient Scriptures. However, for convenience of reference, the numbering of the verses was retained.
All quotations from the Old Testament are distinctly indicated. The poetic form is restored to those which appear as poetry in the original.
The received Greek text, critically edited, was followed. The original common English version was the basis of revision. The exact meaning of the inspired text of the original Scriptures at the time that they were written were given in corresponding words and phrases, so far as they could be found in the English language.
This is an exact reprint of the second edition published in 1865, and is the work of Drs. H. B. Hackett, A. C. Kendrick, and J. C. Conant. It was reproduced by B. C. Goodpasture in 1955.

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Jewish New Testament
Abbreviation: CJB
Year Released: 1989


Description
This version expresses its original and essential Jewishness. Most other English translations of the New Testament present their message in a Gentile-Christian linguistic, cultural, and theological framework. Yeshua, the Messiah, was a Jew, was born to Jews, grew up among Jews, ministered to Jews, and died and rose from the dead in the Jewish capital.
Much of what is written in the New Testament is incomprehensible outside its Jewish context. The best demonstration of its Jewishness is also the most convincing of its truth, namely, the number of Tanakh prophecies which are fulfilled in Yeshua. Three of the areas in which the Jewish New Testament can aid in "fixing up the world" are: Christian antisemitism, Jewish failure to receive the Gospel, and separation between the Church and the Jewish people.
Semitic names and terms belonging to "Jewish English" substitute for certain English words (e.g., Yochanan for "John" and emissary for "apostle"). Cultural or religious terms change to a Jewish context (e.g., the "fringe" or "edge" of Yeshua's robe to his tzitzit, which is a ritual tassel). Theological changes are made where Gentile-Christian theologies de-emphasize Jews as God's people (e.g., New Covenant "has been enacted through better promises" to has been given as Torah on the basis of better promises -- Hebrews 8:6).
Formally equivalent translation, or paraphrase, has been used to bring out meanings that original readers would have understood.
It is based primarily on the United Bible Societies' The Greek New Testament, which is a critical edition. "Kurios" is not translated Lord, but Adonai. In Messianic Christianity, as opposed to Judaism, this term can include Yeshua the Messiah and Holy Spirit.

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Abbreviation: CLNT
Year Released: 1926

Since men carry over the truth into another language only so far as they grasp it themselves, no translation can be fully satisfactory. The compiler of this version, the late A. E. Knoch, was aware of his shortcomings in this regard. To keep from emphasizing his personal views and traditional errors, he developed the concordant method of translation.
The purpose of the compiler was to make a translation that agreed as closely as possible to the original language, yet be presented in readable English. This method recognizes the importance of the vocabulary of Scripture keeping distinct the well-chosen words of God in His revelation of truth. There is an effort to keep to a minimum the confusion resulting from translating different Greek words with only one English word. Thus, phileo is rendered "be fond" and agapao is rendered "love." Except for a few idiomatic usages, each English word stands for only one Greek word in this version.
The word order and sentence structure of the early Greek manuscripts are followed more in this version than in most others. However, when needed, the Greek sentence structure is altered in order to achieve acceptable English.

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Abbreviation: CCDT
Year Released: 1953

The editors have incorporated in this new edition of the Holy Bible the better translations which modern Bible scholarship has put at their disposal. The Old Testament, in prose paragraph format, is the venerable Douay Version, with the exception of the first eight books (Genesis to Ruth), translated by members of the Catholic Biblical Association of America under the patronage of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. In addition, the Book of Psalms is a new English translation from the new Latin version approved by Pope Pius XII. The New Testament is the newly revised version of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
Other features of this edition include the following: (1) appropriate chapter and sub-headings; (2) newly edited and numbered annotations in the Old Testament; (3) historical dates conforming with the most recent discoveries in Bible Lands; (4) an easy-to-read, sight-saving type face; and (5) two Bible reading guides.

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Abbreviation: CEV, CE

It was translated with the attempt that the text be faithful to the meaning of the original and that it can be read with ease and understanding by readers of all ages. It was made directly from the original languages of the Scriptures and is not an adaptation of any existing translation.
Some nouns (e.g., "salvation") of traditional translations are not used as they describe actions. Every word, phrase, and of the original was carefully studied by the translators. Then, they tried to find the best way to translate the verse so that it could be easily read and understood.
Poetic sections were expected not only to sound good but also to look good. Poetic lines were carefully measured to avoid awkwardly divided phrases and words that run over to the next line in clumsy ways.
The New Testament was translated directly from the Greek text and published by the United Bible Societies (third edition, corrected, 1983). Psalms and Proverbs were translated directly from the Masoretic Hebrew text printed in Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (fourth edition, 1990) and published by the German Bible Society.
Drafts in their early stages were sent for review and comment to a number of Biblical scholars, theologians, and educators representing a wide variety of denominations, also to all English-speaking Bible Societies and to over forty United Bible Societies translation consultants around the world. Final approval was given by the American Bible Society's Board of Trustees upon recommendation of its Translation Subcommittee.

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Abbreviation: CVNT
Year Released: 1898

This version in the Northern Dialect is also known as Memphitic or Bohairic. The work was undertaken at the suggestion of Dr. Wallis Budge, Keeper of the Egyptian Department of the British Museum. The original idea was to ascertain the character of the MSS., and to print a text with various readings of ten or twelve authorities. The process of collating MSS. began in 1890. Printing began in 1894.
The object of the translation was to supply the English reader with some knowledge of the Greek text which was translated by the Egyptians of the North-Western province, whose dialect had survived to the time of this work in the liturgical books of the Coptic church. This being the main object, it was also intended by literal treatment to give an idea of the peculiarities of the language and the method of the version.
Care has been taken with the vocabulary, yet no claim is made to secure and fix absolutely the best meaning of Coptic words in English. The translated word must be regarded as a token for a Greek word. The Revised Version was used at times as an aid.
The preface gives details of the collating of the manuscripts. The introduction gives details of the text, the translation, and the description of the manuscripts. Both the Coptic and the English have been printed.
Coptic is the Hamitic language of the Copts, the latest form of the ancient Egyptian: a dead language since 1500 but still the liturgical language of the Coptic Church. (Standard Dictionary of the English Language, vol. 1. Page 287.)
It contains the New Testament in four volumes.

[dizzle]

This is a great thread!!

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Abbreviation: DHB
Year Released: 1923


This translation of the Old Testament has been derived from a study of the common Hebrew text, and represents at the same time a collation of the late J. N. Darby's German and French Versions, he having himself revised the first few books within a short time of his decease. Those who use this English translation may accordingly expect to find incorporated with it whatever is of special value in the above-mentioned Versions, particularly the French, where the common English Bible is defective.
The purpose of this translation is not to offer to the man of letters a learned work, but rather to provide the simple and unlearned reader with as exact a translation as possible. To this end, all available helps have been used. The work is not a revision of the Bible in common use. The style of the Authorised Version [KJV] has been retained as far as possible within the purpose of the translation.
Poetical parts are distinguished from the rest by a metrical arrangement to which those are accustomed who use Paragraph Bibles. However, this has been abandoned in the Prophets where the poetical form is often complicated.
Elohim will in the text appear only in the name Jehovah Elohim; moreover, when Elohim following immediately on Jehovah has a grammatical adjunct, its place will be taken by the English word "God." For the meaning of Jehovah, Yahweh or Yehveh, see Exodus 3:14,15; Isaiah 40:28; for Jah, see Exodus 25:2. Ordinary spelling of proper names has been adhered to, subject to numerous and necessary corrections. Italics indicate emphasis.
In the first edition of the New Testament, the translator used the Textus Receptus. But the Textus Receptus was itself often changed in the text of the work. He decided to adopt its reading, not attempt to make a text of his own. His object was a more correct translation: only there was no use in translating what all intelligent critics held to be a mistake in the copy.
Since the first edition, various new helps became available. However, there has been little change in the actual translating. There have been changes involving clarity, inaccuracies, and uniformity.

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Translator: Theodor H. Gastner
Publisher: Doubleday, 1976


The purpose of this book is to provide a complete and reliable translation of the celebrated Dead Sea Scrolls, insofar as the original Hebrew texts have yet been published. No translation is offered of the Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah or of the other more fragmentarily preserved Biblical manuscripts. This edition is concerned only with what the Scrolls themselves have to say.
The texts presented here were composed at various dates between about 250 B.C.E. and 68 C.E. They formed part of the library at a religious brotherhood located at Qumran. The Scrolls and the religious movement help us to reconstruct the spiritual climate of early Christianity. The brotherhood did not believe in a martyred Messianic Teacher of Righteousness who reappeared posthumously to his disciples and whose Second Coming was awaited. They possess value in their own right as conveying the religious message of men who gave up the world and were able to find God in a wilderness.
The Scrolls were found in a cave at the northern end of the Dead Sea by an Arab boy in 1949. It is not known for certain who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, when, and where. Attempts to date them by palaeography or by allusion to known persons or events have not yielded conclusive results.
The Scrolls furnish a picture of the religious and cultural climate in which John the Baptist conducted his mission and in which Jesus initially was reared. However, they contain no trace of any of the cardinal theological concepts.

The Service of God:
The Manual of Discipline
The Zadokite Document
The Letter of the Law: Ordinances
A Formuary of Blessings

The Praise of God
The Hymn of the Initiants
The Book of Hymns
Poems from a Qumran Hymnal
Lament for Zion
Hymns of Triumph

The Mercy of God
Prayer for Intercession

Glory to God in the Highest
The Litany of the Angels

The Word of God
Expositions of Scripture
Everyman's Bible

The Triumph of God
The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness
The Rout of Belial: Scriptural Predictions
The Coming Doom
Weal and Woe: An Exhortation
The Last Jubilee: A Sermon
Melchizedek Texts
The New Covenant
Manual of Discipline for the Future
Congregation of Israel
Thy Kingdom Come

Virtue
The Wooing of Wisdom [Sirach 51.13ff.]

Vice
The Wiles of the Harlot

Visions and Testaments
The Last Words of Amram

Destiny
The Epochs of Time

Appendix
The Copper Scroll and the Prayer of Nabonidus

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Translator: Editors of The Shrine of Wisdom
Publisher: The Shrine of Wisdom, 1957


In this treatise, the writer gathers together and explains a number of the symbolical Names by which the nature of the Supreme and Absolute God is revealed in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The author speaks of two aspects of the nature of the Supreme God -- the undifferentiated and the differentiated.
It would appear that the work was written in the 5th century BCE by Dionysius the Areopagite.
There are thirteen chapters as follows:

1: The purpose of the discourse, and the tradition concerning the Divine Names
2: The undifferentiated and the differentiated; union and distinction
3: The power of prayer
4: God, Light, Beauty, Love, Ecstacy, Jealousy; the existence or non-existence of evil
5: Being and Paradigms
6: Life
7: Wisdom, Intellect, Reason, Truth, Faith
8: Power, Justice, Preservation, Redemption, Inequality
9: Great, Small, Same, Different, Similar, Dissimilar, Rest, Motion, Equality
10: Omnipotent, Ancient of Days, Eternity, Time
11: Peace, Being Itself, Life Itself, Power Itself
12: Holy of Holies, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, God of Gods
13: Perfect and One

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Abbreviation: DRB
Year Released: 1610/1899
Contents: Old Testament 1610, New Testament 1609


Catholic answer to King James Bible
This is a scrupulously faithful translation into English of the Latin Vulgate Bible which Jerome (342-420) translated into Latin from the original languages. The Latin Vulgate Bible had been declared by the Council of Trent to be the official Latin version of the canonical Scriptures. The DRB translators took great pains to translate exactly. When a passage seemed strange and unintelligible they left it alone, even if obscure.
The translators translated from a translation for ten reasons, ending by stating that the Latin Vulgate "is not onely better than al other Latin translations, but then the Greeke text itselfe, in those places where they disagree." They also state that the Vulgate is "more pure then the Hebrew or Greke now extant" and that "the same Latin hath bene farre better conserved from corruptions."
It has the imprimatur of James Cardinal Gibbons.
When Catholics were considering a vernacular Bible, professors at the English College at Douay, France, took up the work. Because of political unrest, the college was moved to Rheims, also in France. Work started in 1578. The New Testament, translated faithfully into the English out of authentic Latin and diligently conferred with the Greek, was printed at Rheims in 1582. The purpose was to discover corruptions in numerous late translations and to clear controversies in the religion of the day. In more peaceful times, the vernacular would not have been necessary. The Church never wholly condemned vulgar (popular or pertaining to common people) versions but warned against indiscriminate interpretation.
The groundwork was supplied by such sources as Coverdale, Bishop's Bible, and the Geneva Bible, but mostly Wycliffe. The Vulgate was used for translation because of its ancient character, its tradition, its accuracy, its sincerity, and the decree of the Council of Trent. The aim of the translators was a literal translation. The Old Testament was published in two volumes in 1609-1610. At the time of publication, both Testament translators were criticized. Later scholars praised the accuracy of the Douay-Rheims Bible.

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The Apostolic Fathers
Translator: Maxwell Staniforth
Publisher: Dorset Press, 1968


Regarded as virtually equal to Holy Scripture by the nascent Church, these works are immensely valuable both historically and doctrinally. Written for the most part in the form of letters, they provide historians with the only available source from a dark era, and illuminate the emerging Church during a time when its powers and principles were still independent from the state.
In addition to the translation of the writing, there is information about each writer and writing.

The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
The Epistles of Ignatius (To the Ephesians; To the Magnesians; To the Trallians; To the Romans; To the Philadelphians; To the Smyrnaeans; To Polycarp)
The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians
The Martyrdom of Polycarp
The Epistle to Diognetus
The Epistle of Barnabas
The Didache

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Abbreviation: EVD, OE
Contents: Old Testament 1986, New Testament 1978
Easy-to-Read Version

This version has been prepared to meet the special needs of the deaf. Whether it is published as the English Version for the Deaf or the Easy-to-Read Version, the text is the same. Hearing persons learn English largely through oral conversation. However, for the deaf, this experience with language is severely limited. Children, people who learn English as a foreign language, and many others face similar difficulties in reading. This specialized English version is designed to help such people overcome or avoid the most common obstacles to reading with understanding.
One of the basic ideas that guided the work on this version was that good translation is good communication. The main concern of the translators was always to communicate to the reader the message of the Biblical writers as effectively and as naturally as the original writings did to people in that time. The translators worked to convey to their special audience the meaning of the Biblical text in a form that would be simple and natural. There are several special features used to aid understanding. Uses less than 4,000 word vocabulary for verb syntax not understood by those who can not hear.

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Abbreviation: EVPB
Year Released: 1858

This is a thick, pocket-size edition of the King James Version. There is no evidence of what the other languages or versions of the original Polyglott Bible, of which this was a part, are. The print is extemely small. There are two columns of text on each page, with a narrow column of cross-references between them. At the beginning of each Testament are two paintings of Biblical settings. Following the New Testament is the second inclusion of the Book of Psalms, this time in metre.
On the flyleaf is the following handwritten inscription: "Presented to Mifs. Julia Parker by a friend Jan. 1st, 1860, China, A. G."

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Translator: Malcolm Lee Peel
Publisher: SCM Press, 1969


This is a Valentinian letter on resurrection. This edition contains a fresh translation and exposition of one of the writings from the Nag Hammadi Library. Its importance is that it provides the first Gnostic document devoted exclusively to the subject of individual eschatology.
The letter is one of the numerous writings from a religious library probably used by a fourth century Gnostic community of Sethian disposition. It was probably composed sometime prior to that century. The thought and vocabulary of Paul are found throughout it. It contains eight pages.

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Editor: J. M. Harden
Publisher: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1920


It is one of the least known of a number of similar documents that have come down to us from comparatively early times. It has been preserved by the Monophysite Church of Abyssinia. It has been said to be a somewhat rambling discourse on Church life and society.
It is claimed to be a message to the Church from the Twelve Apostles assembled in Jerusalem. It deals with such topics as morality, studying the Scriptures, strict obedience of the Seventh Commandment, mutual duties of husband and wife, offices and duties of Christian ministers, and other topics. There are forty-three chapters.

[NSMinistries]

Translator: J. B. Lightfoot and others
Publisher: Harper Brothers, 1927


The person who wrote the Introduction dislikes the title because, to him, it suggests that these writings were once a part of the New Testament but later ejected for various reasons. The translator places the books listed in this volume into two categories. The first is Apocryphal in that added information of Jesus given. The second is a treatise in the form of a letter and of highest historical value. Some of these writings appear in other books reviewed on this site.
The Contents list the following:

Introduction
The Book of James
The Gospel of Nicodemus, Part I
The Gospel of Nicodemus, Part II
The Gospel of Peter
The Revelation of Peter
The Genuine Epistle of Clement
The So-called Second Epistle of Clement
The Epistle of Barnabas
The Shepherd of Hermas

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: GTNT
Year Released: 1905

This version was translated from the original Greek by a minister of the Holiness Movement, W. B. Godbey, sometime between 1904 and 1911. Soon after his graduation from college in 1859, he obtained a copy of the critical Greek Testamant, founded on the Sinaic Manuscript, by Dr. Tischendorf. Mr. Godbey read the New Covenant in Greek for more than forty years.
After entering the evangelical work in 1884, he found himself in camp meetings, where he was surrounded by people listening to his exposition of the Scriptures from the original Greek. Soon, he was urged to translate the Greek into the plain diction of the current English.
He had neither the desire nor the expectation that his translation should supersede the good Old English Bible, but that it would help people to understand it. He felt that the majority of the many mistakes of the King James Version, which were either omission or interpolation, are of no importance. He mentions some of these in the Prologue, and has corrected them. He felt that the Tischendorf Text had been hidden in a Christian convent on Mt. Sinai by God in His mercy.
The Gospels are arranged in chronological order, side by side.

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Abbreviation: GW
Contents: Old Testament 1995, New Testament 1988

Today's Bible Translation

This translation, which is the work of God's Word to the Nations Bible Society, fills the need to communicate clearly to contemporary Americans without compromising the Bible's message. It employed full-time Bible scholars and full-time English editorial reviewers. It uses natural grammar, follows standard punctuation and capitalization rules, and is printed in a single column.
The theory followed by the Bible Society's translators is closest natural equivalent translation. The first consideration was to find equivalent English ways of expressing the meaning of the original text. The second consideration was readability. The third consideration was to choose the natural equivalent that most clearly reflects the style of the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek text.
In prose, this translation looks like other works of literature. Poetry is instantly recognized by its format. It capitalizes the first letter in proper nouns and sentences and in all letters of the word LORDwhen it represents Yahweh. It does not capitalize any pronouns (except I and unless they begin sentences). In passages that apply to all people, it tries to use gender-neutral language so that all readers will apply these passages to themselves. If a passage focuses upon an individual, it does not use plural nouns and pronouns to avoid the gender-specific pronouns he, him, and his. It avoids using difficult theological terms, substituting words that carry the same meaning in common English. However, some traditional theological words are contained in footnotes the first time they occur in a chapter.

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Translator: Lonsdale and Laura Ragg
Editor: Lonsdale and Laura Ragg
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1907


This edition was edited and translated from the Italian MS. in the Imperial Library at Vienna. The translators have endeavoured to preserve the archaic form and something even of the crudeness of the original. Where the text follows that of the Bible exactly, they have adopted the language of the Revised Version. The more obvious important parallels from the Qorân will be found either cited or referred to in the footnotes.
In regard to the material content, the following are evident: an obvious and primary dependence upon the Christian Bible, especially upon the four Canonical Gospels; frequent insertions of Jewish and Mohammedan matter; and, traces of hagiological and other Mohammedan material. There are 222 chapters. The left pages are in Italian, while the right pages are in English.

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Translator: R. M. Wilson
Publisher: A. R. Mowbray, 1962


This edition has been translated from the Coptic text. The Gospel of Philip belongs to the same collection of Gnostic documents as the more famous Gospel of Thomas. It has never been considered as anything but a Gnostic document.
It has been suggested that it was written in the second century B.C.E. Thus, it may be one of the earliest documents for some of the themes which figure in later apocryphal literature.
In addition to the English translation of the gospel, there are two other parts of interest in the book: The Theology of Philip; and Commentary.

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Translator: Disciple of the Master
Editor: Disciple of the Master
Publisher: Health Research, 1974


This writing of the Christian Dispensation is one of the most ancient and complete of early Christian fragments, preserved in one of the monasteries of the Buddhist monks in Tibet, where it was hidden by some of the Essene community for safety from the hands of corrupters. The original of this reprint marked the first time that it had been translated from the Aramic. The contents clearly show it to be an early Essenian writing.
This gospel was not addressed to the heathen, but chiefly to the true followers of Jesus in the early days of the Church of Jerusalem. The editors feel that, like all other inspired writings, these from within the Veil must be taken on their own internal evidence of Higher Teaching.
The Contents lists a Prologue, ninety-six Chapters, and the Epistle of Apollos the Prophet.

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A Valentinian Meditation on the Gospel
Translator: Kendrick Grobel
Publisher: Abingdon Press, 1960


About 1945, a jar of forty-eight works were found in a tomb in Egypt. All but one of the works were obtained by the Coptic Museum in Cairo, Egypt. These came to be known as the Nag Hammadi Library. The remaining work was purchased by a Belgian antiquary. It eventually was given to the Jung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. Thus, this papyrus document of five writings became known as the Codex Jung. One of them is The Gospel of Truth. All the writings are of Gnostic origin. In the contents of this book under the heading of The Valentinian Meditation on the Gospel are the following sub-headings:

The Plot of Plane 17:14
The Withheld Completeness 18:38
The Teacher of the Book 19:18
Jesus Suffers for the Book 20:10
The Book Grants Completion 21:3
Meditation I on the Name 21:30
Similitude of Drunkenness 22:16
Hymn on the Perfect Book 23:3
Revelation 24:9
Similitude of Ignorance and Darkness 24:32
Jars and Judgment 25:25
Illusory Existence 27:34
The Nightmare Parable 28:28
A Beatitude 30:12
The Shepherd of the Sheep That Strayed 31:35
Salvation on the Sabbath 32:18
Those Who Were Yours 33:35
The Anointing 36:17
The Logos 37:4
The Will 37:21
The Name II 38:8
The Place 41:4
Epilogue 42:39

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Translator: James H. Charlesworth
Editor: James H. Charlesworth

This edition is the Greek Recension
This apocryphon is composite and is dated in its present form not earlier than the fifth or sixth century C.E. The Greek and English texts are on facing pages. It has circulated under numerous titles. Its importance is the record of Jewish reflections on the legend of the lost tribes and the marvelous characteristics of the terrestrial paradise of its inhabitants, the Rechabites.

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Abbreviation: HBRV
Year Released: 1885

The Revised Vesion of the Bible was the first -- and remains the only -- officially authorised revision of the King James Version. The work was entrusted to some fifty scholars from various denominations in Britain; American scholars were invited to co-operate, by corrrespondence. The revisers were charged with introducing alterations only if they were required in order to be faithful to the original text. In the New Testament alone more than 30,000 changes were made, over five thousand of them on the basis of a better Greek text. The work was begun in 1879, and the Revised Version was published in 1885; the Apocrypha came out in 1895. The American Standard Edition, based on the Revised Version, was published in 1901.

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Abbreviation: HSH
Year Released: 1951

This version of the Holy Scriptures was revised in accordance with Jewish tradition and modern Biblical scholarship by Alexander Harkavy. The translator changed obsolete words and updated the spelling in the Leeser Version of 1814, which was based on the King James Version. He also paraphrased certain passages in order to achieve greater expliciteness.
The books follow the traditional Jewish order under Pentateuch, Prophets, and Writings. The text is in English. However, page headings are in both English and Hebrew. An index, tables for the readings of the Law and of the Haftaroth, and tables for family records are located at the end of the book.

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Translator: G. R. S. Mead 1963

The translator feels almost certain that this Hymn is no hymn, but a mystery-ritual, and perhaps the earliest ritual in which there was any trace at the time that this edition was published. As in other Coptic Gnostic works of mystery-rituals, the Disciples are bidden to surround the Master at certain praise-givings and invocations of the Father.
The prayer itself is only five pages long, double-spaced. Following it there are several pages of comments.

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Editor: Ronald F. Hock

This edition has the original Greek text with the English from the New Scholars Version Translation.
The Infancy Gospel of James extends the canonical birth stories back to the circumstances surrounding the birth of Mary and childhood and ends shortly after the birth of Jesus. There is a dependence on the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Within the context, it is stated that it was written by James at the time of the death of Herod.
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is a collection of largely self-contained stories that are loosely held together by a series of indications of Jesus' age -- five years. There is not enough to establish a genuine narrative thread. The author apparently was not the apostle. The name is pseudonymous. No date has been definitely set.

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Abbreviation: IV
Year Released: 1867


This is an inspired revision of the Authorized Version by Joseph Smith. Begun in June 1830 and completed in July 1833, it was the result of the commandment of God through direct revelation. Many plain and precious things had been taken away from the Bible. In most places, the language form arrangement of the King James (Authorized) Version was followed. Certain completely new portions given in the form of revelatory documents were included in the text. At the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, the manuscripts were held by his widow until 1866, when they were delivered to a committee appointed by the Reorganized Latter Day Saints Church.
This edition is a corrected edition. Some words and phrases were transposed or improperly placed in the work done by Joseph Smith. These errors and mechanical errors were corrected. The original manuscripts indicate that there was additional editing done by Joseph Smith after 1833.
It does not contain Song of Solomon. The Apocrypha was not added because of a revelation stating that "it was not needful that it be translated. Many true things therein were correctly translated, but many things were not true, being interpolations of man."

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Abbreviation: IB IT IL
Year Released: 1976

It is the first such Bible available to students of Scriptures who speak English. With it, one can utilize lexicons, word books, and other recent aids.
The Hebrew text in the Old Testament is the Masoretic text. The Greek text in the New Testament is the Received Text (differing slightly from other printed editions).
There are two English translations: one located directly under each Hebrew or Greek word and "The Literal Translation of the Bible" in a narrow column to the left. The latter straight-forward translation makes it easy to see proper word order in English and to assimilate the message of the text. Both translations are word-for-word, but are not absolute, literal representations of the Hebrew and Greek words.
The personal name of God is rendered either Jehovahor Jah. The translators preferred JHWH to YHWH because of the established English usage for Bible names beginning with this letter (e.g., Jacob and Joseph). Greek names for Old Testament persons in the New Testament are spelled as in the Old Testament. "Mary" is rendered Miriam in consistency with the Greek form when translated under the Greek word.
Above each Hebrew or Greek word is a number as it appears in Strong's Concordance and lexicons. This opens Bible study possibilities for those who wish to understand the Scriptures better. The Hebrew and the Greek alphabets appear before the preface.

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Abbreviation: ISV
Year Released: 1998

This version, which will include both Covenants in the year 2000, was translated by a committee of academics. It is a literal-idiomatic translation, which avoids the dangers of being over-literal and over-interpretative. The goal has been to achieve both accuracy and excellence in communication.
A number of specific principles of translation have been followed. The twenty-seventh edition of the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece and the fourth corrected edition of the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament are the base texts. Inclusive language is used wherever possible without compromising scholarly integrity or good English style.
The ISV logo is a tryglyth of three historic symbols. The upper symbol is the Menorah. The centre symbol is the Star of David. The lower symbol is the Ichthus, or fish. English-language Bible readers who have access to the Internet's World Wide Web will be able to read the ISV at the Learn Foundation's web site at http://isv.org.

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Abbreviation: JBK
Year Released: 1962

The English translation of this Bible was revised and edited by Harold Fisch. It is a thoroughly corrected, modernized, and revised version of the Anglo-Jewish Bibles that have been accepted for home and synagogue throughout the English-speaking world. The Jewish Family Bible of M. Friedlander, published in 1881, was the basis for this edition. That version was faithful to the Masora, or received Hebrew text. It also retained as much Jewish sentiment as permitted of the unsurpassed language and rhythm of the "Authorized Version" of 1611. Also, a comparison was made with the nineteenth century Jewish Bible of Isaac Lesser and with other later translations.
The language of the old versions has been modernized where ancient linguistic and grammatical forms would be difficult for the present-day reader. Many points of detail have been corrected in light of modern scholarship.
A primary aim of the translators has been to offer a rendering of the English Bible which would match the spirit and outer appearance of the Hebrew test printed opposite it. This text, the "Koren Bible," is unique among Hebrew printed Bibles in rejecting Greek titles, Latin numerals, and chapter divisions based on non-Jewish authority. The English text is divided up according to the traditional system of petuhot (open line divisions) and setumot (closed spaces) as found in ancient Hebrew manuscripts. This Koren Tanakh is in English on the left-hand pages and Hebrew on the right-hand pages.

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Jews for Jesus
60 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94102-5895
United States of America
1(415)864-2600

E-mail: jfj@jewsforjesus.org




This best selling new translation freshly renders the original Greek into enjoyable modern English, while dramatizing the Jewish roots and flavor of New Testament times by giving names of people, places, events and concepts in the original spoken Hebrew.
The Jewish New Testament
by David H. Stern
Hardcover / 350 pages
ISBN 0-8276-0096-8
This new translation is the culmination of three decades of collaboration
by scholars and rabbis representing the three largest branches of
organized Judaism in America.


Complete Jewish Bible
Stern, David H. (Translator)
Jewish New Testament Publishers
Po Box 615
Clarksville, MD 21029-0615
UNITED STATES
Local Fax: 410-764-1376 (UNITED STATES)
Local Tel: 410-764-6144 (UNITED STATES
ISBN 9-653-59015-4
Translated by David H. Stern % Names and key terms presented in
easy-to-understand transliterated Hebrew enabling readers to
pronounce them the way Yeshua (Jesus) did % 1,697 pp. % 5 7/8 X 8
7/8 % Font size: 9


Jewish New Testament
Translated by David H. Stern % Uses neutral terms and Hebrew names
% Highlights Jewish features and Jewish references % Corrects
mistranslations from an anti-Jewish theological bias % 436 pp. % 5
3/4 X 8 1/4 % Font size: 9
ISBN 9-653-59006-5

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Jews for Jesus:

BOOK REVIEW Book Review: Jewish New Testament Commentary By Louis Goldberg, Ph.D. This article originally appeared in The Messianic Review of Books, Volume 3:1 Jews for Jesus - David Stern's massive Jewish New Testament Commentary follows through on his Jewish New Testament. It represents a Herculean effort to provide a commentary of the New Testament that works with the original Greek text and also attempts to demonstrate the first-century cultural background among the people of Israel. As long ago as the 1930s, the Yiddish writer Sholem Asch and the Israeli scholar Joseph Klausner already broke ground when they wrote about Jesus from a Jewish perspective. Since then, the old approach of seeing the New Testament as completely Greek, divorced from any Jewish background, has largely been set aside in the thinking of many writers and scholars. But the task has not been easy. It is now time for Messianic Jews themselves to deal theologically with the issues concerning not only Jesus but Paul as well. Stern has provided us with a great deal of Jewish background to the New Testament. For example, many of the lessons that Y'shua taught find background in the common cultural and religious pool from which he as well as the rabbis drew. The teaching of "acts of righteousness" (Matthew 6:1) finds a background in the Sayings of the Fathers 2:13. The saying in Matthew 6:7 that our words be few is also found in B'rakhot 61a (pp. 30-31). The same would be true of the Lord's Prayer, all of which is at home in the Judaism of Y'shua's day (p. 32). Similarly, the Golden Rule that Y'shua cited already had an accepted part in Jewish writings, even as early as the third century b.c. book of Tobit (pp. 33-34). The citation from Yoma 39a-39b that in the forty years prior to the destruction of the temple, the scarlet cloth never turned white again is an interesting comment on the rending of the temple curtain in Matthew 27:51 (p. 84). One cannot begin to mention the great number of passages for which Stern provides interesting supporting evidence from various facets of Jewish materials. He demonstrates adequately that the New Testament is set in a specific cultural context of the people of Israel and not in a foreign Greek context. The development of a theology of Messianic faith is extremely important. One does not write theology in a day and perhaps not even in fifty years. We need to work at it until many of us can agree on an expression of what we believe and how we are to live our beliefs. Among the key theological questions are these:

1. The use of the term "Messianic Judaism." In explaining Messianic Judaism, Stern defines it as: "100% Jewish and 100% Messianic" (p. xv). "Messianic" draws our focus to Y'shua as the Messiah, but what does it mean to be "100% Jewish"? Is it what the traditional Jew would describe as Jewish, or is it what the Reform Jew would want to define as Jewish? Of course, Stern does make a distinction between Messianic Judaism and "non-Messianic Judaism," where the latter refers to any form of expression of Judaism that does not acknowledge Y'shua as the Messiah and Redeemer. This still leaves us with a problem concerning the term "Judaism." Perhaps, rather than trying to use the word "Judaism" and then going into a long explanation as to how one should define it, it would be best to simply speak in terms of the Messianic Jew and "Messianic faith."

2. The question of Torah. Stern insists that "Messianic Judaism recognizes that the Torah is eternal, and Yeshua did not abrogate it" (p. 240, on Acts 6:13-14; see also his comments on Acts 2:42, 12:12, 15:2-3 and Matthew 5:17). But what does he mean by Torah? He explains that by Torah, he means the written Torah, commonly known as the Old Testament, not any legalistic system (pp. 344-346, on Romans 3:20b). Discussing Galatians, Stern writes that "some branches of Christianity teach that the ethical Law remains, while the civil and ceremonial statutes have been done away with. For Gentiles, this may seem a satisfactory solution to the problem of the Torah, but for Jewish believers it isn't so simple as that." Instead, he draws our attention to the fact that "some rules [in the Torah] were transformed by their fulfillment; this is a process found already in the Tanakh, for example, when the Tabernacle was superseded by the Temple." He relates this to the New Testament, in which the death of the Messiah fulfills the "function of the temple sacrifice for sin and either superseded it or changed it into a memorial, as explained in Messianic Jews [his name for the Book of Hebrews] 7-10" (p. 568). Moreover, Stern tells us that the New Testament is really the Torah of the Messiah and has been incorporated into the Torah as a whole, that is, into the written Torah; the Torah of the Messiah explains fully and more completely what the written Torah hints at as a pointer to the day when Messiah will finally appear. He even translates Hebrews 8:6b as "[The New Covenant] has been given as Torah on the basis of better promises" (compare the NIV, "and it is founded upon better promises"). Indeed, Stern is quite clear on the difference between Messianic Jews and the Judaism espoused by other Jewish people when he declares that the New Testament is Torah and that there is no such person as a Torah-observant Jew unless he or she accepts the New Testament (p. 687)! The point is that there is something about the Mosaic Covenant that is changed, but there is something of it that still remains, further explained, indeed, by the "Torah of Messiah" as Stern defines it. His observation serves notice on the rest of us that we need to wrestle with these concepts to produce a better Messianic Jewish theology.

3. Original sin. Stern offers a lengthy and valuable comment on this topic, taking some fourteen pages to discuss it (pp. 359-373), concluding, "I do not propose to construct a Messianic Jewish theology of sin in this note!" He points out a number of instances where the issue of sin is discussed in the Tanakh (p. 368) and makes a case for what is wrong with people and why they need to be justified by God or declared righteous, in order to have a new life and be one with the Lord. As Stern suggests, perhaps the "sins of ignorance" (Leviticus 4:2) can shed light on the question. These sins are those that provide the context for the sin offering. Sins of ignorance are not those of commission or omission and they force us to ask why a person can sin and not be aware of it. Could it be that something is wrong with the inner being of a person whereby he or she can sin in such a way? Could it be that Moses provided the sin offering in order to care for the question of "who we are" (justification), in contrast to the guilt offering, which takes care of "what we do" (sanctification)? The issue of justification forces us to deal with who we are, a most important question, because of non-Messianic Jewish opposition to this doctrine and their insistence that people through their free will can achieve righteousness. It might be mentioned that the use of Hebrew for the various New Covenant names may be baffling to Americans in general and Jewish believers in particular. For example, in Matthew 5:21 (p. 27), the Hebrew for the "Ten Commandments" is a case in point. Perhaps a glossary of how Hebrew and Greek words are pronounced might have been helpful. A final word concerning the readability of this commentary. In general, it seems best geared to someone with formal exposure to the Bible and to theology. For instance, in discussing Matthew 23:37-39 (p. 71), Stern refers briefly to "the theology, developed later by the Church," an issue that not all readers would be conversant with. All in all, Stern has provided us with a work that will provide a distinctive contribution to the beliefs of Messianic Jews. It will, no doubt, be the springboard for further meaningful discussions between Jewish believers in the Messiah, as well as for the Church at large. Louis Goldberg was for many years the chairman of the Jewish Studies department at Moody Bible Institute. He is currently Scholar-in-Residence at the New York City branch of Jews for Jesus.

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Abbreviation: JWNT
Year Released: 1755

John Wesley made a study of an understandable New Testament the key to the knowledge of sound doctrine. Scholarly accuracy, literary excellence, and precision in word selection have made the Wesley New Testament valuable to the "common and unlettered man" for this purpose.
Wesley's generation was one of transition in forms of speech. Chaucerian English was passing, and modern English was emerging. The English New Testament had to be "read and digested" by the converts of the Wesley Revival if the results of the movement were to be conserved.
In preparation for his work, he "examined minutely every word of the New Testament in the original Greek." Thus, his translation contained twelve thousand deviations in words, sentence structure, and chapter divisions from earlier translations. Two dots in the text indicate the omission of a word (or words) appearing in the King James Version. Italics indicate a deviation from the King James Version. Traditionalists greatly criticized his work.

[NSMinistries]

Translator: E. W. Brooks

This is the confession and prayer of Asenath, daughter of Pentephres the priest. In the Book of Genesis, Asenath is mentioned three times only. However, from these references, the elaborate romance contained in this book has been constructed. That the book is the work of a Christian writer will at once be recognized by the reader.
The book was in existence prior to 569 C.E. It is said to be an allegory with Joseph standing for the Messiah. Three suggested interpretations for Asenoth are the Church, the converted soul, and virginity. The original language was Greek. The translator used Batifoll's text, except in a few places where it is obviously wrong. The book is divided into twenty-nine chapters.

[NSMinistries]

Editor: Gerald Hausman

This is the lost Bible of Rastafarian Wisdom and Faith from Ethiopia and Jamaica. The text of this edition was selected from a portion of a book entitled The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek, which was translated by E. A. Wallis Budge and first published in English in 1922.
The Kebra Nagast is a great storehouse of legends and traditions, some historical and some of purely folklore character, derived from the Old Testament and the later rabbinic writings, and from Egyptian, Arabian, and Ethiopic sources. Of the early history of the compilation and its maker and of its subsequent editors, nothing is known; but the principal groundwork of its earliest form was the traditions that were current in Syria, Palestine, Arabia, and Egypt during the first four centuries of the Christian era. The earliest form of the text, in Ethiopic, appeared around the sixth century C.E.

Earth
Power
Wisdom
Angel
Vision
Pearl
Prophet

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Abbreviation: KJV
Year Released: 1611

Authorized Version

It was translated out of the original tongues and with previous translations, including that of William Tyndale, diligently compared and revised. In the preface of the 1611 edition, the translators stated that it was not their purpose to make a new translation but to make a good one better. It is a revision of the Bishop's Bible of 1568.
It was the desire of the translators to make God's holy Truth more and more known unto the people, even though they may be maligned by those religious persons who would keep the people in ignorance and darkness concerning it. It was presented to King James I when completed in 1611. It has been the standard English translation for almost four hundred years.
It is noted for the quality of translation and the majesty of style. The translators were committed to producing an English Bible that would be a precise translation and by no means a paraphrase or broadly approximate rendering. The scholars were fully familiar with the original languages of the Bible and especially gifted in their use of their native English. Because of their reverence for God and His Word, only a principle of utmost accuracy in their translation could be accepted. Appreciating the intrinsic beauty of divine revelation, they disciplined their talents to render well-chosen English words of their time as well as a graceful, often musical, arrangement of language.
There have been many publishers, many editions, and various features for this version.

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Today @ 09:04 AM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=144209#post144209)
NSMinistries:

Abbreviation: KJV
Year Released: 1611

Authorized Version

It was translated out of the original tongues and with previous translations, including that of William Tyndale, diligently compared and revised. In the preface of the 1611 edition, the translators stated that it was not their purpose to make a new translation but to make a good one better. It is a revision of the Bishop's Bible of 1568.
It was the desire of the translators to make God's holy Truth more and more known unto the people, even though they may be maligned by those religious persons who would keep the people in ignorance and darkness concerning it. It was presented to King James I when completed in 1611. It has been the standard English translation for almost four hundred years.
It is noted for the quality of translation and the majesty of style. The translators were committed to producing an English Bible that would be a precise translation and by no means a paraphrase or broadly approximate rendering. The scholars were fully familiar with the original languages of the Bible and especially gifted in their use of their native English. Because of their reverence for God and His Word, only a principle of utmost accuracy in their translation could be accepted. Appreciating the intrinsic beauty of divine revelation, they disciplined their talents to render well-chosen English words of their time as well as a graceful, often musical, arrangement of language.
There have been many publishers, many editions, and various features for this version.

Corrections in the KJV

1613 A.D. thy right doeth ---corrected to--- thy right hand doeth
1616 A.D. which was of our father's ---corrected to--- which was our fathers
1617 A.D. Seek good ---corrected to--- seek God
1629 A.D. requite good ---corrected to--- requite me good
1629 A.D. this book of the Covenant ---corrected to--- the book of this covenant
1629 A.D. chief rulers ---corrected to--- chief ruler
1629 A.D. For the king had appointed ---corrected to--- for so the king had appointed
1629 A.D. The cormorant ---corrected to--- But the cormorant
1629 A.D. The crowned ---corrected to--- Thy crowned
1629 A.D. which was a Jew ---corrected to--- which was a Jewess
1629 A.D. the city ---corrected to--- the city of the Damascenes
1638 A.D. And Parbar ---corrected to--- At Parbar
1638 A.D. For this cause ---corrected to--- And for this cause
1638 A.D. a fiery furnace ---corrected to--- a burning fiery furnace
1638 A.D. now and ever ---corrected to--- both now and ever
1638 A.D. this thing ---corrected to--- this thing also
1743 A.D. the wayes side ---corrected to--- the way side
1762 A.D. shalt have remained ---corrected to--- ye shall have remained
1762 A.D. Achzib, nor Helbath, nor Aphik ---corrected to--- of Achzib, nor of Helbath, nor of Aphik
1769 A.D. returned ---corrected to--- turned

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: KLNT
Year Released: 1956

The translator of the Gospels, James A. Kleist, SJ, felt that the Bible should use a diction that keeps pace with modern developments in the English language. This edition was translated directly from the Greek, using the text of Joseph M. Bover, in his Novi Testamenti Biblia Graeca et Latina (Madrid, 1943).
He avoided obsolete words and expressions as well as words which would not be readily understood by the average reader of today. There is also a change in word order or sentence structure of the original whenever it seemed that the requirements of current English usage or of clearness itself would be served by so doing. His purpose was to express, as far as possible, the exact meaning of the original text as opposed to a literal rendering of word for word. Sometimes this meant using several words to convey the meaning of a single word in Greek. Where a Greek word or phrase is actually capable of more than one interpretation, the correct alternative generally is indicated in the notes.
In Part 2 of this edition, prepared by Joseph L. Lilly, SJ, is a careful and well-worded translation of the Acts of the Apostles, of the numerous Epistles that follow next in order, and finally of the Apocalypse with which the New Testament closes. Scholarly introductions have been provided by the translator. He has also supplied the notes for his section.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: KTC
Year Released: 1956

Ronald Knox was requested in 1936 by the hierarchy of England and Wales to undertake a completely new translation of the New Testament. This he produced single-handed in 1945. The Old Testamant was completed in 1955. The translation is from the Vulgate "in light of" the originals and with many textual notes. It has a style all of its own, perhaps more discussed than any other modern version. (New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 2. Page 466.)
This translation passed rapidly into common use worldwide in the Catholic community. It has been commended for its freshness of approach, for its lively language, and for the ease with which it may be read. Its style has succeeded in giving meaning to passages which in earlier versions have been difficult to understand.
The purpose in preparing this translation was to give readers a greater knowledge and understanding of inspired Sacred Scripture. Prayer and the sacraments are a lay apostle's strength, the Bible, his armor. A knowledge of Holy Scripture is a valuable element in his participation in the Church's liturgy. The translation by Monsignor Knox was presented to meet the need of having in every home a Bible that is easy to read and a joy to handle.

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Abbreviation: LBP
Year Released: 1957

This translation of the Old and New Testaments is based on Peshitta manuscripts which have comprised the accepted Bible of all those Christians who have used Syriac as their language of prayer and worship for many centuries. The Church of the East and some noted Western scholars dispute the belief of modern scholarship that the originals of the Four Gospels and other parts of the New Testament were written in Greek. In any case, Aramaic speech is an underlying factor and New Testament writers drew on documents written in Aramaic. Syriac is the literary dialect of Aramaic. From the Mediterranean east into India, the Peshitta is still the Bible of preference among Christians.
George M. Lamsa, the translator, devoted the major part of his life to this work. He was an Assyrian and a native of ancient Bible lands. He and his people retained Biblical customs and Semitic culture, which had perished elsewhere. With this background and his knowledge of the Aramaic (Syriac) language, he has recovered much of the meaning that has been lost in other translations of the Scriptures. There is a section on the problems of translating from the Aramaic to the Greek.
Manuscripts used were the Codex Ambrosianus for the Old Testament and the Mortimer-McCawley manuscript for the New Testament. Comparisons have been made with other Peshitta manuscripts, including the oldest dated manuscript in existence. The term Peshitta means straight, simple, sincere and true, that is, the original. Even the Moslems in the Middle East accept and revere the Peshitta text.
Although the Peshitta Old Testament contains the Books of the Apocrypha, this edition has omitted them.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: LNT
Year Released: 1962

The translator, Richard Lattimore, was among the most distinguished translators of the Greek classics. His aim was to provide a simple, literal rendering in which the syntax and order of the Greek dictate the character of the English style. He let the words of the Apostles and early disciples speak for themselves with an accuracy and fidelity to the original language that is a gift to today's reader. He tried to let all of his texts translate themselves with as little interference as possible.
Since Mark is, by general if not universal consent, the earliest evangelist, the translator starts with his gospel. There are some terms in this gospel which cannot always be translated in the same way, or even at all. The rest of the books are in the traditional order.
He has followed The New Testament in Greek, by Westcott and Hort, as a text. Rare exceptions have been noted. Words enclosed in square brackets are of doubtful authenticity. The translator also regularly consulted The Pelican Gospel Commentaries and A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2nd Edition. At the back is a section of notes which explain his translations or give alternate interpretations.
On the front of the dust jacket is a photo by Andres Serrano, "The Morgue (Hacked to Death II)." Some readers may find this distracting, offensive, or inappropriate for the cover of a book of Scriptures.
It was first published by Farrar, Strauss, Giroux in 1962.

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Abbreviation: LVME
Year Released: 1948

This version was prepared in the belief that there is still room for a version in current English, free from old-fashioned words and unfamiliar grammar, free also from colloquialisms and slang expressions; a version which follows the original closely, paraphrasing only where necessity dictates; one which seeks above all to maintain the simple, dignified style of writing which has for so long been associated with the Scriptures in English.
This version will be found to make use of words which are Anglo-Saxon rather than of classical extraction. There are some words, however, such as justification, remission, propitiation (to name only a few) of Latin origin, and not in common use, which cannot be dispensed with as they are so woven with Christian thought. In a few places, for clarity purposes, words have been supplied which are not in the original Greek. Certain pronoun and verb forms that are not in use today have been discarded.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: LB LI
Year Released: 1971

A paraphrase is the restatement of an author's thoughts, using different words. The purpose of this version is for it to say as exactly as possible what the writers of the Scriptures meant, and to say it simply, expanding where necessary for clear understanding by the modern reader. There is a danger in paraphrasing that the translator, though honest, may give the English reader something that the original writer did not mean to say. When the Greek or the Hebrew is not clear, the theology of the translator and his sense of logic are his guides. The theological guide in this version has been a rigid evangelical position.
This version has undergone several manuscript revisions. It has also been under the scrutiny of a team of Greek and Hebrew experts to check the content and of English critics to check for style. Thus, this edition is tentative.
It is a compilation of previous paraphrases by Tyndale: Living Letters (1962), Living Prophecies (1965), Living Gospels (1966), Living Psalms and Proverbs (1967), Living Lessons of Life and Love (1968), Living Books of Moses (1969), and Living History of Israel (1970).

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Publisher: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1920


The object of this edition is to collect in a form convenient to English readers the remains of some of the apocryphal writings connected with the Old Testament which have not survived in their entirety. It is impossible in most cases to assign anything like a precise date to these writings. It would not be far out to say that most of them were produced in the period of the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E. The sources of information about them are mainly of two kinds: lists of books and quotations.

Adam
Eve
Seth
Lamech
Noah
Noria, Wife of Noah
Ham
Abraham
Melchisedec
Jacob
The Twelve Patriarchs
Joseph
Jannes and Mambres
Eldad and Medad
The Book of Og
Moses
Solomon
Elijah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Zechariah
Baruch
Ezra
Hezekiah
Quotations from Apocryphal Books, Unnamed in Writings
Prophecy of Hystaspes

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This is a list of the lost books found within scripture. Each book has been listed in scripture by name at least once.


Book of the Covenant-
( No books found in print )
Exodus 24:7
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey." (NIV)

Book of the Wars of the Lord/Wars of the Lord-
Numbers 21:14
That is why the Book of the Wars of the LORD says: "... Waheb in Suphah and the ravines, the Arnon (NIV)

Book of Jasher-
Joshua 10:13
So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. (NIV)

2 Samuel 1:18
and ordered that the men of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar): (NIV)

Manner of the Kingdom/Regulations of the Kingship-
( No books found in print )
1 Samuel 10:25
Samuel explained to the people the regulations of the kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the LORD. Then Samuel dismissed the people, each to his own home. (NIV)


The Acts of Uzziah-
( No books found in print )
2 Chronicles 26:22
The other events of Uzziah's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. (NIV)


Book of Samuel the Seer/Record of Samuel the Seer-
1 Chronicles 29:29
As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, (NIV)

Book of Gad the Seer/Records of Gad the Seer-
( No books found in print )
1 Chronicles 29:29
As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, (NIV)


Books of Nathan the Prophet/Records of Nathan the Prophet-
( No books found in print )
1 Chronicles 29:29
As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, (NIV)

2 Chronicles 9:29
As for the other events of Solomon's reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat? (NIV)


Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite-
( No books found in print )
2 Chronicles 9:29
As for the other events of Solomon's reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat? (NIV)


Visions of Iddo the Seer/Annotation of the Prophet Iddo-
( No books found in print )
1 Chronicles 29:29
As for the events of King David's reign, from beginning to end, they are written in the records of Samuel the seer, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer, (NIV)

2 Chronicles 12:15
As for the events of Rehoboam's reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer that deal with genealogies? There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. (NIV)

2 Chronicles 13:22
The other events of Abijah's reign, what he did and what he said, are written in the annotations of the prophet Iddo. (NIV)


Book of Shemaiah/Records of Shemaiah-
( No books found in print )
2 Chronicles 12:15
As for the events of Rehoboam's reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer that deal with genealogies? There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. (NIV)


Book of Jehu/Annals of Jehu-
( No books found in print )
2 Chronicles 20:34
The other events of Jehoshaphat's reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel. (NIV)


Book of Kings of Isreal-
( No books found in print )
2 Chronicles 20:34
The other events of Jehoshaphat's reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel. (NIV)


Sayings of the Seers/Records of the Seers-
( No books found in print )
2 Chronicles 33:19
His prayer and how God was moved by his entreaty, as well as all his sins and unfaithfulness, and the sites where he built high places and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself--all are written in the records of the seers. (NIV)


Epistle of Paul to the Corintians-
( No books found in print )
1 Corinthians 5:9
I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- (NIV)


Earlier Epistle to the Ephesians-
( No books found in print )
Ephesians 3:3
that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. (NIV)


Epistle to the Church of Laodicea-
( No books found in print )
Colossians 4:16
After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.(NIV)

Prophecies of Enoch/Book of Enoch
Jude 1:14
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones (NIV)
By, R. Adam Quigley

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: MCT
Year Released: 1989

By diligent study, thorough academic preparation, self-discipline, and heart cultivation, Dr. Hugo McCord has become one of the leading and ripest scholars in the United States. He was an author, lecturer, preacher, and professor. He was a local preacher in nine cities across the United States. His evangelistic work took him to forty-two states and several countries around the world.
His greatest scholarly contribution is his translation of the New Testament. Because of his superior linguistic ability and commitment to the truth, he prepared a translation that can be accepted with confidence by all. He sought diligently to give an accurate translation of the inspired Word of God in an easily understood modern day English.
The basic text (with some exceptions) from which this translation comes is the third edition (corrected 1983) of the Greek New Testament, edited by Kurt Aland, et al. Careful attention was given to the companion volume A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, by Bruce Metzger, in cooperation with the Editorial Committee of the United Bible Societies. Disputed words considered important in this translation are bracketed. Doubly bracketed words indicate textual additions "of evident antiquity and importance."
Some words have been eliminated because they are inaccurate translations of New Testament words. Included are the following: church, baptism, repent, and begotten. In the Appendix is a list of departures from the text, with the reasons why.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: MRB
Year Released: 1923



This translation, presented in modern literary form, was edited by Richard G. Moulton, a professor of literary theory and interpretation at the University of Chicago. It is based on the English Revised Version.
When we look into our ordinary versions, we cannot see the lyrics, epics, dramas, essays, sonnets, and treatises as in other great literatures of the world. Instead, we see a monotonous uniformity of numbered sentences, more suggestive of an itemized legal instrument than literature.
The most ancient manuscripts could not distinguish verse and prose. In prose, they make no distinctions of sentences and paragraphs. In verse, they make no distinctions of meter. In drama, they do not discriminate speeches nor suggest the names of speakers. Many do not make divisions of words. The scribes, rabbis, and medieval doctors who have intervened between the authors and us can be described as commentators. These preserved the words of Scripture, but they did not consider the literary character. The purpose of this translation is to give assistance in meeting this difficulty. The spirit of this work is bounded by the idea of literature. Within the covers of this volume, if it be adequately used, is the material of a liberal education.
The order of the books is not the same as for the King James Version. At the back are two sections, an introduction and a collection of notes, for each book.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: MNT
Year Released: 1922

The aim of the translator, James Moffatt, a doctor of divinity, was to present the Old and New Testaments in effective, intelligible English. No translation of an ancient classic can be quite intelligible unless the reader is sufficiently acquainted with its environment to understand some of its flying allusions and characteristic metaphors. The translator felt that ought to be done at the present day to offer the unlearned a transcript of the Biblical literature as it lies in the light thrown upon it by modern research. A real translation is in the main an interpretation. To the best of his ability he has tried to be exact and idiomatic.
The initial difficulties in making a new version are started by the text used. The traditional or "massoretic" text of the Old Testament, though of primary value, is often desparately corrupt. At points where the text was in such disrepair that no conjecture could heal it, he inserted three dots. A longer line of dots in the poetical books indicated the original text was missing or it was in too much disrepair.
Some Hebrew terms have no English equivalent which corresponds to the original meaning. Something is dropped if they pass from Hebrew to English. The Tetragrammaton is rendered "the Eternal," except in an enigmatic title like "the Lord of Hosts," although the translator would have preferred to use "Yahweh."
The text used for the New Testament was that of H. von Soden, whose critical edition of the Greek New Testament based upon unprecedented researches, appeared during the first decade of the twentieth century. Quotations or direct reminiscences of the Old Testament are printed in italics.

[NSMinistries]

Inner Teachings of the Master

Editor: Yogi Ramacharaka
Publisher: Yogi Publication Society of Chicago, 1907


The lessons which comprise this volume originally appeared in monthly form from October 1907 to September 1908. These lessons met with a hearty and generous response from the public. Thus, this book was published in response to the demand for the lessons to be in a permanent and durable form. Students have stated that they found it necessary to read and study each lesson carefully in order to absorb the information.
The twelve lessons are as follows:

The Coming of the Master
The Mystery of the Virgin Birth
The Mystic Youth of Jesus
The Beginning of the Ministry
The Foundation of the Work
The Work of Organization
The Beginning of the End
The End of the Life Work
The Inner Teachings
The Secret Doctrine
The Ancient Wisdom
The Message of the Master

[NSMinistries]

Translator: Members of the Coptic Gnostic Library Project
Publisher: Harper, 1988


The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of religious texts that vary widely from each other as to when, where, and by whom they were written. The focus of this library has much in common with primitive Christianity, with eastern religion, and with 'holy men and women' of all times, as well as with more secular equivalents of today. The library of fourth century papyrus manuscripts consists of twelve codices plus eight leaves from a thirteenth comprising a complete text and contains fifty-two separate tractates. Because of duplications, there are forty-five separate titles. Most of the tractates derive from the Hellenistic sects now called gnostic but survive in Coptic translations.
Since the original manuscripts are fragmentary in many places, ellipsis dots (. . .) are included to indicate the place, but not the extent of all lacunae. The page and line numbers of the papyrus codex, given in the translations, should indicate the extent of the damage. There is no clean control copy to allow for correction when compared. Thus, there may be many unintentional errors.
The manuscripts were buried about 400 C. E. and were discovered in 1945. They were found not far from a Panchomian monastery at Chenoboskia in Egypt. Two brothers, while fertilizing their crops in the Naj' Hammadi region of Upper Egypt, came across a jar at the base of a boulder. When they broke the jar, the books appeared. The brothers took the books to their home. A long story follows until the manuscripts reached the Department of Antiquities in Cairo. The manuscripts received their final conservation about thirty years later. The library is kept in The Coptic Museum in Cairo.
This library makes an important contribution not only to the history of religion, but also to the history of philosophy. It draws on material not only those of Judeo-Christian heritage, but also of Egyptian lore. However, the collection is of Christian Gnosticism.

I,1: The Prayer of the Apostle Paul
I,2: The Apocryphon of James
I,3: The Gospel of Truth
I,4: The Treatise on the Resurrection
I,5: The Tripartite Tractate
II,1: The Apocryphon of John
II,2: The Gospel of Thomas
II,3: The Gospel of Philip
II,4: The Hypostasis of the Archons
II,5: On the Origin of the World
II,6: The Exegesis on the Soul
II,7: The Book of Thomas the Contender
III,1: The Apocryphon of John
III,2: The Gospel of the Egyptians
III,3: Eugnostos the Blessed
III,4: The Sophia of Jesus Christ
III,5: The Dialogue of the Savior
IV,1: The Apocryphon of John IV,2: The Gospel of the Egyptians
V,1: Eugnostos the Blessed
V,2: The Apocalypse of Peter
V,3: The First Apocalypse of James
V,4: The Second Apocalypse of James
V,5: The Apocalypse of Adam
VI,1: The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles
VI,2: The Thunder: Perfect Mind
VI,3: Authoritative Teaching
VI,4: The Concept of Our Great Power
VI,5: Plato, Republic 588a-589b
VI,6: The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth
VI,7: The Prayer of Thanksgiving
VI,7a: Scribal Note
VI,8: Asclepius 21-29
VII,1: The Paraphrase of Shem
VII,2: The Second Treatise of the Great Seth
VII,3: Apocalypse of Peter
VII,4: The Teachings of Silvanus
VII,5: The Three Steles of Seth
VIII,1: Zostrianos
VIII,2: The Letter of Peter to Philip
IX,1: Melchizedek
IX,2: The Thought of Norea
IX,3: The Testimony of Truth
X: Marsanes
XI,1: The Interpretation of Knowledge
XI,2: A Valentinian Exposition
XI,2a: On the Anointing
XI,2b: On Baptism A
XI,2c: On Baptism B
XI,2d: On the Eucharist A
XI,2e: On the Eucharist B
XI,3: Allogenes
XI,4: Hypsiphrone
XII,1: The Sentences of Sextus
XII,2: The Gospel of Truth
XII,3: Fragments
XIII,1: Trimorphic Protennoia
XIII,2: On the Origin of the World
BG,1: The Gospel of Mary
BG,2: The Apocryphon of John
BG,3: The Sophia of Jesus Christ
BG,4: The Act of Peter

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NAB
Year Released: 1987

In 1944, the Catholic Bible Association of America was requested to produce a completely new translation of the Bible from the original languages and to present the sense of Biblical text as accurately as possible. The Old Testament was first published in a series of four volumes. The New Testament was completed in 1970, resulting in the New American Bible. It has widespread use by American Catholic people in public worship.
Further advances in Biblical scholarship and identification of pastoral needs brought about a revision of the New Testament in 1986. This fulfilled the need for greater consistency of vocabulary, sensitivity to the need of inclusive language in favor of women, greater attention to public proclamation in sacred liturgy, and provision of more abundant and upgraded explanatory material. Scholars from other Christian churches collaborated in preparing this version.
There is an introduction and, usually, an outline at the beginning of each book. It has four imprimaturs.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NAS
Year Released: 1977

The purposes were, first, to adhere as closely as possible to the original languages of the Holy Scripture and, secondly, to make the translation in a fluent and readable style according to current English usage.
The King James Version is the basis for the English Revised Version (New Testament, 1881; Old Testament, 1885). The American Standard Version (1901) is the American counterpart. The American Standard Version is the basis for the New American Standard Version, started in 1959. There was an attempt to preserve the qualities of scholarship and accuracy of the American Standard Version. Decisions about English renderings were made by a team of educators and pastors. A review and an evaluation were made by other Hebrew and Greek scholars.
The aids used were as follows: the latest edition of Biblia Hebraica; recent light from lexicography, cognate languages, and Dead Sea Scrolls; and the twenty-third edition of Novum Testamentum Graece. "Elohim" was translated to God; "Adonai" to Lord; and "YHWH" to Lord usually, but to God when it appears with "Adonai."
Footnotes are used only for clarification. Thou, thee, and thy are used only when addressing Deity. Personal pronouns for Deity are capitalized. In the New Testament, small capitals are used to indicate quotations from the Old Testament or allusions to Old Testament texts.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NCV
Year Released: 1987

This translation of God's Word was made from the original Hebrew and Greek languages. The translation team was composed of the World Bible Translation Center and fifty additional, highly qualified and experienced Bible scholars and translators. Some had translation experience on the New International, the New American Standard, and the New King James Versions. The third edition of the United Bible Societies' Greek text, the latest edition of Biblia Hebraica and the Septuagint were among texts used.
Several guidelines were used to make the language clear for any reader. The Living Word Vocabulary, the standard used by World Book Encyclopedia, was the basis for vocabulary. Concepts were put into natural terms -- modern measurements and geographical locations. Ancient customs were clarified in the text or footnotes. Rhetorical questions were stated according to the implied answers. Figures of speech and idiomatic expressions were translated according to their meanings. Obscure terms were clarified. An attempt was made to choose gender language that would convey the intent of the writers. The Tetragrammaton was indicated by putting LORD and GOD in capital letters. Hebrew parallelism in poetry and word plays were retained. Images of ancient languages were translated into equivalent English images, where possible.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NEB
Year Released: 1970

A presbytery in the Church of Scotland in 1946 recommended to the General Assembly that a translation of the Bible be made in the language of the present day because the language in the Authorized Version was archaic and less generally understood. The General Assembly approached other churches. There was a desire that a completely new translation rather than a revision and for a contemporary idiom rather than a traditional Biblical English be used.
It was planned and directed by representatives of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Congregational Church in England and Wales, the Council of Churches for Wales, the Irish Council of Churches, the London Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends, the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the Presbyterian Church of England, the British and Foreign Bible Society, and the National Bible Society of Scotland. The Roman Catholic Church in England and Scotland sent representatives as observers.
The translating was done by three panels drawn from scholars of British universities to deal, respectively, with the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, and the New Testament. A fourth panel of trusted literary advisers was to scrutinize the translation for English style.
There are introductions to the three sections of this Bible.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NET
Year Released: 1992

The goal of this translation is missionary activity. The language is designed for Christians who have read the Scriptures for many years and for people who may never have read the Bible.
In 1934, Dr. William F. Beck began The Holy Bible: An American Translation. The New Evangelical Translation is the successor of that work. The goal of both works was to produce a Bible which is both faithful to the original languages of the Scriptures and understandable to anyone who can use simple, modern American English. It is a closest natural equivalent translation, meaning the choosing of English expressions which are as close as possible to the meaning of the original languages. Thus, it translates meaning-for-meaning. It strives to be readable by both adults and children. Greek manuscripts, Greek quotations, and translations in various languages were consulted.
Each new book begins on the right-hand page, permitting an edition in notebook form, which allows for individual books to be removed for study. There are large, freestanding numbers at the beginning of chapters, resulting in the only translation able to number the first verse of a chapter with "1." Prose selections are set in larger type than poetic sections. The Book of Revelation is entirely set in poetic form. The emblem of the Greek letters chi and rho superimposed on each other form an abbreviation for Christ. This symbol stands in columns of this version to indicate quotations from the Old Testament that are fulfilled in relation to or through the work of Christ.
The Old Testament translating was in progress at the time of this writing.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NIV
Year Released: 1978

This is a completely new translation of the Holy Bible done by over one hundred scholars. It followed several years of exploratory study by committees from the Christian Reformed Church and the National Association of Evangelicals. There were participants from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in the translating process. The denominations included Anglican, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Brethren, Christian Reformed, Church of Christ, Evangelical Free, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Nazarene, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, and others.
Each book was translated by a team of scholars. An Intermediate Editorial Committee revised their work. A General Editorial Committee checked it in detail and revised again. The Committee on Bible Translation reviewed, revised, then released the translation for publication.
The goals were that the translation would be accurate and have clarity and literary quality so as to be suitable for reading, teaching, preaching, memorizing, and liturgical use. A concern was that the English be idiomatic but not idiosyncratic, contemporary but not dated.
Texts used for the Old Testament included the latest Biblia Hebraica, Dead Sea Scrolls, Samaritan Pentateuch, ancient scribal traditions, Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta, Targums, Juxta Hebraica, and others. For the New Testament, the best current Greek New Testament texts were used.
The Tetragrammaton is rendered as LORD, in capital letters. King James pronouns and verb endings were considered to be archaic. Poetic passages are printed as poetry.

[NSMinistries]

Publisher: The Swedenborg Society of London, 1976 (originally published in 1901)


The text is according to what has been heard from heaven, with an introduction concerning the new heaven and the new earth, from the Latin of Emanuel Swedenborg. This book consists of a brief exposition of the main teachings contained in the theological writings of Swedenborg.
The contents list the following headings:

The New Heaven and the New Earth, and What Is Meant by the New Jerusalem
Introduction to the Doctrine
Good and Truth
The Will and Understanding
The Internal and External Man
Love in General
The Love of Self and the Love of the World
Love Towards the Neighbour, or Charity
Faith
Piety
Conscience
Freedom
Merit
Repentance, and Remission of Sins
Regeneration
Temptation
Baptism
The Holy Supper
The Resurrection
Heaven and Hell
The Church
The Sacred Scriptures, or The Word
Providence
The Lord
Ecclesiastical and Civil Government

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NJB
Year Released: 1985


This translation follows the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. For the Old Testament, the Masoretic Text was used. Only when insuperable difficulties occurred were the Septuagint or other versions used.
In the Old Testament, italics indicate passages found only in the Septuagint. In the New Testament, italics indicate quotations from other books of the Bible. A gap indicates an unintelligible word or an incomplete sentence in the original. Brackets in the Old Testament indicate an addition or an explanation that is later than the original text.
Many devoted scholars who assisted in Bible de Jérusalem (1956), the first English Jerusalem Bible (1966), and Bible de Jérusalem (revised 1973) contributed to the New Jerusalem Bible (1985).
It has the imprimatur of Cardinal George Basil Hume.
There is an introduction and, usually, an outline at the beginning of each book.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NJPS
Year Released: 1988

This was made directly from the traditional Hebrew text into the idiom of modern English. It was translated by academic scholars and rabbis from the three largest branches of organized Jewish religious life in America. It was begun in 1955 and was published in three stages: Torah in 1962, Nevi'im in 1978, and Kethuvim in 1982. These were brought together into a complete English Tanakh.
The aim of the translators was to produce the Hebrew idiomatically; to reflect contemporary scholarship, emphasizing intelligibility and correctness; and to make critical use of early rabbinical and medieval Jewish scholars. Obsolete phrases and words were avoided. Logical units of meaning were followed even when they did not coincide with the conventional chapters and verses. However, the latter are marked and numbered throughout.
In order to provide an intelligent rendering of The Prophets (Nevi'im), the translators made corrections in passages where the meaning was uncertain. Some were made by consulting the Septuagint and the Targums, which had used ancient texts in translating. Where The Writings (Kethuvim) have similar passages to those in Torah and Nevi'im, rendering of those follow wording of the earlier books. Revision of the three sections, especially of Torah, have been done before this one-volume Tanakh was published.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NKJ
Year Released: 1990

The translators, the committees, and the editors sought to maintain the lyrical quality of the King James Version while being sensitive to the late twentieth century English idiom and adhering faithfully to the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Where obsolescence and other reading difficulties existed, present-day vocabulary, punctuation, and grammar were integrated. Words representing ancient objects which have no modern substitutes were retained. A special feature is the conformity to the thought flow of the 1611 Bible. King James spelling of untranslated words was retained, but made uniform throughout. Standard doctrinal and theological terms were retained. Pronouns and verb endings no longer in use were replaced by modern words. Pronouns referring to God were capitalized. Frequent use of "and" was limited., and, where the original language permitted, replaced by other words. The format was designed to enhance vividness and devotional quality of the Scriptures.
The text used for the Old Testament was the 1967/1977 Stuttgart edition of Biblia Hebraica. There was supplementary use of the 1524/1525 Bomberg edition of Biblia Hebraica, Septuagint, Latin Vulgate, and Dead Sea Scrolls.
The New Testament was based on the traditional text of Greek-speaking churches, first published in 1516 and later referred to as the Received Text. It is the fifth revision of the New Testament translated from specific Greek texts.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NLV
Year Released: 1969

The idea of a readable, but accurate, version of the Bible came to Gleason and Kathryn Ledyard as they worked in the Canadian Arctic with Eskimos who were starting to learn English. It was hoped that such a version would be useful wherever English is used as a second language.
For the most part, the words in this limited vocabulary edition have only one meaning. Difficult Biblical words were broken down into simple, meaningful phrases. The use of today's street language and of paraphrasing were not considered. The wording and beauty of older versions were kept in many places.
The first copies of the Scriptures were considered to be perfect and without error. Because of language changes and the translation from one language to another, no version can claim the same perfection.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NLT
Year Released: 1996

Ninety evangelical scholars from various theological backgrounds and denominations spent seven years in revising the New Living Translation. This version is based on the most recent scholarship in the theory of translation. Entire thoughts, rather than just words, were translated into natural, everyday English. Thus, this is a dynamic-equivalence translation. Three scholars were assigned to a portion of Scripture, usually one or two books. One general reviewer was assigned to each of the six groups of books.
The text used for the Old Testament was Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1977), along with such aids as The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Septuagint, other Greek manuscripts, The Samaritan Pentateuch, The Syriac Peshitta, The Latin Vulgate, and others. The texts for the New Testament were the Greek New Testament, published by the United Bible Societies (1977), and Novum Testamentum Graece, edited by Nestle and Aland (1993).
There was an attempt to use a gender-neutral rendering where the text applies generally to human beings or to the human condition. El, elohim, and eloah have been translated as "God." YHWH has been translated as "the LORD." Adonai has been translated "Lord."

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NRS
Year Released: 1989

This is the authorized revision of the Revised Standard Version (1952). A committee of about thirty members of various Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church participated. Eastern Orthodox and Jewish representatives were members of the Old Testament section.
Since the publication of the Revised Standard Version, there have been advances made in the discovery and interpretation of documents in the Semitic languages. The Dead Sea Scrolls provided information on the Books of Isaiah and Habakkuk and fragments on the other books of the Old Testament. Greek manuscript copies of books of the New Testament also became available. Thus, authorization was given for revision of the entire Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
For the Old Testament, the 1977 edition of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia was used. For the New Testament, the 1966 edition of The Greek New Testament was used.
Occasionally, it was necessary to make changes. Footnotes indicate how other ancient authorities read. The style of English used reflects current usage. Masculine-oriented language has been eliminated, where possible. The Tetragrammaton is rendered as LORD and GOD, in capital letters. Archaic English pronouns and verb endings are not used. Essentially, it is a literal translation, but it has a few paraphrastic renderings.

[NSMinistries]

Fragments of a Lost Gospel
Translator: Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt
Editor: Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt
Publisher: Henry Frowds, 1904


It was reprinted, principally by way of abridgment, from the publication of the two texts in The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Part IV, nos. 654 and 655. The Logia, also included, is reprinted from The Oxyrhynchus, Part I, no. 1. With the exception of The Logia, the two texts are supplemented by an introduction, notes, and general remarks.
New Sayings of Jesus consists of forty-two incomplete lines on the back of a survey list of various pieces of land. The assigned period is the middle or late third century B.C.E. The Logia, discovered in 1897, comes from the third century C.E., or maybe earlier. Eight fragments of a rolled papyrus make up The Fragment of a Lost Gospel. It was probably written prior to 250 C.E.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: WPE
Year Released: 1963

This version by Charles Kingsley Williams, a college administrator in India, is a new translation in plain English. [There is no relationship with the Williams New Testament, also in this list.] It was made from the Greek text published in 1910, Novum Testamentum Graece.
Common words only have been used. Words not found in the Interim Report on Vocabulary Selection are explained in the Glossary. Short sentences only have been used. Conjunctions have been changed or omitted to suit modern English usage.
The part which is printed as prose is in modern English. The part printed as verse is in a style more suited to verse. In planning the layout, the first object was to make the translation easy to read. Old Testament quotations more than a few sentences long are printed as verse. A star means that the reader should consult the meaning at the back of the book.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NWT
Year Released: 1984

It was translated from the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages by a committee.
It was originally released in six volumes from 1950 to 1960. The originals contained marginal references and footnotes. The revised 1961 edition had neither. This 1984 edition has been expanded to include complete updating and revision of the marginal (cross) references of the original edition.
It was released by the committee to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania for printing, translation into other languages, and distribution. The translators felt responsible to God to transmit His thoughts and declarations as accurately as possible.

Source Used: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York (1984)

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NNT
Year Released: 1961

This New Testament was translated into English from the Approved Greek Text of the Church of Constantinople and the Church of Greece by Metropolitan Fan S. Noli. It is approved for the use of the churches and Sunday schools under the jurisdiction of the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America.
It is a new translation from the original Greek into modern English. It was the first and only book of its kind by an Eastern Orthodox translator at the time of its publication. It is valuable for libraries which want to have a translation of the authorized original text used by all Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Each chapter is divided into sections with titles. At the end of the book is a section of two pages which compares the translations of five verses of this version with those of the King James Version. It notes why certain words were translated differently. There is no preface or introduction.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NSNT
Year Released: 1961

It is a translation from the original Greek designed to make the language of the New Testament more interesting and intelligible. The translator was Olaf M. Norlie, a professor having three doctorates and on the staff of a college in Minnesota. Particular attention was given to make this translation readable, while at the same time making it meaningful.
It tries to make use of the simpler words, wherever there is a choice. It shortens the sentences, wherever possible. It omits the solemn style. It capitalizes all the names and pronouns referring to Diety. It retains the versification of the Authorized Bible, without allowing these verse numbers to be obtrusive. It groups the verses according to content, with subject headings supplied for each portion, for convenience in reading and study.
Included with this New Testament is The Psalms for Today, translated by Roland Kenneth Harrison, of the University of Toronto. The translation is an attempt to convey thought-forms and sentiments of the ancient Hebrew Psalmists in a more modern style than is generally found in English versions of The Psalms. This is a retranslation from the Massoretic text. Particular attention was paid to the archaeological discoveries at Ras Shamra (Ugarit), which have thrown considerable light on hitherto obscure expressions and allusions. There were efforts to replace the anthromorphisms, an integral part of earlier translations, with synonymous expressions. An attempt was made to preserve the poetic structure without following the Hebrew rhythmic and parallel forms too closely. The Tetragrammaton is generally rendered the Lord.

[NSMinistries]

Translator: James Hamilton Charlesworth
Editor: James Hamilton Charlesworth
Publisher: Oxford University Press


The translator contends that these writings constitute the earliest Christian hymnbook, and, therefore, is one of the most important early Christian documents. Yet, theories about the origin and nature of this document have risen and fallen in such rapid succession as to reduce it to an enigma. One of the main hindrances to understanding the Odes has been the lack of a critical text. The purpose of this edition is to present such a text, along with translation, notes, and bibliography. Both Syriac and English texts are included for the forty-two odes.

[NSMinistries]

Editor: James H. Charlesworth
Publisher: Darton, Longman, and Todd, 1985


This is a two-volume collection of writings. The time period of the writings is approximately B.C.E. 200 to C.E. 200.

Volume 1:
Apocalypse of Abraham
Apocalypse of Adam
Testament of Adam
2 Baruch
3 Baruch
Apocalypse of Daniel
Apocalypse of Daniel
Apocalypse of Elijah
1 Enoch
2 Enoch
3 Enoch
Apocryphon of Ezekiel
Fourth Book of Ezra
Greek Apocalypse of Ezra
Questions of Ezra
Vision of Ezra
Testament of Job
Testament of Moses
Apocalypse of Sedrach
Treatise of Shem
Sibylline Oracles
Testament of Solomon
Testaments of the Three Patriarchs
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
Apocalypse of Zephaniah

Volume 2:
Life of Adam and Eve
Ahiqar
Letter of Aristeas
Aristeas the Exigete
Aristobulus
Artapanus
4 Baruch
Cleodemus Malchus
More Psalms of David
Demetrius the Chronographer
Eldad and Modad
Eupolemus
Pseudo-Eupolemus
Ezekiel the Tragedian
Fragments of Pseudo-Greek Poets
Pseudo-Hecataeus
Hellenistic Synagogal Prayers
Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah
Ladder of Jacob
Prayer of Jacob
Jannes and Jambres
Joseph and Aseneth
History of Joseph
Prayer of Joseph
Jubilees
3 Maccabees
4 Maccabees
Prayer of Manasseh
Syriac Menander
Orphica
Philo the Epic Poet
Pseudo-Philo
Pseudo-Phocylides
The Lives of the Prophets
History of the Rechabites
Odes to Solomon
Psalms of Solomon
Theodotes

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Editor: Willis Barnstone
Publisher: Harper, 1984


This is a collection of Jewish Pseudepigrapha, Christian Apocrypha, Gnostic Scriptures, Kabbalah, Dead Sea Scrolls, and editorial comment. The volume is divided into ten sections with several writings under each.
The sections are as follows:

Creation Myths
Histories and Narratives
Wisdom Literature and Poetry
Gospels
Infancy Gospels
Acts
Apocalypses
Diverse Gnostic Texts
Manichaean and Mandaean Gnostic Texts
Mystical Documents
Appendix: Plotinus

[NSMinistries]

Editor: Ronald Cameron
Publisher: Westminster Press, 1982


This is an anthology of gospel literature that is not part of the New Testament but is of extreme importance for the study of the origins of Christianity. It preserves non-biblical writings of the earliest Christians that contain sayings of Jesus and stories about him.
These sixteen texts constitute what remains of the non-canonical gospels from the first and second centuries. Many are preserved only in fragmentary form, partly from the ravages of time and partly from the censor's pen. Early church writers repeatedly cited texts incorrectly, attributing quotations to the wrong sources. They also regularly suppressed evidence as well, and interpreted what they did record in a biased manner.
Some people would argue that these gospels add little to our picture of the historical Jesus. However, they are important witnesses to the development of our understanding of the transmission of traditions about Jesus and of the formation of gospel texts. They show little, if any, influence from the gospels of the New Testament. They also show that the process did not come to an end with the New Testament. More gospel writings continued to be produced. While most of the early 'church' limited the growth of this literature by canonizing the Four Gospels, other Christian groups continued to produce their own books. Although some are known as 'gnostic gospels,' they often preserve older traditions.

Traditions of Sayings of Jesus
The Gospel of Thomas
The Dialogue of the Savior
The Gospel of the Egyptians
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840
The Apocryphon of James
Traditions of Stories About Jesus
The Secret Gospel of Mark
Papyrus Egerton 2
The Gospel of Peter
The Gospel of the Hebrews
'John's Preaching of the Gospel,' The Acts of John 87-105
The Gospel of the Nazoreans
The Gospel of the Ebionites
The Protevangelium of James
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas
The Epistula Apostolorum
The Acts of Pilate

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Translator: Joseph Smith, Jr.
Publisher: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1952


The book contains revelations of Joseph Smith. It is divided into The Book of Moses, having eight chapters, and The Book of Abraham, having five chapters.
The Book of Moses contains visions of Moses as revealed to Joseph Smith in 1830.
The Book of Abraham, translated by Joseph Smith from ancient records in the catacombs of Egypt, are writings on papyrus of Abraham while he was in that country. Facsimiles from the original source are included.

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Abbreviation: PRS
Year Released: 1972

This is a revised translation of work which J. B. Phillips began in 1941. The purpose of that work was to benefit the translator's Youth Club and members of his congregation. He felt that the language in the Authorized Version was archaic and that language which is intelligible to modern children should be used.
For the original, he had almost no tools but his own Greek Testament. Because of the danger and the emergency of the war years, the translator was not over-concerned with minute accuracy.
The translation was completed in four sections, being published separately. In 1958, these parts were collected and published under the title The New Testament in Modern English. Corrections were being made in the texts up to that time.
The latest and best Greek text, published by the United Bible Societies in 1966, was used to translate this revised edition. Since the original version was being used as an authoritative version, the translator felt that he had to eliminate some additions that he had included to help the reader. There was also a proposal to have a commentary on the translation produced. Also, the English had to be checked to keep it with current usage.
There is an introduction at the start of each book.

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Sacred Book of the Ancient Quiché Maya

Translator: Adrián Recinos
Editor: Delia Goetz and Sylvanus G. Morley

Although this book does not come from ancient Judaic or Christian sources, it does contain stories that do, but with considerable variation. However, there is an admission that the author of the second translation was influenced somewhat by Christianity.
The Popol Vuh is the sacred book of the Quiché, a branch of the ancient maya race. It contains an account of the cosmogony, mythology, traditions, and history of this native American people, who were the most powerful nation of the Guatemalan highlands in pre-Conquest times. It is written in an exalted and elegant style, and is an epic of the most distinguished literary quality.
It seems first to have been put into writing (in Latin characters) in the middle of the 16th century from oral traditions of the Quiché by an unknown but highly educated member of that people. However, the original translation has been lost. At the beginning of the 17th century, a parish priest, Francisco Ximénez, again copied it from the Quiché language.
In a book about the Popol Vuh by Lewis Spence, the author is quoted in the Introduction to the edition herein being reviewed: The very fact that it was composed in the Quiché tongue is almost suffiecient proof of its genuine American character. The scholarship of the 19th century was unequal to the adequate translation of the Popol Vuh; the 20th century has as yet shown no signs of being able to accomplish the task. It is therefore not difficult to credit that if modern scholarship is unable to translate the work properly, that the 18th century was unable to create it.

Preamble
Part I (9 chapters)
Part II (14 chapters)
Part III (10 chapters)
Part IV (12 chapters)

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Psalms of Solomon

Translator: Herbert Edward Ryle and Montague Rhodes James
Editor: Herbert Edward Ryle and Montague Rhodes James

The text of this edition was newly received from all the MSS. One reason for this edition is the fact that existing editions and commentaries were unsatisfactory and difficult to access.
The history of the Psalms as gathered from various sources is very short and scanty. There are four known MSS., one of which is available in a printed edition. The range of which The Psalms were written, based on internal data, would be B.C.E. 70 to B.C.E. 40. They were probably written in Jerusalem by one or more Pharisites. The purpose was to deliver a solemn protest to devout Pharisaism against the corrupting influence upon the nation of the surviving members members of the Asmonean party.
There are nineteen chapters.

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The Original Jerusalem Gospel
Editor: J. M. C. Crum
Publisher: Macmillan, 1927


Briefly put, Q is a hypothesis. Q is something which we imagine to have existed once, because to imagine it did once exist, explains certain things which do exist: for example, the character of passages in Matthew and Luke.
A German scholar hypothesized that there once existed a source document for Matthew and Luke. He referred to it as Quelle, which means 'source' in German. The abbreviation Q was adopted from this word.
According to the hypothesis, someone wrote at Jerusalem in Aramaic a collection of Sayings of Jesus, and of stories which recalled some of the circumstances of the Sayings. Two editors -- the editor of Matthew as we read it now, and the editor of Luke, as it was put out in the first edition, older than Luke as we read it now -- took this Q as the written authority from which they could copy down authentic accounts.
According to The Two-Source Theory, Matthew and Luke made use of two written sources -- Mark and the Sayings Gospel Q -- in composing their gospels. According to The Four-Source Theory, Matthew used Mark, Q, and his own special source called M, while Luke used Mark and Q, and another source called L. The material in M and L probably comes from oral tradition.
The author of The Original Jerusalem Gospel has quoted a conjectural restoration of Q, as reprinted from The Hibbert Journal.
Where Mark and Q give the same sayings of Jesus, the reason for both giving it is not that one copied from the other, according to Crum. It is that Jesus actually said those words. The reason that one differs slightly from the other is that they are independent and authentic witnesses.
Following are passages from Matthew and Luke which can be arranged to show the likely original sequence:

Matt. 3:1-12 -- Luke 3:7-17
Matt. 4:1-11 -- Luke 4:1-13
Matt. 7:3-27 -- Luke 6:43-49
Matt. 8:5-13 -- Luke 7:2-9
Matt. 9:32, 33 -- Luke 11:14-28
Matt. 12:22-45 -- Luke 11:29-32
Matt. 11:2-19 -- Luke 7:18-35
Matt. 8:19-22 -- Luke 9:57-62
Matt. 9:37-10:25 -- Luke 10:2-24
Matt. 10:26-33 -- Luke 12:2-12
Matt. 6:25-34 -- Luke 12:22:31
Matt. 18:6-21 -- Luke 17:1-6
Matt. 23:27-39 -- Luke 11:44-51; 13:34,35
Matt. 24:26:41 -- Luke 17:23-37

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Abbreviation: RcV
Year Released: 1991

The text of this version was translated by the Editorial Section of Living Stream Ministry. The outlines, footnotes, charts, and references were written by Witness Lee.
This version, following the precedent set by the major authoritative English versions as reference, not only incorporates lessons learned from an examination of others' practices but also attempts to avoid biases and inaccurate judgments. It, frequently guided by other versions, attempts to provide the best utterance for the revelation in the divine Word, that it may be expressed in the English language with the greatest accuracy.
This version follows, for the most part, the Nestle-Aland Greek text as found in Novum Testamentum Graece (26th edition). However, in determining the original form of any verse, the translators gave careful consideration to the larger context of chapter and book and to similar portions of the New Testament. Departures from the Nestle-Aland text are sometimes indicated in the footnotes. Italicized words in the verses indicate supplied words, not found in the Greek text.
At the start of each book is an outline of that book. On each page of text are extensive notes of interpretation. Two charts and two black-and-white maps come at the end.

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Abbreviation: RCB
Year Released: 1980

It arranges the King James Version of the Bible into consecutive order. Now the Bible can be read as a history of chronological events. The compiler was a college teacher of Bible-related subjects. He spent over twenty years on this work.
There is not common agreement among scholars on some Biblical dates. Numerous works on Bible history and chronology were consulted. Every time frame in the Bible was analyzed. Placement divisions were made in the best judgment of the arranger. Frank Klassen's system of dating, which was recently developed, has given assistance in presenting a better overview of Bible history.
There is a general index in outline form at the beginning. The length of life of an individual is indicated with the heading describing his death. The generation lineage of Jesus is indicated in the heading describing an individual's birth. Dates are those of the Klassen Chronology, unless otherwise noted. The chapter index at the back will help to find a particular section.

[NSMinistries]

Editor: Albert Kirby Griffin
Publisher: McFarland and Company, 1991


This book contains a collection of 1646 adages from 18 faiths worldwide. It is divided into 62 subject areas, presented alphabetically. A list of sources used and a brief comment about each follows the list. At the end of the book is an index by religion and source and an index by key words and topics.

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Abbreviation: SNB
Year Released: 1976

This is a revision of the Rotherham Version. Since many people have been misinformed concerning the true name of the Most High and His Son, this revised version's aim is to bring to light a clearer and deeper understanding of this wonderful Name which has been suppressed for many years. This version concerns the True Name and Titles of the Creator and His Son. The Name of the Heavenly Father or His Son is given in capital letters. The pronoun standing for the Name begins with a capital. It is not the first version to bring out the Name and the Titles of the Creator and His Son.
The Hebrew reader could see YHWH as reverently transcribed by the Hebrew copyist, but was instructed not to pronounce it. However, he could utter a less sacred name, e.g., Adonay, Elohim, and El. When LORD and GOD are printed with small capitals, they stand for the Name. Otherwise, they do not.
The Name was suppressed because of the fear that it is too holy to be pronounced. This fear sprang from interpretations of Exodus 20: 7 and Leviticus 24: 16. This version is restoring the Name because of an interpretation of Isaiah 52: 6.
The King James Version forms of paragraphing and center references are used.

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Abbreviation: REB
Year Released: 1989

In 1974, the Joint Committee of the Churches, which had produced the New English Bible, decided to begin a major revision of the text. By this time, there were changes in the composition of the Joint Committee. The Roman Catholic Church, with representatives from the hierarchies of England and Wales, of Scotland, and of Ireland, entered into full membership. The United Reformed Church, which was a recent union of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church, was represented. Then representatives of the Salvation Army and the Moravian Church joined the committee.
The best available texts of both Testaments were used. Care was taken to ensure that the style of English used be fluent and of dignity for liturgical use, while maintaining intelligibility for all ages and backgrounds. Complex or technical terms were avoided, where possible. There was care that sentence structure and word order would facilitate congregational reading, without misrepresenting the meaning of the original text. "Thou" in addressing God has been replaced by you. A more inclusive gender reference than the male-oriented language was preferred. A more extensive use of textual sub-headings in italics has been used. These are not to be considered part of the text. The traditional verse numbering of the Authorized Version has been retained. Passages that appear in the manuscripts used for the Authorized Version but left out of the Revised English Bible have been reproduced in footnotes. Some modern equivalents of ancient terms are used.
The Joint Committee commends this version with humility, but with confidence that God has yet new light and truth to break forth from his word. The publishers consider the Revised English Bible to be a radical revision of the New English Bible.

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Abbreviation: RSV
Year Released: 1952

This is the authorized revision of the American Standard Version (1901), a variant of the (British) Revised Version (1881-1885), which was a revision of the King James Version (1611), which took into account several earlier versions. The King James Version has been termed "the noblest monument of English prose," yet it has grave defects. This was brought to light in the nineteenth century when more ancient manuscripts than those used for the King James Version were found.
The directive was that the revision should embody the best results of modern scholarship as to the meaning of the Scriptures and to express this meaning in English diction which is designed for use in private and public worship and preserves those qualities which have given to the King James Version a supreme place in English literature. Thirty-two scholars worked on the revision. Fifty representatives of cooperating denominations reviewed their work and counseled them. The aim was to make a good translation better.
Changes in the English language since 1611 were the main reason for revision. Except for the Dead Sea Scrolls, only late manuscripts of the Old Testament survive. This revision is based on Hebrew and Aramaic texts fixed early in the Christian era and revised by the Masoretes.
The Tetragrammaton was rendered as LORD or GOD, in capital letters.

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Abbreviation: RNT
Year Released: 1923

Many people do not understand any language easily except the living English language of today. The translator of this version, William G. Ballantine, felt that they should have the New Testament in that language. Despite the majesty and the beauty of the King James Version, it was at this time three hundred years behind the times. Since it was printed, scholars have provided us a more correct copy of the Greek original and a clearer understanding of its meaning than our forebears possessed. Also over three centuries many familiar words have been forgotten while many other have taken on new significations.
A number of translations have been put forth to meet these needs. Some have great merit, but all have left something to be desired. The translator felt a profound sense of obligation to offer his contribution. He was a lifelong student of the New Testament in Greek and English. He realized the work of any translator falls short of perfection. Unavoidable defects are inherent to the very nature of what is attempted. However, defects from ignorance or oversight can be corrected in future editions.
The translation was made directly from the original Greek. Nestle's text was generally followed. However, he also used The Twentieth Century New Testament, Weymouth's New Testament in Modern Speech, Moffat's New Translation of the New Testament, the Revised Version, and the King James Version. Proper names were left as they were in the American Revised Version. It was written in paragraph form with no verse numbering, but with chapter numbers in Roman numerals.

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Abbreviation: SV
Year Released: 1993
Contents: Four Gospels and Gospel of Thomas

The sub-heading is: "The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus." This new translation and commentary was prepared by Robert W. Funk, Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar.
This is the collective report of gospel scholars working closely together for six years on a common question: "What did Jesus really say?" The Fellows and the Jesus Seminar represent a wide array of Western religious traditions and academic institutions and have been trained in the best universities of North America and Europe.
First, they inventoried all the surviving ancient texts for words attributed to Jesus. Next, they examined those words in the several ancient languages in which they have been preserved. Then, they produced a translation of all the gospels, known as the Scholars Version. Finally, they studied, debated, and voted on each of the more than 1,500 sayings in the inventory.
They used a color-coding of the translation of Jesus' words. Those words that are most probably spoken by Jesus are in red. Those that are less certain in being traced back to Jesus or have suffered modification in transmission are in pink. Those that did not originate with Jesus though they may reflect his ideas are in grey. Those that were given to Jesus to speak by his admirers (a few by his enemies) and are, therefore, inauthentic are in bold black. Explanations for the reasoning are given throughout.

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Publisher: The Trustees Under the Will of Mary Baker G. Eddy, 1934?


This was written by Mary Baker Eddy. Her first pamphlet on Christian Science was copyrighted in 1870. However, it did not appear in print until 1876, as she had learned that this science must be demonstrated by healing before a work on the subject could be profitably studied. The first edition of Science and Health was published in 1875.

Prayer
Atonement and Eucharist
Marriage
Christian Science Versus Spiritualism
Animal Magnetism Unmasked
Science, Theology, Medicine
Physiology
Footsteps of Truth
Creation
Science of Being
Some Objections Answered
Christian Science Practice
Recapitulation

Contents of Keys to the Scriptures:
Genesis
The Apocalypse
Glossary
Fruitage

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Translator: Marvin W. Meyer
Publisher: Random House, 1984


In this volume is a new English translation for general reading of four of the most important and revealing of these early texts, classics of Gnostic spirituality. Readers have the opportunity to discover the visions and teachings of the Gnostics and to understand their place in the history of Christianity. Some of these writings appear in other books reviewed on this site.
The Contents list the following:

Introduction
The Secret Book of James
The Gospel of Thomas
The Book of Thomas
The Secret Book of James

[NSMinistries]

Translator: Richard A. Edwards and Robert A. Wild
Editor: Richard A. Edwards and Robert A. Wild
Publisher: Scholars Press, 1981


This collection of 451 sayings, comprised of a variety of specific forms, was probably compiled in Egypt. It was well-known among Christians, particularly after the fourth century as a result of the Latin translation of Rufinus. Although the author's identity as Sextus has not finally been demonstrated, it appears certain that the editor, whoever he was, was a Christian.
The Basic outlook of this collection is best summarized by the phrase 'mild asceticism.' The Greek and English versions appear on facing pages.

Saying 1: A faithful man is an elect man.
Saying 124: Ask God for whatever you cannot get from man.
Saying 260: Strive to be a public benefactor to humanity.
Saying 451: Do not dare to speak about God to an undisciplined soul.

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Editor: Helmut Koester
Publisher: Fortress Press, 1999


This was the most popular non-canonical writing before the fourth century C.E. That it later became unknown in the East while continuing popular in the West through the Middle Ages, and that it is relatively unknown today in either East or West, reflect differing needs in differing times.
The writing is divided into three sections, namely: five visions, twelve mandates, and ten similitudes. The origin of the writing is central Italy. There are questions as to the date and the author(s).

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Abbreviation: SCM
Year Released: 1941

This was translated into English by Francis Aloysius Spencer, O. P., and edited by Charles J. Callan, O. P., and John A. McHugh, O. P. The translator first translated the four Gospels from the Latin Vulgate, then from the Greek. He spent the rest of his life translating the whole New Testament from the Greek. After his death, his work was edited and finally published.
There are several helps to grasping the meaning of the text. There are logical divisions, paragraphing, and headings. The words of Jesus are put into italics. Quotations from or allusions to the Old Testament are printed in small capital letters. There are references to parallel passages. Inferior readings from the Vulgate and lesser manuscripts are placed in brackets with footnotes. Hebrew spellings for Old Testament Hebrew names have been adopted. The editors feel that the translator was able to bring out as far as possible the overflowing meaning and deep feeling of the sacred or classic author.

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Abbreviation: SARV
Year Released: 1901

This is a revised version of the KJV of 1611, completed in 1881-1885 and newly edited by the American Revision Committee in 1901.
In the course of the joint labors of the English and American revisers, it was agreed that the English should have the decisive vote on points of difference as they had initiated the work. However, the American preferences would be published as an Appendix for the following fourteen years. The Americans agreed not to sanction any editions other than those of the University Presses of England during that period. After completing their work in 1885, the English revisers disbanded, but the American revisers decided to continue their organization.
In 1897, the American Revision Committee began work to issue an edition with the American preferences. This proved to be an elaborate task and could not be done until the Appendix was revised for fullness and accuracy. Then, they felt free to go beyond revising the Appendix and to introduce a text that included what had previously been suppressed. This edition contains a number of variations from the original Revised Version.

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Abbreviation: SET
Year Released: 1996

The goal of this edition is to help the people of the torah come closer to the Giver of the Torah. It is in response to countless requests from many sectors of the Jewish community for a one-volume Tanach that is accurate, graceful, clear, and, most of all, faithful to traditional Torah commentary. The translation balances the lofty beauty of the Hebrew with the need to provide a literate and comprehensible English rendering. Where a choice had to be made, the translators preferred fidelity to the text over inaccurate simplicity.
The name HASHEM (literally "the Name") is used as the translation of the Tetragrammaton, the sacred Hebrew Four-letter Name of God. For the Hebrew Elohim and El, which are more general and less "personal" Names of the Deity, "God" is used. Prophecies and prayers are indented for prominence. Because it provides clarity and perspective, the commentary is one of the most important features of this volume, despite its relative brevity. The comments are almost invariably drawn from Talmudic or rabbinic literature. The volume includes a generous selection of charts, illustrations, diagrams, and timelines, all of which assist in the comprehension of the text. To aid in the understanding of the context, brief notes appear alongside the translation, to introduce topics, summarize the flow of the narrative, and identify speakers. For the Hebrew text, the translators have followed the traditional editions that have been used for centuries.
The text is in English and in Hebrew, with the English being on the left and the Hebrew on the right. Following Hebrew tradition, there are twenty-four books, which include the thirty-nine of English-language versions.
This edition is dedicated to Irving J. Stone, who has been a lifelong pioneer in bringing new horizens to Jewish education. He was convinced that the way to bring Jews close to Torah was to bring torah to Jews.

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Editor: F. C. Conybeare, J. Rendel Harris, and Agnes Smith Lewis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1913


This edition has been taken from the Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Old Turkish, Greek, and Slavonic Versions. The story has been rescued from The Arabian Nights and restored to the Biblical Apocrypha.
Ahikar was the vizier of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, and was famous for his wisdom in all that concerned morality and politics. There is a question as to whether the story, in whole or in part, actually originated in a much older and more reverend form than that told by Scheherezadia.

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Abbreviation: SNT
Year Released: 1947

This version was translated from the Greek text of Westcott and Hort by George Swann, a Christian Church pastor in Kentucky. He had used the Greek New Testament for nearly forty years, often consulting it in sermon preparation. He tried to make the translation as true to the Greek as possible. He was critical of the King James Version translators for having used many words that were not in the Greek. He tried to retain and improve the beautiful rhythm of the King James Version.
Chapters were put into the Bible about 1248 A.D. In 1551, a French printer, Robert Stephen, hastily created the versing while riding a horse. The result of the latter was cutting through thoughts and sentences. Through experience in Bible study classes the translator found that the chapter and verse system was tedious for reference. He felt that a different method was needed. Therefore, his work was done using only verses, numbered consecutively from Matthew to Revelation. Each is about four times the length of the traditional verses. He felt that for four hundred years only ministers and few others could readily find scriptures.
He has used, usually, one- and two-word headings, which, where feasible, were taken from the text itself. The range on each page is listed at the top, using the traditional chapters and verse numbers. A partial index is included at the end of the book. Only in Hebrews, Revelation, and a few other places are quotation marks used. Although the Bible looks different, every book and content-arrangement come just as in the King James Version.

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Translator: W. Wright
Publisher: Williams and Norgate, 1865


This edition was translated from Syriac manuscripts in the British Museum. The translator's intention was that this be a humble companion to the Evangelia Apocrypha of his friend Professor Dr. Tischendorf of Leipzig.
Where the manuscripts were torn or otherwise illegible, the translator has inserted within brackets what he supposed that the missing words or letters may be. He has included corrections and notes.

Protevangelium Jacobi
The Gospel of Thomas the Israelite
The Letters of Herod and Pilate
Fragments of Transitus and Assumptio

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Translator: G. H. Box
Publisher: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1927


This writing has been preserved in the Greek text in a number of MSS. and in two Reclensions -- the Longer and the Shorter. One school of thought claims that it was written in the second century C.E. by a Christian writer who used The Apocalypse of Peter as one of his sources. Another school of thought considers it as a pre-Christian Hebrew composition, perhaps Essene in character, which was later translated into Greek.
In the story, Abraham, who is pictured as the hospitable sheikh, is visited by the archangel Michael, who has been commissioned by God to receive his soul. The events of this meeting are described.
The two reclensions appear in this edition. The appendix includes The Testament of Isaac and The Testament of Jacob.

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Publisher: The Society of Bible Literature and Scholars' Press, 1974


Known witnesses to the text of this writing include four Greek manuscripts, a fragmentary fifth century Coptic manuscript, and a Slavonic version reconstructed from three manuscripts. The goal of this edition was to create as closely as possible the basic text that presumably lies behind the present forms of two codices. There was an attempt to be faithful to the Greek while aiming for English readability. On the left pages is the Greek text. On the right is the English. This is the Book of Job, who is Jobab. Job, being ill at the end of his life, speaks to his ten children.

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Translator: James Cooper and Arthur John Maclean
Publisher: T. and T. Clark, 1902


It is not authoritative in the sense of having been issued by those who had public authority given them in the Church to do so. It did not succeed by its own merit in obtaining such acceptance as was won by the Great Liturgies. It became influential in the process which led to the formation of the Ethiopic and Coptic service books. It is coloured, no doubt, by private idiosyncracies of its unknown authors. It had a message to its own time as well as to the present time. It professes to give the words of our Lord Himself as he spoke to the disciples after his ascension.

Prelude
The Church Buildings
The Bishop
The Eucharist
The Mystagogia
Presbyters
Deacons
Confessors
Widows
Subdeacons
Readers
Virgins
Charismata
Catechumens
Baptism and Confirmation
Baptismal Eucharist
Maundy Thursday
Pentecost, etc.
The Agapé
First Fruits
Property
Christian Meals
Paschal Solemnities
Visiting the Sick
The Psalms
Burials
Hours of Prayer
Conclusion

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Abbreviation: TAB
Year Released: 1971

The idea of producing an abbreviated Bible by condensing the text chapter-by-chapter originated in a graduate psychology class at the University of Houston. The compilers of this version were James Leslie McCary and Mark McElhaney.
There were three goals in preparing this work. The first was to shorten the text sufficiently so that those lacking time or inclination for reading an unabridged version, yet wishing to obtain a workable knowledge of the Bible, might be able to do so. The second was to present the material in language easily understandable to the average layman. The third was to condense the content and simplify the language without omitting or changing any pertinent material.
Each chapter stands alone. It was felt that, although some people do not accept the Apocrypha, it should be included for several reasons. The compilers attempted not to allow any bias toward or against any particular code of religious beliefs. A dozen different translations were read by them in preparing this version, with the American Standard Version and the Revised Standard Version being followed more than any other one. The Hebrew, rather than the Greek, spelling was followed.

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Abbreviation: ABT
Year Released: 1987

While any translation of the Scriptures may in Hebrew be called a Targum, the word is used especially for a translation of a book of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic. Before the Christian era Aramaic had in good part replaced Hebrew in Palestine as the vernacular of the Jews.
Rabbinic Judaism has transmitted Targums of all the books of the Hebrew Canon, with the exception of Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah, which are themselves partly in Aramaic. Translations of books of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic for liturgical purposes must have begun before the Christian era, although none transmitted by Rabbinic Judaism can be shown to be that old.
The aim of this series is to translate all the traditionally-known Targums into modern English idiom, while respecting the particular and peculiar nature of what these Aramaic translations were originally intended to be. The translators have made use of what they feel to be the best printed editions of the Aramaic Targum in question or have directly consulted the manuscripts. The translation aims at giving a faithful rendering of the Aramaic.
The Targums are not of the same kind. They were translated at different times and have more than one interpretive approach to the Hebrew Bible. Targumic deviations from the Hebrew Text are indicated in italics.
It contains the Old Testament in nineteen volumes.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: ANT
Year Released: 1958

Hugh J. Schonfield, an eminent Jewish scholar, worked for thirty years on his version of the original Greek text. He is also the translator of a later version, The Original New Testament. He was a historian, not a theologian. Thus, this is a non-ecclesiastical version. He avoids ecclesiastical terms, using such words as immersion, community, envoy, supervisor, and administrator instead of baptism, church, apostle, bishop, and deacon, respectively. In general, modern speech has been used, but with some exceptions.
The order of books does not follow that of the King James Version. Also, the chapters are divided into paragraphs, not numbered verses. Thus, at the beginning is a section entitled "Table for Comparison with the Authorized (King James) Version," which will aid the reader in locating specific passages. Also at the beginning is an extensive introduction which includes history. At the end are two indexes: one of persons and places and one of references.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: TBB
Year Released: 1950

The language used is Basic English. This version, produced by C. K. Ogden of the Orthological Institute, is a simple form of the English language which, in 850 words, is able to give the sense of anything which may be said in English. A committee under Professor Emeritus S. H. Hooke, of the University of London, working with the Orthological Institute, has been responsible for a new English form of the Bible made from the Hebrew and the Greek. When the Basic form was complete, it was gone over in detail by a committee formed by the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press. The version is designed to be used wherever the English language has taken root.
Because of the narrow limits of the word-list, it has been hard to keep the Basic completely parallel with the Hebrew and the Greek. However, there was great effort to avoid errors of sense and loose wording. There is no question of the Basic work taking the place of the Authorized Version or coming into competition with it.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: BDRL
Year Released: 1930

This volume is designed to present a selection of the greater part of the English Bible as literature. It is intended for all readers, of whatever belief, opinion, or bringing-up. It is not the first attempt, but the selection and arrangement of it are new. Ernest Sutherland Bates is the editor and arranger.
The following purposes are given:
To afford a conservative narration from the creation to the exile, supplementing it with a selection from 1 Maccabees to complete the story down to the times of Jesus;
To emphasize the greatest of the Prophets and minimize the others;
To rearrange the drama, poetry, and fiction, adding parts of the Apocrypha;
To give the basic biography of Jesus found in the Gospels;
To restrict the utterances of Paul to those that have immortal value and to omit entirely the unimportant pseudonymous epistles;
To print all the works in order of their composition, as far as possible.
The Authorized (King James) Version is used, except for a few instances in Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and the Song of Songs, where the Revised Version is far superior. Confusing scholia and irrelevant repetitions are eliminated.
There is an introduction to each book. Within this is described the literary type of the book. At the back are two short appendices: "A Note on Translations" and "Dates of the Books."
It contains much of the Old Testament and the New Testament, and part of the Apocrypha.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: TBR
Year Released: 1969

This is an interfaith interpretation with notes from Catholic, Protestant and Jewish traditions, and references to art, literature, history and the social problems of modern man. It was prepared by Walter M. Abbott, S. J.; Rabbi Arthur Gilbert; Rolfe Lanier Hunt; and J. Carter Swaim.
The editors of this work came together in the early 1960's in a conviction that the preparation of citizens for life today requires an acquaintance with the Bible. Before starting their work, they asked themselves a number of questions regarding which passsages to include. Then they selected the ones most associated with their respective religious observances and beliefs. Attention was called to passages that have produced varied denominational emphases.
While they were working, two things happened to confirm and widen their efforts. The first was that the role of the public school in dealing with religion was clarified by the Supreme Court in 1963 in its decision in the cases of Abington vs. Schempp. The second was that pronouncements from the Vatican Council reflected and furthered a climate encouraging people of different faiths to intensify their studies in cooperation with each other. The notes of this work recognize that at this time scholars in Ugaritic, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin are reaching an increasing agreement as to the exact wording and meaning of the early texts.

[NSMinistries]

of Paul's Epistles

Abbreviation: CPV
Year Released: 1968
Contents: Paul's Writings

This translation was made by Clarence Jordan. It is not only a translation into modern American English but into American ideas. It cuts across the time space barrier, and the scene shifts from a first century Greco-Roman world to twentieth century America where Paul is no longer an aristocratic Pharisee, but a converted Southerner who boldly speaks the mind of Christ on such matters as racism, brotherhood, possessions, church membership and responsibility, the claims of Christ, and personal Christian living. Its plain, hard-hitting language is earthy and sweaty, straight from the cotton fields and city streets.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: TCB
Year Released: 1540

Miles Coverdale, ordained a priest about 1514, became interested in the works of such men as Erasmus, Luther, and Tyndale. He helped Tyndale in Antwerp in 1529. He translated the Psalms and Ecclesiastes from the Latin works of Campensis and published them in 1534 and 1535, respectively. He may have started his own work on the Bible in 1534.
This Bible is divided into six parts, as was Luther's. The chapters are divided into paragraphs without systemmatic numbering. The notes, comparatively few, concern alternate readings. Marginal cross-references abound. There are over one hundred fifty illustrations.
It was not translated from Hebrew and Greek, but from German and Latin. Coverdale was competent in both of the latter two languages. He trusted five different interpreters, translating from them purely and faithfully, without favor to any sect and subject to correction. These were Jerome, Pagninus, Luther, the translators of the Zurich Bible, and Tyndale.
There is an extensive introduction. The spelling and type are Old English.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: TDB
Year Released: 1961

It is an abridgment of the King James Version, edited by Roy B. Chamberlin and Herman Feldman with the counsel of an advisory board of Biblical scholars.
Some reasons why the resolve of many people to know the Bible has so often come to naught are as follows: its overwhelming length, its somber format, its eye-straining type, its many confused sequences, its repetitiveness, its occasional drabness of content, and its puzzling terms and allusions. There are difficulties of comprehending it because of lack of knowledge of its historical setting. Some editions have a traditional, doctrinal, or denominational tone. The editors of this version believed that they could reduce these barriers to a minimum.
After researching individuals and adult study groups, the following criteria were established for their work: abridgment, identification of each passage, freedom from bias of specialized scholarship or denominational outlook, employment of a recognized text, and a mature discussion of its problems.
Although the usual sequence of the books of the King James Version has been followed, there have been some changes. Ruth, Esther, and Jonah have been put into one group because of their similarity. The Prophets and the Pauline Epistles have been put into the currently accepted chronological order. The sayings within the Book of Proverbs have been classified according to subject. The four Gospels have been interwoven. There has been an attempt to make clearer the meanings of poetic portions with more pleasing visual effect. There is a detailed subject-and-name index. The guide maps have been annotated for easier consultation.
About one-half of the original text has been retained. Passages that have been omitted are those which are repetitive or are of little interest to readers who are not technical students. The manuscripts were submitted to laymen and clergymen from several Protestant bodies, Roman Catholicism, and Judaism.
In the Old Testament most of 1 and 2 Chronicles is omitted and Isaiah is divided into two books, while in the New Testament 2 and 3 John is omitted. The Apocrypha contains nine writings. There is a preface to each division in each of the three sections of the Bible.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: DSSB
Year Released: 1997

It was translated into English by Eugene Ulrich and edited by Martin Abegg, Jr., and Peter Flint.
The manuscripts are one thousand years older than any existing ones. Preserving parts of all but one biblical book [I Chronicles], the scrolls confirm that the text of the Old Testament as it has been handed down through the ages is largely correct. Yet, they reveal numerous important differences.
The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible (1) offers new and striking textual readings that clarify millennia-old puzzles; (2) restores lost psalms; (3) reveals previously unknown details about the lives of biblical figures; (4) provides new information on how the Hebrew Bible was created.
The book has been compiled according to seven principles: (1) maintaining the historical order of books; (2) including introductory material; (3) depending on large manuscripts; (4) integrating material from several manuscripts; (5) signaling variant readings; (6) highlighting interesting or important readings; (7) emphasizing accuracy over style.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: DNT
Year Released: 1934

This version was translated and historically arranged, with critical introductions, by G. W. Wade. To meet the needs of the English reader new translations of the Old and New Testaments have been produced, distinguished not only by the use of modern speech, but also by their constant reliance on recent important advances in textual criticism, in philology, and in archaeology. To this class of work this volume belongs.
The main body of this book is a translation which deliberately follows a course midway between an exact literal rendering of the original and a paraphrase intended to bring out the meaning of the writer. Where a passage is capable of two or more interpretations, Dr. Wade has assumed the responsibility of a commentator, making plain in his free rendering the view which he considers to be the more probable. In this way his translation becomes a running commentary.
The translator includes a table of the probable order and dates of the New Testament Documents. However, he notes that many of the dates are very uncertain.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: EBR
Year Released: 1959

This is a translation designed to set forth the exact meaning, the proper terminology, and the graphic style of the sacred original. The translator was Joseph Bryant Rotherham.
Throughout are signs of emphasis for reading. (') and (/ /) call for slight stress. (// //) and (< >) call for more decided stress. The latter of these is confined to preplaced words and clauses, leading up to what follows.
"God" printed in upper case represents El. "God" printed in Gothic represents Eloah. "God" printed without peculiarity of type represents Elohim. "Yahweh" is used instead of "Jehovah."
There is an extensive expository introduction dealing with special features of this translation, emphasis, the original texts, and the incommunicable name. For the Old Testament, the current Massoretic text was used. For the New Testament, the text of Westcott and Hort was used. An explanation concerning the suppression of the Divine Name [or Tetragrammaton] is given.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: EDW
Year Released: 1942

From the title page we read as follows: "The Emphatic Diaglott, containing the original Greek text of what is commonly styled the New Testament (according to the recension of Dr. J. J. Griesbach) with an interlineary translation, on the renderings of eminent critics, and on the various readings of The Vatican Manuscript, No. 1209, in the Vatican Library, together with illustrative and explanatory foot notes, and a copious selection of references, ..., by Benjamin Wilson."
Although the translator does not claim this version to be superior to any other, he feels that this work presents certain valuable features not found elsewhere. These are listed in the Preface.
Careful fidelity in giving true rendering of the original text into English has been maintained throughout. No regard whatever has been given to prevailing doctrines or prejudices of sects, or the peculiar tenets of theologians.
Help in this work was derived from works of great and learned men. The sources include the following: lexicons, grammars, ancient and modern versions, commentaries (critical and explanatory), cyclopedias, and dictionaries (Bible and others). It is not presumed that this work is free from faults and errors.

Source Used: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (1942)

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: TGB
Year Released: 1560

It was translated according to the Ebreu and Greke, and conferred with the best translations in diuers langages; with the most profitable annotations vpon all the hard places, and other things of great importance as may appeare in the Epistle to the Reader. [This information appears on the title page.]
There is no question that the publication of the Geneva Bible in 1560 was a landmark in the history of the English Bible. It is second in importance only to the Authorized Version of 1611. The Geneva Bible continued to be printed until 1644, the date of the last known edition. This facsimile reproduction preserves the original marginal notes.
The work was done in Geneva, Switzerland. The translators do not identify themselves anywhere in the Bible. Several persons are considered to have been involved with the work, namely, William Whittingham (general editor), Miles Coverdale, John Knox, Christopher Goodman, Anthony Gilby, Thomas Sampson, William Cole, and others. The translators were motivated to prepare a new translation because it behooved Christians to walk in the fear and love of God and this could best be done when one had knowledge of the Word of God.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: HBME
Year Released: 1900

The books of the Sacred Volume of our Faith, as they were arranged by the Editorial Committee appointed by the Great Sanhedrim, called at Jerusalem for the purpose, in the Third Century before Christ, were divided into Four Volumes, and put into the succession that this translator, Ferrar Fenton, has followed [Old Testament].
He used this order for the following reasons: It was the original one, and the accurate criticism, mental insight, and literary skill shown in it, and its grouping of both the Historical and the Divinely Inspired Writers, show a masterly comprehension of the work the Editors had before them, and the progressive nature of the Revelation from God to Man of the Everlasting Laws of Creation, Human Life, and Social and National health and duty, that has never been equalled, and which is itself, if studied, a commentary that cannot be excelled.
He first made, by his own hand and mental effort, the translation direct from the original, with no intermediary version between the Greek or Oriental Texts and his manuscript. He revised passages three to five times and submitted difficult ones to a few Orientalist and Grecianist friends. He tested their suggestions by various previous translators. Then he collated his version with a Polyglot Bible. He was dismayed to find, in doing the latter, that translators to the various languages had repeated errors made by the Greek translators of the Hebrew or Chaldee text. He found the same with the Latin version of the Greek New Testament.
For many years he read the Old Testament in Hebrew and Chaldee and the New Testament in Greek, so as to arrive at their meaning from ancient writers themselves alone. He also had before him no theological or historic theories to assail or to support.

[NSMinistries]

The Jewish Family Bible

Abbreviation: HSM
Year Released: 1973

Also known as the Jewish Family Bible, the text is that of the JPS edition of 1917. (See A New Translation) It is a large white book with the text on each page in three columns.
It includes a section "The Twelve Tribes of Israel," which states the blessings to the sons of Jacob as recorded in Genesis 49:1-27 and shows twelve pictures of the stain-glass windows of the synagogue at the Hebrew University Medical Centre in Ein Karem. There is also a section "Maps of the Lands of the Holy Scriptures." There is another section "Our Family Record." All three sections are on thick, glossy paper within the text. At the end are three other sections: (1) "Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Holy Scriptures;" (2) "Holidays and Their Meanings;" and (3) Chronology of the Holy Scriptures."

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: TJB
Year Released: 1966

The form and nature of this edition have been determined by two of the principal dangers facing the Christian religion today. The first is the reduction of Christianity to the state of a relic - affectionately regarded, but considered irrelevant to our times. The second is its rejection as a mythology, born and cherished in emotion with nothing at all to say to the mind.
Now for Christian thinking in the twentieth century two slogans have been wisely adopted: aggiornamento, or keeping abreast of the times, and approfondimento, or deepening of theological thought. Its first part can be carried out by translating into the language we use today, its second part by providing notes which are neither sectarian nor superficial.
In 1956, a one-volume edition, which came to be known popularly as La Bible de Jérusalem, appeared. This was prepared by the Dominican Biblical School in Jerusalem. The edition being described here is the English equivalent of that. Parts of the English edition were translated from the French, then carefully compared with the Hebrew or Aramaic texts. However, more parts were translated from the Hebrew or Greek and compared with the French. The Psalms presented a special problem because they are a collection of verse not only to be read but also to be sung or chanted.
The format of this edition has been chosen to make intelligent reading easier. Thus, the single column arrangement is used. The text is divided by bold-type section headings so that the reader can see at a glance what is ahead. The poetic passages are printed as verse. An introduction is located at the beginning of a book or group of books. There are numerous other characteristics to help the reader.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: JBFR
Year Released: 1957

This version, compiled by Joseph Gaer, was undertaken in the conviction that, with most of the impediments removed, the Bible would be read with ease and enjoyment by many who have turned away from it because of its obstacles, and that they would find in it the spiritual sustenance it has given generation after generation.
In this version, every chapter is accounted for. Yet, it is considerably shorter than any of the standard versions because all duplications, specifications, detailed descriptions of rituals, and genealogies have been relegated to summarized notes at the end of the book. The principal laws are given separately in a summary, alphabetically arranged. All obvious redundancies are omitted altogether.
The language approximates the Authorized King James Version more closely than any other version in English. The Hebrew Scriptures were compared word for word and sentence for sentence with the Authorized Version. All obscurities and archaisms were eliminated.
Each book of the Bible is divided into logical parts and identified by descriptive titles to guide the reader. Each group of books, as well as each book, is preceded by a brief introduction in which the historical background of the section is given, and the specific problems of the book are discussed.
It contains 1 Macabees from The Apocrypha. A brief digest of the books of the Apocrypha appear in the Appendix.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: TM & MS
Year Released: 1995


This version, otherwise known as The Message, is the work of Eugene H. Peterson. He was a pastor of a Presbyterian church in Maryland and is a professor of spiritual theology at a college in British Columbia and is a writer.
A feature of the original writings of the New Testament is that it was done in the street language of the day. At that time in the Greek-speaking world, there were two levels of language: formal and informal. Formal language was used to write philosophy, history, government decrees, and epic poetry. Some people suppose that language dealing with a holy God and holy things should be elevated -- stately and ceremonial. However, Jesus preferred down-to-earth stories and easy association with common people.
The followers of Jesus in their witness and preaching, translating and teaching, have always tried to get the Message -- the "good news" -- into the language of whatever street they happened to be living on. In order to understand the Message right, the language must be a rough and earthy one that reveals God's presence and action where we least expect it.
This version is in a contemporary idiom that is current, fresh, and understandable in the same language that we use in all of our activities. The goal was not to render a word-for-word conversion of Greek into English, but rather to convert the tone, the rhythm, the events, and the ideas into the way that we actually think and speak. There is an introduction to each book. Verses are not numbered, except at the top of the page where the range for that page is given.
A later version contains, in addition, the Old Testament books of Psalms and Proverbs.
The translator states that most Christians have learned to pray by praying the Psalms. In his pastoral work of teaching people to pray, he started paraphrasing the Psalms into contemporary rhythms. The Psalms in Hebrew are earthy and rough. They are not the prayers of nice people, couched in cultural language.
The book of Proverbs concentrates on matters of everyday practicality more than any other book of the Bible. This book distills it all into riveting images and sound bites that keep us connected in holy obedience to the ordinary.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: MSNT
Year Released: 1902

This translation, made by Richard Francis Weymouth, offered to English-speaking Christians, is a bona fide translation made directly from the Greek, and is in no sense a revision. The plan adopted has fourteen points.
The Greek text used is that given in the Translator's Resultant Greek Testament. There was an earnest endeavor to ascertain the exact meaning of every passage not only by the light that classical Greek throws on the language used, but also by that which the Septuagint and the Hebrew Scriptures afford. Aid was also sought from Versions and Commentators ancient and modern, and theological and classical reviews and magazines. Then it had to be considered how it could be most accurately and naturally exhibited in the English of the present day. Lastly, comparison was made with the renderings of other scholars, especially with the Authorized and Revised Versions. There was an attempt to bring out the sense of the Scriptures as well as present-day English. Pains were taken to bring out an exact rendering of the tenses of the Greek verbs.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NBV
Year Released: 1969

This version of the New Testament (1945) has gained for Dr. Gerrit Verkuyl a place among the first rank of translators of the Bible into modern English. This version of the Old Testament (1959) under his editorship, exhibits the same characteristics of faithful rendering of the original texts into lively modern English that mark his New Testament.
The aim of this version was to achieve plain, up-to-date expression which reflects as directly as possible the meaning of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. It is not a paraphrase.
After twenty-five years, the need for revision became evident. This revision was very extensive, while not being a retranslation. Explanatory notes were revised as well as added. Topical headings were rephrased.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NMB
Year Released: 1999

This is a rendition of the Bible in contemporary English by George Wallace.
The new Testament appears before the Old Testament. Otherwise, the order of books within each Testament is the same as in the King James Version. Chapters are numbered, but verse form has been replaced by paragraph form. At the beginning of each book is a brief introduction. The books of the Old Testament have been abbreviated.
It contains a short addendum describing the period the two Testaments.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: NTUV
Year Released: 1994

William Paul, the translator, states that the purpose of this New Testament version is "to enhance the personal understanding and spiritual devotion of its publisher, his family members, and those persons especially interested in Bible versions." He acknowledges that the text does not guarantee to be exactly what the Holy Spirit inspired the original writers to record, but rather represents what he, the translator, understands those writers to be saying.
The version was produced by consulting the Greek text, notably in the Nestle-Aland 26th corrected edition (1986), and the United Bible Societies' 4th corrected edition (1993); also several Greek-English interlinear texts, and a large number of English translations. The meaning of each word was then confirmed from exegetical commentaries. Atlases and other reference works were used "to confirm historical, geographical, cultural, circumstantial and theological details." A list of reference works used is available on request.
Apart from chapter headings, no section headings or sub-headings are used in the text. Verse numbers follow the standard pattern; paragraph breaks appear to be the publisher's own. Simple explanatory notes appear - in small type and enclosed in square brackets - in appropriate places in the text. These provide helpful historical, geographical, cultural, or theological information, rendering the text accessible to the non-specialist reader.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: ONT
Year Released: 1985

This version was edited and translated from the Greek by the Jewish historian of Christian beginnings, Hugh J. Schonfield. The publisher describes it as "a radical translation and reinterpretation." The term "Original" in the title is intended to convey that it aims at giving back the contents of the New Testament documents to the modern world in the meaning intended by the writers and at the same time to represent as closely as possible the original structures.
It was felt to be desirable not to use familiar ecclesiastical terms where they could be avoided since in doing so would give the impression that they were particularly Christian. Some examples are as follows: "baptism" (immersion), "church" (community), "apostle" (envoy), "bishop" (supervisor), and "deacon" (administrator).
The Old English has been kept only for the language of prayer and occasionally to retain the flavor of an orientalism. As a rule, proper names are in their most familiar form, thus "Isaiah" and "Elijah", not "Esais" and "Elias."
What we have been accustomed to reading in the various versions is largely an idealised interpretation created by the various schools of Christian faith and piety. Set beside these hallowed versions the Original New Testament is an Epstein among the Old Masters, which may shock and even antagonise traditionalists before it comes to be understood and appreciated. The translator has sought to approach these records objectively, as if they had recently been recovered from a cave in the Holy Land or beneath the sands in Egypt.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: OJBC
Year Released: 1996

The Orthodox Jewish Brit Chadasha (New Covenant), translated by Dr. Philip Goble, is a Hebrew version of the New Testament books. It presents a Messianic account of the life and times of Yehoshua (Jesus) and his disciples with vocabulary that is consistent with present-day Jewish orthodoxy.
This English translation is deliberately literal, word-for-word, even preserving the orginal idioms and verb tenses. The purpose of the literal approach is to preserve the Jewish flavour of the original. The text contains numerous cross-references to other passages of the Hebrew Scriptures. Proper names, many key biblical terms, and actual quotations from the Scriptures remain in Rabbinic Hebrew in the text of the translation; however, they are transliterated, and an extensive glossary at the back of the book enables the non-specialist to understand their meanings.
Nevertheless, this is not a version for the uninformed Gentile reader, as it requires at least a basic knowledge of Jewish history and tradition.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: PNC
Year Released: 1925

This version was translated from the meta-physical standpoint by Arthur E. Overbury. It is a revision unhampered by so-called ecclesiastical authority and recognizes healing as well as teaching as a component part of true Christianity. The preface sets forth the standpoint of the author on many fundamental questions, which will enable the reader to know somewhat of the author's views in order to rightly judge his work. The explanatory index gives a large amount of valuable information and data helpful to a comprehensive study of the Bible.
The fact that an unmerited and almost undisputed place had been given for centuries to the Authorized or King James Version, the "orthodox" version, by Protestant Christians was the primary reason for the translator's undertaking the task of revision. Another reason was the fact that all versions hitherto published had been colored by a material, hence a false concept of Christianity, which had gained credence in the early centuries and had been perpetuated by orthodox teachers ever since.
Bible scholars are agreed that there are upward to twenty thousand errors in the King James Version. When lay readers become aware of this, it will be acknowledged that mistaken ideas have crept into the translation under the influence of dogmatic orthodoxy, enslaving mankind for ages. When the King James Version was written, the translators had access to only eight manuscripts. At the time that the People's New Covenant was being prepared, there were nearly seven hundred in Greek alone, some being very ancient, and no two wholly alike in wording.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: PRNT
Year Released: 1914

This version consists of the Hellenic fragments, freed from the pseudo-Jewish interpolations, harmonized, and done into English verse and prose, with introductory analyses, and commentaries, giving an interpretation according to ancient philosophy and psychology, and a new literal translation of the Synoptic Gospels, with introduction and commentaries, by James Morgan Pryse.
In the work here presented, the portions of the New Testament which the author holds to be genuine are construed in verse. The work is not concerned with theological views or any creeds, dogmas, and doctrines of the many Christian sects. For the author, while cherishing the greatest respect for all that is pure and noble in the Christian religion and of all religions, has never been a Christian. In interpreting the New Testament from a non-sectarian point of view, he has tried to avoid offending needlessly those who cling to one or another form of Christian faith.
He undertook the uncongenial task of showing, by dissecting the texts of the Gospels, that the founders of the Christian church, deliberately falsified that text throughout. He rejects as spurious many passages of the Gospels, all of The Acts, and nearly everything in the Epistles. The Apocalyse is treated as a prose version of a Greek Mystery-poem.
It contains portions of the Four Gospels, three Pauline epistles, and the Book of Revelation, along with considerable commentary. Included are numerous drawings and pictures whose sources are Greek mythology.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: SSBE
Year Released: 1981

This translation is based on the American Standard, 1901. The ASV was probably the most accurate translation work of the Bible ever put into print.
It is important to have the reader personally realize that the Tetragrammaton is of vital importance if one is to comprehend the distinctive flavor of the original text. The term "Lord" is not a name, but a title which cannot represent the unique word that stands for the Name of the Almighty. The form "Jehovah" originated as a corruption by the scribes who introduced foreign vowel points and attached them to the Tetragrammaton. The vowel points were those of the word "Adonai." The English hybrid "Jehovah" resulted when Peter Gallatin in 1520 published this form. He did not understand what the scribes had done in applying these vowel points so that the reader would pronounce "Adonai" instead of "Yahweh." The Talmud explains that the Name of the Almighty is written "Yah," but pronounced "Adonai."
Although several Bible translations have retained the name "Yahweh" in the Old Testament, no Bible translation has restored all of the sacred titles to an accurate text. No translation has accurately restored the Name "Yahweh" to the New Testament. Nor is there a translation that has faithfully restored the Savior's true Name, Yahshua the Messiah, to the text of the Bible.
Since the Assemblies of Yahweh have a singular desire to learn the truth of the Bible and to obey it, they have sought to go back to the source to find a proper transliteration of the Messiah's Name which He bore when He was on the earth. They have restored the Sacred Name and the sacred titles and the Name of Yahshua to the text of the Bible. They have also tried to eliminate the Shakespearean English. They have not resorted to the modern corrupt slang of American English.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: SISR
Year Released: 1998

There are four purposes for this translation:
To restore the Name of the Almighty to its rightful place in the text;
To be recognizably Messianic in that it affirms the Hebraic roots of the Messianic belief;
To restore the meaning to so many words which have become popular to use, but do not accurately reflect the meaning of the original, e.g., church, glory, holy, sacrifice, soul;
To be as far as possible a literal translation, wherever possible rendering key words uniformly.
The titles of the books are transliterations of the names of the books of the Old Covenant and, where appropriate, likewise, of those of the New covenant. The order of the Old Covenant is the traditional Hebraic order of the Tanakh.
The Old Covenant is based on the Massoretic Hebrew and Aramaic text, according to the 1937 edition of Kittel's Biblia Hebraica. The New Covenant is based on the Textus Receptus, being modified with the use of such other texts as the Nestle-Aland and Shem Tob, as seemed appropriate.
The Institute for Scriptural Research (ISR), located in the Republic of South Africa, uses the terms Pre-Messianic Scriptures for the Old Covenant and Messianic Scriptures for the New Covenant.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: LXX
Year Released: c.200 BCE

The earliest version of the Old Testament Scriptures of which is possessed any certain knowledge is the translation executed at Alexandria in the third century B.C.E. It has been habitually known by the name of SEPTUAGINT. If knowledge of the origin of the Septuagint be meagre, it is at least more extensive than that possessed of other [ancient] translations.
The Alexandrian dialect of the Greek brought during Macedonian rule after the conquest of Alexander is the idiom in which the Septuagint Version was made. Because of the number of Jewish inhabitants in Alexandria, the existence of the sacred books of the Jews would easily become known to the Greek population.
Aristobulus, a Jew living at the beginning of the second century B.C. says that the version of the Law into Greek was completed under the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, and that Demetrius Phalereus had been employed about it. It appears that Aristobulus was probably a witness that the work of translation had begun under Ptolemy Soter.
A writer named Aristeas says that Ptolemy Philadelphus sent a deputation to Eleazar the high priest to request a copy of the Jewish Law and seventy-two interpreters, six out of each tribe. These men were conducted by Demetrius to an island where the work is stated to have been completed in seventy-two days. They were Jews of Egypt, not of Palestine.
At Alexandria, the Hellenistic Jews used this version. From there it spread among the Jews of the dispersion until it was the common form in which the Old Testament Scriptures had become diffused. In many passages, the Septuagint agrees with Samaritan copies where they differ from the Hebrew. This version was used by the Apostles when they quoted the Old Testament. After the dispersion of Christianity, this translation was used in the new Christian communities. Noting the differences between the Septuagint and the Hebrew text, Origen set out to correct the former. The result was his great works, the Hexapla and the Tetrapla. After the fourth century, there is no known definite attempt to revise the Septuagint.
On each page of this copy one column is in Greek and one, in English.

[NSMinistries]

Abbreviation: SBK
Year Released: 1925

This version, in two volumes, was translated by Charles Foster Kent, with the collaboration of four other persons. The aim, through the selection of certain parts of the Bible which have seemed to the editors especially well suited, is to kindle the interest of the busy modern reader in the Bible as a whole. It is not intended as a substitute for the complete text or the time-honored versions.
Duplications have been omitted, while kindred parts have been brought together. The material in each group has been arranged according to the nature of its contents or the order in which it was written. Thus, the order of the King James Version is not followed. The groups in the Old Testament are titled as follows: Stories and Histories, Laws, The Prophets, The Lyrics, and The Teachings of the Wise. In the New Testament, they are titled as follows: Matthew, Mark, and Luke; The Teachings of Jesus; The Acts of the Apostles; PaulÌs Letters; Later Writings; and The Gospel of John. The Index of Biblical Passages in both Testaments lists the books, the Biblical reference, the section number, and the page number.