The International English Bible was recently brought to my attention by a reader (JH). Thanks!
After contacting the translator, Dr. Andrew Jackson, via e-mail, I ended up talking on the phone with him for about half an hour. It was a very interesting talk! He is very involved in mission work in Turkey. Dr. Jackson first started this translation as a base English translation for further translation there. He finished the book of John which is now being translated into Turkish. Then, he saw that this version could benefit other readers and finished the entire New Testament. He is working on the Old Testament now.
The translation was read by a retired junior high school teacher who focused on clarity of meaning. I think that is an interesting choice - it sounds like a great way to be sure it is appropriate for that reading level.
A couple interesting points about his version are: geographical clarifications are included in the text. For instance, in Acts 19:1 we read "Paul took the road through Anatolia (modern day Turkey)." Old Testament references are also included in the text, such as "the words of the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 9:1."
The current version has verses grouped by paragraphs. Dr. Jackson is currently preparing a version with each verse numbered for easier referencing.
He is not attempting to make profit from his work. It is available to read for free online, for $0.99 on Amazon.com
I may be using this for my next devotional reading so there may be another post on that experience.
The link to "read for free online" hasn't worked for a number of years, but he does have Mathew and 1 John on this website: https://www.drandrewjackson.com/?s=international+english+bible
ReplyDeleteI also can't see a $0.99 version on Amazon.com, although it is available for that price from Barnes and Noble for Nook, and hopefully the Apple Books version is still free. No sign of the old testament.
Do not confuse with the other "international english bible" which is a committee translation aimed at fourth graders.