"Free" Bibles and books

I've just found a site called paperbackswap.com. I would call it a book trading center.

Here's the way it works: you post books you are willing to trade. People request those books and you mail them (you pay for postage). For each book you get a credit. Use your credits to requests books you want from other people who will mail them to you. You will get two credits just for signing up and listing 10 books.

There are currently about 2.7 million books available. One search using "Bible" as a keyword yielded 612 books. You can both search and browse the listings.

Posting books to share is easy - just type in the ISBN numbers. I've already had one requested that I posted yesterday. Mailing the books is easy too - the site gives you a mailing label in a PDF file. Download it, print it, wrap the book in the paper, tape it securely and take it to the Post!

If you are interested, please visit paperbackswap.com using this link. I will get credit for referring you.

I will try to post a follow-up when I receive my first book.

Pristine Faith Restoration Version

This is a translation of some New Testament books (Galatians and Ephesians so far) by the Pristine Faith Restoration Society. The Greek text being used is Scrivener's 1891 Textus Receptus.

Canadian Reformed Churches' Revised Psalter

The Canadian Reformed Churches are revising the Psalter in their Book of Praise. You can view the changes at the web site for the proposed changes.

Psalmists of Britain

Archive.org has posted a work titled "The Psalmists of Britain: records, biographical and literary, of one hundred and fifty authors who have rendered the whole or parts of the Book of Psalms into English verse, with specimens of the different versions" in two volumes (vol. 1, vol. 2). It was written in 1843 by John Holland.

Christian Community Bible

I recently received an e-mail from a gentleman who is researching the different revisions of the Christian Community Bible originally translated by Bernardo Hurault. This Bible is continually being updated/revised and has many different editions (41 so far).

Question 1: Can you provide any of the editions (and copyright dates) not listed here?
1st Edition: 1988
2nd Edition: 1989
11th Edition: 1994
17th Edition: 1995
36th Edition 2004
37th Edition: 2005
41st Edition 2008

Question 2: Sometime after edition #2 and before edition #11 the revisers began to switch to inclusive language. For example, in Psalm 1:1 it reads "Blessed is the one." If you have an edition from 3 to 10, please check Psalm 1:1 and let us know.

Question 3: Revisions are continuously made to these editions. If you know of any other differences please let us know that too.

If you have any information, would you kindly leave a comment here? Thank you!

New New Testament

Once again a random search turns up something interesting. I almost didn't download and look at this version, but it turned out to be a new version after all. It is only available (as far as I know) as a program. There is a download at the web site. It is a revision of the Douay Rheims New Testament modernizing the language and using some readings from several different versions.

I could do without this one...

Here is one I'd rather not even have to mention in my book. It's called the "Princess Diana Bible". There is a sample of Genesis provided on the website. The whole thing sounds so strange that I can't quite believe it is really something that will be published. Take a look for yourself...

Review of the "Voice" New Testament

There is an interesting examination of some passages from the new translation of the New Testament called "The Voice." The review is on a blog called Extreme Theology. The reviewer shows some very serious flaws in this new translation.

ASL New Testament Online

In browsing/searching around I happened across a neat presentation of the New Testament. It is the American Sign Language Version online with a lookup feature. Check it out here.

Accurate New Testament

I just received notice of a new Bible Version. It is called the Accurate New Testament and is translated by Mark D. Harness. It is a very literal translation of the Nestle-Aland 27th edition of the Greek New Testament. It is available in print format through Lulu.com.

Praying the New Testament

I have a new one I haven't gotten to look over much yet. It is from a series called "Praying the Scriptures" by Elmer L. Towns. Towns has done a poetic paraphrase of selections of Scripture for the purpose of being used as prayers. There are also sections that are based on Biblical stories (such as the transfiguration of Jesus) with many fictional elements added. He has also released (in separate volumes) the Psalms, Proverbs+Eccl+Song, Job, Revelation, Gospels, Acts+Epistles and Paul's Letters.

Sample (from chapter 22, The Story of Stephen, the introduction) "Stephen, a leader in the new sect of the way, was a follower of Jesus. Blood trickled from his mouth."

Sample (from chapter 22, The Story of Stephen, Acts 7:1-52) "The high priest asked if the charges against Stephen were true; / Stephen answered, "My brother and father listen to me,"

Towns, Elmer L. Praying the New Testament. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers, 2008. ISBN 978-1-60751-454-1.

American Bible Society Editions Online

I have added a new link category to my web site. So far I have listed 74 volumes of American Bible Society editions of the Bible that are scanned and downloadable from either Google or Archive.org. Click "Links" then "ABS Editions." If you find any not listed there, please let me know. Hope this is helpful to some of you!

American Bible Society versions (continued)

I should note that the Bible Society report for 1858 says that the Bibles were not revised, but carefully collated according to the best editions.

One difference that can be found between an ABS 1845 Bible and one from 1851 is changing from "Cherubims" to "Cherubim" in Genesis 3:24. However, this did not change back. It shows up in editions I have from 1884 to 1903 (all downloaded from Google books).

The entry in Darlow and Moule (see previous post for a copy of this) says "Some fruit, however, of the collator's careful work remains in the later editions published by the A.B.S., which are generally commended for their accuracy." Now, to find some examples of fruit that didn't remain!

One such change is in Jude 1:11 where "Core" was changed to "Korah." This appears in editions from 1853 to 1859. Editions from 1884 on (those found on Google) have gone back to "Core." Obviously, this isn't a theology modifying change, but does help identify Bibles in the ABS editions.

I should also note that Scrivener discusses the A.B.S. work in his book The Authorized Edition of the English Bible (1611): Its Subsequent Reprints and Modern Representatives on pages 36 through 39.

American Bible Society revised KJV (1850s)

I recently read a discussion on the Bible Version Discussion Board about the revision of the King James Version done in the 1850s by the American Bible Society. A desire to learn more moved me to organize some information on this topic. Links are given here to help you read more about it as well. Darlow and Moule, in the Historical Catalogue of the Printed Editions of Holy Scripture (pp 362-3), discuss the changes the ABS made. A report (full title Report on the History and Recent Collation of the English Version of the Bible: Presented by the Committee on Versions to the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society, and Adopted, May 1, 1851) from the ABS gives details of the revision. A Bible published in 1853 that shows some or all of these changes is here. In 1858 strong opposition to the changes convinced the ABS to cease publication of the changed text. A long statement about the matter was included in the society's report for 1858. A copy of that can be found on pages 355-60 of the Annual Report of the American Bible Society.

KJV and RV (1611 and 1881)

Most of you already know that the Authorised Version of the Holy Bible (King James Version) was revised in 1881 (NT) and 1885 (OT). In 1881 a book showing the exact changes made to the New Testament was published. It is available on Archive.org, titled Where the Old and New Versions Differ. The changes are listed in parallel columns showing the words/phrases from each version.

Scottish Scriptures

For those of you who enjoy translations in dialects and cognates of English, here are a couple of links for you. These are both for lovers of Scottish translations and paraphrases. The first is Translations and Paraphrases of several passages of sacred Scripture, collected and prepared by a committee appointed by the general assembly of the Church of Scotland: collected and prepared by a committee appointed by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The second is Scottish Paraphrases: Being the Translations and Paraphrases in Verse of Several Passages of Sacred Scripture

Gospel Comics - "He Lived Among Us"

In re-arranging my Bibles I came across an item I don't remember getting. It is titled "He Lived Among Us." It is a comic book presentation of the Good News about Jesus Christ. It also includes NIV Scriptures on most pages as well as selected Scriptures without comics in the back. The web address is www.gospelcomics.com. The website offers a free download in English as well as 16 other languages. The web version does not include the NIV text.

Updated, Improved Link Page

Several more links have been added to my links page. Archive.org now has the Cambridge Paragraph Bible and between Archive.org and Google Books the entire multi volume Modern Reader's Bible is available. Visit the Bible Reader's Museum and click on LINKS. I have also added categorized links to the site. Categories include "American Bible Society," "New Testaments" and "Slang or Dialect" among others. More categories will be added as time allows.

Southern Fried Gospel of Johnny Mark

The Southern Fried Gospel of Johnny Mark: A Southern Paraphrase was written by Gary Cummings and is available at AuthorsDen.com. It is not only a paraphrase in "redneck" English, it is also a transculturation - it resets the story of Mark in the "American South."
Sample: "Listen, your own family will turn you over to be killed. Children will even have their own mama and daddy lynched. Everyone will hate your guts because of me. Don't wait for any rapture, cause you'll have to stick with me to the end of the world to be saved."

Bible Versions on your computer

I am always looking for Bible versions to store on my computer. One excellent (and free) program is E-Sword. There are dozens of Bibles available for this fine program. It has a compare feature that makes it easy to browse differences in Bible versions. I recently found an excellent listing of modules at the E-Sword module website. Click "Bible Modules" on the left to see a list of versions. Click on the version to see if an e-sword module exists for it. I just found William Whiston's Primitive New Testament and the 1977 edition of the NASB there.

The Gospel as Poetry

The advertisement for this on Lulu.com says this is "The Gospel written down as rhyme, along with the books of Acts, James, Jude, and Revelation. Kids love it, and so do the grown-ups!"

Sample:
Hear now this true tale told since days of old
Listen and learn as the truth does unfold
In the land of Judea there lived a good man
A priest who observed all the Word did command
His wife, she was barren, this made them sad
The Lord, he decided, to make Zach a dad

This was written by Keoloha Wells. It appears to be a harmonized account of the Gospels and other NT books. A free download is available at the site listed above.

The Scriptures

A "sacred name" type Bible, The Scriptures, has been made available online. It is here on the website eliyah.com. It uses the Hebrew characters for God's name and Jesus' name. It is also available in E-sword and The Sword Project through the Institute for Scripture Research.

New American Bible

Again, I am digging around looking for information on revisions of versions. The New American Bible has had several. It was published first in 1970. In 1986 the New Testament was revised. The Psalms were revised in 1991, I think making some gender changes in the language. In 2000(?) the New Testament and Psalms were revised for liturgical use. These changes will probably show up in the lectionary, though have not been included in a Bible. In 2009 a revised Old Testament is expected to be published (this last note was found here.
If you know of changes made in these various versions, please e-mail me or leave a comment here. When I find some, I will post them as well.

Today's English Version

I need to ask a favor again. I am trying to discover whether something that I read recently is true. The claim is that the first edition of the "Good News For Modern Man" that was published in 1966 had "He had a message for a virgin..." in Luke 1:27. Editions from 1968 (possibly marked "second edition") had "He had a message for a girl..."
I've got several that have the "girl" rendition but so far don't have any old enough to have the earlier version.

---

UPDATE: Two people were able to come up with a 1966 TEV and it does have "virgin" in Luke 1:27, "The virgin's name was Mary." Thank you to everyone who checked on these!

New English Bible: New Testament (1961)

     I am always interested to discover differences in editions of Bible versions. As I posted just a few days ago, I recently discovered a difference in the New English "corrected edition." I didn't yet know if there were differences between the 1961 NT and the 1970 NT.
     I pulled out my copy of About the New English Bible (Geoffrey Hunt, 1970, pp. 36-38) and browsed it briefly this morning. There are some differences between the two editions of the New Testament. A few are shown here in the table below:

Verse	1961	1970
Mt 9:2b	...a paralytic lying on a bed	...a paralysed man lying on a bed
Acts 16:1b	...his father was a Greek	...his father was a gentile
Mt 6:3	You must therefore be all goodness, just as your heavenly Father is all good.	There must be no limit to your goodness as your heavenly Father's goodness knows no bounds.
Lk 1:34	'How can this be,' said Mary, 'when I have no husband?'	'How can this be?' said Mary; 'I am still a virgin.'

     This table is an example of many like it that appear in The Encyclopedia of English Bible Versions. Please don't use this table without permission.

Ee By Gum, Lord

     I don't remember how I happened onto this one - I think during a search on Amazon.com. That's where I picked up a used copy. This is the Gospels in Broad Yorkshire (1996) by Arnold Kellett. A glossary is included for those of us who don't ever get to hear this dialect spoken aloud. The author writes that this is in the dialect of the West Riding. Specifically, it is the dialect the author "knew as a boy in the Pennine village of Wibsey, just south of Bradford, on the the fringe of Wilfred Pickles territory." It isn't a much used dialect - probably even a dead one by now.
     Parts of this text were actually read by Wilfred on television. This is really just parts of the Gospels - probably a harmonized account. The author retells portions and "teaches" or adds some parts.
     Sample: 'As-ta ivver thowt abaht why it wor in t' little tahn o' Bethle'em wheeare it all started? Well, it come abaht this roooad ...

New English Bible, Corrected Edition

I've been searching for a difference in the corrected edition of the New English Bible for a while now. Today I finally found (was given) one! I read it in an excellent post on the New Epistles Blog. Rather than steal thunder from his neat post, I'll just let you read it and say the corrected edition difference is is in his second example. The example there is from the original NEB and was changed in the 1972 edition.
     The 1970 and 1972 editions appear to be identical. Other than the "corrected edition" copyright date in the front, I would have thought they were from the same printing. But this one small change is squeezed into the same space on that line.

Aramaic Jewish Bible in English

This was "translated from the Aramaic by Ya'aqub Younan-Levine,
with the Assistance of George M. Akbulut, Abraham Seif, and Michael Spira." So far Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel and Obadiah are finished. Uses "Elohim" and "MarYah" for God's name; "Yahushua" for "Jesus." The website is American Pshitta Tanakh in English.
      Sample:
In the year of the death of king Uziah, I saw MarYah seated on a high throne, and the edge of his mantle filled his temple (Isaiah 6:1).

Australian Fellowship of Seven Planes New Testament

I wasn't able to view any samples of this version. It is available through lulu.com. It is arranged in chronological order. It also removes some texts that are "known mistranslations," "known insertions," or that the editor(s) believe have been changed to reflect modern textual criticism. This may be a sacred name type version as well. The title page bears the name of the Congregation of Regeneration which is part of the Australian Fellowship of the Seven Planes. Editor in chief of the project was M. L. Allen.

Whole Scriptures Interlining...

Some days I don't look for new versions of the Bible. But it seems I can't get away from finding them anyway! So here is yesterday's find.
     It's hard to say exactly what the version's title is, so I went with the title on the web site. The bottom of the pages that are finished say "Hebrew-Greek Colored Interlinear" so perhaps that is a better title. It is a colorized interlinear with the Hebrew and Greek (yes, both of them in the OT and the NT), transliterations and a translation. Work is still underway on the colorizing process. I haven't been able to find the key to the colors yet. Uses Elohim (and the Hebrew) for God's name, Yahushua for Jesus' name, Mashiyach for Christ.

VerseryRhymes

This poetic rendition of the New Testament is being done by Dr. Reece Sherman, Sr. So far he has finished Mark; John; Galatians, Ephesians & Philippians; Colossians & James; and Revelation. He intends to finish the entire New Testament. The portions listed here are available at Lulu.com.
Sample:
This is the beginning
of the good news of God's Son
The gospel of Jesus Christ
Begins with his messenger, John.

Isaiah the prophet wrote
"Behold, one will prepare the way
A voice calling out in the desert
Here is what he had to say
Mark 1:1-2a

Wilton Translation of the New Testament

One problem with studying/collecting versions of the Bible is that there just isn't enough money and time to properly study them all. I've run across another new one, a New Testament, by Clyde C. Wilton. The information about it at Trafford Publishing doesn't even include a publish date. Here's what I know about it: Wilton, Clyde C. The Wilton Translation of the New Testament. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 1-4120-7492-4
From a message posted about it elsewhere I found a sample: Contributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing the love of strangers (Romans 12:13).

Translation for Translators

I haven't found much information yet on this new translation by Ellis W. Deibler, Jr. I caught a mention of it in the comments section of a blog post on Better Bible Blog. It appears that it should be or will be online at this Bible Translation web site. A newsletter from St. Giles Presbyterian Church says "Some of the key features of this "Translation for Translators" are shorter sentences, and simpler vocabulary. Abstract nouns are made into full clauses, and rhetorical questions are translated into statements. There is also a good bit of otherwise implicit information supplied in italics." A companion volume, A Translator's Translation, for the general public is also to be published. If anyone has more information or a website (with samples?) please let me know.

Weird google searches....

     All right, now some searches shouldn't work. After all, I'm just imagining what MIGHT exist and looking around for it. But Google will find it if it's out there. And this one is out there....
     The Gospel of Elvis is the New Testament retold starring Elvis as Jesus. (I searched for "New Testament for Elvis fans.") You can read it yourself on Google Books.
     It is a parody, not intended to be a real presentation of the Gospel (of course). So be warned that some will find it offensive. It is a harmonized account with "Vernon" instead of "Joseph" and "Gladys" replacing "Mary." Instead of ending up in Nazareth, they wind up in Nashvile. The whole thing is a transculturation, with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson as Pharisees and Sid Vicious as the man possessed with demons. While this may have been an attempt at a humorous parody, it turns quickly into an attack on Christian values. Some verses even have Elvis arguing with Jesus' teachings.

Easy English Bible in Print

The Wycliffe Associates have self-published the books of Luke and Acts on Lulu.com. The book is titled The Good News / The First Christians. The print version is $8.89 and a PDF download is free. If you are not familiar with the Easy English Bible project, visit them at www.easyenglish.info.
A sample:
Great things have happened in our country. Many people have tried to write about them. Some people were present when these things started to happen. They saw everything that happened. They told us what they had seen. And they told us what they had heard. They are the people who told the Good News (Luke 1:1-2).

Bible Rap

I ran across this recently, though it was published some time ago. It was written by Stephen Amato and published in 2003. It doesn't look much like Rap to me, but I'm not an expert on that particular form (I am comparing it to the The Script by Fred Lynch). It appears to be more of a rhyming paraphrase. You can preview Amato's work on Google Books.
Sample:
Who puts a lamp under a bed?
Doesn't he put it on a stand instead?
For there's nothing hid that will not be revealed
All will be known which was once concealed
            Matthew 5:14-15

Psalms with Yahweh's Holy Name Restored

On the way to my daughter's wedding I passed a sign for Yahweh's Assembly in Yahshuah. I had my wife write down the web address since so many "sacred name" type congregations produce revisions of the scriptures. Sure enough, this group has also been working on the scriptures. It is the Psalms with Yahweh's Holy Name Restored copyrighted in 2007. It uses "Yahweh" for God's name. The revision itself is at this link. A sample: "Yahweh is my shepherd, I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1).

Comprehensive New Testament Update

Bill Chamberlin was kind enough to send me information he'd recently received about the Comprehensive New Testament. It is translated by Timothy E. Clontz, who also translated the Common Edition New Testament in 1999. This is an "exact representation of the Nestle-Aland 27th edition in a readable English format." It also measures the accuracy of 20 other versions against the Nestle Aland 27th edition of the Greek. This is the second in a a series of three New Testaments. The first was the Common Edition and the third will be the Comprehensive Orthodox New Testament (possibly ready as early as 2009.


That answered one of the questions on my research page (thank you, Bill!). The updated page of questions for you Bible Gurus is here. Please take a look and see - if you could help answer some questions I'd be most grateful.

Keter Crown Bible preview

There is a preview of the Keter Crown Bible available on Google. The English translation is by Ravi Shahar.

The Tabloid Bible

Another "oldy" that I just ran across today. This one is by Nick Page, published in 1998. He presents major stories of the Bible as though they were tabloid newspaper articles. There is a preview of it on Amazon.com. Here's a sample:

Oi! Mind that Flaming Sword!

Angels Guard the Garden Gates
Following the dramatic fall of Adam and Eve, angels have been put on duty at the entrance to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24).

American Standard Version Edition Errors?

Has anyone run across information showing errors in editions of the American Standard Version? I had an undated, unreferenced note in my old notebook that I'm now trying to follow up on. It mentions that "many copies of the ASV have errors, such as adding "who" in Galatians 5:4. All the ASV versions I have here both paper and electronic have that "who," in Galatians 5:4b, "...ye who would be justified by the law..." Some online versions do not have it, Bible Sites Online, asvbible.com and others.


Please e-mail me if you are familiar with these differences!

American Bible Union

One section I really wanted to update in my Encyclopedia of English Bible Versions was the one on the American Bible Union Versions. Thanks to the administrator of the Internet Bible Catalog I now have better information. Visit his website for an incredible online catalogue of Bible versions.

What I didn't know is that he has also scanned some of the old Bibles in his collection and offers facsimile prints on lulu.com. He has done the book of Philemon from 1860 and Job from 1857. Both are very reasonably priced.

Buddhist Essene Gospel of Jesus

Yep, that caught my eye too. "What?"

Take a look here at volume I. There is an excerpt from the work here. Information on volume II is here. It is a translation from the Armaic and includes extensive commentary. An appendix includes "The diet of the Essene Jesus." This is to be a three volume series, published by Paradisian publications and is written by Dr. Johnny Lovewisdom.

Itty Bitty Bible

Microfiche Bibles have been around for a while, but here is nicer presentation of one. They call it the "Itty Bitty Bible." It is available via the web site Amazing Faith. It is available in King James Version and in a Catholic Latin version. You can view an animation zooming in on the little Bible here. Oh, break out your microscope or microfiche reader - that's the only way you can read this....

Online Versions (Panin, ASV)

I ran across these tonight and thought you might be interested. The first time I've seen Ivan Panin's New Testament according to numerics online is at Unleavened Bread Ministries. They've got it in text format PDF.


FreeASV.org has the ASV in audio format for download. It is run by Unleavened Bread Ministries too.

Psalm Translations

I know of several people who are studying and/or translating the Psalms. In working on my collection of links to Bible versions, I am also arranging them by categories. I thought it might be helpful to list all the Psalm translations I've found so far for you.

     I will also add a recommendation for my friend's book. It is the Catalogue of English Bible Translations: A Classified Bibliography of Versions and Editions Including Books, Parts, and Old and New Testament Apocrypha and Apocryphal Books by William J. Chamberlin. It is the most thorough Bibliography of English Bible versions available. The Psalms listings cover over 70 pages! The Psalm Selections (portions of the Book of Psalms) cover another almost 40 pages!

Psalm Versions Online

     American version of the Psalms of David by Abijah Davis. Published in 1813. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Anagrammed Psalms by Richard Brodie. Download this at this link.

     Book of Psalms by Thomas Kelly Cheyne. Published in 1884. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Book of Psalms, A New English Translation by Horace Howard Furness. Published in 1898. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Book of Psalms: A New Translation by John James Stewart Perowne. Published in 1870. Volume 1(Archive.org) Volume 2(Archive.org). Facsimile.

     Book of Psalms: The Annagrammatic Version by Richard Brodie. EEBV Catalog number CN00478. Download this at this link. Facsimile.

     Church psalmist; or Psalms and hymns designed for the public. Published in 1849. Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Lyrics from the Psalter by Edward Augustus Collier. Published in 1907. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     New Version of the Psalms in Blank Verse by Thomas Dennis. Published in 1808. Download this at Google Books. Facsimile.

     New Version of the Psalms of David by Nicholas Brady. Published in 1751. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     New translation of the Psalms: with a plea for revisal of our versions by Richard Cunningham Didham. Published in 1869. Possibly just volume 1 of 2. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     New version of the Psalms, in blank verse by Thomas John Dennis. Published in 1808. Download this at Google Books. Facsimile.

     Odes and Psalms of Solomon by James Rendell Harris. Published in 1916. Volume 1(Archive.org) Volume 2(Archive.org). Facsimile.

     Parallel Psalter, being the Prayerbook version of the Psalms and a new version.. by Samuel Rolles Driver. Published in 1904. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Psalms by James Merrick. Published in 1765. Download this at this link. Facsimile.

     Psalms by Thomas Kelly Cheyne. Published in 1884. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Psalms Chronologically Treated With A New Translation by Moses Buttenweiser. Published in 1938. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Psalms and Hymns..Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in North America. Published in 1848. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Psalms and hymns, .. Reformed Dutch Church in North America. Published in 1838. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Psalms in Metre by Charles Bagot Cayley. Published in 1860. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Psalms in Modern Speech by John Edgar McFayden. EEBV Catalog number CN00578. Published in 1916. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Psalms in a new version : fitted to the tunes used in churches by M Montagu. Published in 1851. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament by Isaac Watts. EEBV Catalog number CN00327. Published in 1821. Download this at Google Books. Facsimile.

     Psalms, Paraphrase According to the New Testament Interpretation by John Barclay. Published in 1776. Download this at Google Books. Facsimile.

     Psalms, Whole Book Of by T. Stenhold, I. Hopkins, W. Whittingham. Published in 1583. color. Download this at Schonberg Center for Elecronic Text and Image. Facsimile.

     Psalms, books of Wisdom, and Canticle of Canticles by Francis Patrick Kenrick. Published in 1857. Translated from the Latin Vulgate. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Psalms, in metre, selected from the Psalms of David. Published in 1833. Protestant Episcopal Press. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Psalter; or, Psalms of David, in English verse by John Keble. Published in 1840. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Sacred poetry: consisting of psalms and hymns. Published in 1812. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     Translation of the Psalms and Canticles with commentary by James McSwiney. Published in 1901. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     West Saxon Psalms. EEBV Catalog number CN00509. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

     book of Psalms, translated into English verse by George Burgess. Published in 1840. Download this at Archive.org. Facsimile.

Bits and Pieces

Today I've just got some bits and pieces I ran across last night.

• For those of you that frequent or have visited chat rooms, you might be interested in The IRC Bible. IRC stands for "Internet Relay Chat." This one went offline, but is archived at archive.org here.
  
• This page has the Lord's prayer in Ebonics.
  
• Here is the ten commandments in Cajun.
  
• This is the New Testament according to Dr. Seuss.
  

Texas Standard Version

There are many websites that convert text into "Texan," "Hillbilly," and other funny accents. Here is one being done "by hand" - the "Texas Standard Version (TSV)." This is a revision of the King James Version. The use of the plural you - "y'all" is of course there. Also, "the Kingdom of Heaven" is replaced with "Heaven's Empire." Pronouns that refer to God are capitalized, ones referring to Jesus are not capitalized until after the resurrection. The book of Matthew and 1 John are finished. Take a look here.

Trends in Bible Translations

     It is no secret (for those who've seen my web site or this Blog) that I love to collect and read Bible versions. One thing I have enjoyed doing over the past 10 years is observing trends in Bible translations. As a Christian, some concern me deeply, since they affect the actual words of the Scriptures.

     I narrow my focus to English versions of the Bible. One general trend I'd like to focus on today is simply how many new versions are coming out each year. I began tracking the list in a spreadsheet somewhere around 1995. That soon proved to be too cumbersome and I moved to a database (Visual Foxpro). Once the data was stored I was soon able to develop graphs, categorize lists and suddenly the Bible Version Encyclopedia was born.

     To make graphs reasonable in size, I grouped dates by decades. Thus the decade from 1520 to 1529 shows just 1 new translation - William Tyndale's New Testament. The next several decades were not busy ones either (in terms of numbers). I also separate Old Testament, New Testaments and Full Bibles. The decade of 1860 to 1869 saw 1 Old Testament, 11 New Testament and 5 full Bibles.

     The numbers change if we include revisions of versions separately. For instance, the New Living Translation (1996) has a second edition from 2004 and was updated again in 2007. I call these revisions "sub-versions" meaning they are still the NLT, but are different texts.

So the 1900s and our current decade look like this:

1900 to 1909, 0 OT, 11 NT, 5 Bibles

          0 OT, 15 NT, 6 Bibles (counting sub-versions)

1910 to 1919, 2 OT, 5 NT, 4 Bibles

          2 OT, 7 NT, 6 Bibles (counting sub-versions)

1920 to 1929, 2 OT, 9 NT, 4 Bibles

          2 OT, 12 NT, 4 Bibles (counting sub-versions)

1930 to 1939, 0 OT, 10 NT, 3 Bibles

          0 OT, 13 NT, 6 Bibles (counting sub-versions)

1940 to 1949, 0 OT, 5 NT, 2 Bibles

          0 OT, 5 NT, 7 Bibles (counting sub-versions)

1950 to 1959, 1 OT, 11 NT, 4 Bibles

          1 OT, 12 NT, 4 Bibles (counting sub-versions)

1960 to 1969, 0 OT, 12 NT, 9 Bibles

          0 OT, 12 NT, 11 Bibles (counting sub-versions)

1970 to 1979, 2 OT, 9 NT, 13 Bibles

          2 OT, 11 NT, 18 Bibles (counting sub-versions)

1980 to 1989, 2 OT, 10 NT, 12 Bibles

          2 OT, 20 NT, 20 Bibles (counting sub-versions)

1990 to 1999, 3 OT, 29 NT, 22 Bibles

          3 OT, 35 NT, 33 Bibles (counting sub-versions)

2000 to 2009, 7 OT, 41 NT, 49 Bibles

          9 OT, 48 NT, 67 Bibles (counting sub-versions)

     Clearly, our modern age is seeing a great increase in the number of Bible versions being produced. Part of this is explained by use of computers: First, it is very easy to use a word processor's search/replace feature to make one of the "Updated..." versions, a "sacred name" version or one of several slang Bibles. Second, web "publishing" means nearly anyone can get a new version of the Bible into the public eye.

     To see several of the new Bibles that have been produced, visit the Bible Reader's Museum and click on "Links", then "Date Sorted" to see even more versions. My statistics only count full testaments and Bibles while the links list shows partial translations as well.

     Whether the increased number of versions is a blessing or a curse is a topic of great debate. But I look forward to doing more work in providing information that can be grist for the debate mill!

     To see the graphs of Testaments and Bibles produced by decades, please take a look at this PDF chart. The chart looks better printed out than it does on the screen unless you zoom in. Please do not use this chart or the data without permission.

Online Bible Links

I've made a change to the Bible Reader's Museum links listing. In an effort to gather together all the links of online Bibles I have consolidated the facsimiles, texts, and samples. The complete list is given in 3 separate ways: 1) Sorted by Titles, 2) Sorted by Authors, 3) Sorted by Dates. I will keep working to improve the list. Click on my website above and then click "Links."

Besorah of Yahusha

This version is being done by the Natsarim Translation Project. It is a sacred name translation rendering God's name in the "original ancient Hebrew form as He wrote it."

New Millennium Bible

The full title of this work is New Millennium Bible, A Visionary and Holistic Translation of the Ancient Hebrew Scriptures for the 21st Century. It is translated by Rabbi Gershon Winkler and illustrated by Carol Shireena Sakai. There is more information about it on Sakai's web site.

Scripture Sample: "And the Contrary was the most uninhibited of all the creatures of the field that Infinite One, Source of All Powers, had made. And it spoke to Fire Being and said: “Did the Source of All Powers instruct you to not eat from any of the trees in the garden?” And the Fire Being replied to the Contrary: “No, for we are permitted to eat from the fruit of trees in the garden. Only from the fruit of the tree that stands in the middle of the garden did the Source of all Powers instruct us not to eat and not to touch, or else we might die." And the Contrary said to the Fire Being: “You will not die. Rather the Source of All Powers knows well that on the day that you eat from this tree your perception will become opened and so broadened that you will become like the Source of All Powers in that you will possess the secret knowledge of Good and Bad” (Genesis 3:1-5)"

Manna Bible

This Bible is primarily an audio Bible project, but also includes a written text. Produced by the "Jesus the Rock Project," it is a revision of the World English Bible. Visit their heavy multimedia site for a sample.

Scripture sample: "Jesus, knowing all the things that were happening to him, went, and said to them, "Who are you looking for?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." Judas also, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When he said to them, "I am he," they went backward, and fell to the ground (John 18:4-6)."

Scriptures in Blank Verse

Day Williams has rendered the story of King David, the New Testament Letters and the Gospels into blank verse. Visit his page at Lulu.com to preview his work.

Sample:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem

     Within Judea, when King Herod reigned,

     A party of astrologers came from



The east, arriving in Jerusalem.

     They asked, "where is the child who has been born

     The Jewish king? For we have seen his star

Jesus: The New Testament

This is a revision of the New Testament from The American Standard Version by Paul A. Rosenberg. More information is available at the publisher, Vera Verba. Presented in paragraph format without chapter and verse numbers. This is available as a bit torrent on the web site Legal Torrents. If you know how to download bit torrents, visit here to get it.

Scripture sample: Every scripture inspired of God is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

New Testament: An Idiomatic Translation

This was published by Mellen Press in 2006. Translated by George A. Blair, it is a three volume set. Visit Blair's Page on Mellen Press for more information.

     Mellen Press's description: "This translation attempts several things: first, it tries to be faithful both to the Greek and the English languages, giving ordinary English for ordinary Greek words, avoiding “Biblical” jargon. Second, the English reflects the individual style and personality of Greek writers. Third, the documents appear in the order they were actually written, enabling the reader to follow the earliest development of Christian thought. Fourth, the little introductions reveal the psychological context of the documents, showing the motivation behind them. Finally, the introductions show how the documents reveal whether their religious dimension was attached to or grew out of the actual facts that happened historically."

     This certainly ranks high in cost: Each volume is $109.95 USD. At that price it will be hard to find a copy to examine. If anyone does have a chance I'd welcome a guest review!

Elohim Bridge New Testament

This is the most unusual link I've posted here yet. This is the Elohim Bridge New Testament. Be sure to read the FAQs page to get the fullness of this site. Then, visit products, PDF downloads for a copy of the New Testament. It appears to be a sacred name revision of the New King James Version, but I'm just now getting a look at it.

A scripture quote: "I know a man in The Anointed One who fourteen years ago, whether he was in his body I do not know, or whether he was out of his body I do not know, only Almighty YaHWeH knows. Such a one had the experience, of being brought up to the third level / inhabited planet of outer-space in that area of the heavens (2 Corinthians 2:2)."

"But He answered and said, "It is not good to take from the children's bread (manna) and throw it away, to the people from the Dog-star planet that have rejected Me in the past" (Matthew 15:26)."

A History of the Scots Bible

Tulloch, Graham. A History of the Scots Bible: With Selected Texts. Aberdeen University Press, 1989. 184 pp. ISBN 0-08-037721-1.

     This book was a delightful read. Not only will it serve notice of several different Scots renditions of the Scriptures, but also provides samples of many. Tulloch goes beyond just providing a simple history and bibliography. He also shows the struggle of Scots to be more than just a "corruption" of English. (He mentions that Waddell stated Scots was "not a mere dialect... but a tongue cognate with English").

     This examination of Scots as a language unto itself was new for me. The author discusses the difference between a literary and spoken language appearing in print. He also shows how certain ways of a writing Scots either benefit or detract from its legitimacy as a separate cognate language. The way each Scots Bible contributed to that is discussed at length. Another interesting thread is the comparison of formal and colloquial language in the translations.

     Tulloch covers the Scots Bible revisers/translators from Murdoch Nisbet to William Lorimer and even the recent works by Jamie Stuart. He provides both an analysis of their texts and of their presentation of Scots. Many of the topics and ideas apply to Bible translation in general - not just Scots Bibles.

     I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of the Scots language, dialect Bibles or obviously Scots Bibles. It was a bit expensive. I was able to order a copy through a used book dealer on Amazon.com. Find this in a library and give it a read. Then, next time you're giving a Scripture reading you can read "Whan Jesus gaed back til the ither side o the loch, a grete thrang of folk gaithert aboot him" (Mark 5:21, Jamie Stuart's version).

     One work referred to often in this book is James A. H. Murray's The Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland. I was quite happy to find a copy on Google.

     Some of the Scots versions are available online as well:

• New Testament in Scots by Murdoch Nisbet. EEBV Catalog number CN00481. Published in 1901. Volume 1(Google Books)
  Volume 2(Google Books)
  Volume 3(Google Books).
  
• The Buik O Ruth by Alex Borrowman. SCOTS project
  
• Samples of various Scots scriptures at Electric Scotland
  
• The Good News of Mark's Gospel in Doric by George Elphinstone is also at Electric Scotland
  
• The Psalms: Frae Hebrew Intil Scottis by Peter Hately Waddell is on Google.
  
• The Wyse-sayins o Solomon: The Proverbs by T. Paterson White is on Archive.org.
  

The Script

This one was previously called "The Epic." The web site is still titled by that name. It is a rap production of the Book of John by Fred D. Lynch, III. Initially, I thought it was only a video product, but GodStyle Productions is announcing that Zondervan is going to publish this work, now called "The Script." It will be the book of John, a devotional and an audio CD. It was due to be released in September but is available from Amazon.com now.

A Sample: "1. As the master passed right on he saw a man standing there who was blind since the day he was born. 2. Gasping at the sight the discip's where quite surprised--empathizing & asking the Rabbi, "Why…it's got to be like that what did he do wrong, or are his parents paying for sinning cause blindness from birth that's strong--" (John 9:1-2).

Work is also underway on a similar production of Ecclesiastes. Lynch says it is written in "Spoken Word (which is a modern mixture of poetry and hip hop)."

Slang Bible?

There is an Australian Slang Bible portion on the web here. There is no mention of author, the contact page doesn't work and I can't compare it with "The Aussie Bible" by Kel Richards (his web site is here). Does anyone happen to know the story behind slangbible.com?

Tyndale 1526 New Testament Facsimile!!!

It's beautiful! I just got word from Bill Chamberlin (author of The Catalogue of English Bible Translations) about a new color facsimile from Hendrickson Publishers. It retails at $49.95 for the hardback and $79.95 for the leather bound. Hendrickson has a PDF showing a few pages - check it out at their web site. It does sound small - 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches (print out a sample page at the actual size to see what it will be like). This is a facsimile of "one of only two complete copies from Peter Schoeffer’s 1526 printing, held in the British Library’s collection."

SMS Bible

It appears that there may be another SMS Bible "translation" made a few years ago. I found mention in an article on "This is True." I cannot find (yet) a full copy of the version anywhere. It was written by Matthew Campbell, who at the time it was written was a history student at York University. After re-reading the article it appears that only the Lord's prayer was done. But it does have a back translation!

This is different than the one done by the Australian Bible Society. The author of that one is Michael Rodrigues. It is adapted from the CEV. The Lord's prayer starts out "Our Father in heaven help us 2 honour ur name."

The People's Proverbs Bible

This is a version of "Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Job and Esther in their entirety and selected chapters from every other books of the Bible. " The work is done by Milton Maye. A web site is available with more information and samples of the Bible.

A sample (taken from the website): "Who is your Shepherd? / Can he fill your heart? / The Lord is my Shepherd, / I shall not want. // He makes me to lie down in green pastures, / He leads me beside the still waters; / When I’m tattered and cold / And the world has taken a toll / He restores my soul" (Psalm 23:1-2).

Comparing Bible Translations

In the course of my study I am developing a keen interest in categorizing/analyzing Bible translations. I'm not ready to put up an essay on the subject yet, but I have found two websites that have given me excellent ideas and information on the subject. The first is Comparing Translations by Ronald J. Gordon. The other is Comparing Bible Translations on "Realms of Faith."

Covenant Edition

Alright - another puzzle for you. On a website that is now no longer online (www.accuratebibles.com) there was a Bible translation being made available. It was called the "Covenant Editon." It appears it was Dr. Ann Nyland's translation. My question is this: Is this the same as her "Source New Testament" or an older translation? Is the Source a revision of the Covenant? Anyone know the answer or how to get in touch with Dr. Nyland?

NLT Study Bible sample

Many blogs are discussing (and reviewing) about their advance copies of the NLT study Bible. The rest of us can get a look at it on the NLT Study Bible website. There PDF downloads that include a sample of Genesis. Apparently, the Bible itself does say "second edition" though it is clearly an updated text (see a comparison in a post at This Lamp).

Can You Help?

I am still working on the successor to the Bible Version Encyclopedia. I am researching some of the stickier questions now. Such as: differences in the 1944 edition of Joseph Smith's translation or Are William Irwin of the RSV and William Irwin of the NAB actually two different people? I have a list on my web site (click on "Research") or you can visit the questions page directly. I would greatly appreciate any help you might be able to give!

The Good News of Mark's Gospel in Doric

I ran across this interesting version today while looking for some Scots Dialect versions of Scripture. It's available here in .JPG files. Doric is a dialect of North-East Scotland. I couldn't find a publish date - anyone know what it is?

The Wyse-sayins o Solomon: The Proverbs

This is a rendering of the Proverbs in Scots (a dialect of English spoken in Scotland). It was published in 1916 and is available free at Archive.org.

Translator's Reference Translation

This is a product of SIL International and is being created by Matthew Carlton. The SIL International website doesn't have any e-mail contacts I could find. Anyone know how to contact them? I would like to find out if this project will include the Old Testament and what source texts are being used. Please let me know if you can help! The books are listed here as well as other places.

Update: Some one was kind enough to forward my question to Matthew Carlton who sent me a message concerning this translation. The Old Testament is due to be started soon. Luke is done and awaiting publishing. This work is intended for people from all backgrounds "so it provides users with text critical information from the UBS Greek text, the Majority Text and Textus Receptus." It is also being translated into other languages such as Spanish, Indonesian, probably French and several others. This sounds like a great tool for translators! Can't wait to get a copy (I think I'll purchase the volume on John).

Keter Crown Bible

This was published by Feldheim in 2004. It is a Hebrew-English edition of the Tanach. Does anyone know what English text was used? Or was it a new translation? It is listed on Amazon.

PG-13 Bible

This isn't a new version - it's the Pentateuch of the American Standard Version. But it does have an interesting twist I haven't seen before: "with passages that conflict with contemporary Western moral values and religious standards in bold face." I first saw it on Amazon.com.

Feast of Pentecost Holy Bible

Around the 4th of July I ran across this New Testament in a half price book store. It is called the Feast of Pentecost Holy Bible and was edited by Elijah M. Bailey. It was published in 1999 by International Scholars Publications (ISBN 1-57309-375-0). A sample scripture is "But he answered and said, Every transplanting, which the heavenly Father hath not implanted of Me, shall be rooted up" (Matthew 15:13).

Modern Young's Literal Translation

Not sure how I missed this one. The New Testament was published in 2005 and the Old Testament was expected this spring. It is a modern language update (and sentence restructuring) of Young's Literal Translation. There is an announcement about it over at Greater Truth Publishers.

New New Living Translation

Many are blogging about the upcoming release of the New Living Translation study Bible. I haven't seen much mention that it will also contain an updated NLT text. Rick Mansfield, at his blog, gives us an excellent review including a comparison of the 1996, 2004 and 2007 NLT texts.

Green Bible

Here's an unusual choice: "Green Letter Edition - verses that speak to God's care for creation will be highlighted in green ink." That's the new Green Bible from HarperOne - a Bible for the Green movement. It is printed on recycled paper using soy based ink. Visit Amazon.com for more information. I should add a thank you to the blog Pensive Application for the heads up on this one.

The Voice New Testament

"The Voice" is a new translation of the Bible that's released some of the NT books already. They now have a web site. There is a free PDF download of the book of John available. The full New Testament is due to be released in October of this year (2008).

Comprehensive New Testament

It isn't clear yet whether this is a new translation or not. It does look interesting! See the information about the Comprehensive New Testament at Cornerstone Publications. They promise "Verse by verse textual comparisons for 20 major versions of the New Testament citing 15,000 textual variants and providing the most complete list of textual variants categorized in a New Testament." Sounds great!

Mechanical Translation of the Bible

This is by Jeff A. Benner. Genesis is now finished. Here is his website.

Anagrammed Psalms

The authors of the anagrammed Bible (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) are working on the Psalms now.

Story of the Tower of Babel

Here's an unusual one for you: The story of the Tower of Babel in "Chromaphonoglyphics." Read it here.

New Page at my Site

I've added a new page to my web site. It is a rough listing of Bible links that I have found (especially facsimiles). Many won't show up in my other listings, but I thought they should be shared. Here is the current list:

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Rough Bible Links Listing

Links added 07/04/08

Here is a Harmony of the Gospels by Carpenter Lant:

A translation of the four Gospels by Nathaniel Smith Folsom:

A Harmony of the Gospels by Frederick Gardiner:

A Harmony of the Gospels by Edward Robinson (looks to be the the Authorized Version):

A Harmony of the Gospels by Arthur Weber:

A. T. Robertson's Harmony:

This one is a New Testament arrangement. I haven't examined it to see if it is a new version.

A Harmony of the Gospels by Benjamin Davies:

A Harmony of the Gospels by William Henry Withrow:

Westminster version, vol 1 pt 2:

Westminster version, vol 3:

Westminster version, vol 4 pt 3:

A Harmony by James Mee Fuller:

Harmony, William James Herschel,

Harmony, William Arnold Stevens,

A New Version of the Psalms of David, by Nicholas Brady,

The Psalms, books of Wisdom and Canticle of Canticles, Francis Patrick Kenrick,

Translation of the Psalms and Canticles with Commentary, James McSwiney,

The Psalms in Metre, Charles Bagot Cayley,

The Book of Psalms, A New Translation, Horace Howard Furness,

Psalms, T K Cheyne,

Psalter, In English Verse, John Keble,

Psalms, J J Stewart Perowne (part 1),

Psalms, J J Stewart Perowne (part 2),

Odes and Psalms of Solomon, J. Rendel Harris,

Odes, Harris, part 2,

Gospel of John in Greek and English, E. Friederici,

Gospel of Jesus Critically Reconstructed, Clayton Raymond Bowen,

Isaac Leeser Old Testament,

A New Version of the Book of Matthew,

Jewish Publication Society, 1917, (Much nicer than the google sourced copy),

Zechariah, commentary with new translation,

Ecclesiastes, new translation (poss. only part 1 of 3),

Song of Songs, new translation, Morris Jatrow

Ecclesiastes, new translation, Samuel Cox,

Song of Songs, new translation by Thomas Williams,

Psalms, new translation by Richard Cunningham Didham (possibly just volume 1 of 2),

Psalms Chronologically Treated with a New Translation, Moses Buttenweiser,

The Four Gospels, A New Translation, Charles Cutler Torrey,

New Translation and Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Benjamin Weiss,

American Standard Version, 21st Century Edition

This one showed up as a text file on a CD I purchased. I haven't found any more information about it anywhere. It is a revision by Heinz Schmitz of the American Standard Version. Here is a quote from it: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was deity (John 1:1)."

New Testament

A new translation of the New Testament is available through print-on-demand. It is by Rev. William H. Carey (copyright 2003). You can purchase it in print or in PDF here.

The Gospels in Black Country Dialect

The Black Country Society of England defines "Black Country" as "that area of South Staffordshire and North Worcestershire (excluding Birmingham) which was on the famous 30 foot seam of coal." I couldn't find an original web site for this, but a UK store has it available here. A sample of the Gospels is "Wile the shepuds wus waatchin' oover thayer flocks..a brite lite shon all rahnd 'em. It day 'arf put the wind up 'em"

Guid Unkens efter Mark

If you've never seen the Scriptures in Shetlandic, visit Guid Unkens efter Mark. There is even a glossary to help with those unfamiliar words! The main page is here.

Gaun Yersel Moses!

This one is described at "A Light Hearted Trip Through the Old Testament in Glaswegian Verse." It is by Tom C. White. Visit The "Gaun Yersel Moses!" website and get a taste.

Free Bible

Another one of the "wiki" projects is a free Bible translation. Visit it here. The Gospels, a few letters and a couple OT books are done so far.

American Revised Version, Improved and Corrected

This is another one brought to my attention by the work of William Chamberlin. It is the American Revised Version, Improved and Corrected. See John 1:1 for an indication of the possible influences on this revision.

A Translation of Colossians

Brian Lilly, an M.Div student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminar, is translating Colossians here.

International Authorized Version

Just ran across this one searching for something else entirely. It is by Dr. Michael Bisconti. Information about it is here and a free copy of an interlinear of the book of Jude is here. There is also an interesting discussion on modern translations, as well as mention of 16 "corrected" editions yet to be released here.

Digital American Standard Version

Some days the number of jumps is even more, but this morning was interesting. I was visiting the Biblical Studies and Technological Tools blog. There is an entry there with a link for Dr. Hildebrandt's program "Get Lost in Jerusalem." But when I went to the site I was first struck by a link for the Digital American Standard Version. It is a free, non-copyrighted, modern language update of the American Standard Version. So far Matthew, Mark and the Epistles are finished.

New LDS Translation

Apparently, the LDS church is working on a new translation of the New Testament. I haven't found much information yet, but it is mentioned on this blog. It will be 15 volumes, combined with commentary and appears it will be called the BYU rendition. I'll post more information when/if I get it myself.

Modern American Standard Version

I don't have much at all about this version - perhaps you can help? It is mentioned on the FAQ page at the World English Bible site (here). There it mentions that Dr. Maurice Robinson is working on an update to the American Standard Version that he calls the Modern American Standard Version. Anyone know if this project is underway, finished or abandoned?

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Update (07-03-2008). Dr. Robinson stated that this project was abandoned in favor of a completely new modern English translation from the Byzantine Textform.

Public Domain Version of the Essential New Testament in Modern English

Not to be confused with the Essential New Testament by Dennis Beatty, et al. This version is just of John, Ephesians and some selected verses. This is a copyright free translation available for download with instructions for printing. Find it over there. Thanks to William Chamberlin for this one.

Paraphrases of Erasmus

The Paraphrases of Erasmus on the New Testament were originally written in Latin, in about 1535. They were first translated into English by Miles Coverdale and others in about 1549. The University of Toronto Press is publishing a series titled "The Collected Works of Erasmus." Within that series are new English translations of Erasmus' paraphrases. Here are the ones published so far:

Sider, Robert D., ed. Collected Works of Erasmus: Paraphrase on Matthew. University of Toronto Press, 2008. ISBN 0802092993. 408 pages. Translated by Dean Simpson. Publisher's web page

Sider, Robert D., ed. Collected Works of Erasmus (volume 49): Paraphrase on Mark. University of Toronto Press, 1988. ISBN 0802026311. 234 pages. Translated by Erika Rummel. Publisher's web page

Sider, Robert D., ed. Collected Works of Erasmus (volume 48, 2nd volume): Paraphrase on Luke. University of Toronto Press, 2003. ISBN 0802036538. Translated by Jane E. Phillips. 292 pages. Publisher's web page. The first part (Luke 1-10, Volume 47 is not yet published).

Sider, Robert D., ed. Collected Works of Erasmus (volume 46): Paraphrase on John. University of Toronto Press, 1991. ISBN 0802058590. Translated by Jane E. Phillips. 371 pages. Publisher's web page

Bateman, John J., ed. Collected Works of Erasmus (volume 50): Paraphrase on Acts. University of Toronto Press, 1995. ISBN 0802006647. Translated by Robert D. Sider. 389 pages. Publisher's web page

Sider, Robert D., ed. Collected Works of Erasmus (volume 42): Paraphrases on Romans and Galatians. University of Toronto Press, 1984. ISBN 0802025102. 192 pages. Publisher's web page

Sider, Robert D., ed. Collected Works of Erasmus (volume 44): Paraphrases on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus and Philemon, the Epistles of Peter and Jude, the Epistle of James, the Epistles of John, and the Epistle to the Hebrews. University of Toronto Press, 1994. ISBN 0802005411. 413 pages. Translated by John J. Bateman. Publisher's web page

New version of the Hebrew Psalter

An interesting work is underway which the author, Bob MacDonald, calls "an emerging portrait of the Psalter." It is presented as a colorful map of the Psalms. See his work at "The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter", his blog at drmacdonald.blogspot.com and a PDF about his work is here.

Messianic Prophecy Bible Project

A new project is underway (getting started?) to produce a Bible that can be used in evangelism to Jewish people. The website is http://messianicbible.com/. It isn't clear if this will be a new translation or a revision on an existing one.

Context Group Version

Today's "new" version comes after I was re-browsing a great page called Online Translations of the Bible. Not hard to guess what it is about.

The version I noticed is called the Context Group Version and "is fairly literal, but takes into account the cultural insights of the Context Group scholars." The version, by Joseph Morovich, is to be found here, more about the version here and information about the Context Group is here.

Spoken English New Testament

When I first made an entry in my book The Bible Version Encyclopedia (the second edition will be called The Encyclopedia of English Bible Versions), the Spoken English New Testament wasn't finished yet. When mention of it was made over on the Better Bible Blogs, I naturally clicked to visit it again. Dr. Mealy has all the books ready (it may still be in translation/revision) and available at his website, Simple Gospel.

Trinity Bible

I noticed this link on the Better Bibles Blog today. It is called the Trinity Bible and is a work in progress. Portions are available for download.

1 Corinthians 13

If you are a collector of Scripture translation portions, here's another one for you. It is a translation of 1 Corinthians 13 found on the Better Bibles Blog. The post is by Suzanne Mcarthy, the translation by Carl Conrad.

The Book of King Solomon

Here's something different for you - "The Book of King Solomon." This isn't a translation of a canonical Scripture. William Chamberlin sent this one along to me. The Book of King Solomon was supposedly written by a court historian to the king. The translation is reportedly from a manuscript given to the translator by an elderly relative. What do you think?

Graphe - Our New Bible

The translators are listed at the website for "Graphe - Our New Bible" now. View them by clicking here.

Accent Translation

William Chamberlin drew my attention to another translation. This one is called the "Accent Translation." You can view it on the author's (Lane Keister's) blog here. Begun in February of 2006, this may be inactive now as the last post was in September of 2006.

Literal English Translation Bible

This is included with the Bible Library software from Ellis Enterprises. The copyright (for the translation) in the old version I have is 1988. However, a recent article in the Journal of the International Society of Bible Collectors, Bible Editions and Versions, brought this to my attention. The article is a regular column by William Chamberlin titled The Bible Online. While this literal translation is obviously an older version, it doesn't appear to be mentioned much. Thanks to Mr. Chamberlin for this one!

ESV Apocrypha

Two or three bloggers drew my attention to changes on the ESV FAQ Page making reference to an ESV apocrypha. There will be an ESV edition that includes the apocrypha though it will not be published by Crossway (the publisher behind the ESV). It isn't clear if it will be some other version of the apocrypha added in or a new translation matching the ESV.

Picture "Bibles" Listing

I've started a listing of picture "Bibles" at my website. You'll find it under Bibliography, Pict. Bibles. I'm not sure these should really be called Bibles (but there's a whole debate for another time). After running across the "Manga Bibles" recently, I decided to list them on my site for the curious.

HCSB second edition in 2009

In an interview Dr. Ed Blum (general editor, HCSB) stated that a new edition of the Holman Christian Standard Bible will be released in 2009.

Gentile Bible

This is a translation of the Gospels (plus other portions?) done by Joel L. Meredith. Released in 2001. The translator believes that Christians do not need the "Jewish" parts of the Bible. He removes the Old Testament and parts of the New Testament that are addressed to the Jewish people. The four Gospels are combined. This is "paraphrased KJV in modern English."

Meredith, Joel L, The Gentile Bible: God's Great Gift. Authors Choice Press, 2001. ISBN 0595135153. Available on Amazon among others.

King James Easy to Read Version

This was released in 2001 (but I just "discovered" it in a local Christian book store). This is a modernized King James version. Words are updated to reflect modern usages. "Knoweth" becomes "knows," "shouldst" is replaced by "should," etc. About 1,200 words have been updated in this manner. The revisers also use a superscript "^p" to indicate plural second person pronouns. Thus "ye" in the Authorised Version becomes "you^p" in this revision. Red lettering is used for the words of Jesus in the New Testament and for the words of God in the Old Testament. The website of this publisher is swordbible.org.

Manga Bible

I lost track of which blog had this item listed. Along the lines of The Picture Bible there is now a Manga Bible. Manga is the Japanese word for comics. This rendering covers stories from Genesis to Revelation.

There are at least two different versions. One, The Manga Bible - Extreme, combines the "manga" with TNIV text. The other, The Manga Bible: From Genesis to Revelation, appears to be a revision, condensed, and uses slang language. The website for this book is here.

After cruising around Amazon.com for a bit, I discovered there are several different authors and publishers producing manga "Bibles." Both Zondervan and Tyndale House have published one. Not as uncommon as I initially thought.

• Tyndale House's version on Amazon


• ZonderKidz's version on Amazon

Phat News of Mark

This one calls itself "The Hippie Bible." It is titled the "Phat News of Mark" and is an adaptation of the King James Version. It can be found here.

LOLCat "Bible"

Here's an entry in the ridiculous (or worse) category: The LOLCat "Bible." LOLCat is a form of abbreviated chatroom style speech. It began when people started posting pictures of cats with quotations in LOLCat. Martin Grondin made a page of the Bible in it and then started a wiki-style website to build up the whole Bible. WARNING: some of the material is offensive and many will find this to be a mockery of the Scriptures. The website is here.

Mature New Testament

Not a new one. This discovery comes from another excellent website, The Internet Bible Catalog. The Mature New Testament (existing only as a typewritten manuscript) dates from the 60s or 70s. This gets filed under the category of bad versions. It removes elements the translator (reviser) disagrees with such as Christ's virgin birth, resurrection and divinity.

Visit The Internet Bible Catalog for an excellent reference that even includes covers and/or title page scans for many versions.

English Standard Version 2007 Update

The English Standard Version was updated in 2007. There is a list of changes over at Michael Marlowe's excellent Bible Research website.

The Voice

This one isn't really new - it was announced in 2006 (I'm not fast). It is being published by Nelson Bibles who described it as "a series of books, songs, and images that will eventually retell the entire biblical story—from Genesis to Revelation." The Gospels and some other New Testament portions have been finished. As an example, read about Matthew here. A press release from 2006 is still readable here.

Jerusalem Bible Updating Again

The Jerusalem Bible is being updated again. I heard about it over at Better Bible Blog (it seems right and the accepted practice to give credit for "discoveries"). An announcement about the update (new version?) can be found at Ecole Biblique.

γραφή, "Our New Bible"

Several bloggers were quick to point out a new Bible version that is getting under way. The website is titled γραφή graphe so that'll be the way I refer to it till a better title is given (or that one sticks). The website announcing it is here. I read about it first at MetaCatholic, A Friend of Christ, Better Bibles Blog and several others. Thanks for the heads up, bloggers!

Bible Reader's Museum Blog

Why a Bible Reader's Museum blog?

I've been reluctant to start a blog because I'm not a "daily diary" type person. But I've discovered lately that blogs are turning out to be an excellent way to get new news about Bible versions and translation issues. There is a lot of discussion going on about translation especially.

My intention with this blog is to simply provide news about Bible versions, translations and new Bibles. Listing something here does not indicate that I approve of it nor that I recommend it.

While my website Bible Reader's Museum does list this information as "news," it doesn't have the capacity for comments from users. This format should allow expansion of topics listed here by others.