Textament - The Mobile Text Message Bible

This month saw the release of another text message "language" Bible. This one is released by Paul's Mission Press. Like the SMS Bible this is designed to be used on cell phones and mobile pocket devices. It is available (at $3.95 per Testament) for download in both .PDF and for mobile devices. One advantage is the PDF version, allowing wider usage with cut/paste.
Sample:
n d Bginin God cr8d d heaven n d erth. n d erth wz w/o 4m, n void; n darkness [was] upon d face of d deep: n d Spirit of God movD upon d face of d waters. n God z, Let der B lyt: n der wz lyt. n God saw d lyt, dat [it was] gud: n God dividd d lyt frm d darkness. n God cllD d lyt dy, n d darkness he cllD nyt: n d evng n d AM wr d 1st dy (Genesis 1:1-5).

Internet Bible Catalog Contributor

I've finally taken the time to sign up to Wikidot in order to be a contributor to the Internet Bible Catalog. Signing up was easy and so was getting a flickr account so I could upload my cover scans.

I've always had an interest in dialects and slangs of English, so I'm starting with a section on Bibles in slangs, dialects, pidgins and cognates. I set up the main dialect page which links to some that were already there as well as the ones I'm adding.

I hope I'm helping and not making a mess!

Site Review: Internet Bible Catalog

Web Site Review: The Internet Bible Catalog


Site started: June 29, 2007
Site address: http://bibles.wikidot.com/

I've been wanting to provide a review of this site for quite some time. The both the site and the site owner have been a great blessing to me in my own research. If you are interested in Bible versions, you'll want to bookmark this site right now.

The Internet Bible Catalog started almost two years ago. It is a collaborative effort - one of the "wiki" projects - with several contributors. The site owner continues to oversee the project to provide guidance and consistency. This site is just what the title indicates - a listing of Bibles in a catalog format.

And what kind of catalog would it be without pictures? Pictures of covers, jackets and title pages are available for many of the entries. A large thumbnail is provided which is clickable for a larger picture. I love being able to look at title pages myself. It is so helpful to be able to verify information directly.

Next to the picture (if it has one) is the description. Descriptions include titles, translators, publishers, dates, contents and other information. Many entries include cross references to Chamberlin's Catalogue of English Bible Translations, Herbert's Historical Catalogue of Printed Bibles or Hills' English Bible in America (and sometimes even my own humble work). View the page on the Living Bible for a sample of the format.

This site is much more than just a listing. There is often quite a bit of research behind the entries. One area that has been a help to me is the extensive information on the American Bible Union editions. Scroll to the bottom of that page for an excellent table on the New Testaments and portions published by the ABU. It is without a doubt the best listing for ABU Bibles. The site owner has researched them extensively and sorted out much of the confusion found in reference books.

One of the contributors is a collector of Catholic Bibles. In the recent months, many new entries about Catholic (specifically Douay-Rheims) Bibles have been added. The starting place for Catholic Bibles is here. As an example of how thorough this list is, see the page for the the 20th century Brepols Bibles. There are 24 entries, each with a title page scan! This collector is an expert on Catholic Bibles so this already excellent section will continue to get even better.

The entire site is becoming that extensive. Though it is two years later, work has continued steadily throughout that time. To get an idea of how much is there, visit the index page. Did you know that Isaiah in the New International Version was published in 1975 - three years before the full Bible? Go see the cover on the NIV page. The site also lists the NIVI (inclusive language NIV) and the TNIV (Today's New International Version).

A more recent addition to the site is the Internet Only Translations page. These are versions of the Bible that have never made it to print but are available on the world wide web. Here you'll find the American King James Version, the King James, Corrected and the Revised Young's Literal Translation among several others.

There is also a section devoted to non-English Bibles. It is currently divided into Native American, Asian, European, African and American Pidgins & Dialects. This portion is not as extensive as the English section, but does appear to be slowly growing.

Want more information that you can find on this site? Then visit their page on Catalogues for a great listing of books on Bible versions. Hint: several of the older volumes can be found, read online and downloaded on Google books or Internet Archive.

This review is not an exhaustive list of the site's contents. There are also sections on Hebrew, Greek and Latin Bibles. Another page lists the Pseudepigrapha. The nature of the organization lends itself to easy expansion if new categories are needed.

The site also has a forum though it is not regularly used. This does provide an excellent means for group discussion on ongoing projects.

This is a huge project. None of us who study English Bible Versions really expect to finish listing them all. But the Internet Bible Catalog is well on its way to covering a huge portion of them. Research is always ongoing - click here to see if you can help with some of the current questions. You can join the site and become an editor if you'd like to help make new entries or improve existing ones. Read How to Help for more information on contributing to the site.

The site owner stated he hopes to bring in more contributors to include even more Bibles. If you've got a Bible not listed on the site, especially if its a new version for the site, please consider scanning the cover and title page and entering a description. This site can serve as a central updating point for all of us who study, collect and read Bibles. Hope to see you there!

Holy Name Bibles - Update

I got a very helpful e-mail from the owner of qbible.com today. Here's the scoop on his Bible versions. There are really only two versions - I had thought there were several. What he has are variations such as Hebrew parallel and Strong's numbers included. The first version is The Hebrew Bible, King James Edition of 1769, Holy Name & Divine Titles Restored. (2006). In 2008 he produced a new revision that also included all proper nouns in transliterated Hebrew. This 2008 edition is called the The Hebrew Bible, King James Edition of 1769, Hebrew Names Restored &
Emphasized..

Holy Scriptures, Genesis, Rastafarian Text

I really don't know much about this one. The title page reads "The Holy Scriptures / The Book of Genesis / Scholars Edition / The Rastafarian Text / Scroll One." I welcome any information or a sample of the translation!

Holy Peshitta of the Assembly of Jerusalem

It started out as the Aramaic English Standard Version of the Peshitta. Apparently the Assembly of Jerusalem (AOJ) and the Peshitta Foundation (PF) were associated at that time. Then the PF and the AOJ parted ways. The PF is continuing to translate/revise their version. The AOJ apparently considers the original work finished (according to their website, see the version information and now calls it The Holy Peshitta of the Assembly of Jerusalem.

Voice in the Wilderness

The Voice in the Wilderness Bible version continues to be updated. For a list of the updates visit the errata page.

ASV 1901

Credit for this link goes to Michael Marlowe at Bible Researcher. Visit his site for excellent resources too numerous to mention!

This link is for an excellent site that offers the good old ASV of 1901 online. There is a nice online version with easy access. You can also download the ASV in PDF, with original footnotes included. Visit asv1901.com to read this 100 year old classic today!

Wycliffe New Testament (Modern Spelling Edition)

I am delighted to announce that the Bible Reader's Museum now has Terence Noble's Wycliffe New Testament (Modern Spelling Edition) added to the list. It is available both as a hardback and as a paperback. For more information or to purchase a copy visit the Bible Reader's Museum Store.

Next, I'll be adding (as a two volume set) the parallel Wycliffe/KJV New Testament. Look for that one in the next week or two.

Please note that both editions of the New Testament (Wycliffe and the Wycliffe/KJV) are available for free download at this site.

Thank you Terry for sharing this wonderful ministry!

Bible Stories in Cockney Rhyming Slang

This is a short one - just 32 pages. It's a rendering of a few Bible stories in Cockney Rhyming Slang. Here's a sample found on the web:




The mark of Cain
for what you've done!
Abel's brown bread
Murder one!


Cockney Rhyming Slang combines the Cockney accent with rhyming phrase replacements. For instance, "brown bread" rhymes with "dead" and thus becomes a replacement. Sometimes the phrase is truncated as well, hiding the rhyming word. "Butcher's hook" is a replacement for "look" but is often just said as "butcher's." So "have a look" becomes "have a butcher's."

Park, Keith. Bible Stories in Cockney Rhyming Slang. Jessica Kingsley Pub, 2009. ISBN 978-1843109334.

Calvin Bible

A fast response from M.H. of Look Higher! cleared up the mystery of the Calvin Bible translation. It is an English translation of Calvin's Latin translation. It was conducted by the Calvin Translation Society from 1845 to 1855 while translating his commentaries.

An excerpt from the preface to the CTS edition of Calvin's commentary on Genesis helped explain what we have here:
"As it was possible that a doubt might exist whether the version of Scripture used by Calvin was his own, or whether he had borrowed it from some other source; it was thought worth the labor to investigate the true state of the case, by having recourse to the excellent Library of the British Museum. For this purpose the several versions which Calvin was most likely to have adopted, had he not made one for himself, were subjected to examination. It was not necessary to refer to any made by Romanists; and those made by Protestants into the Latin language, which there was any probability he should use, were but two. One by Sebastian Munster, printed at Basle with the Hebrew Text, in 1534, from which the version of Calvin varies considerably; the other by Leo Juda and other learned men, printed at Zurich in 1543, and afterwards reprinted by Robert Stephens in 1545 and 1557. The last of these editions was made use of in comparing the versions of Leo Juda and Calvin; and though there certainly are differences, yet they are so slight as to leave the impression that Calvin took that of Leo Juda as his basis, and only altered it as he saw occasion."

Examples of Juda's and Calvin's Latin are given as well. To read a bit more from the commentary, visit CCEL.ORG's page.

Tanach: Corrected JPS 1917 Translation

In trying to track down other versions, I ran across this version on a website called the Karaite Korner. Along with a couple Hebrew texts, the download page offers a revised Jewish Publication Society 1917 Old Testament. It appears it is mostly a change to use "YHWH" instead of "Lord." This may be the same as the "Tanach Corrected" by Nehemiah Gordon available at Look Higher!.

As you can see, I am trying to sort through the plethora of sacred name type versions.

International Standard Version (update)

The International Standard Version is now up to 1.5.0 for the Old Testament and 2.0 for the New Testament. The Old Testament is expected to be finished by April 2009. Visit their site for downloads.

"Holy Name" Bibles

This site, qBible.com has several "Holy Name" or sacred name type Bibles. I cannot find any copyright or revision information. It appears there are several. Anyone have the key to figuring out which one is which?

Exegeses Parallel Bible

I haven't ever gotten a chance to peruse on these "ExeGeses" Bibles. But today, thanks again to Look Higher! I got a sample copy of the ExeGeses Parallel Bible. It is available for preview at VIK Publications. If you wish, you can then purchase a loose leaf copy, a CD with the PDF or a PDF download.

Geneva Bible - Modernized

Here are two projects to produce a modernized spelling edition of the Geneva Bible:

The first is by David L. Brown and William H. Noah. It is a modern spelling edition of the 1560 Geneva Bible. It was updated in 2009, so I'm mentioning it again.

The second is by Steve Zychal. It is a modernized edition of the 1599 Geneva Bible. The New Testament is finished. The Old Testament is undergoing proofreading right now. This edition includes the footnotes as well.

Earliest New Testament Translations

Here's another great find: Earliest New Testament Translations: An Interlinear Comparison in Modern English by Clayton G. Porter, 2007. This link showed up at Geneva Bible 1599. I don't want to hotlink to the PDF, so please visit the site and you'll see a download for this New Testament. This has the Wycliffe, Purvey, Tyndale, Geneva and King James versions in parallel. It's just 1,475 pages long - so enjoy the read!

I should mention that this is available in print as well. It is a two volume set: Volume 1: Four Gospels, ISBN 978-1440425790 and Volume 2, ISBN 978-1440425868. Both are published by Createspace, 2009.

Tanach Corrected

I'm sorry to be out of touch for so long. Illnesses (mine and families) and a death have kept me away.

In checking back around several sites I've found a few interesting items. If you haven't checked out Look Higher! you should stop by. He has "160 English Bible Versions Online." That includes one translation unique to the site - by the owner of the site (I think). It is called the Accurate New Testament

Another version that caught my eye is the "Tanach Corrected" by Nehemia Gordon. I cannot find the original source for this one. Anyone know where this came from?

He also has a Calvin Bible attributed to the Calvin Translation Society, 1855. I haven't found background information on this either.

Apparently the author has good resources. He attributes the Natural Israelite Bible to Ed Schneider. I cannot find any other reference to that name. On a few others he has names listed I haven't been able to find. I really appreciate this site - check it out and I expect you will find a few versions you haven't seen yet!

I should mention that several of the new version links on my web site are due to this excellent site. You can visit my my humble site at Bible Reader's Museum.