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Understanding The Bible |
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Dr. Clarence E. Mason, Jr.
Philadelphia College of Bible
Circa 1970
CHART OF TRANSLATIONS AND VERSIONS
| NAME (usually called) | DATE (issued) | OT-NT or INCOMPLETE | TRANSLATOR | SIGNIFICANT DETAILS |
| *1. Wycliffe | 380 | OT & NT | Wycliffe (used Vulgate) | In handwritten form. (Nicholas de Hereford, of Oxford, did last half of O.T. First to use chapter divisions |
| *2. Tyndale | 1525 |
OT & NT Incomplete |
Tyndale used Hebrew O.T., Greek N.T., German N.T., and Latin Vulgate. | First Printed translation of Scripture. A significant and monumental piece of work. |
| *3 Coverdale | 1535 | OT & NT | Coverdale used Swiss-German, Latin Vulgate, and Tyndale. | First complete printed English Bible; licensed. |
| *4 Matthew's | 1537 | OT & NT | John Rogers used: Tyndale's Genesis - 2 Chronicles, Coverdale's Ezra - Malachi, and Tyndale's NT. | First Revision of Tyndale Bible; approved |
| *5. Great Bible (large size) | 1539 | OT & NT | Coverdale - verified by Hebrew and Greek text. | Second revision of Tyndale Bible; first authorized Bible |
| *6. Geneva | 1560 | OT & NT | Group of Reformers in Geneva. Based on Hebrew and Greek. | Third revision of Tyndale Bible. First Bible to omit the Apocrypha. First to use division into verses. Calvinistic in its notes -- Queen Elizabeth gave consent for distribution. |
| *7. Bishops' | 1568 | OT & NT | Nine Bishops | Fourth Tyndale Bible revision -- stiff, formal. |
| *8. Rheims - Douay (Rom. Cath.) | N.T. - 1582 O.T. - 1609 O.T. & N.T. - 1610 |
27 N.T. Books 50 O.T. Books as 2 Books |
William Allen used Latin Vulgate. Greek and Hebrew consulted. | Extremely literal -- still, formal, rough. Many Romanisms (e.g., do penance for repent) and Latinisms (propitiation, etc.) |
| *9. King James (A.V. or K.J.V) | 1611 | OT & NT | 54 Translators (from all English religious parties). | Fifth Tyndale Bible revision. Finest translation for beauty of English up to present. Based on ancient MSS; Bezae and Claremontanus. |
| 10. Challoner's (Rom. Cath.) | 1750 | OT & NT | Bishop Challoner (Roman Catholic) | First Roman Catholic Bible printed in America |
| 11. A New Testament Translation (John Darby) | 1881 | OT & NT | John N. Darby, an important man in early Plymouth Brethren movement (Writer and speaker). | A careful, literal translation. Does not flow too freely in N.T. because of word for word trend, but a sober, dependable guide. O.T. very simolar to ASV. (Darby also translated Bible into German and French). |
| 12. English Revised Version (RV) (rarely ERV) | N.T. - 1881 O.T. - 1885 |
OT & NT | Many British translators (and American committee also). |
1. New manuscripts consulted 2. Better knowledge of Greek & Hebrew 3. Put in modern English 4. Biblical criticismused |
| 13. Bible for Home Reading | O.T. - 1896-99 (Mt., Mk., Lk.) - 1911 |
OT. & (Mt., Mk., Lk.) | Claude G. Montgomery (Liber Jewish scholar). | Liberal influence obvious; archaisms removed. |
| 14. Twentieth Century N.T. | 1901 Revised - 1904 |
N.T. | 20 English scholars (neutral). | Very similar to RV. Books arranged in chronological order (James after Acts, etc.) |
| 15. American Standard Version (ASV); Also called American Revised Version, and rarely ARV | 1901 | OT & NT | American translators published by Thomas Nelson & Co. originally. | Probably the most trustworthy committee translation thus far. When any objectionable reading occurs (e.g., 2 Tim. 3:16), the marginal reading may be preferred. (Committee decided readings by majority vote and minority were conservative.) Paragraphing introduced to help thought. |
| 16. Way | 1901 1903 |
Paul's Epistles of NT (including Hebrews) | Arthur S. Way, noted translator of Greek literary classics -- Homer, etc. (English, conservative) (Moody republished for a while). | A beautiful translation, judiciously expanding the thought where needed. Many "hymns" are seen by Way. |
| 17. Weymouth | 1903 | NT | Richard F. Weymouth (English, conservative). | Dignified but idiomatic; helpful. At times not precise (High Church coloring). Nots in some editions not wholly dependable doctrinally. |
| 18. The 1911 Bible | 1911 | OT & NT | C.I. Scofield, published on 300th anniversary of AV by Oxford. Represents in the main his suggested marginal readings from Scofield Reference Bible (1909) substituted in the text itself. | Dr. Scofield's own comment was: "It died aborning." An attempt to retain the literary beauty of the AV with accuracy of ASV variants in major but not minor passages; but since AV original was not put in margin where changes were made, it was impossible to know which was old and which was new. Didn't circulate. |
| 19. The Holy Scriptures (JPS) | OT - 1917 NT - 1963 |
OT followed much later by NT | A Jewish committee headed by Max L. Margolis under impreint of Jewish Publication Society. (A revised OT plus a NT were issued in 1963) | Called "The Holly Scripture According to the Masoretic Text, A New Translation." A generally helpful translation without archaisms. Liberal influence evident especially in Messianic prophecies; otherwise much like the ASV. |
| 20. Centenary Translation of the NT (Montgomery) | 1924 | NT | Helen Barrett Montgomery (American, conservative) celebrating 100th anniversary of American Baptist Publication Society. | A very readable version in excellent English. Careful work with verb tenses. Helpful colloquial headings. Generally dependable. Unfortunately its availability has not been advertised. |
| 21. Moffatt | NT - 1913 OT - 1924 Revised - 1935 |
NT & OT | James Moffatt (Scottish, liberal) | N.T. based heavily on von Soden's (liberal) text (including transposition of passages). Some striking renderings in the N.T. but liberal and erratic. O.T. very unsatisfactory; at times dangerous. |
|
22. Goodspeed's "The Bible: American
Translation" and "The Complete Bible, An American Translation" |
NT - 1923 OT & NT - 1931 OT, NT, & Apoc. - 1939 |
NT OT & NT
OT, NT, & Apoc. |
Published by liberal University of Chigago.) NT - Edgar J. Goodspeed (American liberal) OT - J.M. Powis Smith and others (American and Canadian liberals) OT - T.J. Meek's stylistic revision Apoc - Edgar J. Goodspeed NT - Edgar J. Godspeed (1931) |
O.T. - Very readable modern speech VS, but
numerous variations from Masoretic Text. N.T. - extremely objectionable liberal tinge characteristic of some of Goodspeed's work. O.T. - Not too different from American Translation. |
| 23. Williams (Contrast with no. 34) | 1937 | NT |
Charles B. Williams (American,
conservative) Moody now publishes |
The New Testament, A Translation in the Language of the People. Particular attention to verbs, but occasionally over-translates them. Centenary does it better. |
| 24. Westminster Version of Sacred Scriptures (Rom. Cath.) | 1935 | NT & OT (parts) | Cuthbert Lattey, S.J., general editor (begun 1913) (Roman Catholic) | Good translation from Greek and Hebrew. |
| 25. Spencer N.T. (Rom. Cath.) | 1937 | NT | Francis A. Spencer (American, Roman Catholic) | Free translation from Greek. Variations of Vulgate noted. |
| 26. Confraternity | NT - 1941 OT - 1948-1965 |
NT OT |
Roman Catholic Church (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine). Uses Greek and Hebrew texts. | Approved by Pope for Romanists. A careful and a generally reliable piece of translating. The notes are of limited value because of Roman Catholic dogma. |
|
27. N.T. in Basic English O.T. in Basic English |
NT - 1941 OT - 1950 |
NT OT |
S.H. Hooke, etc. (English, liberal)
|
Basic English has vocabulary of 950 words plus 50 special biblical words, and 100 others listed as giving most help in reading English verse. Very interesting but necessarily constricted by limited vocabulary. |
| 28. Knox (Rom. Cath.) | NT - 1944 OT - 1949 |
NT OT |
Monsignor Ronald A. Knox (English, Roman Catholic) | A very skillful translating job. Some choice renderings. |
| 29. Berkeley VS in Modern English | NT - 1945 OT - 1959 |
NT |
N.T. - Gerrit Verkuyl, general editor and
translator (American, conservative). O.T. - Verkuyl, assisted by a number of conservative scholars. |
N.T. - generally good. Notes are
amillennial and often personally slanted. His aim: "A translation less
interpretative than Moffatt's, more cultured in language than Goodspeed's;
more American than Weymouth's, and freer from the King Jams Version than
even the ASV." O.T. - Conservative, but heavily individualistic in result. Not done by committee cooperation. Hence, amillennial renderings occur right in the text, though some premillennialists are listed with the committee. |
| *30. Revised Standard Version (RSV) | NT - 1946 OT - 1952 |
NT & OT | National Council of Churches of Christ in America (hence, official Protestant translation). | A fluent, readable translation in modern speech. Marred in places by liberal theological intrusion. See objections and advantages in syllabus. |
| 31. New Testament in Modern English | 1948-1958 | NT | J.B. Phillips (Anglican). This work appeared successively as independent volumes with different titles. | A readable translation in flowing vrnacular English. Some brilliant renderings; but very free and should not be used to establish doctrine. Author flatly states he does not receive verbal inspiration. |
| 32. New World Translation | NT - 1950 OT - 1953 |
NT OT |
Unannounced committee (Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, i.e., Jehovah Witness). | A more or less faithful rendering of Westcott and Hort Greek NT text into vernacular English. Some strongly slanted renderings (Jn. 1:1, "a god). Footnotes unreliable (mixed with irrevelant information about translations into Hebvrew to give authority for translation of 237 pasages of NT by "Jehovah"). OT follows Robert Young's idiosyncrasy in ignoring an important Hebrew language law (waw conversive) which completely changes "tense" of passage. |
| 33. The Gospels | 1951 | Gospels only | E.V. Rieu, editor of Penguin Classics. | A very readable version characterized by dignified simplicity. |
| 34. The New Testament, a New Translation in Plain English | 1952 | NT | Charles Kingsley Williams (English, conservative) (contra no. 23). | Society for Promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) in 1937 asked Williams to prepare a translation based on a vocabulary of 2000 common words listed by a group of educators in Interim Report on Vocabulary Selection (1936). A dignified and very readable VS. |
| 35. New English Bible | NT - 1961 OT - 1968 |
NT OT |
British committee (who felt England should not depend upon an American RSV). | An exceedingly readable version with some extra careful and some extra careless renderings. Choice English which flows. Same liberal tendencies as RSV. |
| 36. Anchor Bible | 1964 | First Unit of OT | First four volumes of an ultimate 30 when completed. International and interreligious committee. | For first time, an attempt to have Romanists, Protestants, and Jewish translators collaborate on a Bible translation. Liberal with no distinctive flavor. |
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37. New American Bible (added to these notes by the Editor as part of Dr. Mason's update in his 1970 class materials) |
1970 | NT & OT | Approved Rom. Cath. | Offsets RSV for Roman Catholic. Not a revision, but a new edition of Duey-Rehimes. Translated from the Greek and Hebrew not the Latin. A good translation. |
| 38. Editor's note: The New American Standard Bible was just being released in its completed form in when Dr. Mason's Notes were in their last publication. | 1963 first editions of New Testament
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