NLS Reference Circulars

Scope Notes on Versions of the Bible September 1999

American Standard: A Protestant revision of the King James. Completed in 1901.
Amplified: A version sponsored by the Lockman Foundation. Draws on all known text and is intended to supplement other translations.
Anchor: Multivolume commentary on the Bible, book by book.
Apocrypha: Certain books or portions not considered part of the Jewish canon, but included in the Septuagint (Greek) version of the Old Testament as used by the early Christians. Most of these books are considered as deuterocanonical by the Roman Catholic Church. Apocryphal New Testament books are extracanonical Christian writings that preserve memories of Jesus and the apostles. They were written between the 2nd and 9th centuries C.E.
Contemporary English: Modern English, everyday language edition. Useful to students who speak English as a second language. Uses modern terminology.
Darby: Translation published in 1890.
Goodspeed: First complete English-language translation from original sources of the Apocrypha by Edgar J. Goodspeed in 1923.
James: 1924 translation of the apocryphal New Testament by Montague R. James.
Jerusalem: First Catholic Bible translated from original Scriptures into English by British scholars, 1966.
King James: King James or Authorized version, completed in 1611.
Living: A paraphrased version by Kenneth Taylor.
Mishnah: Collection of oral teachings codified in 200 C.E. which explicates the laws of the Torah and serves as the foundation for the Talmud.
New American: Translation by American scholars into modern English, sponsored by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (Roman Catholic). Earlier version called Confraternity.
New American Standard: An evangelical Protestant translation. Update of the American Standard.
New Century: A new translation from the Greek and Hebrew, with emphasis on language simplicity. Also in a children's version.
New English: A Protestant Bible sponsored by major churches and Bible societies in England. Based on Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic sources. Includes the Apocrypha.
New International: A Protestant Bible sponsored by the New York Bible Society, International.
New Jerusalem: A Roman Catholic Bible that follows the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.
New King James: A 1962 updated edition of the 1611 version. Uses modern terminology.
New Living: An updated version of the Living Bible.
New Revised Standard: A 1990 updated edition of the Revised Standard. Uses modern terminology.
Pentateuch: The books of Hebrew law (Torah); the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Phillips: J.B. Phillips translation. A Protestant version, also called Modern English.
Revised Standard: Protestant version by American scholars, sponsored by the National Council of Churches of Christ.
Talmud: Mishnah and Gemara, or commentary.
Today's English: Also called the Good News Bible. New Testament is called Good News for Modern Man.
Vulgate: Jerome's translation of the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures into the language of the day. Used as a study Bible.
Young's: Literal translation by Robert Young.

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Posted on 2006-05-30