More than 100 complete translations of the Bible into English languages have been produced.

Translations of Biblical books, especially passages read in the Liturgy can be traced back to the late 7th century, including translations into Old and Middle English.

Old English

The Old English language started first from the Angle-Jute-Saxon invaders/settlers in the South and Eastern regions, and evolved influenced by Anglo-Danish invaders/settlers in the North and Eastern Danelaw, to the extent that an Icelandic saga around the year 1000 said the language of England was the same as Norway and Denmark. It largely replaced the Neo-Brittonic languages and residual Anglo-Latin-using pockets.

While there were no complete translations of the Bible in the Old English period, there were many translations of large portions during this time. Parts of the Bible were first translated from the Latin Vulgate by a few monks and scholars. Such translations were generally in the form of prose or as interlinear glosses (literal translations above the Latin words).

Very few complete translations existed during that time. Most of the books of the Bible existed separately and were read as individual texts. Translations of the Bible often included the writer's own commentary on passages in addition to the literal translation. This is the oldest extant translation of the Gospels into an English language.

Theologian John Wycliffe (c. 1320s–1384) is popularly credited with translating what is now known as Wycliffe's Bible, though it is not clear how much of the translation he himself did. Released in 1382, this was the first known complete translation of the Bible into English. This translation came out in two different versions. The earlier version ("EV") is characterised by a strong adherence to the word order of Latin, and is more difficult for native English speakers to comprehend. The later version ("LV") made more concessions to the native grammar of English.

Around the same period there were several other translations, which partially survive, such as the Paues Fortheenth Century Middle English New Testament.

Early Modern and Modern English

thumb|The site of [[St Thomas' Hospital in London was where the first modern English Bible was printed in England. (Note the error in the inscription: Miles Coverdale's Bible, 1535 pre-dated this).]]

Early Modern English

Early Modern English Bible translations are of between about 1500 and 1800, the period of Early Modern English. This was the first major period of Bible translation into the English language.

This period began with the introduction of the Tyndale Bible. The first complete edition of his New Testament was in 1526. William Tyndale used the Greek and Hebrew texts of the New Testament (NT) and Old Testament (OT) in addition to Jerome's Latin translation. He was the first translator to use the printing press – this enabled the distribution of several thousand copies of his New Testament translation throughout England. Tyndale did not complete his Old Testament translation.

The first printed English translation of the whole Bible was produced by Miles Coverdale in 1535, using Tyndale's work together with his own translations from the Latin Vulgate or German text. After much scholarly debate it is concluded that this was printed in Antwerp and the colophon gives the date as 4 October 1535. This first edition was adapted by Coverdale for his first "authorised version", known as the Great Bible, of 1539.

Other early printed versions were the Geneva Bible published by Sir Rowland Hill in 1560. This version is notable for being the first Bible divided into verses and which negated the Divine Right of Kings; the Bishop's Bible (1568), which was an attempt by Elizabeth I to create a new authorised version; and the Authorized King James Version of 1611.

The first complete Catholic Bible in English was the Douay–Rheims Bible, of which the New Testament portion was published in Rheims in 1582 and the Old Testament somewhat later in Douay in Gallicant Flanders. The Old Testament was completed by the time the New Testament was published but, due to extenuating circumstances and financial issues, it was not published until nearly three decades later, in two editions: the first released in 1609, and the rest of the OT in 1610. In this version, the seven deuterocanonical books are amongst the other books, as in the Latin Vulgate, rather than kept separate in an appendix.

Modern English

While early English Bibles were generally based on a small number of Greek texts, or on Latin translations, modern English translations of the Bible are based on a wider variety of manuscripts in the original languages, mostly Greek and Hebrew.

The translators put much scholarly effort into cross-checking the various sources such as the Septuagint, Textus Receptus, and Masoretic Text. Relatively recent discoveries such as the Dead Sea scrolls provide additional reference information. Some controversy has existed over which texts should be used as a basis for translation, as some of the alternate sources do not include phrases (or sometimes entire verses) which are found only in the Textus Receptus.

Some The Jehovah's Witnesses' New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures renders the tetragrammaton as Jehovah throughout the Old Testament, and it uses the form Jehovah in the New Testament including — but not limited to — passages quoting the Old Testament even though it does not appear in the Greek text.

Single source translations

While most translations attempt to synthesize the various texts in the original languages, some translations also translate one specific textual source, generally for scholarly reasons. A single volume example for the Old Testament is The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible () by Martin Abegg, Peter Flint and Eugene Ulrich.

The Comprehensive New Testament () by T. E. Clontz and J. Clontz presents a scholarly view of the New Testament text by conforming to the Nestle-Aland 27th edition and extensively annotating the translation to fully explain different textual sources and possible alternative translations.

A Comparative Psalter () edited by John Kohlenberger presents a comparative diglot translation of the Psalms of the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint, using the Revised Standard Version and the New English Translation of the Septuagint.

R. A. Knox's Translation of the Vulgate into English is another example of a single source translation.

Alternative approaches

Most translations make the translators' best attempt at a single rendering of the original, relying on footnotes where there might be alternative translations or textual variants. An alternative is taken by the Amplified Bible. In cases where a word or phrase admits of more than one meaning the Amplified Bible presents all the possible interpretations, allowing the reader to choose one. For example, the first two verses of the Amplified Bible read:

<blockquote>

In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.

</blockquote>

Popularity in US

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association release monthly and annual statistics regarding the popularity of different Bibles sold by their members in the United States. In 2023, the top 10 best-selling translations were the following:

Sales are affected by denomination and religious affiliation. For example, the most popular Jewish version would not compete with rankings of a larger audience. Sales data can be affected by the method of marketing. Some translations are directly marketed to particular denominations or local churches, and many Christian booksellers only offer Protestant Bibles, so books in other biblical canons (such as Catholic and Orthodox Bibles) may not appear as high on the CBA rank.

A study published in 2014 by The Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University and Purdue University found that Americans read versions of the Bible as follows:

  1. King James Version (55%)
  2. New International Version (19%)
  3. New Revised Standard Version (7%)
  4. New American Bible (6%)
  5. The Living Bible (5%)
  6. All other translations (8%)

See also

  • List of English Bible translations

Notes

References

Further reading

  • Esposito, Raffaele. “Translation of Hebrew in English Bible versions”. Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics. Ed. by Geoffrey Khan. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2013, vol. 3, pp.&nbsp;847–850 .
  • Esposito, Raffaele. “Hebraisms in English Versions of the Bible”. Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics. Ed. by Geoffrey Khan. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2014, online edition .
  • Daniell, David. The Bible in English: Its History and Influence. Yale University Press, 2003 .
  • Fowler, David C. The Bible in Early English Literature. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1976.
  • Grabois, Aryeh. "Bible: Biblical Impact on Daily Life." Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Vol 2. Ed. Joseph R. Strayer. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1983.
  • Lawton, David. “Englishing the Bible, 1066–1549.” The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1999, pp.&nbsp;454–482.
  • Levy, Bernard S. Preface. The Bible in the Middle Ages: Its Influence on Literature and Art. Ed. Bernard S. Levy. New York: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1992.
  • Maas, A.J.. "Versions of the Bible: English Versions" The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912.
  • Paul, William. "Wycliffe, John.” English Language Bible Translators. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland and Company, 2003, pp.&nbsp;263–264.
  • Muir, Laurence. "Translations and Paraphrases of the Bible and Commentaries." A Manual of the Writings in Middle English: 1050–1500. Ed. J. Burke Severs. Connecticut: The Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1970, vol 2, pp.&nbsp;381–409.
  • The New Testament Octapla: Eight English Versions of the New Testament in the Tyndale–King James Tradition, ed. by Luther A. Weigle. New York: T. Nelson & Sons, 1962. N.B.: The eight English translations of the entire N.T. included (on quarter portions of facing pages) are those of the Bibles in English known as Tyndale, Great Bible, Geneva Bible, Bishops' Bible, Douay–Rheims, King James, Revised Version (Standard American Edition), and Revised Standard Version.
  • Spencer, Nick. Freedom and Order: History, politics and the English Bible. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2011.
  • Taliaferro, Bradford B. Bible Version Encyclopedia. Lulu Enterprises, 2006–2007.
  • Wills, Garry, "A Wild and Indecent Book" (review of David Bentley Hart, The New Testament: A Translation, Yale University Press, 577 pp.), The New York Review of Books, vol. LXV, no. 2 (8 February 2018), pp.&nbsp;34–35. Discusses some pitfalls in interpreting and translating the New Testament.
  • Kunst, RC. “The Structure of Translation and Hermeneutics” (Oxford Articles 2015).
  • Great and Manifold: A Celebration of the Bible in English digital collection, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto
  • A timeline and chart of various editions and translations of the Bible in GIF
  • A collection of links on the Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy, mainly from a perspective opposing Gender-Neutral translations.
  • "Why the English Standard Version ?", an article comparing literal and dynamically equivalent translations from a retailer of and with a bias for the English Standard Version