Bible translations

Bible translations render biblical texts in languages other than their original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. They differ in textual basis, translation method, language, and religious tradition.

Formal equivalence: A translation approach that prioritizes close correspondence to the source text’s wording and grammatical structure. It explains editions that preserve source-language forms even when the result sounds less natural.
King James Version: An English Bible translation published in 1611 under the sponsorship of James VI and I. Its literary influence and historical source texts make it a landmark English translation.
Vulgate: The Latin Bible translated chiefly by Jerome in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. It became the dominant Western Christian Bible and shaped translation for centuries.
Bible Society: An organization that publishes and distributes Bibles, often supporting translation into additional languages. Bible societies have coordinated translation projects and broad distribution.
Protestant Reformation: A sixteenth-century movement that challenged Roman Catholic authority and produced lasting divisions in Western Christianity. Vernacular scripture became central to arguments about religious authority and reform.
Dynamic and formal equivalence: Eugene Nida’s distinction between translations emphasizing source-form correspondence and those emphasizing equivalent meaning and effect. This framework clarifies the trade-offs behind competing translation philosophies.
New International Version: A modern English Bible translation first published in full in 1978 by an interdenominational committee. It exemplifies contemporary committee translation balancing accuracy and fluent English.
Jerome: A Christian scholar who translated much of the Bible into Latin in the late fourth century. His work established a major model of biblical translation and revision.
Bible translation in minority languages: The translation of biblical texts into languages with relatively small or underserved speech communities. These projects address language access where commercial publishing offers little support.
English Reformation: The sixteenth-century separation of the Church of England from papal authority and its subsequent religious changes. English Bible publication and control became entangled with shifting church and state power.

Linked from 17 pages