Key translations

The last century has seen many new translations of the Bible. The top ten you may hear talked about most often are:

The Revised Standard Version (RSV)
Published in 1946, this was an updated version of the American Standard Version. It was itself updated as the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) in 1989.

The Good News Bible (GNB)
Published in 1966 and updated in 1976, this plain English version is currently the best-selling Bible in Britain. It is often used in schools and is also sometimes known as Today’s English Version (TEV). The British version was produced by Bible Society.

The Jerusalem Bible (JB)
This Catholic version was published in 1966, just after the Second Vatican Council. It was updated as The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) in 1985.

The New English Bible (NEB)
This was first issued as a complete Bible in 1970. It uses contemporary language and rewords some ancient phrases. Unlike some of the other translations, it originated in Britain.

The New International Version (NIV)
This modern English version was released in 1972 and updated in 1979. It is currently the best-selling Bible in the USA. It was translated by a team of evangelical scholars from various denominations.

The New King James Version (NKJV)
This was first published as a whole in 1982. Like the King James Version of 1611, it is based on an old Greek manuscript called the ‘Textus Receptus’. The translation aimed to keep that version’s style and structure but removed its old-fashioned language.

The New Welsh Bible/Y Beibl Cymraeg Newydd
This was issued by Bible Society in 1988 to mark the 400th anniversary of the William Morgan translation. It was revised in 2004. It is an up-to-date version in modern Welsh and was the first new translation to be completed in that language since William Morgan’s version of 1588.

The Scholar’s Version
This is an American edition of the Bible released in 1993. It represents the work of the ‘Jesus Seminar’, a group of biblical scholars who share a controversial set of views about early Christianity.

The Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Published in 1995 by the American Bible Society, its main aim was to produce a user-friendly Bible that could be read aloud and easily understood.

The English Standard Version (ESV)
Released in 2001, it is a clear translation in modern English that is especially valued by some evangelical Christians for its use of precise language.