The Most Popular English Translations of the Bible
Douay-Rheims Bible A Roman Catholic translation produced in the early seventeenth century—
about the same time as the King James Version. For the most part it was translated from the
Latin Vulgate. Until the 1970's, when the New American Bible was completed, the Douay-Rheims
Bible was the standard English translation of the Bible for the Roman Catholic church.
King James Version (KJV) Until recently, the King James Version was the most widely used
English translation of the Bible. It was first published in 1611 under the authorization of King
James I of England. In Britain it is called the Authorized Version (AV). Its stately language has
had a great influence on spoken English and on English literature over nearly four centuries.
Living Bible, The (TLB) A popular paraphrase by Kenneth N. Taylor first published in 1971. In
the early 1970's it was the best-selling book in the United States.
Message, The A popular paraphrase by Eugene Peterson that uses contemporary and
sometimes edgy language to convey the meaning of the text. It was published in 1993 (NT) and
2002 (complete Bible).
New American Bible (NAB) A translation sponsored by the Roman Catholic church. Sometimes
called the Confraternity Bible, it was first published in 1970 and is the translation now most
widely used by Catholics.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) A translation first published in 1971, it gained popularity
among evangelicals as an accurate word-for-word style of translation. It was updated in 1995.
New International Version (NIV) A popular translation that has been widely accepted by
evangelicals since its publication in 1978. It has recently surpassed the King James Version as
the most widely-used English translation of the Bible.
New King James Version (NJKV) A popular revision of the King James Version. Many difficult
and archaic words have been updated, and the words thee and thou have been replaced with the
contemporary you.
New Living Translation (NLT) A dynamic-equivalence, or thought-for-thought, translation first
published in 1996. It is a revision of The Living Bible and was created by a team of ninety
scholars. It combines the accuracy of the best translations with the readability of The Living
Bible.
Revised Standard Version (RSV) The standard Bible used by many denominations. The
translation was sponsored by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and was
first published in 1952. In 1990 a revised edition called the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
was published.
Today's English Version (TEV) This modern translation, published by the American Bible
Society, has been quite popular since its publication in 1976. It uses simple English and tends to
be a thought-for-thought style of translation. It is also called the Good News Bible. An updated
version was published in 1995 as the Contemporary English Version (CEV).
The Bible consists of sixty-six different books, composed by many different writers, in three
different languages, under different circumstances; writers of almost every social rank,
statesmen and peasants, kings, herdsmen, fishermen, priests, tax-gatherers, tentmakers;
educated and uneducated, Jews and Gentiles; most of them unknown to each other, and
writing at various periods during the space of about 1600 years: and yet, after all, it is only
one book dealing with only one subject in its numberless aspects and relations, the subject
of man's redemption.
Books of the Old Testament
Name
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Written By
Date Written
Moses
2278
Moses
1491
Moses
Moses
38
Moses
1450
Joshua
1433
Several
721
Unknown
Unknown
72
Unknown
550
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
580
Unknown
450
Ezra
450
Nehemiah
440
Unknown
Unknown
Several
450
Compiled by Solomon
1000
Solomon
400?
Solomon
900?
Isaiah
700
Jeremiah
550
Jeremiah
550
Ezekiel
525
Daniel
525
Hosea
750
Joel
700
Amos
780
Obadiah
?
Jonah
800
Micah
725
Nahum
725
Habakkuk
550
Zephaniah
600
Haggai
500
Zechariah
500
Malachi
420
Books of the New Testament
Name
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation
Written By
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Luke
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
James
Peter
Peter
John
John
John
Judas
John
A.D.
50-60
63-70
58-60
78
63
58
57
58
54
62
62
62
53
53
67
68
67
62
58
45-62
60-67
78
78
78
60-67
89-99