Major Bible Translations Through History
How Scripture Crossed Languages, Cultures, and Generations
“We hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.”
— Acts 2:11 (CSB)
The Bible has been translated for a very long time. In fact, translation was already part of the story before Jesus was born. As Jewish communities moved into Greek-speaking regions, they needed Scripture in a language they could understand. Later, as Christianity spread, the same thing happened again in Latin, Syriac, Ge’ez, English, and eventually thousands of other languages.
This appendix gives a simple overview of some of the most important Bible translations and translation traditions. For the oldest translations, dates and translators are sometimes uncertain because they developed over many years rather than being produced by one person at one time. The purpose here is not to decide which translation is “best,” but to help us understand where these Bibles came from and why they were made.
Following the format we planned for this appendix, each entry includes the language, approximate date and place, translator or translation group, sponsorship where known, purpose, important distinctions, and the books included.
Ancient and Early Bible Translations
The Septuagint — LXX
Language: Greek
Date: Beginning around the third century BC; other books translated over time
Place: Especially associated with Alexandria, Egypt
Translator: Different Jewish translators; names are mostly unknown
Sponsor: An ancient tradition connects the Torah translation with King Ptolemy II and a group of Jewish scholars, but the full story cannot be confirmed historically
Purpose: To make Jewish Scripture understandable to Greek-speaking Jews
Distinctions: One of the oldest major translations of Jewish Scripture. New Testament writers sometimes quote Old Testament passages in wording close to the Septuagint.
Books Included: There was no single surviving Septuagint table of contents that was identical everywhere. Ancient Greek biblical collections could contain books beyond those of the later Jewish Hebrew canon.
The Septuagint is especially important because it existed before Jesus and became widely used among Greek-speaking Christians. It also helps explain why quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament sometimes sound different from our modern Old Testament translations.
Old Latin — Vetus Latina
Language: Latin
Date: Mainly second through fourth centuries AD
Place: Various parts of the western Roman Empire, including North Africa
Translator: Many unknown translators
Sponsor: No single known sponsor
Purpose: To provide Scripture for Christians who spoke Latin rather than Greek
Distinctions: This was not one standardized Bible but a family of early Latin translations made before Jerome's Vulgate.
Books Included: Collections varied. Old Latin biblical traditions included books that later appeared in broader Western Christian Old Testaments.
As Christianity moved westward, more believers spoke Latin. Different translations appeared in different regions, and their wording could vary considerably. That growing variation was one reason a more consistent Latin text eventually became desirable.
The Latin Vulgate
Language: Latin
Date: Mainly around AD 382–405
Place: Rome and later Bethlehem
Translator: Jerome, with earlier Latin material retained or revised in some books
Sponsor: Pope Damasus I asked Jerome to revise the Latin Gospels
Purpose: To provide a more reliable and consistent Latin Bible
Distinctions: Jerome worked from Greek manuscripts for the New Testament and translated much of the Old Testament from Hebrew rather than simply revising the Greek-based Latin tradition. The Vulgate became the dominant Bible of Western Christianity for many centuries.
Books Included: Medieval Vulgate Bibles normally contained the broader collection later associated with the Roman Catholic Old Testament, although Jerome himself distinguished between the Hebrew books and certain other church books.
For hundreds of years, many Western Christians heard Scripture through the Vulgate. Its influence on Christian vocabulary, theology, worship, and eventually English Bible translation was enormous.
The Syriac Peshitta
Language: Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic
Date: Developed over several centuries, with major forms established by roughly the fourth and fifth centuries AD
Place: Syria and Mesopotamia
Translator: Unknown; probably the work of several translators and communities
Sponsor: No single known sponsor
Purpose: To provide Scripture for Syriac-speaking Christians
Distinctions: The Peshitta became the standard Bible of many Syriac Christian churches and preserves an ancient Eastern Christian translation tradition.
Books Included: Early forms of the Peshitta New Testament did not contain 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, or Revelation. Some later Syriac traditions supplied these books. Old Testament collections also developed within Syriac church traditions.
The Peshitta is a helpful reminder that Christianity was never only a Greek-and-Latin story. Ancient Christian communities east of the Roman Mediterranean were reading Scripture in their own languages very early.
The Ethiopian Ge’ez Bible Tradition
Language: Ge’ez
Date: Translation into Ge'ez developed during Late Antiquity, probably beginning between the fourth and sixth centuries, with the biblical tradition continuing to develop afterward; exact dates for individual books remain uncertain.
Place: The ancient Kingdom of Aksum and later Ethiopia
Translator: No single translator is known; the translation tradition developed over time
Sponsor: Ethiopian Christian communities and rulers supported the growth of Christianity and Scripture in Ge’ez
Purpose: To make Scripture available within the developing Ethiopian Christian church
Distinctions: One of the world's oldest continuing Christian biblical traditions. It preserved ancient writings that disappeared from many other Christian communities.
Books Included: The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo tradition has a broader canon than Protestant, Catholic, and most Eastern Orthodox traditions, including books such as 1 Enoch and Jubilees. Exact counting and arrangement can differ within Ethiopian usage.
It is better to speak of an Ethiopian biblical tradition than of one “Ethiopian Bible” translated by one person on one date. Its history developed over centuries, just as several other ancient biblical traditions did.
Early English Bibles
The Wycliffe Bible
Language: Middle English
Date: First versions around the 1380s; later revisions followed
Place: England
Translator: Produced by scholars associated with the Wycliffite movement; traditionally connected with John Wycliffe, Nicholas of Hereford, John Purvey, and others, although the exact contribution of individual translators is uncertain.
Sponsor: No royal or official church sponsorship
Purpose: To make Scripture understandable to English-speaking people
Distinctions: Translated from the Latin Vulgate rather than directly from Hebrew and Greek. Because this was before the printing press became available in Europe, Wycliffe Bibles were copied by hand.
Books Included: Followed the broader Vulgate collection, including books later called the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books.
The Wycliffe Bible represents an early desire to place Scripture into the language ordinary English-speaking people could understand.
William Tyndale's Translation
Language: Early Modern English
Date: New Testament, 1526; portions of the Old Testament followed
Place: Produced largely in continental Europe because Tyndale faced opposition in England
Translator: William Tyndale
Sponsor: No official English church or royal sponsorship
Purpose: To translate Scripture directly from Hebrew and Greek into clear English
Distinctions: Tyndale's English had a tremendous influence on later Bibles, especially the King James Version. Many phrases familiar to English Bible readers trace back to him.
Books Included: Tyndale completed the New Testament and substantial portions of the Old Testament but was executed before completing an entire Bible.
Tyndale wanted ordinary people to be able to read Scripture for themselves. His work became one of the major foundations of the English Bible tradition.
The Geneva Bible
Language: English
Date: 1560
Place: Geneva, Switzerland
Translator: English Protestant scholars living in exile, including William Whittingham and others
Sponsor: Produced by the English Protestant exile community rather than by an English monarch
Purpose: To provide an accurate, readable English Bible based on Hebrew and Greek and equipped for personal study
Distinctions: Famous for its study notes and for becoming popular among English-speaking Protestants. It was widely used before and alongside the King James Version.
Books Included: Early editions included the Apocrypha in a separate section between the Old and New Testaments.
The Geneva Bible is important because it reminds us that early Protestant Bibles did not necessarily remove the additional Old Testament writings from the printed volume. They were often placed separately.
The Douay-Rheims Bible
Language: English
Date: New Testament, 1582; Old Testament, 1609–1610
Place: Rheims and Douai, France
Translator: English Catholic scholars associated with the English College
Sponsor: Roman Catholic English exile community
Purpose: To provide an English Catholic Bible during the Reformation period
Distinctions: Translated primarily from the Latin Vulgate, while also consulting Hebrew and Greek. Its language strongly influenced English-speaking Catholic Christianity.
Books Included: The Roman Catholic canon, including the Deuterocanonical books.
Including the Douay-Rheims helps us remember that English Bible translation during the Reformation was not only a Protestant project. Catholic Christians were also producing Scripture in English.
The King James Version — KJV
Language: Early Modern English
Date: 1611
Place: England
Translator: Teams of about fifty scholars working in several groups
Sponsor: Commissioned by King James I of England
Purpose: To produce a Bible suitable for public worship and help reduce disagreement over competing English translations
Distinctions: Drew heavily from earlier English translations, especially Tyndale. Its style deeply shaped English language, worship, and literature.
Books Included: The original 1611 edition contained the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and New Testament. Many later Protestant editions stopped printing the Apocrypha.
That last point sometimes surprises modern readers. The original King James Bible was not printed in exactly the same form as many KJV Bibles sold today.
Modern English Bible Translations
Revised Version — RV
Language: English
Date: New Testament, 1881; Old Testament, 1885; Apocrypha, 1895
Place: Britain
Translator: British scholars with participation from American scholars
Sponsor: The revision was initiated through the Church of England's Convocation of Canterbury
Purpose: To revise the King James Version using improved knowledge of ancient languages and newly available manuscript evidence
Distinctions: The first major officially authorized revision of the King James tradition in Britain.
Books Included: The Protestant Old and New Testaments, with the Apocrypha also translated and published.
American Standard Version — ASV
Language: English
Date: 1901
Place: United States
Translator: American Revision Committee
Sponsor: Developed by the American Revision Committee; published in 1901 by Thomas Nelson & Sons.
Purpose: To produce an American form of the Revised Version
Distinctions: Known for staying quite close to the wording of Hebrew and Greek. It later became an important ancestor of translations such as the New American Standard Bible and Revised Standard Version.
Books Included: Standard editions contain the 66-book Protestant canon.
Revised Standard Version — RSV
Language: English
Date: New Testament, 1946; complete Bible, 1952; Apocrypha edition followed
Place: United States
Translator: An ecumenical committee of biblical scholars
Sponsor: National Council of Churches
Purpose: To update the American Standard Version into accurate but more readable modern English
Distinctions: Became influential across Protestant, Catholic, and scholarly settings and later provided a foundation for the New Revised Standard Version and English Standard Version.
Books Included: Published in several forms, including Protestant editions and editions containing the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books.
New American Standard Bible — NASB
Language: English
Date: New Testament, 1963; complete Bible, 1971; later major updates in 1995 and 2020
Place: United States
Translator: A team of biblical scholars
Sponsor: The Lockman Foundation
Purpose: To provide a modern translation that stays especially close to the wording and structure of the Hebrew and Greek
Distinctions: Often considered one of the more formal, or word-for-word, modern English translations.
Books Included: Standard editions contain the 66-book Protestant canon.
New International Version — NIV
Language: English
Date: New Testament, 1973; complete Bible, 1978; major later revisions
Place: International project with strong roots in the United States
Translator: An international and interdenominational team of scholars overseen by the Committee on Bible Translation
Sponsor: Originally supported by the New York Bible Society, now known as Biblica
Purpose: To produce an accurate Bible in natural, contemporary English
Distinctions: Uses a balanced approach between close wording and clear modern meaning. It became one of the most widely read English Bible translations.
Books Included: Standard NIV editions contain the 66-book Protestant canon.
New King James Version — NKJV
Language: English
Date: New Testament, 1979; complete Bible, 1982
Place: United States
Translator: A large group of scholars, pastors, and editors
Sponsor: Thomas Nelson Publishers
Purpose: To preserve much of the wording and style of the King James tradition while replacing older English expressions
Distinctions: Retains close ties to the manuscript tradition underlying the King James Version while often providing notes showing alternative textual readings.
Books Included: Standard editions contain the 66-book Protestant canon.
New Revised Standard Version — NRSV
Language: English
Date: 1989; an updated edition, the NRSVue, appeared in 2021
Place: United States with international and ecumenical participation
Translator: A broad committee of biblical scholars
Sponsor: National Council of Churches
Purpose: To update the Revised Standard Version using modern scholarship and language
Distinctions: Designed for broad Christian and academic use. It uses inclusive wording where translators believed the original language referred to people generally rather than only to males.
Books Included: Published in Protestant, Catholic, and editions containing the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical writings, making it useful across several Christian traditions.
New Living Translation — NLT
Language: English
Date: 1996, with later revisions
Place: United States
Translator: A large team of biblical scholars
Sponsor: Tyndale House Publishers
Purpose: To communicate the meaning of Scripture in clear, natural, everyday English
Distinctions: Places greater emphasis on expressing the meaning of a passage clearly rather than preserving ancient sentence structure word for word.
Books Included: Standard editions contain the 66-book Protestant canon.
English Standard Version — ESV
Language: English
Date: 2001
Place: United States
Translator: A translation committee and review scholars
Sponsor: Crossway
Purpose: To produce an “essentially literal” translation in the Revised Standard Version tradition
Distinctions: Generally stays relatively close to Hebrew and Greek wording while using modern English.
Books Included: Standard editions contain the 66-book Protestant canon. Catholic editions containing the Deuterocanonical books have also been produced.
Christian Standard Bible — CSB
Language: English
Date: 2017, developed from the earlier Holman Christian Standard Bible
Place: United States
Translator: A team of biblical scholars overseen by a translation committee
Sponsor: Holman Bible Publishers / B&H Publishing
Purpose: To balance accuracy to the original languages with clear contemporary English
Distinctions: Describes its approach as optimal equivalence, seeking a balance between close wording and natural readability.
Books Included: Standard editions contain the 66-book Protestant canon.
This is the translation we have generally used for Scripture quotations throughout How We Got the Bible.
New American Bible, Revised Edition — NABRE
Language: English
Date: Current revised Old Testament and complete edition published in 2011, building on earlier New American Bible translations
Place: United States
Translator: Catholic biblical scholars working in committees
Sponsor: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and related Catholic biblical organizations
Purpose: To provide a modern English Catholic translation from the original languages
Distinctions: An official Catholic translation widely used for study and private reading in the United States. The American Catholic lectionary also comes from the New American Bible translation tradition, although the liturgical text is not identical in every respect to the NABRE printed today.
Books Included: The Roman Catholic canon, including the Deuterocanonical books.
New English Translation — NET Bible
Language: English
Date: First complete edition, 2005; later revised editions followed
Place: United States
Translator: A team of biblical scholars
Sponsor: Biblical Studies Press
Purpose: To provide a modern translation with unusually extensive notes explaining translation and manuscript decisions
Distinctions: Best known for its tens of thousands of translators' notes, which allow readers to see why one wording was chosen over another.
Books Included: The standard NET Bible contains the 66-book Protestant canon.
One Bible, Many Languages
Looking over this history, we can see that Bible translation has never been one straight line from Hebrew and Greek into modern English. Scripture traveled through Jewish and Greek communities, Syriac-speaking churches, Latin Christianity, ancient Ethiopia, medieval Europe, and eventually into many different forms of English.
Some translations were sponsored by kings. Others were produced by churches, scholarly committees, publishers, or communities working without official approval. Some aimed to stay very close to the original wording, while others tried to make the meaning easier for ordinary readers to understand. They also did not always contain exactly the same collection of books.
Yet the reason for translating Scripture has remained remarkably similar across the centuries.
People wanted to understand it.
That began long before Christianity, when Jewish people translated their Scriptures into Greek, and it continued as Christians carried the message of Jesus into new languages and cultures. The translations are not identical, but together they tell the remarkable story of people trying, generation after generation, to hear God's Word in words they could understand.
