Versions

List of major English Bible versions along with their dates of publication and a brief note for each. The list is arranged in chronological order:

Early English Translations

  • Wycliffe Bible (1395): First full English Bible; translated from Latin Vulgate
  • Tyndale New Testament (1526): First English NT from Greek; parts of OT before his execution
  • Coverdale Bible (1535): First complete printed English Bible
  • Matthew Bible (1537): Based on Tyndale and Coverdale
  • Great Bible (1539): Authorized by Henry VIII
  • Geneva Bible (1560): Used by Shakespeare and Pilgrims
  • Bishops’ Bible (1568): Church of England’s official Bible before KJV
  • Douay-Rheims Bible (1610): Catholic translation from Latin Vulgate
  • King James Version (KJV), 1611: Also called the Authorized Version; highly influential

Revisions & Modernizations

  • Revised Version (RV), 1885: First English revision of KJV
  • American Standard Version (ASV), 1901: U.S. edition of the RV
  • Revised Standard Version (RSV), 1952: Revision of ASV
  • New King James Version (NKJV), 1982: Modern English update of KJV
  • New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), 1989: Inclusive language; academic and ecumenical
  • English Standard Version (ESV), 2001: Conservative evangelical update of RSV

Modern Dynamic & Thought-for-Thought Translations

  • New English Bible (NEB), 1970: British scholarly translation
  • Jerusalem Bible (JB), 1966: Catholic Bible, translated from French
  • New American Bible (NAB), 1970: Catholic Bible for the U.S.
  • Today’s English Version (TEV), 1976: Simple English; for evangelism and ESL
  • Good News Bible (GNB), 2001: Improved TEV’s image with paraphrased public perception.
  • New International Version (NIV), 1978: Very popular; balance of readability and accuracy
  • New Century Version (NCV), 1987: For younger readers; clear English
  • New Living Translation (NLT), 1996: Paraphrased and then formalized for readability
  • The Message (MSG), 2002: Highly idiomatic paraphrase
  • Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), 2004: Evangelical translation
  • Christian Standard Bible (CSB), 2017: Updated version of HCSB
  • Common English Bible (CEB), 2011: Ecumenical, easy-to-read language