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The Bible The efforts of translating the Bible from its original languages into over 2,000 others have spanned more than two millennia. Partial translations of the Bible into languages of the English people can be traced back to the end of the 7th century, translations into Old English and Middle English as well as the language we know today. Over 450 versions have been created over time.  Although John Wycliff is often credited with the first translation of the Bible into English, there were, in fact, many translations of large parts of the Bible centuries before Wycliff's work. Toward the end of the seventh century, the Venerable Bede began a translation of Scripture into Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon). Aldhelm (AD 640–709), likewise, translated the complete Book of Psalms and large portions of other scriptures into Old English. In the 11th century, Abbot Ćlfric translated much of the Old Testament into Old English. The Bible as used by the majority of Christians includes the Rabbinic Hebrew Scripture and the New Testament, which relates the life and teachings of Jesus, the letters of the Apostle Paul and other disciples to the early church and the Book of Revelation. The New Testament is a collection of 27 books, of 4 different genres of Christian literature (Gospels, one account of the Acts of the Apostles, Epistles and an Apocalypse). Jesus is its central figure. The New Testament was written primarily in Koine Greek in the early Christian period, though a minority argue for Aramaic primacy. Nearly all Christians recognize the New Testament (as stated below) as canonical scripture. These books can be grouped into: The Gospels * Synoptic Gospels o Gospel According to Matthew, Mt o Gospel According to Mark, Mk o Gospel According to Luke, Lk * Gospel According to John, Jn * Acts of the Apostles, Ac (continues Luke) Pauline Epistles * Epistle to the Romans, Ro * First Epistle to the Corinthians, 1Co * Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 2Co * Epistle to the Galatians, Ga * Epistle to the Ephesians, Ep * Epistle to the Philippians, Pp * Epistle to the Colossians, Cl * First Epistle to the Thessalonians, 1Th * Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, 2Th * Pastoral Epistles o First Epistle to Timothy, 1Ti o Second Epistle to Timothy, 2Ti o Epistle to Titus, Tt * Epistle to Philemon, Pm * Epistle to the Hebrews, He General Epistles, also called Jewish Epistles * Epistle of James, Jm * First Epistle of Peter, 1Pe * Second Epistle of Peter, 2Pe * First Epistle of John, 1Jn * Second Epistle of John, 2Jn * Third Epistle of John, 3Jn * Epistle of Jude, Jd * Revelation, or the Apocalypse Re The order of these books varies according to Church tradition. The New Testament books are ordered differently in the Catholic/Protestant tradition, the Lutheran tradition, the Slavonic tradition, the Syriac tradition and the Ethiopian tradition. Original language The books of the New Testament were written in Koine Greek, the language of the earliest extant manuscripts, even though some authors often included translations from Hebrew and Aramaic texts. Certainly the Pauline Epistles were written in Greek for Greek-speaking audiences. See Greek primacy. Some scholars believe that some books of the Greek New Testament (in particular, the Gospel of Matthew) are actually translations of a Hebrew or Aramaic original. Of these, a small number accept the Syriac Peshitta as representative of the original. See Aramaic primacy. Bibles: 21st Century King James Version Text American Standard Version Text Amplified Bible Text Contemporary English Version Text Audio (NT) Darby Translation Text Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition. Text (with Apocrypha) English Standard Version Text Audio Holman Christian Standard Bible Text King James Version Text Audio New American Standard Bible Text Audio New Century Version Text New International Reader's Version Text New International Version Text Audio New International Version - UK Text New King James Version Text New Living Translation Text The Message Text Today's New International Version Text Audio Worldwide English (New Testament) Text (NT) Wycliffe New Testament Text (NT) Young's Literal Translation |
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