The First English Bible

The Bible in the English language is among the great achievements of all time, not only as a masterpiece of inspired writing but as a witness to the place of the Scriptures in the life of the English-speaking peoples, and Bruce's work, recognised for 30 years as the best on its subject, documents its history and shows the impact of some of the translations on the use and development of the English language. Formerly The English Bible, this comprehensive study of the various English translationsof the Bible is again available in paperback. The author traces the story from the earliest partial translations in Saxon times, through Wycliffe, Tyndale and The King James Version, to the publication of such contemporary versions as The New English Bible, The New American Standard Version, The Living Bible, and The Good News Bible. Authoritative and highly readable, this remains one of the standard works on its subject.

From the dramatic find in the caves of Qumran, the world's most ancient version of the Bible allows us to read the scriptures as they were in the time of Jesus.

Readers will gain even more appreciation for their Bible when they see how God directed its development, from the original authors through today’s translations. How Did We Get the Bible? provides an easy-to-read historical overview, covering the Holy Spirit’s inspiration of the writers, the preservation of the documents, the compilation of the canon, and the efforts to bring the Bible to people in their own language. This fascinating story, populated by intriguing characters, will encourage readers with God’s faithfulness—to His own Word, and to those of us who read it. It’s a fantastic, value-priced resource for individuals and ministries!

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

Traces the history of the Bible from the earliest manuscripts to contemporary translations.

The easy accessibility of the Bible in most of the world's major languages can obscure a dramatic and sometimes unexpected story. In Know How We Got Our Bible, scholars Ryan Reeves and Charles Hill trace the history of the Bible from its beginnings to the present day, highlighting key figures and demonstrating overall the reliability of Scripture. Reeves and Hill begin with the writing of the Bible's books (including authorship and dating), move into the formation of the Old and New Testaments (including early transmission and the development of the canon), and conclude with several chapters on Bible translation from the Latin Vulgate to the ongoing work of translation around the world today. Written simply and focused on the overarching story of how the Bible came to us today, Know How We Got Our Bible is an excellent introduction for formal students and lay learners alike. Each chapter includes reflection questions and recommended readings for further learning.

A fascinating, lively account of the making of the King James Bible. James VI of Scotland -- now James I of England -- came into his new kingdom in 1603. Trained almost from birth to manage rival political factions, he was determined not only to hold his throne, but to avoid the strife caused by religious groups that was bedevilling most European countries. He would hold his God-appointed position and unify his kingdom. Out of these circumstances, and involving the very people who were engaged in the bitterest controversies, a book of extraordinary grace and lasting literary appeal was created: the King James Bible. 47 scholars from Cambridge, Oxford and London translated the Bible, drawing from many previous versions, and created what many believe to be the greatest prose work ever written in English -- the product of a culture in a peculiarly conflicted era. This was the England of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Jonson and Bacon; but also of extremist Puritans, the Gunpowder plot, the Plague, of slum dwellings and crushing religious confines. Quite how this astonishing translation emerges is the central question of this book. Far more than Shakespeare, this Bible helped to create and shape the language. It is the origin of many of our most familiar phrases, and the foundations of the English-speaking world. It was a generous and deliberate decision to make the Bible available to the common man: not an immediate commercial success, but which later became a bestseller, and has remained one ever since. Adam Nicolson gives a fascinating and dramatic account of the early years of the first Stewart ruler, and the scholars who laboured for seven years to create the world's greatest book; immersing us in a world of ingratiating bishops, a fascinating monarch and London at a time unlike any other.

William Tyndale's translation of the New Testament is one of the most influential works in English literature. His unauthorized translations of the entire New Testament and a substantial part of the Old Testament were smuggled into England, where an eager public risked their lives to read them.

If you're not reading the same bible as the first Christians in 144 A.D. you're reading just another book. The first Christian bible is not only the foundation of faith that virtually every denomination traces its canonical roots back to - it's also the only place you'll find the gospel preached by Paul the Apostle that he specifically references numerous times: "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:8-9) In addition to the Gospel of the Lord you'll also read in their original, unedited form Galatians, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Romans, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, Laodiceans, Colossians, Philemon and Philippians. That is the entirety of the first Christian bible as it was gathered and transcribed in 144 A.D. and as it is now. Numbered chapters and verses in standard bible format. The Very First Bible also acts as a cryptographic key, allowing us to see which scriptures were edited and added as it ballooned from one gospel and ten books into 73 books and four gospels over time. For the first time you will read the first Christian bible exactly as it was transcribed in 144 A.D. and one of the first things you'll notice is that it doesn't contain the Torah* (Old Testament). You will see the original Gospel of the Lord that was preached by the Apostle Paul and Scriptures reveal God through Jesus, as it happened. After 2,000-years of 'interpretive editing, ' additions, deletions, theological focus groups and sloppy translations, the modern bible has more in common with modern art than it does with the very first Christian bible. This special first edition includes illustrations along with a Study and Reference Guide where you'll learn about the key people and events surrounding The Very First Bible and Marcion of Sinope, the man that religious scholars say is responsible for the format of the New Testament. *The apostles agreed to exclude the Torah (Old Testament) law from Christian canon at the Council of Jerusalem in 48 A.D. after determining it was antithetical to the gospel of Christ. It was later added to the first Christian bible in 325 A.D. by order of a pagan Roman emperor at the Council of Nicaea. This subject and others are covered more fully in the study guide included in the book.

Presents the history of the translation of the Bible into English, from the fourteenth century to the twentieth century.