A new Bible translation: 10-4-11

This is the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Version of the Bible. By contrast, most of the English translations of the Bible won't celebrate their 400th anniversary for more than 300 years.

That's because the explosion of translations didn't really begin until the 1950s.

But one new translation that will celebrate its 400th anniversary in 2411 is the Common English Bible, just published.

I haven't had a chance to do an in-depth reading of it yet, but I hope soon to add it to my translation collection because what I've read so far I like.

And some pastors I know have expressed appreciation for its clarity.

So let's sample just a couple of passages, starting with the beginning of the Beatitudes in the New Testament book of Matthew:

³ “Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

⁴ “Happy are people who grieve, because they will be made glad.

⁵ “Happy are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth.

⁶ “Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full.

⁷ “Happy are people who show mercy, because they will receive mercy.

⁸ “Happy are people who have pure hearts, because they will see God.

⁹ “Happy are people who make peace, because they will be called God’s children.

¹⁰ “Happy are people whose lives are harassed because they are righteous, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

¹¹ “Happy are you when people insult you and harass you and speak all kinds of bad and false things about you, all because of me. ¹² Be full of joy and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven. In the same way, people harassed the prophets who came before you.

Or how about the poetic (in the KJV and other translations) beginning to the Gospel of John:

1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. ² The Word was with God in the beginning. ³ Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word nothing came into being. What came into being ⁴ through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.

Finally, here's the opening of the Bible's first book, Genesis:

1 When God began to create the heavens and the earth— ² the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea, and God’s wind swept over the waters— ³ God said, “ Let there be light.” And so light appeared. ⁴ God saw how good the light was. God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God named the light Day and the darkness Night. There was evening and there was morning: the first day.

The wording seems clean, simple. And yet it is not without a sense of metaphor, or poetic vision. So explore this new Bible at the link I've given you and see if it's one you'd like to own.

I'm anxious to dig deeper into this version. If you already have, let me know what you think.

By the way, another way to explore the Common English Bible is to have a look at what my friends at ReadTheSpirit.com had to say about it recently here.

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ANGELS, REPORT FOR DUTY

Do you have a guardian angel? Pope Benedict XVI said the other day that everyone has one. If so, sometimes I think mine must call in sick or drift off to sleep on the job.