If you have a web site you would like included here, please e-mail links@energion.com.  Let me know why your site is important.  Submissions that simply read “look at my site” or are unrelated to any of the links pages will be deleted.

Learning Tools and Resources

 BTE Ministries

Bible Translation and Exegesis Ministries provides online resources, an online course, and podcasts on Biblical Greek and other Bible study topics.

Greek Bible Texts Online

The Resurgence Greek Project

Greek text with references and grammar information available word by word.

A video review follows (from the Energion.com Podcast):

MyBibleVersion.com has a summary page on the HCSB.

Note:

Conservative/Evangelical Sites

Sites that generally support Biblical inerrancy or something close to it but also accept the use of a variety of modern versions. This will include sites that prefer a formal equivalance or literal approach to Bible translation.

Blogs

There is one essential place to start in the blogging world on Bible translations, and that’s the Better Bibles Blog, recently set up in their new home on WordPress.  It’s a group blog, most of the participants are active Bible translators, you will get a variety of views, and their links and book recommendations are well chosen.

I will also mention my own blog, the Participatory Bible Study Blog, which includes quite a number of links to other blogs and web sites as well.

Directory Entries

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Origen and Origenism
  
  See reference to the full “New Advent Catholic Supersite” in the denominational links section. I have included this direct link to an article on Origen because he figures greatly in the spurious arguments of KJV-Only supporters concerning the early corruption of the Bible.
• Which Bible is the Word of God?
  
  Article by Elgin Hushbeck, Jr. It is conservative and also very informative. This comes from the Consider Christianity web site.
• The Text of the New Testament
  
  Basic information on the New Testament Text from the conservative point of view. From the Consider Christianity web site.
• KJV Only Advocates Refuted
  
  Good information, but perhaps a little shrill for my taste. It does provide a good counterpoint for the tone of the KJV Only advocates (though not nearly as intense as some.

Books

• A User’s Guide To Bible Translations: Making The Most Of Different Versions
  The conservative evangelical view. This book is very helpful and accessible.  I continue to recommend it to evangelical readers some years after first suggesting it.

KJV Only

Those sites that support the view that the King James Version is the only representation of the Word of God in English. This excludes those who would modify it for language, or who follow the majority text position. It also excludes those who think that the KJV is the best translation, but do not hold it to be exclusively inspired.

Directory Entries

• Dial-the-Truth Ministries a Christian Resource and Tract Ministry
  
  Strongly KJV-Only and very fundamentalist. This is a good site to start from when looking at the beliefs of the KJV-Only group. I rate it a five on quality because of its clear advocacy of its position and its extensive library.
• Trinitarian Bible Society
  
  This is not really a KJV-Only site, but rather “KJV is best.” You will find plenty of material here against various modern versions, and in favor of the KJV. I think their arguments are close enough to KJVO, however, to justify their inclusion in this section.

Books

• Which Version Is The Bible?
  This is one of the worst pieces of writing I have ever encountered. The errors of fact and logic are so pervasive that there is little reason to bother enumerating them. If you are taken in by this type of writing, then perhaps you deserve what you get. For further information on the specific errors I allege, see my Bible Translations FAQ, questions 21, 24 and 25. (HN)
• New Age Bible Versions: An Exhaustive Documentation of the Message, Men&Manuscripts Moving Mankind to the Antichrist’s One World Religion
  This is an amazing work. Many people are impressed with what they see as its scholarship, which consists of large numbers of charts and lists, but these charts and lists are very deceptive, because they are carefully designed to make the author’s point, and not to reflect the actual truth about the situation. If you want misinformation, read this book!
• What Today’s Christian Needs to Know About the New International Version

General References on Bible Translation

Material that is of interest to researchers on Bible translation. This material may or may not advocate a particular position. I have included these sites on this list because they provide useful material of interest to more than one position in the Bible translation debate.

Directory Entries

• Interpreting Ancient Manuscripts
  
  An excellent general resource site on New Testament Manuscripts. From their description:

  ---

  The main focus of the web is on the process used to study the ancient manuscripts upon which the New Testament is based. While the language discussed is Greek, almost everything is explained with transliterations into English and, where applicable, translations from standard English Bibles.
• American Bible Society
  
  American Bible Society web site, a source for materials on Bible translations, various English translations and Bibles in various other languages.
• Bible Gateway
  
  Bible Gateway is a great source of resources on the Bible, including online Bibles in a number of versions.
• Energion.com Bible Version Selection Tool
  
  Energion.com tool to help choose Bible versions, using a set of criteria chosen by the user to rank Bible versions.
• Bible Translations
  
  Home of the Bible translations mailing list, and an excellent resource, both as a site and as a list, for information about Bible translations.
• Translation Comparison Charts
  These charts are more visual and somewhat simpler to follow than those provided by the Bible Version Selection Tool.  Use these to get a broader picture quickly.

Books

• What’s in a Version?
  Henry E. Neufeld writes about Bible translations from his knowledge as a student of Biblical languages, and his experience teaching them to laypeople and discussing them on the internet. Many people have questions about translations because they do not understand how translations are produced. Much of the material available is either polarizing, or is provided to advocate a particular version. What’s in a Version? strives to provide a basis for lay students to understand how translations are made so they can understand the arguments and become confident of the Bible version they choose to use for reading and study. Henry is president of Pacesetters Bible School and has BA and MA degrees in Biblical Languages. He writes from a deep desire to make the Bible more accessible to the laity. He is also the author of Identifying Your Gifts and Service, co-author of When 3 to 8 Gather, and editor of the Participatory Study Series pamphlets.
  Energion.com Review
• The Bible in English Translation: An Essential Guide (Essential Guides)
  A good guide including some history, translation methods and surveys of the major modern versions.
• Choosing a Bible: A Guide to Modern English Translations and Editions

Moderate to Liberal Views on Translation

These sites emphasize the moderate, by which I mean that they do not advocate particular versions, and do not denigrate particular styles of translation. They may lean more toward functional equivalence (dynamic equivalence).

Directory Entries

• Energion.com: Bible Translations FAQ
  
  Henry Neufeld’s FAQ file on Bible translations. This is fairly hard hitting with some humor. It may seem harsh to some, but each question answered is one that has been asked and answered many, many times.

  Note: Henry Neufeld is owner of Energion Publications and of the Energion.com domain.

Majority Text

Sites that advocate the position that Bible translations should be made from the majority text. This differs from the KJV Only position in that new translations are acceptable, and the specific English translation is not regarded as extraordinarily inspired, but the translators believe the source text should be the majority text. Majority text also differs in some instances from the Textus Receptus.

Directory Entries

Anti-KJV Only Sites

Sites that specifically respond to the KJV-Only position. I site might easily be listed here and also in the Conservative/Evangelical category.

Directory Entries

• The KJV Only Issue
  
  Very strong site with resources on issues of Bible translation. Includes directories of further links on the topic
• KJV Only?
  
  Evangelical response to the KJV Only position.
• The King James Only Resource Center
  
  Despite its title, this site is actually anti-KJV Only. Good resources, strong tone.

Books

• The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations?
  An excellent guide the the King James Version only controversy, from a conservative, reformed scholar. Good, broad-based coverage of all the major issues with plenty of specific examples. You’ll learn a good deal about translation in general from this book as well.
• A Critique Of Gail Riplinger’s Scholarship And KJV Onlyism

Terminology

Formal Equivalence

In Bible translation, the attempt to make a translation as close to the forms of the original langue as possible, also known as literal translation. Examples of formal equivalence Bibles include the NASB, NKJV, ESV, and NRSV. Sometimes Functional Equivalence is called FE because at one time it was contrasted to Dynamic Equivalence (DE).

Functional Equivalence

In Bible translation, the attempt to make a translation have as close as possible to the same impact on the readers as the original did, or to convey as precisely as possible the same meaning. Often this involves departing from the forms of the source language. Also known as Dynamic Equivalence. Sometimes functional equivalence translations are called paraphrases, but this is incorrect. Some examples of functional equivalence translations are the REB, NLT and the CEV.

Majority Text

The majority text in the New Testament is a text made up by simply counting the manuscripts supporting a particular reading, and accepting as correct the reading contained in the majority. This is done irrespective of the age or the genealogy of the particular manuscript. Contrast with the eclectic text approach.

Eclectic Text

A text made up by weighing the various manuscripts according to their age and ancestry, but not favoring any particular manuscript or group. The readings are each weighed individually.