Published 2000 (modern revision ongoing)
World English Bible (WEB)
The World English Bible is a freely-distributable, modern-English revision of the ASV. It keeps the literal, formal-equivalence approach of its parent translation while replacing archaic 'thee/thou' language with contemporary speech.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
Translators
Rainbow Missions, Inc. — a volunteer revision committee
Source text
Updated revision of the American Standard Version (1901), checked against the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Old Testament) and the Majority Text (New Testament).
Language
Modern English (early 21st century)
Copyright
Public domain — free to read, share, and quote.
History
- 1901 — American Standard Version (ASV) is published in the United States, building on the English Revised Version (1881–1894).
- 1997 — Rainbow Missions, Inc. begins a project to update the ASV into modern English while preserving its public-domain status.
- 2000 — First public release of the World English Bible.
- Ongoing — A small volunteer committee continues to refine readings; the WEB has no copyright restrictions and may be reproduced, adapted, or quoted freely.
Strengths
- Modern, readable English without sacrificing literal correspondence to the original languages.
- Fully public domain — no permissions required for any use, commercial or otherwise.
- Includes deuterocanonical books in the Apocrypha edition, useful for ecumenical study.
Notes for readers
- Spelling of personal names follows the Hebrew pronunciation (e.g. 'Yahweh' rendered as 'Yahweh' in some printings, 'LORD' in the standard edition used here).
- The Majority Text basis for the New Testament differs slightly from the Critical Text used by most modern translations; differences are minor and footnoted.
Compare with
King James Version (KJV)
Commissioned by King James I of England in 1604 and published in 1611, the King James Version (also called the Authorized Version) is the most influential English Bible ever produced. Its rhythms shaped English literature for four centuries.
American Standard Version (ASV)
The American Standard Version is the American counterpart to the English Revised Version (1881–1885). It became the most widely-used scholarly translation of the early 20th century and is the parent text of the RSV, NASB, and WEB.
Bible in Basic English (BBE)
The Bible in Basic English uses a deliberately small vocabulary so that readers with limited English — children, English-as-a-second-language students, and the visually impaired who rely on read-aloud — can follow the whole biblical narrative without stumbling over rare words.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
Robert Young's translation is famous for its extreme literalness: Hebrew and Greek verb tenses are mapped onto English continuous and perfect forms even when the result reads strangely. It is a study Bible, not a devotional one — invaluable for tracing what the original languages actually say.
Douay-Rheims (Challoner Revision) (DRA)
The Douay-Rheims is the historic Catholic English Bible. Translated from the Latin Vulgate by English exiles in France, it predates the King James Version and was the standard Catholic English text for centuries. The widely-read modern form is Bishop Challoner's mid-1700s revision.
Darby Bible (DBY)
John Nelson Darby — the founder of the Plymouth Brethren and an influential dispensationalist — produced a careful, scholarly translation aimed at serious students who could not read the original languages. His footnotes are unusually detailed for a single-translator project.