8. The English Bible

8.1. English translations

Because there are many English translations of the Bible, let the reader know which version you are referring to, or whether the translation of a certain passage is your own. Usually the best place to do that is after the first quote reproduced in the text by means of a footnote or endnote.

If several different translations are used you may include the abbreviation of the translation name within the text, inside the parentheses giving the scripture reference after a passage is quoted. The abbreviation appears in capital letters, but in smaller type. A list of abbreviations of some of the more common English translations of the Bible is given in below in Section 8.3.

Examples:

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not” (1Co 13:4 KJV).

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy” (1Co 13:4 NIV).

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant…” (1Co 13:4 NRSV).

8.2. Use of Abbreviations

8.2.1. The full names of books of the Bible are used at the beginning of a sentence and usually are spelled out in the text, unless there are so many references that shortened titles are needed to save space. Examples:

“The Apocalypse of John of Patmos is a prophecy of the same type (Rev. 1:3; 22:19).”⁵⁷

“The heading at the beginning of the Book of Isaiah has a very important purpose and repays careful study before we turn to the prophecies themselves.”

BUT

“Finally we must remember that the book is an integral part of Biblical tradition, the first of the five prophetic books (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the “Twelve”), and must be read in that larger context too.”

8.2.2. When quoting specific references to biblical texts (including chapter and verse numbers), standard abbreviations are preferred and the citation usually is given in parentheses.

“We are reminded of those stories where people are saved by their ‘righteous acts’: e.g. the righteous few in Sodom (Gen. 18:22-33); Noah, Daniel and Job (Ezek. 14:14).”

A list of biblical books and their abbreviations is found in section 8.4.

8.2.3. The words verse(s) (v., vv.) and chapter(s) (ch., chs.) may be abbreviated in the text. However, the use of complete words or abbreviations should be consistent throughout the text. Examples:

“The description of judgment in verses 11-13…” OR

“The description of judgment in vv. 11-13…”

“The rest of the description carries on where chapter 5 left off.” OR

“The rest of the description carries on where ch. 5 left off.”

At the beginning of a sentence, the complete word is preferred.

“Verse 13, in which the prophet angrily criticizes the king, informs us that Ahaz has been ‘wearying men’…”

8.3 Bible Versions in English58

AMPLIFIED Amplified Bible (1958-1965)

ASV American Standard Version (1901)

AV Authorized Version (1611; same as KJV)

BARCLAY The New Testament (Barclay; 1968-69)

CEV Contemporary English Version

ERV English Revised Version (NT 1881; OT 1885; Apoc. 1895; same as RV)

GENEVA Geneva Bible (1560)

GNB Good News Bible (same as TEV; NT 1966; OT 1976)

GOODSPEED The Complete Bible: An American Translation. E. J. Goodspeed

JB Jerusalem Bible (French 1956; English 1966)

KJV King James Version (same as Authorized Version; 1611)

LB The Living Bible (NT 1967; OT 1971)

LB The Book (same as The Living Bible)

MLB Modern Language Bible (same as New Berkeley Version; 1969)

MLB New Berkeley Version in Modern English (same as Modern

Language Bible; 1969)

MOFFAT A New Translation of the Bible (Moffat; NT 1913; OT 1924)

NAB New American Bible (NT 1941; OT 1969)

NASB New American Standard Bible (NT 1963; OT 1971)

NAV New American Version

NEB New English Bible (NT 1961; OT and Apoc. 1970)

NIV New International Version (NT 1973; OT 1978)

NIVSB NIV Study Bible (1985)

NJB New Jerusalem Bible

NKJV New King James Version (1979)

NSRB New Scofield Reference Bible (KJV; 1967)

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NWT New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures

(Jehovah’s Witnesses; 1961)

OAB Oxford Annotated Bible (RSV; 1962)

PHILLIPS The New Testament in Modern English (Phillips; 1958)

REB Revised English Bible

RSV Revised Standard Version (NT 1946; OT 1952; Apoc. 1957)

RV Revised Version (NT 1881; OT 1885; Apoc. 1895)

SRB Scofield Reference Bible (KJV; 1909)

TEV Today’s English Version (NT 1966; OT 1976)

WEYMOUTH Weymouth’s New Testament in Modern Speech (1903)