Confirmation Part 2/10: English Bibles
This is part of a series of mix-and-match curriculum resource for UMC Confirmation Classes and Teachers
Also available in paperback and ebook
The Bible in English
For most of Christian history, ordinary people couldn't read the Bible in their own language. Scripture existed in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (the Vulgate), and access was controlled by the church and the educated. Translating the Bible into English was a long, costly, and sometimes deadly process — people gave their lives for the conviction that everyone should be able to read Scripture for themselves.
Key translations:
Wycliffe (1382) — Oxford scholar; produced the first complete English Bible; condemned as a heretic for it
Tyndale (1520s–1530s) — Oxford scholar; translated the Greek New Testament and part of the Hebrew Old Testament; had to print it in Germany because it was too dangerous in England; eventually captured and executed for his work
Coverdale (1535) — Priest and friar; drew on the Vulgate, Luther, and Tyndale; dedicated his Bible to the King
Rheims-Douay (1582–1609) — Produced for Roman Catholic refugees in England; later revised by Challoner
King James (1611) — Commissioned by the British King; became the standard English Bible for centuries
Wesley's revision of the King James for Methodist use
Dead Sea Scrolls & the Critical Revolution — 20th-century discoveries transformed biblical scholarship
Many English Bibles help us reconstruct an idea of the original Hebrew and Greek texts.
Modern translations:
No single English translation can fully capture texts written in ancient Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. We need multiple translations — and we've always needed them. The impulse to hold multiple accounts of the same truth is written into the DNA of our scriptures themselves.
Widely used study and worship translations: NRSV, CEB, NIV, NEB, NABRE, NLT, ESV, King James (1769 — the version most people actually know), New King James, The Message, Tanakh
(Note: The New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition includes the full canon.)
Cultural and accessible translations: Black Bible Chronicles, Pidgin Bible, Cotton Patch Gospel
Bibles for younger or visual readers:
Action Bible — A graphic-novel-style retelling drawn from an existing translation; widely available in churches and homes
The Hero Bible (anime style) — Manga-style illustration; the paraphrasing is loose and should be read with that in mind
The Hero Bible (Lion) — Hard to find; not widely available
The Brick Bible — Scripture illustrated with LEGO; the author, Elbe Spurling, has since come out as a trans woman — worth knowing
NIrV — The New International Reader's Version; a solid, readable translation designed for younger readers, available in engaging study Bible formats
When we hand someone a Bible without explaining what translation it is and what choices it makes, we're asking them to treat one team's interpretive decisions as the whole story.
This is part of a series of mix-and-match curriculum resource for UMC Confirmation Classes and Teachers
