Exciting new Bible translation!
Yes, work on the Open English Translation of the Bible is proceeding and the first rough draft of the New Testament is expected by the end of 2023 (and then hopefully released by the end of 2024).
You can read more details in the Overview, but some of the distinctives of the OET include:
- a Readers’ Version and a very Literal Version side-by-side
- freely available to use, copy, print, adapt, or retranslate—no need to ask for permission
- a commitment to accuracy and high-quality, and to wrestle with the text to try to determine the likely intent of the various biblical writers
- designed from the beginning to connect with other resources including links to the original manuscripts
- not bound by church jargon, unnecessary tradition, and following the crowd, in an attempt to communicate well to non-churched readers, yet to provoke and stimulate seasoned Bible readers
Currently as of early-December 2023 we have a first draft of around 85% of the New Testament available. This is enough that you can get an idea of the style that we’re aiming for, although some decisions (even some major ones) are still in flux. But we’re also excited about the way that every word in the OET Literal Version is linked to the Greek word that it’s translated from, and as part of the OET commitment to transparency, with a few clicks (and with the help of a companion website) you can go all the way from our text to a photograph of the original Greek manuscript that it’s translated from. Try clicking on a word in our Reader.
Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash
We’re currently looking for volunteers to help with many aspects of this work including logo and website design, as well as help with the translation itself, i.e., consultants, translators, checkers, authors, note-writers, etc. If you’d like to help with a revolutionary, new Bible project, please look for more information on our Partners page.
We’re also looking for software developers. If you’re a Python or Flutter/Dart or other Android developer and would like to help with this vital side of the project, please please look for more information on our Partners page. We’re also after Rust and Golang devs.
Verse of the day
And the message became a human and lived here among us and we saw his greatness—the greatness of an only child of the father—full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:14, OET-RV, early draft version)
And the message became flesh and sheltered among us, and we_saw the glory of_him, a_glory as of_an_only_begotten with a_father, full of_grace and truth. (Jn 1:14, OET-LV)
Note: You’re probably more used to Jesus/Yeshua being called ‘the Word’ (than ‘the message’), but in modern English, ‘words’ are the things on this page. Hundreds of years ago, someone decided that the Greek word ‘λόγος’ (logos) meant ‘word’ in English and many translations have naively followed that, but we’ve known for a long time now that ‘message’ or ‘speech’ (or similar), would be a more accurate translation in most contexts. While most older Bibles still use ‘word’, the new OET uses a better translation that makes the concept much easier for the modern reader to understand.