After briefly getting started back in 2010, the OET translation has been on hold for several years as we were asked to help with other projects, but we were finally able to resume full-time work on the OET in July 2022. Any Bible translation takes several years of work, but the first draft of the New Testament was completed in March 2024, and Old Testament translation is ongoing. Further progress depends on how many volunteers we can recruit to help. (For example, without any other software developers, time has to be taken off translation to develop sample websites and apps in order to even display the first draft.)

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Why are there so many translations?

Well, Christians have a long history of devotion to the task of making the Bible available in a language that people can easily understand—many suffered and some even died in their zeal to make the scriptures available to others.

However, assuming that you’re really asking about ENGLISH translations here, there are two main reasons:

Language changes. Words change meaning. Some old words and grammatical forms drop out of common use. Some old words gain new shades of meaning and new words are introduced. So a dated translation may not speak well to the current generation and new translations are required.
Translations target a particular audience. There are many decisions to be made when doing a translation, and the translators usually follow a series of policies which are decided by thinking about what audience they are hoping to reach. The best Bible for a teenager to use for personal reading and devotions may not be the same one that a Bible teacher will want to preach from. Protestants may make different translation decisions from Catholics, and similarly for other distinct groups. A publishing company might want to target a certain segment of the market. Hence, many different translations arise.

Someone once said, “Reading a translation is like looking at the back of a tapestry.” While we strongly encourage the study of the Jewish and Christian scriptures in the original languages, this isn’t practical for everyone. Hence we need translations into our modern languages despite the shortfalls (and potential confusion).

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Why is the OET different from other translations?

Well, there are several reasons:

It is a 21^st century translation so it is designed to be relevant and up-to-date
It is freely available and can be used on paper as well as in all media and digital productions; even used as a base for a derivative work
The OET consists of multiple versions with different goals and purposes that are intended to be used together as a set
Because it’s not a profit-making venture, it can afford to deviate from some (unfortunate or outdated) past translation precedents and traditions without being concerned about any offence creating a shortfall of sales.

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Which English dialect and spelling system does theOET use?

Ha, yaright, mate! No, we’re not wanting to use slang, but we do aim to avoid churchified language if there’s a more natural way to express Biblical concepts in the language of a responsible adult at work.

Although the base versions use British spelling, we also plan to make variants available using US spelling and units, etc.

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Isn’t the OET anachronistic when it uses modern concepts that didn’t exist back in Bible times?

Yes, that’s a fair question and one that we have to admit to. It’s a compromise that we feel is worthwile because of our priority goal of making the Bible more easily understandable for current generations.

But, of course, NO English words at all existed back in Biblical times, so there’ll always be a cultural misfit. For example, all English translations use the words ‘priest’ and ‘soldier’, but those Biblical roles were a very long way from the work of modern priests and soldiers, so the reader ALWAYS has to be making cultural adjustments when reading ancient texts and their translations.

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Why is the OET even needed?

Need in non-English-speaking countries: There are many parts of the world now where English is spoken as a lingua franca or language of wider communication. Sometimes English skills become helpful to gain employment or even just to show increased status. Sometimes when different groups meet (even at a church meeting), English can become their common language for worship or preaching. In some cases, translators of a local language will wish to publish a diglot—two languages side-by-side in a printed version. In that case, it’s not unusual for people to even learn English by comparing the Bible text in their language with the English translation beside it. A freely available English translation would make all of the above scenarios possible without being dependent on the whims of the copyright owner of the English translation.
Need in English-speaking countries: If you look inside a typical major-language Bible, you will find a copyright notice along with permission given to quote a limited number of verses. This would normally allow you to copy a few verses into your church bulletin, but would not normally allow you to publish a Bible-study with the full Bible text conveniently included. The OET would allow churches and other groups to freely publish Bible studies, Scriptural songs, and other similar materials without having to try to first obtain written permission.

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Why doesn’t the OET Explorers’ Edition (OET-EE) use the names Old Testament and New Testament?

Although these names are indeed very familiar, they are often confusing and somewhat misleading for modern readers. In current useage, we really are only likely to use the term Testament when we’re talking about someone’s will. Also, the term New might wrongly imply that the Old is no longer relevant. Hence the OET actively tries to discard this terminology.

Why does the OET downplay chapter and verse numbers?

Have you heard someone say, “This verse says, ...”? Well, verses are a purely artificial (and not particularly well thought-out) way of dividing the Bible text, and verses themselves don’t say anything! They are useful for guiding people to the correct area of the Bible, but unfortunately they have also greatly assisted in the unfortunate habit of people quoting short Bible segments completely out of context. Since the OET aims to try to head in a new direction, we want to discourage the use of small snippets out of context, and this is one way that we can help do it.

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Why does the OET have funny characters in the files?

The Literal Version (OET-LV) uses underline characters to join words which are represented by one word in the original language. For example, he_said would indicate that these two English words are represented by just one word in the original language and there is no separate word specifying who is the he. The OET also includes grammatical and semantic tagging. For example, if the text says gave it to him the OET will attempt to mark or tag what the it is and who the him is. This tagging is done in the text files using special characters, e.g., him=PDavid tells us that the him referred to is the person David. A full list of tags and special characters can be found here. Note also that a stripped copy of the files will eventually also be provided on the Downloads page.

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Why does the OET have the books in a different order?

Well yeah, tradition is a wonderful thing, and you can be assured that there will be a variant with some more traditional design decisions like the traditional book order. However, there’s also no need to be shackled to tradition. Remember that many Bible ‘books’ started as individual scrolls. Some writings were split so those scrolls wouldn’t be too physically big and heavy, and we may join them togther again, e.g., 1 & 2 Samuel. The defaultOET New Testament will begin with John’s account, which also has the advantage of placing Luke’s two accounts right after each other.

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When is the expected release date?

Actually, it’s release dates since there’s five versions. It is planned to develop the Literal Version, the Readers’ Version, and perhaps also the Colloquial Version simultaneously, and the first draft of the New Testament was completed in March 2024, with the Old Testament draft planned by 2028. The Study Version and the Extended Version will also be developed together, but not until after the V1.0 release of the first two versions, so no time frame is available for them yet. But if we can recruit more volunteers, it would be nice to speed up the progress.

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What is the format of the source files?

The OET source files use our own ESFM format, which are human-readable Unicode text files with embedded semantic markers. But each version will be available in multiple exported formats for download, including text, LibreOffice /OpenOffice (ODF), and PDF files (both of individual books and of entire versions), USFM and USX files, OSIS files, and Epub electronic book files.

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What license does the OET have?

It’s currently being released under a Creative Commons ‘share-alike’ license with a future plan to put it all into the public domain. See our Licence page.

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Which Bible editor do you use?

We use our own Biblelator Bible-translation editor which is still being developed, but which already has most of the tools working to enable Old Testament translation (still no interlinear Greek resources).

What’s the difference between versions and editions?

Versions refers to the words or the text itself. They’re different versions of the actual translation. Editions refers to the publication, i.e., a book or webpage or PDF. They’re different Bible productions that might be in different fonts or paper sizes and/or contain a different combination of versions.

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Literal Version Questions

Who is the Literal Version intended for?

Why doesn’t the Literal Version sound very fluent or natural?

Who is the Literal Version intended for?

The OET-LV is intended to help the English reader get a good understanding of what is actually written in the original languages without needing to have a good understanding of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

Why doesn’t the Literal Version sound very fluent or natural?

Yes, we call that the woody feeling. The OET-LV is designed to closely follow the wording used in the original languages, instead of using modern English expressions. This makes it appear to sound old-fashioned, but the reason for leaving it that way is to help the serious student be able to get a good look at what is actually written in the originals. Use the Readers’ Version if you want something that’s nicer to read.

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Readers’ Version Questions

Who is the Readers’ Version intended for?

The OET-RV is intended for someone who wants an easily-readable, modern English version of the Bible. It’s particularly useful for getting an overall view of the flow of the text without being distracted by footnotes and other study tools, and has been designed especially to reach out to non-churched people.

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Colloquial Version Questions

Who is the Colloquial Version intended for?

The OET-CV is intended for someone who wants an easily readable, very modern English version of the Bible that’s especially easy for young people to understand. It’s particularly useful for getting an overall view of the flow of the text for a generation who haven’t read as much as the previous generation, and whose way of speech can be quite different.

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Study Version Questions

Who is the Study Version intended for?

The OET-SV is intended to help preacher or serious student discover the subtle meanings of the text, with helpful notes and cross-references.

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Extended Version Questions

Who is the Extended Version intended for?

The OET-EV is intended to help the Bible college lecturer or Bible translator with extended notes (especially about source texts) and other information.

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Use the contact page to submit additional questions.