Modern Versions.
Luther’s.—The principal German version of the Bible was made by the leader of the Protestant Reformation. On account of its superior literary merits and its large circulation it is, next to our Authorized Version, the most important of the Protestant versions. Luther placed the Apocryphal books in an appendix at the end of the Old Testament, and the books of the New Testament which he rejected in an appendix at the end of the New.
Wicliffe’s.—The translation of Wicliffe, which appeared in the latter part of the fourteenth century, was the first English translation of the Bible.
Tyndale’s.—Tyndale commenced his English translation of the Bible about the same time that Luther commenced his German translation. He did not live to complete it, and a portion of the Old Testament was translated by others.
King James.—The Authorized English Version, commonly called the King James Bible, was published in 1611. It was made by forty-seven English scholars, working in six companies—two at Oxford, two at Cambridge, and two at Westminster. The basis of this version is Tyndale’s translation. The Apocryphal books, which were not accepted as canonical by the English church, were placed in an appendix. They are now generally omitted. The King James Bible is admittedly one of the most incorrect versions; but dressed in the strong, quaint English of Shakespeare’s time it possesses considerable literary merit. It has been translated into nearly every tongue, and has had a larger circulation than all others combined.
New Version.—The new or Revised Version of the Bible is a revision of the King James version. The revision was made by a Committee of twenty-seven English scholars, whose work was revised by an American committee. It was begun in 1870 and finished in 1882. In this version the matter is divided into paragraphs instead of chapters and verses.
Douay.—The Douay Bible is an English translation of the Vulgate. It is the standard English version of the Roman Catholic church.
The foregoing are but a few of the numerous versions of the Bible, ancient and modern, that have appeared. Nearly every nation of Europe has from one to a score. Luther’s version is nearly 400 years old, and yet Germany had seventeen translations, and consequently seventeen versions, before Luther’s was published. England had many versions besides those named.