Current Available Bible Versions

From the Searchable Online Bible

As a non-denominational Christian website, we wish to provide as broad a range of Bible versions as possible, without violating any copyright laws. To the best of our knowledge all versions searchable on our site are in the public domain. If you know otherwise, please contact me with details.

This page provides brief descriptions of the origins of each of the Bible versions on our site. These are excerpts from full histories available on Wikipedia.org. If you disagree with any of these definitions, join Wikipedia and edit it - Please don't contact us!

Authorized King James Version

The Authorized King James Version is an English translation of the Christian Holy Bible begun in 1604 and completed in 1611 by the Church of England.

By the first half of the 18th century, the Authorized Version was effectively unchallenged as the English translation used in Anglican and Protestant churches. Over the course of the 18th century, the Authorized Version supplanted the Latin Vulgate as the standard version of scripture for English speaking scholars.

Throughout most of the world, the Authorized Version has passed out of copyright and is freely reproduced. In the United Kingdom, the British Crown restricts production of the Authorized Version per transitional exemptions from the Copyright Act 1775, which expire in 2039.

KJV Bible Apocrypha Version

The biblical apocrypha (from the Greek word meaning hidden) are books published in an edition of the Bible whose canonicity the publisher either rejects or doubts.[1] For this reason they are typically printed in a third section of the Bible apart from the Old and New Testaments. In many editions they are omitted entirely.

The English-language King James Version of 1611 followed the lead of the Luther Bible in using an inter-testamental section labeled "Books called Apocrypha", or just "Apocrypha" at the running page header. The section contains the following books:

1 Esdras (Vulgate 3 Esdras), 2 Esdras (Vulgate 4 Esdras),Tobit, Judith, Rest of Esther (Vulgate Esther 10:4-16:24), Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus (also known as Sirach), Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremy (all part of Vulgate Baruch), Song of the Three Children (Vulgate Daniel 3:24-90), Story of Susanna (Vulgate Daniel 13), The Idol Bel and the Dragon (Vulgate Daniel 14), Prayer of Manasses, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees

World English Bible (WEB)

The World English Bible (also known as WEB) is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997. The New Testament is considered complete

The WEB project was started to produce a modern English Bible version that is not copyrighted, does not use archaic English (such as the KJV), or is not translated in Basic English

Basic English Bible

The Bible In Basic English (also known as BBE) is a translation of the Bible into Basic English. The BBE was translated by Professor S. H. Hooke using the standard 850 Basic English words. 100 words that were helpful to understand poetry were added along with 50 "Bible" words. The New Testament was released in 1941 and the Old Testament was released in 1949.

Darby English Bible

The Darby Bible (DBY, formal title The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby) refers to the Bible as translated from Hebrew and Greek by John Nelson Darby. Darby published a translation of the New Testament in 1867, with revised editions in 1872 and 1884. After his death, some of his students produced an Old Testament translation based on Darby's French and German translations (see below). The complete Darby Bible, including Darby's 3rd edition New Testament and his students' Old Testament, was first published in 1890. [1] J N Darby's purpose was, as he states in the preface to his English NT, to make a modern translation for the unlearned who have neither access to manuscript texts or training and knowledge of ancient languages of the Scriptures.

Darby French Bible

William Joseph Lowe (1838-1927) and Mons. Schlumberger were in the translation team for the Pau-Vevey French translation which was first issued in 1859. The title page read, 'Les LIVRES SAINTS CONNUS SOUS LE NOM DE NOUVEAU TESTAMENT. Version nouvelle.' Darby worked on this project in Pau, Southern France but the work was done primarily for the numerous Brethren in French-Switzerland. The translation of the New Testament was reissued in 1872, 1875 and 1878. The complete Bible appeared in 1885.