Contemporary English Version
Encyclopedia
The Contemporary English Version or CEV (also known as Bible for Today's Family) is a translation
of the Bible into English,
published by the American Bible Society
. An anglicized version was produced by the British and Foreign Bible Society
, which includes metric measurements for the Commonwealth market.
was released in 1995. In 1999, The Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books were published.
While the CEV is sometimes mischaracterized as a revision of the Good News Bible
, it is in fact a fresh translation, and designed for a lower reading level than the GNB. The American Bible Society continues to promote both translations.
The CEV uses gender-neutral language for humanity, though not for God.
The translation simplifies Biblical terminology into more everyday words and phrases. An example can be found in where the word adultery
is rendered in terms of being faithful in marriage.
Moreover, the CEV often paraphrases in order to make the underlying point of a passage clear, rather than directly translating the wording. For example, compare Psalm 127:1 in the (much more literal) New International Version
:
with the much shorter summary given by the CEV:
Or verses 4 & 5 in the New International Version:
are rendered in the CEV as:
Here, rather than shortening the original, the CEV has introduced new material by way of explanation, such as 'to take care of you in your old age'.
The CEV translates the Greek phrase hoi Ioudaioi
(literally, "the Jews") as "the Jewish leaders," especially in the Gospel of John (as in John 18:14). The CEV translators believe that the Greek phrase hoi Ioudaioi in the Gospel of John primarily refers to the Jewish leadership (as in John 6:41). They believe that their translation of hoi Ioudaioi as "the Jewish leaders" is accurate and that it "will reduce the perception of Anti-Semitism
in the New Testament."
Some of the information in this article comes from an email inquiry by Wikipedian Joshua Holman to Jacquelyn Sapiie, Supervisor of Library Services at the American Bible Society on February 9, 2004.
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
of the Bible into English,
published by the American Bible Society
American Bible Society
The American Bible Society is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded in 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible.It is probably best known for its...
. An anglicized version was produced by the British and Foreign Bible Society
British and Foreign Bible Society
The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply as Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world....
, which includes metric measurements for the Commonwealth market.
History
The CEV project began as a result of studies conducted by Barclay Newman in 1985 into speech patterns used in books, magazines, newspapers, and television. These studies focused on how English was read and heard. This led to a series of test volumes being published in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Among the volumes published were Luke Tells the Good News About Jesus (1987), The Good News Travels Fast – The Acts Of The Apostles (1988), A Few Who Dared to Trust God (1990), and A Book About Jesus (1991). In 1991, the 175th anniversary of the American Bible Society, the CEV New Testament was released. The CEV Old TestamentOld Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
was released in 1995. In 1999, The Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books were published.
While the CEV is sometimes mischaracterized as a revision of the Good News Bible
Good News Bible
The Good News Bible , also called the Good News Translation , is an English language translation of the Bible by the American Bible Society, first published as the New Testament under the name Good News for Modern Man in 1966...
, it is in fact a fresh translation, and designed for a lower reading level than the GNB. The American Bible Society continues to promote both translations.
Translation principles
In translating the CEV, the translators followed three principles. They were that the CEV:- must be understood by people without stumbling in speech
- must be understood by those with little or no comprehension of "Bible" language
- must be understood by all.
The CEV uses gender-neutral language for humanity, though not for God.
The translation simplifies Biblical terminology into more everyday words and phrases. An example can be found in where the word adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
is rendered in terms of being faithful in marriage.
Moreover, the CEV often paraphrases in order to make the underlying point of a passage clear, rather than directly translating the wording. For example, compare Psalm 127:1 in the (much more literal) New International Version
New International Version
The New International Version is an English translation of the Christian Bible. Published by Zondervan in the United States and by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK, it has become one of the most popular modern translations in history.-History:...
:
- Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
with the much shorter summary given by the CEV:
- Without the help of the LORD it is useless to build a home or to guard a city.
Or verses 4 & 5 in the New International Version:
- Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.
are rendered in the CEV as:
- Having a lot of children to take care of you in your old age is like a warrior with a lot of arrows. The more you have, the better off you will be, because they will protect you when your enemies attack with arguments.
Here, rather than shortening the original, the CEV has introduced new material by way of explanation, such as 'to take care of you in your old age'.
The CEV translates the Greek phrase hoi Ioudaioi
Ioudaioi
Ioudaioi is an ancient Greek term used frequently in classical and biblical literature to refer to a group of people that is most often translated in English as either as "the Jews" or "the Judeans".In its...
(literally, "the Jews") as "the Jewish leaders," especially in the Gospel of John (as in John 18:14). The CEV translators believe that the Greek phrase hoi Ioudaioi in the Gospel of John primarily refers to the Jewish leadership (as in John 6:41). They believe that their translation of hoi Ioudaioi as "the Jewish leaders" is accurate and that it "will reduce the perception of Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
in the New Testament."
Usages
- In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, the American Bible SocietyAmerican Bible SocietyThe American Bible Society is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded in 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible.It is probably best known for its...
published a special booklet titled God Is Our Shelter and Strength. The booklet contained passages from the PsalmsPsalmsThe Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
and other parts of the Bible. This booklet was also published after the Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
disaster in September 2005.
- In October 2005, the Bible SocietyBible societyA Bible society is a non-profit organization devoted to translating, publishing, distributing the Bible at affordable costs and advocating its credibility and trustworthiness in contemporary cultural life...
in Australia launched a project called SMSBible, which was the entire CEV in SMSShort message serviceShort Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...
text messages. News reports about the service claimed that the Bible spanned more than 30,000 text messages.
- On October 25, 2005, a church in New Zealand began a project called PodBible to produce an audio version of the CEV available via podcastPodcastA podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
or webcastWebcastA webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
.
- In 2009, through the UCCFUCCFUniversities and Colleges Christian Fellowship , formerly known as the Inter-Varsity Fellowship , is a UK-based evangelical Christian charity that operates on university campuses....
'FREE Gospel Project' 400,000 copies of the book of Mark in CEV were handed out, at over 150 Universities in the UK.
Sources
- Sheeley, Stephen M. and Nash, Robert N. Choosing a Bible. pp. 55–56.
- Metzger, Bruce M.Bruce MetzgerBruce Manning Metzger was a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the American Bible Society. He was a scholar of Greek, New Testament and Old Testament, and wrote prolifically on these subjects.- Biography :Metzger was born in Middletown,...
The Bible In Translation. p. 171.
Some of the information in this article comes from an email inquiry by Wikipedian Joshua Holman to Jacquelyn Sapiie, Supervisor of Library Services at the American Bible Society on February 9, 2004.
See also
- History of the English Bible
- Bible translationsBible translationsThe Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Indeed, the full Bible has been translated into over 450 languages, although sections of the Bible have been translated into over 2,000 languages....
- Other English translations in contemporary language:
- Good News BibleGood News BibleThe Good News Bible , also called the Good News Translation , is an English language translation of the Bible by the American Bible Society, first published as the New Testament under the name Good News for Modern Man in 1966...
- New Century VersionNew Century VersionThe New Century Version of the Bible is a revision of the International Children's Bible. The ICB was aimed at young readers and those with low reading skills/limited vocabulary in English. It is written at a 3rd grade level and is both conservative and evangelical in tone. The New Testament was...
- New Living TranslationNew Living TranslationThe New Living Translation is a translation of the Bible into modern English. Originally starting out as an effort to revise The Living Bible, the project evolved into a new English translation from Hebrew and Greek texts...
- Revised English BibleRevised English BibleThe Revised English Bible is a 1989 English language translation of the Bible and updates the New English Bible, of 1970. As with its predecessor, it is published by the publishing houses of both Oxford University and Cambridge University....
- Good News Bible
- American Bible SocietyAmerican Bible SocietyThe American Bible Society is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded in 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible.It is probably best known for its...
Further reading
- Newman, Barclay. Creating and Crafting the Contemporary English Version. ISBN 1-58516-473-9