Editing New English Bible

The '''New English Bible''' (NEB) was a fresh translation of the [[Bible]] into modern English directly from the original [[Greek (language)|Greek]], [[Hebrew (language)|Hebrew]], and [[Aramaic]] texts (with some [[Latin (language)|Latin]] in the [[Apocrypha]]); with the [[New Testament]] being published in 1961, and the [[Old Testament]], along with the [[Apocrypha]], being published in 1970. It was significantly revised and re-published in 1989 as the [[Revised English Bible]].

==Background==

Near the time when the [[copyright]] to the [[English Revised Version]] was due to expire (1935), the [[Oxford University Press]] and the [[Cambridge University Press]], who were the current [[English Revised Version]] copyright holders, began investigations to determine whether a modern revision of the [[English Revised Version]] text was necessary. In May of 1946 [[G. S. Hendry]], along with the Presbytery of [[Stirling]] and [[Dunblane]] produced a notice, which was presented to the General Assembly of the [[Church of Scotland]], indicating that the work of translating should be undertaken in order to produce a Bible with thoroughly "modern English." After the work of delegation was finished, a general conference was held in October of 1946 where it was determined that a completely fresh translation should be undertaken rather than a revision as originally suggested by the University Presses of Oxford and Cambridge.

==Translation==

In due time, three [[committees]] of translators and one [[committee]] of literary advisers were enlisted and charged with the task of producing the New English Bible. Each of the three translation committees was responsible for a different section of the Bible. These three sections consisted of the [[Old Testament]], the [[Apocrypha]], and the [[New Testament]].

The work of translating was typically undertaken in this fashion: A member, or members, of one of the committees would produce a draft of a book, or books, of the Bible (typically from the section in which they were assigned) and submit the draft to the section committee. Occasionally a [[scholar]] outside of the committee would be invited to participate in this phase of the translation process, and was asked to submit a draft of the book or books with which he or she had renowned experience. This draft was then distributed amongst the members of the appropriate committee. Members of the committee would then meet together and discuss the translation choices made in the draft. The draft that resulted from this meeting of the concerned committee was then sent to the committee of literary advisers who would revise the draft in co-operation with the translators. When a consensus on the draft was reached, the final draft would be sent on to the Joint Committee, which was head over the four sub-committees.

For the [[Old Testament]] the translators primarily made use of the [[Masoretic Text]] as presented by [[Rudolf Kittel]] in his 3rd Edition of the ''[[Biblia Hebraica]]'' (1937). In addition to the [[Masoretic Text]], the translators also made use of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], the [[Samaritan Pentateuch]], the Greek [[Septuagint]], the [[Aramaic Targum]]s, and the Syriac [[Peshitta]].

For the [[Apocrypha]] the translators made the decision to follow ''The Old Testament in Greek according to the Septuagint'', edited by [[H. B. Swete]]. Also, the translators made use of the [[Codex Sinaiticus]] (for the [[Book of Tobit]]), [[Theodotion]]'s translation of the [[Apocrypha]] (for The Song of the Three, Daniel and Susanna, and Daniel, Bel, and the Snake (sometimes referred to as the Dragon)), [[Codex Vaticanus]] (for [[Ecclesiasticus]]), Codex 248 (also for Ecclesiasticus), and [[R. L. Bensly]]'s [[Latin]] text ''The Fourth Book of Ezra''.

For the New Testament the New English Bible Translators relied on a large body of texts including early Greek New Testament manuscripts, early translations rendered in other languages (those aside from Greek), and the quotations of early Christian writers and speakers. The text adhered to by the translators of the New English Bible can be found in ''[[The Greek New Testament]]'', edited by [[R. V. G. Tasker]] and published by the University Presses of Oxford and Cambridge (1964).

==Form==

The translators of the New English Bible chose to render their translation using a principle of translation called [[dynamic equivalence]] (also referred to as functional equivalence or thought-for-thought translation). [[C. H. Dodd]], Vice-Chairman and Director of the Joint Committee, commented that the translators "...conceived our task to be that of understanding the original as precisely as we could... and then saying again in our own native idiom what we believed the author to be saying in his."

This method of translation is in contrast to the traditional translations of the Authorized Version ([[King James Version]]), [[English Revised Version]], [[American Standard Version]], [[Revised Standard Version]], and others, which place an emphasis on word-for-word correspondence between the source and target language. [[C. H. Dodd]] goes on to summarize the translation of the New English Bible as "...free, it may be, rather than literal, but a faithful translation nevertheless, so far as we could compass it."

Due to these translation principles the New English Bible is necessarily more periphrastic at times in order to render the thoughts of the original author into modern [[English language|English]].

==Considerations and concerns==

The New English Bible was produced primarily by British and European scholarship (for example, ''Whitsuntide'' is rendered in 1 Corinthians 16:8 rather than ''[[Pentecost]]''). However, directly following the [[Second World War]] the English of [[Great Britain]] and [[Europe]] began to be influenced by foreign [[idiom]], especially that of the Americans. For this reason, passages found in the New English Bible could be understood by a large body of English speaking individuals.

In relation to the issue of [[gender neutral language]], or gender-accuracy, the New English Bible  was produced before a time when there was any awareness that this was going to become an issue. So it rendered pronouns (among other things) using the traditional literary method followed by many previous translations in which the generic use of "he" is both typical and assumed. However, using this literary method has become increasingly unpopular and a revision of the New English Bible, aptly titled the [[Revised English Bible]], was undertaken. Among the goals for this revision were rendering the text of the New English Bible gender-accurate, as well as fixing errors of transposition and interpretation that many felt to be present in the text.

==Summary==

Due to its official status and scholarly translators, the New English Bible has been considered one of the more important translations of the Bible to be produced following the [[Second World War]]. [[F. F. Bruce]], then Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis in the [[University of Manchester]], declared that "To the sponsors and translators of the New English Bible the English speaking world owes an immense debt. They have given us a version which is contemporary in idiom, up-to-date in scholarship, attractive and at times, exciting in content..." However, [[T. S. Eliot]] comments that the New English Bible "astonishes in its combination of the vulgar, the trivial and the pedantic."

==Controversial passages (and various complaints) of the New English Bible==

*In [[Psalm 22:16]], the New English Bible renders the familiar passage traditionally translated "... have pierced my hands and feet..." as "... hacked off my hands and my feet..."
*In [[Genesis 1:1]]-[[Genesis 1:2|2]], the New English Bible renders the passage using “a mighty wind” rather than the familiar, and traditional, choice of “the Spirit of God”.
*In [[Isaiah 9:6]], the New English Bible translators chose a rendering that is both interpretative and non-traditional.
*In [[Nahum 1:12]]-[[Nahum 1:14|14]], the New English Bible transposes two verses and renders the promise of God interpretively.
*In [[Acts 20:7]], the New English Bible renders the phrase literally meaning “first day of the week” as “Saturday night”.
*In [[2 Timothy 3:16]], the New English Bible renders the verse traditionally translated as "All scripture is given by the inspiration of God" as "all inspired scripture is given...".

==Contributors to and sponsors of the New English Bible==

*[[Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland]]
*[[Church of England]]
*[[Church of Scotland]]
*The [[Congregational Church in England and Wales]]
*[[Council of Churches for Wales]]
*[[Irish Council of Churches]]
*The [[London Yearly Meeting]] of the [[Religious Society of Friends]]
*The [[Methodist Church of Great Britain]]
*The [[Presbyterian Church of England]]
*[[British and Foreign Bible Society]]
*The [[National Bible Society of Scotland]]

==Members of the Committees==
===Old Testament Committee===

Professor W. D. McHardy, Professor B. J. Roberts, Professor A. R. Johnson, Professor J. A. Emerton, Dr. C. A.Simpson, Professor [[Sir Godfrey Driver]] (Convener), L. H. Brockington, Dr. N. H. Snaith, Professor N. W. Porteous, Professor H. H. Rowley, [[C. H. Dodd]] (ex officio), and P. P. Allen (Secretary).

===Apocrypha Committee===

Professor W. D. McHardy (Convener), Professor W. Barclay, Professor W. H. Cadman, Dr. [[G. B. Caird]], Professor [[C. F. D. Moule]], Professor J. R. Porter, G. M. Styler.

===New Testament Committee===

Professor [[C. H. Dodd]] (Convener), Dr. G. S. Duncan, Dr. W. F. Howard, Professor G. D. Kilpatrick, Professor T. W. Manson, Professor [[C. F. D. Moule]], [[J. A. T. Robinson]], G. M. Styler, Professor R. V. G. Tasker.

===Literary Committee===

[[Roger Mynors|Professor Sir Roger Mynors]], [[Basil Willey|Professor Basil Willey]], [[Arthur Lionel Pugh Norrington|Sir Arthur Norrington]], Anne Ridler, Canon Adam Fox, Dr. John Carey, and the Conveners of the Translation Panels.

===Scholarly Associates===

Professor G. W. Anderson, Principal [[Matthew Black]], Professor J. Y. Campbell, J. A. F. Gregg, H. St J. Hart, Professor F. S. Marsh, Professor John Mauchline, Dr. H. G. Meecham, Professor C. R. North, Professor O. S. Rankin, Dr. Nigel Turner.

==See also==

* [[Revised English Bible]]

==External links==

* [http://www.cambridge.org/uk/bibles/neb/ Cambridge University Press: New English Bible]
* [http://www.bible-researcher.com/neb.html Michael Marlowe on the New English Bible]
* [http://www.bopsecrets.org/rexroth/essays/new-english-bible.htm Kenneth Rexroth on the New English Bible]

==Publications==

* Bible Society ISBN 0564002011
* Oxford with Apocrypha ISBN B000EZKXFI [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EZKXFI/]

==References==

* Ebor, D., (Editor) (1970). ''The New English Bible with the Apocrypha''. Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.
* Lockyer (Sr.), H., (Editor), et al., (1986). ''Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary''. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc. ISBN 0-7852-5051-4
* McManners, J., (Editor) (2001). ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity''. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285439-9
* [[Adam Nicolson|Nicolson, A.]], (2003). ''God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible''. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-083873-6

[[Category:1970 books]]
[[Category:Bible versions and translations]]

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