Open English Bible

The Open English Bible (OEB) is a freely redistributable modern translation based on the Twentieth Century New Testament translation. A work in progress, with its first publication in August 2010, the OEB is edited and distributed by Russell Allen.

History and textual basis

The OEB is a modern translation created by editing the Twentieth Century New Testament translation, and derived from the Greek Wescott-Hort text. The OEB aims to be a "scholarly defensible mainstream translation", which is intended "not to push any particular theological line". The reading level of the OEB "[corresponds] roughly to the NEB/REB or NRSV", that is, High School reading level. The OEB's initial release was in August 2010, although a preview of the Book of Mark was released in March 2010.

Use

The Open English Bible is the translation used (except for Colossians) in the book A New, New Testament by biblical scholar Hal Taussig.

Copyright status

The Open English Bible's copyright was held by Russell Allen, its author. It has been released into the public domain under a Creative Commons zero license with modified versions distributed under a different name. The OEB has been described as an "open source" translation.

Bible translations into English

Partial translations of the Bible into languages of the English people can be traced back to the end of the 7th century, including translations into Old English and Middle English. There are more than 450 translations.

Old English

Although John Wycliffe is often credited with the first translation of the Bible into English, there were, in fact, many translations of large parts of the Bible centuries before Wycliffe's work. The English Bible was first translated from the Latin Vulgate into Old English by a few select monks and scholars. Such translations were generally in the form of prose or as interlinear glosses (literal translations above the Latin words). Very few complete translations existed during that time. Rather, most of the books of the Bible existed separately and were read as individual texts. Thus, the sense of the Bible as history that often exists today did not exist at that time. Instead, an allegorical rendering of the Bible was more common and translations of the Bible often included the writer’s own commentary on passages in addition to the literal translation.