The Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) is an English translation of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

compiled by the World Bible Translation Center. It was originally published as the English Version for the Deaf (EVD) by BakerBooks.

History

Some

Deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

readers struggle with reading English because sign language is their first language. The World Bible Translation Center (WBTC) decided to do a translation that would make reading the Bible easier for them. The EVD uses simpler vocabulary and shorter sentences to make it more simple to understand. The English Version for the Deaf (EVD), and its second cover, the Easy to Read Version (ERV) were translated by Ervin Bishop (Greek Language Translator), David Stringham (Hebrew Language Translator) and Benton L Dibrell (Deaf Language Specialist, Interpreter, and Translator). The translators used a thought-for-thought or functional equivalence method of translation. It was found to be useful for others who struggle with reading and is often used in prisons and literacy programs. The ERV uses the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1984) as its

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

text with some readings from the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the nor ...

. It also follows the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

, an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, when its readings are considered more accurate. For the New Testament revisions, the ERV uses the United Bible Societies' Greek

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

(fourth revised edition, 1993) and Nestle-Aland Novum Testament Graece (twenty-seventh edition, 1993). The EVD New Testament was completed and published by Baker Books in 1978. The Old Testament was completed in 1986. The entire compilation of both Old and New Testaments was published as both the 'English Version for the Deaf' and the 'Easy to Read Version' (primarily for individuals for whom English is a second language) in 1987. In 2004, a major revision of the ERV was finished. It used broader vocabulary and greater use of

gender-inclusive language Gender-neutral language or gender-inclusive language is language that avoids bias towards a particular sex or gender. In English, this includes use of nouns that are not gender-specific to refer to roles or professions, formation of phrases in a c ...

. The EVD was left unchanged, so it and the ERV now have different texts. Apps for reading both Bibles are available from the WBTC's website, the full text is available online via various Bible aggregator portals.

Criticism

The ERV caused a slight bit of controversy among a small number of lay members of the

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the ''sola scriptura'' doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. T ...

(the WBTC is an outreach of the

). Goebel Music wrote a lengthy book critiquing this translation titled "Easy-to-Read Version: Easy to Read or Easy to Mislead?", criticizing the ERV's method of translation, textual basis, and wording of certain passages. Music’s book, in turn, received criticism, as he holds no credentials with which to criticize the translators of the ERV, and seemed to have a lack of awareness regarding the stated purpose of the translators. The critique was not well-received by scholars.

References

External links

Wbtc.org
Easy to Read Version Bible translations into English 1987 in Christianity {{bible-translation-stub

History

Criticism

See also

References

External links