The Bible in Living English is a translation of the Bible by

Steven T. Byington Steven Tracy Byington (birthname Stephen) (December 10, 1869 – October 12, 1957) was a noted intellectual, translator, and American individualist anarchist. Life He was born in Westford, Vermont, and later moved to Ballardvale section of Ando ...

History

Byington translated the Bible on his own for 45 years from 1898 to 1943, but was unable to have it published during his lifetime. After he died in 1957, the

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Warwick, New York. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer and disseminate doc ...

acquired the publication rights, but the translation was not published until 1972. US copyright law therefore protected it until 2000;US copyright law
"Any copyright, in the first term of which is subsisting on January 1, 1978, shall endure for 28 years from the date it was originally secured. In the case of any posthumous work ... the proprietor of such copyright shall be entitled to a renewal and extension of the copyright in such work for the further term of 67 years." the

Copyright Catalog United States copyright registrations, renewals, and other catalog entries since 1978 are published online at the United States Copyright Office website. Entries prior to 1978 are not published in the online catalog. Copyright registrations and rene ...

does not list the Watch Tower Society as having applied for a renewal on this publication. The translation may still be in copyright in countries not implementing the

rule of the shorter term The rule of the shorter term, also called the comparison of terms, is a provision in international copyright treaties. The provision allows that signatory countries can limit the duration of copyright they grant to foreign works under national tre ...

Use of Jehovah

A notable characteristic of this translation was the use of God's name, which Byington translated ''Jehovah'' in the Old Testament. Byington states in his preface: “The spelling and the pronunciation are not highly important. What is highly important is to keep it clear that this is a personal name. There are several texts that cannot be properly understood if we translate this name by a common noun like ''Lord'', or, much worse, by a substantivized adjective”.

References

External links

The Bible in Living English Translated by Steven T. Byington

Jehovah's Witnesses official website - God's Name and Bible Translators
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bible in Living English 1972 non-fiction books Jehovah's Witnesses literature Bible translations into English 1972 in Christianity Sacred Name Movement