Summary of OET versions

Well now that all of the different versions of the Open English Translation of the Bible (OET) have been announced, it's time for a brief summary of them:

1. The Literal Version
   Closely follows the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, so the sentences are English, but still using the original vocabulary and idiom as much as possible. Extensive notes about variants in the originals.
2. The Readers' Version
   An up-to-date free translation that's easy to read. As few distracting notes as possible. Designed for reading Bible stories easily and in full context.
3. The Study Version
   A less free translation but with many helpful notes and cross-references. This is the one to preach from and to memorise segments from.
4. The Extended Version
   An extended text of the Study Version, with many more notes and details also added in. Designed for lecturers and Bible translators.

These different versions are designed to be used to complement each other, especially in linked media like the Internet where two or more of them could scroll together.

The links above focus on the differences between the different versions of the OET. The following list (from here) focuses on the common features:

• The misleading terminology Old Testament and New Testament will NOT be used
• The terminology Major Prophets and Minor Prophets is also misleading to many readers and will NOT be used
• Traditional chapter and verse numbers will be there, but will be downplayed to discourage their use
• Segments which are not included in the most ancient manuscripts will be removed from the inline text
• Wherever section headings are used (all but the Literal Version), they will be typeset/displayed in such a way so as not to interrupt the flow of the actual Scripture text
• The so-called apocryphal books will be included in the OET (with a section name yet to be determined)
• Eventually, the order that the books will be presented will be changed from the traditional English Protestant order
• Each book will have an individual version number, and each major release will also have an overall version number
• Each version will be available in multiple formats for download, including text, OpenOffice (ODF), and PDF files (both of individual books and of entire versions), USFM files, and OSIS files, and Epub electronic book files
• It will be released under a licence that both enables and encourages others to use and build upon this work. (Most likely this will be a Creative Commons BY-SA or BY licence, but other content licences are also being considered, even Public Domain.)

 I've never seen a Bible translation project that's attempted to do things this way. Apart from wanting to make a good English Bible translation that's both open and free, it's largely an attempt to design an English translation that connects the reader with the original texts; helping them to understand where our Bible come from and some of the decisions that are made for them by the translators.

And yes, it is a very ambitious goal -- totally impossible without God's blessing! So come on volunteers...

OET Readers' Version

Today I am revealing the initial design plans for the second version of the Open English Translation (OET), the Readers' Version. This is pretty-much totally different from the Literal Version. Here are some of the main features of the OET-RV:

• It will attempt to give an easily-readable, natural English text with normal contemporary English punctuation
• It will attempt to replace Christian jargon with language that is more likely to be found in modern newspapers, magazines, and books
• Additions to the text which are necessary to translate the meaning will not be marked in any special way
• The divine name will be rendered as Yahweh
• Traditional English spellings will be used for people and place names
• The word God will be capitalised where appropriate, but other references, e.g., the father, the son, will not be capitalised
• Paragraph breaks will be added to the text, along with indentations for poetry and quotations
• Section headings will be added but typeset/displayed in such a way so as not to interrupt the flow of the actual Scripture text
• Traditional chapter and verse numbers will be downplayed, as in all OET versions
• Only modern measurements will be used (the original measurements will not be included)
• There will be a minimum of footnotes
• The OET-RV is aimed at readers (including second-language English readers) who want to easily read the text and understand the overall message
• It is hoped that the web-based publication will also provide live links to the OET-LV.

The final specifications and a small sample text should eventually be available here.

So hopefully you can already guess where I'm going with the OET. So far I've announced the Literal Version and the Readers' version -- quite different versions which are complementary parts of the OET translation. It is intended that they be viewable together, especially on media where they can scroll and be linked together. One is easy to read; the other choppy and unnatural but helping the Bible student to understand where the smooth English of the Readers' Version has come from.

There's a big debate these days about the most useful kind of English Bible translation. Different publishers try to position their translations at different spots in the market. The OET tries to solve the dilemma with a different approach: multiple linked versions all under the banner of the Open English Translation.

And best of it, it's planned that all of this be made available under a very generous free licence (details not decided yet) to enable and encourage others to use and build upon this work.