more about the Contemporary English Version

WELCOME TO THE CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH VERSION 

Languages are spoken before they are written. And far more communication is done through the spoken word than through the written word. In fact, more people hear the Bible read than read it for themselves. Traditional translations of the Bible count on the reader’s ability to understand a written text. But the Contemporary English Version differs from all other English Bibles—past and present—in that it takes into consideration the needs of the hearer, as well as those of the reader, who may not be familiar with traditional biblical language. 

The Contemporary English Version has been described as a “user-friendly” and a “mission-driven” translation that can be read aloud without stumbling, heard without misunderstanding, and listened to with enjoyment and appreciation, because the language is contemporary and the style is lucid and lyrical. 

The Contemporary English Version invites you to read, to hear, to understand and to share the Word of God now as never before!! 

THE CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH VERSION 

Translation it is that opens the window, to let in the light; that breaks the shell, that we may eat the kernel; that puts aside the curtain, that we may look into the most holy place; that removes the cover of the well, that we may come by the water (“The Translators to the Reader,” King James Version, 1611). 

The most important document in the history of the English language is the King James Version of the Bible. To measure its spiritual impact on the English speaking world would be more impossible than counting the grains of sand along the ocean shores. Historically, many Bible translators have attempted in some measure to retain the form of the King James Version. But the translators of the Contemporary English Version of the Bible have diligently sought to capture the spirit of the King James Version by following certain principles set forth by its translators in the document “The Translators to the Reader,” which was printed in the earliest editions. 

This is the Word of God, which we translate 

Accuracy, beauty, clarity, and dignity—all of these can and must be achieved in the translation of the Bible. After all, as the translators of the King James Version stated, “This is the Word of God, which we translate.”

Every attempt has been made to produce a text that is faithful to the meaning of the original. In order to assure the accuracy of the Contemporary English Version, the Old Testament was translated directly from the Hebrew and Aramaic texts published by the United Bible Societies (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, fourth edition corrected). And the New Testament was translated directly from the Greek text published by the United Bible Societies (third edition corrected and compared with the fourth revised edition).

The drafts in their earliest stages were sent for review and comment to a number of biblical scholars, theologians, and educators representing a wide variety of church traditions. In addition, drafts were sent for review and comment to all English-speaking Bible Societies and to more than forty United Bible Societies translation consultants around the world. Final approval of the text was given by the American Bible Society Board of Trustees on the recommendation of its Translations Subcommittee. 

We desire that the Scripture … may be understood 

That the Scripture may be understood even by ordinary people was a primary goal of the translators of the King James Version. And they raised the question, “What can be more available thereto than to deliver God’s book unto God’s people in a tongue which they understand?” Martin Luther also did his translation for the common people, and he established the following guidelines: 

We do not have to inquire of the literal Latin, how we are to speak German … Rather we must inquire about this of the mother in the home, the children on the street, the common man in the marketplace. We must be guided by their language, the way they speak, and do our translating accordingly.

Today more people hear the Bible read aloud than read it for themselves!! And statistics released by the National Center for Education indicate that “almost half of U.S. adults have very limited reading and writing skills.” If this is the case, a contemporary translation must be a text that an inexperienced reader can read aloud without stumbling, that someone unfamiliar with traditional biblical terminology can hear without misunderstanding, and that everyone can listen to with enjoyment because the style is lucid and lyrical. 

In order to attain these goals of clarity, beauty, and dignity, the translators of the Contemporary English Version carefully studied every word, phrase, clause, and paragraph of the original. Then, with equal care, they struggled to discover the best way to translate the text, so that it would be suitable both for private and public reading, and for memorizing. The result is an English text that is enjoyable and easily understood by the vast majority of English speakers, regardless of their religious or educational background. 

In the hearing of a translation, even the inclusion of a simple word like “and” can make a significant difference. Matthew 2.9 of the Contemporary English Version reads as follows: “The wise men listened to what the king said, and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” 

“And” at the beginning of the second sentence assists both the person who reads the text aloud and those who must depend upon hearing it read. Like all other punctuation marks, the period after “left” is silent, and so the text without “And” could possibly be heard as, “The wise men listened to what the king said and then left the star they had seen in the east.” However, as the text now stands, the oral reader must pause briefly for a breath before “And,” which will signal the hearer that a new sentence has begun. 

As another example, try reading the following two sentences aloud: “You yourselves admit, then, that you agree with what your ancestors did” and “for it was better with me then than now.” Both suffer from potential tongue twisters (“admit, then, that” and “then than”). But the first is doubly difficult because it consists of a lengthy series of unaccented syllables that do not allow the reader to take a breath. In the Contemporary English Version every attempt has been made to avoid these and other kinds of constructions that could possibly prove problematic for oral reading. 

According to the rules of English grammar, the pronoun he must refer back to God in the following sentence: “The other, however, rebuked him saying, ‘Don’t you fear God? You received the same sentence he did.’ ” But the reference is actually to Jesus, who is mentioned earlier in the passage. Traditional translations assume that the reader can study the printed text and finally figure out the meaning, but the Contemporary English Version is concerned equally with the reader and the hearer. And in many situations, the hearer may have only one chance to understand what is read aloud. 

In poetry, the appearance of the text on the page is important, since in oral reading there is a tendency to stress the last word on a line and to pause momentarily before going to the next line, especially if the second line is indented. Compare the three following examples, where the lines of the same text have been broken improperly (left column) and properly (right column): 

No fault is to be found with the translation itself. Yet there is a significant difference in the appearance of the text on the page, because the lines on the right have been measured, in order to prevent unfortunate runovers. In this form, the text not only looks better on the page, but it is easier to read and memorize, and it avoids such disastrous combinations as “He brought me out into a broad” or “With the loyal you show yourself” or “The Lord my God lights up.” Moreover, both formats require exactly the same amount of lines. 

The first translation in the history of the English Bible to develop a text with measured poetry lines is the Contemporary English Version, in which the translators have consciously created a text that will not suffer from unfortunate line breaks when published in double columns. Accuracy is the main concern of translators, but it must be realized that in the translation of biblical poetry, what the reader sees is what will be said, and what others will hear. This means that lines improperly broken can easily lead to a misunderstanding of the text, especially for those who must depend upon hearing the Scriptures read. 

Hebrew poetry has its own systems of sound, rhyme, and rhythm, as well as a form that involves much repetition. It is impossible in English to retain the sounds, rhymes, and rhythms of the Hebrew text, but traditional translations have attempted to reproduce the frequent repetition, in which a second line will repeat or expand, either negatively or positively, the thoughts of the previous line. However, this repetition is often ineffective for those English speakers, who are unaccustomed to the poetic style of the biblical authors. And so, the translators of the Contemporary English Version have followed the example of Martin Luther in the translation of poetry: 

Whoever would speak German must not use Hebrew style. Rather he must see to it—once he understands the Hebrew author—that he concentrates on the sense of the text, asking himself, “Pray tell, what do the Germans say in such a situation?” Once he has the German words to serve his purpose, let him drop the Hebrew words and express the meaning freely in the best German he knows.

The qualities that many critics value most in modern poetry are effortless economy and exactness of language. It is hoped that readers will discover similar features in the poetry of the Contemporary English Version, which strives for beauty and dignity, as much as for accuracy and clarity. In this translation, the poetry often requires fewer lines than do traditional translations, but the integrity, intent, and impact of the original are consistently maintained. Note, for example, the rendering of Job 38.14, 15: 

Whenever the contents of two or more verses have been joined together and rearranged in the poetic sections of the CEV, this is signaled by an asterisk (*) before the first verse number in the series.

In everyday speech, “gender generic” or “inclusive” language is used, because it sounds most natural to people today. This means that where the biblical languages require masculine nouns or pronouns when both men and women are intended, this intention must be reflected in translation, though the English form may be very different from that of the original. The Greek text of Matthew 16.24 is literally, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” The Contemporary English Version shifts to a form which is still accurate, and at the same time more effective in English: “If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me.”

Variety of translations is profitable 

The translators of the King James Version said, “… variety of translations is profitable for the finding out of the sense of the Scriptures” and “We affirm and avow that the very meanest translation of the Bible in English, set forth by men of our profession … contains the Word of God, nay is the Word of God.” They even stated, “No cause therefore why the Word translated should be denied to be the Word, or forbidden to be current, notwithstanding that some imperfections and blemishes may be noted in the setting forth of it.” 

Each English translation is, in its own right, the Word of God, yet each translation serves to meet the needs of a different audience. In this regard, the Contemporary English Version should be considered a companion— the mission arm—of traditional translations, because it takes seriously the words of the apostle Paul that “faith comes by hearing.” 

It has pleased God in his divine providence 

Translating the Bible may be compared to living the life of faith. God has not given us all the answers for our pilgrim journey, but we have been provided with all that we need to know in order to be saved. As the translators of the King James Version observed: 

… it has pleased God in His divine providence here and there to scatter those words and sentences of that difficulty and doubtfulness, not in doctrinal points that concern salvation (for in such it has been vouched that the Scriptures are plain), but in matters of less moment, that fearfulness would better beseem us than confidence …

For as it is a fault of incredulity, to doubt of those things that are evident; so to determine of such things that the Spirit of God has left (even in the mind of the judicious) questionable, can be no less than presumption. 

Bible translators do not have the privilege and luxury of working from the original manuscripts of either the Old or New Testament. Indeed, there are numerous difficult passages where decisions must be made concerning what word or words actually belong in the text, and what these words may, in fact, mean. At such places, the best a translator can do is to give what seems to be one possible meaning for the difficult text and to indicate this by a note, which was also what the King James translators did: “… so diversity of signification and sense in the margin, where the text is not clear, must needs be good; yea, is necessary, as we are persuaded.”

Fortunately, these “words and sentences of that difficulty and doubtfulness” do not in any way leave unclear the central message of the Bible or any of its major doctrines. 

Having and using as great helps as were needful 

The translators of the Contemporary English Version have not created new or novel interpretations of the text. Rather, it was their goal to express mainstream interpretations of the text in current, everyday English. To do so required listening carefully to each word of the biblical text, to the way in which English is spoken today, to the remarks of their reviewers, and especially to the Spirit of God. Once again the comments of the translators of the King James Version are appropriate: 

Neither did we think much to consult the translators or commentators … but neither did we disdain to revise that which we had done, and to bring to the anvil that which we had hammered; but having and using as great helps as were needful, and fearing no reproach for slowness, nor coveting praise for expedition, we have at the length, through the good hand of the Lord upon us, brought forth the work to that pass that you see. 

Accordingly, the translators of the Contemporary English Version are indebted to all translators and biblical scholars who have gone before them and have made it possible to understand something of the languages, cultures, and history of biblical times. And, together with the apostle Paul, they confess: We don’t have the right to claim that we have done anything on our own. God gives us what it takes to do all that we do. (2 Corinthians 3.5) 

Offer praise to God our Savior because of our Lord Jesus Christ!! (Jude 24, 25)