A New Bible Translation is in the Making - The Common English Bible

There is yet another English translation of the Bible in the works. It will be called the Common English Bible. According to the website "[t]his new translation is sponsored by the Christian Resources Development Corp, a subsidiary funded by the United Methodist Publishing House for ecumenical partnerships in curriculum, music, and Bibles." I have not seen an official release date but we can probably expect to see portions of it in the next year or so.

The website further reports that the translation "will be used in the teaching and worship practices of congregations in at least the following traditions: Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist, Disciples of Christ, and the United Church of Christ." The range of translators is very ecumenical.

The rationale for this new translation is similar to many others I've read. They say, "Music and worship practices have shifted significantly in the previous 15 years, with more emphasis on image and metaphor. A new translation must attend to evocative language that is more engaging emotionally than precise, systematic syntax. Further, due to globalization, technology, and the internet, enormous changes have occurred in the English language since the major translations were prepared a generation or two in the past. The vocabulary of the English language has tripled in size to more than one million words. It is time for a new translation that responds to the more recent needs and idioms of Bible readers."

I'm not sure English has changed that much to warrant an entirely new translation. I'll wait to see what this new emphasis on "image and metaphor" looks like. As with most contemporary translations this one will be dynamic equivalent in nature.