Modern Language Bible

The Modern Language Bible is a substantial revision and renaming of the Berkeley Version, the mid-twentieth-century English translation completed in 1959, which serves as its predecessor and base translation. It covers the complete Bible, rendered from the Hebrew and Greek, with the original-language texts serving as its base rather than an earlier English version. Its translation philosophy is moderate and readable, seeking a middle course between close formal correspondence and free paraphrase, in keeping with the many new English versions produced during the twentieth century. Among its distinctive features, the revision is smoother and more committee-shaped than the original project, which had begun with a narrower circle of hands; the broader editorial involvement is reflected in its evened-out style. It belongs to the tradition of conservative Protestant English translation, and is generally cited under its later name rather than its original title.