Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament

An important early Methodist revision of the English New Testament, associated with John Wesley and the eighteenth-century evangelical revival out of which Methodism grew. Its scope is limited to the New Testament, and it draws on both Greek and English sources: the Greek New Testament stands behind it, while the King James Version serves as its base text, predecessor, and base translation. Prepared chiefly for preachers and lay readers rather than for scholars, its translation philosophy is pastoral and lightly critical, and the work is best categorized as a revision or fresh rendering rather than an independent translation. Its distinctive feature is that it follows the King James Version closely while altering many readings and expressions, so that the familiar wording remains recognizable even where it has been adjusted. It circulated widely within Methodist communities and is commonly cited in histories of the English Bible.