What is the New English Translation (NET)?

Answer

The New English Translation is a complimentary online English translation of the Bible, supported by the Biblical Studies Foundation (also known as Bible.org). In November 1995, twenty biblical scholars, utilizing the best currently accessible Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts, commenced work on a digital version of a contemporary English translation to be reachable via the Internet and on CD-ROM at no charge to the user. The New English Translation asserts itself as non-denominational and evangelical. The initial edition, released in November 2005, can be freely downloaded and is also obtainable in printed formats. The first edition encompasses the Protestant canon, while the apocryphal/deuterocanonical books are currently being translated and will be included in future editions. A Chinese translation team is presently working on a new translation that incorporates the notes of the New English Translation in Chinese, thereby extending access to an additional 1.5 billion individuals. Concurrent projects involving other languages are also underway.

New English Translation – Translation Method

Similar to the New International Version (NIV), the translation approach adopted for the New English Translation is dynamic equivalence, or thought-for-thought, rather than a strict word-for-word translation. The translation is particularly distinguished for its online availability, the substantial number—nearly 61,000—of extensive footnotes, and its open copyright allowing for free downloads and usage for ministry purposes. Many of the footnotes are included to aid the reader in understanding the decisions and selections made during the translation process, including those deliberated by the translators as they navigated through the challenges and alternatives, thereby offering transparency to users. Furthermore, The NET Bible is the first Bible ever to undergo beta-testing on the Internet. During this beta-testing phase, all working drafts of the New English Translation were.Reposted on www.bible.org for public review and comment. The purpose was not to achieve a consensus translation but to be accountable, transparent, and to request feedback from millions of people on the faithfulness and clarity of the translation as well as on the translators’ notes. Numerous suggestions and comments were received from scholars, professors, lay Bible students, and Christians who speak English as a second language. By creating a translation environment that is responsible both to the world’s scholars and to lay readers, the NET Bible was read, studied, and checked by more eyes than any other Bible translation in history.

New English Translation – Advantages and Disadvantages

Overall, the New English Translation is a very good Bible version. Its free availability and unlimited usage are aspects other translations could learn from. The NET sometimes leans too much into interpretation rather than simple translation. Simultaneously, the NET is more formal than most other English Bible versions that are considered dynamic.

New English Translation – Excerpted Passages

John 1:1, 14 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. Now the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory – the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.”

John 3:16 – “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

John 8:58 – “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am!’”

Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast.”

Titus 2:13 – “while we wait for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”