The Open English Translation of the Bible (OET) -- a unique, exciting, completely free and open-licensed, new modern-English Bible translation
The new website is at https://OpenEnglishTranslation.Bible. (The previous one was at https://Freely-Given.org/BibleTranslations/English/OET/.) The Bible text is also available at the Open Bible Data website at https://Freely-Given.org/OBD/.
The Open English Translation project has been planned for almost fifteen years (a draft of Jonah was done in 2010), although circumstances only allowed for full-time development to begin in mid-2022.
Perhaps one of the main differences from existing English translations that should be mentioned here is this: All translations must choose to place themselves somewhere on the line that moves from being very literal (some people might perhaps naively think this is being accurate to the original), to being more helpful to the reader by being more free/dynamic (in making a translation that fills in some of the implied information that might have been obvious to the original readers). The Open English Translation handles this by choosing two points on the literal⇔dynamic line instead of just one! The two versions (one very literal and one quite dynamic) are intended to be used together (and never alone).
Another major difference, is that the Open English Translation is freely available for others to use and publish in Bible studies and similar materials (including research theses), to print, to display on any device, and even to change/customise (with only small limitations) to meet other specific needs.
After several years of waiting, the Open English Translation project was restarted in the second half of 2022 (as soon as the new Statistical Restoration Greek New Testament dataset was officially released by the Center for New Testament Restoration). This work started with a review of our design and work on new planned file formats, and then a focus on creating the New Testament portion of the Literal Version. Are you interested in helping or supporting this effort? If so, please use our Contact Page.
The Old Testament portions will be based on the work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible team.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the OET can be found here (until they move to here).
The Open English Translation will eventually be available in six versions:
- Literal Version (also see blog announcement) which may then be printed/displayed alongside one of the:
- Readers’ Version (also see blog announcement), the
- Colloquial Version, the
- Study Version (also see blog announcement), or the
- Extended Version (also see blog announcement), and possibly the
- Digest Version for those who want the essence without some of the trivia (like Paul forgetting his coat in Troas).
If you’re a professional Bible translator or consultant or notes-writer, or if you’re an app developer and able to help us in this endeavour, please start a conversation with us via our Contact Page.
As of January 2023, the following books have been drafted (but still expecting to undergo much checking and revision): John (15,635--879--21), Mark (11,304--678--16), Ephesians (2,422--155--6), Titus (659--46--3), 3 John (219--15--1), and Jude (461--25--1). These represent 30,700/138,020 Greek words (22%), 1,798/7956 NT verses (23%), or 48/260 NT chapters (18%).
Our goal is to complete the first draft and first check of the OET New Testament by the end of 2023.
It is my request to my family and executors of my will to place all of this work into the public domain, finished or unfinished, on the event of my death. It has always been my desire that the Open English Translation be a gift to the world, including the Literal Version, the Readers’ Version, and any other versions made under my control or under the auspices of Freely-Given.org.
Please note that any contributions by others to this project will only be accepted on these same grounds.