An Introduction to the new Common English Bible + a Giveaway!

Imagine my surprise last weekend when the pastor at my church referenced passages from the Common English Bible in his message on the Book of Romans last weekend! I was extremely excited, as I am part of the “Thank You – Come Again – I Promise” Blog Tour for this brand new translation!

Here’s an introduction to the Common English Bible:

The Common English Bible is written in contemporary idiom at the same reading level as the newspaper USA TODAY—using language that’s comfortable and accessible for today’s English readers. It’s available—with and without the Apocrypha—in multiple editions and bindings. 

Known for being “built on common ground,” the CommonEnglish Bible is a collaboration of 120 academic scholars and editors, 77 reading group leaders, and more than 500 average readers from around the world who joined together to clearly translate the Bible’s original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages into 21st century English. More than half-a-million copies of the Bible are currently in print. It’s also available online and in 20 digital formats. 

“When we say ‘built on common ground,’ we mean that the Common English Bible is the result of collaboration between opposites: scholars working with average readers; conservatives working with liberals; teens working with retirees; men working with women; many denominations and many ethnicities coming together around the common goal of creating a vibrant and clear translation for 21st century readers, with the ultimate objective of mutually accomplishing God’s overall work in the world; in essence, helping Bible readers live on common ground,” says Franklyn. 

Combining scholarly accuracy with vivid language, the CommonEnglish Bible is the work of 120 biblical scholars from 24 denominations in American, African, Asian, European, and Latino communities, representing such academic institutions as Asbury Theological Seminary, Azusa Pacific University, Bethel Seminary, Denver Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, Seattle Pacific University, Wheaton College, Yale University, and many others. 

Additionally, more than 500 readers in 77 groups field-tested the translation. Every verse was read aloud in the reading groups, where potentially confusing passages were identified. The translators considered the groups' responses and, where necessary, reworked those passages to clarify in modern English their meaning from the original languages. In total, more than 700 people worked jointly to bring the Common English Bible to fruition; and because of the Internet and today’s technology it was completed in less than four years.

Visit CommonEnglishBible.com to see comparison translations, learn about the translators, get free downloads, and more. You can also follow their Twitter account at @CommonEngBible. 

The Common English Bible is sponsored by the Common English Bible Committee, an alliance of five publishers that serve the general market, as well as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (Chalice Press), Presbyterian Church (USA) (Westminster John Knox Press), Episcopal Church (Church Publishing, Inc.), United Church of Christ (The Pilgrim Press), and The United Methodist Church (Abingdon Press). 

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As part of this blog tour, I am able to offer my readers a free copy of the softcover edition of the Common English Bible for each week of the blog tour (which runs through January 31, 2012)!

For this week, please let me know which verse in the Bible you are most interested in reading in the new Common English Bible version. Please leave your email address also, so I can contact you to get your mailing address.

The deadline to enter for this week will be Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 11:59 pm ET. The winner will be chosen from all entries by the Random Number Generator on Sunday, December 4, 2011. All the best to you!