New (or Old) Required Translations

[Ploni]

Several notable English translations are missing from Accordance's superb module library. In particular are the following: the New English Bible (which to my knowledge is not available in any software package), the original 1611 KJV text with original spelling, the Coverdale translation of the Psalms (the version in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer) and the Revised Version of 1881 (not the ASV). In terms of the history of English translations these also happen to be the most important Bible translations ever produced. More recently, two significant publications of the English Bible have appeared: Ignatius Press have published a second catholic edition of the RSV which removes archaisms and modernizes the language of the RSV. Cambridge University Press have also published the New Paragraph Bible, which is a new edition of the 1611 KJV. The NPB is bound to be the KJV of the future, replacing the 1769 Oxford edition.

 

My question is what are the prospects of the above translations appearing as Accordance modules in the near future? None of the mentioned are currently in electronic format, and I guess that Accordance could secure rights to them if they wished to do so. The last two are particularly important in that it seems these will be the editions of the RSV and KJV which will survive into the future.

 

I myself would be willing to provide the text of the NEB and 1611 as I have these captured in MS Word format, but I have no idea what are copywrite issues in respect of these translations. As far as Coverdale is concerned, it would simply be a matter of putting a freely available text into the Accordance module.