Origin of the
English Bibles

Brethren Edition

Darby did not feel a need for a new translation in English, because he considered the King James Version to be adequate for most purposes, and he encouraged his followers to continue to use it. But he decided to produce a highly literal English version of the New Testament for study purposes. This New Testament was completed in 1867. The version is exceedingly literal, based upon modern critical editions of the Greek text, rather than the Textus Receptus the King James translators used.

The Brethren Bible

John Nelson Darby (1800-1882), became dissatisfied with the carnality and lack of depth in the Anglican Church, so he began meeting with a group in northern England who espoused a very austere and simple form of worship. Not long later he associated with a similarly-minded group of men in Plymouth, England. The "meetings" (they eschewed the use of "congregation") shunned ecclesiastical trappings and preferred to be known only as "the brethren," hence the subsequent label of Plymouth Brethren.

The Plymouth Brethren set themselves apart from conventional church infrastructure to this day, seeking, instead, to model the Acts 2:2 simplicity, including operating under a multiple-elder rule rather than a single-pastor governance.

It is commonly held that John Nelson Darby "discovered" the dispensational model and the "secret rapture," promoting them among the Brethren churches. That eschatological teaching was picked up by C.I. Schofield and became a fixture in many fundamental churches and denominations, notably Dallas Theological Seminary, Bob Jones University, Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey. In fact, though, the positions were preached a hundred years earlier by Welsh Baptist preacher, historian, and original trustee of Brown University, Morgan Edwards.

Darby went to Germany in 1853, where he established congregations in Dusseldorf, in Elberfeld, and in other towns. He was dissatisfied with the existing Bible versions in French and German, and so he collaborated with German and French followers in the creation of new versions in those languages. With some German associates he produced the "Elberfelder Bible," (public domain, published in 1905 and 1985 -- and now available for many phones and PDA's) -- and with French-speaking followers he produced the "Pau Bible." Darby declined to contribute to the English Revised

After Darby's death in 1882, certain of his followers in England produced an English version of the Old Testament based upon Darby's French and German translations. In 1890 this was published as the Old Testament portion of The Holy Scriptures. The complete Darby Bible is still reprinted and used nowdays.

The Darby Translation of the Bible is a reliable translation. More than 125 years after its introduction, it is still considered to be one of the most accurate English translations of the Bible.

The Kindle edition was designed for friendly display as well as optimal navigation on many electronic devices to ensure your reading experience. For easy navigation you can make use of navigation links. Navigating to your preferred chapter can be done in different ways. In just a few clicks, you can be reading any chapter in the Bible. Special attention was given to the design of the Bible text to optimize the reading experience.

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Kindle Edition

King James		English Revised