From 1870 to 1885, about one hundred scholars from England and America revised the Authorized Version and called it the Revised Version.
When these scholars were revising the Authorized Version, some of the suggested revisions by the American scholars were not accepted. Later, in America, the American scholars revised the Revised Version, incorporating their suggestions, and called it the American Standard Version. Most of this version is the same as the Revised Version.
The Bible has been translated into many languages, and many versions have been written. According to the 1990 Scripture Language Report published by the United Bible Societies (UBS), the Bible has been translated into 1,946 languages. There are about fifty English versions.
There are some versions of the Bible that are mostly paraphrased. The Living New Testament Version is a paraphrased version. John 1:1 of the Living New Testament version says, “Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is Himself God.” Most versions say, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” You can see that the paraphrase is not exactly like the original. Paraphrased versions include many concepts of the writers concerning the Bible. Serious students of the Bible use properly translated versions.
The Recovery Version is translated into English, Chinese, and Spanish. The Chinese Recovery Version was published in 1988. The English Recovery Version will be published in the Fall of 1991. The Spanish Recovery Version will follow. Brother Witness Lee and his co-workers condensed the best of the Bible studies from the past two thousand years and integrated them into the Recovery Version. The Recovery Version has many advantages over the other versions and study Bibles.
The Recovery Version is the most accurate translation. It is an improvement based on the existing acceptable versions and the most recently recovered truths. The translators did not compromise the true understanding for traditional teachings or for cultural preferences. They endeavored to provide the most accurate translation so that man may know the truth according to God’s divine revelation.
The Recovery Version is one of the most readable translations. The style and word usage of many versions are old and hard to understand. As a result, many people do not like to read the Bible. Some translators have tried to please the readers by publishing paraphrased Bibles, yet they compromise the truth. The Recovery Version is both accurate and easy to read.
The Recovery Version provides an outline for every book of the New Testament. Many readers of the Bible, even though they have faithfully read the Bible for years, do not know the subjects, outlines, or backgrounds of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. The outlines help the readers to better understand each book.
The Recovery Version also includes footnotes. Footnotes explain many hard-to-understand portions. There are four types of footnotes: 1) the literal meaning of a word or words in Greek; 2) a brief definition of a word or a verse; 3) an introduction or conclusion to a book or a section of the Word; and 4) a thorough study of a word or a topic. These footnotes open the Word to the readers to enlighten them, causing them to know the truth and to experience life.
The Recovery Version gives many references in the margins to help readers find supporting verses for their study. Unlike an exhaustive concordance, the references list only the related verses.
The Life-study messages are an accompanying set of study aids for the New Testament. This set of messages opens up every verse of the New Testament. If readers still desire to further research a verse or subject matter after studying it in the Recovery Version, they can receive additional help from the Life-study messages. They will not only get the knowledge of the Word, they will also get nourished with the Word to experience life and grow in life.