The Spirit’s Breath: A review of The Bible in English: Its History and Influence, by David Daniell (Cessario, 2004)
In Saint John’s account of the trial before Pontius Pilate, Christ asserts that he has come into the world that he “should bear witness unto the truth,” and Pilate’s reply is “Quid est veritas?” “What is truth?” This well-known retort (John 18:38) supplies a good starting point for a review of David Daniell’s 900-page study of English versions of the Christian Bible. Pilate’s question, after all, is one of the few examples of a complete New Testament sentence that is translated identically in the King James Version (1611); J. B. Phillips, The Gospels in Modern English (1952); the Revised Standard Version (1952); The Living Bible (1962-82); The New English Bible (1970); Today’s English Version (also Good News Bible, 1976); and the New International Version (1978). Daniell’s fascinating and well-researched study shows that identical translations of original texts constitute a rare occurrence in the history of the English Bible.