SACRED, YET SIMPLE. That was the goal when the American Bible Society (ABS) commissioned The New Testament in Today's English Version. This translation would abandon formal and literary language in favor of a modern, nonstilted usage. The ABS claimed that this colloquial translation, published in 1966, was the first of its kind.
Why go modern? Because not only would such a translation be easier to read, but it would also be more true to the tone of the original text. That text was written in koine, or "common," Greek—the contemporary language of the people during the first few centuries after Christ. Therefore, an English translation that approximated the style of the original would more accurately represent the true spirit of the Greek than the now somewhat formal-sounding King James Version. And hopefully, it would have the same impact on the reader that the Greek had some 2,000 years ago.
A translation of the Old Testament, which adhered to the same principles, followed about a decade later and resulted in what is known today as the Today's English Version or the Good News Translation (GNT).
