“Contemporary.” “Accurate.” “Distinct.” Scholars are already calling the International Standard Version (ISV 2.0) “the King James Bible for our time.”Now, timed to coincide with the 400th anniversary of publication of the venerable Authorized (King James) Version on May 5, 1611, the ISV has been released in a variety of popular ebook formats, including editions readable on the Amazon® Kindle,® the Barnes and Noble® Nook,® mobi pocket readers, and other popular formats.“Scheduled for release soon are iPhone and iPad editions,” says Dr. William Welty, Director of the ISV Foundation. “The ISV is not a revision, but an entirely new translation from the original languages—the first time this has been done in decades,” Welty continued. “And it’s been developed with a critical eye toward the computer age. As the first translation completely developed for a computer-literate generation, readers will have the confidence they’re reading the latest edition scholarship can make available.”Why a New English Translation Now?“A new English Bible was deemed necessary for a number of reasons,” Dr. Welty explained. “One very important reason for developing the ISV was for mission work. Every English Bible translation without exception charges royalty fees for missionary printing, such as evangelistic crusades and the like. Ten or fifteen cents per New Testament adds up, and when your organization can barely cover the cost of the paper, you can really use a royalty-free printing contract. The ISV doesn’t charge royalties for copies that are given away by the mission groups.”The second reason for developing the ISV has to do with improved textual evidence. “The ISV is the first and only translation to feature a translation directly from the Great Isaiah Scroll instead of the Masoretic text,” Dr. Welty remarked. “This is absolutely unique.”A third reason for developing the ISV concerns the changes in language every generation. “The English language is constantly changing and every generation sees new means of expression,” Dr. Welty explained. “By issuing release and build numbers like finely crafted software, the reader knows the text of the ISV is up to date.” The current release and build number of the Holy Bible: International Standard Version is Release 2.0, Build 2011.05.01.History of the ISV Started in 1996 from the roots of a non-profit organization in California, the original goal was to produce a modern-language version of the Hebrew Old Testament. The project grew to comprise both Old and New Testaments and used renowned scholars from around the world to translate the original ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts. A list of the contributing scholars and their qualifications can be found at http://isv.org/about_us/scholars.htm. The ISV has proved to be especially sensitive to the latest scholarship available from the Dead Sea Scrolls; Dr. Peter Flint, one of the foremost authorities in world on the Qumran discoveries, was retained to make a fresh translation of the Great Isaiah Scroll for the ISV’s book of Isaiah. Hundreds of footnotes documenting differences between the text of the Great Isaiah Scroll and the traditional Masoretic Text of the book of Isaiah form a textual apparatus that is unique to the ISV. “There is nothing like it in any translation of the Bible in any language, anywhere,” Dr. Welty explained. Future ISV ProjectsFuture projects from the ISV Foundation will include Bible-related computer software, critical commentaries, the Apocrypha, and a network based on biblical texts located in different countries.
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