View source for New English Translation

{{Short description|English Bible translation}}
{{distinguish|New English Bible}}
{{Infobox Bible translation
| title            = New English Translation
| abbreviation     = NET
| bible_published  = 2001
| textual_basis    = {{ubl|'''[[Old Testament|OT]]''': ''[[Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia]]''|'''[[New Testament|NT]]''': ''[[Novum Testamentum Graece]]'' (27th ed., 1993); [[United Bible Societies|UBS]] ''Greek New Testament'' (4th corrected ed.)}}
| translation_type = [[Dynamic equivalence]], with notes featuring [[formal equivalence]]
| reading_level    = Middle school
| version_revised  = 2003, 2005, 2017, 2019
| publisher        = Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
| copyright        =  The NET Bible®, New English Translation
Copyright © 1996 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
NET Bible® Is A Registered Trademark
| website={{URL|https://netbible.com}}
| genesis_1:1-3    = In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. God said, "Let there be light." And there was light!<ref name="NET_Copyright">The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved</ref>
| john_3:16        = For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.<ref name="NET_Copyright" />
}}
{{BibleHistory}}

The '''New English Translation''' ('''NET''') is a free, "completely new"<ref name=preface>{{cite web|url=https://bible.org/netbible/index.htm?pre.htm|title=The NET Bible® ©1996-2003 Biblical Studies Press |publisher=Bible.org |access-date=2018-10-01}}</ref> English translation of the [[Bible]], "with 60,932 translators' notes"<ref name=preface/> sponsored by the Biblical Studies Foundation and published by Biblical Studies Press.

== History and textual basis ==
The New English Translation, like the [[New International Version]], [[New Jerusalem Bible]] and the [[New American Bible]], is a completely new translation of the Bible, not an update or revision of an older one (such as the [[New Revised Standard Version]] of 1989, which is a revision of the [[Revised Standard Version]] of 1946/71, itself a revision of the [[American Standard Version]] of 1901).

The translation and extensive notes were undertaken by more than twenty biblical [[scholar]]s who worked directly from the best currently available [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]], and [[Greek language|Greek]] texts.<ref name=preface/> The NET Bible was initially conceived at an annual meeting of the [[Society of Biblical Literature]] in November 1995 in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]. The [[translation project]] originally started as an attempt to provide a digital version of a modern English translation over the [[Internet]] and on [[CD-ROM]] without cost for the user.<ref name="preface"/>  Many of those involved in the project's initial discussions eventually became part of the translation team.  The translation itself claims to be non-sectarian, "inter-denominational" and [[evangelicalism|evangelical]].

The translation is most notable for an immense number of lengthy [[footnote]]s (which often explain its textual translation decision).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Naselli |first1=Andrew David |title=How to Understand and Apply the New Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology |date=2017 |publisher=[[P&R Publishing]] |page=47}}</ref> Other significant features include its open translation process, its availability on the Internet (both during its beta process and in its final form), and its open copyright permitting free downloads.

An original beta was released in 2001, followed by a second beta in 2003 and the first edition in 2006. A second edition with updated Strong's Hebrew and Greek to English mappings was released in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://netbible.com/net-bible-preface|title=NET Bible Preface {{!}} NET Bible|website=netbible.com|access-date=2017-12-18}}</ref>

As of 2019, editions with [[Biblical apocrypha|apocrypha]] are in development.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-08 |title=Preface to the NET Bible Apocrypha |url=https://netbible.com/2019/07/08/preface-to-the-net-bible-apocrypha/ |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=NET Bible |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Copyright status ==
The NET Bible's approach towards copyright comprises a full copyright license<ref name=preface/><ref name="copyright">{{cite web|url=https://netbible.com/copyright/ |title=NET Bible - Trademark and Copyright Information |publisher=Bible.org |access-date=2012-02-15}}</ref> which is explained in its "Ministry First" statement,<ref name="ministryfirst">{{cite web|url=https://bible.org/article/ministry-first |title=NET Bible - "Ministry First" |publisher=Bible.org |access-date=2012-02-15}}</ref> both of which emphasize its openness and free availability. The publishers claim that "after 10 years, the NET Bible is still the only major modern translation that can be downloaded free in its entirety and used seamlessly in presentations and documents."<ref name="ministryfirst"/> However, as of October 2010, the NET Bible's copyright statement is over 1500 words long, and contains different conditions for generic copyright, [[diglots]] and bible quotations in multiple formats, including commercial and non-commercial publications.<ref name="copyright"/>

The NET Bible's approach to copyright is self-summarised as:

{{quote|The Bible is God's gift to humanity – it should be free.<ref name=preface/>}}

In "Copyright Innovations – Toward a New Model", the Ministry First position statement makes at least four additional important clarifications:

*We still don't fully like the copyright notice for the NET Bible, but in our litigious world it remains a challenge...
*We believe that 1 Tim 5:17-18 (the author has the right to be paid) and Lev 23:22 (allow the poor and foreigner free access) can be simultaneously satisfied far better with a new Internet model...
*We want all authors to know that the NET Bible is a safe choice.
*It is time for ministry to be more free – and for a Bible which puts ministry first....Let us know how we can better serve your needs.

However, these statements do not form part of the copyright notice itself, so their legal value is unclear.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

== Functional and formal translation ==
[[Gordon Fee]] and [[Mark L. Strauss]] see the NET (along with the [[NIV]] and the [[HCSB]]) as a "mediating version" between [[Dynamic and formal equivalence|functional equivalence and formal equivalence]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fee |first1=Gordon D. |author1-link=Gordon Fee |last2=Strauss|first2=Mark L. |author-link2=Mark L. Strauss|title=How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding and Using Bible Versions |date=2009 |publisher=[[Zondervan Academic]] |page=41 |isbn=978-0-310-53923-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A05jRKprBk4C&pg=PA41 |access-date=23 September 2022}}</ref>

In the preface to the first edition, [[W. Hall Harris III]], PhD, "The NET Bible Project Director" claims that the NET Bible solves the problem of dynamic vs. formal equivalence:

{{quote|
[T]he translators and editors used the notes to give ''a translation that was formally equivalent, while placing a somewhat more functionally [or ''dynamically''] equivalent translation in the text itself to promote better readability and understandability''. The longstanding tension between these two different approaches to Bible translation has thus been fundamentally solved.<ref name="preface"/>}}

The preface of the NET Bible presents the advantage of this feature in the following way: "The translators' notes make the original languages far more accessible, allowing you to look over the translator's shoulder at the very process of translation."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bible.org/netbible/index.htm?pre.htm |title=Welcome &#124; NET Bible from Bible.org |publisher=NET Bible |access-date=2012-02-15}}</ref>

== Other versions ==
The NET Bible has both English and [[Chinese language|Chinese]] versions. The Chinese version is also called Chinese NET Bible.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Download |url=https://netbible.com/download/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=NET Bible |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Official website|https://netbible.com}}

{{English Bible translation navbox}}

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[[Category:2005 in Christianity]]
[[Category:Bible translations into English]]