Bible translation guide

World English Bible

WEB

The World English Bible is a modern-English revision of the 1901 American Standard Version, created for unrestricted reading, sharing, publishing, and digital use.

Read the WEB See notable renderings

Core translation summary

What is it?

The WEB began with the public-domain American Standard Version. A custom program made a first pass at archaic words and forms; editors and volunteers then revised the language, punctuation, grammar, and textual decisions against Hebrew and Greek sources.

The project was distributed online in draft form from 1997 and declared complete in 2020. Its style stays fairly close to the wording of the source texts while using contemporary vocabulary, contractions, and spoken English. Public-domain status is part of the translation’s purpose, not an afterthought.

Bible translation history and lineage

Where this translation comes from

The WEB belongs to the revision family that grew from the British Revised Version and its American counterpart. It modernizes that tradition while revisiting the source texts and selected New Testament readings.

King James Version
1611
The English base tradition later revised by British and American scholars.
Revised Version
1881–1885
A British scholarly revision of the KJV using newer textual evidence.
American Standard Version
1901
The American revision that became the WEB’s direct English base text.
World English Bible
1997–2020
Modernized the ASV and reviewed significant readings against Hebrew and Greek sources.

Translation timeline

How the text developed

1901
The American Standard Version is published
The ASV supplies the public-domain English base and much of the formal translation character later inherited by the WEB.
1994
The modern public-domain project begins
Michael Paul Johnson began work toward a contemporary English Bible that could be copied and published without royalty restrictions.
1997
Drafts are distributed online
eBible.org began publishing draft WEB text for worldwide electronic use and public review.
2020
The classic WEB is completed
Language revision of the classic edition was declared complete. Verified typos and significant errors may still be corrected.
Today
One translation, several editions
The WEB family includes classic, updated, British, Protestant, Catholic, and ecumenical forms with differences in spelling, canon, and the rendering of the divine name.

Textual basis and translation philosophy

How it translates

A revision of the ASV

The WEB retains the ASV’s close attention to source-language form while replacing archaic English, adding quotation marks, and revising punctuation and usage.

Modern spoken English

The classic WEB uses contemporary American spelling and permits contractions. It aims to sound natural when read aloud without becoming a paraphrase.

Hebrew and Greek review

The Old Testament was reviewed with the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia tradition. The New Testament combines inherited ASV decisions with readings from the Greek Majority Text rather than following either source mechanically at every variant.

The divine name in the classic edition

Where the ASV used “Jehovah,” the classic WEB normally uses “Yahweh.” Other WEB editions use “LORD” or “GOD” in keeping with common English Bible tradition.

Key strengths

Where it shines

Free to share

The complete text can be quoted, copied, printed, recorded, and built into software without a royalty agreement.

Modern but text-conscious

It removes much of the language distance of the ASV and KJV while retaining a relatively formal relationship to the source text.

Clear divine-name policy

The classic edition’s use of “Yahweh” makes thousands of places with the Hebrew divine name visible to English readers.

Designed for digital access

Open distribution and stable downloadable formats make the WEB particularly useful for websites, apps, audio, and other public projects.

Significant verse renderings

Hear the translation’s character

These passages show choices that are especially recognizable, useful for study, or revealing of the translation’s English style.

Exodus 3:15 →

“Yahweh, the God of your fathers … has sent me to you.”

The classic WEB prints the divine name rather than substituting the traditional small-cap “LORD.”

Genesis 1:1 →

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

A light punctuation and vocabulary update preserves the familiar shape of the traditional English sentence.

John 3:16 →

“He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish”

“One and only” replaces the traditional “only begotten,” putting the interpretive choice into current English.

Matthew 4:4 →

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

The WEB often keeps inherited phrasing when it remains clear, rather than changing language simply to sound different.

Consider other translations when…

When comparison helps

Every translation makes choices. A second translation is most useful when it exposes a choice that one English text can hide.

Your church or study group uses another standard text

Shared wording can matter for liturgy, memorization, and discussion. A widely used local translation may reduce needless friction.

You prefer an eclectic critical Greek text

The WEB’s New Testament often follows the Majority Text at significant variants, though it also retains some ASV decisions. Compare a modern critical-text translation when variants matter to the passage.

You need smoother literary polish

The WEB prioritizes accuracy, public availability, and incremental community revision. Some passages read less idiomatically than translations shaped by a single editorial style.

“Yahweh” would distract from the reading setting

Many congregations expect “LORD.” A WEB Updated or another translation may fit public worship better while the classic WEB remains useful for study.

Using and crediting the text

The World English Bible is dedicated to the public domain and made available under CC0. It may be copied, quoted, published, sold, broadcast, recorded, or incorporated into software without royalties.

The project asks that changed text not be presented as the World English Bible. That protects the name’s association with faithful copies rather than restricting quotation or redistribution of the text itself.

Credit

A revision of the 1901 American Standard Version, led by senior editor Michael Paul Johnson with volunteer translators, editors, and proofreaders; distributed by eBible.org.

Resources

Learn more

Go deeper with primary texts, library exhibitions, translation documentation, scholarly histories, downloads, and rights guidance.

Primary text

World English Bible

What is it?

Where this translation comes from

King James Version

Revised Version

American Standard Version