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Open Word Bible

A public-domain Bible translated from Hebrew and Greek, with the reasoning behind every sentence open for anyone to read, question and reuse.

Visit openwordbible.org ↗How it works
CC0No copyright. Print it, share it, adapt it.
3 levelsLiteral, balanced and readable
7 languagesEnglish first, six more in progress
DraftingDrafts stay labelled until reviewed

One verse, three ways

Choose how closely to follow the original

Every passage comes at three levels. Switch between them to see the difference in Isaiah 40:8.

Literal

Grass dries up, [the] flower wilts, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Follows the Hebrew closely. Words supplied in English are in [brackets].

Balanced

Grass dries out and flowers droop, but the word of our God holds firm for all time.

Accurate and natural: the level most people will read.

Readable

Grass dries up and flowers wilt. But what our God says will last forever.

Plain modern language, made explicit where it helps.

Isaiah 40:8 · Open Word Bible · Draft

Behind every sentence

A reasoning record, not a black box

Each sentence of the source is stored with everything that went into translating it.

  1. The original words

    Hebrew and Greek loaded from openly licensed source data, never retyped.

  2. A literal gloss

    "Dries up grass, withers flower, and [the] word of our God will stand forever."

  3. Three translations

    Literal, balanced and readable, in each language.

  4. Every decision

    What was chosen, what else was possible, and why.

The decisions in Isaiah 40:8

Meaning

"Will stand" means will remain valid and come true

The verb is used of God's plans and promises that are carried out (14:24; 46:10; Numbers 23:19).

Meaning

Quoted in 1 Peter 1:24-25

Peter quotes verses 6-8 and applies them to the good news that was preached: "this is the word that was proclaimed to you."

English · Readable

"What our God says"

The readable level explains "the word of our God" as what God says.

Languages

English first, and six more under way

  • English
  • Español
  • Français
  • Kiswahili
  • Tiếng Việt
  • 한국어
  • Português

From draft to reviewed

How a sentence earns its status

  1. Step 1

    AI draft

    Drafted with its reasoning, and labelled as a draft.

  2. Step 2

    Meaning reviewed

    A named reviewer checks the sense against the original.

  3. Step 3

    Reviewed

    A named reviewer approves the wording.

  4. Afterwards

    Revised

    Corrections after review are recorded as revisions.

Read Hebrew or Greek?

Help review drafts so they can be marked reviewed.

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