Noah Webster's 1833 limited revision of the King James Bible focused mainly on replacing archaic words and making simple grammatical changes. For example: "why" instead of "wherefore", "its" instead of "his" when referring to nonliving things, "male child" instead of "manchild", etc. He also introduced euphemisms to remove words he found offensive: "whore" becomes "lewd woman". Overall, very few changes were made, and the result is a book which is almost indistinguishable from the King James Bible. It has sometimes been called the "Common Version" (which is not to be confused with the Common Bible of 1973, an ecumencial edition of the Revised Standard Version). The efforts of translating the Bible from its original languages into over 2,000 others have spanned more than two millennia. ... A number of Old English Bible translations were prepared in mediaeval England, translations of parts of the Bible into the Old English language. ... The age of Middle English was not a fertile time for Bible translations but saw the first major translation that of John Wyclif. ... Early Modern English Bible translations are those translations of the Bible which were made between about 1500 and 1800, the period of Early Modern English. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Jewish English Bible translations are modern English Bible translations that include the books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) according to the masoretic text, and according to the traditional division and order of Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim. ... These are other translation projects which are worthy of note which are not easily classified in the other groups: Anchor Bible Series - The Anchor Bible is a translation treating the Bible merely as a historical text; each book is translated by a different scholar, with extensive critical commentary. ... Noah Webster Noah Webster (October 16, 1758 – April 28, 1843) was an American lexicographer, textbook author, spelling reformer, political writer, and editor. ... Year 1833 (MDCCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in the mid-20th century. ...

Modern critics are surprised by just how little Webster changed the King James Bible. His revision was very light, as he did not want to make the language wholly contemporary, but rather wanted to correct flaws he disagreed with as an educator. Other, less orthodox Americans were bringing out their own versions of the New Testament, but he had no interest in theologically-motivated changes.

The problem with the older books was confusion on the part of readers as the language styles had been evolving over the years and a lot of meaning of the text in this Bible were being lost on the average reader. Some passages were misunderstood. Grammar had evolved as well and the above changes made an easier read while purifying the language and making it more delicate.

External links

• Webster’s Revision of the KJV discusses the book and quotes its complete Preface and Introduction.
• Complete Text of Webster's Revision
• Complete book list of Webster's Revision