About Those Who Work on the MLV

We are a group of Christians who believe the Word of God was God-breathed — but only when translated faithfully into English. Everyone who has worked on the MLV arrived here by a similar path. Most would say one or more of the following:

• They studied their way here.
• They were always seeking a purer translation, closer to the Koine Greek, than what was available to them.
• They found real issues with their current “favorite” translation — or discovered the same errors repeated across multiple translations, because most are simply new versions of the same old KJV.
• Some began learning Greek. Some started revising renderings to match what the Greek actually says.
• They found major doctrinal problems tied directly to who made certain translations — a government, a church, a publishing company, or someone motivated by money.
• They had their fill of versions built on corrupt texts or on minimal use of the available Greek manuscript evidence.
• They wanted to do more than 3.5 hours a week and were willing to give something up to help.
• They wanted a translation that could grow, be readable by all Christians, and expand into companion reference works.

Most contributors come from non-denominational or independent churches — groups who treat the Bible as a rule book, not just a guidebook. Apart from the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Hebrew Roots, and Christian Scientists, virtually every major Christian tradition has contributed in some way.

You might expect that much diversity would produce a muddled translation. The opposite actually has been true. Because every rendering must survive scrutiny by people from many different backgrounds, no one's private theological preference survives — everyone knows it will be caught and discarded. We have had some of the finest Greek scholars on this planet contribute alongside proofreaders with a sixth-grade education and second-language English speakers. We are grateful to all of them, living and gone, for their work toward ending 600 years of accumulated error in English translation.

What Makes the MLV Unique

The MLV was built differently from every other English New Testament. The firsts below are not marketing — they are the actual reason this project exists.

Firsts in translation history

1. First to use modern computers as a translation instrument — not just a word processor, but a computer-checked quality control system ensuring every decision is consistent. That began in 1987.
2. First translation with no internal contradictions — because contradictions in word choices across other translations were why the MLV was started in the first place.
3. First to enforce Greek uniformity — the same Greek word is rendered by the same English word whenever the meaning allows it. 90% of all Bible Greek words have only 1 meaning.
4. First to enforce English uniformity — one English word(s) maps to one Greek word or meaning. The KJV translates the English word will from 69 different Greek words; the MLV does not.
5. First to ever open the translation to the internet for public corrections — since 1998, anyone has been able to submit a change. No other translation has ever done this.
6. First done by a unified group rather than divided committees — committees translate differently from one another; every MLV decision was made and reviewed uniformly.
7. First — and only — published translation to remain permanently open — typos, better English phrasing, or “thus saith the Greek” corrections can always be submitted. Yearly updates or a ‘Change Log’ will keep the MLV current. You can always be up to date with the PDF download from the home page.
8. First to consistently render the Greek conjunctions — e.g., translating all “for” when it represents “because” or “on behalf of” throughout, so passages like Acts 2:38 read exactly as the Greek says not a KJV error reproduced in almost all other translations.

Additional features not found elsewhere

• You° (plural) — marks the plural “you” throughout, restoring distinctions lost in modern English that change the meaning of entire passages.
• Supplied words are italicized — any word added for English readability that is not in the Greek is marked, so you always know what is translation and what is addition.
• No agenda possible — rigid translation principles make it impossible to smuggle a theological opinion into a rendering.
• Sixth-grade reading level — accessible to new believers, and all large words can be looked up in any standard dictionary.
• Chronological reading order available — the N.T. can be read beginning in Mark and continuing in the order as events occurred, including the order of when the Letters to the Congregations were written.
• Transliterated words actually translated — many words that other versions simply carry over from Greek (like baptism) are translated into English. The MLV uses immersion.
• Byzantine/Majority Text base — the Robinson-Pierpont Greek New Testament, a compilation representing 65+ manuscript families from the 6,000 known manuscripts in existence, not the two oldest manuscripts that form the basis of the UBS/NA critical text and all other minority text compilations.
• Free in all electronic formats

The Koine Greek Reference Library

The MLV is accompanied by a suite of reference works, all built to the same standards as the translation itself. Published volumes include:

• English Concordance — every English word in the MLV, linked to the Greek entry below.
• Greek Lexicon — every Greek word across the major manuscript compilations, with MLV glosses (a one-of-a-kind resource).
• Analytical Lexicon — not just the words, but a very literal translation of each form (a one-of-a-kind resource).
• Greek Word Concordance — of the Byzantine Text and other compilations (a one-of-a-kind resource).
• Greek Interlinear — for Greek students; gives a literal gloss of each individual word rather than a phrase-level translation (a one-of-a-kind resource).

Not yet published: Koine Greek Textbook 7, documenting all the places where major manuscript compilations disagree.

How to Proofread the MLV

The whole goal is to make the world's most accurate translation also the most readable. Read the Preface and Appendix first so you understand how asterisk-marked words and supplied words work.

English proofreaders — look for:

• Object-first sentences — Greek often runs “indirect object, object subject, verb.” Reordering to “subject, verb, object, indirect object” does no harm to the Greek and improves readability and understanding. If it reads choppy, note how you think it should read.
• Typos — “teh” for “the,” “an” for “a,” etc.
• Punctuation — add or remove as needed. Reading aloud is the best test.
• Supplied words — you may suggest adding a word like “the” or “a” (it will be italicized to show it is supplied). The goal is readability, not commentary or paraphrase.
• Word-level substitutions — some words have valid alternatives listed in the Word List (e.g., “for / to,” “thus / so,” “even / also”). Most content words cannot be swapped.

The best method: print the chapters and mark them up as if an English teacher is grading a term paper.

Greek proofreaders — look for:

• Any Greek word rendered inconsistently across the MLV. Before submitting, check the Greek concordance and include the Strong's number — transliteration schemes vary and Unicode Greek does not always survive email.
• Read the Robinson-Pierpont Majority Text alongside the MLV and note anything that does not match.
• Look for known problem areas common across almost all translations.

Please submit corrections chapter by chapter so we can track what areas have already been reviewed. Always download the PDF from the home page first.

Submit a Correction

Use the format below, or something similar, so we know exactly where to look:

We want your comments and recommendations whether they fix a simple English typo or a rendering that is “thus saith NOT the Greek.” If it is a genuine Greek issue, it will be corrected. If it is an English improvement, it will be corrected. The one thing that will not be accepted is a correction that is simply someone's theological preference. We don't want anyone's theology but God's.

If you believe you have found a Greek error — great. Send it. If you can find 111 Greek mistakes in the MLV that are correct in your preferred translation, we would love to hear about all of them. But if you only find one, send that too; we will fix it.

Email: info (at) modernliteralversion (dot) org — subject line: MLV correction

Thanks for taking the time to be a proofreader.

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