NOTE: The bible part of the Mission Communities Network website is still under development.

This website includes the King James Version (KJV), American Standard Version (ASV, 1901), Bible in Basic English (BBE), and World English Bible (WEB). These translations are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and distributed. The World English Bible was produced by Rainbow Missions, Inc. and released into the public domain.

The headings, used here to sub divide the verses for every bible, were taken from the World English Bible (WEB).

The short introductions/summaries to every book were generated by AI.

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Here’s a summary of the primary manuscript traditions behind each translation. The biggest distinction is whether a translation relies mainly on the Textus Receptus (TR), the Masoretic Text (MT), or the modern critical texts (Nestle-Aland/UBS for the New Testament and Biblia Hebraica for the Old Testament).

BBE (Bible in Basic English)

• OT: Traditional Hebrew Masoretic Text.
• NT: Based largely on the same Greek textual tradition used by the English Revised Version (1881), influenced by the critical work of Westcott and Hort rather than the Textus Receptus.
• Uses a restricted vocabulary of about 1,000 English words.

KJV

• OT: Hebrew Masoretic Text, specifically the Ben Chayyim Rabbinic Bible (1524–25).
• NT: Textus Receptus, mainly editions by Erasmus, Stephanus, and Beza.
• Includes readings such as:
  • Longer ending of Mark (Mark 16:9–20)
  • John 7:53–8:11
  • Comma Johanneum (1 John 5:7–8)

WEB (World English Bible)

• OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Masoretic Text).
• NT: Based primarily on the Byzantine Majority Text, not the Textus Receptus.
• Public-domain modern English translation.

BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

• OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Masoretic Text), with consultation of:
  • Dead Sea Scrolls
  • Septuagint
  • Samaritan Pentateuch
  • Other ancient versions where appropriate
• NT: Nestle-Aland 28th Edition / UBS critical text.
• Represents the modern scholarly consensus.

ASV (American Standard Version)

• Revision of the English Revised Version.
• OT: Masoretic Text.
• NT: Greek critical text associated with Westcott and Hort and the English Revised Version.
• One of the earliest English Bibles to move away from the Textus Receptus.

Note on the Old Testament: All six translations are fundamentally based on the Masoretic Text for the Old Testament. The main differences arise in how willing the translators are to adopt readings from other ancient witnesses (such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, or Samaritan Pentateuch) when the Masoretic Text is difficult or appears to preserve a later reading. Modern translations like the BSB generally consult these sources more extensively than older translations like the KJV or ASV.