Many of our Original Bible Project long-term associates and supporters have seen national ads or recently received mailings about a new Bible on the market: The Holy Bible in Its Original Order (York Publishing), see http://originalbiblerestored.com/

I though it might be important to make clear that neither I nor the Original Bible Project itself have any connection with that particular Bible. It was produced by Fred R. Coulter, a minister and author who became enamored with the work of the late Dr. Ernest L. Martin on the subject of the canonization of the Bible, and in particular the “original” order of books in both the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and the New Testament. Dr. Martin’s position on these matters was expressed most fully in his book, The Original Bible Restored.You can find that book (both one-line and in print) and lots of related research at Dr. Martin’s Web site, now faithfully maintained by David Sielaff (see: http://askelm.com). Mr. Sielaff has offers his own in-depth positive assessment of this Bible in his January, 2009 newsletter, also available on-line: http://askelm.com/doctrine/d090101.htm

Dr. Martin, who was instrumental in the founding of the Original Bible Project back in 1993, had as his primary focus the production of a Bible that would put the books into their original order, as expounded in his book. As he and I discussed the project, he agreed with me that another key component, the one in which I was most involved, would be the production of a unique translation, one we came to call the Transparent English Bible, which would not only have the books of the Bible reordered, but adhere to a whole new set of translation principles, see http://originalbible.com/2005/04/30/original-bible-project-overview.htm for a full overview.

Putting a Bible, really any Bible, into the “manuscript order” as Dr. Martin called it, is a relatively simple task involving editing and production, not necessarily an extensive new translation. In fact, in the early stages of our discussion Dr. Martin had entertained doing just that. He had considered getting permission to take the Rotherham translation and simply reissue it with introductory materials and the books reordered, and perhaps some adjustments to the translation through notes. He could have surely done that without me, or the team of scholars who have been involved in the Original Bible Project. As things worked out the OBP took as its major charge, not just the production of a Bible with the books in their manuscript order, but an entirely new and unprecedented translation, based on the principles developed over the next decade.

However, for many who have been interested in the Original Bible Project through the years this matter of the order of the books was of primary interest, much more than waiting for a new translation. For others, especially the many new people who have been attracted over the past decade, the translation itself became the attraction due to its unique features. Because of this double interest, rooted in the founding of the OBP itself, I was pleased to encourage Bob Ellsworth, one of the original members of the Original Bible Project board of directors, to let our mailing list know of Coulter’s Bible and what it offers. Bob is president of CenturyOne Books, the primary distributor of this work.