Holy Bible: English Weymouth NT

Weymouth New Testament

The Weymouth New Testament is a distinctive English translation of the New Testament first published in 1903. It was the work of Richard Francis Weymouth (1822–1902), a noted English schoolmaster and classical scholar. Weymouth based his translation on the Greek text he himself had compiled, The Resultant Greek Testament, which sought to present the text most widely accepted by scholars of his time.

A primary aim of the translation was to render the New Testament into clear, modern, and idiomatic English for the contemporary reader. Weymouth described his method as "idiomatic rather than verbal," prioritizing the natural flow and meaning of English over a strict word-for-word correspondence. This makes the translation remarkably readable and accessible, even by today's standards, though its language retains a dignified, early 20th-century character.

The translation was published posthumously, with final editing and notes provided by his literary executor, Ernest Hampden-Cook. It includes numerous footnotes offering alternative readings and explanatory comments on the Greek text, reflecting Weymouth's scholarly rigor.

The Weymouth New Testament is often praised for its clarity and elegant simplicity. It occupies a unique place among modern translations, being one of the earliest to deliberately employ contemporary English idiom. It continues to be valued by students, general readers, and scholars interested in the history of Bible translation for its pioneering approach to making the biblical text understandable in the vernacular of its day.