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Young's Literal Translation of the Bible

Robert Young

Robert Young (1822-1888) was a Presbyterian theologian and scholar of oriental languages in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was educated in private schools and worked as an apprentice in the printing business, with his linguistic studies done purely in his spare time. In 1847 he became a printer and bookseller on his own, publishing books related to the study of the Old Testament and its languages. His best known work is the Analytical Concordance to the Bible (published in 1879); other important writings are his Concise Commentary on the Holy Bible (1865), Contributions to a New Revision... (1881), and Christology of the Targums. He translated and edited both Biblical and Jewish writings. His linguistic knowledge (especially of the Semitic languages) was vast, his scholarship meticulous, and his contributions to Semitic philology and textual criticism significant. In 1862 he published the first edition of his 'literal translation' of the Bible.

A 19th century literal translation done by a Hebrew scholar of note.

This translation of the Bible by Robert Young was first published in 1862. It was intended to be a "strictly literal and idiomatic rendering of the Original Hebrew and Greek Texts", and thereby correcting certain inaccuracies or errors in the Authorized King James English Version - as a scholarly companion to, not in competition with – the revered translation. Young was a Semitic scholar and publisher of books related to the Old Testament, and his insights into the Hebrew language, as well as his critical temperament, render his translation of the Old Testament (with its prefatory linguistic discussions) to be of the greatest value. He published a revised edition in 1887, shortly before his death, treating the Greek New Testament more directly; a third revised edition was published in 1898. In many respects this is an important historical translation.

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