“Some Witnesses Have . . .”: The Representation of the New Testament Text in English Bible Versions

Quite a few things have changed in (Christian) Bible translation theory and practice in the past 50 or 60 years, but one aspect has remained virtually the same: the way in which versions make reference to text-critical decisions. While the importance of representing textual criticism in Bible translations has been mentioned at times, a systematic analysis and critique of the way in which English versions present the issues and the textual material involved has yet to be done. Here, I offer an exploratory overview of the representation of ‘the text’ in English versions, based on text-critical indicators (usually footnotes) in the translations, as well as any introductory comments that may be offered.