Young's Literal Translation (YLT) , 1862 first edition
Bible translation
Review scope: The translation text and selected text revision. Font size, margins and binding belong to a specific printed edition.
Text revisions and printed editions are separate. Font size and margins are listed by publisher and ISBN below. See printed editions →
Robert Young, one translator · 1862; third edition 1898 · public domain
Edition 1898 third edition , current1887 revised edition , superseded1862 first edition , superseded
Scores and reviews below describe the selected historical edition. The sourced facts describe the current edition.
Pending source verification
Where to read or buy
Read Read online at Bible GatewayLink not enabled · Read online at eBible.orgLink not enabled · Text and prefaces at CCELLink not enabled
Seller links are enabled after an agreement or seller request is approved. Reference citations remain available for checking facts. How links work
Request a seller link →Community track
Not enough counted responses yet
0 counted responses · few
The headline share appears at 3 counted responses. How this is computed
Vetted results appear at 3 counted written reviews. Tracks are never blended.
Verify
Scores and meters here are recomputed from the public vote log. This listing has 1 events in it; the whole log has 140, with state hash 1d39701efc13bae6a2521aafddb90f0a819613002d8a05a2f454c9edf374cf73.
On-chain anchoring is not active on this deployment yet. The hash chain is live and verifiable on its own.
Recompute this yourself: the events for this listing, the full export, the script and the contract.
Meters · 0 written reviews counted
Neither end is better. Each meter is shrunk toward 3.0 with C = 7.
Readability
no counted reviews yet
Literal to idiomatic feel
no counted reviews yet
Study helps
no counted reviews yet
Devotional to academic feel
no counted reviews yet
Fidelity questions are answered by the spec sheet and the Disputes panel below, never by a number.
Spec sheet
Source links are provided for facts. A fetched date appears only after verification; pending facts are labeled. Nothing here is a rating.
- Made by
Robert Young, one translator, who also compiled Young's Analytical Concordance; public domain
Verification pending- Official website
https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/Youngs-Literal-Translation-YLT-Bible/
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Languages
English
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Intended audience
- Verification pending Existing editorial catalog metadata
- Full name
Young's Literal Translation
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Abbreviation
YLT
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Translation language
English
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Translation approach explanation
"A strictly literal and idiomatic rendering of the Original Hebrew and Greek Texts" (preface to the first edition), keeping the force of the Hebrew tenses, which Young reads as past and present; Bible Gateway calls it an extremely literal translation that attempts to preserve the tense and word usage of the originals
Verification pending- Old Testament textual basis
The received Hebrew text; the first-edition preface says the translator made no attempt to form a new Hebrew or Greek text and "somewhat rigidly adhered to the received ones", differing mainly in punctuation and word division
Verification pending- New Testament textual basis
The Received Text (Textus Receptus), "not because it is thought perfect, but because the department of Translation is quite distinct from that of Textual Criticism" (preface to the revised edition)
Verification pending- Canon and included books
Protestant, 66 books
Verification pending- Copyright and permissions
Public domain; Bible Gateway lists the publisher as public domain, and eBible.org hosts the text as public domain
Verification pending- First published
1862, Edinburgh; revised edition 1887; third edition 1898, revised by the publishers on the same principles, the text in print
Verification pending
38 fields still need research. Missing details are not treated as no, free, or safe.
Original listing evidence
| Fact | Value | Source · fetched |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Robert Young, one translator, who also compiled Young's Analytical Concordance; public domain | Bible Gateway, YLT version information · Verification pending |
| Translation philosophy | "A strictly literal and idiomatic rendering of the Original Hebrew and Greek Texts" (preface to the first edition), keeping the force of the Hebrew tenses, which Young reads as past and present; Bible Gateway calls it an extremely literal translation that attempts to preserve the tense and word usage of the originals | YLT prefaces at CCEL · Verification pending |
| Textual basis, Old Testament | The received Hebrew text; the first-edition preface says the translator made no attempt to form a new Hebrew or Greek text and "somewhat rigidly adhered to the received ones", differing mainly in punctuation and word division | YLT prefaces at CCEL · Verification pending |
| Textual basis, New Testament | The Received Text (Textus Receptus), "not because it is thought perfect, but because the department of Translation is quite distinct from that of Textual Criticism" (preface to the revised edition) | YLT prefaces at CCEL · Verification pending |
| Canon | Protestant, 66 books | Bible Gateway, YLT contents · Verification pending |
| Reading grade level | No published figure | Publisher pages checked · not published |
| Gender language | Not published | Publisher pages checked · not published |
| Committee | One translator, Robert Young | Bible Gateway, YLT version information · Verification pending |
| Verses in footnotes | None; the Received Text verses are in the main text. The first-edition preface says alternative renderings were put in an appendix, "Additions and Corrections", for want of a marginal column | YLT prefaces at CCEL · Verification pending |
| Licence | Public domain; Bible Gateway lists the publisher as public domain, and eBible.org hosts the text as public domain | Bible Gateway, YLT version information · Verification pending |
| First published | 1862, Edinburgh; revised edition 1887; third edition 1898, revised by the publishers on the same principles, the text in print | YLT publishers' note and prefaces at CCEL · Verification pending |
What the maker discloses about itself (not a rating): Tradition: not disclosedTextual basis: clearPhilosophy: clearCommittee: clearFunding: n/a
Request a correction · Are you the maker? Claim or correct this listing
Printed editions
Font size, writing margins, paper and binding belong to an identified published edition. These documented examples do not cover every printing.
No specific printed editions have been documented for this listing yet.
Suggest a printed edition or correct its details →Reviews
0 reviews published. 0 published but not counted. 0 removed for policy reasons.
No reviews on this tab yet. Be the first: write a review.
The standing questions
Answered from the spec sheet and the positions above, never from the meters.
Is it word for word?
Yes, by the translator’s own description: a strictly literal and idiomatic rendering of the Hebrew and Greek. The literal-to-idiomatic meter shows where readers place its feel.
Why are the tenses different?
Young held that Hebrew has only two tenses, past and present, and rendered them literally instead of following the English Bible’s custom. That is why the Old Testament reads in the present tense where other versions use the past.
What text is it based on?
The received Hebrew text for the Old Testament and the Received Text (Textus Receptus) for the New Testament. Young said translation and textual criticism are separate work and left the Greek text as received.
Are verses missing?
No. It follows the Received Text, so the verses printed in the KJV are in the main text. Translations from an eclectic Greek text place some of them in footnotes; the guide on textual basis describes both positions.
Who translated it?
Robert Young alone, over about twenty years of work on the first edition. He also compiled Young’s Analytical Concordance.