A modern English translation of the Bible published in 1961. This work was initiated by the Protestant churches in the British Isles with the aim of presenting the original Greek text in clear, natural, and accessible English for contemporary readers. The project began in 1946 at the suggestion of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which involved various British Christian denominations. Rather than revising earlier versions (such as the King James Version), scholars translated directly from the best ancient source texts. The aim was to free the text from archaic style and outdated idiom, replacing it with elegant, everyday English.