The Bible is Getting More Loving

The bible is getting more loving as time goes on.

Here is the number of times the word “love” appears in different English translations of the bible along with their publication dates:

1611	Authorised Version (KJV)	310
1963	New American Standard Bible	348
1978	New International Version	551
1989	New Revised Standard Version	538
2002	The Message	585

It seems we are getting more loving as time goes on!

The above appeared as a post on the blog Ecalpemos, and it seems like the sort of thing that readers of this blog – whether academics in biblical studies, or just people interested in that topic – would appreciate. It illustrates the way translations reflect linguistic, cultural, and theological changes.