“The English word Bible derives ultimately from the Greek word biblia meaning ‘books’.” An opening sentence such as this can be found in more than one introduction to the Bible, and such an opening sentence, having established that “Bible” means “a collection of books” prefaces a treatment that begins in the ancient world and works its way forwards in time. Rarely do such works start where people are today, and recognize that while most people connect the Bible with the Christian Churches (less often with Judaism), they soon become aware, if they begin to take an interest in the Bible, that it exists in English in a bewildering variety of translations, and that even the contents can vary from one translation to another.

Anyone going into an academic bookshop to purchase a copy of the Bible will be faced with a number of choices. These may include the Authorized or King James Version of 1611 (AV), the Revised Standard Version (RSV), the Revised English Bible (REB), the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB), the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), the New International Version (NIV), the English Standard Version (ESV) and the Good News Bible (GNB), the prevalence of the adjective “new” witnessing to the considerable effort expended in recent years on the revision or provision of translations of the Bible. Depending on the type of bookshop and the country in which it is situated the choice may also include the Today's New International Version, The Living Bible, and The Holman Christian Standard Bible.