Two translations. Two ways of paying attention.

TSW · Study & Discuss

The Shared Word Translation keeps more of the source text’s wording, literary shape, repetition, tension, and meaningful ambiguity visible. Begin with TSW when you want to slow down, prepare to preach or teach, notice how a passage works, or explore difficult questions with others.

Fluent · Read & Reflect

Fluent carries the sense and movement of Scripture in direct, natural contemporary English. Begin with Fluent for sustained reading, prayer, worship, formation, teaching, or becoming more at home in the biblical story.

Why use both?

No translation can foreground every feature of a passage at once. TSW and Fluent make different responsible judgments while remaining accountable to the same Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek sources. Neither is the expert Bible or the easy Bible, and neither is presented as more faithful.

Why this project exists

The Word of God should be freely available to all people. The Shared Word Project seeks to offer strong, faithful English Bible translations that anyone can read, proclaim, study, reproduce, publish, distribute, adapt, and incorporate into books, websites, or software. No fee, royalty, subscription, donation, or special permission is required—even for commercial use. The English translation texts are offered under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0): users must provide appropriate credit, link to the license, and indicate modifications. The project is committed to this freedom of use for generations to come.

How were these translations created?

Both translations use Hebrew and Aramaic for the Old Testament and Koine Greek for the New Testament, rather than an existing English translation as the base. The Old Testament base is the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (OSHB), based on the Westminster Leningrad Codex; the New Testament base is the SBL Greek New Testament (SBLGNT). Other critical editions and textual witnesses inform the examination of significant differences.

Artificial intelligence has played a substantial role. AI-assisted tools have helped draft translation wording, compare passages with biblical-language sources, flag interpretive questions, check consistency, and suggest revisions. These tools can also make mistakes or echo familiar English renderings. Their results require scrutiny; AI-generated reviews are not independent human reviews. Matthew J. Skolnik establishes the translation philosophies, directs the editorial work, and retains responsibility for decisions about the translations.

What is the current review status?

TSW and Fluent each cover all 66 books. That is complete draft coverage, not completed scholarly verification. Automated structural, verse-mapping, and consistency checks have been performed, along with more focused source and editorial reviews of selected material. Each translation and its notes continue to be examined and refined, bit by bit, passage by passage and book by book. Not every verse has received independent human language review; independent review and final editorial signoff remain pending. Corrections may be made as that work proceeds.

For the governing editorial commitments and fuller disclosure, read the TSW Translation Philosophy and Fluent Translation Philosophy. The project repository also contains audit and review records. Readers should understand both translations as provisional and open to correction.

How independent evaluation will develop

In addition to continuing source-language comparison and editorial correction, the project intends to invite volunteer scholars with biblical-language expertise to examine strategically selected passages and a representative sample from across the Scriptures. Such independent scholarly evaluation has not yet been completed as a comprehensive program. Future results will distinguish technical integrity checks from translation accuracy, record confirmed errors and corrections, and avoid unsupported accuracy percentages. Read the review and accuracy methodology.

Institutional status

These translations are editorial projects directed by Matthew J. Skolnik and are not official Bible translations or endorsed publications of Muskingum Valley Presbytery or the Presbytery of the Western Reserve. Use of Church Commons resources in presbytery ministry does not imply institutional approval of every publication.

How should I begin?

Choose the posture that serves your purpose today. Switch translations whenever a difference invites closer attention. Notes, Vocabulary, and optional companions remain separate reading helps so Scripture stays primary.