The Book of Revelation; A New Translation of the Apocalypse

by J.B. Phillips

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55 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

John Bertram Phillips or, J. B. Phillips (16 September 1906 – 21 July 1982) was an English Bible scholar, translator, author and clergyman. He is most noted for his version of The New Testament in Modern English. Phillips was born in Barnes, Surrey. He was educated at Emanuel School in London and took an Honors Degree in Classics and English from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He was ordained an Anglican clergyman in the Church of England in 1930. Phillips died in Swanage in Dorset, England in 1982.

Reviews

[John Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always struggled to read this last book of the Bible. Phillips’ translation makes it much more accessible, though no less awesomely apocalyptic. Reading this at this present juncture in time, with the horrid war going on in Europe, it seemed rather more relevant than I could have wished. Here’s an example:

The second rider:war (JBP’s sub title)

“...And another horse came forth, red in colour. Its rider was given power to deprive the earth of peace, so that men should kill each other. A huge sword was put into his hand”.

The author’s notes on translating the New Testament are interesting and helpful. Phillips was a near contemporary of C. S. Lewis, who greatly admired the former’s translations and encouraged him, as a letter from CSL to Phillips shows:

“Thank you a hundred times. I thought I knew Colossians pretty well but your paraphrase makes it far more significant, it was like seeing a familiar picture after it’s been cleaned...I hope very much you will carry out your plan of doing all the epistles...”