Centenary Translation of the New Testament

The Centenary Translation of the New Testament grew out of Helen Montgomery's desire to provide an easy-to-understand New Testament for the boys in her Sunday school class. She had tried the King James Version, which was very difficult for the young to understand, and she also tried the Weymouth New Testament of 1903. Still not fully satisfied, she decided to produce her own translation, utilizing her Greek education, to "make it plain" for the "ordinary" reader. She spent nine years on the Centenary Translation of the New Testament before it was published in 1924 by the New York Bible Society, on it's hundredth anniversary. About the Author Helen Barrett Montgomery (1861–1934), was a social reformer, church leader, women’s activist, and missions activist. Helen Barrett graduated from Wellesley College as a teacher in 1884. She studied and excelled at Greek, leading her class. She taught at the Wellesley Preparatory School in Philadelphia. She was the first woman to translate the New Testament directly from the available Greek Manuscripts into English and have it published by a publishing house. Her translation was also notable for beginning the practice of inserting chapter and section titles, a pioneering feature that is common in Bibles in many languages. Her Centenary Translation of the New Testament has stood the test of time, being published well into the 1990's.A copy of her Centenary Translation of the New Testament was reprinted in 1988 under the title The New Testament in Modern English, with a spine and cover labeled Montgomery New Testament.