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A ministry with translation at its heart
The Authorized Bible Foundation, or ABF, is a ministry of Calvary Baptist Church of Evening Shade, Arkansas. Its central undertaking is the Authorized Equivalency Translation System, or AETS: a planned method for word-for-word translation of the King James Bible into other languages, with connected Bible study resources.
We want missionaries, churches, students, and individual readers to have dependable Bibles and useful tools for understanding them. That calls for careful study, qualified people, and work that can be examined and checked. The following pages explain that purpose, the planned method, and the people and resources the work would require.
Our foundation
We receive the King James Bible as the inspired, inerrant, infallible, and preserved word of God in English. Scripture is the final authority for our doctrine, conduct, methods, and publications. Our Bible work follows the King James Bible, the Hebrew Masoretic text, and the Greek Textus Receptus within its broader Byzantine tradition. We describe this New Testament heritage as Antiochian.
We affirm the one true God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; the deity and virgin birth of Jesus Christ; His sinless life, death for our sins, and bodily resurrection; salvation by grace through faith in Him; and His personal, bodily return. We affirm eternal security, holy living, evangelism, and reading Scripture in its proper context. Read the full Statement of Faith: AuthorizedBible.org/faith.
God has preserved and continues to preserve His word. Our responsibility is to handle faithfully what He has given us. ABF brings translation, source-text care, publication, and distribution together under accountable church leadership.
The present stage
Preparation is underway under pastoral oversight. The shared English Bible source is maintained, and the AETS framework and requirements are documented. AETS application development has not begun. The complete dictionaries, translation system, target-language editions, and publishing services described here remain planned work.
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AETS: a foundation for faithful translation
AETS stands for Authorized Equivalency Translation System. It is ABF's translation arm and is designed for word-for-word translation using formal equivalence. Its English foundation would record the meaning of each KJB word in context, giving qualified language teams a consistent basis for translation and connected study resources.
Why the English foundation matters
A translator needs more than a suggested substitute for an English word. He must understand the word in its sentence and passage: who is speaking, what is being discussed, how the words relate, and what other uses in the Bible establish. The same printed word may carry different senses in different settings.
AETS would record approved contextual meanings and their biblical evidence so every language team could work from the same reviewed foundation. This supports repeatable translation and sustainable reuse: the English study would not have to be reinvented for each language or reshaped by personal opinion or popular culture.
The planned sequence
- Study the KJB in context. ABDS records definitions supported by the Bible's own usage, with the relevant passages and review decisions.
- Prepare the English Master Edition. Approved terms, senses, definitions, numbering, and references form a documented basis for later work.
- Translate and review. Qualified workers express that meaning in the target language and examine the result through linguistic, peer, and doctrinal review.
- Produce connected resources. Dictionaries, concordances, cross-references, and study helps draw on the same approved research and remain linked to it.
Repeatable work with accountable review
Repeatable means that a later team can follow the same documented method, inspect the evidence, and understand earlier decisions. It does not mean replacing sentences by automatic word substitution. Different languages require careful attention to grammar, usage, and the meaning of the whole passage.
The planned software would organize evidence, links, and review records. Qualified people would remain responsible for definitions, translation choices, and approval. Questions that cannot yet be settled must remain visible for further work. A sound method supports accuracy through disciplined study and review; it does not make its workers or tools infallible.
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ABDS: defining words in their biblical context
ABDS is the Authorized Bible Definition System. It is the method within AETS for defining the words of the King James Bible from their use in the Bible. Its aim is a complete, carefully reviewed body of contextual definitions, with evidence that another qualified person can examine.
Begin with every occurrence
For each word form, workers first assemble its occurrences in the identified KJB source edition. They study each use in its sentence and wider passage, attending to grammar, speaker, audience, subject, and setting. They then compare the uses across Scripture.
That comparison helps distinguish a word's forms and senses, the person or thing it refers to, and any figurative use. A repeated phrase or nearby word may help establish a meaning, but it is not automatically a definition. The evidence must support the conclusion being drawn.
Define the meaning and show the evidence
The proposed definition should be clear enough to help a reader and precise enough to guide a translator. Every necessary part of it must have a biblical basis. Workers test it against difficult occurrences and plausible alternatives, rather than choosing only passages that fit the first explanation.
ABDS definitions come from KJB usage. External dictionaries do not supply those definitions. Any already approved research aids remain limited to their specifically permitted purposes; they cannot fill a gap in the biblical evidence.
Review before approval
An independent qualified reviewer examines the proposed wording, supporting passages, difficult cases, and objections. The record retains the reasons for approval or further work. Where the evidence remains limited, the entry receives the handling allowed by the framework instead of being presented as settled.
The goal is full coverage of the Bible's words and their contextual senses. Completeness describes the intended undertaking, not an already finished dictionary or a promise that every difficult question can be closed immediately.
Why this helps a future translator
A translator should be able to move from a passage to the relevant sense, read its definition, examine the supporting passages, and see what was reviewed. That gives the language team a common starting point and a way to explain its choices. A concern raised in one language can then be traced back to the same English evidence for further examination.
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One foundation for translation and study
The English Master Edition, or EME, is the planned, reviewed body of KJB terms, definitions, references, and supporting records on which target-language work would be based. It documents the English source for translation and study; it is not a replacement English Bible translation.
Keeping the work connected
The Authorized Numbering System, or ANS, would give a stable identifier to each approved English root term and, where needed, a distinct sense. Those identifiers would connect definitions, Bible occurrences, references, and target-language equivalents across the resulting resources.
AETS would document source relationships after establishing the English sense, retaining the evidence for review.
Planned resources from the same foundation
- Authorized Bible dictionaries: Contextual definitions with biblical evidence, references, and the scope or qualifications needed to understand an entry.
- Authorized concordances: Listings of occurrences linked to the approved terms and senses, planned for English, target-language, and parallel editions.
- Cross-reference resources: Reviewed connections between passages that help readers follow related biblical usage and teaching.
- Study Bibles and study helps: Approved explanatory material that uses the same research while keeping commentary distinct from the Bible text.
- A digital reference library: Connected access to approved resources, with publication formats developed as the work becomes ready.
These resources have value for English Bible study in their own right. Together, they would also give translators a shared body of evidence and a consistent way to carry related study tools into other languages. The distinctive aim is their coordinated development from the KJB-based research, with review and traceable connections throughout.
From source material to people's hands
The ABF Bible Texts project maintains our shared English source, the KJB ABF Edition: a digital edition of the Authorized Version (AV 1611) based on the Common Cambridge Text. AETS retains responsibility for translation methods, definitions, and related content review.
The ABF Bible Texts project also plans to prepare carefully checked digital texts of identified 1611 King James Bible printings, approved earlier English Bibles, and selected Greek Textus Receptus and Hebrew Masoretic editions. Checked against images of the original printed pages, these records would help AETS document historical textual relationships and the evidence behind its source alignments. Each witness would retain its own wording, with differences and uncertainties recorded. The King James Bible remains the governing English text.
ABF Bible Publishing would prepare approved materials for publication and coordinate outside printing and distribution. Its aim is to send Bibles worldwide free of charge through missionaries, church outreach, schools where permitted, and other suitable recipients, as support becomes available.
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People resources and financial accountability
ABF should begin with responsibilities matched to the work actually ready to be done. The work would not require a large staff or every future project to begin at once.
A modest beginning
The initial responsibilities include ministry coordination, records, finances, technical and documentation support, and leadership for authorized project work. One person may serve in several areas. Required independent checks would still apply when one person holds several responsibilities.
Substantive contributors must meet the foundation's doctrinal, ethical, and role qualifications. A willing volunteer still needs the competence required for the particular assignment. Translation, textual review, accounting, and technical administration call for different skills. Position descriptions will help match people to suitable responsibilities.
The work could benefit from experience in missions, languages, Bible study and textual review, publication design, printing, distribution, finance, technology, and administration. The right contribution may be counsel on one question, a defined project assignment, or continuing help with a responsibility.
How publications would be supported
The publishing goal is to send Bibles around the world free of charge. Donations to ABF and Bible Publishing, including sponsored distribution orders, are expected to provide most of the support. Most approved Bibles and Bible materials would also be available for purchase, helping fund ABF's work and further free distribution.
Free, subsidized, or near-cost copies would be considered case by case, according to need and available support. That opportunity would include study Bibles and study helps when those resources become available. After publication and delivery costs, available sales proceeds could support further ABF work and free distribution within approved budgets and designated purposes.
Financial responsibility
Funds would remain under church ownership and control, with distinct ministry accounting, approved budgets, documented spending authority, and regular financial reports. Significant payments would require the appropriate independent approval. A person could not approve his own payment or reimbursement.
Before an activity begins, its responsible leaders would identify costs, available support, and required approvals. Printing, shipping, website services, tools, and any future paid work must be considered as actual needs arise.
Digital source preparation and printing partners, including print on demand where suitable, would avoid making a printing plant a prerequisite. Even a small ministry would still require time, careful records, review, and dependable people. Responsible growth means accepting only work the ministry has the people, resources, and approval to carry out.
Publishing remains in planning; an online store, bookstore arrangements, orders, and distribution services have not yet been established.
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Your questions and observations
Please take time to read this packet and share your questions and observations. A question raised early gives us time to explain the work, correct an unclear statement, or identify something that needs further thought.
Consider the purpose and practical needs
- Is AETS's purpose clear, including ABDS, the English Master Edition, and the planned study resources?
- Do you understand which work is active and which remains planned?
- How could this work serve missionaries, churches, schools, students, or other people you know?
- What would you want to understand better about the people, resources, finances, or time required?
- Where could your experience help us recognize a need or a practical difficulty?
- Would you be interested in hearing more as the work develops?
Further information
This packet introduces the ministry and its planned work. Read the full Statement of Faith at AuthorizedBible.org/faith. The Ethical Standards, Contributor Requirements, project methods, and Bible Publishing guide can be requested through Pastor John Deaton at pastor@calvaryes.org.
No response form or financial commitment is required. Please share your comments with the person who gave you this packet or contact the pastor directly. A conversation or a few written observations would both be helpful.
The immediate invitation is to understand the work and respond honestly. Any later opportunity to help would be discussed separately, with its responsibilities and expectations made clear.