The Amplified Bible (AMP) is an English language translation of the Bible produced jointly by Zondervan and The Lockman Foundation. The first edition as a complete volume was published in 1965. “Amplifications” are words or phrases intended to more fully bring out the meaning of the original text but distinguished from the translation itself by a unique system of brackets, parentheses, and italics. The translation is largely one of formal equivalence (word-for-word).

Frances Siewert (1881-1967) was active in Christian education and the widow of a Presbyterian minister who died in 1940.[1] About 1950 she conceived the idea of a New Testament with “amplifications” to more fully bring out the meaning of the original Greek words. The Lockman Foundation supported her work beginning in 1952. Using the 1901 American Standard Version as a base text, she modernized the style and incorporated glosses, explanatory phrases, and alternative renderings into the text. Her complete New Testament was published by Zondervan in 1958. Billy Graham enthusiastically endorsed the Amplified New Testament, and it became a commercial success.[citation needed]

With continuing support from the Lockman Foundation and Zondervan, she then devoted herself to a similar edition of the Old Testament, relying heavily on the 1952 Revised Standard Version. Her two Old Testament volumes were published in 1962 and 1964. The Lockman Foundation then employed several scholars to revise the entire work for a one-volume edition, which was published in 1965.

In 1987 an expanded edition was published with additional amplifications; that version is now referred to as the Classic Edition (AMPC).

In 2015 the Amplified Bible was updated again for readability and clarity, with refreshed English and improved amplifications.