King James Version is based on the Textus Receptus (an edition of the Greek New Testament based on Byzantine manuscripts and published by Desiderius Erasmus in 1516). Published in 1611.

For the Old Testament most modern translations (at least for Western churches) come from the Jewish Masoretic texts. We have two direct translations of the New Testament commonly available today: the King James Version based on the Textus Receptus (Byzantine text type, which was prevalent around Antioch) and the American Standard Version, translated from the Westcott-Hort text of 1881 (Alexandrian text, which was prevalent around Alexandria, Egypt). Interesting to note that God has allowed the only mention of Alexandria in the Bible to be in reference to doctrine and philosophy that was tainted to various degrees. The new translations that are coming available today are revisions of the American Standard Version.

The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is generally considered to be one of the most literal translations available. Purpose of the work was to update the American Standard Version into more current English. Published in 1971.

The American Standard Version (ASV), released in 1901, is based on the Westcott-Hort text of 1881 and was the first modern English translation to become popular in the United States. It is now obscure and hard to find, having been replaced by the Revised Standard Version (RSV). The RSV was a revision of the ASV with the New Testament published 1945 and the complete Bible published 1954. The RSV was eventually revised into the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

English Standard Version is a literal update of the Revised Standard Version. Published in 2001.

The New International Version tries to balance word-for-word with thought-for-thought. Published in 1978.