The term “interlinear” comes from a Latin word that means “between the lines.” Such a translation of the Scriptures enables readers who are not familiar with the original languages to see what these literally state, which may help in examining the basis for a target-language rendering.

Such word-for-word translations, however, reflect the grammar of the source language, often making the literal translation hard to understand. Hence, interlinear translations often have the parallel wording of a recognized Bible translation in a marginal column. For example, The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures (Matthew to Revelation) uses the wording of the 1984 English revision of the New World Translation.