Bibliography and rights

Sources and Copyright

Every quotation on this site comes from a translation that is in the public domain in the United States. Newer translations are cited and linked, never copied.

Rule of thumb

In the US, anything published before 1931 is public domain as of 2026. The UK and EU instead count 70 years from the translator's death, so a few of these (Brodeur's Prose Edda) are still protected there. A modern editor's notes, corrections and introductions have their own copyright even when the old translation does not.

Translations we quote

Translation	United States	UK and EU
King James Version (1611; standard 1769 text), with Apocrypha	Public domain	UK: Crown letters patent (Cambridge University Press licenses UK printing)
R. H. Charles, The Book of Enoch (SPCK, 1917; first ed. 1912)	Public domain	Public domain (Charles d. 1931)
R. H. Charles, The Book of Jubilees (1902; SPCK 1917)	Public domain	Public domain
W. R. Morfill and R. H. Charles, The Book of the Secrets of Enoch (1896) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
F. C. Conybeare, "The Testament of Solomon," Jewish Quarterly Review 11 (1898) · translator	Public domain	Public domain (d. 1924)
Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930) · translator	Public domain since Jan 1, 2026 (1930 works)	Public domain (d. 1936)
L. W. King, The Seven Tablets of Creation (1902)	Public domain	Public domain (d. 1919)
I. P. Cory, Ancient Fragments (1832; 1876 ed.) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
R. Campbell Thompson, The Epic of Gilgamish (1928) · translator	Public domain since 2024 (1928 works)	Public domain (d. 1941)
E. A. Wallis Budge, The Book of the Dead: The Papyrus of Ani (1895) · translator	Public domain	Public domain (d. 1934)
E. A. Wallis Budge, The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek (Kebra Nagast) (1922) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
E. A. Wallis Budge, The Book of the Cave of Treasures (1927) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
W. M. Flinders Petrie, Egyptian Tales, First Series (1895) · translator	Public domain	Public domain (d. 1942)
Ralph T. H. Griffith, The Rámáyan of Válmíki (1870–74) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
Kisari Mohan Ganguli, The Mahabharata (1883–96) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
Julius Eggeling, The Satapatha-Brahmana, Sacred Books of the East 12 (1882) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
James Darmesteter, The Zend-Avesta Part I: The Vendidad, SBE 4 (1880) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
E. W. West, Pahlavi Texts Part I (Bundahishn), SBE 5 (1880)	Public domain	Public domain
Henry Adams Bellows, The Poetic Edda (1923) · translator	Public domain	Public domain (d. 1939)
Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur, The Prose Edda (1916) · translator	Public domain	Still in copyright in UK/EU until 2041 (d. 1971). Do not sell there.
Whitley Stokes, "The Second Battle of Moytura," Revue Celtique 12 (1891) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (Loeb, 1914) · translator	Public domain	Public domain (d. 1924)
Samuel Butler, The Iliad of Homer (1898) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
R. C. Seaton, Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica (Loeb, 1912) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
Bernadotte Perrin, Plutarch's Lives, vol. 2 (Loeb, 1914) · translator	Public domain	Public domain (d. 1920)
John Bostock and H. T. Riley, The Natural History of Pliny (1855) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
Canon W. M. Roberts, Livy: History of Rome (Everyman, 1905)	Public domain	Likely public domain; confirm translator dates
William Whiston, The Works of Flavius Josephus (1737) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
Benjamin Jowett, The Dialogues of Plato (1871) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
G. C. Macaulay, The History of Herodotus (1890) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
Isaac Newton, English translation of the Emerald Tablet (c. 1680; Keynes MS 28) · translator	Public domain	Public domain
M. M. Noah (publ.), The Book of Jasher (1840)	Public domain	Public domain

Translations we cite but do not copy

Translation	United States	UK and EU
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur-an (1934)	In copyright until 2030 if renewed; treat as protected	Public domain in UK since 2024 (d. 1953)
Stephanie Dalley, Myths from Mesopotamia (1989); Andrew George, The Epic of Gilgamesh (1999)	In copyright	In copyright
ETCSL Sumerian translations (Oxford)	Free for non-commercial use only (Creative Commons, non-commercial). An ad-funded site counts as commercial: link, do not copy.	Same
W. G. Lambert and A. R. Millard, Atra-hasis (1969)	In copyright	In copyright
Modern 1 Enoch (Knibb 1978; Nickelsburg and VanderKam 2004/2012)	In copyright	In copyright
Dead Sea Scrolls translations (Vermes; Wise, Abegg and Cook); W. B. Henning, Book of Giants (1943)	In copyright or unclear; do not copy	In copyright
Hugo Odeberg, 3 Enoch (1928)	Public domain since 2024	In copyright until 2043 (d. 1973)
The Nag Hammadi Library in English (Robinson, 1977/1988)	In copyright	In copyright
Popol Vuh (Tedlock 1985; Christenson 2003); Legend of the Suns (Bierhorst 1992); Huainanzi (Major et al. 2010)	In copyright	In copyright
R. O. Faulkner, Pyramid Texts (1969); S. Mercer (1952); J. Allen (2005)	In copyright (Mercer: check renewal)	In copyright
Macalister, Lebor Gabála Érenn (Irish Texts Society, 1938–56)	Unclear; check renewal	Public domain in UK/Ireland since 2021 (d. 1950)
G. R. Josyer, Vaimanika Shastra (1973); Doreal, Emerald Tablets of Thoth (1930s)	In copyright or claimed; do not copy	Same
Zecharia Sitchin, The 12th Planet (1976) and sequels	In copyright (quote briefly for criticism only)	In copyright

Reference works

Each rabbit hole also lists encyclopedias, museum pages and scholarship on its own page. The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906) is itself public domain.

Updated October 2026