What Are The Easiest Bibles To Understand
Rosy Demorest
While there are a lot of Bible translations out there, many of which are easier to read for those who speak another language or for children, or even for the average adult, the NLT is the go-to for a lot of people.
As I mentioned at the top, the New Living Translation is one of the most popular forms of English language translations for the Bible. It is exceptionally easy to read, and is translated into modern, normal English.
A lot of biblical translations are a little hard to understand these days because a lot of words that used to mean one thing now mean something different. The New Living Translation make sure to account for this, and accurately translates the Hebrew and Greek words to fit with our modern understandings.
Now I will say that there are more accurate versions of the Bible out there, but these are not at the same reading level as the New Living Translation. The new living translation keeps things simple while remaining as accurate as possible, but the simpler you get, the more difficult it is to convey the exact message from the original translation.
It is a literal translation of the Bible into contemporary English, as specified by an enormous team of scholars and writers. It strives for pinpoint accuracy, down to the word, and has done so without losing the original meaning of each of the passages.
In fact, this one might be easier to read than my previous recommendation of the New Living Translation. But the Contemporary English Version is for those who are less literate, or for children. It is simple language and syntax to a large degree, making it much easier to understand for most readers.
What this does, however, is that it causes simplicity to take a slight edge over word-for-word accuracy. So sometimes it might not follow the literal translation of a phrase, but conveys the same meaning in simpler language. That is why it is less commonly used than the New Living Translation, but I still recommend it nonetheless.
Like many of the other items on this list, the New Revised Standard Version does not use any archaic language, but is relatively easy to understand. But it does try to follow the original text meaning pretty closely, sticking to a word-by-word literal translation.
This one in particular focuses largely on Greek manuscripts, like the Codex Vaticanus (B) and Sinaiticus (Aleph), but is considered similar to the ESV, although the ESV is generally thought of as a more literal translation.
For those who are fans of the King James Bible, this is definitely one of the best options on the list. I, for one, grew up with the King James Bible, so I enjoy reading this one as an updated, more modern version of that Bible that I am most familiar with.
There are a lot of factors that go into translating a book, such as a focus on literal translation, or a focus on translating the intent of the message, or a focus on the ease of reading, which is obviously the topic of this post.
As I mentioned above, the Bible you choose will depend on your priorities. When it comes to finding the easiest version of the Bible to read, I still recommend the New Living Translation in the #1 spot, but I would still use the following as my breakdown:
I ask this question because when I read or study the Bible, it sometimes takes me quite a while to figure out what the Bible is saying because the text seems a little "dense" (like in Romans or Hebrews) or even a little "abstract" (like in 1 John or something).
I was wondering, is this the way the Bible sounds in the original languages it was written in? Or were the writers much clearer in their writings and the meanings of their words are only muddled in translation?
Reading the Bible in its original languages enables a more profound analysis than translations allow. The latter miss or distort important elements and points which are skillfully embedded in the original text. Reading a translation is oftentimes tantamount to reading a variation of the story, whether because the languages at issue are too different from each other, or because with a translation comes an agenda (especially where influence and power are at stake).
An example of distortion is page 15 of Has Lot Lost The Plot? by George Athas. The paper cites a phrase which various translations to English, including modern ones such as NRSV, inaccurately depict Lot's [married] daughters as virgins. That inaccuracy impliedly mischaracterizes Lot, portraying him as someone perverse enough to lightly give away his daughters to evildoers.
But proficiency in Hebrew/Koine is not enough. Knowledge of environmental elements, such as culture, idiosyncrasy, and so forth also helps. For instance, in When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Harold S. Kushner reminds the audience that the concept of autumn in Middle East (freshness, relief from dryness), is the opposite of that in the Western world (namely, decay). That subtlety influences how some statements in the Book of Job are interpreted.
It is easier to understand it, in the language that your most proficient, For many reading the Bible seems daunting, but do not be discouraged, the Bible can help you have a happier and more satisfying life.
At Luke 10:21 below are the words directed by Jesus to his heavenly Father, they tell us that to understand the Bible you must have the right mental attitude. God's wisdom is revealed to the humble, the sheep-like people, people that are teachable. If you have any negative preconceived ideas about what the Bible teaches, try to set them aside and let God help you.
21 At that very [a]time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, andsaid, I [b]praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Youhave hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and haverevealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasingin Your sight.
The Bible was inspired by the spirit, of God, its message will become understandable to you with the help of that spirit. You must pray for such help. Notice how this was the concern of the psalmist who wrote:
The Bible is like a puzzle, some parts are easy to understand, but others are difficult and you may need help. One such person was the Ethiopian eunuch,a court official of Candance, He was a Jewish proselyte who had a good knowledge of the OT scriptures, yet he needed help to understand. Read Acts 8:26-38 If you taking Bible lessons, ask for the scriptures which support such teachings, do not take everything for granted, even if you believe in the same thing.
Select a translation that is easy to read and understand, avoid translations that use out- of- date words that you do not know, so look for a Bible that uses easy to understand language that will touch your heart.
Use modern technology, many Bibles are available online and can be downloaded. Certain versions use additional tools that allow you a quick comparison of similar verses for clarification. Use Bible study tools. Bible study tools such as maps of the land of Israel will help you locate places and put events in perspective.
If reading the Bible from cover to cover seems daunting, why not stimulate your interest by starting to read portions that especially appeal to you. If you want to find out about famous people in the Bible, you could try character -base reading. For example
For children ages eight through ten, the easiest translations for them to read are dynamic equivalence Bible translations. This method of Bible translation translates the thoughts in the original text into thoughts in English. These translations tend to be easier to read because the focus is not on capturing the original wording, but on communicating the thoughts.
Once children are over the age of ten, or are reading at a sixth grade level or above, most sound English translations are suitable. They can continue using a dynamic equivalence translation or transition to a formal equivalence translation. Formal equivalence translations focus more on word-for-word translation from the original languages. The English Standard Version (ESV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), and New King James Version (NKJV) use this translation philosophy.
If you have a child who struggles with reading, either from a learning disability or a dislike of reading, reading the Bible can be a challenge. However, with modern technology, immersing a struggling reader in Scripture is easy.
Elizabeth Urbanowicz is a follower of Jesus who is passionate about equipping kids to understand the truth of the Christian worldview. Elizabeth holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Gordon College, an M.S.Ed. in Education from Northern Illinois University, and an M.A. in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. Elizabeth spent the first decade of her professional career teaching elementary students at a Christian school. Elizabeth now works full time on developing comparative worldview and apologetics resources for children. Her goal is to prepare the next generation to be lifelong critical thinkers and, most importantly, lifelong disciples of Jesus.
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I want to buy a German Bible translation but am not sure which one is best. By "best" I mean one that takes the least amount of doctrinal liberties in translation, so no paraphrase versions (eg, "The Message"), no denominational versions (eg, the Catholic "Douay Rheims"), and so on. My preferred English translation is NKJV, but I also own ESV, NIV, and several others. My preferred Spanish translation is the Reina-Valera 1960, if that helps. I know of the following German versions: Schlachter2000, Neue Genfer, Luther 1545, Hoffnung Fuer Alle, Froschauer Bible, Zuercher Bibel, (among a few others) of which I heard the Zurich Bible was the best.
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