Bible Chart with Grade Levels

1 Bible Chart with Grade LevelsPreface: I have been meaning to do a Chart like this for some time; the problem being is, I don t really know how to judge reading Levels . However, I have thoughtabout subdividing the translations for the exegetical study of each chapter of the Bible and adding in another category of easy-to-read translations. Inorder to do that, I needed to know which translations were easy-to-read. This resulted in the following Chart , culled mostly from elsewhere, with thecredit given at the bottom of the Chart . Bible /AbbreviationReading Level byGrade/ TargetAudienceDescription/TranslationPhi losophyCommentaryDistinctivesExamplesPub lished/translatorsAmplified Bible AMP 11 Grade thThose looking formore detailedshades of meaningin ScriptureDynamicWord-for-wordplus additionalamplification ofword meanings inbracketsThis translation is really amini-commentary whichfeatures a system ofverse-end alternatetranslations and commentson different shades ofmeaning in the popular translation usedto understand thehidden meaning of Greekand Hebrew words.

2 Breakthrough the Testament1958; OldTestament 1964;Revised 1987 Common EnglishBibleCEB7 Grade CBS, BYthContemporaryEnglish Version CEV4 Grade Grade level5 BYthUnchurchedParaphrase Thought-for-thoughtThis version seeks to bereadable, yet faithful to themeaning of the original describing God'sactions (righteousness,salvation, etc.) are renderedin varying ways. This versionavoids complicatedlanguage, obscurevocabulary and difficultsentence structure toproduce a translationunderstandable to a widevariety of modern at anelementary-schoolreading level, the CEV isreadable andunderstandable for themodern Testament1991; OldTestament 1995 Bible /AbbreviationReading Level byGrade/ TargetAudienceDescription/TranslationPhi losophyCommentaryDistinctivesExamplesPub lished/translatorsEmphasized Bible 12 Grade Formal Equivalent thJoseph R. Rotherham'stranslation features specialmarkings, indentations, andfootnotes designed to conveythe sense of Hebrew andGreek to the modern Testament1878, 1897; OldTestament 1902 English StandardVersion ESV8 Grade Grade level10 Grade CBS th10 BYthBible readers ofall agesFormal Equivalent Word-for-wordThe ESV uses the classicprinciples of word-for-wordtranslation and literaryexcellence as exemplified bythe KJV and most recentlythe RSV.

3 Highly accurate, theESV closely reflects theoriginal meaning of the text inclear, readable, literal update of theRevised StandardVersion, seeks to 2001 God's Word God s Word GW4 5 Grade Grade level5 Grade CBSthChristians andnon-Christians;adults and childrenDynamic Balance betweenword-for-word andthought-for-thoughtThis revision utilizes thetranslation process employedby global missionorganizations for translatingthe Bible into new foreignlanguages. The goal is toexpress the meaning of whatappears in the forms of theoriginal biblical languagesinto those expressingessentially the samemeaning in modern meaning-based,contemporary translationutilizing thethought-for-thoughttranslation philosophyNew Testament1988; OldTestament 1995 Good NewsVersion (Today sEnglish Version)GNV, GNT, TEV7 Grade th6 Grade (LfJ)th7 (Zond.)Paraphrase;Emphasis onFunctionalEquivalent A thought-for-thoughttranslation theory calleddynamic equivalence wasused for this version. It usescommon English throughout,and modern idioms aresometimes substituted forancient ones in the interest Testament1966; OldTestament 1974,Revised 1993 Bible /AbbreviationReading Level byGrade/ TargetAudienceDescription/TranslationPhi losophyCommentaryDistinctivesExamplesPub lished/translatorsHolman ChristianStandard Bible HCSBNT 7 8 Grade level7 8 Grade CBSththBible readers ofall agesFunctionalequivalence;OptimalEquival ence Balance betweenword-for-word andthought-for-thoughtThe HCSB is a combinationof word-for-word anddynamic renderings that isboth faithful to the words Godinspired and user friendly tomodern translation that attemptsto combineboth formal and dynamicequivalenceNT 2001 InternationalStandard Version ISV8 9ththLiving Bible LT8 Grade Paraphrase thThis paraphrase of theAmerican Standard Versionwas an attempt by KennethL.

4 Taylor to put the Bible inlanguage his children couldunderstand. It is useful forintroducing the Bible topeople who are unfamiliarwith Testament1962; OldTestament 1971 The Message 7 Grade 10 dependingon the passage 4 5 (Zond.)Christians whowant a freshBible-readingexperience andseekersParaphraseThought-for-thought. Convertsthe originallanguages into thetone and rhythmsof modern-dayAmerican speechwhile retaining theidioms andmeaning of theoriginal languagesPastor and biblical scholarEugene H. Peterson's aim indeveloping this contemporarylanguage version is totransfer the informal andearthy flavor of the Greekinto the rhythms and idiom ofeveryday paraphrase wastranslated using therhythms and tone ofcontemporary English tocommunicate to themodern readerNew Testament1993; Psalms1994; CompleteBible, July 2002 Bible /AbbreviationReading Level byGrade/ TargetAudienceDescription/TranslationPhi losophyCommentaryDistinctivesExamplesPub lished/translatorsNew AmericanBible NAB11 Grade Grade level7 (Zond.)

5 CatholicFormal equivalent,Dynamic Word-for-wordThis is the first completeAmerican Catholic Bibletranslated from the originallanguages. Its style is moredirect than that of theJerusalem under thedirection of Pope Pius XII,this Catholic version ofthe Bible represents morethan 25 years of effort bythe CatholicBiblical Association ofAmerica. All editionsinclude theDeuterocanonical/Apocryphalbooks1970; NTrevised 1986;Psalms revised1992 New AmericanStandard NASB11 Grade th10 BY (forthupdated version)Conservative,evangelicalProtesta ntFormal Equivalent Word-for-wordEspecially popular amongEvangelicals and others whowant a word-for-wordtranslation of the originalmanuscripts, this translationwas prepared as an updateof the 1901 AmericanStandard Version (ASV).A highly respected, formaltranslation of the of the work wasto update the AmericanStandard Version intomore current English. Themost literal is now morereadableNew Testament1963; WholeBible 1971,Revised 1995 New CenturyVersion NCV3 Grade Grade level3 Grade CBSrd4 BYthThose who want ahighly readabletranslation of theBible in today'slanguageFormal Equivalent Balance betweenword-for-word andthought-for-thoughtFrom the translators of theInternational Children'sVersion, this conservativeevangelical translation is insimple English, designed tobe easy to on the ICB( international Children'sBible), it's a readable andsimple translation usingthe thought-for-thoughttranslation methodology.

6 New Testament1978; OldTestament 1986 Bible /AbbreviationReading Level byGrade/ TargetAudienceDescription/TranslationPhi losophyCommentaryDistinctivesExamplesPub lished/translatorsNew English Bible NEB8 Grade Dynamic thThe first British Bible to betranslated from the originallanguages since the KingJames Version, this is athought-by-thoughttranslation in modern BritishEnglish. It has beenreplaced, for the most part,by the Revised English Testament1961; OldTestament 1970 New EnglishTranslationNET7 BYthNew InternationalReaders' Version NIrV3 Grade Grade level3 Grade Grade (LfJ)Children ages 10and underSimple FunctionalEquivalent Balance betweenword-for-wordtranslation andthought-forthought, with anemphasis onmeaning whennecessary forsimplificationThe NIrV is a simplifiedversion of the NIV, developedby the same translation teamthat prepared the NIV. Veryeasy reading, designed forchildren as a stepping stoneto the NIV, as well as thosefor whom English is a thorough, scholarlysimplification of the NIV,the NIrV was specificallydesigned to help youngchildren and new readersunderstand the Bible forthemselves and create aneasy stepping-stonefrom a children's Bible toan adult Bible .

7 The NIVfor kids1996 Publishedin 1994. Updatedin 1998. New InternationalVersion NIV7th Grade Grade level7 8 Grade Grade (LfJ) 8 BYthEvangelicalChristians of allagesPrimarily functionalequivalent withsome attention toformalconsiderations Balance betweenword-for-word andthought-for-thoughtCalled " international "because it istransdenominational andcontains the work of manyscholars from manyEnglish-speaking nations, theNIV is a straightforwardtranslation in bestsellingtranslation, widelyaccepted by evangelicalChristians. Purpose intranslation was to"produce an accuratetranslation, suitable forpublic and privatereading, teaching,preaching, memorizing,and liturgical use." Mostread. Most trustedNew Testament1973; OldTestament 1978 Bible /AbbreviationReading Level byGrade/ TargetAudienceDescription/TranslationPhi losophyCommentaryDistinctivesExamplesPub lished/translatorsNew JerusalemBible NJB9 Grade (Zond.) 8 BYthfunctionalequivalent An update of the JerusalemBible, with revised footnotesand more dignified New JewishTranslation 12 Grade Formal Equivalent thA modern languagetranslation of the JewishScriptures (Christian OldTestament); of specialinterest to students of the 1962;Nevi'im 1978;Kethubim 1982;Tanakh 1985 New King JamesVersion NKJV8 Grade th7 Grade Grade (LfJ)9 who want areadabletranslation of theBible that is greatfor study butmaintains thepoetry of the KJVF ormal Equivalent Authors used theoriginal KJV as abenchmark, whileworking to producean accurate andmodern word-for-word translationThis translation updates thelanguage of the King JamesVersion, changing archaicinflections and obsoletewords, while preserving itsbasic literary modern languageupdate of the originalKJV.

8 Purpose was toupdate and modernize theoriginal KJV but preservethe KJV as much aspossible. 1982 New Life Bible Dynamic Missionaries Gleason andKathyrn Ledyard's work inthe Canadian arctic inspiredthem to develop a simplelanguage version whichbreaks down difficultconcepts into Testament1969; OldTestament 1986 Bible /AbbreviationReading Level byGrade/ TargetAudienceDescription/TranslationPhi losophyCommentaryDistinctivesExamplesPub lished/translatorsNew LivingTranslation NLT6 7 Grades Grade level6 Grade CBSthAdults and childrenFunctionalEquivalent Balance betweenword-for-word andthought-for-thoughtUsing Kenneth Taylor'sparaphrase, The Living Bible ,as a base, a team of 90 Biblescholars worked for sevenyears, carefully comparingeach verse with the Greekand Hebrew Scriptures toproduce a true translationthat is accurate and easy on the work of 90 Bible scholars and asmaller team of Englishstylists. These scholarsand stylists went back tothe original languagesand sought to produce theclosest natural equivalentof the message in natural,contemporary New RevisedStandard Version NRSV10 Grade gradelevel11 Grade Grade (Zond.)

9 Mainline andinterconfessionalEmphasis onFunctionalEquivalent Balance betweenword-for-word andthought-for-thoughtAn update of the RevisedStandard Version (1952), thistranslation incorporateschanges resulting fromarchaeological and textualdiscoveries in widely acceptedtranslation in the traditionof the King JamesVersion. Purpose was tomake a good one better."Published in 1990. A Biblefor all Christians1990 Revised EnglishBible REB6 Grade thEmphasis onFunctionalEquivalent This revision of the NewEnglish Bible , which began in1973, features clear,contemporary internationalEnglish. This text is intendedfor both private reading andpublic Today s NIV8 BYthToday's generationofBible readerslookingfor readabilitywithoutsacrificingaccuracyBal ance betweenword-for-word andthought-for-thoughtRemaining faithful to theoriginal texts while usingup-to-date language oftoday's world, the TNIV isa highly readable andhighly accuratetranslation. Timelesstruth. Today's Biblepublished in2005.

10 Bible /AbbreviationReading Level byGrade/ TargetAudienceDescription/TranslationPhi losophyCommentaryDistinctivesExamplesPub lished/translatorsWorld EnglishBibleWEB7 BYthYoung's LiteralTranslation 8 9 Grades ththcollege BY Formal Equivalent Robert Young sought tocorrect certain inaccuraciesin the King James Version inthis very literal translation. 1862, Revised1887 This information was pulled together from: (2 Grade given; marked Grade level ) (1 Grade given; marked Grade grades ) (3 Grade given; marked CBS) ( Grade level marked LfJ) (Marked BY) All accessed March 3, (marked Zond.) Accessed March 9, 2013. The Chart below was courtesy of Formal EquivalentThese translations attempt to reproduce the Greek and Hebrew as exactly as possible into English. Words, figures of speech, and sometimes even the sentence structureof the original languages are reproduced in a much more limited way in this type of Bible . These hold -in varying degrees- to a generally word for word EquivalentThese Bibles run on a more thought-for-thought philosophy than the Formal Equivalent translations, but do so in a much more sparing manner than paraphrases.