Easiest Bible to Read: 18 Translations Ranked by Level
The easiest Bible to read, if you go purely by reading level, is the New International Reader’s Version (NIrV), written at about a 3rd grade level. For most adults, though, the easiest Bible to read and understand is the New Living Translation (NLT): it reads at a 6th grade level while still being a respected, committee-produced translation.
The Bible wasn’t originally written in English, and when you’re trying to pick a translation, the sheer number of options can stop you before you even start. Some read like Shakespeare. Others sound like a conversation with a friend. Which one you end up holding has a lot to do with whether you keep reading.
One note before we start: to a new reader, “easy to read” and “easy to understand” are the same thing, and this guide treats them that way. A Bible you can decode but not follow isn’t easy. What follows is a ranking of 18 major translations by reading level, a look at how those grade numbers get calculated and where they mislead, the same passage printed in five versions so you can compare them yourself, and a starting path for once you’ve picked.
Key takeaways
- By raw reading level, the NIrV is the easiest Bible to read, at roughly a 3rd grade level.
- For most adults, the NLT is the easiest Bible to read and understand: about 6th grade, and a full translation rather than a paraphrase.
- Easier does not mean less accurate. Reading level mostly tracks translation philosophy, not faithfulness to the Hebrew and Greek.
- Published grade levels are bands, not exact figures, and they flatter the KJV because readability formulas ignore archaic vocabulary.
- Whichever version you pick, start with the Gospel of John rather than Genesis, and stay on one translation for your first few months.
Table of contents
- Why the Bible feels hard to read
- How reading level is actually measured
- Why reading level depends on translation approach
- Bible translations by reading level: the full table
- The easiest Bible translations to read and understand
- The same verse in every version
- Which translation is right for you?
- Where to start reading once you have picked
- Building the habit
- What about study Bibles?
- The short version
- FAQ
Why the Bible feels hard to read
Most people who struggle with the Bible aren’t struggling with the message. They’re struggling with the packaging.
The first problem is outdated language. The King James Version (KJV) was published in 1611 and remains one of the most widely distributed Bibles in the world. Its language is beautiful, but it uses vocabulary and sentence structures that modern English speakers don’t encounter anywhere else. If the only Bible you’ve tried is the KJV, you haven’t actually tested whether the Bible is hard to read. You’ve tested whether 17th-century English is hard to read. It is.
Where to start is the second problem. The Bible contains 66 books written by roughly 40 different authors across different time periods and genres. Opening to page one and reading straight through is like walking into a library and starting at the top-left shelf. Genesis is a reasonable starting point, but Leviticus (book three) is a detailed legal code that stops most beginners cold.
Cultural context is the third. The Bible references ancient agricultural practices, Middle Eastern customs, Roman governance, and Jewish religious law. Without context, passages can feel confusing or irrelevant.
None of those barriers is about you. People give up on the Bible in the first week or two all the time, and it’s almost never because the message was beyond them. That’s why finding an easy to read Bible for beginners matters so much: picking the right translation is probably the biggest single factor in whether you’ll stick with it. Choose a modern version that’s easy to understand, work through the most accessible books first, and most of the difficulty disappears.
How reading level is actually measured
When you see a translation labeled “6th-grade reading level,” that number usually comes from a readability formula like Flesch-Kincaid or the Dale-Chall index. These formulas count things like sentence length, word length, and how often a text uses words outside a common-vocabulary list. The output is a grade level: a 6.0 score roughly means an average sixth-grader can read it without help.
Publishers run these tests on the translation’s English text and report the result. The American Bible Society and the publishers behind the NLT, NIV, NIrV and others have all published reading-level data for their translations, and most of the well-known charts pull from those numbers. Helpful reference points include the printable Prison Fellowship reading-level chart, Christianbook’s translation reading-level list, and Bible Gateway’s reading-level overview.
A few things to keep in mind before you stake your decision on a single grade number:
- Different sources give slightly different scores for the same translation. The NIV is variously listed at grade 7, 7.8, or 8. The NLT shows up as grade 6 in some charts and 6.3 in others. Treat the grade as a band, not a precise figure.
- The score is for the whole translation, but parts of the Bible are harder than others. The Gospel of Mark in any version reads more easily than Romans or Ezekiel.
- The KJV’s “12th grade” rating is misleadingly low. Modern readability tests don’t penalize archaic vocabulary as much as they should, so words like “thee,” “wherefore,” and “peradventure” don’t drag the score the way they drag actual comprehension.
So treat the grade level as a guide to comparing versions against each other, not a guarantee that a 6th-grader will breeze through Leviticus.
Why reading level depends on translation approach
Every English Bible sits somewhere on a spectrum between two approaches, and where a translation sits on that spectrum largely decides how easy it is to read.
Word-for-word (formal equivalence) translations try to match each word in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek with an English equivalent and preserve the original grammar as much as possible. That makes them faithful to the structure of the source text, but it also means the English ends up using ancient sentence patterns, idioms that don’t translate cleanly, and vocabulary that modern readers rarely meet outside the Bible. The NASB, ESV, and KJV all sit on this end.
Thought-for-thought (dynamic equivalence) translations do the opposite. They ask: what was the original author actually trying to communicate, and how would a clear English speaker say that today? They rephrase idioms, split long Greek sentences into shorter English ones, and swap technical vocabulary for everyday words. The NLT and GNT are good examples.
In the middle sit balanced translations like the NIV and CSB, which try to stay close to the original wording but will rephrase when a literal rendering would be confusing. Beyond thought-for-thought are paraphrases, which restate the Bible’s message in completely contemporary language. They’re the easiest to read, though scholars generally recommend using them alongside a more literal translation.
A simplified Bible like the NIrV or ERV takes the thought-for-thought approach one step further, using a deliberately limited vocabulary and short sentences so that nothing on the page outpaces an early reader.
Here’s where common translations fall on that spectrum:
| Word-for-word | Balanced | Thought-for-thought | Paraphrase |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASB, ESV, KJV | NIV, CSB | NLT, GNT, ERV | The Message, The Living Bible |
The further right you go, the easier the translation tends to be for casual reading, because the more literal a translation is, the more it inherits the difficulty of the original languages. That’s why the easiest Bible translation to understand is almost always a thought-for-thought version: it does the work of turning ancient sentence patterns into plain English before you ever see the page. Bible Gateway explains the trade-offs between translation approaches in more detail. What matters for your decision is that “easy to understand” and “accurate” aren’t opposites. They’re different priorities. Most modern translations, even the easier ones, are produced by serious scholars working from the same Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.
Bible translations by reading level: the full table
Here are 18 common English Bible translations grouped by approximate reading level, translation approach, and what they’re best used for. If you just want an easy to read Bible you can open tonight, look at the top half of the table: that’s where the Bibles that are easy to understand cluster. Grade levels are approximate, compiled from publisher-derived sources including the Prison Fellowship chart, Christianbook, and Bible Selector, and most published sources agree within a year or so.
| Translation | Approx. reading level | Translation approach | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) | 3rd grade | Thought-for-thought (simplified NIV) | Children, ESL readers, anyone wanting the simplest English Bible |
| International Children’s Bible (ICB) | 3rd grade | Thought-for-thought | Young children and family read-alouds |
| Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) | 4th grade | Thought-for-thought | Deaf readers, ESL readers, new adult readers |
| The Message (MSG) | 4th-5th grade | Paraphrase | Devotional reading, fresh perspective alongside another version |
| Contemporary English Version (CEV) | 5th grade | Thought-for-thought | Public reading, audio Bibles, ESL readers |
| New Century Version (NCV) | 3rd-6th grade (sources vary) | Thought-for-thought | Younger teens, daily readers |
| Good News Translation (GNT) | 5th-7th grade (sources vary) | Thought-for-thought | Beginners, all-ages devotional reading |
| New Living Translation (NLT) | 6th grade | Thought-for-thought | First-time Bible readers, daily devotional |
| Christian Standard Bible (CSB) | 7th grade | Optimal equivalence (balanced) | Study and daily reading without going formal |
| New International Version (NIV) | 7th-8th grade | Balanced | General reading, churches, study resources |
| New English Translation (NET) | 7th-8th grade | Balanced with extensive notes | Study, especially for original-language curiosity |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) | 7th-8th grade | Balanced | Reference and personal study |
| New King James Version (NKJV) | 7th-9th grade | Word-for-word | KJV-style language without the archaic vocabulary |
| Revised Standard Version (RSV) | 10th grade | Word-for-word | Academic and ecumenical reading |
| English Standard Version (ESV) | 10th grade | Word-for-word | Study, teaching, sermons |
| New American Standard Bible (NASB) | 11th grade | Word-for-word (most literal) | Deep study and sermon prep |
| Amplified Bible (AMP) | 11th grade | Word-for-word with expansions | Word study, exploring nuance |
| King James Version (KJV) | 12th grade (effectively higher) | Word-for-word | Tradition, literary reading, memorization |
Two patterns worth noticing. First, everything at the easy end is thought-for-thought or a paraphrase, and everything at the hard end is word-for-word. That’s the translation-approach spectrum showing up in the data. Second, the most popular “default” Bibles people are handed (the NIV at 7th-8th grade, the ESV at 10th, the KJV at 12th or above) all sit in the harder half of the table. If you’ve bounced off one of those, the problem probably wasn’t you.
The easiest Bible translations to read and understand
Here are eight of the most accessible options in more detail, running roughly from simplest to most demanding, each with a sample of John 3:16 so you can hear how it lands on the page. The NIV is the odd one out at 7th to 8th grade, and it’s here because it’s the version most people get handed first and it deserves a straight answer.
1. New International Reader’s Version (NIrV): 3rd grade
The NIrV is based on the NIV but rewritten with shorter sentences and simpler vocabulary. It was originally designed for children, but it’s also widely used by adults who are learning English or returning to reading after a long break. It’s the most accessible mainstream English Bible available.
Best for: Absolute beginners, ESL readers, or anyone who finds other translations intimidating.
Trade-off: Sentences are short and sometimes feel choppy compared to the original flow.
Sample (John 3:16): “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.”
2. Easy-to-Read Version (ERV): 4th grade
The ERV was developed by the World Bible Translation Center, originally for deaf readers who were learning English as a second language. It uses a limited vocabulary and very direct sentence construction. That origin means it’s one of the most accessible translations for anyone who finds reading difficult.
Best for: People who struggle with reading generally, not just with the Bible.
Trade-off: The simplified vocabulary can sometimes flatten the emotional weight of poetic passages like the Psalms.
Sample (John 3:16): “Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life.”
3. New Century Version (NCV): around 5th grade
The NCV started as the International Children’s Bible and was later expanded for general audiences. Published charts place it anywhere from 3rd to 6th grade, so treat it as roughly 5th. It’s a thought-for-thought translation that deliberately avoids theological jargon, so you won’t hit confusing terms without context.
Best for: Teens and young adults encountering the Bible for the first time.
Trade-off: Some passages feel over-simplified for more experienced readers.
Sample (John 3:16): “God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life.”
4. The Message (MSG): 4th-5th grade
The Message is a paraphrase by Eugene Peterson, a pastor and scholar who spent years translating the Bible into the kind of English people actually speak. It’s not a traditional translation, which is why some people love it and others feel cautious about it.
Best for: People who’ve bounced off the Bible before and need something that reads like a modern book.
Trade-off: Because it’s a paraphrase rather than a translation, word choices reflect Peterson’s interpretation more than other versions. Most pastors recommend pairing it with a more literal translation for study.
Sample (John 3:16): “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”
5. Contemporary English Version (CEV): 5th grade
The CEV was designed by the American Bible Society specifically for people who find standard translations difficult. It uses simple vocabulary, short sentences, and avoids technical religious terms. It was also built to sound natural read aloud, which is why it turns up in audio Bibles and public reading.
Best for: Young readers, ESL readers, or anyone who finds other translations hard going. If English is your second language, the CEV is worth trying first.
Trade-off: Like the ERV, the plain style trades away some of the texture of poetic books.
Sample (John 3:16): “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.”
6. Good News Translation (GNT): 5th-7th grade
Also known as the Good News Bible or Today’s English Version, the GNT was one of the first translations specifically designed for people with English as a second language. It uses a controlled vocabulary and straightforward grammar, and it’s been in wide use since the 1960s. Published charts place it anywhere from 5th to 7th grade.
Best for: International readers or anyone who prefers plain, unpretentious language.
Trade-off: The deliberately simple style can feel flat in narrative passages where you want more texture.
Sample (John 3:16): “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.”
7. New Living Translation (NLT): 6th grade
The NLT is probably the sweet spot for most beginners. It’s a genuine thought-for-thought translation rather than a paraphrase, produced by a team of 90 scholars working from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts, according to Tyndale House, its publisher. The language is clear and conversational without oversimplifying, and it reads like a well-written book rather than a formal religious text.
Best for: Adults who want something easy to read but still want a “real” translation they can use long-term.
Trade-off: Honestly, not much. The NLT is well-regarded by scholars and churches. Some students of Greek or Hebrew prefer more literal options for deep word studies, but for reading and comprehension, the NLT is hard to beat.
Sample (John 3:16): “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
8. New International Version (NIV): 7th-8th grade
The NIV is the most popular English Bible translation in the world, with more than 450 million copies in print according to its publisher. But is the NIV the easiest Bible to read? No. At a 7th to 8th grade level it’s the most challenging entry on this list, and both the NIrV and the NLT are noticeably easier. What the NIV offers instead is balance. It sits in the middle of the translation spectrum, weighing readability against faithfulness to the original languages, and it was last updated in 2011 by the Committee on Bible Translation using newer manuscript evidence and data on how modern English is actually used. It’s still very approachable, and it’s the translation you’ll meet most often in churches and study groups.
Best for: People who want an all-purpose Bible they can read, study, and discuss with others.
Trade-off: A few passages use vocabulary or phrasing that might send you to a dictionary, but this is rare.
Sample (John 3:16): “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The same verse in every version
Numbers on a page only tell you so much. Here’s how one well-known passage, Philippians 4:6-7, reads across the difficulty range, starting with the simplest version and ending with the 1611 English that a lot of people are still handed first:
NIrV (grade 3):
Don’t worry about anything. No matter what happens, tell God about everything. Ask and pray, and give thanks to him. Then God’s peace will watch over your hearts and your minds. He will do this because you belong to Christ Jesus. God’s peace can never be completely understood.
NLT (grade 6):
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
NIV (grade 7-8):
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
ESV (grade 10):
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
KJV (grade 12, effectively higher):
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Notice how the NIrV breaks things into short, direct statements. The NLT flows more naturally while keeping things clear. The NIV is slightly more formal but still very readable. The ESV uses words like “supplication” that might trip up a new reader. And the KJV opens with “Be careful for nothing,” a phrase whose meaning has drifted so far since 1611 that it now suggests almost the opposite of what it meant then. Same passage, same meaning. What changes is how much work you have to do to get at it.
This is worth doing yourself with a passage you already care about. BibleGateway (linked in the FAQ below) will show you any verse in several translations at once for free, and once you know how a reference like Philippians 4:6 is put together, five minutes of that will tell you more about which version suits you than any chart can.
Which translation is right for you?
The table gives you the data. Which row you should pick depends on who you are and what you want the Bible for.
If you have never read the Bible before: the best easy Bible for beginners
Start with the NLT. For most people it’s the easiest Bible to read and understand for beginners, and it manages that without being a translation you’ll outgrow. Churches, Bible studies, and reading plans all work with the NLT, so you’re not choosing a “starter Bible” you’ll have to trade in later. If you want the fuller comparison for this decision, our guide to the best Bible translation for beginners goes deeper.
If you are an adult coming back to it: an easy to understand Bible for adults
If you grew up around the KJV or NIV and drifted away, try the NLT for daily reading, or stay with the NIV if you want one Bible that covers casual reading and deeper study. The NIV is the most versatile easy to read Bible for adults: comfortable enough to read on the couch, precise enough to bring to a study group. We’ve written a separate guide on the easiest Bible for adults if that’s your situation.
If English is your second language
The ERV, CEV, or NIrV will be more comfortable. They use simpler vocabulary and shorter sentences, which makes a big difference when you’re processing in your second language. The ERV and GNT were both designed with ESL readers specifically in mind, and there’s no prize for struggling through a harder version.
If you want easy but traditional
Try the New King James Version (NKJV). It keeps the cadence and familiar phrasing of the KJV while removing most of the archaic vocabulary, and it sits at roughly a 7th to 9th grade level instead of 12th. If your church uses the ESV, starting there also saves you from adjusting later; it’s readable enough for daily use, just expect the occasional sentence that needs a second pass.
Whatever you pick, commit to one translation for your first few months. Switching between versions mid-book is one of the fastest ways to get tangled up and quit. And remember: any translation on this page gives you the full message of the Bible in language you can understand. The best Bible to read is whichever one you’ll actually open.
Where to start reading once you have picked
Picking a translation is the first step. The second is figuring out where to begin, because opening Genesis chapter 1 and trying to read straight through is how most people burn out within a few weeks. Start with the books that are easiest to follow instead:
- The Gospel of John. The best place to start. It’s the most accessible account of Jesus’ life and teachings, written specifically so readers would believe (John 20:31). At 21 chapters, one chapter a day gets you through your first book of the Bible in three weeks.
- The Gospel of Mark. The shortest Gospel at 16 chapters, fast-paced and action-oriented. It retells the same events from a different angle.
- Genesis, chapters 1 to 25. The creation story, Noah, and Abraham. This is the foundational narrative that sets up everything that follows.
- Psalms and Proverbs. Psalms is a collection of songs and prayers covering the full range of human emotion, and reading one a day is a practice that goes back centuries. Proverbs is 31 chapters of practical wisdom, one for each day of the month.
Books to save for later: Leviticus, Numbers, Ezekiel, and Revelation all contain complex symbolism, legal codes, or prophetic imagery that makes more sense with context. Skipping them at the start isn’t cheating; it’s how you avoid the wall that stops most first attempts.
For a fuller walkthrough of those early weeks, including a simple 30-day plan, see our guide on how to start reading the Bible.
Building the habit
Knowing which Bible to read is the easy part. Reading it consistently is where most people stall.
Start small. Five minutes a day is more sustainable than 30 minutes you skip after the first week. A chapter is fine. Half a chapter is fine. What matters is opening it daily, ideally attached to something you already do, like your morning coffee or the ten minutes before you sleep.
A structured plan helps more than willpower does. Open-ended “just read the Bible” rarely works, but a plan that tells you what to read today keeps you moving in a sensible order instead of bouncing around. Reading one chapter a day is the simplest version: starting with John, that’s 21 days to finish your first book.
An app can carry the logistics for you. Manna, which is our own app, is a free Bible reading app that gives you one short reading each day in a clear translation, so you always know what to read next and can watch a streak build. If you’d like to compare the options first, our guide to the best Bible reading app covers the field, including the ones we didn’t build.
What about study Bibles?
A study Bible is a regular Bible translation with added notes, maps, introductions, and explanations printed alongside the text. They’re helpful, but they can also be overwhelming for someone who just wants to read.
If you’re brand new, a plain text Bible (physical or digital) is often better. Get comfortable reading first. Once you start having questions about context and history, a study Bible becomes useful rather than clutter. If you do want one, the NLT Study Bible and the NIV Study Bible are both solid starting points, and both explain things in plain language without assuming you already know the background.
The short version
If you skipped to the end: the NIrV is the easiest Bible to read by reading level, and the NLT is the easiest Bible to read and understand for most adults. Pick one of those, open the Gospel of John, and read the first chapter tonight. If it still feels heavy, step down to the CEV or the NIrV and try the same chapter again. The version that keeps you reading is the right one, and nothing stops you changing your mind in a month.
FAQ
What is the easiest version of the Bible to read?
The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) is the easiest version of the Bible to read, written at about a 3rd grade reading level with short sentences and simple vocabulary. For most adults, though, the New Living Translation (NLT) is the better everyday pick: it reads at roughly a 6th grade level while remaining a full, committee-produced translation.
What is the easiest Bible to read and understand?
For most English-speaking adults, the New Living Translation (NLT) is the easiest Bible to read and understand. It uses natural, modern English at about a 6th grade reading level while staying faithful to the original Hebrew and Greek. If you want something even simpler, the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) and the NIrV sit at a 3rd to 4th grade level.
What is the easiest Bible for beginners?
The NLT is the easiest Bible for most beginners. It reads like a well-written modern book, works for both casual reading and study, and is widely used in churches. If reading itself is a barrier, or English is your second language, start with the CEV (5th grade) or the NIrV (3rd grade) instead.
Does an easier reading level mean a less accurate Bible?
Not by default. Easier translations like the NLT, GNT, and NIrV are produced by teams of biblical scholars working from the same Hebrew and Greek manuscripts as the ESV or NASB. The difference is translation philosophy, not the source text. Our guide to which Bible translation is most accurate explains how method, manuscripts, and translation committees shape that question. Thought-for-thought translations rephrase the original meaning into clearer English, while word-for-word translations preserve the original sentence structure, which helps for close study but can obscure meaning in everyday reading.
Is the King James Version good for beginners?
The KJV is not recommended for beginners. Published in 1611, it uses archaic vocabulary and grammar that create an unnecessary barrier, and many of its words have changed meaning over the past 400 years. Start with a modern translation like the NLT or NIV, and come back to the KJV later if you enjoy its literary style.
Is the NIV or NLT easier to read?
The NLT is easier. It reads at about a 6th grade level compared to the NIV’s 7th to 8th grade level, and it uses more conversational phrasing. The NIV is still very readable and is more widely used in churches and study materials, so both are good choices for beginners. See our full NIV vs NLT comparison.
What reading level is the KJV?
The KJV is usually rated at about a 12th grade reading level, and in practice it is harder than that. Readability formulas measure sentence length and word length but do not penalize archaic vocabulary, so words like thee, wherefore, and peradventure pass through without raising the score. Most modern readers find the KJV more difficult than its official rating suggests.
Is The Message a real Bible?
The Message is a paraphrase rather than a translation. Eugene Peterson, a pastor and professor of biblical languages, restated the Bible’s content in everyday English. It captures meaning and feeling well, but the word choices reflect one person’s interpretation rather than a committee translation, so most scholars recommend reading it alongside a standard translation like the NLT or NIV (Bible Project).
Can I use more than one translation?
Yes, and many people do. A common approach is an easy translation like the NLT for daily reading and a more literal one like the ESV or NASB for close study. Free tools like BibleGateway.com let you view any passage in multiple translations side by side, which is a good way to find the version that clicks for you.
Is the NIV the easiest Bible to read?
No. The NIV sits at a 7th to 8th grade reading level, which makes it very readable but not the easiest. The NIrV (3rd grade) and the NLT (6th grade) are both easier. The NIV’s strength is versatility: it is easy enough for daily reading while staying close enough to the original text for study, and it is the translation you will meet most often in churches.
What is the easiest Bible to read and understand for beginners?
For most beginners, the New Living Translation (NLT) is the easiest Bible to read and understand. It is written at about a 6th grade level in natural, conversational English, and it is a full translation you can keep using as you grow. If the NLT still feels like hard going, step down to the CEV or the NIrV, which use even simpler vocabulary and shorter sentences.
Which Bible version is easiest to understand?
The NIrV is the easiest Bible version to understand, written at about a 3rd grade level. Among standard adult translations, the NLT is the easiest to understand for most readers, followed closely by the GNT and CEV. All of these are thought-for-thought translations, which rephrase the original languages into plain modern English instead of mirroring ancient sentence structure.