A review of the New Living Translation Bible

The idea behind creating The New Living Translation Bible was to make a broad modification of the Living Bible, a book written by Ken Taylor and published by Tyndale House Publishers in 1971. This article reviews this version of the Bible.

Origins

Overview
The whole New Living Bible project began back in 1989 when a group of some ninety evangelical scholars, predominantly made up by Greek and Hebrew specialists, were assigned the task of reviewing the Living Bible. The initial intentions were, in fact, limited to making minimal corrections to certain parts of the original, however, as the project progressed the decision to proceed with a complete rewrite was made with the blessing of Taylor himself.

Results

Results The result was a translation that has been described by many as the best bible translation they have thus far read. What is unique here, in comparison to other translations of the Bible, is that the writing is both animated and vibrant while the original languages have been carefully preserved.

Further positives

Other points The preface of the NLT lays out how the work was carried out to conform to the principles of 'dynamic equivalence.' It clarifies that "the goal of this translation theory is to produce in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the message expressed by the original-language text—both in meaning and in style". The result is a translation that has every chance of having the same kind of impact on its modern audience as the original had on its. Egalitarianism The publishers have been careful to take measures to ensure the book conforms to the popular trend in book publishing; that is the avoidance of too much male-oriented language. Thus the NLT is full of periphrasis and paraphrase designed to circumnavigate this problem.

Negatives

Cons One of the criticisms that can be directed at the NLT Bible is the fact that on occasion, its use of colloquial language sometimes doesn’t quite hit the mark.
In fact, there are several places where the informal language so clearly does not suit the subject that the results can be almost amusing. Final Word Nonetheless, on the whole, publishers have managed to create a largely accurate and lively bible version that effectively communicates the truth of the Gospel in a clear and understandable way.