List of English Bible Translations with Equivalence & Grade Reading Levels
Comments
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Thanks, it looks great!
Sorry that I didn't understand that the earlier post was a proposal, and the page hadn't been created yet.
Thanks to everyone who contributed information for this very useful page!
Thanks to FL for including Carta and a Hebrew audio bible in Logos 9!
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While searching for ‘The Reading Level of the KJV’ I found this:
https://byfaithweunderstand.com/2015/02/23/the-reading-level-of-the-kjv/ [[Always put a space after a link to activate the link]]
They claim
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for the New Testament
KJV: 4.32
ESV: 8.22And they tell you how to make the calculation yourself. [[I have not tried it]]
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THIS POST WILL ALWAYS CONTAIN THE LINKS TO THE MOST UPDATED CHARTS!
DIAGRAM BIBLE CHART
TABLE BIBLE CHART
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... MEV with 11+ reading level, which is the same as NASB and Lexham English Bible (LEB)
Thanks so much; I'll include this in the next version of the chart!
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Do not know the source but it was said that the KJV, here rated at 13, was used as a reading primer, that is first grade.
LOL... I'm not saying that our society doesn't have knowledge -- but with less capacity in some way... but the reason KJV rates so high now, is because it is 1600's English.
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Word for Word
Thanks for posting all this Keep Smiling!
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... KJV ... They claim Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for the New Testament KJV: 4.32 ESV: 8.22
Flesch-Kincaid is what Microsoft Word uses. MS Word > File > Options > Proofing > Show Readability Statistics > [F7] (complete spelling & grammar check)... At the end of the sMelling check, Word will popus stats including Reading Level.
The problem is, that even if we opened the entire KJV in Word -- it wouldn't work. Word is assuming contemporary, common (vulgar) English. It primarily does the math based upon how many multi-syllabic words there are; which doesn't translate accurately to the difficulty of reading Old English, Queen's English, etc.
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Logos wiki page => https://wiki.logos.com/Bible_Translation_Spectrum has working links:
Thanks for reminding me of this link. I just went through all my tags to make sure they matched and found out that I had made a number of mistakes.
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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my work in progress
How about the Phillips translation. Recently there has been discussion about it in this forum. Will it be included in your list?
Gold package, and original language material and ancient text material, SIL and UBS books, discourse Hebrew OT and Greek NT. PC with Windows 11
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If I recall correctly, Mark Ward discussed this in "Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible". Unfortunately, I can't remember if it was the book, movie of maybe both.
Correct. It's in the movie. (May be in the book too.)
It's been a while since I watched the movie but Chapter 4 in the book discusses this:
In the beginning of the chapter he mentions this: "
These are the relevant results as reported by av1611.org:
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for the New Testament
• KJV: 4.32
• ESV: 8.22
"
At the end he comes to this conclusion...
"In my judgment, the KJV isn’t at any recognized “reading level.” Not fifth grade, not twelfth grade, not grad school, not age eighty-six. The whole concept of “reading level” assumes that we’re talking about more or less contemporary language. I’d be willing to stretch the definition of “contemporary” pretty far to preserve the values I enumerated in chapter one, but not four-hundred-years far."
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How about the Phillips translation... Will it be included in your list?
Absolutely, any translation (i.e. any non-heretical version) that is English, I'll add to the list. As long as someone provides me the following:
- Abbreviation (e.g. LEB)
- Name (e.g. Lexham English Bible)
- Reading Level and / or Placement on the Equivalence Continuum (e.g. 11.5; falls between NKJV / ESV)
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How about the Phillips translation.
I've identified my Personal Book version as a paraphrase.
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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How about the Phillips translation. Recently there has been discussion about it in this forum. Will it be included in your list?
Added Phillips plus several more translations to Logos Wiki page => Bible Translation Spectrum
Keep Smiling [:)]
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Added Phillips plus several more translations to Logos Wiki page
I've always considered Phillips a paraphrase but you identified it as dynamic equivalent. What is your reasoning?
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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Added Phillips plus several more translations to Logos Wiki page
Also, what others did you add?
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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Added Phillips plus several more translations to Logos Wiki page => Bible Translation Spectrum
Thanks Keep Smiling! Added those to the Table -- but not to the diagram (since I don't know where they fall on the Equivalence Continuum):
DOWNLOAD LINKS:
https://community.logos.com/forums/p/182774/1057777.aspx#10577770 -
Added Phillips plus several more translations to Logos Wiki page
Also, what others did you add?
Logos Wiki diff of versions 1 & 2 shows four added to Word for Word
- 1997 WEB (Community Pricing needs more bids)
- 1961 Wuest (verbose expression of verbs)
- 1536 Tyndale
- 1535 Coverdale (First Complete English Bible)
Thought for Thought
- 1995 CEV (moved from Paraphrase to match Logos.com product page)
- 1959 EBR
- 1958 Phillips
- 1769 Harwood
Added Phillips plus several more translations to Logos Wiki page
I've always considered Phillips a paraphrase but you identified it as dynamic equivalent. What is your reasoning?
Wikipedia => https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_New_Testament_in_Modern_English shows dynamic equivalence while The Living Bible shows paraphrase => https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Living_Bible
Added many See Also links to Bible Translation Spectrum
Bibles @ Logos.com
Bible-Researcher English
Bible Gateway Reading Levels
Reading Level of the KJV
Scott David: Spectrum Chart
Scott David: Bible Table
Jan Krohn: Source&AffiliationMoved two English Versions to Paraphrase per Bible-Researcher
- 1958 Phillips
- 1769 Harwood
Keep Smiling [:)]
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Added Phillips plus several more translations to Logos Wiki page => Bible Translation Spectrum
Thanks Keep Smiling! Added those to the Table -- but not to the diagram (since I don't know where they fall on the Equivalence Continuum):
DOWNLOAD LINKS:
Added Download links to Logos Wiki => Bible Translation Spectrum see also (for future reference).
NASB and NASU are revisions of ASV, which was the 1901 American revision of the Authorized Version. American Standard Version (ASV) includes "The ASV has long been regarded by many scholars as the most literal English translation since the King James Version—maybe the most literal translation ever."
While creating/updating Logos wiki page, pondered adding a column to Thought for Thought with three values for range:
- < = Closer to Literal
- > = Closer to Paraphrase
- = Dynamic middle (space)
Perhaps NIV family of translations could be the middle of "Thought for Thought" dynamic range.
Challenging to numerically place Bible translations across spectrum, especially relative to each other (depends on passages considered for placement). FYI: a lesson learned from my college Greek class was KJV sometimes having Thought for Thought interpretation.
Logos wiki L column has three values:
- A = Archaic (Ye)
- I = Inclusive (corresponds to ^^ column inScott David: Bible Table)
- N = Neutral (corresponds to ^ column in Scott David: Bible Table)
Logos wiki * column has an * for Faithlife Bible resources including Apocrypha or DeuteroCanonical books. Note: ESV and GW have Apocrypha or DeuteroCanonical books in print (on my bookshelves)
Suspect CPG is the farthest to the right for a paraphrase:
For example, in the Bible, the story of the Good Samaritan involves a Jew, a Samaritan, and an unnamed victim of a robbery on a lonely road in the Middle East, and it took place 2,000 years ago. In the Cotton Patch translation, the Jew becomes a white man, the Samaritan becomes an African American, and the crime victim is robbed and beaten in Ellaville, Georgia.
Clarence Jordan, The Cotton Patch Gospel (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys Pub., 2004).
CJB (and JNT) are a bit more dynamic than NIV: especially for the phrase "under the law"
Keep Smiling [:)]
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While creating/updating Logos wiki page, pondered adding a column to Thought for Thought with three values for range:
- < = Closer to Literal
- > = Closer to Paraphrase
- = Dynamic middle (space)
Perhaps NIV family of translations could be the middle of "Thought for Thought" dynamic range.
Added D column to Thought for Thought table on wiki page => Bible Translation Spectrum
Keep Smiling [:)]
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...wiki page ...
So glad you're adding this to the Column D on Wiki!
< = Closer to Literal
> = Closer to Paraphrase
= Dynamic middle (space)
Perhaps NIV family of translations could be the middle of "Thought for Thought" dynamic range.
So glad to hear you say that; on the Continuum Chart, I stuck all of them almost dead center.
Challenging to numerically place Bible translations across spectrum, especially relative to each other...
No kidding; so difficult. Somewhere out there -- there's got to be somebody that has a fairly objective knowledge of these things.
Logos wiki L column has three values:
A = Archaic (Ye)
I = Inclusive (corresponds to ^^ column inScott David: Bible Table)
N = Neutral (corresponds to ^ column in Scott David: Bible Table)
Oh, that's really helpful. Hadn't caught that.
Suspect CPG is the farthest to the right for a paraphrase...
You're probably spot on with this. But I'm reluctant to throw anything on the Continuum unless I have fairly valid and reliable certainty.0 -
LOTS OF UPDATES TO BIBLE CHARTS
DOWNLOAD LINKS: https://community.logos.com/forums/p/182774/1057777.aspx#1057777 (BEWARE, OF THE IMAGES -- THEY DON'T LINK TO THE FILES; SEE THE HYPERLINKED HEADERS ABOVE THE THUMBNAILS)
Thanks so much to everyone who has contributed to this thread; a special thank you to NB.Mick and Keep Smiling. I've made significant changes to the TABLE CHART and minor changes to the CONTINUUM DIAGRAM.
CHANGES TO TABLE
Changed to Match Wiki Page (https://wiki.logos.com/Bible_Translation_Spectrum)
Changed ^^ to i
Changed ^ to N
Added A
Made all NIV Versions Match with a score of 15
Added Logos Interlinear Column
Added ~12 biblesCHANGES TO CONTINUUM DIAGRAM
Put ASV as Hardest
Added TV and CPB as Softest
Took my best guess with the LEBAnybody feel like taking a shot with your best guess for the Hardness of these? Just assign a number from 1-29 where you think they'd fall? If you want one them to fall between two on the charts, consider making it a decimal. E.g. if you think it goes after NEB (21) and before NLT (22) give it a ranking of 21.5
CJB
CSB
DR
EBR
Harwood
ICB
MEV
NABRE
PHILLIPS
TLV
TPT0 -
Minor Typo Keep Smiling [H] ...
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Minor Typo Keep Smiling
...[:$]
Keep Smiling [:)]
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[:D] LOL!
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Thanks for answering my questions KS4J! [Y]
Moved two English Versions to Paraphrase per Bible-Researcher
- 1958 Phillips
- 1769 Harwood
Personally I would agree with this. [Y]
I've read Phillips through and still consider it a paraphrase.
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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I am trying to download the files but only get the images. In particular i am trying to get the bibles table excel file. I have checked he code to the post mentioned above and only see the image downloads. Do you not offer the excel file?
I found this (https://www.identity-intelligence.org/content/logos-bibles-interlinear.xlsx) excel file in one of your post but it's an earlier version.
Do you have a link the the latest excel file for this image?
https://www.identity-intelligence.org/content/bibles-table.png
Thank you very much for all the work done on this. Great information.
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At the wiki page, https://wiki.logos.com/Bible_Translation_Spectrum , why is the Modern English Version the only one listed as ecumenical. Wouldn't it be evangelical? Just curious.
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Hi Samuel, Thanks for your gracious words and I'm glad you enjoy the information. I apologize, but I'm not planning to post the excel files. But please let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.
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At the wiki page, https://wiki.logos.com/Bible_Translation_Spectrum , why is the Modern English Version the only one listed as ecumenical. Wouldn't it be evangelical? Just curious.
MEV Preface includes:
The original motive for creating this translation was to provide an update by military chaplains for the troops so they could understand the King James Version better. This project grew larger than anticipated in the search for academically qualified scholars when the chaplains “enlisted” the help of those who were not chaplains to get the job done, and when an unexpected publishing opportunity was offered. The target audience grew from the military to the entire English-speaking world. The translators began their work on June 2, 2005; they completed the New Testament on October 25, 2011, and the Old Testament on May 28, 2014.
The forty-seven American and English translators, being in great Christian unity and cooperation, who have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and who have formed an interdenominational translation committee, represent churches such as the Baptist Union of Great Britain, Charismatic Episcopal Church, Central Church of the Nazarene, Church of Christ, Church of England, Church of God, Elim Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Free Methodist Church of North America, General Council of the Assemblies of God, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, Methodist Church of Great Britain, Methodist Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church of America, Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, Southern Baptist Convention, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, and the United Reformed Church. The translators represent a cross section of the English-speaking Church. So it is their prayer that the Modern English Version will please the entire English-speaking world.
As professors or graduates of some of the world’s leading colleges, seminaries, and universities, they represent institutions such as the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, the College of William and Mary, Evangel University, Fuller Theological Seminary, Geneva College, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Harvard University, Hebrew Union College, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Oklahoma Baptist University, Oral Roberts University, the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Pentecostal Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Saint Leo University, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Stanford University, the University of Notre Dame, Vanguard University of Southern California, Westminster Seminary California, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Yale University. The translators are devoted to making a good translation better and ensuring that the Modern English Version is an accurate and responsible update of the King James Version.
Modern English Version, Thinline Edition. (Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014), xi.
ecumenical (Greek, oikoumene, the inhabited world) 1. Of, relating to, or representing the whole church. 2. Promoting or tending toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation.
Evangelical (noun) Member of a Bible-based Protestant church emphasizing personal salvation solely through being born again and through uncompromising commitment to the person of Jesus Christ. (adjective) 1. Of or relating to the gospel. 2. In the spirit of New Testament Christianity. 3. Belonging or relating to a Bible-based Protestant church emphasizing personal salvation solely through being born again and through uncompromising commitment to the person of Jesus Christ. 4. Emphasizing the doctrine of sin, repentance, grace, salvation, and saving faith. 5. Lutheran, as opposed to Reform. 6. Generally, Protestant, as opposed to Catholic.
George Thomas Kurian, Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary: The Authoritative Resource on the Christian World (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001).
Keep Smiling [:)]
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I am trying to download the files but only get the images...
Hi Samuel, Did you receive the email I sent you?
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