Bible translation for little kids?

Kristin · 2025-08-14T21:20:23+00:00

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Regarding grade-school aged kids, the only translation I really know of is the Living Bible, but I have heard people complain about that translation for taking too much license. Given that, is there a Bible version anyone could recommend which is about the reading level of the Living Bible?

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DMB

https://www.logos.com/product/277412/paraphrase-bible-bundle

Looking at some choices, the Message? Any early-reading Bible is going to be a paraphrase.

Though growing up, KJV was it. Period. (Not recommending, of course).

Dave Hooton

@Kristin Looking outside Logos I found this article Just Google on the title of your post. I found these by querying Logos.com.

But this post really belongs in the Books and Courses Forum and could do with some Tags to focus your question

Kristin

Hi @DMB and @Dave Hooton, thank you both for your help. :) I appreciate it.

haha, @DMB, I find it entertaining that you felt the need to clarify that you are not recommending the KJV. :)

Just fyi, after looking at everything I think the NLT is probably the best option. Both the Message and LB are more of a paraphrase than I had remembered. I think the NLT is a little higher reading level than the LB, but not by much, and I think it will work. Thank you both again.

Richard Dowdy

The NLT is a good choice. I started reading that with my daughter when she was 8, and it went really well. It's a proper translation instead of a paraphrase like the Message and Living Bible. The main thing to be aware of is that in passages with nuance and multiple possible interpretations, the NLT translators will pick a reading (a theologically respected one, though not necessarily the one you would have picked) and go with that, instead of trying to preserve the ambiguity like the ESV or NASB might. For instance, in Matthew 12:24, they take out the reference to "Beelzebul" and just put "Satan". Are Beelzebul and Satan the same figure? Who knows… if you're reading the NLT, you won't go down that rabbit hole, which is good if you're reading to kids, and not so good if you're studying demonology.

If the NLT turns out to be too difficult, check out the NIRV (New International Reader's Version), which uses very basic vocabulary and grammar.

Kristin

Hi @Richard Dowdy,

Thank you for letting me know it worked well with your daughter when she was 8. My friend's kid who she is trying to read to is 7, so that provides a good perspective.

Thank you also for letting me know the example of Mt 12:24. Since I know it is common for lower reading level Bibles to take out anything ambiguous, which sometimes creates some questionable theology, I had been checking various verses as I was trying to find a version. For example, the LB goes as far as to translate logos as "Christ" in Jn 1 which caused me to disqualify it from the running.

Regarding Matthew, I don't personally think it is Satan, but I don't find it egregious that they said that, and I agree that it does seem far more understandable for kids.