Bible Translations for Internationals

[Ernie]

I'm looking for a good simply Bible translation for English as a Second Language readers.

I've been using the New International Readers Version but it has some real problems. It is advertised for international people and prisons but seems best suited for prisons.

1.Lots of contractions.
2.Lots of American idioms.
3.Doctrinal issues. (e.g. James 1: Here’s what believers who are in low positions in life should be proud of. They should be proud that God has given them a high position in the kingdom. But rich people should take pride in their low positions. That’s because they will fade away like wild flowers.)

Anybody have something else to recommend?

[QuietlyListening]

When I was doing a devotional for ESL I would use various translations- depending on the verses. But we also had the students read the verse in their language.

Could you get a Bible that has English and their language side by side? There are bibles like this for some languages but not for all. Not sure if this is helpful or not

[Bootstrap]

Here are some that are easy to read, with some verses to compare. I don't regularly use any of them, but you can add other verses:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?s ... RV,GNT,cev

This can only show 5 at a time. Here's the same thing with the ICB instead of the NIRV in the first slot:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?s ... RV,GNT,cev

[Bootstrap]

When I was doing a devotional for ESL I would use various translations- depending on the verses. But we also had the students read the verse in their language.

Could you get a Bible that has English and their language side by side? There are bibles like this for some languages but not for all. Not sure if this is helpful or not

You can do this for a given passage pretty easily:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?s ... RV;GNT;CEV

If you want to do this for an entire Bible ... PTX Print is pretty amazing ...

https://software.sil.org/ptxprint/gallery/

[Josh]

Back when my parents did a lot of ministry with children with poor literacy, they used the Good News translation, which seems to be pretty good.

[Ernie]

When I was doing a devotional for ESL I would use various translations- depending on the verses. But we also had the students read the verse in their language.

Could you get a Bible that has English and their language side by side? There are bibles like this for some languages but not for all. Not sure if this is helpful or not

Yes, if I am making up worksheets, I use various translations on the same worksheet.
But I am looking for a print Bible.
And yes, we use bi-lingual Bibles sometimes.

[Bootstrap]

I don't know if this is helpful for what you are doing, but there are good audio Bibles in English and in a LOT of languages.

Here is a parallel Bible on YouVersion, in Malayalam and English, with audio:

https://www.bible.com/bible/1693/GEN.1. ... arallel=59

YouVersion is available as an app, so they can use it on their phone.

The Jesus Film is also available in a lot of other languages. Most people who don't read a lot watch things on their phones or other devices. Sometimes written text can be a bottleneck for some refugees, especially if they do not come from a background where they are used to reading a lot. And audio and video can be a helpful supplement when working with the text.

[Neto]

If the purpose is to give them a Bible to read as part of their language learning process, I'd go with what Josh suggested, the Good News Bible. (At least I think it's the same as what we called "The Good News for Modern Man". I carried a New Testament GNfMN to every class during HS.)

[Ernie]

I don't know if this is helpful for what you are doing, but there are good audio Bibles in English and in a LOT of languages.

Here is a parallel Bible on YouVersion, in Malayalam and English, with audio:

https://www.bible.com/bible/1693/GEN.1. ... arallel=59

YouVersion is available as an app, so they can use it on their phone.

The Jesus Film is also available in a lot of other languages. Most people who don't read a lot watch things on their phones or other devices. Sometimes written text can be a bottleneck for some refugees, especially if they do not come from a background where they are used to reading a lot. And audio and video can be a helpful supplement when working with the text.

I am looking for a print Bible.