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Anyone familiar with the Common English Bible that can speak to the integrity of the translation? I'm looking for a bible that can be read without too much difficulty and studied as was considering it but don't know much about it since it is so new. Was considering the NLT and others as well. Just not sure without more info.

I personally prefer the NLT over the CEB...I have and use both in devotional readings though. The NLT (IMO) is the more conservative and Evangelical leaning of the two. (The NLT team of translators belong to the more 'conservative' wing of Evangelicalism, while the CEB team the more 'liberal' side and is more intentionally widely ecumenical). The CEB is a decent translation though. It will offer a fresh read of the Scriptures. One curiosity of the CEB is its translation of "human being" for what is literally "son of man". While this is not a linguistic problem (and it is a supported reading by many in Biblical studies for the meaning of this term), it is an awkward read and also sounds strange given the history of translations (esp. in the mouth of Jesus).

For me personally...I would choose the NLT if making a choice of only one or the other...but you may actually find that you enjoy the CEB better. One bonus with the CEB is that you can also read the Apocryphal books in it (though not all bindings of the CEB include these)...if you are so inclined. Hope that helps a little.

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It is helpful although I'm not really interested in the Apocryphal books. I was led to believe the CEB is more of a "mediating" version than NLT. Daniel Wallace has referred to NLT as a paraphrase so that has made me reluctant with it somewhat. I have to say I found a couple renderings in the CEB I don't quite know what to make of them. They are Genesis 3:15 and Hebrews 2:7. I'm pretty iffy right now on the NIV2011 too. Have you found the NLT to be good for study?

If you are looking for a new Bible for study...then I would recommend (if you want the NLT) the NLT Study Bible. If you are actually looking for a translation for study purposes though, I would recommend the NIV2011. Another option may be to go with the ESV (similarly to the NLT study Bible, the ESV study Bible has EXTENSIVE notes). Otherwise, the NET Bible is a great study Bible translation that helpfully gives over 60,000 notes.

If you are looking for a more devotional Bible than I personally recommend the NLT. For study purposes it won't really cut the bill (unless you get it as a study Bible and not merely as a translation).

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Would the NLT reference bible be sufficient for study?

Most certainly. It has extensive notes and commentary throughout. The only study Bible that compares is the ESV. You will, however, pay about $50-60+ for these.

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I'm not sure if we are talking about the same thing or not. This is what I was referring to: http://www.amazon.com/Slimline-Center-C ... 361&sr=8-1

I wasn't aware of any notes. I was only aware of the cross reference and info on about 200 Hebrew and Greek words.

No, I'm talking about the study Bible...not just the text or a reference Bible. I see that Amazon lists the hardcover of the NLT for only $25 HERE and the ESV study Bible in hardcover for only $30 HERE.

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I have been very pleased with the NLT. I find that it is readable and does represent the Hebrew and Greek correctly. I don't know if I would use it for a pulpit Bible to preach from but I do like the translation. There is a flood of study Bibles out there so you may want to borrow several or look through them at a bookstore before you commit to buying one.

I forgot to mention that I have used the CEV and it is readable but I have not compared it to the original languages as much as I have the NLT. My dad used the CEV as his Bible and when he passed back in 1997 I got both of his Bibles the CEV and the Rheims-Duoay. I have read and used this Bibles and others when studying for a sermon or lesson.

Just a quick note Gary...the CEV is not identical with the CEB. The latter was just published in 2011. The CEV is a more literal, but readable translation and was done by the American Bible Society. The CEB is focused on readability and was done by a wide range of scholars from churches like the PCUSA, Episcopal, DOC, UCC, UMC (as I had noted earlier...the more "liberal" branch of Evangelicalism...and Protestantism). The CEV would actually be a better choice for study than the CEB in my opinion if one is choosing between those two.

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My personal preference is to avoid study bibles for my primary bible; I do this for several reasons. First, two often I see the commentary in Study bibles treated as if it were the inspired text of Scripture itself and I think it is important to make a clear distinction between what is the inspired text of Scripture and what is not. Second, there is a very limited amount of room for commentary in a study bible and that means these commentaries will always be substantially in complete. Third, every commentator comes to the text with their own biases and the best way to recognize those biases is to look at the works of several different commentators.

There are a good number of good translations i.e. NIV, TNIV/NIV2011, NASB, NRSV, NLT, HCSB, ESV, etc...

I personally use the NIV as my primary bible but regularly look through a number of different translations when studying (unfortunately the NIV is no longer published). Here are some of my thoughts on some of the varying versions.

NIV - over all a good balanced (between formal equivalent and functional equivalent). Occasionally there are passages where I scratch my head and wonder what the translators were thinking when the translated that passage but on the whole a good trustworthy version.

TNIV/NIV2011 - I have grouped these together because the NIV2011 is really a revision to the TNIV text not the NIV text. There are a number of updates in this version that reflect good scholarly decisions i.e. the translation of sarx as "flesh" instead of "sinful nature" for example, but there also appear to be some agenda driven decisions that make me uncomfortable i.e. the emphasis on non-inclusive langauge, the very questionable translation about divorce in Mt. 5 etc... However, my biggest concern with this translation is not the translation itself, but the trust I believe was violated when the translation board failed to honor their previous agreement about not publishing a new version using the NIV name. When the TNIV was unable to gain the acceptance that the NIV has enjoyed, they simply tried to force its acceptance under the NIV name while ignoring the commitments they had previously made. And that is really troubling to me.

ESV - It is a reasonably good version. My biggest concern is that it is being marketed as an "essentially literal" translation i.e. similar to the NASB but very often it is as dynamic (sometimes even more so) than the NIV. It seems that they methodology used for translation varies more from passage to passage than any other version I have used, some passages being very literal and other being quite dynamic. For the most part my concern is not about the accuracy of the translation as both Formal equivalent and Functional equivalent translations have their strengths and weaknesses. However, if your marketing literature tells me you are providing a Formal equivalent translation then I am annoyed when that is what is not delivered. That being said, because the NIV is no longer published, I would probably choose the ESV for a primary bible if I had to choose again.

NLT - The latest revision of the NLT represents a reasonably good translation; however, it leans strongly towards functional equivalent methodology and that always requires a greater amount of interpretive decisions. I personally prefer to keep those interpretive decisions to a minimum and my greatest pet peeves with the NIV surrounds passages where they have unnecessarily made interpretive decisions for me, so I am even more uncomfortable with the NLT which does that far more frequently. Even in passages where I agree with the interpretation, I am still bothered when a translation makes the choice for me. I am also uncomfortable with the emphasis on non-inclusive language in the NLT.



There are a few "translations" that I would avoid altogether (unless you are studying them to understand their biases). I would not recommend them as a primary bible. Some examples would be "The Message" and "The Voice"

Can you explain "cold coded" to me?

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Would say that if desire a "mediating translation", either the NIV 2011/HCSB should do the job!

Between JUST CEV/NLT, would stick to NLT second edition....