Neil
Is the Niv version of the Holy Bible good for leaning English? Is the translation good?
Mar 4, 2021 11:21 PM
Answers · 6
1
Between NIV and KJV, for example, I'd definitely go for the first one and actually mine is an NIV as well. Maybe you're finding some very new and specific vocab we hardly use during everyday conversation but the NIV for me is definitely a good extra source of study, for sure.
March 5, 2021
1
I think reading the Bible is a good language learning technique if you already read the Bible in your own language. I say that because what you already know about the Bible will help you to understand it in English. Any recent English translation could be good if you want to learn current English. There are also more traditional translations out there like the King James Bible. The language is poetic, but it is not current. I should also add that, as you might expect, different Christian denominations prefer different translations. For example, my family is Catholic, and I think they read the New American Bible. I remember the language being relatively accessible.
March 5, 2021
1
Religious books can be very difficult for learning a new language. A simplified version of the Bible is I suspect actually a good route into English. I have an Arabic Bible, which is easier than the Quran to learn Arabic! I wouldn’t worry about the accuracy of the Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek to English, but rather how much of the English text is easy to read as you already know the gist. Even a children’s Bible would be useful. Unless you are studying Shakespeare , the King James Version is not going to help you.
March 5, 2021
I prefer the NKJV (New King James Version) but the NIV and NLT are not bad translations. Translating from Greek to English is difficult. Greek can have 8 or more different meanings for what is called "love" in English. Love isn't wrong but the different Greek terms all describe a different kind of love that is lost when translating across. The NKJV, NIV, NLT, etc are all the same story, it's just written in a different way, different words describing the same story but can conjure up different imagery within said story. Some meaning is gained and some is lost in the various translations.
March 4, 2021
Maybe have a look through a copy somewhere. I think the Good News bible (maybe also called The Bible in Today's English Version) was specifically written for all users of English and might be helpful.
March 4, 2021
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!