New International Reader's Version

The New International Reader's Version (NIrV) is an English language translation of the Christian Bible. Translated by the International Bible Society on the same philosophy as the New International Version, but written in a simpler form of English, the NIRV seeks to make the Bible more accessible for people who have difficulty reading English, for example because they are non-native English speakers.

Here is a comparison of a passage in the King James Version, the New International Version, and the New International Reader's Version:

KJV: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." (1 Timothy 3:16, KJV)
NIV: "Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory." (1 Timothy 3:16, NIV)
NIrV: "There is no doubt that godliness is a great mystery. Jesus appeared in a body. The Holy Spirit proved that he was the Son of God. He was seen by angels. He was preached among the nations. People in the world believed in him. He was taken up to heaven in glory." (1 Timothy 3:16, NIrV)
The Bible in English
  • Old English (pre-1066)
  • Middle English (1066–1500)
  • Early Modern English (1500–1800)
  • Modern Christian (1800–)
  • Modern Jewish (1853–)
  • Miscellaneous


A children's version of this text, targeted at a third-grade reading level and featuring the characters of the Berenstain Bears, has been published by Zondervan and HarperCollins.

Famous quotes containing the words reader and/or version:

    [The pleasures of writing] correspond exactly to the pleasures of reading, the bliss, the felicity of a phrase is shared by writer and reader: by the satisfied writer and the grateful reader, or—which is the same thing—by the artist grateful to the unknown force in his mind that has suggested a combination of images and by the artistic reader whom his combination satisfies.
    Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)

    Truth cannot be defined or tested by agreement with ‘the world’; for not only do truths differ for different worlds but the nature of agreement between a world apart from it is notoriously nebulous. Rather—speaking loosely and without trying to answer either Pilate’s question or Tarski’s—a version is to be taken to be true when it offends no unyielding beliefs and none of its own precepts.
    Nelson Goodman (b. 1906)