New Life Version

This article is about the New Life Version of the Bible. For the New Living Translation, see New Living Translation.

The New Life Version (NLV) of the Bible is a simplified English language translation by Gleason and Kathryn Ledyard.

The translation was born out of the Ledyards' missionary work in the Canadian Arctic to First Nations populations, who did not always speak English fluently. The NLV uses a limited vocabulary of about 850 words, not including proper names. This was done to make the text easier to read and understand, a goal that the Ledyards felt was not adequately met by existing English translations of the Bible.

The translation of the New Testament was completed in 1969, and the complete NLV Bible with Old and New Testaments was first published in 1986.

The NLV Bible is published by Christian Literature International.

Example for comparison

King James Version of John 3:16 : "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

New Life Version of John 3:16 : "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God's Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever."