Comments on: On Translations for Children

By: On Translations for Poor Readers « God Didn't Say That

On Translations for Poor Readers « God Didn't Say That — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:23:10 +0000

[...] Translations for Poor Readers Not long ago, I asked about the merit of tailoring translations to children. When I starting reading about the new CEB translation, and in particular that “[t]he new [...]

By: Children’s Bible Translations: Thoughts | Test Blog

Children’s Bible Translations: Thoughts | Test Blog — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:36:36 +0000

[...] Hoffman has just posted on the subject of Bible translations for children, spurred by Ellen Frankel's post on "Making the Bible PG." Hoffman [...]

By: Peter Kirk

Peter Kirk — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:34:24 +0000

One advantage I came across (not among English speakers) of a children’s Bible was that adult Christians were buying it and reading it themselves because they could understand it far more easily than the version in old fashioned language which their churches used.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:51:13 +0000

I spent 5 years as a children’s minister, and the NLT was my best friend. Inner-city kids reading 3-4 grade levels behind could understand this when we read it together. It was much more helpful than things like the NIrV or ICB.
One thing I found helpful with kids was reading from books that compiled portions of the Bible without changing the text of the Bible. For me it was the best of both worlds. It kept them from feeling daunted by the sheer quantity of the Bible, and it kept me from feeling like I was altering the Word of God for them.

By: Pete Head

Pete Head — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:44:06 +0000

Also you’d need native speakers to do the translation, and not many children know Hebrew and Greek.

By: On Translations for Children | The Church of Jesus Christ

On Translations for Children | The Church of Jesus Christ — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:00:11 +0000

[...] began to wonder and wander… about bible translations for children. He notes 4 drawbacks to such an [...]

By: Hannah C.

Hannah C. — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:24:26 +0000

I read Jason’s thoughts and agreed with many of them.

Personally, I like Bible story books for younger ages. I don’t like the ICB because of the explicit and technical language it uses, but again, good points have been made to the effect that it’s not a bad thing.

I was one of the kids who tried to read books like Ivanhoe and Pride and Prejudice at the age of nine. I think kids would be a lot better served by being given a good dynamic translation, like the NLT, and allowed to run with it. I think they would have a harder time with versions like the ESV or NKJV.

By: Joel H.

Joel H. — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:23:59 +0000

Very well thought out response, Jason.

Thanks.

By: Jason A. Staples

Jason A. Staples — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:41:38 +0000

Some good points here, Joel. I just posted my thoughts as well: http://blog.jasonstaples.com/2009/10/childrens-bible-translations-thoughts.html