If you haven’t seen it yet, the new Common English Bible translation (due to be completed this summer) is worth a look.
According to the CEB website, more than 5 00 people from 2 2 different faith traditions are participating in the development of this new translation: 1 1 8 translators, 1 0 editors, and 7 7 reading group leaders.
One of the primary concerns of the translators (beside accurate translation, of course) is that the texts be accessible to a broad range of people and age-groups. More than 4 00 people in 7 7 different reading groups were assigned a book of the Bible. The readers—young people, pastors, lay leaders, teachers, retirees and others—were asked to read the text aloud to one another and comment on unclear or awkward phrasing.
Here’s an example from the CEB, compared with the same text in both the NRSV and NIV translations:
Luke
Luke
Luke
The CEB New Testament is already available; the rest of the Bible will be completed this summer. If you’re interested in reading more, free PDF downloads of Genesis, Psalms, Matthew and Luke are available online at the CEB website. The site also includes a "passage look-up" box so that you can explore other passages.