Psalm 1 | » |
1 Happy is the man who does not walk in the way sinful men tell him to, or stand in the path of sinners, or sit with those who laugh at the truth.
2 But he finds joy in the Law of the Lord and thinks about His Law day and night.
3 This man is like a tree planted by rivers of water, which gives its fruit at the right time and its leaf never dries up. Whatever he does will work out well for him.
4 Sinful men are not like this. They are like straw blown away by the wind.
5 So the sinful will not stand. They will be told they are guilty and have to suffer for it. Sinners will not stand with those who are right with God.
6 For the Lord knows the way of those who are right with Him. But the way of the sinful will be lost from God forever.
The New Life Version (NLV)
The New Life Version (NLV) is a unique English translation of the Bible designed to be exceptionally easy to read and understand. First published in 1969, the NLV was created by Gleason Ledyard, a missionary and linguist, to make the Scriptures accessible to people who have limited English proficiency or are new to the language. Ledyard’s aim was to provide a Bible that even those with minimal education could read and comprehend, thus opening the door for a wider audience to engage with the biblical texts.
A defining characteristic of the New Life Version is its use of a limited vocabulary of about 850 basic English words, along with some necessary theological terms. This restricted vocabulary ensures that the language remains simple and straightforward, making the text accessible to young readers, new Christians, and those for whom English is a second language. The translators also avoided idiomatic expressions and complex sentence structures, further enhancing clarity and understanding. This makes the NLV a particularly valuable resource for educational and missionary work.