New Living Translation Bible
by Tyndale House Publishers Staff
Shares rank 3 of 6 bible translations by recommenders
Readers recommend the New Living Translation for its readability and comprehension, and some have switched to it from the NIV. Some note it is not for everyone.
Readers recommend the New Living Translation for its readability and comprehension, and some have switched to it from the NIV. Some note it is not for everyone.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Readable and easy to comprehend
“My main one nowadays. This one is not for everyone, but I find it very readable”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “compared against others like NIV and NLT which are written for comprehension”
Comment from 22 Feb 2026 in “How far back in time can you understand English?” Preferred over the NIV
“I swapped from the NIV to the NLT many years ago.”
Comment from 16 Aug 2026 in “Seven books I keep close because I love them” Main translation for daily reading
“My main one nowadays. This one is not for everyone, but I find it very readable”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Strongly recommended and underrated
“The New Living Translation (NLT) is fantastic and very underrated.”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “Seven books I keep close because I love them”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Not for everyone
“My main one nowadays. This one is not for everyone, but I find it very readable”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Other bible translations people recommend
The four most recommended other bible translations, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Revised Standard Version Bible | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| New International Version Bibleby Elizabeth Heike and Peter Toon | 5 | 5 | 50% | 3 | — | — |
| New Living Translation Bibleby Tyndale House Publishers StaffThis page | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| New King James Version Bibleby Thomas Nelson | 4 | 1 | 80% | 4 | — | — |
| English Standard Version Bible | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“My main one nowadays. This one is not for everyone, but I find it very readable”
“I swapped from the NIV to the NLT many years ago.”
“The New Living Translation (NLT) is fantastic and very underrated.”
“compared against others like NIV and NLT which are written for comprehension”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.