NABRE
Word-for-WordTranslation profile
New American Bible, Revised Edition
NABRE
How it translates, how hard it is to read, where it came from, and what makes it distinctive.
Now showing Guided. How it translates, how hard it is to read, where it came from, and what makes it distinctive.
This is an educational comparison guide — not a Bible reader, and not a quiz that picks a best Bible. You can change this anytime.
The short version
NABRE stays closer to the wording and structure of the original languages.
These sentences use the listed method, reading-grade, lineage, and notable-facts fields. They are not a ranking.
Translation approach
NABRE stays closer to the wording and structure of the original languages. This guide lists this as Word-for-Word.
Reading difficulty
Moderate reading difficulty. This guide lists grade 6.6.
What makes it distinctive
Widely used by Roman Catholics of all ages.
How it translates
Translation approach: . NABRE stays closer to the wording and structure of the original languages.
Scholars translate each word based upon the word usage at the time of the writing. No translation is actually “word for word,” but the intent is to come as close as possible. This method is also called formal equivalence.
Reading level
Moderate reading difficulty. This guide lists grade 6.6. Reading level does not measure accuracy.
Where it came from
This guide does not list an English Bible lineage for this translation.
First listed 1970, NT updated in 1986 and OT in 2011.
Text and source listings
Old Testament: , , , , Hebrew text behind the Liber Psalmorum
New Testament: Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, United Bible Societies'
What makes it distinctive
A translation’s story
Why this translation exists
1
Before it
This guide does not list an earlier English Bible in this translation’s lineage field.
2
Why it was created
A response to Pope Pius XII's request for a more clear, skilled translation by the Catholic Biblical Association of America.
3
How it translates
Word-for-Word. Scholars translate each word based upon the word usage at the time of the writing. No translation is actually “word for word,” but the intent is to come as close as possible. This method is also called formal equivalence.
4
Where it sits
Word-for-Word · Grade 6.6 · First released 1970 (Modern English).
See it in action
Compare with translations that offer a useful contrast — not a ranking.
GNT
Different translation approach
ASV
Different reading grade
KJV
Older and newer English
Sample verses
He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.