NJB
Word-for-WordTranslation profile
New Jerusalem Bible
NJB
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
NJB 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
NJB 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 9.
What makes it distinctive
First published as the Jerusalem Bible (1966), then as the New Jerusalem Bible (1985).
Lineage / history
This guide lists earlier English work: Bible de Jérusalem (French translation, 1961).
How it translates
Translation approach: . NJB 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 9. Reading level does not measure accuracy.
Where it came from
: Bible de Jérusalem (French translation, 1961)
First listed 1966, updated in 1985.
Text and source listings
Old Testament: ,
New Testament:
What makes it distinctive
A translation’s story
Why this translation exists
1
Before it
Bible de Jérusalem (French translation, 1961) → NJB
Bible de Jérusalem (French translation, 1961)
2
Why it was created
A response to Pope Pius XII's request for a more clear, skilled translation by Dominicans and others at École Biblique in Jerusalem.
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 9 · First released 1966 (Historical English).
See it in action
Compare with translations that offer a useful contrast — not a ranking.
GNT
Different translation approach
NIrV
Different reading grade
NABRE
Older and newer English
Sample verses
And he said to them, 'Come after me and I will make you fishers of people.'
16 For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 For God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.