Easy-to-Read Version

Originally undertaken with Deaf readers in mind, this version — issued as the English Version for the Deaf and later as the Easy-to-Read Version — was subsequently broadened to serve literacy students and learners of English as a second language. It is a complete Bible, translated from the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and is classed as a fresh translation rather than a revision of an earlier English text. Its governing philosophy is functional, aiming at a low reading level through short sentences, restricted vocabulary, and plain constructions in place of the more formal register inherited from the King James tradition. As such it belongs to the broader twentieth-century movement toward meaning-based translation and simplified-English scriptures, and it is often described as pioneering in its attention to the particular reading needs of Deaf audiences. It is listed here as a completeness backstop for coverage of the English translation and revision families.