Written to be Read Aloud

The work of translating the Bible is a serious undertaking and multi-layered effort.

Few of us fully appreciate the level of linguistic and textual scholarship required to put an English version of the Bible into our laps, or into the palm of our hands. At every turn, teams of translators are required to make decisions that bring us ever-closer to the ancient world of Scripture. There are countless poetic devices, cultural idioms, and points of reference that would have been immediately known to the original audience, yet are missed entirely by the contemporary reader.

In this way, the creation of any modern translation of the Bible is never as simple as swapping out a Hebrew or Greek word for an English equivalent. Even the most literal translations, commonly known as “formal-equivalence” versions of the Bible, still engage in the work of cultural translation.

In light of this, it is rare that a single translation can perfectly capture all of the nuance, beauty, and power of the original text. Each has its own strengths, and we encourage you to listen to several translations, as the fuller meaning of a passage is better grasped when we hear it in English from several perspectives.

This is one of the primary reasons Dwell deeply values adding new translations to the app, and today we are thrilled to add another: the New Living Translation.

The NLT is one of the most beloved and well-known English translations available today, holding together a commitment to rigorous biblical scholarship and the value of modern, everyday English. It is one of the only contemporary translations that combines a word-for-word and thought-for-thought method of translation, resulting in an accurate and impactful reading experience. That said, for us at Dwell, there is one feature of the NLT that we love most of all: it was written to be read aloud.

The NLT is the only contemporary Bible in English that keeps the listening experience at the heart of the translation process.

In addition to carefully putting pen to paper, the team of translators took time to read the new translations aloud to one another, revising and editing based on how natural the words sounded to the present-day ear, and whether or not they moved the heart to wonder and worship. As the introduction to the NLT says, it “is not only easy to understand but also has an emotive quality that will make an impact on listeners.”

In this way, the NLT embraces the biblical mandate to “focus on reading the Scriptures to the church” (1 Tim 4:13), and encourages us to join with Christians throughout the ages and not only read the Bible, but listen together as the family of God.

This initial launch of the NLT on Dwell includes the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs.