Contemporary English Version — Holy Bible
American Bible Society
First published 1995
Contemporary English Version — Holy Bible
The Contemporary English Version (CEV) is a dynamic-equivalence translation by the American Bible Society designed for listeners as much as readers. Written at approximately a 5th-grade reading level, it uses natural conversational English and is particularly suitable for children, new Christians, and those for whom English is a second language.
History & Background
Work began in 1984 under Dr. Barclay M. Newman, who studied speech patterns in radio and TV broadcasts to determine the most natural idiomatic English. The NT was released in 1991 for the 175th anniversary of the ABS; the complete Bible in 1995. The CEV was the first translation specifically designed for oral comprehension — meaning its sentences are structured to be clearly understood when read aloud, not just silently.
Canon Proximity Rating
Standard 66-book Protestant canon. Written for accessibility; not a word-for-word translation but faithfully represents the meaning of the original texts.