Text Comprehension of Various Versions of the Bible

Abstract

This study evaluated the comprehensibility of six versions of the Bible. The subjects were 324 undergraduates from a Christian liberal arts college in the eastern United States. The experimental design included three independent variables: biblical version (King James Version, Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, Today's English Version, the Living Bible, New International Version); theological orthodoxy (liberal, conservative); and type of literature (narrative, poetry, proclamation). Two dependent variables, comprehensibility ratings (seven-point scale) and recall proportions (number of textual units recalled as a percentage of the total possible) were investigated. A 6 x 2 x 3 analysis of variance revealed a main effect for biblical versions and type of literature on both dependent variables. The KJV was judged to be less comprehensible than each of the modern versions, and the LB and TEV were judged to be more comprehensible than either the RSV or NEB. Moreover, the LB and NIV facilitated recall better than the KJV. For all versions, proclamation literature was judged to be more comprehensible than either poetry or narrative literature, and narrative literature facilitated better recall than either poetry or proclamation literature. No difference was found between liberals and conservatives on either dependent variable. The twentieth century has witnessed a great increase in the production of modern