What are the best bibles for beginners and new believers?
Like most things in life, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer! Everyone absorbs information differently so it is important to find the right Bible for your learning style.
And what is the point of reading the Bible if you can’t really understand what you are reading?
I’ve compiled a list of several different Bibles that are perfect for beginners to start learning and understanding the Bible and how to apply it to their lives.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our full disclosure here.
Reading the Bible as a Beginner
As a new believer, the first thing you set out to do is to buy a Bible. Sounds easy, right?
Sure….until you see the Bible aisle has as many options as the cereal aisle at the grocery store!
There are so many more options than you’d have ever guessed. Dozens of translations, viewpoints, demographics, and additional features make picking the right one so much harder.
You might be wondering – What is the best bible for beginners?
There are several Bibles that were created specifically with new believers in mind.
Below you’ll find several Bibles for beginners that make it easy to understand God’s Word and aren’t so much written in what I like to call “Christianese.”
Best Bible Version for Beginners
Before we go into talking about the best Bibles for beginners, let’s first talk about the importance of finding a Bible in the right translation.
If you are new to reading the Bible, one of the first things you may notice is that there are a LOT of different translations to choose from. Does it matter which version (or translation) of the Bible you read?
Absolutely! We can all agree that most of what is written in the Bible is a bit hard to understand because of the “era” of the language.
Traditional translations such as KJV are filled with a dialect that hardly makes sense to most of us. You can read a verse 10 times and still not truly understand what it means!
There are some more “modern” translations that make it much easier to understand what you are reading.
NLT (New Living Translation) and NIV (New International Version) are very similar and are written more in line with modern English. These are often the preferred translations for most new Christians.
As you begin reading the Bible, you can also compare the different translations of verses on Bible Gateway.
If studying the Bible better is on your list of things to do this year, be sure to visit our Bible Study Resources page where you’ll find everything you need to make Bible study a regular part of your daily routine.
Best Bibles for Beginners
The Bible can be so overwhelming for a new Believer so we’ve compiled some of the best Bibles for new Believers (new believer Bibles) that you can start with.
Be sure to read about the features of each one and also take a look at customer reviews! See exactly what others like and didn’t like about each one to help you find the one that will best fit your learning style.
Life Application Study Bible
The Life Application Study Bible is the #1-selling study Bible today and comes in a variety of translations so you can choose the one that best suits your understanding.
It contains notes that explain the many difficult passages and gives background information on Bible life and times. It also shows you how to apply Biblical principles to the situations and circumstances in your life!
The best Bible for beginners makes it super easy to understand biblical topics (in normal people’s words) and this study Bible does that!
The New Believer’s Bible – NLT
The New Believer’s Bible NLT is designed specifically for anyone that has never picked up a Bible and needs a helping hand with where to begin, how to read it, and how to make the most of Bible study time.
When you first become a Christian, it’s very easy to get confused by all the new words and phrases. This Bible comes with a handy glossary of Christian terms to help you fully understand everything.
As the name implies, this is a perfect Bible for new believers to get started in reading and understanding God’s Word.
The Message: Bible in Contemporary Language
So much of the Bible is difficult to understand if you take it verse by verse and without context. The Message is a reading Bible, meant to be read as a story, chapter by chapter.
The powerful clarity of The Message Bible makes it so easy to understand. Even first-time Bible readers will sense the deeper truths stirring in God’s Word.
The Message combines the authority of God’s Word with the cadence and energy of conversational English – which makes it perfect for beginners.
The Christian Basics Bible
If you are new to reading the Bible, it can be difficult to explore its teachings and to see how Christian beliefs are established in its pages. Understanding what we believe and why we believe it is important because it provides the foundation for being grounded in our faith.
The Christian Basics Bible is filled with features designed to help those new to the Bible connect biblical teachings to Christian beliefs and to see how those beliefs apply to their lives.
The Christian Basics Bible provides the perfect balance of information & application.
So there you have it! Any of these Bibles for beginners will be a great starting point for you as a new Christian to dive into God’s word and truly understand it.
The truth is that, as you progress in your walk with God, you’ll most likely end up owning several different types of Bibles – each for a different type of Bible study.
Looking for a new Bible and not sure which one to get? Be sure to check out our recommendations for Bibles and Devotionals.
