A Critical Review Of The NIrV Adventure Bible

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We received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Getting your kids in the habit of reading the Bible will be a light for them for a lifetime. If you’re looking for an early reader Bible for kids, or a Bible for ages 6-10, Zondervan has an option with their NIrV Adventure Bible For Early Readers. 

What Is The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) Bible?

The NIrV Bible is written at a third-grade reading level and is great for early readers ages 6-10. This Bible can even be great for adults who are learning how to read, or English as a second language learner. 

The NIrV Bible is the number 1 Bible sold today for children and is said to be similar to its parent translation, the NIV Bible. Inside the NIrV Bible, children will see full-color features that will help engage and bring the Bible to life. 

Some of the features of this Bible include:

• Complete text of the easy-to-read New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) of the Bible
• Full-color design throughout – Makes learning about the people, places, and culture of the Bible even more engaging
• Life in Bible Times – Articles and illustrations describe what life was like in ancient days
• Words to Treasure – Highlights great verses to memorize
• Did You Know? – Interesting facts help you understand God’s Word and the life of faith
• People in Bible Times – Articles offer close-up looks at amazing people of the Bible
• Live It! – Hands-on activities help you apply biblical truths to your life
• Twenty special pages – Focus on topics such as famous people of the Bible, highlights of the life of Jesus, how to pray, and the love passage for kids, all with a jungle safari theme
• Book introductions with useful facts about each book of the Bible
• Dictionary/concordance for looking up tricky words
• Color map section to help locate places in the Bible
• 9-point font size

How We Used The NIrV Adventure Bible

We used this Bible as our text for Bible time during school. I would read aloud the scripture for the context we were learning. I also had this Bible available for my children to pick up anytime they wanted to read. 

My oldest daughter is in 2nd grade but reads at a much higher grade level and she enjoys reading this Bible.

My son is in Kindergarten and an early reader and he enjoys finding the words he knows and trying to sound out the words he doesn’t know. He also enjoys looking at the pictures.

My youngest daughter is in preschool and she just loves the pictures and wants me to read to her and tell her what it says.

How Much Is The NIrV Adventure Bible?

This bible is available to purchase on Amazon for $22.49. The Kindle version is also available for $14.99.

My Thoughts On The NIrV Adventure Bible

Personally, as a family, we prefer the CSB Bible or the ESV Bible and our oldest two children both have a CSB Bible. When I read out loud using the NIrV, it felt a bit clunky because it had so many short sentences, it had no natural flow. I probably won’t continue to use this as a read-aloud Bible because both the CSB and the ESV Bibles flow much better and the kids understand and can articulate what they hear/read just fine. 

Another thing that I really don’t like about the NIrV is that it’s a paraphrase translation, not a word-for-word translation. According to the NIrV, this translation uses “easy words and short sentences and achieves accuracy through equal rigor to the original languages and today’s English.” Honestly, today’s English is full of words that don’t really mean what the original definition and context intend. Why translate the Bible that way?

I also don’t like how the NIrV Bible takes a gender-neutral approach by omitting masculine language. Here are some examples from Luke 17:3-4:

This is what the ESV Bible says:

This is what the CSB Bible says:

And finally, this is what the NIrV says:

As you can see, the NIrV translation, as well as the NIV translation, alters the masculine pronoun to be all-inclusive. This is just one example of many with this translation. I realize that there are people out there who don’t like masculine dominant literature or even the biblical patriarchy, but you can’t miss the fact that the original texts and manuscripts of the Bible use masculine pronouns throughout. Just think of Genesis 1:27 (ESV):

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

or even Psalm 39:11 (ESV):

“When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath!”

When you read the word man or mankind in the Bible, I’m pretty sure that includes humanity as a whole, yes women and children too, right? Surely, it does! My point is, the infallible Word of God applies to women too and you don’t need to change the text to reflect that. Period. 

Final Thoughts

I think the NIrV Bible is great for beginning readers and we will continue to let our youngest, who is 4 1/2 use this Bible and take it to church as “her Bible”. However, as soon as she is ready and reading well enough on her own, she will graduate to either the CSB or ESV Bible. 

With that said, the NIrV Bible is still a great option for children who are learning how to read. It has a lot of great features such as the full-color design, maps, and book introductions. I would recommend the NIrV Bible only as a great stepping stone, but not a permanent long-term Bible. 

Click to read more reviews on Zondervan’s NIrV Adventure Bible For Early Readers.

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