Christian Monthly Standard

Emergence of the NLT

According to CBA, here is the best selling translations for the month of July, in terms of units sold:

1 New Living Translation                           Tyndale
2 New International Version                      various publishers
3 New King James Version                       various publishers
4 King James Version                               various publishers
5 English Standard Version                       Crossway
6 Holman Christian Standard Bible           B&H Publishing Group
7 Reina Valera 1960 (Spanish)                 various publishers
8 New American Standard Bible update   various publishers
9 The Message Eugene Peterson,            NavPress
10 New International Readers Version     Zondervan

I am glad to see the HCSB and ESV continue to do well. I hope they will both move their way to the top. However, I found it very surprising to see the New Living Translation (NLT) as the number one Bible translation sold in July, according to unit sales. I never imagined that the NLT would gain a foothold past the more traditional versions. I certainly did not believe that the NLT could surpass the NIV. I have not spent much time in the NLT. It looks like I need to look at it more to see what the hype is all about and determine if it is worthy to use in study. I will let you know of my findings as I reintroduce myself to the NLT.