Translator of the Living Bible Passes On

Ken Taylor, the man who put together the paraphrase of the Bible called "The Living Bible", has passed away at age 88. We use the New International Version of the Bible for our form of quizzing, because of the careful accuracy of the translation. But the New Living Translation was an attempt to simultaneously translate and interpret scripture as a paraphrase.

...the combination of editorial mind with fatherly heart sometimes afforded splendid creative opportunities. When he and Margaret read to their children, Taylor lamented that there was no book that covered the whole Bible for youngsters. As their kids brought home Sunday school lessons, he handwrote stories to match the pictures, asking if the stories made sense.
Encouraged by favorable responses, he submitted the material, subsequently published by Moody Press as The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes, an all-time bestselling children's book. Then followed a sequel, Stories for the Children's Hour and Devotions for the Children's Hour, a condensation of Chafer's theology courses.
Noting the success of these titles, he recalled his longstanding dissatisfaction with the King James Bible; the text simply didn't make sense to his children. Perhaps he could paraphrase the entire Bible for grown-ups as he'd done for children? Most daunting, but he would try. Commuting by train to Chicago each day, he utilized his travel time for paraphrasing the scriptures into contemporary language, beginning with the New Testament.

Paraphrases should not be confused with more literal translations - they are not always careful translations. But they can be far more easy to read then the more careful translations and can be useful for Bible study, especially for those new to scripture.