Bible Words: GNT – CEV – Combined

FULL PQS – Mini PQs

GNT and CEV both share many of the most “difficult words” in the NT. Roughly 15 of them occur at very high frequency, creating chronic friction, while the rest are spikes of difficulty tied to names, places, or theological terms.

Most frequent difficult words (Lord, Christ, sin, disciple, faith, kingdom, Israel) appear hundreds of times, meaning low-literacy readers face barriers constantly. Proper names / places (Herod, Nazareth, Galilee, Pontius Pilate) are lower in frequency but still unfamiliar. Theological abstractions (resurrection, covenant, sacrifice, Scripture, eternal, glory) are medium frequency but carry heavy conceptual weight.

Converged List of Top Difficult Words (alphabetical, merged from both versions)

Abraham
angel
apostle
baptism
Bethlehem
blasphemy
Caesar
centurion
Christ / Messiah
covenant
crucifixion
demon
disciple
Elijah
eternal
faith
Galilee
Gentile
glory
gospel
Herod
Holy Spirit
hypocrite
idol
Israel
Jerusalem
John the Baptist
Judea
kingdom
law (Torah context)
leprosy
Lord
manna
miracle
Moses
Nazareth
parable
Passover
Pharisee
Pontius Pilate
prophet
resurrection
Rome / Roman
Sabbath
sacrifice
Samaritan
Satan
Scripture
sin
synagogue
temple
testimony
tomb
transfiguration
zealot

(55 words total — convergence added 5 new ones from CEV that weren’t in GNT and vice versa.)

Ranked by Approximate Frequency in NT (high → low, combining both versions’ estimates)

Lord
Christ / Messiah
sin
disciple
faith
kingdom
Israel
law
temple
prophet
Moses
Abraham
Jerusalem
Holy Spirit
eternal
glory
gospel
resurrection
Satan
miracle
baptism
testimony
sacrifice
Scripture
Pharisee
Herod
Galilee
Nazareth
John the Baptist
Samaritan
Passover
Sabbath
demon
Messiah (if separated from Christ title)
hypocrite
Gentile
Elijah
idol
centurion
Rome / Roman
Pontius Pilate
Bethlehem
Judea
zealot
leprosy
manna
parable
tomb
crucifixion
blasphemy
covenant
transfiguration
apostle
angel
glory (if counted separately from doxological use above)