About the Casual English Bible®
An easy to understand Bible Made for Anyone & Everyone
The Casual English Bible® is an easy-to-read Bible paraphrase with detailed footnotes, discussions, and Q&A sections, all without theological jargon—and has over 1,000+ Bible Maps available.
Explore Bible MapsWho It's For
The Casual English Bible® is written for anyone who's ever opened a Bible and felt lost. It's for people who are curious about faith but don't speak "church." It's for lifelong Christians who still struggle with the outdated translations. And it's especially for teachers, group leaders, and pastors who want to help others truly understand God's Word.
The Casual English Bible® was made so anyone and everyone curious about the Bible can understand the Holy story (and experience it through accurate, high-definition Bible Maps).
Why It Exists
Too many people give up on reading the Bible—not because they don't care, but because the language feels like a barrier. The Casual English Bible® exists to remove that barrier.
Written by bestselling author and Bible scholar Stephen M. Miller, this paraphrase was born from 40+ years of experience and a deep desire to make Scripture accessible and understandable. Along with 1000+ vivid 3D maps, Miller helped make the Bible easier to teach, remember, and live out.
Meet the Author, Stephen M. Miller
Stephen M. Miller is an award-winning, bestselling Christian author and the mind behind the Casual English Bible® paraphrase. With 40 years of experience translating complex biblical scholarship into everyday English, his books, including The Complete Guide to the Bible, have sold over two million copies. Miller holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a seminary degree in biblical studies and religious education.
Meet Amos
Here's a sample of Miller's writing...the first part of the introduction to the Book of Amos.
There's one quote in Amos that best describes him and his hot-headed message.
It's a line he delivers to rich women in the Washington DC of his day, Samaria—capital of the northern Jewish nation of Israel:
Listen to me, you pampered cows,
Women grazing on Samaria's hills,
Cheating the poor
And stealing from people
Who struggle to survive.
Yeah, it's you women who say
To the man of the house,
"I could use another drink about now"
(Amos 4:1).
No polish on Amos
Amos wasn't a polished public speaker delivering a hard message in a mild manner. He was a dirty-fingernailed fig farmer and a shepherd with flock to get back to.
He didn't beat around the bush. He set it on fire. Then he fed it on flaming words—until a priest in town told him to shut up and go back where he came from.
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FAQ's Casual English Bible
Here’s everything you need to know about using, sharing, and getting the most out of our Bible Maps
Easy read for Bible newcomers
Stephen M. Miller says that in his first news journalism class at Kent State University, the professor told the students to write their news articles as though the person reading had just arrived from Mars. That's how Steve says he has written his books about the Bible. And that is how he has been paraphrasing The Casual English Bible.
He says that one of one of his favorite compliments came from a college student from another country. The student picked one of Steve's books, The Complete Guide to the Bible. He glanced through it, bought it, and wrote thanking Steve for writing a book about the Bible that was simple but not stupid.
If that's the best thing you can say about The Casual English Bible, that's enough to make Steve smile.
A work in progress
We've been at this for about a decade. We started with an easy-reading Bible paraphrase, targeting readers new to the Bible. Then we added footnotes to address obvious questions that new readers would have. Then we added Q&A discussion study guides.
Bible maps were a big add. A massive consumer of time and cash and stomach lining. To get it done, we had to embrace the Geek Within that we didn't know we had. It takes a lot of tech savvy to create 3D-style maps from cartography software and from photos and elevation data scrounged up from international space agencies in Europe, Japan, and America.
We've done some initial proofreading of the New Testament, but very little in the Old Testament. We hope to begin that soon with top tier proofreading experts who specialize in proofing the Bible.
Theologically bent?
The goal is impartiality and truth. The Casual English Bible tries to let the Bible say whatever it wants to say—just in casual English.
At times Catholics may find passages that support their distinctive teachings. At other times, Baptists or Pentecostals may feel affirmed. Scripture is theologically diverse, and this paraphrase does not attempt to soften statements that some readers find uncomfortable.
Where scholars disagree, the paraphrase includes footnotes presenting various interpretations objectively, along with background information to help readers understand the debate.
One way to spot bias is simple: if you can clearly tell what the writer believes about a controversial issue, the presentation probably isn’t objective.
Miller’s church background includes the Christian & Missionary Alliance, the Church of the Nazarene, and, more recently, the Methodist Church. He works to bend only where the biblical writers bend—and nowhere else.
