There are three verses I found in the older 1996 edition of the New Living Translation (NLT1) that I like better than the updated 2004/2007 version (NLTse). (“se” stands for second edition which was done in 2004. There was a minor update completed in 2007.)

I realize this is a very small sampling and please realize I’m not saying I like the old one better. It’s just three verses.

James 5:16 NLT1 (earlier)
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.

James 5:16 NLTse (latest)
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

I miss the words powerful and effective(ness) that other translations have which seems to me to be the underlying meaning.

James 3:14 ESV
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.

James 3:14 TNIV
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.

James 3:14 NLTse (latest)
But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.

James 3:14a NLT1 (earlier)
But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don’t brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie.

In this case the NLT1 seems to explain the meaning better. I was wondering if this was too interpretive so I looked at a number of old commentaries and they all seem to concur with what the NLT1 is saying.

Romans 3:25a HCSB
God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood,

Romans 3:25a NLTse (later)
For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.

Romans 3:25a NLT1 (earlier)
For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us.

I really like the term propitiation even though only about 1% of Bible readers may know what it means. I think everyone should look into it since this is the crux of what Jesus did on the cross for us.

Anyway, the NLT1 seems to explain it more fully and the NLTse obviously simplifies this.

Edit: As it turns out, Rick Mansfield mentions exactly the same thing in his review of the NLT.

A question I have for anyone who may know or more specifically for someone on the NLT team is—what was the goal of the revision? Was it to become more dynamic, more literal, more succinct, more understandable, more accurate, more or less interpretive etc.? I’m sure it’s a combination but I’m curious about how the committee went about making the updates. This is not asked in a critical way and again I’m not saying I like the old better than the new. I’m just curious and interested in how this all works.

Edit: As noted in the comments, some of these questions are answered here:
What are the major improvements in the second edition of the NLT?

Does anyone prefer the NLT1 as a whole?