About…
Versions of the Bible

The word “version” is not found in the Bible, however we frequently mention various ancient and modern versions of the Bible. That is there are various ancient manuscripts in the original languages, copies, and translations and paraphrases into various other languages, such as English.

See: • What is The Holy Bible? • What is the Word of God? • What is the Divine inspiration of Scripture? • What is Divine revelation? • When we say that the Bible is the Word of God, does that imply that it is completely accurate, or does it contain insignificant inaccuracies in details of history and science? Answer

Primary original languages of Scripture

• Hebrew language
• Syriac Aramaic
• Greek language

Early Aramaic translations—the Targumim (Targums)

After the return from the Captivity, the Jews, no longer familiar with the old Hebrew, required that their Scriptures should be translated for them into the Chaldaic or Aramaic language and interpreted. These translations and paraphrases were at first oral, but they were afterwards reduced to writing, and thus targumim, i.e., “versions” or “translations,” have come down to us. Both of these targumim came from the Jewish school which then flourished at Babylon.

The chief of these are…

• The Onkelos Targum, i.e., the targum of Akelas = Aquila, a targum so called to give it greater popularity by comparing it with the Greek translation of Aquila mentioned below. This targum originated about the second century after Christ.

• The targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel comes next to that of Onkelos in respect of age and value. However, it is more of a paraphrase on the Prophets, than a translation.

Early Syriac versions (a dialect of Aramaic)

See SYRIAC.

Early Greek versions

• 280 B.C. through 200 or 150 B.C.: SEPTUAGINT—The Septuagint is oldest of these, and is sometimes refered to as the “LXX” (the 70).

  The origin of this, the most important of all the versions, is involved in much obscurity. It derives its name from the popular notion that 72 translators were employed on it by the direction of Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, and that it was accomplished in 72 days, for the use of the Jews residing in that country. There is no historical warrant for this notion.

  It is, however, an established fact that this version was made at Alexandria; that it was begun about 280 B.C., and finished about 200 or 150 B.C.; that it was the work of a number of translators who differed greatly both in their knowledge of Hebrew and of Greek; and that from the earliest times it has borne the name of “The Septuagint”, i.e., The Seventy.

  This version, with all its defects, is of great interest because…

  • It preserves evidence for the text far more ancient than the oldest Hebrew manuscripts.

  • It shows the means by which the Greek Language was wedded to Hebrew thought.

  • It is the source of the great majority of quotations from the Old Testament by writers of the New Testament.

• The Greek New Testament manuscripts fall into two divisions…

  • Uncials, written in Greek capitals, with no distinction at all between the different words, and very little even between the different lines

  • Cursives, in small Greek letters, and with divisions of words and lines.

  The change between the two kinds of Greek writing took place about the 10th century. Only 5 manuscripts of the New Testament approaching to completeness are more ancient than this dividing date.

  • 300s A.D.: SINAITIC MANUSCRIPT (Codex Sinaiticus) (the Bible in Greek)—see Sinaiticus Codex

  • 300s A.D.: VATICAN MANUSCRIPT—see Vaticanus Codex

  • 400s A.D. or earlier: EPHRAEM MANUSCRIPT—so called because it was written over the writings of Ephraem, a Syrian theological author, a practice very common in the days when writing materials were scarce and dear

    It is believed that it belongs to the 5th century, and perhaps a slightly earlier period of it than the manuscript A.

  • 400s A.D.: ALEXANDRIAN MANUSCRIPT—Though brought to this country by Cyril Lucar, patriarch of Constantinople, as a present to Charles I, it is believed that it was written, not in that capital, but in Alexandria; whence its title. It is now dated in the 5th century A.D.

  • 400s A.D.: MANUSCRIPT OF BEZA (Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis), a bilingual manuscript, with a Greek text and a Latin version on facing pages. It is named so because it belonged to the reformer Theodore Beza (Théodore de Bèze or de Besze), who found it in the monastery/church of St. Irenaeus at Lyons, France, in 1562 A.D. He was a disciple of the Protestant Reformer John Calvin.

    This manuscript is preserved at the University of Cambridge and is available in digital form.

Early Latin versions

• Old Latin

  A Latin version of the Scriptures, called the “Old Latin,” which originated in North Africa, was in common use in the time of Tertullian (A.D. 150). Of this there appear to have been various copies or recensions made. That made in Italy, and called the Itala, was reckoned the most accurate. This translation of the Old Testament seems to have been made not from the original Hebrew, but from the Septuagint.

  This version became greatly corrupted by repeated transcription, and, to remedy the evil, Jerome of Stridon (A.D. 329-420) was requested by Pope Damasus I of Rome to undertake a complete revision of it.

• Vulgate Bible

  also known as: Latin Vulgate

  This is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible, largely the work of Jerome of Stridon, Dalmatia (circa 340-420), under the commission of Pope Damasus I.

  He did not do all of the translation, but most. Some of the text comes from earlier Latin translations.

  Many years later, it appeared in printed form (about A.D. 1455). It was the earliest major book printed using a mass-production machine. This first Bible to issue from a printing press is commonly known as the Gutenberg Bible, having been printed by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz.

  The Catholic Church at the Council of Trent (1546) declared it “authentic” and its official Latin Bible. It subsequently underwent various revisions, but that which was executed (1592) under the sanction of Pope Clement VIII was adopted as the basis of all subsequent editions. The Roman Catholic Church regards it as the sacred original. All modern European versions were more or less influenced by the Vulgate.

  The Clementine edition of the Vulgate (Sixto-Clementine Vulgate / Sixtine Vulgate) became the standard Bible text of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church in 1592 (as authorized by Pope Clement VII), and remained so until 1979 when the Nova Vulgata Bible was promulgated by Pope John Paul II.

  Jerome’s Bible was not originally known as the Vulgate. The first known use of that name came in 1728. The name “vulgate” is from the Latin vulgata (common, ordinary, general) indicating that it became the commonly accepted Bible, and available to common people.

Other ancient versions

There are several other ancient versions which are of importance to Biblical critics, but which we need not mention in detail, such as the…

• 300s A.D.: Ethiopic—from the Septuagint
• 300s A.D. : 2 Egyptian versions—the Memphitic, circulated in Lower Egypt, and the Thebaic, designed for Upper Egypt, both translated from the Greek
• 300s A.D.: Gothic, translated into the German language, but with the Greek alphabet, by Ulphilas (died 388 A.D.), of which only fragments of the Old Testament remain
• about 400 A.D.: Armenian
• 800s A.D.: Slavonic—for ancient Moravia
• Arabic
• Persian
• Anglo-Saxon

Luther Bible

1522: New Testament; 1534: Old Testament

This influential and popular German translation of the Bible was done by Protestant Reformer Martin Luther. It was based on the Latin Vulgate translation, but used the Greek and Hebrew as references, although he was not fluent in the original languages. He heavily relied on various scholars such as Philip Melanchthon and Erasmus of Rotterdam for advice. He placed the Biblical apocrypha between the Old and New Testaments.

ENGLISH VERSIONS

• Wycliffe's Bible

  1388 A.D.: (aka Wyckliffe)— The history of the English versions begins properly with Wycliffe; it is to him that the honor belongs of having first translated the whole Bible into English. This version was made from the Vulgate, and renders Genesis 3:15 after that version, “She shall trede thy head.”

• Tyndale Bible

  1525-1534: William Tyndale’s translation

  He was cruelly martyred by the Roman Catholic Church, who banned his work and burned copies of his translations.

  This Bible was translated directly from Hebrew and Greek texts, and when completed was printed and distributed widely.

• Coverdale Bible

  1535-1553: Published by Miles Coverdale

• Matthew Bible

  1537: also known as Matthew’s Version

  It was published by Hebrew and Syriac scholar John Rogers, using the pen name “Thomas Matthew,” to avoid execution.

  He was the first martyr under the reign of Catholic Queen Mary I of England—“Bloody Mary.”

  This was properly the first King James Version, Henry the 8th having ordered a copy of it to be received by every church. This took place in less than a year after Bible scholar William Tyndale was martyred for the crime of translating the Scriptures.

  This version was translated from the Textus Receptus.

• Taverner's Bible

  1539: Published by Richard Taverner as a minor revision of Matthew’s Bible

• The Great Bible

  1539: It as so called because of its physically large size.

  It was also called Cranmer’s Bible.

  In the strict sense, the “Great Bible” is “the only King James Version; for the Bishops’ Bible and the King James Version never had the formal sanction of royal authority.”

  This version was translated from the Textus Receptus.

• Geneva Bible

  1560: This version was translated from the Textus Receptus.

  All of the Old Testament was translated directly from Hebrew. This Bible was the primary version used by John Knox (Protestant Reformation leader, theologian and minister), John Bunyan (Pilgrim’s Progress), William Shakespeare and most English-speaking Protestants in the 1500s.

• Bishops' Bible

  1568: Produced under the authority of the Church of England and later revised in 1572 and 1602

  This translation was done by Archbishop of Canterbury Matthew Parker, and other bishops.

  It was translated from the Textus Receptus.

• Douay–Rheims Bible (DR)

  1582, 1610: Published under Roman Catholic auspices, using “a densely Latinate vocabulary, to the extent of being in places unreadable.” It was later revised by Richard Challoner (a Roman Cathloic bishop). The result is known as the Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner Revision) (DRC).

• King James Version (KJV or AV—Authorized Version)

  1611: This version is a revision of the Bishops’ Bible of 1568, and was translated from the Textus Receptus. It was commissioned by England’s King James I.

  Visit our WebBible section to read it, enhanced with thousands of hyperlinks and numerous Christian Answers notes.

• Revised King James Version (RKJV)

  1885: Sometimes simply called Revised Version (RV)

  This is a revised version of the King James Bible, and not very popular today. It did make some of the translation more accurate.

• New King James Version (NKJV)

  1982: This is a revised version of the King James Bible, not actually a new translation from the original Hebrew and Greek. It primarily adjusts vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation to make it more readable for readers unfamiliar with Middle English. It does correct some KJV mistranslations here and there.

  “Commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers, 130 respected Bible scholars, church leaders, and lay Christians worked for 7 years to create a completely new, modern translation of Scripture, yet one that would retain the purity and stylistic beauty of the original King James. With unyielding faithfulness to the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts, the translation applies the most recent research in archaeology, linguistics, and textual studies.” —Thomas Nelson Publishers

• Darby Bible (DARBY or DBY)

  1890: also known as The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages

  This version was translated from the Textus Receptus.

  Formerly an Anglican priest and very well educated, John Nelson Darby was one of the leaders of a conservative, reformed, evangelical, sola scriptura, dispensational, pre-Trib, independent, non-denominational movement that departed from the state church of England (Anglicanism) in the 1800s. His English translation was used as the basis for various foreign language translations.

• American Standard Version (ASV)

  1901

  “The American Standard Version, which was also known as The American Revision of 1901, is rooted in the work begun in 1870 to revise the Authorized Version/King James Bible of 1611. This revision project eventually produced the Revised Version (RV).

  An invitation was extended to American religious leaders for scholars to work on the RV project. In 1871, thirty scholars were chosen by Philip Schaff. The denominations represented on the American committee were the Baptist, Congregationalist, Dutch Reformed, Friends, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Protestant Episcopal, and Unitarian. These scholars began work in 1872.” —Wikipedia text, July 7, 2017

  Textual basis
  NT: Westcott and Hort’s The New Testament in the Original Greek, 1881; Tregelles, 1857 (reproduced in a single, continuous, form in Palmer, 1881)
  OT: Masoretic Text with some Septuagint influence

• Revised Standard Version (RSV or ERV)

  1952: The RSV is an authorized revision of the American Standard Version (ASV), published in 1901, which was a revision of the King James Version, published in 1611.

  The RSV is generally recognized as theologically liberal and is not recommended by Christian Answers.

  According to the publisher,

  “The Revised Standard Version Bible seeks to preserve all that is best in the English Bible as it has been known and used through the years. It is intended for use in public and private worship, not merely for reading and instruction. We have resisted the temptation to use phrases that are merely current usage, and have sought to put the message of the Bible in simple, enduring words that are worthy to stand in the great Tyndale-King James tradition. We are glad to say, with the King James translators: ‘Truly (good Christian Reader) we never thought from the beginning, that we should need to make a new Translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one… but to make a good one better’.”

• English Standard Version (ESV)

  2001: Published by Crossway Bibles (a division of Good News Publishers), Wheaton, Illinois

  This is an evangelical revision of the Revised Standard Version (RSV).

  After careful study of this version, conservative and Reformed Bible researcher Michael Marlowe concludes:

  “As modern versions go, the ESV should be counted as one of the best for use in teaching ministry. It is more literal than the NIV, and so it is largely free of the problems that come with the use of so-called “dynamic equivalence” versions; but it is not so severely literal that ordinary readers will struggle to understand it. Its English recalls the classic diction of the KJV, and so it has some literary power (this is not unimportant in a Bible version).

  Its handling of the Old Testament is agreeable to conservative principles of interpretation.

  As a revision of the RSV, it is much better than the NRSV in several ways.

  However, there are some weaknesses in it. We have noticed the bad influence of the NIV in several places.

  So, for close study, the ESV is less suitable than the NASB or NKJV. These latter versions, despite their difficulties and obscurities, continue to be the most useful for detailed and careful study.”

• New American Standard Bible (NASB)

  1971 (NASB), 1995 (NASB1995), 2020 (NASB2020): This is an an original translation from the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts, based on the same principles of translation, and wording, as the American Standard Version (ASV) of 1901.

  The New American Standard Bible (1971 and 1995) have been widely regarded as the most literally translated of 20th-century English Bible translations. It is published by the Lockman Foundation and has been one of the most trusted for accuracy among conservative, Reformed evangelical scholars and pastors, “revealing what the original manuscripts actually say—not merely what the translator believes they mean.”

  According to the publisher,

  “While preserving the literal accuracy of the 1901 ASV, the NASB has sought to render grammar and terminology in contemporary English. Special attention has been given to the rendering of verb tenses to give the English reader a rendering as close as possible to the sense of the original Greek and Hebrew texts. In 1995, the text of the NASB was updated for greater understanding and smoother reading. …The NASB update continues the NASB’s tradition of literal translation of the original Greek and Hebrew without compromise. Changes in the text have been kept within the strict parameters set forth by the Lockman Foundation’s Fourfold Aim.”

  “The translators and consultants who have contributed to the NASB update are conservative Bible scholars who have doctorates in Biblical languages, theology, or other advanced degrees. They represent a variety of denominational backgrounds.”

  Textual basis: OT: Rudolf Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica, 3rd Edition; as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls; the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
  NT: Eberhard Nestle’s Novum Testamentum Graece (The New Testament in Greek), 23rd Edition for the 1971 edition, and 26th for the 1995 revision

  NASB 2020 version

  Almost every chapter in the NASB 2020 contains changes which the publishers believe make it easier for most to read. Various words in the 1995 version have been replaced in the 2020 version with synonyms and the phrasing adjusted.

  In various ways, the NASB 2020 version is less literal than the 1995 version. It also introduced some gender sensitive translation, adding where possible “and sisters” when the original Greek says “brothers.” When doing this, it italicizes “or sisters” or “and sisters,” indicating they are not in the original Greek.

  Brethren, pray for us. —1 Thes. 5:25 NASB1995

  Brothers and sisters, pray for us. —1 Thes. 5:25 NASB2020

  The NASB 2020 is said to not be gender-neutral because “when the original context calls for a specific masculine or feminine term, it does not use a gender-neutral term instead.”

• New International Version (NIV)

  1973 (NT), 1978 (OT), 1984, 2011 (gender-neutral language, etc.): Biblica Inc. (formerly International Bible Society)

  “The New International Version (NIV) is a completely original translation of the Bible developed by more than one hundred scholars working from the best available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. The initial vision for the project was provided by a single individual—an engineer working with General Electric in Seattle by the name of Howard Long.”

  It is the number one bestselling modern English translation and apparently the most widely read in the United States. While easy to read, it is generally less literally accurate than the LSB, NASB1995, ESV, KJV, NKJV and NRSV.

  Textual basis:
  OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and additional sources NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; and additional sources

• New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

  1989: This is an English revision of the RSV. It was published by the very liberal and ecumenical National Council of Churches, and designed to be acceptable to liberal denominations, the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox. It uses gender inclusive language as much as possible, avoiding masculine pronouns and promoting use of “non-sexist language.”

  The original edition includes apochryphal books honored by Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox christianity.

  This Bible is used in various liberal denominations.

• God's Word Translation (GW)

  1995: This was first published by World Publishing, then by Green Key Books, and later aquired by its current publisher Baker Books (Baker Publishing Group).

  This translation was produced by the God's Word to the Nations Bible Mission Society (Florida). Although many of its board members and the translation team members were of the conservative Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod denomination (LCMS), the Society has no official ties to this specific or any other Christian denomination.

  According to the translation team, their objective was to create a “natural equivalent translation,” consciously combining scholarly fidelity with natural English. “The grammar is simplified; the style is informal; and sentences are shorter and less complicated than other versions.”

• New English Translation (NET Bible)

  1996-2018: Sponsored by the Biblical Studies Foundation and published by Biblical Studies Press (Garland, Texas)

  This new translation is closely connected with Dallas Theological Seminary professors and students, being almost exclusively a work of its faculty and students. Unfortunately, although formerly a trusted bastion of conservative theology, this seminary years ago joined a long list of schools that we no longer trust for accuracy.

  Concerning this translation’s extensive notes, the publishers claim, “The translators’ notes make the original languages far more accessible, allowing you to look over the translator’s shoulder at the very process of translation.”

  A knowledgable Bible researcher Michael Marlowe (conservative and Reformed) concludes that,

  …the notes cannot be relied upon to inform the reader where scholars differ on important points of interpretation. When they do notice other interpretations, they tend to be dismissive, defensive, and sometimes misleading. These notes are in need of some careful revision. Students who are studying the notes of the NET Bible should realize that many of them barely scratch the surface of the interpretive issues, and they are no substitute for a comprehensive exegetical commentary.

  …revisions moved the text in a paraphrastic direction, as if it had to be understandable to uneducated and casual readers, to those who are offended at “sexist” language, and even to such dull readers as those who cannot understand obvious metaphors (e.g. “under his feet”). The result is, the translation itself is not very useful for close study. And there are already several versions which present a more idiomatic translation for readers who need one. …The translation should be much more literal than it is now.

  We also would like to see the un-Christian treatment of the Old Testament repaired, but it seems that the editors have committed themselves to this approach. The explanation for it in the preface is facile and theologically inadequate. We cannot overlook the rationalistic presuppositions of their approach, which practically excludes the apostolic interpretations of the Old Testament.

  Although the editors seem to hope that their version will be “acceptable to Bible readers everywhere,” they must know that it will not be acceptable to conservatives as long as they persist in this treatment of the Old Testament. …When modern scholars cherish novelties, show contempt for the universal Church's heritage of interpretation, and boast of their independence from all “ecclesiastical” bodies, they minimize their responsibility to the Church. —Michael Marlowe, bible-researcher.com

• Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

  2004: Holman Bible Publishers

  Later replaced by the Christian Standard Bible (CSB).

  “Arthur Farstad, general editor of the New King James Version of the Bible, began a new translation project. In 1998, Farstad and LifeWay Christian Resources (Southern Baptist Convention) came to an agreement that would allow LifeWay to fund and publish the completed work.

  Farstad died soon after, and leadership of the editorial team was turned over to Dr. Edwin Blum, who had been an integral part of the team. The death of Farstad resulted in a change to the Koine Greek source text underlying the HCSB, although Farstad had envisioned basing the new translation on the same texts used for the King James Version and New King James Version. He followed the Greek Majority Text which he and Zane C. Hodges had authored.

  After Farstad's death, the editorial team replaced this text with the consensus Greek New Testament established by twentieth-century scholars. The editions of the United Bible Societies and of Nestle-Aland’s Novum Testamentum Graece were primarily used, along with readings from other ancient manuscripts when the translators felt the original meaning was not clearly conveyed by either of the primary Greek New Testament editions.”

  Primary textual basis:
  NT: Novum Testamentum Graece, 27th edition
  OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia with some Septuagint influence

• International Standard Version (ISV)

  2011: Davidson Press and The ISV Foundation

  The publishers say this Bible “is intended to be a moderately literal translation and seeks to avoid the paraphrasing tendencies of some modern versions. It’s goal is to be a compromise between formal equivalence and functional equivalence by attempting to stay as close to the source text as possible without losing communication. The target reading level in English is 7th-8th grade.”

  One of the board members of The ISV Foundation was the late Dr. Charles W. “Chuck” Missler.

  Textual basis:
  NT: Novum Testamentum Graece, 27th edition
  OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia with influence from Dead Sea Scrolls, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Latin Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta, and Aramaic Targums

• Common English Bible (CEB)

  2011: Another gender inclusive translation by liberal denominations, and which included liberal and Catholic translators

  This Bible also includes apocryphal books honored by the Roman Catholics, Orthodox Churches and some in the Church of England.

  Avoiding the word “son,” the CEB replaces Christ’s use of the phrase “the son of man” (de Huios tou anthrōpou) which refers to His incarnation). For example, in the verse that says, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20 NASB) the CEB changes it to, “…but the Human One has no place to lay his head.” The CEB does this throughout the New Testament.

  “Brothers” is changed to “brothers and sisters” in many places. Example: In Acts 3:17, “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance…,” in the CEB becomes “And now, brothers and sisters…”.

  In John 15:20, Christ’s words “If they persecuted Me, they will persecute [Greek: diókó] you as well” are changed to “If the world harassed me, it will harass you too.”

  Textual basis for CEB:
  NT: Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, 27th edition)
  OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4th edition), Biblia Hebraica Quinta, 5th edition
  Apocrypha: Göttingen Septuagint (in progress), Rahlfs' Septuagint (2005)

• Names of God Bible (NOG)

  2011, 2014: Published by Baker Books

  “While most translations obscure the names and titles of God by replacing them with just a few English words such as God, Lord, or LORD, The Names of God Bible restores the transliterations of ancient names—such as Yahweh, El Shadday, El Elyon, and Adonay—to help the reader better understand the rich meaning of God’s names that are found in the original Hebrew and Aramaic text.”

  This Bible includes commentary by author Ann Spangler.

• Modern English Version (MEV)

  2014: Like the NRSV, this is another liberal, ecumenical revision. Using the King James Version (KJV) as a reference, it re-transalates from the Jacob ben Hayyim edition of the Masoretic Text, and the Textus Receptus. The committee for this translation was composed of scholars from all three major branches of christianity: Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant (including Church of England).

• Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

  2017, 2020: The 2017 version is a major revision of the 2009 edition of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB).

  Among other things, the CSB removed “Yahweh” from the text and also replaced “brothers” (which was clearly indicated in the original Greek) with “brothers and sisters.”

  Textial basis:
  Old Testament— Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 5th Edition (BHS5)
  New Testament— Novum Testamentum Graece, 28th Edition (NA28; i.e., the Nestle-Aland 28th edition) and United Bible Societies 5th Edition (UBS5).

  The 2020 edition primarily edited footnotes, cross references, punctuation, and word/phrase choices.

• The Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

  

  2021: This is a conservative and reformed revision of the NASB1995 version focusing on bringing forth more features of the ORIGINAL text relative to accuracy and consistency with the goal of better bringing the reader to what was originally written. It is intended to be a divergence from the future path of NASB versions (beginning with NASB2020), and was undertaken at the request of Dr. John F. MacArthur Jr. after reading the NASB2020.

  “From decades of preaching and teaching, the NASB [1971, 1995] became the translation of choice for John MacArthur and many others who were trained by him.”

  The LSB project was undertaken to preserve what is good about the NASB1995 and improve upon it—being more precisely accurate to the original language of the inspired authors.

  MacArthur says that the end result “is the best English translation I have ever read.” He is the founder and chancellor of The Master’s Seminary and The Master’s University.

  A partial list of differences from the NASB 1995:

  • Use of God’s chosen name Yahweh instead of LORD?

    In the LSB, God’s covenant name is rendered as Yahweh, as opposed to LORD. The meaning and implication of this name is God’s self-deriving, ongoing, and never-ending existence.

    Exodus 3:14–15 shows that God Himself considered it important for His people to know His name. The effect of revealing God’s name is His distinction from other gods and His expression of intimacy with the nation of Israel.

    Such a dynamic is a prevalent characteristic of the Scriptures as Yahweh appears in the OT over 6,800 times.

  • Yah

    In addition to Yahweh, the full name of God, the OT also includes references to God by a shorter version of His name, Yah. By itself, God’s name “Yah” may not be as familiar, but the appearance of it is recognizable in Hebrew names and words (e.g. Zechar-iah, meaning Yah remembers, and Hallelu-jah, meaning praise Yah!). God’s shortened name “Yah” is predominantly found in poetry and praise.

  • doulos

    The Greek word doulous means slave, but has been translated in other ways in English versions (e.g. “servant”), apparently because the word slave might be offensive. For theological clarity, the LSB corrects this, because it is an imporant distinction.

    This consistency in translation also highlights a Biblical theological reality that Christians were slaves of sin but now are slaves of Christ (Romans 6:16–22). Biblical writers did not shy from this term because it condemned a wicked form of slavery (i.e., to sin, Satan, and death), highlighted the power of redemption, and affirmed one’s total submission to the lordship of Christ.

  • Weight, Measurements, Currency— Again the ORIGINAL LANGUAGE is preserved for great accuracy. The LSB maintains the unit of measurement that the Scripture uses. For clarity, conversions into both American and metric units are provided in the notes for measurements. This allows for the LSB to serve the entire English-speaking world by not choosing one country’s unit of measurement or currency over another. It also preserves any exegetical significance of the way the measurements were originally expressed.

  • Hebrew Acrostics

    “At times, the biblical authors structured their writings where each section of poetry begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 119 is a well-known example of this, but far from the only one (see Pss. 9-10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, 145; Prov 31:10-31; Lam. 1, 2, 3, and 4; and Nah. 1:2-8). Because the Legacy Standard Bible endeavors to be a window into the original text, all known acrostics are labeled with each section having its respective Hebrew letter and English transliteration. While some acrostics correspond with the complete alphabet (e.g., Psa. 34; 119; Lam. 3), others reflect a part of the Hebrew alphabet (Nah. 1:2-8) or extend over chapter divisions (Psalms 9-10).” —foreword to the complete edition of the Legacy Standard Bible

  • Verbs— The translators have been more sensitive to bringing out in English a more accurate sense of the tense of Greek and Hebrew verbs.

  • Conjuctions in the original— While an effort has been to incorporate conjunctions as much as possible, the conjunction “and” is occasionally not translated at the beginning of sentences because of differences in style between ancient and modern writing. Punctuation is a relatively modern invention, and ancient writers often linked most of their sentences with “and” or other connectives.

  • Change of certain other words and phrases— This has been done in order to ensure that English words consistently matched their ORIGINAL LANGUAGE counterparts, and that the phrasing matched the grammar of the original language.

  “The LSB is a joint-venture product of The Lockman Foundation, Three Sixteen Publishing, and the John MacArthur Charitable Trust. The translation committee consists of a group of biblically qualified, faithful men from the Master’s University and Seminary, all of whom are scholars and preachers. The translation also went through an extensive review process from a team that consists of scholars and pastors from all around the world.”

More information

• What is the Bible?
• About the Bible
• What is Scripture?
• What is the Canon of Scripture?
• What is the Septuagint?
• What is the Vaticanus Codex?
• What is the Samaritan Pentateuch?
• What is the Sinaiticus Codex?
• What is the Apocrypha?
• INFALLIBILITY—How can the Bible be infallible if it is written by fallible humans?
• How do we know the Bible is true? Answer
• Answers to supposed Bible “contradictions” and puzzles
• INTERNAL HARMONY—Answers to a skeptic’s questions about whether the Bible’s internal harmony is truly evidence of its divine inspiration—Read
• Bible and science
• Bible and archaeology
• Biblical prophecies