I just completed my first Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) reading. It is now unquestionably my favorite Bible translation.
Since my teenage years, when I was a new Christian, I've eagerly read through many Bible translations. I enjoy picking up a new translation or a study Bible I've never read before and devoting time every 1-2 years to digest every word. Along the way, I've had translations I've stayed with for years, from the King James Version (KJV) as a new Christian in the 1970s to the 1984 New International Version for several years, followed by the 1995 New American Standard Bible. Since the early 2000s, when I read the ESV Study Bible, the English Standard Version has been my primary translation. I still regularly read the other translations that fill the top of my roll-top desk, but the ESV has dominated the others in my daily use and in what I carry to church for a couple of decades.
Until now.
Having completed a six-month reading of the Legacy Standard Bible, I can confidently say that the LSB is my favorite translation. Below is some info about this translation, released in 2021, and why it is my new favorite.
First, let me provide some links so you can explore more about the LSB and the various editions available on your own:
I won't attempt to include all the info readily available from the above links in this post, but some details are necessary and appropriate to summarize.
The LSB is a significant update to the 1995 NASB. While there was a 2020 NASB update, that edition strayed significantly from the NASB's historic translation philosophy. One prominent example is the 2020 NASB's use of gender-inclusive language. Historically, the NASB sought to be a faithful word-for-word literal translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek text, leaving interpretation up to preachers, teachers, and individuals. This change in the 2020 NASB jumped out at me the first time I read 2 Timothy 3:16-17: "All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work." Even though the newest NASB italicizes the phrase "or woman" in the translation to indicate its absence in the original language, its presence is an awkward intrusion and accommodation to modern Western cultural gender sensitivities rather than a faithful translation of the original biblical text. The phrase's inclusion may be in keeping with the application of the original text, but it isn't an accurate translation of the original. That is grossly unacceptable to me and many others, including those behind the LSB.
There were also inconsistencies in translation in the 1995 NASB and other popular translations that the LSB seeks to correct. For example, the word for "slave" is variously translated as "slave," "servant," or "bondservant" in several translations, even when it is the same word being translated in the original language. The LSB seeks to remove such inconsistencies, using "slave" most of the time, with "servant" used in particular circumstances that the LSB foreword explains, and never using "bondservant." Again, the goal is accuracy and consistency in translating the original text, not accommodating 21st-century sensitivities to particular terminology.
One significant translation decision I loved while reading the Old Testament in the LSB was its use of the divine name Yahweh. Most English translations substitute "the LORD" (in small caps) for the Hebrew name Yahweh. The LSB uses the name Yahweh in more than 6,800 places in the Old Testament. The LSB foreword explains: "In the LSB, God's covenant name is rendered as Yahweh. 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." Reading "Yahweh" more than 6,800 times in the Old Testament was a pleasure, and it personalized God more than reading "the LORD." It takes some getting used to, especially when a familiar verse like Psalm 23:1 is accurately translated as "Yahweh is my shepherd, I shall not want" instead of "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want." To the translators' point, using "Yahweh" clearly identifies who is being referenced by name instead of generically. There is great value in that.
The New Testament writers used the Greek word for "Lord" when quoting Old Testament passages that contained "Yahweh." In these instances, the LSB uses the word "Lord" since it was the original Greek word used, but it adds a translation footnote citing the Old Testament reference and noting the fact that the OT verse quoted used "Yahweh."
Other standard translation practices in the LSB will be familiar to users of some previous translations, such as placing words in italics that are not in the original but seem helpful in making a sentence flow in English, and placing an asterisk by verbs translated as past tense when the original used the present tense. I appreciate the capitalization of pronouns referring to God as a way of honoring Him. It also makes the text easier to understand when a verse uses pronouns for God and someone else. Another translation decision was to include the original language term referring to units of measurement and currency rather than assuming a modern unit equivalent. In such cases, the language footnotes give modern equivalents to help the reader understand. This is another example of being faithful to the original text.
The LSB's reference editions contain over 95,000 cross-references, 14,000 translation footnotes, and a 16,000-entry concordance. You can purchase various editions, some of which include cross-references and footnotes mixed at the bottom of the page, and others, like the inside column reference edition (my favorite), that places the many cross-references at the top of the inside column and the fewer translation footnotes at the bottom of the inside column, making the footnotes much easier to find since you don't have to wade through all the cross-references to find them.
The publisher offers many LSB editions, bindings, and formats. I first went for an inexpensive edition, not realizing it did not include all the references and footnotes, so I quickly ordered a reference edition to correct that mistake. Now that I've decided this is the Bible I want to carry for the long haul, I have purchased a high-end inside-column reference edition.
As a frequent consumer of study Bibles that contain much commentary and supplemental articles, I will adjust to the LSB's absence of those in favor of the plenteous cross-references, translation footnotes, concordance, color maps, and other help, like the explanations of monetary units, weights, and measures.
Lastly, having purchased three different editions in the past six months, I am genuinely impressed with the quality of the paper, which is thicker than most Bibles I've had. The quality of the binding is also excellent. These are well-made Bibles that should endure the test of time.
If you are interested in exploring a newer translation of the Bible that seeks to be accurate and consistent in translating the original languages, I encourage you to try out the Legacy Standard Bible. I recommend the inside column reference edition as the most complete and practical option, with more white space than most editions for taking notes. If you want to learn more first, follow the links near the top of this article to The Lockman Foundation and Three Sixteen Publishing.
I realize there are many Bible translations available and countless editions of each. As a severe Bible student for the past 50+ years, it is no small matter to say of a newer translation, "This is my favorite, and this is what I intend to use primarily for the foreseeable future." I can't give a higher recommendation than that.
May Yahweh bless you as you seek Him through the diligent study of His Word.
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