REVIEW

Legacy Standard Bible

By John Hooper

Reposted from Bible League Trust

I remember in the early 1970s worshipping with my parents in a rather progressive Brethren assembly where we often did not know which Bible version we were hearing. As we tried to follow the readings in our Authorised Version, it could have been the RSV, the New English Bible or even – believe it or not – the Jerusalem Bible being read. It was a struggle. Since then, of course, the situation has only worsened with the advent of the NIV, NASB, NKJV, ESV and more recently the CSB (Christian Standard Bible). Now we have yet another acronym to add to the list, the LSB.

Background

The Legacy Standard Bible, first published in 2021, was born out of a concern by Dr John McArthur and others that their preferred version, the 1995 edition of the New American Standard Bible (NASB), would eventually go out of production. An updated version, with a noticeable move towards gender inclusivity, was published in 2020. The Lockman Foundation, who publish the NASB, continue to make the 1995 version available but Dr. McArthur and his colleagues felt that an effort should be made to preserve the ‘legacy’ of the NASB. The resulting translation is based on the NASB’95 but with distinctives of its own.

To review a Bible translation is a major undertaking and I cannot hope to do it justice. I am certainly not qualified to judge on matters of translation or textual criticism, so will confine myself to stating some of the facts about the LSB, as they have come to my notice, with the occasional comment.

The translation team comprises six scholars drawn from the faculties of The Masters University and Seminary in California, two institutions closely associated with Dr. McArthur. Their work was assessed by around 70 external reviewers from the USA and beyond. The translation work was completed in under a year and in what must be the first time in the history of Bible translation, anyone with access to the internet can listen to the translators explaining the methods and principles they adopted, making the task of this reviewer much easier.

The LSB translators’ goal was to achieve a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew and Greek, with the emphasis being placed on accuracy and precision over readability. They wanted to provide a translation that “opens a window” into the original. Hence, in Dr. McArthur’s own words, the translation does not “chase the vernacular.” He says, “We’re concerned with the Author and not the reader …. This is not about what a reader needs to read but what the writer intended to say.”¹ This would appear to represent a marked change in direction after many years in which the emphasis in Bible translation has been on accessibility.

Translation principles

In their concern for accuracy, where there is wordplay and nuance of meaning in the original the LSB translators have sought to convey this in the English. For example, nuances in the different Hebrew words used for the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart are brought out in translation as hardening with firmness(Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:7, 34; 10:1), hardening with stiffness (7:3) and hardening with strength (7:13; 10:20, 27; 11:10). Likewise, nuances in the Hebrew word for foolare highlighted in the translation of Psalm 14 and the book of Proverbs. Interestingly, the drive for accuracy has at times led the translators back to the AV, such as in Ezekiel 10:18 where the NASB has temple while the LSB reverts to house.

But the translators have also striven for consistency so that where just one word is used in the original, one English word is used in the translation. This produces a repetition which, it is claimed, adds simplicity and helps the reader by bringing to light connections and a cohesiveness in Scripture that otherwise might not be obvious. For example, in John 19:28-30 the Authorised Version translates a single Greek word in three ways – accomplished, fulfilled and finished – while the LSB uses the word finished on each occasion. Likewise, the Greek word phobos, which can mean either terror or reverence, depending on the context, is translated consistently in the LSB as fear.

At times this approach can be helpful. When Peter challenges Ananias in Acts 5:4, the AV has “why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?” but LSB has “Why is it that you laid this deed in your heart?” This wording was chosen because the same Greek word is used as in verse 2, where Ananias and his wife bring just a part of the proceeds of their sale and “laid it at the apostles’ feet.” In the Greek text a connection is made between the thought and the action and the LSB translators wanted to bring this to light. One final example is a Greek word translated in the AV variously as boast, glory, joy or rejoice in, which the LSB translates throughout as boast, whether used in a bad sense or good.

It could be argued that by limiting the use of English words in this way, any nuance of meaning present in the Greek might remain hidden, producing a flatness in translation and bringing the two principles of accuracy and consistency into conflict. The passage in John 19 might be an example of that. Indeed, is it really possible to be wholly consistent? Whether in New Testament Greek or in modern English, words have such richness of meaning that the most appropriate one to use is determined by context. Indeed, the LSB does this with the Greek word translated tabernacle in the AV by rendering it variously as tabernacle, dwelling place, dwelling, booth (strangely in Acts 15:16), or tent.

On the other hand, where the Greek has distinct words, the LSB translators have sought to use different English words. This too can be helpful. For example, they tell us that there are two Greek words for temple, one referring to the temple complex and the other to the inner sanctuary, the holy of holies. When Christ cleansed the temple (Matthew 21:12-17), the temple-complex word is used, but when Judas cast the thirty pieces of silver into the temple (27:5), it is the sanctuary word, so two English words are used in translation – temple and sanctuary. Also in Matthew 27:40, 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 2 Corinthians 6:16 the LSB has sanctuary, reflecting the Greek…