Legacy Standard Bible: Do we really need another translation? (Yes!)

By Elizabeth Prata

John MacArthur and Abner Chou, among others, spoke about the newly published Legacy Standard Bible. They discuss in this video why the group felt another translation was necessary, and what is different about the Legacy Standard Bible: here.

Many translations these days translate the Greek word doulos as servant, or bond-servant. The word actually means slave. We are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness, according to Romans 6:15-17. It makes a subtle difference in our minds as we read, read and re-read in the Bible the words that tell us who we are. Slave is powerful. Servant less so. We complain about the same thing in conversation and in modern books, when we constantly read or hear “broken” as a synonym for sin. Sin is a powerful word. Broken, less so.

In the same vein, God is particular about His name. As we read, read, and re-read the word Lord, or even LORD, it doesn’t quite capture who he is. Lord is a title, not a name. He has identified Himself as YAHWEH (Hebrew), or I AM (Greek). God said who He is. He declared the name He wants to be remembered by- His memorial name (Exodus 3:15).

Don’t you get irritated when someone you’ve met recently continues to misidentify you, or misuses your name? I introduce myself as Elizabeth, and it irks me when someone immediately says, ‘Nice to meet you, Liz’! Don’t we see on TV shows time after time, when someone wants to mess with a character or passively aggressively mock them, they change their name on purpose or mispronounce it? There’s a reason for that. We all understand the irritation shown by the character to attempts to correct the person who misuses their name.

We are protective of our names. It’s who we are, how we present to the world. The Legacy Standard Bible translates the memorial name of God as noted above, YAHWEH or I AM. And the word doulos as slave, too. It is because of these and other reasons, that this new translation that isn’t new, it just reverts closer to the authorial intent, has been published.

This is a short clip of an explanation, and at the Legacy Standard Bible channel on youtube there is a lot more explanation as to the uniqueness of the Legacy Standard Bible and the translation process.

If you’d like to acquire one, the Legacy Standard Bible New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs is available for pre-order in 3 colorful, faux leather covers, along with Goatskin and Cowhide options. Use code LEGACY for $10 off each edition.