Formal (Word-for-Word) Translation Bible Bundle 2, 5 vols.
Digital Logos Edition
Why use multiple translations? Using multiple translations while you study will give you a well-rounded understanding of the text at hand. Though it’s good to have a primary version for memorization and meditation, reading from different translations demonstrates sound scholarship and can help you better understand a passage by seeing what the biblical author meant in new ways.
The goal of every Bible translation is to balance faithfulness to the wording of the original language with readability in everyday English, but most lean more toward one or the other. Translations that prioritize mimicking the original forms—word choice, word order, and grammatical category—of the Hebrew and Greek are known as “formal equivalence” translations (also known as “word-for-word” translations).
Because these more literal translations generally attempt to choose one English word for each original-language word, and because they try to keep the order of words as close to the original as possible, they tend to be more “wooden” for the modern reader.
In the Formal (Word-for-Word) Translation Bible Bundle 2, we’ve curated five of the most popular formal translations: Lexham English Bible (LEB), English Standard Version (ESV), New King James Version (NKJV), New American Standard Bible, 2020 Update (NASB), and Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB).
- Lexham English Bible (LEB) - The LEB achieves an unparalleled level of transparency because its starting point is the Lexham Greek-English Interlinear New Testament, available separately from Logos Bible Software. Plus, the LEB extensively uses the most up-to-date lexical reference works available. Used with an interlinear, it reveals the entire translation process.
- English Standard Version (ESV) - The conviction that the words of the Bible are the very words of God is the driving force behind the translation of the English Standard Version Bible. The ESV does not try to “improve” on the original text in light of today’s culture or by using trendy language. Instead, translators have taken utmost care to express God’s Word in English that most closely captures the meaning of the original, with understandability, beauty, and impact.
- New King James Version (NKJV) - The New King James Version is a complete update of the 1611 King James Version (or Authorized Version). Translators have made every attempt to maintain the beauty of the original version of the KJV Bible while updating the English grammar to contemporary style and usage, resulting in smoother “readability.” The NKJV is one of the few modern translations still based on the “Western” or “Byzantine” manuscript tradition, making it invaluable for comparative English Bible study.
- New American Standard Bible, 2020 Update (NASB) - The NASB strives to adhere as closely as possible to the original manuscripts and to make a translation that is both fluent and readable according to current English usage. It has been widely embraced as the gold standard among word-for-word translations. In the 2020 update, every aspect of vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and meaning was carefully reviewed to maintain faithful accuracy to the original texts and provide a clear understanding of God’s Word through updated English.
- Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) - The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) sets the standard in painstaking biblical accuracy and pure literary form. Accurate, yet highly readable, it's a translation committed to leaving both the grace and gravity of the original languages intact while carefully creating a smooth flow of wording for the reader.
- Formal (Word-for-Word) Translation Bible Bundle 2, 5 vols.
- Publishers: Thomas Nelson, Holman, Crossway, Lexham Press, Lockman Foundation
- Publication Date: 1982–2020
- Resources: 5
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Resource Type: English Bibles
- Resource ID: {AAF762E1-3400-49B2-B69E-306C5AC8C2BF}
