Berean Standard Bible

abcaines

abcaines

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Home - Berean Standard Bible

Encounter the scriptures in a renewed and exciting way through the modern, literal, and smooth Berean Standard Bible based on the original Greek roots.
bereanbible.com

I'll let you all look up the info on it...

Sources I personally trust have been very positive toward it. I use and prefer Bible Hub, the publishers of the BSB. I've examined their website and for the most part, I like their philosophy of translation and licensing.

Has anyone used it/heard about it? What think ye?
 
I'm sure it is a suitable translation but why do we need more and more English translations of the scriptures? Is it any better than the ESV or NASB?
 
Baptist Renegade said:
I'm sure it is a suitable translation but why do we need more and more English translations of the scriptures? Is it any better than the ESV or NASB?
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Probably not. However, as stated, I like their licensing philosophy [that the Scriptures should be freely available]. Does ESV, NASB or any other translations beside KJV have such open licensing?
 
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Baptist Renegade said:
I'm sure it is a suitable translation but why do we need more and more English translations of the scriptures? Is it any better than the ESV or NASB?
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The following excerpt is taken from a trusted resource, gotquestions.org. Emphasis mine.

The Berean Study Bible utilizes both “word for word” and “thought for thought” approaches in the translation process. It maintains the original gender designations in Scripture and strives to be as consistent as possible to the core meanings of the original sources.

I appreciate the fact that there are current Bible translators who are committed to preserving the Word as it was written, not trying to make it "relevant" by neutralizing gender as the NIV and others are doing.
 
abcaines said:
Probably not. However, as stated, I like their licensing philosophy [that the Scriptures should be freely available]. Does ESV, NASB or any other translations beside KJV have such open licensing?
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Well, certainly there's no licensing more "open" than releasing the work to the public domain. (And, yes, there are some other older translations that have fallen out of copyright.)

The typical licence for a version under copyright is to permit quoting up to 500 verses without requiring written permission. The ESV is even more permissive--Crossway has been very generous since the beginning to encourage ESV use, especially online. They allow 1,000 verses. Unless you're writing a commentary or other Bible reference, that's more than adequate for pretty much any use case.
 
abcaines said:
Probably not. However, as stated, I like their licensing philosophy [that the Scriptures should be freely available]. Does ESV, NASB or any other translations beside KJV have such open licensing?
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That is a rather noble gesture TBH. Most translations require permission and will charge a licensing fee if citations go over a certain amount.
 
From the Berean Bible licensing page:

The Berean Bible and Majority Bible texts are officially placed into the public domain as of April 30, 2023. See terms and conditions.

Licensing is not required for any use. However, you are welcome to complete the licensing form in order to receive communications as we develop new resources.
 
Look here for a comparison of the Berean Bible with other translations. Berean is not too different than KJV/NKJV.
 
Baptist Renegade said:
Really matters not who says it. It is a legitimate question.
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And the answer is, we don't need a proliferation of English translations. Personally I think it would be better if the people producing them would direct their effort toward translating the Bible into languages that don't have one yet.

But, unlike, say, 500 years ago, we live in a well-educated and literate society where more people than ever are qualified to translate the Bible. And we live in a secular democracy where there's no king or bishop to say you can't.

Given the choice between a society with a glut of Bibles, including poor quality ones; and a society where there aren't enough Bibles and only the priests can tell you what it says and means, I'll take the former any time.
 
I get the notion that the English language has more than enough translations and I'm inclined to agree to a point. But I don't think we've seen another modern English translation like the BSB in a very long time. For the past 50+ years, translations have had licensing agreements for purchase which has always struck me as odd. BSB has been released as public domain within less than 10 years of publishing. I have tremendous respect for that. And it's not just a Bible translation; it is a whole system of resources that are open sourced. Download Bible Hub and you'll see what I mean.

In a bit I'll bloviate on why I think there is such a demand for English translations. So, stay tuned...
 
Ransom said:
And the answer is, we don't need a proliferation of English translations. Personally I think it would be better if the people producing them would direct their effort toward translating the Bible into languages that don't have one yet.

But, unlike, say, 500 years ago, we live in a well-educated and literate society where more people than ever are qualified to translate the Bible. And we live in a secular democracy where there's no king or bishop to say you can't.

Given the choice between a society with a glut of Bibles, including poor quality ones; and a society where there aren't enough Bibles and only the priests can tell you what it says and means, I'll take the former any time.
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i agree.... it was the second thing the missionaries to hawaii did when they first arrived.... (and unfortunately one of the only 2 good things they did).... first they created a written hawaiian language... ... and the second was to put together a bible in the hawaiian language, using the king james bible as a source... ..and it has not been changed since....

some might claim the hawaiian bible is flawed because of that.... but then today most hawaiians are fluent in english... so even they would say why change what is still working.... .but there are many cultures and societies not fluent in english that still do not have a bible in their own language... .and "missionaries" claiming to interpret and translate christianity for them that might be closer to one of the fringe cults or even mormons than they are christians....
 
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I own two copies of this translation—one for myself and one for my son—and have read most of it since starting in April 2024. It feels like a blend of the CSB, ESV, and sometimes the NIV, which makes sense given the creators closely compared past essentially literal translations. They weren't cutting corners; while they did update and smooth out confusing areas (likely where they leaned more NIV), they valued the work of "hundreds of well-trained translators who rendered these verses before." As Gary Hill mentioned in an interview, forming the team wasn't a commercial venture but came through friendships. Their goal wasn't novelty but preserving the best of the literal translations amidst the trend toward more dynamic ones. They wanted a trustworthy, reverently made translation for the Great Commission, and as of April 2023, it's in the public domain (see: https://berean.bible/terms.htm).

You can view that interview, in detail here:

At this link you can see who was on the advisory committee for the BSB: https://bereanbibles.com/about-berean-study-bible/translation-process/

Here is what I found in my research.

1. Gary Hill, Discovery Bible
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...sQFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1VHlaNXWG4f3FO9YRkONSD

2. Dr. Grant Osborne worked on the New Living Translation for the Gospels and Acts.
https://www.laurasambranofunerals.com/obituary/DrGrant-Osborne

3. Dr. Eugene Merrill was a, "translator of the New King James Version and the New Living Translation, an editor of the Holman Christian Standard Bible, and a contributor to The Apologetics Study Bible and the Holman Christian Standard Bible Study Bible."
https://www.gsot.edu/eugene-merrill-intensive-course/

4. Dr. Maury Robertson
Director of Online Education
Associate Professor of New Testament Studies
http://gsapps.org/faculty/bio.aspx?p=MauryRobertson

5. Dr. Ulrik Sandborg-Petersen, programming and design for Greek and Hebrew and many other languages.
Short bio at the bottom of this link:
https://paradigmsmasterpro.com/index.php/about/

6.Baruch Korman, Phd Jewish Studies
https://loveisrael.org/about/
 
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For those interested, the BSB, has some interesting word choices, (all translations have them at one point or another), and I thought I would share some that may pique interest.

1. In Amos 4:6, the verse reads: “I beset all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.

They do provide a footnote explaining the teeth phrase so I like they kept the ancient idiom.
I prefer words like: plagued, afflicted or bombarded, instead of beset. The word means "to give," and in the context it is a giving that is not pleasant, it is done persistently and all around you . Beset is not incorrect, just seems not a common word nowadays.
I think overall they did an amazing job.

2. In Mark 14: 65 the last part reads: "And the officers received Him with slaps in His face." It sounds passively written. I get what they are saying though, it is not incorrect, the officers hit Jesus, slapping him in the face.

3. In Philippians 4:3 reads: "Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life." This is not an incorrect word, it means the same thing as companion or fellow worker, but not one we normally use today.
 
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