Why
Do We Need Another English Translation of the Bible?
Because there are so many English translations to choose
from, many people wonder why Holman Bible Publishers
(or anyone else!) would bother to develop a new translation
such as the Holman Christian Standard
Bible. A little
reflection, though, makes the reasons quite clear.
1. ORIGINAL TRANSLATIONS ARE NOT AS PLENTIFUL AS YOU
MIGHT THINK SO A COMPLETELY NEW ONE IS STILL IMPORTANT
FOR COMMUNICATING GOD’S WORD.
Most Bibles on the market today are actually revisions
of previous translations. This is true even of some of
the more common ones such as the New King James Version
(NKJV) and the English Standard Version (ESV). The Holman
CSB, on the other hand, is an entirely new translation,
crafted for today’s reader from the original biblical
languages. Scripture confronts each individual and every
culture on issues that matter both here-and-now and forever.
This new translation offers the clarity necessary to
help people choose God’s ways.
2. ENGLISH—PROBABLY THE WORLD’S MOST INFLUENTIAL
LANGUAGE—IS CHANGING RAPIDLY, AND BIBLE TRANSLATIONS
MUST KEEP PACE WITH THOSE CHANGES.
As the language of education, business, medicine, travel,
research, and the Internet, English is the first truly
global language in history. More than 1.3 billion people
around the world speak or read English as a primary or
secondary language. And because of this worldwide usage
and priority,
English is also the world’s most rapidly changing
language. The Holman CSB puts understanding of God’s
Word within reach of the multitude of English speakers.
Linguistic and semantic advances have been incorporated
into the translation, and it reflects changes in English
style through contemporary punctuation, formatting, grammar,
and vocabulary. At the same time, the Holman
Christian Standard Bible retains meaningful theological terms while
avoiding slang, regionalisms, or changes made simply
for the sake of “political correctness” and
other social agendas.
3. ADVANCES IN BIBLICAL RESEARCH PROVIDE NEW DATA FOR
BIBLE TRANSLATORS.
As remarkable as it may seem, biblical scholars today
actually have more and better information about ancient
biblical texts than scholars did years ago. Ours has
been called the “information age,” and that
is emphatically true in the field of biblical research.
Innumerable archaeological discoveries support the reliability
of biblical source documents. Analysis of ancient manuscripts
has revealed new insights into the transmission of biblical
material. And intensive study of individual Bible books—including
sophisticated statistical research—has uncovered
heretofore unknown facets of Bible knowledge. While translations
made even as recently as 10 or 20 years ago do not reflect
these advances in research, translators of the Holman
CSB have integrated vast amounts of this information
into the translation.
4. ADVANCES IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY HAVE OPENED A NEW
DOOR FOR BIBLE TRANSLATION.
Holman CSB scholars have likely used computers and telecommunications
more than any other Bible translators in history. Daily—and
sometimes hourly—electronic mail facilitated the
timely exchange of ideas and transmission of manuscripts.
Accordance®, an advanced Bible software program,
was customized to create and revise the translation at
each stage. An in-process copy of the Holman
CSB was
even imbedded in the software to facilitate cross-checking
and consistency during the translation process—something
never before done with a Bible translation.
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