Christian Standard Bible (CSB) , 2017 first edition
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Holman Bible Publishers, Christian company · Translation Oversight Committee · published by Holman, a division of Lifeway
Edition 2020 text , current2017 first edition , superseded
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Fidelity questions are answered by the spec sheet and the Disputes panel below, never by a number.
Spec sheet
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- Made by
Holman Bible Publishers, a division of Lifeway, which the publisher describes as a non-profit ministry; it holds the copyright and stewards the text
Verification pending- Official website
https://read.csbible.com/
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Languages
English
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Intended audience
- Verification pending Existing editorial catalog metadata
- Full name
Christian Standard Bible
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Abbreviation
CSB
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Translation language
English
Verification pendingExisting editorial catalog metadata- Translation approach explanation
"Optimal equivalence": the publisher's term for a method committed to both formal equivalence (the words and structures of the original) and functional equivalence (natural English that conveys the original message); in plain words, between word-for-word and thought-for-thought
Verification pending- Old Testament textual basis
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4th edition; where manuscripts differ significantly the translators follow what they judge the original reading and note the main alternatives in footnotes
Verification pending- New Testament textual basis
Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, 28th edition, and the UBS Greek New Testament, 5th corrected edition
Verification pending- Canon and included books
Protestant, 66 books
Verification pending- Gender-related language approach
A traditional approach, in the publisher's words: masculine terms and pronouns for God are kept; in passages where the original context did not exclude women, the committee avoids being unnecessarily specific
Verification pending- Reading level
Seventh grade on average for the whole text (publisher's figure); individual books vary
Verification pending- Copyright and permissions
Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Up to 1,000 verses may be quoted without written permission if they are under 50 percent of the work and not a complete book
Verification pending- First published
2017, as a revision of the Holman Christian Standard Bible; text edition 2020, with changes to less than 1 percent of the text
Verification pending
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Original listing evidence
| Fact | Value | Source · fetched |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Holman Bible Publishers, a division of Lifeway, which the publisher describes as a non-profit ministry; it holds the copyright and stewards the text | CSB FAQ · Verification pending |
| Translation philosophy | "Optimal equivalence": the publisher's term for a method committed to both formal equivalence (the words and structures of the original) and functional equivalence (natural English that conveys the original message); in plain words, between word-for-word and thought-for-thought | CSB translation philosophy · Verification pending |
| Textual basis, Old Testament | Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4th edition; where manuscripts differ significantly the translators follow what they judge the original reading and note the main alternatives in footnotes | CSB FAQ · Verification pending |
| Textual basis, New Testament | Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, 28th edition, and the UBS Greek New Testament, 5th corrected edition | CSB FAQ · Verification pending |
| Canon | Protestant, 66 books | CSB online reader, book list · Verification pending |
| Reading grade level | Seventh grade on average for the whole text (publisher's figure); individual books vary | CSB FAQ · Verification pending |
| Gender language | A traditional approach, in the publisher's words: masculine terms and pronouns for God are kept; in passages where the original context did not exclude women, the committee avoids being unnecessarily specific | CSB FAQ · Verification pending |
| Committee | Translation Oversight Committee, co-chaired by Tom Schreiner and David Allen, drawn from several conservative evangelical denominations, colleges and seminaries; the HCSB it revises was translated by 100 scholars from 17 denominations; members are named on csbible.com | CSB FAQ · Verification pending |
| Licence and quotation | Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Up to 1,000 verses may be quoted without written permission if they are under 50 percent of the work and not a complete book | CSB permissions · Verification pending |
| First published | 2017, as a revision of the Holman Christian Standard Bible; text edition 2020, with changes to less than 1 percent of the text | CSB FAQ · Verification pending |
What the maker discloses about itself (not a rating): Tradition: clearTextual basis: clearPhilosophy: clearCommittee: clearFunding: partly
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Printed editions
Font size, writing margins, paper and binding belong to an identified published edition. These documented examples do not cover every printing.
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Suggest a printed edition or correct its details →Disputes and context
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Verses in footnotes
Some verses printed in the KJV, such as Matthew 17:21, appear in CSB footnotes (“Some mss include v. 21”) rather than the main text, because the CSB follows a different Greek text. Readers who hold to the Textus Receptus regard this as an omission; the publisher says the translators follow what they believe is the original reading and note the main alternatives.
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Reviews
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The standing questions
Answered from the spec sheet and the positions above, never from the meters.
Is it word for word?
Not entirely. The publisher’s term is “optimal equivalence”: a commitment to both the form of the original and natural English, which it says is between the two approaches. The literal-to-idiomatic meter above shows where readers place its feel.
What text is it based on?
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (4th edition) for the Old Testament, and the Nestle-Aland 28th edition with the UBS Greek New Testament (5th corrected edition) for the New Testament.
Are verses missing?
Some verses printed in the KJV appear in footnotes instead of the main text, because the CSB follows a different Greek text. The text is complete by its own textual basis. See the disputes panel.
What reading level is it?
The publisher gives an average of seventh grade for the whole text, and says individual books vary.
How does it handle gender language?
The publisher calls its approach traditional: masculine terms and pronouns for God are kept, and in passages where the original did not exclude women the committee avoids being unnecessarily specific.
Who translated it?
The Translation Oversight Committee, co-chaired by Tom Schreiner and David Allen, revising the HCSB, which was translated by 100 scholars from 17 denominations. The publisher names the committee members.