Lexham English Bible

by W. Hall Harris, III (General Editor)

The LEB clearly communicates the meaning of the original languages. It gives you a clear English translation, and shows you how it gets there. It is one of the components in a suite of resources from Logos Bible Software which connect the original language texts to formal translations.

The Lexham English Bible reveals the entire translation process. Follow the path from the original language, to the interlinear, to the English translation, and then back again with a reverse interlinear, available separately. You’ll never find yourself wondering why the LEB translates a word or phrase a certain way. Identify idioms. Discover the tricky texts. See the difficult lexicographical choices. It’s all right there.

The entire translation process is focused and transparent. It was developed through an interlinear process using Logos Bible Software. With an interlinear, available separately, you can work from the original languages to the LEB, or from the LEB back to the original languages.

The LEB closely follows the original while remaining readable in contemporary English. The style of the translation is relatively literal, which stems from the desire to have the English translation correspond transparently to the original language text. The translators attempt—within these constraints—to produce a clear and readable English translation instead of a woodenly literal one.

Some words and phrases are difficult to translate, and the LEB is careful to mark these instances:

Supplied words are noted with italics. These are words in English implied by English style or structure, or they are grammaticalized from the original language. They may not be found in the original language, but are needed for a sentence to make sense in English.

⌊Idioms⌋ are noted with corner brackets. Words or phrases that don’t convey the meaning when translated literally are idiomatic, and with the LEB you can easily identify them.

Every time the LEB encounters a difficult word or phrase, you’ll know—and you’ll be able to dig deeper behind the translation itself to find the meaning in the text of the original language.

Genres: Theology, Biography, Christian, Reference

ebook

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Peter Krol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the freshness of this translation. A good balance between formal equivalence and readability. I appreciate the translators' willingness to do uncommon things that are actually more accurate to the text, such as "for a very long time" in Psalm 23:6.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10

[Joshua Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly literal translation, based on the BHS and SBLGNT texts. It can at times be a tad abstruse. However, the beauty of reading a translation which corresponds as closely to the original text as possible should not be understated. Take one of Paul's longest sentences in Ephesians 1:3-14 for example (as rendered in the LEB):

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love, having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace that he bestowed on us in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, that he caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in him, for the administration of the fullness of times, to bring together all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in him in whom also we were chosen, having been predestined according to the purpose of the One who works all things according to the counsel of his will, that we who hoped beforehand in Christ should be for the praise of his glory, in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

One feature that helps to make the text more readable is the editors' decision to insert italicised words for which there is no equivalent in the original language text. For instance (try reading them without the italicised words) in Romans 8:18:

For I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us.

Another feature which improves readability is the decision to render certain idiomatic translations non-literally. These terms are enclosed in ⌊lower corner brackets⌋. The literal translation is then provided in the footnote. See Jeremiah 1:13:

And the word of Yahweh came to me a second time, ⌊saying⌋, “What are you seeing?” And I said, “I am seeing a ⌊boiling⌋ pot, and its face is from the face of the north.”

Footnotes:
saying = Literally "to say"
boiling = Literally "blown upon"

If you're wondering whether these features (a plethora of lower brackets and italicised words) get in the way of reading the book smoothly from cover to cover: in my experience, they're no more disruptive than the superscript texts used in most Bible translations to mark verse numbers and point to footnotes.
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Sidenote: I reported a couple of typographical errors scattered throughout the book to the editors. I'm confident that the electronic versions will be fixed soon enough. Examples:

And when the cloud prolonged on the tabernacle many days the Israelites kept the kept requirement of Yahweh and did not set out. Num 9:19

The standard of the camp of Dan according to their divisions will be to the west(should be north). Num 2:25

[Hester · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm no expert on translations of The Bible but , on my third consecutive read through , I found this to be both accessible and poetic . Each time i read I find new things to discover and each year different chapters and books lodge in my brain . This year I decided to read the Old Testament ordered as The Hebrew Bible and allow the older narrative arc to speak to me . It reads as a far more existential work than the reordered Old Testament and somehow the New Testament read better for it , as the various authors referenced it when making their arguments. Perhaps because of this I found Paul's Letters to be more nuanced than before and his approach is more forgiving and understanding than i had previously seen . None of this improved my enjoyment of Revelations though which , despite its drama and strong arc , is not a patch on Job , Gospel of John, Samuel or the Torah.

[Sarah Letko · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Orthodox Christian, I like this more literal translation of the new testament because it has many more places (than NKJV and other popular reformed tradition bibles) where certain words are more appropriately translated to show what was expressed by the NT authors, particularly St Paul. While not all of the nuances are caught, some examples of this include the confusion of the ideas of 'justification' and 'righteousness /to be made righteous' ; 'guarantee' and 'down payment' ; 'atonement' and 'covering.' Proper translation of the new testament, particularly of St Paul, according to the modern English usages of words, are crucial for the faithful to understanding the message of the NT scriptures in a way that is helpful and salvific. Kudos to the translators.

[Collin Mcadams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wisdom is flowing from this book, change yourself change the world.

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very important book to analyze the corrects words in Greek. The way that is written and organized is incredible clear and clarifies the meanings.