Why Are Bookstores Closing
Two major factors have contributed to the 9.6% decrease in sales at bookstores since 2007: the growing popularity of e-books, and Borders going out of business. Both have caused serious drops in the number of bookstore sales, though competition with online retailers like Amazon is another major factor.
Is The Niv A Good Bible
The NIV Zondervan Study Bible is appealing to the same market of people who want a reliable, traditional text thats easy to read. The theological profiles of the the ESV and NIV study Bibles are very similar. The NIV is the second most-read version of the Bible in the United States, after the King James.
Breaking News: Lifeway To Republish The Holman Christian Standard Bible
Posted by Bob Rogers
Its not official yet, but as the administrator of the for the Holman Christian Standard Bible , I have been privy to some internal discussions from editors of LifeWay and Holman Bible Publishers, who have quietly been considering republishing a print edition of the HCSB.
The HCSB was first published in 2004 by Holman Bible Publishers, but discontinued in 2017 in favor of the Christian Standard Bible . When first published, the HCSB won praise among evangelicals for being more accurate than the popular New International Version , yet more readable than the reliable New American Standard Bible . However, it received some criticism for some unusual characteristics, such as occasionally using the literal Yahweh for the Old Testament name of God , and for taking non-traditional translations, such as interpreting sixth hour in John 4:6 to mean that Jesus met the woman at the well at 6:00 in the evening, rather than the sixth hour of the day, at noon. The awkward name, Holman Christian Standard Bible, was also ridiculed by some as the Hard Core Southern Baptist translation, as Holman is owned by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
If you are interested in a print edition of the HCSB, do not contact Holman Bible Publishers or LifeWay, because they will not know what you are talking about, since this is an April Fools joke.
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The Use Of Brackets For Supplied Words
In the first edition of the HCSB, supplied words were indicated by putting them in brackets. The brackets were eliminated in the 2009 revision, but I will retain the following paragraphs from my original review of the HCSB, for the sake of those who are still using the first edition. In some cases the elimination of the brackets is a change for the better, but sometimes it is for the worse. In Philippians 2:13 the words enabling you should never have been inserted in the rendering, For it is God who is working in you, both to desire and to work out His good purpose, and the removal of the brackets makes the insertion less excusable.
The idea of the brackets is to let readers know where the translators have added English words which do not have any corresponding words in the original, in order to produce an English translation that makes sense. Other Bible versions have used italics for this purpose. It can sometimes be helpful, but it should be used sparingly. When the appropriateness of the supplied word is in doubt, it serves to warn readers that the translators have offered an interpretation which may not be correct but when the accuracy of the interpretation is not in doubt, there is no good reason to mark any of the English words that are used to express it.
We will comment on the places where supplied word brackets appear in the translation of Philippians.
Understanding The Old Testament
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The Holman Christian Standard Bible is one of the most accurate translations of the Scriptures, and the Book of 1st Corinthians is one of the most fundamental books in the New Testament. Let professional voice artist Dale McConachie, author of over one hundred audiobooks, take you on a journey through 1st Corinthians, where you will discover how God deals with issues in His Church. Dales goal in this recording was to make a simple but reverent audio copy of Gods Word that you can take with you everywhere you go….
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The Gender Language Policy In Bible Translation
Some people today ignore the Bible’s teachings on distinctive roles of men and women in family and church and have an agenda to eliminate those distinctions in every arena of life. These people have begun a program to engineer the removal of a perceived male bias in the English language. The targets of this program have been such traditional linguistic practices as the generic use of “man” or “men,” as well as “he,” “him,” and “his.”
A group of Bible scholars, translators, and other evangelical leaders met in 1997 to respond to this issue as it affects Bible translation. This group produced the “Guidelines for Translation of Gender-Related Language in Scripture” . The Holman Christian Standard Bible was produced in accordance with these guidelines.
The goal of the translators has not been to promote a cultural ideology but to faithfully translate the Bible. While the Holman CSB avoids using “man” or “he” unnecessarily, the translation does not restructure sentences to avoid them when they are in the text. For example, the translators have not changed “him” to “you” or to “them,” neither have they avoided other masculine words such as “father” or “son” by translating them in generic terms such as “parent” or “child.”
Holman Christian Standard Bible
| Holman Christian Standard Bible |
|---|
| NT: 27th edition. OT:Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia with some influence. |
| Translation type |
| Copyright 2004 Holman Bible Publishers |
| Religious affiliation |
| Genesis 1:13In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. |
The Holman Christian Standard Bible is a modern English Bible translation from Holman Bible Publishers. The New Testament was published in 1999, followed by the full Bible in March 2004.
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Character Of The Translation
In general, the HCSB translation is slightly more literal than the New International Version, but much less literal than the New American Standard Bible or the English Standard Version. In various ways the text is simplified and made easy to understand by interpretive renderings. The style is on a level much lower than the NKJV, RSV and ESV. It sometimes fails to convey the literary qualities of the text. But an attempt is made to present the Psalms in a suitable literary style. I give now Psalm 69 from the 2009 edition of the HCSB, followed by some remarks on the translation.
Introduction To The Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Bible is God’s revelation to man. It is the only book that gives us accurate information about God, man’s need, and God’s provision for that need. It provides us with guidance for life and tells us how to receive eternal life. The Bible can do these things because it is God’s inspired Word, inerrant in the original manuscripts.
The Bible describes God’s dealings with the ancient Jewish people and the early Christian church. It tells us about the great gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who fulfilled Jewish prophecies of the Messiah. It tells us about the salvation He accomplished through His death on the cross, His triumph over death in the resurrection, and His promised return to earth. It is the only book that gives us reliable information about the future, about what will happen to us when we die, and about where history is headed.
Bible translation is both a science and an art. It is a bridge that brings God’s Word from the ancient world to the world today. In dependence on God to accomplish this sacred task, Holman Bible Publishers presents the Holman Christian Standard Bible, a new English translation of God’s Word.
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Translation Philosophy Of The Holman Csb
Most discussions of Bible translations speak of two opposite approaches: formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. Although this terminology is meaningful, Bible translations cannot be neatly sorted into these two categories any more than people can be neatly sorted into two categories according to height or weight. Holman Bible Publishers is convinced there is room for another category of translation philosophies that capitalizes on the strengths of the other two.
3. Optimal Equivalence: In practice, translations are seldom if ever purely formal or dynamic but favor one theory of Bible translation or the other to varying degrees. Optimal equivalence as a translation philosophy recognizes that form cannot be neatly separated from meaning and should not be changed unless comprehension demands it. The primary goal of translation is to convey the sense of the original with as much clarity as the original text and the translation language permit. Optimal equivalence appreciates the goals of formal equivalence but also recognizes its limitations.
The Holman CSB uses optimal equivalence as its translation philosophy. When a literal translation meets these criteria, it is used. When clarity and readability demand an idiomatic translation, the reader can still access the form of the original text by means of a footnote with the abbreviation “Lit.”
Why Is There A Need For Another English Translation Of The Bible
There are several good reasons why Holman Bible publishers invested its resources in a modern language translation of the Bible:
1. Each generation needs a fresh translation of the Bible in its own language.
The Bible is the world’s most important book, confronting each individual and each culture with issues that affect life, both now and forever. Since each new generation must be introduced to God’s Word in its own language, there will always be a need for new translations such as the Holman Christian Standard Bible. The majority of Bible translations on the market today are revisions of translations from previous generations. The Holman CSB is a new translation for today’s generation.
2. English, one of the world’s greatest languages, is rapidly changing, and Bible translations must keep in step with those changes.
English is the first truly global language in history. It is the language of education, business, medicine, travel, research, and the Internet. More than 1.3 billion people around the world speak or read English as a primary or secondary language. The Holman CSB seeks to serve many of those people with a translation they can easily use and understand.
3. Rapid advances in biblical research provide new data for Bible translators.
4. Advances in computer technology have opened a new door for Bible translation.
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Is Holman Kjv Bible Accurate
The Holman King James Version study Bible is a visual learners dream. This study Bible is not only full of color but it is full of accurate and detailed study notes. The Holman KJV study Bible has a plethora of notes to include the old testament. This study Bible is not lacking in cross references either.
How Certain Names And Terms Are Translated
The names of God: The Holman Christian Standard Bible OT consistently translates the Hebrew names for God as follows:
| Holman CSB English | |
| God Almighty | El Shaddai |
However, the Holman CSB OT uses Yahweh, the personal name of God in Hebrew, when a biblical text emphasizes Yahweh as a name: His name is Yahweh . Yahweh is used more often in the Holman CSB than in most Bible translations because the word LORD in English is a title of God and does not accurately convey to modern readers the emphasis on God’s name in the original Hebrew.
The uses of Christ and Messiah: The Holman CSB translates the Greek word Christos as either “Christ” or “Messiah” based on its use in different NT contexts. Where the NT emphasizes Christos as a name of our Lord or has a Gentile context, “Christ” is used . Where the NT Christos has a Jewish context, the title “Messiah” is used . The first use of “Messiah” in each chapter is also marked with a bullet referring readers to the Bullet Note at the back of most editions.
Place-names: In the original text of the Bible, particularly in the OT, a number of well-known places have names different from the ones familiar to contemporary readers. For example, “the Euphrates” often appears in the original text simply as “the River.” In cases like this, the Holman Christian Standard Bible uses the modern name, “the Euphrates River,” in the text without a footnote or lower corner brackets.
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Nashville: Publishing Bibles Is Big Business
They call Nashville the buckle on the Bible Belt with good reason. Its population is predominately conservative Protestant. It is the religious printing and publishing capital of America.
Bibles, hymnals, Sunday School books, Scripture tracts and religious magazines roll off the presses day and night in this, the biggest printing center in the South.
Printing is Nashvilles No. 1 industry, employing 12,000 with gross annual sales of more than $600 million, half of it in religious publications.
Nashville is the home of Thomas Nelson Publishers, reportedly the biggest Bible publishing company. United Methodist Publishing House claims to be the largest church-owned and operated publishing and printing plant in the world.
Gideons International, the worlds largest Bible distributor, is headquartered here. Last year, Gideons distributed 24 million Bibles printed in 55 languages to more than 100 countries and to hotels, motels, hospitals and jails all over America.
The nations largest Protestant denomination, the 14.1-million member Southern Baptist Church, has done nearly all of its printing here since 1891. The church sells its Bibles, books and magazines to its 37,000 congregations and through its own 63 bookstores as well as other outlets. Last years gross sales totaled $147.8 million.
The Southern Baptist Conventions Sunday School Board does not do its own printing. It contracts it out to printing firms primarily located in Nashville.
Oldest in the City
The Use Of Yahweh In The Version
The Tetragrammaton occurs 6,828 times in the Hebrew Bible. Nearly all English versions follow the ancient tradition of rendering the Divine name as the Lord. The King James Version makes only four exceptions , where it renders the name as Jehovah. The first edition of the HCSB used Yahweh seventy-five times, and the 2009 revision increased the number to 476, although the ordinary rendering continues to be the Lord. One of the editors of the version has explained why the version uses Yahweh in the places where it does:
We use it as the rendering of YHWH whenever Gods name is being given , when He is being identified , when He is being contrasted to other gods such as Baal, in certain repeated phrases such as Yahweh the God of your fathers, or when YHWH has been rendered by Yahweh in the immediate context. our objective is to introduce to the contemporary church what is the most likely pronunciation of the divine name YHWH in the Hebrew Bible. We did not render the majority of occurrences of YHWH as Yahweh because our goal is not only to be accurate but to use an English style that is most familiar to people. Since most Christians today probably do not commonly speak of Yahweh, but rather of the Lord, we felt it would be insensitive to use Yahweh for YHWH in every case and would make the Bible seem too uncomfortable for most people.
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The Holman Christian Standard Bible
New Testament. Edwin Blum, ed., Holman Christian Standard Bible: Experiencing the Word New Testament. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2001.
Bible. Edwin Blum, ed., Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Bible. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2004. Revised in 2009.
The Holman Christian Standard Bible is a publishing project of Broadman & Holman Publishers, the trade books division of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. LifeWay is a non-profit agency of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in America.
The version originated in 1984 as an independent project of Arthur Farstad, who had formerly served as general editor for the New King James Version. Farstads original concept was to produce a modern English translation of the New Testament based on the Greek Majority Text which he had edited with Zane Hodges and published in 1982. At the time, Farstad was employed as a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. In his translation work he was joined by another man on the DTS faculty, Edwin A. Blum. Together they produced translations of some portions of the New Testament.
After some unsuccessful attempts to buy the copyright of some existing versions , Broadman & Holman finally expressed an interest in Farstads unfinished project, and offered to make him the general editor of a complete translation of the Bible to be financed by them. But they required a New Testament based on the critical text of Nestle-Aland.
Traditional Features Found In The Holman Csb
In keeping with a long line of Bible publications, the Holman Christian Standard Bible has retained a number of features found in traditional Bibles:
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