INTRODUCTION TO THE LSV
The Literal Standard Version of The Holy Bible is a major revision of Young's Literal Translation (YLT). It maintains many of Robert Young's great contributions to the field of Bible translation and research. The relationship of the LSV to Young's Literal Translation is similar to that of the English Standard Version (ESV) to the Revised Standard Version or the New King James Version (NKJV) and Modern English Version (MEV) to the KJV. Young's Literal Translation was the most literal translation of The Holy Bible ever made into English up to this point for three key reasons: 1. Preservation of verb tenses, 2. Consistent word-for-word translation, and 3. General preservation of word order.
The LSV maintains the first two rules while having more flexibility with the third, which actually results in a more literal end-result. To understand why, you must first understand the nature of language. Language is a series of written and/or spoken words that convey meaning. Words and meaning are inherent to the definition of language. Furthermore, words have meaning by themselves, but also when structured together. A word by itself contains meaning but has no context. As grand an undertaking as the YLT was, it suffered from overdependence on word order at the expense of readability. This begs the question: if word order is maintained, but a sentence is unreadable, is a translation truly made? Languages not only differ in alphabet, but also in word order and sentence structure. For instance, in the Latin languages "I love you" would be structured "You I love." In the Germanic family it would be the former. In more complicated sentences, the differing word order can result in unintelligible translation if the word order is maintained. Since context and sentence structure are as vital to translation as capturing the proper meaning of each word, the translators of the LSV have used these three key principles in translation: 1. Preservation of verb tenses, 2. Consistent word-for-word translation, and 3. Preservation of word order when readability is unimpacted, but revised word order when necessary for readability.
The use of these three principles in combination with other LSV peculiarities discussed below has resulted in the most literal translation of The Holy Bible into modern English, as well as the most distinctive.
Another translation, why?
There have been a slew of new English translations in the past half-century, which may cause some to wonder why the need for another. The translators agree with the premise that different translations can serve different demographics and different reading levels to maximize exposure to God's word. In this sense, the LSV is not a competitor to other excellent translations, but is complimentary. As the most literal modern English translation, the LSV is an excellent resource for deep and thoughtful Bible study and research, essentially an interlinear in terms of word-for-word translation, but arranged with English sentence structure. At the same time, some newer translations and revisions are twisting the Holy Scriptures in order to appease a postmodern, progressive, and secular readership. The LSV is a line in the sand against such perversion. Let God's word speak on its own terms. The LSV has been translated to improve upon what has come before and to ensure that God's word in English is passed along to the next generation.
The Name of God
One of the first things a reader may notice about the LSV is the use of the transliterated Tetragrammaton ("Yhwh") instead of "Lord." This decision was made on the premise that God did in fact reveal His Name as Yhwh to the Israelites of antiquity and many Scriptures emphasize the importance and sacredness of His Name. Replacing His actual Name with an English title does disservice to the Name and to the many Scriptures that emphasize the Name. At the same time, an impersonal title such as "Lord" may cause the reader to view an everpresent and very personal God impersonally. We want the reader to recognize that God has indeed given us His Name and we must respect His decision. Moreover, while a handful of translations use a pronounceable name, we thought it best to recognize that none of these names are universally accepted in scholarship and the original unpointed Hebrew did not provide us with the vowels. Yahweh, Yehovah, and others, are mere suggestions based on differing bodies of research. While "Yahweh" or something of very similar pronunciation seems the most likely, or at least as close as we may come at the present time, we have chosen to use the transliterated Tetragrammaton because it is more than likely accurate, represents the original unpointed Name, and leaves it to the reader to respectfully and thoughtfully pronounce the Name according to the research they are more personally persuaded by. At the same time, we have opted to retain many Anglicized names, including the Name of God's Son, Jesus. Our reasons are threefold: first, it is already a name and not a title; second, the Name is in nearuniversal use in the English-speaking world; and third, it is a close transliteration of the original Greek Iesous.
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