More Literal Than Thou

In the past several decades, a stream of new English translations of the Bible has flooded the market. Many have tried to distinguish themselves by claiming to be more literal or accurate than any other translation. Crossway’s English Standard Version (ESV) advertises itself as “essentially literal” and “word-for-word [accurate].” B&H Publishing’s Christian Standard Bible (CSB) is billed as an “optimal” translation that is both “highly literal” and “highly accurate.” The forthcoming Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) from Three Sixteen Publishing, itself a revision of “the most literally accurate English translation”—the New American Standard Bible (NASB)—is marketed as “the most accurate, the most consistent translation in English.” This is not a recent trend, with a centuries-long tradition of translations with literal right in the name, from Young’s Literal Translation of 1862 to 2020’s Literal Standard Version.

But which version succeeds in doing what it says—or, perhaps a better question, is this a race even worth winning?