Berean Standard Bible - open source Bible?

Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true. - Acts 17:11 (BSB)

I talked about Bible translations in a post a while ago, and highlighted how we have more translations than ever. Our age is blessed with a variety of translations that cover the spectrum of exact word-for-word (ESV,NASB,NRSV), that get the exact language of the original text. We also have more thought-for-thought translations that seek to grasp the expressions of the text, and what was meant to be said, rather than just the exact words (NIV, CSB), and then paraphrases that are more of a restatement of the text to bring it up to modern vernacular and expression (NLT, TLB, MSG). No one translation is perfect, and the best translation is the one that you will actually read. The exception to this statement is "The Passion Translation" which is problematic on many levels, and I warn anyone from using it as the sourcing of the translation is frankly heretical and dangerous.

So what is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), and why another Bible translation?

One of the facts that many people don't know is the amount of copyright that surrounds most Bible translations. Most major Christian publishing houses are owned by larger, usually non-christian investment business' and often hold the copyright to certain Bible translations. These copyrights limit the usage and means of Bible translations in published works, that may in some cases require royalty payments to the holder of said copyright. For more of a deep-dive on this read this article from SellingJesus.org.

This is where the Berean Bible translation enters the picture. From the outset the goal was to make a readable translation that is a cross between the KJV (a literal translation), and the NIV (a more thought-for-thought translation), which still remaining faithful to the original languages, and readable to a modern audience. All of this while remaining completely open-source in it's ownership, allowing for anyone to use it for free without any cost of licensing. 

Over the last year I have starting utilizing the BSB more regularly as apart of the translations I use. And as of November 2024, it is my primary Bible translation. I still use the NIV, NLT, NET & the NRSV for deep study. But for my daily reading & preaching, I will be utilizing the BSB. 

On my weekly podcast The Pastor's Call Podcast I had the pleasure of interviewing Gary Hill who was one of the primary scholars who worked on the BSB. You can listen to his interview HERE and find our more about the origins, purpose and intent of the translation. As part of interviewing him I was blessed to receive physical review copy of  the BSB. It is a beautiful real-leather bible, that is of excellent quality. They use a thicker paper (39 gsm), which makes the experience of using it very tactile and satisfying. The layout is different than what I have seen in other Bibles, and I have appreciated how readable it is. For an intro and more info on bible build terminology, check out this fantastic video HERE. I feel that I will be able to use this Bible for my lifetime and hand it down to my kids. Very high quality.

But it doesn't stop at the physical Bibles you can purchase. One their website you can download the entire Bible in Word, PDF, Kindle, excel, audio and other digital formats for anything you might use a Bible for! This is a huge help to integrating this Bible translation into the various Church tech that I use. This is unparalleled for a Bible translation to offer this completely for FREE!

All of this being said, I recommend at least checking out the BSB. What they are offering is a quality Bible translation that is easily accessible to everyone, with no cast barriers, especially in the digital realm.

You can find out more about the BSB, and shop for physical Bibles from them at bereanbibles.com