Westhill Church - Auburn & Federal Way, WA

The WEekly Word

A Blog of Encouragement from our Pastors

weekly word – 8/6/2026

Details on the Legacy Standard Bible

On Sunday, we shared why we’re moving from the CSB to the Legacy Standard Bible. For those of you who may want to know more about the decision, this article summarizes those points, adds more, and includes more Bible verses for you to examine on your own.

1. It Preserves the Name of God, Yahweh

Unlike most major translations, like the NIV, ESV, CSB, or NASB, the LSB preserves the name of Yahweh, the Name of God, where it is written. Throughout in the Old Testament, the original readers of the Scriptures would have read and heard a name, not a title.

This becomes significant in Exodus 3:15 and 6:3, when God announces His name to Moses and Israel. The declaration of God’s oneness is seen more clearly in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one!” It brings Isaiah 42:8 to greater significance, “I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images.” It also brings out the Messianic clarity of Psalm 110:1, “Yahweh says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.’"

2. It Preserves Word Repetition
The LSB also translates repeated words from the original languages into the same English word as often as the context allows, so readers can track it throughout Scripture. Repeated language is very important for finding themes in a book as well as fulfilled prophecy.

Preserving word use consistently lets us see the fulfillment of God’s seed promise in Genesis 22 in Galatians 3:16. In Acts 5 after Ananias brought money and “laid it at the apostles’ feet”, we also notice that, when Peter rebukes him, he uses the same word to bring attention to the sin of his heart, “Why is it that you laid this deed in your heart?”

3. It Preserves Slave Terminology

While the Bible doesn’t endorse race-based chattel slavery as found in America, it does present the historical terms for slavery Scripture records. Rather than softening the Greek word “doulos” to “bond-servant” or “servant”, the LSB consistently leaves it as “slave” when the context requires.

In James 1:1, Romans 1:1–7, Titus 1:1, and Jude 1, each passage uses the same word ‘doulos’ in Greek, which means “slave”, rather than “servant” or “bond-servant”. That preservation allows us to clearly see that the apostles knew they identified as God’s possession, not just a hired hand. Likewise, we see Jesus took the form of a slave, the lowest status on earth, in Philippians 2:5–11.

4. It Conveys Greek Sentence Structure and Length.
It’s impossible to make an English translation exactly like the originals, because the rules of sentence structure in English are different from those of Hebrew and Greek. But some sentences in the Bible extend over many verses. The LSB preserves more of that original sentence structure. For instance, you can see Paul’s big thoughts in Ephesians 1 and Romans 1. These aren’t a number of short thoughts.

In Ephesians 1:3–14, Romans 1:1–7, and 1 Peter 1:3–12, each of these sentences is very long in the Greek, showing the unity of the author’s idea. While all translations break long Greek sentences down to some extent, the LSB preserves the original structure and flow so the reader can see the author’s entire thought as clearly as possible.

5. It Preserves Connectives.

Connectives are words like “and” “but” “or” “therefore” and “now”. Roughly 2/3rds of verses in Mark's gospel begin with the word “and”. Matthew and Luke didn’t do this as often. Now we’ll be able to see that distinction. The LSB preserves these consistently to give you a more accurate picture of the meaning and sentence structure.

6. It Preserves Ancient Idioms.

The original Hebrew speaks that people “cutting” covenants (Genesis 15:18; 1 Samuel 18:3), referring to the sacrifices used to ratify a covenant. It pictures stubbornness as “hardening” or “stiffening” the neck (Exodus 32:9; Nehemiah 9:16-17). It characterizes either as “sleeping with his fathers” and being “gathered to his people” (Numbers 20:24; 1 Kings 2:10). The LSB has preserved these and many other idioms so readers can have as close an encounter with the original style and content of the Bible as possible.

7. It Shows Suggested Words.

All English translations insert words occasionally to make the sentence work according to the rules of English. When the LSB does this, like its predecessor the NASB, it uses italics for these suggested words, enabling readers to look behind the translation a little more than the CSB, which doesn’t.

8. It Shows Debated Verses in the Text.

When there is a verse that’s not found in the earliest manuscripts, the LSB will put it in the main text with brackets, letting the reader see that there is a decision to make, rather than putting it in the footnotes. If you look at your CSB, you’ll notice Matthew 17:21 and Acts 8:37 just aren’t there. This lets the reader deal with the passages in the text more directly.

To see this, compare how these verses appear in the LSB vs. CSB: Acts 8:36–38 (especially v. 37); Matthew 17:19–21 (especially v. 21); Mark 16:9–20. Each of these are included in the text with brackets, rather than removed or placed in the footnotes.

As I reflect on all these distinctive features, I am grateful for faithful translators who labor to bring us close to God through His word. My hope and prayer is that we are able to make the best use of the LSB in the life of our church and experience the sanctification that comes through His word (John 17:3).

Pastor David

7/30/2026 – The Aftermath of Babylon's Collapse - Isaiah 21

7/23/2026 – God's Prophecy for Egypt and Cush - Isaiah 20

7/16/2026 – Yahweh Destroys and Redeems Egypt, Part 2 (Isaiah 19)

7/9/2026 – Yahweh Destroys and Redeems Egypt, Part 1 (Isaiah 19)

7/2/2026 – God's Prophecy for Cush (Isaiah 18)

6/25/2026 – God's Destruction of Damascus (Isaiah 17)

6/11/2026 – God's Wrath and Sorrow for Moab (Isaiah 15-16)

6/04/2026 – Essentials of the Gospel – Bryan

5/28/2026 – Babylon, Assyria, and Philistia (Isaiah 14) – David

5/21/2026 – Christian Living – Bryan

5/14/2026 – The Destruction of Babylon (Isaiah 13) – David