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One of the newest major Bible translations on the market may be securing its place among the most popular.<\/p>\n
The Christian Standard Bible (CSB) was the second most-sold Bible translation for three out of the past four months, according to data compiled by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA), coming in behind the New International Version (NIV) and ahead of the English Standard Version (ESV).<\/p>\n
The CSB came out in 2017, published by Lifeway\u2019s B&H Publishing Group as a revision of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). It was designed to offer a happy medium between readability and biblical accuracy, a translation philosophy referred to as \u201coptimal equivalence<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe CSB has that undefinable sense of buzz,\u201d said Mark Ward<\/a>, editor of Bible Study Magazine <\/em>and a popular Bible YouTuber<\/a>. \u201cThe consensus seems to be that it managed to nail the balance of English readability and word-for-word accuracy that American Christians are looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n With more churches switching to the CSB\u2014in some cases, buying Bibles in bulk for their pews\u2014and the release of popular editions such as a Tony Evans Study Bible<\/a> and an award-winning kids Bible<\/a>, it\u2019s among the fastest-growing translations, climbing from fifth or sixth place on the monthly bestseller lists in prior years to second in May, June, and August of 2023.<\/p>\n It reached 10 percent of the market share within the first five years, and now has reached around 13 percent, said Andy McLean, publisher for Bibles and reference at B&H, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing more churches adopt it, more individuals use it for personal Bible study,\u201d said McLean. \u201cThey might come through the door because they\u2019re a big fan of Tony Evans \u2026 and they see a Tony Evans Bible study Bible in CSB. That\u2019s their introduction and, lo and behold, they come to enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n While the ESV remains closely associated with the Reformed movement, the CSB is often perceived as more broadly evangelical and has extended beyond Southern Baptist circles. On a Facebook fan page where CSB enthusiasts share pictures and reviews of their favorite editions, an informal poll last month found that 70 percent belonged to other denominations, including Anglican, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, and Foursquare.<\/p>\n The climb in sales for the CSB is \u201can interesting and even surprising development especially because it shows that new translations can still break into a very crowded market,\u201d said Peter Gurry, director of the Text & Canon Institute at Phoenix Seminary.<\/p>\n He said among scholars, the CSB has been most popular among Southern Baptists and some Presbyterians, and that it\u2019s often ESV readers he sees making the switch<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is slightly more gender inclusive<\/a> than translations like the ESV and NASB without being perceived as too far in that direction like NIV or CEB sometimes are,\u201d he said, referencing the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and Common English Bible (CEB). \u201cIt\u2019s marked as hitting the sweet spot between word-for-word and thought-for-thought.\u201d<\/p>\n Critics of the ESV cite inconsistencies in gendered language, where male terms are used in many places to refer to generic people or mixed groups. The CSB regularly broadens<\/a> masculine language to \u201cgender-accurate<\/a>\u201d terms when the original context did not exclude females, such as in letters from Paul that would have been read to the whole congregation (\u201cbrothers and sisters\u201d).<\/p>\n The ESV made its final updates in 2016<\/a> and will not undergo further revisions. The CSB was last updated in 2020<\/a> and maintains a committee<\/a> of ten Bible scholars to oversee needed changes.<\/p>\n Last week, Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) professor Benjamin Gladd posted<\/a> a screenshot on X (formerly Twitter) showing the CSB\u2019s No. 2 ranking on August\u2019s ECPA bestseller list. He included a mind-blown emoji.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first came to RTS Jackson, everyone read from the ESV. Now, though, it\u2019s common for a handful of my students to read from the CSB,\u201d said Gladd, who teaches New Testament and typically uses NIV or CSB translations.<\/p>\n \u201cI moved away from using the NASB in my lectures on account of its stilted prose,\u201d he said. \u201cI needed a translation that was more fluid when read aloud.\u201d<\/p>\n Within the past year, City Church in the Cleveland area decided to switch from the ESV to a more accessible translation. Church leaders weighed either the CSB or NIV as options, both considered to be at an easier reading level<\/a> than the ESV. They ultimately chose the NIV in part because it is so common.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the classroom and in church, I\u2019m often asked what is the best translation, and I\u2019m thoroughly convicted that the best translation is the one you read,\u201d said Paul Morrison, the church\u2019s theologian in residence and a professor at Emmaus Theological Seminary. \u201cOne of the reasons we settled on the NIV over the CSB was actually its prevalence. You can find it not just at any Bible store or bookstore, but also any big-box store\u2014Target, Walmart\u2014so it\u2019s fascinating to see the CSB [also] jump in those ways.\u201d<\/p>\n Multiple churches that have adopted the CSB as their preferred translation expressed<\/a> wanting to have a more readable version for younger Christians<\/a>. The ESV prioritizes a commitment to word-for-word translation (\u201cformal equivalence\u201d), and the CSB balances that a bit more with familiar wording and flow for contemporary readers. To compare, James 1:2 in each translation reads:<\/p>\n
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\n<\/ul>\n \u201cEven with the give and take that you have between these wooden word-for-word translations\u2014closer to the NASB\u2014versus those that are moving phrase for phrase or idea for idea\u2014NLT or The Message and some of these more common ones\u2014they\u2019re each achieving a very distinct purpose,\u201d Morrison said, referencing the New Living Translation (NLT).<\/p>\n Surveys have shown that the King James Version is still Americans\u2019 go-to Bible<\/a>, and sales rankings, based on reports from retailers<\/a>, don\u2019t necessarily reflect what translations remain the most-read. But they can indicate where evangelicals are going when they need a new Bible for themselves or their churches.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m grateful to observe that Bible-reading Christians really do just want to understand God\u2019s word, that they retain some basic faith in evangelical institutions, and that they are gravitating toward the best work our evangelical scholars and our evangelical publishers can produce,\u201d said Ward, about the current ECPA rankings.<\/p>\n The Bible blogger and vlogger also believes that a current \u201cBible design renaissance\u201d is prompting more Bible sales.<\/p>\n As a newer translation, CSB Bibles tend to match the aesthetic preferences and styles of contemporary readers\u2014such as colorful illustrations in the She Reads Truth Bible<\/a> and dozens of options with verse-by-verse or single-column layouts. Last year, a CSB note-taking Bible won a cover design award<\/a> for the stained glass illustrations on its cover.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really do believe we have a beautiful message in the gospel and we need to create beautiful mediums to house that message,\u201d said McLean. \u201cWe do think very strategically about not just the cover, but the interior typeface, margin space for notetaking, the way the layout is designed. Every little detail has to go through this scrutiny.<\/p>\n
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