Christian Standard Bible
Why we made the switch to the CSB
We updated our standard Bible to the Christian Standard Bible for sermons, printed materials, and on our website and social media platforms. The CSB is a solid translation that is easy to read and understand.
Any translation you read regularly is a good translation. If you like to have the same translation in your hand that the pastor is preaching from, there are links below. CSB offers their study Bible app for free if you want to experience it for yourself.
Want to try it out?
CSB Study App
Download the CSB Study Bible app. It’s free!
And absolutely packed with study goodies!
Find it on Google Play or Apple App Store
CSBible.com
Learn more the translation process
and read from the CSB at Lifeway’s CSBible site
Child & Student Editions
Lifeway, the CSB publisher, is committed to getting
the Bible into as many hands as possible.
They offer study Bibles for teens and upper elementary kids,
Bibles with tools for younger kids, and even a version that aligns with
the Gospel Project, the curriculum we use in Calvary Kids!
Why the switch?
This is the big question and the answer is actually pretty simple: the CSB is accurately translated and easy to read.
Okay, okay, that’s probably not enough to really answer. So here’s a bit more. We love word-for-word translations of the Bible for their accuracy and faithfulness to God’s Word (e.g. English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible). But this kind of literal translation, called formal equivalence, can make for stiff sentences that are hard to read. Sometimes the nearest literal translation is an English word that has fallen out regular use.
Language is dynamic and constantly changing in incremental ways, which is one of the reasons we also love so-called thought-for-thought translations of the Bible. Translators get a sense of a Bible writer’s meaning in a particular passage and then translate that into familiar words (e.g. New Living Translation, The Message). It’s called functional equivalence, and it results in translations that are valued for their readability and use of familiar language.
The CSB falls into a category between these two. It’s an optimal equivalence translation that, according to its translators, “pursues both linguistic precision to the original languages and readability in contemporary English.” We agree with the translators. The CSB is an accurate, easy to read Bible that brings the timeless message of the gospel into today’s language.
