Here is just one interesting translation choice the translators of the Legacy Standard Bible (L.S.B.) made that I think is an improvement. I have found many so far.
| 1995 New American Standard Bible (N.A.S.B.) | 2020 New American Standard Bible (N.A.S.B.) | English Standard Version (E.S.V.) | Legacy Standard Bible (L.S.B.) | |
| Exodus 4:21 | 21 The LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. | And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. | And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. | And Yahweh said to Moses, “When you go to return to Egypt, see to it that all the miraculous wonders which I have put in your hand, that you do them before Pharaoh; but as for Me, I will harden his heart with strength so that he will not let the people go. |
If you’d like to view the Hebrew text the LSB utilized in part for the translation you can see it here for free.
The italic formatted text in the LSB is used to denote English words that do not appear in the original language texts, but are implied by them.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the LSB uses Yahweh for the tetragrammaton instead of the conventional, “LORD.” This is a more accurate translation. I understand why it wasn’t changed sooner, but I am glad to see that it has finally happened. This was a bold and encouraging move.
The next thing you’ll see is that the other translations read, “…When you go back to Egypt…” The LSB uses, “…When you return to Egypt…” This may seem like a distinction without difference, but I appreciate the effort to be as accurate as possible. I think we would all infer that the implication of, “to go back” is that Moses is going back to Egypt, and that it was there that he had come from. Even so, “return” removes all doubt that this is what was meant.
The hand and a man’s work, or what he is doing, are related in Hebrew. An open hand can even mean power like יָד yâd earlier on in the verse. So seeing the connection here we can understand why the other translations went with, “…put in your power…” Since the LSB uses, “… put in your hand…” we can see the correlation directly from the text without the necessity of getting the concordance, and Hebrew lexicon out. Again, there is nothing wrong with the other translations.
This is the section that really gets me. I am starting to love the LSB. Instead of, “…but I will harden his heart …” The LSB uses, “… but as for Me, I will harden his heart with strength…” I may be wrong. I’m not a Hebrew expert, but from what I can gather there is an implication of strength or fortification in Hebrew word חָזַק ḥâzaq that is lost in the other English translations. The LSB puts that intended meaning back into the text. To back up just a bit, I also like how the first part of the sentenced is phrased as well. In English we always capitalize, “I.” When you capitalize personal pronouns in a translation to denote deity, and the letter, “I” is always capitalized it can perhaps cause a bit of confusion. By phrasing it the way they did, they kept the meaning, and helped the reader understand that it was God doing the hardening.
I am really enjoying this translation, and hope that you will order yourself an LSB. Here is the link to 316publishing.com where you can order one. They are the sole retailer of this translation.
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