Version Information
What is the Evangelical Heritage Version?
Our translation is called Evangelical because its highest goal is to proclaim the good news of the gospel of salvation through faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son. Though there are many topics in the Bible, all of them are there to serve the gospel of Christ. All of our work in producing and distributing this translation is directed to the glory of God and to the eternal salvation of people’s souls.
Our translation is called Heritage because this word heritage looks to the past, the present, and the future.
Heritage expresses our respect for the generations of Christians and for the faithful translators who have passed the Bible down to us. We are aware that we in the present are building on the foundation which they have laid for us. As the old saying goes: We can see so far because we are standing on the shoulders of giants.
The term Heritage also looks to the future. The gospel is a precious inheritance that is to be passed from generation to generation until Christ returns. It is our prayer that this translation will have a part in that great mission which the Lord has left for his church. Our goal and motto is expressed in the hymn verse:
God’s Word is our great heritage
and shall be ours forever.
To spread its light from age to age
shall be our chief endeavor.
Through life it guides our way.
In death it is our stay.
Lord, grant, while worlds endure,
we keep its teaching pure
throughout all generations.
To this end, our goal is to produce a balanced translation, suitable for all-purpose use in the church.
We seek a balance between the old and the new. We debated whether our translation should be called new or revised. Neither term tells the whole story. Our translation can be called revised or traditional insofar as it builds on the tradition of Bible translation that goes back to the King James Version, to Martin Luther, and beyond. It is new in that it is not based on any one template, and it introduces new terms in those places where the traditional terms no longer communicate clearly.
We seek a balance between the poles of so-called literal and dynamic equivalent theories of translation. A translator should not adhere too closely to any one theory of translation because literalistic, word-for-word translations sometimes convey the wrong meaning, or they do not communicate clearly in the receiving language. Overly free translations deprive the reader of some of the expressions, imagery, and style of the original.
We seek a balance between formality and informality. The Bible contains many types of literature and different levels of language, from the very simple to the very difficult. For this reason, the translator should not be too committed to producing one level of language but should try to reproduce the tone or “flavor” of the original.
The Evangelical Heritage Version is designed for learning and teaching. Our translators assume that their readers have the ability and the desire to learn new biblical words and to deepen their understanding of important biblical terms and concepts. Translators should not be condescending or patronizing toward their readers but should be dedicated to helping them grow. The Bible was written for ordinary people, but it is a literary work with many figures of speech and many rare words. The Bible is a book to be read, but it is also a book to be studied. Our footnotes are designed to assist in the process of learning and teaching. Our translation is in that sense a textbook.
The Evangelical Heritage Version is not an interpretative translation. On one level, every act of translation involves interpretation, but when we say that the Evangelical Heritage Version strives to avoid importing interpretation into the translation, we mean that our duty and goal is to understand and to reproduce as closely as possible what the original text says and to say no more and no less than what the text says.
We offer this translation to the church as a balanced translation, suitable for all-purpose use in the church.
- 1 Chronicles 1
- 1 Chronicles 2
- 1 Chronicles 3
- 1 Chronicles 4
- 1 Chronicles 5
- 1 Chronicles 6
- 1 Chronicles 7
- 1 Chronicles 8
- 1 Chronicles 9
- 1 Chronicles 10
- 2 Chronicles 1
- 2 Chronicles 2
- 2 Chronicles 3
- 2 Chronicles 4
- 2 Chronicles 5
- 2 Chronicles 6
- 2 Chronicles 7
- 2 Chronicles 8
- 2 Chronicles 9
- 2 Chronicles 10
- 2 Chronicles 11
- 2 Chronicles 12
- Deuteronomy 1
- Deuteronomy 2
- Deuteronomy 3
- Deuteronomy 4
- Deuteronomy 5
- Deuteronomy 6
- Deuteronomy 7
- Deuteronomy 8
- Deuteronomy 9
- Deuteronomy 10
- Deuteronomy 11
- Deuteronomy 12
- Ezekiel 1
- Ezekiel 2
- Ezekiel 3
- Ezekiel 4
- Ezekiel 5
- Ezekiel 6
- Ezekiel 7
- Ezekiel 8
- Ezekiel 9
- Ezekiel 10
- Ezekiel 11
- Ezekiel 12
- Ezekiel 13
- Ezekiel 14
- Ezekiel 15
- Ezekiel 16
- Genesis 1
- Genesis 2
- Genesis 3
- Genesis 4
- Genesis 5
- Genesis 6
- Genesis 7
- Genesis 8
- Genesis 9
- Genesis 10
- Genesis 11
- Genesis 12
- Genesis 13
- Genesis 14
- Genesis 15
- Genesis 16
- Genesis 17
- Isaiah 1
- Isaiah 2
- Isaiah 3
- Isaiah 4
- Isaiah 5
- Isaiah 6
- Isaiah 7
- Isaiah 8
- Isaiah 9
- Isaiah 10
- Isaiah 11
- Isaiah 12
- Isaiah 13
- Isaiah 14
- Isaiah 15
- Isaiah 16
- Isaiah 17
- Isaiah 18
- Isaiah 19
- Isaiah 20
- Isaiah 21
- Isaiah 22
- Jeremiah 1
- Jeremiah 2
- Jeremiah 3
- Jeremiah 4
- Jeremiah 5
- Jeremiah 6
- Jeremiah 7
- Jeremiah 8
- Jeremiah 9
- Jeremiah 10
- Jeremiah 11
- Jeremiah 12
- Jeremiah 13
- Jeremiah 14
- Jeremiah 15
- Jeremiah 16
- Jeremiah 17
- Jeremiah 18
- Psalm 1
- Psalm 2
- Psalm 3
- Psalm 4
- Psalm 5
- Psalm 6
- Psalm 7
- Psalm 8
- Psalm 9
- Psalm 10
- Psalm 11
- Psalm 12
- Psalm 13
- Psalm 14
- Psalm 15
- Psalm 16
- Psalm 17
- Psalm 18
- Psalm 19
- Psalm 20
- Psalm 21
- Psalm 22
- Psalm 23
- Psalm 24
- Psalm 25
- Psalm 26
- Psalm 27
- Psalm 28
- Psalm 29
- Psalm 30
- Psalm 31
- Psalm 32
- Psalm 33
- Psalm 34
- Psalm 35
- Psalm 36
- Psalm 37
- Psalm 38
- Psalm 39
- Psalm 40
- Psalm 41
- Psalm 42
- Psalm 43
- Psalm 44
- Psalm 45
- Psalm 46
- Psalm 47
- Psalm 48
- Psalm 49
- Psalm 50
- Psalm 51
- Psalm 52
- Psalm 53
- Psalm 54
- Psalm 55
- Psalm 56
- Psalm 57
- Psalm 58
- Psalm 59
- Psalm 60
- Psalm 61
- Psalm 62
- Psalm 63
- Psalm 64
- Psalm 65
- Psalm 66
- Psalm 67
- Psalm 68
- Psalm 69
- Psalm 70
- Psalm 71
- Psalm 72
- Psalm 73
- Psalm 74
- Psalm 75
- Psalm 76
- Psalm 77
- Psalm 78
- Psalm 79
- Psalm 80
- Psalm 81
- Psalm 82
- Psalm 83
- Psalm 84
- Psalm 85
- Psalm 86
- Psalm 87
- Psalm 88
- Psalm 89
- Psalm 90
- Psalm 91
- Psalm 92
- Psalm 93
- Psalm 94
- Psalm 95
- Psalm 96
- Psalm 97
- Psalm 98
- Psalm 99
- Psalm 100
- Psalm 101
- Psalm 102
- Psalm 103
- Psalm 104
- Psalm 105
- Psalm 106
- Psalm 107
- Psalm 108
- Psalm 109
- Psalm 110
- Psalm 111
- Psalm 112
- Psalm 113
- Psalm 114
- Psalm 115
- Psalm 116
- Psalm 117
- Psalm 118
- Psalm 119
- Psalm 120
- Psalm 121
- Psalm 122
- Psalm 123
- Psalm 124
- Psalm 125
- Psalm 126
- Psalm 127
- Psalm 128
- Psalm 129
- Psalm 130
- Psalm 131
- Psalm 132
- Psalm 133
- Psalm 134
- Psalm 135
- Psalm 136
- Psalm 137
- Psalm 138
- Psalm 139
- Psalm 140
- Psalm 141
- Psalm 142
- Psalm 143
- Psalm 144
- Psalm 145
- Psalm 146
- Psalm 147
- Psalm 148
- Psalm 149
- Psalm 150