Berean Standard Bible (BSB)
A modern translation released under an unusually open license, which is why it appears in so many study tools and Bible apps.
The Berean Standard Bible was produced alongside the interlinear and study tools at Bible Hub, and it was built to be given away: the text is freely licensed, so anyone can quote it, print it or build on it without asking permission. Almost every other modern translation is tightly licensed, and that one difference explains how fast the BSB spread.
The translation aims for a middle path. It stays close enough to the original wording for study and remains smooth enough for extended reading.
- How it translates
- Balanced — readable English, kept close to the wording underneath it.
- Reading level
- Around an eighth-grade reading level.
- Best for
- Comparing wording, quoting freely, and using study tools that need a modern text with an open license.
Worth knowing: It is new, and very few churches read from it. Nothing is wrong with the translation, but you will rarely be following along in it on a Sunday, and far less has been written about it than about older versions.
Compare similar translations
- NIV
- A similar approach with far more history behind it and far tighter licensing.