Word-for-Word vs. Meaning-for-Meaning Bibles - What it means & how Theology is injected in the text

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Bible publishing is big business. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on marketing both in advertising and promotion and giving away free copies every year. One way to build confidence in a Bible version is to say that it is the most word-for-word version and by implication the most reliable version. This is contrasted with meaning-for-meaning. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) and its predecessors is routinely described as the most word-for-word. As a version that most strictly applies word equivalents to Hebrew and Greek, this is mostly true. But is it really more accurate? Does the reader gain a better understanding of the text? In this informative episode, I argue that word-for-word versions often inject more theological bias than illumination. I highlight a contentious verse, Romans 3:25, as an example. I also touch on two other verses where the NASB is less word-for-word than the far more scholarly based NRSVue Bible. The best version is the one that clearly transmits the intent of the author as much as we can discern. 

CSB
God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.

CEB
Through his faithfulness, God displayed Jesus as the place of sacrifice where mercy is found by means of his blood. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness in passing over sins that happened before,

LSB/NASB
whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

NRSVUE
whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;


Beverly Gaventa, along with many scholars, interprets hilasterion in Romans 3:25 primarily as a reference to the mercy seat (kapporet) of the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant, rather than just "propitiation" or "expiation." In this view, Christ is the "place" where atonement is made, bringing together divine justice and mercy. 
Key aspects of this interpretation include:
• The "Place" of Atonement: Rather than a mere action, hilasterion functions as a location where God’s glory dwells, and through Christ’s blood, this becomes accessible to all believers.
• Replacement of the Temple: This imagery signifies that the cross replaces the Temple as the functional place of atonement, setting it in public view rather than in the hidden Holy of Holies.
• Atonement Context: It ties Christ’s sacrifice to the Day of Atonement rituals, focusing on the purification and reconciliation of sinners and the overcoming of sin's power.

Leviticus 19:16 CSB
Do not go about spreading slander among your people; do not jeopardize your neighbor’s life; I am the Lord.

CEB
Do not go around slandering your people. Do not stand by while your neighbor’s blood is shed; I am the Lord.

NRSVUE
You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand idly by when the blood of your neighbor is at stake: I am the Lord.

Romans 16:7 
CSB
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews and fellow prisoners. They are noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles, and they were also in Christ before me.

LSB
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding to the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

NASB
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsfolk and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding in the view of the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

NRSVUE
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Israelites who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

MSG
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