Review
Title: Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible
Editor: Kent P. Jackson
Publisher: BYU Press and Deseret Book Co.
Genre: Scripture
Year Published: 2021
Pages: 666
ISBN-10: 1950304213
ISBN-13: 978-1-9503-0421-9
Price: $36.99
Reviewed by Mark Tensmeyer for the Association for Mormon Letters
Latter-day Saints love and value the Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible, or, as it is often called, the JST. Many see it as the restoration of the “plain and precious truths” taken from the Bible. Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible, edited by Kent P. Jackson, consists of dual-column comparisons between the passages of the Joseph Smith Translation or JST and the corresponding passage in the King James Bible.
The text of the JST is certainly not new and it is accessible through the footnotes and appendix of the Church’s edition of the Holy Bible. It has been my experience that Church members, while appreciative, find this method awkward and easy to overlook. This volume is one of several produced over the years by various parties to make reading and studying the JST more convenient. It only contains the portions of the Bible attached to text translated by Joseph Smith. It is not a “corrected” Bible that one might use for regular Bible study. Those so inclined might find what they are looking for with a volume titled Holy Scriptures printed by Herald House, the publication arm of the Community of Christ.
Printing side-by-side passages from the KJV and JST as this volume provides an easy way to see just what changes Joseph Smith made and to judge the significance of those changes. I have read and referenced the JST my entire life and this book gave me a new appreciation for it.
Many of the edits are minor grammatical changes such as Jeremiah 37:16 that changes from the KJV’s “When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;” to the much more straightforward JST’s “And Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon and into the cabins, and he remained there many days.”
The appendix of the Church’s edition of the Bible directs the reader to notice the changing of the verse in Revelation 12. I tried once to make this comparison but quickly grew tired of flipping back and forth from the main text to the appendix. With the side-by-side comparison, I was able to see how JST rearranged the verses and was able to follow Joseph Smith’s interpretation of this symbolic passage as an allegory on the Church and the Savior in the Last Days.
I must admit that I first questioned the justification of this book’s existence, given that the JST is widely available. Reading it convinced me that it was a helpful tool in understanding both the Bible according to Latter-day Saint theology and studying the significance of the JST itself. I will be using it this upcoming year in the New Testament Come Follow Me lessons.