The LLTSE brings the rhythm and rhetoric of Scripture back into view by aligning literal translation with literary structure—so modern readers can hear what the original audiences heard in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
I created the Literal–Literary Translation Structure Edition (LLTSE) because paragraph Bibles often muffle what Scripture is trying to make you hear. Hebrew breathes in parallel lines and mirrored thought; Greek picks up that rhythm in creeds, triads, and nested clauses. When those patterns are pressed into uniform paragraphs with bold headings and devotional sub‑titles, much of the logic and cadence disappears. I wanted a page where the structure teaches before any commentary does.
So this edition keeps translation literal where possible and literary where necessary, then lets the layout carry meaning: indentation for subordination, stacked lines for lists and triads, spacing for chiasm and inclusio. It removes overlays (titles, sub‑titles, intrusive verse numbers) from the reading flow and brings forward what the original audiences would have recognized immediately—audible balance and rhetorical design.
Project Context exists to help readers inhabit the world of the text with clarity. LLTSE is one of the site's core tools for that: a way to display Hebrew and Greek thought—faithfully rendered in English—so the argument and the music of the Scriptures are visible at a glance.
Revealing how Hebrew thought flows through Aramaic and Greek expression into English—LLTSE makes the structure visible so form carries meaning.
Translation Chain: Hebrew → Aramaic → Greek → English
Goal: Preserve thought-rhythm and literary structure across languages
"Thought-rhythm"
Concrete imagery, parallelism, chiastic structures. The foundation of biblical rhetoric where meaning flows through balanced lines and mirrored thoughts.
"Common dialect"
Lingua franca of the ancient Near East. Bridge language carrying Hebrew patterns into wider cultural context with everyday idioms.
"Analytical rhetoric"
Precise philosophical language that absorbs Hebrew thought-forms. Triadic patterns, creedal formulations, and nested subordination express revelation across cultures.
"Modern rendering"
Contemporary target language. LLTSE preserves source structure through indentation, lineation, and spacing—making ancient rhetoric visible to modern readers.
Thought‑rhyme between clauses (synonymous, antithetic, synthetic) anchors Hebrew discourse and informs Greek rhetoric. The basic building block of biblical poetry.
Mirror structures (A–B–C–B′–A′) highlight pivots and emphasis. LLTSE reveals them via indentation and stacking, making the center point unmistakable.
Three‑part groupings common in creeds and moral exhortations (e.g., 1 Tim 3:16). Gain clarity when lineated vertically rather than compressed in paragraphs.
Frame markers (beginning/ending echoes) make sections cohere. Visible when headings and verse breaks don't interfere with the textual boundaries.
In Scripture, language evolution is itself a theology of communication. Hebrew writers conveyed ideas through rhythm and repetition; Greek writers inherited those forms to express revelation across cultures. The LLTSE shows this continuity: how Hebrew poetry shaped Greek argumentation, and how both converge in English through structural translation.
English:
"Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
for God made man in his own image."
Notice how the words "blood" (dam) and "man" (adam) create a chiastic mirror, with the theological rationale ("image of God") as the foundation.
English:
"Great indeed is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory."
Six passive verbs in parallel structure form an early Christian hymn/creed. The vertical stacking makes the rhythm and pattern immediately visible.
Toggle each example to compare standard paragraph formatting with LLTSE lineation. Watch how structure reveals meaning.
Modern biblical scholarship has long recognized that Hebrew poetry works through parallelism and Greek rhetoric through careful clause arrangement. LLTSE simply makes this visible on the page, following the practice of scholars like Robert Alter, Adele Berlin, and F.W. Dobbs-Allsopp who lineate biblical texts in their academic translations.
LLTSE builds on centuries of scholarly observation about biblical structure. The foundations were laid in the 18th century and continue to develop today:
LLTSE navigates the tension between formal equivalence (word-for-word) and dynamic equivalence (thought-for-thought). We preserve source structure and syntax where English allows, but prioritize clarity and natural expression where literal rendering would obscure meaning. The goal: let English readers see what Hebrew and Greek readers saw in the original literary architecture.
Across transmission history, formatting choices have progressively flattened the audible structure of Scripture. LLTSE reverses that trend by restoring the visible logic that ancient audiences heard.
Wording remains anchored to source languages. Layout reveals structure without rewording sense units. We don't simplify or expand—we clarify through formatting.
This is idiomatic English aligned to source syntax and discourse, not word-for-word glossing. Readable as literature, not a parsing exercise.
Headings, sub‑titles, and notes are kept out of the reading flow. The layout itself does the first level of teaching—commentary comes later, not during reading.
We don't claim biblical Hebrew has meter like Greek poetry. Following Dobbs-Allsopp and Berlin, we treat biblical poetry as free verse—line breaks follow semantic units and natural pauses, not syllable counts or stress patterns.
LLTSE is a reading edition and teaching tool, not a replacement for BHS, NA28, or critical commentaries. It's a companion that makes structure visible for interpretation and teaching.
Key works informing the LLTSE methodology. Sources are listed here rather than embedded as inline notes to maintain reading flow.
Methodology Note: LLTSE synthesizes insights from literary criticism, linguistics, and translation theory. We stand on the shoulders of scholars who've demonstrated that biblical structure is neither arbitrary nor accidental—it's integral to meaning.
Citation Format: Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition
Hebrew parallelism, poetry, prophecy, and narrative rhythm in the structured editions of the Hebrew Bible.
Greek triads, chiastic argumentation, and creedal symmetry in the structured editions of the apostolic writings.