Before addressing these particular flaws (that are not unique to the LSB), I want to stress that the Legacy Standard Bible is an excellent translation of the Bible and I highly recommend it for reading and studying. With that said, however, it still retains several flaws that modern translations have yet to address and correct.
"PASTORS":
For all the consistency efforts in translation that the translators undertook with other words in order to clarify and connect things, I am utterly astounded that the LSB retains the error of mistranslating the word 'poimen' in Ephesians 4:11.
"And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,"
Every single occurrence of the word poimen in the New Testament is translated as "shepherd" except here in this verse. Why? There is no reason for this alternate rendering. This leads to misconceptions and assumptions. The 1380 Wycliffe New Testament, the 1526 Tyndale New Testament, and the 1537 Matthew's Bible all translate the word correctly as "shepherds." Unfortunately, the poor rendering of "pastors" first occurred in the 1557 Geneva New Testament, and has been retained in every translation since (at least the ones that I am familiar with). "Shepherds and pastors" is introduced in the Greek with a single article. Teachers are shepherds. This is a single gift/function; not two separate ones.
"MESSENGER":
Again, for all the consistency efforts in translation that the translators did with other words in order to clarify and connect things, I am utterly astounded that the LSB retains the error of mistranslating the word 'apostolos' in Philippians 2:25.
"But I regarded it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need;"
Every single occurrence of the word apostolos in the New Testament is translated as "apostle" except in this verse. Why? Again, there is no reason for this alternate rendering. What is an apostle? The word means "a delegate, an ambassador, a messenger, one sent." Jesus first sent out the 12, then He sent out the 70. Anyone who is sent to preach the Gospel and plant a congregation is technically called an apostle. Therefore, technically, apostles still exist today (although we tend to call them "missionaries"). If you pay attention to Scripture, how many apostles were there?
List of Apostles
- Jesus — Hebrews 3:1
- Simon Peter — Matthew 10:2
- Andrew — Matthew 10:2
- James the son of Zebedee — Matthew 10:2
- John — Matthew 10:2
- Philip — Matthew 10:3
- Bartholomew — Matthew 10:3
- Thomas — Matthew 10:3
- Matthew — Matthew 10:3
- James the son of Alphaeus — Matthew 10:3
- Thaddaeus, or Judas the son of James — Matthew 10:3; Luke 6:16
- Simon the Zealot — Matthew 10:4
- Judas Iscariot — Matthew 10:4
- Matthias, the replacement for Judas — Acts 1:26
- Paul — Galatians 1:1
- Barnabas — 1 Cor. 9:5-6; Acts 14:4, 14
- James, the Lord's Brother — Galatians 1:19
- Silas (Silvanus) — 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6
- Timothy — 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6
- Epaphroditus — Philippians 2:25 [the Greek uses the word apostolos, but most English translations translate it as something other than apostle]
- Apollos — 1 Corinthians 4:6-9; 3:22
- Two unnamed apostles — 2 Corinthians 8:23
That is 23 apostles right there. There were clearly more than this because "[Jesus] Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as [shepherds] and teachers," How can this be if there were only the twelve plus Paul? It is because we have a wrong understanding of what an apostle is and was. Titus was most likely an apostle, too (though Scripture never addresses him as such), because he had the same function as Timothy. Neither Timothy nor Titus were "pastors"; they were apostolic workers. Likewise, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are not "pastoral letters"; they are apostolic letters. Do not forget that Jesus was the Apostle (Heb. 3:1), sent from God.