The Brenton Bible is an English translation of the Greek Septuagint, the ancient Greek version of the Old Testament used by many early Christians, and it also includes the books of the Apocrypha. Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton produced it in the nineteenth century, so it reads as an older, formal English text rather than a modern one. It suits readers who want to see how the Greek-speaking church of the first centuries read Israel’s Scriptures, and who don’t mind older vocabulary. It is less suited to readers who want the Hebrew Masoretic text rendered directly or a smooth, contemporary sentence structure.
Background
Brenton was an English clergyman and scholar who published his translation of the Septuagint in 1844. His goal was to give English readers access to the Greek Old Testament that the Eastern Orthodox churches, and the early church fathers, had always treated as authoritative. Because of that tradition, the Brenton text is often used in Orthodox and Anglo-Catholic circles, and its inclusion of the deuterocanonical books reflects that heritage.
The translation has stayed in print largely because it is in the public domain, which has made it freely available online and in inexpensive printed editions. It has seen some revision and reformatting over the years, but it remains recognizably Brenton’s nineteenth-century work. Readers should expect the spelling, punctuation and idiom of that era throughout.
Translation Method
Brenton’s method is closer to word-for-word than most modern English Bibles. He tries to keep the Greek sentence structure and vocabulary visible, so a reader can often trace how a particular Greek term was rendered. This is useful for students comparing the Septuagint with the Hebrew text or with New Testament quotations of the Old Testament, since the wording lines up more closely.
The trade-off is readability. Where Greek idiom differs from English, the result can feel stiff or awkward, and some phrasing is hard to follow on a first reading. Translators who work in a thought-for-thought style would restate the same ideas in more natural English, but in doing so they reduce the direct link to the Greek text that Brenton preserves.
Reading Level and Style
The language of the Brenton Bible is formal and archaic by modern standards. Expect older verb forms, long periodic sentences and vocabulary that has since fallen out of everyday use. Readers who are comfortable with the King James Version will find the general tone familiar, though Brenton’s sentences are often more literal and less rhythmic than the KJV.
For a reader working through the text for devotional purposes, the older style can slow things down in a helpful way, since it forces attention on each phrase. For someone reading casually or for the first time, however, a modern translation or a study companion may be easier to follow, and Brenton is best used alongside another version.
A Verse to Compare
Psalm 23:1
The LORD is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
(WEB)
This short opening line of the psalm shows the general character of Brenton’s approach. The Greek wording is carried over in a recognizable, close way, so the sentence structure follows the Septuagint’s Greek more than a modern English idiom would. Modern translations such as the NLT or the ESV restate the same image of the shepherd and his care in a more fluid English sentence, which reads more smoothly but moves further from the Greek word order.
Who Should Use It
The Brenton Bible is strongest for students of the Septuagint, for readers in Orthodox or Anglo-Catholic traditions who want the Greek Old Testament in English, and for anyone who wants to see the Old Testament as it was read in the early church. Its inclusion of the Apocrypha and its direct link to the Greek make it a useful reference alongside a modern study Bible.
Its limits are the archaic English, the stiffness that comes from close adherence to Greek idiom, and the fact that it reflects a nineteenth-century scholarship that has since been revised by later Septuagint research. For daily reading or a first encounter with Scripture, a modern translation will serve most readers better, with Brenton kept as a companion for comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Brenton Bible the same as the Septuagint?
It is an English translation of the Septuagint, the ancient Greek Old Testament. It is not the Greek text itself, and it reflects Brenton’s own choices in rendering that text into English. Readers who want the original Greek will need a separate edition.
Does the Brenton Bible include the Apocrypha?
Yes, it includes the books that the Septuagint contains beyond the Hebrew canon, which are often called the Apocrypha or deuterocanonical books depending on tradition. This is one of the reasons it is valued in Orthodox and Anglo-Catholic communities.
Is the Brenton Bible easy to read?
It is harder to read than most modern English Bibles because of its nineteenth-century language and its close adherence to Greek sentence structure. Many readers find it rewarding once they are used to the style, but it is often best used as a companion to a more readable translation.
