The JST Bible translation is Joseph Smith’s revision of the King James Bible, produced between 1830 and 1833 and published by the Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Joseph Smith Translation. It is not a fresh translation from the original languages. It is a set of changes, additions and clarifications made to an existing English text, and most of the changes concern the meaning of passages rather than their wording. Readers who want a Bible for close study of the King James text with an added commentary-like layer will find it useful, while readers looking for a new word-by-word rendering from Hebrew and Greek will need a different tool.
Background
Joseph Smith began working through the Bible in June 1830, shortly after the Church was organized, and continued the project until his death in 1844. He worked from the King James Version, which was the standard English Bible of his time, and he marked his changes in the margins and on separate pages. Several of his scribes, including Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery, assisted in copying the text. He did not finish every book, and the work was never published as a complete Bible during his lifetime.
After Smith’s death, the manuscripts passed to his widow, Emma Smith, and later to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now Community of Christ. That body published the text in 1867 under the name Inspired Version. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses a selection of the changes in its footnotes and appendix, and its edition is titled the Joseph Smith Translation. The two traditions therefore hold related but distinct editions of the same manuscript work.
Translation Method
The JST is best understood as an interpretive revision rather than a translation in the modern sense. Smith often added sentences, expanded a single verse into a longer passage, or rewrote a verse to clarify what he believed its original author intended. A good example is the Genesis account of creation and the expanded material about Enoch, which appears nowhere in the King James text. Because the work follows the King James wording as its base, readers encounter familiar phrasing alongside material that reads quite differently.
This approach shapes the reading experience in a clear way. The text feels recognizable, with the cadence of the 1611 English still present, but certain passages change meaning or gain new detail. Students who read the JST alongside a standard Bible often notice these differences most in the Gospels and the epistles. Scholars outside the Latter-day Saint and Community of Christ traditions generally treat the JST as a valuable document of nineteenth-century restoration thought rather than as a critical edition of the original Greek or Hebrew.
Reading Level and Style
Because the base text is the King James Version, the JST reads in the formal, rhythmic English of the early seventeenth century. Sentences are often long and built with repeated conjunctions, and vocabulary includes older words such as thee, thou and hath. Smith’s own additions tend to follow the same style, so the voice stays consistent across the whole text, although a few inserted passages carry more explanatory phrasing.
For a modern reader, the older English can slow reading, especially for those new to the Bible. Many people who use the JST pair it with a contemporary translation or a study guide to keep the sense clear. The changes also invite careful attention, because you must compare a marked passage with the familiar wording to see what has been altered.
A Verse to Compare
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
(WEB)
The King James base text opens the Bible with a plain statement about God creating the heavens and the earth. The JST keeps this opening sentence close to its familiar form, which makes it a useful verse for seeing how the revision treats material it leaves largely intact. Readers who compare the JST with a modern translation will notice the same core claim, expressed in the older sentence structure and with a different set of footnotes and cross-references in the Latter-day Saint edition.
Who Should Use It
The JST suits readers who already belong to a tradition that uses it and want to study its additions in context. It also suits students of Restoration history and of American religious writing, because it shows how Joseph Smith read scripture. Its strengths are the recognizable King James base and the sheer number of interpretive changes, which give a thoughtful reader much to consider.
Its limits are equally clear. The JST is not a critical translation of the original languages, so it should not be used as a primary source for questions about what the Hebrew or Greek actually says. For that purpose, a modern translation with scholarly notes will serve you better, and the JST can be read alongside it as a document of interpretation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the JST a new translation of the Bible?
No, it is a revision of the King James Version. Joseph Smith made changes, additions and clarifications to the existing English text rather than translating from Hebrew and Greek. Most of his work concerns meaning rather than wording.
Why do Latter-day Saints and Community of Christ members have different editions?
Smith’s manuscripts passed to different groups after his death. The Reorganized Church published the text as the Inspired Version in 1867, while The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes selected changes in its own edition. Both trace back to the same manuscript work.
Can the JST replace a standard Bible for study?
It can supplement a standard Bible but generally should not replace one for questions about the original languages. Many readers use a modern translation with scholarly notes alongside the JST. Reading the two together shows where Smith’s interpretation departs from the older text.
