What if the original words never left?

Some words are simply larger than English can hold

Translation does its best — and the translations we have are faithful and valuable. But at times, no single English word can fully hold what the original author placed on the page.

The Greek word pistis became "faith" — but pistis carried loyalty, allegiance, and covenant commitment that "faith" in modern English does not fully convey. The Hebrew word hesed became "lovingkindness" — but hesed is covenantal loyalty, love bound by promise rather than feeling, love with backbone. The Greek word ekklesia became "church" — but ekklesia meant a called-out assembly of citizens with a purpose and mission, not a building or a religious service.

Generation after generation has read these words and built their entire understanding of God on them — never knowing the original carried something more. Not because the translators failed. Because English simply does not have a word large enough.

We don't need to learn every word. Just the ones that matter most.

Nobody is expected to learn Greek and Hebrew fluently. But what if we identified the words where translation loses the most — and simply restored them? Not by replacing Scripture. Not by creating something new. But by bringing the original word back into the text so the reader can encounter its full meaning directly.

Not in a footnote. Not in a separate reference book. Directly in the sentence, exactly where the original author placed it, in bold so the reader knows to pause.

The reader studies a short glossary before they begin. Then they carry those definitions into the text. After a few chapters the words become familiar. After a few books they become natural. Eventually they become part of how a believer thinks and speaks about God — which was always the goal.

The reader who knows charis does not slide past it thinking of a vague feeling of divine kindness. They feel the weight of an unearned gift that creates relationship — God's initiating movement toward them. The reader who knows pistis does not slide past it thinking of intellectual agreement. They feel the weight of loyalty, allegiance, and covenant commitment.

That is a different reading experience. And it produces a different kind of faith.

A handful of words that change everything

The Word Restored works with 27 theologically load-bearing words — Greek from the New Testament and Hebrew from the Old. Each one is a place where the English translation, through no fault of its own, could not hold everything the original contained.

Every restored word comes with a full definition in the glossary at the beginning of each book. Hover or tap any restored word while reading and the definition appears instantly.

Scripture should be freely available to everyone

The translations we use here were a deliberate choice — not just practical, but principled.

Many of the most widely read modern Bible translations — the NIV, ESV, and NKJV among them — are under copyright, owned by publishing corporations. We believe Scripture should be freely accessible to anyone, without restriction, without licensing, without a corporation controlling how it can be shared or built upon.

Both translations are available for every book on this site. Choose the one that feels most natural to you. The restored words are identical in both.

This started with one question

That question kept coming up. Reading a familiar passage and sensing that the English word sitting there — faith, grace, church, peace — was not quite holding everything the author intended. Wanting to go deeper but not having years to spend learning ancient languages.

Most people feel this. Most people never find a solution that fits into ordinary life.

This is an attempt to bridge that gap. Not to replace the translations that have served the church faithfully for centuries. Not to create a new doctrine or a new denomination. Simply to restore a handful of words so that ordinary believers can feel what the original audience felt when they first heard these letters read aloud.

The long term vision is simple. That one day a pastor stands up and says pistis and every person in the room feels the full weight of loyalty, allegiance, and covenant commitment — not just belief. That a parent tells their child to show hesed to their sibling and the child grows up understanding covenantal love before they ever study theology.

Words shape how we think about God. These words deserve to be restored.

Start reading today

The Word Restored is currently available for the following books in both the World English Bible and King James Version.

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