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Patriarch Outfitters

Scripture on the shirt

The words should stand on their own.

When we put Scripture on a shirt, we want the verse and the reference and nothing else. So we print from the Berean Standard Bible, a modern translation its publishers placed in the public domain.

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Why the BSB

Why this translation.

  • Most modern translations are licensed

    The ESV, the NASB and the LSB are copyrighted, and each publisher sets terms for quoting it. Crossway lets you quote up to 500 ESV verses without written permission, but the work has to carry Crossway's copyright notice, and artwork and gift products such as cards, prints and calendars need written permission. The Lockman Foundation lets you quote up to 1,000 NASB or LSB verses, and on merchandise its full copyright notice has to go with the product, on a tag or the packaging. That is fair. Translation is hard work, and a publisher may set the terms for its own text. It is also a license we would rather not build a shirt line on.

  • The BSB is free for anyone to use

    The Berean Standard Bible was dedicated to the public domain on April 30, 2023. Its terms say: "All uses are freely permitted." Public domain texts "may be freely reproduced, integrated, and adapted for both free and commercial resources." Attribution is "appreciated but not required." A church, a mission, an app, a printer and a store all use the same text on the same terms. We print the verse and the reference, and no notice has to share the shirt with them.

  • It reads like Scripture

    Free is not enough. The words have to be faithful, and they have to be strong. The BSB keeps direct language and capitalizes pronouns that refer to God. Read the verses on our shirts.

On the shirts

Berean Standard Bible

Public domain

Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.

Nehemiah 4:14

Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.

1 Corinthians 16:13

Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.

Ephesians 6:13

We did not write those lines. They are Scripture.

What we still respect

We read and study from the ESV, the NASB and the LSB, and many of our customers do too. This page is not a verdict on any translation. It is a decision about what belongs on a shirt. Where a design is tied to the Reformation we may print from the Geneva Bible or the King James Version instead, since both are also public domain.

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The BSB terms are at berean.bible/terms.htm. Two projects argue that Scripture should be free to share: The Dorean Principle and God's Word Is Not Bound. We do not sign on to every argument they make, but we share the starting point: God's Word was given freely, and a translation that is free to use serves that.