Why Yahweh Is Used in Our WEB Translation
If you use GuideLayer, you'll notice something different right away: where most Bibles say "LORD," you'll see "Yahweh."
This isn't a theological statement. It's not a preference. It's the result of a licensing decision we were forced to make when building GuideLayer—and I want to be transparent about why.
The Licensing Problem We Faced
When we were building GuideLayer, the ideal scenario was simple: use a familiar, readable Bible translation like the NIV, NLT, or ESV. These are the translations most people recognize and find easy to understand.
But here's the problem: these modern translations are copyrighted and tightly controlled by their publishers. To use them commercially—even in a tool designed to help people explore Scripture—requires navigating complex licensing agreements.
The timeline for licensing negotiations? Months, potentially years. The cost? Not just financial, but legal complexity that could tie up our progress. And there's no guarantee of approval at the end of it.
So we had to make a choice.
Our Options
We had three realistic paths forward:
Option 1: King James Version (KJV)
The KJV is public domain, meaning no licensing required. But it was published in 1611. The language—"thee," "thou," "hast," "thine"—creates a significant barrier for modern readers trying to understand what they're reading. If the goal is clarity and accessibility, the KJV doesn't serve that well.
Option 2: World English Bible (WEB)
The WEB is also public domain and uses modern, readable English. It's clear and accessible. There's just one major difference from most popular translations: the WEB uses "Yahweh" instead of "LORD" when referring to God's personal name in the Hebrew text.
Option 3: Wait for Licensing
We could have delayed the launch indefinitely while pursuing commercial licenses for familiar translations. This would mean waiting months or years with no guarantee of success, tying the entire product launch to an external approval process we couldn't control.
The Decision: Launch vs. Wait
We chose the World English Bible.
Why? Because we prioritized getting a usable tool into people's hands over waiting for the "perfect" translation option.
The trade-off was accepting "Yahweh" instead of the more familiar "Lord." But the alternative—waiting indefinitely while people who wanted to explore Scripture had to go without the tool—felt like the wrong choice.
Better to launch with a limitation and improve over time than to wait for perfection that might never come.
Why We Didn't Edit the Translation
Here's something we considered: we could have just done a find-and-replace to change every instance of "Yahweh" to "Lord." Problem solved, right?
We didn't do it.
If we're going to use the World English Bible, we wanted to use it as it was intended—not modify it to make it more familiar. There's an integrity issue there. If we're going to present Scripture, we should present it honestly and not alter it for convenience.
The better path, we decided, was to pursue proper licensing for other translations and add them as options later, rather than edit what we had.
What "Yahweh" Actually Means
If you're not familiar with why "Yahweh" appears in the WEB, here's the short explanation:
"Yahweh" is God's personal name in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the original Hebrew text, it's written as YHWH (the tetragrammaton). Most English Bible translations render this as "LORD" in all capital letters to distinguish it from "Lord" (referring to a master or ruler).
The World English Bible chose to use the actual name "Yahweh" instead of the traditional "LORD."
Is this wrong? No. It's actually more literal to the original Hebrew. It's just different from what most English readers are used to. The unfamiliarity doesn't mean it's inaccurate—it's just not the convention most modern translations follow.
What's Next: Working Toward More Options
We're not settling.
We're actively working to secure commercial licenses for more familiar translations like the NIV, NLT, and ESV. The goal is to offer multiple translation options so you can choose what works best for you.
The timeline? As soon as we can navigate the licensing process successfully. We're prioritizing this because we know the experience will be better when people can use the translation they're most comfortable with.
When we add these options, we'll keep the WEB available too—not replace it. More options, not fewer.
Transparency Over Perfection
Here's the takeaway: we chose to launch GuideLayer with limitations rather than wait indefinitely for everything to be perfect.
We value honoring copyright. We value transparency about what translation you're reading. And we value serving people now rather than someday.
If you try GuideLayer and the "Yahweh" translation feels unfamiliar, I get it. It's not what most people are used to. But the tool itself—the way it helps you explore, understand, and apply Scripture—still works.
We're committed to making it better. We're working on adding more translation options. But in the meantime, we'd rather be honest about the constraints we're working within than wait in silence until everything is perfect.
Check out GuideLayer and see for yourself.