NASB Bible Translation - Simply Accurate and Readable

The NASB Bible translation is a word-for-word, literal translation of the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek text of the Bible. It is widely accepted and known as one of the most accurate English translations currently available. It is highly recommended and endorsed by Bible scholars, pastors and teachers for it's authenticity and accuracy.

This version was a newer version of the then widely used modern English version the ASV, the American Standard Version which was published in 1901. The ASV the American version which was virtually the same as the English Revised Version which the British published in 1885 to update from the 1611 King James Version Bible.

The Lockman Foundation commissioned the work on the NASB to have a conservative and evangelical alternative to the Revised Standard Version, also a revision of the ASV, which was thought by many evangelicals to have a liberal theological slant.

The Lockman Foundation started the work having established the 'Fourfold Aim' that this version would be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts, grammatically correct, understandable, and finally "shall give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him; therefore, no work will ever be personalized."

They greatest benefit to this version is that it is a word-for-word translation. That means that the translators have translated directly from the original languages literally as much as possible. That means you can look up a word that you want to study further in the NASB and look it up in the original Greek text.

This also means that the translators have not functioned as those interpreting the text like many of the other versions have. There is of course some interpretation involved at times, but the translators have tried their best not to.

Alternatively to the word-for-word translation is the thought-for-thought translation like the NIV Bible translation.  Although the NIV version is easier to understand, there can be some pertinent information lost.

Disadvantages

Some of the disadvantage to the NASB Bible translation comes from the other side of the word-for-word translation token. Because it is a literal translation and the translators have tried to stay out of the business of interpretation, there are times that it is difficult to understand certain passages of scripture. Sometimes words with great implications have remained ambiguous and left up to interpretation.

Also, because the Bible wasn't originally written in English, some of the flow of language and even poetic artistry gets lost in the translation. Although the alternative is for a scholar to interpret and create that flow themselves, which may not always be a true interpretation either. Even with all of the disadvantages to this version, many scholars maintain that it is the best Bible version out there because of it's accuracy compared to other versions like the NIV Bible translation or the NKJV Bible translation.

Most recently, a new version called the ESV Bible translation has gained the popularity of scholars and Christian leaders that the NASB Bible translation has enjoyed over the years as the best Bible version.

1995 Revision

There was a revision done of the NASB in 1995 that incorporated the latest in research of ancient texts and languages as well as updates in use of English grammar. It also replaced old English words like 'thou' and 'thee' to modern English equivalents. Some still like the thou's and thee's especially in the Psalms for it's poetic nature.