Revisions

The Lockman Foundation published NASB text, modifications, and revisions in the following order:

  • Gospel of John (1960)
  • The Gospels (1962)
  • New Testament (1963)
  • Psalms (1968)
  • Complete Bible (Old Testament and New Testament; 1971)
  • Minor text modifications (1972, 1973, 1975)
  • Major text revisions (1977, 1995, 2020)

1995 revision

In 1992, the Lockman Foundation commissioned a limited revision of the NASB. In 1995, the Lockman Foundation reissued the NASB text as the NASB Updated Edition (more commonly, the Updated NASB or NASB95). Since then, it has become widely known as simply the "NASB", supplanting the 1977 text in current printings, save for a few (Thompson Chain Reference Bibles, Open Bibles, Key Word Study Bibles, et al.).

In the updated NASB, consideration was given to the latest available manuscripts with an emphasis on determining the best Greek text. Primarily, the 26th edition of Nestle-Aland's Novum Testamentum Graece is closely followed. The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia is also employed together with the most recent information from lexicography, cognate languages, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The updated NASB represents recommended revisions and refinements, and states that it incorporates thorough research based on current English usage. Vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure were meticulously revised for greater understanding and smoother reading, hence increasing clarity and readability. Key differences from the 1995 revision include an effort to improve "gender accuracy" (for example, adding "or sisters" in italics to passages that reference "brothers", to help convey the mixed-gender meaning of a passage that might otherwise be misunderstood as only speaking of men), a shift (where applicable) from the common construct "let us" when proposing action to the more-contemporary construct "let's" (to disambiguate a sort of "imperative" encouragement rather than a seeking of permission that could otherwise be misunderstood from a given passage), and a repositioning of some "bracketed text" (that is, verses or portions of verses that are not present in earliest Biblical manuscripts, and thus printed in brackets in previous NASB editions) out from inline-and-in-brackets down instead to footnotes.

Translators

The translation work was done by a group sponsored by the Lockman Foundation. According to the Lockman Foundation, the committee consisted of people from Christian educational institutions of higher learning and from Evangelical Protestant, predominantly conservative, denominations (Presbyterian, Methodist, Southern Baptist, Church of Christ, Nazarene, American Baptist, Fundamentalist, Conservative Baptist, Free Methodist, Congregational, Disciples of Christ, Evangelical Free, Independent Baptist, Independent Mennonite, Assembly of God, North American Baptist, and "other religious groups").

The Lockman Foundation's website indicates that among the translators and consultants who contributed are Biblical scholars with doctorates in Biblical languages, Christian theology, "or other advanced degrees", and come from a variety of denominational backgrounds. More than 20 individuals worked on modernizing the NASB in accord with the most recent research.

See also

  • Modern English Bible translations

Notes

References

Further reading

  • Marlowe, Michael D. (October 2002). "New American Standard Bible". Retrieved March 19, 2005.
  • The Lockman Foundation (1995). "Preface to the New American Standard Bible". Retrieved March 19, 2005.
  • The Lockman Foundation. "New American Standard Bible". Retrieved April 13, 2006.
  • The Lockman Foundation. "Translation Principles". Retrieved April 13, 2006.
  • Ryken, Leland (2002). The Word of God in English. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
  • Official webpage