IV. The New American Standard Bible
(1963-1971)
A. "The New Testament of the New American Standard
Bible, prepared by fifty-eight anonymous scholars under the sponsorship of the
Lockman Foundation of La Habra, California, first appeared in 1963. The complete
Bible (Old Testament and New Testament) was issued on July 31, 1970 ... More
than 16 million copies of the Bible have been distributed."
(The English Bible from XN
to NIV, 2nd Ed., Jack P. Lewis, Baker Book
House, 1992, pg. 165).
Outside sources confirm that Dr. Reuben
Olson served as chairman of the editorial board and that the translators were
compensated for their work, which spanned ten years. It is claimed that 25,000
hours of research were expended on the New Testament alone.
B. Here are the stated goals of the Lockman
Foundation for the N.T.:
"1. These publications
shall be true to the original
Greek.
2. They shall be
grammatically correct.
3.
They shall be understandable to the
masses.
4. They shall give
the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word
gives Him, and no work will ever be personalized."
C. The forward to the NASB
is also revealing: "The New American Standard Bible has been
produced with the conviction that the words of Scripture as originally penned in
the Hebrew and Greek were inspired by God. ... It has been the purpose of the
Editorial Board to present to the modern reader a revision of the American
Standard Version in clear and contemporary language. The attempt has been made
to adhere to the original languages of the Holy Scriptures as closely as
possible and at the same time to obtain a fluent and readable style according to
current English usuage." The NASB has gone through several revised
editions.
D. Strengths.· Scholars generally agree that the NASB remains one of the more accurate, readable translations we have. Its technical accuracy is, perhaps, its greatest asset. Compare Gen. 3:8 in the KJV, ASV, and NASB, where voice is rendered sound. In Mal.1.7 bread is rendered food, which is more consistent with our current meaning. Notice the exactness of peck-measure in Matt. 5:15 for bushel. Also, notice the clarity of 2 Cor. 12:1 as compared with the KJV. This translation remains popular enough to be offered by several publishers in a variety of typestyles and sizes.
E. Weaknesses: The NASB has its peculiarities. For example, note the wordy,awkward style of questions which anticipate a negative answer (Matt.12:23; John 6:67; Rom. 3:3). A somewhat wooden style results from the struggle to combine technical accuracy with modern English usage. Compare Isa. 40:31 and Psa.1 in the NASB and KJV. Also, the NASB shows some premillennial tendencies. Note the wording of Isa. 2:2; Micah 4: 1 (as should be translated on - that's the literal meaning of the Hebrew word). Also, note the wording in Rev. 20:4 (they lived is more faithfUl to the Greek than they came to life).