The American Standard Version (a counterpart of the English Revised Version) appeared in 1901. Recognising the value of this version, the Lockman Foundation felt the need to update it by incorporating new discoveries of Hebrew and Greek texts as well as using a more up to date style of English. Therefore, in 1959 a new translation project began, based on the ASV. The result of which was the New American Standard Bible (NASB).

The New Testament of the NASB was prepared by 58 anonymous scholars under the sponsorship of the Lockman Foundation of La Habra, California. The reason that the scholars who engaged in the translation work wanted to remain anonymous was so that the new translation would stand on its own merits and not the reputation of the scholars who produced it. The Foundation states that the majority of the translators held doctorates in biblical literature and languages.

The translators represent a wide spectrum of denominations and Christian traditions: Presbyterian, Methodist, Southern Baptist, Church of Christ, Nazarene, American Baptist, Fundamentalist, Conservative Baptist, Free Methodist, Congregational, Disciples of Christ, Evangelical Free, Independent Baptist, Independent Menomite, Assembly of God, North American Baptist, and other religious groups.

The New Testament of the NASB first appeared in 1963. It was said that of the New Testament alone 25, 000 hours of research were dedicated. The complete NASB of both Old and New Testaments was complete on July 31st 1970.

The stated fourfold aims of the Lockman Foundation are as follows:

1. Faithfulness to the original biblical languages.
2. To be grammatically correct.
3. To be understandable to the masses.
4. To give glory to Jesus Christ.

Concerning aim one (faithfulness to the original biblical languages) the NASB has often been noted for its reliability to the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic, as well as its extreme literalness. Fee and Stuart even go as far as calling it "wooden". Geisler and Nix have said that the NASB is to date the best relatively literal translation done by a committee of conservative scholars. But the literalness of the NASB is also one of its weaknesses. In giving almost slavish attention to the word order and basic meaning of the original texts, this version offers a translation that is often stiff and therefore unsuitable for reading in public. Unlike its more "dynamic" cousins the NASB may miss the meaning of an idiomatic expression in the ancient languages and translate the passage literally when a paraphrase might better have captured the intention of what the original writer was truing to say.

The NASB has often been advertised with extravagant claims, such as "the literary masterpiece of this generation", "the major contribution of our generation", and destined to surpass all other translations of holy Scripture".

Although the NASB is based on early and reliable texts it still makes reference to later traditions in its footnotes, such as the longer reading of 1 John 5:7-8 as it is found in the KJV. Similar footnotes are included for the account of the adulterous woman in John Ch.8; the angel at the waters of Bethesda in John Ch. 5.

An area of interest to note is that the NASB departs from its American counterpart, the ASV in its use of God's name in the Old Testament. The ASV translated the tetragrammaton (YHWH) as Jehovah whereas the NASB translates it into LORD (all upper case letters). The only exception to this is when LORD appears in immediate proximity to Adonai (Lord) where it is then translated as GOD (all upper case letters) to avoid confusion.

In 1995 the Lockman Foundation published the 'NASB Update'. As the name suggests, this is not actually a new version but rather a revision. The Foundation felt that because 25 years had passed since the appearance of the NASB it was in need of bringing more up to date. Updating included the following: removing the words thee and thou, consulting the newest scholarly editions of ancient Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, and removing some of the idiosyncrasies found in the ancient languages that do not conform to English grammar. Some of these words were replaced with more modern equivalents and some sentences were rearranged to make them more understandable in English. Although the NASB Update is more fluid than its predecessor, it still remains as literal as possible, and while not good for public reading it is a good Bible for serious Bible study.

Fee, G. and Stuart, D. How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth, 2nd. ed. London: Scripture Union, 1994.

Geisler, N.L. and Nix, W.E. A General Introduction to the Bible. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986.

Lewis, J.P. The English Bible: From KJV to NIV, 2nd. ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992.

New American Standard. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 1985, preface.

Sheely, S.M. and Nash, R.N. The Bible in English Translation: An Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.