New American Standard Bible(NASB)
A formally precise, word-for-word translation long regarded as the standard for close Bible study.
At a Glance
- Reading Level
- 11
- NT Textual Basis
- Critical Text
- Quote Limit
- 1,000 verses
- Red Letter Edition
- Red letter edition available: Yes
- Marks OT Quotations in NT
- Marks OT quotations in NT: Yes(Small caps)
- Italicizes Translator Words
- Italicizes translator-supplied words: Yes
- Capitalizes Deity Pronouns
- Capitalizes deity pronouns: Yes
- Quotation Marks for Dialogue
- Uses quotation marks for dialogue: Yes
Overview
The New American Standard Bible is sponsored by the Lockman Foundation, a nonprofit organization. Launched in 1959 as a revision of the American Standard Version (1901), it aimed to preserve the ASV's precision in more contemporary English while incorporating newer manuscript discoveries — the New Testament was published in 1963 and the complete Bible in 1971, followed by revisions in 1977, 1995, and 2020.
The NASB has long been regarded as the most strictly literal major English translation, prioritizing word-for-word correspondence to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek even where that produces a more formal, less conversational sentence. It's long been a standard reference for seminary word studies and close personal study for exactly this reason.
On gender language, the 2020 update introduced a moderate shift: where the original Greek or Hebrew is clearly addressing both men and women, the NASB now adds “and sisters” in italics to make that inclusion explicit, while keeping the rest of its wording as literal as ever. Earlier editions, including the long-standard 1995 text, used the traditional generic masculine throughout.
The NASB has long been a standard for pastors, seminary students, and serious personal study, and remains widely used alongside the NASB Study Bible and other Lockman-published study resources.
Distinctives
- A revision of the American Standard Version (1901), begun in 1959 by the Lockman Foundation to preserve the ASV's precision in more contemporary English.
- Long regarded as the most literal major English translation — its word-for-word philosophy has made it a standard reference for seminary word studies for decades.
- Italicizes any English word added for clarity or grammar that has no direct equivalent in the original Hebrew or Greek, more consistently than almost any other translation.
- Capitalizes pronouns referring to God (He, His, Him) throughout.
- The 2020 update modestly adjusted gender language and modernized some archaic wording, while keeping its strict formal-equivalence approach intact.
Good Fit For
- Seminary students, pastors, and serious Bible students who want the most literal word-for-word rendering available for close study.
- Readers doing verse-by-verse expository study, where knowing exactly which English words were added for clarity (marked in italics) matters.
- Longtime NASB readers who prefer the 2020 update's lightly modernized language over switching to a different translation altogether.
Worth Knowing
The NASB's 1995 edition has its own modern offshoot. When the 2020 update introduced moderate, gender-inclusive language, John MacArthur and The Master's Seminary partnered with the Lockman Foundation to continue developing the 1995 text along its original, fully traditional path instead — that separate project became the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).
Sample Verse — John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.
Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org