ASV 1901

I enjoy the American Revised Version (ARV) which was soon designated the American Standard Version (ASV1901) to distinguish it from the Revised Version of 1885.

The translators stated in the Preface of the ASV that it was their goal to bring “the plain reader more closely into contact with the exact thought of the sacred writers” than any previous version had accomplished. And this they did.

In his book, The English Bible, famed biblical scholar F.F. Bruce wrote: "It has often been called a schoolmaster’s translation, and there is much truth in this.... [T]he almost pedantic accuracy and precision which the revisers aimed at makes their work an admirable version for the student."

In his Review of the New Versions, Foy E. Wallace, Jr. called the ASV "the most accurate, word-for-word translation ever made." Jacob Mombert, writing in the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, remarked that "its translation is a marvel for fidelity, accuracy, elegance, purity of idiom, and harmony of expression."

ASV revised - The ASV language (English of 1880-95) was stilted and wooden at the outset and over the passage of years became as anachronistic as the AV1611 it had replaced. In 1971 a NEW ASV (NASB) was introduced; this was updated twenty years later to insure it continues this commitment to accuracy, while increasing clarity and readability.

According to publishers, the vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure have been carefully updated for greater understanding and smoother reading. The updated NASB remains the most literally accurate Bible in the English language.

http://www.gospelcom.net/lockman/nasb/index.php