I am asked a lot (especially in these days) what Bible Translation I preach from. Most folks that ask the question are part of the church I am privileged to teach weekly and simply want to follow along to the preaching text more closely. I respect that. In fact, one of the first things I did many years ago was grab a translation that matched the one my pastor used.
I made the decision almost twenty years ago to center my preaching ministry on the text of the New American Standard Bible (NASB). From early on in Bible College and Seminary, many of the professors required this translation because it was considered to be one of the most accurate translations that held to “formal equivalence translation philosophy.” That means (essentially) that the translators sought to use the English Word that most accurate translated the precise word in the original language: either Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek; and, to use the essentially literal equivalent word even if doing so made the sentence a little more difficult to read.
That said, I am not married to a particular translation. You’ll not hear me get on a rant about one translation or another. In fact, most English translations are useful for their intended purpose.
Remember that the sixty-six books of the Bible were originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Throughout the ages, these writings have been translated into popular language to make the text accessible to the masses of people. Unless you’re a Hebrew scholar, you’re likely unfamiliar with Hebrew vocabulary; therefore, the best way to make the Old Testament accessible to you is to translate it into English. Whenever you translate between languages, you have a difficulty to overcome…not every language has an exact equivalent word for every other language. Furthermore, specific language nuance (such as colloquialisms) carries with it shades of meaning.
For instance, If I wrote in a letter, “That Clemson safety killed that receiver on that last play,” you may have trouble translating word for word into Hindi without confusing the reader. After all, no one actually died in the football game. Because of this, some translators choose to modify the words in the receptor language to capture the idea of the original. (Think NIV).
Other translators also use a philosophy like that of the NASB, but they are a little more open in their word choices, seeking to make the sentence structures more easily readable (Think ESV or CSB, NKJV).
So, why do I use the NASB? As you know, I make a big deal out of words and word meanings. I think that’s an important aspect of my teaching/preaching ministry. Therefore, I chose a translation that most accurately reflected an essentially literal equivalent to the original language.
Do you only read the NASB? No! I read a passage from several translations in my preparation process and will occasionally use different translations in the act of preaching if another translation communicates the passage better.
Do you recommend that we get a NASB Bible if we are under your teaching? Bible translations (to me) are an intensely personal decision. So, my answer is, “It depends.” If following along word-for-word with my sermon text is important to you, then you will likely be most interested in getting a NASB Bible. If you have memorized a thousand verses in the NKJV and that is your heart language (so to speak) then stick with what you prefer. There are no bonus points or demerits for using a particular translation. As a side note, there is no uniformity among the pastors on our staff at the church. We use the ESV, NASB, NKJV, and even a KJV just on our staff. I personally have been reading the CSB devotionally all year and have grown to like it.
How should I choose a translation? First, I would probably use a Bible App and read a passage in several translations. For instance, read John 3 or Philippians 1 in the NASB, NIV, ESV, and NKJV. See which one is easiest to comprehend. You may even find the NLT to be helpful. I personally find it to be very conversational in tone but difficult to study (since I am a big “word” guy).
Will you always preach from the NASB? I would hate to commit to “always,” but it has served me well for almost two decades and I don’t see a reason to shift to anything else on the market today. I will switch to the 2020 update in a few months from the 1995 version that I currently use. This is primarily because those who use Apps to read the text will almost all get the 2020 version when they select the NASB rather than the older one from 1995. Also, the minor language adjustments I have seen seem to be helpful.
Will you ever use another translation? Yes. Count on some cross references coming from other translations at times; however, I will typically use the NASB for my primary Bible text.
Why do we have so many translations anyway? That’s a great and “common” question. When you read the front pages of a translation, the translators explain their rationale and philosophy. Also, there are other issues that inform translation work, but that is a conversation for another day and a good reason for you to enroll in one of my studies in the future on the Doctrine of the Bible. Again, I find different translations helpful since I am not an expert in any of the ancient biblical languages.
Why did you write these 1,000 words about your bible translation? That is the best question of the day. I thought I might try to answer a question I am often asked by others. I hope that if you made it this far, the article was helpful.
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