English Vs. American Standard Bible
Bible translations are separated into word-for-word or formal equivalence and thought-for-thought or dynamic equivalence. The English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible and the American Standard Version (ASV) are both formal-equivalence translations. Though similar in translation, the ESV and the ASV have notable differences.
Other People Are Reading
-
History of ASV
-
The history of the ASV begins in 1901. Sometimes referred to as the Revised Standard Version, the American Standard Version was first published in 1901. The ASV has passed into the public domain and is sometimes included in Bible software.
In 1971 the New American Standard Bible (NASB) was published as a modern word-for-word English translation. The Lockman Foundation preserved the literal accuracy of the 1901 American Standard Bible. The 1995 update of the NASB created a smoother reading version and removed the Old English "thees" and "thous" for modern English.
History of ESV
-
The English Standard Version was published in 2001. The English Standard Version of the Bible, built on the best scholarship of the last 100 years, was first published in 2001. The ESV sounds like the Bible with the poetry of the King James Version, but reads with clear English meaning. It was translated in consultation with over 100 scholars to retain the original meaning while using modern English grammar and syntax to improve its readability.
-
Literally Translated
-
Literally translated word for word The ESV and the NASB are both literal word-for-word translations of the original manuscripts. They reveal what the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek really mean and not the translators' interpretations.
Reading Levels
-
Reading levels of translations vary. Publishers suggest a reading level for their translations as a general guideline.The ESV and NASB are considered a higher level of reading than some of the other translations or paraphrases. The English Standard Version is written at an 8th-grade reading level. The New American Standard Bible has an 11th-grade reading level.
Differences
-
The ESV boasts greater readability than the ASV. The English Standard Version was created to fill the gap between the NASB (word-for-word) and New International Version (thought-for-thought). The main difference between the ESV and the NASB is readability. In the ESV, when translation from the original manuscript hinders the natural flow of the language, a better word or phrase is chosen; this is an "essentially literal" translation.
The New American Standard Bible is a "strictly literal" translation, translating the word exactly from the Greek or Hebrew. This strict translation creates awkward wording in the NASB.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Wonderlane Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Giulio Bernardi Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Randen Pederson Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Patrick Feller Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Amanda Yepiz
