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New American Standard currently being reviewed for a second update


Julia Falling

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Hey –

 

This is especially for those whose use the New American Standard.  It was last updated in 1995.  The ETA for the release of the next update is mid-2017, estimated, depending on how the the reviewing process goes.  Anyway, they are open to suggestions.  I'm hoping the new version will take into account the changes we see NA26th/NA27th —> NA28th.  I've also asked that the translation of the verses that don't even appear in the modern Greek text be confined to the footnotes.  And I've sent suggestions for specific verses.

 

No version of the Bible, in English or any other language, is perfect but the NAS95 remains my favorite because I think it excels in getting the nuances of the verb tenses right (see Acts 18:1-6 & especially the imperfects in vs. 4-5), uses different English words for different Greek words in a confined context (compare NAS95 & NKJV at Rom 5:20, increase and abound), and uses the same English word for Greek cognates in a confined context (see Rom 7:7-8 ἐπιθυμία & ἐπιθυμέω).  These are just a few examples.  I love the version.  I know that some of you are equally attached to other versions.  We are blessed to have so many good ones!

 

I've contacted them a few times.

 

Here's the link to the contact form.  The formatting on the form is a challenge, but after you've contacted them, you may get an email address that bypasses the website.

 

This is just a FYI.  Hope some find it helpful and/or encouraging.

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Hello Julie

 

I've contacted they earlier too. I've found out, the NASB has from all Accordance Bibles with Strongs to worst tagging. 

 

They gave me as answer, they didn't want to tag it better. Hopefully the newer version has a better tagging. 

 

Greetings

 

Fabian

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I've got mixed feelings about this one. Certainly it needs an update, but who knows where that could lead :D  I guess it depends who's on the committee.

Edited by Ιακοβ
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I've had contact by email with the executive VP.  I told him how much I appreciated James White's ministry (he's the NASB textual advisor).  He said he listens to Dr. White's podcasts & debates, too.  James White is a very conservative Reformed Baptist.  I think we can expect the version to stay conservative.

Edited by Julia Falling
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I've seen his podcasts—they are really great, although if he ranted less, his podcasts could be half as long :D

 

I am very happy to hear he is involved.  I am not sure what it means for him to have the title of "textual advisor", I hope that means that he has a significant level of influence. :)

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Yeah, he does rant.  Some of the rants have significant content.  Some are a distraction.  But, overall, I have really benefitted from his teaching.

 

I've only read one of his books, but we have a bunch of the others – our reading list grows and grows.  I don't know when I'll get around to reading some of them.  I start Hebrew 1 this fall (audit).  My husband will be doing Greek 2 (audit).  

 

Our church has book racks in the entry area that are full of books for sale, significantly discounted.  Paperbacks are $5, hardbacks, $10.  The leadership wants to get the stuff into the hands of the people.  I think all of Dr. White's books appear there (rotating).  Lots of other good stuff, too.  Even if an author may have some theological quirks that don't square with the church's doctrine, if he has written something good and significant in the area of his expertise where his departures don't figure in, we will find it in our racks.

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  • 5 months later...

Last I heard from them (12/27/16) they are still in the reviewing process.  When a suggestion or concern comes in it is added to their reviewing log.  They are still reviewing as of the end of December.  I think they are very serious about getting it right.

 

I think, too, we need to be grateful for some of the versions that have gone before and had the courage to actually translate the text rather than stick with the traditional reading (KJV/NKJV).  I'm hopeful that we are going to get another good conservative version, but we still probably have at least a 5-6 month wait.

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Is there any information published anywhere about the review process at all? I checked on the web site but I couldn't find much. 

As I work through my own bible reading in greek (and create my own translation for practice), NASB is always on point, but from time to time, very very rarely, there is a minor issue or word choice that I wonder if could be reviewed.

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This is the kind of thing that they really do want to hear about. And the suggestions I've sent, mostly NT, are translation issues - word choice, sticking closer to the Greek text. Also that the English follow the versification of the NA28th, adding more footnotes, etc. I have also suggested that, instead of putting a verse in brackets if it's not in the GNT, it be put in a footnote. Just all-around improvements.

 

If you have suggestions, they need to be sent soon. I think the process may be coming to the end.

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Cool! I think your improvements make sense. I would like to see them go fully paragraph style. My Logos NASB is not fun to read since it's all verse-by-verse.

 

There are some language updates they could make too.

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We can use paragraph style in the NAS95 and NAS77 in Accordance.  The print copy I have of the NAS95 is paragraph style already, single column.  (It's compact so single column works well.)  When you buy a Bible, many versions give you the option of single column, two columns, verse style or paragraph style.  I know these options are already available in the NAS95.  I would expect to see the same range in the NAS17 (or whatever it ends up being called).

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Here is an example of a potential revision I would suggest for NASB. I believe some other translations handle this with a little better, due to focus of debate upon this verse come mostly after 1995. NASB:

 

Mark 7:31 Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis.

 

The word through in English can imply a direct trip, i.e. you stopped somewhere on the way from A to B. However Sidon is not between A and B. As per BDAG, the word διὰ can also mean "via", i.e. We went from A to B, via C.

 

More recent translations handle this a little better, HCSB: "by way of Sidon". NLT quite wordily, but helpfully paraphrases it: "went up to Sidon before going back". I would recommend "by way of", however I think NASB prefers to keep the word count as word for word, so "via" might be best (I am just not sure how common "via" is in modern usage).

Edited by Ιακοβ
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Yeah, the Logos version is verse-by-verse. Don't like it.

 

Absolutely! After having spent no small amount of money purchasing Logos and some modules, I actually switched across to Logos for this very reason (Well that, and a few others, such as being able to scroll text up and down in the Accordance mobile app vs the olden day stile of "page flipping")

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Here is an example of a potential revision I would suggest for NASB. I believe some other translations handle this with a little better, due to focus of debate upon this verse come mostly after 1995. NASB:

 

 

The word through in English can imply a direct trip, i.e. you stopped somewhere on the way from A to B. However Sidon is not between A and B. As per BDAG, the word διὰ can also mean "via", i.e. We went from A to B, via C.

 

More recent translations handle this a little better, HCSB: "by way of Sidon". NLT quite wordily, but helpfully paraphrases it: "went up to Sidon before going back". I would recommend "by way of", however I think NASB prefers to keep the word count as word for word, so "via" might be best (I am just not sure how common "via" is in modern usage).

 

Hey – Why don't you send your suggestion to them?  They may have already made that adjustment, but maybe not.  The link is in the first post.

Absolutely! After having spent no small amount of money purchasing Logos and some modules, I actually switched across to Logos for this very reason (Well that, and a few others, such as being able to scroll text up and down in the Accordance mobile app vs the olden day stile of "page flipping")

 

Do you mean "switched across to Accordance"?

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Hey – Why don't you send your suggestion to them?  They may have already made that adjustment, but maybe not.  The link is in the first post.

 

Do you mean "switched across to Accordance"?

 

After writing it, I thought, why not post it to that rather anonymous feedback page, so I did. I can't help but wonder if I'll get a reply.

 

And yes, I meant to Accordance. The NASB verse per line of Logos was extremely frustrating, I am the type of person that would read it without verse and chapter numbers if I could. I can see the benefit of verse-per-line in a public reading situation where you need to find things quickly, but for personal study, It seems to me that people should be offered the choice based on personal preference. The other main cause for the switch was the scrolling in the iOS app—I grew up scrolling, which is probably why I prefer that. Scrolling also has a benefit when public reading, that you can avoid having half of the sentence chopped off at the bottom of the iPhone screen).

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I know this is off-topic, but seeing as it's come up, it seems only fair to point out that the Logos mobile app does let you scroll if that's your preference (via settings) - that's been the case since I started using it 18 months ago, but not sure how long it was available before that. It's actually the default when you install it on the iPhone now, but I always switch back to swiping - just personal preference really.

 

There's a ton of stuff the Accordance app indisputably does better (viewing images, dynamic interlinear, speed and readability os search/results etc), but scrolling is neutral ground nowadays.

Edited by jmc1982
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Yep, they added a scrolling option not long after I switched to Accordance, but at the time, it wasn't "smooth scrolling", it kind of "jumped" line by line through the text. It does scroll properly now.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have bought some Accordance resources but I don't like the iOS app. I really don't like how there aren't visual markers (book names, big chapter numbers, space between books, etc.). The Psalms look like they are one big Psalm unless you look at the little numbers. Same thing with books. They just flow into the next book. For those reasons the app is unusable to me :-(  

 

Also, I prefer to turn pages. Scrolling is distracting to me. I can't believe they haven't added page turning. Almost embarrassing. 

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I have bought some Accordance resources but I don't like the iOS app. I really don't like how there aren't visual markers (book names, big chapter numbers, space between books, etc.). The Psalms look like they are one big Psalm unless you look at the little numbers. Same thing with books. They just flow into the next book. For those reasons the app is unusable to me :-(  

I don't know if this helps: Press AA, All display Settings, Show and there you can choose the preferred one.

Edited by Fabian
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Also, I prefer to turn pages. Scrolling is distracting to me. I can't believe they haven't added page turning. Almost embarrassing. 

 

I respect different people have different preferences. Page turning style has always been frustrating to me, how do you highlight a verse or sentence that runs out of the bottom of the page?

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I respect different people have different preferences. Page turning style has always been frustrating to me, how do you highlight a verse or sentence that runs out of the bottom of the page?

 

The Logos approach (if you prefer swiping to scrolling) is to allow you to use two fingers to scroll the text into position. Kindle lets you continue a highlight on to the next page if you hold down at the edge of a page after you've started a highlight. Either solution works well enough, I think.

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I have bought some Accordance resources but I don't like the iOS app. I really don't like how there aren't visual markers (book names, big chapter numbers, space between books, etc.). The Psalms look like they are one big Psalm unless you look at the little numbers. Same thing with books. They just flow into the next book. For those reasons the app is unusable to me :-(  

 

Also, I prefer to turn pages. Scrolling is distracting to me. I can't believe they haven't added page turning. Almost embarrassing. 

 

Gavin,

 

Just to let you know, if you go to the Library and click on the gear you can then go to Text Display. This will allow you to control the size of the text as well as the reference and how the text is dsiplayed. This will change the way all of your texts are displayed (Fabian's advice will change the way the one text you are viewing is displayed).

 

I would suggest playing around with different things until you find a view you enjoy and can work with. There are options for Tool settings, User Notes, etc.

Edited by Timothy Hall
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Also, I prefer to turn pages. Scrolling is distracting to me. I can't believe they haven't added page turning. Almost embarrassing. 

 

If you like page turning, your patience may be rewarded soon in the form of an option. I can say no more at the present time, though :-)

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