FOREWORD

Scriptural Promise

“The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God stands forever.”

—Isaiah 40:8

The New American Standard Bible has been produced with the conviction that the words of Scripture as originally penned in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek were inspired by God. Since they are the eternal Word of God, the Holy Scriptures speak with fresh power to each generation, to give wisdom that leads to salvation, that men may serve Christ to the glory of God.

The purpose of the Editorial Board in making this translation was to adhere as closely as possible to the original languages of the Holy Scriptures, and to make the translation in a fluent and readable style according to current English usage.

The Fourfold Aim

of

The Lockman Foundation

1. These publications shall be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

2. They shall be grammatically correct.

3. They shall be understandable to the masses.

4. They shall give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him; therefore, no work will ever be personalized.

Preface to the

New American Standard Bible

In the history of English Bible translations, the King James Version is the most prestigious. This time-honored version of 1611, itself a revision of the Bishops’ Bible of 1568, became the basis for the English Revised Version appearing in 1881 (New Testament) and 1885 (Old Testament). The American counterpart of this last work was published in 1901 as the American Standard Version. The ASV, a product of both British and American scholarship, has been highly regarded for its scholarship and accuracy. Recognizing the values of the American Standard Version, the Lockman Foundation felt an urgency to preserve these and other lasting values of the ASV by incorporating recent discoveries of Hebrew and Greek textual sources and by rendering it into more current English. Therefore, in 1959 a new translation project was launched, based on the time-honored principles of the ASV and KJV. The result is the New American Standard Bible.

Translation work for the NASB was begun in 1959. In the preparation of this work numerous other translations have been consulted along with the linguistic tools and literature of biblical scholarship. Decisions about English renderings were made by consensus of a team composed of educators and pastors. Subsequently, review and evaluation by other Hebrew and Greek scholars outside the Editorial Board were sought and carefully considered.

The Editorial Board has continued to function since publication of the complete Bible in 1971. This edition of the NASB represents revisions and refinements recommended over the last several years as well as thorough research based on modern English usage.

Principles of Translation

Modern English Usage: The attempt has been made to render the grammar and terminology in contemporary English. When it was felt that the word-for-word literalness was unacceptable to the modern reader, a change was made in the direction of a more current English idiom. In the instances where this has been done, the more literal rendering has been indicated in the notes. There are a few exceptions to this procedure. In particular, frequently “And” is not translated at the beginning of sentences because of differences in style between ancient and modern writing. Punctuation is a relatively modern invention, and ancient writers often linked most of their sentences with “and” or other connectives. Also the Hebrew idiom “answered and said” is sometimes reduced to “answered” or “said” as demanded by the context. For current English the idiom “it came about that” has not been translated in the New Testament except when a major transition is needed.

Alternate Readings: In addition to the more literal renderings, notations have been made to include alternate translations, reading of variant manuscripts, and explanatory equivalents of the text. These notations have been used specifically to assist the reader in comprehending the terms used by the original author.

Hebrew Text: In the present translation the latest edition of Rudolf Kittel’s Biblica Hebraica has been employed together with the most recent light from lexicography, cognate languages, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Hebrew Tenses: Consecution of tenses in Hebrew remains a puzzling factor in translation. The translators have been guided by the requirements of a literal translation, the sequence of tenses, and the immediate and broad contexts.

The Proper Name of God in the Old Testament: In the Scriptures, the name of god is most significant and understandably so. It is inconceivable to think of spiritual matters without a proper designation for the Supreme Deity. Thus the most common name for the deity is God, a translation of the original Elohim. One of the titles for God is Lord, a translation of Adonai. There is yet another name for which is particularly assigned to God as His special or proper name, that is, the four letters YHWH (Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah 42:8). This name has not been pronounced by the Jews because of reverence for the great sacredness of the divine name. Therefore, it has been consistently translated Lord. The only exception to this translation of YHWH is when it occurs in immediate proximity to the word Lord, that is, Adonai. In that case it is regularly translated God in order to avoid confusion.

It is known that for many years YHWH has been transliterated as Yahweh, however no complete certainty attaches to this pronunciation.

Greek Text: Consideration was given to the latest available manuscripts with a view to determining the best Greek text. In most instances the 26th edition of Eberhard Nestle’s Novum Testamentum Graece was followed.

Greek Tenses: A careful distinction has been made in the treatment of the Greek aorist tense (usually translated as the English past, “He did”) and the Greek imperfect tense (normally rendered either as English past progressive, “he was doing”; or, if inceptive, as “He began to do” or “He started to do”; or else if customary past, as “He used to do”). “Began” is italicized if it renders an imperfect tense, in order to distinguish it from he Greek verb for “begin.”In some contexts the difference between the Greek imperfect and the English past is conveyed better by the choice of vocabulary or by other words in the context, and in such cases the Greek imperfect may be rendered as a simple past tense (e.g. “had an illness for many years” would be preferable to “was having an illness for many years” and would be understood in the same way).

On the other hand, not all the aorists have been rendered as English pasts (“He did”), for some of them are clearly to be rendered as English perfects (“He has done”), or even as pasts perfects (“He had done”), judging from the context in which they occur. Such aorists have been rendered as perfects or as past perfects in this translation.

As for the distinction between aorist and present imperatives, the translators have usually rendered these imperatives in the customary manner, rather than attempting any such fine distinction as “Begin to do!” (for the aorist imperative), or “Continually do!” (for the present imperative).

As for sequence of tenses, the translators took care to follow English rules rather than Greek in translating Greek presents, imperfects and aorists. Thus, where English says, “We knew that he was doing,”Greek puts it, “We knew that he does”; similarly, “We knew that he had done” is the Greek, “We knew that he did.”Likewise, the English, “When he had come, they met him,” is represented in Greek by, “When he came, they met him.”In all cases a consistent transfer has been made from the Greek tense in the subordinate clause to the appropriate tense in English.

In the rendering of negative questions introduced by the particle mē (which always expects the answer “No”) the wording has been altered from a mere, “Will he not do this?” to a more accurate, “He will not do this, will he?”

The Lockman Foundation

Explanation of General Format

Notes and Cross References are placed in a column adjoining the text on the page and listed under verse numbers to which they refer. Superior numbers refer to literal renderings, alternate translations, or explanations. Superior letters refer to cross references. Cross references in italics are parallel passages.

Paragraphs are designated by bold face verse numbers or letters.

Quotation Marks are used in the text in accordance with modern English usage.

“Thy,” “Thee” and “Thou” are not used in this edition and have been rendered as “You” and “Your.”

Italics are used in the text to indicate words which are not found in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek but implied by it. Italics are used in the marginal notes to signify alternate readings for the text. Roman text in the marginal alternate readings is the same as italics in the Bible text.

Small Caps in the New Testament are used in the text to indicated Old Testament quotations or obvious references to Old Testament texts. Variations of Old Testament working are found in New Testament citations depending on whether the New Testament writer translated from a Hebrew text, used existing Greek or Aramaic translations, or paraphrased the material. It should be noted that modern rules for the indication of direct quotation were not used in biblical times; thus the ancient writer would use exact quotations or references to quotation without specific indication of such.

A star (*) are used to mark verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have been translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage. The translators recognized that in some contexts the present tense seems more unexpected and unjustified to the English reader than a past tense would have been. But Greek authors frequently used the present tense for the sake of heightened vividness, thereby transporting their readers in imagination to the actual scene at the time of occurence. However, the translators felt that it would be wise to change these historical presents to English past tenses.

GENESIS

Chapter 1

The Creation

1 aIn the beginning bGod ccreated the heavens and the earth.

2 The earth was 1aformless and void, and bdarkness was over the 2surface of the deep, and cthe Spirit of God dwas 3moving over the 2surface of the waters.

3 Then aGod said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

4 God saw that the light was agood; and God bseparated the light from the darkness.

5 aGod called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And bthere was evening and there was morning, one day.

6 Then God said, “Let there be 1an aexpanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”

7 God made the 1expanse, and separated athe waters which were below the 1expanse from the waters bwhich were above the 1expanse; and it was so.

8 God called the 1expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

9 Then God said, “aLet the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let bthe dry land appear”; and it was so.

10 God called the dry land earth, and the agathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout 1avegetation, 2plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after 3their kind 4with seed in them”; and it was so.

12 The earth brought forth 1vegetation, 2plants yielding seed after 3their kind, and trees bearing fruit 4with seed in them, after 3their kind; and God saw that it was good.

13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

14 Then God said, “Let there be 1alights in the 2bexpanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for csigns and for dseasons and for days and years;

15 and let them be for 1lights in the 2expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.

16 God made the two 1great lights, the agreater 2light 3to govern the day, and the lesser 2light 3to govern the night; He made bthe stars also.

17 aGod placed them in the 1expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,

18 and 1to agovern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

20 Then God said, “Let the waters 1teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth 2in the open 3expanse of the heavens.”

21 God created athe great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

24 aThen God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after 1their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after 1their kind”; and it was so.

25 God made the abeasts of the earth after 1their kind, and the cattle after 1their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let aUs make bman in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them crule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the 1sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 God created man ain His own image, in the image of God He created him; bmale and female He created them.

28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “aBe fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the 1sky and over every living thing that 2moves on the earth.”

29 Then God said, “Behold, aI have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the 1surface of all the earth, and every tree 2which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

30 and ato every beast of the earth and to every bird of the 1sky and to every thing that 2moves on the earth 3which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.

31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very agood. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Chapter 2

The Creation of Man and Woman

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all atheir hosts.

2 By athe seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and bHe rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created 1and made.

4 1aThis is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in bthe day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.

5 aNow no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, bfor the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to 1cultivate the ground.

6 But a 1mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole 2surface of the ground.

7 Then the Lord God formed man of adust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and bman became a living 1being.

8 The Lord God planted a agarden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

9 Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow aevery tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; bthe tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 Now a ariver 1flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four 2rivers.

11 The name of the first is Pishon; it 1flows around the whole land of aHavilah, where there is gold.

12 The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there.

13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it 1flows around the whole land of Cush.

14 The name of the third river is 1aTigris; it 2flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the 3bEuphrates.

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

16 The Lord God acommanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;

17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not 1eat, for in the day that you eat from it ayou will surely die.”

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; aI will make him a helper 1suitable for him.”

19 aOut of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the 1sky, and bbrought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.

20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the 1sky, and to every beast of the field, but for 2Adam there was not found aa helper 3suitable for him.

21 So the Lord God caused a adeep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.

22 The Lord God 1fashioned into a woman athe rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“aThis is now bone of my bones,

And flesh of my flesh;

1She shall be called 2Woman,

Because 1she was taken out of 3Man.”

24 aFor this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

25 aAnd the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.