The American Standard Version Bible
I recently purchased an American Standard Version Bible. I was first introduced to this VERY literal translation back in seminary by my Old Testament seminary professor, Boo Heflin. I loved the way it sounded. He loved the way it was so accurate when compared to the original Hebrew. Published in 1901, the overwhelming majority of reputable Bible scholars agree that it is the most literal, word-for-word translation available in the English language.
Here are some examples of some familiar verses of Scripture in the ASV:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. – Genesis 1.1-2
Jehovah is my shepherd.; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters. - Psalm 23.1-2
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. – John 3.16
Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth. - 1 Corinthians 13.4-8a
…for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.- Ephesians 2.8-10
One fascinating feature of the ASV is how it translates the Tetragrammaton as “Jehovah” as opposed to the all caps “LORD” is in most modern translations.
A fascinating fact about the ASV is that both the RSV (Revised Standard Version) and the NASB (New American Standard Bible) are revisions of the ASV. Since the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) and ESV (English Standard Version) are both revisions of the RSV, that means the ASV, second of course to the King James Version, is perhaps the most influential literal translation produced in the English language. That is remarkable considering you have to search high and low to find a copy to purchase.
If you are interested in getting a copy for yourself. Don’t bother searching. I’ve already done the research. Star Bible Publishing, based in Texas, has new copies of the ASV available for purchase through their website. I own the genuine leather edition, but if you are interested in only using it occasionally, you may want to save the money and get a hardback edition, which is quite affordable.
Star Bible's ASV has double-column text that is large enough for the eyes, with only moderate shadowing.
In addition to a concordance, Star Bible's ASV features a concise Bible dictionary with illustrations.
I ran across that website on my quest for hard-to-find Bibles, and didn’t really know what an ASV was. I like how it uses the word ‘love’ in 1 Corinthians 13, as the KJV uses the word ‘charity’. In my finite mind, the word ‘charity’ in today’s English almost points toward ‘hand out’ or ‘needy’. Although I mainly use NKJV and KJV (and in the past have read out of NASB), I’ve really never gotten used to KJV using the word ‘charity’ for some reason. I’ll have to pick up a New Testament ASV and read through it… pretty good stuff, Brett. Thanks!
That’s funny, John, because I share your same concern with the word ‘charity.’ But I’m not sure ‘love’ is much better when you think about it because of the way the word love is overused and misused (used for passion, lust, infatuation, feelings) in our society. It’s almost like we need a new word for love. Until then, I think love is the best word for a translation, knowing that when we use the word, we are using it in the traditional Christian sense: patient, kind, etc.
Yes. Your right about the word ‘love’ as being misused or overused in today’s society… Greek was/is such a specific language, and when they used ‘agape’… they knew exactly what type of ‘love’ that was, for example…. but since I don’t speak fluent Greek… I have to depend on the English translations!!!
[...] Here is an interesting blog post about ASV. [...]
I know you are not discussing Kindle Bibles but someone with the Kindle may consider the ASV Kindle edition that I have recently released.
http://osnovapress.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/american-standard-version-asv-with-direct-verse-jump/
The ASV is a remarkable English version of the
scriptures! It is legendary for its “literal accuracy,”
it is still used as a point of reference for many of
the exegetical commentaries of today. It is so true
in form to the Greek and Hebrew texts, that it
sometimes replicates the word order of the original.
It continues to be a great study Bible for the person
who can navigate through the archaic language.
I have the Star Teacher’s edition and I love it.
I use it for study and preaching. I have become accustomed to updating the language as I read from
it. It makes a good comparison text when used along
side the NIV 2011 and the RSV/ESV.
I began using the ASV in 1976 (?) I have always
been amazed by how close it is to the Hebrew and
Greek. It is often a “word for word” rendering. The translators really tried to give English speakers as
much as possible from the ancient texts. Total
“word for word” transfer was not possible, but their
efforts are astonishing.
[...] World English Bible, and the Living Bible. “A fascinating fact about the ASV”, writes Pastor Brett Maragni, “is that both the RSV (Revised Standard Version) and the NASB (New American Standard Bible) [...]
where can i get a large print ( 10 – 12.5) type and leather ?
Here you go, James:
http://store.starbible.com/starbible/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=2&idcategory=2
http://store.starbible.com/starbible/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=325&idcategory=2
Is there anywhere we can get a quality leather-bound, sewn full ASV Bible today? All I’ve found are just New Testaments. Thanks.