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Scott Shirley
- Rewarding Every Time! I have never been disappointed in going straight to Schaefer before consulting any other commentary during my sermon prep in the Psalms. His observations of repetition and literary structure are indispensable for establishing the unity and meaning of the text. It is surprising how insightful Schaefer can be in this single-volume commentary. Purchase without reservation.
- There are two major categories of changes in the 2020, which may agitate the long-time readers of the NASB: 1. "GENDER ACCURACY" The editor(s) have chosen to go with what is referred to as a "gender accurate" translation philosophy. This is not intended as capitulation to the culture. The choice falls squarely under the "Colorado Springs Guidelines for Translation of Gender-Related Language in Scripture" (1997). No doubt, the NASB 2020 is intended for a younger audience than the previous editions. I have enjoyed reading the text to my children before bed. But I’m not sure that an older, conservative congregation would appreciate hearing what they perceive to be “gender neutral” readings—even if they are technically not so—during a sermon. How much time do you think you would have to spend trying to convince them otherwise? Is it worth the effort? Fair or not, the 2020 editor(s) have made a choice which has a few of us worried that this will become the “TNASB.” 2. SMOOTHER READINGS People will have mixed opinions about these changes. Those who simply want to read and enjoy the text will undoubtedly welcome many or most of them. Those who need to examine the text more intently, on the other hand, may consider this a weakness. This is more than making changes to the verses you have memorized in the 1995. Just do a quick search for the word “sojourn” in Genesis. There are nine instances of the underlying Hebrew lemma, and they are unanimously translated with “sojourn,” the one exception being in Gen 19:9 where “to sojourn” is listed as a footnote. By contrast, the 2020 translates the word variously as “live for a time” (3x), “reside” (5x), or “dwelt” (Gen 19:9, n. 2). So what’s the problem? The 1995 tends to translate one word the same way, making it easier for the reader (1) to predict the Heb/Gk and (2) to observe the author’s intentional use of repetition within a literary structure. These benefits are lost when such consistency is obscured. On the bright side, there are a few improvements to celebrate: 1. LITERAL READINGS ADOPTED Many of the “Lit” readings which were previously relegated to the translators’ footnotes have been adopted into the main text. I have also observed instances where “Or” footnotes have been removed from the translators’ footnotes, usually when the younger, modern reader might not be able to distinguish a difference between the referent in the text and the footnote below. 2. ITALICIZED WORDS You may not have known this, but there were many places in the 1977 text where interpretive words word included but not italicized. These formatting omissions were almost always carried over into the 1995. The 2020 has made an effort to correct this oversight. 3. BHQ, CBGM The 2020 Update was supposed to be the 2016 Update, but interminable delays of the completion of BHQ held the new Update in limbo. In 2018, Lockman decided that its finished work would be produced in 2020, whether BHQ was finished or not; well, BHQ is still not entirely finished. In the New Testament, we now have Acts to complement the General Epistles. The ESV and CSB have had their opportunity to give us the General Epistles, and now the NASB represents the frontier of English translation on Acts. If Lockman continues to synchronize its timeline with advance of Hebrew and Greek research, I strongly suspect that the next update to the NASB—whether in full or in part—will present itself to us much earlier than the 25-year span between the 1995 and the present.
- I don't mind the gender accuracy because they put it all in italics. So it signames the reader that it is modified.
- How long before they release the 2020 NASB? It's been 7 months "IN PRODUCTION" now and the Logos people are mum.
- Thank you for this helpful review.