What is the American Standard Version (ASV)?

Answer

The Revised Version, Standard American Edition of the Bible, more commonly known as the American Standard Version (ASV), is a Bible version published by Thomas Nelson & Sons in 1901. By the time its copyright was renewed in 1929, it had finally acquired its present name, the American Standard Version. It is based on the English Revised Version (1881-1885). In 1928, the International Council of Religious Education (which later merged with the Federal Council of Churches to form the National Council of Churches) obtained the copyright from Nelson and renewed it the following year. The ASV served as the foundation for four revisions: the Revised Standard Version (1946-1952/1971), the Amplified Bible (1965), the New American Standard Bible (1963-1971/1995), and the Recovery Version (1999). The ASV also provided the basis for Kenneth N. Taylor’s Bible paraphrase, The Living Bible, which was released in 1971. The American Standard Version has become part of history, and with the expiration of its copyright, it has entered the public domain.

American Standard Version – Translation Approach

The ASV relies on the translation approach known as formal equivalence or word-for-word translation. The New Testament texts used in the ASV of 1901 were the Westcott-Hort and Tregelles Greek texts. The 2015 edition of the ASV New Testament follows the Nestle-Aland, 28th edition. For the Old Testament, the ASV primarily uses the Masoretic Text, consistently rendering the name of God (the tetragrammaton YHWH) as “Jehovah” in the ASV, instead of “LORD” as seen in the King James Bible. This feature made the ASV popular among the Jehovah’s Witnesses and serves as the foundation for their New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, translated by members of their community and published by the Watchtower Society. Other changes from the RV to the ASV included (but were not limited to) using “who” and “that” instead of “which” when referring to

People, and the Holy Spirit instead of the Holy Ghost. Page headings were added, and footnotes were improved.

American Standard Version – Pros and Cons

The ASV is not widely used today, mainly because it has been replaced and improved with the New American Standard Bible. In its time, the American Standard Version was a very good translation of the Bible into English. Its occasional use of archaic language was a drawback, along with sometimes sacrificing readability in favor of strict literalness.

American Standard Version – Sample Verses

John 1:1, 14 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.”

John 3:16 – “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 8:58 – “Jesus said unto them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am.’”

Ephesians 2:8-9 – “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.”

Titus 2:13 – “looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”