Church History · 1971

The NASB and The Living Bible

Two famous Bibles were finished in 1971. The New American Standard Bible aimed to be as literal as possible, while Kenneth Taylor's Living Bible was a free paraphrase written so his kids could understand. Both shaped how millions read Scripture.

Read it in the Bible: Nehemiah 8:8 Psalm 119:130 Deuteronomy 6:6 to 7 2 Timothy 3:15

In 1971 two very different English Bibles were completed. The New American Standard Bible, or NASB, was a careful word for word translation from the Lockman Foundation in California. The Living Bible was a paraphrase by Kenneth Taylor, a dad who wanted his ten kids to understand family devotions. One was built for close study. The other was built for easy reading. Together they show the two ends of the translation scale, and both became huge.

What Is the NASB?

The NASB is an update of the American Standard Version of 1901, which was famous for being accurate and also famous for being stiff. The Lockman Foundation began in 1942, when Dewey and Minna Lockman gave their citrus ranch in La Habra, California, to a Christian nonprofit. The foundation also produced the Amplified Bible, finished in 1965.

The NASB came out in steps. The Gospel of John appeared in 1960, the Gospels in 1962 and the New Testament in 1963. The full Bible was dedicated on August 28, 1971, at First Baptist Church of Anaheim. Updates followed in 1977, 1995 and 2020.

Why Is the NASB Called the Most Literal Bible?

The NASB follows what translators call formal equivalence. That means it tries to keep the original word order and grammar as much as English allows. It also puts words in italics when the translators added them to make sense in English. That lets readers see what is in the Greek or Hebrew and what is not.

Many pastors and seminary students love it for study. Some readers find it a bit choppy for reading out loud. As one old joke goes, the NASB is great for word studies and terrible for bedtime stories. The NASB is on this site, so you can set it side by side with The Owner's Manual.

Who Wrote The Living Bible?

Kenneth N. Taylor was born in 1917 in Portland, Oregon, and worked at Moody Press in Chicago. Each night he led his family in devotions. Using the King James and other versions, his children struggled to follow. So Taylor began rewording passages in plain English, thought by thought, and then asked them questions. Now they got the answers right.

Starting in 1955, Taylor worked on his paraphrase during his daily train ride to work. He finished the New Testament letters and published them himself in 1962 as Living Letters. No big publisher wanted it, so he and his wife, Margaret, started their own company. They named it Tyndale House Publishers, after William Tyndale, who died for translating the Bible into everyday English.

Billy Graham read Living Letters and loved it. He offered copies on his TV crusades, and about 600,000 were given away. The full Living Bible came out in 1971. It was the best selling book in the United States in 1972 and 1973 and has sold more than 40 million copies. Taylor gave the royalties to a charitable foundation.

Is The Living Bible a Translation or a Paraphrase?

It is a paraphrase, and Taylor said so openly. He worked mainly from the American Standard Version of 1901, not from the Hebrew and Greek. He aimed to say what the text means in plain words, not to match it word for word.

That made it wonderful for new believers, kids and people who had never opened a Bible. It also drew criticism. Some scholars said it simplified too much or put Taylor's own theology into the text. For example, in John 1:1 it puts the name Christ where John wrote the Word. That says the right thing about Jesus, but it explains John instead of translating him.

Both sides have a point. A paraphrase is like a friend explaining a sermon. It helps, but you still want the sermon. Later, Tyndale House asked 90 scholars to fix those weaknesses, and the result was the New Living Translation in 1996.

So they read from the Book of the Law of God, explaining it and giving insight, so that the people could understand what was being read. Nehemiah 8:8

Which Is Better, Word for Word or Thought for Thought?

Bible translations sit on a scale.

Word for word: NASB, King James, ESV. Closest to the original wording. Best for detailed study.
Balanced: NIV, CSB, Berean Standard Bible. A middle path between accuracy and smooth reading.
Thought for thought: NLT. Clear and natural, still a real translation from the original languages.
Paraphrase: The Living Bible, The Message. Very easy to read, but more interpretation.

Most teachers suggest using one from the literal side for study and one from the readable side for reading straight through. The Owner's Manual starts from the Berean Standard Bible, which sits in that balanced middle.

Why Do These 1971 Bibles Matter for You?

Both Bibles came from the same heart. The Lockman team wanted readers to get every word right. Kenneth Taylor wanted his kids to get the point. God cares about both. His word is exact, and it is meant to be understood.

The unfolding of Your words gives light; it informs the simple. Psalm 119:130

Whether you read a literal Bible, a readable one or both, the goal is the same. Read it, understand it and let it change you. Kenneth Taylor's train ride proves you do not need a seminary office to help people do that. You just need a Bible, a burden and maybe a long commute.

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Questions People Ask

When did the NASB come out?

The NASB New Testament was published in 1963, and the complete Bible was dedicated on August 28, 1971. It was updated in 1977, 1995 and 2020 by the Lockman Foundation.

Is the NASB the most literal Bible?

The NASB is often called the most literal of the major modern English translations. It follows the original word order and grammar closely and marks added words in italics. That makes it excellent for study, though it reads less smoothly.

Is The Living Bible a real translation?

No. Kenneth Taylor openly called it a paraphrase. He worked mainly from the American Standard Version, putting each thought into plain English. Its replacement, the New Living Translation of 1996, is a true translation from Hebrew and Greek.

Why is it called Tyndale House Publishers?

Kenneth Taylor and his wife, Margaret, named their company after William Tyndale, the reformer who translated the Bible into everyday English in the 1500s and was executed for it. They started it to publish Taylor's Living Letters in 1962.

Sources

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