Readers would have noticed that we use the NASB95 often. Some criticise the NASB 1995 saying that it feels wooden or stilted when reading it. Well, the NASB95 does feel a bit wooden. So in future we might switch to NASB 2020 more often. The more recent NASB 2020 is supposed to be smoother and more readable than the 1995 version. But some may ask,” Why not other versions?” This is because we prefer a more literal translation. They call it, “Formal Equivalence.”

Formal Equivalence is translation that seeks to translate the text word-for-word adhering as close as possible to the original source material. Apart from the NASB, the KJV is another good example of formal equivalence. Of course, the most literal translation is Young’s Literal Translation (YLT). But the YLT can be challenging to read without other translations such as the NASB. So with the YLT being challenging to read and the KJV using old English, we figured the NASB would be best for our purpose.

The NASB translates word-for-word from the original language as much as possible while at the same time, it tries to also make it as readable as possible. Thus in our view, the most literal that includes being most readable would have to be the New American Standard Bible.