2 Timothy

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NASB	2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
AMPLIFIED 2015	2 Timothy 2:15 Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.

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Bible Question: Why should the NASB be preferred over the KJV or other translations?

Bible Answer: svickers2 ... You ask why the New American Standard Bible should be preferred over the King James Verson or other translations. That's a good question. Let's see what kind of answer we can come up with. ....... First, let's consider the KJV and the NASB, and let me spare no admiration for the masterpiece of them all, the King James Bible. The KJV has been called "the noblest monument to Englsh prose" and rightly so, for perhaps no English translation of the Scriptures before or since 1611 has captured the poetry and music of the language quite as majestically as has the King James Bible. The KJV is a venerable translation and honored by time: it's been around some 400 years. but therein lies a problem. The English language has changed dramatically since 1611, the year the first edition of the King James Bible was published. A great deal of the vocabulary and syntax that the KJV translators used sounds strange to the modern ear and is difficult reading for many modern readers. Some words have changed their meaning and a few of them actually mean the opposite of what they meant to readers of the Jacobean English in 1611. So point one in favor of the NASB is that the language is contemporary and thus more readily understood. being rendered in the standard English of our time. ........ During the last 400 years since the KJV was translated, there have been significant discoveries in archaelogy, ancient cultures and languages. as well as discoveries of a large number of biblical manuscripts that were not extant when the KJV was translated. This is point two in favor of the NASB. To conclude: the NASB should be preferred over the KJV if one desires to read and study an excellent, reliable translation in modern English that a number of scholars have called the most literally accurate translation in English. ...... The "other translations" available today may be sorted into two general groups, the formal word-for-word group and the paraphrase group. Among the former are. for example, the English Standard Version (ESV) and the New King James Version (NKJV) The ESV is essentially a revision of the Revised Standard Version and the NKJV is, of course, an attempt to modernize the KJV. ....... The fancy term "dynamic equivalance" was invented some years ago and used instead of the word "paraphrase" to describe the translation philosophy followed by the New International Version and other versions. But the result is the same: they are paraphrased versions rather than formal word-for-word tranlations. Among the paraphrased versions, the New International Version (NIV) and the New Living Translation (NLT) are well known and championed by those who like the "natural" style of these versions and are not averse to a paraphristic treatment of the sacred text........ As long-time readers of this Forum know, I am not at all fond of paraphrasing the Scriptures, preferring to read and study a translation that is as transparent of the ancient manuscripts as is possible consistenct with the conventions of the receptor language. Paraphrasing has its troubles, not the least of which is that it places upon the translator the enormous burden of having to tell his readers not what the Lord said in His book, but what He meant by what He said. I much prefer to read for myself what the Lord actually said and pray for illumination by the Holy Spirit instead of relying on a translator for it. ....... Summary: There are many versions on the market. One could argue that there are too many. A few are very good; many are not so good. I don't subscribe to the dictum I've heard so many times, that the best version is the one you like. That's like saying that the best food for your body is chocolate candy because you like it so well! Steer clear of versions written by cults and those written in English dialect. Sample various versions. Read what respected conservative scholars and pastors say about them. I like to read thoughtful criticisms as well as endorsements. And keep several different translations handy. Occasionally when I'm stumped by a difficult locution in one translation, I find that another translation frequently helps to clear things up. For what it's worth, my "main four" Bible translations are, listed alphabetically, ESV, KJV, NASB, NKJV. --Hank