In order to keep this simple, we will compare the much-vaunted New American Standard Bible (NASB) with the King James Version (KJV). These few verses are but a scant sampling of the glaring differences between these two, and represents in a general way the differences between the Majority and Minority Texts. Please note in each case we see a consistent effort to weaken the deity of Christ.
| Passage | KJV | NASB |
|---|---|---|
| Mark 1:2 | "As it is written in the prophets, Behold I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." | "As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I will send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way." |
| The NASB claims to adhere to the oldest reading. However, when you read on through the rest of this and the next verse in Mark, we note the passage quoted above is not from Isaiah, but Malachi. Thus, by choosing to insert the reference to Isaiah, which only shows up in a few manuscripts, the Lockman Foundation creates an outright error. This makes Mark look a fool, and weakens his testimony of Christ. | ||
| Luke 24:51 | "And it came to pass while he blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up to heaven." | "And it came about that while He was blessing them, He parted from them." |
| NASB removes the explicit phrase "carried up to heaven." We are left with a picture of Jesus simply walking away. The Lockman Foundation is inconsistent here, for it is the oldest manuscripts that include the phrase. They chose instead to go with a mere two manuscripts that came later. We note this also disagrees with every manuscript record of Acts 1:1-2, where Luke mentions his Gospel ended with Jesus ascending to Heaven. | ||
| Luke 24:52 | "And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy." | "And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy." |
| Here the NASB goes with a single manuscript against several thousand others, and removes the reference to worshipping the Risen Savior. | ||
| 2 Timothy 2:15 | "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." | "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who need not to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth." |
| The theological context of Paul's instructions to Timothy is to avoid wrangling over semantics, to cut off the frivolous disputes and teach solid truth. Thus, the phrase "rightly dividing" reflects a proper rendering of a Greek word meaning "to cut straight." Timothy is encouraged to lop off the junk theology, false prophecies, etc. -- to divide the "word of truth" from meaningless babble. There is no plausible precedent anywhere in Scripture for turning this into the more nebulous concept of "handling accurately." In fact, the only Greek word plausibly translated "accurately" appears nowhere in Scripture. That is, unless you count in the self-promoting blurb the Lockman Foundation prints in the preface of every copy of the NASB. | ||
| James 5:16 | "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." | "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." |
| For all its popularity with Protestants, the NASB follows a patently Catholic translation here. The Greek word for "sins" in the passage appears only in Nestle's published Greek text, citing absolutely no source support for it. The word for "faults" is found in almost every manuscript. The implication is that the majority of witnesses teach us we are to discuss our character flaws with our fellow believers, not our specific sins. Fix the faults and the sins go away. | ||
| John 9:35 | "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" | "Jesus heard that they had put him out; and finding him, He said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?'" |
| While we must acknowledge the term "Son of Man" was broadly considered a reference to the Messiah, it did not necessarily equate with "Son of God." Plenty of rabbinical teaching separates the two concepts. Indeed, the word for "man" finds only one 20th Century witness -- a single scholar working on the RSV. Oddly, we note John never uses the former anywhere in his Gospel when making a doctrinal point (20 passages). Indeed, at the Trial Before Pilate (John 19), the agitated Pilate faces the crowd and hears that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God (v. 7). Now having lost almost all composure, Pilate goes back and demands of Jesus what He claimed for Himself: "Where are you from?" (v. 9). John makes the point repeatedly that this was very much God in the flesh. | ||
It has been argued that there are still plenty of places where the deity of Christ is supported in the NASB. The question remains: Why, at every juncture where there was even the faintest possibility of it, did the Lockman scholars consistently choose the weaker reading? I suggest there is an obvious bias. Their work only refers to the divinity of Jesus when there was no other option.
Please note the Lockman Foundation refuses to identify the names of scholars on their translation committees. While they piously claim this takes the focus off men and puts in on the Word, I would suggest it's more about the scholars wanting to stay out of hot water by not revealing their true opinions to those who know them.
My thanks to Tim Warner at LastTrumpet.com for the background information.