“Because the original tongues are not known to all the people of God, who have a right unto, and interest in the Scriptures, and are commanded in the fear of God to read, and search them, therefore, they are to be translated into the vulgar language of every nation, unto which they come, that the Word of God dwelling plentifully in all, they may worship him in an acceptable manner, and through patience and comfort of the Scriptures may have hope.”
Why Refresh the ASV?
For decades, scholars have referred to the American Standard Version as the “Rock of Biblical Honesty,” and have held convictions that “interest in it should be renewed and increased, with the chief inducement being its recognized value which deserves and demands perpetuation.”
Refresh Philosophy
Like our ASV predecessors, the RASV is resolutely committed to the Formal Equivalence translation philosophy, and has endeavored to handle the English text with both deference and reserve, intending this standard ought merely to be refreshed, rather than revised, or replaced.
Refresh Emendations
Changes made to the ASV within the limited scope of the refreshing of the English text include archaic personal pronouns (i.e. thee, thou, thine, thy, thyself, ye), archaic verb terminations (i.e. -est, -st, -th), and antiquated vocabulary, spelling, and grammar resulting from semantic shift.
