In the NASB95 what does Bold Text mean?

Travis Briles · 2025-04-18T13:58:26+00:00

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In the NASB 95 there are some words that are bold. I know how to turn this off in the Bible Text formatting menu, but I don't know what the bold means. Where can I look that up?

Thank You,

Travis

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MJ. Smith

Explanation of General Format
Notes and Cross References are placed in a column adjoining the text on the page and listed under verse numbers to which they refer. Superior numbers refer to literal renderings, alternate translations, or explanations. Superior letters refer to cross references. Cross references in italics are parallel passages.
Paragraphs are designated by bold face verse numbers or letters.
Quotation Marks are used in the text in accordance with modern English usage.
“Thy,” “Thee” and “Thou” are not used in this edition and have been rendered as “You” and “Your.”
Italics are used in the text to indicate words which are not found in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek but implied by it. Italics are used in the marginal notes to signify alternate readings for the text. Roman text in the marginal alternate readings is the same as italics in the Bible text.
Small Caps in the New Testament are used in the text to indicated Old Testament quotations or obvious references to Old Testament texts. Variations of Old Testament working are found in New Testament citations depending on whether the New Testament writer translated from a Hebrew text, used existing Greek or Aramaic translations, or paraphrased the material. It should be noted that modern rules for the indication of direct quotation were not used in biblical times; thus the ancient writer would use exact quotations or references to quotation without specific indication of such.
A star (*) are used to mark verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have been translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage. The translators recognized that in some contexts the present tense seems more unexpected and unjustified to the English reader than a past tense would have been. But Greek authors frequently used the present tense for the sake of heightened vividness, thereby transporting their readers in imagination to the actual scene at the time of occurence. However, the translators felt that it would be wise to change these historical presents to English past tenses.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).

From the front of the Bible as in a dead tree Bible.

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J. Jackson

The only bold I see in NASB 95 is the verse numbers that begin a new paragraph. Some translations put OT quotations in bold, but NASB 95 uses small caps for that. Can you cite a specific example or post a screenshot?

MJ. Smith

Explanation of General Format
Notes and Cross References are placed in a column adjoining the text on the page and listed under verse numbers to which they refer. Superior numbers refer to literal renderings, alternate translations, or explanations. Superior letters refer to cross references. Cross references in italics are parallel passages.
Paragraphs are designated by bold face verse numbers or letters.
Quotation Marks are used in the text in accordance with modern English usage.
“Thy,” “Thee” and “Thou” are not used in this edition and have been rendered as “You” and “Your.”
Italics are used in the text to indicate words which are not found in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek but implied by it. Italics are used in the marginal notes to signify alternate readings for the text. Roman text in the marginal alternate readings is the same as italics in the Bible text.
Small Caps in the New Testament are used in the text to indicated Old Testament quotations or obvious references to Old Testament texts. Variations of Old Testament working are found in New Testament citations depending on whether the New Testament writer translated from a Hebrew text, used existing Greek or Aramaic translations, or paraphrased the material. It should be noted that modern rules for the indication of direct quotation were not used in biblical times; thus the ancient writer would use exact quotations or references to quotation without specific indication of such.
A star (*) are used to mark verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have been translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage. The translators recognized that in some contexts the present tense seems more unexpected and unjustified to the English reader than a past tense would have been. But Greek authors frequently used the present tense for the sake of heightened vividness, thereby transporting their readers in imagination to the actual scene at the time of occurence. However, the translators felt that it would be wise to change these historical presents to English past tenses.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).

From the front of the Bible as in a dead tree Bible.

Travis Briles

@J. Jackson - with Bible Text turned on, Peace in 1 Peter 5.14 is bold.

It goes away when I turn off the Reformat Text Toggle. As such, it is not a visual filter.

@MJ. Smith - where did you find that? I guess I would still ask for some clarification on that, as not all paragraphs are marked with Bold. Similarly, there are places where there are Bold words that do not seem to be new paragraphs. I.E. 1 Peter 1.1:

I'm not saying you're wrong, I just need more help in understanding what the explanation means.

EastTN

Once you become accustomed to the typographical conventions used by the NASB, they can be quite helpful. If you're not familiar with them, though, they can be confusing.

Travis Briles

@EastTN - I agree. Upon looking, I have read what @MJ. Smith posted at the front of NASB95 and have utilized many of those before. The Bold words though, don't seem to fit the description, but I could be reading it wrong.

MJ. Smith

@MJ. Smith - where did you find that? I guess I would still ask for some clarification on that, as not all paragraphs are marked with Bold. Similarly, there are places where there are Bold words that do not seem to be new paragraphs. I.E. 1 Peter 1.1:

You probably have your Bible view set to see Bible text only if you don't see the material I quoted at the front of the Bible. I've seen this convention is some other Bibles in verse by verse format but none of my primary Bibles are in that format. The bold indicates the first word of a new paragraph … I'm not sure what else I can say,

Travis Briles

Thanks for your assistance @MJ. Smith

J. Jackson

Yeah, it seems confusing because it is rare. Most paragraphs start on a verse boundary, so only the verse number is bold. But I think MJ is right. In 1:1 and 5:14, those words are intended to open a paragraph: The first line of 1:1 being the addresser and treated as a separate unit of text from the addressee per modern conventions of letter writing.