Nearly 20 years after the NASB was first published in 1971, The Lockman Foundation began a comprehensive project to update the text. The purpose of the update was to bring in revisions and refinements recommended over the previous years and incorporate thorough research based on current English usage.

A team of over 20 translators and consultants, made up of Bible scholars with doctorates in biblical languages, theology, and other applicable advanced degrees, worked for three years scrutinizing the NASB in order to modernize and maintain it in accordance with the most recent research on the oldest and best manuscripts. In order to be deemed acceptable for the NASB, updated material had to maintain the highest standards of literal translation.

The NASB 1995 refined the differences in style between the ancient languages and current English by removing the archaic Old English vocabulary, such as “thee,” “thy,” and “thou.” Sentences beginning with “And” were updated to provide better English, while verses with difficult word order were restructured. In addition, parallel passages were compared and reviewed and verbs that have a wide range of meaning were updated to better account for their use in the context. Proper names or titles were used in place of pronouns when the context made it clear who the person was. Punctuation and paragraphing were also formatted to fit the current standards. Notes about ancient manuscripts, which have appeared in most editions of the NASB, were reviewed and, in many cases, featured new and more specific interesting facts.