New Revised Standard Version
Encyclopedia
The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible
is an English translation of the Bible released in 1989 in the USA. It is a thorough revision of the Revised Standard Version
(RSV).
There are three editions of the NRSV:
There are also anglicized editions of the NRSV, which modify the text slightly to be consistent with British
spelling and grammar.
, an ecumenical Christian group. There has also been Jewish
representation in the group responsible for the Old Testament. This translation is meant to replace the Revised Standard Version, and to identify it in context with the many other English language translations available today. It is called the New Revised Standard Version because it is a revision of the Revised Standard Version
of 1952.
translation of the RSV was completed before the Dead Sea Scrolls
were generally available to scholars. The NRSV was intended to take advantage of this and other manuscript discoveries, and to reflect advances in scholarship since the RSV had been released.
familiar forms ("thee and thou") when God was addressed, but eliminated their use in other contexts. The NRSV eliminated all such archaisms. In a prefatory essay to readers, the translation committee said that "although some readers may regret this change, it should be pointed out that in the original languages neither the Old Testament nor the New makes any linguistic distinction between addressing a human being and addressing the Deity."
wrote for the committee that “many in the churches have become sensitive to the danger of linguistic sexism arising from the inherent bias of the English language towards the masculine gender, a bias that in the case of the Bible has often restricted or obscured the meaning of the original text”. The RSV observed the older convention of using masculine nouns in a gender-neutral sense (e.g. "man" instead of "person"), and in some cases used a masculine word where the source language used a neuter word. The NRSV by contrast adopted a policy of inclusiveness in gender language
. According to Metzger, “The mandates from the Division specified that, in references to men and women, masculine-oriented language should be eliminated as far as this can be done without altering passages that reflect the historical situation of ancient patriarchal culture.”
One of the conventions NRSV uses is to expand gender-specific phrases. For example, if a translation used brothers to refer to a group that is not known to be all male, NRSV may use brothers and sisters. Where such adjustments are made the literal translation is noted in a footnote.
, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
, Presbyterian Church (USA)
, the United Church of Christ
, the Reformed Church in America
, and the United Church of Canada
.
In the Catholic Church, the NRSV has been approved for use privately but for public worship it it is not approved. An adapted version is under consideration for approval in England and Wales, in Ireland, and in Scotland. In accordance with the Code of Canon Law Canon 825.1, the New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, has the imprimatur
of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, granted on 12 September 1991 and 15 October 1991 respectively, meaning that the NRSV (Catholic Edition) is officially approved by the Catholic Church and can be profitably used by Catholics privately in study and devotional reading. For public worship, such as at weekly mass, most Catholic Bishops Conferences in English-speaking countries require the use other translations, either the New American Bible
or the Jerusalem Bible
. In Canada, an adapted form of the NRSV was approved in 2008 by the Canadian conference and the Vatican. Although the United States Conference approves only the New American Bible
for liturgical use, the NRSV, along with the RSV, is adapted and quoted in the English-language edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
.
, originally written in Hebrew, as:
The NRSV thus retained the RSV decision to translate the Hebrew "almah
" as "young woman", though a footnote acknowledged that the ancient Greek
translation, the Septuagint, reads "virgin" (that is, "parthenos"). A significant quotation of Isaiah in the Gospel of Matthew
also translated the word into Greek as "parthenos" (virgin), and English translations of Isaiah prior to the RSV had followed the Greek. The traditional translation of the phrase "will conceive", which likewise is the Greek translation given in Matthew, was rephrased as the present tense "is with child". This and other non-traditional translations were criticized (e.g. preferring "wind" instead of "spirit" for "rûach" in Genesis 1).
Regarding gender-neutral language, previous translations in this tradition (from the Tyndale Bible to the RSV) adhered to the original text over concerns about readability or gender neutral language; the NRSV departs from this practice. In particular, the NRSV frequently—but not always—substitutes the word "person" or "adult" when the text reads "anēr" (often, but not always, meaning a male adult human being). For example, 1 Corinthians 13:11 in the RSV read: "when I became a man, I gave up childish ways," while the NRSV rendered this passage "when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways". Because the NRSV frequently departs from a literal translation of the text in favour of gender neutrality, critics argue it departed from the heritage of preserving the literal text of Scripture that was the distinguishing feature of translations in the Tyndale/King James tradition.
New Testament as a starting point, and the Old Testament committee chose to make a new translation of the Septuagint rather than use any existing English translation or returning to the original Hebrew. Orthodox criticism of the NRSV generally followed conservative Protestant lines, but in addition criticized the use of the Masoretic text
as the Old Testament textual basis. In 1990 the synod
of the Orthodox Church in America
decided not to permit use of the NRSV in liturgy or in Bible studies.
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
is an English translation of the Bible released in 1989 in the USA. It is a thorough revision of the Revised Standard Version
Revised Standard Version
The Revised Standard Version is an English translation of the Bible published in the mid-20th century. It traces its history to William Tyndale's New Testament translation of 1525. The RSV is an authorized revision of the American Standard Version of 1901...
(RSV).
There are three editions of the NRSV:
- the NRSV standard edition, containing the OldOld TestamentThe Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and NewNew TestamentThe New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
Testaments (Protestant canonDevelopment of the New Testament canonThe Canon of the New Testament is the set of books Christians regard as divinely inspired and constituting the New Testament of the Christian Bible. For most, it is an agreed-upon list of twenty-seven books that includes the Canonical Gospels, Acts, letters of the Apostles, and Revelation...
); - the NRSV with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books in addition to the Old and New Testaments (this edition is sometimes called the NRSV Common Bible);
- the NRSV Catholic EditionNew Revised Standard Version Catholic EditionThe New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition is a translation of the Bible adapted for the use of Catholics with the approval of the Catholic Church. It contains all the canonical books of Scripture accepted by the Catholic Church arranged in the traditional Catholic order...
containing the Old Testament books in the order of the VulgateVulgateThe Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
.
There are also anglicized editions of the NRSV, which modify the text slightly to be consistent with British
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
spelling and grammar.
History
The NRSV was translated by the Division of Christian Education (now Bible Translation and Utilization) of the National Council of ChurchesNational Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
, an ecumenical Christian group. There has also been Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
representation in the group responsible for the Old Testament. This translation is meant to replace the Revised Standard Version, and to identify it in context with the many other English language translations available today. It is called the New Revised Standard Version because it is a revision of the Revised Standard Version
Revised Standard Version
The Revised Standard Version is an English translation of the Bible published in the mid-20th century. It traces its history to William Tyndale's New Testament translation of 1525. The RSV is an authorized revision of the American Standard Version of 1901...
of 1952.
Improved manuscripts and translations
The Old TestamentOld Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
translation of the RSV was completed before the Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
were generally available to scholars. The NRSV was intended to take advantage of this and other manuscript discoveries, and to reflect advances in scholarship since the RSV had been released.
Elimination of archaism
The RSV retained the archaic second personGrammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
familiar forms ("thee and thou") when God was addressed, but eliminated their use in other contexts. The NRSV eliminated all such archaisms. In a prefatory essay to readers, the translation committee said that "although some readers may regret this change, it should be pointed out that in the original languages neither the Old Testament nor the New makes any linguistic distinction between addressing a human being and addressing the Deity."
Gender language
In the preface to the NRSV, Bruce MetzgerBruce Metzger
Bruce Manning Metzger was a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the American Bible Society. He was a scholar of Greek, New Testament and Old Testament, and wrote prolifically on these subjects.- Biography :Metzger was born in Middletown,...
wrote for the committee that “many in the churches have become sensitive to the danger of linguistic sexism arising from the inherent bias of the English language towards the masculine gender, a bias that in the case of the Bible has often restricted or obscured the meaning of the original text”. The RSV observed the older convention of using masculine nouns in a gender-neutral sense (e.g. "man" instead of "person"), and in some cases used a masculine word where the source language used a neuter word. The NRSV by contrast adopted a policy of inclusiveness in gender language
Gender-neutral language
Gender-neutral language, gender-inclusive language, inclusive language, or gender neutrality is linguistic prescriptivism that aims to eliminate reference to gender in terms that describe people...
. According to Metzger, “The mandates from the Division specified that, in references to men and women, masculine-oriented language should be eliminated as far as this can be done without altering passages that reflect the historical situation of ancient patriarchal culture.”
One of the conventions NRSV uses is to expand gender-specific phrases. For example, if a translation used brothers to refer to a group that is not known to be all male, NRSV may use brothers and sisters. Where such adjustments are made the literal translation is noted in a footnote.
Approval of the NRSV
Many of the older mainline Protestant churches officially approve the NRSV for both private and public use. The Episcopal Church in Canon II.2 added the NRSV to the list of translations approved for church services. It is also widely used by The United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in AmericaEvangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...
, Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
, the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
, the Reformed Church in America
Reformed Church in America
The Reformed Church in America is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 170,000 members, with the total declining in recent decades. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1819, it...
, and the United Church of Canada
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
.
In the Catholic Church, the NRSV has been approved for use privately but for public worship it it is not approved. An adapted version is under consideration for approval in England and Wales, in Ireland, and in Scotland. In accordance with the Code of Canon Law Canon 825.1, the New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, has the imprimatur
Imprimatur
An imprimatur is, in the proper sense, a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement.-Catholic Church:...
of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, granted on 12 September 1991 and 15 October 1991 respectively, meaning that the NRSV (Catholic Edition) is officially approved by the Catholic Church and can be profitably used by Catholics privately in study and devotional reading. For public worship, such as at weekly mass, most Catholic Bishops Conferences in English-speaking countries require the use other translations, either the New American Bible
New American Bible
The New American Bible is a Catholic Bible translation first published in 1970. It had its beginnings in the Confraternity Bible, which began to be translated from the original languages in 1948....
or the Jerusalem Bible
Jerusalem Bible
The Jerusalem Bible is a Roman Catholic translation of the Bible which first was introduced to the English-speaking public in 1966 and published by Darton, Longman & Todd...
. In Canada, an adapted form of the NRSV was approved in 2008 by the Canadian conference and the Vatican. Although the United States Conference approves only the New American Bible
New American Bible
The New American Bible is a Catholic Bible translation first published in 1970. It had its beginnings in the Confraternity Bible, which began to be translated from the original languages in 1948....
for liturgical use, the NRSV, along with the RSV, is adapted and quoted in the English-language edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the official text of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 — "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" — with his apostolic...
.
Controversial passages
In several places the NRSV committee ignore traditional translations in favour of renderings they believe better reflect the original meaning of the text. For example, the NRSV translates Isaiah 7:14Isaiah 7:14
Isaiah 7:14 is a verse of the Book of Isaiah in which the prophet Isaiah, addressing king Ahaz of Judah , promises the king a sign that his oracle is a true one...
, originally written in Hebrew, as:
- Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.
The NRSV thus retained the RSV decision to translate the Hebrew "almah
Almah
The Hebrew term almah or plural: alamot is a Hebrew feminine noun, for a girl who has reached puberty but is still under the shielding protection of her family; she is a young, marriageable girl. In Bibles, almah is typically translated as virgin, maiden, young woman, damsel or girl...
" as "young woman", though a footnote acknowledged that the ancient Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
translation, the Septuagint, reads "virgin" (that is, "parthenos"). A significant quotation of Isaiah in the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
also translated the word into Greek as "parthenos" (virgin), and English translations of Isaiah prior to the RSV had followed the Greek. The traditional translation of the phrase "will conceive", which likewise is the Greek translation given in Matthew, was rephrased as the present tense "is with child". This and other non-traditional translations were criticized (e.g. preferring "wind" instead of "spirit" for "rûach" in Genesis 1).
Regarding gender-neutral language, previous translations in this tradition (from the Tyndale Bible to the RSV) adhered to the original text over concerns about readability or gender neutral language; the NRSV departs from this practice. In particular, the NRSV frequently—but not always—substitutes the word "person" or "adult" when the text reads "anēr" (often, but not always, meaning a male adult human being). For example, 1 Corinthians 13:11 in the RSV read: "when I became a man, I gave up childish ways," while the NRSV rendered this passage "when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways". Because the NRSV frequently departs from a literal translation of the text in favour of gender neutrality, critics argue it departed from the heritage of preserving the literal text of Scripture that was the distinguishing feature of translations in the Tyndale/King James tradition.
Orthodox reaction
In spite of Orthodox Christian participation in the translation, and while annotated versions of the RSV were accepted by some Orthodox, the Orthodox Study Bible chose the New King James VersionNew King James Version
The New King James Version is a modern translation of the Bible published by Thomas Nelson, Inc. The New Testament was published in 1979. The Psalms in 1980. The full Bible was published in 1982. It took a total of 7 years to complete...
New Testament as a starting point, and the Old Testament committee chose to make a new translation of the Septuagint rather than use any existing English translation or returning to the original Hebrew. Orthodox criticism of the NRSV generally followed conservative Protestant lines, but in addition criticized the use of the Masoretic text
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible and is regarded as Judaism's official version of the Tanakh. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and...
as the Old Testament textual basis. In 1990 the synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
of the Orthodox Church in America
Orthodox Church in America
The Orthodox Church in America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. Its primate is Metropolitan Jonah , who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008...
decided not to permit use of the NRSV in liturgy or in Bible studies.
Study editions
- The Harper Study Bible (1991, ISBN 0-310-90203-7)
- The HarperCollins Study Bible with Apocrypha (1997, ISBN 0-06-065527-5)
- The Spiritual Formation Bible (1999, ISBN 0-310-90089-1)
- The Access Bible with Apocrypha (1999, ISBN 0-19-528217-5)
- The New Oxford Annotated BibleOxford Annotated BibleThe Oxford Annotated Bible is a study Bible published by the Oxford University Press . The notes and the study material feature in-depth academic research from non-denominational perspectives, with contributors from mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish traditions.The original OAB and...
with Apocrypha, 3rd edition (2001, ISBN 0-19-528478-X) - The New Interpreter's Study BibleNew Interpreter's Study BibleThe New Interpreter's Study Bible is a study Bible first published by Abingdon Press/Cokesbury in 2003 which utilizes the New Revised Standard Version .- External links :*...
with Apocrypha (2003, ISBN 0-687-27832-5) - The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible with Apocrypha (2005, ISBN 0-06-067108-4)
- The Oxford New Revised Standard Version Anglicized Cross-Reference Edition (1995, ISBN 978-0-19-107050-1)
- The Green BibleThe Green BibleThe Green Bible is an English version of the New Revised Standard Version Bible with a focus on environmental issues and teachings. It was originally published by Harper Bibles on October 7, 2008. It is a study Bible featuring essays by N.T...
2008 - The Wesley Study BibleThe Wesley Study BibleThe Wesley Study Bible was released February 1, 2009 by its publisher Abingdon Press. It is a New Revised Standard Version edition of the Bible, without the Apocrypha books....
(2009, ISBN 978-0-687-64503-9) - Lutheran Study BibleLutheran Study BibleLutheran Study Bible or The Lutheran Study Bible is one of two different study bibles released in 2009 in the United States based on Lutheran theology....
(ELCA) (2009) - The Restored New Testament (RNT) (2009, ISBN 978-0-393-06493-3)
External links
- Official Website
- National Council of Churches
- Religion: Farewell To Thee's and He's, TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine