New Revised Standard Version

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: # the NRSV standard edition, containing the Old and New Testaments (Protestant canon); # 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 Edition containing the Old Testament books in the order of the Vulgate.

There are also anglicized editions of the NRSV, which modify the text slightly to be consistent with British spelling and grammar.

History

Controversial passages

: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" 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.

Orthodox reaction

Study editions

References

External links

Category:1989 books Category:English Bible translations