New Revised Standard Version
The New Revised Standard Version is an extensively revised update of the Revised Standard Version that was released in 1989. Although it is the Bible translation preferred by academics and scholars (Scholars who are Evangelicals, Catholics, Mainline Protestants, Jews, secular historians, etc.) who publish in the top academic publications, due to it being based on what are often considered the oldest and best manuscripts, and its strict adherence to word-for-word translation[1]; it has not gained acceptance among either evangelicals or Catholics. The publisher describes NRSV's perspective as "ecumenical" rather than Christian. Dictionaries commonly define the word ecumenical as being interdenominational, in the connotation of there being a single church.
The copyright is owned by the liberal National Council of Churches. The translators modernized the language of RSV and introduced gender-neutral language where the grammar and/or context supports it. For example, Paul addresses his audience as "brothers and sisters" instead of "brethren."[2]
The New Oxford Annotated Bible (2010) is a study Bible based on the NRSV translation. It includes notes that express opinions at odds with traditional Christian views. This is the version of the Bible most often assigned in universities and seminaries. The NRSV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible published by the evangelical Christian publishing company Zondervan in 2019 offers scholarly insight into the customs, culture, and literature of biblical times.
NRSV's most controversial passage is in Isaiah: Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.[3] This verse is quoted as a messianic prophesy by Matthew, but in a somewhat different form: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.[4] Matthew's quote is from the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew scripture.[5]
To address evangelical criticism, the NCC licensed the text of RSV to Crossway Publishers, which produced the English Standard Version in 2001.
Notes
- ↑ The New Revised Standard Version is the version most commonly preferred by biblical scholars, according to Mark D. Given of Missouri State University. This is due to its basis in what are often considered the oldest and best manuscripts, and its strict adherence to word-for-word translation.
- ↑ 2 Thessalonians 3:13
- ↑ Isaiah 7:14.
- ↑ Matthew 1:23.
- ↑ "The Hebrew word used here (עַלְמָה, ’almah)...is simply the feminine form of the corresponding masculine noun עֶלֶם (’elem, “young man”; cf. 1 Sam 17:56; 20:22)," according to The NET Bible (1996-2011), a translator's reference.
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