The New Revised Standard Version was officially issued
September 30th 1990. The NRSV translating committee consisted
of 30 men and women, each of whom held advanced degrees in
their respective fields. The copyright is held by the National Council
of the Churches of Christ. The translation philosophy underlying
the NRSV is "literal as possible; as free as necessary." In my
judgment this reflects the ideal goal in all Bible translation, albeit
often inconsistently executed. There are times when a modified-
literal rendering of the ancient texts is understandable, and there
are occasions when literal is unintelligible. In such cases the
translators should use current English idiom, and some degree
of paraphrase if necessary in order to insure the resulting translation
is intelligible as well as accurate.
The NRSV is a thorough revision of the RSV which was initially
published in 1952. A second edition of the RSV, which was a slight
revision of the N.T. portion was published in 1971. Several factors
provided the impetus that led to the production of the NRSV. (1) The
need to remove the archaic language including the removal of the "thee's"
and "thou's" from the RSV. (2) The need to correct and update some
of the exegetical choices in the text of the RSV based on further use
of the papyri, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and modern scholarly study of
comparative Semitic languages such as Akkadian and Ugaritic. (3)
The need to remove unnecessarily male oriented language when the
text speaks to or about males and females. For generations the words
"man" and the so-called generic "he" were understood to include males
and females in certain contexts, but changes within the English language
to some extent altered this perception.
The O.T. committee made use of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
(1977 edition; emandate, 1983) . They did not slavishly follow the
Masoretic Text. When the translators believed the Hebrew text was
"corrupt," they did not hesitate to compare the ancient versions (Greek,
Aramaic, and Latin) and the Dead Sea Scrolls. They also made
"corrections" to the text by following the most probable reconstructions
of the original and relying on the judgment of competent Hebrew scholars.
The N.T. committee based its work on the 3rd edition of the United
Bibles Societies Greek Text. The translators had access to the changes
that were introduced into the critical apparatus of the 4th edition of the
Greek N.T., published in 1993.
There are many textual improvements found in the NRSV. Instead
of a "mist" going up from the earth as in the RSV, the NRSV says "a
stream would rise from the earth." (Gen. 2:6) In Proverbs "sluggard"
is replaced by "lazybones" (Prov. 6:6,9 ) and "lazy person" (Prov. 19:24;
20:4; 26:14). In Acts 2:38 the NRSV takes the bold step of accurately
translating eis aphesin ton hamartion humon as "so that your sins may
be forgiven," instead of using the generic phrase "for the forgiveness of
your sins." In Acts 19:9 we read of the "lecture hall" of Tyrannus instead
of "school" as in the KJV and ASV. In 1 Cor. 10:9, the NRSV
follows the reading of p46, a papyrus fragment dated 200 A.D. Instead
of the traditional "Lord," it says the Israelites in the wilderness put "Christ"
to the test. In 2 Tim. 4:1 the translators understood the contextual use
of diamarturomai and rendered it "I solemnly urge you" instead of "I
charge you" as in the RSV. In Gal. 3:24 paidagogos is interpreted as
"disciplinarian" instead of "schoolmaster" or "tutor." The NRSV's
brilliance for idiomatic translation is observed in Jno. 1:18. The literal
rendering of eis ton kolpon tou patros is "in the bosom of the Father."
(KJV, ASV, RSV) The NRSV abandons a literal translation of the
phrase and gives us the beautifully elegant "close to the Father's heart."
There are places where the NRSV has made textual choices that
are questionable to say the least. In Gen. 1:1 it says, "In the beginnning
when God created." They translate the Hebrew as a dependent clause,
when it appears that it is a general summary statement of the creation.
In Gen. 1:2 it says, "a wind from God swept over the face of the waters"
instead of saying "the Spirit of God was hovering..." Ruach elohim is
used in other places in the O.T. to indicate the "Spirit of God" so why
not in this occurrence? Mat. 5:32 gives "unchastity" as a ground for
divorce. The rendering is too vague. The Greek porneia denotes
sexual immorality. The NRSV correctly translates porneia in
(1 Cor. 5:1 and 2 Cor. 12:21). In Mat. 18:15 it says what to do "if
another member of the church sins against you." The Greek simply
means "if your brother or sister, or a fellow believer sins against you."
(Cf. the TNIV) In 1 Cor. 16:2 the NRSV says believers should
contribute "whatever extra you earn" toward the collection for God's
holy people. The Greek says, "give whatever you prosper in", meaning,
"as you prosper." The NRSV's rendering of the Greek phrase is sure
to lighten many a collection basket on Sunday morning.
The NRSV is not a perfect translation. Nevertheless, it has many
good qualities and is a very useful text. Perhaps its niche is when
used as a comparative tool for study. Occasionally it goes too far in
order to attain "gender inclusiveness" and in doing so it sometimes
sacrifices accuracy. There is much to commend the NRSV if a person
uses it with discretion. How do I rate the NRSV on a scale of 1 to 10?
I give it a rating of 8 for readability and a rating of 7.5 for accuracy.
The accuracy rating of 7.5 reflects the way the NRSV handles "gender
inclusive" language. Gender accuracy and gender inclusiveness
are not necessarily the same. If the NRSV were more restrained, and
if it were more felicitous in handling the English language, it would easily
have a 9 for accuracy! It is an excellent translation most of the time.
RD
Copyright 2011
September 30th 1990. The NRSV translating committee consisted
of 30 men and women, each of whom held advanced degrees in
their respective fields. The copyright is held by the National Council
of the Churches of Christ. The translation philosophy underlying
the NRSV is "literal as possible; as free as necessary." In my
judgment this reflects the ideal goal in all Bible translation, albeit
often inconsistently executed. There are times when a modified-
literal rendering of the ancient texts is understandable, and there
are occasions when literal is unintelligible. In such cases the
translators should use current English idiom, and some degree
of paraphrase if necessary in order to insure the resulting translation
is intelligible as well as accurate.
The NRSV is a thorough revision of the RSV which was initially
published in 1952. A second edition of the RSV, which was a slight
revision of the N.T. portion was published in 1971. Several factors
provided the impetus that led to the production of the NRSV. (1) The
need to remove the archaic language including the removal of the "thee's"
and "thou's" from the RSV. (2) The need to correct and update some
of the exegetical choices in the text of the RSV based on further use
of the papyri, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and modern scholarly study of
comparative Semitic languages such as Akkadian and Ugaritic. (3)
The need to remove unnecessarily male oriented language when the
text speaks to or about males and females. For generations the words
"man" and the so-called generic "he" were understood to include males
and females in certain contexts, but changes within the English language
to some extent altered this perception.
The O.T. committee made use of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
(1977 edition; emandate, 1983) . They did not slavishly follow the
Masoretic Text. When the translators believed the Hebrew text was
"corrupt," they did not hesitate to compare the ancient versions (Greek,
Aramaic, and Latin) and the Dead Sea Scrolls. They also made
"corrections" to the text by following the most probable reconstructions
of the original and relying on the judgment of competent Hebrew scholars.
The N.T. committee based its work on the 3rd edition of the United
Bibles Societies Greek Text. The translators had access to the changes
that were introduced into the critical apparatus of the 4th edition of the
Greek N.T., published in 1993.
There are many textual improvements found in the NRSV. Instead
of a "mist" going up from the earth as in the RSV, the NRSV says "a
stream would rise from the earth." (Gen. 2:6) In Proverbs "sluggard"
is replaced by "lazybones" (Prov. 6:6,9 ) and "lazy person" (Prov. 19:24;
20:4; 26:14). In Acts 2:38 the NRSV takes the bold step of accurately
translating eis aphesin ton hamartion humon as "so that your sins may
be forgiven," instead of using the generic phrase "for the forgiveness of
your sins." In Acts 19:9 we read of the "lecture hall" of Tyrannus instead
of "school" as in the KJV and ASV. In 1 Cor. 10:9, the NRSV
follows the reading of p46, a papyrus fragment dated 200 A.D. Instead
of the traditional "Lord," it says the Israelites in the wilderness put "Christ"
to the test. In 2 Tim. 4:1 the translators understood the contextual use
of diamarturomai and rendered it "I solemnly urge you" instead of "I
charge you" as in the RSV. In Gal. 3:24 paidagogos is interpreted as
"disciplinarian" instead of "schoolmaster" or "tutor." The NRSV's
brilliance for idiomatic translation is observed in Jno. 1:18. The literal
rendering of eis ton kolpon tou patros is "in the bosom of the Father."
(KJV, ASV, RSV) The NRSV abandons a literal translation of the
phrase and gives us the beautifully elegant "close to the Father's heart."
There are places where the NRSV has made textual choices that
are questionable to say the least. In Gen. 1:1 it says, "In the beginnning
when God created." They translate the Hebrew as a dependent clause,
when it appears that it is a general summary statement of the creation.
In Gen. 1:2 it says, "a wind from God swept over the face of the waters"
instead of saying "the Spirit of God was hovering..." Ruach elohim is
used in other places in the O.T. to indicate the "Spirit of God" so why
not in this occurrence? Mat. 5:32 gives "unchastity" as a ground for
divorce. The rendering is too vague. The Greek porneia denotes
sexual immorality. The NRSV correctly translates porneia in
(1 Cor. 5:1 and 2 Cor. 12:21). In Mat. 18:15 it says what to do "if
another member of the church sins against you." The Greek simply
means "if your brother or sister, or a fellow believer sins against you."
(Cf. the TNIV) In 1 Cor. 16:2 the NRSV says believers should
contribute "whatever extra you earn" toward the collection for God's
holy people. The Greek says, "give whatever you prosper in", meaning,
"as you prosper." The NRSV's rendering of the Greek phrase is sure
to lighten many a collection basket on Sunday morning.
The NRSV is not a perfect translation. Nevertheless, it has many
good qualities and is a very useful text. Perhaps its niche is when
used as a comparative tool for study. Occasionally it goes too far in
order to attain "gender inclusiveness" and in doing so it sometimes
sacrifices accuracy. There is much to commend the NRSV if a person
uses it with discretion. How do I rate the NRSV on a scale of 1 to 10?
I give it a rating of 8 for readability and a rating of 7.5 for accuracy.
The accuracy rating of 7.5 reflects the way the NRSV handles "gender
inclusive" language. Gender accuracy and gender inclusiveness
are not necessarily the same. If the NRSV were more restrained, and
if it were more felicitous in handling the English language, it would easily
have a 9 for accuracy! It is an excellent translation most of the time.
RD
Copyright 2011
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