What is the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)?

Answer

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition — History

The Revised Standard Version, which originated in 1952, evolved into the New Revised Standard Version in 1989. The NRSV was released in three variations: the NRSV, comprising the Old and New Testaments; the NRSV Common Bible, which encompassed the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books; and the NRSV Catholic Edition, containing the Old Testament books following the Latin Vulgate order. Additionally, there were anglicized versions of the NRSV that adjusted the text slightly to align with British spelling and grammar conventions. The most recent edition, the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE), was published in 2021 by the Society of Biblical Literature of the National Council of Churches.

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition — Translation Method

Both the NRSV and NRSVUE aim to incorporate recent manuscript discoveries that postdate the Revised Standard Version. The NRSV translators opted to remove outdated language like the pronouns “thee” and “thou.” They also made a contentious choice to render certain gender-specific terms using more gender-neutral language in contexts where gender neutrality was deemed appropriate, for instance, using “people” instead of “mankind.” The translators aimed to be mindful of the potential for linguistic sexism stemming from English’s inherent bias toward the masculine gender (Introduction, New Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press, 1989). Consequently, the NRSV expanded gender-specific terms such as “brothers” to “brothers and sisters.”

The NRSVUE takes the avoidance of “linguistic sexism” a step further by endeavoring to rectify other perceived biases present in earlier editions. Consequently, the NRSVue purports to provide “clearer, more direct, and inclusive language, and increased cultural sensitivity devoid of the unintended biases found in previous versions.”(https://www.zondervan.com/p/nrsvuebible, accessed 9/26/23). For instance, the NRSVUE alters the wording of Matthew 4:24 from “demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics” (NRSV) to “people possessed by demons or having epilepsy or afflicted with paralysis.” The guidelines for the “sin offering” in Leviticus 6:25 (NRSV) are transformed into regulations for the “purification offering.” Instead of using the term “sodomites,” the NRSVUE opts for “men who engage in illicit sex” «for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; », (1 Timothy 1:10). Overall, the NRSVUE implemented over 20,000 revisions.

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition — Pros and Cons

The creators of the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition emphasize that their work is not a new translation but rather a revised edition. The inclusion of a Catholic version (which includes the Apocrypha), being “gender-inclusive,” and toning down terms related to homosexuality have hindered its acceptance among many conservative and evangelical Christians.

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition — Excerpted Verses

John 1:1,14 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”

John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

John 8:58 — “Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’”

Ephesians 2:8–9 — “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Titus 2:13 — “while we wait for the blessed hope and the revelation of the glory of our magnificent God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”