For the NT the Committee has based its work on the most recent edition of The Greek New Testament, prepared by an interconfessional and international committee and published by the United Bible Societies (1966; 3d ed. corrected, 1983; information concerning changes to be introduced into the critical apparatus of the forthcoming 4th edition was available to the Committee). As in that edition, double brackets are used to enclose a few passages that are generally regarded to be later additions to the text, but that we have retained because of their evident antiquity and their importance in the textual tradition. Only in very rare instances have we replaced the text or the punctuation of the Bible Societies’ edition by an alternative that seemed to us to be superior. Here and there in the footnotes the phrase “Other ancient authorities read” identifies alternative readings preserved by Greek manuscripts and early versions. In both OT and NT, alternative renderings of the text are indicated by the word “Or.”
As for the style of English adopted for the present revision, among the mandates given to the Committee in 1980 by the Division of Education and Ministry of the National Council of Churches of Christ (which now holds the copyright of the RSV Bible) was the directive to continue in the tradition of the King James Bible, but to introduce such changes as are warranted on the basis of accuracy, clarity, euphony, and current English usage. Within the constraints set by the original texts and by the mandates of the Division, the Committee has followed the maxim “As literal as possible, as free as necessary.” As a consequence, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) remains essentially a literal translation. Paraphrastic renderings have been adopted only sparingly, and then chiefly to compensate for a deficiency in the English language—the lack of a common-gender third-person singular pronoun.
During the almost half a century since the publication of the RSV, many in the churches have become sensitive to the danger of linguistic sexism arising from the inherent bias of the English language toward the masculine gender, a bias that in the case of the Bible has often restricted or obscured the meaning of the original text. 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. As can be appreciated, more than once the Committee found that the several mandates stood in tension and even in conflict. The various concerns had to be balanced case by case in order to provide a faithful and acceptable rendering without using contrived English. Only very occasionally has the pronoun “he” or “him” been retained in passages where the reference may have been to a woman as well as to a man, for example, in several legal texts in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In such instances of formal, legal language, the options of either putting the passage in the plural or of introducing additional nouns to avoid masculine pronouns in English seemed to the Committee to obscure the historic structure and literary character of the original. In the vast majority of cases, however, inclusiveness has been attained by simple rephrasing or by introducing plural forms when this does not distort the meaning of the passage. Of course, in narrative and in parable no attempt was made to generalize the sex of individual persons.
Another aspect of style will be detected by readers who compare the more stately English rendering of the OT with the less formal rendering adopted for the NT. For example, the traditional distinction between “shall” and “will” in English has been retained in the OT as appropriate in rendering a document that embodies what may be termed the classic form of Hebrew, while in the NT the abandonment of such distinctions in the usage of the future tense in English reflects the more colloquial nature of the Koine Greek used by most NT authors except when they are quoting the OT.
Careful readers will notice that here and there in the OT the word LORD (or in certain cases GOD) is printed in capital letters. This represents the traditional manner in English versions of rendering the divine name, the “Tetragrammaton” (see the text notes on Exodus 3.14–15), following the precedent of the ancient Greek and Latin translators and the long-established practice in the reading of the Hebrew scriptures in the synagogue. Although it is almost if not quite certain that the name was originally pronounced “Yahweh,” this pronunciation was not indicated when the Masoretes added vowel sounds to the consonantal Hebrew text. To the four consonants YHWH of the divine name, which had come to be regarded as too sacred to be pronounced, they attached vowel signs indicating that in its place should be read the Hebrew word Adonai, meaning “Lord” (or Elohim, meaning “God”). Ancient Greek translators employed the word Kyrios (“Lord”) for the name. The Vulgate likewise used the Latin word Dominus (“Lord”). The form “Jehovah” is of late medieval origin; it is a combination of the consonants of the divine name and the vowels attached to it by the Masoretes but belonging to an entirely different word. Although the American Standard Version (1901) had used “Jehovah” to render the Tetragrammaton (the sound of y being represented by j and the sound of w by v, as in Latin), for two reasons the Committees that produced the RSV and the NRSV returned to the more familiar usage of the King James Version. (1) The word “Jehovah” does not accurately represent any form of the divine name ever used in Hebrew. (2) The use of any proper name for the one and only God, as though there were other gods from whom the true God had to be distinguished, began to be discontinued in Judaism before the Christian era and is inappropriate for the universal faith of the Christian church.
It will be seen that in the Psalms and in other prayers addressed to God the archaic second-person singular pronouns (“thee, thou, thine”) and verb forms (“art, hast, hadst”) are no longer used. Although some readers may regret this change, it should be pointed out that in the original languages neither the OT nor the NT makes any linguistic distinction between addressing a human being and addressing the deity. Furthermore, in the tradition of the King James Version one will not expect to find the use of capital letters for pronouns that refer to the deity—such capitalization is an unnecessary innovation that has only recently been introduced into a few English translations of the Bible. Finally, we have left to the discretion of the licensed publishers such matters as section headings, cross-references, and clues to the pronunciation of proper names.
This new version seeks to preserve all that is best in the English Bible as it has been known and used through the years. It is intended for use in public reading and congregational worship as well as in private study, instruction, and meditation. We have resisted the temptation to introduce terms and phrases that merely reflect current moods, and have tried to put the message of the scriptures in simple, enduring words and expressions that are worthy to stand in the great tradition of the King James Bible and its predecessors.
In traditional Judaism and Christianity, the Bible has been more than a historical document to be preserved or a classic of literature to be cherished and admired; it is recognized as the unique record of God’s dealings with people over the ages. The OT sets forth the call of a special people to enter into covenant relation with the God of justice and steadfast love and to bring God’s law to the nations. The NT records the life and work of Jesus Christ, the one in whom “the Word became flesh,” as well as describes the rise and spread of the early Christian church. The Bible carries its full message not to those who regard it simply as a noble literary heritage of the past or who wish to use it to enhance political purposes and advance otherwise desirable goals, but to all persons and communities who read it so that they may discern and understand what God is saying to them. That message must not be disguised in phrases that are no longer clear or hidden under words that have changed or lost their meaning; it must be presented in language that is direct and plain and meaningful to people today. It is the hope and prayer of the translators that this version of the Bible may continue to hold a large place in congregational life and to speak to all readers, young and old alike, helping them to understand and believe and respond to its message.
For the Committee,
Bruce M. Metzger
Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used for the books of the Bible:
OLD TESTAMENT
Gen … Genesis
Ex … Exodus
Lev … Leviticus
Num … Numbers
Deut … Deuteronomy
Josh … Joshua
Judg … Judges
Ruth … Ruth
1 Sam … 1 Samuel
2 Sam … 2 Samuel
1 Kings … 1 Kings
2 Kings … 2 Kings
1 Chr … 1 Chronicles
2 Chr … 2 Chronicles
Ezra … Ezra
Neh … Nehemiah
Esth … Esther
Job … Job
Ps(s) … Psalms
Prov … Proverbs
Eccl … Ecclesiastes
Song … Song of Solomon
Isa … Isaiah
Jer … Jeremiah
Lam … Lamentations
Ezek … Ezekiel
Dan … Daniel
Hos … Hosea
Joel … Joel
Am … Amos
Ob … Obadiah
Jon … Jonah
Mic … Micah
Nah … Nahum
Hab … Habakkuk
Zeph … Zephaniah
Hag … Haggai
Zech … Zechariah
Mal … Malachi
APOCRYPHAL/DEUTEROCANONICAL BOOKS
Tob … Tobit
Jdt … Judith
Add Esth … Additions to Esther
Wis … Wisdom of Solomon
Sir … Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
Bar … Baruch
Let Jer … Letter of Jeremiah
Pr Azar … Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews
Sus … Susanna
1 Macc … 1 Maccabees
2 Macc … 2 Maccabees
1 Esd … 1 Esdras
Pr Man … Prayer of Manasseh
3 Macc … 3 Maccabees
2 Esd … 2 Esdras
4 Macc … 4 Maccabees
NEW TESTAMENT
Mt … Matthew
Mk … Mark
Lk … Luke
Jn … John
Acts … Acts of the Apostles
Rom … Romans
1 Cor … 1 Corinthians
2 Cor … 2 Corinthians
Gal … Galatians
Eph … Ephesians
Phil … Philippians
Col … Colossians
1 Thess … 1 Thessalonians
2 Thess … 2 Thessalonians
1 Tim … 1 Timothy
2 Tim … 2 Timothy
Titus … Titus
Philem … Philemon
Heb … Hebrews
Jas … James
1 Pet … 1 Peter
2 Pet … 1 Peter
1 Jn … 1 John
2 Jn … 2 John
3 Jn … 3 John
Jude … Jude
Rev … Revelation
Abbreviations used in the text notes to the books of the OT:
Ant.
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews
Aram
Aramaic
Ch(s)
Chapter(s)
Cn
Correction; made where the text has suffered in transmission and the versions provide no satisfactory restoration, but where the Standard Bible Committee agrees with the judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original text.
Gk
Septuagint, Greek version of the OT
Heb
Hebrew of the consonantal Masoretic Text of the OT
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (Jewish historian, ca. 37–95 CE)
Macc.
The book(s) of the Maccabees
Ms(s)
Manuscript(s)
MT
The Hebrew of the pointed Masoretic Text of the OT
OL
Old Latin
Q Ms(s)
Manuscript(s) found at Qumran by the Dead Sea
Sam
Samaritan Hebrew text of the OT
Syr
Syriac Version of the OT
Syr H
Syriac Version of Origen’s Hexapla
Tg
Targum
Vg
Vulgate, Latin Version of the OT
Abbreviations used in the study notes:
ch(s).
chapter(s)
v(v).
verse(s)
OT
Old Testament
NT
New Testament
BCE
Before the Common Era
CE
Common Era
List of Illustrations, Maps, and Tables
Before Genesis
Names and Order of Books of the Bible in Several Traditions
Jewish Bibles
Protestant Bibles
Orthodox Bibles
Catholic Bibles
Exodus
Asiatic Captives Making Bricks
Geography of the Exodus and Numbers Narratives (map)
Court of the Tabernacle
Numbers
Geography of Israel’s Migration into Canaan (map)
The Land of Canaan (map)
Joshua
The Conquest of Canaan (map)
1 Samuel
The Kingdom of Saul (map)
1 Kings
Solomon’s Twelve Administrative Districts (map)
Solomon’s Temple (floor plan)
Solomon’s Temple
Chronology of the Kings of the Divided Monarchy
2 Kings
The Assyrian Empire and the Conquest of the West (map)
Before Tobit
Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books in Various Bibles
Designations for Books Associated with Ezra and Nehemiah
1 Maccabees
Division of Alexander’s Empire (map)
The Maccabees: A Family Tree
A Family Tree of Seleucid Rulers in the Maccabean Period
1 Esdras
The Relation of 1 Esdras to Other Biblical Books
Before Matthew
A Table of Parallel Passages in the Four Gospels
Matthew
The Herods: A Simplified Family Tree
Galilee at the Time of Jesus (map)
John
Jewish Festivals in the Gospel of John
The Fulfillment of Acts 1.8 in the Following Narrative
Early Spread of Christianity (map)
Early Expansion of Christianity into Asia Minor (map)
Cyprus, Pamphylia, and Pisidia (map)
The Aegean (map)
Before Romans
Possible Chronology of the Pauline Letters
1 Corinthians
Rome’s Aegean Provinces (map)
Colossians
Western Asia Minor (map)
1 Thessalonians
Macedonia (map)
1 Timothy
The Eastern Mediterranean (map)
1 Peter
Asia Minor (map)
Revelation
Western Asia Minor and the Aegean (map)
Alternate Ways of Counting the Roman Emperors Signified in Rev 17.10–11
After Revelation
Quotations of the Jewish Scriptures in the New Testament
COLOR MAPS SECTION AT THE END OF THIS VOLUME
Map 1
Physical Map of the Land of Israel and Surrounding Area in Biblical Times
Map 2
The Ancient World in the Late Bronze Age
Map 3
Settlement in Canaan and the Tribal Areas
Map 4
The Empire of David and Solomon
Map 5
The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
Map 6
The Assyrian Empire
Map 7
Judah After the Fall of Israel
Map 8
Great Empires of the Sixth Century BCE
Map 9
Israel Under Persian Rule (After the Return from Exile)
Map 10
The Empire of Alexander
Map 11
Israel’s Boundary Under the Maccabees
Map 12
The Roman World
Map 13
Judea, Samaria, and Surrounding Areas in New Testament Times
Map 14
Jerusalem of David and Solomon
Map 15
Jerusalem After the Exile
Map 16
Jerusalem in Jesus’ Time
Map 17
The Eastern Mediterranean World at the Time of the New Testament (First Century CE)
Map 18
Archaeological Sites in Israel and Jordan