Revised Standard Version
\nThe
Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an
English translation of the
Bible that was popular in the mid-20th century and posed the first challenge to the
King James Version (KJV) as the most popular Bible in English.
Beginnings of the revision
\nThe RSV is a revision of the 1901 American Standard Version. The copyright to that version was acquired by International Council of Religious Education in 1928. At that time, a two-year study was done to decide the question of a new revision. In 1937, it was decided that a revision would be done and a panel of 32 scholars was put together for that task. The decision, however, was delayed by the Great Depression. Funding for the revision was assured in 1936 by a deal that was made with Thomas Nelson & Sons. The deal gave Thomas Nelson & Sons rights to print the RSV for ten years. The translators were to be paid by advance royalties.
The 1946 and 1952 printings and reaction
\nThe translation panel used the 17th edition of the Nestle Greek text. The New Testament was released in 1946, and the Old Testament in 1952. The RSV New Testament was well received, while the Old Testament was not. The RSV translators translated the Old Testament from a Jewish viewpoint. Other views, including those of the New Testament, were not considered. This translation style led Conservative sections of the Church to accuse the RSV of tampering with some passages that can be read as prophecies relating to Jesus. There were some people who were so enraged over the RSV that they took their anger to extremes. Among this behavior were the actions of a pastor in the Southern USA who burned a copy of the RSV and sent the ashes to Luther Weigle, the chair of the translation panel. Even others began to create unfounded charges that members of the translation panel were communists. At Joseph McCarthy's request, these charges were printed in the US Air Force training manual.
There were two key differences between the RSV and the KJV and American Standard Version (ASV). One difference was the way the name of God (YHVH) is translated. The ASV translated the name as "Jehovah". The RSV returned to the practice of the KJV by translating the name as the "LORD". Another change was in the usage of archaic English for second person pronouns, "thou", "thee", "thy", etc. The KJV and ASV used these terms for both God and humans. The RSV used archaic English only for God.
Apocryphal and Deuterocanonical books and the 1965 Catholic Edition
\n
In 1957, at the request of the Episcopal Church, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books were added to the RSV. The RSV Apocrypha was a revision of the English Revised Version Apocrypha of 1894.
In 1965 the Catholic Biblical Association adapted the RSV for Catholic use with the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, now also published by Ignatius Press. This edition contained the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament placed in the traditional order of the Vulgate. There were a few light changes in the New Testament. These changes were done so that the RSV would be correct according to Catholic doctrines.
Revisions in the 1970s and 1980s
1971 saw a revision of the New Testament. This revision restored John 7:53-8:11 and Mark 16:9-20 to the text (in 1946 they were footnotes). The 1971 New Testament revision also made some use of the 3rd edition of the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament.
The Common Bible of 1973 was a way to place the books in a way that pleased both Catholics and Protestants. The Common Bible was divided into four sections:
- The Old Testament (39 Books)\n*The Deuterocanonical Books (12 Books)\n*The Non-Deuterocanonical Books (Three Books; Six Books after 1977)\n*The New Testament (27 Books)
The expanded Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books gave the
Common Bible a total of 81 books. In 1977, the RSV Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books was expanded to include 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, and Psalm 151, three sections accepted in the Eastern Orthodox canon. This action increased the
Common Bible to 84 Books. The goal of the
Common Bible was to help
ecumenical relations between the churches.
\nIn 1982,
Reader's Digest published a special edition of the RSV that was billed as a condensed edition of the text. Familar passages such as the
Lord's Prayer, Psalm 23, and the
Ten Commandments were retained. The Reader's Digest edition of the RSV was intended for those who don't read the Bible or who read it once in a while. It was not intended as a replacement of the full RSV text. In the end, 55 percent of the Old Testament and 25 percent of the New Testament was cut. For those who wanted the full RSV, Reader's Digest provided a list of publishers that sold the complete RSV at that time.
In 1989, the
National Council of Churches released an update to the RSV called the
New Revised Standard Version.
The
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition was also released in 1989. The
New Revised Standard Version was adapted for
Catholic use. Though referenced in the American edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the
Holy See rejected it for liturgical use because of its 'inclusive language'.
Revisions in the 21st century
In 2001, Crossway Bibles released their own evangelical update to the RSV called the
English Standard Version.
2002 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1952 edition of the RSV. To mark this event, Oxford University Press issued a special edition of the RSV. This edition contained the 1971 revised New Testament and the 1977 expanded Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books.
References
\n*Marlowe, Michael D. "Revised Standard Version (1946-1977)" Bible Researcher. Feb 2001 - http://www.bible-researcher.com/rsv.html (21 July 2003)\n*Choosing A Bible, Steven Sheeley and Robert Nash, ISBN 0687052009\n*The Complete Guide to Bible Versions, Philip Comfort, ISBN 0842312528\n*The Bible in Translation, Bruce Metzger, ISBN 0801022827
External links
\n*RSV text online; searchable\n*
Cecil J. Carter: "Should Christians Trust The Revised Standard Version?"\n*
RSV Preface
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