NRSVue Holy Bible with Apocrypha, Black Hardback, Silver Foiled Cover, Silver Ribbon Marker, British Text, NRSVue New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, Hardback, Standard size

The NRSV has long been my first choice among modern versions of the Bible, and as a linguist by training I was eager to see how this updated edition compares with previous versions. I was not disappointed! Thiry years of advances in textual analysis make it more accurate than any other translation, and now its sensitive rendering into elegant and inclusive British English ensures a smoother and more rewarding reading experience for millions of English speakers, both in the UK and around the world. All of which means the NRSVue now stands at the pinnacle of English Bible translations.

I warmly welcome this new edition of the New Revised Standard Version in British English. I have long regarded the NRSV as the gold standard of English Bible translation, and this new edition brings the fine work of the NRSV translators into the twenty-first century. It is highly suitable for students in universities and theological colleges in giving a careful rendering of the original languages which is both clear and readable, and which avoids the extremes of free paraphrase and over-wooden translation. This edition’s care over word choices and language makes it very appropriate for reading aloud in church or synagogue, and for personal Bible reading or use in Bible study groups. I trust it will bring Bible reading to a wider audience, and enrich those who read it.

British readers of the scriptures, whether in church, study or prayer, can rejoice to find here a version which retains the accuracy and dignity of the great tradition of biblical translations, which is updated to reflect the rapidly evolving patterns of the contemporary language, and which speaks in the nuanced tones of English as it is used in these islands. Those who are looking for a Bible that combines reliability, cadence and immediacy will find it here.

The new British version of the NRSVue Bible is likely to become the norm for Bible reading in churches and private study. It reflects the latest scholarship while being sensitive to cultural changes on issues such as gender, race and disability. It also echoes a more distinctly English tradition which will be welcome to many who are the cultural descendants of those who still treasure the King James Version.

The NRSV has long been the Bible translation I go to for teaching purposes because of its careful attention to meaning and nuance. This new edition is much more user-friendly for English readers. Where it makes changes that are more than just Anglicisations, as, for example, in Matthew 2.23 (the virgin becomes pregnant, rather than conceives), the intention is clearly to use everyday language rather than archaisms. When it does the opposite (the Wise Men become Magi, for example), it alerts us to a bigger point: these were not just clever people, but professionals in an arcane field. It is important for readers of the Bible to notice the loving, attentive decisions made by translators of the text, seeking to draw us into a more than surface engagement with the words on the page. Translators help us, too, to translate the Bible in our lives.

I view the NRSV translation to be the finest English Bible we have today. Its scholarship is impeccable. The English is accurate, approachable, and readable. I recommend it highly.

The NRSV is my first choice, both for my college classes and for my own study and devotion. The careful scholarship of the translation, the generosity of the pronouns, and the invaluable textual notations make this translation my most trusted friend in preaching, teaching, worship and prayer.