Customer Reviews

Holy Bible New Revised Standard Version: Containing the Old and New Testaments With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books

5 star:		(3)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is my favorite translation. It is put into good Contemporary English, without dumbing it down. The language is inclusive without being "politically correct". For instance, in many cases, Greek used male nouns like "brother" in a generic sense, that is, sibling. This Bible translates those situations accordingly, as "brother or sister", but it doesn't use any unnecessary terms like "Our father-mother in heaven" (I've actually seen translations like that!). The translation itself is based on new findings of older documents. For serious Bible Study, this, or even better, this translation with footnotes, is one of the better Bibles, but for beauty, King James is still best, IMO. Especially in the Psalms.

This is an excellent version of a timeless book with much to teach both young and old. It has inspired generations toward greatness. I highly recommend buying a version of the bible that you can easily read. This fits that bill for many.

Be aware that this is the Catholic Edition of the New Revised Standard Version.

This is a very bland version of the greatest book ever written, constantly evaluating the authors' intentions, judging them against 1990s American political correctness, and changing the facts to fit the ideology. The meaning, contexts, connections, and even coherence suffer as a result; many of the cross-references no longer make any sense together. A much better guide to the political preferences of the editors than to the thought of the authors. For an objective, accurate and understandable translation, try the Ignatius Bible instead, which is a new RSV without the topical hangups and local politics.

The dictum "show, don't tell" should have been observed by the authors of this text. While some of the adventures are interesting, some of the writing is dull and pointless. This is often the case with books written by committee. Despite the talent associated with this tome, the story is trite (especially in the so-called New Testament) and the ending predictable. It is, however, open for sequel (see Koran and Book of Mormom), which this reviewer sees as a shameless marketing ploy. Using a little independent thought would probably help most individuals through life, not reliance on this book. Nevertheless, many people live by philosophies within this piece (some people live by the film "Titanic"--there is no accounting for taste), so a word of caution to them--it's only a book.