The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha (Paperback)

by Bruce M. Metzger (Editor) "In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep,..." (more)
Key Phrases: God of Israel, King David, King Solomon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A quantum leap forward, a work of such quality that it can serve, as the KJV and RSV once did, as the definitive translation for North American readers." --Christian Century
"Will be used by millions...for public and private worship."--ime Magazine


Product Description
Published last year to universal acclaim, the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible has been adopted by millions of Americans as the new standard in Bible translations. Prepared by a multi-denominational group of scholars, this excellent Bible is now available in a convenient paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1712 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (August 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195283805
• ISBN-13: 978-0195283808
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #142,055 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #26 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Bibles > Translations > New Revised Standard
  #48 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Apocrypha

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent companion for reading sacred scripture, April 24, 2000

By	Lance Goldsberry (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Revised Standard Version Holy Bible: Catholic Edition (Hardcover)

The Catholic Reader's Text Bible is an edition of the New Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition, containing the complete text of the ancient canon with the deuterocanonical books. The NRSV is possibly the finest bible in English, being a reliable, literal translation, yet highly readable and literary. This edition has several attractive features. 1) It contains a complete table of lectionary readings for Sundays and weekdays, so you can read the bible every day along with the whole church; 2) It has a treasury of Catholic Prayers and devotions; 3) it has a 99 page bible concordance; 4) it has family record pages to record baptisms and marriages; 5) it has a picture of Pope John Paul II on the presentation page; 6) and of course, the excellent NRSV text with Apocrypha/deuterocanonical books. The NRSV catholic edition is the text for the Canadian lectionary. It carries the imprimatur of both the Canadian and U.S. Catholic Bishops, and is quoted in the English version of the Catechism of the Catholic church.

This Catholic reader's text edition by Oxford is Anglicized (e.g., "Saviour" for "Savior").

This is the finest bible for Catholics, and an excellent choice for all Christians.

64 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good Catholic Bible, March 21, 2001

By	TomJoe "nyj" (South Atlantic Area, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The NRSV Catholic Edition: Economy Edition: New Revised Standard Version (Paperback)

This Bible ranks right behind the NAB (in my opinion) as it pertains to Catholics who wish to have a complete Bible to read from. I say complete because this version of the NRSV contains the deuterocanonicals (which non-Catholic Christians call the "apocrypha"), and has them listed amongst the books of the Old Testament instead of stuck in the back. The NRSV is used by the Catholic Church in Canada for the Liturgy, and so all Canadians would find this Bible especially useful. The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an updating of the King James Bible, removing the Victorian language and updating the translation (the English language HAD developed over the almost 400 years since the KJV had been written) to make the Bible more readily accessible and understandable for today's reader. The NEW Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is almost a totally different translation, and contains changes that may not be appreciated by some people. The biggest difference between the NRSV and RSV is the use of "gender-inclusive language". Personally, I don't find this to be a problem, because if the text is meant to include both sexes then the appropriate words should be used to convey this in the translation. Overall, I think this adds to the accuracy of the translation.

Now, as for this particular book. The softcover book is extremely sturdy. The paper is thin, but does not suffer from "bleed-through" if you decide to mark the book with notes or high-lighting. Another bonus of this book is the myriad of maps (64 in all) that pepper the book. There are also over a dozen charts that are found in appropriate locations and serve as useful references. In addition, the softcover version contains a papal encyclical which speaks about the importance of the Bible and the serious study of it that Catholics should do (in direct contrast to the fallacious anti-Catholic claim that Catholics are told NOT to read the Bible).

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Plusses and minuses, April 8, 2002

By	C. Ian (Cyberjaya, Malaysia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The NRSV has an intresting mix of literalness and paraphrasing in its translation. I suppose that comes from having started with the RSV, a more literal translation, and then trying to make it gender neutral.

This Bible has more of the deuterocanonical books than any other that I have found. My copy of it, however, unfortunately does not tell you where or who accepts which books and so they're all just lumped together in one collection in the middle. I would have preferred it if it had told us. I only found out recently:

Books in the Roman Catholic, Greek, and Slavonic Bibles:
Tobit
Judith
Esther (with Greek additions)
Wisdom of Solomon
Ecclesiasticus (or the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach)
Baruch
The letter of Jeremiah (Baruch 6)
The prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews (Daniel 3:24-90)
Susanna (Daniel 13)
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees

Books in the Greek and Slavonic Bibles but not in the Roman Catholic canon:
1 Esdras (Greek version of Ezra)
Prayer of Manasseh
Psalm 151
3 Maccabees

In the Slavonic Bible and in the the Latin Vulgate appendix:
2 Esdras

In the appendix of the Greek Bible:
4 Maccabees