The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is a revision of the American Revised Version (1901) which was itself a revision of the King James Version (1611). The RSV was translated by 32 scholars along with 50 representatives of cooperating denominational bodies. The translation committee attempted to stay as close as possible to its rich Tyndale-King James heritage. “We have resisted the temptation to use phrases that are merely current usage, and have sought to put the message of the Bible in simple, enduring words that are worthy to stand in the great Tyndale-King James tradition.“
We’ve been asked why we have decided to embark on this project since the RSV has been superseded by the NRSV (mainline) on the one hand and the ESV (evangelical) on the other. Here is a text sampler. Pictures Here.
Here are a few reasons:
1. The RSV is an exceedingly accurate and elegant translation. It had long been considered among the most accurate and scholarly translations.
2. The RSV is the “father” of both the NRSV and ESV. Many people used this translation for ~ 40-50 years before arrival of the NRSV or ESV.
3. There are very few current publications of the RSV.
4. There are no RSV Bibles in print with a reference system or concordance/glossary.
5. The RSV uses thee, thou, lest, art, thy and other classical English expressions no longer found in modern translations. It provides a unique “bridge” between the KJV and modern English translations.
6. The RSV predates gender modification of nouns/pronouns which are found in most modern translations.
7. This RSV will be available with the expanded 1977 Apocrypha. (1 Esdras 2 Esdras Tobit, Judith, Esther (Greek), Wisdom Of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, Letter Of Jeremiah, Prayer Of Azariah, Susanna, Bel And The Dragon, Prayer Of Manasseh, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, Psalm 151). This “expanded” (RSV 1977 expanded ed.) version of the Apocrypha lends itself to use in Anglican, Orthodox & Catholic communities.
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