The Saint John's Bible

One of the first and most important decisions in this project was the selection of the biblical translation. There are literally hundreds of biblical translations, ranging from the King James version to the New American Bible. Each one is unique unto itself and is used or preferred by different denominations as well as individual Christian and Jewish readers.

When theologians and scholars met at Saint John's to research and discuss the question of translation, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) was the obvious choice for The Saint John's Bible for a number of reasons.

First, its predecessor, the Revised Standard Version, had gained the distinction of being officially authorized for use by all major Christian churches: Protestant, Anglican, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox.

Second, the NRSV is a modern English translation with a strong literal tradition. For instance, all references to God remain true to tradition. On the other hand, it employs gender-inclusive language. The Introduction to the New Revised Standard Version states that "...in references to men and women, masculine-oriented language (is) eliminated as far as this can be done without altering the passages that reflect the historical situation of ancient patriarchal culture." This is usually done in a very non-obtrusive manner.

Finally, it has been approved by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (1991) for liturgical use in Canada, and in the United States, it has been authorized for Catholics by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (1991).


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Translation

New Revised Standard Version