The New Revised Standard Version, almost always called the NRSV, is the standard ecumenical and academic English Bible. Published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches and widely revised in 2021 as the NRSV Updated Edition (NRSVue), it is the translation most commonly used in mainline Protestant churches, in many Catholic and Orthodox contexts, and in university classrooms across the English-speaking world.

Origins

The NRSV stands in a long line of English Bibles that traces back through the Revised Standard Version of 1952, the American Standard Version of 1901, the English Revised Version of 1885, and ultimately the King James Bible of 1611. The Revised Standard Version had been produced under the authority of the International Council of Religious Education and was the first English Bible widely received across Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox communions — a remarkable achievement at a time when each tradition still kept its own Bible.

By the 1970s the RSV had begun to date. New manuscript discoveries — particularly the Dead Sea Scrolls, fully published only in the 1990s but accumulating evidence since the 1950s — had shifted the textual landscape; English usage itself had moved; and growing attention to inclusive language pressed for a fresh revision. The RSV translation committee, reconstituted under the National Council of Churches and chaired by the New Testament scholar Bruce Metzger, set out on a thoroughgoing revision.

The work took about fifteen years. The committee was drawn from Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Jewish scholars — the first time a major English Bible had been prepared in such a broadly ecumenical setting. Editions were prepared in three forms: a Protestant edition with the 66-book canon, a Catholic edition with the Deuterocanonical books integrated into the Old Testament, and a Common Bible edition with the wider Old Testament canon used in Orthodox communions. The completed NRSV appeared in 1989. After more than three decades of use it was revised again as the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, released in 2021 — incorporating the manuscript and lexical research of the intervening generation and a more thoroughgoing approach to inclusive language.

Translation philosophy

The NRSV holds to the principle stated in its preface: “as literal as possible, as free as necessary.” It is a formal-equivalence translation that takes serious account of the latest Hebrew and Greek manuscript evidence and that reflects mainstream critical scholarship of the late twentieth century. Word order and grammatical structure follow the original where natural English allows; technical terms are rendered carefully; footnotes flag significant manuscript variants and alternative readings.

Its most discussed feature is its use of inclusive language for people: where the underlying Hebrew or Greek refers generally to human beings, the NRSV uses English that does the same (“humankind” for the older “mankind,” “brothers and sisters” where the Greek adelphoi addresses a mixed congregation). The NRSV retains masculine language for God and for individuals clearly identified as male. The 2021 Updated Edition extends this approach somewhat further and revises some readings in light of more recent scholarship on Greek and Hebrew lexicography.

For the New Testament the NRSV follows the standard Nestle-Aland / United Bible Societies critical text. For the Old Testament it works from the Masoretic Hebrew while making more use of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint than the RSV did — sometimes accepting an alternative reading from these witnesses in the main text where the older edition relegated it to a footnote.

A sample passage

The NRSV’s inclusive-language approach is easiest to see beside the ESV, which descends from the same Revised Standard Version base but moves the other direction on this question. Here is Hebrews 2:6–7 in both:

NRSV: What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor.

ESV: What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor.

The underlying Greek (quoting Psalm 8) uses generic masculine forms — anthrōpos (“human being” or “man”) and huios anthrōpou (“son of man” or “mortal”). The NRSV translates these as inclusive English on the grounds that the Greek refers to humanity in general; the ESV keeps the masculine singular on the grounds that the original phrasing should be reflected even if its conventions have changed. The exegetical question — does “son of man” here also foreshadow Christ? — sits in the background of the choice.

Adoption and influence

The NRSV is the most widely used Bible in academic biblical studies in the English-speaking world. The great majority of major commentaries published since 1990 — from Eerdmans, Hermeneia, Word, Anchor Yale, Baker Academic, and others — use the NRSV as their default English text. Standard reference works like the Anchor Bible Dictionary, the Oxford Bible Commentary, the New Interpreter’s Bible, and most university-press editions quote the NRSV. Scholarly journals, monographs, and dissertations cite the NRSV as a matter of convention.

In congregational use, the NRSV is the standard pew Bible of most mainline Protestant denominations in the United States and Canada — Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran (ELCA), Presbyterian (PCUSA), United Methodist, United Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ — and is also the translation read in many Reformed Church and Lutheran congregations outside North America. In the Catholic Church, the NRSV-CE (Catholic Edition) and the more recent NRSV Updated Edition Catholic are widely used for personal reading and study (though the NABRE is the lectionary text in the US, and the Jerusalem Bible serves a similar role in Britain).

Who reads the NRSV

The NRSV has several distinct readerships:

  • Academic biblical scholars and students. The NRSV is the default Bible of seminaries, divinity schools, and university religious-studies departments across the English-speaking world. A student of theology is far more likely to own and quote the NRSV than any other translation.
  • Mainline Protestant churches. Episcopal, Lutheran (ELCA), Presbyterian (PCUSA), United Methodist, and United Church of Christ congregations use the NRSV as their pew Bible and lectionary text in most cases.
  • Ecumenical readers. Christians who participate in ecumenical study groups, interchurch dialogue, or Bible study with members of different traditions often choose the NRSV because it is the Bible all parties recognise.
  • Catholic study readers. Although the NABRE is the American Catholic lectionary text, many Catholic readers — particularly those doing serious study — prefer the NRSV Catholic Edition for its scholarly grounding and broader ecumenical reception.

How the NRSV compares

Within the spectrum of modern English Bibles:

  • The English Standard Version (2001) descends from the same RSV base. The ESV and NRSV are cousins: similar word order in many verses, similar Tyndale–King James inheritance. They part company on inclusive language and on a small number of textual decisions. Evangelicals often prefer the ESV; mainline Protestants and academics often prefer the NRSV.
  • The New International Version (1978) sits closer to dynamic equivalence than the NRSV. The NIV reads more easily; the NRSV stays closer to the original Hebrew and Greek and is more cautious in interpretation.
  • The New American Bible Revised Edition (2011) is the American Catholic lectionary text. Many Catholics keep both — the NABRE for liturgy, the NRSV for study and ecumenical use.
  • The King James Version (1611) is the NRSV’s great-grandparent through the RSV and ASV. The NRSV preserves much less of the King James English than the ESV does, but the textual lineage runs all the way back.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the NRSV and the NRSVue?

The NRSV was published in 1989. The NRSV Updated Edition (NRSVue) was released in 2021 as a thorough revision — incorporating the manuscript and lexical scholarship of the intervening generation, and moving further in the direction of inclusive language. Many editions of the NRSV are still in print and still in use; some institutions have moved to the NRSVue, others remain with the 1989 NRSV for the time being. The differences between them are real but modest at the verse level.

Why do scholars prefer the NRSV?

Several reasons converge. The NRSV was produced by a broadly representative committee of scholars in the late twentieth century, working from up-to-date critical texts and reflecting then-current best practice in translation theory. It is recognised across Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox communions, which makes it convenient as a common reference text for ecumenical scholarship. Its careful formal-equivalence philosophy makes it more useful for exegetical work than dynamic translations. By the time scholars finishing dissertations in 1995 picked an English Bible to quote, the NRSV was the obvious choice — and the convention has held since.

Is the NRSV a Catholic Bible, a Protestant Bible, or both?

Both, depending on the edition. The NRSV is published in a Protestant edition (66 books), a Catholic edition (NRSV-CE, with the Deuterocanonical books integrated into the Old Testament), and various Common Bibles and Anglican editions. The translation itself is the same; the edition differs in which books are included and in what order.

Does the NRSV use gender-inclusive language for God?

No. The NRSV uses inclusive language for human beings where the original is itself inclusive, but it retains masculine language for God (“he,” “Father,” “king”) where the original does. The 2021 NRSVue keeps the same approach in its treatment of references to God.

Is the NRSV copyrighted?

Yes. The NRSV is owned by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Permission to quote the NRSV in books, sermons, and other works is granted under standard publisher-permission terms; modest quotation does not require special permission, while longer or commercial use requires a licence.