Bible Translated ‘For Our Times,’ Group Contends

The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first revision of the text since 1952, includes changes that incorporate historical discoveries and reduce sexism and confusion in the language, church officials said Thursday.

Details of the new edition were disclosed at a news conference by the National Council of Churches, which started the project in 1972 to provide an updated text for its affiliated churches’ 40 million members and for other churches.

“The new translation has the benefit of many different perspectives,” said Arthur O. Van Eck, the council’s associate general secretary for education and ministry. “It has brought to us what we believe is a Bible for our times.”

Bruce Metzger, the biblical scholar who led the translation team, said the revision was made to incorporate new discoveries in biblical text and syntax and to accommodate the text to changes in the English language.

One example of a piece of text that could be misunderstood because of changes in English vernacular is in the 50th Psalm: “I will accept no bull from your house.” That has been altered to “I will not accept a bull from your house.”

Although the revision did not render any second references to God genderless, it did eliminate the use of the male pronoun for any references to people in general.

In Matthew, the old edition reads: “Man does not live by bread alone.”

“The sentence is obviously intended to refer to men and women alike,” Metzger said. “The Hebrew word in context means people. Instead of translating it in a flat-footed sort of way, we say “one shall not live by bread alone.”

In the Song of Solomon, Metzger said, the new edition reads “I am black and beautiful” rather than “I am black but beautiful.”

“Forty-nine times out of 50, the Hebrew word ‘wa’ should be translated as ‘and,’ not ‘but,’ ” Metzger said.

Van Eck said the galleys of the Bible are at the council’s six licensed printers, and the new edition is expected to be printed next spring for distribution in the summer of 1990.