New Bible translation has a Texas touch - The Dallas Morning News - Translation

Eight Texans rewrote the Bible, but in a good way.

The New Revised Standard Version, one of the most popular translations of the Bible ever published, got an update recently. The NRSVUE (updated edition) was released to publishers Nov. 16, according to Religion News Service. Print editions should start hitting shelves next year.

The NRSV is curated by Friendship Press, a subsidiary of the National Council of Churches, which includes dozens of denominations representing 30 million church members.

Bible translations are typically done by committees of scholars with expertise in ancient languages. This update was conducted by seven general editors and 56 book editors over a span of two years, according to the Friendship Press website.

One of those scholars was Deirdre Fulton, associate professor of Hebrew Bible at Baylor University. Fulton is an expert on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. She has written extensively on those works and is currently working on a commentary. She said it was “just an amazing experience” to work on the update, both because she enjoys working with ancient texts but also because of the importance of her task.

“You just don’t take it lightly,” she said.

Throughout history, new Bible translations have been fairly rare, but they exploded in the 20th century. Now, the popular YouVersion smart phone app includes 67 English translations. But updates to a major version don’t happen often. These are translations of sacred texts, after all. Not iPhones. The NRSV arrived in 1989 as an update to the Revised Standard Version which was published in 1946.

The NRSVUE was created with consideration for “modern sensibilities” that identify people less by their circumstances. For instance, “slave woman” is now rendered “enslaved woman.” And “demoniacs, epileptics and paralytics,” now reads “people possessed by demons or having epilepsy or afflicted with paralysis.” It is also informed by recent scholarship and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Fulton told us the process for proposing updates was stringent. To suggest the change of a single word, she would write a multipage argument using many scholarly sources. And many of those arguments were rejected by the project’s editorial committee.

Eight of the scholars who worked on this update are Texans, representing Baylor, Southern Methodist University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Rice University, Texas Christian University and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

“We have amazing biblical scholars in Texas,” Fulton said. “The I-35 corridor is just awesome.”

If you’re looking for a flashy, headline-grabbing bunch, scholars in ancient languages are not a good place to start. But we’re glad Texas scholars are among those doing this sensitive and important work that will impact generations to come.

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