NRSV Updated Edition Children’s Bible Review
Hendrickson recently released the new NRSV Updated Edition in a Children’s Bible aimed at a 7-to-12-year-old audience.
Printed in China by R.R. Donnelley ISBN:9781496472014
Hendrickson provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
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This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
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Table of Contents
NRSV Updated Edition Translation
The New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVue) is an update to the NRSV that presents approximately 12,000 substantive edits and 20,000 total changes. These include alterations in grammar and punctuation.
The National Council of Churches (which holds the rights of the NRSV) commissioned the Society of Biblical Literature to direct the Updated Edition. A total of 63 editors from various faith communities worked to make such changes as were warranted on the basis of accuracy, clarity, and current English usage. Readability, especially reading aloud was also considered. The goal was not to make a new translation but to make a good translation better.
The NRSVeu is based on the translation line of KJV, RSV, and NRSV. Periodic updates are necessary to keep up with modern language usage. Other updates are included because the editors believed they would better convey the original meanings based on a better understanding of the original languages and cultures.
Continuing the work of eliminating the gender bias that English appears to have was also a factor. For example, using brothers and sisters instead of just brothers at the close of Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians.
I’ve only read a few chapters here and there. From what I have read of the translation so far it seems to do a good job of updating the language while keeping a similar flow to the words. Meanings have been left mostly unaltered. I am much more familiar with the KJV translation than the RSV or NRSV.
The Letter to the Reader from the National Council of Churches and the Preface to the NRSVue from the Society of Biblical Literature are included in the front of this Bible. I like when these are included, especially on newer translations.
However, I have to confess I never read a translator’s letter until I was in my teens. To me, this Bible would seem better aimed at its 7-to-12-year-old audience if these pages had been used for something more kid-friendly. Perhaps a small dictionary of Bible terms, a list of Bible stories and where to read them, or a list of scriptures for specific situations.
Construction and Materials
The NRSV Updated Edition Children’s Bible is a hardcover Bible with a Noah’s Ark picture on the cover that wraps around the spine to the back. The name, translation name, publisher, and promotional info are printed as part of the image. It measures 8.75″ x 5.5″ x 1.4″ and weighs 1 pound, 11.4 ounces.
It has a thick paper liner. Both liners have illustrations and the front one includes a presentation page. It has a sewn binding for all the text pages and a few thick paper end sheets in the front and back.
The slightly off-white paper is thick (Randy is guessing 40gsm or slightly higher). The thick pages and sewn binding should make the pages easier to turn without damage by small hands.
Typography and Layout
The text is laid out in a double-column, paragraph format.
Poetry is set in stanzas. Section headings are in bold and chapter numbers are 2 lines high.
The header has the guide-verse in the outside corner and the page number in the center.
The footer contains translation notes keyed with small italic letters. Books always begin on a new page.
The text is an 8.5-point font. It is a black-letter Bible. The ink darkness seems consistent throughout.
Pictures
There are 12 sheets of glossy paper with full-color illustrations on both sides spread throughout this Bible. These are glued to one of the regular pages on either side not sewn in like the rest of the pages.
The 24 pictures are very nice artwork and I would have liked looking through them as a child.
I feel they missed an opportunity to truly draw children in with them though. There are no labels to tell the children (or their parents) where to go to read the story the picture is about. Not even a list of illustrations with Scripture references. Also, the fairly even spacing means they usually aren’t located next to the text that tells their story.
Most of the stories are easy to identify. Some children might be discouraged by the added step of having to research or find someone to answer their questions before they can read the story. There are a couple of pictures that I’m not certain I’m thinking of the right story.
Final Thoughts on the NRSV Updated Edition Children’s Bible
If you want your child to read the NRSVue translation this Bible is a good choice. The addition of labels for the pictures and even a few pages of content aimed specifically at its 7-to-12-year-old audience would have made it a better children’s Bible.
Hendrickson provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
_________________________________________________________
This Bible is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Photography by Lucinda Brown
provided this Bible in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
