NRSV, The Daily Bible: Read, Meditate, and Pray Through the Entire Bible in 365 Days

The NRSV Daily Bible

Read, Meditate, and Pray Through the Entire Bible in 365 Days

Contents

Alphabetical List of the Books of the Bible

Abbreviations

Editors

Introduction to The NRSV Daily Bible

How to Use The NRSV Daily Bible

To the Reader

The Old Testament

Genesis

Introduction

Day 1: The Limits of Imagination

Day 2: Resisting Sin

Day 3: Facing Inclinations

Day 4: Silencing Babel

Day 5: God Alone

Day 6: Effective Faith

Day 7: A Cry for Justice

Day 8: The God Story

Day 9: Living in God

Day 10: God’s Generosity

Day 11: Without God

Day 12: Dynamic God

Day 13: Enduring Patience

Day 14: Living Truth

Day 15: Persistent Goodness

Exodus

Introduction

Day 16: Where Is Holy?

Day 17: A Rebellious Will

Day 18: Choices

Day 19: Seeing and Believing

Day 20: Spiritual Direction

Day 21: Approaching a Holy God

Day 22: Commitment with Confession

Day 23: Contemplative Models

Day 24: God’s Dwelling Place

Day 25: Protected View

Day 26: A Space for God

Leviticus

Introduction

Day 27: Whole Sacrifice

Day 28: Direct Communion

Day 29: A Called People

Day 30: Purposeful Solitude

Day 31: Approaching God

Day 32: A Simple Reaching Out

Day 33: Idolatrous Heart

Numbers

Introduction

Day 34: Offered Service

Day 35: The Discipline of Blessing

Day 36: Repeated Restoration

Day 37: Humility

Day 38: Unruly Holiness

Day 39: Unchanging

Day 40: A Glimpse of the Future

Day 41: Beyond Failure

Day 42: Responsible Stewardship

Deuteronomy

Introduction

Day 43: Last Words

Day 44: Reaching the Impossible

Day 45: Spiritual Feeding

Day 46: Desiring God

Day 47: Spiritual Reading

Day 48: God’s Holy Presence

Day 49: Knowing God

Day 50: Being With God

Joshua

Introduction

Day 51: Courage

Day 52: Holy Places

Day 53: Standstill

Day 54: The Sought Blessing

Day 55: The Choice

Judges

Introduction

Day 56: An Unfit Generation

Day 57: A Spirit of Celebration

Day 58: Slipping into Idolatry

Day 59: The Perfect Godhead

Day 60: Waiting in the Darkness

Day 61: Apart from God

Ruth

Introduction

Day 62: Faith-Filled Humility

Day 63: Godly Heritage

1 Samuel

Introduction

Day 64: Magnificent Humility

Day 65: Sacramental Abuse

Day 66: God’s Choice

Day 67: True Obedience

Day 68: God’s View

Day 69: Shifting Relationships

Day 70: Secret of Seeing

Day 71: The Problem of God

Day 72: Desperate Measures

2 Samuel

Introduction

Day 73: Doing Good

Day 74: Royal Music

Day 75: The Tapestry of Friendship

Day 76: Prophetic Character

Day 77: The Only Comfort

Day 78: Refuge

1 Kings

Introduction

Day 79: Final Words

Day 80: God’s Promises

Day 81: The Choice

Day 82: Holy Places

Day 83: Unbending Faithfulness

Day 84: Interruptions Toward Solitude

2 Kings

Introduction

Day 85: The Complete Life

Day 86: Surface Living

Day 87: God’s Long Faithfulness

Day 88: Persistent Invitation

Day 89: Re-Attending to God

Day 90: How Grace Works

1 Chronicles

Introduction

Day 91: Working Genealogy

Day 92: Shameless Worship

Day 93: God’s Self-Disclosure

Day 94: The Consuming Fire

Day 95: The Pursuit of Good

Day 96: Examination

2 Chronicles

Introduction

Day 97: Leadership and Poverty

Day 98: Containing God

Day 99: Costly Dissent

Day 100: God’s Watchfulness

Day 101: Petitionary Prayer

Day 102: The Disciplined Life

Day 103: Dangerous Confidence

Day 104: Dependent on God

Day 105: Resistance

Ezra

Introduction

Day 106: Silent Stirrings

Day 107: Celebrating Sovereignty

Day 108: Measuring Faith

Nehemiah

Introduction

Day 109: Resorting to Prayer

Day 110: Injustice

Day 111: Faithful Supplier

Day 112: Heartfelt Celebration

Esther

Introduction

Day 113: Seize the Opportunity

Day 114: Bold Prayers

Job

Introduction

Day 115: Goodness and Depravity

Day 116: Life’s Hardness

Day 117: Windy Knowledge

Day 118: False Prophets

Day 119: The Advocate

Day 120: Imagining God

Psalms

Introduction

Day 121: Inner Discipline

Day 122: Witness to God’s Mercy

Day 123: Hatred of Body and Soul

Day 124: Heart Cries

Day 125: Creation Speaks

Day 126: The Prayer Book of Jesus

Day 127: Sufferer and King

Day 128: Gladness

Day 129: Reflected Virtue

Day 130: Known

Day 131: Helplessness and Hope

Day 132: Stillness and Knowing

Day 133: Repentance

Day 134: Casting Burdens

Day 135: When Justice Prevails

Day 136: Thirsty

Day 137: Good Storms

Day 138: The Mountaintop

Day 139: Appetite For God

Day 140: Reaching Out to God

Day 141: God of Justice

Day 142: God of My Salvation

Day 143: Counting Days

Day 144: Light of the World

Day 145: Aged Wisdom

Day 146: Shattering Confession

Day 147: Blessed through Fear

Day 148: God’s Glory

Day 149: Widened Understanding

Day 150: Wakeful Meditation

Day 151: Holy Dissatisfaction

Day 152: Pursuing Intimacy

Day 153: Gratitude

Day 154: Always Found

Day 155: God’s Will

Day 156: A New Song

Proverbs

Introduction

Day 157: Divine Wisdom

Day 158: Wisdom’s Character

Day 159: Truthful Living

Day 160: Simple Lessons

Day 161: Soul Care

Day 162: Habits of the Mind

Day 163: Curing Foolishness

Day 164: Compassion

Day 165: Intruding Presence

Day 166: Death

Day 167: Safety

Day 168: Words of Knowledge

Day 169: Daily Communion

Day 170: Blessed Sinners

Day 171: Holy Virtues

Day 172: Do Good

Day 173: Soul Confession

Day 174: Good vs. Evil

Day 175: The Practiced Soul

Ecclesiastes

Introduction

Day 176: Vain Pursuits

Day 177: Time

Day 178: The Righteous Life

Day 179: God’s Plans

The Song of Solomon

Introduction

Day 180: Desire

Day 181: Love and Life

Isaiah

Introduction

Day 182: Ears to Hear

Day 183: The Cry for Help

Day 184: Advent

Day 185: Lucifer’s Rebellion

Day 186: God’s Voice

Day 187: Care of the Soul

Day 188: God of Justice

Day 189: Praying the Scriptures

Day 190: Heart Cries

Day 191: Hidden Strength

Day 192: Three in One

Day 193: Dark Solitude

Day 194: God Thoughts

Day 195: Eternity

Day 196: Invitation

Jeremiah

Introduction

Day 197: Remembering

Day 198: Peace or Disturbance

Day 199: Knowing God

Day 200: Anger with God

Day 201: Matters of the Heart

Day 202: Divine Omnipresence

Day 203: God’s Requirements

Day 204: Practical Hope

Day 205: Ignoring Holiness

Day 206: Corruption of the Will

Day 207: Cause for Repentance

Day 208: Accountability

Lamentations

Introduction

Day 209: Untold Sorrow

Day 210: New Every Morning

Ezekiel

Introduction

Day 211: When God Speaks

Day 212: Distance

Day 213: Discovering Shame

Day 214: Personal Responsibility

Day 215: The Damage We Cause

Day 216: When God Speaks

Day 217: God’s Opinion

Day 218: God and Evil

Day 219: Authentic Worship

Daniel

Introduction

Day 220: The Kingdom of Heaven

Day 221: Enforced Solitude

Day 222: Divine Visions

Hosea

Introduction

Day 223: Failed Pursuits

Day 224: Sowing Wrath

Day 225: Covenant Compassion

Joel

Introduction

Day 226: Attending to the Word

Amos

Introduction

Day 227: Speaking for God

Day 228: Hunger for the Word

Obadiah

Introduction

Day 229: A Day of Obedience

Jonah

Introduction

Day 230: Deliverance

Day 231: Second Chances

Micah

Introduction

Day 232: Forming Compassion

Day 233: What the Lord Requires

Nahum

Introduction

Day 234: A Refuge

Habakkuk

Introduction

Day 235: Idol Worship

Zephaniah

Introduction

Day 236: Humble and Lowly

Haggai

Introduction

Day 237: The God Who Chastises

Zechariah

Introduction

Day 238: Angels Amongst Us

Day 239: Triumph Foretold

Day 240: Scattered Like a Seed

Malachi

Introduction

Day 241: Covenant Call and Blessing

Day 242: Unchanging God

The New Testament

Matthew

Introduction

Day 243: Foolishness and Wisdom

Day 244: Three in One

Day 245: Celebration in God’s Company

Day 246: Heart Location

Day 247: The Fruits

Day 248: Bearing Witness

Day 249: God’s Disposition

Day 250: The Kingdom of Heaven

Day 251: Dangerous Detours

Day 252: Access to Heaven

Day 253: Possible Impossibilities

Day 254: True Temple

Day 255: Divine Motivation

Day 256: A Just Reward

Day 257: Attending to the Cross

Day 258: Following the Commission

Mark

Introduction

Day 259: Living Lent

Day 260: Son of the Most High God

Day 261: Recognizing God

Day 262: Cross-Bearing

Day 263: Greatness of a Servant

Day 264: True Worship

Day 265: A Definitive Sign

Day 266: Solitude

Day 267: Forsaken

Luke

Introduction

Day 268: Beyond Definition

Day 269: The Word Made Flesh

Day 270: Nuances of Temptation

Day 271: Royal Declaration

Day 272: Joyful Fearlessness

Day 273: Remarkable Faith

Day 274: Hidden God

Day 275: The Contemplative Life

Day 276: Revelation

Day 277: Kingdom Evidence

Day 278: Inner Change

Day 279: True Sacrifice

Day 280: The Extremity of Need

Day 281: Intentional Un-Preparedness

Day 282: Communion

Day 283: The Suffering Community

Day 284: The Central Theme

John

Introduction

Day 285: God, the Word

Day 286: Moral Blindness

Day 287: Kingdom Nourishment

Day 288: Self-Sufficient Life

Day 289: The Heart of Faith

Day 290: True Freedom

Day 291: A Sojourner

Day 292: Life After Death

Day 293: Life in Community

Day 294: God at Work

Day 295: Paralysis

Day 296: Follow Me

Acts

Introduction

Day 297: Taken Up

Day 298: Lying to God

Day 299: The Three-Dimensional Life

Day 300: Divine Ambush

Day 301: God with Us

Day 302: Sending Community

Day 303: Unified in Christ

Day 304: Pass On Peace

Day 305: Person to Person

Day 306: Purposeful Suffering

Day 307: Spiritual Inspection

Romans

Introduction

Day 308: Helplessness

Day 309: Ongoing Redemption

Day 310: Directed Verdict

Day 311: Saved

Day 312: Infinite

Day 313: Marriage

1 Corinthians

Introduction

Day 314: Spiritual People

Day 315: Boasting

Day 316: Authentic Freedom

Day 317: Indispensable Church

Day 318: Indwelling Spirit

2 Corinthians

Introduction

Day 319: God’s Standard

Day 320: Immeasurable Debt

Day 321: Joyful Giving

Day 322: Shared Suffering

Galatians

Introduction

Day 323: Life in Christ

Day 324: Divine Intimacy

Day 325: The Law of Bearing

Ephesians

Introduction

Day 326: The Mystery

Day 327: Knowing Love

Day 328: A Matter of Honor

Philippians

Introduction

Day 329: Surrender

Day 330: Press On

Colossians

Introduction

Day 331: Spiritual Mentors

Day 332: Renewal

1 Thessalonians

Introduction

Day 333: Loving Solitude

Day 334: Reaching Out to God

2 Thessalonians

Introduction

Day 335: Justice and Mercy

1 Timothy

Introduction

Day 336: The True Mediator

Day 337: True Satisfaction

2 Timothy

Introduction

Day 338: Confident Reliance

Day 339: Word and Works

Titus

Introduction

Day 340: God’s Gift

Philemon

Introduction

Day 341: Interdependence

Hebrews

Introduction

Day 342: Mediator

Day 343: Bold Prayers

Day 344: Atonement

Day 345: Knowing God

Day 346: Marriage Covenant

James

Introduction

Day 347: God’s Perfect Mirror

Day 348: Toward Humility

1 Peter

Introduction

Day 349: Taste of Faith

Day 350: Reason to Rejoice

2 Peter

Introduction

Day 351: Patient Endurance

Day 352: Stunted Growth

1 John

Introduction

Day 353: Blessed Vision

Day 354: Commanded to Love

2 John

Introduction

Day 355: Humble Pursuit of God

3 John

Introduction

Day 356: Simplicity Toward God

Jude

Introduction

Day 357: By Their Fruit

Revelation

Introduction

Day 358: Welcome Home

Day 359: The Open Door

Day 360: Water of Life

Day 361: Appetite

Day 362: Endurance

Day 363: The Knowledge of God

Day 364: Triumph

Day 365: Worship God

Acknowledgments and Permissions

Index by Source

Copyright

About the Publisher

Alphabetical List of the Books of the Bible

Acts

Amos

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Colossians

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Daniel

Deuteronomy

Ecclesiastes

Ephesians

Esther

Exodus

Ezekiel

Ezra

Galatians

Genesis

Habakkuk

Haggai

Hebrews

Hosea

Isaiah

James

Jeremiah

Job

Joel

John

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jonah

Joshua

Jude

Judges

1 Kings

2 Kings

Lamentations

Leviticus

Luke

Malachi

Mark

Matthew

Micah

Nahum

Nehemiah

Numbers

Obadiah

1 Peter

2 Peter

Philemon

Philippians

Proverbs

Psalms

Revelation

Romans

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

Song of Solomon

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy

2 Timothy

Titus

Zechariah

Zephaniah

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used for the books of the Bible:

OLD TESTAMENT

NEW TESTAMENT

In the notes to the books of the Old Testament the following abbreviations are used:

Editors

Project Editor

Marlene Baer Hekkert

Managing Editor

Terri Leonard

Cover Art Direction

Michele Wetherbee

Produced with the assistance of The Livingstone Corporation (www.Livingstonecorp.com).

Project staff includes:

Katie Arnold

Andy Culbertson

Lois Jackson

Kathy Ristow

Tom Ristow

Ashley Taylor

Linda Taylor

Linda Washington

Neil Wilson

Interior design by Larry Taylor

Introduction to The NRSV Daily Bible

Many daily Bibles rearrange Scripture to fit a particular reading plan. The NRSV Daily Bible maintains the traditional Scripture sequence to guide you in your daily reading. Experiencing the biblical narrative from cover to cover helps you contemplate Scripture and reflect on the rich truths of the Bible. Each of the 365 daily readings and Bible book introductions has been assembled in a format that follows the practice of lectio divina, Latin for divine reading, spiritual reading, or holy reading and represents an ancient method of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with God and to provide spiritual formation. The principles of lectio divina can be traced back to the year 200 A.D. and became codified in the monastic rules of Sts. Pachomius, Augustine, Basil, and Benedict.

The practice of lectio divina, which includes reading Scripture, meditation, contemplation, and prayer, will draw you into a closer communion with God. Biblical meditation and contemplation will also allow you to ponder, reflect, and even memorize passages so they can be held up in the mind for attention and examination. The apt picture of the saint meditating on Scripture in the same way that a cow lingers over the mastication of cud brings us close to the aim of contemplation—the unhurried encounter between the human soul and the Word.

To deepen your experiential practice of reading Scripture, each day will include a contemplative reading from classic and contemporary writers as it relates to a theme or specific text in that section. These contemplations will also invite you to look along Scripture with someone who has been this way before.

The NRSV Daily Bible seeks to help you look at and along what God has said and what others have written about God’s Word. You can stand back and examine, or you can step forward and experience. In either case, realize that at any moment along the way you may have repeated awareness of being examined. As we contemplate God; God contemplates us.

How to Use The NRSV Daily Bible

The NRSV Daily Bible has been structured for reading throughout a year, or unhurriedly at your own pace. Since the days are numbered, and not assigned by date, you can choose to start on January 1 or at any time throughout the year. Each daily reading will guide you in the practice of lectio divina, following a pattern of four related disciplines that will usher you into God’s presence. These steps are as follows:

♦   Read—Read the Bible passage at an unhurried pace. Take note of the style of text you are reading and consider how the reading challenges, comforts, intrigues, confronts, and guides you in your understanding of God and God’s presence in your life.

♦   Meditate—Reflect and ruminate on God and the specific verses chosen from the longer passage. Take enough time with the verses to be able to hold them in your mind as you read the contemplation.

♦   Contemplate—Consider the thoughts of those who have left a record of their meditations on Scripture as you seek to develop a meditation and contemplation pattern of your own. You are listening in on the devotional dialogue between God and others who have gone before you. Several questions will follow each excerpt to aid your reflections.

♦   Pray—Respond to the passage by opening your heart to God. This is not primarily an intellectual exercise, but is intended to encourage an ongoing conversation with God.

These steps have been tried and proven throughout the centuries as reliable steps into God’s presence. When undertaken thoughtfully, deliberately, and repeatedly, they lead us toward healthy spiritual formation.

Aim for a consistent pace throughout the year. Linger over the Bible passages as well as the contemplative thoughts. As you do, remember that you are in the company of seasoned travelers on God’s road. Take enough time to consider the questions that are included with the contemplative notes, and use them to occupy your mind during moments of the day. The included prayers are meant to be suggestions as you reach out to God. And if you find your mind and heart repeatedly stirred by the words of a particular contributor, make it a point to read her or his books, filling in the context for the brief excerpts included in this Bible.

As you start each daily reading, take a moment to pray a prayer like, Open my eyes, O God that I may contemplate the wonders of your Word and be changed by them. And, allow the proven rhythm of these devotional steps to carry you into the presence of God so that you may find yourself not only contemplating the Word, but also the One who spoke the Word.

To the Reader

THIS PREFACE IS ADDRESSED TO YOU by the Committee of translators, who wish to explain, as briefly as possible, the origin and character of our work. The publication of our revision is yet another step in the long, continual process of making the Bible available in the form of the English language that is most widely current in our day. To summarize in a single sentence: the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is an authorized revision of the Revised Standard Version, published in 1952, which was a revision of the American Standard Version, published in 1901, which, in turn, embodied earlier revisions of the King James Version, published in 1611.

In the course of time, the King James Version came to be regarded as the Authorized Version. With good reason it has been termed the noblest monument of English prose, and it has entered, as no other book has, into the making of the personal character and the public institutions of the English-speaking peoples. We owe to it an incalculable debt.

Yet the King James Version has serious defects. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the development of biblical studies and the discovery of many biblical manuscripts more ancient than those on which the King James Version was based made it apparent that these defects were so many as to call for revision. The task was begun, by authority of the Church of England, in 1870. The (British) Revised Version of the Bible was published in 1881–85; and the American Standard Version, its variant embodying the preferences of the American scholars associated with the work, was published, as was mentioned above, in 1901. In 1928 the copyright of the latter was acquired by the International Council of Religious Education and thus passed into the ownership of the churches of the United States and Canada that were associated in this council through their boards of education and publication.

The Council appointed a committee of scholars to have charge of the text of the American Standard Version and to undertake inquiry concerning the need for further revision. After studying the questions of whether revision should be undertaken and, if so, what its nature and extent should be, in 1937 the Council authorized a revision. The scholars who served as members of the Committee worked in two sections, one dealing with the OT and one with the NT. In 1946 the Revised Standard Version of the NT was published. The publication of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, containing the OT and NT, took place on September 30, 1952. A translation of the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books of the OT followed in 1957. In 1977 this collection was issued in an expanded edition containing three additional texts received by Eastern Orthodox communions (3 and 4 Maccabees and Psalm 151). Thereafter the Revised Standard Version gained the distinction of being officially authorized for use by all major Christian churches: Protestant, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox.

The Revised Standard Version Bible Committee is a continuing body, comprising about thirty members, both men and women. Ecumenical in representation, it includes scholars affiliated with various Protestant denominations as well as several Roman Catholic members, an Eastern Orthodox member, and a Jewish member who serves in the OT section. For a period of time the Committee included several members from Canada and from England.

Because no translation of the Bible is perfect or acceptable to all groups of readers, and because discoveries of older manuscripts and further investigation of linguistic features of the text continue to become available, renderings of the Bible have proliferated. During the years following the publication of the Revised Standard Version, twenty-six other English translations and revisions of the Bible were produced by committees and by individual scholars—not to mention twenty-five other translations and revisions of the NT alone. One of the latter was the second edition of the RSV NT, issued in 1971, twenty-five years after its initial publication.

Following the publication of the RSV OT in 1952, significant advances were made in the discovery and interpretation of documents in Semitic languages related to Hebrew. In addition to the information that had become available in the late 1940s from the Dead Sea texts of Isaiah and Habakkuk, subsequent acquisitions from the same area brought to light many other early copies of all the books of the Hebrew scriptures (except Esther), though most of these copies are fragmentary. During the same period early Greek manuscript copies of books of the NT also became available.

In order to take these discoveries into account, along with recent studies of documents in Semitic languages related to Hebrew, in 1974 the Policies Committee of the Revised Standard Version, which is a standing committee of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., authorized the preparation of a revision of the entire RSV Bible.

For the Old Testament the Committee has made use of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1977; ed. sec. emendata, 1983). This is an edition of the Hebrew and Aramaic text as current early in the Christian era and fixed by Jewish scholars (the Masoretes) of the sixth to the ninth centuries. The vowel signs, which were added by the Masoretes, are accepted in the main, but where a more probable and convincing reading can be obtained by assuming different vowels, this has been done. No notes are given in such cases, because the vowel points are less ancient and reliable than the consonants. When an alternative reading given by the Masoretes is translated in a footnote, this is identified by the words Another reading is.

Departures from the consonantal text of the best manuscripts have been made only where it seems clear that errors in copying had been made before the text was standardized. Most of the corrections adopted are based on the ancient versions (translations into Greek, Aramaic, Syriac, and Latin), which were made prior to the time of the work of the Masoretes and which therefore may reflect earlier forms of the Hebrew text. In such instances a footnote specifies the version or versions from which the correction has been derived and also gives a translation of the Masoretic Text. Where it was deemed appropriate to do so, information is supplied in footnotes from subsidiary Jewish traditions concerning other textual readings (the Tiqqune Sopherim, emendations of the scribes). These are identified in the footnotes as Ancient Heb tradition.

Occasionally it is evident that the text has suffered in transmission and that none of the versions provides a satisfactory restoration. Here we can only follow the best judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original text. Such reconstructions are indicated in footnotes by the abbreviation Cn (Correction), and a translation of the Masoretic Text is added.

For the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books of the Old Testament, the Committee has made use of a number of texts. For most of these books, the basic Greek text from which the present translation was made is the edition of the Septuagint prepared by Alfred Rahlfs and published by the Württemberg Bible Society (Stuttgart, 1935). For several of the books, the more recently published individual volumes of the Göttingen Septuagint project were utilized. For the book of Tobit, it was decided to follow the form of the Greek text found in codex Sinaiticus (supported as it is by evidence from Qumran); where this text is defective, it was supplemented and corrected by other Greek manuscripts. For the three Additions to Daniel (namely, Susanna, the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews, and Bel and the Dragon) the Committee continued to use the Greek version attributed to Theodotion (the so-called Theodotion-Daniel). In translating Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), while constant reference was made to the Hebrew fragments of a large portion of this book (those discovered at Qumran and Masada as well as those recovered from the Cairo Geniza), the Committee generally followed the Greek text (including verse numbers) published by Joseph Ziegler in the Göttingen Septuagint (1965). But in many places the Committee has translated the Hebrew text when this provides a reading that is clearly superior to the Greek; the Syriac and Latin versions were also consulted throughout and occasionally adopted. The basic text adopted in rendering 2 Esdras is the Latin version given in Biblia Sacra, edited by Robert Weber (Stuttgart, 1971). This was supplemented by consulting the Latin text as edited by R. L. Bensly (1895) and by Bruno Violet (1910), as well as by taking into account the several Oriental versions of 2 Esdras, namely, the Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic (two forms, referred to as Arabic 1 and Arabic 2), Armenian, and Georgian versions. Finally, since the Additions to the Book of Esther are disjointed and quite unintelligible as they stand in most editions of the Apocrypha, we have provided them with their original context by translating the whole of the Greek version of Esther from Robert Hanhart’s Göttingen edition (1983).

For the New Testament the Committee has based its work on the most recent edition of The Greek New Testament, prepared by an interconfessional and international committee and published by the United Bible Societies (1966; 3rd ed. corrected, 1983; information concerning changes to be introduced into the critical apparatus of the forthcoming 4th edition was available to the Committee). As in that edition, double brackets are used to enclose a few passages that are generally regarded to be later additions to the text, but which we have retained because of their evident antiquity and their importance in the textual tradition. Only in very rare instances have we replaced the text or the punctuation of the Bible Societies’ edition by an alternative that seemed to us to be superior. Here and there in the footnotes, the phrase Other ancient authorities read, identifies alternative readings preserved by Greek manuscripts and early versions. In both OT and Testaments, alternative renderings of the text are indicated by the word Or.

As for the style of English adopted for the present revision, among the mandates given to the Committee in 1980 by the Division of Education and Ministry of the National Council of Churches of Christ (which now holds the copyright of the RSV Bible) was the directive to continue in the tradition of the King James Bible, but to introduce such changes as are warranted on the basis of accuracy, clarity, euphony, and current English usage. Within the constraints set by the original texts and by the mandates of the Division, the Committee has followed the maxim, As literal as possible, as free as necessary. As a consequence, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) remains essentially a literal translation. Paraphrastic renderings have been adopted only sparingly, and then chiefly to compensate for a deficiency in the English language—the lack of a common gender third person singular pronoun.

During the almost half a century since the publication of the RSV, many in the churches have become sensitive to the danger of linguistic sexism arising from the inherent bias of the English language towards the masculine gender, a bias that in the case of the Bible has often restricted or obscured the meaning of the original text. The mandates from the Division specified that, in references to men and women, masculine-oriented language should be eliminated as far as this can be done without altering passages that reflect the historical situation of ancient patriarchal culture. As can be appreciated, more than once the Committee found that the several mandates stood in tension and even in conflict. The various concerns had to be balanced case by case in order to provide a faithful and acceptable rendering without using contrived English. Only very occasionally has the pronoun he or him been retained in passages where the reference may have been to a woman as well as to a man; for example, in several legal texts in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In such instances of formal, legal language, the options of either putting the passage in the plural or of introducing additional nouns to avoid masculine pronouns in English seemed to the Committee to obscure the historic structure and literary character of the original. In the vast majority of cases, however, inclusiveness has been attained by simple rephrasing or by introducing plural forms when this does not distort the meaning of the passage. Of course, in narrative and in parable no attempt was made to generalize the sex of individual persons.

Another aspect of style will be detected by readers who compare the more stately English rendering of the Old Testament with the less formal rendering adopted for the New Testament. For example, the traditional distinction between shall and will in English has been retained in the OT as appropriate in rendering a document that embodies what may be termed the classic form of Hebrew, while in the NT the abandonment of such distinctions in the usage of the future tense in English reflects the more colloquial nature of the Koine Greek used by most NT authors except when they are quoting the OT.

Careful readers will notice that here and there in the Old Testament the word Lord (or in certain cases God) is printed in capital letters. This represents the traditional manner in English versions of rendering the divine name, the Tetragrammaton (see the text notes on Exodus 3.14 15), following the precedent of the ancient Greek and Latin translators and the long established practice in the reading of the Hebrew Scriptures in the synagogue. While it is almost if not quite certain that the Name was originally pronounced Yahweh, this pronunciation was not indicated when the Masoretes added vowel sounds to the consonantal Hebrew text. To the four consonants YHWH of the Name, which had come to be regarded as too sacred to be pronounced, they attached vowel signs indicating that in its place should be read the Hebrew word Adonai meaning Lord (or Elohim meaning God). Ancient Greek translators employed the word Kyrios (Lord) for the Name. The Vulgate likewise used the Latin word Dominus (Lord). The form Jehovah is of late medieval origin; it is a combination of the consonants of the divine Name and the vowels attached to it by the Masoretes but belonging to an entirely different word. Although the American Standard Version (1901) had used Jehovah to render the Tetragrammaton (the sound of Y being represented by J and the sound of W by V, as in Latin), for two reasons the Committees that produced the RSV and the NRSV returned to the more familiar usage of the King James Version. (1) The word Jehovah does not accurately represent any form of the Name ever used in Hebrew. (2) The use of any proper name for the one and only God, as though there were other gods from whom the true God had to be distinguished, began to be discontinued in Judaism before the Christian era and is inappropriate for the universal faith of the Christian Church.

It will be seen that in the Psalms and in other prayers addressed to God, the archaic second-person singular pronouns (thee, thou, thine) and verb forms (art, hast, hadst) are no longer used. Although some readers may regret this change, it should be pointed out that in the original languages neither the OT nor the New makes any linguistic distinction between addressing a human being and addressing the Deity. Furthermore, in the tradition of the King James Version one will not expect to find the use of capital letters for pronouns that refer to the Deity—such capitalization is an unnecessary innovation that has only recently been introduced into a few English translations of the Bible. Finally, we have left to the discretion of the licensed publishers such matters as section headings, cross-references, and clues to the pronunciation of proper names.

This new version seeks to preserve all that is best in the English Bible as it has been known and used through the years. It is intended for use in public reading and congregational worship, as well as in private study, instruction, and meditation. We have resisted the temptation to introduce terms and phrases that merely reflect current moods, and have tried to put the message of the Scriptures in simple, enduring words and expressions that are worthy to stand in the great tradition of the King James Bible and its predecessors.

In traditional Judaism and Christianity, the Bible has been more than a historical document to be preserved or a classic of literature to be cherished and admired; it is recognized as the unique record of God’s dealings with people over the ages. The OT sets forth the call of a special people to enter into covenant relation with the God of justice and steadfast love and to bring God’s law to the nations. The NT records the life and work of Jesus Christ, the one in whom the Word became flesh, as well as describes the rise and spread of the early Christian Church. The Bible carries its full message, not to those who regard it simply as a noble literary heritage of the past or who wish to use it to enhance political purposes and advance otherwise desirable goals, but to all persons and communities who read it so that they may discern and understand what God is saying to them. That message must not be disguised in phrases that are no longer clear, or hidden under words that have changed or lost their meaning; it must be presented in language that is direct and plain and meaningful to people today. It is the hope and prayer of the translators that this version of the Bible may continue to hold a large place in congregational life and to speak to all readers, young and old alike, helping them to understand and believe and respond to its message.

For the Committee,

BRUCE M. METZGER

THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES

Commonly Called

THE OLD TESTAMENT

Genesis

Genesis 1

Genesis 2

Genesis 3

Genesis 4

Genesis 5

Genesis 6

Genesis 7

Genesis 8

Genesis 9

Genesis 10

Genesis 11

Genesis 12

Genesis 13

Genesis 14

Genesis 15

Genesis 16

Genesis 17

Genesis 18

Genesis 19

Genesis 20

Genesis 21

Genesis 22

Genesis 23

Genesis 24

Genesis 25

Genesis 26

Genesis 27

Genesis 28

Genesis 29

Genesis 30

Genesis 31

Genesis 32

Genesis 33

Genesis 34

Genesis 35

Genesis 36

Genesis 37

Genesis 38

Genesis 39

Genesis 40

Genesis 41

Genesis 42

Genesis 43

Genesis 44

Genesis 45

Genesis 46

Genesis 47

Genesis 48

Genesis 49

Genesis 50

Read

In the beginning … In this the first book of the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible—we see the genesis, or creation, of the universe and of a nation: Israel. Through this nation, God’s plan of salvation—made necessary by the fall of the first humans—would unfold.

Meditate

So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

—Genesis 1:27–28

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

—Genesis 3:15

I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

—Genesis 17:7

Contemplate

As you read the familiar Bible stories of Genesis reflect on the themes of relationships, redemption, and faithfulness. A sovereign God chose to reach out to the fallen world through a covenant made with the family line of Abraham. Ask yourself, What is my view of God? Is God close or distant? Examine how your view of God dovetails with what the Bible describes about God.

Pray

Abraham was known as a friend of God, because of his faith in God and his intimate communion with God (see James 2:23 and Genesis 15; 17; 18). Consider in silence what your prayer life says about your friendship with God. Let Abraham’s example inspire you to a deeper, more persistent level of communication with the One who made you in his image.

DAY 1: THE LIMITS OF IMAGINATION

Read

Genesis 1:1–3:24

Genesis 1

Six Days of Creation and the Sabbath

¹ IN THE beginning when God created [1] the heavens and the earth, ² the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God [2] swept over the face of the waters. ³ Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

⁶ And God said, Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. ⁷ So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. ⁸ God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

⁹ And God said, Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it. And it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth. And it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky. ²¹ So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind. And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, "Let us make humankind [3] in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, [4] and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."

²⁷ So God created humankind [5] in his image,

          in the image of God he created them; [6]

          male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. ²⁹ God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. ³¹ God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 2

Another Account of the Creation

¹ THUS the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. ² And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

⁴ These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

In the day that the LORD [7] God made the earth and the heavens, ⁵ when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; ⁶ but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— ⁷ then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, [8] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. ⁸ And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; ¹² and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. ¹⁶ And the LORD God commanded the man, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.

¹⁸ Then the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner. ¹⁹ So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man [9] there was not found a helper as his partner. ²¹ So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³ Then the man said,

  "This at last is bone of my bones

          and flesh of my flesh;

      this one shall be called Woman, [10]

         for out of Man [11] this one was taken."

²⁴ Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. ²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 3

The First Sin and Its Punishment

¹ NOW the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’? ² The woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; ³ but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ ⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; ⁵ for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, [12] knowing good and evil." ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

⁸ They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you? ¹⁰ He said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. ¹¹ He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? ¹² The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate. ¹³ Then the LORD God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? The woman said, The serpent tricked me, and I ate. ¹⁴ The LORD God said to the serpent,

      "Because you have done this,

          cursed are you among all animals

          and among all wild creatures;

      upon your belly you shall go,

          and dust you shall eat

          all the days of your life.

¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman,

          and between your offspring and hers;

      he will strike your head,

          and you will strike his heel."

¹⁶ To the woman he said,

      "I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing;

          in pain you shall bring forth children,

      yet your desire shall be for your husband,

          and he shall rule over you."

¹⁷ And to the man [13] he said,

      "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,

          and have eaten of the tree

      about which I commanded you,

          ‘You shall not eat of it,’

      cursed is the ground because of you;

          in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

¹⁸ thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

          and you shall eat the plants of the field.

¹⁹ By the sweat of your face

          you shall eat bread

      until you return to the ground,

          for out of it you were taken;

      you are dust,

          and to dust you shall return."

²⁰ The man named his wife Eve, [14] because she was the mother of all living. ²¹ And the LORD God made garments of skins for the man [15] and for his wife, and clothed them.

²² Then the LORD God said, See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever— ²³ therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.