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Revised New Jerusalem Bible
Full nameRevised New Jerusalem Bible
AbbreviationRNJB
NTpublished2018
Complete Bible
published		2019
Textual basisOld Testament:Biblia Hebraica StuttgartensiawithSeptuagintinfluence.
New Testament:Novum Testamentum Graece27th edition, i.e., "NA27."
Translation typeFormal equivalence
Copyright2018, 2019 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd
Religious affiliationCatholic Church
Webpagewww.dltbibles/the-rnjb
Genesis 1:1–3
In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with the spirit of God sweeping over the waters. God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.
John 3:16
For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

TheRevised New Jerusalem Bible(RNJB) is anEnglish translationof theCatholicBibletranslated by theBenedictinescholarHenry Wansbroughas an update and successor to the 1966Jerusalem Bibleand the 1985New Jerusalem Bible.

The translation seeks to balance the fluid literary style of the original with a moreformally equivalentrendering "suitable for reading out loud."[1]Additional differences from the earlier versions include rendering theTetragrammatonas "LORD" rather than "Yahweh",using moregender-inclusive language,converting ancient systems of measurement and timing into modernmetricequivalents, and reflecting shifts in modern English usage.[2]For instance, the use of ‘shall’ for an emphatic orpropheticfuture is now rare, being generally replaced by 'will', as inIsaiah 2:2:It will happen in the last day.[3]

TheNew Testamentand thePsalmswere first published separately by Darton, Longman & Todd in February 2018. The full Bible was released in July 2019, published by Darton, Longman & Todd in theUnited Kingdomand byImagein theUnited States.[4][5][6]Various CatholicBishops' conferencesin theEnglish-speaking worldusinglectionariesbased on the originalJerusalem Biblehave begun to revise them with this updated text, including theCatholic Church in Australia,New Zealand,andIreland.[7]

Principles of revision

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Henry Wansbroughpresented three principles of revision in the preface toThe Revised New Jerusalem Bible:that it be intelligible when read aloud, that it adhere to formal rather than dynamic equivalence, and that it use gender-neutral language.[8]However, the translation limits the use of gender-neutral language to personal pronouns referring to people of either gender (i.e., "Blessed is one who" rather than "Blessed is he who" ). In so doing, it complies with the instruction of theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faithissued underCardinal Ratzinger(later Pope Benedict XVI), which requires that the "natural gender of 'personae' in the Bible, including the human author of various texts where evident, must not be changed" and that the "grammatical gender of God, pagan deities, and angels according to the original texts must not be changed insofar as this is possible in the receptor language."[9][10]

WhereasThe New Jerusalem Bibleand its predecessorThe Jerusalem Biblefeatured the use of"Yahweh"some 6800+ times to render theTetragrammaton,The Revised New Jerusalem Bibleuses the word "LORD"in small capitals. This to conform with instructions from theCongregation for Divine Worship.[11][12][13][14]

Another notable change is that it uses a modification of theRevised Grail Psalterfor thePsalmsrather than its own rendering.[11][15]

BothThe Jerusalem BibleandThe New Jerusalem Biblewere notable for their extensive footnotes. By comparison, the RNJB has far fewer and different notes from the previous versions, using instead the footnotes Wansbrough wrote for the 2007CTS New Catholic Bible.[11]

Endorsement

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The RNJB Bible text, introductions, and footnotes all carry theNihil Obstatof Father John Hemer, Censor Deputatus, Appointed by the Department for Christian Life and Worship and theImprimaturof theArchbishopGeorge Stack,chairman, Department for Christian Life and Worship, a declaration that, for Catholics, the contents are "considered to be free from doctrinal or moral error."[16]

Adoption

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In July 2021 the bishops' conferences ofAustraliaandNew Zealandstated that they would use theRevised New Jerusalem Bibleas the basis for their newlectionary.Their previous lectionary had been based on theJerusalem Bible.Stephen Lowe,thebishop of Hamiltonand Secretary of theNew Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference,said that they had debated between adopting theEnglish Standard Version Catholic Edition(ESV-CE) or the RNJB but had settled on the RNJB because it "uses inclusive language, and is based on the Jerusalem Bible translation, that is the current approved lectionary for New Zealand".[17][18]

Reception

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Eamon Duffy,an Irish historian atCambridge University,[19][20]criticised the Revised New Jerusalem Bible for being "flaccid" and containing "casual inaccuracy"[21]and said that "TheEnglish Standard Versionis more accurate, and reads better. "[21]DrSara Parvis,senior lecturer in patristics at Edinburgh University School of Divinity,[22][23]disagreed that the English Standard Version is more accurate than the RNJB.[21]

Fr. Neil Xavier O'Donoghue, a theologian,[24]notes that while the originalJerusalem Biblehad extensive footnotes, the RNJB does not. Indeed, the notes to the RNJB were originally composed by Henry Wansbrough for theCTS New Catholic Bibleand are, O'Donoghue says, "squat", or relatively sparse.[25]

Nicholas KingSJ,a tutor and fellow in New Testament studies atCampion HallinOxford University,[26]observes that there are some difficulties with the translation which include it not being translated by a committee which raises the difficulty "that when you try to set out the Gospels synoptically, it is very difficult to reflect the Greek adequately."[27]King also notices, in the translation, a "slight tension... in the attitude to inclusive language in this volume."[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"The Revised New Jerusalem Bible Study Edition Translated by Henry Wansbrough".penguinrandomhouse.2019-12-03.
  2. ^Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd,The Revised New Jerusalem Bible,accessed 2 July 2020
  3. ^Bible Readings for Advent and Christmas: The Sunday Mass scripture readings for December 2019 taken from the Revised New Jerusalem Bible,accessed 2 July 2020
  4. ^"The Revised New Jerusalem Bible".Liturgy.co.nz.
  5. ^"Revised New Jerusalem Bible: New Testament and Psalms".dltbooks.
  6. ^Neil Xavier O’Donoghue (18 July 2019)."The Word made comprehensible: is it time to revise the Lectionary?".The Tablet.
  7. ^"New Zealand helps with new lectionary project".cathnews.co.nz.2021-05-10.Retrieved2021-11-03.
  8. ^The Revised New Jerusalem Bible: Study Edition.New York: Image. 2019. p. x.ISBN978-0-525-57319-7.
  9. ^"Norms for the Translation of Biblical Texts for Use in the Liturgy | EWTN".EWTN Global Catholic Television Network.Retrieved2021-10-25.
  10. ^"Vatican Translation Norms Reject" Inclusive Language "The conflict over translation principles pits political accommodation against theological truth".Adoremus.1997-07-15.Retrieved2021-10-25.
  11. ^abcThe Revised New Jerusalem Bible: Study Edition.New York: Image. 2019. p. xi.ISBN978-0-525-57319-7.
  12. ^Francis Cardinal, Arinze (29 June 2008)."Letter to the Bishop's Conferences on" The Name of God ""(PDF).United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.Archived(PDF)from the original on 18 December 2020.Retrieved16 April2021.
  13. ^"Letter to the Bishop's Conferences On the Name of God | EWTN".EWTN Global Catholic Television Network.Retrieved16 April2021.
  14. ^EWTN."'Yahweh' not to be used in liturgy, songs and prayers, Cardinal Arinze says ".CNA.Retrieved16 April2021.
  15. ^Gillis, John W."Catholic Bibles: A Guide to Current Catholic Translations".MaybeToday.org.Retrieved19 September2021.
  16. ^"RNJB Study Edition Preface (2019)".bibleversion.org.2019.Retrieved2021-11-04.
  17. ^"Lectionary based on Revised New Jerusalem Bible".World Catholic News.4 July 2021.Retrieved18 September2021.
  18. ^"NZ and Australian bishops to cooperate new lectionary".CathNews New Zealand.Wellington. 8 July 2021.Retrieved18 September2021.
  19. ^Duffy, Professor Eamon (2013-07-22)."Professor Eamon Duffy FBA".divinity.cam.ac.uk.Retrieved2021-10-26.
  20. ^"Professor Eamon Duffy FBA".The British Academy.Retrieved2021-10-26.
  21. ^abcGledhill, Ruth (8 August 2019)."War of the Word: top scholars battle over Bible translations".The Tablet.
  22. ^"Dr Sara Parvis".The University of Edinburgh.16 June 2024.Retrieved12 October2024.
  23. ^"CSCO Committee".Centre for the Study of Christian Origins.14 July 2010.Retrieved12 October2024.
  24. ^Donoghue, Neil Xavier."Neil CV.pdf".{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  25. ^Donoghue, Neil Xavier."Featured Review: Revised New Jerusalem Bible".The Furrow.
  26. ^Ryan, Tim (2019)."Review of Irish Parliamentarians: Deputies and Senators 1918 - 2018".Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review.108(430): 225–229.ISSN0039-3495.JSTOR10.35939/studiesirishrev.108.430.0225.
  27. ^abKing, Nicholas."The Revised New Jerusalem Bible, Study Edition".The Pastoral Review.
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