(Part of the Series of Cambridge Bibles)
Editors: Bruce M. Metzger (Head) and the Committee of Translators
Publisher: Cambridge University Press – 262 pages, plus other sections (see Contents)
Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram

The committee of translators writes that this book is “yet another step in the long, continual process of making the Bible available in the form of the English language that is most wildly current in our day. to summarize in a single sentence: the New Standard Revised Version 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.”

The King James Version or KJV for short is another member of the series of Cambridge Bibles. It came to be known over time as the ‘Authorized Version’. It has also been described as ‘the noblest monument of English prose’ The editors write that the KJV “has entered, as no other book has, into the making of the personal character and the public institutions of the English-speaking peoples.” They assert” “We owe to it an incalculable debt,” emphasizing the point that it was beginning of all later versions.

But as almost everything that can be improved, so was the KJV in that situation several decades ago. As a matter of fact, they point out that the King James Version had ‘serious defects’ The editors write:

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 too many as to call for revision.

The task was begun by authority of the Church of England in 1870. The (British) Revised Version was published in 1881-1885; and the American standard Version, its variant embodying the preferences of the American scholars associated with the work, was published, as 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 editors then go on to describe the many steps that were taken over the years until this New Standard Version of the Holy Bible came into being.

This is an excellent book based on detailed, meticulous research. Its contents are very well organized and it is also well written.

This Cambridge goatskin leather Bible is unique. The cover material is a natural product and the binding processes are hand crafted. The publisher writes: “This Bible has been made with skill and care from the best and most appropriate materials: if treated with all reasonable care and respect as befits a well-made and valuable article, it will give years of use.”

A Limited Warranty is provided to purchasers of this product. A slip is included with the product that gives the purchaser warranty details at www.Cambridge.org/bibles/warranty