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Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version
Here, printed in clear, easy-to-read, self-pronouncing type, is the Revised Standard Version of The Holy Bible .
This edition is a superb synthesis of modern language and the lyric force of the King James Version. Easily accessible yet still magnificent, it retains as much poetry as possible while replacing obscure words and outdated phrasing with more contemporary usages.
The 1,120 pages of text contain, in addition to the complete Old and New Testaments, a summary of the books of the Bible, a history of several modern translations, an outline of New Testament history as well as useful cross-references, and an extensive series of notes regarding translation and original sources.
This edition is a superb synthesis of modern language and the lyric force of the King James Version. Easily accessible yet still magnificent, it retains as much poetry as possible while replacing obscure words and outdated phrasing with more contemporary usages.
The 1,120 pages of text contain, in addition to the complete Old and New Testaments, a summary of the books of the Bible, a history of several modern translations, an outline of New Testament history as well as useful cross-references, and an extensive series of notes regarding translation and original sources.
1120 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 1974
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* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author
Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.
See also: Anonymous
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 26, 2025
For 24 years, I could only say of the Bible what William Goldman said of The Princess Bride: “This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.”
One-star reviews of the Bible are some of the funniest pieces of writing ever concocted, but if we’re being serious, I enjoyed every moment of this experience — even the moments I spent staring blankly at the wall, thinking, “What the heck does any of this even *mean*?”
Thankfully, I had a guide. I didn’t agree with everything Father Mike Schmitz said, but his Bible in a Year podcast is a great tool for first-time readers. By breaking the holy book into bite-sized chunks and unpacking each chunk’s meaning and historical context (and doing so totally free of charge!), he makes the Bible accessible to all.
Here are a few fun facts I learned:
- Mary is often referred to as the Queen of Heaven because, in ancient Israel, the queen was not the king’s wife, because the king had multiple wives. Rather, the queen was the king’s mother.
- The book of Leviticus is the law of Moses. Jesus fulfilled the law. That’s why Christians don’t have to adhere to all those superfluous Levitican rules (including “thou shalt not layeth with a man as he layeth with a woman”).
- Abraham and Isaac both knew right from the beginning that God wouldn’t let Isaac be killed. This wasn’t a story of a dad betraying his little boy — this was a story of an old man and his adult son working together to demonstrate their faith in God.
- Any verse along the lines of “Wives, obey your husbands” is ALWAYS proceeded by “Husbands, love/cherish your wives.” At no point in the scripture does God imply that women are inferior to men. Rather, He always reinforces that husbands and wives are equally important, are equally worthy of respect, and belong to each other.
- To anyone who has ever used the scripture to justify slavery, sexism, racism, homophobia, etc., “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness still.” (1 John 2:9)
- And to anyone who has used the scripture to justify child abuse, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)
If you’re reading this, God loves you.
One-star reviews of the Bible are some of the funniest pieces of writing ever concocted, but if we’re being serious, I enjoyed every moment of this experience — even the moments I spent staring blankly at the wall, thinking, “What the heck does any of this even *mean*?”
Thankfully, I had a guide. I didn’t agree with everything Father Mike Schmitz said, but his Bible in a Year podcast is a great tool for first-time readers. By breaking the holy book into bite-sized chunks and unpacking each chunk’s meaning and historical context (and doing so totally free of charge!), he makes the Bible accessible to all.
Here are a few fun facts I learned:
- Mary is often referred to as the Queen of Heaven because, in ancient Israel, the queen was not the king’s wife, because the king had multiple wives. Rather, the queen was the king’s mother.
- The book of Leviticus is the law of Moses. Jesus fulfilled the law. That’s why Christians don’t have to adhere to all those superfluous Levitican rules (including “thou shalt not layeth with a man as he layeth with a woman”).
- Abraham and Isaac both knew right from the beginning that God wouldn’t let Isaac be killed. This wasn’t a story of a dad betraying his little boy — this was a story of an old man and his adult son working together to demonstrate their faith in God.
- Any verse along the lines of “Wives, obey your husbands” is ALWAYS proceeded by “Husbands, love/cherish your wives.” At no point in the scripture does God imply that women are inferior to men. Rather, He always reinforces that husbands and wives are equally important, are equally worthy of respect, and belong to each other.
- To anyone who has ever used the scripture to justify slavery, sexism, racism, homophobia, etc., “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness still.” (1 John 2:9)
- And to anyone who has used the scripture to justify child abuse, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)
If you’re reading this, God loves you.
September 14, 2007
No one whose testes are crushed or whose member is cut off shall be admitted into the congregation of the Lord. -Deuteronomy 23:2
Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. -Genesis 9:20-25
And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. -Genesis 19:30
Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. -Genesis 9:20-25
And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. -Genesis 19:30
Read
August 3, 2012no rating - this is an important text regardles if you're a skeptic or a true believer.
Currently reading
September 11, 2025I chose to read the Bible over the course of the year for many reasons, but the most obvious being that I've never read it from cover to cover. Everyone I have told about this plan has told me good luck, and that it is a hard thing to do- but I would like to note that, this is only a read through. I would like to understand the Bible more, and intend to go back through it after reading cover to cover for more depth. This first read-through, I'm aiming for surface level only.
Notes:
I enjoy Genesis, as much as I question the origin story as a sciencetific-minded person. But spiritually, I enjoy it, and was pleased that I remember so much from church readings growing up. Exodus too, surprisingly, although I didn't recall all the descriptive "sons of sons of sons" lineage. But, I guess you gotta cover time in the plot somehow, right? Now Leviticus, I didn't like so much. I feel like Leviticus could have used some editing. There's so much repetition about sacrificial offerings and how the animals should be prepared and... I just think that could have been summed up. Also Leviticus- so many rules, many of which are now so outdated, it was almost comical to read. I read these first three books in January.
I read Numbers and Deuteronomy in February, which were both almost painstakingly slow and difficult to get through. Numbers just has sooo many numbers and more "sons of sons" and Deuteronomy had many repetitive spots. I did like reviewing the commandments, as there was more explanation to them than I remembered. However, I could not help but compare to modern times, and if we still lived by so many of these rules, how limited our lives would be.
I read Joshua, Judges, and Ruth through March. Joshua and Judges took me a while. There’s a lot of action, of God testing his followers, of battle leading to prosperity, of land claim for those who follow God and only God. These books, I don’t recall much of from growing up in church, so there was a lot to digest. Through much of Joshua, I wished I had a map to understand how much land was promised and claimed, so at some point I will go back to this book and study it a little more for better understanding and context (of course I plan to do this in all the books, but Joshua definitely requires some research into the Middle East.) In the Book of Judges, I recognized the story of Sampson and Delilah, although it was not as simplified as I remember from childhood. Otherwise, I was surprised by how much of Judges I hadn’t heard and actually quite shocked about chapter 19, the abuse of the concubine. I can see why that didn’t get told in catechism! Another note- I have read the Handmaid’s Tale, and I never realized how much inspiration is take from the Bible- Gilead, “under the eye of the Lord”. I knew it had religious base but didn’t realize just how much, so I found that interesting as I read. I really enjoyed the Book of Ruth, being short and to the point, and also welcomed the female perspective after so much brutality in the last two books.
April and May, I ready the Book of Samuel 1 &2 - The story of Samuel, a prophet of the Lord, and father of King Saul, who claimed to hold favor and fight the Philistines in the name of the Lord, but who actually was quite deviant. Then the story of Jonathan, son of Saul who fell out of favor, and David, son of Jesse, who was the youngest of 8 sons. He became the favored servant of Saul, and received the Lord’s blessing and therefore was able to be a warrior for Saul under the Lord. There I reread the story of David and Goliath, which again was one I remember hearing from childhood but seemed so much more complex than what I remembered. I also did not remember what happened after, of Saul hunting David, and how David refused to kill Saul by his hand. So David was avenged by Saul and his sons dying on the same day, with Saul falling upon his own sword. I think this is perhaps my favorite book of the Bible thus far.
Within this book, I noted “then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul” (Samuel 19.9)- this made me think of how we are taught that God is love, and yet he can also bring a plague upon anyone, or in this case, an evil spirit. Jesus died for our human sin, but at what point did God stop being fearsome and when did divvying out evil become the devil’s job?
Also at this point, I begin to wish I started a character map to keep track of the names. I’m sure there’s one out there if I google though- so I’m holding out for the bible study round. At any rate, Samuel II continues in which David faces trial with his brothers as he reigns king.
June, I got through Kings I & II- Soloman, son of David, is appointed King and soon after David’s death. Solomon spends 7 years building a palace for the Lord. Then he spent the next 6 building the king’s palace, he brought the ark to the Lord’s palace, and created a fleet of ships. He also used forced labor to build cities. All his work was noticed by the Queen of Sheba, and she tested him but was shown that he was wise and respected, and served God- and she became his ally. Solomon was given plentiful riches- gold, ivory, spices. His people lived well too, and he took 700 wives. Then he turned against the Lord and worshiped other gods and died. From there, we learn about the sons of sons of kings, and this continues into the Chronicles 1 & 2. Truthfully I found these to be very difficult to get through, as there is so much fighting, battles, and overthrowing of kings. It felt repetitive, with exception to a few verses that I enjoyed, such as David's Prayer.
July, August, and the beginning of September, I got through Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Job. To be honest, Ezra and Nehemiah I barely remember reading because I read them during a very busy time and it feels like forever ago. Esther I remember being excited to read another female perspective and I enjoyed that, but that’s mostly what I recall. Job- it might be my favorite. I love how it is written in verse, and yet feels contemporary. It felt very relatable, and so many verses I thought, yes, that’s the God I know. Just so many notes on the wonders of God, his power, his mercy, his creation. I can’t wait to go back to it and highlight!
Notes:
I enjoy Genesis, as much as I question the origin story as a sciencetific-minded person. But spiritually, I enjoy it, and was pleased that I remember so much from church readings growing up. Exodus too, surprisingly, although I didn't recall all the descriptive "sons of sons of sons" lineage. But, I guess you gotta cover time in the plot somehow, right? Now Leviticus, I didn't like so much. I feel like Leviticus could have used some editing. There's so much repetition about sacrificial offerings and how the animals should be prepared and... I just think that could have been summed up. Also Leviticus- so many rules, many of which are now so outdated, it was almost comical to read. I read these first three books in January.
I read Numbers and Deuteronomy in February, which were both almost painstakingly slow and difficult to get through. Numbers just has sooo many numbers and more "sons of sons" and Deuteronomy had many repetitive spots. I did like reviewing the commandments, as there was more explanation to them than I remembered. However, I could not help but compare to modern times, and if we still lived by so many of these rules, how limited our lives would be.
I read Joshua, Judges, and Ruth through March. Joshua and Judges took me a while. There’s a lot of action, of God testing his followers, of battle leading to prosperity, of land claim for those who follow God and only God. These books, I don’t recall much of from growing up in church, so there was a lot to digest. Through much of Joshua, I wished I had a map to understand how much land was promised and claimed, so at some point I will go back to this book and study it a little more for better understanding and context (of course I plan to do this in all the books, but Joshua definitely requires some research into the Middle East.) In the Book of Judges, I recognized the story of Sampson and Delilah, although it was not as simplified as I remember from childhood. Otherwise, I was surprised by how much of Judges I hadn’t heard and actually quite shocked about chapter 19, the abuse of the concubine. I can see why that didn’t get told in catechism! Another note- I have read the Handmaid’s Tale, and I never realized how much inspiration is take from the Bible- Gilead, “under the eye of the Lord”. I knew it had religious base but didn’t realize just how much, so I found that interesting as I read. I really enjoyed the Book of Ruth, being short and to the point, and also welcomed the female perspective after so much brutality in the last two books.
April and May, I ready the Book of Samuel 1 &2 - The story of Samuel, a prophet of the Lord, and father of King Saul, who claimed to hold favor and fight the Philistines in the name of the Lord, but who actually was quite deviant. Then the story of Jonathan, son of Saul who fell out of favor, and David, son of Jesse, who was the youngest of 8 sons. He became the favored servant of Saul, and received the Lord’s blessing and therefore was able to be a warrior for Saul under the Lord. There I reread the story of David and Goliath, which again was one I remember hearing from childhood but seemed so much more complex than what I remembered. I also did not remember what happened after, of Saul hunting David, and how David refused to kill Saul by his hand. So David was avenged by Saul and his sons dying on the same day, with Saul falling upon his own sword. I think this is perhaps my favorite book of the Bible thus far.
Within this book, I noted “then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul” (Samuel 19.9)- this made me think of how we are taught that God is love, and yet he can also bring a plague upon anyone, or in this case, an evil spirit. Jesus died for our human sin, but at what point did God stop being fearsome and when did divvying out evil become the devil’s job?
Also at this point, I begin to wish I started a character map to keep track of the names. I’m sure there’s one out there if I google though- so I’m holding out for the bible study round. At any rate, Samuel II continues in which David faces trial with his brothers as he reigns king.
June, I got through Kings I & II- Soloman, son of David, is appointed King and soon after David’s death. Solomon spends 7 years building a palace for the Lord. Then he spent the next 6 building the king’s palace, he brought the ark to the Lord’s palace, and created a fleet of ships. He also used forced labor to build cities. All his work was noticed by the Queen of Sheba, and she tested him but was shown that he was wise and respected, and served God- and she became his ally. Solomon was given plentiful riches- gold, ivory, spices. His people lived well too, and he took 700 wives. Then he turned against the Lord and worshiped other gods and died. From there, we learn about the sons of sons of kings, and this continues into the Chronicles 1 & 2. Truthfully I found these to be very difficult to get through, as there is so much fighting, battles, and overthrowing of kings. It felt repetitive, with exception to a few verses that I enjoyed, such as David's Prayer.
July, August, and the beginning of September, I got through Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Job. To be honest, Ezra and Nehemiah I barely remember reading because I read them during a very busy time and it feels like forever ago. Esther I remember being excited to read another female perspective and I enjoyed that, but that’s mostly what I recall. Job- it might be my favorite. I love how it is written in verse, and yet feels contemporary. It felt very relatable, and so many verses I thought, yes, that’s the God I know. Just so many notes on the wonders of God, his power, his mercy, his creation. I can’t wait to go back to it and highlight!
Want to read
March 18, 2016Funny story. I am in no way religious. I'm actually going to read this because I believe that before i pronounce myself as Atheist that I should know all of the things I'm rejecting and fully understand them. If a miracle happens (and I hear God just loves to deal those things out) and I actually 'find God' through reading the Bible then I will pronounce myself a believer and go on living my life the same way I do now.
August 28, 2007
Not bad. Bit slow in parts, not much character development. Could have used a better editor.
March 26, 2013
Finally finished the whole thing, including the Apocrypha. Had read only the New Testament completely before. Now I will go back and do the Old one over again.
Read
December 6, 2024It's the Bible. I love it though but won't be rating it as I also have Infinite Jest at 5 stars and as a Presbyterian larper it will land me in jewish hell. I can speak on the translation—and also just the fact that I had to buy RSV for my syllabus, not only RSV but the PENGUIN CLASSICS edition. Seriously, who buys the Bible as paperback Penguin Classics??? I personally don't care for RSV as a Presbyterian larper, I like NIV and RSV.
December 8, 2017
Only read assigned portions
August 30, 2025
Gave me a bit of an existential crisis for a night when I finished reading it
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews