A Guide to the Features and Uses of the Access Bible

Gail R. O'Day

David Petersen

The Translation

This Bible contains the full text of the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible translation. The NRSV is the most complete translation of the biblical text into English: it contains the Hebrew Scriptures, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament. Some editions of the Access Bible are published without the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. In editions that do contain these books, the individual introductions contain information about the status of these works in the various Christian churches.

The NRSV Preface, “To the Reader,” explains the nature of the NRSV translation, its history, and the scholarly research that lies behind it. The translation also includes footnotes, prepared by the scholars on the translation committee. These footnotes, an important tool for Bible study, explain places where the original language text is unclear, where there is a difference among the various manuscripts that the scholars have consulted (usually indicated in the notes by the phrase, “other ancient authorities read”), or where the original language allows for an alternate translation of the word or phrase (indicated by the word “or”). Some notes provide information about other ancient translations of the Bible that scholars consulted in their translation work. The glossary at the back of this Bible provides information about these different translations (see the entry ancient translations). See also “Language and Text” in the essay “What Is Bible Study?” on p. 4 .