REB - 1989
Revised English Bible
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In 1974, the Joint Committee of the Churches, which hadproduced the New English Bible, decided to begin amajor revision of the text. By this time, there were changes in the compositionof the Joint Committee. The Roman Catholic Church, with representatives fromthe hierarchies of England and Wales, of Scotland, and of Ireland, enteredinto full membership. The United Reformed Church, which was a recent unionof the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church, wasrepresented. Then representatives of the Salvation Army and the MoravianChurch joined the committee.

The best available texts of both Testaments were used.Care was taken to ensure that the style of English used be fluent and ofdignity for liturgical use, while maintaining intelligibility for all agesand backgrounds. Complex or technical terms were avoided, where possible.There was care that sentence structure and word order would facilitatecongregational reading, without misrepresenting the meaning of the originaltext. "Thou" in addressing God has been replaced by you.A more inclusive gender reference than the male-oriented language was preferred.A more extensive use of textual sub-headings in italics has been used.These are not to be considered part of the text. The traditional versenumbering of the Authorized Version has been retained.Passages that appear in the manuscripts used for the Authorized Version butleft out of the Revised English Bible have been reproduced in footnotes. Somemodern equivalents of ancient terms are used.

The Joint Committee commends this version with humility,but with confidence that God has yet new light and truth to break forthfrom his word. The publishers consider the Revised English Bible to bea radical revision of the New English Bible.

Oxford and Cambridge Universities Presses (1989)

[Tyndale House, Cambridge, UnitedKingdom]

Genesis1: 1, 2

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.The earth was a vast waste, darkness covered the deep, and the Spirit ofGod hovered over the surface of the water.

 
 

John1: 1 - 3

In the beginning the Word already was. The Word was inGod's presence, and what God was, the Word was. He was with God at thebeginning, and through him all things came to be; without him no createdthing came into being.

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