Having grown up with the King James Version of the Bible, I have no sentimental attachment to the Revised Standard Version, although I do read from it in the context of daily prayers. Still I cannot manage to summon up Fr. Neuhaus’s enthusiasm for this translation, which has a number of literary flaws, stemming mostly from the translators’ misguided retention of some Jacobean English features in an otherwise modern translation. The problems are especially obvious in their inconsistent use of the old second-person-singular pronouns (thou, thee, thy, thine). In general, these are used in addressing God, as in this example from Psalm 25:
To thee, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in thee I trust, let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.
However, these pronouns are never used in addressing Jesus, which might be seen to suggest a deficient christology on the part of the translators. Moreover, there are some passages where the second-person-singular pronouns are used to address a personified entity, such as a country or city:
He it was who smote the first-born of Egypt, both of man and of beast; who in thy midst, O Egypt, sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants. . . . (Psalm 135:9)
and:
The LORD will reign for ever,
thy God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD! (Psalm 146:10)
and:
. . . and the sound of harpers and minstrels, of flute players and trumpeters, shall be heard in thee no more; and a craftsman of any craft shall be found in thee no more; and the sound of the millstone shall be heard in thee no more; and the light of a lamp shall shine in thee no more; and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall be heard in thee no more; for thy merchants were the great men of the earth, and all nations were deceived by thy sorcery (Revelation 18:22-23).
But these are unusual occurrences. Here is the more normal usage in addressing cities:
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! (Psalm 137:5)
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! (Psalm 147:12)
Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength . . . . (Isaiah 40:9)
Then there is one occurrence of the obsolete second-singular-plural nominative form in Psalm 27:8: ‘Thou hast said, “Seek ye my face.’” I could go on in this vein. I even found one place where God is addressed as you rather than thou (but could not manage to locate it again when I went to look for it). By the time the RSV with expanded Apocrypha was published in the late 1970s, the translators had dropped the obsolete pronouns altogether, giving the entire collection an uneven feel.
In other words, by the end of its four-decade run, the RSV was crying out for, if not replacement, then at least a more consistent updating throughout. Whether the NRSV or the ESV satisfies this need will have readers disagreeing, but the revisers of both are to be commended for dispensing at last with the remnants of Jacobean English, which could never be used consistently in a translation meant for late 20th-century and early 21st-century readers.
November 22nd, 2012 | 3:36 pm
At the time of Shakespeare, the second person forms thou (subj.) and thee (obj.) were used with individuals in the context of familiarity or social inferiority, while the plural forms ye (subj.) and you (obj.) were used to address individuals to show deference–although there is nary a “ye” to be found in the plays of the Bard.
The use of the old forms should not be discouraged; I for one think it is good to have language for talking to God which is unlike everyday speech.
November 22nd, 2012 | 3:41 pm
Rereading Mr. Koyzis’ piece, I see that his primary object was to discredit the RSV and not to discourage the older language.
November 22nd, 2012 | 4:08 pm
You are right, Mr. Bishop. My objection is not so much to Jacobean English as to the effort to use it in tandem with 20th-century English. I myself rather wish the second-person-singular pronoun had not fallen out of use, because its presence would enhance communication.
As a postscript, I recently had a revealing comment appended to an old blog post of mine, The Secret Garden and the Yorkshire dialect, by a woman calling herself Julia B.:
The second-person-singular pronoun has not died everywhere, it seems. All the same, given where most of the English language is now, I would not favour resuscitating the old pronouns in reference to God. Such usage reflects nothing in the original languages and need not be perpetuated in the languages in which the Bible is translated.
November 22nd, 2012 | 6:06 pm
I think stylistic consistency is overrated. Significantly.
November 22nd, 2012 | 6:27 pm
Fascinating, David.
November 23rd, 2012 | 5:23 am
For the RSV — are not the translators accurately reflecting what the original languages said? The loss of the use of the second person singular is a change often in the meaning and nuance of the translation.
November 23rd, 2012 | 7:08 am
Philip, this could be said for the KJV translators, but not the RSV revisers. To reflect the original languages, the second-person-singular pronouns would have to be used throughout the translation rather than restricted to addresses to God and (very occasionally) to Egypt, Babylon and Zion. And, yes, I agree with you: the loss of the old pronouns does obscure meaning in some places, as it does in ordinary conversation.
November 23rd, 2012 | 9:32 am
To get the full impact of the Yorkshire dialect, see the beautiful movie “Kes,” filmed and set in the late 60s with local actors (and non-actors). The original Yorkshire is delightfully impossible to understand, and it’s your choice whether or not to turn on the subtitles or switch to the standard English dub. Available from Criterion Collection and may still be half-price at Barnes and Noble.
November 23rd, 2012 | 12:23 pm
Of course, Americans still distinguish between the second person singular and plural – “You” and “Y’all.”
November 23rd, 2012 | 1:16 pm
With regard to the Yorkshire use of Thee and Thou, take a look and a listen to the British comedy “Last of the Summer Wine” The character called “Compo” addressed nearly everyone with the old usage. “Thou”, however, is most often pronounced as “Tha”. I tell thee, tha can hear old England in these modern times.
November 24th, 2012 | 8:00 am
What a wonderful idea! A new translation to add to the plethora of English-language Bibles: the NYYB — the New You/Y’all Bible. I predict robust sales.
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