A question to my occasional readers.
I’ve been using the New Revised Standard Version since it came out decades ago, but I’m looking for an additional translation or two that ideally are (1) a bit more euphonic in worship without being a paraphrase, and (2) ideally have some kind of liberal license, which is more of a philosophical choice about the ownership of common Christian properties.
Do you have any recommendations?
Your problem will be that everything you choose will involve a tradeoff.
Freely licenced translations are still a bit hard to come by, and are either unfinished (OEB) or not an obvious improvement on the NSRV (WEB). ESV is professional, with a reasonably liberal licence (for use – but you can’t make your own changes) but I don’t think it gives you much if anything over the NSRV and personally I feel it is a backwards step on a bunch of decisions.
From your description, you would like the REB but it isn’t under a liberal licence and is hard to find in digital form.
Maybe look at the CSB (was HCSB) or the CEB (“Common English Bible”)?
There are a whole swathe of more paraphrasy translations – NLT, TEV, CEV etc. Not disparaging them at all – they’re great. But sounds like that’s not what you’re after.
Now I think about it you should stick with the NRSV because it is the only one which is not a TLA (three letter acronym 🙂
I second the Revised English Bible (REB). Not a paraphrase, but less literal than the NRSV. An ecumenical translation with some beautiful language in it. Available to buy digitally on Olive Tree. Secondhand or new hardcovers usually not hard to find on Ebay, Amazon, Bookshop, etc.
In fact I use and like the REB, but Demas’s concerns are mine too, and it’s already my second biblical version for preaching.
Both of your comments — thank you — got me thinking that if I had to make a choice, I’d want an open and digital Bible that had finished the psalter, gospels, balance of the New Testament and Isaiah, in that order. Even if it wasn’t complete that would get me the bulk of what I would want for their use in printed orders of service.