Publication.

On 30 September 1952 the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible was published under the sanction of the National Council of Churches of Christ. A group of thirty-two scholars worked for fifteen years to produce this contemporary translation of the Bible. The new translation was received with enthusiasm by most Protestants and immediately became a best-seller. The first printing of one million copies was sold in two days, and the translation sold an average of one million copies a year throughout the decade. That translation, along with other versions, made the Bible the continual top best-selling book. In 1955 booksellers agreed to take its status as a given and drop it from the popularity charts.

Controversy over the NCC.

There were protests against the new version. Conservative Protestants were offended at what appeared to be an attempt to replace the beloved...