“Today’S New International Version”

Rodney Gilbert

Class: RELN 2110 Introduction to Biblical Literature

Cohort: Alpha A 119

Instructor: Jim Conrad

“Today’s New International Version”

The purpose of this paper is to provide a little background and history into the biblical translation known as “Today’s New International Version”. There are many issues brought forth by several organizations in regards to the translation in comparison to more favorable translations like the King James Version and the New International Version. Included in this paper will be a brief history of the translation, discussion of the issues that are causing controversy, and a few personal reflections on the matter. After reading this paper a more open and honest attitude in reference to the issues at the base of this controversy may be reflected by the reader. If so, then the purpose of this paper will have been met and should, coherently, include an enlightening interpretation of “Today’s New International Version.”

In order to present the history of the translation at hand, the first point of relevance is the fact that the TNIV was constructed from the basis of the NIV. In 1967 the International Bible Society announced the need and made an effort to translate the Bible and it’s English of the 1600’s into a more contemporary and accurate volume pertaining to the world and language of that day. After partnering with Zondervan, a Christian publisher, the completion of the NIV was announced in 1978. Faced with opposition from some religious leaders who felt certain passages were being taken out of context by changing certain gender-specific terms in the translation , the movement pressed on. This is an important note because when the IBS distributed advance review copies of the New Testament of the TNIV, they were blasted with the same kind of scrutiny as when the NIV hit the shelves. All in all the New Testament was released to the public during the spring of 2001 and the Old Testament is expected to be completed in 2005.

While discussing the issues that are causing the controversy may be easy for some of the readers, it may be hard for some of those readers who find them selves lost due to the changes and omissions found in the TNIV. The gender-neutral text features some of the usual changes found in the NIV. “Brothers and sisters” is put instead of “brothers” (Stek, 2002). Even with these changes, the translation is grammatically correct, but some of the other alterations appear to break the rules of English grammar. With this in mind it has been reported that the changes that have this effect also contribute to the text being somewhat confusing. In the cases where there are omissions found it was helpful in other versions if they were noted in the footnotes. In the case of the TNIV, even the footnotes mentioning the omission are frequently omitted. This may lead to some hard reading and some, equally, hard interpretations.

Another issue being looked at in regards to the TNIV is the fact that most of the scholars who worked on the NIV are collectively conveyed to have