Will the revised edition be called NIV or NIV 2011?

The update of the NIV for 2011 will be called, simply, the NIV.

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From what materials will this new Bible be translated?

The CBT works with its “existing text,” which is the latest form of the translation that first appeared in the NIV and then later in the TNIV. They make revisions to this text based on their best understanding of the underlying Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. They use an “eclectic text”: that is, they work from the major published original texts, but make their own decisions about textual variants found in those traditions.

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Who are you to change the language of the Bible?

Translators of the Bible are sometimes accused of “changing the words of God.” Guilty: Anyone who translates the Bible changes every one of “God’s words” – because “God’s words” have come to us in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. So we have two options: 1) Everyone who wants to read the Bible must learn these languages; or 2) Competent translations of these original words of God must be made. The church, from early in its life, has taken the second route; and I think most of would agree that it is the best option.

The real question, then, is how best to translate the original words of God into English words. Many people think this is as easy as representing the original words of the Bible in equivalent English words. But this does not work, because languages have different structures and ways of communicating. A “word-for-word” rendering of John 3:16, for instance, would be “In this way for loved the God the world, so that the son the only beloved one gave, in order that every the believing one into him not perish but have eternal life.” Now maybe someone could understand what this means: but not easily! So translators have to take the words of God, found in the Bible, and find the best way to express them in contemporary English. This is what CBT seeks to do. Any decisions we make, including decisions about how to render gender, fall into this category.

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I worry that too much will be changed? I would hate to lose any of the true word.

We believe there are a number of key reasons why you can place your full confidence in the process adopted by the CBT. The first is that the CBT is independent. Biblica, as key sponsor of the NIV, has no seat on the translation committee and no means to influence translation decisions. Zondervan, as commercial publisher of the NIV has no seat on the translation committee and no means to influence translation decisions. The CBT is therefore free to focus on two things and two things alone – namely monitoring developments in English usage and in Biblical scholarship, and then reflecting these developments in a translation that faithfully articulates God’s unchanging word in contemporary English.

The second element we would draw your attention to is the composition of the CBT. The CBT is a multinational group that brings together some of the world’s finest Bible scholars from a range of evangelical traditions. This breadth of membership guards its work from the accusation that it has been shaped by any kind of denominational influence and it maintains the character of the NIV as a translation for all.

And the third element we would draw your attention to is the voting procedure to which the CBT adheres. No individual, indeed not even a large group of individuals, can hold sway in the committee because no change to the text can be ratified without a 70 percent majority vote. And this we believe can give readers tremendous confidence that the translation is inherently conservative and that it is well-protected from ill-considered alterations.

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The CBT will “review” the gender-related changes, but are they going to revert back to the way they were in the 1984 NIV?

The update work is still in progress and will not be complete until late next year. Only the CBT has authority over that decision.

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