Friday, March 18, 2011

New NIV Bible to Debut - the NIV 2011

(Christian Post) Say good-bye to the NIV Bible as we know it and say hello to the updated, gender-inclusive NIV Bible which debuts in stores this month.

Mega-publisher Zondervan printed 1.9 million copies of the updated NIV Bible in this first run, up from the original 1.4 million.

"This laydown of the NIV update is bigger than we imagined," said Chip Brown, senior vice president of Bibles for Zondervan, to The Christian Post. "A couple of retailers came in a little higher after seeing the marketing and products."

This spring and summer, the company is releasing 33 titles and 177 product SKUs featuring the updated NIV text. A second batch of 188 SKUs, including the updated edition of the NIV Study Bible, will join the new line this fall.

The updated NIV Bible is being promoted as the first update to the NIV in 25 years. In reality, the 2005 TNIV was the first attempt to update the 1984 NIV, but fallout from the evangelical community over its overt "gender inclusive" language led to its demise in 2009.

With the updated NIV Bible now in print form, it is expected that more evangelical scholars and pastors will fully weigh in on the revised translation in the coming weeks. (Read more)


With 2011 being the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, another new age Bible version officially comes on the scene - the NIV 2011. The gender-inclusive, or gender neutral, version of the Bible aims to cater to the feminists. It will eliminate (or neutralize) reference to gender in terms that describe people. For example, the words chairman, fireman and stewardess are gender-specific. The corresponding gender-neutral terms are chairperson (or chair), firefighter and flight attendant.  Feminists argue that previously the practice of assigning masculine gender stemmed from language reflecting a male-centered, patriarchal society. [1]

The Today's NIV (TNIV) already has gender inclusive text, but it has some alterations to it to make it more palatable to evangelicals. The publisher says the NIV 2011 will replace both the 1984 and 2005 versions. So basically, the old one will no longer be in print. Since the TNIV has gender inclusive language in it, what does John MacArthur have to say about the TNIV?


(YouTube link)

This version has already been in the making for years. The NIV is primarily a translation used by Evangelicals, so it was one of the last to be changed. All the following versions are "gender-inclusive" versions:
  • 1983 An Inclusive Language Lectionary [ILL]
  • 1985 New Jerusalem Bible [NJB]
  • 1987 New Century Version [NCV]
  • 1986 International Children’s Bible [ICB] (aka The Odyssey Bible)
  • 1986 New American Bible, [NAB]
  • 1989 Revised English Bible [REB]
  • 1990 New Revised Standard Version [NRSV]
  • 1992 Good News Bible [1992 Revision] [GNB]
  • 1992 Today’s English Version [TEV]
  • 1993 The Message
  • 1994 The Inclusive New Testament [INT]
  • 1995 Contemporary English Version [CEV]
  • 1995 New American Standard Bible Update [NASBU]
  • 1995 God's Word [GW]
  • 1996 New International Reader's Version [Nirv] (Note. After negative reaction to the "gender-inclusive" 1995 version of the NirV, in 1998 the NIV crew updated the NirV removing much of the "gender-inclusive" readings.)
  • 1996 New International Version, Inclusive Language Edition [NIVI] published ONLY in Great Britain by Hodder & Stoughton, London
  • 1995 New Testament and Psalms, An Inclusive Version [NTPI]
  • 1996 New Living Translation [NLT]
  • 2002 Today's New International Version [TNIV] [2]
It is interesting to note that the King James Bible is the only version that is not copywritten. All other translations in print are owned by individuals.


"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD,
that I will send a famine in the land,
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the LORD:
" Amos 8:11