{"id":507,"date":"2008-01-21T06:43:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-21T06:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/omeoflittlefaith\/2008\/01\/which-bible-part-6-the-niv.html"},"modified":"2008-01-21T06:43:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-21T06:43:00","slug":"which-bible-part-6-the-niv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omeoflittlefaith\/2008\/01\/which-bible-part-6-the-niv.html","title":{"rendered":"Which Bible? Part 6 (The NIV)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now for Part 6<\/span> of our survey of popular biblical translations, in which we turn to the Big One: The NIV. Previously appearing in this series: the King James Version, <\/a>the Revised Standard Version, <\/a>the <\/a> Jerusalem Bible, <\/a>the New American Bible<\/a>, and The Living Bible<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

New International Version (NIV) <\/span><\/p>\n

First published in: <\/span>1978, by the International Bible Society<\/a> and Zondervan<\/a> Publishing House<\/p>\n

Translation style:<\/span> Dynamic Equivalence<\/a><\/p>\n

Quick description: <\/span>The 800-lb. gorilla of modern English translations. By far, the NIV has become the most popular translation in the world, having sold a staggering 150 million copies since being introduced. As a dynamic equivalence translation, the translators are more interested in hitting the original meanings of certain words and phrases than maintaining word-for-word accuracy. [Footnote: <\/span>As an example, Mark 6:37<\/a> references \u201ctwo hundred denarii\u201d in the New American Standard Bible<\/a>. The NIV translates this \u201ceight months of a man\u2019s wages,\u201d then footnotes the literal meaning.]<\/p>\n

Why you should read it: <\/span>Everyone else reads it. The NIV is big among American Evangelicals for its high readability and accuracy.<\/p>\n

Not so fast: <\/span>You can\u2019t get the NIV with any of the deuterocanonical\/apocryphal books<\/a> in it\u2014it\u2019s a Protestant-only translation. Plus, the NIV may be a perversion of scripture made by translators under demonic influence (!) with the intent of denying the deity of Christ and, besides that, pushing a homosexual agenda! No, really<\/a>. Certain advocates of King James-only Bible reading actually believe this, so beware the NIV\u2019s corrupting influence. [Footnote: For a clear-thinking, evenhanded evaluation of the whole KJV-is-infallible-and-everything-else-is-of-the-devil controversy, read The King James Only Controversy,<\/span><\/a> by James R. White.]<\/p>\n

Example: <\/span>
\u201cYou shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.\u201d (Exodus 20:4)<\/p>\n

\u201cFor God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.\u201d (John 3:16)<\/p>\n

As always, there’s lots more about this in Pocket Guide to the Bible<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now for Part 6 of our survey of popular biblical translations, in which we turn to the Big One: The NIV. Previously appearing in this series: the King James Version, the Revised Standard Version, the Jerusalem Bible, the New American Bible, and The Living Bible. New International Version (NIV) First published in: 1978, by the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,27,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-pocket-guide-to-the-bible","category-shameless-self-promotion"],"yoast_head":"\nWhich Bible? 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