“New International Version”

Friday, June 26, 2015

I know the New International Version Bible is considered undesirable among the churches of Christ. What I'm wondering is... why? Are there verses in that version you believe to be translated incorrectly, altered, or just plain wrong? If so, can you name the verses in question? Thank you.

Sincerely, Textual Critic

Dear Textual Critic,

The New International Version (NIV) is designed for readability and widespread religious acceptance, not for accuracy. If you read the foreword of an NIV Bible, you will find an explanation of how they went about creating the translation. The following is an excerpt from that explanation:

The New International Version (NIV) is a translation made by more than one hundred scholars working from the best available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. It was conceived in 1965 when, after several years of study by committees from the Christian Reformed Church and the National Association of Evangelicals, a trans-denominational (emphasis mine – AYP) and international group of scholars met at Palos Heights, Illinois, and agreed on the need for a new translation in contemporary English. Their conclusion was endorsed by a large number of church leaders who met in Chicago in 1966.

One of the major goals of the NIV version was to create a translation that was acceptable to a great deal of religions- regardless of what the text said. Consequently, there are many verses left out of the NIV version. Matt 17:21, Matt 18:11, Matt 23:14, Mk 9:44, Mk 9:46, Mk 11:26, Mk 15:28, Lk 17:36, Lk 23:17, Jhn 5:4, Acts 8:37, Acts 15:34, Acts 24:7, Acts 28:29, and Rom 16:24 do not exist in the NIV version.

The American Standard, New American Standard, King James, and New King James are considered ‘word for word’ translations… meaning that they translate word for word what is written in the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The NIV version is considered partially a ‘word for word’ translation and partially a ‘thought for thought’ translation. A ‘thought for thought’ translation does not attempt to keep all of what is found in the original text, but it is comfortable paraphrasing what the translators think the writers intended. This is a very dangerous proposition with the Bible. God says that every word of the Bible is divinely inspired (1 Cor 2:13, Matt 5:18). A great example of this paraphrasing is in Matt 5:44.

• AV (word for word) reads: “But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”.
• NIV (thought for thought) reads: “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

The NIV leaves out numerous important details from that verse because the translators deemed them ‘unnecessary’. There are literally hundreds of examples of this paraphrasing in the NIV.

The NIV also uses ambiguous synonyms for words because they thought the precise words were too archaic. The problem is that by using these synonyms, they make many verses mean very different things. Some examples are:

• ‘Grace’ becomes ‘favor’ (Ex 34:9; Ps 84:11)
• ‘Righteousness’ becomes ‘does what is right’ (1 Jhn 3:7)
• ‘Believe’ becomes ‘trust’ (Jhn 14:1)
• ‘Comforter’ becomes ‘Counselor’ (Jhn 14:16)
• ‘Think’ becomes ‘feel’ (Php 1:7)
• ‘Dead’ becomes ‘useless’ (Jas 2:20)

All of these details add up to a translation that is much easier to read, but no longer the exact words of God. The NIV sacrifices accuracy for popularity.

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