International (MNN) ― The New International Version of the Bible tops the list of preferred translations for evangelical leaders, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Evangelicals. NIV marks its 30th anniversary this year with more than 300 million copies in print worldwide.
Ron Youngblood with International Bible Society-Send The Light says the NIV translation came about because of language shifts and readability. "The English language has undergone quite a number of changes, and in order to keep it current, especially for younger readers in the 18-34 year range, we have felt it necessary to continue to update the language."
The original impetus for the translation came in 1953 when Howard Long, a layman, was trying to witness to a business associate and used the King James Version. The language in the KJV was difficult for his friend to understand because of the 17th century language.
That got Long to thinking about the effectiveness of communicating the Gospel. An exploratory study on the need for a new English translation was completed by committees from the Christian Reformed Church and the National Association of Evangelicals.
Then in 1965, an "Interdenominational Bible Translation Conference" was held at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois. The scholars attending this conference agreed on the need for such a new translation, and the Committee On Bible Translation was appointed. This committee consisted of 15 scholars from different denominations and religious affiliations. The Committee On Bible Translation was entrusted with planning the entire project.
In 1967, the New York Bible Society (now the International Bible Society) agreed to sponsor and finance the work on the new translation. The New Testament was released in September of 1973, and the completed Bible was finally published in October of 1978.
Youngblood describes the ABCs of why the NIV engages so many readers. "A translation must have the kind of dignity that can be read in any context so that little children can read it, and in mixed groups it can be read, and so forth. So accuracy, beauty, clarity and dignity: these four characteristics, among others, I think, characterize the NIV."
