International (MNN) — Biblica, the organization dedicated to Bible translation to reach people worldwide, announced on October 18, 2010 that there will be an updated version of the NIV.
The announcement was made at the Third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town, South Africa by CEO of Biblica, Keith Danby, and CEO of Zondervan, Moe Girkins.
"It seemed especially fitting for us to share this news from the Lausanne Congress here in Cape Town because the shared purpose of this gathering, and of the NIV, is to reach more people with God's Word," stated Moe Girkins.
According to Steve Johnson, Vice President of Communication & Integrated Media with Biblica, updates include thousands of small things such as punctuation, sentence structure, and the overall updates and reviews of the text to make sure it is accurate for this generation of readers.
On Biblica.com, people can watch for the newly updated NIV that will launch November 1st online and in print this upcoming spring. The excitement of the version is spreading.
The New International Version of the Bible, or NIV, is the most widely-read and trusted contemporary English translation. People around the world rely on this edition of Scripture to understand and grow in their Christian walk.
The NIV has always had a high impact with missions and missionary use, and Johnson said that it seemed especially appropriate and fitting to present this at Lausanne this year. He also addressed the fact that the ministry's focus was to reach the next generation with the online version. The big question that came up was, "How do you reach the next generation with the Bible, and how do you equip them with the necessary tools as Christians?" The electronic format of the NIV was chosen to answer these essential questions.
The organizations that were involved in the process of updating the NIV were Biblica, Zondervan, Hodder & Stoughton, and the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT). Zondervan plans to release the print translation in March of 2011. Hodder & Stoughton will publish the NIV Bible in the UK and the European Union. CBT works with the existing text and makes the periodic updates to the NIV.
