Today's New International Version
|
|
Missing image Tniv-cover.jpg Today's New International Version New Testament |
Today's New International Version (TNIV) is an English translation of the Holy Bible. It is a revision, but not a replacement, of the popular New International Version. The first full edition was published in February 2005, with the New Testament alone having been previously published in March 2002. The rights to the text are owned by the International Bible Society (IBS), while Zondervan Publishing holds exclusive printing rights to the TNIV in North America.
Among the differences between the NIV and the TNIV is the use of more gender neutral language, referring in some places, for example, to "children of God" instead of "sons of God" and changing phrases like "a man is justified by faith" to "a person is justified by faith." Male references to God, however, are not modified. This is similar to the approach taken in the New Revised Standard Version.
In the TNIV some original Greek text references to hoi ioudaioi (literally, the Jews), are translated as referring to Jewish leaders of Jesus' day. Although this change is based on biblical scholarship[1] (http://www.andrews.edu/~jonp/johnbib.htm) [2] (http://www.bc.edu/research/cjl/meta-elements/sites/partners/cbaa_seminar/Johannine_PN_issues.htm) [3] (http://www.bibleresourcecenter.org/vsItemDisplay.dsp&objectID=B17DA4F4-F580-4A16-82EF3B973203DEB6&method=display) concerning who were included in hoi ioudaioi, especially in John's gospel, one result is that the TNIV sounds less anti-Semitic than English versions which retain the literal translation of "the Jews." The TNIV is not alone[4] (http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/b-greek/2004-January/028204.html) among English Bible versions in following recent biblical scholarship on this matter. For example, in the Gospel of John (e.g. John 18:36), in the belief of the TNIV translators and a number of other biblical scholars, some contexts call for hoi ioudaioi to refer to Jewish leaders not the Jews, as a whole. This change from "the Jews" has contributed to criticism, from some, of the TNIV as being untrue to the biblical languages source texts. Others, however, regard this change as bringing the translation closer to the intent of those source texts.
TNIV Controversy
When TNIV was launched first in 2002, its publication caused considerable controversy, especially among American conservative Protestants. Some see the publication of a gender-inclusive bible as a betrayal, since Zondervan Publishing House had promised earlier (in a press statement in 1997) not to tamper with the existing NIV to include gender-neutral language. Although TNIV's word choices are much less liberal than some of the more extreme Biblical translations, TNIV has received much more attention than other comparable projects, mainly because the original NIV has been the best-selling English Bible version in the United States for many years.
Certain evangelicals feel that changing the original Greek masculine gender to something more generic seriously distorts the meaning of the Scriptures. Critics point out there are many places where the singular generic "he" is replaced with the grammatically plural (but semantically singular) "they" or "them." For instance, the TNIV version of Revelation 3:20 reads, "I will come and eat with them, and they with me." The removal of "him" and "he", they claim, drains this passage of the individual nature of the relationship between a person and Christ. This is true if a reader does not understand the meaning of the historical singular "they" (semantically singular but grammatically plural) of this translation and misses its reference back to the singular "anyone" earlier in the verse. In hundreds of other places, the TNIV substitutes a gender-inclusive form when the original Greek text has masculine third person singular forms(he, his and him, or a man) which the TNIV translators conclude are generic in reference.
A number of prominent evangelical leaders and biblical scholars, including John Piper, James Dobson, R. C. Sproul, and Wayne Grudem have openly voiced their rejection of the TNIV (http://www.cbmw.org/resources/tniv/scholars.php). Additionally, the Presbyterian Church in America and the Southern Baptist Convention have both passed resolutions ([5] (http://www.bible-researcher.com/tniv5.html), [6] (http://www.bible-researcher.com/tniv4.html)) denouncing the translation. Other scholars and leaders have openly endorsed the TNIV, including Craig Blomberg, Rick Warren, Gordon Fee, John Stott and Lee Strobel.
See also
External links
- TNIV Website (http://www.tniv.info)
- TNIV Resource Center (http://www.cbmw.org/tniv/) – Understanding the Problems with TNIV
- The Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy (http://www.bible-researcher.com/links12.html)
- BBC news story on the launch of the TNIV New Testament (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1788237.stm)