Church History · 1978

The New International Version

The New International Version came out in full in 1978. Made by a team of evangelical scholars from many churches and countries, it aimed for a balance between word for word accuracy and clear English, and it became the best selling English Bible in America.

Read it in the Bible: Nehemiah 8:8 Psalm 119:130 2 Timothy 3:16 to 17

The New International Version, or NIV, is a modern English Bible first published in full on October 27, 1978. It was translated straight from the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek by evangelical scholars from many denominations and several countries. The NIV tries to balance two goals, staying close to the original words and reading like natural English. It became the best selling English translation in the United States, with over 500 million copies distributed. The NIV is on this site, so you can compare it with The Owner's Manual verse by verse.

Who Made the NIV?

The idea started in 1955 with a businessman named Howard Long, who wanted a Bible in the language of his day. He and pastor Peter DeJong took the idea to the Christian Reformed Church, and the National Association of Evangelicals soon joined in. In 1965 a conference in Palos Heights, Illinois, set up a Committee on Bible Translation of 15 scholars to lead the work.

In 1967 the New York Bible Society agreed to sponsor the project. That group later became the International Bible Society and is now called Biblica. Zondervan publishes the NIV in the United States, and Hodder and Stoughton in the United Kingdom. More than 100 scholars worked on it in all, and the main work took about ten years.

Here is a fun bit of trivia. One of the original committee members was Charles Ryrie, the Dallas Seminary professor whose famous Ryrie Study Bible came out the same year, 1978, from Moody Publishers. It has more than 10,000 of his notes and has sold over 2 million copies.

Is the NIV Word for Word or Thought for Thought?

The NIV is in the middle. Its translators said they wanted more than a plain word for word translation, but still one faithful to what the original writers meant. When a Greek phrase would sound strange in English, they put the meaning in clear words. When the exact wording mattered, they kept it close.

Think of it like a good interpreter at a business meeting. You do not want every word in the wrong order, and you do not want the interpreter making up their own speech. You want the message, clearly and correctly. That is the NIV's aim.

So they read from the Book of the Law of God, explaining it and giving insight, so that the people could understand what was being read. Nehemiah 8:8

How Has the NIV Been Revised?

1973: The New Testament was published.
1978: The full Bible was released.
1984: A small update came out. For a generation, this was the NIV most people knew and memorized.
1996: An inclusive language edition was released in the United Kingdom. It was not published in America because of opposition.
2002 and 2005: Today's New International Version, or TNIV, came out, the New Testament first and then the whole Bible.
2011: A full update replaced both the 1984 NIV and the TNIV. This is the NIV sold today.

What Was the TNIV Controversy?

The TNIV used more gender inclusive language. For example, where the Greek says brothers but clearly means all believers, it might say brothers and sisters. It also used words like people or human beings in some places where older Bibles said man.

Supporters said this was simply accurate. Greek words like adelphoi often included women, and modern English readers can miss that. They argued it helps women see that the letters were written to them too.

Critics said some changes went beyond the original. They worried that switching singular words to plurals, or he to they, could blur the meaning of certain verses. The Southern Baptist Convention and other groups spoke out against the TNIV, and many Christian bookstores would not carry it.

The 2011 NIV tried to find a middle path. It brought back some of the older wording, like man and mankind, while keeping some inclusive changes. Some critics accepted it, and some did not. The Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution against it in 2011. Other translations, like the NASB 2020 and the CSB, have since made similar choices about brothers and sisters, which shows how much the question has been debated.

Why Is the NIV So Popular?

The NIV hit a sweet spot. It was easy enough for teens and new believers and careful enough for pastors and Bible teachers. It became the standard Bible in many evangelical churches, youth groups and Bible colleges. The NIV Study Bible and the Life Application Study Bible both helped it spread. For decades it outsold every other English translation in the United States.

A lot of people who grew up in church in the 1980s and 1990s memorized their verses in the NIV 1984. If you can still quote it in your sleep, you have a Sunday school teacher to thank.

Why Does the NIV Matter for You?

The NIV is a reminder that the best Bible is the one you actually read. Its makers wanted ordinary people to understand God's word without losing what it really says. That is the same goal behind The Owner's Manual.

The unfolding of Your words gives light; it informs the simple. Psalm 119:130

If you are curious how translations compare, pick a verse and read it in the NIV, the NASB and The Owner's Manual on this site. You will see three good teams making slightly different choices to say the same truth. That is not a weakness. It is like hearing three witnesses tell the same story from different angles.

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Questions People Ask

When was the NIV Bible published?

The NIV New Testament came out in 1973, and the full Bible was published on October 27, 1978. It was updated in 1984 and again in 2011.

Who publishes the NIV?

Biblica, formerly the New York Bible Society and the International Bible Society, holds the NIV. Zondervan publishes it in the United States, and Hodder and Stoughton in the United Kingdom. A Committee on Bible Translation oversees the text.

What was wrong with the TNIV?

The TNIV used more gender inclusive language, such as brothers and sisters where the Greek says brothers. Supporters said it was more accurate for modern readers. Critics, including the Southern Baptist Convention, said some changes went beyond the original text, and it was discontinued in 2011.

Is the NIV a good translation?

Most evangelical scholars consider the NIV a reliable translation that balances accuracy and readability. Some prefer more literal versions like the NASB or ESV for detailed study. Many readers use the NIV alongside a more literal Bible.

Sources

← The NASB and The Living Bible The New King James Version →

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