New NIV Bible from Zondervan

"Christians will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible with the 1984 New International Version (NIV) "

Evangelical Christians will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible in 2011 with a new revision of another popular translation, the 1984 New International Version (NIV).

With more than 300 million copies in print, today's New International Version (TNIV), a revision launched under the different moniker in 2005, the new revision will keep the NIV name, said Moe Girkins, CEO and president of Zondervan, which publishes both the NIV and the TNIV.

Girkins said the TNIV "divided the evangelical Christian community," and Zondervan will discontinue putting out TNIV products as the new revision is launched. Keith Danby, CEO of Biblica (formerly IBS-STL Global), which distributes and translates Bibles, said, "We underestimated the public affection for the NIV," but also said "freezing" the NIV was a mistake. "We've shackled the NIV to language and scholarship from a quarter of a century ago." The original charter called for the NIV to be evergreen, with revisions and updates, he said.

High on conservative evangelicals' list of criticisms of the TNIV is its gender inclusiveness. Doug Moo, chairman of the Committee on Bible Translation (which translated the TNIV and will translate the NIV revision), said they are "committed to a complete review of every gender change made since the original NIV."

Was gender-inclusive language a mistake? "We felt at the time it was the right thing to do," he said, adding, "All that is back on the table again." Priorities for the new revision include accuracy, clarity and language suitable for in-depth study and outreach for an international audience, Moo said.