The New International Version (1)

What about the NIV? Is it a reliable translation of the Word of God? Is it such a version of the Bible that we could give it first place?

In the Preface there is a list of the "denominations" represented by members of the translating scholars. That the "church of Christ" should be listed as a denomination among denominations is regrettable. Also, from the Preface we learn that the Greek text used in the translation was what is called an eclectic text, which means that the translators made their own selection from differing texts. The text underlying the King James Version is called the TEXTUS RECEPTUS and the text underlying the Revised Standard Version is the WESTCOTT - HORT TEXT. The New King James Version is based on the MAJORITY TEXT. If you would like to do more reading about these texts, look for these sources:

1. THE SEVENTEEN PREPOSITIONS USED IN THE KOINE GREEK OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, a booklet compiled by the late Luther W. Martin

2. The introduction to the Majority Text by Zane C. Hodges and Arthur L. Farstad, the introduction to the Wescott-Hort Text, and the introduction to the Nestle-Aland Text

3. you might consider reading the introduction to several versions of the Bible.

   There is a lot of literature, versions, manuscripts, copies, etc. from which translators work.

There are different concepts of translation, two of them are: (1) Word for word, and (2) thought or Dynamic Equivalence. Now, consider what the NIV says in the introduction: "Therefore their concern has been the accuracy of the translation and its fidelity to the THOUGHT (emphasis mine, gm) of the New Testament writers. While they have weighed the significance of the lexical and grammatical detail of the Greek text, they have striven for MORE (emphasis mine, gm) than a word-for-word translation" (p IX). The King James Version and the American Standard Version are examples of word-for-word translations.

One of the dangers of the Dynamic Equivalence concept of translating is that it leaves a lot of room for theological bias. A great deal of theological bias can be seen in the NIV, as we shall see by examining several passages.

First, look at Matthew 1:25 in the NIV which says, "But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus." The Majority Text reads something like this: "And he knew her not until she brought forth her firstborn son. And he called his name Jesus." In the first statement, the NIV reads more like a commentary that a translation.