TNIV: An 'evergreen translation'
The commitment to superb evangelical scholarship that produced the TNIV is a pledge that will be ongoing. As Dr. Ronald R. Youngblood, translator and member of the Committee on Bible Translation, put it, 'responsible translation work never ends'.
In order to ensure that the TNIV remains clear, accurate and readable for future generations, the independent work of the Committee on Bible Translation will continue in the decades to come. As we gain greater understanding of ancient language and culture, and as new archaeological findings and developments in biblical scholarship emerge, TNIV will be reviewed and revised to reflect both this knowledge and the latest advancements in accepted, contemporary English. In essence, the TNIV will be an 'evergreen translation' - a Bible that you can trust to reach your children, your grandchildren and the generations to come.
NIV: An ever-present classic
The introduction of the TNIV does not erode the commitment of the International Bible Society, or Hodder & Stoughton, to the New International Version. The NIV will continue to be published without change. Nor will it be diminished. The NIV will continue to be published in fresh formats and with the same high-quality study helps and notes that have made it the world's most popular modern-language English Bible.
TNIV Changes
The art and science of Bible translation is one of the most demanding - and humbling - of all ministry professions. Perhaps Martin Luther said it best when he opined that he was glad he because a Bible translator, '...otherwise I might have died someday imagining that I was a learned man.'
The challenge of beginning with the original Bible languages, syntax and cultures and translating them into the receptor language, replete with its own idioms and cultural understandings, is massive. It can never be a work of personal preferences or accommodation to special interests. Textual revisions result when a better understanding of ancient languages and cultures, new archaeological findings and developments in biblical scholarship create the need for translation changes.
As a result, readers of the TNIV will experience:
INCREASED CLARITY: WORD UPDATES
Some of the improvements reflected in the TNIV text are simple word changes that reflect contemporary English terms. For example,
The 'sixth hour' is accurately translated as 'noon' in the modern understanding of time (Mark 15:33)
A 'tunic' is a 'shirt' (Matthew 5:40)
'With child' means to be 'pregnant' (Matthew 1:18)
INCREASED CLARITY: GENDER
Without exception, the TNIV retains gender-accurate, masculine terminology for references to God. This is a theological understanding and commitment that the Committee on Bible Translation, standing in concert with the Church throughout all ages, considers inviolable.
There are passages in the TNIV, however, in which the contemporary English rendition used to refer to men and women has been translated to accurately reflect the original language, context and understanding. Where the NIV previously used 'he', 'man' or 'men' to indicate all people, the TNIV, in many cases, renders these passages as 'person', 'people' or other terminology that reflects the meaning of the original language. In other words, where the original language indicates both men and women were being addressed, the TNIV relects that understanding in contemporary English.
For example, in Paul's letter to Titus, referring to God's saving grace, the TNIV renders 2:11 this way: 'For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.'
And in Matthew 5:16, Jesus' call for all believers to live a life of moral excellence before a watching world reads, 'In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.'
All of these TNIV revisions from its predecessor, the NIV, reflect a better rendition of clear gender language for the modern reader. In no cases do these updates impose upon or change the doctrinal impact of Scripture.
INCREASED UNDERSTANDING: CHRIST AND MESSIAH
Two terms that declare Jesus as the 'anointed one' are employed in the New Testament. The Greek Cristos and the Hebrew Messiah received careful evaluation. When used as the Messianic title for Jesus, especially in Matthew, John and Acts, the translators used the title of 'Messiah'. In other passages, where the title does not reflect a particularly Messianic overtone, translators used the Greek 'Christ'.
INCREASED UNDERSTANDING: JEWS VERSUS JEWISH LEADERS
Similar insight is achieved in the translators' treatment of the term 'Jew'. The Greek work loudaioi, based on the context, can be used to refer to a more precisely identifiable group within the whole of Judaism. In some instances, such a change accurately dispels anti-Semitic misinterpretations of the New Testament. So, the TNIV translates the term loudaios in John 5:16 to read '...the Jewish leaders began to persecute [Jesus]' in order to accurately implicate those individuals directly responsible.
INCREASED UNDERSTANDING: SAINTS
The TNIV presents an updated translation of the Greek term for hagios, traditionally translated as 'saints'. The TNIV translators were concerned to reflect the original sense of the term and avoid confusion with the process of canonisation within religious tradition. Therefore, the TNIV replaces the word 'saint' with terms such as 'God's people', 'people of God' and 'believers'.
Other textual updates in the TNIV reflect simple revisions in punctuation, copy-editing details and treatment of footnotes.