27
October 1978 A.D. New
International Version Goes to Press
Pick up a King James version of the Bible and leaf
through its pages. On every page you will find old forms of words, like
"spake" and "wouldst." You'll discover words we rarely use
in ordinary talk, such as "firmament" and "amerce." The
King James, or Authorized Version, of the Bible is written in lovely English.
However, languages change. After more than three hundred years, many people
find its older English hard to understand.
By 1960 several new translations
had been offered to the public. None of them was completely satisfactory as a
replacement for the venerable King James. Some exhibited obvious biases. Others
lacked beauty of expression. Within the Christian community the need for a
trustworthy and readable translation in modern English was seen. In 1965 a
group of scholars met at Palos Heights, Illinois and agreed on the need. This
followed years of study by the Christian Reformed Church and the National
Association of Evangelicals. When the New York Bible Society offered funding,
work began.
Over one hundred scholars from
the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were
enlisted on the project. Each book of the Bible was assigned to a team of
scholars. Working from the best ancient texts, they translated their respective
sections. Each translation went through three editorial revisions, that checked it for accuracy and readability.
Each book was read by stylists of the English language and tested on average
readers. The result was a highly readable and accurate translation.
"...the translators were united in their commitment to the authority and
infallibility of the Bible as God's word in written form," notes the preface
to the NIV. "They believe that it contains the divine answer to the
deepest needs of humanity, that it sheds unique light on our path in a dark
world, and that it sets forth the way to our eternal well-being.
"The first concern of the
translators has been the accuracy of the translation and its fidelity to the
thought of the biblical writers..."
On this day,
October 27, 1978 the complete New International Version (NIV) of
the Bible was published by Zondervan of Grand Rapids Michigan. It became one of
the most popular and widely used translations in the English language.
Bibliography:
1. Committee on Bible Translation. Preface, the New International Version.
Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1978.
2. Kenyon, Frederic G. Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts; being a history
of the text and its translations, by Frederic G. Kenyon. London,
New York: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1895.
3. World Magazine. Various issues, 2003.
4. Internet articles.
Last updated April,
2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment