Niv 2011

[Joy4Him]

Is anyone hear familiar with the NIV 2011, by that I mean actually read it. I've read about the controversy surrounding it and have compared it to other translations but since I'm not a scholar I really don't know. Seems most of what I read about the controversy over the NIV 2011 is rather reactionary and based on just what they've heard about it.

I'm considering buying a hard copy if the NIV but I don't want to waste my money if it really is an untrustworthy translation. Thanks for any help.

 

[REPHAIAHPEDAHEL]

What are they saying about the NIV 2011?

 

[Joy4Him]

Sorry for the late reply....

It seems that the big issue with the NIV is the gender neutral language. Reviewers and certain organizations like the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood & the Southern Baptists would lead you to believe that the NIV took great libert with the text, deliberately mistranslating scripture for political reasons thus making it an overall inaccurate and unreliable translation.

A friend of mine pointed out that the NLT has the same kind of gender neutrality but no one says a peep about it. I'm not well versed in textual criticism so I'm hoping to gain some insight on this subject before deciding whether to buy an NIV for my main bible or not.

Joy

 

[ElainaMor]

Hi Joy,
I find the NIV 2011 to be just as reliable as any other translation. Yes, it does use gender-neutral language but only in those areas where gender was inclusive of both genders...for example, if the word "brothers" was used in the original languages and it was a generic word that included men and women then the NIV translates it as "brothers and sisters." Nowhere is gender neutral language used if the word was gender specific.

And yes, the NLT uses the same kind of gender-neutral language but since no one at the time it came out was emotionally attached to that translation it's gender-neutral language flew right under the radar.