The TNIV is Toast

The controversial TNIV translation, which was released in 2005, is already scheduled for replacement in 2011. The President of Zondervan made it clear: “The T-NIV is very divisive. It’s not a unifying translation. And it was poorly handled in the marketplace. We need to undo the damage.” Just as many Microsoft users have asserted that Windows 7 will be what Windows Vista should have been, so Zondervan representatives and committee members say that the 2011 NIV revision will be what the TNIV should have been. Updates on the project can be found at nivbible2011.com, which reads on the front page:

On Tuesday, September 1, 2009 Biblica anounced the first update in a quarter century of the world’s most popular version of the Bible. The Committee on Bible Translation (CBT), the independent body of global biblical scholars solely responsible for the translation of the world’s most popular Bible, is slated to finish its revision late next year, with publication in 2011.

More can be found on this release from this USAToday update, while “Translation Wars” offers a solid introduction to the controversy over what makes a good Bible translation.