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About the New International Version Bible

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NIV Bible Translation Background Resources

Accuracy Defined & Illustrated: An NIV Translator Answers Your Questions

To help others understand the NIV's passion for accuracy, Kenneth L. Barker explains the translation of 150 Scripture passages.

Background of the NIV Translation [Preface]

The New International Version® is a completely new translation of the Holy Bible made by more than a 100 scholars working directly from the best-available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.

The NIV: The Making of a Contemporary Translation

Presented here are the why and how of the NIV—a look behind the scenes by some of the original translators of the NIV. By Dr. Kenneth Barker [Editor]

The Translators of the NIV Bible

For more than 30 years, the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT) has labored to bring the Word of God to people in contemporary English. Those who serve on the CBT are highly esteemed scholars as well as translators.

Common Topics of Interest

NIV Study Bible Book Introductions

Expand your study of the Bible

The NIV Study Bible book introductions frequently report on the book's title, author, and date of writing. They detail the book's background and purpose, explore themes and theological significance, point out distinctive literary features, and contain book outlines.

NIV Bible 30 yr

Key Points

More than 100 scholars from six English-speaking countries, as well as editors and English stylists, worked on the NIV. The scholars represented more than 20 denominations.

In the 17th century, King James translators worked from the Erasmus Greek text of the New Testament. Erasmus had six Greek manuscripts from which to work. NIV translators work from more than 5,000 complete or partial manuscripts and papyri.

It took 10 years to complete the NIV translation. The process started in 1968 and finished in 1978. This does not include more than 10 years of planning before 1968.

The system for editing each book is one of the distinctive features of the NIV. The procedure was as follows:

  • Initial Translation Team
  • Intermediate Editorial Committee
  • General Editorial Committee
  • Stylist and Critics
  • Executive Committee (or Committee on Bible Translation)
  • Final Stylistic Review
  • Executive Committee's Final Reading

The NIV was created and is maintained with the mandate to accurately and faithfully translate the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic biblical texts into clearly understandable English.

The NIV is the most widely accepted contemporary Bible translation today. More people buy the NIV Bible than any other English-language translation.


NIV Bible 30 yr