(San Diego, CA) – “Fifty years is a long time.” Giving homage to five decades of life-altering work, Douglas Moo, chairman for the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT), opened with these words at last night’s event to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the commissioning of the NIV. The dinner, hosted by Zondervan, Biblica and the CBT at the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) convention in San Diego, welcomed more than 600 theologians, scholars, pastors, Bible translators, publishing professionals and Bible enthusiasts.
Moo’s keynote address: “We Still Don’t Get It: Evangelicals and Bible Translation Fifty Years After James Barr,” began with a recollection of the evangelical movement’s status in the mid-1960s. The need for a new Bible translation was eminent, thus the CBT was formed.
Moo commented, “…but, as those of us who write know, publication dates are the end, not the beginning of the work,” referring to the committee’s formation in 1964-1965, and releasing the full NIV Bible in 1978. “And so it is appropriate that we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the NIV in 2014 and 2015.”
With more than 450 million copies distributed worldwide, the NIV is the most read modern English translation. Its origination was the outcome of Howard Long, a Christian businessman, who struggled with finding a Bible that was both readable in contemporary language and reliable to the original texts. Moo pointed out that as the evangelical movement was gaining ground it, “gave birth to the NIV and the NIV in turn, helped to solidify and expand the movement.” Linguistically structured to translate God’s Word into the language of the day, the NIV also carried the “sophistication of evangelical biblical scholars,” meaning that it accurately translates Greek and Hebrew into English.
The 50th anniversary event’s emcee was Stan Gundry, Zondervan’s editor-in-chief and SVP and publisher of Zondervan’s church, academic, reference, and reflective publishing group.
“The evening was a celebration of the worldwide impact of the NIV and of the vision that led to its creation—an accurate translation of the Bible in contemporary English,” stated Gundry.
Commenting on Moo’s address, Gundry continued, “Doug rightly reminded us of the importance of three critical concerns in Bible translation. Accurate translations will reflect the best of biblical scholarship, will follow established principles of linguistics, and in order for a translation to be truly accurate, it must also be easily understood by the intended readers. The NIV’s CBT prioritizes all three of these concerns, and that is the secret of NIV’s acceptance by the academy, the church, and individual Christians worldwide.”
The NIV 50th anniversary celebration will be a year-long campaign that will officially launch in January 2015.
“Our hope with the anniversary campaign is to garner the attention of Bible readers, studiers, and future believers to show how the NIV is made to read, made to study, made to share, and really, made for you,” said John Kramp, SVP and Bible publisher for HarperCollins Christian Publishing. “We believe that last night’s event really kicked off something incredible. Together, with Biblica and the CBT, we are inspiring people to engage with God’s Word.”
For additional information on the 2015 NIV 50th Anniversary campaign, please visit www.thenivbible.com.
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About Zondervan
Zondervan is a world leading Bible publisher and provider of Christian communications. Zondervan, part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., delivers transformational Christian experiences through its bestselling Bibles, books, curriculum, academic resources and digital products. The Company’s products are sold worldwide and translated into nearly 200 languages. Zondervan offices are located in Grand Rapids, MI. For additional information, please visit www.zondervan.com.
