2 Peter 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
The following are excerpts from the Committee on Bible Translation’s August 2010 statement about the upcoming (at that time) 2011 revision of the NIV. (niv-cbt.org)
When the original Bible documents first emerged, they captured exactly what God wanted to say in the language and idiom of ordinary people. There was no friction between hearing God’s Word the way it was written and understanding it the way it was meant. The original audience experienced a unique fusion of these two ingredients.
Readers of the Bible today, however, can no longer experience this fusion. The passage of two thousand years has turned the Greek and Hebrew of Bible times from living languages into historical artifacts. If we had the original documents in our hands today, they would still represent exactly what God wanted to say. But the vast majority of people would no longer be able to understand them.
In 1611, the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible sought to bring English readers back as close to that original fusion as possible. As with all translations, the transition from the original languages to Elizabethan English involved some loss of transparency to the original documents. And yet that small loss in transparency was more than made up for by a tremendous gain in comprehensibility: People could hear God’s Word in their own language! The result propelled the body of Christ into a new era of personal transformation and global reformation.
But, just like the original documents, the KJV was unable to escape the effects of time. The English language changed. The ‟thys” and ‟thous” and ‟whosoevers” of the KJV became less and less the language of everyday people and more and more the language of a bygone age. The KJV’s ability to present God’s Word the way it was written, while at the same time allowing readers to understand it the way it was meant, began to decline. In the last century, a number of excellent new English Bible translations have emerged to fill this void.
The NIV tries to bring its readers as close as possible to the experience of the original audience: providing the best possible blend of transparency to the original documents and comprehension of the original meaning in every verse. The NIV is founded on the belief that if hearing God’s Word the way it was written and understanding it the way it was meant were the hallmarks of the original reading experience, then accuracy in translation demands that neither one of these two criteria be prioritized above the other.
Built upon this philosophy, the NIV has experienced much the same reaction in the church and beyond as its beloved predecessor whose values it seeks to emulate [(i.e., the KJV)]. Thirty years after its first publication there are more than four hundred million NIV Bibles in print.
But, unlike its predecessor, the NIV was designed from the very start with a built-in mechanism to defy the attritional effects of time. Since 1978, the NIV translation team has continued to meet, year after year, reviewing developments in biblical scholarship and changes in English usage — revising the translation to ensure that it continues to offer its readers an experience that mirrors that of the original audience, and periodically releasing those revisions in updated editions of the text.
Updating the NIV for 2011
The chief goal of every revision to the NIV text is to bring the translation into line both with contemporary biblical scholarship and with shifts in English idiom and usage. In 1984, various corrections and revisions to the NIV text were made. A lengthy revision process was completed in 2005, resulting in the separately published Today’s New International Version (TNIV). This updated NIV [2011] builds on both the original NIV and the TNIV and represents the latest effort of the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT) to articulate God’s unchanging Word in the way the original authors might have said it if they had been speaking in English to the global English-speaking audience today.
First, it’s important to stress that about 95% of the text of the updated NIV is exactly the same as the 1984 text it replaces. The majority of what has changed involves comparatively minor matters of vocabulary, sentence structure and punctuation: changes that move the NIV from the English of 1984 to the English of 2011. A change [would be] introduced into the text only if at least 70 percent of the committee members present at the time of the voting agree to it.
[Here are a few examples of these changes:]
When the NIV was first translated, the meaning of the rare Greek word harpagmos, rendered ‟something to be grasped,” in Philippians 2:6, was uncertain. But further study has shown that the word refers to something that a person has in their possession but chooses not to use to their own advantage. The updated NIV reflects this new information, making clear that Jesus really was equal with God when he determined to become a human for our sake: ‟[Christ Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.”
(1 John 2:16) 1984: For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.”
Updated NIV: ‟For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”
Has anyone really improved on the KJV rendering of these three expressions, to which the updated NIV returns?
[Thus, some of the updates to the NIV 2011 involve going back to the KJV text.]
What Happened to Some of the Most Famous Texts on Gender Roles?
Almost nothing has changed in the translation of the majority of these texts from the 1984 NIV to the updated NIV. But the careful reader will notice a few differences. Most notable perhaps are:
Romans 16:1-2 now reads, ‟I commend to you our sister, Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae….” Complementarian and egalitarian scholars alike are increasingly agreeing that diakonos here means ‟deacon” (not just ‟servant,” though ‟servant” is provided as an alternative in the footnote.
1 Timothy 2:12 now reads, ‟I do not permit a woman to teach or assume authority over a man.” The KJV reflected what some have argued was in some contexts a more negative sense for the word: ‟usurp authority.” ‟Assume authority” is a particularly nice English rendering because it leaves the question open, as it must be unless we discover new, more conclusive evidence. The exercise of authority that Paul was forbidding was one that women inappropriately assumed, but whether that referred to all forms of authority over men in church or only certain forms in certain contexts is up to the individual interpreter to decide.
Maintenance and improvement of the NIV is a never-finished work, and we count ourselves blessed to have such a rich engagement with thoughtful and critical Christians who share our devotion to the unchanging truth of God’s Word.
(end of CBT excerpts)
New International Version (NIV) 1973
Webster, defines to “pervert” as “1. to cause to turn aside or away from what is good or true… 2. to twist the meaning or sense of: misinterpret.” This is a perfect definition of The New International Version (NIV)!
The NIV is the ‘most popular’ Bible version currently in America. It, however, has some significant ‘issues’…
They forgot a verse somehow… where’s verse 37?!
Acts 8:36-38 (NIV)
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
What did they find so unimportant to leave out?…
Acts 8:37 (KJV) And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
This is one of the most powerful declarations of the deity of Jesus Christ!…and they left it out. In the NIV, their text in Acts 8 skips from verse 36 to 38; there is no verse 37!
And another…
Matt 17:20-22 (NIV) 20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.
Is what they removed ‘unimportant’?!
Matt 17:21 (KJV) Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
…and another!…
Matt 23:13-15 (NIV) 13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. 15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land
and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes
one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
These wicked ‘scribes’ didn’t like what verse 14 said:
Matt 23:14 (KJV) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 
for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
…and all these other verses are missing, too…what happened to them?!….
Mt 12:47; 18:11; Mk 7:16; 9:44,46; 11:26; 15:28; Lk 17:36; 23:17; Jn 5:4; Acts 15:34; 24:7; 28:29; Rom 16:24
They delete a whole section of an extremely important verse and then try and cover it up!
1 John 5:7-9 (NIV) 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept man’s testimony….
1 John 5:7-9 (KJV) 7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 9 If we receive the witness of men…
Verse 7 is one of the clearest declarations of the Triune Godhead, and the NIV removes it and hides the removal with moving part of verse 8 to verse 7.
The NIV perverts the importance of the Word of God!
Luke 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. KJV
Luke 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.'” NIV
What could be worse than taking away Jesus’ deity?!…
1 Tim 3:16 (KJV) And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
1 Tim 3:16 (NIV) Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
This is the absolute clearest declaration in the Bible of Jesus Christ’s deity, and the NIV removes it! Also, in the NIV, the “He” is a pronoun that refers to a noun or antecedent. There is no antecedent in the context! Thus the statement does not make sense in the NIV.
They rather blatantly state that Jesus isn’t equal with God!
Phil 2:6 (KJV) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Phil 2:6 (NIV) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
I can’t quite “grasp” that… The KJV states that Jesus was not ‘robbing’ anything when stating that He was equal with God. But the NIV states that Jesus said that He couldn’t attain (grasp) equality with God; it was out of His reach.
There is quite a big difference between The Son of God and a son of the demons (gods), don’t you think?!
Dan 3:25 (KJV) He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Dan 3:25 (NIV) He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
The NIV perverts and omits the deifying names of Christ! Names of Deity are missing and they are missing frequently! ‘Jesus’ missing 36 times; ‘Christ’ missing 44 times; ‘Lord’ missing 35 times; ‘God’ missing 31 times! Total missing deifying names is 146.
The NIV makes changes to the text that show Jesus Christ and Lucifer as equals? Mormons would applaud it…
Isa 14:12,15 (KJV) How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! ….Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isa 14:12,15 (NIV) How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! ….But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.
But Revelation 22:16 says that Jesus Christ is the Morning Star. Look at what the NIV itself says here: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
Isaiah 14:14 reveals Satan’s grandest desire, “I will be like the most High.” And with a little subtle perversion – the NIV in Isaiah 14:12 grants Satan’s wish! Also, the King James Bible condemns Lucifer to hell, but the NIV just says he is going to the grave, for there is no literal hell…
They don’t think much of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Col 1:14 (KJV) In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:14 (NIV) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Even that world famous prayer has been significantly butchered:
Mt 6:13 (KJV) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
Mt 6:13 (NIV) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
They don’t want to believe in a literal Hell:
Ps 9:17 (KJV) The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Ps 9:17 (NIV) The wicked return to the grave, all nations that forget God.
The NIV has replaced ‘hell’ with ‘grave’ all throughout the Bible. The word ‘hell’ only appears 14 times in the NT in the NIV and 0 times in the OT. Whereas, the KJV has ‘hell’ appear 31 times in the OT and 23 times in the NT.
The NIV lessons the importance of repentance for salvation!
Matthew 9:13…for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. KJV
Matthew 9:13…For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners. NIV
The NIV perverts salvation to be a process!
Mark 10:24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! KJV
Mark 10:24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! NIV
2 Cor 2:15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: KJV
2 Cor 2:15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. NIV
The NIV has obvious mistakes in it! Perverting the truth.
Mark 1:2-3 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. KJV
Mark 1:2-3 It is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”- “a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'” NIV
When you look at Malachi 3:1 we find the verse that Mark 1:2,3 is quoting…it is from Malachi not Isaiah!!
The NIV perverts the antichrist!
1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. KJV
1 John 4:3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. NIV
This is exactly that spirit that is now controlling the NIV!
The LIES used to promote the NIV. . .
Lie #1 The NIV “just” updates the “archaic” words and makes it “easier to understand”. Nothing is “really changed.
FACT: The NIV denys the deity of Jesus Christ; the virgin birth; glorifies Satan; has obvious errors; and, removes 17 complete verses and almost 65,000 words (64,576)!
Lie #2 The NIV is easier to read and understand.
FACT: According to a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level research study, The King James Bible is by far the easiest! Out of 26 different categories – the King James graded easier in a whopping 23! In selected analysis, the KJB average grade level was 5.8 – the NIV was 8.4! Thus, the KJV has been graded as easier to read than the NIV.
Lie #3 Older and more reliable manuscripts have been discovered since the King James Bible.
FACT: The King James translators had all of the readings available to them that modern critics have available to them today. And furthermore, it is a well documented fact that 95+ per cent of all readings agree with the King James Bible!
Lie #4 The NIV is more accurate.
FACT: The KJB is a literal word for word translation. When the translators had to add words for sentence structure they are in italics. The NIV uses “dynamic equivalence”. Rather than a word for word translation, they add, change and subtract to make the verse say what they “thought” it should! The Preface to the NIV even says, “. . .they have striven for more than a word-for-word translation. . .” Which would you say is more accurate, a word for word translation of something, or a thought for thought one?!….
To the translators and publishers of the NIV we leave this condemnation:
“. . . ye have PERVERTED the words of the living God. . .” Jer. 23:36
(used with permission from Pastor Dave Warner at Faithful Baptist Church in College Station)
