A: The updated NIV returns with fresh focus to the principles that stood behind the original NIV charter, seeking to reproduce, as closely as possible, the reading experience of the original audience. The original Bible documents let people hear exactly what God wanted to say in language that was natural and easy for them to understand. That’s the experience we want to give the Bible readers of our time, and that’s what the updated NIV exists to do.

A: The updated NIV builds on both the original NIV and the TNIV and represents the latest effort of the 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. About 95% of the text of the updated NIV is exactly the same as the 1984 text it replaces, based on the number of word changes.

As part of the process of revision for 2011, the CBT also reviewed and reconsidered every single change introduced into the TNIV relating to inclusive language. Some changes were preserved, some were rescinded in favor of the 1984 rendering, and many were re-worded in a third, still different way.

A: All the changes in the updated text are attributable to at least one of the following factors: changes in English, progress in scholarship and concern for clarity (See Updating the NIV for 2011) About 95% of the text of the updated NIV remains exactly the same as the1984 text it replaces, based on the number of word changes.

As part of the process of revision for 2011, the CBT reviewed and reconsidered every single change introduced into the TNIV relating to inclusive language. Some changes were preserved, some were rescinded in favor of the 1984 rendering, and many were re-worded in a third, still different way. The committee took all the major published comments on their approach into consideration, and particular attention was paid to external feedback in the area of gender language.