Gender-neutral NIV revision announced; Bible society drops translation accord
by Art Toalston Vol. XV, No. 3, March 2002
A 28 Jan. news release announcing a "Today's New International Version" of the Bible reports that the TNIV entails a "7 percent change" from the widely used New International Version, or NIV, published by the International Bible Society and Zondervan. What the news release doesn't report is that the Bible society is "withdrawing its endorsement" of 1997 Bible translation guidelines that resulted from a heated controversy over IBS/Zondervan plans at the time to revise the NIV with gender-neutral language.
The IBS shift away from the 1997 Bible translation accord, known as the Colorado Springs Guidelines (CSG), was noted in an 18 Jan. letter circulated to various evangelical leaders, including R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.
The IBS now has difficulty with the part of the CSG involving "some very specific guidelines [about translation of gender-related terms] that those present generally agreed with, or at the time were willing to endorse," the IBS letter states, referencing a 1997 meeting convened by Focus on the Family founder James Dobson in Colorado Springs. "However, upon further review and consideration, and in consultation with other evangelical scholars, IBS has determined that many of the technical guidelines are too restrictive to facilitate the most accurate possible text in contemporary English," the IBS letter states.
The IBS noted, with little publicity in 1999, that it was continuing to work on a new "inclusive" Bible translation reducing the amount of masculine language utilized in the popular NIV. In its 18 Jan. letter, the IBS noted that its ongoing work has been conducted "in accordance with its own guidelines and the guidelines established by the International Forum of Bible Agencies," which encompasses "18 of the leading global translation ministries, including IBS, Wycliffe Bible Translators, United Bible Societies, Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), New Tribes Mission and others ... responsible for more than 90 percent of the translation work done around the world [and seeking to do] uncompromisingly accurate translations in contemporary language."
The IBS letter did not list the other guidelines nor discuss whether those guidelines address gender-related translation issues.
Among the CSG Bible translation guidelines:
-- "'Father' ('pater,' ''ab' in the original text) should not be changed to 'parent,' or 'fathers' to 'parents,' or 'ancestors.'"
-- "'Son' ('huios, ben') should not be changed to 'child,' or 'sons' ('huioi') to 'children' or 'sons and daughters.' (However, Hebrew 'banim' often means 'children.')"
The 28 Jan. IBS/Zondervan news release noted that the 1984 NIV "will continue to be published in its current form without change, making the TNIV an additional choice in translations alongside the NIV."
Mohler stated, "The International Bible Society's withdrawal from the Colorado Springs Guidelines is very disappointing, but not really unexpected. Rumblings of IBS discontent with the guidelines started almost as soon as the [CSG] document was released. ... Many of us feared that the IBS was simply waiting for the earlier controversy to die down so they could go ahead with their plans. It seems that this is the case. They are counting on concerned evangelicals to have short memories."
Ken Hemphill, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, also voiced caution about any attempt to bring Scripture in line with the ever-changing culture. "We must always be careful taking the cultural climate of our day into consideration when retranslating Scripture because culture will change again. Our mission is not to make the Bible relevant to culture but to bring culture under the rubric of Scripture," Hemphill said. "We believe very much in the authority of Scripture and the inerrancy of God's Word. ... We believe that the Bible was revealed by God to men, that it is verbally inspired, and that the very words are important.”
Controversy erupted when World magazine, based in Asheville, NC, reported that the IBS had decided to produce a gender-neutral NIV for the U.S. market by 2001 but had made no announcement of its plans. World's 1997 articles appeared in its March 29, April 19 and May 3 issues. A storm of theology-related objections was raised by a number of U.S. evangelicals over changes in various passages where the words "he," "man," "brothers" and "mankind" typically were replaced by "people," "person," "brother and sister," and "humankind."
The IBS, in an unexpected announcement 27 May 1997, said it would "forego all plans" to revise the NIV translation. The Colorado-based IBS, in its May 27 statement, also committed to revising its New International Readers Version (NIRV) Bible "to reflect a treatment of gender consistent with the NIV." The NIRV was a gender-neutral translation already used in a Zondervan Publishing House children's Bible. And the IBS committed to negotiate an end to the publishing of a gender-neutral NIV text already completed by the Committee on Bible Translation and released in 1996 in England by Hodder and Stoughton.
Also on May 27, 1997, key parties in the controversy found common ground in a joint statement and a page of suggested translation guidelines now known as the Colorado Springs Guidelines. "Specifically, we agree that it is inappropriate to use gender-neutral language when it diminishes accuracy in the translation of the Bible," the statement, released 4 June, noted, "and we therefore agree to the attached guidelines for translation of gender-related language in Scripture."
Additionally: "We agree that Bible translations should not be influenced by illegitimate intrusions of secular culture or by political or ideological agendas." [BP]