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Is the New International Version a good translation of the Bible?


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Is the New International Version a good translation of the Bible?

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If it reads (per Qumran) the Sons of God (bene elohim) in Psalm 82, then it might be OK.

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I agree with Sonshine although I do a lot of parallel reading myself with quite a few versions including the NIV......I prefer the KJV personally

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2 hours ago, Lee_ said:

Is the New International Version a good translation of the Bible?

It's not the best for quite a few reasons. 

If you want an easy-to-read Bible that is fairly reliable, check out the ESV or CSB. 

If you want accuracy and a translation of the Textus Receptus manuscripts for the New Testament (not oldest manuscripts but arguably more reliable) go for the NKJV, as the KJV has old errors and can be tough to read. 

However, there is no one perfect transaltion unfortunately. They all have advantages and disadvantages. So it might be worth getting at couple (at least) such as the ESV and the NKJV. 

But I would leave the NIV alone, if you are able to. If not, and that's all you have, don't worry - you won't fall to evilness or anything!  There's just several odd translation choices, here and there, which distances it's accuracy to the original. 

Love & Shalom 

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2 hours ago, Lee_ said:

Is the New International Version a good translation of the Bible?

Yes - if you want a translation in modern English that's reasonably close to the original while also being easy to read and understand. 

There are many good reasons why some Christians prefer other translations, but there's nothing inherently "wrong" with the NIV.

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3 hours ago, Lee_ said:

Is the New International Version a good translation of the Bible?

There's a reason people have joked for years that it's the New International PER-Version or RE-Version.

It's a phrase-by-phrase translation that takes liberties and provides some doctrinal stances that are the REVERSE of Bible truth.

Stick to something else, like the more literal and accurate NKJV or NASB.

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3 hours ago, Lee_ said:

Is the New International Version a good translation of the Bible?

There are some that are more preferable. 

1 hour ago, Tzephanyahu said:

KJV has old errors and can be tough to read. 

It does have a nice poetic sense in the translated form of its writings. Of course if you have one that's printed in the old English spellings, then it will tend to confuse. I have one that was given to me from my mom dated back to the 1950's and it was in this form. The majority of most modern KJV bibles are not issued this way. And a good study reference version is also good to have if you enjoy or prefer it.

I don't like to bash any decent translation or interpretation of the bible, but some do enjoy the Amplified version. For some, the extra wordings and phrases included help to make better or fuller understanding of God's word. But for me personally, it does get somewhat frustrating while making the emphasis of its purpose. But it that works, then I really don't want to be critical of the aspect about authorship. 

I'm sure most have good intent to assist people who aren't familiar with the bible to understand it more clearly. I was given a copy of the NIV from a dear old lady that was a friend of my mother. I was honored to receive it as it was meant to be a loving offer. I've read some of it just to see it that particular version was pleasurable to read. Still I find going back to my King James, because I enjoy the poetry of Psalms.  

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1 hour ago, BeauJangles said:

Still I find going back to my King James, because I enjoy the poetry of Psalms.  

True. For the poetry sections it has a timeless majesty about it. 

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6 hours ago, Lee_ said:

Is the New International Version a good translation of the Bible?

I have chosen not to read the NIV. 

New International Version - Pros and Cons
Probably the greatest strength of the New International Version is its readability. The NIV is rendered in smoothly flowing and easy-to-read English. One weakness of the NIV is that it occasionally delves into interpretation rather than strict translation. In the NIV, some passages are translated with more of a “this is what the translator thinks the text means” instead of “this is what the text says.” In many instances, the NIV likely has a correct “interpretation” but that misses the point. A Bible translation should take what the Bible says in the original languages and say the same thing in the new language, leaving the interpretation to the reader with the aid of the Holy Spirit. The greatest ‘con’ of the 2011 NIV, of course, is the inclusion of gender-neutral language and the necessity of interpreting rather than translating in order to present a more culturally sensitive or politically correct version.

New International Version - Sample Verses
John 1:1, 14: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 8:58: "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"

Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Titus 2:13: “while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

https://www.gotquestions.org/New-International-Version-NIV.html

Edited by missmuffet
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50 minutes ago, DDisconnect said:

The Bible I first picked up and read full-through was the NIV. While it did get me into the faith, I much prefer my current study bible KJV - I can read it easier and it seems more accurate. The NIV is almost... TOO simple in some of it's translations. It made it a bit difficult to read, personally.

Still, it got the job done. I think some of the suggestions by the other members might work. I need to read some other versions to become more familiar.

Yeah, I hear ya on that. Whatever works, right? When I first got radically saved, The Living Bible was pretty popular with the young people at that time. So I read it through, though it's a known flawed paraphrased version. No, not the best by any means. It did give me the basics, then I went for a KJV study bible.

I fell in love with it. It's a good one. Sinopsis of each book, author, approximate date of when it was written, footnotes, sidebars with more clear wordings from the original, chain references, decent concordance and also a set of maps of the Holy Land. Very nicely presented. 

Edited by BeauJangles
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