With more than 650 million copies distributed worldwide, the New International Version (NIV) is the most widely read Bible translation in contemporary English. The NIV delivers the very best combination of accuracy, readability, and clarity, making it easy to read and easy to understand. The NIV is true to God’s Word and true to the reader.
Getting the Words Right
Getting the words right means accurately translating the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic of the Bible. But it also means capturing the Bible’s original meaning in natural, everyday English spoken around the world today. That’s what sets the NIV Bible apart. It doesn’t sacrifice precision for clarity or the other way around. It delivers both, all in a Bible translation you’ll love to read.
The NIV Bible is…
Accurate.
The NIV translators are united by their conviction that the Bible is God’s inspired Word. That, along with their individual expertise and years of studying biblical languages, helps them to capture subtle nuances and the depth of meaning in the Bible. The NIV translators prioritize balancing transparency to the original with clarity of meaning.
Readable.
The NIV text has been carefully and thoughtfully designed to provide the best reading experience possible. Each phrase has been purposefully crafted with the end user in mind, and the NIV’s 8th-grade reading level makes it accessible to most English readers around the world. The goal of the translators is to convey the meaning of the original documents so that the teachings of the Bible come through in an extremely comfortable and accessible way.
Clear.
If the first recipients understood God’s Word when they heard it, so should you. That’s the driving force behind the NIV’s commitment to clarity. The Bible should be every bit as clear to you as it was to its original audience. The NIV translators take great care to balance accuracy, readability, and clarity using global English as it is spoken today.
Beautiful.
Bible reading isn’t just a solo exercise; it’s meant to be a shared experience. That’s why the NIV translators also prioritize literary beauty, resulting in a Bible translation that’s suitable for both private and public reading.
Trustworthy.
The NIV is translated by an independent, self-governing team of Bible scholars using the oldest and most reliable Bible manuscripts available today. No publisher, ministry, or other group can tell this committee how to translate God’s Word. The translators come from a broad spectrum of Christian denominations and respected educational institutions. When considering making an update to the current edition, 70% of the committee must agree on each change, which safeguards the NIV translation against theological bias.
