100 Christian Leaders Cannot Endorse the TNIV
100 Christian leaders have issued a joint statement that claims they cannot endorse Today’s New International Version (TNIV) that is produced by Zondervan publishers and the International Bible Society.
Citing that the TNIV goes beyond acceptable translation standards in several important respects these leaders emphasize the fact that the TNIV obscures many biblical references to "father," "son," "brother," and "man." In order to accomplish this, translators of the TNIV have inserted English words into the text whose meaning does not appear in the original languages.
The result is that in hundreds of verses, the TNIV changes language with masculine meaning in the original Greek to something more generic.
The list of signatories includes: Ted Baehr, Alistair Begg, Ron Blue, Larry Burkett, Charles Colson, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, James Dobson, Tom Eliff, Steve Farrar, Wayne Grudem, Jack Hayford, Joshua Harris, Howard Hendricks, David Jeremiah, D. James Kennedy, Crawford Lorritts, Erwin Lutzer, Bill McCartney, James Merritt, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Marvin Olasky, Stephen Olford, J. I. Packer, Janet Parshall, Paige Patterson, John Piper, Dennis Rainey, Pat Robertson, Gary and Barbara Rosberg, R. C. Sproul, Charles Swindoll, Joni Erickson Tada, Don Wildmon, and Bruce Wilkinson.
Randy Stinson, Executive Director of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood says, "This list reveals the depth and breadth of the Evangelical resistance to the TNIV. These leaders represent various types of ministries, denominations, and theological persuasions, but all have a passionate concern about the Bible and the translation process. We are hopeful that Zondervan and the International Bible Society will reconsider and make the necessary changes so that the TNIV will conform to the Colorado Springs Guidelines which were designed to govern the translation of gender-related language."
When asked about the reasons for such a statement, Stinson remarked, "This translation has plunged the evangelical world into a crucial decision-making process that will affect the future direction of Bible translation in the English speaking world and will determine for years to come what kinds of Bibles will be commonly accepted as the preaching, teaching, devotional, memorizing Bibles of the church."
For the full statement of concern along with the complete list of signatories, visit the Website of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood at http://www.cbmw.org.
Also see related post here
The best choice is the KJV. Second best would be a modern version in the same family - New KJV, Third Millennium KJV, etc. But if you want "almost as good as," then why not stick with the KJV?
There are many issues involved, including the use of the original manuscripts. The new versions are quite cavalier with the New Testament.