NIV - 1978
New International Version
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This is a completely new translation of the Holy Bibledone by over one hundred scholars. It followed several years of exploratorystudy by committees from the Christian Reformed Church and the NationalAssociation of Evangelicals. There were participants from the United States,Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in the translating process. The denominationsincluded Anglican, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Brethren, Christian Reformed,Church of Christ, Evangelical Free, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Nazarene,Presbyterian, Wesleyan, and others.

Each book was translated by a team of scholars. An IntermediateEditorial Committee revised their work. A General Editorial Committee checkedit in detail and revised again. The Committee on Bible Translation reviewed,revised, then released the translation for publication.

The goals were that the translation would be accurateand have clarity and literary quality so as to be suitable for reading,teaching, preaching, memorizing, and liturgical use. A concern was thatthe English be idiomatic but not idiosyncratic, contemporary but not dated.

Texts used for the Old Testament included the latest BibliaHebraica, Dead Sea Scrolls, Samaritan Pentateuch, ancient scribal traditions,Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac Peshitta, Targums, Juxta Hebraica, andothers. For the New Testament, the best current Greek New Testament textswere used.

The Tetragrammaton is rendered as LORD, in capital letters.King James pronouns and verb endings were considered to be archaic. Poeticpassages are printed as poetry.

International Bible Society (1978)

[Tyndale House, Cambridge, UnitedKingdom]

Genesis1: 1, 2

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface ofthe deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

 
 

John1: 1 - 3

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was withGod, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.

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