When Zondervan published in 2002 an inclusive-language version of the New Testament by the translators of the older, best-selling New International Version (NIV) Bible, vociferous criticism poured in from conservative Protestants.
The recently published TNIV, now with an Old Testament translation that continues the shift toward gender-inclusive language, also strives to improve clarity in contemporary English, judging by a comparison of the new version with the wording in the NIV of the early 1980s.
The NIV begins Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him,” but the TNIV begins, “So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them.”