New Bibles and old debates

In
March, U.S. publishers released new editions of two of the most widely read
English-language Bibles: the Catholic New American Bible and the evangelical
New International Version. These updates are intended to reflect modern idioms
and the latest scholarly research, while also responding to changes in the
(niche-philic) scripture marketplace.

Since
its inception in 1965, the Committee on Bible Translation--the group responsible for the NIV changes--has
aimed to represent the best in evangelical biblical scholarship and
confessional integrity across multiple traditions. The original NIV charter
requires the group to monitor developments in biblical scholarship and changes
in English usage.

Based
on the number of word changes, the new NIV text remains about 95 percent the
same as the 1984 version it replaces. But there is a lot to be said about that
5 percent.