The version I’ve carried for 23 years is the first NIV, the New Testament having been originally published in 1973, and the Old Testament in 1978, although I do like to compare translations in various versions, and frequently look up the original Hebrew and Greek meanings to get a clearer understanding.
Not all the changes are bad, but I want to share just a few of them and how they alter the meaning of scripture. Words are important.
Psalm 51: 6 –
NKJV – “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.”
1978 NIV – “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts, you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.”
2011 NIV – “Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.”
The Hebrew word for “inmost parts” is ̣ṭûchâh, which means overlaying, the kidneys (as being covered), the inmost thoughts. (The word for womb is beṭen, meaning to be hollow, the belly, the womb.)
The original language tells us that God desires us to have truth, or trustworthiness, in our innermost beings, our hearts. Not just pretending, but being of truly trustworthy character. But the 2011 NIV translates it in a way that would cause us to think God desires us to be faithful in the womb, before we’re born. The meaning is completely different.
Matthew 21:7 –
NKJV – They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.
1973 NIV – “They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.”
2011 NIV – “They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.”
The 2011 NIV is worded to imply Jesus is sitting on the cloaks rather on the donkey and colt.
The significance of emphasizing the fact that Jesus sat on the donkey and colt is that by doing so He is fulfilling prophecy given to them in Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
A humble king of peace rode donkeys; a man of war would have ridden a horse.
Rather than entering as a conqueror coming for war to overthrow the Roman government as they expected Him to, He is showing them He was entering Jerusalem as a humble King of peace, the coming Messiah, the Savior of their souls.
The 2011 NIV also changes gender references to gender neutral which is not always bad, but sometimes that nuance changes the interpretation.
John 6:44 –
NKJV – No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
1973 NIV – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
2011 NIV – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
The 2011 change from singular to plural implies the Father will only draw a group of people rather than the fact that He sees, loves, and draws an individual.
There are many other changes to this new translation as well. They may seem small and insignificant, but as I’ve written about before, the enemy will use small, seemingly insignificant changes to confuse us, put doubt in our minds, and trip us up. He did that very thing with Eve in the garden, and it’s still a main tactic he uses today.
This is why we all need to not just read God’s Word, but prayerfully and with discernment, study it to know it like the back of our own hand so the enemy can’t use our ignorance to keep us from understanding the truth and leading us to believe something God’s Word doesn’t mean.
“I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin
against You.”
Psalm 119:11
Heavenly Father, thank you for your enduring Word. Please give us a love for it as we read and study it daily that we might live according to your way that leads to life and joy. Please lead us by your Holy Spirit as we do to give us understanding and wisdom so we can abide in you and your truth always. In Jesus’ name, amen.
