The top-selling Bible in North America will undergo its first revision in 25 years, modernizing the language in some sections and promising to reopen a contentious debate about changing gendered terms in the sacred text.
The New International Version (NIV), the Bible of choice for conservative evangelicals, will be revised to reflect changes in English usage and advances in biblical scholarship, its copyright holder announced Tuesday. The revision is scheduled to be completed late next year and published in 2011.
"We want to reach English speakers across the globe with a Bible that is accurate, accessible and that speaks to its readers in a language they can understand," said Keith Danby, global president and CEO of Biblica, a Colorado Springs-based Christian ministry that holds the NIV copyright.
But past attempts to remake the NIV for contemporary audiences in different editions have been beset by controversies about gender language that have pitted evangelicals against each other.
-Article continues off Site, courtesy The Washington Times/AP.
