MIF 11:3 (May-June 1979)
The New International Version
The use for some time of a copy of the New International Version of the Bible has provided both real pleasure and much profit. The language flows quite nicely and is so easily understood. Consequently, one does not hesitate to believe that it is suitable for reading on the platform and in the pulpit. It certainly has a hearing appeal that some of the other modern versions do not have.
The clarity and the explicitness used by the translators make certain passages more meaningful than other translations. For example, the “fellowship offering” (Lev. 7:11) is more understandable than the “peace offering.”
The breaking of the chapter into significant paragraphs is helpful in Bible study. Furthermore, one appreciates the short, concise titles indicating the content of each particular paragraph.
The value of the New International Version may be somewhat low in the minds of some believers until it becomes better known. In some of the texts which we frequently memorize from the Authorized Version, there is very little change. This is noticeable, for instance John 3:16.
Whether or not the New International Version will ever replace the Authorized Version is debatable, but it is certainly worthy of a prominent place in every Christian circle.
The New International Version of the Bible is published by Zondervan Bible Publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In Canada it is distributed by Home Evangel Books Limited, 565 Gordon Baker Road, Willowdale, Ontario, M2H 2W2.
—James Gunn.