I summarized some of the controversy over the new NIV 2011 in a recent post. This has prompted some thoughts on whether the primary readership of the NIV will change. One friend has predicted a massive exodus on the part of Southern Baptists based on what may be percieved as some liberal tendency in the new translation of the NIV (see that previous post for more). I suspect the NIV probably will lose some of its traditional readers, but I suspect most who use it in the larger evangelical world will probably stick with it for the sake of familiarity and sentimental reasons. I tend to think the NIV 2011 may pick up some new readers as well, particularly if it seems less biased against women in positions of ministry leadership. So, even if there are some who bail on the new edition, I suspect that things will probably balance out in the end. It will likely be quite some time before the NIV is eclipsed as one of the most widely used translations. What about you? Will you try out the new NIV? Or will you leave it behind?
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