We acknowledge that Bible scholars sometimes disagree about translation methods and about which English words best translate the original languages. We also agree that it is appropriate to use gender-neutral expressions where the original language does not include any male or female meaning. However, we believe the TNIV has gone beyond acceptable translation standards in several important respects:

	The TNIV translation often changes masculine, third person, singular pronouns (he, his and him) to plural gender-neutral pronouns. For example, in Revelation 3:20, the words of Jesus have been changed from "I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" to "I will come in and eat with them, and they with me." Jesus could have used plural pronouns when He spoke these words, but He chose not to. (The original Greek pronouns are singular.) In hundreds of such changes, the TNIV obscures any possible significance the inspired singular may have, such as individual responsibility or an individual relationship with Christ.
	The TNIV translation obscures many biblical references to "father," "son," "brother," and "man." For example, in Hebrews 12:7, the NIV says "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?" But the TNIV translates Hebrews 12:7, "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their parents?" The reference to God as Father is lost. In numerous other verses male-oriented meanings that are present in the original language are lost in the TNIV.
	The TNIV translation inserts English words into the text whose meaning does not appear in the original languages. For example, in Luke 17:3, the translators changed "If your brother sins, rebuke him" to "If any brother or sister sins against you, rebuke the offender." The problem is, the word "sister" is not found in the original language, nor is "against you," nor is 'offender.'

Thus, in hundreds of verses, the TNIV changes language with masculine meaning in the original Greek to something more generic. It does this in many ways, such as changing

	"father" (singular) to "parents";
	"son" (singular) to "child" or "children";
	"brother" (singular) to "someone" or "brother or sister," and "brothers" (plural) to "believers";
	"man" (singular, when referring to the human race) to "mere mortals" or "those" or "people";
	"men" (plural, when referring to male persons) to "people" or "believers" or "friends" or "humans";
	"he/him/his" to "they/them/their" or "you/your" or "we/us/our"; and
	switching hundreds of whole sentences from singular to plural.

 

Daniel L. Akin Dean School of Theology The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY Gregg R. Allison Professor Western Seminary, Portland, OR Kerby Andersen President Probe Ministries, Richardson, TX Neil T. Anderson Founder and President Emeritus Freedom in Christ Ministries Hudson T. Armerding Past Chairman National Association of Evangelicals, Quarryville, PA Edward G. Atsinger, III President & CEO Salem Communications Corporation, Camarillo, CA Henry Baldwin Dean, School of Theology (English Speaking) Singapore Bible College, Republic of Singapore Frank M. Barker, Jr. Pastor Emeritus Briarwood Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, AL Tim Bayly Senior Pastor Church of the Good Shepherd, Bloomington, IN Ted Baehr Chairman Christian Film & Television Commission, Camarillo, CA H.F. Bayer Professor Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO Alistair Begg Senior Pastor Parkside Church, Chagrin Falls, OH Joel Belz Founder and Chairman World Magazine, Asheville, NC Ron Blue Ronald Blue & Company James A. Borland Professor Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA Harald Bredesen Pastor at Large St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Westport, CT Bill Bright Founder and Chairman Campus Crusade for Christ, Orlando, FL Tal Brooke President and Chairman SCP, Inc., Berkeley, CA Harold O.J. Brown Professor Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC Larry Burkett Founder Crown Financial Ministries, Gainesville, GA A.B. Caneday Professor Northwestern College, Saint Paul, Minnesota Bryan Chapell President Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO E. Ray Clendenen Executive editor, Bibles and Reference Books B&H Publishers, Nashville, TN C. John Collins Professor Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO Charles Colson Founder Prison Fellowship Ministry, Merrifield, VA William Cook Professor The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY Jack Cottrell Professor Cincinnati Bible Seminary, Cincinnati, OH Darryl DelHousaye Senior Pastor Scottsdale Bible Church, Scottsdale, AZ Dennis H. Dirks Dean Talbot School of Theology, La Mirada, CA Nancy Leigh DeMoss Teacher and Author Life Action Ministries, Niles, MI James Dobson President Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO Daniel Doriani Dean of Faculty Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, MO Ligon Duncan Senior Minister First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS Michael J. Easley Senior Pastor-Teacher Immanuel Bible Church, Springfield, VA Tom Elliff Senior Pastor First Southern Baptist Church, Del City, OK Stuart W. Epperson Chairman Salem Communications Corp., Winston-Salem, NC Jerry Falwell Chancellor, Liberty University Pastor, Thomas Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg, VA Steve Farrar President Men’s Leadership Ministries, Frisco, TX

Ronnie W. Floyd Senior Pastor First Baptist Church, Springdale, AR The Church at Pinnacle Hills, Rogers, AR John M. Frame Professor Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL Jack Graham Senior Pastor Prestonwood Baptist Church, Prestonwood, TX Elisabeth Elliot Gren Christ Church Hamilton, MA Wayne Grudem Professor Phoenix Seminary, Scottsdale, AZ Joshua Harris Executive Pastor Covenant Life Church, Gaithersburg, MD Jack Hayford Founding Pastor The Church on the Way, Van Nuys, CA Chancellor, The King’s College and Seminary C.E. Hill Professor Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL Roland S. Hinz President Hi-Favor Broadcasting (Spanish Language), Los Angeles, CA Howard G. Hendricks Professor Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, TX Ken Hemphill President Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX H. Wayne House Professor Faith Seminary, Tacoma, WA R. Kent Hughes Senior Pastor College Church, Wheaton, IL Susan Hunt Author Atlanta, GA W. Bingham Hunter Pastor/Bible Teacher/Author Chicago, IL David Jeremiah Pastor Shadow Mountain Community Church Peter Jones Professor Westminster Theological Seminary, Escondido, CA Mary Kassian Author & Teacher Alabaster Flask Ministries, Edmonton, Canada Charles S. Kelley, Jr. President New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, LA Rhonda H. Kelley Professor New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, LA D. James Kennedy Senior Pastor Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Ft. Lauderdale, FL Tim Kimmel Executive Director, Family Matters Phoenix, AZ Chuck Klein National Director Student Venture, Orlando, FL George W. Knight, III Professor Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Taylors, SC Bob Lepine Director of Broadcasting FamilyLife, Little Rock, AR Robert Lewis Teaching Pastor Fellowship Bible Church, Little Rock, AR H.B. London VP of Ministry Outreach/Pastoral Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO Crawford W. Loritts, Jr. Assoc. USA Director Campus Crusade for Christ, Atlanta, GA Erwin W. Lutzer Senior Pastor Moody Church, Chicago, IL John MacArthur Pastor-Teacher Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, CA James MacDonald Pastor Harvest Bible Chapel, Rolling Meadows, IL C.J. Mahaney Senior Pastor Covenant Life Church, Gaithersburg, MD Bill McCartney President Promise Keepers, Denver, CO Josh D. McDowell Josh McDowell Ministry, Dallas, TX James Merritt President Southern Baptist Convention, Snellville, GA R. Albert Mohler, Jr. President The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY Joel Nederhood Pastor Director of Ministries, Emeritus The Back to God Hour Niel Nielson President Elect Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, GA Marvin Olasky Editor-in-Chief World Magazine, Asheville, NC ----------------------   Bible Scholars Claim "Gender-Neutral" Bible Distorts Scripture   Note: This is the original list of scholars as it appeared in the press release. Click to view the updated list. More than thirty-five evangelical scholars issued a joint statement declaring that the recently released Today’s New International Version, which news reports on Monday identified as "gender-neutral," should not be commended to the church. The scholars expressed concern about "troubling translation inaccuracies ... that introduce distortions of ... meanings." Although their primary concern was over gender language and the removal of many instances of such words as "man," "father," "son," "brother," and "he/him/his," other types of inaccuracies were noted as well, particularly in changing singular pronouns to plural, and in changing "the Jews" to "the Jewish leaders" in John’s Gospel. The statement was released by the Louisville headquarters of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW). A list of over one hundred examples of inaccurately translated verses accompanied the statement. STATEMENT OF CONCERN:   In light of troubling translation inaccuracies - primarily (but not exclusively) in relation to gender language - that introduce distortions of the meanings that were conveyed better by the original NIV, we cannot endorse the TNIV translation as sufficiently accurate to commend to the church. SIGNERS (partial list): Gregg R. Allison, Ph.D. Western Seminary, Portland, OR Henry S. Baldwin, Ph.D. Singapore Bible College, Singapore S. M. Baugh, Ph.D. Westminster Theological Seminary in California, Escondido, CA Hans F. Bayer, Ph.D. Covenant Seminary, St. Louis, MO James Borland, Th.D. Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA Harold O. J. Brown, Ph.D. Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC Ardel B. Canedy, Ph.D. Northwestern College, St. Paul, MN E Ray Clendenen, Ph.D. Lifeway Christian Resources, Nashville, TN Clifford John Collins, Ph.D. Covenant Seminary, St. Louis, MO William Cook, Ph.D. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY Jack Cottrell, Ph.D. Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary, Cincinnatti, OH Daniel Doriani, Ph.D. Covenant Seminary, St. Louis, MO J. Ligon Duncan III, Ph.D. First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS John M. Frame, M.Phil. Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL Paul D. Gardner, Ph.D. Church of England Evangelical Council, Hartford, England Wayne Grudem, Ph.D. Phoenix Seminary, Scottsdale, AZ C.E. Hill, Ph.D. Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL H. Wayne House, Ph.D. Faith Seminary, Tacoma, WA W. Bingham Hunter, Ph.D. Pastor of Adult Ministries, Harvest Bible Chapel Former Academic Dean of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Talbot School of Theology Peter Jones, Ph.D. Westminster Theological Seminary, Escondido, CA Reggie M. Kidd, PhD. Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL George W. Knight, III, Ph.D. Greenville Presbyterian Seminary, Taylors, SC J. Carl Laney, Th.D. Western Seminary, Portland, OR Al Mawhinney, Ph.D. Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL R. Albert Mohler, Ph.D. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY William D. Mounce, Ph.D. Cornerstone Fellowship, Spokane, WA Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr., Ph.D. First Presbyterian Church, Augusta, GA Paige Patterson, Ph.D. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC John Piper, D. theol. Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN Vern S. Poythress, Ph.D., Th.D. Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA Mark R. Saucy, Ph.D. Kyiv Theological Seminary Thomas R. Schreiner, Ph.D. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY R. C. Sproul, DRS, Ph.D Ligonier Ministries, Lake Mary, FL Bruce Ware, Ph.D. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY William Weinrich, Ph.D. Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN Dean O. Wenthe, Ph.D. Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN Robert Yarbrough, Ph.D. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL

Stephen F. Olford Founder and Chairman The Stephen Olford Center for Biblical Preaching, Memphis, TN Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr. Senior Pastor First Presbyterian Church, August, GA J. I. Packer Professor Regent College, Vancouver, B.C. Janet Parshall Nationally Syndicated Talk Show Host Janet Parshall’s America, Arlington, VA Dorothy Kelley Patterson Professor Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC Paige Patterson President Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC John Piper Senior Pastor Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN Randy Pope Pastor Perimeter Church, Duluth, GA Vern Poythress Professor Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA William Pugh National Director Athletes in Action, Xenia, OH Dick Purnell Director Single Life Resources, Cary, NC Dennis Rainey Exec. Director FamilyLife, Little Rock, AR W. Duncan Rankin Professor Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, MS Robert E. Reccord President North American Mission Board, SBC, Apharetta, GA Sandy Rios President Concerned Women for America, Washington, D.C. Pat Robertson Founder and President, Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Adrian Rogers Pastor Belleview Baptist Church, Cordova, TN Gary Rosberg President America’s Family Coaches, Des Moines, IA Barbara Rosberg Vice President America’s Family Coaches, Des Moines, IA Phillip Graham Ryken Senior Minister Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA Thomas Schreiner Professor The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY Dal Shealy President Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Kansas City, MO Paul Sheppard Senior Pastor Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, Menlo Park, CA R. C. Sproul Chairman Ligonier Ministries, Lake Mary, FL Randy Stinson Exec. Director Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Louisville, KY Charles R. Swindoll Senior Pastor, Sonebriar Community Church, Frisco, TX Chancellor, Dallas Theological Seminary Joni Eareckson Tada Founder & President Joni & Friends, Agoura, CA Terry Taylor President Emeritus U.S. Navigators Derek W. H. Thomas Professor Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, MS John F. Walvoord Chancellor Emeritus Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, TX Bruce Ware Professor The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY Stu Weber Pastor Good Shepherd Community Church, Gresham, OR William C. Weinrich Professor Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN Dean O. Wenthe President Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN Donald E. Wildmon President American Family Association, Tupelo, MS Bruce Wilkinson Author, Missionary to S. Africa, Norcross, GA P.Bunny Wilson Fellowship West International Ministries, Pasadena

TNIV-Part 2