WHEREAS, Many Southern Baptist pastors and laypeople have trusted and used the New International Version (NIV) translation to the great benefit of the Kingdom; and

WHEREAS, The International Bible Society (IBS) and Zondervan Publishing House have begun to publish a new translation of the Bible known as Today's New International Version (TNIV); and

WHEREAS, Southern Baptists repeatedly have affirmed our commitment to the full inspiration and authority of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15-16) and, in 1997, urged every Bible publisher and translation group to resist “gender-neutral” translation of Scripture; and

WHEREAS, The TNIV makes significant changes to the NIV, largely in the area of gender language; and

WHEREAS, Although it is possible for Bible scholars to disagree about translation methods or which English words best translate the original languages, the TNIV has gone beyond acceptable translation standards; and

WHEREAS, This translation alters the meaning of hundreds of verses, most significantly by erasing gender-specific details which appear in the original language; and

WHEREAS, The translators erased these gender-specific details in two ways: (1) they eliminated gender-specific terms (changing “father” to “parent;” “son” to “child;” “brother” to “fellow believer;” “man” to “mortals,” “humans,” or “those;” and “he” to “they,” so that gender-specific meanings are eliminated), and (2) they added gender-specific readings that are not found in the original text (such as changing “brother” to “brother or sister”) so that any gender-specific emphasis of the passage is eliminated; and

WHEREAS, This translation obscures significant biblical references to the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ by altering references to “father,” “son,” “brother,” and “man;” and

WHEREAS, This translation obscures biblical references to the personal relationship of the individual believer to Christ by changing masculine, third person singular pronouns (“he” and “him”) to plural gender-neutral pronouns (“they” and “them”); now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, June 11-12, 2002, express profound disappointment with the International Bible Society and Zondervan Publishing House for this inaccurate translation of God’s inspired Scripture; and be it further

RESOLVED, That, consistent with the Bible translation resolution adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1997, we respectfully request that the agencies, boards, and publishing arms of the Southern Baptist Convention refrain from using this translation in our various publications and from using it in printing copies or portions of copies; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we respectfully request that LifeWay not make this inaccurate translation available for sale in their bookstores; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we cannot commend the TNIV to Southern Baptists or the larger Christian community.