Zondervan hosts dinner for NIV's 50th

Zondervan, Biblica and the Committee on Bible Translation welcomed more than 600 attendees to a dinner (19th November) at the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) convention in San Diego, reports Christian Retailing.

Theologians, scholars, pastors, Bible translators, publishing professionals and Bible enthusiasts joined together to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the commissioning of the NIV.

“Fifty years is a long time,” said Douglas Moo, chairman for the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT), giving homage to the five decades of work that went into the translation.

With more than 450 million copies distributed worldwide, the NIV is the most-read contemporary English translation. It came into being after Christian businessman Howard Long felt he could not find a Bible that was readable in contemporary language and reliable to the original texts.

Stan Gundry, Zondervan’s editor-in-chief and senior vice president/publisher of Zondervan’s church, academic, reference and reflective publishing group said, “The evening was a celebration of the worldwide impact of the NIV and of the vision that led to its creation—an accurate translation of the Bible in contemporary English.”

The NIV anniversary celebration will be a yearlong campaign (thenivbible.com) that will officially launch this month.CBT Chairman Douglas Moo addresses NIV dinner attendees.