January 2015 marks the beginning of a yearlong campaign to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the commissioning of the New International Version (NIV). In its 50 years, the NIV has become the world’s most-read modern-English Bible translation, with over 450 million copies distributed worldwide.

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary, Biblica and Zondervan will celebrate by releasing videos and articles that tell the historical story of the translation. The campaign is supported by four main themes: Made to Read, Made to Study, Made to Share and Made for You. 

“Made to Read” is the first theme that will launch the first quarter of 2015. “Made to Read” will highlight the historical milestones that led to the commissioning of the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT). This committee’s original establishment recognized the need and laid the foundation for an accurate Bible translation in contemporary language.

In 1955, the original vision for the NIV was cast by Christian businessman Howard Long. After a failed attempt to share the gospel using the King James Version, Long began his search for a Bible that was both readable in contemporary language and reliable to the original texts.

Ten years later, a cross-denominational group of evangelical scholars was assembled to work toward one mission: to create a contemporary English translation of the Bible. The formation of this group of 15 scholars, representing a broad spectrum of Christian denominations, marked one of the most significant events in the history of the English Bible.

After more than a decade of painstaking translation work, the complete text of the NIV was published in 1978, enabling Christians to read the entire Word of God in contemporary English while also remaining faithful to the original texts. In less than 10 years the NIV became the world’s best-selling modern-English Bible translation, an honor it still maintains today.

“Our prayer for this anniversary campaign is to capture the attention of Bible readers, pastors and Bible teachers with the history of the NIV, to introduce the committee of distinguished scholars that continue to work on the translation; and to share the impact the NIV is having all over the world,” said John Kramp, SVP and Bible publisher for HarperCollins Christian Publishing.  “The first theme of the campaign—Made to Read—provides historical context into the need for a contemporary English translation of the Bible. Today we, along with the CBT and Biblica, celebrate a translation that is true to God’s Word and has changed how people read, experience and live out the Bible.”

The Made to Read campaign video can be viewed at thenivbible.com, along with several stories related to the theme under the “50^th Anniversary” tab. Free resources, including reading plans, Scripture memes and Bible samplers, are also available on the site, as well as a guide to assist readers in finding their best Bible match.

In addition, Biblica, Zondervan and Tecarta have launched a free NIV 50th Anniversary mobile app available on IOS and Android that provides free access to the NIV for the 2015 calendar year. In addition to providing the NIV text, the mobile app includes additional quarterly anniversary content and many study and devotional Bibles made available for a trial period.  

For additional information on the NIV 50^th Anniversary, please visit thenivbible.com.  

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