NIV Concerns Group

Here is Dr. Grudem's account of what happened on May 27, 1997 in Colorado Springs.

NIV SUPPORTERS AND CRITICS

That was ... what happened May 27 at the Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs. James Dobson had asked that the main defenders of the New International Version meet with a group concerned about its "inclusive language" editions in England (NIVI) and the United States (the NIrV).

Our “NIV concerns group” ... presented a statement we had prepared the previous day. R.C. Sproul opened with an expression of the importance of accuracy in translation, the realization that language does change over time, and the caution that Bible translators must be very careful not to be influenced by wrongful intrusions of secular culture. Then John Piper presented a ten-page list of specific translations in the NIVI and the NIrV which we thought to be inaccurate. Third, ... Dr. Poythress said that, while he appreciated the desire of the NIV translators to communicate effectively in contemporary English, these concerns have to be weighed against some important losses in the accuracy and content of what was actually communicated by the revisions. Fourth, I presented a list of suggestions for guidelines involving the translation of gender-related language in Scripture. Finally, Tim Bayly presented some actions that we were asking the NIV representatives to consider in light of our concerns.

Follow this link and use edit>find, input the title NIV Supporters and Critics and click find to read the entire proceeds of the May 27 meeting.

It also seems relevant to mention Dr. Grudem's timeline for the origin of the ESV. In his response to Ben Witherington's account of that origin, Dr. Grudem said:

1998: Translation Oversight Committee was formed and work began on the ESV.

Note that this was 1998, a year after the May 27 meeting at Focus on the Family where the CSG (Colorado Springs Guidelines) for English Bible translation were developed. The ESV and HCSB are the only two English versions which follow the CSG. The CSG state how adelphos should be translated.

Please understand that my central concern is that this meeting took place before these men looked up adelphos in the Lexicon.