Data Supporting CBMW Review of 2011 NIV
Denny Burk
CBMW has recently published a review of the gender language in the 2011 NIV. Below are two links to spreadsheets containing the raw data that form the basis for the study.
The data in the spreadsheets trace the changes in gender language from the 2005 TNIV to the 2011 NIV. The first sheet of each spreadsheet is a statistical summary of the findings. Subsequent sheets detail the specific changes that were made. Each sheet represents a different type of change, and the types of changes are keyed to Wayne Grudem's booklet Why Is My Choice of a Bible Translation So Important (Louisville, KY: CBMW, 2005). The categories of changes from Grudem's booklet are outlined below.
1. Gender-Related Translation Inaccuracies in the 2005 TNIV Old Testament: A Categorized List of 2,776 Examples
A. Changes Made from Singular to Plural (and a Few Related Changes) to Avoid the Use of "He/Him/His"
1. Changing 3rd person singular "he/him/his/himself" to 3rd person
plural ("they/them/their/themselves") (857 inaccuracies)
a. Instances involving the singular Hebrew noun nephesh, which is
grammatically feminine in form and therefore in some instances is
accompanied by feminine verbs and pronouns. At other times the
sentence reverts to masculine verbs and pronouns indicating that a
representative male person is in view. In both cases the TNIV
inappropriately changes singulars to plurals. (18 inaccuracies)
b. Changing other words from singular to plural (If a verse listed
here also appears in another list, this list only counts those
examples in the verse which were not counted when the same
verse was listed in the other category.) (291 inaccuracies)
2. Changing "he/him/his" to "they" used with singular English
antecedent
a. Instances involving the singular Heb. noun nephesh, which is
grammatically feminine in form and therefore in some instances is
accompanied by feminine verbs and pronouns. At other times the
sentence reverts to masculine verbs and pronouns indicating that a
representative male person is in view. In both cases the TNIV
inappropriately changes singulars to plurals. (This is similar to
category 1a above, except here the TNIV has used "they" with a
singular antecedent in English, and in category 1a the antecedent
was plural.) (27 inaccuracies)
3. Changing the 3rd person singular pronoun "he/him/his/himself" to
second person "you/your/yours/yourself" (64 inaccuracies)
4. Changing the 3rd person singular "he/him/his/himself" to
"we/our/ourselves" (8 inaccuracies)
5. Changing whoever/anyone/one/everyone (singular) to "those" or
"those who" (plural) (13 inaccuracies)
6. Completely removing the 3rd person singular pronoun
"he/him/his/himself" (and often rewording the sentence in various
other ways) (255 inaccuracies)
7. Completely omitting other words that are represented in Hebrew
and translated in the NIV but simply removed from the TNIV (13
inaccuracies)
B. Changes Made to Avoid the Word "Father"
8. Changing singular 'ab "father" to "parent" or "parents" (19
inaccuracies)
9. Changing plural 'aboth "fathers" or "forefathers" to
"ancestors" (287 inaccuracies)
10. Diminishing the role of the father in ancient Israelite society (11
inaccuracies)
C. Changes Made to Avoid the Word "Brother"
11. Changing "brother" (singular) to another word that has no
familial connotation (26 inaccuracies)
D. Changes Made to Avoid the Word "Man"
12. Removing "man" when the original Hebrew means "a male
human being" ('ish, gibbor, zaqar, bahur, and also 'adam [but only
when 'adam refers to a specific male person]) (247 inaccuracies)
a. The Hebrew nouns gibbor and gibborim when previously
translated "mighty man/men" (21 inaccuracies)
13. Removing mentions of the manhood of certain specific men (9
inaccuracies)
14. Removing "man" when it means "the human race" in the early
parts of Genesis (20 inaccuracies)
a. Hebrew 'enosh meaning "man" when referring to the human
race or a representative part of it, changed to "mortals" (11
inaccuracies)
b. Hebrew bene-'adam (literally "children of man" but often
"mankind" or "men" in the NIV) changed to something which
removes man or men. (28 inaccuracies)
15. Removing comparisons between God and a man (4 inaccuracies)
16. Renaming occupations generally held by men in ancient Israel
(33 inaccuracies)
17. Hebrew 'anashim (which can mean either "people" or "men"
depending on context) where the context indicates that only men
were in view. (11 inaccuracies)
E. Changes Made to Avoid the Word "Son"
18. Removing "son of man" (6 inaccuracies)
19. Changing singular ben ("son") to "child" or "children" (19
inaccuracies)
F. Changes Made to Avoid the Word "Women"
20. Changing "women" to "weaklings" (4 inaccuracies)
2. Translation Inaccuracies in the 2005 TNIV New Testament: An Updated Categorized List of 910 Examples
A. Changes from Singular to Plural to Avoid the Use of "He/Him/His"
B. Changes to Avoid the Word "Father" and Related Words
C. Changes to Avoid the Word "Brother" (Or to Add the Word "Sister")
D. Changes to Avoid the Word "Man"
E. Changes to Avoid the Word "Son"
F. Changes to Avoid the Phrase "The Jews"
G. Changes that Lose the Nuance of Holiness in "Saints"
H. Other Gender Related Changes
