NIV Bible 30th Anniversary Tour
October 16, 2008
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Posted by Ray Fowler
In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the New International Version Bible, Bible publisher Zondervan has launched a massive 90-city, 44-state tour called Bible Across America. You can track tour stops and real time blog updates at the Bible Across America website.
I remember getting my first NIV Bible back in 1978. It was one of those brown, hardcover editions. It opened up a whole new world of Bible reading and memory for me and pretty much changed my life. So happy 30th anniversary to you, NIV! You can swing that bus by my house anytime.
Categories: Bible
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My first Bible was one I found not being used in my house that had been my mom’s when she was a kid. It was an old King Jimmy, but after my conversion I asked for a Bible for Christmas.
My folks acquiesced and got me a NIV Study Bible. I read that thing and took copious notes in it until it was somewhat falling apart. I’ll never forget my very own first Bible and it still has a prominent place in my study.
Gunny – I still have my first Bible that I had as a kid. It is a KJV with a green, (now cracked) simulated leather cover. I don’t think I read it very much. When I was promoted to the fourth grade in Sunday School, I received a paperback New English Bible which I did a fair amount of reading in judging by the underlines. I know I also enjoyed the Good News for Modern Man paperbacks with the sketch figures in the columns.
But it was definitely the NIV that opened up my Bible reading in a whole new way. Timing was part of it. I was in high school at the time and growing in my commitment to Christ and so I had a greater motivation to be reading the Bible as well. And yes, when I eventually got an NIV Study Bible, that brought my Bible reading along even further.
My first Bible that I really delved into was a Living Bible. It was well-underlined. In college, I had the privilege of studying under Professor Marvin Wilson, one of the men who worked on the NIV and he introduced me to it then. I have loved it ever since and all my memorization as an adult has come from that version (When I was a kid, it was KJV!). My Bible is a Thompson Chain Reference NIV and it has helped me over and over in understanding a topic in Scripture and in interpreting Scripture with all the other relevant Scriptures on the same topic. I love it and am happily wearing it out. I am so thankful to be an American, where Bibles are so easily procured. It must be awful to have to hunt for a Bible and share it with a group of people…but perhaps it would make the reading of it all the more precious.
As an older reader of this blog, I have to admit that I still read the King James Bible for my devotions. All of my memory verses are KJV, – can’t change that now!!
I don’t understand some of the KJV language, and sometimes consult the NIV for clarification. I definitely think the NIV is a wonderful translation, much more readable, and would always recommend it for younger readers or new Christians. I’m sure this version has had a huge influence over the years in bringing people to Christ.
But for myself, it’s the King James version. (After all I am English!!) Maybe a little loyalty is at issue here!
I hope the “Bible across America” program will be a big success, and help to bring many people to know our Saviour.
It’s funny how my Bible memorization over the years tracks the different translations. If Iknow a verse in the King James, I know I memorized it before 8th grade. In 9th grade I won a New American Standard Bible in Sunday School (shout out to Mr. Hartling!). If I know a memory verse from NASB I know I learned it in high school. In college I got my first NIV and now I know if it’s NIV it’s college or post-college. Surprisingly, I still know my KJV ones the best – must have to do with an aging brain….