New International Version - NIV

The New International Version of the Bible, NIV for short, was started in 1968 after 10 years of planning. It took another 10 years to complete and was finished in 1978.

100 scholars from 20 different denominations used 5000 separate Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic manuscripts as basis for the NIV. While originally translated into English the NIV is now in many different languages.

The International Bible Society owns the rights to the NIV. Their goal is wide spread distribution and is reflected in their marketing strategy.

The NIV Old Testament contains 39 books including the Psalms. This compares with 46 Old Testament books in a Catholic Bible. The King James Version has 39 OT books also.