1955

Howard Long’s attempt to share the gospel using the King James Version fails, sparking his crusade for a trustworthy Bible in contemporary English.

August 27, 1965

The broader evangelical community commissions a committee of evangelical scholars to oversee a new, modern-English Bible translation. This group was soon to become known as the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT).

1968

The New York Bible Society (now Biblica) agrees to finance the translation.

1969

The translation of the Gospel of John is completed and published by the New York Bible Society under the title The Gospel According to John: A Contemporary Translation.

1971

Zondervan enters an agreement with the New York Bible Society to become the sole American publisher of the translation.

1973

The New Testament is published and the translation’s name is changed to the New International Version.

1976

Zondervan agrees to advance royalties to the New York Bible Society to help fund the remaining translation work.

1978

The complete New International Version of the Bible is published.

1979

An Anglicized edition of the NIV is released in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton.

1984

The Committee on Bible Translation (CBT) issues its first revision of the NIV to reflect updates in scholarship and changes in the English language.

1985

The NIV Study Bible is published, featuring charts, diagrams, maps and more than 20,000 study notes.

1986

The NIV becomes the best-selling Bible in modern English.

1996

The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) is published. Based on the NIV and written at a third-grade reading level, the NIrV helps make God’s Word more accessible for early readers and non-native English speakers.

2005

The Today’s New International Version (TNIV) is released incorporating contemporary gender language. This version becomes available in addition to the 1984 edition of the NIV.

2009

Zondervan, Biblica, and the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT) jointly announce that a full revision of the NIV will replace the 1984 edition of the NIV and the TNIV. The CBT also commissions a comprehensive study of gender language in English by Collins Dictionaries.

2011

Zondervan releases a revision of the NIV that incorporates the latest scholarship and to reflect changes in the English language.

2015

Zondervan publishes the NIV Zondervan Study Bible. This new study Bible incorporates the latest conservative evangelical scholarship.