« | Genesis 16 | » |
1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar;
2 so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my servant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian servant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me."
6 "Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.
8 And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.
9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her."
10 The angel added, "I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count."
11 The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."
13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."
14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Today’s New International Version (TNIV)
Today’s New International Version (TNIV) is a contemporary English translation of the Bible that was first published in its complete form in 2005 by the International Bible Society, now known as Biblica. The TNIV is a revision of the New International Version (NIV), which was initially released in 1978. The primary goal of the TNIV was to update the language and address gender inclusivity while maintaining the readability and accuracy that made the NIV popular. The translation aimed to reflect contemporary English usage and to be accessible to a broad audience, including both men and women.
One of the key features of the TNIV is its commitment to gender-inclusive language. The translators sought to avoid gender-specific terms where the original texts did not explicitly require them, thereby making the text more inclusive and reflective of modern linguistic sensibilities. For example, where the original Greek or Hebrew text used terms that referred to both men and women, the TNIV translated them in a gender-neutral manner. This approach aimed to make the Bible more accessible and relatable to all readers, ensuring that no one felt excluded by the language used.
The TNIV also made several other updates to enhance clarity and readability. The translators incorporated the latest biblical scholarship and linguistic research to ensure that the translation accurately conveyed the meaning of the original texts. They aimed to strike a balance between maintaining the formal equivalence of the original languages and using dynamic equivalence to make the text more understandable for contemporary readers. This involved updating archaic words and phrases, improving sentence structures, and clarifying ambiguous passages without losing the essence of the original scriptures.
Despite its strengths, the TNIV faced significant controversy and criticism, particularly from conservative Christian groups and scholars. Critics argued that the gender-inclusive language could potentially distort the intended meaning of the biblical texts and that the changes were driven more by cultural trends than by faithful adherence to the original manuscripts. The debate over the TNIV’s translation choices led to its eventual discontinuation, with Biblica deciding to focus on updating the NIV instead. However, the TNIV’s influence can still be seen in subsequent revisions of the NIV, which have incorporated some of the gender-inclusive principles and linguistic updates introduced by the TNIV.