« | Isaiah 59 | » |
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice; no one pleads their case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. They pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks along them will know peace.
9 So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.
11 We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities:
13 rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due.
19 From the west, people will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along.
20 "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD.
21 "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD.
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.