Zondervan--which publishes both the NIV and Today's New International Version (TNIV)--and Biblica, holder of the NIV copyright, will begin the production process for print and digital versions of the NIV update once the final text is proofed, company officials said. The March 2011 launch will feature a full line of new NIV Bibles.

"We are tremendously excited about the upcoming release of this new Bible," said Moe Girkins, president and CEO of Zondervan. "Our goal has always been to expand the Bible's reach. There are already hundreds of millions of NIV readers around the world, and we believe this latest update ... will illuminate God's Word to millions more."

The NIV update was announced in September 2009, when it was also revealed that the controversial TNIV is to be phased out after the revision.

With more than 300 million copies sold since its first publication in 1978, the NIV is being updated by the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT) to reflect changes in English usage and advances in biblical scholarship. The CBT is comprised of global biblical scholars who translated the NIV and TNIV.

Keith Danby, international CEO of Biblica, said that the CBT's work "underscores the commitment of the committee to honor the original NIV charter to monitor and reflect developments in English usage and biblical scholarship by regularly updating the NIV Bible text."

A previous effort to remake the NIV for contemporary audiences was dogged by controversy. Zondervan released a New Testament of the TNIV in 2002 and the complete Bible in 2005, although critics decried it for changing gender-specific pronouns in some references.

Biblica and Zondervan will announce the timeline for the release of physical and digital products of the NIV update within the next two months.

Click here for more information on the 2011 NIV.

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