<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Genesis 1: 1--3 (show) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters . And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light . Genesis 1: 1 in other translations John 3: 16 (show) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life . John 3: 16 in other translations </Td> </Tr> <P> The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Protestant Bible . Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society) is the worldwide publisher and copyright holder of the NIV, and licenses commercial rights to Zondervan in the United States and to Hodder & Stoughton in the UK . Originally published in 1978, the NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011, and has become one of the most popular and best selling modern translations . A 2014 survey of Americans who read the Bible found that 19% use it . </P> <P> The NIV began in 1956 with the formation of a small committee to study the value of producing a translation in the common language of the American people . The project was formally started after a meeting in 1965 at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois, of the Christian Reformed Church, National Association of Evangelicals, and a group of international scholars . The initial "Committee on Bible Translation" consisted of E. Leslie Carlson, Edmund Clowney, Ralph Earle, Jr., Burton L. Goddard, R. Laird Harris, Earl S. Kalland, Kenneth Kantzer, Robert H. Mounce, Charles F. Pfeiffer, Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Francis R. Steele, John H. Stek, J.C. Wenger, Stephen W. Paine, and Marten Woudstra . The New York Bible Society (now Biblica) was selected to do the translation . The New Testament was released in 1973 and the full Bible in 1978 . </P> <P> The NIV underwent a minor revision in 1984 . A planned 1997 edition was discontinued over inclusive language . </P>

Who translated the niv version of the bible