Extract from the Foreword:

This book is a collection of articles on the general theme of new translations, published at intervals in The Testimony from August 1996 to June 1999. the publication of a number of articles on this general theme in a relatively short time is partly by design, partly by accident; some contributions were specifically requested, others came to hand anyway. The overall result is by no means a comprehensive survey of new translations, but the articles that make up this book (which are printed in the order in which they originally appeared) between them cover some very important issues regarding new translations, sometimes in considerable depth. Some contributions are directly concerned with evaluating modern translations, especially the NIV; others are concerned with more peripheral issues but nevertheless important ones…

The most important factor in this whole question is that we should get the best possible understanding of what God is saying to us in His Word, bearing in mind that few of us can read it in the original languages. It is this area with which this book is concerned, and the overall thrust is that the AV, despite its obscurities, still has much to be said for it, and that modern versions have too many problems associated with them to be unreservedly used. Other versions have their uses, with the more conservative ones, such as the Revised Standard Version and the New King James (revised Authorised) Version, being more suitable than the freer translations, but there is nothing that can safely be used to replace the AV entirely. It is not to be expected that the trend to use modern contributions to this book, though not a complete survey of the subject, will make Brethren and Sisters more aware of the issues involved, and encourage them to think more carefully about using modern translations, especially the NIV.