by Janis M. Betz, RN, BSN

In 1998, I took a client to the Oasis of Hope Hospital in Mexico for alternative cancer treatment. The Sunday school message that week was on the differences between the New International Version (NIV) Bible and the King James Version (KJV) Bible. The teacher was a doctor of science and a former atheist. Someone challenged him to prove the Bible wrong, and as a result, he became a Christian. During his spiritual quest to learn more, he noted stark differences between the NIV and KJV Bibles that disturbed him, so he set out to educate everyone he could.

The following are some of the notes that the scientist handed out. At that time, I had a spiritual aversion to reading the NIV Bible and did not know why. This teaching and these notes helped me to understand why. I hope that they will help you see the difference also. I encourage you to look up the following passages and compare and contrast them for yourself. This is just the tip of the iceberg. When the Mexican scientist compared the KJV to the NIV, the NIV omitted 64,000 words, and 36,000 changes were made concerning what God said regarding the following central doctrines of our faith. During a continued study, I also found that the New American Standard Version (NASV), the English Standard Version (ESV), and the New International Version (NIV) all contained omissions compared to other versions.

  • Subject: Bible – NIV & ESV omission: Luke 4:4 – “but by every word of God.”
  • Subject: Jesus is the only way – NIV & ESV omission: 1Peter 2:2 – “of the word” and John 6:47 – “on me” – Comments: Believe what? Even satan believes.
  • Subject: Trinity – NIV, ESV, & NASV omission: 1John 5:7 – “Heaven/Father/Word (Jesus)/Holy Ghost”
  • Subject: Cross – NIV, ESV, & NASV omission: Mark 10:21 – “Take up your cross.”
  • Subject: Devil – NIV omission: Isaiah: 14:12 – “Lucifer, son of the morning.” – Comments: NIV & NASV say, “O Morning star, son of the dawn!” Revelation 22:16 refers to Jesus as the “Morning Star”- So who was cast down? – NIV, ESV, & NASV omission: Luke 4:8 – “Get thee behind me, Satan.”
  • Subject: Jesus Creator and God – NIV omission: Ephesians 3:9 – “Created by Jesus” and 1Timothy 3:16 – “God was manifest in the flesh.” – Comments: NIV & NASV only state, “He appeared in a body.” – Who appeared in a body?
  • Subject: Blood – NIV & ESV omission: Colossians 1:14 – “Through his blood” – NIV & ESV completely removed: Mark 11:26 – “But If ye (you) do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” NIV & NASV omission: Matthew 5:44 – “Do good to them that hate you.”
  • Subject: Judgment – NIV, ESV, & NASV omission: Mark 6:11 – “Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah on day of judgment than for that city.”

The NIV and the ESV Bibles completely remove the following 15 verses from the Bible: Matthew 17:21, 18:11, Mark 7:16, 9:44&46, 11:26, 15:28, Luke 17:36, 23:17, John 5:4, Acts 8:37, 15:34, 24:7, 28:29, Romans 16:24. The Scripture in Revelation 22:19 is very clear that “if anyone takes away from the words of this prophecy/book, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life.” The 1984 version of the NIV Bible lists Virginia Mollenkott as a contributor to the NIV Bible committee. She wrote two books: Sensual Spirituality and Is the Homosexual my Neighbor? She defends the homosexual lifestyle, feminism, reincarnation, and channeling. Virginia calls God a She and Jesus “elder brother.” These statements are entirely contrary to the scriptures. This woman should have never been allowed to contribute anything to the NIV Bible. The 2011 version of the NIV has made many pronouns gender-neutral.