While I was cooking yesterday evening, I was listening to a video from Mike Winger (included at the end of this post). I count him as a pretty good guide to thinking through theology, including the fact that he is willing to recognise and acknowledge when he slips up.

The particular thing that caught my ear was the mention that the NIV now renders Philippians 4:13 as “I can do all this through him who gives me strength”. If you go to the BibleGateway site, you can ask it to show the verse in all English translations. Most stick closely to the wording used in the King James Version: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” and the idea of being able to do all things through Christ is a popular topic for sermons and inspirational messages. Indeed, that is the wording I find if I pull one of my print edition NIV Bibles off the shelf : “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” is what my 1984 edition says.

Why the change and is it a good one? I’ve looked at the online Greek Bible and the traditional translation does seem to fit, as far as I can tell. However, I know that the verse is often pulled out of context and people happily apply it as if it means Christians can happily succeed in anything they fancy doing, glossing over the many times when we experience difficulties and failure. What the new NIV rendering does is to keep the verse focused on the context, which is Paul explaining that he has learned to be content in all the circumstances he has experienced.

Given that the original was written as a coherent letter and not a series of chocolate box promises, I think this is a good decision. The best messages I have heard on the passage make this very clear, encouraging us to trust Jesus as he leads us through life rather than claiming that he can let us have what we want. I know that other major modern translations, such as the ESV, regular check and revise details and I won’t be unhappy if, in a few years time, we see more versions choosing to recast their wording in a way that forces the reader to look at the context rather than jumping on a potentially incomplete and selfish meaning.

The video below should start about 9 minutes in, which is when Mike discusses this topic.