The Living Bible
Encyclopedia
The Living Bible is an English
version of the Bible
created by Kenneth N. Taylor. It was first published in 1971. Unlike most English Bibles, The Living Bible is a paraphrase
. Mr. Taylor used the American Standard Version
of 1901 as his base text.
According to "Ken Taylor, God's Voice In The Vernacular" by Harold Myra in a 1979 issue of Christianity Today
, Taylor explained the inspiration for preparing The Living Bible:
The Living Bible was well received in many Evangelical
circles. Youth-oriented Protestant groups such as Youth for Christ
and Young Life
accepted it readily. In 1962 Billy Graham
received a copy of Living Letters – a paraphrase of the New Testament
epistles and the first portion of what later became The Living Bible– while recuperating in a hospital
in Hawaii
. He was impressed with its easy readability, and he asked for permission to print 50,000 paperback copies of Living Letters for use in his evangelistic crusades. Over the next year he distributed 600,000 copies of Living Letters.
There is also The Catholic Living Bible, which holds an imprimatur from the Catholic Church and contains the deutero-canonical books as well as an introduction entitled "Why Read The Bible?" by Pope John Paul II. The Catholic Living Bible does not use the word "Paraphrased" on the front cover; instead it places the word on the title page, underneath of which is written "A Thought-For-Thought Translation". The added words of "A Thought-For-Thought Translation" in the subtitle of the title page are not unique to some Catholic editions, they are also in the latter printings of the Protestant editions even though the Bible is a Paraphrase.
The Living Bible was a best-seller in the early 1970s, largely due to the accessibility of its modern language, which made passages understandable to those with little or no previous background in Bible study. In 1972 and 1973, The Living Bible was the best-selling book in America. By 1997, 40 million copies of The Living Bible had been sold. During this period, work started on foreign translations in, eventually, around 100 languages by Living Bibles International
(which merged with IBS
in 1992).
From the very beginning of its publication, Taylor had assigned the copyright to Tyndale House
Foundation, so all of the royalties from sales of The Living Bible were given to charity.
In the late 1980s, Taylor and his colleagues at Tyndale House Publishers invited a team of 90 Greek and Hebrew scholars to participate in a project of revising the text of The Living Bible. After many years of work, the result was an entirely new translation of the Bible. It was published in 1996 as the Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(NLT).
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
created by Kenneth N. Taylor. It was first published in 1971. Unlike most English Bibles, The Living Bible is a paraphrase
Biblical paraphrase
A Biblical paraphrase is a literary work that has as its goal not the translation of the Bible but, rather, the rendering of the Bible into a work that retells all or part of the Bible in a manner that accords with a particular set of theological or political doctrines...
. Mr. Taylor used the American Standard Version
American Standard Version
The Revised Version, Standard American Edition of the Bible, more commonly known as the American Standard Version , is a version of the Bible that was released in 1901...
of 1901 as his base text.
According to "Ken Taylor, God's Voice In The Vernacular" by Harold Myra in a 1979 issue of Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
, Taylor explained the inspiration for preparing The Living Bible:
"The children were one of the chief inspirations for producing the Living Bible. Our family devotions were tough going because of the difficulty we had understanding the King James Version, which we were then using, or the Revised Standard VersionRevised Standard VersionThe Revised Standard Version is an English translation of the Bible published in the mid-20th century. It traces its history to William Tyndale's New Testament translation of 1525. The RSV is an authorized revision of the American Standard Version of 1901...
, which we used later. All too often I would ask questions to be sure the children understood, and they would shrug their shoulders—they didn't know what the passage was talking about. So I would explain it. I would paraphrase it for them and give them the thought. It suddenly occurred to me one afternoon that I should write out the reading for that evening thought by thought, rather than doing it on the spot during our devotional time. So I did, and read the chapter to the family that evening with exciting results—they knew the answers to all the questions I asked!"
The Living Bible was well received in many Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
circles. Youth-oriented Protestant groups such as Youth for Christ
Youth for Christ
Youth for Christ is the name of a number of previously unaffiliated evangelical Protestant religious campaigns which led to the creation of Youth for Christ International in 1946....
and Young Life
Young Life
YoungLife is a worldwide, non-profit, Evangelical Christian organization. YoungLife consists of many branches of ministry , but most commonly the name "YoungLife" refers to the outreach arm of the organization directed toward high school students...
accepted it readily. In 1962 Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
received a copy of Living Letters – a paraphrase of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
epistles and the first portion of what later became The Living Bible– while recuperating in a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. He was impressed with its easy readability, and he asked for permission to print 50,000 paperback copies of Living Letters for use in his evangelistic crusades. Over the next year he distributed 600,000 copies of Living Letters.
There is also The Catholic Living Bible, which holds an imprimatur from the Catholic Church and contains the deutero-canonical books as well as an introduction entitled "Why Read The Bible?" by Pope John Paul II. The Catholic Living Bible does not use the word "Paraphrased" on the front cover; instead it places the word on the title page, underneath of which is written "A Thought-For-Thought Translation". The added words of "A Thought-For-Thought Translation" in the subtitle of the title page are not unique to some Catholic editions, they are also in the latter printings of the Protestant editions even though the Bible is a Paraphrase.
The Living Bible was a best-seller in the early 1970s, largely due to the accessibility of its modern language, which made passages understandable to those with little or no previous background in Bible study. In 1972 and 1973, The Living Bible was the best-selling book in America. By 1997, 40 million copies of The Living Bible had been sold. During this period, work started on foreign translations in, eventually, around 100 languages by Living Bibles International
Living Bibles International
Living Bibles International was an American religious publisher dedicated to producing modern language translations of the New Testament in around 100 languages worldwide....
(which merged with IBS
International Bible Society
Biblica, formerly named named IBS-STL Biblica, formerly named named IBS-STL Biblica, formerly named named IBS-STL (from a merger of International Bible Society (IBS) and Send the Light (STL), has its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is a nonprofit Christian organization that...
in 1992).
From the very beginning of its publication, Taylor had assigned the copyright to Tyndale House
Tyndale House
Tyndale House is a publisher founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor, in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles, which he had composed while commuting to work at Moody Press in Chicago. The book appeared under the title Living Letters, and received a television endorsement from Billy Graham...
Foundation, so all of the royalties from sales of The Living Bible were given to charity.
In the late 1980s, Taylor and his colleagues at Tyndale House Publishers invited a team of 90 Greek and Hebrew scholars to participate in a project of revising the text of The Living Bible. After many years of work, the result was an entirely new translation of the Bible. It was published in 1996 as the Holy Bible: New Living Translation
New Living Translation
The New Living Translation is a translation of the Bible into modern English. Originally starting out as an effort to revise The Living Bible, the project evolved into a new English translation from Hebrew and Greek texts...
(NLT).