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A Book Like None Other
The world's all-time best seller
One of the writers of the Bible said, "Of making many books there is no end"
(Ecclesiastes 12:12). An infinitesimally small number of books published
rise up above their day and age and are considered worth preserving. Some
become recognized as classics. But even among the classics the Bible stands
out as incomparable. The Bible is the most circulated book in the history of
the world. It's been this way since the innovation of the Gutenberg press in
the 1450's when the Bible in Latin was the first large book to be printed by
moveable type. Ever since, year after year, more copies of the Bible are
printed and circulated than any other book. For the most recent year over 60
million complete Bibles, over 90 million New Testaments, and over
11/2 billion scripture sections were published in over 2,000 languages. The
press runs keep growing every year.
It shaped our world and language
The Bible has had a singular role in shaping our Western world. Our language
is laden with Biblical imagery that have become embedded in our cultural
consciousness. For example, The blind leading the blind, ...Turn the other
cheek, ...Love your enemies, ...A "Good Samaritan," ...Go the extra mile, ...Separate
the sheep from the goats, ...Our daily bread, ...For everything a time and season,
...The apple of my eye.
The world's most translated book
The Bible has been translated into more languages than any other work ever
written. There are now translations in more than 2,000 languages. Today
literally thousands of dedicated men and women linguists pour out their lives
to provide the Bible into every active language group on the face of the
earth. Often they provide the first written version of oral languages.
Copyright Christian History Institute, All Rights Reserved
Material Reproduced with Permission of the Christian History Institute
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