NASHVILLE, TN – The new Bible translation known for being “built on common ground” is receiving a popular reception among consumers and is exceeding the publisher’s first print-run expectations by 50 percent.
The complete Common English Bible (http://CommonEnglishBible.com / Twitter @CommonEngBible – http://twitter.com/CommonEngBible) debuted online and on 20 digital platforms in June, and in paperback format in mid-July. It’s already gone back to press once. With this, its third printing, the Common English Bible now totals 500,000 copies in print, including the New Testament-only editions released a year ago. Originally expected this fall, the entire Bible paperback edition already in stores is selling quickly. Six other editions, including one with the Apocrypha, are releasing in August.
“Bookstore customers are asking for the Common English Bible in part due to the media coverage the translation is getting,” says Paul Franklyn, associate publisher. “News media such as TIME magazine, USA TODAY, The Tennessean, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Toronto Star, Florida Today, Orlando Sentinel, The Christian Post, and others, along with reviews by bloggers, our own website, Twitter stream, and Facebook page, and our video are all driving people into stores.”
The Common English Bible is a platinum sponsor of the Christian retail association’s Christian Store Week (http://christianstoreweek.com/), scheduled for Oct. 1-10. As a sponsor, the Common English Bible will be helping stores celebrate the crossroads of faith and community nationwide, and raise awareness and support for continued relief for earthquake victims in Haiti.
“When we say “built on common ground,” we mean that the Common English Bible is the result of collaboration between opposites: scholars working with average readers; conservatives working with liberals; teens working with retirees; men working with women; many denominations and many ethnicities coming together around the common goal of creating a vibrant and clear translation for 21st century readers, with the ultimate objective of mutually accomplishing God’s overall work in the world,” says Franklyn.
Combining scholarly accuracy with vivid language, the Common English Bible is the work of 120 biblical scholars from 24 denominations in American, African, Asian, European, and Latino communities, representing such academic institutions as Asbury Theological Seminary, Azusa Pacific University, Bethel Seminary, Denver Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, Seattle Pacific University, Wheaton College, Yale University, and many others. They translated the Bible into English directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.
Additionally, more than 500 readers in 77 groups field-tested the translation. Every verse was read aloud in the reading groups, where potentially confusing passages were identified. The translators considered the groups' responses and, where necessary, reworked those passages to clarify in modern English their meaning from the original languages. In total, more than 700 people worked jointly to bring the Common English Bible to fruition; and because of the Internet and today’s technology it was completed in less than four years.
Visit CommonEnglishBible.com to see comparison translations, learn about the translators, get free downloads, and more.
The Common English Bible is a denomination-neutral Bible sponsored by the Common English Bible Committee, an alliance of five publishers that serve the general market, as well as the Disciples of Christ (Chalice Press), Presbyterian Church (Westminster John Knox Press), Episcopal Church (Church Publishing Inc.), United Church of Christ (Pilgrim Press), and United Methodist Church (Abingdon Press).
To schedule an interview with Paul Franklyn, please contact Diane Morrow, dmorrow@tbbmedia.com or 800.927.1517.